Randomness...

Today was full of appreciating the random things in life. And I need to post some pictures of things that I have neglected to post...like our new HUGE T.V. (50 inches) that we got for FREE. Yep. Free. If you haven't read my past posts about online offers, I'm sort of a junkie. I've made $4,100 so far. My latest was $1500 to Costco. It took me a long time to complete thanks to the fact that I had a baby in the middle of that...but I did it. And so did my mom. We have so far purchased this tv, and a Blu-ray player..and some randoms. Still have about $300 left. :)

And my grass patch. This is something I begged Ben to do all year. He said it would be too hard. I didn't want to hear any of that..so I did it myself. With the help of my dad and and Ben right at the end of course..and guess what? It wasn't THAT hard..only now it's got dead spots from our lack of watering it...thanks to our outdoor spicket that is busted. Which leads me to a great story. We decided it'd be smart to just use our kitchen sink-hook up a hose to it. We bought the little doo dad that made this possible. It worked great. Until tonight. I was eating an oreo minding my business in the kitchen while Ben was out watering. Suddenly I was getting sprayed. Not a little... a LOT. I was gasping for my breath (the water was cooooold) and hollering for Ben with my best "the baby is asleep but I still need to yell" voice. Water was EVERYWHERE forcing me to clean the kitchen. sigh...


These are my birthday flowers. I told Ben why get flowers that will just die in a week? They can bloom all summer this way :)
Also outside are our zero gravity lawn chairs. Love them. We sat outside last night listening to the music of groove fest which was over a mile away. Somehow in a small town the noise can really travel far.

And a post wouldn't be complete without a little Connor info. He has, as of late, begun SQUEALING. Not a little...and not quietly. It's LOUD. Like people came up to me after sacrament and said "I've never heard anything so high pitched and loud before..". Yeah...we know. We especially love it when he drops his bottle and has a total come-apart. He is throwing lots of tantrums lately. I love it that Ben thinks he can say "Connor-NO- that is not a choice" and thinks it's going to make any impact. Connor just smiles and squeals again!
He's pretty close to crawling...scoots himself around, just trying to figure out how to get his knees to move him. I'm so excited but I know I'm going to be a lot busier when he figures it out. (doggy door escapes...yikes)
I have established that I have a truly happy, good-natured son. He smiles ALL the time. He doesn't need anyone to make him smile either. I catch him smiling at lights, toys, the trees blowing, shadows, the animals and whatever pleases him in the moment. LOVE it!

These are the new boots he got from his great-grandpa Brent and great-grandma Sherron. They are too big right now, and go with an adorable cowboy outfit he can where when he's about 2. I can't WAIT to get his pictures taken in them!!! :) Thanks grandpa and grandma!!!

He went up Cedar Mountain for the first time (first time out of my belly) yesterday. Here's what happened...

Baby sees leaves...
Baby grabs leaves...
Baby eats leaves!!!

I am pretty much rocking out school. It is challenging at times but somehow I am staying ahead. And getting pretty good grades so far. It's great to exercise my brain again. I feel like I have a lot more to contribute to our conversations and I'm learning valid information that helps me in my life. My early childhood education class is making me a better mother, now and for the future. I love it! So glad I decided to go back. This is my sweet work station.

We have a technology overkill going on at our house. We have a Mac, a PC, two laptops, two I-pod touches, a Mac laptop that doesn't work at the moment, and a Wii. Not bragging, in fact I'm a lot ashamed. What has this world come to?! Here's our desk area these days..yuck.

I am baby hungry. I don't know why...I have a baby. But this motherly instinct of mine wants another one. Good thing Ben's resisting for now...(only for now).

My sister in law Breanna is a surprisingly AMAZING singer. She's known for being rather quiet and reserved. But she's self-taught with the guitar and has been recording some of her songs lately. I'm super impressed and want someone to discover her. If you feel like checking her out..go HERE.

Another awesome singer who is really making her place in the world is Ben's cousin Lucy Schwartz. She recently sang a song on the Shrek Forever After soundtrack. I love her voice. She and Breanna sound a lot alike I think.

I missed an opportunity to go see Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade. Could have gotten great seats for cheap from Groupon. Could have met her. Ben knows the people who manage Hale Center Theater. Why do I do these things? GRRRR...second time missing out on meeting one of my fave celebs. sigh again....

Another frustration is that I have been eating myself sick lately. Why do I do this?! I was feeling so good when I was eating great and exercising. Then we went on vacation and it all went to he-double hockey sticks. Time to get crack-a-lackin!

Here are the pictures from our overnight trip to Vegas. Ben had to work at an expo, so I went and helped and took advantage of the free trip. We left little C-man with my family and I missed him like craaaazy!!!! I was so excited to sleep in that I didn't sleep at all. Kept checking my phone to see if I'd slept in yet. Stupid. We ate at the Paris buffet, enjoyed our awesome room and relaxed. We rode the roller coaster at the Sahara, I got cheap tickets from Groupon. First roller coaster I've ridden since getting pregnant with Connor! It was nice to have some quality time with the hubby...

I'm looking forward to a week full of homework, snuggling with my little man, and cracking down on my diet/exercise! Hope y'all have a great week as well!