Memories, memories, sweet memories

In just one month Geoff and I will be packing our bags and taking up residence in the Sunshine state.  I've lived here in Provo for close to six years now and grown accustom to many of its quirks. While I'm very excited about our impending move, I'm a little sad about some of things we'll be leaving behind. So, in no particular order, I give you a list of some of our finest moments and favorite things in the Beehive State.

The view from my front door. Seeing mountains while I ate my bowl of cereal in the morning was surreal for a little while, but I loved it. This is the view from our front door.

Y mountain, Provo Peak, and Maple Mountain

And of course, Mount Timpanogos is visible throughout Utah County. Timp and I have become quite close over the years.

The springtime flowers are incredible

BYU's lovely spring blossoms

Tulips in Temple Square. I wish I took this picture, but I just found it on Google Images. 

Tulips and Timp in the distance

 The hikes. We have some great hiking spots just a few minutes away from our apartment. Rock Canyon is my favorite.

The view from Stuart Falls

A forest of Ferns 

Geoff cooling off at Bridal Veil Falls

Rock Canyon in the rain

Rock Canyon with just a touch of snow on the ground

Rock Canyon in the fall

All rainbows appear over the mountains, and it is spectacular!

My first time really seeing snow

I wanted to to catch a snowflake on my tongue because that's a thing , right? Anyways, I had to shake the tree to make it snow. I don't think it worked. 

My lovely roommates. Heather and I at Calise's wedding.

He's pretty cute when he hikes...

and when he sings!

One of my favorite picture of all time! We were supposed to be heading to Provo, but  we  found ourselves just a few miles from Wyoming. Geoff's face when we found out how close we were to Wyoming...Priceless.

Provo has a few pretty big hills which makes for some really fun bike rides. Plus, there's the PRT and just nice neighborhoods to ride around in. The hill by the Provo Temple is our favorite. Soon after we got our bikes we were determined to zoom down that hill as fast as we could. While we were zooming at impressive speeds our lives flashed before our eyes. 

Playing at the park we discovered on our bike ride. 

The Provo River Trail!!!!!

I love flowers. 

Watching the sunset on our evening bike ride.

The Provo Tabernacle. This was such a beautiful building. It caught on fire in  December of 2010 and is now undergoing construction to become a temple!

A life is not fully lived unless you've dangled from an  Aspen.

Amazing views

Geoff found a quiet place to nap in Moab.

Camping in the mountains is chilly, but the lack of neighbors is refreshing.

The Nicklecade is always a fun date idea.

We made it through the Santa Run!

Provo's 4th of July Parade is so much fun!

Who has two thumbs and can eat 4 different cheesecakes? This girl!

Amelia's first real experience with the snow. She's not a fan.

Aquarium

 Geoff got off of work early today and didn't have any classes, and my schedule was surprisingly empty so we decided to take a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. The location of the aquarium and the building itself makes me wonder if it was at one point a grocery store. If it was in fact a grocery store I am forever grateful to the person who said "This town's got plenty of places to buy food. Ya know what we need. Sea turtles. Yeah, some turtles, jellies, maybe a small shark or two. Oh! and an Anaconda...that will be fun!" I got a few videos of some of the nifty marine life...

Upside Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea is the scientific name and it's much more fun to say). These little guys are tiny.

                                        Arapaima is the giant fish...they can grow to 15 feet! What the what?! I like to think that Amelia is staring the catfish down out of hunger as she munches on the belt of her stroller.

Seanettle Jellies and Amelia admiring the Upside Downers, excuse me, the Cassiopea.

Zebra Moray, Leopard Moray, and a bonus Puffer Phish  ;)

Who doesn't love an otter? I wanted to jump in the tank and swim with him. 

We ended the day with an almost independently sitting baby.

Half of a Dozen Months

I must have blinked  There's no way it's been 6 months, but various calendars have confirmed that February 18, 2013 marked Amelia's 6th month. To quote a 7 year old girl I met recently, "wow, she's old". I must admit, I am proud of myself for keeping her alive this long. Despite my lack of experience in the field of baby charming - that doesn't sound right, handling? Wrangling? Nope, rearing is the word I'm looking for, baby rearing - she's growing really well. When I was hugely pregnant, stuffing my face with avocado shakes, and watching the Olympics I began to pray that my daughter would one day be pretty enough AND tall enough to play for the US women's Olympic Volleyball team. However, when she was born I was concerned that she wouldn't be able to make the team. She was so little - technically too small to ride safely in the carseat, and she had an extra finger. Regardless of her skill level would she be allowed to play with the other super model athletes if she was too short and had a superfluous pinky? Totally kidding about the extra finger by the way, no polydactilism here. I had you goin' though didn't I? Anyways, she was a tiny little thing. Just over 6 pounds and only 17.5 inches. 17.5 inches! I've seen fish bigger than that! I thought she would be below average forever, I started to think about her future as a gymnast. Not that there's anything wrong with being at or below average, I was just really hoping that she got the tall genes. I quickly got over her shrimpiness because she's so dang cute. Seriously, with big blue eyes and a head full of red hair she could grow to be 5' 3" and it wouldn't be a problem. But, her most recent checkup renewed my faith in DNA and a tall future (good thing too, gymnastics is expensive). She measured in at 26.5 inches. That's 80th percentile folks! I realize that being in the 80th percentile doesn't necessarily mean she'll grow to be 6 feet tall. It's just nice to see that whatever I'm doing seems to be working, and that feels good! You know what else feels good? Looking at pictures of a really cute baby! Enjoy :)

All toys end up on or near the mouth

We're working on sitting up

Girlfriend's got an attitude about solid food

Add caption

She's happiest in the nude

Bonus picture! Jumbo Jess on the 4th of July. Amelia had exactly 45 days from this point  to grow, but I think she took a few days off.

Bath Time

We hit the 5 month mark just a few days ago and Amelia just keeps getting cuter. She loves her daddy. Whenever she hears him talking she instantly smiles and begins looking around the room for her father figure. She also likes to fly. Sometimes when I hold her she wiggles her way onto her stomach in my arms. Above everything, this kid loves a bath. She loves to splash and try to grab everything out of my hands...little klepto.  Despite her thievery, bath time is probably my favorite part of the day. We sing together (rather, I sing while she makes noises and occasionally spits) and just enjoy being silly together. Tonight I was lucky enough to get some really cute pictures.

Who's excited for a bath?!

Naturally, the warm water brings out funny faces

Learning through eating, such a glorious stage!

"Just eat it, eat it, eat it..."

Her hair does some funny stuff once it dries. Can you see it?

... And a happy new year!

Oh New Years, you've finally got me under your goal setting spell. I've never been very eager about making resolutions because I knew over the course of the year I would either lose interest or just forget about my goals.  I intend for this year to be different. I've come up with a few totally reasonable things to accomplish this year. I will remind myself of these goals each day and I won't give up on myself when things don't go as planned. The other day I heard someone comparing goal setting to a GPS. They said that if you make a wrong turn or don't follow directions exactly as the GPS has outlined for you it doesn't really matter, you will still reach your destination. That slightly annoying robot voice will tell you to make a U-turn, or she'll say "recalculating" and find an alternate route for you. Perhaps a more scenic route. Ms. Garmin or Mr. Tom-tom will get you where you are going. Often when we set out to accomplish something things don't always go as planned. We may get way off track and have to make a Uturn at the next light or we may find that the original plan wasn't as ideal as we thought. In that case you start to journey down a new road, enjoy the scenery that you would have otherwise missed, and reach your destination a little later than originally anticipated. Sometimes neither of those situations work out and you find yourself at the nearest gas station asking the more experienced locals for help, and they can tell you about every bump and bend on the road ahead. This year I resolve to keep on truckin' with the following goals...


1. Journal weekly. I don't always have much to say, but there are many things I would like to remember  in the coming years.

2. Play the mandolin more often. That poor little cousin of  a lute doesn't get much attention these days.

3. Run a 5k. I have walked many races but only once did I run the whole three miles. Even if I don't sign up for a race I still plan to give the soles of my shoes a solid 3 mile adventure in 2013.

It feels good to have goals, they are experiences I can look forward to.

Christmas

We had a holly jolly Christmas this December 25th, and I have some pictures to prove it. Geoff had to work in the morning which was fine because I needed to finish wrapping presents. Once he came home we commenced the stocking destuffing, present unwrapping, and Ferrero Rocher eating. We then headed to the Smith house where continued to eat, eat, and eat some more - at least that's what I did.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

The ghost of Christmas past

Merry Christmas!