in the market.

No, not for a new home. Something much, much more important.
I need a new curling iron. My 9.99 Target one just isn't cutting it, er, I mean curling it anymore. I am willing to spend some moolah to get a good one because my life was forever changed when Chi entered it 5 years ago.
Suggestions would be fabulous!
Toodles.

Giggles

Please excuse my lame cinematography skills... yes I know I turned it the wrong way. But, even still, just listening to it makes me laugh.
What a silly boy!

8 Months

Since Carson has reached the ripe-old age of 8 months, we thought it was time to teach him how to be a gentleman, so we ordered a cute little girl to let him test the waters. He has been taught by his dad that girls like to take things slowly, so he did just that. Once he got good vibes from her he moved in for the kill, not once, but several times!

  

In all seriousness, our little bundle of joy is just that. In the past week his little personality has begun to blossom. He seems to be a  stubborn, independent little fella, but would you expect anything less with Joel and I as his parents?

                                

His latest trick is crawling{as of Saturday} and he LOVES his new found freedom. He also loves to listen to music, be sung to, and clap his hands to make noise. We listen to music all of the time because  I am determined to make him a better dancer than his daddy. Sorry babe.

We realize we are so lucky to have such a healthy, fun little boy. Now if we could just get him to sleep through the night…remember I said he was stubborn!

We love you Carson!

Southern Exposure

We made it, more specifically, Joel made it home from a major road trip to Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi (and all the states on the way down). Yep, you read that right. He DROVE  over 3800 miles in 10 days. Sound fun to you? Well, it didn’t to me, so Carson and I flew.

Joel has a goal of spending time in every state, and this year BYU was playing back to back weekends in Dallas and New Orleans, so he thought it was a perfect opportunity to see the South AND get to see his mighty Cougars play.  And it was!

We started our week in Dallas for the Oklahoma/BYU game. Carson and I did not actually go to the game because tickets were $150 each and we would have had to pay for the little man too. So, he and I waited patiently {ahem, shopped} while Joel witnessed one of the best BYU games EVER! I cannot describe Joel’s excitement after the game; nor could he, because he lost his voice! I am so glad, being the huge Cougar fan that he is, that he was able to go.

                              

We spent Sunday catching up on sleep, visiting the site where JFK was assassinated and listening to crazy conspiracy theorists, and exploring downtown Dallas. We ate some true tex-mex for dinner, something that Milwaukee is definitely lacking, and called it a night.

Monday we drove to Austin and visited Univ. of Texas, the massive state capitol (would you expect anything less from Texas??), and was able to see my cousin Jamie and her family. They treated us to a true Texas tradition: BBQ at Rudy’s and the Texas original, Blue Bell ice cream. It did not disappoint!

                                

Tuesday we left for San Antonio, but took a detour for some more BBQ, this time at Kruez’s. WOW. I am normally not a meat lover, but it was  a-m-a-z-ing! Ribs, sausage, brisket, OH MY! When we finally did make it to San Antonio, we saw the Alamo, strolled the Riverwalk, and had more tex-mex.

 

Wednesday was a car day. We drove to New Orleans. Nothing much to report, other than Carson pooping 5 times in about 7 hours. No joke. The kids plumbing must have been in over-drive!

Thursday was geared towards Joel visiting Mississippi and Alabama. First though, we stopped for beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I fell in love at first bite. That was my first of 15 that trip. Yes, 15. Anyway, we drove through Biloxi, which I thought was neat to see, because most of it was destroyed in Katrina and the rebuilding was in full force. We made our way to Mobile, Alabama, ate at Wendy’s, and turned around. We looked for some real food downtown, but we seriously did not see anything. We even had a GPS, and it only gave fast food options. Guess that goes to show there is not much in Mobile.       

                         

Friday we had beignets for breakfast and met friends for lunch at Emeril’s NOLA. It was fabulous. I don’t know how else to describe its goodness, so I won’t attempt. Just know you are missing out if you have not eaten there. The rain dampened, pun intended, our afternoon, but we toured the Garden district anyway. We finished our day with dinner at a hole-in –the-wall place with a New Orleans classic of Po Boys.

 

Saturday was the big game day. BYU trounced Tulane , which was expected. It was so fun to see BYU play, even though I spent most of my time out of the stadium, because Carson was not a fan of the noise. I cannot imagine how he would have reacted if it were an exciting game…

                                 

I bet you can’t guess what we did after the game. We ate some more! I enjoyed my 3rd PoBoy and had one last taste of the utterly delectable beignets.

                        

So, if you haven’t already noticed, the trip was mostly comprised  of food. I promise we did other things, but the food was just most noteworthy. I now know why the southern states have the highest obesity %’s in the country. We ate and ate and ate and ate some more. It was delish, and it’s a good thing I am still breastfeeding or else I think I may have come back a whale. Instead, I came back a blimp!

Random

It's 10:45 Sunday night. Carson is sleeping and Joel is on the road, hopefully traveling safely. I'm tired and hungry, and of course we have no food in the house because we have been gone for 10 days. I should really just go to bed, but that is too easy. I thought about waking Carson up around midnight and pulling a 'provo classic' of getting food at 12:01 MONDAY, but my motherly insticts tell me otherwise. Let the child sleep.

So, I will go to bed hungry. Poor me. I think it's better that way anyway, as I ate way more than my 'daily allowance' every day of our trip. Speaking of our trip, it was so fun. Getting up at 4:45am to catch my flight home with an exhausted baby and a 3 hour layover was not so fun though. But, alas we made it.

If I just had a diet coke I think I would feel much better.

Off to bed I go...

Are you ready for some football???

We are!

Carson has even been perfecting his cheer!



Goooooo Cougars!