Memorial Day 2014

Micah and I have officially decided to make a Memorial Day Moab trip a yearly tradition. We come down to Moab at least 3 or 4 times a year anyway haha but in May it's perfect temperature and just tons to do!!

saturday

This trip has been a bit of a struggling experience... First, we packed up and left our house later than we planned on Saturday. Our sweet babe Olive slept in til 9am, which I loved.. But we were planning on her waking up at 7:30am, eating & going back down for her nap in the car around 9am. But we ended up having to do some last minute laundry (kill me), random menial tasks around the house (water plants, cook some food to bring for Liv..) and of course finish packing & getting ready. Blah! So we left our place at 1:00pm. 

Olive was ready with her Moab onesie!

The drive down was pretty uneventful. Micah drove, I hunted on Etsy & eBay for stuff for Olive's birthday party, Zoey tried to get into the front seat the whole time, & Olive just sort of hung out.

I thought she was asleep... Nope!

When we finally got to Moab we hit up the art festival that was going on. I found a fellow "big cartel" company called Green Stitches that makes darling hand seen dolls & stuffed animals. I bought some super cute earrings from them!

We headed back to the car with a hungry baby & I started to feed her while Micah started the car. Or tried to start the car. 

We had a dead battery. 

Awesome. 

Micah ran to grab someone to jump us (found a scary tough woman actually). We got the jeep running and headed to our hotel, not daring to turn off the car again. The battery is a little old so we just were going to have to grab a new one. 

As Micah started unpacking our things at the hotel, I hung out with Liv in the car & Zo. 

And we realized the hotel didn't have a crib for Livi. 

Awesome. 

So we hurried over to Alco (the most random local store ever. Love that place.) and actually found a pack n play. We also bought a new forward facing car seat for Olive kinda impromptu. But it was super cheap and exactly the kind we needed. 

Because it was already 8:00pm (Olive's bed time) and we hadn't even eaten dinner, we decided to grab some food to go. We stopped at 'Los something' on Main Street. It used to be Cabo Grill but just recently changed & mexican food sounded pretty good. Micah ordered some chicken tostadas & I got a beef taco with chicken quesadilla. way yummy! I wish I had gotten more tacos!  :(

Zoey couldn't handle being in the backseat any longer. Big baby. 

Tired face! Zo is already stoked about Moab. 

sunday

The next morning we hit up the local Moab LDS church for a quick sesh. Then we changed, had lunch, & went to Tusher Tunnel. It's a jeeping trail that takes you to a tiny little hike that ends with a really cool tunnel (what?! no way) and has a beautiful outcropping and view of the area.

That tongue!

After jeeping around a little longer, we headed back into town. A super popular little stop is this massive sand hill.. like hugely tall & steep that people are always trying to reach the top. We pulled in, wanting to give Livi a little break from the carseat and to see if she'd crawl around in the sand.

Big fat nope. 

She hated it haha poor thing. She was also tired and starving so it definitely wasn't a great tine to experiment. Olive did try to eat the sand though! 

We left to get real food for our sad little babe & went to our favorite restaurant in Moab, Zax. We bumped into some friends and ended up eating dinner with them, getting to catch up with their lives while we stuffed our faces with pizza. mmmmm so good!

Once we were done, Olive was pretty much exhausted, so we headed back to our hotel and crashed.

monday

That morning we went to our favorite breakfast joint, Moab Diner. It's a 1950's style diner and they have amazing breakfasts. Big pancakes  crispy bacon, really yummy waffles... it's the best. 

Once we had sufficiently stuffed our faces, we piled into the jeep again and went south of town to Hunter Canyon. It's a really scenic dog friendly hike that Micah and I have yet to actually finish. Our first attempt was when I was pregnant & felt like I was going to go into labor (HA! I wish) so we had to bail early, and our second was with all of our little nieces & nephews so we didn't make it very far.

Today we were hellbent on seeing the end!

But first we needed some pics of Olive's and my matchy matchy headbands!

       { available at www.minimamaco.com } 

gecko #1

Zoey is a freakin fish when we go on hikes and LOVES any excuse to jump into puddles or little rivers. Today was no exception.

oh my ovaries

sweet gecko #2

poppin a squat hahaha

THE END!! 

It was actually really pretty. The hike ended with a small waterfall coming off a massive rock wall that was curved to give a lot of shade. It was a bit rocky and technical to get to the very end so if you bring kiddos maybe stop just short of the end. It was hard! But worth it for the shade and nice cool mist that lightly sprinkled us as we had a snack.

Zoey wanted to keep going!

After our hike, we shook the sand from our shoes, changed Livi into some non-sweaty clothes, & piled into the jeep. With a quick stop at the Mav to grab some goodies, we fueled up and left the trail.

On our way out of town we stopped by Moyo, the newest and actually, the ONLY frozen yogurt place in Moab. It is the "weigh and pay" style that Micah loves because he can act like a little kid and pile as many sprinkles, gummy bears, and M&M's in his bowl and feel like he's justified in paying $4 for it.

Til next time!!

xoxo

Mandi

Mother's Day 2014

So much happened around Mother's Day, it was kinda intense!

The prep right before was my website launch. Which I officially opened on Mother's Day and had a fantastic opener week ps! Nothing gives me more joy than to create, especially creating something that will be loved and worn and shown off. 

Micah spoiled me oh-so much. He got me a beautiful succulent plant for our kitchen table, a massage to Massage Envy, and a few less-romantic items like camping lights, a hanging rack for our laundry room & hooks for our mud room. 

That day Micah took care of Olive in every sense and didn't let me change her diaper once. We typically have about a 50/50 split on who changes her, feeds her etc. when he isn't working, so it was a pleasant surprise to not have to do any of that. Although, I weirdly missed not doing those menial things with her.

I am obsessed with my daughter.  :O

We headed up to Midway again for dinner at the Russell cabin. 

Livi was sporting some new creations

What's dinner without some group selfies as my niece Cat said we needed...

I'm so lucky to be blessed with this in-law family. My nieces and nephews are so much fun and so ready to love and invite you into their lives, it's contagious. I love their honesty and their unabashed excitement over things and just their eagerness to try new things or do something silly. I wish I could bottle up their excitement!

xoxo

Mandi

4th Anniversary & Anti Fun Rut

Man, 4 years have somehow flown by since I married my sweetheart! During that time we had 6 bunnies, Micah graduated college, I temporarily gave up on college, became doggy parents, we built our first house, had our first baby, and I started a business! I love growing up with Micah and getting to know who we are and having the other person to really support one another in every life venture. 

We alternate our anniversary planning so that one person (ie Micah) isn't always in charge of the surprise. It's not just my celebration after all.. He was just as much involved in our wedding haha. So he has the odd years and I have the even ones. And yes, your math is correct, this year was my year. 

Our anniversary was also an Anti Fun Rut date because.... We left Olive with my parents.... OVERNIGHT!

I kind of had a mini panic attack before I dropped her off to my parents... And by kind of I mean I cried in the car once I left!  :(  in the last 10 months aka her entire existence, I've never been without her. She hasn't slept in my bed or anything, but has always been a door away. 

My sister was also taking care of Zoey for me, so I was really missing my girls . :( 

Once I contained my sad homesickness, I picked Micah up from the car rental agency (he had just gotten back from a business trip) and headed up to Park City. 

But first, Micah gave me this gorgeous bouquet. 

He has the best taste in flowers. 

Our first stop was Ruth's Chris. We have eaten there for all of our anniversary dinners so far (strange to think about since it has never been a set thing) and they decorated our table in honor of our anniversary. 

I'm going to spam you with my delicious meal. 

Amaze balls iceberg wedge salad

Baked cauliflower & garlic mashed potatoes -- incredible cauliflower business

My filet mignon that I always get butterflied open... Omg I'm hungry now!

Our surprise free dessert -- freaking fantastic cheesecake. Seriously so yummmz!

We took some glorious selfies... which Micah can't stand when I try to take some pics of us..

After dinner I texted my dad to see how Liv was doing... Because I missed her so much! I got back a hilarious text:

BM means poop to my dad. Industrial strength poop, hahahahaa

Our last pic before we left. We had to be wheel chaired out because we were so stuffed full of amazing-ness. 

K not really, but I felt like I could go hibernate for several years after. 

I then took us up to Midway, to stay at the Homestead. I found a groupon that had a fantastic deal for the night. We went hot tubbing right away and it felt amazing. Delish steak belly + hot tub face = best night ever!  ;P

Our super cute little cottage house that we stayed the night in. 

The following morning we slept in, drove to my parents house (who made us waffles ps) and got to finally snuggle this little sweet thing. 

It's amazing how much my heart can love someone. I would be completely lost without Micah.. my partner in crime, fellow adventure seeker, lazy Sunday napper, sweet surprise maker, and most loving father and husband ever. As well as Olive, that sweet little birdie with big blue eyes and adorable dimples that has me wrapped around her little nail-painted fingers. And lastly my goofy big-tongued running partner Zoey, who runs and wiggles her butt at the sight of me like she can't contain how happy she is to see me every single day. How could I not love my life with these amazing people around me? And yes, Zoey is a person in my eyes. 

xoxo

Mandi

My sister's baby showers

So excited for Jess!

She is due on June 29th, coming up way fast. 

For those who don't know, my sister was pregnant with twins, a boy and girl, but lost her son halfway through her pregnancy. It was so incredibly hard to watch her go through her second miscarriage and be helpless to do anything to ease her pain. I felt so so sad that I couldn't offer even the sentiment "I know how you feel" because I never experienced the aching sadness of miscarriage. My pregnancy with Olive was easy, despite hip pain, I had no complications.  Jess and Dan had lost their first baby when she was only 7 weeks along, which was incredibly hard after having tried to get pregnant for almost 5 years. She then got pregnant again, this time with twins, but then lost her son when she was 20 weeks along. It was even harder knowing that she was having a boy and girl, naming both of them, and then losing their son. His name was Croix Daniel Horman and he was just too perfect of a little boy, he was needed in heaven more than on earth. 

Her showers were so fun to go and celebrate for Capri's arrival, but they were all tinged with my own sadness for not being able to buy double the onesies and diapers, and to not be buying anything boy related. Jess and her soon to be little miss were given lots of fun things though and the outpouring of support and love was just awesome. 

I went to a super cute and fun shower for her, thrown by her friend Michelle. Loved everything about it.. the decorations, her darling house, the food, games.. Love!

For the shower my mom and I threw Jess, we kept it simple and did a dinner at Archibald's in Gardner Village. Before the shower though, I took some maternity pics of her so we could put them in frames to decorate the tables. 

Her cute puppies Duke on the left and Brutus on he right

My model sis 

I made that lovely flower sash!

Cutest little glitter shoes ever!

Belly button! 

For my sister's invite, I used my friend Tori's etsy account, SweetBeeDesignShoppe. Check her out, she was soooo fast and customized the whole thing to my liking. 

Dinner was fabulous, the company was the best, and the gifts were darling. She was definitely showered in love and Capri will be spoiled with her outfits and baby gear. 

xoxo

Mandi

Easter

Happy Easter! 

I love this holiday. It's my favorite time of year, always have a happy get together with family, and it is a wonderful reminder of the reason for celebrating new life and hope. 

My parents bought Olive 2 Easter dresses that I just *had* to make a matchy matchy headband for! Love how it turned out. 

That Sunday was an exhausting one haha!

We snagged a quick family pic after church before we headed up to dinner with the Russell's. 

 

This family get together was at my sister in law Ali's house in Midway. Love it up there. Livi got to experience her first swing... And she had sooo much fun!!

After dinner we had an egg hunt!

Then a RZR ride with the cousins!

Liv really liked the RZR at first but then got really sad at the end & wanted to be done! I couldn't stop laughing at her expression... Mean mom!

Little birdie was exhausted afterwards so we packed up and headed home. It was so good to see the whole family again & to take a little moment to think of Christ and His sacrifice for us. On Instagram & Facebook a ton of people started tagging #becauseofhim with gratitude posts or things they are blessed with. I love that social media is becoming a means to spread the word of god and the modern day knowledge that we have. 

xoxo

Mandi

Project: Pillows!

It has been a very long time since I got into project mode... Spring is here and apparently that's when the project bug really bites! 

So one of my gifts for my birthday was from my awesome mother in law, and she gave me this grey comforter and pillow shams for our king bed. Love it!

But that's a "grown up" bedspread now and I need to have pillows on my bed other than the ones Micah and I actually use. 

So hunting I went! Each pillow individually was $20 for the cheapest, ranging up to $35-$40 per pillow! No thanks!

Of course my next step was Pinterest. I found this amazing DIY that seriously was SO easy! I really wanted a pillow case that had a zipper so I could toss them into the wash really easily. 

The pillows were so easy that I literally made 10 pillows in a day. So easy! Some projects I take on aren't worth all the effort I put into them, but these were so fast that you really don't need much sewing experience or time. Totes worth it. 

I bought my pillow inserts from Walmart and Hobby Lobby (of course!) although Hobby Lobby had the cheaper ones. If I wasn't being impatient I'm sure I could've found better prices on eBay. 

The fabric I also bought from Hobby Lobby (again not even a question). I bought the duck cloth thicker cotton material because I really wanted these pillows to look more professional than my other sad first attempts haha. I also bought zippers to go on each pillow because with a sneaky dog that creeps up onto my couch everyday, I wanted to be able to wash the pillow covers without wearing down the pillow itself. 

I followed the Pinterest DIY to the T and they turned out perfectly, took hardly anytime & I actually want to make more. I ended up making all 10 pillows for $60! Happy crafting!

xoxo

Mandi