Summer Happenings

 I found these ribbons in a dresser we got from my parents for our babies room.

They reminded me of a meme I saw on facebook the other day that made me laugh.

"I used to do cool things, 

but now days I find myself arguing 

with a miniature version of myself over using the toilet."

Isn't it true. :) The arguing has intensified as the she continues to age, but man I love her and getting to spend each day with her. Here are some of the little things we do each week during this summer so far.

 Eat lots of ice cream. This particular day we went to Baskin Robbins and as soon as I had paid I dropped my whole ice cream cone on the floor. Thankfully they were kind and replaced it for free. Clumsy me!

 Our library has an Ipad station kids can play on. Natalie loves this! She is a good sport about leaving when it is time, but man she savors her 25 minutes.

 This little girl is on a late night late morning schedule with how hot it has been during the summer. This particular day was a Monday after a long busy weekend and I think she slept until 9:45. Truly not a schedule I love, but the girls got to sleep sometime.

 She wasn't quite sure what to think about these billy bob teeth I had lying around. She tried them out as a hair clip.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Grocery Store Kindness

This Frozen arrangement has a very nice story behind it. A few weeks ago I was standing in the checkout line at Winco. An older man on the next row over came over toward Natalie and I. He commented on how beautiful she is and that he too used to have red hair.

Then he lifted his hat to reveal a bald head and said, "Though you wouldn't believe it, would you." 

With a chuckle and a thank you we both took our attention back to waiting anxiously to check out.

Well after about 30 seconds he came back over and held out his hand to mine and 

said, "Here, I want you to have this."

He gave me a folded up $20 bill. I tried to refuse, and say I can't take that. 

He just looked at me and said, I want you to take and buy her something special.

Then he quickly turned around and walked away.

My eyes teared up and my heart swelled with gratitude for that moment of kindness.

I took Natalie to Target one day and let her pick out a toy she wanted. I tried to talk her into a princess dress, but she had no desire for that. Instead she loved these little Anna, Elsa, and Olaf figurines. I find them around the house frequently posed in some random places. Anna and Elsa are nearly always staring at each other. She really loves carrying them around and talking about them. 

People's kindness is what makes this world a better place. Thank you dear old man, we think of you often and hope we can pay the favor forward to others.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day this year, we went on our last road trip for the summer to visit my family. We have always done a picnic after decorating relatives graves on Monday, and this tradition expanded to include a larger group of family four years ago. With my Dad's cousin coming into town from Tennessee and my Grandma's fragile health, we decided this would be a great opportunity to spend some time with family.

As always, Natalie enjoyed a lot of time with cousins. From baby Henley who thought Natalie was pretty cool to the oldest cousin Anna (13 yrs.) She spent mostly every day all day out in the sun soaking in the fresh air of the country. Her sun tan was a testament to this and her tiredness on the trip home.

It was a nice treat to see not only my family, but Justin's parents came as well since that is a good half way point between us and them. Jamie brought us a huge box of baby and little girl clothes that have stocked our dressers well for the summer and coming Fall.

This particular afternoon we were at my sister's home in Middleton and Natalie loved running around in her swim suit all afternoon. She also loved getting dried off in the big beach towels.We had a wonderful time and are excited to see them all again when our baby comes.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Pregnancy Update

30 Weeks this week.

It is surreal that we are this far along, but my body assures me that we are. 

I often get the question as any pregnant woman does, "How are you feeling?"

I never know the right answer for this.

There are so many emotions, thoughts and experiences that go into pregnancy. 

Being the honest person I am, I want people to know really how I am feeling,

 but then again I don't want to complain. 

I could easily spout off a list of the discomforts that my stretching and growing body goes through each day.

However, if I am looking for truth, that is truthfully only a part of how I am feeling.

I can also easily say pregnancy is an incredible mortal experience. 

 Creating a baby, feeling her moving inside of me, and dreaming of meeting her soon is a tender time that I do not want to soon forget.

 It is a blessing that I am trying to savor even in the moments I don't feel the best. 

I know this will be such a short chapter in my life, but I would guess it is one of the most special times as well. 

So today, I am feeling grateful and tired because it is time for bed and I am growing human being inside of me. 

10 more weeks little girl and we are excited to meet you!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

April Random Memories

 I am trying my hand at some container gardening this year since our back yard is still in construction mode. I am excited to see how it goes. So far I have planted a tomato plant, lemon thyme, radishes, and lettuce. I found several more pots at a yard sale for a couple of dollars and need to get them filled up. I am having a hard time deciding what else to plant. Definitely going to try some more herbs, maybe some more lettuce, and carrots?

 This is a really cute book about a duck who rides a bike on a farm. It is only blog worthy because Natalie has become obsessed with it. So much so that we returned it and had to recheck it out. I do love her saying "Duck on Bike," short and quick. We read it over and over again while potty training. I am getting pretty good at memorizing children's books these days. It is so great to have a library system that we can check these books out from. 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Good Morning Monday

Sunday's can be a long day for Natalie. 

Yesterday was especially so as she woke up at 6:30 a.m. and didn't go to bed until 9:30 p.m. 

She slept until 9:30 this morning.

 Justin made pancakes for us, but had to leave before she woke up.

 This was her saying good morning for a picture we sent him. 

I love that she mostly wakes up with a big smile on her face.

 
Justin and Ruth Blazzard

My Man

A couple of weeks ago Justin began the project of digging out a tree stump in our back yard. We need it out to help with landscaping the dirt patch. It was a far larger stump then I think either of us realized. He started one night after work, but didn't get much further than that couple of hours of work because it rained the rest of the week.

With all of the soil he had stirred up a robin came hunting for worms. This poor robin also started seeing his reflection in my windows. This caused him to repeatedly run into my windows day after day. They became filthy and he became known as the "naughty" bird by Natalie. I was annoyed.

Thankfully Justin was able to take care of the "naughty" bird, and my windows are once again clean. He also spent 3 hours on Saturday finishing up the removal of the huge tree stump.

He is such a hard worker and doesn't stop until the job gets done. He was also kind enough to put off digging out the tree stump to go and help some people move, and humor me by going with me to some yard sales. He does so much for others and is an example to me.

I listened to Sis. Burton's talk from General Conference this weekend and hope that Justin and I too can follow the proverb she shared, “Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together." Justin truly does lift me by the way he lives and show love to me, Natalie and others.


Justin and Ruth Blazzard