Swimsuits

I can't help but smile when I see this in our bathroom...

My Best Friend

We celebrated our 4th Anniversary yesterday, so here is a little picture to take you back to that glorious and highly anticipated day...the day in which I married my best friend, Kyle Dean.

August 26, 2006

We actually celebrated our anniversary a few weeks ago. Our theory is that no matter how poor we may be we still go "big" for our anniversaries! Marriage is a big deal and a gift that should be celebrated. We take turns every year surprising the other person with an "Anniversary Adventure." This year was my year to surprise Kyle. I had a bit of a challenge now that we have a little one that we get to incorporate into our lives. We weren't ready for a night away from Avlynne so I did my best to plan a little time for just the two of us and some fun time for the three of us. Here is a brief rundown of the adventure - lunch at Taste of India, Movie (Inception) while Grammy and Grampy Johnson babysat, picnic dinner of Bangkok Thai at Manito (until we realized they forgot to include forks), a night at the Davenport Tower (don't be afraid to wheel and deal for hotel rooms, its amazing the deals you can get if you just nicely work at it), breakfast at Madeleines, a walk around downtown Spokane, and last but not least, Avlynne's first time in a swimming pool!

And to top off an already fabulous anniversary my best friend brought me home the perfect gift, a day planner for 2011. I love practical gifts and I love this specific style of day planner. Around every November I begin the search for my new one. The 2 criteria are that it must be this certain style and it must be cute since I will be looking at it for an entire year. Well, my husband outdid himself when he brought home this ADORABLE day planner. Not only did he get the perfect one but he has eliminated something off of my yearly to-do list! Way to go babe, I love it and I love you!

FroYo Earth

Go there, its fun (self-serve) and delicious! Avlynne is not a huge fan however because she so badly wants to try some but Mom and Dad say "Not yet Av, you have to be a little bit bigger." Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this new Frozen Yogurt shop is conveniently located between Manito Park, where we like to go on evening walks, and our home. It totally takes me back to my yogurt slinging days at Didier's, oh and did I mention that its delicious!

Olivia thought the yogurt tasted better after it had been on her face.

Avlynne enjoyed Titus' curls

Here is our best attempt at a group shot...maybe next time we should try it before the kids consume large amounts of sugar.

To-Do Lists

Wow, I am awful at this whole Blog posting thing. To be honest I procrastinate at anything that requires writing - thank you notes, emails, journals, college papers. It is an absolute miracle that I actually graduated from a liberal arts college, with a degree in Religion nonetheless. And that I am a year away from completing my Master's degree. I think that being in school requires so much writing that by the time I am done with my papers the last thing I want to do is write more. The issue lies within my "slight" tendency to be perfectionistic. My theory is that if you can't do something right the first time (or at least the second time) then why do it? To me there is no perfectly right way to write and it frustrates the heck out of me. By just changing one word, things can be totally different, not necessarily right or perfect but different. The ambiguity overwhelms me, yet the freedom excites me! I can write whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want on this Blog and I need to remember that, rather than look at it as just another assignment.

The one kind of writing I do enjoy is making To-Do lists! I am definitely the kind of person who will add things to my To-Do list that I have already done just so I can receive the pleasure of checking those items off. Pure Bliss! So, I have a list I have been keeping of all kinds of ideas for Blog Postings. I don't think that this one was on the list though...must add and check off! I am constantly writing in my head but it is usually at the most inopportune times like when I am on a walk with Avlynne, driving in the car, taking a shower, in class or while nursing Avlynne. These activities don't usually go well with typing at the same time. I refuse to be that person in the back of the classroom typing away, making an obnoxious taping noise, pretending to take notes when there is absolutely nothing to be taking notes on. Don't get me wrong, I fully support the idea of multitasking, I just think the task should be a less disruptive one, like making a To-Do list for instance. And my daughter is going through a phase of becoming highly distracted while eating. I used to be able to talk on the phone, read, watch TV, catch up with KJ, you name it, but now I must be in a perfectly quiet room if I desire her to eat in a timely fashion. In other words, the ideas just build up in my brain, make it on to a list and then stay there. I have a few weeks off from school and therefore I'm hoping some of these ideas will actually make it on to this Blog. Here is my dilemma though, I have a list with Blogging as an item...do I get to check that off after I have completed this one post or do I have to wait until I have completed my list of ideas? Does anyone else ponder these "HUGE" life issues?? I hope not, but if you do I am grateful for your company!

The real reason I desire to write this blog and keep it up to date is because I feel like I need to maintain some kind of written history for my family. Lets be honest, the scrapbook thing isn't working for me. The last era of my life that I scrapbooked was my junior year of college which was in 2002. If I haven't been able to keep up a scrapbook while I was without a child, I definitely won't be able to keep one up now. KJ and I purchased an adorable baby book but I have already neglected to complete the information for the 1st 5 months of Av's life and my memory fails me all the time. Those first few months of her life are already a complete blur.

Whenever I do think about blogging, my mind quickly goes to a list of other more pertinent items that must be taken care of - homework, bills, dishes (does anyone want to donate a dishwasher and the necessary plumbing to the Johnson household?), laundry, cooking. Blogging never quite makes it to the top but for some reason looking at random, rather useless information on Facebook does...this is a temptation I must strive to resist! I can do it! Maybe I should add "Not looking at Facebook" to a To-Do list. I aspire to be like my many friends who diligently update their Blogs. I thoroughly enjoy reading them, I just want to have my own, if not for anybody else's sake but my own, to help my failing memory. My blog may not be as witty or as enthralling as the next one but it will be my perfectly, imperfect blog with my perfectly, imperfect writing.

So all this is to say that I will give myself grace, I will keep completing To-Do lists, I will keep checking off my To-Do lists and I will continue to make some attempts at this whole Blogging thing.