Cousins

Amelia enjoyed her cabin visit with her cousins, Spencer and Luke. They loved filling up cups with rocks and throwing them in bushes. They loved jumping on the bed in the stairs and going up and down any stairs. We attempted potty training, but no luck. We made a ton of yummy food, but she still insisted on eating chicken dinos. We watched a lot of movies, but she slept the entire ride home from Cedar Mountain to Los Angeles. A total miracle.

Fall

Living in LA we sometimes feel like we miss the seasons. Especially since it has been abnormally hot for incredibly way too long. (upper 90's in the first of October, not fun) When were at the cabin we got to see fall at it's finest driving through Cedar Canyon. It was like driving through a hall of oranges and yellows. The air smelled like campfires from a controlled burn in the canyon. On Saturday it rained and was cold all day. We got to enjoy the fireplace, warm bread, hot soup and snuggling in blankets. Driving home, we went through Cedar again and saw the leftover snow. I love this picture of the first snowman of the year. It was just sitting there melting on the side of the road. Thank you whoever made this. It made my day.

Answers

So for some of you who are dying to know what my lie was in a previous post here it is. I think all are worth telling a little something about.
1. I love speaking in front of perfect strangers I will never see again.
TRUE. I loved doing new employee orientation when I worked for Zions Bank. I loved doing the new volunteer sendoff for the last 2 years for WorldTeach. It is a rush that I love, but I hate speaking in church or when I was in school, class. Kind of weird.
2. I did not call Amelia by her first name for the first 10 days of her life.
TRUE. Amelia wasn't my first name choice, but it was the first name we both liked and had family significance. It seemed so weird to call her that, but now I can't imagine her as anything else. It was kind of opposite for me and Ben. I had to convince Phil a little and once we said that was his name, I can't get enough of it.
3. I often wake up in the middle of the night laughing.
TRUE. It makes Phil so mad for some reason. And then when I realize he's mad, it makes me laugh even harder,but the silent kind that will shake the bed violently, and it's really hard to stop.
4. I don't enjoy reading.
TRUE. I feel like I should and so, I am often filled with guilt that people talk about books and I have no burning desire to read them. I feel like it is a chore to finish most. I think I feel like this because IF I have down time to read, I am too busy cleaning up after 3 people or I would rather be doing a project. But on the upside, I have been pleasantly satisfied after finishing a large chunk of books, especially most of them I read in the RMI.
5. I cannot leave the house without leaving a note or telling someone where I am going.
FALSE. Maybe because as a child, we were expected to leave a note if we were going in the backyard. I kind of hate people knowing my business. In college, I would often stay in my room and be as silent as possible so no one would know I was home and "escape" once I thought they were all gone. Once I had a neighbor that would leave their door open at all times so they could talk to everyone walking in and out. Sometimes I would be trapped in the apartment for hours waiting for them to leave so I could. It's completely insane, and I am getting a little better.
6. There is a spot on my back if you touch I will instantly get the shivers no matter how many times you do it.
TRUE. And Amelia has the same spot. Makes haircuts sometimes challenging.
7. I do not like cinnamon.
TRUE. Unless it is cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon hot chocolate is the worst. Or really any cinnamon and chocolate combo. It makes me instantly gag. I don't like apple pie because of the cinnamon, apple cider and especially snickerdoodles. Just the smell really gets to me and this has been the case for years. Even before pregnancy and morning sickness messes all that up.
8. I am slightly less than terrified of the ocean.
TRUE. When we lived in the Marshall Islands I had to do breathing techniques and close my eyes whenever we had to fly on those tiny airplanes over endless, endless ocean. I get major anxiety going over bridges and I have no desire to ever go on a cruise because of this. I am a little better in boats or watercrafts, but if I fall out, I panic. I just got in the ocean a few weeks ago for the first time since the RMI, but only waist deep and that was enough creepiness for me.
9. I don't believe in love at first sight or "the one".
TRUE. This kind of makes Phil sad, but I think that there are lots of people that could be your "soul mate". It just depends on where you are and who you are happy being with at the time you decide to make that kind of commitment. I am sooo glad it was Phil. He's the best match I think I have ever come across for me.
10. I have had a slew of nicknames in different times of my life including V, Ronnie, V-Dub, Nast, Nica and Vern and I am kind of particular about only certain people using them.
TRUE. I am not really in love with the nickname Vern at all, but a lot of people use it. I keep hoping that it's a phase that will end, especially before Amelia starts calling me that. I think that there are about 3 people who I can see calling me Vern for the rest of our lives and it not seeming weird.
11. The last time I wet my pants was in the 8th grade.
TRUE. Contrary to what Tyler thinks. Walking home from school. I didn't like using the bathrooms so I would sometimes hold it all day. On this day, I didn't make the 6 blocks I had to walk home in time. I told my mom I fell in a puddle on the walk home. I am sure she knew what happened because the water mark from that is pretty unique, but I think she said nothing because she didn't want to embarrass me more than the humiliation I felt walking my neighborhood with a pee stain.
Hope you all enjoyed.

Another great quote

Amelia was helping me change Ben's diaper and he started to pee everywhere. Amelia then says, "Oh no, Ben everywhere. Ben toilet." (she has a hard time with including verbs) I liked her sweet reminder to Ben that he is supposed to do that in the toilet like she is supposed to. I think one of the joys of being the older sibling is you get to point out all the things your little brother isn't doing right. Hope it makes you smile like it did for me.

Klea

This is Amelia's little friend Kalia who she calls Klea. Apparently they have to be broken up in nursery because they are holding hands or hugging each other way to much. They are always squealing when they see each other. If you look closely, even their little feet have to be touching while they watch TV.

9 Truths and a Lie (plus 1)

Kathy, (my BFF from high school, and yes I did just use BFF) did this on her blog and wanted us to do the same. It has taken me a while to dream up some. I hope they are a little challenging, and I had to add one more because I thought some were funny stories to divulge. Let's see who thinks they know me the best.

1. I love speaking in front of perfect strangers I will never see again.
2. I did not call Amelia by her first name for the first 10 days of her life.
3. I often wake up in the middle of the night laughing.
4. I don't enjoy reading.
5. I cannot leave the house without leaving a note or telling someone where I am going.
6. There is a spot on my back if you touch I will instantly get the shivers no matter how many times you do it.
7. I do not like cinnamon.
8. I am slightly less than terrified of the ocean.
9. I don't believe in love at first sight or "the one".
10. I have had a slew of nicknames in different times of my life including V, Ronnie, V-Dub, Nast, Nica and Vern and I am kind of particular about only certain people using them.
11. The last time I wet my pants was in the 8th grade.

Sound of Music Sing-a-long

Friday night, Philip got some tickets to this Sound of Music sing-a-long. It was at the Hollywood Bowl, which we have never been there before. It is an outdoor amphitheater and you can bring your picnic basket and sit outside and eat and watch. We were able to get box seats, which meant we had a little box with a table and chairs. It was nice to keep Amelia contained and we got some yummy fruit and pitas with hummus. People come dressed up and then they get on stage to show off their costumes, then they are voted for. The winner, a bunch of kids dressed up as the notes from "do ray me", won a cruise, so not too shabby for dressing up. They hand out little cards, edelweiss, a fabric square and a little champagne popper noisemaker for everyone to use in different parts of the movie. Amelia LOVED it. She stayed awake until a little after the intermission. She loved that everyone was singing. She loved holding up her cards. She liked hissing at the baroness and the Nazis and she loved it when everyone held up their cell phones during "Edelweiss". This person has some great pics from last year, but you get the idea of what it was like and the shear beauty and mass of the Hollywood Bowl. We only took 1 pic with Phil's phone that came out. It was one of the greatest things we've done in LA in a long time.