Love is in the air

Every time the season changes I think, "It's official, ________ is my new favorite season." With that being said, I love spring! I love seeing birds on the lawns and in the trees. I love that when I go outside for my morning run I have to be careful not to squish the worms because they are all out on the sidewalks. I love the blossoms on the trees, especially the pink blossoms. They are absolutely stunning!
Last night as I walked to the church loaded up with tablecloths, a sack full of basketball jerseys, and enough papers to fill a small book. I was in awe at the rows of pink trees lining sidewalk and what looks like hundreds of lavender plants in the middle of the road. It gets better, it was just starting to rain and  the maintenance workers had just mowed the lawn of the church. So literally all of my senses were being engaged. (I was in a hurry so I was trying to gulp down the last few bites of dinner. That has nothing to do with spring and the pretty trees, but it did make it possible for me to be honest when I said ALL of my senses were engaged.)
Another reason why I love the spring so much is because it means more sunshine to play outside.

Cameron and I were exploring Mercer Island a few weekends ago and saw a park while we were walking around. This was Addie's first time on a swing. From the smile on her face I think that it's safe to say she loved it. I love this picture so much because it comes close to capturing moments that I love. Let me explain. 

1. I love my husband so much. He is an incredible man and an even more incredible father. He loves Addie so much. (I don't blame him, she's pretty darn cute) and will do anything for her. He frequently tells me his new favorite thing about her. Lately, his favorite thing is when he does something goofy and weird, she looks at me with a smile as if she's saying, "ya, he's weird huh!" 

When he comes home from work everyday, it really is like a firework show just went off inside of her. She explodes with excitement and joy. This is nothing new, when I was pregnant with her she'd do the exact same thing. She was so much more active when he got home. He's always felt a need to protect her and all 10 months of life so far, he's done great. 

2. I love how genuinely happy Addie is. I'll admit, swings are fun but there is nothing incredibly spectacular about a swing. However, for Addie it looks like she's having the time of her life doing something so simple. I've tried implementing that thought into my life. I try and be, like Addie, satisfied with the simple. 

This past month and a half or so, Cameron have made an attempt to eat healthier. Not that I'm a horrible cook or anything, I just don't always cook with health in mind. This all started with Netflix. We've watched a few documentaries on food and the importance of eating healthy. They were inspiring to say the least. We've always known the importance of diet and exercise, I just didn't know how off the mark I was. The one we have watched multiple times is called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Check it out, it'll give you something to think about. We've had a mostly plant based diet and we've loved it! 

In our efforts to fix the things we need to fix we've added two new members to our family. Yes, they are that important to me. With the help of my adorable model, let me introduce them. 

This is Wheatly. I adore her. Since my mission I've liked the name Wheatley but since that's apparently weird I'll never get my wish of naming an actual child that so my wheat grinder will have to do. She makes the best stuff! She is quite, fast and an absolute dream!

The second member of our family is Judice. We set her up in the morning and have fresh juice all day long. We've had some awesome fresh juices because of her. We've tried about every fruit and vegetable imaginable. They've all been pretty good whether we've followed a recipe or just created our own. There have been a few that we've had to just close our eyes and chug and some I've sipped slowly trying to make them last longer. The worst one BY FAR was the onion one. I can't remember what else was mixed in with it, but it was gross! It made us both sick. I feel like puking just thinking about it. I honestly won't ever EVER do that again. I think that will be our punishment for our kids when they get older. Seriously, it was that bad. 

I don't know about Cameron but I've lost a few pounds due to Judice. I have every intention of out living her because of her. 

With this new found love for having a healthier diet, it's like we're starting new. Speaking of new, we had New Beginnings for young women's this past Tuesday. What a relief to have that over! It was fun, but I sure am glad it's only once a year. 

It really wasn't all that stressful to plan until the morning of the event. This is a copy of our invitation. As you can see, it's basketball themed which means the gym would kind of be a necessary part, right? Well, that morning I got a text message saying that another ward was in the gym setting up for their Relief Society birthday dinner. WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!! I was slightly furious, and freaked out. What was I going to do?This was my biggest nightmare coming true. I prayed then went to work trying to make different arrangements.  Soon after this frustrating news when I checked my e-mail there was 20 new emails of pictures from one of the moms (the only mom in the ENTIRE ward that scares me a little bit) asking for her daughter's pictures to be included in the slideshow. Ya, I couldn't have hit my panic mode button any quicker. I called the mom and explained that her daughter was included in the program last year. It was a tender mercy that she was very kind and understanding but I was FREAKED OUT! So with that dilemma taken care of I moved onto the other one. After a few phone calls and millions of prayers later, it was decided that we'd just have to make it work in the relief society room.  

I got there at 6 to get things situated and it actually worked out. We had about 25 people show up which was just enough to fill the room without feeling claustrophobic. Have I said before how much I LOVE my bishop? Bishop McDonald is such a wonderful man. He gave the most inspiring talk relating the gospel to a basketball game. I was truly touched. Looking back on how it all played out I can honestly say I think it turned out better to be in a smaller room. Everything worked out and all were edified. (I'm hoping so at least) 

My wonderful husband was so, well, wonderful. He was such a good man to keep running home to get things I'd forgotten, doing all of it while feeding Addie who was strapped to his front. As a side note, we live next door to the church so it wasn't like I was asking him to drive 50 miles, but he was such a good sport about me being so frazzled.  It was hard for me to imagine how I could love him anymore than I already did, but after that night he was that much more wonderful to me. 

Well, that's us for now. Living life and loving it!