Surprise from my Sweet, Shopping, Gramma Great, Girls night out, & Mac's Halloween Masterpiece

I've run myself into the ground again and didn't have enough umph to go to work Friday. Little did I know I was ruining Mac's plans for the day. He was a quick thinker though and made arrangements. Anna texted me and invited me to walk to Walmart to with the kids to pick out Phil's Birthday Present. He wouldn't let me take Zoey - I thought she'd really enjoy the ride. But I gave in and let him keep her at home. It was a hot sweaty walk, but I was in good company. I came home only to find myself locked out. Mac let me in, ordered me to keep my eyes closed and to go cool off upstairs. I didn't hear any baby sounds... so I wondered if Zoey was even there. He came up a few minutes later and said dinner would be ready in 5-10 mins. I finished reading a chapter of Mockingjay (excellent series by the way!) and changed and since he it looked like I had a few minutes to spare, I waited at the top of the stairs waiting for permission t0 come down. That's when I saw him scattering pink rose petals on the stairs. How romantico!

This is what I saw when I came down the stairs. I floral path on the way to this....
Yum! I know... isn't your mouth water right now at this gourmet salad, rice, tilapia covered in peach BBQ sauce!? (With chocolate molton cake in the oven?! YUMMA!
And more flowers!!! I'm soooo lucky to have such a talented thoughtful man!
Eric, Brynn & family were nice enough to watch Zoey while we enjoyed dinner and raced to Stadium 8 for the movie Inception. It was a relaxing refreshing evening! I'm sooo blessed!

Last night we took Zoey shopping to Macey's Caselot sale. She's a good sport and didn't fuss. She was just really tired - but I think she enjoyed the ride.
Here she is keeping track of our coupons! What a sweetie!

Cousin Shannon was up so we made a trip to see her (it's been about 8 years!) and Zoey got to visit with Gramma Dutson for a bit. We had a good time!

While the men were at the Priesthood Meeting Sat night, we had a girls night out! Here we are in the dressing room finding some new duds. I think this pic is sooo funny!

Zoey is growing sooo fast! Her neck muscles are strong and one of her favorite places to be (besides Grammy Pammy's) is in the bouncer that Chris & Wendi let us borrow. She always has a big grin when she's bouncing away. I love this little girl!

Her smiles are sooo sweet! We can't wait to share them with Gramma and PaPa Backerman!

This is what I see when I have to go back to work after my lunch break picking up Zoey from Grammy's and waiting for Mac to come home from school.
Mac is enjoying school! He made this meringue skeleton. Yum! Isn't it too cute to eat?

Catching up!

I don't know where the time goes... but here's a little of what we've done in the last little while. Our little Zoey is already 13 weeks/2 months.

Last night she went 7 hours of straight sleep! Yippee!

This morning I found her with her legs hanging out of the crib bars. This girl likes to travel!

Daddy was there to experience her first real laugh! What a cute little squeal she has. I hope to catch it on video soon!

These pictures are in no particular order.

She's developed quite the smile lately!

Mac made this amazing cheesecake at school! Soooo rich and delicious!

13 weeks! What a cutie!

I call this one raaaaarummm!

(I'm getting used to wet-slobbery shoulders)

Little Z is content and happy with her Daddy!

PPaz always wants in on the action too!

Little Z loves to be with people! I love that wide happy smile!

Batting the butterfly chime that Lanette gave us. It's a BIG hit! (Ha!)

She fell asleep while I was sewing in her room one night

Dinner that Mac made for us and our lucky dinner guests!

Grammy Pammy and her little buddy!

Play time at Grammy's really wears her out!

She is Daddy's Little Girl!

(What a lucky baby!)

I just love all the expression she makes.

Tues, March 2

Today I attended the funeral of Nedra Taylor (69 years). She was practically a legend in LR1 and the neighborhood. She was a bright spot for all of the young children because she gave them smarties at church and was also most recently "Sister Friendly" who shared stories (from "The Friend" magazine) during Primary. She was cheerful and had a deep love of God. I've had many good conversations with her and enjoyed listening to her testimony. She was burdened with health problems, but that didn't seem to keep her down. She was always involved with helping the community and others around her. I'll miss seeing her scoot along the road on her way to church on her little motorized chair/scooter. She has left a void and will be missed.


After the funeral Mom, Sue and I went to lunch. We went to Papa Kelsey's & Henry's (YUM!!!)- while waiting for our order, mom snapped this pic of me. Cute little Zoey is getting bigger, and is wiggling around a lot - and I'm really feeling it. Makes me wonder what the next few months will hold in terms of uncomfortableness. I can't wait to see what she looks like when she's done "cooking"

The Festival!

The Kansas City Renaissance Festival!

We spent Saturday having the time of our lives, wandering around the grounds, listening to talented musicians. Wathcing magic shows, and gypsy dancers, (I wasn't impressed with the crude pirates, but I liked their costumes).We got some stones from the Holy Land
(with our names written in Hebrew)
Very Cool!
Mom & Mac by a real live sun dial
(I couldn't believe how accurate it was!)Mac & Mom listening to Matty Striker!

Rapunzel!QueenKingUs & The Pirates
What a Handsome Knave!We didn't get to see an execution... but here's the guillotine.Yum! Cheesecake on a stick!
(It was soooo rich, Mac had to help me finish it.)

Axe Throwing!Mac rang the bell twice from his 3 tries!My Hero!
Corn Nuggets, Strawberry & Cream Pastry, & Sugared Almonds. YUM!!Right...At the end of the evening they have the town dance. I was terrified to change partners... but mom was able to get a shot of me dancing with the prince.I don't remember the name of this dance, (Mac knows) but it was super fun!After the dance, they have a song & performance.
(Notice the royalty on the balcony.)
There were several parades throughout the day, and at the very end was the executioner with a "The End" sign on his hiney.

Vacation!

It took me a while to catch up with everything, so I haven't had a chance to blog.
But here's a glimpse of what fun we had!

Megan's Birthday Party and her FAVORITE Uncle & Aunt!

Fishing with the Fam!

Just one of the many fish Mom caught.
I didn't catch any... but at least I figured out how to cast with Mom's guidance!
I felt a couple of nibbles, so maybe next time I'll be successful.

This may be one of my favorite pictures from our trip.
I love seeing a few of my favorite silhouetted against the sun set.
We spent a day in Joplin and enjoyed lunch at Long John Silvers. It's the first time I've ever been, and I even tried a fish taco. It was surprisingly good!

Check out these gas prices! In Logan, it's $2.57ishI've never seen a potato indiv wrapped and sold (look! it's from our very own ID!) so I had to take a picture!On our drive (I forget where) we saw a big frog in the road.
Mac got out to investigate.
(Aren't they cute together?!)