Ever since we moved into this place, I wanted to take those shutter blind things down because 1) they’re ugly, 2) some were missing, and 3) they’d break or fall down pretty easily. After Finn pulling one down again this week, I told TJ we would be picking out curtains that night because I was done with them. We picked out simple white curtains for both the door and windows, then headed to Home Depot for wood to use as the rods. I love it so much and can’t believe it took us so long to do it!
Yep. Church starts at 2:30 and, if you’re not familiar with the LDS faith, our church is three hours. So… you can image with kids, 2:30-5:30 is not the easiest time. I’ve been looking forward to Finn turning 18 months old for some time now because that would mean for the last two blocks of church, Finn would get to go to nursery and I would be kidless and enjoy Sunday School/Relief Society once again!
Well, the time came! Finn’s first class was last week and he did great. He cried for a minute when I dropped him off, but each time I checked in after through the window, he was playing or sitting nicely in the chair for singing time. It was adorable.
And since I’m already posting about church last week, Eva gave a little talk in Primary and it was so sweet seeing TJ help her. I’m grateful to have a husband who takes us to church each week and leads us in the gospel.
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2017-04-01 09:00:252017-03-30 17:35:362:30 Church
A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law had a presentation here in Utah so she and my brother came to down for the weekend. We got to spend a few hours with them up in SLC and explored the Capitol a bit. It was the first time for any of us going inside and we were all blown away with how beautiful it was.
Fun fact (sarcasm): Finn had a diaper blowout, I didn’t have diapers or wipes with me because I had thought we were just going on a short nature walk and I had just changed him (blowouts don’t happen anymore with this kid, so it was a surprise). It was one of the worst ones ever and was straight out of some movie where I was in the bathroom with him, trying to make the situation a little better, but the diaper had to be thrown away, leaving him diaper-less and sitting on my back in my ergo for another half hour. By some sort of miracle (and a lot of paper towels that I shoved down the front of his pants), he didn’t have any accidents and I was able to get a diaper on him without any leakage on my back. Oh man… of course it happened THAT day!
We have had a pretty great March, when it comes to weather. We’re back to cold days right now, but at least we had a bunch of warmer days where we spent all of daylight outside! We explored new parks and just hung out in the backyard quite a bit. Eva’s favorite thing to do right now is to go in the back BACK yard outside of our gate and play with neighborhood kids. It’s pretty adorable to see her meet new people, introduce herself, and enjoy being outdoors so much. I remember as a kid, we’d play in the woods and in the creeks all the time, so I’m glad Eva likes getting outside too!
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2017-03-31 09:00:212017-03-30 17:12:08Warmer Days
Somehow I’m now 28 years old. Time just flies. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my short 28 years, it’s that life just keeps going, no matter what. So, do what you love and make things happen. Sometimes that’s hard for me. Sometimes it’s hard to relax, get off routines, change up my schedule. But if you don’t do that, you won’t do the things you love. So… make time and make things happen. That’s kind of been my motto since last summer and it’s good to keep reminding myself of it.
Anyway, my birthday was nice! TJ surprised me with a cute (and of course, well designed) calendar with photos he had picked out for each month (some literally made me tear up remembering the memories!). Then on Saturday, we had lunch up at City Creek. We were going to shop for a while up there afterward, but Finn was quite a crankypants and needed a nap, so we went home instead. I got to go shopping at the outlets by myself with a 40% additional off at the Gap Outlet (thanks HJ), and then that night I watched the RS broadcast with my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws. It was a nice Pre-bday celebration. Oh and I should mention, my MIL took me and my SIL out for lunch and shopping the week before without our kids and it was such a great day! I’ve really been spoiled!
Then on my actual birthday, TJ brought me breakfast in bed. Because it was supposed to rain all day, I was pretty grumpy, I’m embarrassed to say. But he really tried so hard to cheer me up! I’ve also decided the next warm Saturday we have available, we are heading to the red rocks again for a birthday adventure to make up for it. Throughout the day, several people dropped off gifts, sent cards and packages, brought by treats, sent texts… honestly, so many people reached out and I am overwhelmed at how blessed I am. Thank you all for thinking of me. I’ve had a few things going on behind the scenes recently that have made this month a little harder than normal. I’m good, we’re good, don’t worry, but just know that every message/gift/treat was so appreciated! So THANK YOU!
As I mentioned last month, I’m on the Relief Society activities committee at church. If you’re not Mormon, then basically what it means is I help plan the activities for the women at church. This month was the anniversary of when the Relief Society was created, 175 years ago. We got to thinking as a committee about the theme “Bloom Where You’re Planted” and what the early Saints of the church went through. They sacrificed so much and had such great difficulties yet took what they were given and made the best of it. So, we wanted to use that idea for a Spring inspirational activity.
We had a Cafe Rio style salad bar along with a soda bar and beautiful cupcakes made by someone in our ward. It really turned out nicely, although I did learn a lot about planning a big dinner for a large group! We had an inspirational speaker who has been given five years to live by her doctors because of the type of cancer she has. She has “bloomed where she was planted” and is making the most out of her time and showed us why each day is a gift from God.
I’ve had a hankering to hike recently. Mostly a hankering to just get out and be in SUN. I noticed that Moab was supposed to be in the 70s last weekend so I convinced TJ into doing a day trip!
It was an absolute gorgeous day, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. We left around 8 am, got there at 11:30, ate lunch in Moab then we were in the park by 12:30. We just did all the little “hikes” since TJ and I had done the bigger ones before and Finn’s pretty heavy to carry on longer ones. Finn fell asleep in the car in between arches so for two of them, I just took Eva up while TJ sat in the car with Finny. We finished the night visiting TJ’s grandma which was a great evening and made it so the kids slept the whole way home. If you’re in Utah county with kids, I totally recommend doing this as a day trip. You could spend the night if you wanted so you could do a longer hike in addition to the others, but we thought it was perfect.
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2017-03-16 16:13:482017-03-16 16:13:48Arches National Park
Finn loves watching the moving Finding Dory (so does Eva, but Finn zones out when it’s on). He typically doesn’t care about the TV, but if the “ish” are on, he has to watch. So, when TJ went out of town at the end of February, I took them to the aquarium with TJ’s parents. It was such a great morning! I forgot how nice that aquarium is. I almost bought a pass, and still am debating if we should have or not. It really was a fun time!
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2017-03-08 09:00:092017-03-01 16:26:43Going to see the "ish"
https://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.png00Katiehttps://katiederrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/logo.pngKatie2017-03-07 14:00:412017-03-01 16:21:24Wrapping Up Winter
Finny got another haircut and it looked so cute! His hair just grows straight out, so the trick is to keep it short, I’ve finally realized. The bottom (before) picture makes me laugh so hard!
