Baby Blues

I absolutely love blue eyes! I've always dreamed of having a blue-eyed child. When I married a man with dark eyes, I figured my shot at a blue-eyed beauty was gone. But as luck would have it, I got what my little heart desired--a baby with blue eyes. Sometimes I would get angry with those who told me that "all babies have blue eyes. Hers will probably change." Behind my anger, though, I secretly believed it was true. But after 3 1/2 years, Makayla's eyes are still very blue.

Gotta love those recessive genes!!

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

Today is my baby's birthday. It's crazy how fast this past year has gone by. For my birthday tribute to her (which is for my benefit more than hers) I'll take you through her first year of life. And if you've read my blog before, you can probably guess that I've done it in pictures.

The day it all began.

My favorite picture from her newborn days. She's 5 days old here.

She was such an easy infant. She was completely content to just watch me, even at 2 months old.

I thought for sure she would be a thumb-sucker after this shot. But this is really the only time she has ever sucked her thumb.

Typical Ellie shot: just hanging out. This time in a cute outfit from Old Navy.

This is one of 3 pictures I have of her crying. I thought I should document it since it didn't happen very often. I can't even describe to you what a good and easy baby she was compared to her sister. If you knew Makayla as a baby, you completely understand.

My sister made this outfit for Ellie. I think the hat is so funny. I also laugh at the face she is making in this photo. She's around 4 months old.

6 months old with crrraaaaazy hair!

7 months old

Not quite 8 months old. I let her have a piece of chocolate Twizzlers. She obviously loved it.

She went through a phase where she was constantly sticking out her tongue. Wait! What am I talking about...she's still in that phase.

See. What did I tell you?

(9 months old)

Finally at 10 months she got her first tooth. She put it to good use, too. She stole Makayla's apple and crawled under the table with it. I watched her to see how long she would stay under there with it. She ate about half of that apple before she emerged. Boy, was she loving that!

Peek a boo! A favorite game of hers. (11 months old)

Ellie loves to play "dress up." Even though she can't actually put her own clothes on, she loves to try. This is Ellie opening presents at my parents' house on Thanksgiving. I thought it would be fun to do presents with a little bit of family around.

Loving on her new glow worm baby.

Ellie in all her 5-toothed, 1-year-old glory!

Happy Birthday, Ellie Belle! I sure love you!

Little Boy Humor

I about fell off my chair when I read this post. I'm just a little nervous to have conversations like that if I ever have a son. Skip on over to Notes from the Trenches if you need a good laugh.

Thanks, Marilyn, for the heads up on this one.

The Great 2008 Calendar Debate

I'm a little obsessive about my yearly calendar. I used to carry around a planner, but now I just have a wall calendar. It hangs in a prominent spot in my kitchen (the hub of my household) so that I can keep close tabs on upcoming events. ie: birthdays, anniversaries, paydays, school events, and so on. Since I look at my calendar a bazilion times a day, I want to make sure it's one that I like.

I've been debating over the past week whether to get the Pioneer Woman Calendar or the Dirty Dancing Calendar for the upcoming year. They are both about the same price, so that really didn't help me decide anything. So I've been thinking of other factors to help me choose. Dirty Dancing is one of my all time favorite movies. And there may not be a calendar for next year. PW will probably have another calendar next year, but this year she is donating part of the proceeds to Special Olympics, a worthy cause especially since Kasey and I have a friend who participates in Special Olympics.

So I asked Kasey to decide for me. I told him the choices, and he immediately vetoed Dirty Dancing. Personally, I didn't think that was very fair since I let him buy a Star Wars calendar that I had to stare at for the entire year of 2006. And which is still currently hanging above my desk because, "It's just cool." And he faithfully changes it every month so we can make sure to see every picture again.

But to come to the real point of my post today, I was shopping in Walmart and just for kicks stopped at the 2008 calendar display in the center of the main isle. There were the usual calendars for sale: Anne Geddes, Sports Illustrated, High School Musical, Humane Society Pets, Spider Man, and Tinker Bell, along with a few others. Then I spotted it. The clear winner in my 2008 calendar debate.

It seems so silly to be this excited over a calendar; nevertheless, excited I am. When Makayla saw me toss it in the cart, she said, "Look mom, it's your show." Oh how I love Grey's Anatomy! (Oh how I secretly love/hate Michelle for introducing me to it!)

When I got home, I started flipping through to find my favorite--McDreamy. *sigh* It might be April for 12 months next year.

Hooray for finding a 2008 calendar. And hooray for it being $5 cheaper than the other choices. What a happy day!

In contemplation of parenthood, the good trumps the bad.

I've read several posts recently--like this one and this one and this one. Oh and this one, too--that really have me reflecting on the good and not so good things of parenthood. So, here are my lists.

Not So Good
1. Being puked and pooped on. Although I have to say that the puking has slowed down considerably. And come to think of it, I haven't been pooped on in a while either.
2. My house is in constant disarray. It's so aggravating! I am learning to deal with it. What else can I do? I can't spend my whole day cleaning.
3. The doctor bills seem to be never-ending what with well-checks and colds and ER visits in the middle of the night.
4. Disciplining. I realize that it's necessary and important, but it's one of my least favorite things to do. It's right up there with
5. Bath time. I hate giving baths. Obviously I do it because children need to be cleaned, but I hate, hate, hate bath time. I hate it so much that I don't allow toys in the tub as they prolong the dreaded event. They're in, they're out, they're done. That's how we do it at my house.

Good, Sometimes Great
1. Being completely crazy. One of the best parts of my day is when we crank up the music and dance around like crazy people. I love that part of my job description is making my children laugh. It allows me to show a side of myself that I rarely, if ever, show to anyone but my girls.
2. Teaching my children and watching the light bulb go on when they've finally got the concept.
3. Once the girls are finally asleep at night, I love to sneak back in their room and watch them sleep. It's so peaceful just watching them. It's the perfect end to my day. Watching them and listening to them breathe quietly reminds me how much I love them. It seems to erase all the things they did during the day that frustrated me.
4. Being a stay-at-home mom. I'm so lucky that I'm the one who gets to see all the "firsts" and every cute thing the girls do and say every day.
5. Seeing my husband turn into daddy when he's around our children. If you've seen this with your own husband and children, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You also know that this is not just a good part of motherhood, but a great part.
6. Receiving hugs and/or kisses from my children is just. . . I don't know. It's amazing! I definitely feel like a mother when their little arms wrap tightly around my neck.
7. Three little words: I love you. They are the best. There is something about hearing my child say those words to me that cements forever in my mind the fact that I am a mother. It's amazing how three small words can erase all that's bad in this world and right every wrong. For me, it's the greatest part of being a parent.

Now I'm curious. What are some of your best and worst things about being a parent?

A couple of cutie-patooties

After a painful hour of trying to figure out how my new scanner works, I finally have these photos to present to you.

My sister gave them to me in a super-cute frame for my birthday. She also gave me this photo

which was taken in Yellowstone National Park this summer when we vacationed there.

Please allow me a moment to toot my own horn. My girls are so freakin' cute! Okay I'm done.

She saved the day....or at least my hair!

Hooray for my sister! She was at my mom's house on Thanksgiving and fixed my hair. Then she taught me an easy way to style it. I timed how long it took to do it this way. From just out of the shower to completely finished hairdo is 13 minutes. Not too shabby!

I got a lot of compliments in church yesterday, which was great! I love getting compliments. It really boosts my self-esteem, but the number made me think to myself, "Wow! Was my hair really that bad before?" Hmmm...

At any rate, I am loving my new hair. Yay for sisters!

More of my silly 3-year-old

I've been working with Makayla on her reasoning skills lately. Today I was asking her stuff like What do you do when you are hungry? What do you do when you are thirsty? What do you do when you are cold? What do you wear when you go swimming? What do you do when someone does something that you don't like?



I ask her question after question like this to get her to learn cause and effect. It's something her preschool teacher told me would be very good in helping her develop her problem-solving skills.



I asked her What do you do when you want something? Her response, "I say, 'Trick or Treat!'"



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *




Makayla saw this picture today while I was looking at an email. She exclaimed in horror, "Oh No!! He dropped his head!"

Conversation with a 3-year-old

This morning as I was getting breakfast for my girls, I had this conversation with Makayla.

me: Makayla, let's hurry and get ready so we can go see grandma and grandpa. Do you want to see them?

her: Oh, yeah! I want to see my grandma. But my grandpa's in Texas.

me: No, he came back from Texas. Now he's with grandma.

her: Well, I can just go see my grandma and my grandpa.

me: okay. Well, let's clean up the house and pack our bags. Then when daddy gets home we can go.

her: To see my grandpa? But he just lives in Texas.

me: No, he doesn't live in Texas. He was just visiting Texas. He lives in Idaho with grandma.

her: He lives in Idaho? with grandma? (pause) Oh, yeah. They do. How 'bout we go to Idaho.

me: Okay. Sounds good.

her: I want to go see great-grandma. And I want to play with my great-grandpa.

me: Does your great-grandpa play with you?

her: Yep! We go outside and do this. (she mimics picking up leaves and putting them in a bag.)

me: Okay we can see them too. Do you know they live in Idaho, too? The same town as grandma and grandpa.

her: They do? (astonished look on her face) That's pretty cool!

me: Yeah, that is pretty cool.

her: May I wear my dress to see grandma?

me: Yes you may. Grandma will say, "Oh Makayla! You look beautiful in your dress!"

her: No she don't! She says I look "wonderful."

me: Grandma says that to you?

her: No. Just great-grandma says "wonderful."

me: (laughing a lot but not saying anything)

her: Oh no! Spiders live downstairs. They go "kickle, kickle, kickle." (pretends her fingers are the legs of a spider and crawls across the table.)


So, I sat down to type this out and Makayla came running into my room with a clementine in her hand.

her: Mom. Can you open this peach?

me: sure.

her: I run in here real fast!

me: You did?

her: Yeah! I run like a antelope! I went run, run, run, run. (pretending to run. not moving her feet, just pumping her arms like she's running) Real fast like a antelope.

me: (stifling a laugh) Is that how an antelope runs?

her: Yeah. It goes real fast. Daddy hit a antelope with our big car. But he's okay. He goes run, run, run to his mommy. And he's okay now.

me: That's right. (handing her the pealed clementine)

her: Thanks

Then she walked away.

I love having a 3-year-old. Most of the time. I love moments like these: the completely honest thoughts of my 3-year-old spilling out of her mouth for me to cherish and enjoy. She really cracks me up sometimes.

A long history of hair that boils down to one simple question

Someone told me once, "When you need a change in your life, but can't make it happen, you cut your hair." That is such an accurate quote for my current situation. I really want a change. I desparately need a change. But as that is not in the cards for us right now, I decided to cut my hair. Let me rephrase that. I decided to completely chop my hair.

Now, I've had many hairstyles in my life. If I had a picture of all of them, I'd post them because I love using pictures in my posts. But since I don't, I'll simply describe some of them to you. I started out this life with crazy hair.

It looked a lot like Ellie's hair in this picture: sticking straight up with a mind of its own. Then it grew out and I had long, stick-straight hair with bangs until 3rd grade. Then, I got a perm which made my head look like a triangle. And not in a good way. But I don't think triangle heads are ever really that great unless you are from the pointed city where everything has a point. (Just like this post has a point which I will eventually get to.)

So, I did the permed-hair thing for about 3 years. Then, I got to middle school and realized that permed hair was no longer the cool thing. So, I grew out the curls and started placing GIANT ribbon bow clips in my hair. This I really wish I had a picture of because it would make you pee-your-pants laugh. And where I got the idea that giant ribbon bows were cooler than permed hair, I will never know.

I think 8th grade was probably where I had my most boring hairstyle. It was a chin-length bob with bangs, and it worked. Then I moved on to high school. That was a pretty big deal, of course, and I needed a hairdo that would stand out. So my sister, who was going to cosmetology school at the time, gave me an a-line bob which I absolutely loved! I would have that haircut again except that it only looks good for about 3 weeks before it needs to be cut again. And it took me about 45 minutes to style. And really, what mom has that kind of time to devote to styling her hair. My answer? Not a mom with small children.

I eventually grew my hair long again. When I was ready for another change, I didn't cut it. I colored it. Yep, it was blonde highlights for me. Senior year was the biggest change. I went from hair that went to the center of my back to a super short cut. It looked like this, but shorter in the back.

Of all the hairstyles I've had, that was my favorite. It seriously took me longer to wash my hair than it did to style it. But eventually I missed having long hair to run my fingers through. So I started the 5 year battle of short vs. long hair. I've been wearing various styles of long for the past few years all the while wrestling with myself about cutting it super short again. The thing with short hair is that I always end up wanting long hair again. And so begins the 6 month journey of horrible hair while I wait for it to grow.

So, now that you are up to speed on the history of my hair (is anyone still reading, I wonder?), we come to my hair appointment today. I should have know that it would not be a good experience when I, first, showed up 2 hours early, and then, came back 5 mintues late. I had this perfect picture of the hairstyle I wanted.

Isn't it adorable? I asked the lady cutting my hair if this would be an easy hair cut to style. She gave me this long speech about "I've never cut your hair, so I don't know how it will be, blah blah blah." After a much-too-long dicussion, we decided to do a longer version of this. That way, I could still tuck the layers behind my ears. Then, if I decided that I wanted it shorter, she could always trim a little more. What I ended up with, to me, looks nothing like this photo.

My friend, Candace, really likes it, but I just can't decide. Do you like it? or should I go back and have her trim it a little. Aaarrrghhh!! I just don't know what to do!!! Please! Tell me what to do!

Have you seen the most viewed video of all time on YouTube?

I'm not really sure how I found this video, exactly, but it will give you a good laugh.

I'm thankful for a lot of things

Here are some of the many things for which I am thankful . . .

My Family,

cute girls with cute pigtails,

a freezer


and cupboard full of food,


a shelf full of the "best books",

electricity (even if I didn't have 5 light bulbs budgeted),

a job that pays the bills and supports our family,

modern conveniences and a pretty bowl full of fruit,

disposable diapers (even though they are expensive,

they are totally worth it!),

movies that my children love,

movies that Kasey and I love,

a dead bolt to keep the crazies out

and a child-proof door handle to keep the children in.

Deception: Is it worth a grape or two?

I totally love this post about how we deceive our children for the sake of a few fruits and vegetables. Once again Mom-101 has given me something to think about all while making me laugh. She's the best! You should check her out.

A nod toward Thanksgiving

It was brought to my attention that I should not forget Thanksgiving in my attempts to be festive in my blog decorating. So, here's a little nod toward Thanksgiving: how to carve a turkey. (You will want to turn the Christmas music off in order to hear the instructions on the video. When the video is over, you may resume Christmas music.)

Pumpkin Orange Cookies

When you make these cookies, be sure you have someone to share them with. Otherwise, you will end up eating each and every one of the 48 cookies that this recipe makes. When the lady gave me this recipe she gave me this same warning. But honestly, I didn't see how that could be possible. Oh Baby!!! She was not lying. I gave 6 cookies to a friend, Kasey ate 2 and took another 3 to work. That leaves precisely 37 cookies that were eaten last night and today!! I'm so ashamed. I did share a few with my girls, and they thought they were delicious as well. So enough telling you how good they are. Here's the recipe.


2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 15 oz can 100% pure pumpkin
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel

Combine flour, soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar in large bowl. Add egg, pumpkin, orange juice and orange peel. Mix well. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well again. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto un-greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until edges are set. Remove to wire racks and cool completely. Spread or drizzle glaze onto each cookie.

Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
6 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange peel

Mix until very smooth.
*This glaze is quite runny. If you like it a little thicker, simply decrease the amount of juice you put in.

I would have posted a picture, but I ate all the cookies before I remembered to whip out the camera. Next week when I make them again (with a friend this time) I'll snap a quick shot of these delectable goodies.

New Addition

I've visited several blogs in the last week that have music in the background. I was totally jeaouls, so I did a little detective work to figure out how to do it. My favorite was the blog that had Christmas music. I did a little search for some of my favorites, and the result is what you hear in the background. If you aren't ready for Christmas music quite yet, scroll to the bottom where you can turn it off while you are reading.

Yay! I really love it. So come on everyone!! Get in the Christmas Spirit!!

I might need help!

So, I've become seriously addicted to blogging. It's almost a little scary! Here's an example of just how bad things are getting. When Kasey works out of town, I put the girls to bed early and start blogging, sometimes until 3am. Which I guess is not too abnormal. I know other people who stay up way late playing on their computers. This is the one that really got me, though. I am so not a morning person, but I purposely got up 90 minutes early this morning so I would have uninterrupted blogging time. Yikes! I think I might need some help. Okay, to be fair to myself, I also wrote out my budget and paid bills. I got thinking about how all of this started, and I've come to a conclusion. It's definitely Jodi's and Paige's fault. Thanks a lot guys! (You know I love you, right?)

Random bits of information about me

I've spent a few days compiling a list of things about myself which you may or may not know about me.

I love hot chocolate. I prefer it from an envelope, not a canister, and Swiss Miss milk chocolate is my favorite brand. When I have the time to do it right, I heat equal parts milk and water in a pan. Then it's creamy without being overly sweet. And I like to drink it out of this mug, which is my favorite mug that my sister made for me as a wedding gift.

I make a to-do list everyday. I will invariably forget to do something important (like take diapers to church with me) if I do not write it down. Here's an example of one of my to-do lists. I literally write down everything. It's not enough to just write "clean livingroom" I have to write vacuum, pick up clutter, dust, and so on or stuff gets left out. Makayla got a hold of this list before I could finish my Tuesday To-Do's. So you can see that number one on Wednesday is "Finish Tuesday Stuff." Don't laugh. I know you want to, but don't.

My favorite scent for my home is cinnamon--like cinnamon bears, not cinnamon the spice you bake with. My second favorite scent in my home is that really clean, burn your nose hair kind of smell you get from cleaning with bleach. These are the scented oils I use in my apartment. the cinnamon & clove buds is by far my favorite!

I have no desire to ever go to Hawaii. Ever. I know it's supposed to be the dream vacation, or whatever. But seeing other people's pictures is quite enough for me. I'd much rather curl up in a cabin in Alaska reading Twilight while sipping my Swiss Miss made with half milk and half water.

I get a little freakish when it comes to budgeting. I think it goes back to my newly married days when we had less than no money. I budget every paycheck to the penny. For example, if we need light bulbs, but I haven't budgeted for them, I will wait until the following payday and then add them into the budget. But what if a bulb burns out and you don't have a replacement you say? Then I either steal a light bulb from the hallway or we use a flash light in that room until payday. Okay, so that is an extreme example (albeit a very true extreme example from a few years back). Now that we have a little more than no money, I budget for incidentals like that. But if we are running low on gas and there isn't any more gas money funds, we just plain don't go anywhere!

I get the most compliments when I wear a black or pink shirt. So, 90% of the shirts in my closet are either pink or black, or a blue so dark that it looks black from a distance. I'd show you a picture, but my closet is currently in desparate need of organizing. So for now, no picture of my closet. You'll have to take my word for it on the shirts.

And the last thing I'll write about me today is my love of small things. I can't get over how much I love mini versions of regular things. Some of my favorites are mini Sharpies, mini shampoo bottles that you get at motels, mini M&M's (even though I don't care for them taste wise, I think they are adorable), and mini soda cans (you know, the 8 oz size vs. the regular 12 oz size). I like visitng the travel section of Walmart for this very reason. Mini deodorant? I'm all over that!

So there you have it. Seven new things to know about me.

The yummiest Pico de Gallo and Guacamole that will ever pass between your lips

I've been thinking about a topic to blog about all day today. I love to write stuff, but I want to write something interesting not just something to take up space in the abyss.

So, I guess I'll post about this amazing recipe I tried last Friday. It's pico de gallo and guacamole. If you are a faithful reader of The Pioneer Woman Cooks, you may have already tried this recipe. But for those of you who don't read it and haven't tried this, you must immediately go to the store and buy the ingredients to make it. It's just that good.

Ingredients
5 firm Roma tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
1 small onion
1 bunch of cilantro
1 lime
salt
3 avocados

Instructions
Dice tomatoes and onion. Toss in a medium bowl. Seed jalapenos and dice. (If you like your pico to be spicy, use 3 peppers and leave the seeds in. I'm a whimp, and therefore, only used 2 peppers with no seeds. It was plenty hot for my taste.) Toss in with tomatoes and onions. Chop cilantro until it's fine, but not minced. Add to your bowl and stir everything together. Squeeze half of a small lime into the bowl. Add a couple of shakes of salt and stir.

Now for the guacamole part. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out the meat into a bowl (whatever size you deem appropriate). Mash with a fork, a pastry cutter (that's what I prefer), or the bottom of a clean cup (like Pioneer Woman). Salt lightly. Again, just a couple of shakes is enough. Add a generous scoop of the pico de gallo you just made. Stir it all together and serve with chips.


This is so delicious! It's a meal in and of itself. Well, at least I think so. If you are a visual cook, click here to see how pioneer woman did it. She gives pictures for each step. It's really quite fun to read through. So, enjoy your pico and guac.

Especially for Mad Hadder

It was driving me crazy not knowing that actor's name that we were talking about today in the parking lot. So, I went home and looked him up on www.imdb.com.

Robert Sean Leonard is his name. You can learn more about him here.

Looking for input on a book

I love to read. I've always been a reader. I currently have 2 books and 2 series on my "must read" list. I was browsing the archives of this blog tonight and found another book to add to my list: Comeback by Claire and Mia Fontaine. This is the particular post that made me want to read it. Any story that makes a proclaimed non-book reader fight with her mother, an avid reader, over a book surely deserves my attention. Plus, I vaguely remember hearing something about the authors at one point in time.

Has anyone else read it? I'm eager for input if you've read it or heard anything about it.

Farewell to a great teacher

Today I found out that my favorite teacher of all time, Judy Pedersen, passed away. So, as my little tribute to her, I'm going to tell you some of my favorite memories of her.

I remember the first day of Honors English. I was a sophomore. She was a legend. My three older sisters had been taught by her and told me all about the essays and books she assigned. I'd watched them for 5 years. They were constantly reading something or writing something for her class. Needless to say, I was intimidated. I remember where I sat in that first class: middle row, front seat. I wanted to glean everything I could from this woman about whom I'd heard so much. And I was not dissappointed. I was in complete awe of this wonder woman.

I absolutely loved her classes. Even though they were difficult--more difficult than anything I encountered in my 3 years of college--I loved them. Writing essays was not my favorite, and I didn't finish every book that was assigned to me. But I learned so much from her. Not just about what was written in books, but about life.

And who could forget "Quotable Quotes"? I slaved over those memorizations. I took that book everywhere with me. It became apart of me my Senior year. After high school when I had thrown everything else away, I clung to my QQ book. Even now, when I am going through boxes after yet another move and I come across my maroon and spiraled Quotable Quotes notebook, I close my eyes and try to remember. Remember the quotes. Remember reciting them. Remember writing them down so quickly and furiously on a test that I thought for sure my hand would have permanent damage. Remember that glint of pride in her eye when I did well. Yes, I remember well.

I've been out of high school for nearly 6 years now. But sometimes I still go home for the county fair or to see my parents. Occasionally I would run into Mrs. Pedersen in the store or at the fair. She was always so genuinely interested in how my life had turned out. I think that's what made her so special to me and to her other students: she truly cared.

I haven't seen her since September 2006, so it's not like I see her on a regular basis at all. But I will miss knowing that I will never again run into her at the grocery store. I will never again hear a lecture from her on Shakespeare, Chaucer, Wilder, or Wordsworth. I will never again choose to spend my lunch time in her classroom just so I could spend a little more time in the presence of this amazing person. I am saddened by this. But I take comfort in the knowledge that I once knew a great woman by the name of Judy Pedersen. And I will remember her and her impact on me for the rest of my life.

I will miss you, Mrs. Pedersen!

Missing my husband

Because I'm missing Kasey (he's working out of town this week), I thought I would post some pictures of the place we fell in love. That sounds a whole lot better than going to sleep in an empty bed. Although, when he's not here I don't have to worry about him stealing all the covers.


There's this great little path along the river in L-town where we used to walk in the evenings.

The path is nestled in the trees so it made me feel like we were alone (together) in a forest even though the city was all around us. It's very cozy and romantic-like.

This is a shot across the river to the path on the other side where we also walked.

A similar shot, but in the Spring when the Dogwoods were in bloom. We had our engagement pictures taken there under those beautiful pink blossoms.

Nope. I'd still rather have him here. Cover-stealing and all.