a baby shower.

chelsea's shower turned out just great. don't you love stressing about something that totally does NOT need to be stressed about? well that was this shower. i couldn't have done it without my MIL all the way over in hawaii. she helped even from all those thousands of miles away. we had the shower at james' grandma's house in salt lake and i'm so grateful to her for letting us use her house. it was just way more convenient for everyone invited. 

i didn't get a picture of the buffalo chicken dip i made. chelsea's fave. that stuff is addicting. so delicious and no picture to document it. that's what happens when i'm hosting. we've talked about this before right? well, i'm not getting any better. also not pictured are the rolls. dang it.

there was a great turn out and i loved being able to visit with everyone that i don't see often enough. that's the best thing about showers right? the chatting. oh and the food. 

chelsea was definitely showered with gifts and plenty of cute ones to boot. ellie has a better wardrobe than most. can't wait to see her in all of it!

chelsea's mom had a meeting in salt lake during the shower, but luckily was able to get away and come join us at the end.

i really can't wait for baby ellie to make me an aunt on the ruesch side. i'm so anxious to meet that little sweet pea. her mommy might be a little anxious too. only a few more weeks.

 love ya chels!

h a p p y  w e e k e n d i n g  e v e r y o n e !

p.s. brooklyn had a night out with her daddy and uncles (jeremy and judd) during the shower. they went to hollywood connection and gamed it up. she came back exhausted and ready for bed. the best.

she's two.

and i type that title with tears in my eyes. how can this little baby of mine be two?

how?

oh brooklyn jayde, your mommy and daddy love you so much. so much that you'll never comprehend it. not at least until you have a child of your own one day. we love everything about you. that includes your sass and your attitude. you have changed our lives. totally and completely. you made us parents and we are so thankful for that. we absolutely love you to pieces!

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besides the fact that she has pink eye (eye drops have NOT been fun so far), we're going to try and make it a really fun day for her. the best we can. we'll celebrate with family this evening with all of brooklyn's favorite foods and presents of course. 

h a p p y  b i r t h d a y  t o  m y  little s w e e t i e 

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and of course, a VERY happy birthday to my SIL chelsea. brooklyn's so lucky to get to share a birthday with her. she's one of my very best friends and just like a sister to me. we have a bond that i can't describe or explain. she knows me better than i know myself and i always go to her when i have a problem or when i need to make crucial decisions. and not to mention, she's also the mother of my niece who will be joining the family in a few short months. my first ruesch niece, who i already love to death. 

happy 24th chels! love you!

saturday + sunday

after the wedding on friday, we were pooped to say the least. we went to bed around 10 and called that day a good one.

saturday morning came. it brought flag football for james, and a trip to the library and park for brooklyn and me. just what that girl needed.

the rest of the day was productive. my SIL and my in-laws are all going to be staying at my house in may for my SIL's farewell. we have quite a check list to get through before their visit. it's a great motivator for us to get things done that NEED desperately to be done.

that evening, chels and i went on a movie date to see the host. i had read the book in october and was anxious to see it turned into a movie. the book is definitely better with so many more details, but i really thought they did a good job with the movie. the concept is very interesting/weird but it really sucked me in. 

we returned to my house with james, jeremy, brooklyn, and haley waiting for us. brooklyn is so attached to me, and was definitely glad to see me. however, her daddy and uncle did a great job of entertaining her and keeping her occupied while i was gone. 

we rounded out the night with chinese food (we're definitely on a chinese food kick. whatever the pregnant one can stomach. thanks again chels!) and as always, a cougar town/new girl marathon. it was nice to just relax, laugh, and all hang out together.

i forgot to mention...

brooklyn got spoiled with a bath (i always bathe her in the morning) and her aunties got her ready for bed. she's so blessed with so many aunts that love her.

haley slept over and we were so glad to have her. we took advantage of having her there and did a little photo shoot before church. i've wanted pictures of us in front of the house and she did such a good job. i'm not ready to reveal the whole inside of the house yet, but hopefully soon. there are just a few more things that need to be done before a tour can be done. cream gables will make its' debut on the blog shortly!

thanks again hay.

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h a p p y  m o n d a y

a walk.

before the sun set, the three of us headed over to jeremy and chelsea's in cute little kaysville. chelsea had left some food at our house, so we used it as a good excuse to go visit. plus, i couldn't wait to hear more about chelsea's first baby doctor appointment. that's right. brooklyn's finally going to have a cousin on the ruesch side (can't wait to meet you little bRue). we are all so excited!

chelsea's friends showed up while we were there, so it was definitely a party. chels suggested a walk and it turned out to be an awesome idea. brooklyn of course had to walk with her aunt "ch" and we all followed closely behind. 

we stopped to see the llamas. brooklyn liked them from afar, but when they got too close she had a death grip on chelsea's neck. so funny. 

we ended the walk at the elementary school nearby and brooklyn had a blast running from slide to slide, picking up the wood chips and throwing them in the air, and of course, climbing on anything and everything she could all by herself. she thinks she's ten you guys. stop growing brooklyn jayde!

it was a great way to end our day and rejuvenated us for thursday. the weather's been so nice that brooklyn and i have seriously just taken off outside for most of the day and hardly any cleaning has been going down. i've got to catch up! this warmer weather is seriously going to cramp my good housecleaning style. for real. stay focused melinda. but seriously, it's all good. i figure the less amount of time we spend inside, the less messes we make right?! 

bring on the s u n s h i n e 

fluffy.

when brooklyn woke up yesterday, she was super happy. we shared a bowl of oatmeal and then snuggled on the couch for a little bit. then she decided she was still hungry (doesn't happen often), so i gave her a bowl of cereal. which she ate all of. 

we showered and got ready for the day, then ran some errands. she used to be a terrible errand runner/passenger in a car. the improvement these days is huge. huge. when i get her out of the car at a store, she loves to walk in all by herself. holding my hand of course. she really thinks she's so grown up. it's sad and cute all at the same time. 

later in the afternoon she spied her 'fluffy' outfit and had the biggest grin on her face i couldn't resist. on with her 'fluffy' outfit and then twirling and zooming around the room. she loves that thing. loves it. i'm pretty sure that's why she woke up so happy. she woke up, looked down at the purple fluffy stuff, and grinned ear to ear. funny girl.

that evening jeremy and chelsea came over. we had dinner and then enjoyed some cougar town. you haven't seen it? watch it. hilarious. but only if you have tbs. boo.

we are loving the sunshine and dreading the storm ahead. we'll just hope for sunshine again soon and that it will stay for awhile. we're craving/dying for spring over here.

h a p p y  w e d n e s d a y

p.s. my laundry DID get folded. wahoo!

snowy + trader joe's weekend.

our last weekend in february... in which we started with a trip to salt lake for a trader joe's run and a quick stop at city creek to run in and out of anthropologie. we love trader joe's. we love city creek. we love anthropologie. and we love aunt chelsea. thanks for keeping us entertained. 

we stopped for grub at in-n-out and met our hubby's back in DC (davis county).

saturday brought a billowing snow storm. we hunkered down with warm socks, movies, and trader joe's. james took care of our snow removal and we blew him kisses through the window. we ran some errands, which included an awesome gummy bear find at the dollar store. 

we spent the evening at jeremy and chelsea's. dinner was chicken quesadillas, salt and vinegar chips, and some delish berry lemonade (also from tj's). then, the men took brooklyn to boondocks while chels and i hunkered down and had a cougar town marathon. a very successful cozy evening (that also included ginger cats...also tj's).

sunday was sunny. so gloriously sunny. for real. the sky was as blue as it can get. it made the snow look absolutely beautiful and i was so thankful for it. 

then it was church and more church (a farewell) and then home for our sunday roast dinner. thanks again hun! it was so good. 

we ended the night with the oscars + blondie bars (tj's) + and a movie. 

what a way to send out february. i think. 

p.s. come be my friend on instagram  --->  melinda_ruesch