I hesitate to blog about stuff when I don't have any pictures to go along with it, but I've had a real great past couple of days.
Friday was Youngest Sister's birthday, so in the evening, my grandma picked me up from my house and took me back to Daybreak for a party, the whole drive asking me how life had been in Daybreak lately, as if I still lived there. It was really funny. I kept having to remind her, "...You just picked me up from Millcreek. You know I don't live in Daybreak." Ha ha!
Anyways, it was one of those parties where everyone brings their own meat to barbecue and then also brings a side to share. I didn't have any meat to bring, so I just mooched off of my parents, but I didn't come completely empty handed. I decided to go out on a limb. I tried a new recipe called "Mojito Fruit Salad" and contributed it to the party. It was just a bunch of honeydew, kiwi, green grapes, and Granny Smith apples, with lime juice and mint overtop. So it was the greenest green salad you've ever seen. Everyone really liked it--it was fresh and original. Frankly, I think my family was impressed that I actually brought a side dish in the first place. That's right--I AM an adult!
The party itself was great. Ashley had a good time. We had a good mix of people from both sides of the family, and it was a nice, chill evening.
When Grandma dropped me off back home, she wanted a tour of my new house and gave it her official seal of approval. Just kidding--she doesn't actually have a seal. But she should. She really hated my last apartment even though it was much nicer than anywhere I ever lived in Provo, so it was good to know that she found this house acceptable.
Saturday was a super busy day for me. First thing in the morning, we roomies got a washer/dryer unit through KSL. Now our house is almost complete! All it lacks is a toaster! :)
Some really nice guys in our ward came to help us move it. And by "help us," I mean that they did everything themselves. They did all the heavy lifting, installed the washer and dryer in our bathroom, and even attempted to fix our faulty doorknob unasked. We thanked them with big slices of Liz's homemade strawberry pie, and they stayed and chatted with us for a while. It was so nice to finally have people over at our house (especially people of the male persuasion).
Shortly after the menfolk left, we roomies all went to Liberty Park and jogged all the way around it. Well...I didn't jog the entire time, but I did completely circle the park, and I pushed myself a lot farther than I thought I could.
Then we all went grocery shopping, and Liz and I worked on taming our grass (which has the amazing ability to grow three inches in two days, I swear). Once that was done, we all begged for a few hours.
The piece de resistance was having Starla and her 9-month-old son, Stevie, come visit! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures, but really it was the kind of thing where I was having too much fun to even THINK about taking pictures!
We talked in the house at first, and gave Stevie the run of the place so that we could see what to baby proof (he found every electric cord on the ground floor within the first couple of minutes). Then we decided to take him out to the big grassy park across the street so he could wander around to his heart's content without doing too much damage. While he tried to chew on leaves and strangle me with my shiny necklace, Starla and I caught up on each others' lives and talked about the novels we're each writing. I love discussing literature with her, and I love her writing. It was so nice to just sit and talk.
An hour or so later, we went back to my house and made dinner together. Starla introduced me to this really great chicken tamale casserole, which we assembled together and then devoured. Two new recipes in as many days! What??
Then we just continued to talk and play with Stevie. That kid was just a bundle of energy, and I realized towards the end of the visit that I was as comfortable holding, playing with, and taking care of Starla's child as I am with Jackson. Maybe it's because Starla's like a sister to me, I think of Stevie as a pseudo-nephew? Whatever the case, I had a blast with him. He was so smiley and easy to entertain. At one point we just had him crawl up the stairs over and over, with Starla behind him to catch him, and me at the top cheering him on. He just grinned the entire time. His favorite was when I curled my tongue at him. He kept sticking out his own tongue and trying to do it back. So cute!!
I was sad to see them go, but also super exhausted by that point. I slept really well that night.
Sunday was really great, too. EVERY DAY since Friday has been excellent. Sunday I slept in as late as I felt like (so until 7:30), read my scriptures, and showered and got ready for the day. Then my roommates and I put together a big brunch. I made mini quiches (yet ANOTHER new recipe!) with turkey bacon, onion, spinach, and egg. Heather made French toast and fruit smoothies. Liz provided Greek yogurt and pomegranate seeds. It was quite the feast, and we ate it out on our back porch at our cute, colorful patio table. It was the first time all three of us cooked and ate a meal together, and it was a perfect day for it--all blue skies and suave Jazz music from Heather's playlist.
Then Church was great, of course. The guys who helped us move our washer and dryer sat by us in Sunday School (we have friends!!), and I met quite a few other new people. This ward is so friendly. I also finally got set apart for my Activities Committee calling. My last ward gave me three callings but never set me apart for any of them. This feels much more official. And the blessing that came along with the setting apart was very inspiring and made me feel like I could really make a difference in this ward.
After Church, the Springer family had our monthly Family Home Evening at the Jenkins'. We had a magnificent chicken and rice dinner with home-grown tomatoes and other veggies with hollandaise. The sister missionaries from the Jenkins' ward were there, and that was so fun for me to talk with them. It brought back a lot of my own mission memories even though their SLC mission is way different from mine.
When the missionaries left us with a message and everyone ate dessert (except for me, because I haven't had dessert in three months straight and I'm not going back now), we had our family lesson. Dad was in charge, and he led us in a discussion about modern-day apostles. It was a good topic. We're going to be getting two new apostles here soon, and he did a good job of explaining to the kids why that's such a special thing. It was an engaging lesson and made me appreciate the apostles more.
So that was my weekend. Today has been pretty uneventful in comparison, though I do have a big pot of chicken chili in my crock pot. It's not a new recipe, per se, but still--I've made something out of the ordinary four days in a row! I'm so proud of myself. All this cooking and baby interaction has made me feel really domestic.
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