twenty seven

i had a wonderful birthday this year.  i was so pleasantly surprised to receive so many text messages, emails, and cards from friends and family throughout the day.  i want to be more like that.

i woke up to a note from tannon.

walked downstairs to find this:






at work, my dad & mom-in-law sent me some gorgeous flowers {tannon's name was on the card, too, but i know him better than to have anything to do with buying me flowers}.

after work, tannon picked me up all showered and smelling of fresh cologne.  he took me to Olive Garden for dinner {we had a g/c which made it even better}.

after dinner, we stopped off at barnes & noble to look at the nook {okay, and purchase}.

i then walked into a home filled with freshly baked goods.  tannon had baked my favorite cupcakes.



it was a special day.

baby shower #1

two of my friends threw me my very first baby shower. there was a lot of time & energy spent to make this special for me.  i have some amazing friends whom i love dearly.


we:
ate wonderful food.
chatted a lot.
played a funny game.
opened presents.


they also had everyone there write some 'tips' for the clueless soon-to-be-mom.  they even printed out my dad's advice and put it in the book.


i received lots of darling gifts.  every time i look at anything boy, i just get more excited to meet the little squirt.


here are some of my favorite gifts.  i have some talented friends.





i love elephants.  especially hand-made ones as cute as this.




isn't he cute?  love him.

papa

i got a text message from this guy {my dad} today. he usually texts me every day, but this one was different. one i want to remember. forever.


"the absolute best part of your life is almost here. savor and enjoy every moment you have with the boy. the day will come all too quickly when he will be off to college or a mission and finally gone from your house for good. i wish i had a time machine to go back to 1981 so i could be with and raise my beautiful girls all over again. i would love that. i love my wog."


i have read and re-read this several times throughout the day.  if this doesn't make a 7 month pregnant lady bawl, i don't know what will.


gosh, i love him.

baby bump

while my sister was in town, i decided to take advantage of her skills and have her take pictures of tannon & me.  i'm so lucky to have such a talented sister!  *don't mind my puffy face & our awkward poses.  

crazy people

ever since we moved to pittsburgh, tannon has been talking about wanting to ride his bike to washington d.c.  i honestly didn't think he would be able to talk anyone into this horrible idea.  as it turns out, our 2 friends {bryan & jamie = husband & wife} are just as crazy.

i sent them on their way last wednesday.  they rode from wednesday to sunday.  

bryan & jamie are at least a little smarter and stayed in bed/breakfasts & hotels along the way.

not tannon.

{it rained the first night, so here is his make-shift shelter}

{total trip: 341.77 miles}

luckily for me, i had a good excuse not to join them.  my belly would get in the way.  so, instead, i was able to spend the weekend in virginia with my friend, maren, while i waited for them to get to d.c. on sunday so that we could drive home.  and the most important part of the trip?  i was able to stuff my face with this:

 

that's right.  they recently opened up a cafe rio in maryland.  it has never tasted so good.

red vines vs. twizzlers

a few weeks ago, i was really craving red vines.   i went to 3 different stores in one night.  none of which sold red vines, just twizzlers.  don't get me wrong, i do like an occasional twizzler, but not this time.


the next morning i asked my co-workers why no stores sold red vines.  their response? "what are red vines?"


seriously, people???


so, today i went to rite aid {i finally found a store that carries them} and took a bag to work.  the introduction didn't go as well as i had hoped.


my boss said, "they taste just like twizzlers".
my co-worker said, "this is poor people licorice".
and my other co-worker said, "they're alright, but twizzlers are better".


pittsburgh people are bizarre.

easter 2011

the nerd nielsen's came to PA over easter this year.  if i could repeat this easter every year i would be one happy gal.

i put together an easter basket for morgan and she LOVED it.  we also hid eggs in the backyard and waited for a few minutes when it wasn't raining and she romped around the wet grass finding colorful eggs filled with goodies.


we made a delicious dinner including 2 whole chickens, rolls, salad, and a pink and orange layered cake.  morgan was thrilled.


missy made homemade peeps.  


during their stay, we watched a lot of tangled, cars, and enchanted.


they met me downtown for lunch.


missy & i got pedicures.


made this for breakfast.

went and saw Rio.


went to an MLB game: pirates vs. giants


went to kirtland, ohio where there is a lot of history of my church.  morgan loved seeing the temple.