Newborn Photos

We had Dash's newborn photo shoot on January 12, and I just got the pictures back! Dash was a little stinker and wouldn't cooperate until the fifth hour. Luckily Jane, the photographer, was very patient and persistent. I'm so grateful for her flexibility and these beautiful photos!

(Also, my mom made a great photo assistant)

I'm not sleepy...

Okay, maybe I am

Away in a manger

Lion around 

Au natural

Precious Child

You are mine

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

P.S. This is my 200th blog post! It's been less than a year since my 100th post- which means I fulfilled 2014's goal of blogging more than I did in 2013.

Baby Shower

The day finally came!!! I've been looking forward to my baby shower for MONTHS, ever since my amazing cousin offered to be in charge back in August. It seemed so far away at the time. I was thrilled to see family and friends, and especially grateful for their support. And now, I will barrage you with pictures:

Jen really outdid herself with the decorations

And the desserts- oreo truffles, cupcakes, and cookies

We had an awesome turnout-
Lots of family members and even some of my high school friends came! 

Not to mention old ward buddies

My mom brought an awesome blue punch that had rubber ducks floating on top-
(see my cousin serving herself some?)

Presents!! We got SO MANY clothes--
Possibly enough to not have to purchase any more for the next 6 months. :) 

I also felt the love and support of those who couldn't make it. Thank you all.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

The Party That Almost Wasn't

Several weeks ago, I saw so many cute ideas for Halloween snacks that I decided we should have a Halloween party so I could do all of them. We promptly postponed buying supplies and inviting people until this week. After sending out over a dozen texts over the course of several days, we discovered that no one had (to our knowledge) RSVP'd in the affirmative. So we figured the party was off. It was kind of a bummer, but we figured with it being late notice and so close to the holidays that it was understandable. 

Around two hours before the party was scheduled to start, we were at the grocery store and got a couple of calls from people saying they were coming. The party was back on! Since we were already at the store, we got all of the supplies we needed and rushed home to make the following foods: 

After "dinner" we played games. The first was the Snickers game. It involves unwrapping and eating a frozen Snickers Bar with a chopstick. Everyone has a turn to roll the dice to roll the number of the round (we started off with the number one) before passing the dice on. Once you rolled right number, you grab the chopstick and go at it. The winners are those who eat a piece of the candy bar. Matt got creative in this shot and used the chopstick to scoot a chunk off the table and into his mouth.

The second game is "What if...then" where each person writes a "what if" statement on a piece of paper, switching papers with someone else so they answer the question with a "then" statement. You mix up the papers again and have everyone switches off reading a "what if" question while the person next to them answers it with their "then" statement. Not all of them turned out, but the funniest one was, Q: "What if Violet (one of the baby attendees) stopped crying?" A: "Then earplugs would be a useless invention."

We were thrilled that the party actually happened and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Sweeney and Me

Now: 2014

Dear Sweeney,

We had a great three months together in the Dominican Republic. It's been over two years since I've seen you in person, and I'm glad we got to relive some of the memories today. Since then, I've been pondering about some of our other experiences:

• Knocking on EVERY SINGLE door in our area. Not home, you say? We'll come back tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Until we find you or we decide that the house is abandoned.
• Walking up and down the same street looking for the 10/20 store, not realizing that 10/20 was a phrase meaning "dollar store" so that wasn't actually the name of the store--just the type. 
• Having the tallest dominican man as our 'golden investigator.'
• Having an investigator open up to us because we spoke English. 
• The earthquake.
• Karaoke.
• Working with the most awesome youth.

Just to name a few.

But you know what memory means the most to me? The day I got in the Brown's car and they drove me to the capital so I could go home. As I buckled myself in and was waving goodbye, you cried. I probably would have cried, too, if I hadn't been so excited to go home. But I did miss you. And it was a fabulous surprise to see you only a day later when you came down to pick up your new companion.

Then: 2012

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

U of U graduation

One of my good high school friends graduated with her Masters today! Kathryn took two buses and a shuttle to come to my Bachelor's graduation four years ago, so I figured it was the least I could do to attend her graduation. Kathryn has always been an example to me of perseverance and hard work.

The student convocation speaker gave a moving speech about whether college was worth it. My personal conclusion is YES, college and grad school are worth it.  Although I would include a disclaimer that although it's worth it, that doesn't mean it will be easy. Or enjoyable (at times).

We went to a BBQ celebration in Kathryn's honor afterward. It was good to catch up on each other's lives- it's easy to let grad school take up all your free socializing time.

Rhetorically, Rebekah

Now (2014)

Then (2010)