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

Quarter of a Century Old

My birthday was a blessing. I've had a pretty stressful summer, and it was so nice to take a day off. Matt was awesome and took pictures for me for this post (and, of course, spent the day with me).

I felt the love with all these cards from family members and friends.

Splash pad times at Pioneer Park

Birthday lunch and treat at Brick Oven

I got a mer-rebekah and a mer-matt from my niece for my birthday- we took them to the Bean Museum so they could be in their element.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Paper Footballs

Months ago, Matt and I were eating at a restaurant and he made a maroon paper football out of the paper ring that had been holding the napkin together. He wrote "I love you" on it, and gave it to me as a gift. 

I can't remember how it started, but eventually we took turns hiding the football in various places around the house for the other person to find. Here's where I found it this morning: 

A second football came to be because we thought the first one had been lost when Matt sneakily hid it in the hood of my sweater. I had set the sweater down in various places and by the time he told me where he hid it, the football was gone. So he made me a new one (see the white football below- his name is on one side and mine is on the other). Come to find out, the original football was hiding in the cushions of the couch. So now we have two. 

Sometimes we forget who's hidden the football or where we hid it, so it may go a week before it's discovered. However, Matt usually finds them the quickest because when I remember where I hid the football (which is usually when I pass the hiding place) I'll ask, "Did you find the football?" 

I realize that of course he hasn't, or it wouldn't still be in the hiding spot. However, what I really mean by the question is, "This is a reminder it's your turn to find the football." Naturally, Matt has picked up on the fact that when I ask, the football is usually nearby and it only takes him a few seconds to find it. So I need to think of a new strategy.

We'll see if he found where I hid the footballs today. I'm doing my best not to ask him so I don't give it away.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Baby Shower

Today I threw a baby shower for my cousin Jen, who is due to have a baby girl at the beginning of April. This was kind of a big deal because it was the first "shower" I have ever thrown. I kind of didn't know what I was doing, but it all worked out in the end. 

Let's start with the basics: group games. I didn't want to do anything too corney or extensive, so I chose two short games- "How Big is Mommy's Tummy?" and "The Price is Right." The ribbon for the tummy game I got at Michael's. They have a nice little baby shower section tucked next to the wedding section. I also thought it would be cute for the guests to write notes to the baby, hence the "Wishes for Baby" papers on the right. 

Luckily I got most of this done ahead of time, since I got sick the week of the shower and couldn't do much. However, if you want decorations in a pinch, Zurcher's came through with the purple puff ball strands in the pictures below: 

And the tablecloth I randomly got at Dave's Market. My only regret from the shower is that I didn't remember to take pictures until cleanup (hence the empty rooms). I wish I could have taken pictures of Jen opening presents and of all the people who showed up (specifically my relatives because I love seeing family) but you'll just have to take my word for it that people did come and it was great. We had a chocolate fondue machine running and I'm pretty sure I ate 10 chocolate covered strawberries. 

It was great to see my aunts, cousins, and mom at the event. They all helped set everything up, and I couldn't have done it without them. Also, Jen got ADORABLE baby clothes for her little girl. (Seriously, I love baby girl clothes. It's like my favorite section to walk through in the store. So much cuteness.)

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Gun O'Clock: Revisited

To understand this blog post, it is important to read this post first.

Although we have received great pleasure from shooting the alarm clock in the morning, there has been one main problem: turning it off. The gun o'clock was designed to be turned off when you actually got up and pressed the button. However, the button is not clearly marked, and so if you don't have the instructions nearby, you wouldn't know how to do it.

The most recent occurrence of these problems is when Matt pulled it out of storage for the first time on Sunday. After many failed attempts to turn it off (Which button is it? I pressed all of them!!) on Monday and Tuesday, I resorted to hiding the clock in another room, buried under a pile of blankets. And yes, I tried taking out the batteries and couldn't get the little screw to come out.

Also, as previously mentioned in my last post, the battery problems usually involve the clock face going blank, leaving the impression that it turned off (or is broken). However, minutes later the numbers will again appear (sometimes with the correct time- as if nothing had happened. Other times the it will reset but creepily remember when the alarm should go off).

While the gun o'clock is a great idea, the past glitches and the problems I had over the weekend have caused me to re-think my perception of the "perfect gift" I thought it was a year ago.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

my new favorite alarm clock

So last month, I discovered the perfect gift to give my boyfriend for valentine's day.
Behold: "gun o'clock"

It's an alarm clock that you can turn off by shooting it with a laser gun. Sleep with the gun under your pillow and you can turn off your clock from across the room! Plus, you can take out all your frustration towards your alarm clock in a healthy, less damaging way (as opposed to throwing it across the room to turn it off).

The gift was well received (both of my siblings were jealous), although it did have some battery problems. There is also a target game setting that comes with it.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah