Canyon Drive

Four things you'll find in Utah that you probably won't find in Houston:

1. In N' Out Burger
2. An In N' Out Burger full of only white people
3. An In N' Out Burger full of only Mormon white people.
4. Snow

Since coming to Utah, we've seen our fair share of In N Out Burgers, white people, and Mormons; however, we were feeling sort of cheated in the snow department, so we took a drive up the canyon to find some.

The snow was still scarce, but the drive was lovely, composed almost completely of things you'd never see in Houston. Mountains, hills, frost, and Esmé in a beanie.

Christmas Vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's

Old Town Spring

 Last Saturday, we decided to check out Old Town Spring, a former railroad town that's been converted into a cute cluster of boutiques and shops. The shops were all decked out in lights and garlands for the holidays, and the people were out in droves. There was live music, live animals, and lots of antique browsing. The best part of the day was when Esmé got a red balloon and a candy cane, and I got to eat her candy cane.

Almost 6 Months

Taking a picture of yourself is harder than you'd think...but since I'm not often in pictures we take, I wanted to document that I am actually pregnant.

Baby News

Annie and Roo: Esmé, how do you feel about getting a little sister soon?

Esmé:

A Rooism

Last night, Roo was talking about Han Solo (not an uncommon topic of discussion for him) and how Han would act in a certain situation.

Annie (rolling my eyes in scorn): Ugh, Han Solo is such a typical man.

Roo: If Han Solo were a typical man, there would be about a billion more babies on the earth...

Roo/Han: 1  vs.  Annie: 0

My Heart

Someone named Elizabeth Stone said becoming a mother means deciding to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

Here is my little heart, full to bursting with love:

An Important Acquisition

So, it turns out our new house wasn't the only important acquisition we made at the end of July this year.

This is the other one (or should I say, he or she is the other one):

Surprised? Yeah, so was I...

Other words to describe my feelings: thrilled, nervous, awestruck, amazed, concerned, overjoyed, overwhelmed, and hungry.

On December 1st we'll find out the gender, and sometime around April 12th we'll meet him or her in person!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

We were so lucky to have a whole week with Grandma and Grandpa! Not only did they buy us toys, food, and do all sorts of housework for us, but they gave us a week of fun* and lots of love!

*The mosquito-infested cafe may not have been "fun", but your company was. And babysitting for five hours so we could wait at the DMV may not have been too fun either, but it sure was helpful!

We love you and can't wait to see you at Christmas!!

Judge Me by My Costume, Do You?

This year for Halloween, Esmé was girl-Yoda. (Note the pink bow.) And even though I was concerned about the boyishness of her costume, she loved it! And I had to admit, she was way cuter even than real Yoda! Esmé loved walking through the neighborhood trick-or-treating, answering the door when kids came around to our house, and staying up late so Roo could introduce her to Yoda on the TV.

 I told her next year she could be a fairy princess if she wants, but based on how happy she was last night in her Yoda hat (and how she asked for it today after her nap), I'm afraid she may have turned from the princess path...

A Tour of the Manor

Welcome

 Here is the dining room.

And the kitchen...

This is the master suite. (You can kind of tell that before taking this picture I took everything off the floor and just threw it in the closet...)

Guest room. As you can see, this room mainly acts as a storage area for books, lamps, Joseph Smith statues, plastic Easter eggs, and occasionally Esmé (when she doesn't want to nap in her own room.)

Bathroom 2. That's right, we have two bathrooms.

Esmé's domain.

The family room...

The backyard. The concrete slab is actually our driveway since the garage is in the back of the house. You drive around back then make a six point turn to get the car into the garage. It takes great skill. One time I backed into the fence on accident.

Here's another view of the backyard. The bird bath came with the house. I think it is stellar. Roo does not share this opinion. Right now, the yard is 70% weeds, 20% grass, and 10% unidentifiable organic material. As they say in Texas, we're fixin' to get it all cleaned up and the grass re-growed whenever we can.

So, while the whole place is still a work in progress, and will be for a long time, we love being here. We love working in our yard and making as much noise as we want at night, we love walking through our neighborhood, and we love knowing that this place is ours (or will be after thirty years of mortgage payments...)