I'm still here! And apparently very old

Holy cow! I don't remember the last time I went almost a month without posting. I think even I got tired of the complaining about work. Not much has changed, but I've been able to do some cool stuff at the school I teach at. I was asked to help proctor advancements, which is basically the last step before the students can provide therapy. I've known this cohort since they started and it was so fun to see them reach this milestone. They were so nervous, and then so relieved when they passed! I'm teaching an extra class next term and even though it's busy, I'm looking forward to a change in scenery.

We also took a ten day road trip to Colorado to meet my teeny tiny new niece and to see my sister-in-law get married. It was awesome, although both the drive down and the drive back were a lot longer than we anticipated. The drive down we're still not sure why, but on the drive back we blew a tire. After changing a tire in the middle of the night on the side of the freeway (no pictures because I was scream-into-the-darkness mad), we crawled to a no-tell motel in BFE nowhere and waited for the tire shop to open. Then we found out that the crazy people who owned our car before us put the wrong size tire on. So my souvenir from the trip was a new set of radials.

 

Happier times

This dog. He's like a needy toddler. He's at his happiest when we're all confined in a small space together.

These guys. They can't ride to the grocery store in peace, but 17 hours in the backseat together is all grins and giggles.

Baby Ayla! She came just in time! She's three days old here and absolutely, unbelievably perfect :)

It's okay. You can totally hate her for looking so cute, and clean, three days after nearly having a baby in a parking lot

Who is that kid holding that tiny baby? When did that happen?

I loaded this picture several times into how-old.net, until it stopped saying I was in my 50s. Creepy side-note. It NEVER read Sydney. How weird is that?

My mom and I took the kids to my undergrad college. I can't believe I haven't done that before. It was really fun to show them all my favorite places and to see how it's changed (in, OMG, 17 years. Grad school is f-ing long.) Their favorite was the library, where Syd loved these art chairs and Eli promptly plowed through a completely inappropriate graphic novel.

 

 

A multitude of wedding pictures
 In true neurotic fashion, I spent WAY too much time and energy planning and coordinating our wedding finery. As evidenced by this craptastic family photo shoot. Love that the best one prominently features the restroom sign...

Gotta love adult cousins who think it's HILARIOUS to "sneak" the baby chocolate. At one point she had about twenty unwrapped kisses in front of her.

And after

My handsome usher before

Adorable nephew Josiah! He had a pocket square :)

This one was born right after our wedding. OMG. So old.

Syd was DEVASTATED that she didn't catch the bouquet and then pounced when she realized the girl had left it behind. It now lives in a mason jar next to her bed. 

 

 

Ugh

I am so over this week. I've had the same document edited by everybody and their mother so many times that my dissertation chair (who had a stamp that said only, "anthropromorphizing!" and to whom I regularly submitted double digit drafts) looks like a kindergarten teacher. Today I had to respond to an inmate allegation that I was promoted based on my, "overly flirtatious and solicitous manner." I spent six hours in committee, which is sort of like banging my head against a wall while staring at a computer screen and telling inmates that they can't call me "Sweetheart" because I am sort of in charge of the program. Two days in a row I've realized, too late, that I only put deodorant on one side. I'll just stop there because that pretty much sums it up. 

Needless to say, I'm sitting on the couch eating chips and salsa and drinking wine I bought for 3.00 and named "White."

Easter Shenanigans

I totally splurged at the Gymboree 12.99 sale so Easter was especially adorable. 

Avery and Sydney had dresses that matched their BFFs. OMG. So freaking cute!

And outfits #2 for church. I actually had other outfits that I kept pristine and perfect in the closet. So of course, 15 minutes before we needed to leave I realized that Averson's was WAY too big. Luckily I had these stashed for a wedding next month.

I loved the baskets this year! Summer hats, swimsuits, a bag of gummy bunnies, and the cute BFF/twinsy outfits (I've decided that this is my year to match as much as possible. Brace yourself!) 

Spring Break done right

And in completely random order :)

A couple months ago I had a sudden and overwhelming urge to sit on a porch, drink coffee, and stare at a tree. Spring break coincided with a Tuesday holiday so I hopped on VRBO and booked a "cabin" near Tahoe. You guys. I may never camp again. We were in the woods, but I had a bed, a coffee pot, and a shower EVERY. DAY. It was amazing. We spent four amazing days hiking, fishing, and hanging out. Seriously. It was about the most perfect vacation ever.

Perfecting the family selfie

This water was basically melted snow. These people are freaking crazy.

Swoon

Mission accomplished

Could this be any more perfect?

I think C found his fishing buddy. Eli's not so into it, but Syd is all over it.

His version of heaven

Followed closely by this

Pinecones!

They kept running obstacles around these trees and yelling, "Supergirl!!!" 

Sweaty selfie mid-hike

Monkey see...

Monkey do

"Refueling" after I accidentally made them hike 2+ miles basically straight uphill, scrambling over rocks

It was cold up there!

This kid hiked so hard that she finished her dinner for maybe the first time ever

This cabin was seriously adorable

C wrote me an e-mail today that said, "I want to go back to Tahoe." We had such an amazing time and now we have to win the lottery and buy our own little cabin. I'll let you know how that goes.

The things she carries

When I was an undergrad, I took a course on Civil War History. One of the required books was called, "The Things They Carried." I remember being so excited about that book, and consequently disappointed because it wasn't actually about things. Wouldn't that be a cool book? I may be on to something...

Anyway. I dumped out my purse tonight and was shocked by the sheer quantity of what I found. I obviously am not a dainty clutch kind of girl.

Just to be clear, there are eight condiment packs in there. I don't even use those (obviously.)

in addition to my own "Beauty basics" there's two My Little Pony lip glosses with combable hair. Eli's report card and my favorite bracelet that I thought Avery lost are in there. And a leash and a shoehorn. Like I said, shocking.

I managed to narrow it down a bit, thank God. 

So now I want to know, what do you carry? 

Random excitement

I booked us a cabin (ish) for Spring Break and I am SO excited. I've decided that this is how ill camp for the next ten years. In the woods, by a river, under the stars, with a real shower, coffee pot, and locking door. It's a win-win. We get dirt and fresh air and sunshine AND no one gets eaten or murdered! I see four glorious days of reading, hiking, and possibly crafts. Did I mention how excited I am?

Also exciting. I found The Perfect dresses for the girls to wear to their aunt's wedding. They're seriously adorable and I got them off zulily which means they might be here in time. Syd was having a melt down tonight because Eli was asked to be in the wedding and she wasn't. I showed her the dress, hoping to make her feel better about the injustice of it all and she promptly proclaimed that she wanted a different dress. In Syd speak that means that she will NEVER wear that f-ing dress. Gah! Now I have to shop for something that will coordinate and appease her highness.

And the final excitement is that I went back to barre tonight after a two week hiatus after I pulled my quad (that sounds legit, doesn't it?) it was so tough and u have total jelly legs. I'm trying to get hottified for the above referenced wedding so I'm back in the gym, back running, and reinstalled my fitness pal. I'm running a pi day 5k this weekend and I'm even geeking out about that. So much twitterpation!

Easter eggs. My lunch has never been more inappropriately festive.

Averson's Two!

Holy cow. It's cliche, but I feel like that went really fast!

We had an adorable, simple party with Avery's little friends. She asked for a "Mickey Mouse Birthday" so we themed it up. Then Costco thwarted my plan by not carrying Mickey Mouse nuggets for the first time in history. So... Mickey Mouse dinosaurs.

I'm working on getting more non-selfies. Though I do love a good selfie.

Case in point

Mickey Mouse cupcakes. Because of course.

And then we finished with a family showing of Big Hero 6 (so cute!) 

It was a perfect birthday. This little girl is the embodiment of joy and I literally love her so much it hurts. I loved her as a baby and I'm loving her as a full blown toddler. She's funny and sweet and a little naughty.