per your request...

Dear Nathan,

Since you requested an update and it's your birthday, I shall comply. Commence update:

• It's your BIRTHDAY! Oh, I already covered that. Happy birthday!
• I am so excited about Christmas. I can't wait to see my sister and brother-in-law, I can't wait to give presents, I can't wait to open presents. Also, Jesus' birth! Also, turkey! 
• Your house got burgled recently. Setting aside the fact that burgled is a hilarious word, that really upset me. For a few days there, I was telling everyone I saw about it. Lots of people were thinking about/praying for you guys.
• I have recently become one of those moms who, on the occasion, is convinced that her child is the most adorable ever to walk the earth. I realize this might not be true, but sometimes she looks up at me with her cartoonishly large brown eyes and does something unmitigatedly cute - a "kiss" (an open-mouthed grin coming at my face), covering her mouth and gasping in shock, dancing with the most subtle moves, surprising us with things she somehow knows (like our friends' dog's name, Luna, which she pronounces "NooNa"), pacing the room while she babbles on the phone with her Great-Granny Smith or Nana - and it makes it hard to consider anything cuter.
• My parents, Jeff, Eiley, and I got to go to Disneyland on Monday. I think I walked about ten miles. I also think it was a wonderful day. We saw Billy Hill and the Hillbillies in their new outdoor venue (I prefer the Golden Horseshoe, thankyouverymuch), went on many rides, took in most of the Christmas parade, and saw World of Color. Man, I love that place. Eiley still had the same reaction she had when we went with you and Annie though - silent, open-mouthed wonderment. 

• I am making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins tonight to take to a cookie exchange tomorrow. Muffins are not cookies. I'm a rebel.
• My sister is having a boy! I get a new nephew! And my brother-in-law has agreed to a robot-themed nursery! I have painting to do.

Okay, that's all I've got. I wish I updated this thing more often, but I've been so tired. Probably something to do with working + a toddler. Or maybe we're just getting old. I know you are. (OH, SNAP.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAL!

Lahve!

emily grace

everything is different. nothing is new.

I have been absolutely frozen trying to think of what to write recently. Too much has changed to tell it all, yet I don't really have much new going on. I moved from Virginia to California, but I'm working the same job and living in the house where I grew up for now, so I don't have a whole lot to write about here. It's oddly disorienting. I'm going to have to go with random thoughts, otherwise I may end up with literary paralysis:

• I feel like I'm on a weird vacation, except I'm working full time so it's not a vacation at all. This is unsettling, but not in a bad or good way. It's neutrally unsettling. I have no idea when this feeling will end, but I suspect it will align with moving out of my parents' house. 
• Since arriving in California, we have gone to In-n-Out four times, Rubio's three times, the beach once, Disneyland once, Downtown Disney once, Balboa Island once, and zip-lining in Big Bear once. I've seen two grandmas, one Grandbob, two aunts, one uncle, two cousins, one second cousin, and (obviously) my parents. I'm just saying that all the California dreaming I did in Virginia is coming true. And the weather here is just as amazing as I remembered too.

Proof of beach and nice weather!

• So You Think You Can Dance is the best reality show on television. Please try to disagree with me. I will cut you.
• I miss my sister something fierce. Like, I can tear up a little bit if I think too hard about it.
• Last night, Jeff and I were following a truck with a neon pink stuffed monkey hanging off the back. It was hanging on for dear life, its long skinny legs were bouncing against the tailgate, and it was smiling. It really made me happy and I don't know why. 
• To clarify, when I said "I will cut you" earlier, I just meant with my words. 
• I'm currently reading two books: Rules of Civility and Hatchet. The former was a gift from Jeff's aunt, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly, though it doesn't seem to have a plot. It's basically just the story of a woman's life in New York in the 30s. The latter is a book my dad reads with his fifth grade class every year, and every year he asks if I've read it and I say no. Well, next year I'm going to say yes, darn it!
• I recently read a couple of status updates from friends who have babies that are close to Eiley's age. One talked about her child walking for the past month. The other talked about her child identifying pictures in a book. I found myself immediately comparing Eiley to these milestones, fretting that she hasn't walked yet or that she doesn't seem near identifying objects. But let me tell you what I've already told myself - babies develop at different times. Eiley is probably doing other things faster than those two (though I am still so super impressed with Baby B and Baby C if you're reading this, ladies!!!), and she's certainly not dim or inactive or anything. Comparisons are dangerous, that's all I'm saying. And, as my husband said last night, we're going to love her no matter what anyway, so comparisons are also pointless. 

For example, how many babies can pull off this look?

• A couple of years ago, I wrote myself a syllabus for a semester of life (which basically got thrown out the window because I got pregnant and my energy went from a 7 to a 0.5). I'm working on a new one pretty soon here - does anyone have any random suggestions?

That is all.

Pulchritudinous Places #2: Disneyland

You may have already gathered from a portion of my Father's Day post that I love Disneyland. This is half because I have oodles of happy memories associated with the place and half because it is just awesome. Things I love about Disneyland:


1. Rides. They're not as exhilarating as what some other parks offer, but they are significantly more magical. Favorites: Space Mountain - galactic lighting and a fun soundtrack make me feel like I'm in a 70s Sci-Fi show (in a good way). I've always longed to see this ride with the lights on. Maybe someday. Sigh. Splash Mountain - When I was in middle school, my cousin and I rode Splash Mountain five times in a row and we were completely drenched by the time we returned to our families. So fun. Plus I love the story, even though the characters vaguely promote racism.
2. Ambiance. Depending on where you are in the park, Disneyland sounds like polka, excited children, happy squeals and screams, calypso, fake birds, real birds, ragtime piano, whiny children, trolley bells, bluegrass, splashing, and automated ride instructions ("Permanecer sentados, por favor"). It smells like waffle cones, chlorine, barbecue, popcorn, water on hot cement, cows, churros, and faint cigarettes. It looks colorful, pristine, cheery, impressive. It tastes like chicken tenders, because that's all I tend to get there. And it feels like home.
3. People watching. Everyone goes to Disneyland. Sullen, gothic teens, families, large groups of Chinese tourists, couples on honeymoons, college friends, nerds, cool kids, rich people, poor people who have scraped and saved for this special day. Everyone. I could sit on a bench for hours watching a sampling of the world pass by. One time my dad and I sat on Main Street for about a half hour. A trolley horse had pooped, and we watched everyone react. It was hilarious. Mothers dramatically pulled their children away. Teens pointed at it like it was a science project gone wrong. For a while, a pile of poop was the star of Main Street. Humans are fascinating.
4. Shows. Fireworks set to cheesy inspirational music! Movies projected onto walls of water! Neon monkeys dancing on boats! Snow (okay, soap suds that only kind of look like snow) in Southern California! 3D Michael Jackson saving the world from scary Anjelica Huston through the power of music, dance, and a rainbow shirt! Billy, Billy, Billy, and Billy! 

Billys!

5. Exercise. Okay, I pretty much covered everything in the last four points, but I hate even numbered lists, with the exception of a solid top ten. Therefore, my ridiculous number five is that you get a lot of exercise walking around Disneyland without really feeling like you're exercising. Cool, right? Yeah.


In conclusion, Disneyland is awesome and you should go to there. 

Sabbath Sunday #5: Father's Day Edition!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Here are some reasons I love you:

1. I am completely spoiled by your servant-hood. I know that if I ever need anything, I can just ask. 

• Exhibit A: Five years ago, my car died on my drive from Huntington back to Santa Barbara. You dropped everything to come pick me up an hour and a half from home. 
• Exhibit B: I left you a voicemail last year in which I was fake crying and asking for help...on figuring out how to play a chord on the ukulele. You listened to the fake crying and asking for help and missed the silly uke part and were prepared to ride straight to the airport to get the first flight from California to Virginia. That's not normal - but it's very nice. I'm glad you listened the message a second time.
• Exhibit C: You and Mama are going to use a huge chunk of your summer vacation to come help with your pending grandchild and to help Sissy with her wedding.

2. You are weird.  

• Exhibit A: Sometimes you try to describe songs to us by humming incomprehensibly and it's hilarious.
• Exhibit B: You strum the guitar haphazardly while watching TV. This is simultaneously annoying and endearing.

• Exhibit C: You like exercising - working out at the gym, going on crazy bike rides, surfing, kicking butt at tennis. This is weird, but I love it about you because it means you'll live longer! 



Exhibit D

• Exhibit E: That one time Sissy and I were watching you play tennis and you made a mistake and yelled "COME on, Tim!" at yourself.

3. You are fun.

• Exhibit A: Our epic Disneyland trips. My favorites were the time we snuck in dinner and ate at the top of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (R.I.P.) then played cards up there, the time we were the only ones on Indiana Jones at the end of a weeknight and it was creepy, and the time I got you out of school to go to Disneyland and you were actually speechless for a while.

Snow White at Disneyland. Absolutely terrifying.

• Exhibit B: You might not even remember this, but one time we were driving home from the grocery store and you started phonetically reading the license plates around us and we were both laughing like crazy the whole way home.
• Exhibit C: The time we went to Steve Martin/Dave Barry and stopped for In-N-Out and took your motorcycle. Not many daughters get to have that date with their dad. So much cool.
  

I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore our readers or make any fathers realize that they are kind of boring. In conclusion, I love you lots and can't wait to see you soon!