"I know a place where the grass is really greener"

After a series of wandering years, we have finally returned home to stay (at least I'm pretending we're here to stay). I may rightfully be charged with being extremely partial to San Diego, even claiming that Zion is found in San Diego. But really, I think it might be. As Katy Perry put it: "You could travel the world, but nothing comes close to the golden coast". Call me snobby, but after being here you won't argue.

My two children (that includes the furry one) are also loving our new home. They both spend most of their time frolicking in the backyard, throwing dirt and chasing each other around. The best part of our new home is that we're so close to family that we see them almost every day.

So here is my new commitment to posting more often than I have been...maybe

For Courtney

Aunt Nanny and Grandpa decided to try a new do... it didn't stick.


Aunt Carissa tried to pack Blaine up and ship him to Charlotte.


At our new home in Charlotte, Blaine loves to play in Gus' dog water. Ben gets mad at him everytime; I think there could be worse things.



Easter morning.



First time in a swing. He loved it for about three minutes.


Our trip to the petting zoo.




Everyone loves to feed Blaine junk food. This is the face he gives me when I reprimand them.

I Love This Kid.

Yep, it's Ben, again. Just thought I'd throw some pictures of my buddy up. What else do you do at midnight when you can't sleep? Read & surf the blog network. :)





He loves to flirt with girls of all ages. Ha ha. He loves old women!!! Ha ha ha!





He's pretty much the coolest dude. Goes just about anywhere with his Pops.




Love this kid. He's got Daddy's gut.



And one of Gus in his winter hat. What a good sport....

We've been busy

It's funny how no matter how little I actually have to do, I am always running around with my head cut off. My life as a laid back, stay-at-home mom isn't quite as laid back as I had once imagined. I pictured lounging on the couch rereading the Twilight series as my "little ones played on the floor with the dog" (name the movie). It doesn't actually happen like that in our household. For the most part I feel just as busy as I did when I was a full-time student and interning. While contemplating this, I remembered a summer I spent in Seattle while Ben was selling alarms. At the time I had no child, except for newborn Gus, and I only worked a few hours a week. Since Ben was working ten to twelve hour days, I really had all the time in the world to do whatever my heart so desired (ah, the good old days...). At the same time I can remember a friend telling me that I was the busiest person with nothing to do that she had ever met. My point in all this is that in order to have a more laid back life, I need to become more laid back. It is obvious that the problem lies within me, not my environment or to-do list. I often imagine Ben and I living in a remote location where life moves much slower. Instead of stressing each day to get everything done, we would have time to go to the park, read, cook, and write blog after blog. However, I have come to the conclusion that the place where life moves much slower is the place where we decide to move much slower. Disclaimer: I am not making any commitments to slow down my pace of life, just talking about it.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to, and our growing boy.

We made last minute Waldo costumes, while Blaine had to be a pumpkin for his first Halloween.


Blaine's first experience with food.


Biz came to visit and meet Blaine for the first time.


Carly and Blaine


Blaine at his first (but not last) BYU football game.


Photo shoot for Blaine's entry into the Gap baby contest (we're pretty sure he's going to win).


The colorful trees in Park City.



Blaine and his Great-Grandma Webb.

Update

Before I had Blaine, I thought of all the things I was going to accomplish as a stay-at-home mom. I had big plans to get caught up on my scrapbooking, learn to quilt, blog consistantly, and the list goes on. When I first got my dog, I can remember spending hours scrapbooking while he lounged around the house. I felt like this baby thing would be similar. Obviously no one wanted to inform me that every second of mine would be completely occupied and my first child (Gus) would be totally neglected. In case you're getting the wrong idea, I am far from complaining. I LOVE staying home with Blaine. I'm not going to pretend that I felt this way in the beginning; motherhood, plus moving around, threw me through a loop. I keep trying to figure out how I missed the memo: motherhood=hard. After spending 24/7 with this little guy for the past three months, I now consider myself a Blaine expert, and mommy/Blaine time has become the best part of every day. The point of this long saga is to give myself an excuse for not keeping up on my blogging. Here are a few pictures of our last month.