The Rules According to Sydney

Make sure you read your scriptures daily. Especially Sunday, right before church.

Look pretty always, even if you are just cleaning the house.

Ice cream is not only for special occasions, but for every day of the week ending in y.

Santa Monica Pier

On Saturday Danny and I had a wedding to attend and Shandie (best friend ever) watched Sydney for us. When we got home she and I were chatting and she mentioned craving Tito's Tacos. Well the weekend before when we went to the temple they had introduced us and now we are hooked. So we decided to be spontaneous and we piled into our car for the drive to Culver City. It was a little after 7pm before we got there, but Sydney was a champ and ate salsa like the best of us. Then we headed over to the Santa Monica Pier because it was only about 5 minutes away. So fun! We had funnel cake, walked around and showed Flat Stanley a good time. Shout out to Bryan for the awesome pictures. :)

Sydney was so excited about this little car and kept laughing. As you can see to the right I am digging for a few quarters. Once I put the change in and it started moving she freaked out and wanted nothing to do with it. Too funny! At least Bryan caught the before look.

Some Fun Things

Thought I would take a second on this peaceful Sunday afternoon to share a few things that have happened. First, Sydney's new favorite spot is my closet. It is a mini walk-in so she can go in, close the door and be all alone. This is great when we are getting ready for church because she is right there within hearing distance and it keeps her totally entertained. It just makes it hard for me to get dressed! :) I have to make a quick exit before she slams the door behind me! This morning she yelled "Mom," I opened the door, she came running out and was back inside within a minute with a book. She read happily until we had to leave. But I digress, the point of all this is to share some pictures I got. On Friday she was in the closet and I could hear shoes falling, so I peaked through Danny's side and saw her trying on my shoes! I had a proud mommy moment when I realized my daughter may turn out to be a girly girl also. :) Here are the pictures..

This is when I first caught her.

Then today we went to check the mail and Sydney got a package! My mom enrolled her in the "Book of the Month Club" and when you first sign-up you get 8 books for the price of shipping. 5 of the 8 arrived today and she was so excited. One was an Elmo pop-up book on manners and Elmo is her favorite. Now we have new stories to read tonight before bed.

A simple rose

Today I was out running errands and I came home to discover that Danny had stopped in for a few minutes before his next appointment. We had just been on the phone and he had not mentioned that he was home so I was pretty excited to see his car in the garage. I came into the kitchen and there on the counter was a single rose!! I was so surprised and touched. I remember when getting flowers felt almost mandatory while we were dating and I began to take them for granted. Now romance to me is bathing Sydney, letting me sleep in an extra half hour or suggesting I get ice cream with the girls when I need a break. Today I realized that I still love getting flowers. They mean even more now, because they are spontaneous and few and far between. Not that I am complaining. I know I would feel guilty if he bought me extravagant bouquets when there are more pressing things to buy. But today I realized that while he was out at work, going about his day he thought of me and that just makes me feel like a queen. 

We are in!

I was talking to Shandie last night and she mentioned that she was doing another Triathlon. I always assumed that I was not that kind of girl, mainly the type to run or do anything remotely resembling exercise. :) But she talked me into it (2 months is long enough to train, right?), so my next mission was to get Danny. I came home super enthusiastic and next thing you know we are both signed up for the St. George Beginner Triathlon. Yay!! It is November 15th, so let the training begin.

Newport Beach House

I finally was able to get some pictures from my mom to share of our trip to Newport Beach. Sydney and I spent the whole week out there back in August (Danny came down Tuesday night) with my family. We had the best time and did not want it to end. The weather was perfect and Sydney was an angel. She was covered in sand head-to-toe within a matter of minutes. At first she was nervous about the water but by Friday she would let Danny and I take her in up to her waist. Sydney also loved my brother Derek and she would follow him everywhere. Nothing like fun in the sun and family.