Crazy Little Thing Called Life!

First things first, I made some delicious pretzels! I found two recipes that were really different from one another so I thought I would combine the best of both worlds, right? Wrong. While my pretzels tasted absolutely delicious when warm, they were very time consuming and ugly. I'd recommend just following one of the recipes which I found here.

I also got to be part of a hair show for my dear friend Crystal! She is in Cosmetology school and needed someone to model Bridal hair. I was her gal!

Admittedly, I loved getting to wear my wedding dress again, but the entire thing was great!

So great that I even let her do things with my hair annnnnd she has only been in school for three months! I got a deep condition and my hair is seriously baby bottom smooth. I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!

We also got to spend some time with my adorable little brother, Max. This cutie just turned 1! He is such a handsome and calm baby. It's the craziest thing. Last time I saw him, he was just the tiniest thing. He hardly did anything but sleep. This time, he was walking, eating real food (even ice cream - don't tell his mom!), and babbling! He also has the cutest little chubby cheeks known to man, if I do say so myself.

This is me in August when Max was only about 5 months old.

I have also started getting into DIY-ing clothing. I took that hideous dress and made it into a cute and stretchy skirt. I'm really enjoying sewing lately. It's a great stress reliever... except when your bobbin runs out. World War III when that happens. 

Mitch and I also made popsicles! Apparently Mitch made them all of the time when he was younger. I honestly didn't even know you could 'make' popsicles until Pintrest came along!

Cut up strawberries and peel the majority of the skin off of the strawberries to minimize seeds. Add to blender with 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract, 2 cups sugar, and as much Strawberry yogurt you would like! The more yogurt, the creamier the consistency. 

We also found ourselves playing in the potato cellar with Mitch's younger siblings! If I had grown up with a potato cellar, you better believe that I would have made the coolest hideout fort in that thing. It was awesome!

Mitch and I also went and cleaned the temple! I absolutely love going to the temple, even to clean! We gave up an entire night to vacuum, dust, and wipe down every single surface. Did you know the temple is cleaned every night and aside from a small rotating crew, it is done entirely by volunteers? I love it!!!

Mitch also competed in a Pinewood Derby event with the mechanical engineer department. He didn't win, but our really good friend, Brandon got second place! That was the first time I had ever gone to the "derby" before and I can understand now why it draws so many people in. Looking at the track, I wasn't sure why a bunch of college age guys were excited. However it turned out to be really fun eliminating people and racing cars. I can understand now why we use this same technique on the 9 year olds. 

We also went and played volleyball at the church with some members of our ward! I haven't played volleyball since middle school and I can honestly say Mitch probably hasn't played more than three days in his life. It was so much fun, but extremely competitive - my kind of game. 

Our sporting shenanigans did not end there! I finally caved and told Mitch I would go Mountain Biking with him and the guys. (He's been a stinker about taking pictures lately, hence the spaghetti moment of vulnerability after the ride.) It was insanely fun, but I felt like I had gone from 0 to 60 on the working out scale. I don't think I've done more than carry three textbooks at the same time this semester. I was seriously dying at the beginning, however riding with all of the bumps was oddly liberating despite feeling like I had broken my baby-maker every few feet. TMI???

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!!

I am a proud Aunt! My sister, Ana, and her husband, Brad, are expecting! I don't get all of the Tom-foolery about saying I am going to "be" an aunt. If I've spent more than $50 on fabric for this lil' munchkin, I am an aunt now! I'm so excited for the baby to come, but I'm not allowed to reveal the little bug's gender yet. You'll just have to wait until the gender reveal baby shower! In order to start getting everything ready for this baby, I've decided to make it/he/she a quilt!

Baby Rogers will be here in less than 150 days! I've finished two squares, but I have no time to waste! Can't wait for a new baby in the family!!!

And that is what our life has been like! Please excuse us - we will be living in a hole for the next two weeks while we get ready to take our finals. Please stand by with tissues and energy drinks though. We are definitely going to need them!