hair.

ellie definitely has the mullet going on. it only grows in the back, not so much on top. 

i tried out a hairstyle and actually got the tiny rubber bands to stay . . . until she got in her carseat and they immediately came out. 

her hair is just wayyyy too fine. 

on another hair-related note, her collection of headbands is growing. seeing as she just likes to take them off and put them on over and over and over, i got her some for dress up.

(they are adorable. she just got a new one with grammy on saturday, so we'll have to break that one out for pictures next.)

(she's folding her arms in that last one. it's her latest "thing." she does it when she's trying to be good in public, or if she sees me fold my arms, whenever she sits down to eat or . . . any reason, really. she loves doing it.)

rise.

i mentioned yesterday that my appreciation for eddie vedder came from the soundtrack for "into the wild" - thought i'd share an example. enjoy (more than you would enjoy regular pearl jam)!

p.s. - i thought i would mention that i never hated pearl jam. i just really didn't care about listening to it ever. 

rock out!

right before ellie was born i let husband blast all of his crazy music as loud as he could, as long as he wanted. i figured it would be a while before he would have a chance to rock out like that for while, seeing as there would be a tiny (sensitive) baby in the house. 

it wasn't long after she was born that he felt like rocking out. he turned up the music (not deafening,  of course, but pretty loud). i figured it would make her cry, or at least startle her, but she didn't seem to mind it at all.

now she's older and "daddy's rock"* is very much a part of her life. she's been playing with daddy on her uncle's drum set (and her rhythm is pretty good, i might add). she's also been dancing and rocking out with daddy every chance she gets. if there is music on in his room, she's there. he has his "gym" in the garage and she can't stand being left out while he listens to his music and works out. she stands in the doorway and rocks out like crazy. 

last night i couldn't help but film it:

* while i enjoy much of daddy's music, there are some bands i still don't really "get" so much. he chalks it up to the six years age difference. i chalk it up to most of those bands sounding the same to me and the extremely repetitive lyrics. however, i grown to enjoy a few that i didn't really care about before we met - mainly pearl jam. enjoying pearl jam has less to do with being brainwashed by listening to it over and over and more to do with eddie vedder's soundtrack for "into the wild" really changing my mind about him.

gettin' nerdy.

while i was gone, the cheapo glasses i ordered from china or somewhere came in the mail. 

i was super excited to see if they worked and how they looked (for under $20 i wasn't expecting a whole lot but i definitely wouldn't spend the normal price on these nerdy gems). 

i'm loving my inner nerd. 

who'm i kidding? there's no "inner" about it - i'm just plain nerd.

oh, and someone else wanted in on the action. 

 p.s. - they do work! 

life goes on.

yesterday was grammy and grampa's anniversary.

sometimes it's hard to believe we have such wonderful people in our lives. 

since this blog is like, at least 50% for my family (since we're so far away), 

i thought i'd put up some silly pictures that i've taken since we got home. 

(yes, there is life after utah. a pretty good one, too. 

80 degree weather and beautiful spring blossoms. long days at the park. 

oh, and wisteria. be jealous.)

here's ellie "eating" an apple. i made the mistake of putting the apples on the counter where she can reach them from the couch and she thinks it is so fun to eat them . . . and by "eat" i mean that she just likes to take tiny bites from the apple then tries to stick them back on, she carries the apple around the house like a toy and she tries to make me eat the apple out of her hands. 

yeah, peeling it didn't help. 

also, she tries to do the same thing to the red potatoes. 

i tell her "yuck" over and over but she insists, 

"yummmmm."

holiday.

(just trying to win something gorgeous. can you blame me?)

so, shabby apple's facebook page asks this:

(click the link if you want to enter, too)

Do YOU need a ROMAN (or Roamin', as the case may be...) HOLIDAY? Tell us about it!

1. Why YOU need a vacation, 

2. Where would you go? and 

3. Which dress from the Roamin' Holiday line would you wear?

and here's what i have to say:

1. I can't remember the last time I actually had a real vacation. (In my book, vacations DO NOT involve funerals, visiting family or moving across the country). 

sorry, family. i love you, but that's not a vacation. also, spending all your time in a car is not a vaction. a vacation is where you play all day in some exotic place without a care in the world.

2. Thinking realistically, I would head to Savannah or maybe St. Augustine. 

but if i had all the dollars in the world i might head to scotland. or maybe a private island.

3. I would wear La Vita 'e Bella dress, since I'm pretty obsessed with everything you make in that color right now. 

i am also in love with the mauna kea. 

see dress here.

ah, to have money to throw at every dress that caught my eye . . .
well, i'd still probably pick a dream vacation over all those dresses any day.
probably.

the visit, part four.

last one. promise. 

the hat:

my mom wore this when she was small and we all wore it when we were small so . . . she wore it. 

she wore it very, very well.

she looks even more like a little campbell's soup kid in that thing. 

have you ever seen sweeter rosy cheeks? i haven't.

there you have it. our trip + one hat.

it sure was great.

the visit, part three.

the bean museum (i.e. our family's disneyland)
and just hanging around in cars or at the house.

if you have not been to the bean museum (gasp!) you must go when you are in utah.
i'm serious! there is a liger there!

the visit, part two.

sunday at gramma and grampa's with the cousins.

the stars aligned and we had a couple of rare appearances for the coppersmith family. ellie and i were able to see our aunt from pennsylvania, along with both of her kids - one in town from idaho and the other just getting back from china. the odds that the georgians and the pennsylvanians would somehow end up together for a sunday visit (without advance planning) had to be astronomical.

cousin cory and i were babies together, born just two weeks apart. 

though we seldom live close to one another and we are always in varying states of being, it seems we always have this deeper connection that is hard to explain in words.

can i just say that i have always enjoyed growing up with that sort of bond to someone?

does that make sense?

it is one of my huge desires to have cousins for ellie (and future babies that are not in the works at this moment). cousins are so special! 

there is one on the way, but i want more.

(plus i think that it is really unfair that husband and i made them all aunts and uncles and they are making us wait for them to return the favor. rude.)

(just kidding, i'm not pressuring anyone.)

(just kidding, i kind of am.)

the visit, part one.

more outdoors:

meeting horses at the riding center where my sister volunteers, 

and talking a walk to the park (but really the gas station, for drinks).

 

yeah, i apologize for the collage frenzy.
at least i admit it when i'm obsessed.
uh, but i won't stop.

home.

our trip was lovely. it was perfect timing - i felt like i needed to be with some of my people and i really did get to spend time with so many people i love.

we were able to celebrate life with lindsey, but i've told you all about that. 

(p.s. - check her blog. she's making some great progress in minnesota, so keep the positive energy and prayers comin'!)

ellie and i were also able to visit my sweet grandma in the hospital. she's been sick for a little while now and it seems that she is finally, slowly, getting better and better. 

we even saw some friends and old co-workers but, of course, we didn't have as much time to spend as we would have liked. we still packed every minute full of fun . . . which is probably why i came down with something during the flight home. pretty sure my body had enough of that nonsense and quit on me. 

as much as we loved visiting, we were so, so glad to be home. ellie hugged and kissed judge over and over. she inspected all her toys and slept peacefully in her bed. i was ready to get back into real life and our routines. as much as i hate to admit it, i really thrive when i have a daily grind. 

above all, we really missed daddy. it's hard to explain, but we're a package deal. we work as a team. it's like, missing half of my brain. we can function separately but we are so much better together.

all right, enough with the squishy hearts crap. 

we'll start round one of pictures, in which we visit the snow-capped mountains where i used to work, drink huckleberry soda, eat smore bars and explore like crazy.

the sibs.

same suburban. 

same kids. 

seven years later. 

oh, those were the days when i wasn't the shortest. 

can you believe these guys?

no, neither can i.

plunge taken.

sorry husband.