she art much?

about a week ago, a few cousins and i got together to try our hand at she art (two separate words, but quite funny when trying to tell someone, they never hear two words, just one!). one cousin already had some practice, so she was our mentor. i was a little hesitant to start, but soon got into the idea that the more texture/randomness you have, the better. and, what i think i like most about this kind of art is that if you do something and don't like it -- paint over it and try again! perfect for such an artist as me! i think everyone should get into it and then we can have parties!

i wish i would have taken pictures during the process, anyway here's my final product:

softball & stitches

our softball season is well under way (minus a few rained-out games). the cracker jack kids are still holding up well against opponents -- 10-running a few! no homeruns have been hit by the watts, but there's still plenty of time!

in other news, brian has a few blue stitches gracing his left hand right now. a fence got him while he was setting up some hidden treasures for an amazing race for work. luckily, he was able to drive himself to the hospital and get into the emergency room before passing out. we're doomed if our kids ever draw blood! he left the hospital with 12 stitches and instructions to drink lots of fluids. he's been doing just fine and likes sharing his account of the accident. i don't think i'll post pictures, as i haven't even looked at them and don't want to make anyone sick, but maybe i'll find one of his wrapped up hand.

walk MS happened

so i planned on writing about the great walk MS that i participated in back in april...obviously it never happened. but, my friend, dani, did great write-up on it so i thought i'd share it here.

it was great to get together with so many of my friends (it's pretty hard for us to all get together) and it was amazing to see everyone who joined in the walk. i'm pretty lucky to have such great friends!

if you ever get a chance to participate in one of these events, i'd highly recommend it (especially if you have as great of company as i did)!

walk MS 2011: craig's crew

hey all!

this weekend i'll be joining some of my great friends and a few thousand other people to participate in the 2011 walk MS. the goal of this program is to raise awareness of those dealing with MS and to help raise money for the national multiple sclerosis foundation to find a cure and fund programs for those affected by this debilitating disease.

i've known quite a few people who have suffered or are suffering from MS and i've seen how difficult it can be. this disease has a different effect on everyone and is quite unpredictable. some of my dear friends lost their dad to this disease a few years ago. he was a very active person and one of the most genuinely kind people i've ever met -- even through his trials.

to honor him, they have created a team (craig's crew) for the 2011 walk MS. if you're in the salt lake area this weekend and would like to join the cause, you can sign up to join craig's crew here. or register to join and participate in the walk with someone else.

fyi
craig's crew was also mentioned here.

new cards and a birthday

i have a couple new cards in the shop.
a happy easter bunny and a happy birthday girl! plus, i've got a few leftover valentine's on sale. check it.

i also celebrated a birthday -- exactly one month ago! i was lucky enough to take the day off work and visit my parents while bri gave a demo to a local attorney. that morning, bri made me some delicious happy birthday muffins (complete with a candle and an enthusiastic solo of "happy birthday"). we then took off for vegas to support our aggies at the wac tournament. yet, again, another great birthday!

{fantastic umbrellas in the belagio, birthday muffins, fountains and eiffel tower, ferris wheel getting set up for the conservatory in the belagio}

for tradition

valentine's at our house was low-key and pleasant!

i came home to a table all set and ready for some eatin, but that would have to wait just a bit. we headed to hastings on the hunt for a movie to watch and decided the cosby show dvd's that we've been watching would work just fine.

next stop was panda for a little sweet fire and string bean chicken.

then onto our candlelit (baby candle) dinner. (chinese food for valentine's day is a tradition in my family.)

next i opened my bedtime buddies! my dear husband is sick of my cold feet, so he found a solution. they have small rice-like bags that fit nicely in the bottom and are scented with cloves and cinnamon...very nice touch! i laugh every time i see them! (he bought himself some basketball shorts for v-day)

we finished off the night with a few episodes from the cosby's.

doesn't get much better than this!

ps if you would like to borrow my bedtime buddies, please let me know at least three days in advance. "one size fits all!" thanks!

just that kind of day...

today i made comments on some of the blogs i read.
i usually refrain from doing this -- because "they don't know me, or care who i am or what i have to say."
but it was just one of those days. and it was kind of fun!

also, i made some valentine's sugar cookies (hearts, of course!) this week because it's valentine's and that's what we do around here (ok, maybe only every other year because it's such a process!). it wasn't as bad as i remember, and i got some pretty nice comments from people who ate them. too bad I didn't get any photos of their goodness (image via noveleats.com).

hope you have a lovely weekend!

thanks mom!

dear mom,

thank you so much for the cute "love" banner! it makes my little house even that more valentinesy.

love,

whit

introducing...

...whit ro & co on Etsy! My shop is now up and running (somewhat) with a few Valentine's Day cards. You may check it out if you want to. It's been quite the process, and I wouldn't say it's complete by any means, but I've been having fun! I hope to get more holiday and everyday cards up soon.

In other news, I turned on my air conditioned in my car today -- January 17. It felt like it should be my birthday soon. Weird.

congratulations...

to those of you who guessed "Snow Day!" you are/were right.
sorry for those of you who didn't.

am very much looking forward to 2011 and all the possibilities that await! i hope to be a little better at blogging ("little better" means i don't feel guilty if it doesn't happen as often as i'd like). and, hopefully i'll have some fun stuff to show you. i hope to record my new year's resolutions here (or at least some so they are reinforced more), but that will have to wait a little.

for now, you may read a great post from one of my most favorite bloggers.
truly, a girl after my own heart!

happy new year to you!

"it looks like you have the reflexes of a dead cow!"

in my six years of being at Utah State, only once have they closed the university due to weather. i was working in the soil testing lab and my boss told us that we all had to be off campus before 3 pm. so, we obediently left.
today, a blizzard warning has been announced in our area and, in approximately one hour, the university will be closed.
what a happy thanksgiving surprise!
now we only hope that the storm is as magnificent as has been predicted!

*extra credit to those who can name what movie my title is from

wilkins state fair

i pretty much have one of the coolest families around!
this is what we did this labor day weekend. check it here too.

also, we've now been married two whole years! can't believe it!
august came and went. i'll have to update soon.

oh, what do you do in the summertime

we started off our pioneer day bright and early (7 am) with a little water skiing at hyrum dam - that was an adventure!
we then had a bbq and watched our adorable little nephew.

the two of us, up and at em, ready to hit the water!

on sunday, we attended the free usu alumni band concert on the quad. it was a fabulous time enjoying the nice weather and the beautiful campus! we were really surprised at how many people were there when we got there -- i think all the summer citizens that move to logan in the summer go to these concerst! i loved watching them bounce their feet to the beat of the marches played (i even tapped my foot along with the music) and especially enjoyed watching a cute little boy dance for everyone that would watch (he's the blonde one in the picture).

i love old main!

happy father's day

before i get to our activities for pioneer day, i wanted to share our adventure from a couple weekends ago.

my father-in-law has talked about riding the front runner for quite a while. any time someone said they we're heading down to salt lake, he would ask if they had taken the front runner. much to his dismay, hardly anyone ever had.

so, for father's day (about a month late), we took papa craig and dojo on a ride on the front runner -- complete with lunch at the little america cafe.





we actually missed the train back to ogden (they only run every hour) by a few minutes, so we strolled through the gateway (dojo and i stayed at anthropologie) while we waited for the next train. we left the gateway a little later than anticipated and ended up running to catch trax back to the train station to avoid having to wait another hour!

after about seven hours we made it back home, but it was well worth the trip!

my butt is big...

i have some things to post, but they'll have to wait for a minute.

thanks to nikeblog for this great add.

fourth of july in boston

we spent an awesome fourth of july with my family in boston (one of our very favorite places)!
we got to tour fenway park and watch the red sox beat the baltimore orioles and sang sweet caroline.
we were sore and sweaty after climbing to the top of the bunker hill monument.
we enjoyed waking up the other room with our fancy-shmancy doorbells.
we rubbed john harvard's shoe for good luck.
we had a hard time finding any dr. pepper, much to the dismay of many of my family members.
we ate many, many cookies and canolies from mike's pastry.
we watched the fireworks from the grass along the river near harvard.
we squished onto the T with too many people.
we walked the freedom trail.
we attempted to go to church. (didn't work out. apparently they got a new building.)
we saw the old harvard stadium.
we walked down acorn street.
we shopped on newbury street.
we survived the heat and "no" humidity and lots and lots of people.
we really enjoyed our trip to boston!

wilkins wonders: rockin' the ragnar

our team in front of van 1 ("white bread") and van 2 ("wheat bread")

well, we did it! we survived running the back of the rugged wasatch mountains, from logan all the way to park city. i don't know how to explain the great bonding, pain and also triumph you feel when you complete something like this. you'll just have to do it yourself to experience and know. our team was wonderfully supportive and i think that's what got me through.

go team!the RAGNAR!beautiful, blessed mountains coming into PC and, of course, the honey bucketsfinished! on our way up to the finish line

it really was a great experience and i think we all accomplished more than we thought we could. you can read more about it here, here, here and here.

i think i'm going to boston

just thought i'd write a quick update -- seeing the last time i wrote a post was approximately two months ago.

brian and i have just been working at our wonderful alma mater, utah state.
we have also been prepping (one of us a little more than the other) for the grueling wasatch back, which will take place not this weekend, but the next (june 18-19). we will be running with the wilkins wonders -- a team made up mostly of my mom's side of the family, plus a few. we all think we're crazy. please pray for us!
we are also looking forward to a family trip to boston the first part of july. we'll be celebrating an all-american fourth of july by eating hot dogs at fenway and watching fireworks over the harbor! we are really excited -- to say the least!

besides that, our summer will be filled with softball games, eating food from our first garden, family get-togethers, friend's weddings and hopefully some sunshine.

Vacay to Paris: Part XII

at this point in the trip, it's almost time for brian and me to go home.
this is one of the last things we did while in paris.
read here.

Vacay to Paris: Part XI

on our last day in Paris we visited Sacre Coure and walked around Montmarte.
you may read about it here.
i saw real gypsies and where Picasso and Monet lived and hung out.
i saw nuns preparing to take Communion and walked down some of the cutest, Parisian streets i'd seen.