simple pleasures and surprises

i'm happy to be here.

we made it! it was a long 2 days but it feels so good to be home.  we had a safe trip and only a few minor hold-ups. avery and i had slightly different tickets than everyone else that sent us to dallas late last night instead of spending the night in miami.  i was a little apprehensive about that whole set up, traveling by myself with a toddler and tons of luggage (pretty much our lives for the last year plus car seat and stroller stuffed into suitcases) so my mother in law changed her ticket to come help me out since we would be staying in dallas for 12+ hours.  we got lucky that we came to dallas last night because the rest of the family that stayed the night in miami got stuck there all morning, had to rearrange flights and wont make it to SLC until super late tonight. 

there have been so many simple pleasures we've been able to enjoy since landing in the U.S. yesterday.

-i watched the most amazing lightening storm from the sky last night. prettiest things i've seen in a long time.

-i slept in a bed instead of on an airplane and woke up feeling refreshed instead of jet lagged.

-i ate a huge bowl of cold cereal with real milk this morning.  it has never tasted better.

-i bought american food and treats for avery in the airport that i didn't know were possible to miss.

-i flew over so many mountains covered in snow that seemed more beautiful to me than miles of beach and palm trees.

-i got butterflies in my stomach the minute our airplane touched ground in salt lake.

-i loved flushing toilet paper down the toilet instead of tossing it in the garbage. (sick but true)

-i drank the biggest cup of root beer. really the only pop i love and missed.

-i cried a little bit when i saw my parents at the airport and watched them with avery as she gave them her special card she made.

-i washed my face in warm water and it was lovely.

-i talked to my sisters on the phone instead of skype.

-i drank water out of the tap instead of a culligan-like filter.

the list could go on and on, but i think its clear we're glad to be home.  

oh, this is a little peak at what avery's super homemade special card said:

 october 16th, and we couldn't be happier.

loving lately

just a few things that i have been loving lately.

my kindle.  we dont have too many english book stores available here in brasil, but this little gadget has been the greatest replacement for bookstores. i occasionaly miss holding a real book, but very rarely. i have read so many books over the last few months.  what are some of your favorites. i'm almost done with my current book and don't have one on my waiting list.

pinterest.  i started using pinterest a few months ago and am still slightly addicted.  i think of it as collection of favorite magazine clipping, but online and much neater and organized.  most of you have probably jumped on the bandwagon, but if you havent and want an invitation to join, give me your email address.

mindy gledhill. her music is so calm and refreshing. i'm loving it and could listen to it on replay for hours.

moraccon oil.  greatest hair product i own.  it has been so fabulous here in brasil.  i think i can count on 2 hands the number of times i've blow dryed and straightened my hair while living here.  the result isnt always the prettiest hair, but its way too humid to dry it and make it more brittle just to have the humidity get ahold of it an hour later.  magic in a bottle.

these shoes.  i'm still undecided on regular toms.  i know i'm a year or two behind, but i've been out of the loop for a while in brasil and i just decided i am loving their wedges.  if they are as comfortable as everyone says the regular shoes are, or close, i think they might be winners and something i'll have to get when i get home. am i missing out by not trying the normal toms?

and of course, i am loving these two.  they have made the last year in brasil so bearable and fun.  they both make me laugh on a regular basis and make my heart beat a little bit faster everyday.  i love them most of all.

(taken during trae and ave's late night swim the other day)  

from trash to treasure

okay, it never really was trash, but it only got used maybe once a year during homecoming week on 80's day.  this beauty was my great grandma phyllis beck's pant suit.  she passed away when i was a year and a half.  i have one picture with her when we were newborns wearing this same outfit.  I never knew her, although i've heard so many things about her, i wish i did.  from what i hear she was such a classy and fancy lady.  

the last time i was visiting home a few months ago i was straightening up the play room at my moms and was picking up the dress-up box that avery had rummaged through. i saw this pant suit and the vision came to me.  when i first asked my mom if i could have it and make it a dress, her first response was no, that was grandma beck's, you cant cut it up and change it.  a few seconds passed and she changed her mind.  and i am so happy she did.  she said she would much rather have one of her daughters use it for real, instead of just for dress up and play once a year. i packed it up and brought it to brasil with me and had a talented lady in our stake fix it up for me.  ten dollars later (yeah, that's all!) and i have myself a fancy new dress.  i'm quite in love with it.   it has an real old fashioned flair to it but the color, the fit, the sleeves are perfect and just what i imagined it looking like 5 months ago.

here's a 4 generation picture when meag and i were tiny and my mom was a baby with my grandma garrard and great grandma beck

trae can't believe i'm acutally putting this picture on here, but it's the only way to see the transformation.  those sleeves seriously could have fit my leg through them.  i had already unstitched the pant legs so i pinned it back together for pictures sake and ended up with a super blurry result.  i figure its probably better that way.

here's the final result, obviously.  the elastic waistband isn't in the most flattering position so i belted the dress today and loved it.

i'm already hoping i beat my sisters to the dress up box when i go home in a few weeks to see what other kinds of treasures i've overlooked.  i love that i now have this little memory of my great grandma even though i never got to know her, and super cute new dress.

25 years!

todays my birthday! YAY! i've had a great day so far. lunch date with Mr. Jones and shopping with my mother in law- where i scored a new pair of shoes. tonight we're going out for dinner to pizza hut. (i chose the same place for my birthday last year- tastes just like pizza hut from home and hits the spot everytime.) i love that birthdays get a little more quiet and simple as you get older, i'm a simple girl. ave's been giving the most wonderful birthday hugs and kisses all day and she made the cutest card while trae and i were out and about and was so proud of it... she drew a circle and a square and colored pictures of our little family amongst scribbles. {random but funny, today while shoe shopping ave was keeping all the employees busy while trying every single shoe her little hands could get ahold. she found the brightest orange shoes with the biggest heel i've ever seen and waltzed around in them til she toppled over. after she fell, she giggled and said "mom, i fell on those carrots. those carrot shoes made me fall." what a goof}

anyways, back to birthdays, i opted for no presents from trae until we get home. i was so not in the mood for brasilian gear and my suitcase has zero extra space for our trip home, make that negative zero space now that i have another pair of high heels, we're in trouble. also, i couldn't come up with one single thing i wanted/needed.  this coming from the girl who usually has a mile long list to choose from.  so what are your favorite things that maybe i've been missing out on since living in brasil the past year, i need suggestions.

but my most favorite part about my birthday is that i share it with meag.  Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he put us together.  He must have known how terribly bad we needed eachother.  That girl can run a half marathon with the best of them, grow a garden like i've never seen, have a bad hair day and still look amazing and is the very best friend I have. I am so glad that after meag was born 25 years ago, much to my parents suprise, that doctor said "i think there's another baby in there," and 7 minutes later i was born. I needed meag and i think she needed me.  25 years with her have been pretty amazing.  I can not wait to live on the same continent as her again, let alone the same state.  Happy Birthday pretty girl.  I love you Meag!!

(i'm at a serious lack of pictures with just meag and i.  we've clearly been away from eachother too long, 

here's one blurry picture with us and the kiddos and one back from college days)