Ugly Cupcakes

The other day I asked Arek what treat he was in the mood for and he said cupcakes. Well, it had been a while since we last made cupcakes (or a cake, for that matter) so we quickly whipped up batter for cherry chip cupcakes (they sound weird... but they are not cherry at all; they actually taste like almond extract which reminds me of my favorite childhood candy: divinity... yum!) and put them in the oven to bake. Anyway, for some reason or another the cupcakes mushroomed when they cooked. And when I frosted them... well, you can see for yourself that it didn't turn out pretty. Honestly, I think these are the ugliest-looking cupcakes I have ever made in my life. Good thing looks have very little to do with taste! Regardless of their homely appearance, we are still enjoying eating them! I have learned a valuable lesson, though: next time I make cupcakes that have huge mushroom tops I am definitely going to use a icing bag and just squirt out frosting on top instead of trying to spread it with a knife.

Newest Craft Project

It has been a while since I last did a craft project (since I finished my quilt) but I have been thinking for a long time about what I wanted to make. I knew that I wanted it to be something for our baby but exactly what. Here was my dilema: 1) my mom has made a cute cross-stitch picture that will have the baby's name & birth date whenever she is born, and 2) Arek's mom is making our little one a beautiful quilt. So... what else is there for me to make? Well, I decided to whip out my dusty crochet hook and try my hand at making our little girl a blanket for her baby blessing. We are going to be able to use the baby blessing dress that my mom used for me and all my sisters, but I thought making my baby her very own blessing blanket would be sweet.

Anyway, here is what it will look like when it is completed (hopefully) except in white because, well, it's for her blessing:
And here is how I am progressing... nearly half the rows are completed, then I get to do the border!And I know I am about a week and a half late in posting this, but here is me at 32 weeks! I know to YOU I may not look huge (that's what everyone tells me), but it is so exciting to me and Arek how big our baby and I are getting! :)

Bingham Copper Mine

Last weekend I got off work at three and Arek and I looked at each other and asked, "What should we do this afternoon?" Our answer: drive down Bingham with my dad and two younger sisters and visit the Copper Mine. Turns out, for being "just" a big hole it was pretty cool. We watched two videos about the mine and how they make copper and learned a ton! And for a souviner we bought ourselves a postcard (we buy one for every place we visit) and a copper Christmas tree ornament. Here's some of the sites:
The mine itself. Holy cow, it is a big hole! I still find it fascinating that it can be seen from outer space! Also, the entire town that my grandma was born in is now somewhere in the middle of where the hole is
Kat and I in front of one of the trucks they use for hauling the dirt. It's looks pretty small to me...
Me and Arek in front of an actual-sized tire from one of the trucks in the picture above. The tire itself is 12.5 feet and weighs over 10,000 lbs! And the truck... it's as tall as a two-story building! Wowzers...Arek trying to "steal" the copper sheet on display... it's 99.99% pure copper. Me and my seestors by the official mine plack. It was a really fun day trip!

Baby Shopping... Finally

So on Tuesday we went shopping for our baby. We do this all the time but this trip we actually BOUGHT something. Amazing, I know, especially for me. I have a hard time buckling down and making buying decisions, especially ones I think are important and/or expensive. So we have officially bought our SECOND item for our little one. At almost 32 weeks, I figure that isn't too bad... :) Anyway, what did we buy?...

A stroller and car seat! Hurray! Yes, it is green and brown... we figured that green was a more gender-neutral color than blue or pink and since we plan on having more than just this one baby... Anyway, buying this has got me giddy with excitement about this baby. I mean, I have always been excited, but we actually have something for her now! (the only other thing we've bought is a one-sie that Arek fell in love with) Of course, there will be lots more to follow, but hey, we've still got 8 weeks (more or less)!

Foutz Family Reunion

Last week we were able to go on vacation to Bear Lake with my mom's extended family. It was a glorious 2 days away from work, just relaxing and playing with family. Here's a little of what we did:

the HUGE cabin we all stayed in... it slept all 30 of us! And it had a GORgeous view of the lakeMy family on the balcony of the cabin just before leaving. Don't we all look great? :)My Uncle James took us on a long drive up bumpy dirt roads to Bloomington Lake, just a few miles into Idaho. It was gorgeous! All the boys (and a few of the girls) did the rope-swing into the lake. It was fun to watch (and to have an excuse NOT to jump... because, honestly, rope swings scare me)Arek and Rachel playing on the beach... they are such good buddies (not that you can tell by this photo!)

Playing at the beach at Bear Lake. The water was WARM (well... for Bear Lake). Unfortunately, this is about as wet as I got... we didn't think the baby would like how cold the lake water typically is.

On our way home to Logan we stopped at Tony Grove and walked around the lake. As always it was absolutely beautiful! Arek has decided we now need to buy a plastic dingy so we can go rowing on the lake!

Long Overdue Update

Wowzers, it has been a long time since my last post. Sorry for the absense. This past month has been very eventful for us and time continues to fly by. I’ll try to update the biggest news items in the order they happened, so this will probably be a fairly long post. Also, we keep forgetting to get our camera out lately, so sorry there aren’t a lot of photos, sorry.

On the 18th of June we welcomed my family came home from England FOR GOOD. It has been so nice to have them close by this past month. We’ve already had my younger sisters up at our apartment for the weekend, and are just so excited to be able to spend time with them again! They are all very happily situated in their old home (which turns 100 this year!). They are also having a garage built so it is always fun to see the updates as it is getting closer to being completed. Arek was very excited to be able to help with the concrete on the floor of the garage, since it was his old boss who was doing it. He sure does miss working with the “mud” as they call it. I am glad he still gets occassional opportunities to help his old boss out.

Anniversary! On June 26th we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. It is amazing to me how fast these two years have gone by. I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man as Arek! This year he gave me a dozen beautiful roses and after work we went and got soup, salad and dessert at the Olive Garden. It is still crazy to me how short a time we have known each other because it feels like I’ve known Arek my whole life. He is my best friend and can always make me smile and laugh no matter how grumpy I want to be. I am so glad we get to spend eternity together!

my beautiful flowers

Our 4th of July weekend was a little more sobering this year than it usually it. That was because my Grandma Glad passed away the morning of the 4th after battling with a rare kind of cancer for 6 months. We all felt very blessed to be able to say our final goodbyes to her and to just have had her in our lives. She was a wonderful, loving woman. The funeral was held on July 10th, and it was just beautiful. The spirit was so strong and all the thoughts given by my aunts and uncles and dad were truly touching, just focusing on the celebration of what was Grandma’s life.

my grandma and grandpa two years ago when I recieved my endowments

The rest of the month has been filled with work and family. We are now officially in our third trimester of this pregnancy and the baby (and my belly!) continues to get bigger and bigger. It is so exciting to read about how much she is growing and feel her moving around inside me. Arek was finally able to feel her moving about a week ago, which was a very exciting experience for him. Previous to that occasion he was confinced that she knew when he was feeling my tummy and that she purposefully was avoiding moving when he was trying to feel her. :) We are so excited to meet this little one in less than three months! Oh, and we also made our first purchase for our baby - a onesie that Arek fell in love with that says: “My Dad Can Fix Anything”, which, since Arek is her father, is pretty close to the truth.

my belly one week ago at 28 weeks

Well that is it for the updates. I promise to post at least more frequently than once a month now! It simply takes WAY too much time to update when it’s been that long!

Happy Birthday, Mumsie!

Today is my mom's birthday. She is pretty much one of the most amazing people I have ever known, and I love her so very much. She keeps her hosue amazingly clean and makes yummy food (especially her Christmas caramels... the best I have ever tasted!) and is super funny and gardens and sews up a storm and... yep. She is my inspiration. I hope I can be as good a mom to my little girl as she has been to me! And the best news is that she and the rest of my family are home for good in one week! :) Happy Birthday, Mumsie!

Also, my little brother graduates high school today! Congrats, Ben! You are so grown up and I am so proud of you! And we do have a graduation gift for you... it is just waiting here for you. it wasn't worth it send... you'll understand when you see it :)