7/25: My kid is a little furry but I love him so much!

I'm not a mom..to a person anyway. But Dexter has become my little world. He is so sweet, funny, smart (sometimes), dumb (most of the time), and so much fun. And I love that he loves me unconditionally..in fact in a way he's better than a kid. I can do no wrong and he doesn't talk back. Oh and he's completely potty trained so no dirty diapers. So when I finally got the perfect picture of him I had to share it. Dexter has this uncanny ability of moving whenever I snap a picture but after a long weekend in Omak I think he was just too lazy to avoid the flash :)

7/24: It's floatin time!!

We spent our second day in Omak floating the river. It would've been awesome except about 20 minutes in the thing that holds my oar lost it's nut (tee hee). So we tied my raft to Brand's and he did most the work. The river pushed us along okay but Brand did his fair share of rowing for sure.  We still had a great time even if I got a crazy sunburn (crazy as in random spots not 2nd degree burns..like I've had). We saw two bald eagles and that was really cool. Saw some deer along the banks. We see a lot of deer in Omak but it's still pretty cool. But the best thing I saw all day (second place was seeing Dexter all curled up on our pillows when we got home) was definitely this...

7/23: Full moon in Omak

We spent a great weekend in Omak floating the river, yummy meals, and good time watching Dexter with his grandparents.
The first night was gorgeous! After a hot day it was the perfect temperature and there was a full moon shining on the Omak river. We lit the tiki torches and just all sat out on the back deck. I think Omak may be one of my favorite places. It's beautiful in the summer and beautiful in the winter. I love the cool summer nights with the starry skies and the occasional breeze. And I love the snow and ice on the river during the winter. It's pretty relaxing to get away from the city.

7/22: Sushi!

I like sushi. It contains some pretty good stuff: good sauces, yummy fish, rice, and nori. We went out for sushi to celebrate our friend Jay's birthday and it was pretty awesome. I hadn't had sushi since I rolled my last sushi when I worked in the sushi fusion restaurant. We had the eel roll, california roll, and a roll dipped in tempura batter...so yummy!!
I think we'll be heading back for a date night soon :)

7/21: An empty belly

So quick pity party...I want to be a mom. Really bad. I think motherhood has got to be one of the coolest most precious things ever. The moms in my life seem to have this magical thing happen to them when they become a mom and I just can't wait for that. I can't wait to hold that little life in my arms and just love someone more than I ever thought I could, to see someone grow and learn, to watch them go to school, play sports and/or music, graduate high school, go to college, experience the world, get married, change the world, and just plain grow up to be an individual that just started out as a fertilized egg!
But now is just not the time I suppose. There are things I want to do, places I want to go before I become a mommy. I want to travel Europe, Africa, see the East coast, and have spontaneous vacations. I know all of that will be nearly impossible when we have kids and I do want to experience those freedoms that I have now. Also, I love the alone time I get with Brand. I think about it a lot when we're just hanging out how this is my favorite thing to do. And of course there's the money thing and the fact that I want to stay home with the kids and right now we can't do that. However, if I were to find out I were pregnant right now...I'd drop everything and trade all that in for mommyhood. And here's the thing, Brand and I have been married for almost a year and we have not gone anywhere or really done anything we've wanted to do before we have kids, except enjoy the freedoms a child-less life gives. And we both are certainly not going to put off kids so that we can do all this stuff because I think in the end...a child is more rewarding than a trip to Europe, a tour through the Smithsonian, a Christmas in NYC, or a road trip through the US and I'm willing to give those experiences up to have the real experience of a lifetime. Plus, I know a lady that didn't travel until her 60's and she went everywhere! But for now..just an empty belly (save for lasgna and ice cream)...

Oh and I'm sure this belly won't be around after kids...so I guess I can enjoy that..Though I think the signs of "sacrifice" that a woman gives for a child should be honored and beautified instead of something that needs to be shed so fast (thanks US Weekly).You just carried a growing human being in your body for 9 months..that should be celebrated! If someone goes to war and gets some huge scar across their body we honor them and it's a sign of their bravery, not something to be covered up. So someone tell me I said these words when my body suddenly changes from 24 year old non-mommy to 20 something year old mommy.
Anyway, pity party over..the day I found out I'm pregnant will make me the happiest person in the world, I'm willing to bet on it. But that'll be a few years from now..*sigh* all good things come to those who wait..right?

7/20: Mustachioed

For our date night on Monday we went to Despicable Me. Probably the cutest movie ever made. I loved Toy Story 3 more but Despicable Me had the cute elements down pat. But this is not about the cute little girls, the funny little minions, or even the sweet kids in the theater (one girl seriously said during the movie after Gru comes back from an amusement park with the girls.."Someone had a happy day!") this is about my awesome purchase as Brand stood in line to get a movie card (yeah we go there enough we thought we'd get those crown cards).

Fake mustaches. Pretty awesome. We look like 70's cops and I love it.

7/19: The best piece of mail ever

I got a piece of mail the other day sent to me by Oliver. I was so excited when I saw his name as the return address. I opened it up quick and unfolded the cutest thing ever. It was a picture from a coloring book where Minnie was red riding hood and her "grandma" wolf was sound asleep. And he colored it for me :)
Now if you don't know, I absolutely ADORE Oliver. He is the most precious thing this world has ever seen. He is sweet, smart, spunky, hilarious, adventurous, brave, and kind. He's also the best dancer. It kills me that I live far away where I can't see him whenever I want. He definitely monopolizes my time when I visit Boise. Sometimes I think he may have forgotten his Aunt Allison, but I always hear stories where he asks his mommy or his grandmas about where I'm at. Just the other day he asked his Grandma Debbie if Aunt Allison and Uncle Boo were coming to the Dudley family reunion. So when I got this picture my heart melted and it immediately went on the refrigerator. I can't believe he's old enough to be coloring pictures! When did that happen?
Luckily I get to see my Ollie in a couple weeks when we go camping with family. Thanks to work (boo) it'll be a quick visit but well worth it. Thanks Rheanne for sending me that. I can't wait to see you guys!

I love you Oliver John :)