Tulip Festival

When my parents were here in April for graduation, they decided to take us to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was our first time going and it was absolutely beautiful.

 

We'll have to do this again sometime!

Rose at 5 months

I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting. Somebody slow down the clock because it's already going too fast. Well, apart from being (in my humble opinion) the cutest baby around, Rosie has been busy. Mostly busy exploring the world around her because she has become so curious about everything and anything. Some new discoveries include:

• Her Hair - whenever she is eating she loves to run her hands through her hair and even sometimes pulls on it
• Splashing at Bath Time - I used to kind of dread bath time because Rosie didn't like it so much, but now it has become lots of fun
• Books - I started reading her books as a part of a bedtime and naptime routine and she has really taken to it. She listens and looks at the pictures so attentively and only gets a little upset sometimes when she can't turn the pages by herself.
• The Dinner Table - Rose has discovered that it is extremely cool to sit with Mom and Dad at the table when we eat and protests loudly if we leave her out from this daily event. The only problem is that she is practically salivating looking at all of our food, so it's a big struggle to keep her from getting into it. One more month and we'll start her on solids though so that should help satisfy her curiosity.

Rose in a big bed - wants to be a big girl already

She's also pretty much done with rolling over. She must have thought it was lame because she only did it three times and doesn't even rock to her side that much now. Rose has gotten really good at napping at church, but in general is sleeping worse at night. She still blows raspberries like her life depends on it and also enjoys riding on Daddy's shoulders. Overall, we love this adorable baby girl.

(Andrew insisted we put her pants on her head)

Memorial Day Weekend

It was an exciting weekend at the Wells household, mostly because my little sister Katie came down from BYU Idaho for a visit. Rosie especially enjoyed getting reacquainted with her super cool aunt.

One of the things we did was a quick trip to the BYU Museum of Art. Andrew and I really enjoy going there, but we hadn't been there for a long time. Since Katie is a art history major and had heard of the new Islamic art exhibit "Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture", and had wanted to go, we thought it was the perfect opportunity.

We also went to a Memorial Day service Monday morning at the Orem Cemetery, and it felt good to take some time to pay tribute to those that sacrifice their lives to defend our freedom. It was particularly moving when they had a mother of a soldier that was killed in Afghanistan last year speak at the service.

God Bless America!

Next we had a barbecue up the Provo Canyon where my brother Jordan joined us. It was a beautiful day.

And to finish off a fun weekend, we went to the Scera Shell with Jordan and his wife Kara for a concert Monday night featuring NBC's The Sing Off contestants: Pentatonix, Delilah, and BYU's Vocal Point. My cousin Tanner is actually the beat boxer for Vocal Point, so we wanted to support him since this was one of his last performances before he retires from the group. Rosie was a real trooper and fell asleep in the middle even though it was extremely loud. It was a really fun night.

Trip to Idaho

Back in April, Andrew and I took Rose on her very first road trip. One of Andrew's papers got accepted to a conference at Idaho State University and so he needed to go there to present it. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to visit my Granny who lived close by the university in Idaho Falls. We particularly wanted her to finally meet Rosie because she's named after her. Here is a short video of us on our way:

Rose ended up being a real trooper and was so good both ways. We had so much fun visiting with Granny and Rose was so excited to meet her great-grandma. They sure hit it off.

Two Rosies

A Day at the Park

Bon Appetit!

 One of our favorite things to do together is cook. We enjoy trying new things, experimenting with recipes, and recreating old classics. Here are some of the things we've made:

Corned Beef and Cabbage
I had never even had this before, but Andrew's family makes this every St. Patrick's Day. It was really good and not that hard to make.

Heart Shaped Pizza for Valentine's Day

 Chimichangas
Inside the flour tortilla we have refried beans, onions, spices, and some of our leftover turkey. After frying them in a pan of hot oil for a few seconds till they are crisp, we top them with shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, cheese, sour creme, salsa, and in Andrew's case, Valentina brand hot sauce. A Mexican delight! 

Turkey Dinner

 It wasn't Thanksgiving, but we had bought the turkey when it was on sale back in November, and couldn't help making all of the traditional dishes that go with it. Whoever said you couldn't be grateful in February?

Fabulous French Toast

Andrew insisted that we cut it in triangles because the presentation makes the food taste better. We topped it off with strawberries, whipped cream, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Serve it with bacon and a fried egg and it doesn't get much better than that.