SAN DIEGO

At this point, I am finding it difficult to find the motivation to keep up with the blog. It could mostly be due to the fact that I think maybe three people read it, and that is being generous. Of course the most important person that reads it will be future Stella so I continue pressing forward, updating the goings on of our daily lives.

In September, Brent had a work trip to San Diego. We hadn't had one of these in a while and I love them. I get to stay in a very nice hotel, shop while Brent is in meetings, and spend some quality time with him too. San Diego was super fun. It was the first trip where I really used my phone to help plot out where we would eat when we got hungry. We didn't eat at one chain restaurant our entire trip.

Our first night we took a little walk around the water before dinner and watched the sunset. It took a lot of effort for me to get out of my cuddly bed and see the sun go down, but in the end it was worth it.

The next day I was lucky enough to have my bestie Christy drive down to see me for the day. We went out to breakfast and had the best food ever! Then we headed to the pool and had fun swimming and chatting. When they left, I went back to the pool to hang out and read, waiting for Brent to get out of meetings.

That night we tried a burger place. It was extremely hot and humid on our walk and by the time we got to this dark pub-like place I wasn't sure if we should eat there. On top of that I wasn't feeling so hungry. However, we had a nice table outside and the waitress was so nice. Soon I was stealing bites of Brent's amazing burger and fries.

I spent the next day shopping and we then had an early dinner. I grabbed a few pictures before we left the city. I also attempted many times to gather photographic evidence that Brent has to walk two feet in front of me on a consistent basis. Of course every time I got out my camera he would suddenly slow down. But I got him a few times. Soon, we were on a plane and headed home to Stella. It was a short but fun trip.

PORTER ARRIVES

When Tyler and Courtney announced that they were expecting a baby back in January, I was so stinking happy. And then like magic some months later he arrived. Courtney was a trooper through her entire pregnancy and then the labor and delivery. I was the first person to meet my little, at the time un-named, nephew outside of his mom and dad. I snuck in to see him before I went out of town to San Diego with Brent. I harassed the new parents until they let me in for about 15 minutes to see his sweet face...and the HAIR. He has adorable wild hair. Everyone loves it. Everyone loves him too.

He was born on my Grandma Mabe's birthday, and named Porter Norman after my Grandpa Evans.

OUR FIRST GRADER

Stella starting first grade has been a big adjustment for everyone. Of course she is in school all day and I miss her. I also miss sleeping in more than anything! Ugh, these mornings are tough!

I was so proud of Stella for smiling for her first day pictures even though I knew she was crazy nervous and did not feel like smiling at all. It has taken some adjustment, but now that it has been a few weeks, when I pick her up she has usually had a fun day and has a big smile on her face. I still walk her to the door each morning because just dropping her off is way too hard for both of us! Also I am now going in on Tuesdays to help with the class. Stella and I both like it.

She is busy learning Spanish and growing up more each day. She is too big--I mean, she has a freaking locker already! How am I supposed to cope with that business!? Anyway, I just love her and I hope that she has a great year in first grade!

WHAT TEAM? WILDCATS?! A LOVE AFFAIR WITH HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

I am so far behind on our family photos and blog that I am having a hard time keeping track of what I do need to post. Part of this complication is my phone that has a ton of pictures from the summer, some of which will appear on my soon-to-be-made Instagram book. We had a busy summer--after Stella's birthday, we had a visit from the Gummows and then a visit from the Douglas clan. It was so fun to have both of them here to play with us.

This summer was also filled with a lot of High School Musical excitment. Stella got really into these classic films this year, and loved everything about them. She was singing the songs non-stop and dancing and just loving them everyday. Of course, when I told her that the movies were filmed in Utah she wanted to check out Easy High School as soon as possible. One night after we had taken the Douglas family pictures close to EHS, we stopped by and the kids had a little Wildcats photoshoot. The school was locked up of course, but I told Stella that we would go inside soon.

Yes, it was all about the Wildcats all summer long. I started to get into it too. I can't say I have ever watched any of the movies from begining to end but I have seen them several times now since they are on all the time. And the songs? Love them, I do.

So around August I figured that the school would be open one day, so we popped in to sneak around and had the best time seeing our favorite spots and reenacting our most treasured scenes. It was so fun. We were so thrilled when we finally found Sharpay's locker! Still pink after all these years. We also found the gym, and even though it was occupied by the whole girls' volleyball team, Stella still danced and sang around and had the best time. WE had the best time. Especially because the whole time I was able to play it cool like I was just doing this for my little girl, but I loved it just as much as she did.