Introducing Holly Wood

We got a pet! We decided our first pet (not counting our fish) should be a cat because they are generally less expensive and take less attention. And I prefer cats over dogs. In the future we'll probably get a dog, but that can wait until we have kids old enough to take care of it, and hopefully a bigger yard.

So we got Holly Wood, known at the cat shelter as Betty. She has always been (and will continue to be) an outdoor cat, which is one reason why we chose her. She is very friendly. We kept her in the house the first evening, and then in the garage the first night. The next day she went outside supervised a couple of times, and then she was on her own. The first day she was gone for like nine hours. I was afraid she had decided to head back to Sevier County, her old home, but she showed up on the patio that night.

Camille loves her. This has been a frequent sight around here:

In other news, we had a mouse in our house. It was exciting. Notice I said had. It was disposed of, no thanks to Holly.

While Mom was here she got some pouches for Camille. Camille really liked the pouches, but those things are expensive--over a dollar each. They are, however, a good way to get a picky self-feeder to eat vegetables and fruits, so I bought some reusable pouches. In addition to being able to feed Camille foods that she normally won't eat, they have been very convenient to feed her at church or on-the-go. (I don't really feed her on-the-go that much since we hardly ever go anywhere.)

She has also become obsessed with the dishwasher. Maybe soon she'll help me load and unload it.

Enjoying some delicious puree out of her awesome reusable pouches

Enjoying a candy cane

Leaving sticky candy cane hand prints all over the kitchen

Stuck under the dishwasher. She was crying until I pulled the camera out.

Getting in the dishwasher.

A new favorite game is sitting in this little box and having someone push/pull her around in it.

It's been five years

Five years ago I entered the MTC with my little orange dork dot. (It matched my sweater vest!)

I had a wonderful mission. It was hard, but it was definitely a great experience. Recently I've heard of a few sisters that have gone on a mission, didn't get married, and gone on another mission several years later. I don't know if I could do that, but at the time it was the right choice, and I'm certainly glad I served a mission.

I love Peru and its people. I'd love to go back, especially to see Machu Picchu. 

                                       

Sometimes when I think back to my time in Peru, It's almost hard to believe I did it: I lived in a third-world country; I ate strange foods; I lived among, taught, and loved people from a very different culture; I put on hold my life as a student and didn't see my family for 18 months; I wore a skirt and hose for 18 months.

I still occasionally have dreams about being on a mission or being in Peru.

A few months ago in the Ensign, there was a story about a girl in college who was content with her current situation in life, and a little sad that things would be changing. She was suddenly struck by the thought: good things keep on coming.

I had a great mission, but since then good things have come.

Like this:

and this:

and this:

                                     

And I'm sure that good things will still keep coming.

Disclaimer: Tomorrow is actually the five year anniversary, but I had more time to blog today.

Bow Extravaganza

Mom and I spent the morning and afternoon making bows. The original ribbon insect clip inspiration was from Pinterest, but as we looked around on the internet, we found some other things to make.

A bee and a ladybug

A butterfly and a dragonfly

A caterpillar and another bee

Another butterfly and a snail

Janet stopped in for lunch and played ball with Camille.

Mom's here to visit!

Today Dad left for a business trip in China, Thailand, Malaysia, and maybe another country. On Monday, Brian is going on a business trip to Las Vegas (not as exciting as China). Mom was nice enough to come so we can hang out together, and we've already had a lot of fun. Camille even has been pretty nice and will let Mom hold her. She'll even stay with Mom if she can watch Moose and Zee.

Janet and Jacob came over for dinner, dessert, and games. In case you didn't figure it out, I'm participating in  the Cupboard Project, which is being documented HERE. We played Whoonu, and then used the cards to play Gestures. It was hilarious, especially considering some of the Whoonu cards are things like broccoli. Gestures may be coming to a family reunion near you, so be prepared.