happy birthday ethan!

today is my little brother ethan's birthday. he is 23. i guess he's not so little anymore. wasn't he just the cutest little kid?

ten on tuesday

1. the best sound in the world is the etsy cha-ching. i have the etsy app on my phone and any time i make a sale, it goes "cha ching!" it made that delightful sound twice today! :)

2. i finally folded the 4+ loads of clean laundry that were strewn around our bedroom. this has been on my to-do list for the past week. i'm telling you laundry will be the death of me - and we only have one kid!

3. after folding said laundry, i organized my bedside table. while doing that, i found a lost favorite earring and one of my wedding bands. they were under the bed...

4. it had been a goal of mine to try sulfate-free shampoo for a while and a couple of weeks back, i bought some. i got the loreal ever curl and boy does it smell good! i don't really know if it's making a difference on this crazy hair of mine but i'd like to think so!

5. ruby found her ruby slippers. i was sorting through her clothes and shoes this afternoon and she saw them. she immediately had me put them on her feet and didn't want to take them off. she cried when they fell off, which happened a lot because they are about two sizes too big. so cute though. i love that she loves them.

6. dan's mom is coming up this week. we are all really excited.

7.  my little brother, sam, is coming to visit next week, which we are all really excited for, also!

8. ruby took her first official steps on saturday! she pretty much hated it whenever we made her walk, but today something seemed to click for her! i looked away for one second and she had gotten up from where she was sitting and WALKED over to see something. oh goodness. i guess we'd really better babyproof.

9. dan and i went on a dinner date tonight to the art city trolley. it is probably our favorite restaurant. we love the food. we love the ambiance. we love that we can walk there. dan's cousin, tess, watched ruby so we were able to have a baby-free hour. it was great. and then we hung out with the allemans afterward and that was fun.

10. i'm pretty much done with my fall bucket list and i am so excited! i'll post it on here in a couple of weeks. i can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit.

movie in the park

there's nothing better than getting things done. even if they are silly things on a summer bucket list. 

tonight, we met up with our favorite friends jenny & jamie and went up to provo for a movie in the park. princess diaries - one of my favorites.

we trekked across the park and found a place to sit on the slope. it was steep! i think we chose the steepest part of the hill to sit on - we kept sliding down the whole time. 

that ruby is very observant. none of us grown ups realized there was a puppy just down the hill from us but, ruby wouldn't rest until she got to pet the puppy. it's a good thing people in provo are kid-friendly. she literally fell asleep five minutes after she finally got to say hi to the dog. she looked so peaceful and cute just sleeping there. 

the four of us snacked on popcorn, chocolate chip cookies & haribo gummy raspberries. 

i loved hearing dan laugh out loud to the jokes and stuff that i've had memorized since i was 13 years old. this was the first time he'd seen the classic chick flick.

it started raining and getting really windy as soon as the movie ended - it was as if mother nature was telling us to 'go home'! 

it was really so much fun. thanks for inviting us jenny & jamie! shall we go for newsies next week? 

good things friday

via

1. i received the cutest painting in the mail from my friend, annie. i almost cried when i opened the package. i love it so much. i really have the best and most talented friends.

2. we had a wonderful summer storm. the house was all dark and cozy and it just poured! it made me especially excited for those cozy fall days that will be here before we know it! i listened to the when harry met sally soundtrack. it just seemed to go with the general moodiness of the weather.

3. i figured out how to make my phone a remote for the blu-ray player. doesn't that sound so futuristic? and then i watched this clip (a few times). i would love to see this show but right now i think i'd settle for the brandy version!

4. we had leftover ikea cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning. we took jenny and jamie up there last night so they could get stuff to furnish their condo. it was really fun but ruby didn't really think so.

5. we took a walk around the block and talked to some new friends and some old ones. and ruby got to see her favorite dogs - bruce & carl.

6. ruby slept in until 9am, went down really easily for her nap and then went to bed without complaint. awesome.

7. i finished a dandyroo painting. guys, i've been working my tail off. i think i've sold like ten paintings in the last 3 weeks. that's a lot for me. i've got three more on my plate right now too.

the happiest place on earth!

via

guys, we are going to disneyland in less than a month. to say i'm excited is an understatement. this will be ruby's first trip and i am looking forward to it so so much! i really hope she's walking by then. this is one of the parenthood milestones i've been looking forward to since way before ruby was born. i just know she's going to love it.

one of my favorite photographers had an article recently about how to photograph your child while on vacation - specifically at disneyland. i love the way her pictures turned out. i think it captures the essence and magic of a day at the happiest place on earth. here are more photos from that trip - what an inspiration! i found a code for a free shutterfly book and i'm already planning on making an album of our trip. won't that be so fun to look at years from now?

i think ruby will love the teacups. lately, she's been trying to climb into dan's office chair that spins. sometimes we'll sit her up there and gently spin her around. she giggles and claps her hands and thinks its the greatest thing ever.

two things we must do while we are there: 1) get ruby's silhouette cut out on main street and 2) get her a pair of mickey ears with her name embroidered on the back.

i also might want to make some shirts like this one. i just need to get my hands on a silhouette cutting machine. seriously, how cool would it be if we were all wearing shirts like these?!

in other news, i read this article and it made me so sad. they can't change club 33! it's just wrong.

and also - did you know they almost didn't put pirates of the caribbean at disneyworld? they were going to do a cowboy and indian themed dark ride. wouldn't that be different? i learned that and a bunch of stuff when i watched this video. yeah, i watched the whole thing. plus, you get to see the mermaids that used to hang out where the submarines are do their swimming audition. so funny! and this video is pretty fun too. once you start watching vintage disneyland shows, you can't stop!

candace's 25th birthday recap

that dan. he spoils me. and apparently he reads this blog, too. 

the night before my birthday, he said that he had some stuff to do for my birthday and that i should get ready for bed. i was expecting streamers and balloons, because that is pretty standard. i guess i should come to expect that hardly anything with dan is standard. 

dan woke me up thursday morning (wearing one of my aprons, no less) and told me to come downstairs. boy, was i surprised. 

he had read this post where i say that i think an american girl birthday party like i had when i was little would still be fun today. and that's just what he did. he borrowed a fancy tablecloth, china & such from his grandma and set up a little tea party for us. he even invited my old dolls to come. 

it was really sweet and ruby was just excited to eat breakfast with the "babies". 

the spread - dan really saw to every detail! 

including this scrabble birthday message! 

he made name tags in his finest handwriting

scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes & blueberries

wait! it's momma's birthday!?

ruby is so happy to eat breakfast with the dollies. i foresee lots of tea parties in her future!

what a good daddy!

dan insisted i wear the bonnet...

and then dan put the bonnet on.

ruby thought it was pretty funny. 

this made me laugh so hard - dan knew the names of the other dolls and made them corresponding name tags but this one doesn't technically have a name. so he made one up. i don't know what happened to her one eye, but it is broken and looks funny. dan called her "miss one eyed jill" 

here's a photo from that original birthday party. he did a pretty good job at recreating it. 

what a kind & thoughtful husband i have!

the rest of the day was great. i met up with jenny & jamie for lunch at station 22. i got a package from my mom & other birthday cards in the mail. dan, roo and i went to target and the sweet tooth fairy. then everyone came over for cupcakes, singing and a good ol' time. 

if my 25th birthday is any indication of what my 25th year holds, it's going to be a great one! 

ruby tuesday

1. ruby can now identify her nose. we'll say "ruby! where's your nose?" and she'll point. she often accidentally sticks her finger up her nose but i think she gets the point. we're working on ears and eyes.
2. ruby is still not walking, but is getting a lot more confident moving around. i looked away for one second and she somehow got from the living room to dan's office where i found her sitting in his 'old man chair'
3. ruby always wants to climb the stairs and go to the up up stairs to see the dollies and toys that are up there.
4. most of the time, there is a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and that has become ruby's favorite place to sit. like nine times out of ten she'll be sitting on the step. and she usually clasps her hands and puts them in her lap. it's seriously so cute.
5. ruby was having some serious problems in the poop department and is on a pretty permanent regiment of miralax. she usully has a cocktail of equal parts apple juice and water and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of miralax. it helps get stuff moving if you know what i mean...
6. ruby has started making kissy noises at her toys and sometimes will even give me slobbery open-mouthed kisses.
7. thank heaven for washable crayons. ruby loves to color and gets crayons all over the place sometimes. these ones just come off with a wet cloth. awesome.
8. ruby loves blueberries. she didn't like them very much the first time she tried them a few months ago, but now she thinks they're great.
9. ruby dances to pretty much any music she hears. it's like this hand shuffle shimmy. the beach boys are still her favorite, but she has also been enjoying the disney pandora station.
10. ruby had another ear infection. she's on the last couple days of her antibiotics. i think she inherited her daddy's ears. he had so many ear infections as a child!

a short story

SOMETIMES WE GO ON WALKS 

A Short Story by Ruby Workman

sometimes we like to go on family walks. 

sometimes we start in the front of the house. sometimes we start in the back. 

sometimes we see cats. 

sometimes we have to dodge trees.

sometimes we see dogs. 

sometimes mom gives me a piggy back ride. 

sometimes daddy does instead. 

sometimes we see our friends. 

sometimes our friends give us treats. 

sometimes we make new friends that want to come home with us. 

sometimes we stop to take pictures. 

sometimes daddy gets tired of taking pictures. 

sometimes we see beautiful sunsets. 

and then we go home. 

the end. 

p.s. the dog belonged to our friends and it had somehow gotten out while they were gone. dan named him white fang but apparently her name is kira. it was fun to have a dog for the evening! 

you're invited to a birthday party!

today is my birthday. 

i am 25.  

i have been thinking a lot about my past birthdays. man, i've had some great birthdays.

 i love reminiscing about my childhood and getting older just makes me want to do it more. 

i just love this picture. i think i am four. not quite sure. 

i think i am three. i don't remember anything about this party at all. it's just cute. i guess my theme was the little mermaid. if you look through my photo album, you'll see that a lot of my parties have disney princess themes. and i must have really loved that lunchbox because it's in a lot of photos too. also, we apparently ate kfc back in the day...

 

i am five. and for the record, this photo is not from my party but i couldn't find one from the actual day-of. this party was amazing. i had a cinderella "carnival". we lived in this little house behind a bigger house that had a full basketball court and my party was there. my mom planned all kinds of cinderella-themed games. we had this bowling game where we knocked over soda bottles with pictures of the wicked stepmother and stepsisters on them with plush pumpkins. we "fished" for prizes with the fairy godmother's wand. we probably danced or something, i can't remember for sure. it was really fun.

this starts the american girl phase. i think i was eight in this picture. i had two american girl tea party themed birthdays - eight and nine. all the girls brought their dolls, we had tea sandwiches, petit fours and lemonade. we played old fashioned games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and clothes pin drop (see below). the first year we decorated straw hats with ribbons and flowers and each girl got to take theirs home. the next year we made matching ones for our dolls. the girls brought home old fashioned penny candy as a favor. it was so much fun. both times! 

i even wrote out all the invitations myself - and kept one for some reason? i sure am glad though! it is so fun to look back at my old handwriting. 

this was my sixteenth birthday. this was the year my family moved from california to massachusetts. why am i not with my family on my birthday? well, i'd already signed up for girls camp, youth conference and education week and it just made more sense for me to stay in california. so my good friend stephanie's family (the nordblads) took me in for that summer. they sure made my birthday special even though i was so far away from my family. 

these aren't all of my birthdays, of course. but they are ones that stand out. i sure have great friends and family. and if you have any questions why i like to throw parties and celebrate holidays so much i guess you could just say i was raised that way! :)