4th of July

The Cornwall 4th of July was as wonderful as ever this year. There's never enough time to catch up with all my cousins now that everyone is so spread out, but I was happy to talk to the ones I did. My whole family was there...almost. My brother-in-law Joey couldn't make it and we missed him. Here's the rest of us:

We look so patriotic in our reds, whites, and blues! Gavin and I took a picture on my grandparents rock wall, but it was a little bit sunny...

This next one is my brother and his family. So cute! That's my little nephew that was born prematurely--look how big he is now! He is so sweet.

Super cute shots of Natalie and Olivia. I think the second one belongs in a country magazine.

Giraud Family Pictures

We had Giraud family pictures done while we were in Idaho. The photographer was awesome and we got a lot of great pictures out of it. Here's some of my favorites.

Here's the whole group! 

Grandma and Grandpa with all the granddaughters. I had to post this one with Emery's awesome face. That's what she does when you say "smile!"

I think this one is my favorite. We sure love this guy. 

Go BYU!

Here's Emery! I think she is so beautiful. I know I'm biased, but sometimes I just stare at her in awe of how beautiful she is. 

I like this one but the pose is lacking a little bit. I wish I would have had Gavin put his arm around us or something. 

The handsome husbands of the group. 

And the lovely ladies! 

My First Auction

A friend recently introduced me to the wonderful world of AUCTIONS! There's a company that puts on an auction in a warehouse once a month or so close to where we live. Although I've driven by the sign dozens of times I've never had to the nerve to actually go to one. But that all changed in June when my friend invited me along, and I am hooked! It was so exciting. This particular one was mostly antique furniture and home decor and it was really fun seeing beautiful, Old World antique pieces with their intricate carved designs, and big, dark lines. It was fun to listen to the auctioneer with his "$100--whosgot100--gimme 110--110there110--comeonit'sworthmorenthat--120-120-120--SOLD!!!" And the ladies in the front watching the crowds yelling, "YEEEEEP!!!" every time someone bids. The atmosphere was so thrilling. I made Gavin come along for the first hour (it went until 11 pm!) and he enjoyed it too.

Here's my handsome auction partner

I was looking for something to use as an entry way table and there were a few narrow chests that I had my eye on. I tried for a few of them but was outbid. I am not a good impulsive shopper. It's kind of stressful for me. But after sitting there listening to all the bustle and feeling a competitive disappointment at getting outbid, they brought out this chest of drawers that I hadn't noticed in the preview portion. For whatever reason in that split second I decided I had to have it and started bidding and bidding and bidding. And I won it! But the second they said sold I was just like, "Oh no, what did I just buy?! Why did I keep bidding?! What if it's a piece of junk?! Is that even going to fit in the entry way?" Like I said, not a good impulsive shopper. Too much buyer's remorse. A few hours later I got home with the chest and it was WAY bigger than I thought it was when I first saw it (law of auctioning #123: things look smaller in a gigantic warehouse than in your own house...) I was really sad about it and felt like I had wasted my money, but then we moved it into our bedroom and I really like it. It's not in the best shape, some of the veneer/overlay stuff is chipping off, but I still think it's beautiful. I figure the chips here and there give it nice character. Plus it is my FIRST AUCTION PURCHASE! I love it just for that (now that the shock has worn off). :)

I need a picture and some little trinkets to spruce it up, but I like it. The thing on the wall above it is a corkboard I covered in fabric.  

Here's a shot of the side so you can see the little scroll/leg things. I think that's why I started bidding on it in the first place.

And surprise! The top is a writing desk thing or something. Not actually sure what it is. But it works great for organizing Gavin's stuff! This pictures shows the chips...ahem, I mean, character...a little better.

Auctions are my new favorite thing. I went to another one a few weeks ago. I didn't even see anything at the preview that I wanted but I went for a few hours just because it's so fun. I love to see how much the pieces go for. Speaking of, I won the chest with a bid of $110. Is it tacky to say how much I paid? Oh well, I thought I'd mention it because if I was reading this blog and it wasn't mentioned I'd be like, "What?! She didn't even tell us how much she paid for the dang thing?! Why did I even read this post?!" The final cost was $130 after sales tax and a buyers premium. Ouch. A little steep, but I like it still. 

The Snarl

I posted this on Facebook awhile ago but wanted it here too. Emery is queen of the snarl face. 

It makes me laugh every time I see this picture. 

The Littlest Fashionista

I can't get enough of this spunky girl. She loves shoes, dress up, tea parties, bags (ohhhh the bags!!!), painting her nails and all things baby. We got her a train set for Christmas and despite my encouragement she's just not interested. Unless she can put all the train tracks in a purse and carry them around--that's her kind of game! 

Here's a few snapshots of our girly girl:

These last two couldn't quite capture how hilarious she looked. Her tutu was stuck up in the top of the dress making it look like she had this flabby, saggy back. It was so cute!

The Best Stuff on Earth

Whitney gathered all the Houston girls together for some strawberry jam making. I now have a freezer stocked with the most delicious substance known to man! It was so much fun making it together.

Not a bad haul of strawberry freezer jam!

Gettin' it done! Sarah, my cousin's wife and these girls' sister-in-law (life gets confusing when you marry your cousin's brother) had to make a grocery store run for more pectin so she missed the blurry photo shoot.

 If the whole world ate homemade strawberry freezer jam on toast for breakfast every day that all the world's problems would be solved.  Not the store bought stuff though, blech, that stuff is not delicious. 

The Lake

Before we left to Idaho some friends invited us to Lake Somerville for the day to play and ride their WaveRunner. The lake was a perfect temperature--refreshing but not too cold. It was a much needed getaway and so relaxing.

When we pulled up I looked at the shore and thought, "Oh no, look at all those sharp rocks!" But I was happy to discover they were chunks of clay that were very soft. It was so fun to walk on them because they felt so different than they looked.

We even brought a kite to fly! Gavin got it up for awhile but these $1 kites must be  "one flight only" because it never did fly again.

It was so much fun! I loved the WaveRunner. I was being a super big chicken and didn't want to drive it because I was so scared I'd flip it (which would not be the end of the world but for whatever reason I was terrified). But Gavin made me do it, and I was so mad at him for it. It was the most un-rational 15 minutes of my life. I turned back to the shore after driving it for 2 minutes but Jason waved me back out saying, "Not long enough!" So I went back out, finally stopped worrying about it, and ended up having so much fun. Sometimes fear turns me into crazy person. It's better than a jet ski for me because it's bigger and way more stable. On the way home I started googling used WaveRunners--that's how much of a shift I had. I want one!