We spent what was probably our last weekend ever in Charleston. Andrea graduated and is moving back to Utah, so we spent some time in one of our most favorite cities in the South. Ellie was awesome on the whole 5 hour drive, I don't know what we did to deserve such a good baby, she is so sweet.



We toured the retired Yorktown aircraft carrier, and went inside a WWII submarine that was a little creepy and clostrophobic, but it was fun to play with all the buttons and levers. There were a million Boy Scouts there with us that day.






We went to Folly beach at sunset, it was so beautiful, but it got really cold once the sun went down.









Apparently Ellie is a future Diet Coke-a-holic with the look she's giving that soda.

Living in a box

I'm realizing more and more each day how so many people, myself included, tend to live in our own little box. We have our own little family, our own little house, our group of family and friends, our possessions, and we don't tend to think much about people around us. We do that because its where we feel comfortable, but if you think about it, are we really that different than anyone else? So different that we shut others out of our lives, and walk/drive past someone who needs help?

We all think that WE are the best drivers and that everyone else is out to get us. We think that our own problems are the biggest and the worst, and that we are successful businessmen because of something we did on our own. We look at things other people do, and jump to criticize them because its not the way WE would do it. See a recurring theme here?

I'm finding that one of the best ways to find satisfaction and happiness in life doesn't involve a couch and a television. It involves picking up a phone, walking out the door, and meeting new people. The more people I get to know, the more stories I hear, and the more I realize how lucky I am to have a job, a nice rental, 2 cars, a beautiful family, and a sweet but troubled little dog. I remember one of the things I wanted to bless Ellie with more than anything, was to feel compassion and love for people around her who aren't as fortunate as she is.

We have great friends and family who are always stepping out of their little boxes, and I admire them for that. Joni and I think it would be nice to find a way at least once a month to do something positive for someone we don't necessarily know well. It seems that there are a lot of sad people out there and people struggling to get by that I know through work and my church calling, but I've felt stongly that I need to do something and I think this is it. We'll let you know how it goes and share our stories of our new friends, not to toot our own horns, but with hopes to inspire others in the way we've felt inspired.

Joni took some pictures this weekend of some random stuff around our neighborhood. She made a couple of friends (a horse, and some neighbors who were curious as to why a girl was taking pictures of their barn). We'll post a video or two of Ellie for the grandparents soon.

Bucket Lists

We were talking the other night for some reason about things we wanted to do before we die, and we actually found out some things about each other that we didn't really know. Funny thing is that we can see how much our priorities have changed since we were young. We no longer feel like we have to experience every little random thing, like jumping out of an airplane or eating the hottest chili pepper in the Southern hemisphere. Our priorities are...well...I'll just show you:

Joni:
Buy a house (or live in a house for longer than 8 months)
Go to Europe
Go to the dentist (I know this one threw me for a loop, but Joni has been terrified of the dentist ever since she worked for one)
Fill a picture book with professional looking photos (she's already started that one)
Run a marathon or complete a triathlon
Get back to a size 4 (pre-pregnancy weight)
Become a good cook
Go body boarding again on a beautiful beach
Paul and the Moore bro's to sing "It's Allright" by Huey Lewis & the News (long story, and random, help me out Moore brothers)

Paul:
Flip a house (for you non-HGTV fans, buy a house, fix it up, and sell it for profit)
Buy a SuperSport (60's or 70's muscle car)
Travel to...Italy, Spain, Asia, the Great Pyramids, the China Wall
Pay a big favor forward to a random person...like the movie, could be anything
Learn Italian
Write a children's book
Build a house/cabin

Ellie:
Find a way to poop in the toilet by 4 months old
Sleep 12 hours a night for the next 18 years
Learn to ski
Have a full-time job by the time I'm 11

Ok so these are not Ellie's personal goals, but did you learn something new about us?
Whats on your bucket list???

Ellie is doing fantastic, sleeps through the night, loves to snuggle and look around. She just started giggling this week and we will do ANYTHING, including acting like complete idiots, just to get her to giggle again.
She is 24" long, 13.4 lbs, and has the most squeezable little cheeks you ever saw.

Joni has lost 45 pounds since Ellie was born. Dilly and I played in the snow all weekend as we were stranded in our home, and we've all been craving Mexican food and cheeseburgers constantly lately. Waiting on another snowstorm tomorrow and crossing our fingers we have power.