oh hey

My loving husband has informed me that this blog silence has gone on long enough, it's been nearly a year(!). So here's a little update ....

Lucas: not much has changed in this area ... still works for The Journey, still loves working with delinquent rascals. Luke is maybe the best dad I've ever seen, he and Delta are the best of friends. Every single morning the first thing out of her mouth is to ask for Daddy (then Brok, but that's beside the point). She loves his truck and his beard and his tickles. And everything else about him.

Mindy: pregnant! Due in a week, in fact. I'm sorry if this blog update is the way you're finding out about this. I started a job at Utah Valley Dispatch last December, and despite the fact that I hate working full time, I really love working here. I love dispatching, and I've made lots of fun new friends ... At church I'm teaching primary to the 10 and 11 year old girls. They're so smart and fun and LOVE Delta and made me cupcakes for my birthday. We're studying the Old Testament, which I secretly love reading and learning about.

Delta: 20 months old. Probably Definitely the smartest and cutest kid alive. She is so excited to have a baby sister (maybe ... maybe she doesn't really understand), and is already practicing her mothering skills. I love to hear her messing around in her crib saying "night-night baby" as she tucks in her doll and animals. She is very independent, very loving and sweet, and as mentioned before, a genius. She's starting to put words together into sentences and surprises us daily with the use of new words. I know that she's MY kid and I'm a little bias, but she really is the sweetest little gal.
Delta loves reading, animals, the bath, kids (cousins especially), nursery, Grandma's house, veggies, jewelry, babies, singing, and outside. She can name her colors and animal sounds, and is working on ABCs and counting. She especially loves purple, Peg+Cat and Daniel Tiger (TV shows), could eat eggs (with cheese, obv) for every meal, and Brok is her BFF. She's just such a character, I can't believe how lucky we are to have her in our family.

Highlights from the past year:
- Mindy's new job - Utah Valley Dispatch
- Delta turned 1 in January!
- quit proctoring this summer (bittersweet)
- anniversary trip to Vegas in May with the Meachams
- Whole 30 in April - changed our lives and bodies (for a minute)
- awesome family reunion to Missoula with Luke's siblings - I wish we lived by all of them
- quick weekend in Chicago for Luke's birthday
- my little bro got married - welcome Danielle to our family and B&D to our basement :)
- a million other things I'm forgetting

Here are some pictures (a million and out of order, sorry):

1 - kids/grandkids LOLO, MT
2 - grandkids LOLO, MT
3 - L Kane fam LOLO, MT
4 - hike CASCADE SPRINGS
5 - B&D wedding

1 - hike CASCADE SPRINGS
2 - Delta
3 - family reunion LOLO, MT
4 - Delta & Sophie LOLO, MT
5 - prayers LOLO, MT

1 - Easter
2 - baby girl
3 - Delta
4 - about halfway ...looking huge
5 - LOLO, MT

1 - Christmas
2 - winter hike SOUTH FORK, PROVO CANYON
3 - Delta turns 1!
4 - Delta 18 months
5 - MOAB

Now everyone say a little prayer that I'll keep this space updated a little more regularly :)

a couple of things

I'm sorry if you were expecting an update on my darling daughter ... but this post has nothing to do with little Deltie. I just have a couple of things to share, and ask that you check them out:

1st - my sweetheart of a niece, Sophie. Her family is raising money for their local Down Syndrome family support and advocacy group. They are super close to reaching their goal - check it out and donate if you can!

Click HERE for details and to help them reach their goal!

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And 2nd - Jillyn. My dear friend who is in ROUND 2 of her cancer battle ... In Dec. 2011 Jillyn Larsen was pronounced cancer free after almost a year of chemotherapy for Colon Cancer. Recently, after a surgery to remove a tennis ball-sized cyst from her ovary, Jillyn and her husband Brandon received the hard news that the cancer had returned. Now they face a second round of chemo for an indeterminate amount of time...possibly for her lifetime. With Brandon being a full-time student the family's income rests solely on Jillyn, including their health insurance benefits. Click HERE to see how you can help.

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and just for fun ... my sweet babe

links!

Link posts are my favorite thing to read on other people's blogs ... so here are some of my recent finds and enjoyments:

I am by no means a vegetarian, but I did find this little article and video interesting. It gives an interesting perspective on the cycle of factory meat.

The Great Gatsby comes out on video today ... I didn't see it yet, so I'll have to redbox it. Any thoughts? Worth the $1?

Sometimes when I'm bored I look at this website. Maybe someday. I'd like this one, or this one, or this one.

Perspective.

Crazy pictures - just like in the movies.

Prime campfire time is just around the corner - I might need a couple of these.

Pretty cute.

I just really loved this. Great read.

Clever.

My favorite party blog, this one looks super fun. Or this one.

I love stationary. Here's a free printable!

I love reading this travel blog, but this post made me super homesick for Kiev. I'd really like to go back.

Disney + Insta = super cute

I love love love this song - but here it is, just slowed down a bit ...

How much do you love Seinfeld? Enough to watch these (fake) movies?

Super neat - b&w photos colorized.

early tuesday morning

Just when I thought I had my online shopping problem under control (ha!), H&M decides to get their act together and open online shopping. Oh, and they have a new "home" section .... super awesome.
Here are some of my favorites:

(all images from h&m.com) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- This article made me cry just a tiny bit. I hope I can be this kind of mom to Delta. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- I don't know if I've shared this here ... but this is my favorite song (and favorite band) lately:
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- Amazing camping food - this will come in handy next week in CANADA! -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Has anyone been to the new Provo Rec Center? I know I'm a little behind ... it opened in the Spring. But please check out this awesome photo tour and then tell me when we can meet for a pool day. I just love it. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ... and here are a couple more of Miss Delty, I can't stop.

photos - 6 months

Here are a few photos from Delta's 6-month photo shoot - she was a bit tired, but still darling. Enjoy!

Special thanks to my sister Steph for taking these - she's the best.
(feel free to contact her for photos if you're in the Salt Lake/Utah county area)

6 months

Everyone tells you to watch out, it goes so fast, they grow up so quickly ... but it's true. I don't know why I thought I was the exception, but I was wrong. Very wrong. The last 6 months has flown by.

Delta is the sweetest little gal. She started out a scowler, but her face has softened with age. She has so many different expressions, and it's obvious that she wants to tell us everything she knows. She babbles and giggles all day long... She is all smiles, and only gets upset for a minute if she's super hungry or tired. She's a dream baby.

Her favorite thing lately is spitting ... she's discovered her tongue and loves to make farting sounds. She thinks she's hilarious. She usually spends 15 or 20 minutes spitting and giggling to herself in her crib in the morning before we get her up.

She LOVES Brok. She is constantly watching him when he's in the room. She giggles when he chases his tail, and lights up if he pays even the slightest bit of attention to her. They'll be best friends, I'm sure of it.

We couldn't be happier with this baby. Not only does she sleep 12 (un-interrupted) hours each night, but she takes 3 naps a day too. She's not a picky eater, she doesn't scare easily. She loves sitting and standing, and LOVES her bouncy jumping toy. She's such a joy, we can't imagine life without her.

(actual photos from her 6-month shoot coming soon....)

favorite things

This week has been grand. I love Independence Day. Every year I wish I did more to celebrate ... I will next year for sure. We did spend the afternoon/evening at Thanksgiving Point. We don't have many family traditions (yet), but we've gone to these fireworks every year since we've been married. It's super fun to set up our spot and play games, read books, have pizza delivered. Delta took a long evening nap and woke up just in time to watch the big fireworks. I only got one shot of her face during the big fireworks ... she was in awe.

On another note, here are some fun links:

Werd is my favorite gift-searching website for boys, but I recently discovered this one for ladies. I want just about everything they put on here.

This website is super cool. Mostly if you're a t-shirt designer, but also if you like to buy t-shirts.

I know it's for scouts, but this is a great way to make sure you've packed everything for all of your upcoming adventures.

Cute earrings from one of my favorite (local!) etsy shops.

My favorite things to watch on TV lately? Iron Chef America and anything on the History Channel (it's Civil War week this week!).

I have been a little obsessed with etsy lately ... I want pretty much everything in this shop.

and I love this quote for the 4th:
"May God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor that we might be free." –Ezra Taft Benson

Michigan! May 2013

Last month we headed out to the great midwest so Delta could meet all the family she has heard so much about ... We could only go for a few days, but we had a great trip!

I love spending time out there. I love the trees and the winding roads and the lake. I love that Lucas has a million memories and tells me the best stories (my favorite: finding dead frogs in the backyard swimming pool then leaving them on a [mean] neighbor lady's porch ... those Kane boys kids were sure a handful).

I love spending time at Grandma Kane's house. She's gone now, but we had the privilege of staying there on this trip. The house is just as she left it, and completely full of memories. We spent some time looking through photo albums and learning all about Luke's ancestors. We even found a prayer book that belonged to his great, great (?) grandpa who came to America from Austria. Luckily, my amazing SIL served her mission in Germany and translated some super old handwritten notes. (thanks Paulette!)

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

1)Delta on Grandma Kane's back deck
2)Grandma's backyard
3)Uncle Coco is a creeper
4)Grandma Hassler meets Delta
5)Luke & Delta on the front porch
6)Backyard
7)random Indiana barn that I fell in love with

We miss it already, can't wait to go back!

fine, I'll update my blog

I get that I haven't posted anything in a really long time. I'm sorry. Follow me on Instagram and you won't have anything to whine about (Blaine).

Have you heard of houseparty.com? I hadn't, until my sister said she was having a Super Soaker party, sponsored by Nerf and Cheetos. Awesome, right? Well, it was. Houseparty.com sent Steph an awesome kit full of water guns and fancy cheetos. Then her whole neighborhood came over for a huge water fight and party. It was pretty sweet. Here are some pictures from the event:

in case you can't tell, this is Halle sharing her DC with Uncle Adam

Lucas killing it on the slip 'n slide

Lucas & Adam - kings of the water party with their (giant) homemade water guns

my favorite gals, Hal loves her diet coke

...and here are a couple of pictures from a few weeks back - we went up to my Grandma's house to do some yard work and visit:

4 generations: Me, Grandma w/Delta, and my mom

Delta with one of her favorite great-aunts (Ranae, who looks like she's my age)