knock knock. whos there? 80 dollars broseph. say what!

it is true. we dominated at the gardener's market this past saturday. too bad none of y'alls was there to witness this momentous occasion and utter destruction of all other vendor competition. that's right other-crazy-card-lady - little melany and her loyal sidekick paul made 80 sweet sweet dollars selling scrumptious cards. now we can start a trust fund for baby larsen as she is the heir to our booth fortune.

in non-booth related news, i only have 3 weeks of work left. BAM!

33 weeks!

the end is near! i'm definitely feeling that third trimester itch where it's like "ok, it was fun at first but this baby can get outta me anytime she wants now." she's been so funny lately - i feel like she has her own little personality already, like her kicks (which are getting less cute and more ow) could quite possibly be morse code. like she's probably saying "i'm feeling squished" or "stop eating thai food so much, mom."
the first picture of max and his cousin! wow, that belly is kinda scary up close. :)
uncle paul and max. you don't know how excited i am to have pictures like these of paul holding our own baby!

baby max is here!

my sister had her first baby on july 2nd so we spent our 4th of july in the hospital hanging with my sister and baby max. she had a really hard labor that ended in an emergency c-section but both her and max are doing great. here are some pix of my new nephew!
if you can't tell, i am sooo excited!
3 generations: lana, max, grandma balmforth and me.
cute close-up of the little guy. look at all that hair!

it was such a fun and happy weekend. it was a little scary at first because max wasn't breathing for a minute after they finished the c-section but they performed CPR and he was just fine. it made me really aware of the blessing of modern medicine and i'm so relieved and grateful that everything turned out okay. i am super excited for our little girl to meet her cousin - only 9 more weeks!

p.s. i did my second fair this past saturday and made 50 bucks! all in all, this was a good weekend. :)

booths are fun, booths are cool, if you sell stuff in a booth, you're cool, too

paul was such a trooper. he helped me set up my sweet canopy ( i felt like such a craft fair professional with it) and then sat with me the whole 4 hours of the market. it was kinda hot but pretty fun to people-watch and the best part - people actually bought my cards! i didn't make very much because i don't price my cards very high, but all i really wanted was validation. :) i sold like 15 cards and i can't wait to go back next saturday. oh, and another funny thing - it was like an hour before closing time and this lady came over to look at my table and i said hello and all that and she kept looking over her shoulder at something. i asked if she was looking for someone and she was like "oh, i'm just keeping an eye on my booth. i sell cards, too." and i was like ha! this lady thinks i'm like competition or something! she poked through my cards for a few minutes and then left without a word. so funny. i better watch out - she might try to sabotage my booth or something. :)

some thoughts

only 6 more weeks of work left! i am sooo excited. ( i wanted to leave a few weeks before my due date). now, i have a great job and all as a glamourous secretary in a financial advisor's office, but it's not the same thing as a career-type job. so while my sister is having her baby in like 5 days and then will return to her therapist job after 6 weeks of maternity leave (she works at a "troubled" girls center near lehi), i get to just quit work and stay home with our little girl. i kinda feel guilty that i just get to stay home while my sister goes back to work, but, like i said, her job is her career that she cares about whilst i do not want to spend the rest of my days filing, scanning, faxing, calling, etc.

speaking of jobs, paul has recently started the ol' job search for careers in the public relations field. we're only looking for jobs in salt lake so i'm definitely anticipating moving out of logan. logan's pretty and stuff but i've been here almost 6 years! i've been here since i was a freshman in college and i've about had my fill of the small-town, crappy weather, zero entertainment atmosphere - like logan doesn't even have a target! what decent town doesn't have a target? psch. i guess i'm just a city girl at heart. so anyways, if you guys hear of any public relations opportunities - which is probably a slim to nil chance - you just give us a holler.

now this next part is a little embarrassing: i could think of it as a way to help with our income but it's really just a guilty pleasure type thing. i did it - i signed up for a gardener's market and i'm selling handmade cards in a booth - yes, in a dorky craft fair booth - this saturday in pioneer park in logan. i don't know why i'm so embarrassed - maybe because all the other craft booths are ladies in their sixties selling chunky jewelry or baby quilts. but i really love my little cards. i've been working so hard to make enough of a variety to sell and i have like 250 cards that are birthday, thank you, get well soon, random no-occasion cute ones and crap like that. so - if you feel like having a chuckle at my expense, head on over to pioneer park in logan this saturday (and every saturday that i'm free for the rest of the summer) from 9:00 - 1:00. please don't laugh too hard.

portland pix

it was nice to get out of logan for a bit and hang with family. here's some pix of our trip.
and if you don't like to use correct spelling, that is also too bad. gosh, i'm such a nerdy english major.
boys in da hood: wes, evan, and paul.
the whole fam at kenna's med school graduation. congrats kenna!
touring a navy boat that was in town docked on the river.

in portland's famous rose garden.
me and paige! she's one of my good friends from high school and she moved to portland for school and it's always fun to see her up there. i like how i look like a pear.

26 weeks!! (aka 6 months)

(ok, so just please ignore the tired no make-up face.) i can't believe how much change there was from just a month ago! i'm definitely feeling very pregnant (obviously) and it's kinda fun to wear my old shirts over my new belly. :) she kicks all the freaking time now and it always reassures me every time i feel her kick because i know she's healthy and whatever. i'm so excited that i only have 3 months left and i wish i could just fast forward to september. but my sister lana is due in a few weeks so there's definitely that to look forward to. it'll be way fun to have our little babies hang out together. and i officially have bought way too many dresses - apparently our little girl's never gonna wear pants. well, we're off to portland tomorrow with paul's family to see his sister, kenna, graduate from med school. yay kenna! i love visiting portland - it's so green and fresh-looking and there's just so much more to do and see. i'm sure i'll have some fun pix to post when we get back next monday. yay for no work until next tuesday!