Wardrobe MALFUNCTION

 Yep, I accidentally wore different shoes to work today. 

 I wasn't even in a rush this morning.  And I thought I looked totally cute today - cute outfit, good hair day, etc.  We keep our shoes by the front door, and I wanted to wear my comfortable black ones (on my right foot).  I looked down and then back up, assuming I was slipping on my two black work shoes.  But no.  I locked up our apartment, got in my car, drove all the way to work, and didn't even realize I had two different shoes on until I entered the school.  Oh my goodness!  I was tempted to leave work and go back home to get two of the same shoes, but decided against it because I had a lot to do today.  I decided to experiment and see if anyone would say anything.  Only two of my coworkers did.  Not sure if that meant only two of them noticed or only two them were brave enough to say anything.  My first coworker to notice asked, "Hillary, I was wondering, what's going on with...(pointing at my feet)?"  And then, my second coworker to notice came up to me in the cafeteria to quietly ask me if I knew I was wearing two different shoes (probably because she didn't want to embarrass me if I didn't know).  Wow.  I laughed a lot today.  Newel laughed at me too since he got home before I did and got to see the my whole work ensemble.  I think this whole experience taught me (or reminded me) not to take life too seriously.  It's a good life and a funny one too.

Personal Goal for Tomorrow:  Wear the SAME pair of shoes. :)

The Other South

So here are some pictures of a trip I took to San Diego (technically not the South but still Southern California) at the end of April.  I got to do lots of fun things like:

Going to my favorite temple with my mom and sister.

 Going to dinner with my family which included Gavin having to lay down due to his "heartburn".

Discovering Gavin, my youngest brother, is taller than me!  (I knew it would happen, but I still can't believe it!)

Getting to spend time with some of my most favorite people in the entire world!

It was so fun to be with each of them, especially my sister because she left to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fort Worth, Texas on May 1st.  I just love her and all of my family so, so much!

Green!

Don't fret, dear blog.  I didn't forget about you.  In fact, I've been thinking of you often ever since my last post when I confessed I really did forget about you.  I've thought all about what I wanted to share about Alabama next so here it is:

Y'all have probably heard that there are A LOT of trees in Alabama, and it's true.  So many.  When we first moved here, Newel said he was getting claustrophobic, and I thought it was a little crowded.  Now we're both used to it, and we both like it.  When we drive somewhere that's kind of open, we usually comment on it because it feels kind of weird to have so much space. :)

Anyway, when we first moved here, it seemed like all the trees were about the same kind of green.  Then in the fall, the leaves started to change into those beautiful yellow, orange, red and/or brown colors that everyone loves.  Then in the winter, most of the trees' leaves fell off, and it was just kind of grey/brown looking.  Then spring came, and it's not like summer where all the trees are the same kind of green.  They are different shades of green, and it's so pretty!  I took a picture (see below), but it doesn't fully capture how pretty it is/was (mostly because those lovely power lines are in the way).

All the pretty green colors made me think of my sister-in-law, Stacy, because she loves green.  I think I know other people that love the color too, but she's the one I can remember really likes it and so it makes me think of her.  I think she would really like the spring trees out here too.  Now that's summers almost upon us, the leaves are turning the same color again.  Weird to think we've been here almost a year...

Oh dear.

A sad thing happened to the blogger in me today.  I forgot I had a blog.  Really, I did.  I was driving home from work today, and I just remembered I had one.  All those professional bloggers out there may not think it's possible, but it totally is and here's how it happened:

I kept telling myself, I needed to update my blog but then kept putting it off.  Bad choice.  Naughty, naughty blogger Hillary.  And this is why I put it off:

It finally hit me that we were really in Alabama and we were here to stay.  We weren't on vacation, just having fun with these friendly Southerners who talk different and make some really good food.  This was our new home.  At least for now.  And I'm more than okay with that.  We love it here, and we've been so blessed to meet and associate ourselves with so many good people and enjoy a beautiful part of the country that we never even really knew about.

I think it was still kind of hard for me to accept being so far from family and think about all the fun things they were doing together.  I didn't want to talk about things going on here when I really just wanted to be over there with them.

But that's life, and I have a good one.  A really good one.  Stay tuned for more of our adventures.  You know some of the greatest adventures happen at home anyway. :)

Wow.

Today is Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama which is equivalent to Cesar Chavez Day in California.  State offices and employees have the day off, but no one else really knows about it.  All I can say is that we are definitely living in the South. :)

Flat Stanley

Newel's nephew sent us a Flat Stanley for his class project.  For those who are not familiar with the story of Flat Stanley, he used to be a real boy but then he had a bulletin board accident and was flattened to the thickness (or should I say thinness?) of a piece of paper.  Anyway, turns out Flat Stanley likes being flat because he can do lots of things he couldn't do before like slide under locked doors and fly across the country in a paper envelope.  Anyway, he came to us so we took him on some adventures and sent the following report back to Newel's nephew to share with his class.  Hope you enjoy. :)

Flat Stanley Visits Birmingham, Alabama

Flat Stanley went on vacation to Birmingham, Alabama and had a great time.  He stayed with a really nice couple named Hillary & Newel Mecham (Kyson’s aunt & uncle).  He did lots of fun things and spent a lot of time hanging out on the Mechams’ refrigerator so he would not be forgotten.

His hosts first took Stanley to Sloss Furnaces which is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham.  It operated as an iron-producing furnace from 1882 to 1971.  Stanley walked through the remains of the furnaces which were really cool looking.  He even got to see an old, black train!  Don't worry; he did not get burned in any furnaces since they have all been shut down for years.

On another day, Flat Stanley went with Newel and Hillary to the Birmingham, Alabama Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He really liked the outside of the temple because it was so beautiful.  It's not as big as the temples he has probably seen in Utah, but he thought it was neat.

Flat Stanley also took rides around town and went out to eat with Newel and Hillary.  His favorite eating stop was Saw’s Soul Kitchen because it was some authentic Southern cooking.  He really wanted to eat Hillary’s Pork N’ Greens but couldn’t fit it in his flat stomach so he just watched Hillary enjoy it.

On Flat Stanley’s last weekend with his hosts, he went to the Cahaba River and looked at waterfalls, climbed up trees, and played hide-and-seek in the bushes.  Can you find him in the third picture below?

Flat Stanley had a fun vacation in Birmingham, Alabama.  Hillary and Newel were sad to see him go, but they could tell he was starting to miss home.  They hope he comes to visit again soon, and that he will bring his friends with him next time! 

The End

Kind of MIA

So Newel and I have been watching our friends' kids since Wednesday and we'll be watching them through Monday while our friends are in Costa Rica.  We're having a pretty sweet time, but there's little to no time for updating a blog right now.

This is what we're doing this weekend with the kids: awesome-ness.  How about you?