Team Adams: March 2014

I'm guessing that only a few individuals will fully appreciate the title of this blog post, but if you recognize that infamous line, you'll understand the point in the semester in which I currently find myself.

That being said, I have fallen hopelessly behind at keeping the blog updated with our crazy adventures in Ohio so the photo dump below is my attempt to get back on track. To say that we're looking forward to Spring would be the understatement of the century. After growing up in Utah for most of my life I thought I was used to bad winters and had seen the worst of what Mother Nature could throw at me.

NOT EVEN CLOSE.

2014 in Ohio takes the cake. We're over it (and obviously holding a grudge...). I'm hoping that when I post the next installment, you know, in September, there won't be any traces of snow or ice unless it's in the form of a popsicle or snow-cone.

So here we go with the latest and greatest from Team Adams.

AJ's favorite spot these days - the bay window in our bedroom. She likes to play hide and seek behind the curtains, and she loves checking out the action on the street below.

Steve and I turned our backs for two minutes while having a conversation, and when we tuned back into the Bug, she had ransacked my purse and helped herself to an apple.

In case you didn't know, March 1st is National Pig Day. Our neighbors throw an annual Pig Party to celebrate, and this was my contribution to the eats this year. Thank you, Pinterest.

Pigtails and a pigtail. I slaved away on her party attire. She found someone's shoes and decided to take them for a spin.

This one (and the next picture) is for my bro, Scott. Thanks to him we have a Sun Valley Zamboni driver-in-training.

Watch out, world!

Came. Built. Conquered.

It was fun and games for about two minutes...

Then we put her to work.

AJ celebrating Chinese New Year. The outfit is courtesy of Malcolm Litchfield; he bought this for AJ when he was in Hong Kong in January. Pretty adorable.

This was my Valentine's Day gift from Steve. Instead of giving it to me on February 14th, Steve gave it to me on February 13th - a definite low point in 2014. Earlier that afternoon I managed to bust my flash drive with tons of critical information that had not been backed up on our external hard drive. A user error of the worst kind, but the whole situation reminds me of what I love about Steve. Even though this was meant to be a special Valentine's Day surprise (I LOVE pistacia vera...their macarons are to die for), he figured an academic crisis warranted a pick-me-up rather than waiting for the next day.

Here comes trouble! These two are best little buds and they partied on Valentine's Day.

Midway ice castles. These kinds of pictures have been plastered on Facebook to the point of ubiquity, but I still love the shots I'm posting here. That place was so cool. While we were stranded in Utah due to the POLAR VORTEX (what does that even mean?!?!) in Ohio, we decided to make the most of our extended vacation and hit up the ice castles.

Pretty.

My favorite people in the whole world.

Warning: Tooting of one's own horn is about to occur. Proceed with caution.

TOOT TOOT!

Remember that wedding project I mentioned way back when (in October, I believe)? Well, here are the results. This was the most stunning wedding I've ever attended, been a part of, etc. Seriously. It was outrageously gorgeous, and fortunately for me, the flowers were a huge part of that.

If I fail at becoming an academic, I'm going into the flower biz.

Here are some of the photos I took of my creations. Sam Yarbrough was the official photographer of the wedding and his photographs are exquisite (he's the professional photog...I'm not) but I haven't gotten my hands on them yet so these will have to suffice for now.

Steve and I were sitting at this table, complete with personalized table settings. Pretty schnazzy, eh?

Ainsley was banned from the kitchen while I processed the flowers, but once I was done she had free reign with all the cut stems and foliage. She was in heaven.

::{Calla lilies, Misty Blue, Garden Roses, Akito Roses, Lisianthus, Chrysanthemums, Hydrangea, Freesia, Stock, Bear Grass, Israeli Ruscus}::

More of the same, but now with Orchids...

This was the toss bouquet. Emily chucked it. As in, like a grenade. I'm pretty sure I gasped when she threw it, but luckily I was not in thick of the action (cue, "All the Single Ladies") so no one heard me except Steve. Yikes! You learn to wire and secure the toss bouquet extra tight, but even still, the girl who caught it was lucky it didn't explode on impact.

The corsages for the Mothers of the Bride & Groom and the Maid of Honor were my favorite designs of the whole wedding. This picture does not do them any kind of justice. In case you couldn't tell, the wedding colors were cream, gold, and black so texture was everything so here we have lisianthus, ranunculus, and waxflower and some ribbon detailing to tie everything together.

I don't have a great picture of the bridal bouquet, but it was pretty awesome. It fit the bride (and her dress) perfectly. So glad they let me do the flowers - it was quite the experience.

One of the highlights of our holiday excursion to Utah was seeing dear friends and meeting their adorable kiddo for the first time. All such occasions should involve food, so we decided to rendezvous (the second or third time we saw them) at the Bakery in SLC. As you can see, Ainsley is infatuated with anyone smaller than herself.

Buckeye by affiliation meet Buckeye by birth.

AJ commandeered Steve's earmuffs while we explored the ice castles.

(Sorry about getting things out of order (this is back in Midway).

Favorite photo from the trip.

While I was doing flower stuff, Steve partied with the Riggs family. Had we come a month or so later we would have met the newest member of their family. But alas, Steve and Bug had a blast with Brannick, Juli and their kidnicks.

AJ hanging out with her third cousin (I think?). Not really sure, but no biggie - they're cousins.

Quality time with the Odoms.

Having a grand 'ole time of it, too!

This pretty much sums up my life with an almost-two year old.

So fun to see my dear friend Ann as a mamma.

Okay, I lied. This may be my favorite photo from the trip...

I still love how the wrapping paper is more fun than the actual gift.

Scott's gift to Bug is my worst nightmare (hence, the reason he gave it to her). See below.

What really drives me bonkers is that she LOVED it. Bobble, bobble, bobble...

Yikes. Nightmare-become-reality. A bobble-head Gollum doll.

What a treat.

We made sure to visit some of our very favorite people during our whirlwind week - the Turners!

Hanging out with their adorable kiddos in their new house....helping them break it in. =)

Irvine/Stevens/Mitchell party! One of my favorite aspects about trips to Utah. Never a dull moment with this group.

We loved spending time with Steve's family (even though AJ was sick...don't look too closely at her eyes) for New Year's. A bunch of the family got together at his grandmother's home and it was really nice seeing everyone who could be there.

Making herself at home at 2860. My parents and their awesome toys kept her (and us) thoroughly entertained.

Meeting baby Rafe for the first time - what a darling baby boy!

My dear friend Savannah was kind enough to let us stay with them for a night in order to have a direct flight to Utah - we went to extreme lengths to make the travel experience as hassle-free as possible. It didn't work (especially the trip back from SLC). The Hansens were amazing hosts, especially when the polar vortex shenanigans paralyzed the entire Midwest. We're so glad we got to see them despite the crazy weather/travel circumstances. Good friends are the best. And their dog, Jada, is a champ for putting up with the three littles (especially the Bug).

Buddies.

And finally, a few pics from Christmas. We are so glad we had our own little Christmas in Ohio - it was a blast.

You'll notice that AJ progressively loses more clothing as the pictures continue (had I put them up in the right order, it would be reversed. As the day went on, we were finally able to dress our child in a complete outfit). If she had it her way she'd be in nothing but a diaper, and even that is asking a lot.