Swinging Away

(You will have to go to the bottom of the page to pause the music...that way you can hear the audio for the movie better.)

We terribly miss being near our family, but one thing that helps us cope is when we it is 72 degrees in Feb. This past week it has been in the 60's and low 70's. I have probably mentioned this before, but our apartment complex is right next to a park. Ava and I have pretty much been to the park everyday this week. We would be crazy not to go with this great weather. This past Thursday, Josh got to work from home because the company he works for was moving to a bigger location. Josh hardly gets to join in on our fun filled outings to the park. So I convinced him to take an extra long lunch break so we could go on a walk and play at the park.

Since Ava is getting bigger, she can actually kinda play at the park. She can climb up the steps on the toys. Here she is going down the slide with daddy. The slide isn't her favorite thing at the park...if you couldn't tell.

The thing she enjoys the most while at the park is...if you said swinging, you would be wrong! Her favorite thing is watching the big kids play.


How did we get so lucky?

Got traditions?

During dinner this past week Josh and I got on the topic of our own family's traditions. Mostly because Easter is just a month away. We were trying to figure out what kind of traditions we would like to start since this will be Ava's first Easter. I was shocked to find out that his family didn't have an Easter egg hunt! It's funny how I just assumed that every family does the same traditions as we do. Which isn't true. Then today I was reading one of my super cute sister-in-law's blog and she talked about all the fun traditions she did with her grandparents. So I pose this question to all of you...are there any fun traditions that you did growing up or have started with your own family? It doesn't have to concern Easter, even though that would be helpful for us! But it can be about Christmas, birthdays, pretty much anything.

One of my favorite traditions from my childhood happened on Christmas Eve. The day before Christmas my grandparents would come down to our house. We would pack up in the car and all go out to our favorite Chinese restaurant (the same restaurant my dad would go to when he was a boy on Christmas Eve). After stuffing ourselves with sweet and sour chicken, fried rice and egg drop soup...mmmm...we would drive around looking at Christmas lights. Once home my sister and I got to open one present. At first it was the gift my grandparents gave us, so they could see us open it. But eventually it evolved to pajamas. So that night we would open our new pajamas and get to wear them to bed.

Here's Ava in her Christmas pajamas.
Hmmm...I don't know if she quite liked this tradition :)

Post some of your favorite traditions. You never know, we just might adopt them! Don't be shy, post a comment!

Messiest eater in the family

I think Josh will be excited to know that he no longer is the messiest eater in the family. I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought it would be fun to have Ava start to feed herself. After thinking about just how long it will take me to clean up the mess she'll make, I still gave her the spoon. After many unsuccessful attempts of trying to pick up the yummy apple yogurt with her hands, she actually tried using the spoon. She would dip the spoon into the yogurt and then try to get the spoon in her mouth. Bless her little heart, but she couldn't get very much in. So I got a spoon too...so she wouldn't starve. When she was all done eating, she placed both spoons in the bowl and left them there.

You'll get more food if you turn the spoon around Ava!


Perfect form! I give you a 10 out of 10!!!


Instead of smiling, Ava likes to pucker her lips.


I promise Ava's sippy cup wasn't filled with any alcholic drinks!

Adults only

Don't worry, this is a G-rated post! After 9 months of not going on a date, Josh and I decided it was about time we did something about it. We got a taste of the good life while we were home for Christmas when my parents babysat Ava so we could go on a date. Since none of our family has moved near us, we needed to take action. We decided to set-up a babysitting swap with another couple in our ward. Sorry Ava, but Josh and I were looking forward to our date night all week! Last night we dropped Ava off and ran to the door as fast as possible to enjoy every minute of our date :)

We decided it would be fun if we took turns planning our dates. This week was my turn. Our first stop was Color Me Mine, a pottery painting place.

Here is my super cute husband decorating his mug. Josh had big plans for his mug, but after a few minutes of actually painting it he decided his designs were a little ambitious and toned them down.

Here I am with my mug. It takes a whole week for them to put it in the kiln. I don't know if I can wait that long!

Here we are showing off our works of art. Josh and I both did mugs and then Josh also painted a syrup pourer. Mmmm...syrup!

The pottery place was really fun. It was actually quite relaxing sitting there and just painting and talking to my husband...and not having to keep an eye of what Ava's getting into! After painting our pottery we went to Beni Hana to eat dinner. It is so much fun getting to watch the chef cook your food right in front of you. The people who joined us at our table were really nice, and loud, and drunk! I don't know if they knew that Beni Hana is a restaurant and not a bar! Usually during the meal, the chef will try to toss shrimp into your mouth with his spatula. Josh and I were quite looking forward to see how our fellow dinner guests would perform. But I guess the chef realized that the outcome wouldn't be good, so he just split the shrimp up on our plates.

Here we are after dinner and excited to be getting out of there! Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious, especially their onion soup. But maybe next time we should go to dinner a little earlier when it is more family friendly!

Thanks again Melissa and Justin for watching our little girl. Can't wait to do it again!

Come back soon!

This past weekend my college roommate came out to CA with her super cute family. She didn't fly the 4 hour trek with a 2 and a 21 month old just to see me...her parents live out in CA too! Lucky for me, her parents live a mere 15 minutes away from us.

Here is a pic of me and Kristin during our first semester at BYU. We were running low on change for laundry and decided to have a lemonade stand. Things were going great until some mean BYU lady shut us down for not getting a permit first. We made a whopping $6.45!

Many times I would catch Kristin leaving for class without a coat or in a short sleeve shirt. She had a hard time realizing that just because it looked sunny outside didn't mean it was. So we decided to celebrate the first snow fall California style!

Woo hoo! We made it through 4 grueling years at BYU. Here we are graduating in 2005.

Boy how have things changed since the first pic. I no longer have bangs...oh, and we have husbands and kids too :) Here we are this past week having fun at the park.

It was great getting to hang with our favorite people in Texas. You guys have always been there for us and I can never thank you enough. Josh and I were wondering, can you come back next week?

Josh, will you be my Valentine?

My sister in-law filled out this survey on her site and I thought it was such a great idea. I thought it would be a perfect day to post it, since it is Valentine's Day and all! Here's all you needed to know and more about my super cute husband! I hope this doesn't embarrass him too much!

What is his name? Joshua David Bunting
How long have you been married? 3 1/2 years. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
How long did you date? We started dating in Oct. and got married in August. A long courtship for a BYU marriage!

(here's our first photo)

Who eats more sweets? Is there anything else to eat? Josh and I both have a huge sweet tooth. But our tastes are completely different.
Who said I love you first? Josh did, but I didn't say it back...for awhile. Even though I really did love him! Poor guy. That may of been the reason why he broke up with me the day before Valentine's Day. We got back together the next day! I'm glad he stuck with me and now I say it as much as possible! I love you honey!!!
How old is he? 26. Our birthdays are a whole year and 4 days apart. So if anyone wants to come out in July, we're having a birthday celebration all week long!
Who is smarter? Josh tested at a 12th grade level in elementary school. Let's just say, I didn't! But I have a much better memory.
Who can sing better? Neither of us :) We sure love trying! Practice makes perfect, right?
Who does the laundry? I do. I have to have my clothes folded a certain way and Josh just can't get it down. I don't know if that is on purpose or not!
Who pays the bills? He makes the money and I control it. If Josh had control of our finances we would pretty much be broke with a house full of gadgets and electronics! Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Josh does right now. I sleep on whichever side is closest to the door. Quickest access to Ava's room.
Who mows the lawn? Some of you might think I'm crazy, but I love mowing the lawn. I actually would mow my parent's yard for free. I find it relaxing. I also love to vacuum.
Who cooks dinner? That would be me. But my husband cleans up after dinner. Thanks babe!
Who drives? Josh usually does. Mostly because during the week he takes the BART to work, so he doesn't get to drive all week.
Who is more stubborn? I am more stubborn...to a fault! I think I already see that trait in Ava!
Who kissed who first? Josh. Later he told me he was planning on taking our relationship slow and not kiss me for a whole month. But seriously, who could resist these lips! And he only made it a few days.
Who asked who out? Funny story. We actually have two separate first dates. The first date happened at the end of winter semester in 2003. He called me up because his roommate told him about this cute girl in the ward that would be a fun date. Out of all the dates I had been on that year, he was the only one I wanted to go on a second date with. But luck would have it that our date was right before finals. So I went home for the summer before we could go on another. Then the following Fall semester we magically moved into the same ward (but it was a different ward than last semester....if that makes sense). I asked him to go with me to the haunted maze. And the rest is history. (Haunted mazes make the best dates! It give you are reason to get close!)
Who proposed? Josh can take credit for that. That night we went to a really sappy girl movie. Which was his idea. That should of given me the first clue! And I knew something was up when his hands started getting all sweaty and he started tearing up when the couple in the movie finally got together. After the movie we went to his house where he had decorated the downstairs and had a yummy dinner waiting (thanks Ash and Kassie!). But I didn't eat any of it, maybe due to nerves and the fact I ate dinner before we went to the movie. He should of told me we would have dinner afterwards! After dinner he showed me a movie he had been preparing all week. I thought he was mad at me all week, since I hardly saw him. I'm glad that I was wrong!

(I always laugh at this picture. Josh looks like he can't believe what just happened)

Who wears the pants? We're both pretty indecisive. So we pretty much try to make the other person wear the pants.

I love you!

I'd love to read about everyone else's courtship. So get on it...fill it out!

6 more weeks of winter?

...huh, I don't know if I trust Phil the groundhog. Today was an unseasonal 68 degrees. Ava and I put on our short sleeve shirts and went for a walk to the park. I know that Ava can't really play on the toys yet, but she sure enjoys watching the older kids play. Plus, it was really nice getting outside and getting our daily dose of  vitamin D.  

Sadly we finally decided to ditch our iweb site for blogger. A lot of you all who use Internet Explorer have complained about how long it took to load our site. I don't know why Macs and Microsoft can't just get along! After months of unsuccessful attempts of trying to convince you to switch to a Mac, we decided it was best to make the switch. But I promise you, once you try a Mac, you won't go back! But I am excited that I'll have a comment section now. So whoever is first to post on our site, well, ummmm...you don't get a prize, but you'll make my day!