She's one to miss!!

This past week I received the news that my beloved friend Jess is moving back to Utah to be closer to her Dad as he is struggling with brain cancer. I completely understand why she and John have decided to go but that doesn't change the fact that I am going to have serious withdrawals with out her. She's the type of girl who finds something funny about almost every situation. I always laugh my head off whenever we are together whether it be over how nasty our kids look that day with snot running down their faces, or reminiscing over the old days when we acted like lunatics. Our girls are such great little buddies and I know Sadie is going to ask me where Lizzie is everyday after they leave. Chase will probably cry on his pillow every night because his sports fanatic buddy is leaving him high and dry. Gardner's, we are going to miss you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!! Even though they aren't leaving for another three weeks, I thought I would post some hilarious pictures that I came across about a year ago. I have been waiting for this special day (Jessica's birthday) to embarrass her and show everyone how much fun she is. Hopefully after viewing the following, you'll see why I'll probably be crying on my pillow every night as well. She's one girl to miss!!!


This is probably a moment when you "had to be there" but as we three girls (Andrea, Jess, and I) were flying to D.C. together, we wore our billy bob teeth the entire flight. The flight attendant must have thought we were a little "slow" because she awarded us with the children's packet including American Airline pins....yippee!! Andrea was actually asleep in this picture, wearing the pin and all.

We went as 80's sorority sisters and Jess was our frat boy. The sad thing is we dressed up like this even when it wasn't Halloween.
Floating down the Potomac River. Jess of course had her harmonica and serenaded us with "I feel at home with you" jazz style. Who paddle boats with billy bob teeth and a harmonica? I'm laughing at my computer all by myself right now. As you can see from the picture...I was laughing then too.
We were rarely seen with out our Billy Bob Teeth, especially when traveling. Wigs were usually an extra accessory as well.

On the way home from a San Diego trip (where the teeth were first purchased...we were doomed from that point on) we decided to not shower for seven days and put dreads in our hair. We looked pretty terrible and Chase could barely look at me when I got home. Car trips can be very fun but long, so a little stop in Scipio lifted our spirits that day. How can you not laugh hysterically when you look at her face in this picture. We all look dreadful!!

Yes, we are in college and acting like incognito detectives while riding home on the metro. I don't think we'll ever entirely grow up.

I had to post this picture because I want all the viewers to see how beautiful she is with out the wigs, deadlocks, and fake teeth. No wonder my highchool buddy decided to marry her. I'm sure it was just for her looks. As you can see, she really lacks in personality:-) Happy Birthday Jess. Know that you are loved and will be sorely missed!!!

Don't worry John, I'll miss you too...just not as much:-)

TOOTS: 29 AND OH SO FINE!!

Today is the birthday of Abigail Jane Etherington Cannon (Toots)! As the title implies, she is 29. I hear you can talk about your age until you are 30, at which point you just shut up and pretend it's not your birthday anymore. There are about a million and one reasons why we (Sadie and I) love Toots, and I'm quite sure that all readers of our blog would not be bored if I listed all of them. However, in the interest of saving gigabytes (and my wrist), I've only included 29. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOTS!!!

29) While 8 months pregnant, she can still easily walk over 7 miles to give her sister a DC tour.


28) She completed a triathlon even though she's not interested in triathlons.

27) She is a wizard on the piano.

26) Loves the Red Sox now.

25) She makes me shepards pie (my favorite dinner) even though she can't stand to eat it.

24) She looks hot on a scooter (and anywhere else).

23) She wakes up at unreasonably early morning hours because Sadie is up and she wants to read her books.

22) She dresses Sadie to the NINES (and dresses herself pretty darn close!).

21, 20, 19, 18) She loves Jack Johnson, Whitney Houston, Chopin, and Cake all at the same time.

17) She can play Spoons (or any other card games) with her toes.

16) She is an amazing cook (stuffed tomatoes and fresh pumpkin soup), and an even better baker (strawberry pies).

15) She looks good even when she's trying to look bad.

14, 13, 12) She served a mission, reads her scriptures and goes to church.

11, 10) She hikes and camps.

9) She jumps off cliffs at Lake Powell. (wish I had the picture)

8) She is a ridiculously good mom to Sadie, and it's only her first time doing it.

7) She is ubercreative, and can take a plain piece of paper and turn it into a carnival.

6) Although she claims she has "placenta brain", she is as sharp as a tack and the funnest person you will ever have a conversation with.

5) She has learned to tickle my neck.

4, 3) She will sit down and watch the Utes football games and the Utes basketball games with me.

2) She is AMAZINGLY loyal to those she loves, including her friends and family, and loves to hang with both.

1) She lets me call her TOOTS!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOTS!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!! WE HEART YOU HEAPS!!

Aunt Jane comes to town!!

We love it when Aunt Jane comes to visit. It was her spring break so she came out even though we don't live in San Diego anymore. It was also my birthday that weekend so we were all able to celebrate together. When I asked her what she wanted to see her only reply was "I want to see the place where Jenny runs through the water up to Forest Gump", the Lincoln Memorial of course. We actually spent her first day at H&M. She was like a girl gone wild with sticky fingers. I've never seen someone have so much fun shopping. I forget how great H&M is now that it's at my disposal whenever I need a "fix." In the past the Etherington's only hope was when we went to New York with Mom. She got some cute clothes and looked adorable in everything. I envied her flat stomach and skinny legs. I can't wait to get back into shape after this little guy comes out. Jane is so low key. Once we got home she took a three hour nap and we just hung out the rest of the day.



The next day I think we wore her out. We went to see Chase at his new office. He left work early and we toured most of D.C. (or all the hot spots) with a necessary stop at the Cosi Sandwich Bar..my absolute favorite.
One of my favorite things to do when I'm in Utah is go to the grocery store with Jane. I try my very hardest to embarrass her as much as possible(only because I know it drives her crazy...I'm so mean). Usually I dance up and down the aisles and make a complete fool of myself as she whispers in her most angry tone "Abby stop...I am going to leave..stop it right now." Although she seems totally sheepish at what I'm doing, I always see a slight smile on her face. I feel it's my duty as her older sister to break in some "I don't care what people think of me" dance moves. She also received a pair of billy bob teeth from yours truly for Christmas. We'll see how well she uses them:-) So, to embarrass her a little more I made her "skip" in Freedom Plaza with me. This is a 9 year tradition. Anytime I am at Freedom Plaza I skip "High and Low." I don't exactly know why this tradition originated but Jane has now been added to the list of people to grace the plaza with a skip or two. Those of you who have made the list...you know who you are:-) Jane was totally embarrassed. I love it!!

We ate brunch at Artie's the next morning because it was my birthday and that's all I wanted. Chase asked if there was a restaurant I was craving for dinner. All I wanted was Artie's delicious Briche French Toast. If you haven't tried it yet, you're in for a real treat. Chase gave me my big gift which I was supposed to receive for Christmas but felt too guilty keeping. I finally got my camera that I've wanted forever. I've always loved photography and I don't think I could ever make a living out of my talent (or lack there of) but I really enjoy capturing that perfect picture. I still must have felt guilty for having it because I was too scared to play with it for the first couple of weeks. I am still so grateful. Thanks Chase for giving me something I REALLY wanted:-)

Jane is an amazing artist. For my birthday gift she brought her water colors and painted four adorable pictures for Jack's (I think that's his name) room. They turned out so cute and I'll post a picture as soon as I have them framed. I am positive they'll be worth something one day when Jane is a rich and famous artist. I felt a little bad putting her to work while she was on her break but I had to take advantage of the small space of time I had to have her paint for me...she's that good.

Tiny Tutu's

Sadie is finally enrolled in a ballet class. She has been dancing all over the place and we all decided it was time for her to show everyone her stuff:-) She's in a class with her buddies Moriah and Lizzie. They are all so cute in their little tutu's. It turns out Sadie is actually REALLY flexible. Us mom's all laugh at her crazy moves. Here's some cute pictures and movies of what she's been doing.

Sadie's the "elastagirl" on the left. She certainly didn't get the flexible gene from me....Chase?

Looks like dance class has had quite the effect.

The Hunt!!

Sadie was fortunate enough to have many hunts this year. She had one in preschool, one with the kids in the ward, and another with just Dad and Mom. There were so many eggs that the "Easter Bunny" hardly had to buy any candy this year. A lot of recycling going on in the Cannon household.

Once they had all been found, Sadie "organized " her candy. She only wanted the jelly beans and dropped them all into a bowl. If she found anything other than a jelly bean, it went into the "discard" pile.

Chase and I played a piano/cello duet in sacrament meeting. The task of practicing our piece was a little difficult seeing we didn't have either a piano or a cello. We borrowed a cello and I used the ward to practice. It went well enough. I just wish we could have really performed the way we used to. Sadie wore a dress that used to be cousin Grace's. This dress is very special because it's actually the dress Grace wore as a flower girl at our wedding. I loved the dress so much, I pretty much planned all my wedding colors around it. It was a chilly day so a sweater is covering it up, but it is such a sweet little dress. How fun for Sadie to be able to wear it. Thanks Grace and Cate!!

"No mom, they're blossoms"

My favorite time of year has arrived. SPRING!!! Somehow the freezing winters all become worth it (not really) when we can finally see the famous D.C. Cherry Blossoms. They really are breathtaking. We dedicated two days to their arrival and tours both the Potomac Tidal Basin and my favorite neighborhood of Kenwood in Maryland. I told Sadie they were like popcorn popping on the tree and she replied "no Mom, they're blossoms."


I think I actually prefer Kenwood over the Tidal Basin. There are still quite a few people there but it's not nearly as crowded as going downtown to D.C. I have to thank my Grandma again for giving us the Kenwood tip. She went there nearly 30 years ago when they lived in Mclean.

I almost feel like a bad mother for not posting more pictures of the baby bump. When I was pregnant with Sadie, friends and family received a picture every month. So this is for the baby boy. 8 months and counting!!!

Freckles!!!

We have some new additions to our family. They haven't been named yet but for now we'll just call them "Freckles." Grandpa would be so proud!! He loved his little girls and their freckled faces. Sadie is finally starting to resemble an Etherington.

Dying Eggs

This was the first year we attempted Easter Egg dying. I am happy to announce that no clothing was ruined in the process and everyone had a great time. Most of the eggs ended up looking brown because Sadie insisted on re-dying all the ones Chase and I did.

Heaven!!

This is for you Barcelona return missionaries who remember why us sisters gained 20 pounds in the beautiful country of Spain. It could have been the Napoletanas, the Nutella filled scones, or the tortilla de patata but I'm pretty sure it was the pounds of "flautas" we bought every week. I have fond memories of my favorite candy store in Badalona. We went there every week to stock up on our favorite licorice whips. How I wish I could be standing in the the same place right now. Lucky for me Morgan and Geoff Cotti returned from Spain a couple of weeks ago and brought me an extra special surprise. I tried to remain calm when they handed over the most coveted "dulce" of my world. I thanked them over and over again but if they really knew how appreciative I am they would take me for a loony. Thanks again Cottis who made not just my day but probably my whole year!!

My Guy!!

Today is my main man's birthday. We all love Chase, how could you not? Here's why I love him even more this year:

1) He's so optimistic. Most law graduate students from Georgetown are pretty depressed right now in this failing economy to find there isn't a firm in town who is hiring. Chase always tells me "don't worry Toots, we are going to be just fine" and the best part is I totally believe him.

2) He landed another job with Judge Begeh at the United States Tax Court for the next year so we really will be "just fine."

3) Even though I get bigger and bigger every day he still makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful woman on the planet.

4) He didn't laugh at me when I got a rare pregnancy rash a couple of months ago and had red concentrated dots all over my body. He even helped me put the medicine on my back where I couldn't reach.

5) He has the most amazing bond with Sadie. It reminds me of the one I have with my Dad. I hope she knows how blessed she is to have a father who loves and cares for her the way Chase does.

6)Even though Luna discontinued my favorite flavor of Luna Bar (Chocolate Pecan Pie).....never do this to a pregnant woman, in secret Chase spent an entire afternoon calling 20 different stores in the D.C. area to find one who had a box left over. He found them after walking a mile from the Metro stop in downtown D.C. and brought two boxes home for me.

7) He is passionate about exercising and healthy food and doesn't complain when I make chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flower.

8) He lets me sleep in on Saturday's and usually brings me a delicious super smoothie or a plate of chocolate crepes.

9) The man can make crepes!!!

10) He surprised me with tickets to Chicago the other night and held my hand the entire show.

11) He's my very best friend. I'd rather spend time with him than anyone. I get so excited for him to come home from work everyday and love watching Sadie run into his arms.

12) He's the kind of person you feel will never judge you. I can tell Chase anything and I know he will love me no matter what.

13) He wins the medal for being the hottest bald man on earth.

14) He looks pretty darn cute whenever he plays the cello.

He's my everything and my entire world. I don't know what I did to deserve him but I'm sure happy he picked me!!!

The day was pretty hectic. Chase was awakened with a delicious meal (cooked by yours truly) including a spinach and cheese omelet, potato and sweet potato fries, toast, apples, and a Sports Illustrated...of course. We ended up going to three other birthday parties none of which were for Chase. It just happened to be one of those Saturday's. We skipped out on the last one, headed to Outback Steakhouse for his "annual steak" (I never cook steak)and then headed downtown to see the Cherry Blossom Festival's fireworks.

When we returned we had Chase's favorite dessert, Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream. Sadie only ate the whipped cream and couldn't get enough of it!! As you can probably guess, Chase fell of the "no sugar" wagon weeks ago.