party in NYC

the hursts came to visit!  and having them here was just about the greatest thing.  we gave them space to play in NYC without us most of friday, but then pounced on them for dinner and times square in the evening.  we went to amy ruth's in harlem for ryan's birthday, and it definitely did not disappoint.  it was our first time going stroller-less, and we were also so proud of hazel for walking during our two days in the city.  saturday we spent the whole day in the city and she walked miles without complaint!  {but crashed HARD at dinner, poor thing.}

 it was quite cold and rainy this weekend, so we opted for winter coats.  and hazel wore pinkalicious and, as you can see, was THRILLED about it.  she also did some drumming with some drummer on the street.  and i quickly sanitized her hands afterwards ;)

smelling the "lips" as hazel calls them. \/\/\/

on saturday we went to the WTC memorial, chinatown for the best soup dumplings and mango boba ice drink, macey's wooden escalator, and then we took this selfie while waiting for our levain cookies.  yum!

then we went to artichoke pizza and walked the high line and went home.  but not before getting a salted pimp at big gay ice cream.  

and here's a couple short videos (from my snapchat: pbrunt) if you're interested.  the subway dancing was the coolest!  

NYC part 1 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

NYC part 2 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

have you ever been to pennsylvania?  we just visited for the first time this last weekend {besides a quick drive-by hershey, PA when we moved out here} and let me just say, it was beautiful.  for being the ugly end-part of the winter yuck, pennsylvania was stunning.  i actually enjoyed the road-trip out there, despite getting up-chucked on once and whined at ten million times.

of course we had a pressing desire to see pennyslvania, but the main reason for visiting was NEWBORN BABY SNUGGLES.  our friend jordan {who set john and i up} and his cute family are going to school in happy valley and just had a baby back in december.  and since my baby basically refuses to snuggle with me these days... i stole theirs away at every opportunity!  

we ate at a famous sandwhich/burger/sports bar joint in downtown state college, and then explored the cute children's arboretum.  

we ate creamery ice cream and i cried a little from sheer happiness.

we did a cute easter-egg hunt with the older girls, and got to meet the easter bunny and the nittany lion himself.  

cute rory was the best little playmate for our hazel.  they are so close in age, have the same energy level, and got along great.  too bad we don't live closer!

 we drove through beautiful farm country and went to an amish wedding {which isn't really a wedding, but a delicious buffet - (the potatoes were amazing and so was the stuffing... it had shredded chicken IN IT)} and gorged ourselves silly.

sunday we went to church, drove home, and attempted to recover from such a fun-filled weekend.  don't tell anyone, but i still haven't unpacked.  ;)

thanks for having us crespos!

a weekend in corsicana, tx.

we spent a fun few days with our friends this weekend at a little lake house in corsicana. hazel loved playing, swimming, swinging, exploring, and riding in the paddle boat with friends. we did an amazing crawfish boil which i can take zero credit for, and had a wonderful time. if there weren't so many dang bugs in that swampy place, it would have been pretty much perfect. 

diapercation!

so, a week ago we packed up and drove 20 hours to dallas. i am so grateful to my family for their help, and especially my dad and in-laws for helping us drive out here. it broke my heart to say goodbye to my dad, because i could tell he felt like he was having to let his little girl go again, just like he had to on the day i got married. it kind of hurts my heart to think about it. but there's consolation in knowing my family is only a plane ticket away....

once we unpacked we headed straight to a friend's house for a vacation with all of john's high-school friends. every couple has a baby and one couple even has twins so... there's a lot of diapers being changed. hence the name: diapercation. on friday we went to the pond and fed the ducks and turtles and played on the playground. we also swam our first swim of the season and hazel learned to blow bubbles underwater!

here's a picture of all the dads with their babies. as you can see, at least one baby is crying at any given moment! 

on saturday we went to the zoo! i was oddly exhausted (hungry) at the zoo, but we saw some great animals and hazel loves looking at them.

i swear she was happy most of the time...

this bird is our new best friend.

after the zoo, we had a bbq by the pool.

sunday we went to church john's old ward. the people there were gushing over what a good group of young men they were. what happened?! ;)

now i'm gonna go get myself some blue bell ice cream.

life.

conference weekend.

we have lots of family and friends in town this week.  which is really exciting for me, since most weeks i am just sitting around, entertaining a baby, going to the grocery store and cleaning. typically in that order.  it has been so fun to see jordan and christina and meet their darling baby girl for the first time!  she is so sweet.  

as is necessary when people are in town, you have to make lots of treats and keep your fridge and pantry stocked.  {or at least i do.  i have discovered that food is my primary love language.  eeek!}

so far, i have made this, and this.  and i plan on making this before the weekend's out.  and maybe this with strawberries.  we'll see where the wind takes us.

also, did you know that looking at too many pictures of food can actually make that food less appetizing and enjoyable to eat?  who knew?  just so you know, this will in no way affect how much i post pictures of food on instagram or the blog.  consider it helpful to your dieting aspirations if you must.  you're welcome.

moments from orlando babycation.

john: there's a spider on the windshield!

ryan: we need to roll up this window promptly.

spider receives quick, painless death by windshield wiper.

10 people plus 4 babies miraculously fitting underneath one single umbrella at the beach.

playing sedarahc with everyone at 1 a.m. and hearing guesses like "mug cake"(me) and "cement"(ryan)

seeing my very first live armadillo! he was so cute.

also, hazel has touched both the atlantic and pacific oceans (with her toes) in her first three months of life!

we had such a blast on babycation 2013 with all you friends! i'm so glad y'all married people we like- and that we can have so much fun together. until next summer.....

john's birthday!

we had friends over for john's 28th birthday.  [whoa.  28?  really?  that's only two years away from 30.... and then i'll be married to an old man!  {okay, not really}]

we went to slab pizza,  had chocolate bundt cake, and the boys played black ops 2 until about 4:30am.  perfect birthday festivities, in my opinion.  

happy birthday john!  you are simply the best.  i'm so glad i get to be your wife.  you are a stud.

while john was in new york....

while john was in new york, i caught up on some much-needed girlfriend time.  mady, lauren, and i went to the twilight movie {is it kinda sad that i loved it?}, got breakfast with lauren's soon-to-be husband, ate chinese food, and caught up on what's been going on in each other's lives!  this is us at over-the-counter, east millcreek's secret hole-in-the-wall breakfast diner that makes amazing home fries.

a few more pics from california.

 

california.

we spent a wonderful weekend in california for a friends reunion. we got to hang out with friends that we hadn't seen in over a year! we saw the new batman movie(a must-see), played on the beach, and made a special trip to olvera street for taquitos. we all had a great time. i can't wait for the friends reunion next year!

an intro to ceviche and bistec a lo pobre.

we think it's so cool that sam will be going to cuzco, peru.  you know who else thinks it's cool?  ryan. it was so fun to take sam out to peruvian and hear them talk about the mission over dinner.  it got sam really psyched.  thanks to all the fun friends who came!  i really am starting to like lomo saltado.....