Lima Bean Lovin'

I'm lovin' these surprise visits from the cutest babies ever!  Little Kai came to Spokane and he is just the squishiest, littlest, floppiest, perfectest little lima bean you ever met! 

 

He makes the funniest faces and you just feel like the luckiest person in the world when you catch a smile.  We're totally in love with our first nephew!! 

 

A Thanksgiving Miracle

 

 

My mother-in-law, Diane, got her knee replaced this November.  She did great and she's recovering beautifully but it was pretty obvious that she wouldn't be able to create her usual Thanksgiving spread for the 20ish people that typically visit for the holiday.  It was a scary decision but I stepped up the plate (knowing full well that I might ruin Thanksgiving for everyone).  I'm happy to report that I did not ruin Thanksgiving!!  It wasn't the fanciest Thanksgiving I've ever attended and certainly nothing was made from scratch (and I had a much much smaller crowd) but it was edible and tummies were full in the end and that's a pretty good first try if you ask this Thanksgiving cook novice. 

 

Of course, post-Thanksgiving was just as warm and fuzzy.  We sat around nursing our full bellies and Chloe did 7 wild seconds on the laundry basket before she got bucked off. 

 

Then the next day, she let Uncle Carson have a shot at the loose tooth.  Pretty soon, she'll only be able to eat mashed potatoes and jell-o but hey, it's a living, am I right?

 

 

 And then this happened....

 

 

And I just noticed that Carson is in every picture...I guess I just love my photo-bombing, wild laundry basket bucking, tooth-pulling, dog snugging hubby :)

Everything Good Happens in November

Exhibit A:

Carson and I survived our first year of marriage!  I can't possibly go into a short explanation of what that means so I'll try to paint a metaphorical visual for you.  Imagine watching 2 people walk into a cave they've just discovered with looks of wonderment, curiosity, excitement, nervousness, and giddiness on their faces. Now imagine those same two people walk out of the cave a year later with their clothes torn to shreds, dirt on their faces, small twigs sticking out of their matted hair.  One of them has a limp and the other has a bloody wound.  But they're holding hands and smiling because, whatever just happened in there, they walked out alive and in love.  That's kind of what it's like.


Exhibit B:

I saw my favorite book (dare I say, of all time) turned into a movie and it still rocked.  My 9th grade fantasy came to fruition in the most fulfilling way ever.  I couldn't love Ender more than I do now.  And I couldn't love Asa Butterfield any more that I do when I see him bring my favorite character to life. 


Exhibit C:

I met Shelby Bock, part baby/part angel.  I'm tellin' you, this kid could sell some serious Gerber baby food with that mug.  I'm only an aunt and my love is like THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS
big.  I'm SO glad I didn't have to wait until Christmas to meet this precious girl.


Exhibit D:

Baby Kai was born on November 14th!!  He arrived safe and happy and looking just like his daddy.  I wish I could say I met him in person but only Mom, Dad, and Grandma Eileen have VIP passes at the time.  However, I'm hoping to prove my status as #1 fan and get backstage sometime soon.  I'm gonna need some serious snuggles when I do!

Shelby Bock (She'll be bock!)

Meet Shelby!  As you've probably observed from this picture she is much cuter than your niece.  We haven't met in person but I know a few things which make her pretty much perfect:

a. She is a trendsetter.  Check the headband, folks!
b. She knows how to pose.  Notice the puckered lips.
c. She's pretty and funny. Shelby Bock (pretty).  She'll be bock! (funny).
d. She has beautiful eyes.
e. She 1 part Robyn and 1 part George and who wouldn't love that combination? Refer to C.
f. She's making a trip up to Spokane to say hello to her adoring fans.

Chloe and Shelby have stolen my heart :)  And there's a nephew still gettin' womb service in Bainbridge that I'd like to meet very soon!  I'm a pretty lucky Auntie, wouldn't you say?

The Outdoorsersons

 

Growing up, I hated the outdoors.  It meant three things: heat, mosquitoes, and work!  I wouldn't say I never had fun outside but for the most part I'd rather stick to A/C, avoid yard work, and focus on Seventeen magazine and getting my hair perfectly straight.



Skookum Lake hike

But, folks, I think I'm warming up to it.  It helps that we don't have our own yard, Spokane has much more moderate temperatures, and tons less bugs!  I'm also in love with the trees, mountains, and many beautiful lakes in this area.

Our perfect camp site near the water

Don't get me wrong.  I still ask questions when setting up a tent, can't name most plants, and do a funny song and dance when I get freaked out by the wasps.  Still, I think I'm finally learning what everyone has been raving about.  The world is a really beautiful place when people don't tear it down and pour concrete over it.


Carson jumping in at about 8pm when it was getting cold out

 It also helps that I'm enjoying it all with this guy!  Seriously, look at those adorable eye crinklies!



Cold but happy :)

Hiawatha Trial

Team Leader: Carson Dipo



Ready to roll

So, yeah, it's a pretty great life for this Dipo wife :) 

Eating for 1

Have you ever been a Mormon female, married for 9 months, and had a healthy appetite?  If so, you were probably pregnant at the time.  But even though 99 out of 100 women meeting this criteria are pregnant, somehow I have managed to become the 1% (bah! lame joke!). 

But seriously, stop asking me.

I will now demonstrate telling the difference between a pregnant person and a person who loves carbs:


A beautiful baby-inside-belly



A post-pasta dinner belly
 

Dreaming Is Risky Business

It's funny how almost everything major that I've ever wanted in my life has come true.  I haven't gotten to the kids part of that (and I'm fine waiting on that one) but pretty much everything else has played out exactly as planned.  You know how plans never work out and you have to change them?  Well, I didn't.  My plans actually worked and I got what I wanted.

But I changed my mind somewhere along the way about a big part of that plan...my big goal...my life dream in a way.  I realized that after all that dreaming, schooling, time, and money that I loved the idea of being a counselor more than I actually loved being a counselor.  Silly in a way but how can I can I be mad at myself when I had to go through it all to actually figure that out?  I'm lucky to have my husband and the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life as anchors so I don't feel like I've completely fallen down a hole of uncertainty. 

If I'm being honest, I had doubts early on.  By the last half of my internship I had major doubts as panic and dread filled me up to the brim on my morning drive there.  I considered looking for jobs unrelated to the field but I looked for anything--related or not.  And if you've ever been unemployed for longer than a month, you begin to get excited about any prospect.  So when I finally got an offer for a counseling job I certainly wasn't going to turn it down.  Besides, I wanted to give it my all before I discarded my dream.  Maybe this time would be different, better.  But nothing, not my wonderful work family or even my really cozy new office could make it better for me.  At the end of the day, after all my positive self talk, all my prayers, all my little strategies to lower my anxiety about it I couldn't help but be so glad it was over.

What I'm trying to say here is that I tried.  I had a dream, I chased it, I threw money that wasn't mine at it (hooray for paying back loans for the rest of my life!).  And even though I'm kind of in this weird place now because of it, I don't entirely regret it because at least I tried.  I tried to do something hard and meaningful and helpful in the world. 

So, world, I'm not turning out to be the person I had envisioned.  Instead, I'm a poorer, uselessly educated, career hopping kind of a girl with a job that no one probably cares too much about.  I'm seeing my last few clients for the next few Mondays and working at an accounting firm for the rest of the week until I can come on full-time.  And I know that I'm probably smarter than my new job but that's kind of what I'm enjoying about it right now--it doesn't need me to care too much or worry about it when I leave or feel guilty for not having done a better job.  Maybe one day I'll figure out my true calling in life and it will matter to me and to someone else but for today, I've manage to narrow it down to "not counseling."

As far as dreams go, I'm still a believer and my advice to anyone else would be to chase them in spite of fears and failure!  I guess that's the thing about dreaming.  It's risky.  And even though this one flopped, I think I'd regret not chasing it more than I regret the debt and deflation of failure.

Founding Fathers and Four Day Weekends

The Seattle skyline as framed by these lovely boats

Hooray for Independence Day!  I'm grateful for all those who have founded and fought for this great country and those that continue to fight for and protect our rights as Americans.  And though I've done pretty much nothing to deserve it, I took that 4 day weekend like I earned it.  So, thank you founding fathers, soldiers past and present, and the occasionally selfless leaders of our country in modern times--thank you for the freedoms and for this especially great 4 day weekend.    

Some of my favorite Dipos and I headed over to Bainbridge Island to play with our other favorite Dipos.  Even though Jenny is pregnant (with a boy!  Did I mention it's a boy!?) and kind of tired and sick a lot of the time, she let us come tire her out even more--what are families for if they can come to your house when it's inconvenient and bug you, right? 

Hammin' it up in the Ferris Wheel

 

But before we showed up with our shenanigans, I insisted that we cross one special little item off my Seattle bucket list.  THE SEATTLE FERRIS WHEEL!  Oh my, how that ferris wheel has called my name on every trip I've ever taken to Seattle.  And finally, victory was mine!  Carson, Diane, Chloe and I all saw the beautiful city and the beautiful water from way up in the sky and it was pretty much as cool as I thought it would be.

Our lovable 'fraidy cat..
erm, dog

If that wasn't enough, Morgan and Jenny took us to a fun get-together held at the home of their family friends and it was right on the water.  We got to ride around on a boat and watch fireworks glisten off the water and relax in a hammock and laugh at Duke jumping in Dennis' lap, frightened to death of the fireworks, and eat delicious food and even at one point have a small gang force you to eat an oyster (which you would never in a million years eat without such intense pressure) but which you ate anyway and even though it is actually as gross as it looks, you're glad you did it just so you never have to again because you can say something like "yeah, I've tried it and no, I don't care for it."So, yeah, that was pretty fun.

But then they must not have believed that we really had a good time because they took us out again the next day for a long boat ride and some wake boarding.  And no, I haven't gotten up the courage to publicly humiliate myself by face planting into a body of water whilst attempting to be dragged behind a boat with only the strength of my flabby arms, but I did thoroughly enjoy watching the success of others while just relaxing in the sun on a boat.  But please don't hate, I ATE AN OYSTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!  I call that growth.



Chicks digs guys with skills

And lastly, a day at the beach basking in the beautiful sun followed by what I've discovered is the second best pizza ever made: Greek pizza.  (The first being Craig O's buffalo wing pizza, of course).  
                                God Bless America!

Auntie Ashley & Uncle Carson

    During Thanksgiving dinner of 2011, I spent the holiday with my boyfriend of approximatly 1 month and his family.  His boisterous neice, Chloe, said (a little louder than I might have wanted her to) "I want YOU to be my auntie!"  Well, Chloe dear, dreams do come true.  I'm all yours!  You're my only neice and all my auntie awesome gets soaked up in one place.

    So after several months of the joys of aunthood, I've come to the conclusion that I must have more!!  Luckily, my beautiful sister-in-law, Robyn, and her husband, George, understand.  They're having a baby girl in August :)  Carson and I found out in January after Carson said something revolting and Robyn told us she wasn't just gagging at his comment but because her ego was prego.  We really couldn't be happier for Robyn and George and we can't wait to meet our newest neice!

   But, wait!  There's more!  I was clever enough to marry into a family with TWO awesome sister-in-laws and yup, you guessed it, Jenny and Morgan are pregnant too!  They are due in early November.  We haven't found out the sex of the baby yet but we're pretty excited either way.  I'm guessing it will be a boy....or a girl.  You know, depending on the genetalia.

    This year is going to be an exciting one with tiny toes and fingers and soft skin and happy baby giggles.  I'm guessing that it might also be a year of poopy diapers, early mornings, and even some ear-splitting cries.  But that last part is more for moms and dads.  That's why Carson and I specifically applied for the "Auntie" and "Uncle" positions.  Now our dreams are coming true and we love you Robyn, George, Jenny, Morgan, and Aaron for picking the hard job so we can have the fun job :)

   

How Does That Make You Feel?

How does it feel to finally have my very own office? Um, FANTASTIC, that's how!  Since I began working in January I was promised my own office but, man, who would have thought it would take this long?!  After months of being homeless at work, checking everyone's schedule to see which office I might use, having to lug all my things home with me each day, and even having to explain to clients why they would have to bear their souls to me in yet a different room than the one that they already felt comfortable in I finally have a place to call my own.



Teal walls....shocker, I know ;)

It's not complete yet but I've got what I need for the moment.  I feel like I've done a lot of shopping in the past month to get juuuuust the right stuff and I'm beyond pleased with how well everything is creating the vibe I was going for.


Where the paperwork magic happens
Though, I desperately need some wall decor.

And I know I need some knick knacks for the ledge.  Trust me, I am working on it!  But before I can do anything, I've got to get a picture for behind my couch.  I'd actually found this beautiful red tree picture framed in gold that I fell in love with but apparently it doesn't say "Welcome to counseling, sit down and relax."  It was more like "HI YOU'RE IN COUNSELING!"


And last but not least the oh-so-important tissue table:

Only imagine it with a picture in the frame

There you have it.  I went to college, I got married, I got a real job, and now I have an office.  I think it's offical:

I'm a grown up. 

Kipsie Lou Who?

I'm gonna be honest with ya'll....I'm not that far off from being a crazy cat lady. In the past, I always considered myself more of a dog person. After all, dogs are typically friendlier and funnier and cuddlier and everythinger, right? But ever since we got our little Kipsie Whips, I'm coo coo for this kitty. So excuse me, friends and family with dogs and even babies, I'm going to take a second to obsess over our kitty.



"Mom! Turn the light off!"

I can't help it that she's the cutest, sweetest, cuddliest, funniest fuzz ball in the world now can I?



Showing that feather a thing or two!

New ID tag

"I don't need no stinking snuggie"

Miss Kipsie Dipo

The Littlest Dipo

Carson and I have a new baby girl!  Her adoption was a little bit unexpected.  We'd been visiting places around town and thinking of adopting at some point in the future.  On February 23rd, we were out and about checking out furry friends when we saw her.  PetSmart was having an adoption day.  We were already there cheking out some kitties when two women from Spokanimal came in with two cages.  One was a big fat cat called Mr. Cat and the other was this sweet little girl, too scared to come out of the her cage.

But she did come out with a little coaxing and then grabbed onto me in a sweet hug with her paws on my shoulder.  She was purring so loudy and clinging to me with all her strength.  That's when I fell in love.  She'd picked me.  When I handed her to Carson, she picked him too.

Even so, we left without her.  We hadn't planned on adopting.  We weren't sure if it was the right thing.  We went on with our day....but we couldn't forget her!  Though we hadn't planned on a new member of our family just yet, we knew we couldn't let someone else take our little girl.  She was a Dipo through and through.  So we made it official!  We went back and picked up our little girl!

Welcome to our family, Kipsie :)

Valentine's Day

This is the first year I have ever celebrated Valentines with a married man!  Luckily, it was my husband :)  Since V day came on a Thursday, we decided we'd just devote our entire Saturday to being together (and no boring chores, homework, or work allowed!).  First, we drove over to Liberty Lake and simply drove around looking at all the cool houses.  Window shopping for houses is one of my favorite things to do so that was way fun.  Plus, neither of us ever really go to Liberty Lake.  It has a much different feel than Spokane.  I like it.

Then we headed back to Spokane and decided to check out this old haunted building on the Gonzaga campus.  Though I was even a student there, I've never even seen this building or been inside.  They now use it as a place for music majors to go practice.  Supposedly, it WAS haunted but the excorcism was successful.  It was actually a beautiful and creepy mansion with uber creaky floors.

Monaghan Hall at the Gonzaga Campus

Then, since we were already so nearby, we ate at Wolffy's--home of the most delicious hamburgers ever!!  Carson had never been and I'd been meaning to make him try it since, well, forever.  It was pretty scrumptious.  While we did that we answered these questions I found online and then made some up.  I found out that if Carson came into a huge amount of money and he wasn't allowed to spend it on himself, he would donate it to this Native American reservation where they don't have any running water.  I think he watched something about it on Netflix and it really touched him.  We ended up talking about it a lot.  Carson is pretty passionate about it and has always had an interest in Native American culture.

Next, we visted several different places to look at cats and dogs.  This was both fun and heartbreaking.  We keep saying that at some point in the future, we'll get ourselves a fuzzy little ball of love but when we visit I think Carson is ready sooner and sooner :)

And lastly, we played mall bingo which was (as always) halarious!  We made our bingo cards in the car and basically, we wrote down different types of people we were looking for.  Some are simple like "green shirt" and some are funnier like "someone I'd be embarrassed to be related to."  Then we head out on our search and as we spot them, we just have to get approval from the other person before we mark it off.  We found some really interesting people which is always super fun!  And then after walking the mall several times, it took us about forty five minutes to find our car.  That was kind of a bummer but it wasn't raining or snowing so we made the best of it and played "would you rather."

Needless to say it was a pretty great Valentines day.  I got to spend all day with my favorite person :)

Dipo Family Love

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to drive down to Utah with my wonderful husband and his parents.  We were making the trip to attend the funeral of Dora Dipo, Carson's grandma. Though the Dipo family and others touched by the life of this wonderful woman were sad, they were also joyful. They realized that Dora could now be reunited with her husband, George, and her Heavenly Father. They knew that she had led a good life and had been a faithful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and even great-great-grandmother! Though I never met her, it was easy to see her influence as I looked around at the family she'd raised. It was easy to see how dearly she loved them through the love that they gave back to her.

I'm lucky enough to say that I haven't attended many funerals in my life. I am, however, grateful that I was able to attend this one. The word funeral seems to be a sad word with negative connotations but that isn't what I experienced as we celebrated Dora's life. I admit that I shed tears but I wasn't sad for Dora. I was sad for all those that loved her who she had to leave behind for a little while. She'd come to this earth and used her time in the best way anyone could--giving herself to her family.

Thinking about the end of life often reminds those of us in the middle of ours that its finite, that we're not going to have forever here. It certainly makes life in the present very meaningful to know that there is an end to it. It makes me wonder what I'm doing with mine now and if in 60 years I'll be happy that I did it. Sometimes its hard to think about the big picture or see beyond the daily grind. Sometimes I get stuck on the little things. But I think I can honestly say that I'm happy and that I wouldn't want to be anywhere but where I am now, doing what I'm doing now. I have a wonderful husband a wonderful family who I love. Everything else comes second.