Busy Weekend and Gloomy Monday

Well, we sure had a busy but fun weekend. And I think we're all a little worn out from it.
Friday was filled with playing, chatting, and baking. Lucy and I went to the mall toys in the morning. Then while she took a nap in the afternoon, my friends Melissa and Steve Galbraith stopped by to chat. It was so fun to catch up with them, since lately we only seem to find time for IM chatter. They were in town for our friend Amie Amezcua's wedding reception (pictures below).
Once Casey got off work, we took Lucy to the park and let her play hard before bedtime. Casey was surprised at all the big slides she wanted to go down. I forget how daring she is since I'm around her every day. And then the baking fest began. Jean Anderson and I were throwing a baby shower for our friend Laura Daines the next morning and I was in charge of the food. Many wonderful people brought most of the food. But I still had dessert and bread to make. So, by 9m I got started (and regretted not making the cookies earlier in the day. Oh well, I enjoy being the kitchen). I made 5 dozen cookies, mini carrot cupcakes, and 6 loaves of bread. The house sure smelled yummy! I told Casey that one day, I don't need a fancy kitchen, I just need 2 ovens (and some extra counter space would be nice too.) I got to bed very late that night. But Casey was fabulous Mr. Mom the next day and got up with Lucy and played with her all morning, while I went to the baby shower, which turned out great.
Here's the lovely pregnant lady Laura (with future Baby Daines):
Malinda Hansen let us have the party at her house, which was so lovely. She has a gorgeous home and is the best hostess. When Jean and I got there in the morning, candles were lit, chairs set out, flowers on the table, and Malinda was already asking how she could help us. She was great. All the food was excellent (thank you to all who helped) and the only complaint from the guests were that the plates were too small! We told them to eat while they walked around the table.
Here's a nice overview of some guests. There were about 40 people there altogether.
Jean Anderson, me, and Malinda Hansen:
Once I got home, Casey, Lucy and I headed to In 'N Out for lunch and opted to eat it outside on a nearby lawn. It was great to let Lucy run around while we enjoyed our burgers. The afternoon was naptime (for me and Lucy) and then we drove out to Moorpark (near Simi Valley) for my friend Amie's wedding reception. She was married in Hawaii a month ago and this was her celebration party back at home. Here we are: Me, Amie, and Melissa. Now we have a picture like this from each of our weddings!
Sunday morning, Casey was Mr. Mom again as I headed to Stake choir practice early. We were singing that day for Stake Conference. Lucy did pretty well for the first 1 1/2 hours of the conference and I think the choir sounded great? (I'm a little biased, yes).
Sunday night, we drove back to Simi Valley because Casey was asked to speak at a Fireside for a Youth Conference in his parent's ward. It was only a ward Youth Conference, so the group was smaller and easier to interact with. The theme of the conference was "Follow in his Footsteps". Each youth had to bring a pair of shoes that told something about their life, or shared a fun memory. So, Casey brought a pair of our shoes too: Soccer cleats, my heels from our Wedding Luncheon (probably my favorite and most expensive pair of shoes, yet I've only worn them once! But they have fun sentiment.) and Lucy's little brown PediPeds. As you can tell, she has worn these so much that there are complete holes in both soles (worse than the first pair she wore out). I know this is looking like bad marketing for PediPeds, but they are great shoes. It's just that Lucy literally wore them every day for months on end.
Casey shared fun stories about our shoes and brought a good message to the kids. He was a great speaker and they all seemed to enjoy it.

And there you have it folks, the end of the weekend travelogue. Ahhh.

The only bit to add is the gloomy Monday. Lucy seemed a little bit "off" all weekend. She wasn't horrible, but not herself. Then Sunday night she had a horrible cough that I'd never heard before...sounded like a seal or a dog's bark. We took her to the Dr. on Monday morning and found out she has Croup. It isn't that serious (a virus that starts in your throat) and to be honest, she's been rather content for being sick. But they gave her some medicine and we've just been chilling at home (which makes me a little stir-crazy after a while, esp when it's cloudy and gloomy outside.) She got off on her nap schedule and actually stayed up till 11pm last night. Holy cow, I was done with that.
And today, we ventured to Walmart . I had a full cart of groceries and Lucy was standing up in the back, when she decided to arch her back over the end of the cart and in one split second did a back flip and landed face down on the hard tile. I couldn't believe how fast it all happened. Thankfully she didn't hit her face on the cart and she wasn't bleeding, but it must have hurt and it freaked her out. She started bawling and then....she threw up 3 times in a row all over me in the middle of the Sporting Goods section. Thankfully it wasn't in a crowded area. I hate making a scene. And thankfully I brought a small bag of extra clothes for her and me, since this was bound to happen one day (Lucy has barfed on me more than she ever spit up as an infant and seems to have an easy gag reflex. She throws up often when she gets worked up crying over something.) So, I wiped up the floor, left my cart with the greeter in front and went out the car to remove my cottage cheesey shirt. Yuck. Once we were changed, Lucy was smiling and seemed happy again. And now, at 7pm, she's washed and in bed! Walmart always seems to be an ordeal.
Casey's on his way home with my faaaaavorite pizza from Villa Italian in Culver City (we only get it when he has a softball game and is on the west side).
And so, here's hoping that tomorrow's forecast will be sunny and healthy!