Rewind: Christmastime 2013

I'd like to start by pointing out that the post for Christmas 2012 didn't make it up until early April of 2013...this time around, I'm beating time by about 3 weeks. We're talking real progress here, folks!

 

We'll just go in order and start with my trip to Zoo Lights with the kids.  The kids and I bundled up one weeknight and headed into SLC, arriving at the zoo just after the gates opened for the evening.  To say that we were in the middle of a cold snap would be putting it nicely.  We were all bundled up head-to-toe...and completely freezing the entire time we were there.  We arrived just as Santa was headed to get his reindeer and got a quick picture with him before going to a nearby building where Mr. and Mrs. Claus would be available for visiting.  We were only 2nd or 3rd in line to see them and even though we'd only been at the zoo for less than 15 minutes, we welcomed the chance to warm up inside while we waited. After hanging out with the Clauses for a few minutes, we went on to see the light displays and animal exhibits, take a few rides on the carousel (unlimited rides on my pass...awesome), and duck into buildings for warmth whenever we could.  When we were good and close to being frostbitten, we left the zoo and went out to dinner at The Olive Garden (one of the kids' favorites - the basically inhale the salad there).

Sub-freezing fun at Zoo Lights! 

About a week after going to Zoo Lights, we took another jaunt into SLC to visit Temple Square.  Going in the late afternoon/early evening, traffic and parking were great and we actually arrived prior to the lights turning on for the evening.  We started out with a stop to see the candy window displays at Macy's and walked up the block just in time for the lights to turn on.  It was bit chilly but NOTHING like the temperatures we had braved at the zoo the week before.  It was nice to be able to take our time and enjoy the displays.  We started at the Reflection Pool and then went on through Temple Square, making a stop at one of the sets of big east facing doors (a real thrill for the kids).  It was so nice to be there before the big evening crowds.  Afterwards was another dinner at The Olive Garden.  I tired for Blue Lemon and a couple of other places but they begged and I'm a sucker.  At least I knew the kids were getting their vegetables.

Temple Square and the candy windows at Macy's (top and bottom corners on the right).

 

Last - but not least - was Christmas.  We had a very quiet Christmas Eve at home.  The kids received their traditional Christmas pajamas - dog/puppy themed this year - and new slippers.  We sang Christmas carols and hymns, read the nativity story from the Bible, and sent the kids off to bed where they struggled to fall asleep.  For the first time in years, I got almost everything done earlier in the day and evening (final wrapping, baking cookies, making our Christmas morning pastry, etc.) and Max and I actually made it to bed before midnight.  It was a miracle and it felt so good!  Christmas day was also very laid back.  We enjoyed the morning and early afternoon with just the four of us and then had my little brother and his family over for Christmas dinner.  It really was a wonderful day.

Top four pics are from Christmas Eve (kids insisted on silly-faced pictures) and bottom pics are from the big day.

Well, there you go...our Christmas season in a nutshell.  I'm already looking forward to the holidays this year - less than 9 months away!

Rewind: Thanksgiving 2013

I've posted before about how much I love the Thanksgiving holiday and I would love to write more about it now but it's kind of off-season and for the sake of getting a bunch of posts knocked out, I'm going to try to forgo my usual wordiness. This year, Thanksgiving gets its own post for one reason alone: a family snapshot.

My hubby is not a big fan of the camera and we very rarely have our picture taken together as a family. As we were getting ready to leave his parents' place after Thanksgiving dinner, I made a quick move to have a picture taken. Max didn't know it but I was hoping to get something that we could use for our family Christmas card as we usually just do pics of the kids. While the background wasn't ideal, Claire had undone her cute hairdo, and Hudson had a fever (we found out the next day that he had a raging sinus infection), I was overall very happy with how it turned out. I ordered our cards from Shutterfly that night and didn't tell Max until I showed one to him when they came in the mail....and he liked them. Hallelujah!!

 

Sneaky move. Good results. Thankful wife/mom.

Summer 2013: A Nutshell of Photo Collages

Alrighty, folks...trying to keep it simple as I promised.  Here's the rundown of our summer months:

 

1. Spent a week at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas in Southern California.  Minutes away from what I still consider my 2nd home: Balboa Island (spent 2 weeks there every other summer growing up). We spent time walking around the island (as much as I could on my poorly-timed broken toe), eating Balboa Bars, enjoying the sights on and around the island, relaxing and swimming at the villas, playing on our favorite beach: Corona del Mar, going for a cruise around the harbor on Duffy boats, spending a day at LEGOLAND (1st and last time) and more than anything, we enjoyed spending time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Walks around the island with family, time with cousins, and most importantly, Balboa Bars from Dad's.

 

 Amazing gardens and sights on Balboa Island.

Cruising in the Duffy boats.

Corona del Mar: my little brother found a seaweed super hero mask, my oldest brother showed the sand who's boss, Hudson and Grandpa had fun in the waves, and I discovered that buddy taped toes and sand don't jive...at least my nail polish rocked. The wide pic at the top is of my dad, two brothers, my bro-in-law, and a niece all a ways out from the beach waiting to catch waves (body surfing and body boarding).

LEGOLAND with my little brother and his family, my kids and I, and my niece, Becca.

2. After Newport Coast, we headed to Northern California for some quality time in my hometown of Los Gatos. We took my niece with us for some extra time with my kids (didn't hear one complaint from any of them).  We stopped at Harris Ranch and Casa de Fruta on the way up.  I was an amazingly awesome mom/aunt and paid for the kids to ride the double-decker carousel a the latter.  My childhood self wishes she could have ridden it.  While staying at my parents' place for over a week, we enjoyed going to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, spending time with friends and extended family, going to the park, doing a little bit of shopping, and more than anything, we had a great time being at Grandpa & Grandma's house.

The three cousins together: at The Boardwalk, Casa de Fruta, Harris Ranch, and G&G's backyard sandbox.

 

Happy 4th of July: The kids spent a good chunk of the day riding scooters in the backyard. They were having fun hamming it up for the camera and Grandpa had fun photo-bombing a totally unsuspecting Hudson.

 

Day trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium: Hudson got to pet a Bat Ray, we all pet sea creatures in the tide pool exhibits, a saw Bottlenosed Dolphins swimming a ways off the main observation deck (a real treat...they're rarely in the Monterey Bay). The jelly fish exhibit is always a favorite...the one picture shows Hudson's hand with a teensy jelly swimming on the other side of the glass.

Swimming with friends and playing with 2nd cousins.

3. Next up was a trip to my sister's in El Dorado Hills, CA, where we spent the last few days of our trip.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity see two of my dear lifelong friends who live in the area.  One made the long-ish drive with her cute daughter to see me at my sister's and my kids and I went to visit the other friend and her family at her parents' home near EDH (extra special treat as I hadn't seen her parents in over 20 years!).  Aside from visits with friends, my sister and I made sure to fit in some sister time, complete with a yummy lunch at one of our favorite digs, Jack's Urban Eats.  The kids spent their time playing with their cousins and swimming in the neighbor's pool.

 

When we drove home to Utah, my sister and her kids came with us to spend almost 2 weeks out here.  One of the highlights of their visit here was our day spent up in Park City where we took the kids on the Alpine Slides (my 1st time ever!) and Alpine Coaster.  I didn't get many pictures of our other activities here but I'm pretty sure that only my sister and I would truly appreciate looking at photos of every eating establishment we went to and the foods we consumed at each place.

A glimpse of our days in EDH and at the Park City Mountain Resort.

Now, that was better than my usual wordy self, wasn't it?  It was wordier than it could have been but far less wordy than I'm capable of.  You're welcome.

Rewind: Disney Princesses on Ice

Yes, you read the title right.  I took my girl to Disney Princesses on Ice.  This was a first for both of us as I had never been to any "on ice" performance in my life (I assume hockey games don't count but the fights are fun so that has to count for something, right?).

 

I bought our tickets several weeks in advance and lucked out when I snagged two seats at the aisle just one row up from the most expensive sections in the arena.  I didn't tell Claire but I wrote on our calendar that it was going to be a night out for the two of us.  She was excited as could be and leading up to the big day, she would refer to the calendar often.

 

Our evening started with dinner in SLC.  Once we arrived at City Creek, I gave Claire a few dinner options and she chose Blue Lemon.  We hadn't eaten there before and we both loved it.  I'm starting to salivate just thinking about the butternut squash soup I had. Mmmmmmm. This post isn't about food, though, so I'll move on...   After dinner we walked to the nearest Trax station and took the train over to The Delta Center (it has been renamed Energy Solutions Arena but it'll always be The Delta Center to me).  On the wait to the train and once we were there, Claire noticed other little girls dressed up as princesses.  She questioned me about it and I was very vague in my responses.

 

When we finally arrived at the arena, I sat her down in front of a tree and told her my evil plan.  She was beyond excited and happily held on tight as we made our way through the crowds inside.  We stopped at Cinderella's carriage which was made entirely out of Lego Duplo blocks and Claire did her best princess wave for a picture.  Then, being a total sucker (and having cash from the hubby), I gave in like any good pushover parent would and got her a light-up sparkly wand (it even makes pretty sounds) and a foam "crown" before we headed in to find our seats.  I also allowed myself to be talked into kettle corn, cotton candy (which she decided she didn't care for - strange child - we saved it for the boys at home), and a bottled water that cost me more than it should have. Oh well...it was a special mommy-daughter date and my girl is worth every penny!

 

 

The show itself was a ton of fun.  Claire was completely enthralled and loved every second of it.  I think her favorite part was the WHOLE thing.  My favorite scenes were when Rapunzel and Flynn held onto long, flowy bands of fabric and rose up into the air and when they lit the lanterns at the end.  Such good stuff!  I honestly enjoyed the entire show and would love to take both of our kids sometime when they put on a more gender-neutral show.

 

Now, I've saved the best for last.  I took a video or two of Claire during the show, just hoping to catch one of "those" moments.  At one point, I could tell based on the storyline and such that a something big was coming up so I quietly turned on my phone's video camera and waited...

This was hands-down my favorite moment of the night!

Rewind: Easter 2013

We had a very nice Easter this year and it was a pretty low key day all around.  The kids found their baskets from the Easter Bunny in the morning and then the bunny came back and hid the hard boiled eggs that we had dyed the day or two before.

 

I had the kids wear new duds to church that day (of course).  Hudson is getting a little old to be forced into cute little outfits with multiple pieces so he just got a cool new tie.  Claire, on the other hand, is all over getting new outfits so she got a dress with a cardigan shrug and new shoes.  Between her willingness and desire to have new clothes and the fact that I'm a sucker for them, she definitely makes out better than her brother on holidays.

 

 

We were joined by my little brother and his family along with his mother-in-law for dinner that evening.  We had a delicious spread of ham (recipe from my hubby's mom...BEST ever), sour cream scalloped potatoes, fresh fruit, green salad, and sugared orange rolls for dinner and fresh lemon cake for dessert.  I just love holiday dinners.  I'm glad they don't occur more often than they do because if I ate like that every day, you'd have to get a forklift to get me out of the house.

Rewind: Snow Fun

This winter...HA, HA, HA!  No, I'm serious.  We got a boatload of snow (actually even more than that) this winter.  We had a very lame, brown, ugly, and un-wintry winter in 2011/2012 so the 2012/2013 moisture was a welcome change.  During one particular storm system in January, we got a solid 3 feet of snow up here in just a couple of days.  After the biggest portion of it came down, we went out and had some good, freezing fun playing.  Actually, Max and the kids played...I stood on the sidelines and took pictures.

After playing around in the snow out back for a good, long time, we headed out front where Max and Hudson were going to start working on a snow fort in the massive snow bank/drift between us and our neighbor's place.  They made some progress but their work was interrupted by an unexpected discovery: when our driveway is slightly covered in snow or iced over, it makes a fantastic - albeit short - sledding hill.  We usually keep the walkways and drive pretty clear but the cold temperatures that day made it almost impossible to everything clear of ice.  The kids took turns going down the drive and loved that the sled would uncontrollably twist and spin around.  I don't know how often we'll have those perfect conditions but you can bet that when we do, our kids will be out front sliding down the driveway!
 

Speaking of winter storms, we had a crazy one back in January or February.  It was the perfect mix of freezing temperatures, snow, and rain and it was a real doozy to say the least.  We had freezing rain and the roads (and sidewalks and driveways and...) were all slick with a thin sheet of ice.  Driving was pretty scary and downright treacherous in some places.  I was worried about having my kids take the bus that morning and drove them to school.  My drive started with sliding backwards down the driveway into a snow bank and ended with my car sliding down into our circle with pretty much zero control of steering or stopping.  Yikes!  I'm glad it only lasted a day.

More to come this month, I swear.  I'm knocking out a few posts and getting them scheduled for every few days.

Rewind: Christmas 2012

Here I go...time to play catch up.

 

While hubby was recovering from his hip surgery in December (which he did quite nicely...much faster and better recovery than when he had the other hip done almost five years ago), I tried to keep the holiday season as normal as possible for the kiddies.

 

I took them to Temple Square to see the lights one evening.  We enjoyed walking around and seeing the lights, watching/listening to the nativity display, and seeing the Christus statue.

As long as we were downtown, we went to Macy's and saw the holiday window displays - all made out of CANDY.  Each giant ornament was different and it was amazing to see all the fine detail.  I can't imagine putting one of those things together!  After seeing the candy windows, we went and waited forever for a table at The Olive Garden.  Dinner was tasty, though, and we all went home tired, full, and happy.

On two other nights, there were Christmas parties to attend.  One was at church (which Hudson opted out of as he was concerned about leaving Max at home alone) and the other was our annual neighborhood progressive/rotating dinner party.  Both kids came along on the latter and as always, we had a great time.  Santa Claus made an appearance at both and Claire was a little apprehensive before the first party so we decided to clue her in that the Santa Claus that comes to the parties is a helper to the REAL Santa Claus and....she knows said helper.  We told her who the special helper is and she was thrilled to be in on the big secret.  She was in awe that this man that we know is actually a real Santa's helper.  Holy smokes.  No more Santa visit nerves for our girl.  Hudson is a very good older brother and encourages his sister in her excitement and happily sits on Santa's lap, too.  I think he still has fun with it (too smart for us...figured EVERYTHING about EVERYONE on his own out when he was 6 years old).

Christmas day itself was pretty quiet and very nice to spend together as a family.  We had a yummy breakfast (homemade Danish Almond Puff, blueberry muffins, fruit, etc.) before heading into the living room to open presents.  We've got two amazingly patient kids who are always good about waiting until it's officially time to go in.  This year we tried to cut back on the gifts (we even stuck a couple of things out in the garage to save for another time).  It wasn't that they didn't get plenty but the kids didn't notice the difference and were thrilled with what they received.  I also love seeing how excited they are to give to others...it's one of those reward moments as a parent (at least for me).  It felt great to tone it down and enjoy the holiday without such a huge emphasis on presents.

 

That evening it was just us again as we enjoyed a massive spread of prime rib roast and all the fixin's for Christmas dinner.  My brother's family was going to join us but his wife became sick on Christmas Eve so they cancelled the morning of.  We were sad that they couldn't join us but appreciated the gift they gave us by not bringing her "bug" to our house.

 

I always love the holidays and this year was no different.  I'm just looking forward to this year when Max will join us for some of our outings!

 

Now watch out...another post coming tomorrow morning (not joking!).

Max's Hip Surgery

Today I am thankful for modern medical procedures and practices, physicians, and medications.

 

Max had his big hip resurfacing surgery this morning.  His doctor called me when it was done and said that everything went perfectly and that hubby was doing well in recovery.  I wasn't able to see him until a little bit after noon but I was surprised at how good, alert and comfortable he looked.  When he had his left hip done 4 1/2 years ago, I wasn't able to visit him until a bit later in the day (Hudson was in preschool and Claire was only 7 months old) so seeing him so soon afterwards this time was a new thing for me.

 

Max was starting to hurt a bit when he came up from recovery and obviously the pain is going to get worse as everything wears off.  It's no fun to see someone that you love hurting and I know he will be doing just that for the next several days.

 

I'm really not worried about Max's recovery (other than the fact that I know that it's painful and slow going for him) or how things will be down the line.  We've done this before and more than anything, I'm just glad to know that his condition will improve each day from here on own rather than deteriorate.

 

Our lives and our family have been blessed by doctors and modern medicine over and over again throughout the years and I'm sure they will continue to be.  So today I am very thankful indeed.

Letting Go: Goodbye, Miles

On Saturday afternoon we chose to have our beloved dog Miles put down.  He had been with us for 11 of our 14 years of marriage.  Some will think or say that he was "just" an animal but he was a dear friend, family member, and companion to all of us.

 

After suddenly fainting and going stiff one day back in March, Miles was diagnosed with a large tumor in his abdomen (and some smaller ones to go along with it).  We thought we were going to lose him within weeks at that point but he'd bounced back and had been pretty doing well.  He did look old. He had a very distinguished white "beard" contrasting the black fur on his face and there were newer areas of white fur around his paws, knees and tummy. In recent months, I had taken to calling him "Old Man".  However, in the past 8 weeks or so, he had really started going down hill.  His back right leg had obviously been hurting or uncomfortable for a while, his tumors were getting larger, he was sleeping and laying around a lot more, he'd appeared to have slimmed down suddenly, etc.  Thinking that we might need to put him down, I took Miles to the vet the two Saturdays ago.  The vet thought he was still doing okay and sent us home with some additional pain meds to help his leg (we had an anti-inflammatory at home that we'd been using for a month or so).

 

While the meds did help somewhat with his ability to walk, early last week Miles suddenly cut way back on how much he was eating (though he was drinking a ton), he got drastically thinner over the course of a few days, and his back left leg started to go as well.  Both legs actually simultaneously gave out on him a couple of times during the week.

 

Friday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow and Miles was a little bit spunky (a rarity these days) and was obviously happy about it.  He was always a snow dog...winter was his favorite time of year.  When I went out to shovel the driveway and walks late morning, Miles had a blast playing in the white stuff - albeit at a slow pace - and got himself good and dirty and drenched.  He needed a bath afterwards.   As always, he was a good boy and went to hop in the tub when I told him to but his back legs couldn't do the job and I had to lift him in. For the first time ever, he actually voluntarily sat down a few times while I was bathing him as his legs were too weak. He was happy to be clean and after a good towel-drying, I sat down in our big chair by the fireplace in the the living room so that he would lay down in front of the fireplace to dry off.  He was worn out and slept there for a while.  That night, Max and I talked about Miles' condition.  We knew that it was time and decided Friday night that we'd need to make the call on Saturday.

 

I made the call Saturday morning then went out and cried to my husband about the fact that it was really happening.  Miles followed me around the yard as I shoveled and I got a few pictures of him with the kids.  The kids had already had a good cry about Miles the weekend before when we sat them down and told them that he'd be going soon so we didn't tell them what was happening until it was time to go.  When I was ready (a relative term...I was an absolute wreck) to take him to the vet on Saturday, we had the kids come and say goodbye.  They both started crying and they each gave him a big hug. We were all in tears.  I lifted Miles into the car and we headed down the hill.  Miles loved car rides and usually sat in the cargo area of my car but this time, he came up and laid down behind the center console.  I reached back and pet him as I talked to him the whole way there.  I got to be with Miles for a while before he was put down and I sat on the floor with him through the whole thing. He actually really liked the blanket that they put down for him and he was happy to lay on it with me sitting next to him. He went peacefully and quickly. The vet had only administered about half of the medication when he passed. She said that sometimes it takes until it has been completely injected for an animal to pass (or even a few minutes after), but that when the animal goes only partway through, it means that it really was their time to go. She reassured me that we had definitely made the right choice and that it was his time. I stayed there with him for a while afterwards.  I kind of expected him to lift his head at any moment.  Part of me was thinking and wishing that he'd suddenly wake up all renewed and healthy again, ready to walk out the door with me. It was hard to leave him lying there even though I knew he was gone.  I kept reminding myself: he's happy now and he's not in pain anymore.  That and he got to go on a perfect,  snowy day...we couldn't have picked a more fitting day for him. 

 

I do know that letting Miles go was the right thing to do but not having him here is going to take some getting used to. I sobbed the whole drive home and Max and I had a good cry together again when I got here.  I cried a few more times that evening and Claire sobbed for a good 10 minutes as she was getting ready for bed that night after stating, "Now our family only has 4 people in it." Talk about a heart breaker! We've all done pretty well since then but writing this has me all worked up again. Dang crying genes!  I honestly wonder how long it'll take me to stop crying at random over my furry boy.  Even if I don't cry, I know I'll still expect him to be here - I've already done several things and thought things as if he was here.  Max told me yesterday that he keeps doing the same.  There's going to be an adjustment time for all of us, I'm sure.

 

(picture taken summer 2011)

MILES

7/13/2001-11/10/2012

 

You are and will be sorely missed, Miles.  We loved you, we love you, and we will continue to love you.  Until we meet again...

Time To Quarantine?

Since mid-October, we've had a nice round of ailments at our house...

 

It started with Claire catching a cold/cough on a Tuesday morning.  The next day I came down with some sort of stomach bug.  Her cold lasted until Friday, as did my sickness.  It happened to be the week of hubby's birthday, our anniversary, and the kids' annual fall break from school.  What a great way to spend what should have been a fun few days!

 

The following week, I convinced hubby that he needed to go to the ER late one evening as he was having symptoms that pointed to kidney stones (he'd had them once before).  Only one was diagnosed that night but they didn't check his kidney on the CT scan and said there could be more hiding in there.  Sure enough, ever since then, my poor husband has had a number of good days and nights interspersed with a few rotten days and nights as he's dealt with additional stones.  On top of that grand fun, his hip is beyond ready for the surgery he's having on the 19th...it doesn't take much activity or use to leave him in discomfort or pain.

 

This week started with Max having to stay home on Sunday with kidney pain but Monday looked a little brighter.  The kids had the day off from school and everything was normal... until that night.  Claire got up coughing and in spite of medicine, a humidifier and opening her window to let some cold air in, it took her a while to settle down.  Yesterday morning she was coughing again and thoroughly congested.  She perked up within a few hours (and spent a good 20 minutes in the afternoon sobbing because she couldn't go out and play with friends) and I was hopeful that she was on the mend already.  Silly me!  Last night was a bit rough again.

 

Today my girl woke up congested again so we kept her home from school a second day.  Hudson was up and getting ready for school as usual but seemed to be dragging along.  I thought that it might be a bit of "no-school jealousy" but he insisted that he felt weak, a bit tired, slow, and achy.  We thought he was probably just making it up but chose to let him have a day as well.  I'm glad that we did.  We checked on him mid-morning as Max was headed to work and he felt a bit warm so I decided to take his temperature.  He was nice and cozy at 100.5.  Oh, goody!  I gave the boy some Tylenol and sent him off to play quietly with his sister.

 

It's been a fine day, really.  No one is horribly sick, it's been relatively quiet, and I've been able to get some things done.  Oh - and I'm wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt and while I've showered, I haven't done my hair and I don't care because I'm not going anywhere today.  Bonus!! However, I'm 150% done with these pesky sicknesses and ailments making their rounds in our family.  With surgery less than 2 weeks away, I'm worried about Max catching one of the kids' bugs and I'm certainly in no mood to be sick myself.  I gave the kids very detailed instructions this morning about not touching ANY towel in the house except for their own bath towels in their bathroom upstairs and I'm getting things cleaned all over the house today.

 

Maybe I should just quarantine every member of our family until everything has worked its course. I know kidney stones aren't contagious, but still.

 

I will say one thing...  Times like these sure make me grateful for good health and all the days, weeks, and months of the year that we go without anyone being sick.  I gladly look forward to getting back to that!

Happy Halloween 2012

We had a very nice Halloween this year.  I was more organized than usual and that led to things running a bit more smoothly and quickly...weird.  We had tacos for dinner with orange & black tortilla chips, a peach flavored brain Jell-O with Cool Whip mixed in (you can see last year's brain Jell-O pics here...just imagine a very pale shade of pink instead of the dark red), and sliced apples.  Our drink was "Witches' Brew": lime sherbet with grape soda.  It's really quite tasty.  I also made devil's food cupcakes with white frosting and orange sugar crystal sprinkles for dessert....because the evening's haul of coma-inducing sugar just wouldn't have been enough.  I failed to take pictures of any of our semi-festive meal so you'll just have to imagine it.

 

As for trick-or-treating, Claire was dressed up as Disney's Belle and Hudson was a Clone Trooper from Star Wars.  Thanks to my good friend, neighbor, and hair genius, Melinda, Claire's hair was as perfect as it could have been.  And thanks to my sister-in-law, Heather, Hudson had a great costume that fit perfectly when his original costume plans (he wanted to be a miner) fell through.

 

Both kids loved their costumes and while I thought they looked great, I have one complaint about each:

• Hudson's: the Star Wars gun he used (came from another Star Wars costume I purchased a few years back) makes noise.  A lot of obnoxiously loud and annoying noise.  Why I haven't yet permanently confiscated it and sent it to the land of misfit toys is beyond me.

• Claire's: Holy freaking gold glitter.  Her beautiful dress/costume came from the Disney store, complete with a lifetime supply of glittery trim that sheds off like you wouldn't believe.  I thoroughly tape-rolled the back seats of my car the next day.  And there's still some left.  Glitter is of the devil.

Immediately after dinner we took the kids to see Max's parents across town.  We made it a quick stop so that we could get home and go trick-or-treating before it got too late.  This year I took the kids out on my own while hubby stayed home to 1) pass out candy, 2) save his poor hip from unnecessary pain, and 3) finish up his CE hours that were due by morning.  The kids and I took a spin around our little neighborhood "loop" and then drove a couple of blocks away to go to the homes of a few other friends.  While we were hitting those last few houses, Claire stated that she was just too tired, that she wanted to be done, and that besides, she already had "too much candy".  What?!  Strange, strange child.  However, in spite of said "too much candy", when Hudson decided to go to the homes of another friend or two, Claire would yell from the back seat, "Get me some candy, too, Huds!"  I couldn't help but chuckle.

 

I don't recall what time the kids and I finished up for the night.  I do know it wasn't the latest we'd been out on Halloween but we all welcomed the end of our fun.  Trick-or-treating is positively exhausting.  I don't know what it is, but I was plumb tuckered when we got home and I honestly had a hard time deciding whether to head to bed at the same time as the kids or to stay up for a while and relax.  Relaxation won.

 

I vote that next year, I stay home and pass out candy while hubby and the kids make the rounds.

Pack's Pumpkin Patch 2012

A couple of weeks ago I surprised the kids after school and took them up to Farmington for our annual trip to Pack's Pumpkin Patch.  It was a beautiful early fall day...not too cool and not too warm.  My only complaints would be 1) it was TOO dry out there and we all (including my car) came home pretty much covered in dirt and dust and 2) there were little thorns/stickers everywhere out in the fields - we had to pick them out of the bottoms of our shoes...dozens of them!

 

Each year the layout of the patch is slightly different but this year there were bigger changes than in the past.  Last year's parking lot is now pumpkin vine territory, the park lot is where the tent was last year, and the hay maze is where some of the vines were last year.  They made a new "bridge" for the hay maze on the flatbed of an old truck (the old bridge was looking pretty sad last year) and the maze seemed a bit bigger this time around.

 

After the kids had a few minutes in the maze, we headed out into the fields and took our sweet time picking out several pumpkins for carving and fall decor.  This year both kids were big enough to pull the cart and had fun taking turns doing so.  They both enjoyed it so much that I only had to pull it at the very end...darn!

 

 

 

In addition to the pumpkins pictured above, I picked out about 20 gourds and small/mini pumpkins to use on my fall fireplace mantle in a couple of week.  While I do love carving pumpkins and the fun of Halloween, I can hardly wait until its over so that I can decorate the house for harvest time and Thanksgiving!

 

Next up: one last "rewind" post from the end of the summer...

Summer Rewind: Lagoon x 2

On August 6th I took my kids to Lagoon for the day.  Claire had never been before and both kids had been begging to go pretty much all summer long.  After doing a little research I chose to take them on a Monday in order to avoid the crowds as much as possible.  It turned out being a good choice...I think our longest wait was maybe 15 minutes.  The biggest hits of the day were Bombora (quick but fun coaster), the Bat (another quick coaster - this one with feet dangling), and the Dinosaur Drop and Ladybug Drop which are virtually the same, just with different decor.  We didn't make it onto any really "big" rides as Claire was either just below or barely at the height limit and Hudson wasn't too keen on anything intimidating.  Whenever we passed one of these bigger rides, Claire's eyes would get big and she'd exclaim, "I want to go on THAT!" Hudson would then say, "There's NO way I'm going on that. NO WAY!"  We always knew Claire was a little more or a daredevil than her brother and this just reiterated that fact.  She was almost in tears at one point because I told her we weren't going on a ride that would loop upside down.  We had a great day and I was glad to let the two of them go on a number of rides together at the end of the day while I sat and watched from the sidelines.  We stayed until the park closed and we all went home happy and exhausted.

A week later, we took advantage of the "bounce back" system/program and returned the following Monday to do it all again (and lines were even shorter!).  This time, I surprised the kids and arranged to pick up my niece from my brother on his way to work and she came with us.  It was SO nice to have a fourth person with us...everyone had a partner on every ride and no one felt like a 3rd wheel or left behind.  It was especially nice when Hudson and his cousin would head off to go on a ride and Claire and I would do something else.  Having a seatmate proved to be the trick for getting Hudson to try some of the bigger rides and while we didn't go on anything extreme (no upside down rides this time), all four of us went on a few things that we hadn't the week before and he and his cousin were quick to return to some of their favorites on their own.  Oh - and we decided to tally up the number of rides we went on this time.  I think that we each went on 50-something rides.  Not too shabby!

June & July Catch-Up

Did you miss me?

I'm behind on posting as usual and falling behind on my monthly quota.  In sitting down to write just now, I was really tempted to do several posts about what we've done since I last wrote.  I would have caught up on my numbers really fast.  However, I'm no cheat.  So I'm going to do one post with a paragraph or description about all our noteworthy happenings since June 26th to get it all out there.  I much prefer to cheat that way instead.

June 25th: So I'm starting one day before...  Kids and I went down to my brother Matt's house in Highland for his 40th birthday party.  We had fun seeing their new place, visiting with family and some of their friends that I hadn't seen in ages, eating tasty food, and exploring the pond and golf course that's just beyond their backyard.  Took his middle child home with us for a sleepover.

June 26th: Took the kids and their cousin to see Brave...totally loved it.  Took the kids to the zoo at the end of the day.  Hardly anyone was there and we got our own little show of the polar bear swimming and diving right by the underwater viewing area.

June 29th: Kids both finished a session of swimming lessons.

July 4th: Spent the evening with hubby's brother and his family.  Tasty grilled steak and all sorts of sides for dinner and cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.  I made red, white and blue cupcakes - they were very cute.  I took a picture of the batter in the cups before baking then failed to get any shots of the finished products (blue frosting with white pearls on top) before they were gobbled up.  After dinner we played games and hung out until fireworks time.  We all drove over to my in-law's place to light them off there as fireworks are currently illegal up where we live and down at my bro-in-law's place due to the high fire danger this year.  It was a great evening that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

July 6th: One of my BFF's that I grew up with in California (Kim) moved here from Virginia.  I got to see her briefly the next day, we had them over for dinner that Sunday and then we got together a few times that following week.  Our friendship is the best kind there is - no matter how long we've been out of touch or whether we haven't talked in days or years, we can always pick up like no time has passed.  So thrilled to have her living a quick 7 minute/3 mile drive away!  The cherry on top is that our kids have all hit it off and absolutely love playing together.

July 13th: Busy day...  First the kiddies had swimming lessons followed by lunch at Kim's place with playtime for the kids and a little move-in work for us.  Later that afternoon we went to the zoo with my middle brother, Dave, his wife and most of their kids (5 our of 6) and my little brother's wife and their two kids.  It was a nice way to spend a little more time together before Dave and his family move to CT at the end of the month.  Afterwards I forced myself to take my kids to Tepanyaki for dinner.  It was fun, delicious and totally awesome and I managed okay in the end.  My daughter, on the other hand, did not manage okay and had a meltdown at the end of the meal as she whined over and over (and over), "I never get to do ANYTHING!"  It was my favorite part of the day.

July 14th: Kids finished another session of swimming lessons. The only thing Hudson had needed to master to pass his level was his freestyle with rotary breathing and he finally did it! Claire had a number of things to get done to move up and she really seemed to pick up a lot this time around. She can now jump off the diving board and swim to the side unassisted. Like her older brother, she's especially good at backstroke and easily switches from her tummy to her back then cruises along. Both kids advanced to their respective next levels.

July 17th: My sister and her three kids came in town for a good, long visit.

And that's where this re-cap post stops.  I want to do at least one separate post about the fun we had!

Hogle Zoo / Rocky Shores

During the first official week of summer break my sister-in-law and I took our kiddies on a last minute trip to the zoo.  Just a week prior a new exhibit had opened there - Rocky Shores.  The zoo was most definitely crowded but we were happy with the visit nonetheless as we got a good view of all the new animals in their impressive habitats.  The bald eagles were happily perched in a good spot to be viewed, the river otters and harbor seals kindly entertained us in their underwater viewing areas, two of the three the young grizzly bears were out wandering around (the third was sleeping in a windowed den), the harbor seals swam around their aquarium/exhibit and passed the window where we sat again and again, and the polar bear did a bit of swimming (we caught a glance of her in the underwater viewing area) and sauntered around her habitat.  However, I think the favorite animal of the day was Big Guy, an 850 pound California Sea Lion.  He's positively enormous, cute as can be, and completely blind.  To read or see his story, click here.  Apparently he's very social and tame (he has to be as he's hand-fed every meal).  He sticks to one area of the habitat he shares with the harbor seals as he gets used to his surroundings.  I know he could easily squish the life out of me but I really wish I could give him a great big hug!

We did peruse the rest of the zoo as usual and got to see the giraffes up close and a silly orangutan that held a blanket or sheet over his head wherever he climbed and roamed.  At the end of our trip we went on the train and for the first time ever, the kids sat on the very end row of the back car.  It actually faces out...the kids were tickled to be in such a special seat!

Note: In the picture of the kids standing in front of the big viewing glass, you can see the body and tail of a harbor seal at Hudson's knee level.  I failed to get a picture of Big Guy (imagine me frowning).

Next time we go, I'm shooting for going at the end of the day when crowds are heading home - just before the gates close (about 90 minutes before the park closes).  Hopefully it'll allow us to get more quality viewing time at Rocky Shores!

P.S.  I just remembered that a zookeeper heard me call to my boy one time and told us that one of the harbor seals is named Hudson!  If you ever go there, he's the darkest one (a medium-dark gray with dark spotting).

Spring Break

My last post generated more comments and visits to my blog than I've seen in a long time.  I should babble on about not blogging, writer's block, my lack of gumption and all that nonsense more often!  That being said, I'm actually going to do a real post...

Last week was our kids' Spring Break.  Aside from a trip to the library and the park, we didn't do much with our first couple of days.  Not wanting the remaining days off to go to waste, the kids and I tried to make up for it from Wednesday through Friday.

WEDNESDAY

That morning I took the kiddies to Kangaroo Zoo.  It's a fun place for the kids to be noisy, run around, get all sweaty and wear themselves out for a while.  Once they'd hit their energy limit (which I'm always shocked actually exists) I surprised them with a trip to a farm store nearby.  They had dozens of chicks, ducklings and baby rabbits for sale for the upcoming Easter holiday.  We weren't permitted to hold any of them but one of the employees was nice enough to hold both a chick and a duckling so that the kids could pet them.  It if weren't for the lame-o zoning laws and such around here, I would have come home with a handful of chicks.  They were SO cute!

Next it was off to a really nice local grocery store, Harmon's, where we chose what we each wanted for lunch from their deli, salad bar, bistro, Chinese buffet, etc.  Aside from the great fruit and such that all of us shared from the salad bar, my lunch was hands down the most expensive and worst tasting of the three meals...NASTY Chinese food.  It smelled fabulous when I was serving it up and I was so excited to give it a try.  What a total waste of money.  Sorry, Harmon's, but I would pick the hole-in-the-wall cheap place here in town or Panda Express over your Chinese food any day!  And either one of them would have cost me about half of what I spent.  Thankfully the kids both made really delicious (and inexpensive!) choices...Claire had homemade macaroni & cheese and Hudson opted for the fried chicken.  Next time I'm going for the deli/bistro.

After lunch it was across the shopping center to a really nice new play structure out in front of the theatres.  A friend had mentioned the playground in a FB post a day or two before so I figured that as long as we were in the neighborhood, we ought to give it a shot.  I was so glad we did...the ground was covered in nice rubber bark (bouncy to walk on - kind of fun!) and the play structure was made to look like a tree house, complete with a couple of "board" ladders, a climbing wall, "stone" steps, etc.

Our last hurrah for the day was a trip to another theatre (closer to home) to see Mirror, Mirror with Max.  It was such a fun movie!  I thought the beginning scene with Julia Roberts - aka the Evil Queen - giving a bit of a prologue was very interestingly done in terms of animation and very funny in some of the things she said.  The whole movie really was entertaining and generated some good laughs.  We all enjoyed the movie and while it wasn't the greatest flick ever (I never want to say movies are super awesome...gets peeps' hopes up too much), it was a good choice for the whole family.

THURSDAY

We were headed into SLC to stop by a cousin's place in Sandy that morning so I decided to make the best of being that far south.  After our visit there, we headed to IKEA for lunch.  I know it's not gourmet food or anything but I seriously LOVE their meatballs with gravy, potatoes and lingonberries...I also get a side of steamed veggies every time.  And most importantly, the kids and I always get a piece of their chocolate cake to share.  It is so very tasty!  I would gladly pay Harmon's prices for an IKEA meal.  It just goes to prove that cheap things aren't all bad and pricey things aren't always good!

After IKEA we headed down to Thanksgiving Point to go to the animal farm/park.  It was fairly cool with a very cold wind outside and while I was sorry to have worn short sleeves and that none of us brought jackets, I was glad that I'd made the kids wear long sleeved shirts that morning.  In spite of the cold, we had a wonderful time.  I've always been a sucker for animals and springtime is my favorite time to visit there with all the baby animals and such.  While there were a few animals still expecting babies (two cows, two ponies, a couple of goats, etc.), there were already a number of chicks and lambs there, three of the lambs having been born just hours before we arrived.  The kids loved petting and feeding the goats, the big draft horses, a few bunnies and a couple of the lambs that came over to the gate.  They also enjoyed their pony rides...Hudson rode Cosmo and Claire was on Elvis.  I'm hoping to make it back down there soon so we can see the goat kids and foals that were due any day.  This was the only day that I remembered to bring along my good camera...

FRIDAY

We stuck around home Friday morning as it had snowed 6-8" overnight.  We were supposed to have a neighborhood Easter egg hunt at 11:00 that morning but it was postponed for Saturday in hopes that the snow would be melted.  Instead the kids had a blast playing the snow while I shoveled our driveway and walks.  After lunch I took them downtown SLC to see the new City Creek shopping center.  I took Claire there for a quick visit a couple of weeks ago but didn't get to see everything so it was fun to really explore this time around.  We did a bit of shopping (Disney Store, Go! Toys & Games, Macy's) but mostly just walked around and took in the sights.  Fountains are always a favorite, the waterfall is really something and watching trains and people from the sky bridge was fun...but the hands down favorite for all three of us was the trout pond.  I think we could have easily sat there watching the fish dart around all afternoon.  We were there for a good 2-3 hours and I was shocked at the end when both kids complained about leaving.  "Please, just one more store!"  is not something I usually hear come from my almost 8-year-old boy's mouth.

That night it was a last minute dinner from Papa Murphy's pizza since I hadn't thought ahead enough when I was home that morning.  Not that take-and-bake pizza is normally something to rave about but if you haven't had it, you really ought to give their Herb Chicken Mediterranean DeLite pizza a try.  They use olive oil instead of sauce and it has chicken, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese and a sprinkling of herbs on top.  Three words: yummy, tasty, delicious.

I think that's about it for our uber-exciting spring break...

Next up: Easter!

Merry Christmas...

And a happy leap year to all!

Why do I keep doing this to myself?  I have had more than ample time and plenty of opportunities to sit down and post over the past several weeks.  I spent a good week and a half or so being sick and pretty much doing nothing during that time and I could have written then.  I also fell prey to addiction to Scramble with Friends and Words with Friends on my iPad (okay - and on my iPhone).  Oh - and we can't leave Sudoku on said devices off the list.  Really...I could have left the couch.

Anyway, here we go, back in time yet again...

Just like our Christmas Eve, our Christmas Day was quite laid back and downright wonderful.  Rather than getting into more than all the lengthy nitty-gritty of the whole day like I usually do, I'll just give a quick list of our day and the schedule as it happened to pan out:

• Up and at 'em by a little after 7:00 to get ready for church to start at 9:00.  No presents or anything before church (even thought both kids peeked).
• Arrived at church at 8:30 to find the entire chapel and overflow already filled.  We "lucked out" and ended up in the 1st row of folding chairs in the cultural hall.
• Enjoyed a wonderful church meeting which included a solo of Away In A Manger by my hubby, Max, and a talk from President Eyring (in our ward...special treat!).
• Max rushed home and got "a few things" done while I delayed at the church with the kids.
• Got home, changed out of our church clothes and settled into the living room for gift opening.
• Opened stocking stuffers.
• Opened gifts from under the tree.
• Even gave old Miles a couple of toys, including a red and green gorilla with velcro hands that we secured around his neck.  It drove him crazy.
• Spent the afternoon lounging around and having fun with our presents while eating Danish Almond Puff, goodies from stockings, fruit, etc.
• I set up a semi-formal table in the dining room for our dinner.
• Had a tasty dinner of slow-cooked beef short ribs with mashed potatoes and gravy and one of our favorite drink combos: grape juice with ginger ale (mixed together).  We did eat more than meat and potatoes but those were the stars and after two months, the rest of the meal has escaped my mind.  Maybe a green salad?  Some sort of fruit?  I don't know.
• Most likely had dessert (again - my thighs may recall what I made but I don't) and then called it a night.

Visual proof that we celebrated Christmas:

I'm grateful to have my own little family to celebrate each holiday with and just as I am every year, I'm grateful for the Christmas season when I get to spend extra special time with them.  More than anything, though, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to reflect upon and teach my children about the Savior Jesus Christ and His birth.  We are truly blessed!

Rewind: Christmas Eve 2011

We decided to keep Christmas Eve low-key and easy around here this year.  It was lovely.  We didn't really go anywhere, see anyone, etc.  I wish I had done this post right after Christmas because, well, much of that day has escaped my space cadet memory.

I did make sugar cookies and frosting that day and the kids and I had fun decorating them.  I have a tendency to be a wee meticulous when it comes to decorating my cookies and while I know that they're far from perfect, I can't stand to just slop the frosting on, throw a few sprinkles at it and call it good.  My kids, on the other hand, have not yet learned the whole concept of keeping things neat as you work and trying to keep some sort of balance in decorating.  Frosting and sprinkles were EVERYWHERE.  I must have cleaned sprinkles off the island 4 or 5 times during the decorating process and I know I had to re-vacuum the floor under their work area a couple of times that day after we were done.  It really was a fun (and really super tasty) activity, though, and when we were done, each child had a plate filled with his/her own cookies and there were 2 or 3 large plates with the ones that I decorated.

As is tradition around here, the we each got to open a gift on Christmas Eve.  The kids got Christmas pajamas and Max and I both got new slippers.

After reading the story of Christ's birth from the Bible, it was off to bed for the kiddies and the real work began for us adults.  We wrapped the last couple of presents, got everything moved from hiding places to under the Christmas tree, set up stockings, made Danish Almond Puff for the next day's breakfast and then collapsed into bed.  I commented to Max that night that as much fun as Christmas is for the kids and for me, it's absolutely exhausting as a parent!