I had a birthday!

Figure that! :) Another year older, and I feel the same. Strange that is...

My birthday was spread over a week as we first celebrated with my parents on the 19th of September. That same evening from my parents house we spotted the Herriman fire when it first began. We watched it through the evening and then headed up to Aaron's parent's home where we helped to load valuables into our car in case they had to quickly evacuate. It was scary watching the flames get closer and closer, it seriously looked like lava from a volcano coming down the mountain. Luckily they were safe and there was no damage to their home.

That weekend was full of activities and we were lucky enough to be invited to the Real Game Saturday night. We had such a great time amidst my crazy pregnancy issues (I craved the cinnamon almond roasted nuts but struggled to eat them).

My birthday fell on the following Sunday and we gathered with Aaron's family who were in town. It was a nice experience to be with Aaron's Grannie, cousin Liv, Jess, Ben and their gorgeous boys. Needless to say lots of fun pictures were taken and thanks to my sister-in-law I have some fun shots with Aaron. She also managed to capture some of the priceless expressions from my lovely daughter. She sure does know how to pull them.

Opportunity

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law asked me to come to her Young Women's and teach about proper skin care and help the girls apply makeup. She also asked that afterwards I do a mini photo shoot.

The night turned out really well, we all had a great time and my mother-in-law was kind enough to help me out. I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

All the girls are obviously so cute and we had such a great time.

Canning

Last fall I had so much fun learning to can. I had seen my mom do it many times but had never tried myself. I started by helping a friend can loads of pears. Whew it was sure a major job but we had a great time.

My grandma ended up giving me her canning equipment which I am so grateful for. I ended up making salsa, canning stewed tomatoes and two different types of peach jam. Yum! I also have learned a lot about preserving foods and freezing. I have come across okra in one of my bountiful basket orders and didn't know what to do with it. Knowing it wouldn't keep long I was able to process it and freeze it. Now it's ready to pull out and throw in a stew (which I will be trying soon).

I also helped my mom can some pickled beets from her garden. YUM!

I hope I can try out some new things this year and hopefully get a garden planted but we will see how that all goes with a new baby :)

October 9th 2010

Back during the weekend of October 9th we had a Young Women Leader retreat with our husbands up at one of the leaders cabins. We ate yummy food and really enjoyed ourselves. Me being my pregnant self (no one knew) crashed around midnight or just before. I couldn't go any longer. But everyone else were up until 1:00 at least. The men were so intrigued with playing this flight control game on the Ipad the whole night. Quite amusing really.


In the morning Aaron went on a walk with me to help ease my serious morning sickness. It was a crisp cold beautiful morning. The cabin was literally hidden up near the top of the mountain near this beautiful lake. We walked to it and took some great pictures before heading back. When we got back there was a huge breakfast that had been prepared. I did my best to eat the delicious meal and then we all cleaned up and headed out.

From there we quickly drove down the mountain, picked up the kids from Aaron's parents house and then drove around the mountain up to Sundance where I had a family photo shoot scheduled. It went really well and afterwards we took a beautiful scenic drive through the Alpine Loop. Earlier I had tried to take Aaron's Mum and Grannie through the loop (but coming through AF Canyon first) and ended up having us come down the back side of the mountain on a dirt trail into Heber. Quite funny actually.

Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Now that I have made it through the rough first half of this pregnancy and I can finally start to think about food again 'let a lone eat it, smell it and prepare it' I've started ordering from Bountiful Baskets.org again.

I absolutely LOVE it! Getting 50% fruits and 50% vegetables for $16.00 is a huge bargain in so many ways for me.

First of all price comparisons usually come out to be a savings of around $20.00-$25.00 each week depending on what you get and the pricing in the grocery stores.

Another reason I love it is because it makes me try new things. I got an acorn squash once and found numerous yummy recipes I tried. It's now a favorite. Getting things I wouldn't normally find in a grocery store or even buy puts me in a spot to find new recipes and try new things. It also gets my kids used to eating different foods (usually the vegetables) This week's adventures will be with asparagus, chili peppers and butternut squash.

Once I pick up the food Saturday morning I then plan out the meals for the week or weeks depending on what I get. My favorite part is the fruit. I have fruit loving children and I could end up spending a fortune in the grocery store with the amount they like to eat, this way they have all they want and usually can't get through it in one week. We end up making smoothies :)

The best part is that the fruit usually still needs quite a bit of time to ripen so it lasts a whole lot longer then when you buy it from your grocery store.

This is what I got today:

3 Butternut Squash

1 bunch of Spinach

1 large head of Romaine Lettuce

1 nice sized bundle of Asparagus

3 Anaheim Peppers

Pack of Cherry Tomatoes

7 Minneola Tangelo (cross between a grapefruit and tangerine YUM)

3 Asian Pears

3 + pounds of Bartlett Pears

6 Kiwi

5 Apples

1 Pineapple

Mmmm, time for some fruit for sure :)

Here is a previous picture from what I got back in October. It was a double order that I split with my mom and oh the food was so good.

Pancakes!!

How could I say NO to these adorable faces when they ask me for pancakes?

Could you say no?

We also like to add a special treat to a few, mmm yummy.

Also couldn't help but snap a picture of my little helpers today.

Josh was actually vacuuming at first and Rach took over, she loves to help out and do whatever everyone else is doing.

Labor Day and Red Rock Relay (Catch Up)

I have so much to catch up on from last year after our California trip but will tackle it bit by bit. To begin i'll start with the beginning of September. It's so fun to reflect back on an amazing year and remember all the fun things we did...

My dad's side of the family gathered for a Labor Day BBQ on the beach. It was pretty chilly most the day but so beautiful. Aaron's family joined us for the special occasion and everyone took turns out on the boat. There were 7 teenage girls there (including mine and Aaron's sisters) and they were so cute flying around on the tubes. It's so cool how they are all so close in age and do so much together. It was so not like that for me being the oldest cousin and the only one with kids now.

About a week after we went down to Southern Utah for the Red Rock Relay. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the time spent with our friends. Josh would get so excited to see his daddy out running the relay. I am determined do this someday even though it was so stinkin HOT! I am kinda missing the heat though as I sit here typing this and am so cold.

Laughter

LAUGHTER is an audible expression of  happiness, or an inward feeling of joy.

One of my new favorite sounds is hearing my children rejoice in laughter. Most particularly when they are playing together without anyone else's help. I'll be cleaning or working on something and will hear little giggles or outbursts of laughter from upstairs or a nearby spot. Hearing that brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face.
It's a sound that can turn my frustrating or irritated mood to a good one and it's what helps me find patience with my kids.

They love music and a few days ago were dancing, bouncing and laughing together. They thought it was so funny to show their bellies.

Finishing off our California Trip

The Sunday that we were in California we drove around to see 3 of the California Temples. We started by visiting the LA Temple and it's newly renovated visitors center. It was pretty neat.

We then drove to the Newport Beach Temple. This one was absolutely gorgeous.

From there we then visited the San Diego Temple. They were doing some work on it but it was still an incredible site and so wonderful to walk around the temple grounds.

Coronado Island was our next stop before heading back to our hotel. Such a fun drive, especially over the crazy bridge. 

We had such a great time exploring the beach, watching a wedding take place and taking some fun pictures.

We stayed and watched the sun set, it was magical and such a wonderful day as a family.

Aaron's parents then soon joined us in the following days. We celebrated Mum's 50th birthday at Disneyland and California Adventure and treated her to a delicious meal at Ariel's Grotto before then watching the spectacular 'World of Color' Show. It was incredible and so moving.

On our last day in Anaheim we took a quick trip down to Huntington Beach. We did not expect how chilly it was going to be but we still couldn't resist pulling out our swim gear. The kids ran around on the beach while Aaron and his Dad were brave enough to take on the crazy waves and tide. I tried going in with Beth but it wasn't long before a wave went right over my head and pulled me under. I was done then and quite cold. 

We finished off our trip in Palm Springs, it was so hot there you couldn't last outside for too long. Aaron even burn the bottom of his feet terribly near the pool causing huge blisters. He struggled to walk for a few days.

It was such an amazing trip and one for the books for sure!

More Disneyland

We had the luxury of going in and out of Disneyland and California Adventure as we pleased for 5 days. In four of those days we saw all the characters, rode pretty much all the rides and saw most the shows. It was nice to be able to take our time around the parks and not feel rushed. It was also nice to be able to go back to our hotel for lunch and naps and a swim in the pool before beginning our evening at the park. 

We had a lot of fun seeing all the characters. It was so fun to see the kid's expressions.

Seeing the princesses and fairies was another thing. Josh was in dreamland; he absolutely LOVED princess Tyona from "Princess and the Frog". She held his hand for the picture and he had the biggest grin from ear to ear. The following days there he kept asking when he could go see her again.

Now I couldn't believe how tall the princesses where. What is up with that? They all towered over me by a foot or more. I know that is not hard but come on, seriously, Aurora was like two feet taller than me :) The fairies were more my size...

Rachael would never fall asleep in the stroller but on certain rides like the train or Nemo ride she would crash. He favorite ride for sure was the Carousel, she loved it and it was a fight to get her off it. Josh says his favorite rides were Space Mountain and the Matterhorn. 

One night we ate dinner in the park at the French Market and I had the most delicious Salmon. I was quite impressed. I then stood reserving our spot for Fantasmic for 2 hours. It was insane but worth it. Aaron took Josh on Splash Mountain while I waited at chatted with some nice ladies.
The show and fireworks afterwards was a lot of fun.

First full day at Disneyland

We had spend the previous evening at Disneyland but August 20th was our first full day there. As soon as we stepped into the park Mickey and his gang came down main street. The kids were so excited.

We had a great time riding rides (including the tea cups as seen below) and the longest we waited in line was 20 minutes. It was a lot better then I had expected. There were constant shows and entertainment everywhere which was perfect as we ate lunch. It was so fun to watch the kids dance around.

We weren't as prepared for the heat so the first day we stayed hydrated with the most delicious (but expensive) raspberry and cherry lemonade slushies.   

We got to see Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Goofy.

As the evening hit we moved on over into California Adventure to watch the Pixar Play parade. It was probably the funnest parade i've ever seen. Josh was so excited to see all of his favorite characters. The water and bubbles were fantastic for a hot day.

Our drive down to California

On August 18th we left early afternoon and began our drive to California. We decided to break our drive up into two days and stay in Vegas that night. We only stopped once in St George where we quickly filled up our car and ate subway sandwiches for dinner. 


We arrived in Vegas just before sundown and checked into the Monte Carlo. The heat was unbearable, we couldn't believe how HOT it was even after the sun went down. The kids were so good as we walked 4 miles up and down the strip without strollers. Crazy is what you can call us, we were all soaked with sweat. We couldn't resist the cold water being sold for $1.00 and had to buy a few.

We had a great time seeing the cool lit up buildings. Elvis and Jack Sparrow were everywhere but we couldn't resist a picture with superman :) The Bellagio fountain show was my all time favorite. Especially because it was to the song "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea  Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.  Walking past Caesars Palace seemed to take forever but the kids had fun splashing in the fountains. We then made our way to Treasure Island to catch a glimpse of the huge pirate ship and then back to the Mirage for the volcano show.
We eventually slugged our way back to our hotel going through the cool (literally cool) gardens at the Bellagio and then crashed for the night. It was actually better then I thought it would be and I think it helped that we were out on the strip well before it got late and into the craziness. 

The next day we checked out and before beginning the rest of our drive we walked the opposite direction down the strip. It was even hotter than last night. We visited M&M world and checked out New York New York. We walked around Excalibur and then took the tram to Mandalay Bay. There we went to Shark Reef and enjoyed every minute. Josh and Aaron walked around with these information  phones while I walked around with Rachael as she pointed at everything saying 'wook' 'wook' and 'wow' (look  being one of her favorite words). We saw some cool sharks swim right above our heads and a load of other cool fish including piranhas, jellyfish and huge creepy creatures.

Once we made it back to our car we pulled out the nice ice cold cooler with drinks and lunches before hitting the road. We then drove the remaining 4 hours or so to Anaheim. We stopped once in Bakers California where we saw the world's tallest thermometer (sorry no pictures).


We checked into our Holiday Inn Resort and took a shuttle into Disneyland. We had 5 days in Disney and we decided to use that evening as one of them. We got right onto a bunch of rides including Buzz Lightyear and the Matterhorn. The best thing about the rides Rachael couldn't go on (which was only 5 or so) was that they do a switchpass. So Aaron and Josh would wait in line and go on the ride while I waited with Rachael. Once they got off the ride I got straight back on with Josh without waiting in any line. It was brilliant and Josh got to ride all the big rides at least twice.


Before leaving the park we went on It's a Small World. Seeing Rachael's beaming face reminded me of Josh at Disneyland Paris in 2008 when we took him on that ride. It really is a cute and fun ride for little ones even though the song is then stuck in your head for the next 3 days.

Real Salt Lake Game

We were invited to the RSL game on August 14th. 

It was my first time in their new stadium and we had so much fun! 

Sink or Float Experiment

This was one of our '60 days of Summer' ideas. After going through the items on the list they continued to test random items and toys to see if they would sink or float. 

The best was when they brought down armfuls of bath toys. Haha

FHE in the Canyons

9th of August some friends invited us to go into the mountains for FHE.

We had a blast and of course the kids loved it. What don't they love about rocks, dirt, sticks and streams :) 

Baking

I had an abundant supply of bananas that had over ripened. So I found a recipe for these delicious Banana Crumb Muffins. They have this cinnamon and brown sugar streusel topping. They didn't last long around here because everyone loved them. Delicious!

I was also given a few fresh zucchinis so I made these gorgeous zucchini cookies. A few years ago I was going through all my moms recipes and came across this one. It's yummy! They end up fluffy and cake like (a bit like pumpkin cookies) and the bit of chocolate in it makes them so sweet.

Two-tone banana bread

What else can I say? 

Oh and a chocolate-hazelnut spread is delightful on this.