My friend Katie tagged me so here are the rules and my responses.
6 Things People Don’t Know About Me
1. I love water. If I could have a choice of drinking anything I want, it would be water with a little squirt of lemon. No pop, no juice, just water. It saves money when we go out to eat and on our grocery bills, it’s good for you, and I love it.
2. I played piano for most of my young life. I started taking when I was in 2nd grade and I quit when I was a senior, quite a dedication. I always hated practicing and my mom would always set her wonderful microwave timer and I would be doomed to sit there and practice until the timer would beep. Not fun. At the age of 16 I was called as the ward choir accompanist and that calling made me cry.
3. I’m a big complementer or complainer when it comes to retail or food service. If I have a good experience or a bad one somewhere, they usually hear from me. It almost always works in your favor anyway. If you call in a good compliment, they usually send you coupons and if you send in a bad one then they try to fix it…I’m still waiting on my dresser stuff from Target. Plus, people need to know when they’re doing a good or bad job.
4. I love fall. Need I say more.
5. I hate hot chocolate. Maybe it goes back to the fact that I love water, but it makes me sick to drink anything warm. I can’t drink my soup, I have to use a spoon. Hot chocolate or anything else in that category is just gross to drink.
6. I have moved A LOT in my life. As a kid I’ve lived in Lafayette, Indiana; Newark, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Jackson, Tennessee; Anderson, South Carolina; and back to Toledo, Ohio. That’s 7 moves and 5 states during my childhood. Then I moved out to Provo to go out to school. After graduation we moved out to the Bay Area in California, and lastly we’ve moved to Texas. So all in all it’s been 10 moves and 8 states in my life so far. Hopefully there won’t be any to come.
Now who's it? Kaitlyn, Jenny H., Leslie, Hilary, Barbie, and Angie. Have at it!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Ethan's First Prayer
On Thursday we sat down together for the first time to have a meal together and we all folded our arms and this is what happened....
Travel Home
We left in the late afternoon so we had plenty of time to do laundry and pack up in the morning. Ethan didn't take a good nap so I was hoping he'd sleep on the plane. Well, he was up the whole flight to Dallas, the 1 hour lay over, and for almost the whole flight to Dallas and it was getting to be 10 o'clock. He fell asleep about 30 minutes out of Dallas and stayed alseep for the rest of the night. Ry came down to the airport to pick us up so it was nice to be reunited with our little family again. Needless to say I was tired and ready to be home! What a great trip!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Vacation Day 7
Every morning in Idaho, Ethan would wake up and he'd start calling out for "Ganpa, Ganma" and he would be so excited when either of them would come in the room. Well, Monday morning Grandpa made us a great breakfast and we went out and took some quick pictures.
My mom and I headed back to Utah around 10, but before we could get on the road I had to stop by my favorite childhood spot, Maverick. As a kid when I visited my grandma's, I would love to take my special Maverick mug and get a drink and a treat. Oh the joy it would bring. And you know what? It still does. So with my drink and treat in tow, we started the drive back to Utah. We kind of went the long way out of town so I could drive past my other grandparent's house. Both of them have passed away and their house and farm was sold awhile ago, but it's always fun to go see it. It hasn't changed a bit except for the big middle school that is just one field over! That was a big surprise. Well, E has been obsessed with the soundtrack to the movie, Chicken Little, and one song in particular. He loves the song where Chicken Little sings "I Am the Champion." The song is only 40 seconds long and E tries to sing along with it, facial expressions and all. So of course he wants it played on repeat. After about 25 rounds of "I Am the Champion," E was totally konked out and we had a nice peaceful drive back to Utah. Now for years and years we have made the trip back and forth from Utah to Idaho and this whole time we had never stopped at this store called Smith and Edwards. Well, my grandparents recommended us to stop by since they had just about everything under the sun. So we went to check it out and it had all sorts of fun things to see. Ethan especially loved the never ending candy aisles. They had lots of cool things to put in your 72 hour kits or your food storage so I'll have to show you guys what we picked up. Well, we made it back to Nancy's just in time for the big elementary school "Monster Bash!" Nancy had some costumes that were too small for Stockton so dressed Ethan up as a little frog. When he first put it on he was hopping around the house saying "ribbet." We got to the bash and the whole disco ball, fun music, kids in costumes, and yummy churro thing just set Ethan up for a great time. He just loved watching the kids and dancing with me, but after awhile he just wanted to walk around and see everything. He had way too much fun. It was a really fun night.
My mom and I headed back to Utah around 10, but before we could get on the road I had to stop by my favorite childhood spot, Maverick. As a kid when I visited my grandma's, I would love to take my special Maverick mug and get a drink and a treat. Oh the joy it would bring. And you know what? It still does. So with my drink and treat in tow, we started the drive back to Utah. We kind of went the long way out of town so I could drive past my other grandparent's house. Both of them have passed away and their house and farm was sold awhile ago, but it's always fun to go see it. It hasn't changed a bit except for the big middle school that is just one field over! That was a big surprise. Well, E has been obsessed with the soundtrack to the movie, Chicken Little, and one song in particular. He loves the song where Chicken Little sings "I Am the Champion." The song is only 40 seconds long and E tries to sing along with it, facial expressions and all. So of course he wants it played on repeat. After about 25 rounds of "I Am the Champion," E was totally konked out and we had a nice peaceful drive back to Utah. Now for years and years we have made the trip back and forth from Utah to Idaho and this whole time we had never stopped at this store called Smith and Edwards. Well, my grandparents recommended us to stop by since they had just about everything under the sun. So we went to check it out and it had all sorts of fun things to see. Ethan especially loved the never ending candy aisles. They had lots of cool things to put in your 72 hour kits or your food storage so I'll have to show you guys what we picked up. Well, we made it back to Nancy's just in time for the big elementary school "Monster Bash!" Nancy had some costumes that were too small for Stockton so dressed Ethan up as a little frog. When he first put it on he was hopping around the house saying "ribbet." We got to the bash and the whole disco ball, fun music, kids in costumes, and yummy churro thing just set Ethan up for a great time. He just loved watching the kids and dancing with me, but after awhile he just wanted to walk around and see everything. He had way too much fun. It was a really fun night.
Utah Vacation Day 6
Sunday was a little bit of a crazy day. My Grandma's church didn't start until 1 so we had all morning long to prep for our big family dinner. Ethan was definitely kicked into high gear all morning. He just went from one thing to another. I honestly feel like he feeds off people's anxiety. If there is a bit of anxiety in the air, he just seems to rev up. Obviously with preparing for a big dinner there is always a lot of bustle around the house and Ethan was trying to join in. He wanted to go outside but it was 35 degrees out, he wanted to vacuum all over the place, he wanted to pull down the table clothes off the set tables, he wanted my attention 24/7, he wanted a million different movies on all at the same time, he wanted to play the piano, he wanted to dump out the entire toy closet, you name it...he wanted to do it. By the time I got to church (which was right smack in the middle of his nap time) I was about to blow a gasket. I guess it just all got to me. My husband was in Australia and I missed him, my child was running me to the ground, and I was at my limit. We got to church and it was the big Primary program so I was hoping that E would enjoy the wonderful show. We didn't even get to the sacrament before E hit his head on something and started bawling. Thankfully my blessed mother took him out and got him to sleep and he ended up sleeping through the entire Primary Program and Sunday School. Once he woke up my mom and I went home to get dinner ready since everyone (we had about 20 people) was coming over around 5:30. My grandma did up a really nice pot roast and I made the chicken with rosemary, lemon and bacon and Kaitlyn's roasted potatoes. I think it was a big hit with everyone. It was great to see everybody and catch up on what's going on. With all the people and commotion, E started to get really excited and was running 100 mph so he wouldn't sit down and eat. I got him out of his chair and he just ran to all the "no no" areas that he knew were off limits. It's like he was doing it on purpose because he knew it would make me mad. What is up with that? So 2 time outs later...he was still hyper and excited, but at least he had my cousins to play with. Luckily that night Daddy was back in the States so we could talk to him on the phone and E had his blanky back and he actually went to bed pretty well.
Utah Vacation Day 5
Saturday we drove up to Rexburg to go see the new temple and to see what's been going on at BYU-I. It was so cold that day so we didn't walked around, and it actually snowed that day! The temple was beautiful and it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. My mom grabbed a picture so I'll post it when she sends it to me. We drove around all the new construction and saw my mom's old apartment that she lived in back in the day. haha. My request was to have lunch at Artic Circle so I could get some real fry sauce since we don't have fry sauce back east. I know my childhood memories are quirky, but fry sauce is part of it. After Rexburg my mom and I drove down to Idaho Falls, but before we headed out I had to stop by Ben Franklin's since that was another childhood favorite. I used to go their with my cousins and we'd always get penny candy there. Unfortunately with inflation they do not have penny candy there anymore, but I did pick up a few pieces of childhood there like Green Apple Jolly Rancher Sticks and I got Ethan a little wind up frog toy since he just loves frogs! Well, my mom dropped me off at Aunt Leslie's and she headed over to my Aunt Debbie's to see her. My Aunt Leslie and Uncle Brad entered a pumpkin carving contest so I helped with their carving festivities. I made pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin guts and I have to say that sea salt is definitely the way to go! Brad had his dremmel out and pumpkin was flying everywhere and his face was completely orange by the time he was done, but the pumpkin looked great! Check it out! Such a cool idea. 
The other pumpkin we did together. Brad called it "Pumpkin of the Corn" and we covered it with candy corn. I think the pumpkin looked pretty darn cool if I say so myself, but by the time we were done I think we were all high on the glue we used.
The pumpkins haven't been judged yet, so we'll know sometime soon. I love carving pumpkins! Actually, I don't actually love the whole carving part, I just like scraping the guts out and making pumpkin seeds. There's just something about the smell of fresh pumpkin. After a trip to the pumpkin farm we had dinner at Applebee's and there were some police officers there to raise money for Special Olympics so Parker was totally in heaven. His eyes just lit up when he saw the officer. So after a fun day Ethan got back to Grandma's and the first thing he wanted to do was see his Grandpa and Grandma. I swear that is all he talks about now is "Grandma's House" or "Granpa." It just melts my heart! Of course I had to forget E's blanket at Leslie's house so getting Ethan to bed was crazy. He used every excuse in the book to stay away. He wanted "Woody", he wanted "Buzz", he wanted blanky, he wanted a drink, he wanted me to hold him, he wanted to get in bed with me, on and on and on. So finally I let him in bed with me and he starts patting my face saying, "Pitty Mama, Pitty." and "You're cute" so of course I just start laughing and he keeps on patting my face telling me I'm pretty and cute. Then I start doing "This Little Piggy" with his toes and after I was done he would say, "Mama's turn" and he would do piggies to me. Finally, after about 15 rounds of "Little Piggies", I put him in his bed and he went to sleep. What a goof!
The other pumpkin we did together. Brad called it "Pumpkin of the Corn" and we covered it with candy corn. I think the pumpkin looked pretty darn cool if I say so myself, but by the time we were done I think we were all high on the glue we used.
The pumpkins haven't been judged yet, so we'll know sometime soon. I love carving pumpkins! Actually, I don't actually love the whole carving part, I just like scraping the guts out and making pumpkin seeds. There's just something about the smell of fresh pumpkin. After a trip to the pumpkin farm we had dinner at Applebee's and there were some police officers there to raise money for Special Olympics so Parker was totally in heaven. His eyes just lit up when he saw the officer. So after a fun day Ethan got back to Grandma's and the first thing he wanted to do was see his Grandpa and Grandma. I swear that is all he talks about now is "Grandma's House" or "Granpa." It just melts my heart! Of course I had to forget E's blanket at Leslie's house so getting Ethan to bed was crazy. He used every excuse in the book to stay away. He wanted "Woody", he wanted "Buzz", he wanted blanky, he wanted a drink, he wanted me to hold him, he wanted to get in bed with me, on and on and on. So finally I let him in bed with me and he starts patting my face saying, "Pitty Mama, Pitty." and "You're cute" so of course I just start laughing and he keeps on patting my face telling me I'm pretty and cute. Then I start doing "This Little Piggy" with his toes and after I was done he would say, "Mama's turn" and he would do piggies to me. Finally, after about 15 rounds of "Little Piggies", I put him in his bed and he went to sleep. What a goof!
Utah Vacation Day 4
Friday we drove up to Idaho and Ethan slept the entire 2 1/2 drive. Hooray! First we stopped off at my Aunt Leslie's to see their family. Parker and Trevor were so cute and watching for us in the window. Parker greeted us in full out police gear and was ready to handout any tickets or book someone for jail. I should have gotten a picture, he is so funny. He even tried to handcuff Ethan once and that didn't go over too well. The boys got to play together and we got to hang out and see all the fun things that Les has done with her house and her garden. She planted red, white, and blue carrots! How cool is that! If only I could have a garden like hers, oh my goodness! We all drove up to my Grandma's afterward for a great spaghetti dinner that Ethan thoroughly enjoyed (he was covered from head to toe). After dinner Parker asked my Granmda for cookie dough to eat. Well, Ethan was standing right in the kitchen and heard him ask so right after Parker asked, Ethan looks at my Grandma and says, "Granma, cookies" with this cute little smile and bright blue eyes. Who couldn't resist. Needless to say there were cookies in the oven soon after. It got pretty late and Ethan was acting tired so we got the boys some sippy cups and they laid down by each other and watched a movie. I couldn't believe that Ethan actually laid still for more than 5 minutes! Wow!
Ethan didn't end up going to bed until 10 and that's 11 Texas time so needless to say he was so tired. The whole time we were on vacation we just had a mattress on the floor or we made a little bed for him next to my bed and he usually went to bed pretty well. Some days it took a little coaxing for him to lay down, but for the most part he'd go to bed. Especially on this night, he was out within 5 minutes and so was I.
Ethan didn't end up going to bed until 10 and that's 11 Texas time so needless to say he was so tired. The whole time we were on vacation we just had a mattress on the floor or we made a little bed for him next to my bed and he usually went to bed pretty well. Some days it took a little coaxing for him to lay down, but for the most part he'd go to bed. Especially on this night, he was out within 5 minutes and so was I.
Utah Vacation Day 3
Day 3 started out with Ethan playing with the kids before they went to school. Once the kids were gone it was shopping time. Can a girl ever have enough shopping? We just went around to all sorts of places and we had to stop by Rumbi's for some delicious salads. Oh so good. Once the kids got home from school it was playtime for the Ethmeister. Tyler and Stockton taught Ethan how to tackle and helped him with his basketball skills. And of course Morgan was the greatest baby-sitter ever 
Well, all that guy training was good and all, but of course Ethan wanted to put on the "spirit dude" costume. My cousin Tyler did a skit to win 7th grade president and he dressed up as "Spirit Dude" which was a tutu in his school colors, an afro wig, a tiara, and a wand. He totally won and Ethan was very intrigued by the costume. Once he put it on he ran around the house saying, "Princess!!" I knew his father would kill me for letting this go on, but it was hilarious and Ethan loved it. 
Isn't he so cute?
Well, all that guy training was good and all, but of course Ethan wanted to put on the "spirit dude" costume. My cousin Tyler did a skit to win 7th grade president and he dressed up as "Spirit Dude" which was a tutu in his school colors, an afro wig, a tiara, and a wand. He totally won and Ethan was very intrigued by the costume. Once he put it on he ran around the house saying, "Princess!!" I knew his father would kill me for letting this go on, but it was hilarious and Ethan loved it. 
Isn't he so cute?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Utah Vacation Day 2
Day 2 was an eventful shopping day. We started out with some time at Rod Works and I found some great stuff that I shipped home. Yeah! Then we went out to Tai Pan. Oh my gosh! Can we please get one of these in Texas soon?!??!??! For those of you who don't know what Tai Pan is...it's an awesome home decor store that has just about everything at a great price. It was all set up for Christmas already and with the cold weather out in Utah, it truly felt like Christmas! After Tai Pan we headed out to Cafe Rio. Can we say pork salad??!! Yum! I love Cafe Rio. Well, if the day couldn't get any better...it did. We went to the mall and my child fell asleep in the stroller, yes the stroller.
Since when does that happen? The last time he ever fell asleep in his stroller was after a long morning at Disneyworld and it only lasted 10 minutes. Go figure. So I got to cruise the mall and check out anything I wanted while he slept peacefully in the stroller. Once we got home, the kids filed in from school and played with Ethan.
At night I would go to bed with Ethan at like 8:30 every night. My plan was to lay down by him long enough that he would be asleep and then I would go out and socialize, not the case. I was so tired that everytime I would be fall asleep before Ethan was sound enough for me to leave. Plus he would wake up every morning at 5:30 so I guess it was good that I went to bed that early.
Since when does that happen? The last time he ever fell asleep in his stroller was after a long morning at Disneyworld and it only lasted 10 minutes. Go figure. So I got to cruise the mall and check out anything I wanted while he slept peacefully in the stroller. Once we got home, the kids filed in from school and played with Ethan.
At night I would go to bed with Ethan at like 8:30 every night. My plan was to lay down by him long enough that he would be asleep and then I would go out and socialize, not the case. I was so tired that everytime I would be fall asleep before Ethan was sound enough for me to leave. Plus he would wake up every morning at 5:30 so I guess it was good that I went to bed that early.
Utah Vacation Day 1
Okay, the pictures are loaded and I'm ready to journal our fun vacation! Ryan was out in Australia for his brother's wedding and I wasn't able to go since a plane ticket to Australia wasn't really in the budget. Instead of being left at home alone all week while my husband got to party "down under", I decided to get some cheap tickets to Utah and have a party of my own. I really wanted my mom to come too so she got a ticket too since my dad had a hunting trip planned for the same week (too bad it got cancelled last minute, sorry Dad!). So early early early Tuesday morning my mom and I headed out on our trip to Utah. I got Ethan a ticket too and brought his car seat on board since there was no way that child would ever sit in my lap or in the seat with a lap belt. You should have seen my mom and I at the security checkpoint juggling a stroller, a car seat, Ethan, purses, carry ons, shoes, etc. It was crazy, but after that it was a piece of cake. We were able to get the bulk head seat so Ethan wouldn't kick the person in front of him the whole way to Salt Lake and he was so good the whole plane ride. Wrapping all of his toys was a big hit for him and his favorite toys were his little Buzz Lightyear figures and the silly putty. We got to Denver, changed planes and only had a 50 minute ride to Salt Lake. Once we got to Salt Lake we got all our luggage and got a rental car and drove down to Provo to meet up with my Aunt Nancy and my cousin Jessica. She actually lives in the same dorm that I lived in when I was out at BYU. AWWWW, the memories! I had to take Ethan up to the Cannon Center to see where his mommy spent many fun times. After a trip down memory lane, we headed out to Brick Oven for some yummy pizza, soup, and root beer. YUM! We met up with Jessica's friend, Matt, and you should have seen Ethan's reaction. Every time Matt would look at Ethan, Ethan would close his eyes and try not to look at Matt. He honestly went on for 20 minutes with his eyes closed, trying to peek at Matt or putting his head on the table. It was insane. 
Well, the best treat of all was meeting up with the Van Dyke's
I hadn't seen Alivia since she was a newborn and she has grown so much! What a cutie! The kids got to play together and of course Ethan had to find the floor sweeper like they have in nursery. It was so great to catch up with them and see how they're doing. I miss you guys!!!
After Brick Oven we headed out to the BYU bookstore and to check out campus. It was so weird to drive past all my old apartments and old hangouts and see how much it has and hasn't changed. Everything there is basically the same, but my life is so different since BYU. Weird Weird. Anyway...I got to do some good ol' bookstore shopping AND see my "sister" Ashley! And I can't believe I got away without getting picture! Ashley, we should have gotten a picture! Ethan absolutely loved her and she totally entertained him while I finished up my shopping. We sat down and had some creamery brownies and talked until Ethan had a major meltdown in the middle of the Cougareat. Of course most of the people at the Cougareat are freshman or single people so they were staring at him and at me like they haven't seen a child throw a tantrum before. Heaven help us! So we had to say some quick good byes and were on our way to go up to my Aunt Nancy's house. The kids were anxious to see us and I was anxious to see them. I haven't seen these guys in like 2 1/2 years so they have grown up a ton! Ethan loved them instantly and he had so much fun with them! I can't believe I used to watch Morgan and Stockton and now they're watching my kid! Crazy! More posts and pictures to come!
Well, the best treat of all was meeting up with the Van Dyke's
I hadn't seen Alivia since she was a newborn and she has grown so much! What a cutie! The kids got to play together and of course Ethan had to find the floor sweeper like they have in nursery. It was so great to catch up with them and see how they're doing. I miss you guys!!!
After Brick Oven we headed out to the BYU bookstore and to check out campus. It was so weird to drive past all my old apartments and old hangouts and see how much it has and hasn't changed. Everything there is basically the same, but my life is so different since BYU. Weird Weird. Anyway...I got to do some good ol' bookstore shopping AND see my "sister" Ashley! And I can't believe I got away without getting picture! Ashley, we should have gotten a picture! Ethan absolutely loved her and she totally entertained him while I finished up my shopping. We sat down and had some creamery brownies and talked until Ethan had a major meltdown in the middle of the Cougareat. Of course most of the people at the Cougareat are freshman or single people so they were staring at him and at me like they haven't seen a child throw a tantrum before. Heaven help us! So we had to say some quick good byes and were on our way to go up to my Aunt Nancy's house. The kids were anxious to see us and I was anxious to see them. I haven't seen these guys in like 2 1/2 years so they have grown up a ton! Ethan loved them instantly and he had so much fun with them! I can't believe I used to watch Morgan and Stockton and now they're watching my kid! Crazy! More posts and pictures to come!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Greetings From Utah
Okay, we made it to Utah! Phew! Ethan did really good on the plane. He was awake the whole time, but I had plenty of fun things for him to do. We got in and drove right down to Provo and spent the whole day down there. We met up with my Aunt Nancy and my cousin Jessica so we could check out her sweet dorm room. It was so weird to be back at BYU and be bringing my son along. I almost felt like I needed to be headed to class or something (glad that's all over). We also met up with our friends, the Van Dykes (pictures coming when I get home) at Brick Oven. I love their chicken noodles soup and root beer. It was so good and it was awesome to see the Van Dykes!!! After lunch we went up on campus so I could go check out the latest and greatest at the bookstore. I called up my wonderful "sister" Ashley so I could see her while we were up on campus. It was so good to see so many familiar faces! Ethan was totally in love with Ashley. He was laughing the whole time with her. SO cute! So BYU was grand and wonderful and I munched on a beautiful Creamery brownie while I was there.
We're staying at my Aunt Nancy's house right now and Ethan has been LOVING my cousins! He is like their little shadow! I didn't really know how much of a vacation this would be for me since I was coming out here without my husband, but this has been a dream! Ethan plays with the kids when they get home from school, he goes to bed on time, he plays with the kids before they go to school, he sleeps in his stroller, and I get to go shopping! What more could a girl ask for? I've been enjoying my Utah shopping while I've been here. There are some great stores/Restaurants here that we just don't have in Texas like Rod Works, Tai Pan, Down East, Cafe Rio and Rumbi's.
So I'm loving my time here in Utah right now. We're headed up to my Grandma's in Idaho tomorrow morning and we will be up there for a little while. More fun to come!
We're staying at my Aunt Nancy's house right now and Ethan has been LOVING my cousins! He is like their little shadow! I didn't really know how much of a vacation this would be for me since I was coming out here without my husband, but this has been a dream! Ethan plays with the kids when they get home from school, he goes to bed on time, he plays with the kids before they go to school, he sleeps in his stroller, and I get to go shopping! What more could a girl ask for? I've been enjoying my Utah shopping while I've been here. There are some great stores/Restaurants here that we just don't have in Texas like Rod Works, Tai Pan, Down East, Cafe Rio and Rumbi's.
So I'm loving my time here in Utah right now. We're headed up to my Grandma's in Idaho tomorrow morning and we will be up there for a little while. More fun to come!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Birthday Girls' Night Out
Since it was my birthday on Monday we had to go out and celebrate this weekend. You guys all know how much I love and miss the wonderful taste of Cafe Rio so I have been looking forward to this Utah trip for months now. Well, luckily I found that a Costa Vida opened up here in Texas! For those of you that aren't familiar with Costa Vida it is a lot like Cafe Rio, not exact, but it will suffice. So yeah, can't get any better than that on my Birthday Girls' Night out! That's right, do you see this beautiful salad?! Do you see the wonderful look on my face? Oh my goodness and I ate way too much of it yesterday.
After filling our tummies with yummy Costa Vida, we headed out to this gourmet grocery store just around the corner. It has all your gourmet grocery needs and more. I was on the look out for my favorite kind of apple, Honey Crisp Apples. If you haven't ever had this kind of apple, you are seriously missing out. Go out and find one today and tell me how much you love it when you try it! They are so juicy, crisp, and delicious. It's better than candy! I swear! I found my delicious apples there and bought about 4. After the gourmet stuff we headed out to this really cute scrapbooking store and Kaitlyn was in heaven! I wouldn't even know where to begin in a store like that! We picked up some Nestle Toll House yumminess after and headed out to my parents' house to play games. It was like I was back in high school all over again. Bringing my friends over to play games and making sure people were back by their curfew (some people had baby-sitters to take home). It was a really fun night (even though it was just a few of us) so thanks to my girls for making time to celebrate my birthday and making it fun for me.
After filling our tummies with yummy Costa Vida, we headed out to this gourmet grocery store just around the corner. It has all your gourmet grocery needs and more. I was on the look out for my favorite kind of apple, Honey Crisp Apples. If you haven't ever had this kind of apple, you are seriously missing out. Go out and find one today and tell me how much you love it when you try it! They are so juicy, crisp, and delicious. It's better than candy! I swear! I found my delicious apples there and bought about 4. After the gourmet stuff we headed out to this really cute scrapbooking store and Kaitlyn was in heaven! I wouldn't even know where to begin in a store like that! We picked up some Nestle Toll House yumminess after and headed out to my parents' house to play games. It was like I was back in high school all over again. Bringing my friends over to play games and making sure people were back by their curfew (some people had baby-sitters to take home). It was a really fun night (even though it was just a few of us) so thanks to my girls for making time to celebrate my birthday and making it fun for me.
Getting Ready For Our Trip
Well, it is now time for us to get ready to go for our trip and traveling with a toddler is a whole lot different than traveling with a baby or by myself. The last time Ethan was on a plane was when he was about 6 months old. He wasn't super mobile, slept really good just about anywhere, and still was breastfeeding. Now it's a whole different story. I've been looking around for "trip friendly" items to help things go smoothly on the plane for the past few weeks and have a few finds that you may want to try on your next trip. I got Ethan his first backpack at the Disney Store outlet for $2 and he was so excited to have his own backpack. It has Lightening McQueen from Cars on it. That by itself is so exciting for him. I've bought lots and lots of snacks, small toys to play with on his tray, coloring books and twistable crayons, silly putty, My First Leap Pad, wind up toys, mini magna doodle, mini Buzz Lightyear toys, etc etc. The best find that I got was from the State Fair. THere was a lady there selling Usborne books and she suggested this great book.
It has a little mouse that you put through all different holes throughout the pages of the book and it has lots of flaps and bright colors. Ethan will be giggling the whole time he reads it. I'm really excited for this one. My friend also suggested wrapping up all his toys in wrapping paper to make things exciting and suspenseful for him. It's at least 5 seconds worth of anticipation and quiet. So tonight I've been packing up a storm and I will be wrapping all his toys like it's Christmas. The whole travel process will be about 5 hours. Our first flight is almost 2 hours, followed by a 45 minute layover, and our second flight is only 1 hour and 15 minutes. Not too bad. I can handle him being crazy in the airport, but it's just being confined in a plane with a screaming toddler or a wiggly toddler is not fun. He's usually pretty good at church so I know he can get good for at least 1 hour, but it may get a little trying as the day progresses. I'll let you know how it goes.
It has a little mouse that you put through all different holes throughout the pages of the book and it has lots of flaps and bright colors. Ethan will be giggling the whole time he reads it. I'm really excited for this one. My friend also suggested wrapping up all his toys in wrapping paper to make things exciting and suspenseful for him. It's at least 5 seconds worth of anticipation and quiet. So tonight I've been packing up a storm and I will be wrapping all his toys like it's Christmas. The whole travel process will be about 5 hours. Our first flight is almost 2 hours, followed by a 45 minute layover, and our second flight is only 1 hour and 15 minutes. Not too bad. I can handle him being crazy in the airport, but it's just being confined in a plane with a screaming toddler or a wiggly toddler is not fun. He's usually pretty good at church so I know he can get good for at least 1 hour, but it may get a little trying as the day progresses. I'll let you know how it goes.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
New Do and Boot Camp Graduation
There's a girl that just moved into our ward and neighborhood and she does hair so I made my appointment and got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday. I wanted a different look and a different color so I told her I wanted to make it a lot more blonde and little bit shorter. I just have to say that I LOVE it! I never had my hair thinned before and she suggested that I do it and man, did I need it or what? I have always had really thick hair and none of my hair dressers have ever thinned it before so now it doesn't look so heavy and the shape looks great. Yeah for good hair!
Today was our boot camp graduation. We did one final big workout, we ran with fire hoses, did lots and lots of squats, ran "vomit hill" a few times, and lunged our little legs off. After our workout we had our big results ceremony. When our coach got to my results/shirt she said, "Brittany, this is great, I'll save yours for later." So she proceeds to go through the rest of the results/shirts. Then she got to mine and she said that I was so close to the "biggest loser" but I was in the top 5. We had a three way tie for biggest loser, two guys and one of the guy's wife. All in all after 5 weeks of bootcamp I've lost 4 pounds, 5% body fat, and 6.5 inches!!! I am so happy! I went ahead and signed up for another camp even though I'll miss the first week due to my Utah trip, but I will come back for the last 4 weeks. Here is a picture of my big "reveal." These are the t-shirts that we got, "Leave it on the field!" and check out my new do. The drawstring on my pants makes me look like I'm pregnant, but it's just the drawstring.
Today was our boot camp graduation. We did one final big workout, we ran with fire hoses, did lots and lots of squats, ran "vomit hill" a few times, and lunged our little legs off. After our workout we had our big results ceremony. When our coach got to my results/shirt she said, "Brittany, this is great, I'll save yours for later." So she proceeds to go through the rest of the results/shirts. Then she got to mine and she said that I was so close to the "biggest loser" but I was in the top 5. We had a three way tie for biggest loser, two guys and one of the guy's wife. All in all after 5 weeks of bootcamp I've lost 4 pounds, 5% body fat, and 6.5 inches!!! I am so happy! I went ahead and signed up for another camp even though I'll miss the first week due to my Utah trip, but I will come back for the last 4 weeks. Here is a picture of my big "reveal." These are the t-shirts that we got, "Leave it on the field!" and check out my new do. The drawstring on my pants makes me look like I'm pregnant, but it's just the drawstring.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
How Time Flies!
As E's 2nd birthday approaches, I just can't believe how much he's growing! The first picture was taken last year at his favorite park near Nanny's house. We stopped by there the other day between conference sessions and I grabbed a similar picture, just a year later. Isn't he just so sweet! He's definately out of the baby stage now. He's practically a kid! To think about what he's doing now compared to last year, it's crazy. Last year he was just learning to walk, he was always into everything, lots and lots of teething, he was saying his first words, he wouldn't ever sit still to read, and he loved his binky. This year he is running, jumping, and climbing everywhere, he can talk a lot and tell me exactly what he wants (makes my life so much better!), he can do simple skills like help me pick up and wipe the table, I can tell him no and it actually registers (sometimes), and the list could go on and on. It's amazing to see how quick he is learning and how strong of a little guy he is. I took him to the Little Gym today and the instructor there was commenting at how quick and strong he is and it's true. He is definatley on the go 24/7 and he always needs to be doing something. That's why he's perfect as "Dash" for Halloween. We're headed out to Utah soon so I'm hoping my family will be ready for him...hide your breakables!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Cute Tutus
A friend of mine is starting her own business and she's making all sorts of cute goodies. I'm adding this on my sidebar so go check her stuff out! I just wish I had a girl to put in tutus!!!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Happy Birthday To Me!
Yes, today is my birthday! I'm a whole quarter of a century old today. Whoopie! First off we have to start out with my latest win. I just had these delivered on Saturday. 
I won a pair of Ryka shoes! They're giving away 50 pairs of shoes and 50 performance tees every single day until October 25!!! Go sign up! I won the MC Run shoes that retail for $90! I just took them out on a run this morning and they were great plus they're cute.
Next, my husband got home earlier than I thought from Utah. He showed up at 2:30 and didn't go to his GMAT class so I got a fun birthday with my hubby. He even showered me with way too many presents! Check them out!
I've been wanting a big Cuisinart for a long time. They're great for salsas, dips, marinades, homemade baby food, pie crusts, shredding cheese, etc. So fun! He also helped replace my Chi since my lovely son damaged my other one when he was about 16 months old and I've been Macguyvering ever since. It seriously takes me forever to use the old one since I have to mess with it so much. Yeah, for a new one! Can you tell my husband loves my straight hair? He also got some extra hair stuff that the girl at the store recommended and he also picked up this cool Martha Stewart recipe divider. It is a little wheel that helps you double, triple, half, and third your recipes easily with exact measurements. Very cool! So all in all it was a very happy birthday and I'm just glad to have my husband home! I think someone else is VERY excited that Ry is home...imagine Ethan saying "CHEESE" really loud as this was taken. He is so funny!
I won a pair of Ryka shoes! They're giving away 50 pairs of shoes and 50 performance tees every single day until October 25!!! Go sign up! I won the MC Run shoes that retail for $90! I just took them out on a run this morning and they were great plus they're cute.
Next, my husband got home earlier than I thought from Utah. He showed up at 2:30 and didn't go to his GMAT class so I got a fun birthday with my hubby. He even showered me with way too many presents! Check them out!
I've been wanting a big Cuisinart for a long time. They're great for salsas, dips, marinades, homemade baby food, pie crusts, shredding cheese, etc. So fun! He also helped replace my Chi since my lovely son damaged my other one when he was about 16 months old and I've been Macguyvering ever since. It seriously takes me forever to use the old one since I have to mess with it so much. Yeah, for a new one! Can you tell my husband loves my straight hair? He also got some extra hair stuff that the girl at the store recommended and he also picked up this cool Martha Stewart recipe divider. It is a little wheel that helps you double, triple, half, and third your recipes easily with exact measurements. Very cool! So all in all it was a very happy birthday and I'm just glad to have my husband home! I think someone else is VERY excited that Ry is home...imagine Ethan saying "CHEESE" really loud as this was taken. He is so funny!
Random Updates
So here's what's going on with all the stuff that's been happening lately. I called and talked to the Target Headquarters people and they sent me a letter from their insurance/claims company that takes care of all their claim items. I'm supposed to be talking with someone soon so we'll see how that goes.
I also talked to the people from Hanes.com about exchanging those items that I won since none of them were E's size. They told me to take it to the nearest Hanes Leggs Bali outlet and they should let me exchange it. So I took my box full of clothing to the outlet on Saturday and after about 30 minutes of talking to supervisor after supervisor blah blah blah, they let me exchange it. I had about $112 of store credit that I had to redeem that day so I was running around trying to find things that my little family needed. Everyone got at least 2 packs of socks, dress socks, undershirts for E, underwear for E (for the blessed day that he's potty trained), nylons and bras for me, and pajamas. I was so incredilby happy! Thank you Hanes!
Ryan went to conference up in Utah this past weekend and ended up leaving his Blackberry in the Mariott Center after the Priesthood session. I've been on the phone all morning talking to the lost and found, head custoidal, Marriott center, Marriott custodial, etc etc. Hopefully someone will find it. If anyone from BYU is out there and wouldn't mind helping me look for it, I would be forever indebted to you! I think the custodial people are trying to get the whole place cleaned before the devotional tomorrow so I think I may hear something today or tomorrow. We'll see. Ry may just have to get a new one, bummer.
E has also been making some progress on the potty. The other day he was about to get in the tub and I tried putting him on the big potty to see what he would do. I told him to go potty and guess what...he went! I was so excited! I let him have a sucker in the tub as his reward. I tried it again the next day and he went again. I always give him a small bowl of M&M's when he goes on the potty. Now he runs to the cupboard and yells "TREAT!" and I say "potty" so he heads to the potty and I get him to go and he gets M&M's. It's just hard because he doesn't know to tell me when he feels like he needs to go potty because I don't think he quite understands that yet. But he will go on command when you put him on there. He had a dry diaper all day yesterday (except after his nap)! I was astonished! I do have to say diapers are a ton more convenient, but if he's willing to give this a go then we'll do it.
So those are my random updates. I'm still waiting on my memory card for my new camera to be delivered so maybe I'll have some sweet pictures to post sometime this week.
I also talked to the people from Hanes.com about exchanging those items that I won since none of them were E's size. They told me to take it to the nearest Hanes Leggs Bali outlet and they should let me exchange it. So I took my box full of clothing to the outlet on Saturday and after about 30 minutes of talking to supervisor after supervisor blah blah blah, they let me exchange it. I had about $112 of store credit that I had to redeem that day so I was running around trying to find things that my little family needed. Everyone got at least 2 packs of socks, dress socks, undershirts for E, underwear for E (for the blessed day that he's potty trained), nylons and bras for me, and pajamas. I was so incredilby happy! Thank you Hanes!
Ryan went to conference up in Utah this past weekend and ended up leaving his Blackberry in the Mariott Center after the Priesthood session. I've been on the phone all morning talking to the lost and found, head custoidal, Marriott center, Marriott custodial, etc etc. Hopefully someone will find it. If anyone from BYU is out there and wouldn't mind helping me look for it, I would be forever indebted to you! I think the custodial people are trying to get the whole place cleaned before the devotional tomorrow so I think I may hear something today or tomorrow. We'll see. Ry may just have to get a new one, bummer.
E has also been making some progress on the potty. The other day he was about to get in the tub and I tried putting him on the big potty to see what he would do. I told him to go potty and guess what...he went! I was so excited! I let him have a sucker in the tub as his reward. I tried it again the next day and he went again. I always give him a small bowl of M&M's when he goes on the potty. Now he runs to the cupboard and yells "TREAT!" and I say "potty" so he heads to the potty and I get him to go and he gets M&M's. It's just hard because he doesn't know to tell me when he feels like he needs to go potty because I don't think he quite understands that yet. But he will go on command when you put him on there. He had a dry diaper all day yesterday (except after his nap)! I was astonished! I do have to say diapers are a ton more convenient, but if he's willing to give this a go then we'll do it.
So those are my random updates. I'm still waiting on my memory card for my new camera to be delivered so maybe I'll have some sweet pictures to post sometime this week.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Recipe Blog
My friend Kaitlyn and I just started a fun little recipe blog calledHey Mom! What's For Dinner?. We wanted to put together a place that we could post our recipe experiments and share them with our friends. We're going to try to include pictures for each recipe since I'm a big advocate for cookbooks with pictures. That's the only way to do it. Anyway...head over to our new blog and try out our recipes. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know of any sort of recipes you'd like to see or any fun ideas.
Texas State Fair
My dad took a half day from work on Friday and took my mom, Ethan, and me to the Texas State Fair. Ry was gone for conference so he had to miss out, too bad for him. I can't believe how hot it was! Oh my goodness! It's the beginning of October and it was 95 degrees for crying out loud! Well, the Texas Fair is one of the largest in the U.S. and I can believe it...there was tons to do! We started out taking Ethan to this "Little Kids Barnyard" where they put together a pretend farm where the kids could be like little farmers. It was so cute! They let you gather eggs, milk a cow, feed the animals, plant seeds, pick vegetables, and drive a tractor.
Then when you're all done you get fake money and they let you redeem it in their "Farmer's General Store." E bought himself a big granola bar, yum. After that we went to the petting zoo. I think was a little intimidated at first, but after a while he was trying to feed all the animals and talking to them.
Now when you go to the fair, you have to enjoy the fair food. Man, the food there was great (even if it wasn't on the boot camp list). Basically they take any food, deep fry it, and serve it. E had a nice big corn dog (shown below).
I had the best fried dill pickles ever!!! I tried sharing them so I wouldn't eat so much. Luckily E was a huge fan of them. He cried when they were all gone! Haha. But the best food of the day was the Texas Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. That's right, deep fried cookie dough. It was so stinkin' good! I can't even begin to say how wonderful it tasted. I'm drooling just thinking about it. So if you ever go to the state fair, you have to give that a try!
E lasted about 4 hours there, not too bad at all. We left around 4 to beat rush hour traffic and came home and swam in the pool. I grew up in Ohio and conference weekend never included swimming in the pool, ever! I just watch the people outside at conference and it looks FREEZING there! I'm getting ready for cooler days, but I'm really enjoying our swimming weather.
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