The Hills Are Alive

How One Child's Desire for Ice Cream Turned Into a Family Vacation

2012-01-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Let me just begin by saying that I totally should have included this trip in my last post about How I Spent My Summer Vacation. After I wrote that post I kept thinking there was one more thing I was missing. After a few days of pondering on it, I finally realized that it was only our biggest trip of the year! Duh! I thought about revising my last post, but I never really got around to it. And after all, it was our big trip, so really it deserves a post all of it's own.

For several months Ryan had been begging us to go to Yellowstone. He kept saying that we had promised him that we would take him to Yellowstone this year. I don't ever remember having a conversation like that, but kept telling him that we could probably go sometime. Well, turns out that Greg had a week of vacation time scheduled in September and we had never really planned how we were going to use it. Being the "last minute" kind of people we are, we started looking into our options about a week before the scheduled time off. We looked at a couple of our favorite Park City get away places, but they were booked. We looked at our favorite San Diego beach condos, but they were booked as well. We thought about going to Disneyland, but weren't sure we were up to the task with a 1-year-old. Finally we remembered Ryan's desire to go to Yellowstone and figured we should do it. Neither Greg or I had been there since we were teenagers.

So we rented this fun little cabin in Island Park where we stayed for a few nights.

Upon the first 5 minutes of driving into the actual park, we encountered this bull elk.

Also remember that I have a crappy little camera with barely any zoom, so when you see a picture like this, it means that we were impressively close.

I could have petted this guy from the car window, if I was brave. But I'm not.

There were some ~~stupid~~ brave people who got out of their cars and were taking pictures standing right next to the buffalo. I was hoping to see a good goring, but all I got was disappointment.

We also saw plenty of deer, but that's not too exciting since we find them in our backyard several times a year. And we saw a couple of bald eagles as well. The kids were really hoping to see bears and wolves, but that didn't happen.

We did, however, see lots of beautiful scenery.

A view of the upper falls as we hiked down to the lower falls.

Standing at the top of the lower falls looking down.

Lower falls from a distance. It was quite dark and rainy on the day I took these pictures. I wish it had been sunny because I'm sure the colors would have been much more impressive. But it was still beautiful.

And here we all are at Artist's Point - soaking wet from all the rain.

And at Inspiration Point.

Hiking to The Artist's Paintpots.

Ryan really wanted his picture taken with this bird.

Fortunately we finally got one sunny day.

It is about this time that Ryan starts getting annoyed and asks "Are we going to be outside the whole time?"

Me: Yes

Ryan: What? You never told me that we were going to be outside!

Me: Of course we're going to be outside. Yellowstone is outside.

Ryan: No it's not!

Me: Yes it is. What do you think Yellowstone is?

Ryan: It's where you go to get ice cream and it's inside!

Me: Ooooohhhhh, did you mean you wanted to go to Coldstone?

Ryan: Is that where the ice cream is?

Me: Yes.

Ryan: Then yes.

Me: Well, we're not going there today. We came to Yellowstone because this is where you said you wanted to go.

The next few hours were followed by much grumpiness and complaining about what a dumb vacation this was, and how much he hates being outside. We did manage to make it over to the beautiful Old Faithful Inn and get some ice cream there. And of course Ryan took about 3 tiny bites of his and declared himself full. There is no pleasing that child.

Anyway, lots more lovely things to see...

The Lion Geyser makes a roaring sound when it erupts.

Castle Geyser

Fountain Paint Pots.

Grand Prismatic Spring

Opal Pool

Dylan is about to jump right out of his stroller. Unfortunately this just isn't the kind of place you can let clumsy little toddlers run around at. But once we found a safe place we let him run free and he made the most of it.

This one makes me laugh every time I see it.

We saw Old Faithful, and Ryan still being in a bad mood about the whole Coldstone/Yellowstone misunderstanding had to make lots of loud and snarky comments during the whole eruption - such as "boooooorrrrring!" and "Show's over, people!" as it was winding down.

Driving off into the sunset as we leave the park.

We had a really fun time and even Ryan eventually came around and agreed that he would like to go back again.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2011-11-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

I know this is more than a little late in coming. I've been thinking about doing this post since September - you know, when people go back to school and get to write their essays about what they did on summer vacation. But being my lazy (and maybe just a little bit busy) self, I just haven't gotten around to it. But now I have just a few minutes while I wait for the dough for my lovely Thanksgiving rolls to rise, so let's see if we can put this baby to bed, shall we?

We had such a fun and busy summer! We stayed pretty close to home for the most part, but we found lots to do. We started off our adventures in July with Greg's bi-annual family reunion. We traveled down to the beautiful Pine Valley, Utah. The whole extended family stayed together in this beautiful log cabin.

While we were there we did lots of hanging out and visiting and playing games.

We hiked.

We took a tour of the Pine Valley chapel. It is the oldest operating LDS chapel anywhere.

This is where we went to church on Sunday while we were there. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland happened to be visiting that week as well. Apparently he is a local boy, and visits often.

From Pine Valley, we took a short drive to Sand Hollow where the kids enjoyed playing in the beautiful red sand. Well, everyone enjoyed it except for Ryan, who couldn't get over the fact that it looked like cat barf.

Sunscreen + a face-plant in the reservoir = super cool hair for Dylan.

Throw in a little boating, cliff jumping, some beach volleyball, and perfect weather, and it makes for a fun day!

What a fun week! We love our extended Hill Family!

In August we headed up to Bear Lake for our yearly camping trip with the Becks, which includes my parents, and most of my aunts, uncles and cousins.

The kids and Greg enjoyed riding jet skis. As for me and my water-phobic ways, I opted to stay on the beach and take pictures.

Alyssa and Grandpa.

Tyler and uncle Arnie.

Ryan and Greg.

A little liquid refreshment on the beach. I can't decide if Greg is being a good parent or a bad parent.

Poking in the fire is always a right of passage. Start 'em young, I say.

But don't smack your brother on the head with a hot stick.

This picture cracks me up. Tyler looks like he is about to dive right in, but he was really just tossing in a stick.

Alyssa chooses to spend her time in a more sophisticated manner.

Dylan LOVES Angel. He kept trying to pick her up and carry her around.

We decided to take Grandma with us and go explore the Paris Ice Caves.

There were a few squeezy spaces to get through.

There were lots of cool ice formations inside, even in the middle of August.

And of course hanging around the camp fire and roasting marshmallows is always a perfect way to end the day!

We're number 1!

2 weeks later we headed down to St. George with some friends for a week. Can you believe I have never been to St. George before? I've driven through, but never stayed there. And what better time to visit St. George than during the hottest week of the year?

We did a little swimming.

And Greg braved the heat to do a little grilling.

While we were in St. G we also saw Grease at Tuacahn one night, and drove up to Cedar City to see Noises Off! at the Shakespeare festival another night.

What a coincidence! This is the exact outfit I wore to the show that night! :)

Memorial Day weekend, Greg and I decided to take a late anniversary trip to Park City. As much as I love vacationing with my kids, it is a lot of work. This 3 day trip was a lot more relaxing. We ate out, went to movies, and did some outlet shopping, all without kids in tow! It was heavenly. We checked in at Hotel Park City and found out we got an upgraded room.

Our own private deck with a hot tub and fireplace.

Gorgeous view from the deck.

And even a phone in the bathroom for when those important phone calls just can't wait.

Greg tried to convince to me to take this picture with my pants down around my ankles "because it will be funny!" I did not agree.

For dinner that night we ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and it was divine.

Happy 13th anniversary to us!

And that's how I spent my summer vacation.

Happy birthday Ryan!

2011-10-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Ryan's 7th birthday. According to him it was the best birthday ever. Woo hoo! At least we're doing something right around here.

Ryan asked for a pitching machine for his birthday. He has never shown any interest in baseball before, but recently we went miniature golfing and he saw some batting cages there. He thought they looked awesome, so that is what he got (on a much smaller scale of course). He was outside practicing hitting balls at 7:30 in the morning.

And being the smart boy that he is, he asked to have Kneader's chunky cinnamon french toast with creamy caramel syrup and whipped cream for breakfast. You can never go wrong with that.

I told Ryan he could have a friend party this year, and his big dilemma was whether he should invite his real friends, or if he should just invite his entire school class, because he would get a lot more presents that way. I told him it was up to him (dumb choice on my part). However, with only the slightest of nudging, did he decide that he would invite his real friends. I was quite relieved. We decided a Mario Brothers party would be fun, and being the silly "home-made" kinda gal that I am, I got started on a lot of work to make his party fun. We played a few games like

Pin the mustache on Mario

and a bean bag toss game with Boo

stomp the goomba (balloons)

and don't drop Yoshi's egg.

Of course we opened presents.

and ate cupcakes that look like mushrooms.

A couple of other things that I thought made this party extra fun were these cute chocolate Mario mustache suckers,

and these coin boxes that we filled with chocolate gold coins as they completed each of their games.

I also thought these Boo balloons were about the cutest things I've ever seen. I wish I had taken a picture of ours, but I forgot, so I'll just post the picture that was my inspiration for them instead.

We had an ~~exhausting~~ super fun time! Happy birthday buddy!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

2011-10-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago, we experienced our first Pinewood Derby. Then last night, we experienced our second Pinewood Derby. That's a lot of car building for a first-timer, right? Why, yes. Yes it is.

A few weeks ago we found out about Tyler's derby only 5 days before the actual race. Apparently we were supposed to have been given our car kit a month before, but nobody ever got around to letting us know about it, so we were left scrambling.

The car building duties fell to me, because I feared that if Greg was in charge it would end up looking (and racing) like the car Greg built for himself when the men had their own Pinewood Derby a few years ago. Five minutes before his race, he grabbed his block of wood, colored it red with a magic marker, and hammer the wheels on. I wish I had a picture to show you, but you'll just have to close your eyes and try to imagine it. Not pretty. Not very fast, either. Just not his thing, I guess.

Anyway, I think Tyler and I did a pretty good job on his car. He wanted to make it look like a Wii remote, and here is what we ended up with.

However, looks aren't everything. Unfortunately his car came in dead last in every race. Apparently you have to put the graphite on, and then get those wheels spinning BEFORE you actually start racing. After the official race was over, the boys got to race their cars just for fun, and Tyler's car started doing MUCH better, even taking 1st place several times. Lesson learned. At least we still have years and years of Pinewood Derbies ahead of us (oh, joy!) to get things figured out.

Turns out I didn't have to wait a whole year to work on my next car. Last night our ward had a Daddy/Daughter Powder Puff Pinewood Derby race for the activity days girls. This time I did a little research and figured out the best way to weight the car and to get those wheels spinning. Now keep in mind, we don't own any fancy tools, (a hammer, a few screwdrivers, and a drill are about the extent of our collection), so I am never expecting to have a car that even comes close to winning it all. All I want is to help my kids build a car that at least won't cause them a great amount of embarrassment. So here is what we came up with for Alyssa

So cute, and soooo easy. I told her it may not be fast, but at least it will look good!

Turns out it was cute, and also fairly decent on the track. She ended up tying for 4th place out of 31 cars. Not to shabby!

Wax Museum

2011-05-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Each year our second grade does a "wax museum" in which the kids choose a famous person that they want to portray. They are supposed to memorize a 30 second script about their person and then repeat it each time someone pushes their "button". Tyler chose to be NBA player Kyle Korver (mostly because I suggested it would be an easy costume since all he would have to do is throw on a jersey and hold a basketball). We made his poster and then I told him we would work on his script right after I finished ~~writing my report and making my poster about giraffes~~ helping Ryan with his giraffe report.

Well, Tyler decided that I was taking too long and decided to write his own script. It goes like this:

My name is Kyle Korver. I am very tall. I am the best basketball player in the world. I have brown hair and tan skin.....

Ha ha ha. That last part cracks me up. Anyway, I told him that we should probably google him and maybe find out some things that were a little more factual.

And so we did.

And Tyler did a great job in the wax museum.

It's the simple things in life

2011-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Who knew that something as simple as eating a powdered donut could bring such joy? I gave Dylan his first donut the other day. I was pretty sure he would enjoy it, just as he enjoys pretty much every food/treat he eats. However, I have never seen anyone enjoy anything quite so much.

He shrieked with joy every time he took a bite.

And giggled the whole time he was chewing.

It was so funny that I had to keep giving him more. You would think three donuts would be enough to satisfy this skinny little boy, especially after just having finished his dinner, but no, he was still looking for his next fix. Sadly, that was the end of the donuts.

How cute are these?

2011-05-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was in need of some inspiration for teacher appreciation week when I came across this cute idea.

I love the tag, it reads:

"The contents of this can are to be used purely for the treatment of stress due to teaching. When feeling such ailments, wait for recess, lock door, hide under desk, and consume immediately."

I made one for each of my kids teachers and filled them with hershey's kisses. There is a tutorial on how to make these cute cans from the girls over at Our Best Bites.

Nerd Day

2011-04-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings about my kids' school's Nerd Day. Should we really encourage them to dress up as kids who are ostracized and picked on? Isn't it kind of making fun of kids who are less fortunate in the social skills/wardrobe department? That being said, my kids did want to dress up, and I let them.

Ryan asked me to help him pick out some good nerd clothes. He got upset as I was pulling things out of his drawer, saying they looked nothing like nerd clothes. "Um, Ryan..." I said, "do you think you are supposed to dress up like the CANDY?"

"Yes," he said. "What else would I be dressing up like?"

So I had to try to explain what a "nerd" was. He was not as excited to dress up like a nerd person as he was about dressing up like the candy. Anyway, this is the best we could come up with...

Since there was never a note or anything sent home, and I was just relying on the fact that my kids told me today was nerd day and they needed to dress up, I hope they were speaking the truth. I would hate to send my kids to school looking like this on a regular day.

Thinner Thursdays (Really Friday)

2011-04-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

Didn't get around to this post yesterday. Maybe because I was feeling bad. This last week was a total FAIL. Easter was not kind.

These fudge-filled coconut pound cake cupcakes with sugar cookie bunny ears that I made certainly didn't help things.

Neither did these chick sugar cookies....

And 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins? A yearly family tradition. Could I just have taken the kids and not gotten any for myself? Yes. But I didn't. And can I just say that their pumpkin pie ice cream is delicious?

Anyway, up 2 lbs. Not happy about that at all. I promise to do better this week.

New Cookware and Thinner Thursdays Week Two

2011-04-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

First can I just start off by saying how much I love, Love, LOVE my new pots and pans? I finally got rid of the old falling apart cheap set that we got when we first got married and replaced them with these beauties....

I love the bright tangerine color (they are a much brighter orange in real life). It is a joy to use them every time I pull one out of the cupboard to cook with. In fact, I like them much so that I bought them even though it is recommended that they only be hand-washed, and I am strictly against hand washing anything. But it's totally worth it!

And now, on the results portion of our program.....

This week I am down 1.5 lbs. Not quite as awesome as last week, and not quite as easy either. I must say I felt a little deprived this week and will admit to going to bed feeling a little hungry once or twice. Don't worry, it's not like I didn't eat dinner or anything. But I am glad that the numbers are continuing to go down rather than up. That's what keeps me motivated.

Oh My Goodness....

2011-04-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

This may seem like an inappropriate post the day after doing my weight-loss post, but where have these dark chocolate dipped Peeps been all my life?!

I loooooove Peeps and I love dark chocolate, so this is a match made in heaven. I suppose it's good that they only come in a 2-pack. Considering I can easily down an entire package of Peeps in one sitting, this helps to keep the carnage to a minimum.

Thinner Thursdays Week One

2011-04-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've been waiting on the edge of your seat all week wondering how I've done *said with much sarcasm*. Well I'm going to tell you whether you care or not. The results are in and they ain't to shabby. The first week and I am down 3.5 pounds! Hooray for me! And it was done without too much deprivation either. I can honestly say that I wasn't ever very hungry and I still managed to sneak in a cupcake, a few cookies, some takeout from Cafe Rio (heavenly) and dinner at the Mayan (not so good, will not be returning there again). Mostly I just cut down on portion sizes at meals and didn't ever take a second helping. Also, ALL mindless munching was cut out. It's far too easy to snack all day long when you are home all day, so before popping anything in my mouth I had to ask myself if it was something I REALLY wanted or if I was just going to eat it because it was there and I was bored. Seems to have worked, right? That being said, the first week always seems to be the easiest for me when trying to lose weight, and I never stick with it for long. But this time I am determined to keep going! Hopefully I will have more good news to post next Thursday!

Thinner Thursdays

2011-04-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Soooooo.....it's time for me to make some changes. Today I hit a new high on the scale (not counting the times I've had a baby in my belly - thank goodness). That, along with seeing a few unflattering photos of myself lately, and I am definitely ready to do something about it. And so begins "Thinner Thursdays". I considered doing Fat Fridays, but let's keep this positive, okay? :) I need someone to be accountable to, and that person is you. Yes, you - the one reading this post right now. I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh in at each week, because I'm afraid I'm far too vain for that. But starting today and continuing every Thursday, I will post how many pounds I have lost or (hopefully not) gained. And if you notice that I start not posting about it, call me out on it! Because it probably means that I am slacking and need a kick in the virtual butt! (Do you think this blog is what people are expecting to find when they google 'virtual butt'?) :) So wish me luck, because I love baking, and that usually leads to sampling. Perhaps I need to stop looking at food blogs and doing posts about adorable cupcakes? Nope, I don't think I can. But a little moderation will be good for me.

Foolin' Around

2011-04-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

I've never been real big on doing anything for April Fool's Day. So today when Ryan said "Mom, I think you're beautiful." my heart melted just a little bit. Of course that statement was quickly followed by "April fools!". After I pretended to be all heartbroken about it, he assured me that he really did think I was beautiful after all. What a nice little boy.

Anyway, as I was saying, I don't usually do anything special on April 1st. But then I saw these super cute cupcakes and I had to make them.

Mashed potatoes and gravy cupcakes

Spaghetti and meatballs cupcakes

And then if you put them all on a plate together they look even cuter.

Yum.

Apparently Greg cannot appreciate cupcakes like this though.

His exact words were "Are they supposed to look like that?"

"No," I said, "I just slapped some frosting on them and they just turned out that way."

"Why would you want your cupcakes to look like mashed potatoes and gravy?" he asked.

"Because they're April Fool's Day cupcakes."

"Oh."

At least now he understands that there is a method to my madness.

By the way, not only were they cute, but they were delicious too!

Green Day

2011-03-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

No, not the band, but it's what my kids call St. Patrick's Day. It's one of their most beloved holidays and they count down the days until March 17th as if it were Christmas. I don't know what the appeal is for them, but they get pretty darn excited about eating green food. Oh, and also the leprechaun that comes to visit. The leprechaun never used to visit us until 3 or 4 years ago when Alyssa had a friend at school who told her that if you leave your shoes by the front door on the night before St. Patrick's Day, a leprechaun will come and fill them with treats. Well, she had to try it, and sure enough we have been getting an annual visit from the leprechauns ever since.

This year he left behind some Lucky Charms.

I was glad about this because I didn't even have to wake up early and make a fancy "green" breakfast. They were more than happy to tear into their own box of cereal and eat it in front of the t.v. while I got to sleep in. (Gotta love being off-track!!!)

Lunch was green pasta....

And for dinner green homemade rolls and punch to go along with my favorite white chicken chili. What? No corned beef and cabbage? Nope, never tried it. Nor do I have any strong desire to do so. But if anyone wants to prepare some for me, I would be more than happy to give it a try.

I just couldn't bring myself to dye the chili green, although the kids begged me to. Some things I can eat green, some things I can't.

And you can't forget dessert. Key lime bars....yum!!!

I even got in a crafty mood earlier this month and decided to make some cute St. Patty's Day decorations. I've gotta say I was rather pleased with how cute everything turned out!

I hope you had a good Green Day too!

BEST. IDEA. EVER.

2010-12-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

Or at least the best idea ever when it comes to shoveling the driveway, which I do not enjoy at all. However, I can't take credit for this great idea. It comes from a friend of a friend who made a comment on Facebook regarding shoveling snow.

"Go tell your kids to roll snowmen on the driveway and down the sidewalk."

I'm not even sure he was serious, considering it was followed by an "LOL", but since I was trying to muster up the energy to get my boots on and go out to shovel the 8 inches of very heavy wet snow that fell during the night, I thought it was a brilliant idea. (Especially since we don't have a snowblower, or even a halfway decent shovel. I think our shovel was about the cheapest one at the store when we bought it 10 years ago. Perhaps it's time to loosen the purse strings a little?) :)

Anyhow, I sent the kids out to get rolling, and they proclaimed it "the funnest job ever!" They probably picked up about 75 percent of the snow on the driveway and sidewalk. That still left me with some shoveling to do, but at least they lightened the load quite a bit! Of course I still had to help make snowmen, but what a bonus to get in some fun time with the kids while getting a chore out of the way at the same time!

Tyler (who is also a birthday boy today!) took care of the sidewalk.

These three enormous snowmen were almost entirely made with snow from our driveway and sidewalk!

This will definitely be my preferred method of snow removal from now on!

Lady Luck

2010-11-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's me....also know as The Luckiest Girl in the World. Just what reasons do I have for making this claim you might ask? Well, it's simple. I am a winner. I win things....a lot. Some of the bigger prizes I have won over just the last few years include:

*An ipod touch

*A ipod nano

*A family pass to Sea World

*$360 U2 concert tickets

*A stay at the Castle Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast

These are just the biggies, but I've also won plenty of other cd's, concert tickets, and various gift certificates

I've won from newspaper contests, drawings at model homes, and most often from the radio. The weird thing is that I don't enter contests very often. You'd think from my track record that it's what I spend the majority of my time doing, but I rarely even listen to the radio. As for other contests and drawings and such, I don't seek them out either. If I happen to be somewhere where there is a drawing to enter I will do it, but that's about it. Maybe I should look into making this a full-time job. Apparently it's what I'm good at.

My latest winnings were front row tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform their annual Christmas Concert and backstage passes to meet the band. It was so much fun. I saw TSO several years ago, and loved their show. I have been wanting to go again over the years, but it seems like it always fell on a day that wasn't convenient. Well, it just so happens that I won tickets to go this year, and I was so excited. They put on an amazing show, and being right on the front row was amazing! If you're not familiar with TSO, I'm sure you've at least heard one or two of their most popular songs. You can check out 60 seconds of the fun time we had here.
And here are some pics from the show.

I was kind of tricky getting a decent shot with all the smoke and lights and pyrotechnics, but these are some of the better ones.

Apparently you've got to have long hair to be in this show so you can whip it around all cool like this.

And afterward we got to meet some of the band. The guy on the left and some of the other band members have been playing together for 31 years. He is one ugly dude, but he has an awesome singing voice.

Okay, so if I had to choose a band to go backstage to meet, this would not be the one, but I did have a great time!

Birthday Boy

2010-10-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ryan's birthday this week. He had four special requests for his birthday this year.

1. He wanted a Candyland cake.

Done. Although I really should have just given him a few bags of candy, because that was a lot of work for a boy who only wants to eat the candy off the top of it anyway. At least it's cute, right?

2. He wanted chattering teeth for a present.

Where exactly does one buy chattering teeth? Amazon.com, I praise thy name. I love being able to find just about anything there....and I curse it too. They were a piece of junk. Guess I should have sprung for the expensive ones. Oh well. Ryan seemed pleased that such a strange request was honored at all.

3. He wanted to go to "the carnival".

This wasn't just a spur of the moment request. He's been talking about going to the carnival on his birthday for at least the last six months. I was really hoping it was a phase that would pass, but no such luck. First of all, I don't even know where he got the idea of a carnival. We have never been to one. Then as his birthday got closer and he was still insisting on going, I was wondering what could possibly pass for a carnival. State fair?.....over. County fair?....over. Town days?.....all over. Hmmm......

Then, about two weeks before his birthday we drove past Lagoon. He pointed at it and shouted "That's the carnival I want to go to!"

I told him it wouldn't be open on his birthday.

Now I know that it is open on weekends for Frightmares in October, but I didn't tell him that. For one thing, our weekends are pretty busy lately with a couple of kids playing soccer. Not to mention the fact that the thought of spending the day at an amusement park in the cold is not my idea of a good time.

Well, another week went by and one day I went to pick Ryan up from school. He came running out of the building waving his "ticket" to the "carnival'. He was soooo excited. It was a discount pass for Lagoon in October. I glanced at the schedule on it expecting to see it only open on weekends, which it was, except for one lone Thursday. His birthday. Greg's day off from work. A day off from school. (Which if I was a better mom probably would have already known about, but no, it caught me off guard.) Anyway, it was all looking too good to be true. But still I didn't tell him we could go, because I didn't want to give him false hope if the weather turned out to be yucky. So I watched the weather forecast the week leading up to the big day, and lo and behold....74 and sunny. Can't get much better than that. So we went. And a good time was had by all.

4. He wanted the game "Plants vs. Zombies".

Grandma and Grandpa came through on that one.....and he's been playing it all day long. (Just this once of course!) Looks kind of fun. Now that he's in bed I might just have to try it out myself!

Old Lady Bathroom

2010-10-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Confession time: I ~~have~~ had the bathroom of an 87 year old woman. Fortunately it didn't smell like the bathroom of an 87 year old woman, but still, enough was enough. I didn't really mind the decor when we first bought this house nearly 11 years ago. After all, there were TWO bathrooms! After growing up in a house with only one bathroom and then living in a teeny 400 sq. foot newlywed apartment, that was awesome! Anyway, like I said, it was nice, it just wasn't me. There was peach and blue floral wallpaper and lots of ultra-fancy shiny brass hardware everywhere. I finally decided to do something about it, and this week was spent peeling up old wallpaper, scrubbing walls, patching holes, replacing all the hardware and repainting. It's finally done and I love the new look!

I don't have a before picture of my bathroom, but here is a sample of the wallpaper after I joyfully ripped it from the walls.

And here is the finished product! The wall color is actually more of a pale neon/lime green, rather than the avocado color that comes across in this picture, and I love the fun brown polka dot shower curtain! I still have old lady light fixtures in here, (floral/brass....sshhh, don't tell anyone!) but that'll have to wait until I can get someone over here who knows how to do electrical stuff. I would probably just blow myself up in the process, and then what would be the point of my fun new bathroom? :)

Stay-cation Day 5

2010-09-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Day 5 of the staycay was spent at "the beach". The kids have loved having a beach/reservoir so close to home. While it's not the biggest thing around, I love that it only takes 5 minutes to get there, and all the kids really want to do is splash in the water and dig in the sand anyway. Since we don't have a boat or anything, it's all we really need. Besides that, how lucky was it that we got a 90 degree day in mid-September? Perfect weather!

I spent most of my time in the shade, since it takes me all of 5 minutes to get a nice sunburn.

We ran into a neighbor there who let Greg try out his paddle surf board. He got cruising pretty fast on that thing. I thought it would be funny to get a picture of him falling off, but he never did.

Dylan trying his first mouthful of sand.

The water was freezing!

My little dirt diggers.

We took a nice walk/bike ride down to the Iceberg for dinner. Mmmmm, so yummy.

And ice cream for dessert.

Yeah, it was Iceberg, so we probably should have gotten shakes for dessert, but our tummies were too full. Besides that, we have had no shortage of tasty treats this week!

We finished it all off with a movie night/sleepover in the living room.

So sad that our staycation is almost over!

STAY-cation Days 2 - 4

2010-09-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

On day 2 of our stay-cation we decided to take a trip to the zoo. We hadn't been there in about three years, so we were due for another visit.

Upon walking into the giraffe house, I took one whiff and sarcastically said "Mmmmm, smells good in here!". Right away Alyssa answered (and she was being totally serious) "I know! I love this smell!". Classic Alyssa. Greg and I just had to laugh.

This cute little thing looks like a house cat, but is really some South American wildcat. Dylan didn't seem to notice that there was anything interesting to look at at the zoo - and we'd already seen elephants, monkeys, rhinos and a few other things - until we got to this little guy. The cat was actually curled up in a corner until we set Dylan down in front of his cage, and then he got up and walked right over to Dylan and where they both just sat and stared at each other for the next 5 minutes.

Posing on the giant elephant's trunk.

Greg being a good sport and doing the gorilla pose with the big kids.

Tyler was only attacked by animals twice while we were there. A peacock (or a "pee hawk", and Ryan thinks they are called) came over during lunch looking for some crumbs. I didn't notice that Tyler tried to pet it until it was flying up in his face and screeching. We thought it was funny - Tyler did not. Later we were looking at a baby crocodile that was behind glass. Tyler had his face pressed right up against the glass trying to get a better view, because the crocodile looked like it was just sleeping in the bottom of its pool. All of a sudden it leaped out of the water and threw itself against the glass right in front of Tyler's face, snapping its jaws. It was totally unexpected, so it was quite funny - except for poor Tyler, who saw his life flash before his eyes. He was a little wary of getting too close to any animals after that.

After the zoo we headed on up to Park City to spend the night, which leads us to....

Day 3

Park City is pretty dead this time of year as far as the mountain resort goes, so we mostly just hung out and relaxed. We spent LOTS of time at the pool, which is all the kids really care about anyway. (Okay, there was a little shopping involved as well. Can't miss a chance to hit up the outlets you know!)

Alyssa is our little fish. She would spend the entire day in the water if she could.

Ryan is the opposite - he always prefers to spend his aquatic time on the top step of the hot tub....

...Or wrapped in a towel snuggling on the lounge chairs.

Dylan seems to be a fan.

(I love the matching expressions on their faces!)

We spent our second night in PC with a DVD from Redbox and some delicious take out from Red Rock Brewing Co. I LOVE that place! Especially the Sweet Potato Cannelloni. Holy delicious...cannelloni shells stuffed with a blend of ricotta, sweet potatoes, spinach, sage, and smothered in a cream sauce with melted provolone and parmesan....so good, and I normally don't even like sweet potatoes! Okay, have I gone on about how much I love this dish enough? :) I am ready to go back for more right now!

Day 4

We left Park City and headed for Discovery Gateway in Salt Lake. None of us had ever been there before, so we thought we'd give it a whirl. The kids had a great time and there was plenty to keep everyone busy for the entire afternoon....

Like delivering vegetables from the farm to the market.....

Or flying a Life Flight helicopter......

Doing a tipping table maze.....

Or practicing some horseback riding skills. Good times.

After the museum, we took the kids to splash around in the fountains at the Gateway.

Then it was back to our home sweet home to roast hot dogs and make s'mores in the back yard. Gotta enjoy this beautiful weather while we've still got it!

YUM!!!

STAY-cation

2010-09-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

We had some vacation time planned for this month, but for the longest time we couldn't decide where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do. Of course if we had endless funds, we would have been able to come up with plenty of great places to go, but as it is, we decided to go on a "stay-cation". There are plenty of local things that we have never done, and plenty of local things that we have done, but that the kids wish we did more often. So we tried to hype it up and get the kids all excited about a vacation that doesn't sound nearly as fun as Disneyland or some other far off wonderful place. This is how the conversation went:

Mom & Dad: "Hey kids, we decided that for our vacation we are going to do a stay-cation. Do you know what that is?"

Kid (very excitedly): "Is it where we get to go on vacation and STAY there forever?!"

Mom & Dad: "Um, no, it's not."

Now this idea seems really lame.

But in the end, the kids seemed to think it sounded like a fun idea after all.

So here are the results of "STAYCATION 2010"

DAY 1

(also called "the best day ever" by Ryan)

The Incredible Pizza Company

So I found an amazing deal for this place, and for only $10 per person we got:

unlimited bumper cars

unlimited go-karts

Unlimited mini-bowling

Tyler has his own special method of throwing the bowling ball. If you look to the far right of the picture, you'll notice that his ball is still airborne. Strangely enough, this proved to be highly effective.

Unlimited mini-golf

Okay, so we're not actually golfing in these pictures, but they were taken on the golf course. I think I was born in the wrong era, don't you? :)

And also unlimited laser tag....of which I have no pictures. Because really, I'm trying not to "get lased", as Ryan puts it, and taking pictures while shooting and ducking and dodging is not the easiest thing to do.

We also managed to get in a few games and rides.

On top of all that we also had unlimited access to the buffet all day long. We decided to really get our money's worth and just stay the whole day and eat all of our meals there. Well okay, not breakfast.

Surprisingly the food was actually decent, and despite the name, they had much more than pizza to offer. There was also a salad bar, pasta bar, potato bar, taco/nacho bar, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken fingers, and a dessert bar, not to mention quite a few other foods.

We ended up staying for 9 hours, and the kids are begging to go back again tomorrow, so I think Day 1 was a success!

Graduation Crackers

2010-06-11T13:54:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago, Greg and I took Ryan along with us for lunch at a Chinese restaurant while the big kids were at school. Ryan doesn't really like Chinese food, but that isn't really a surprise considering he doesn't like most food. Oddly enough, this particular restaurant always serves a salad of iceburg lettuce and ranch dressing that comes free with each entree ordered. (Is it just me, or is that weird? Doesn't really seem to go with the food theme. Especially when you get take out and get home and open the little square cartons and find them filled with soggy lettuce.) Anyway, Ryan does happen to like lettuce and ranch, so he got to fill up on that while we ate our lunch.

Then he throws me for a loop...."Mom, when are they bringing us our graduation crackers?", he asked. I told him I wasn't sure what he was talking about. So he says, "You know, those little crackers with the paper inside them?" Ahhhhh....Fortune cookies. I have no idea of what made him think they were called graduation crackers, but I don't think I'll ever be able to think of them as anything else. :)

An Evening With Muse.....Or the Adventures of an Unfit Mother

2010-04-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

After happening upon a Muse song a few years ago, I quickly fell in love with the band and their music. I had never heard of them before. Apparently they were massively popular in Europe, but hadn't caught on quite as much in the U.S. I waited patiently for them to go on tour and come to Salt Lake City. When they released their newest album last September I knew a tour couldn't be far off, and I was thrilled when tickets went on sale in December. I snatched mine up just minutes after they were released.

Having a newborn baby, I am not comfortable with the idea of a teenager from the neighborhood watching my kids right now. This was a job for Grandma. Unfortunately Grandma lives an hour away and it would mean picking the kids up very late after the concert and then still having to drive an hour to get home.....on a school night. Oh well, I really wanted to go and this was our best solution.

So I put on my rock n' roll eyes and off we went. I like to wear rock n' roll eyes because they are fun, but not too practical for everyday wear. You don't want to go to Wal-Mart or drop off your kid at preschool wearing rock n' roll eyes.....well, some people do, but it's not for me. Anyway, the concert was great. We were able to get pretty close to the stage since we had general admission tickets to the floor. Of course everyone on the floor wanted to get close to the stage, so it was a bit of a mob scene at times and we were packed front to back and shoulder to shoulder with total strangers, but I managed not to fall down/get trampled so it's okay. :) I know most people are surprised at this side of me, but I love being at a rock concert and getting swept up in the frenzy of it all. Can you picture me jumping up and down with the crowd with my fist in the air singing "No one's going to take me alive"? Well, I don't have a photo, so you'll just have to imagine.

There was quite a blizzard outside when the concert was over. It took us nearly two hours to get to Grandma's house to pick up the kids. So much for making it a late night getting the kids home. They closed the road behind us due to the snowy conditions and we weren't allowed to go home at all. I guess I'm glad we made it there when we did. So it was to be a sleepover instead. We'd have to leave in the morning and the kids wouldn't just be tired at school, but they would also be quite late. Which wouldn't be such a big deal, except for the fact that we had been off-track and this was their first day back at school in four weeks. So I felt like a bit of a bad mom, with that and the fact that I came home smelling like beer. When the drummer from the opening band threw his drumsticks into the audience, one came right toward us and the knucklehead in front of me jumped into the air trying to catch it while holding a very full cup of brew. Well, his cup didn't stay full for long and I ended up being soaked in the stuff.

Anyway, great show, great music, great time.

How often do you see a rock star playing a grand piano at a concert? Not too often. Pretty cool and an amazing pianist.

Did he really just say that???

2010-03-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I went in for my 6 week postpartum check up yesterday and everything is great. So glad to be done with the whole pregnancy thing. It was difficult and there were some complications. Apparently my doctor is glad I made it through as well. These were his exact words to me: "I'm so glad you didn't die." Um, yeah, me too. Don't you love how they never let you in on how serious things are until after the fact? I knew my blood clot put me at risk for stroke/heart attack/pulmonary embolism, but I guess I didn't really stress about it all that much. I think my poor doctor stressed out enough about it for the both of us.

Happy Happy Happy!

2010-03-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

Why am I so happy? To most people it probably doesn't seem like such a big deal, but for me it is pure joy! As of yesterday I gave myself my LAST shot of Lovenox in the tummy. I've been doing it twice a day for the last 7 1/2 months. And twice a day when it was time for my shot, I just felt like crying. I absolutely hated it. It's not that it was unbearably painful, (although it was no picnic either), but I just dreaded having to do it. Yes, I would be a terrible diabetic. So, I'm still on blood thinners for a few more months, but at least now I can just pop a pill, which is so much more pleasant than jabbing a needle into my body!

And Baby Makes Six

2010-02-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

Our sweet baby Dylan is finally here! He was born February 3rd at 12:23 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 21 inches long.

This is him at 3 days old.

I went into the hospital for a scheduled induction on Feb. 3rd at 5 a.m. We got things going, but by noon I was still only dialated to 5 cm. Then baby's heart rate dropped and the nurses decided to see if they could get him out of distress by having me roll onto my side. Well that definitely worked because in ten minutes I was fully dialated and after 3 good pushes Dylan was born. I love that my deliveries are so quick and easy. I've guess I've gotta have something to make up for the fact that my pregnancies are so difficult!

This is us just a few seconds after Dylan was born. He had a little facial bruising from coming out so fast!

Hospitals have been very strict in their visitor policies this winter due to the whole H1N1 thing. No one under the age of 14 would be allowed to visit at the hospital. My kids were so bummed that they were going to have to wait until we brought him home to meet their new brother. So I was soooo happy when someone from the hospital called me the night before we went in and told me that hospital policy had changed that day and that siblings would be allowed to come visit!

Greg, Alyssa, Dylan, Kristie, Tyler and Ryan

Having my first three kids in 3 1/2 years, they didn't really realize what was going on whenever we had a new baby. Now having a newborn and having older kids, it has been a lot of fun seeing how excited they are to have a new little brother. They all absolutely adore him. Hopefully the novelty doesn't wear off too soon.

We are all doing great and are so happy to have Dylan as a part of our family. I can't imagine our family without him!

Traditions.....

2010-01-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

One of the fun traditions that our family has done for the last few years is "Movie Night". This happens almost every Friday night, unless something else comes up that we absolutely have to do. But movie night usually takes priority over other non-necessary activities. (Heaven forbid something else get in the way. The kids could hardly stand it that Christmas fell on a Friday this year and Movie Night had to be postponed.) We get out the pillows and sleeping bags, make popcorn, and camp out in the living room and watch a movie. The movie we watch depends on who gets to be the "chooser" for the night. We rotate who gets to be the chooser so everyone gets the chance to watch what they like best.

Fortunately, Alyssa has finally grown out of her "Land Before Time" stage. Would you believe there are 18 Land Before Time movies? Well there are, and we have seen all of them at least once. Some of them 3 or 4 times. Bleh....

Tyler typically tries to choose movies that he knows will make Greg cringe, so he frequently likes to choose either "Enchanted" or "Hairspray". Personally, I think these are great choices, but also quite amusing coming from a little boy.

When Ryan is in charge of choosing (and if we have recently made a trip to the library) we usually end up watching some sort of educational children's video about trucks of some sort. We have learned all about monster trucks, construction vehicles, army vehicles, race cars, and various other types of vehicles.

When Greg and I get to pick, I think the primary goal is to choose something that we haven't already seen a dozen times. This is where Redbox comes in handy. We don't get to the movie theater with the kids too often, so this is a good way to catch up on some of the newer kids' movies out there. We've also had a lot of fun watching the "Planet Earth" DVDs. There is some amazing footage and the kids even get really into them.

So some weeks are definitely better than others, viewing-wise, but mostly I just love that we are creating fun family memories. Hopefully this is something the kids will want to keep up for years to come.

Post Holiday Wrap-Up

2010-01-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I didn't do so great about blogging during the month of December, but we sure had fun! Here are a few of the highlights from the past month.....

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

The kids loved making gingerbread houses. It's one of their favorite things to do each Christmas time. They begged me for weeks to make them, so I finally got ambitious and actually made homemade gingerbread and measured and cut all the pieces. (As a result, my house smelled DELICIOUS for days!)

My sweet Alyssa and her masterpiece.

I thought they would appreciate having the real thing, but as soon as I presented the kids with the pieces Tyler said "I don't really like gingerbread. I just want mine to be made out of graham crackers." Little stinker. Of course when I made him one out of crackers he promptly dropped it on the floor and it shattered. He couldn't wait for the icing/glue to dry on another one, so he ended up using the gingerbread pieces anyway.

The candy on Ryan's house only lasted long enough for me to take this picture.

WRAPPING PRESENTS

I found a pile of presents in the hallway that apparently the kids had wrapped for each other and for me and Greg. They were mostly wrapped in shoe boxes and tied with old scraps of ribbon or some of Alyssa's hair ribbons. It's very sweet of them to think of others, but they tend to find weird little odds and ends and wrap them up in boxes and call it good. These packages mostly contained leftover Halloween candy, loose change, and unwanted Happy Meal toys.

The tag on this one especially made me smile. I like how it says "To Greg" rather than "To Dad".

CHRISTMAS MORNING

We slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve. While trying to get just one decent picture before opening presents on Christmas morning Ryan kept informing us of how mad he was at us. He was not happy to be taking pictures when there were presents to be opened....thus his refusal to look at the camera. Oh well.

The coveted glitter balls. All three of the kids had been begging for these for the majority of the past year.

They were definitely a hit. The kids are still sleeping with them at night.

And the biggest hit of all was the one thing they all asked for from Santa every time they saw him....a trampoline. There was much dancing and shouting for joy upon the opening of this present. Now we just have to wait for the snow to melt so we can get it set up.

NEW YEAR'S!!!

The rest of us had more fun than this, but this is the only picture I got. Poor Ryan can never seem to make it much past 10:00 on New Year's Eve. He crashed on the floor, but his sweet little friend Abby put a crown on his head for him anyway so he wouldn't be left out. Alyssa and Tyler think New Year's Eve is the greatest holiday ever because they get to stay up as late as they want. They made it until about 3:30 a.m. this year. Not quite the all-night goal they had in mind, but pretty close! I thought for sure they would sleep in the next day, but nope.

RESOLUTIONS 2010

Yeah, I don't do the whole resolutions thing. No point in setting yourself up for failure in my opinion. So far the only thing I have resolved to do this year is:

1. Have a baby.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to accomplish this one.

Keepin' Cool

2009-12-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

Yep, now I'm complaining about being too cold. I love winter from the comfort of my own house, but I'm not a fan of actually being outside in the winter. However, the kids have been dying for enough snow to go sledding, and it finally happened. Greg is a great dad and will usually take them when he has a day off from work, but the kiddos just couldn't wait that long! So off to the park we went. (I wish I could just send them on their own, but I still worry about them crossing that busy street by themselves.) I was barely able to get my coat zipped over my big belly, and had to borrow Greg's ski pants, so I stayed fairly warm even though it was only 20 degrees outside. Only my fingers and toes got chilly. The kids slid down the hill while I sat at the top in my camping chair reading a book. (So yes, if you drove past the park and saw a crazy lady sitting there in the snow reading, that was me!) I'm not such a good sport that I actually wanted to sled with them. Plus I didn't want to send myself into labor by stomping up the hill over and over again. (That was my excuse anyway. I doubt anything I could do could make me go into labor. I spent Alyssa's due date rolling a giant snowball around the backyard to make a snowman, and still didn't have her until five days later.) After staying for about an hour we went home to enjoy the best part of playing outside in the winter....hot chocolate and cookies!

Is it just me, or is it warm in here?

2009-12-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently it's just me. Okay, so I know that I have kept the house relatively cool since I feel quite warm all the time due to the baby cookin' in my oven....but walking into the living room and seeing my boys playing video games with their coats on made me feel a little sorry for them, and I graciously cranked the thermostat up to a toasty 65 degrees. I hope they appreciate all the sacrifices I make for them! :)

Surprise!!!

2009-06-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Baby number 4 is on the way! Surprised? Yeah, well we were too. For Greg's birthday he got the news that he was going to be a daddy all over again. I don't know if it is what he was hoping to get for his birthday, but it's non-returnable, so we are getting used to the idea real fast. Unfortunately, we already got rid of most of our baby clothes/gear/maternity clothes. But that's okay, because I am always happy to have an excuse to go shopping! Of course, the boys both want a little brother, and Alyssa is hoping for a sister, although if it turns out to be a boy, she would like to name him either Ace or Chucky. That's why we probably won't put the kids in charge of naming rights. Maybe Greg shouldn't be in charge either, since he just wants to name this kid after sports teams. Fortunately we've still got plenty of time to work out those details.

In The Beginning...

2009-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, several years ago, someone asked me if I would ever consider writing a blog. They had just started one, and were trying to get me to jump on the bandwagon as well. After laughing and then saying "absolutely not", I went on to explain that I would probably be the last person on earth to write a blog. What would I possibly write about? Who would care to read it? I never enjoyed those "creative writing" assignments in school. I don't feel creative at all when it comes to writing. (Despite all this, Greg wants to know why I can't just "write a book like "Harry Potter" or something, and make us a lot of money, since I am just sitting around at home all day anyway.") Anyhow, after reading the blogs of several friends, I have come to realize that this could be a fun way of recording what goes on in the lives of my family and myself. I've decided that it doesn't matter who reads it, or who it entertains, because I am writing this just for me. If you care to stop by occasionally and see what is going on, enjoy! Hopefully I will do better about keeping this blog updated than I do about writing in my journal. It's been about 12 years since my last entry there. Sad! My journal doesn't even know that Greg or my kids exist! So to get started, I am borrowing a questionnaire from a friend's blog. Hopefully it will offer a little insight into Greg and me In The Beginning.....

How long have you been together?

11 years, 4 months, and counting

Where did the two of you meet?

We met on a blind date that neither one of us wanted to go on.

What was the first thought that went through your head when you first met him?

Um, get off the phone and pay attention to me already. I came to his place, along with a friend for a double date. He was on the phone with someone, so he waved quickly, but continued to ignore me for another ten minutes while he finished his conversation.

Do you remember what he was wearing?

Yeah, and it was pretty obvious that he wasn't trying to impress anyone. But after seeing the rest of his wardrobe later, it's not like anything else in there would have impressed anyone either. He simply didn't care about clothes. He's just not a materialistic guy. I guess that's good in a way because it means more money in the clothes budget for me!

Who asked whom out?

Neither. My roommate was dating his roommate, and my roommate insisted that we would be perfect for each other. I didn't really want to go, and neither did he, but we finally agreed to it.
(Thanks Beth!)

When was the first time you realized you liked him?

About half way through our first date. We hit it off really well. The next day I told my friends that I was going to marry him. (Not that he was asking at that point, but in my own mind I had decided that it was true.)

Where was your first date?

It was an all day thing. Who plans an all-day date for a blind date? Fortunately, I had two of my roommates with me who were there on dates with two of Greg's friends. We went hiking in the mountains (IN FEBRUARY!!!) and got nice and soggy and cold. After changing, we drove to Salt Lake for dinner and laser U2. Being a huge U2 fan, this was a good thing. None of the guys really had a plan for dinner, so trying to think of someplace we could go, one of the guys said he knew a really nice place down town we could eat. We proceeded to follow him to Crown Burger. Not that there is anything wrong with Crown Burger, but upon hearing the words "really nice place to eat", it is not the first place that pops into my mind.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Not at all. See above.

Where was the first time you kissed?

In the front yard of my parents house, after our first "voluntary" date. I was home from school for the weekend, and he had taken me out for Valentine's Day.

How long did it take to get serious?

Hmmmm.....we both liked each other right away, enough so that Greg would drive down to see me at Snow College every weekend, starting from the first day we met. He was living in Provo at the time, and I didn't have a car, so it was all up to him. As far as getting serious, maybe 6 weeks? He thought it would be best if I gave up the guy I was seeing on the side, and just focus all my attention on him. :)

How did he propose to you?

Funny story, though not the most romantic. He wanted to propose on his birthday, which was June 6th. The ring he had designed was not ready to pick up yet, so he thought it would be funny to use a skull ring with sparkly red eyes that he had. Fortunately he let one of my friends in on that plan, and she talked him out of it. She told him to take me to this cute little park in Ephraim with a bridge running over a little stream that I loved. We walked down there at about 10 p.m., I could tell something was up, and I think he kept waiting for the perfect moment, but it never came. We were never really alone, as people kept showing up and being loud and jumping off the bridge where he wanted this magical moment to take place. At one point a marching band with people banging on pots and pans and even a real live kazoo player showed up and marched around for a while. I guess time was running out to get this done on his birthday, so finally at 11:59 he just asked me, and of course I said yes.

Do you have any children together?

Sure do. A girl and two boys.

Pets?

One cat named Stripes. Greg pretty much hates him, but for some reason I'm pretty sure Stripes likes Greg the best in the family.

Did you go to the same school?

No, I went to Snow College, and then the U of U. Greg went to UVSC.

Are you from the same home town?

Nope, he's a Provo boy, and I grew up in Kearns.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

We LOVE Cafe Rio. Although we don't usually eat out there. Once a week, after the kids are in bed we pick up some Cafe Rio take-out. We pop in movie, eat our pork salads, and enjoy our "Cafe Rio Date Night". It's a tradition that we kind of miss when we can't fit it into our week.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

Orlando, Florida. When Alyssa was about 18 months old, we left her with Mom and Dad and took off for ten days of fun in the sun with some friends.

Who has the worst temper?

Tough one, considering we are both so laid back. Probably a little too much for our own good, in fact. I guess I would have to say me though. Being at home with the kids ALL day long can occasionally wear down the nerves a little.

Who cooks more often?

That one is definitely me. Greg will sometimes make toast, or pour a bowl of cereal, but that's about it. Fortunately for him, I enjoy cooking most of the time.

Who is more social?

Neither one of us are really very social, although I would have to say that Greg is more social than I am. I'm kind of on the shy side, but I'm pretty sure I just come across as stuck-up most of the time. My apologies to anyone I've ever offended on account of this. Oh, well. Once you get to know the real me, I'm super fun!

Who is the neat-freak?

We both really like having a clean house, but neither one of us is motivated enough to do anything about it. That's why we occasionally have to have people over - to give us a reason to clean.

Who is the more stubborn?

Definitely me. I can be pretty stubborn at times, though I don't think I really am on a regular basis. What can I say? I like things my way.

Who hogs the bed?

Yeah, that would be me again, but mostly just when I'm cold. I tend to gravitate towards the heat and leave Greg clinging to the edge of the bed. Once in a while it's the kids who are hogging the bed. There have been times when we have had five people sleeping in a queen sized bed. A good word to describe this feeling would be "wedged".

Who wakes up earlier?

On weekdays, it's Greg, who has to get up earlier for work. On weekends, it's me. Greg can sleep in like nothing else when he gets the chance.

Who has the bigger family?

Greg does. I'm the oldest of 5, and he's the youngest of 7. When we got married I inherited 23 nieces and nephews.

How do you spend the holidays?

Usually with the kids at Grandpa and Grandma's house. No big elaborate traditions, just the usual stuff, but it's nice.

Where do you see each other 15 years from now?

I hate it when Greg asks me these kinds of questions. He's always trying to get me to write down my 5-10-15 or whatever year plan. Or my 10 goals I want to achieve in life, or the 5 places I want to visit before I die. He hasn't managed to get them out of me yet. I'm just happy to see where life takes me.