65 yrs YOUNG!

This month my mom celebrated her 65th birthday! Pretty cool, huh? We had a great time planning some surprises for her. On her actual birthday (the 16th), we had a little girls day out with the sisters and some of her friends. We surprised her by all meeting to see "Good Things Utah." It was fun to be in the audience and see behind the scenes a bit. Then, we went to the Lion House for lunch. I think my mom thought that was the end of the celebration since she was surprised by all her friends coming. We had a couple more tricks up our sleeves. We set up a fake night for dinner, but really had a weekend surprise planned for Park City. My dad told her an elaborate story about meeting some guy in Park City who was going to show them a vintage plane (I know mom was thrilled about that). However, we were all waiting at a restaurant to catch her off guard. While at dinner we surprised her with a scrapbook with photos and letters from each of us. We also surprised her by renting a wonderful house for the weekend. The next day she was even more surprised when her sister flew in from CA. I don't think we could have come up with more than we did...she loved it all. We had a great time hanging out, playing games, eating, going to the Alpine slide and even doing a Pioneer Day presentation to celebrate the 24th. Happy Birthday mom....we love you! I also need to give a birthday shout out to my dad who celebrated yesterday...and happy anniversary to mom and dad yesterday, too!

The best thing about Utah in July...Part III

I got to spend the day yesterday with my dear old davis high friend, Teresa. She is visiting from Iowa. What a wonderful way to end the month! We started with a private photoshop tutorial. I had her teach me one small thing to begin with. I've been given an assignment to create a canvas with mulitple photos (see my next post!). We'll see how I do. Photoshop is one thing I'd love to learn and use. We headed to Rumbi for lunch. Mmm....love their Mahi! Taipan was next on our list. We had a great time just walking around and getting lots of ideas for gifts and home. We had a great time talking food, design, fashion, church, friends...what a fabulous day!

It was the most wonderful of surprises when my dear friend, Kathy called me and told me she was in town. She asked if I had time to see her. Are you kidding?! Of course, I had time! Jackie didn't want to miss the chance to see her either and ran over as soon as I told her. So, so glad she called me...love you, Kath!

What a wonderful month making great memories with friends and family! I missed seeing a few of you this time around, but hopefully we can get together soon!

Back to school (already!) and scout camp...

Today was a busy day.

We started early by getting Josh off to scout camp. Up until now, he's only done overnight camps, but this week he will be gone for SIX days! Kinda weird sending your child away for that long. I still can't believe all these little milestones that keep coming and going so fast. I gave him a lecture about keeping his whistle/compass with him at all times. Seems like there are always a few boy scouts that get lost each year and it's not going to be him! I have one goal for camp this week: come home with as many merit badges as possible. Since I'm such a capable scout mom (um, yea), I am relying heavily on good leaders and other moms that have already braved their way through scoutland. Oh the joys.

Next, Andrew and Sarah got all spruced up for their first day of school. Wait. Didn't we just end the school year? Oh yea, we did. So it goes with year round school. I felt a little mixed about school starting today. Looking forward to a routine and more food around the house (all they do when they are home is eat!). However, I'm not so excited about having to be "responsible mommy." You know, actually signing papers, paying attention to projects, reading minutes etc. Ugh. We took our traditional stand-by-the-front-door-on-the-first-day-of-school photos. Note Andrew's new shoes...he was especially excited. Note Sarah's absence of her glasses...mom, not so excited(they are currently lost). Here's to a new school year whether I'm ready or not!

Lately, I've been loving age three

*warning: frequent use of the word cute in this post*
Ask me this question about 6 weeks ago and I would have told you 3 was the new 2. I was about ready to sell Jenna to the gypsies. However, we've experienced a really nice change the last couple weeks and I'm hoping this new and improved Jenna is here to stay. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking a big part of it is the achievement of being potty trained. It's almost like she could feel the tension before and acted out. Now that she doesn't feel that I'm uptight about it, she's relaxed as well. Mind you, she's certainly not perfectly behaved, but we haven't had any lotion, shampoo, make-up encounters lately (see old posts for reference).
She is just exuding cuteness. I find myself clenching my teeth and squeezing her cute panty-clad bottom and excessively kissing her cheeks and neck! I am I the only one that does that? Sometimes don't you just have to grit your teeth over the cuteness of something?!
She is so expressive right now. I was just feeding the kids lunch and apparently I set Jenna's cup of juice down a little too hard. Jenna exclaimed, "Mom, don't spank it!" Note to moms...don't spank your child's cup of juice! lol She not only expresses herself through words, but loves to dance and sing. I just crack up watching her sing and move to songs on tv and in movies...shaking her hips twisting her hands. One recent favorite is performing the "Augustus Gloop" song from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." She especially loves the part where Oompa Loompas are swimming and singing in the chocolate river...she lays right down on the floor and imitates the movements.
Jenna has also gotten much more involved with the older kids. She wants to be doing what they are doing. Often yelling out, "Kids! Come on...," or "Hey guys!" This photo is a perfect example. She had to play "Rock Band" with all the cousins. Don't you love how she totally has the drum pose down? She is also a big Guitar Hero (or i-tar as she says) fan. The other day we were adjusting the radio in the car and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" came on. She immediately started singing the lyrics. Yesterday, she was playing "I Spy" on the computer with her cousin Davis. As we were looking for clues, we came across a bearded knight. Jenna confidently stated, "Mom, that's not Jesus."
I love being with her, playing with her and mostly just watching her right now. Maybe it's because I'm trying to hang onto any bit of baby that is left in her, but I also think it's the big girl that is coming out in her. It's just wonderful to see her cute little self blossom. Ahhh, such a fun age!

Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy anniversary!

(sung in my best Mike Myers as the father on "So I Married An Axe Murderer.")

Today Chad and I celebrated our 14th anniversary! I wanted to make some joke about it feeling so much longer, but really it hasn't. Time has flown by (except at the movie tonight). ;) Chad and I still love hanging out together...he is my best friend and I am so grateful we are a team.

Chad gets major kudos in the husband gift giving department. A couple weeks ago, I saw a lady w/ a super cute purse and I asked her where she got it. I haven't thought about it again until....I opened up the same purse this morning! How great is he that he totally took note of that. He always listens and observes so well when he's planning something for me. He is so sweet about it. He loves surprising and spoiling me (and I love it, too!) Thank you Chad! :)

Chad made reservations at Epic, a great restaurant in Fort Union. They have the most delicious flat bread; we had one with dried cranberry English cheddar, grilled chicken and a parsley aioli. The salads are just as delicious. We tried one with grilled poblano chili, mango and a white basalmic vinaigrette. For our entrees, Chad had a shrimp pasta dish with a ginger soy and pineapple sauce. I tried the marlin with a 3 olive and tomato sauce. Are you hungry yet? We've eaten here once before and liked it even better the second time around. Mmmmm!!

We then headed to the movie. We were looking forward to seeing Batman, BUT we had to get some dessert first. We went to Marble Slab to get our favorite ice cream. For any Coldstone fans our there, Marble Slab is much better. More choices, better ice cream. The ice cream is so good, I don't even get the mix-ins! By far, my favorite is the the coconut.

It was such a wonderful night. 5 consecutive hours together, uninterrupted by kids and responsibilities; I can't think of anything better. Thank you Chad!! Happy Anniversary...I look forward to infinity more with you!

Unpopular opinion...

I didn't care for it. I went in with a positive attitude and came out with a big headache. It's been getting such rave reviews and everyone I talked to loved it...I just didn't get it. What did I miss? Didn't it seem a little long? I will give the late Heath Ledger credit for an awesomely disturbing performance. I won't mention the rating and the number of young children present. Best part of the night? My date! :)

The best thing about Utah in July...Part II

Ohhh love that I will get to do a couple of these posts this month. Like I said, this month is filled with visits from loved ones....yay!

So last week, the Smith family journeyed all the way from Rhode Island. They come out each year for harp camp (yes, they are a super amazing, talented family). We quickly got to see Dallin and Matt on the 4th (not enough time!), but Alysa was around a week longer for the music camp. She was staying downtown and we planned a night to meet and go out to dinner. The night turned out so much more exciting than we even anticipated. We had Alysa's mom and two sweet girls join us for dinner (wow, they are well behaved!). We hopped on Trax (always a great time people watching on Trax) and headed to the Gateway to eat at Thaiphoon. Dinner was delicious. The evening took a fantastic turn when Diane announced she and Alysa needed to go bra shopping and she wanted my help! All of us, including the kids were in the fitting room discussing fit and comfort...what a riot! I tried to talk them into a purple push-up, but they opted for a more conservative white. Either way, they both looked very "uplifted" when we were finished! lol What a fun night...thanks Alysa and Diane! :)

A few days later, the Carpenter family headed into town. We met the Carpenters while living in Colorado and they now live in Texas (much to Diane's chagrin). I was so glad when my mom took my kids for two days which left me free as a bird. Jackie and I headed downtown to pick up Diane. She is staying at her in-laws in a beautiful neighborhood behind the capitol. When Jackie and I eventually got there, we were thrilled to meet the two new additions to her family: JJ and Abby. We then headed to Zupa's for lunch and took a tour of some of the south end's great shops; Rodworks, Interior Elements and IKEA. We had such a great time (no kids!) wandering around at our leisure. We ended the day with ice cream (Coconut from Marble Slab mmmmm!) a Dunford doughnut (the best around) and a ice cold freshies (soda, fresh from the fountain). Yea, I didn't have any dinner that night because I was so full! We laughed ourselves silly trying to get a self portrait that didn't cut one of us off and show too much double chin. ;) Diane will be here for the rest of the month so we are looking forward to heading to Chili's for one of our traditional chips and salsa nights. Good times, good times!

Just driving down the road...

...we came upon the most wonderful surprise. I was headed home after picking up the kids from grandma's and as I got closer to home, I noticed a hovering helicopter and then numerous cars lined up on 4000 west. I knew something must be going on and we just had to check it out. Imagine our surprise as we saw the golden Moroni being attached to the spire of the temple! Even though we missed seeing Moroni being hoisted up, it wasn't any less exciting. It was a wonderful experience to see people pulling over and rushing up the hill to catch a glimpse of the shiny, new addition to the temple.



We snapped pictures of the men still in the basket working on attaching the statue. It's hard to describe, but there was a tangible excitement in the air as we witnessed such a visual step forward in the temple's completion. As if we didn't already live close enough to a temple (many for that matter), I am still in awe that we will be even closer. South Jordan will be the first city in the world to have two temples. Really that is astounding.






What a beautiful reminder to see each day as I leave my neighborhood (this photo was taken from my street!). And, speaking of views, the temple has the most amazing panoramic view of the Salt Lake Valley. From this view two other temples are easily seen; the Jordan River and the almost complete, Draper temple. I'm not sure, but I think the Salt Lake temple may even be visible under the right conditions. Amazing.

The best thing about Utah in July...

without a doubt, is FRIENDS and FAMILY!!!

I just love it. Every July we get this awesome influx of friends and family coming to Utah. Even if it makes for a busy month, I wouldn't give up the opportunity to catch up and reconnect with our friends and family that are so dear to us. No time was wasted with the month starting out with visits from Jenn VanWagenen and the Madsen family.

I was so surprised when Jenn called and wanted to stop by. I love her and I love that she was not phased by my "in-the-middle-of-a-project" kitchen. I wish we could have spent more time together, but I'm so glad that she came over!!

The next day, the Madsen family came. They were headed to Cedar City for a family reunion and I'm so glad they made the effort to swing through our area on the way down. I love talking "projects" with them...they are always doing something and have so many great ideas. The next day, we headed down to Provo to meet Chad for lunch. Nick got his first taste of Cafe Rio and we made an obligatory stop at the Down East store. We then headed to the DaVinci Experience exhibit put on by UVU (formerly, UVSC). This is cool a exhibit where you came experience many of Leonardo's models first hand. A foundation in Italy accurately built many of his models. We had a great time...thanks again for making the time for us! We have more visits from others coming...yay!

I hope this goes without saying, but any of you that come through town please give us a call we would love to see you!

Pancakes, parade, pool & pyrotechnics...

That about sums up our day. Wow, that made my 4th of July post easy! I won't let myself off the hook quite yet. Here are a few more details about our day.

The day started early with Chad running the 10k. This was his first 10k and I couldn't be more proud of him doing it. He runs on a regular basis, but has never taken on this much distance at one time. He felt great...only slowing down on the the wonderful 200 North hill. He finished in 55 minutes, averaged an 8m 50s mile...pretty good for a first try!

We then headed to the traditional pancake breakfast that the city puts on. I actually didn't even get a single bite since I was too busy talking with Alison, Alysa and Liz. I'd give up a pancake any day to see some old friends. I also got to see Erin on the way to the parade! Love it!

We then headed to the streets for the parade. Each year the Kaysville festivities seem to get more crowded. This was the first year that it felt like a bit too much. Here is our exciting view of the parade. Our kids did get up closer and caught plenty of taffy, a toothbrush and some stuffed animals. The crowd goes crazy when the "Bukoos" truck rolls by. They throw out all sorts of stuffed animals. Jenna got a Beanie Baby and Sarah got a Webkinz! Since we were heading to the pool, we ducked out a bit early before the traditional parade water fight started.

Dan and JaNel's home was our next stop. It was so fun to hang out with everyone...we all enjoyed the food and the pool. My dad made his yummy brisket....mmm! Thank you to Dan and JaNel for hosting...we all had a wonderful time!

The day ended with a big fireworks show in Kaysville. Who doesn't love fireworks choreographed to the patriotic classics sung by Neil Diamond, Celine Dion and countless country singers. Good times! The kids go crazy for the glow sticks. The hillside is illuminated with kids running and dancing with their precious sticks of light. lol Before the show started, we could see the Lagoon fireworks. Jenna loved it...apparently because it was far away. As soon as the fireworks started, she covered her ears so tight I couldn't peel her hands off. Even when she feel asleep I couldn't get her hands away from her ears! What a great day!

Good times with the "Mead-e-air-os" family ;)

The last week of June, we were lucky to have visits from some of Chad's family. Chad's granparents came into town to celebrate G'ma Ginger's 90th birthday! Yep, NINETY years, isn't that amazing? We met for dinner at Magelby's where she was personally serenaded by the restaurant's manager. She just loved the attention. We were also able to have them over for dinner. We love having the opportunity to have them in our home. G'ma Ginger even played some of her songs on the piano. It's so fun to see her play and to hear her personality come out through the music. The music she plays is so telling of the time in which she grew up. She did lots of singing and dancing in the Pre-WWII era.

Later in the week, we had another special visit. Chad's twin, Marc and his boys came to visit. We absolutely enjoyed every minute we got to spend with them. In the past, we've only gotten to see him and his boys about once a year...a record we hope will soon improve! :) I can't believe Chase is going to be a senior; it seems like only yesterday day he was clinging onto my wedding dress as we came out of the temple! We had fun teasing Chase about his girlfriend and we loved hearing about all his plans for college and the future. It was so cute to see how much Jenna took to him. She is very selective to whom she gives her attention. Even after they left, she continued to ask, "Where's Chase?" The boys also loved spending time with Chandler. This cutie has the most gorgeous blue eyes and awesome blond hair...look out girls! Josh and Andrew loved hanging out him....playing the Wii, basketball, swimming, the computer...they just had a great time!

I'm so glad Chad was able to spend time with Marc. It's been a tough several months for him and I know there is no better healing and strengthening power than that of family. They share a bond that few can understand. There are the inside jokes, the music, the memories, the sports and so much more. More importantly, they had the opportunity to be together and just talk.

*

PS...Lest you think you've been saying our last name wrong, I should mention that the name pronunciation in the title is not really how you say our name (just the way the temple sealer decided to say it, so we always joke about it)