Elsa Gets Glasses.

The verdict from the Opthamologist:  Elsa is ridiculously far-sighted in her "lazy eye".  Essentially, it has been strained for so long, it just gave up, hence the term: "lazy eye".  And even worse; the vision in her "good-eye" is poor too!

He gave her a prescription for glasses.  It corrects the lazy eye, while she's wearing them, but the moment she takes off her glasses it returns.

She's going in for a follow-up visit in a month, and she may have to have surgery.

I took her to a local optometrist, and we tried on glasses.  At this point, she wasn't too thrilled.  Obviously:

But when her actual glasses arrived, she was all smiles! 

For the first time in her life, she could see well.
I feel awful that she was walking around with blurry vision for so long.  I should have seen the signs, pun intended.  Hindsight is 20/20.  Har, har.

I do have to say that Elsa looks very cute in glasses.
She's had them for a little over a week, and already they have little scratches (even thought I paid extra to get the scratch-resistant coating on them), and they've been lost around the house numerous times. 
Any suggestions on how to make the experience of a toddler with glasses better?

Color Blast 5K

My backyard neighbor, Aubrey, mentioned that she wanted to do a Color Run.  I found one that a nearby elementary school was doing, as their fundraiser.  The cost to register was only $15!
I set about recruiting other fabulous girls from my neighborhood to do it too.

It was held on a Friday night. 
Before the race I went on a 4 mile jog, on my own.
All of the crazy antics I engaged in, while in S.F. had irritated my (formerly healed) hip bursitis.
It wasn't bad.  But I told myself to take things easy, I don't want to make it worse.

Some of the girls were going to walk the 5k.  I kept trying to convince myself that it'd be fun to walk...

But my darn competitive spirit!
The first mile of the race was downhill.  I love to run downhill!  When my mileage tracker told me that I'd done my first mile in just over 7 minutes, I lost all reason, and had a crazy idea that I might be able to PR this 5k!  So, I pushed myself.
But, what comes down, must go back up.
Running uphill is my curse.
And I slowed WAY down when I started on the uphill.
I do think I was one of the first finishers.  But this race wasn't a serious one.  There was no time clock, and they weren't recording the order in which finishers arrived.
I crossed the finish line, and milled around for a while (took a selfie),  before I remembered to stop my mile tracker app!  So, I don't know my official time.  Sad.

But happy: I got to socialize with some of the most fun girls on the planet!  And I think I convinced all of them to make this annual thing! 

Heather, Aubrey, Megan, Jennifer, Karen, Summer, Me, and Jaimee!  The coolest girls on the block.

My dear long-time friend, Ruthann, and I are planning to do a half-marathon in July.  And I may be a masochist, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Several "Firsts" On My Fourth Trip to S.F.

On Tuesday morning Nick is leaving to work in North Carolina for two weeks.  I had hoped to be able to fly out an join him, but it's not going to happen.

I wanted to do something to "fill my cup", so to speak, before I embarked upon a two week journey of single-parenthood.

My jogging partner, and neighborhood "bestie", Stephanie, is moving back to Seattle the first week in May.  Sniff, sniff.

So, we decided to take a "girls trip".

Allegiant Airlines had roundtrip airfare in to Oakland, CA for $120.  We booked the tickets and didn't realize, until after the fact, that we were going over Easter weekend.  Oh well.  Our families survived just fine in our absence.

We flew out of the Provo airport.  It was windy on the tarmac as we walked to the plane!

I was leery to fly with Allegiant.  The internet is riddled with Allegiant Airlines horror stories.  For $120, I was willing to take the gamble, especially considering that no children would be involved in this trip.

Fortunately, we didn't have any problems.  I'd fly with Allegiant again, just not with children.  The flight attendants were really mean to the young Mom's travelling with children.

Also, they squish you in to the plane like sardines!

I tried to take a picture of how little legroom there was.  The picture actually makes it look like there was more than there really was.  So, take my word for it: things were tight.

Day 1: Stephanie and I landed in Oakland, and picked up our compact rental car.  It was a Chevy Spark. Frankly, I prefer small cars for city driving.  I liked our little vehicle.

We drove to San Mateo, CA, and checked in to the Residence Inn I had booked.  I reserved a studio-sized room.  But they upgraded us to a two-bedroom suite.  It was awesome!  I wish we could have stayed here the entire trip!

But alas, it wasn't to be.  Stephanie was a sport.  I asked her if it would be OK if we stayed in a different hotel each night of our trip, and she said it was fine.  The deal is, that our Marriott Elite status was upgraded to "Gold", with the stipulation: that we could keep it for two years, as long as we made 6 stays before the end of June.  If we would have stayed at the RI for 3 nights, it would have only counted as 1 stay, toward Gold.  But, if we stayed at 3 different Marriott-brand hotels, for the 3 nights we were there, it would count as 3 stays.  Dumb, I know.

Anyway, Stephanie and I unpacked, relaxed, and then set out to get some dinner.  I had scouted out a placed called Sole Ristorante Italiano.  It had excellent reviews on Yelp.  It was in San Mateo.  It took a little work to find the restaurant, it was a tiny place!  When we walked in, they asked if we had a reservation?  No.  We didn't.  And I only counted 6 tables in the entire restaurant!  Fortunately, they had one table available, and we got it.  The last one. 

Not 30 seconds after we sat down, another couple came in, and they were turned away because they didn't have a reservation.  This same scenario played itself out over a dozen times while we were eating.  I'd highly recommend this Italian restaurant, if you're going to be in the Bay area, just make sure you get a reservation!

We headed back to the hotel, and both settled down with books and TV.  Travelling with Stephanie was a dream.  She has a very easy-going nature, and she and I were evenly matched.  We travel at the same speed.  Both of us were happy to have "me-time".  I didn't feel the need to jam-pack our schedule, and make sure that we were being entertained 24-7!  It was bliss!

Day 2: I made Stephanie rise early.  I was determined to get in to Mama's restaurant!  Since, I hadn't been able to accomplish it on any of my prior trips to San Francisco.  The freeway was deserted as we made our commute in to the city.  We weren't the first ones in line, but we were able to get in right when it opened.  

It was the best breakfast I've ever had!  I ordered the Monte Cristo Sandwich.  Paired with their famous raspberry jam, it was amazing.  Stephanie and I also split an order of banana bread french toast.  We probably looked like pigs, with all of the food they brought to our table, but I didn't care!  It may be the only time I'll be able to eat there, and I was going to make it count!

After breakfast, we wandered up to Chinatown.  Only, it was still very early, and nothing was open.  We meandered down the steep streets and made our way to Ghirardelli Square.  It just so happened, that on that part of our walking trip we followed the Barbary Coast trail.  It wasn't intentional, but it was cool to see the seals marking the trail. 

At Ghirardelli Square we bought chocolate.  Then we walked down the Embarcardero.  We made stops at Boudin Sourdough Bakery, took in the sights at Fisherman's Wharf, and ended up at Pier 39.

We saw the Seals.

 

I'd never ridden a famous San Francisco Trolley.  Stephanie and I were not looking forward to the trek up the hill, back to our car.  So, we bought tickets for a trolley ride.  It wasn't as cool as I thought it'd be.  But at least I can say I've done it.

We were dropped off near Chinatown, and the shops were finally open, so we took the opportunity to explore.

We retrieved our car around 2PM.  Stephanie really wanted to eat some seafood, so we drove back down to Ghirardelli square, and ate a late lunch at McCormick & Kuleto's.  Fortunately, their food quality hasn't decreased, since the buyout.  Lunch was fantastic, and fresh.

I ought to mention that; the day before we left I developed a cold sore.  I thought it was stress-induced.  But after go-go-going that entire day, I think I was legitimately sick.  I felt pretty crummy as we drove North, over the Golden Gate bridge to Marin County.

That night we were staying at a Courtyard in Larkspur, CA.  The customer service there, was non-existent.  I wouldn't stay there again.

So, Stephanie was very understanding.  She was OK with me taking Nyquil and zonking out at 6PM.  

I was glad I did too.  I felt much better the next morning.

Day 3: Stephanie and I moved at a much more leisurely pace that morning.  We got ready, and wandered across the street from our hotel to get breakfast.  We ate at a place called Rustic Bakery.  Man, nearly everywhere we dined on this trip "hit it out of the park".  I had fresh-squeezed orange juice that was fantastic!  We shared a croissant breakfast sandwich, and I finished my bfast off with a warm blackberry bread pudding.

From there, it was a short drive to Muir Woods, to see the redwoods. 

And our real adventure began...

As I mentioned, Stephanie and I work out together 3 days a week.  We've been doing it consistently for a year now.  As we were walking through the forest we noticed a sign that showed a hiking trail.  It was called the oceanview trail, and showed it as a 2.6 mile loop.  We figured we'd give it a try, since we weren't averse to physical activities.  The hike was a pretty good grade.  Add the extreme humidity to the exertion we were engaged in, and you have a recipe for sweaty girls.  We were soaked very quickly.

We climbed uphill for a LOOOONG time.  Eventually, we hit a highway.  Steph pulled out her phone, and used it to ascertain information.  We found out that we had hiked over 2 miles; and that the only way back to Muir Woods, was the way we had come!  A poorly marked trail, if there ever was one.

The best part of the whole thing was that we had parked half a mile away from the Muir Woods entrance.  Apparently, all National Parks were free over Easter weekend, and Muir Woods was packed!  We didn't have to pay to enter, but we had to park far away.

Stephanie and I both felt disgusting when we made it back to the car.  Fortunately, I had purchased a cheap t-shirt in Chinatown; so I had something to change in to.  But the two of us trying to be discreet, and change in our little car was comical.

We had spent a lot more time at Muir woods, than we had planned to.  Sadly, this meant that we didn't have time to go to the Legion of Honor Art Museum.

Instead, we found that we only had time to get luch, before we needed to make it to our Alcatraz tour.

Stephanie and I both wanted to eat at McCormick and Kuleto's again.  So, we drove to Ghirardelli square, and parked again.

We walked in to the restaurant, and noticed that they were serving a buffet.  The cost was $70/person.  Too steep, even for my splurge-y girls weekend.

Our only other option was a nearby diner, Lori's Diner.

It wasn't great.  Service was slow.

By the time we paid our check, we found that we had 10 minutes to make it the 1.25 miles from Ghirardelli Square, to Pier 35.

We nearly missed the boat!  Literally.

It's a good thing Stephanie and I are used to running together.  Because that's just what we did!  We booked it down the boardwalk!

Sweaty and gross, again.

But we made it.  With 30 seconds to spare.

We were the last ones to board the Ferry to "The Rock".

I'd have to say that the Alcatraz Tour was my most favorite excursion on our trip. I enjoyed the audio tour.

An average cell.  If you think this one was sparsely decorated, you should see solitary confinement!

A view of the city, from Alcatraz.  They said that the city was so close, that the inmates could often hear the people of San Francisco laughing and singing during times of Celebration, such as New Year's Eve.  In 1906, when the massive earthquake hit San Francisco and destroyed over 80% of the city, it was barely did any damage at Alcatraz.

The prison kitchen. They had outlines of all of the knives in the kitchen, so that it was easy to inventory them, at the end of the day.  Even still, a knife occasionally went missing.

I learned a lot.  And I'd love to do the tour again sometime.  In my opinion, it was worth every penny of the $33 I paid for the ticket.

Did I mention that it was a hike of 1/3 of a mile from the ferry to the entrance of the prison?  Plus, we had to walk the 1.25 miles back to our car, when the tour was finished.
We easily did a half marathon that day.  We were beat.
Our last night there, we stayed at a Courtyard near the airport in Oakland.  There was a 7 foot high, wrought iron fence that went around the parameter of the hotel.  I purposely booked the hotel room in Nick's name, that night.  No reason to advertise that it was just us two ladies, travelling.

Day 4: We had to be up at the unholy hour of 4:30AM, to be sure that we made it to airport in time for our 7AM flight.
The night before, Stephanie took her life in her hands, and ventured in to the store at the gas station in Oakland where we stopped to put gas in our car.  She purchased pop tarts, so that we'd have something for bfast the next morning.  I'm glad she did, because we didn't have time to get anything at the airport.

We came home to reality.
But we had a good time, while it lasted.

I am desperately going to miss Stephanie.  We enjoy running mundane errands together.  And our morning jogs are better (and cheaper) than therapy! 
You don't find a friend like that, every day.

Spring Break 2014.

Several months ago Nick and I decided that we were going to go to Florida for spring break in 2014.  However, plane tickets to Orlando were astronomically priced.  After all, Orlando is the #1 spring break destination for families.

I could stomach paying $350 in airfare for one ticket.  But the cheapest ticket I could find was $550!

Begrudgingly, I agreed that Orlando was going to be too expensive for us, over spring break.

Nick and I tossed around several other destination ideas.  Seattle.  California.  St. George.  Eventually, Nick said that we needed to go somewhere really affordable, since we are doing something expensive in October, and going to Hawaii.

So, we ended up on the road to Boise, ID!

We took Nick's car.  And if it hadn't been for the driving around the city- we could have made it there and back on one tank of gas!

One of my dearest friends, Lindsay, lives in Boise with her adorable family.  I was excited to visit.

DAY 1:We checked in to our hotel.  It was the Springhill Suites Boise.  But the name was misleading.  That hotel was on the outskirts of town, by a lot!  Technically, I think it was in Meridian.  It was a 20 minute drive to anywhere we wanted to go.  Yuck.
Even though the room fit our family, I think that the next time we go to Boise, I'll get a room at the Courtyard in downtown Boise.

After we were settled we went to meet Barnes' for dinner. 
There was an Argentinian place, Tango's, that did empenadas, that was getting amazing reviews!  I wanted to eat there.

If there's a "shady" part of Boise, this restaurant was located there.
We got our table, and noticed several bullet-holes in the glass front of the store.  The kids were fascinated by them, 

I am going to say that the holes in the glass added to the authentic feel of the joint.
Empenadas (both savory and sweet) were $2.50 a pop.  And they were huge!
I ate an "elpuerco" for my entree.  It was pillowy heaven!  The pastry was phenomenal, and it was filled with: shredded pork, salsa verde, and potatoes.  I had a dessert one as well: Bavarian cream and cherries.
The next time we are in Boise, this will be a place we have to stop.

After dinner we went swimming.  And then we called it a night.

DAY 2: We ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to Discovery Center Idaho.  Admission for our family was just over $30, and I thought that the place appeared pretty run down.  It didn't seem as cool as some of the children's museums in Utah.  I was thinking that the cost wasn't worth it.  But my kids had a blast.  We spent over two hours there.

Reagan and Elsa enjoyed playing with the green screen:  

There was an exhibit that allowed your to lie on a bed of nails.

In the end, was it worth the price?  I dunno.
I can't say that I'd go back there again, given the opportunity.  But again, the kids really liked it.

After the discovery center, Lindsay suggested that we take the kids to a bowling alley called, Big Al's.  I was very leery about this.  I tried to explain to Lindsay about how, historically, Reagan didn't do well in places like that.  But Reagan had been doing so well up to that point; that even I was justifying it.  I let the kids vote, and the other option I gave them was to go see a movie.
The kids voted for bowling, so off we went.

I should have listened to my intuition.  Big Al's was loud, and flashy!  All of the bowling lanes had giant movie screens, and they were playing music video's.
Reagan did OK for a few minutes.  But then she had a total sensory overload; and she fell apart.
I took her out to the car, and tried to calm her down.  We didn't get much bowling in.

Nick and I took the kids back to the hotel.  We had some "down time".  And then we went to Barnes' house.
Lindsay had booked a sitter, so that the adults could go out to dinner.

When she told me that we were going to Barbacoa for dinner.  I had to feign excitement.  In SLC Barbacoa is a fast-food-ish dining establishment.
Barbacoa in Boise, as it turns out, is their most upscale restaurant.
It was fantastic!
Nick said his steak was the 2nd best he'd ever eaten.
I had the duck.  It was also pallet pleasing.
As appetizers we had guacamole, made table-side.  And Randy ordered a round of oysters.
That day just so happened to be my actual birthday.
Lindsay told the server, and I was brought a novelty cake made entirely of cotton candy.  It had a candle in the middle.
I've never seen anything like it!  It was so whimsical.  It the food hadn't of been so good, the cotton candy cake would have been the highlight of my dinner!

DAY 3: Nick took the girls swimming, and Cohen got to accompany me to breakfast with Lindsay. The original plan had been to meet Lindsay at a restaurant called Goldy's.  It's famous in Boise.  But the wait was 45 minutes, and the hostess was really rude to me.
Lindsay suggested we eat at another place, Bardenay.
It was delicious.  I have no desire to go to Goldy's, after eating at Bardenay.  The Bardenay french toast had a hint of citrus in the egg batter; and the hommefries were crispy and perfect.

It was a pleasure to be able to sit and talk with my old friend, Lindsay.  I met Lindsay when I was 19 years old.  It was one of those instant connection-type friendships.
We went through our wild-child stages together.  Then, both of us pulled it together and married well.  She has two gorgeous children, and she is so involved with the Junior League of Boise.  I really admire her.

When we finished our long, leisurely breakfast I went back to the hotel.  My kids were all cranky.  So, we packed it in and headed home

Boise was a short, sweet visit.  Perfect for spring break this year.

Easter Pictures 2014

I've decided that I have unrealistic expectations when it comes to professionally photographing my kids.  I just can't do it half a dozen times each year.
I had to scale it back, and I decided that I'd definitely get my children photographed in their Easter clothing, and I'd get family pictures at Christmas. 
Anything beyond that will just be a luxury.

Korie is currently preggo-pop; and I thought I'd give her some time off.  So, I took the kids to FotoFly.

I think they did a good job.
There was only one thing that gave me pause.  And made me think long, and hard about ordering pictures...

Out of the blue, Elsa has developed a lazy-eye.
It's onset has been so sudden.  Bizarre.

I called the awesome pediatric opthamologist, that did Cohen's eye surgery.  His earliest appointment was 5/15.  I took it, but I was worried about waiting so long to get her in.
I took Elsa to our pediatrician.  He said to get her in sooner, rather than later.
I called the opthamologist's office back.  They told me that there were no appointments earlier than 5/15.  Then, the receptionist said, "oh, your 5/15 appointment has been cancelled".  Before I went through the roof, he quickly added that my pediatrician must have called in a favor; because my pediatrician had called the office and procured an appointment for Elsa on 4/7!
I tell you what, sometimes I wonder if my pediatrician is for real?!  He is fantastic.

Anyway, Elsa's lazy eye is now very prominent.  I wasn't sure that I wanted "nice" pictures taken of her looking like that?

But then I thought, this is what life looks like right now.  I might as well document it.  And hopefully, after Monday, we will be on our way to fixing her eye.

Here's how they turned out.  I love them!

Aren't my children Handsome?!

St.Patrick's Day.

March 17th was way too eventful a day for my taste, this year.

I dressed the kids in green.  I purchased Cohen a shirt that said: "Good Luck Charm".  Ironic (more on this later).

Digression: in December 2011, a wind storm destroyed our wood swing set.  We used the money from the insurance coverage to buy a trampoline.

At the time, the kids said it was what they wanted.  But shortly after we acquired it, they started telling me they wanted another swingset.

I managed to put them off for quite a while.

But it didn't last.

Off and on, I had been doing research on what kind of swingset to get?

Nick made it clear that he didn't want another wood swingset, on account of the fact that they take FOREVER to assemble.

I didn't really want to get a cheap-o swingset from walmart.  They are so small.  I doubted that Reagan would be able to play on it.

Lifetime-brand swingsets are great, but not within my budget.

There was one type of swingset that fit the bill.  Kettler.  It's out of Germany.  Their reviews were all fantastic.  The swingsets were a good size, and they were powder-coated steel, so they'd last too.

Amazon was selling the Kettler swingset that I wanted.  For $600.

I had decided I'd use my birthday money to purchase a swingset.

On St. Patrick's Day I was going to bite the bullet, and order the swingset.  Right before I went to the amazon website, I figured I'd check out KSL classifieds.  I figured it'd be a fruitless search.  So, I nearly fell out of my seat when I saw a dismantled Kettler swingset (just the one I wanted too!), listed for $50!

I immediately texted the seller, and made plans to pick it up from him later that that night.

In the meantime, I called my Mom to see if she and my Dad wanted to meet up for dinner that night?  She said yes.  So, we had dinner @ Chili's with them, and then we went to Trader Joe's to get some groceries. 

My kids were misbehaving in the store, so Nick took them out to the truck.  I paid for our stuff, and started walking to the car.  As I was getting closer to the vehicle I heard Cohen scream.

When I arrived on the scene I discovered Nick holding a bloody, crying Cohen.  Nick had been shutting the truck door, and Cohen stuck his hand out.  He had his little hand shut in the big truck door.

It looked bad.

Fortunately, my parents were still nearby.  My Mom looked at Cohen's hand and told us to head to an instacare.  She and my Dad loaded Elsa and Reagan in the car with them, and took them back to their house.

I ended up texting the guy we were supposed to buy the swingset from.  I told him what happened, and said that I'd give him an extra $10 if he'd "hold" the swingset for me.

He agreed.  Thank goodness!

Nick and I hauled Cohen to the Bountiful Kids Care.

They cleaned him up.

Two of his fingers had deep lacerations, right on the knuckles.  He also had massive bruising, and swelling in multiple spots on his hand.
They did X-Rays.
In the end, they decided to glue his fingers, rather than giving him stitches; and they put him in a splint.

He was not a happy camper.  He hated having his dominant hand taped up.
The doctor called me the next morning and said that the radiologist had looked at the XRay, and thought there was a tiny break on Cohen's middle finger.
Her instructions were to keep Cohen in the splint for a week.  When I took it off, if it was still tender- bring him back in for more XRay's and a cast.
It's a good thing kids are so resilient!  Cohen's little break healed in a week.  Phew!

As for the swingset.
We went back in to SLC the following night.
I wanted to do backflips when I got my first glimpse of the swingset, and saw the words "Kettler" printed all over it.
I was thrilled that the seller's backyard was small and couldn't fit a swingset.
I got a $600 swingset for $60!
Sure, it was used.  But the seller still had all of the parts/hardware.  And I found an instruction manual online.  It was 100% in German.  Which was awesome!
But there were pictures too.  And that turned out to be enough.

Nick and Nate had that swingset set-up in no time flat!

The posts on the swingset still had concrete on them, from the previous owner.  It hindered the assembly a little bit.  But in the end, the swingset was up, and cemented in to the ground too.

It has two swings, a climbing rope, monkey bars, and a slide!

Seriously, I was so pleased with this purchase.

The kids love it too.

Cutting the Cable.

When we were first married I used Qwest (now Centurylink) for our internet, and cable.  It was an atrocious experience.  My bill was wrong 8 months in a row!  I kid you not.
I canceled the service and swore never to use them again.

I signed up with Comcast, and we used their services for 3 years.  In Seattle they were great to work with.

Then, we moved to South Ogden; and Comcast wasn't available.  We went without cable TV, and used Digis for our internet.

I was chomping at the bit to sign back up with Comcast when we moved to Fruit Heights.  I don't know what the difference is, but they aren't nearly as good in UT; as they were in Seattle.
Every time they put me on a "promotion" it would end far earlier than they told me it would.  ie-they'd say I was on a 6 month promotion; and 3 months later it would expire.  When I'd call and ask about it, I would be told that it had only been a 3 month promotion.  It was really annoying.

In January my bill went up.  I called and asked about it.  The gal I spoke to told me that there weren't any promotions available to me, at that time.  And that my bill was really going to go up in February.
I had been paying between $70-$80/month for basic cable (on one TV), and internet.  In February the charge went up to $128.
Ridiculous.
So, I called the cancel the cable.
Of course, they gave me the song and dance, about putting me on a promotion...
But after being fooled so many times, I didn't believe them.  And I'm tired of messing around with it.  Just give me your best rate all of the time.

I canceled the cable.
And I signed up for Netflix.

Netflix is AWESOME!  And it's only $9/month!
It has tons of disney stuff for the kids.
And it has many of the comedies Nick likes.
I adore that it has my Law & Order.

The only thing Nick misses is ESPN.  But he's been able to catch that online.

I down loaded Glee.  I've been thinking that it looked like a show I could really get in to.
Not so much.
I made it through the 1st season, and deleted it off the queue.  Way too much agenda pushing, even for my taste.  And the lip synching was blatant.

I have to say that I haven't missed cable television, at all!

I usually don't ask a question unless I am prepared for the answer...  Lately, I've been wondering which of my time-wasting pastimes Nick hates more?!  Me reading (because once I start a book I have a hard time putting it down until I finish it.  Nick hears, "let me finish this chapter" a lot), or me watching TV?  I've been watching television a TON more since we got Netflix.  I just love that I can chose the episode I want to watch, and that there are no commercials.
Anyway, I haven't asked Nick yet, because I'm not ready for the answer.  HA!

Now, if there were some decent option, besides Comcast, for Internet...
I think that Google Fiber will make it our direction someday.  Hopefully.

March Celebrations.

If it weren't for the weather, March would be my favorite month of the year.
Spring break, my birthday, and my anniversary all occur in March!

This year, Nick and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary!
I still don't know how I was lucky enough to snag such a great catch?!  He was BY FAR the best guy I dated.  It took him 12 years to "notice" me, and when we first became romantically inclined toward each other I thought, "this is either going to be really good, or it is going to hurt, a lot".
For the most part, I'd say it's been really good.

With Nick's work schedule, we ended up having to celebrate our anniversary a week early. 
We dropped the kids off with my parents.  Dinner was at Takashi, and then we checked in to the Marriott at City Creek.  We grabbed some take-out cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory, and ate it in our room.
The Marriott was dated.  It made me realize that the Grand America is really the only luxury hotel in SLC.  Oh well, no complaints from me.  A night away, is a night away.
For breakfast I wanted to try Penny Ann's Diner.
AH-MAZ-ING!
I've never had a better breakfast!
I will take any excuse I can get, to go back!

The day of our actual anniversary, Nick had to work.  I wasn't thinking too much about it; because we had already celebrated it.
Nick surprised me with red roses.  My favorite.

The best decision I ever made was to marry Nick.  He has the best sense of humor.  And without him I would have failed the whole parenting experience.  Badly.

Next year will be our 10 year anniversary!  We want to do something big.  Right now we're trying to decide between a week in Rome.  Or, a week in Ecuador.
I'll let you guess which individual wants which trip.  Ha ha.


My 34th birthday was smack-dab in the middle of spring break. this year.
So, again; we celebrated a week beforehand, since we were going to be out of town on my actual birthday.
Nick indulged my "nerd" side, and took me to see The Hobbit.
After the movie we went for Chinese at Boba World, in Bountiful.  Good cheap Chinese food, and the best boba drinks I've ever had!
The next morning, Nick got up early and made me breakfast.  He made the cinnamon french toast rolls ups.  They were divine!
We also had dinner with my family.  My Mom made meatloaf for me.  It's my favorite.
I got money, as a birthday gift from most everyone.  It's what I wanted.  I'm going to use it to get a new phone.  And that's the way things go when you're an adult.
By far, this birthday was better than last year!

Surprising Things:

I put the Duke flag up to show our Blue Devil pride.  Less than 24 hours later- I was taking it down.  After their loss in the tournament, Nick called me from work and said, "take it down and burn it".
I didn't burn it.
I tried to look on the bright side.  Since it was only up for a short period of time this year, I don't have to launder it.  It wasn't dirty, so I rolled it up, and put it on a shelf in the garage.

Maybe next year it'll be able to stay up longer?

It probably shouldn't be, but the weather has been surprising.
I know UT weather is unpredictable.  But every year I get my hopes up that things will be better.  They never are.
March 2014 was in like a lamb, and out like a lion.
I'm doing my best to keep us all from going stir-crazy!  But I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep cabin fever, at bay?!

There have been many trips to the mall.  And the kids' current obsession is turning cardboard boxes in to planes, and boats:

Both girls raid the pantry, and make towers our of canned and boxed goods:

Believe me, we are all in dire need of good weather!  What do you do when you can't send your kids outside?!  Argh.  Personally, I go batty.  I just want to get my house clean, and that nearly impossible to do with kids stuck inside.

One day, in March we braved the chilly weather and went to a park.
Cohen was so happy to be outdoors!  And even more happy to be swinging.

A lot of board games have been played at our house.  On this day, Elsa had her best buddy, Brody, over to play.

Please, spring, arrive (and STAY) soon!