Natalie's Birthday and the $19 Party

My little cutie!

Natalie turns 5 today, which in her mind means she goes to kindergarten today. I've had to be the kill joy and explain she has to wait until the fall to "ride the bus." To make matters worse, I made a big deal yesterday about registering her for kindergarten, so between the two events she's ready to walk though those Moran Prairie front doors today and take her seat.

Natalie decided she needed to write a letter to Mrs. Smith about all this (sadly, Ally and Nicholas have convinced her that this will be her teacher, even though I've made clear there's no guarantees). In her letter she included a list of her ABCs and a picture of an object that starts with each letter (I think she wanted to convince Mrs. Smith she was qualified for kindergarten . . . by the way, she spells Mrs. Smith "meses smef"). WARNING THE NEXT FEW SENTENCES WILL PROBABLY ONLY BE HUMOROUS TO BOSTON RED SOX FANS: When Natalie got to "M" she drew a picture of a baseball player. I gently reminded her "baseball player" does not start with "M," she then told me the picture was "Manny. The Big Hitter," referring to Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox's star outfielder. . . yes, daddy has taught his little girl well.

Now, about that $19 party. I've been totally inspired by my Dave Ramsey friends (isn't there something about courage in numbers???) So, I decided to spend as little money as possible on Natalie's party. We made the invitations, had a really inexpensive craft (party vests out of paper bags - really lame, I know), and I made the cake (which can be a little scary). All this resulted in about $100 less than I usually spend on parties and I don't think Natalie noticed the difference (I hope her friends didn't either!) But, then again, Natalie is pretty easy to please - a trait I cherish about her.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate Natalie's birthday. My life is so blessed with her in it. I can't imagine having a day go by without seeing her smile with that cute dimple on her left cheek. She is truly a gift from Heavenly Father.

Party Pics

Party vests

Invitations made from supplies around the house

Homemade cake with candy from around the house

Happy Birthday Mr. Z

The Birthday Boy!

Today is Andrew’s 39th Birthday. I can’t believe he’s nearing the big “40.” But it brings me joy to think we’re doing just what we wanted to do . . . growing old together!

So in celebration, I’ve compiled a Top Ten list of what I love about Andrew

1. His eyes. Those big, brown, puppy-dog eyes can pretty much talk me into anything.

2. His funny idiosyncrasies. Andrew can’t stand pennies - something about the copper. He swears your hands smell after holding them. He’ll often ask me to get the change when we’re at a store/restaurant and he knows a penny is coming. He’s also a grammar fanatic. I swear he never does this with friends, but when we’re in public and he hears bad grammar I can literally feel him tense next to me.

3. He’s smart. Really, really smart (to set the record straight our kids get their brains from him).

4. His ability to small talk. He always talks to the stranger in the elevator, the person behind him in line at the grocery store, the taxi driver, etc.

5. His desire to make new families in our ward feel welcome. He’s usually the first to greet a new family – which is no easy task in our ward!

6. His humility. He doesn’t even share his successes with me! I remember several years ago when he was EQ President and President Elmer shared with me that he was proud of Andrew because the EQ home teaching numbers were the highest he’d ever seen them. While Andrew knew about this, he never once told me about it. He’s finding out right now that I even knew about it!

7. His desire to serve. When we wake up to fresh snow in the morning, our driveway is rarely the first to be shoveled.

8. His love for his children.

9. His love for me.

10. His love of the Gospel.

Happy Birthday Andrew! I only wish I could be half as good of a person as you are.

"Gray Skies Are Going to Clear Up"

Enjoying the sunshine!

I think our family needed sunshine. After weeks (months?) of cold, wet weather, we were treated this weekend to some much needed blue skies. We were actually in the Tri-cities, which is about 2 hours south of Spokane. The funny thing about the Tri-cities is it's only 130 miles away but it's desert. We were even greeted as we rolled into town with tumbleweeds blowing across the highway. By the way, wind is no stranger to the Tri-cities. I can't tell you the trauma this caused me in high school after spending hours on my hair (getting those bangs to stick up, of course!) and then to have it all messed up.

When we left Spokane Thursday it was raining and 49 degrees. When we left the Tri-cities to come back home on Saturday it was sunny and 70 degrees. Nicholas took advantage of the warm weather and spent endless hours outside shooting baskets. He's obsessed with basketball lately and was so happy to be playing outside instead of at the YMCA. (Andrew even surprise him with tickets to the Gonzaga/Portland game, which really sent him over the edge!)

We also had a picnic in the park, spending lots of time swinging, sliding, and climbing. The kids just couldn't get enough (nor could they stop smiling - can you believe I forgot to bring my camera to the park????) At night, the kids slept SO well. I'm always a little nervous when we're away from home that the kids won't sleep, but that good ol' sunshine appeared to wipe them out by the end of the day.

So now the "spring bug" has bitten. I want to wear capris, I want to put my turtlenecks away, I want to go for bike rides with my kids, I want to plant flowers . . . . But, I know from experience there's probably a little more winter in store for Spokane. We'll see.

p.s. Kristin - I just saw your "tag." There's so many weird things about me, I'm going to have to put some thought into which 6 I can actually share! :-)

Hip Hip Hooray . . . a Green Light Day

Every once in awhile I have one of those days where everything just seems to go right. I call these green light days because, I'm not kidding here, even the traffic lights seem to be in my favor. Today was a green light day.

It actually started the night before. All 4 of our children stayed in their own beds through the night. YEA!!! No one trying to climb in our bed, no one needing a drink, no one wanting to tell me they have to go to the bathroom (rather than just going!), etc. This is something we really struggle with. I'm thinking this may be the biggest factor in my green light day but not totally sure. I do know I'm definitely a happier person with at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

The morning went smoothly. I didn't have to ask twice for my kids to come to breakfast, get dressed, brush their teeth, etc. Family prayer in the morning even felt more spiritual rather than us just "going through the motions."

I won't bore you with all the other details of the day, but some of the highlights were being able to chat with a couple friends, getting lots of work done because Natalie played at a neighbor's while Adam was napping, being able to figure out a child care plan for a couple days in February when Andrew needed to be on campus and I needed to be in the office (thanks Rebecca!), and a meaningful family home evening (which can totally be a bust on some Monday nights!)

I'm not sure why some days are green light and some days aren't. I pondered today a testimony bore in my ward yesterday. The sister talked about running and that when you run uphill you gain strength and when you run downhill you're just coasting. I guess a green light day is like coasting, but I'll take it when I can get it!

43 - 100

I've been racking my brain the last few days for a topic to blog about. I finally decided, at the urging of a couple friends, to finish my 100 list. So here's 43 - 100:

43. I have a degree in political science.

44. While in college, I was a member of the Young Republicans. For one of our meetings I was in charge of arranging the guest speaker. I had Bill Hyslop come (then US Attorney for eastern Washington). Who knew someday I'd have a son and this man's wife would be my son's 1st grade teacher! Nick loves Mrs. Hyslop!

45. I like when my husband brings me flowers.

46. I like my husband! :-)

47. I like to dance.

48. My favorite musical is "Phantom of the Opera."

49. My least favorite is "Cats." (I just don't get it . . . what's wrong with me?)

50. My favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird." I always wanted a little girl named Scout.

51. The first initial of all my children's names spell ANNA - the name given to every pet we get. We've had a fish, frog, and hermit crab with that name.

52. Note from #51, we've never had a "real" pet (i.e., dog, cat, bunny)

53. My favorite part of the day is morning.

54. We use our stairs for time out (no wonder the carpet is showing wear on that first step!)

55. I've resorted to making a list every morning of the things I need to do that day (they say the memory is the first to go . . . )

56. My favorite Primary song is, "Love is Spoken Here."

57. I'm scared of failure (but I've learned to concede at times).

58. I like cheese pizza without sauce.

59. I was a vegetarian in college (use to order hamburgers at McDonalds and have them "hold the meat.")

60. It was never a moral thing (more of a healthy thing).

61. I played basketball and ran track in high school (not all the way through my senior year though)

62. I love spending time with friends.

63. I love to hear gossip but feel bad when I spread gossip (inner-struggle I'm working on.)

64. I love people who share their talents. I miss my friend Angela who would walk in my house and say, "oh, Carolyn you've got to paint this room taupe."

65. I'm not easily offended.

66. I try to always put myself in other people's shoes. (note the word "try.")

67. I adore my grandparents! They have thoroughly spoiled me (with attention, not material things). I force myself to NOT think about them dying because it makes me too sad.

68. I call or e-mail my grandma everyday.

69. I like serving in YW.

70. I use to laugh while working at home with a tiny baby, thinking how could this person sitting in her PJs, with slippers on and breast-feeding a baby be working on this multi-million dollar lawsuit.

71. I love the smell of lilacs.

72. I like to play basketball with my kids at the YMCA

73. I'm a total wimp when it comes to weightlifting. I have to set the weights at the lowest amount.

74. I spent entirely too much time in the sun as a teenager.

75. I was in a beauty pageant and lost (my talent was piano, how funny is that?)

76. I signed with a modelling agency in high school (the world renowned, Tri-City Models!) That career never went anywhere - a combination of not that pretty and not that tall may have had something to do with it???

78. I highlight my hair but darken my eyebrows.

79. I've had 2 children naturally and 2 with an epidural.

80. I love my in-laws.

81. I admire my mother-in-law who raised 9 boys to be the nicest men I know. There's truly not a jealous, petty, unkind bone in their bodies.

82. I like the smell of the ocean.

83. I like boating.

84. I want to learn to water ski.

85. I LOVE the lake. Sitting on a dock with my family, watching the sun go down is the best.

86. I don't mind driving in the snow.

87. I hope my sons go on missions.

88. I hope my daughters do too.

89. I truly did not know I lacked patience until I had children.

90. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work on my patience.

91. I'm part of the "Big Gulp" generation. I spent a lot of time at 7-11 while I was a teenager.

92. The 7-11 was across the street from my high school.

93. Most the time I was suppose to be in seminary.

94. Didn't graduate from seminary (see #91-93)

95. I don't keep pop in our home (unless I'm entertaining). The result: 3 out of my 4 children don't like pop.

96. Sometimes, when I feel wild, I'll stop and buy one though (I like that Hi-C Orange from McDonalds, pretty sure that's sugar-free! ha)

97. I'm scared to be PTG President next year (that whole fear of failure thing!)

98. I admire people who easily share their feelings.

99. I'm thankful for the Internet.

100. I'm thankful for my family.

I DID IT!

The End of an Era

After serving the last 5 years in primary (3 as 1st counselor and 2 as president), I was released today and called to serve as an advisor in YW. While I knew it was coming, when I stood up in sacrament meeting and Brother Hainsworth actually released me I started crying. And not the cute, "tissue dabbing the eyes" kind, but the full out shaking kind. I think I scared my husband! Then I was asked to bear my testimony which I was totally unprepared for (I thought they only did that for out-going bishops or relief society presidents). The only thing I could think of to relate was that I felt like I passed the torch today and now my arms were just empty.

Actually, the emotions started the night before when I told my children I was being released. Lots of tears. Their biggest concern was how they were going to find me at the end of church. The primary room has been our established meeting place for a long time.

I think I'll give myself a couple more days to "grieve" and then channel all my energy into YW. Fortunately, all the girls in my class are my former primary children, so it will be nice to see lots of familiar faces. I hope I don't let them down (or start weaving music into my lessons!)

My Baby's in a Big Boy Bed

I've posted before about having a hard time with my baby (aka Adam) growing up too fast. Well, this weekend was another milestone. We promised him when he was potty trained he could have a big boy bed like his brother (whom he refers to as "Nicky"). Well, he did it! So, we had to follow through. Andrew put the bunk beds up in the boys room and I turned the changing table (which went through 4 children!) into a toy shelf. It's exciting to think we're done with diapers and toddler beds, but a little sad to be ending that phase of our life.

Adam has asked me over and over today if I've seen his big boy bed. And, over and over again I've replied, "Yes." At which point he tells me "it's awesome." Needless to say, he's thrilled and feels like a big boy, like his Nicky.

The Bunk Beds

Where I changed over 10,000 diapers!

100 Things About Me

I'm taking Lucy's challenge and trying to come up with 100 things about me.

1. My favorite color is green. I was in heaven in the 90s when it was so popular.


2. I was 23 when I got married.


3. I was married at the Moore Mansion in the Tri-Cities. Our wedding was outside and the reception inside.


4. We were sealed in the Portland Temple.


5. I love kids


6. If I wasn't an attorney I'd be a kindergarten teacher.


7. I became an attorney because of an inspiring government teacher in high school.


8. While pregnant with Ally, I sat in the back of my classes eating crackers and praying I wouldn't throw up.


9. I had a really good friend in law school who I did everything with for 3 years. She moved to Colorado after graduation and we haven't talked since (one of my biggest regrets!)


10. My best missionary moment was with my husband. He asked me on our 2nd date, "What's the deal with Mormons and Pepsi?" He got the first 5 discussions that night!


11. I always fill in all the birthdays and anniversaries for the year on a new calendar on New Year's Day.


12. I usually only make a couple New Year's resolutions, to insure I keep them. This year's are to give more service and use our YMCA membership.


13. My first job was a sales clerk at JC Penneys.


14. My 2nd job was a clerk at the swimsuit shop at Wet-n-Wild Waterpark in the Tri-Cities. One of my duties (I can't believe I'm going to share this) was to walk around the park with one of the shop's swimsuits on. I would then tell people if they were interested in the suit to visit the gift shop. Needless to say, I subjected myself to this humiliation because I had a crush on one of the lifeguards and walking around the park gave me an opportunity to flirt.


15. I hate laundry.


16. I love organizing, but get frustrated things don't stay organized with 4 children.


17. My hardest calling was Gospel Doctrine teacher.


18. My easiest calling was typing the program each week for Sacrament Meeting.


19. I love getting letters in the mail


20. I always snack at night after the kids go to bed. And, I always go in phases. I'll eat ice cream every night for a month, and then it's cereal. Right now I'm in a Triscuit phase.


21. Because I write technically for a living, I have a hard time writing creatively. Blogging has really helped me work on this.


22. We have a fake Christmas tree.


23. My biggest "want" right now is a cabin near Priest Lake. We've been looking for about a year now but can't find the right one (i.e., one in our price range!)


24. I love people who politely look away when your child is having a temper tantrum in public.


25. I volunteer in my children's classrooms. I enjoy working one on one with the children and tolerate making copies, doing die-cuts, redoing bulletin boards, etc.


26. I wish I could sew better.


27. I've never made a quilt.


28. I cannot sing.


29. I hate the "terrible twos" and how unpredictable a two-year old can be. See #24


30. I'm a listener more than a talker.


31. I have a hard time opening up to people.


32. I'm an only child.


33. My favorite donut is an eclair...love the custard filling!


34. My favorite song right now is Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars."


35. My favorite radio stations are 103.1 and 92.9.


36. I feel guilty listening to my favorite radio stations when my kids are in the car and instead listen to kagu (Gonzaga's classical station) which almost puts me to sleep when I drive!


37. I've never been on a cruise.


38. I like dark chocolate.


39. I want to go to Washington DC someday.


40. I wish I had a sister to talk to about anything, everything, nothing . . . (poor Andrew has to file this void for me.)


41. I moved to Seattle with 2 of my friends after college graduation. Andrew came over 2 weeks later and proposed (nice strategy on my part, huh???)


42. I like to wait at doctor/dentist offices because I get to read gossipy, celebrity magazines.

Okay, I failed. Maybe it's just too late at night (I should have tried this earlier in the day). Good thing getting to 100 wasn't one of my New Year's Resolutions! :-)

Adventures in Skiing

This week has been so much better than last week . . . thanks for the supportive comments from my last post. :-)

One of the things I did this week was take Ally and Nicholas skiing. But before I talk about that let me give you a little history about me and skiing. I LOVE skiing! Great ski memories came back to me the other day . I was notarizing some papers for a friend and she mentioned her husband likes to ski at this little place by Dayton, Washington . . . I responded "Bluewood?" She said yes and couldn't believe I had heard of it. Bluewood is this little 2-lift place, an hour from the Tri-cities. In high school, my best friend and I went up almost every Saturday during the winter. Good times.

Okay, now fast forward to college. I start dating my husband in the winter and immediately suggest we go skiing. We went a few times while we were dating and a few times after we were married, but then he started having all these excuses why he couldn't go (they mainly involved a basketball and/or football game). Finally, he told me he just can't stand paying to be cold. Needless to say, skiing is not a passion of my sports-enthusiast husband.

Now fast forward a few more years and I have children. I'm so excited for all my future ski bunnies. My first few lessons with Ally and Nicholas, however, were pretty rough. They mainly just wanted to ski in between my skis (I would kind of holding them up and ski them down the mountain). I would wake up the next day with arms so soar I could barely lift them. But there is light at the end of the tunnel . . . this last ski trip my kids finally grasped the pizza concept (tips together) and I was even able to move on to turning lessons. It was our best outing yet. Here's some pictures of the future Olympians:

Nicholas

Ally

Grandpa and Grandma on the Gondola

Feeling guilty like only a mother can . . .

You know those reports school teachers always ask their kids to do after some kind of "break," the ones where the kids tell what they did over break. Well, I'm fairly certain my kids will report that they watched entirely too much TV and ate entirely too many sweets while their mom sat at a computer all day. Our vacation last week put me a week behind at work. I've never understood the concept of using vacation time when you just have to work twice as hard when you get back to make up for it. Anyway, I'm feeling so guilty that other kids are busy making fun memories and mine are making, well, messes.

Luckily my friend Andrea posted the easiest Christmas treat on her blog, which I shamelessly copied! Ally pretty much did the whole pretzel, hug, M&M thing herself (I just put the tray in and out of the oven). So this year all our VT and HT families got treats thanks to her.

Andrew has also been crazy busy. He's been interviewing with publishing companies and probably going to return to the industry. He has interviews in Salt Lake (for Spokane positions, not Salt Lake positions) next week. I already told him he has to be home the second week of every month. I can't give up my book group!

If I can just get though this week, I'll try and be supermom next week. Until then, thank goodness for Dora!

Pics from vacation

Natalie freezing on the beach with Nick's shirt and mom's vest.

Kids and Lego Santa

San Diego Temple . . . so beautiful!

Kids at the temple

Girls with Cinderella

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Rollercoaster of a Vacation

We just returned from Disneyland. As we were flying home last night, I reflected on the trip and truly think the best word to describe it is, "rollercoaster" (pun intended!)

The highs were so high I'd get those little "happy tears" and the lows were so low I'd get, well you know, those same tears. I'll start with the highs . . . Legoland in San Diego. The rides aren't as spectacular as Disneyland's and it's not as big, but on the day we went, there was no one there! We almost had the whole theme park to ourselves. No one in our family was cranky, everyone just rode lots of rides and had lots of fun. Another high, Southwest Airlines (seriously!) First, everything was pretty much on time. Second, they let us preboard and since there's no assigned seating, that means we got to sit up front each time . . . right by the bathrooms, the beverages, and the nice flight attendants who spoiled our kids. Overall the flying part went pretty smoothly. Another high, the San Diego Temple. The kids don't get to see the larger temples very often and this one really amazed them. I marveled at how the kids acted so differently while on the temple grounds than they did at other places on our vacation. They were quieter, less active, more reverent. The temple brought the "happy tears."

Now for the lows . . . first, the unbelievable amount of people at Disneyland. We thought we were so smart going there before Winter Break because we thought there wouldn't be as many people. Boy were we wrong! It was the most packed I've ever seen it (but I've only been 3 times so I don't have a lot to compare). Each ride had about a 30 minute wait (oh the joy of waiting in line with a 2 year old!) Another low, our rental van's electrical system went out. We were at the beach and came back to the car with 4 cold, hungry children and the car wouldn't start. Because this happened right during rush hour, it took over 2 hours for a tow truck to arrive. The longest 2 hours of my life!

With the highs and lows, the whole vacation was like a rollercoaster. By the end of the trip I was truly ready to get off. Funny though, Adam woke up this morning and asked me if he could go to Disneyland today . . . maybe he didn't mind those long lines after all.

Tree Time

We have a tradition that the first Monday after Thanksgiving we always decorate our Christmas tree. The pictures below are of the tree after the kids decorated it and how it looked after they went to sleep. Can any of you relate????

Before

After

Turkey Trot

We got back last night after spending 4 whirlwind days in the Tri-Cities. It's great having both sides of our family in one place, but it can be crazy! We did the 2 meal thing on Thanksgiving -- I honestly think I gained 10 pounds in one day! Then got up at 5:00am the next morning for some shopping with grandma. Grandma LOVES to shop and appears to be a pro at it given half the stores we went to the sales staff knew her by name! The funniest is Costco. My grandparents do all their grocery shopping there even though it's just the 2 of them! They just can't pass up a deal, even if most of the 10-gallon jar of mayo has to go in the garbage because they can't eat it all by the expiration date!

We also did the "Turkey Trot" while we were down there. This is a 5K run or 1 mile walk in Columbia Park (big park along the Columbia River, kind of like Riverfront Park). My best friend from high school was also in town, so we did it together with our families. This worked out perfectly because it gave us a chance to catch up and gave our kids a chance to get their wiggles out. They even had a big pile of leaves for the kids to run through on the course. Here's some pics:

Ally and Nicholas along the Columbia River

Ally and Alyssa (my friend's daughter)

#5 in the books!

Today was the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation at church (my 5th -- I'm trying to catch up with Lucy!) The kids were, as always, so amazing. I wish I could take a picture in the chapel so you could all see how cute they were. But let me back up a little and tell you how my morning started. My grandparents came up last night to watch the program (and because Andrew was being ordained a High Priest today). So this morning I was up getting ready and heard water running - I just assumed it was my grandma or grandpa in the shower, but NO . . . it was my dear sweet Adam who got out of bed, quietly went to the kitchen, turned on the kitchen faucet (the kind that pulls out) and shot water ALL OVER THE KITCHEN! The floor, the oven, the toaster, everything was soaked. I was so thankful my grandma was there because as I stood there in disbelief, she quickly grabbed a mop and got to work. Thank goodness we got up extra early this morning because it took us at least 45 minutes to clean everything up. Adam just sat on the counter repeating over and over again, "Wow! Look at that!" It was hard to be angry when he was so proud of himself!

Anyway, we all got to church on time and another primary program is in the books. I wonder if next year I'll be on the stand again of if I'll finally get a chance to watch a program from the pews???

The Wild Man Himself!

Laura's Lesson

Last weekend I lost a friend who I worked with on the PTG board at my kids' school. Laura was a shy, but intelligent woman, dedicated to her family. At her funeral, several friends spoke about her life. One passed on some advice Laura gave her several years ago; to take 5 minutes each night to write about the good that happened that day (Laura was a journalist). I've pondered this and realized there is something therapeutic about writing your thoughts. That's why I think blogging is so great!

So, in following Laura's advice I'd like to list some good things that happened today. First, 70 primary children made it through a 2 hour primary program rehearsal and no one cried or ran off the stand. Second, I saw a dear friend come to church today who I hadn't seen in awhile. Third, I had no meetings today and spent the afternoon hanging out with my family. And, fourth, I didn't receive ANY political campaign calls. It was a wonderful day!

4 lil' trick-or-treaters

I sat down to post a blog last night after a full day of Halloween activities and was seriously so exhausted, I couldn't type. After 5 Halloween parties, trunk-or-treat, and then having friends over for some "group" trick-or-treating, I was all "celebrated" out. The funny thing is . . . I can't figure out what we're celebrating. :-) However, as I tucked my son in last night, he whispered, "Mom, this has been the best day ever." Okay, maybe its all about having a day to be goofy, eat candy and be with family and friends. . . .

Our kids with their friends, the Hollands

Little bit heavy?

Here's Nicholas trying to pick up a pumpkin at Harvest House. Our family refers to Harvest House as the pumpkin patch even though technically it's just pumpkins on the ground. We went straight from soccer (hence, the soccer outfit and eye black -- Nicholas has really sensitive eyes) This is one of our family's favorite traditions. However, we have a tradition that we broke this year . . . we didn't arrive with a new baby! We've had a pattern of arriving every other year with a new baby in the Bjorn. While I feel comfortable that our family is complete, I still find myself feeling a little sad . . . and over weird things too, for instance, I didn't cry when we sold the crib or gave away all our newborn clothes, but I teared up when I used the last of Adam's Johnson's Baby Lotion the other day and realized I wouldn't be smelling that fragrance after each bath anymore. I find myself really babying Adam because I know he's the last . . . I hope I'm not setting him up for years of therapy! :-)

Salt Lake City Trip

Andrew and Ally at conference

Earlier this month, Andrew and I took Ally to Salt Lake for her 9th birthday to attend general conference. It was a first for all three of us. I have to admit, we've only stepped foot in Utah maybe 4 times before (what kind of Mormons are we???) And, each time was just a quick trip in to Temple Square on the free shuttle from the airport in between flights. Anyway, this time we really spent some time around the area and can I say it is SO gorgeous in the fall (all you Utah girls have been keeping this a secret!) We drove up to Park City (which I loved!) and walked, shopped, ate, and attended a literacy festival. Ally got to meet the children's author/illustrator, Peter Reynolds, and get his autograph. We also attended a creative writing class (should I admit that when I'm so NOT creative?) Then we headed to "This is the Place Park." It was very moving to stand where the early saints came in - especially after reading "Fire of the Covenant" with my book group.

We also had fun sitting on our friends' deck and counting all the white steeples. There's like a chapel on every block! For all you pizza lovers, you've got to eat at this place called 'The Pie." It was delicious. And, conference was fabulous. Ally was most impressed by when President Hinckley entered the room and the complete silence that occurred. It was a great vacation. Thank you grandpa and grandma for staying home with Nicholas, Natalie, and Adam. You guys are the best!

Is my life interesting enough to blog about?

After reading some of my friends' blogs I was so inspired I decided to start blogging. I thought it would be a great way to stay in touch with far away family and friends and not so far away family and friends who I rarely get a chance to catch up with anymore. Then, I sat down to write my first blog entry and realized I had nothing exciting to report. So, I'll just talk about life.

Yesterday was Friday, which means I worked in the office (we do a little "role reversal" on Fridays and Andrew stays home with the kids) Andrew decided to do laundry. Let me first say, laundry is my least favorite chore. I love the idea that all those dirty clothes can stay hidden in the clothes hampers and I can just pretend they're not there! So anyway, Andrew must have done 6 loads and folded the clothes and laid them all out on our bed for the kids to put away. When I got home from work I saw all this, and this may sound weird, but I truly don't think I ever loved my husband more. He is SO on my good side right now (honey, if you're reading this, it may be a good time to hit me up for a new power tool, get-a-way boys weekend, etc.)

I'll continue to work on my blog site and hopefully get pictures up soon.