Top Ten

We are home. And what a trip. I have to say I am suprised about how much I really, really like Salt Lake City this time around. Now, don't get me wrong. I have lived there, gone to school there and visit about 3-4 times a year, but for some reason, this trip I saw SLC in a whole new light. Here are my top ten favs of Salt Lake City...

10) Sno Cone Stands Everywhere.
There are sno cone stands all over the state. I am not sure why Utah has them an no one else (especially California). But I have to say on a hot day, these things are so yummy and refreshing. My favorite flavor was the sour pink lemonade.

9) Deseret Book
I love Deseret Book stores. I am not sure why. But this trip I figured it out. I got these great Winnie the Pooh hardcover books for $1.50 each. You can't find books that cheap anymore. They are so cute and each one shares an important message like being loyal, giving your best and being honest. I always find great, little treasures at Deseret Book.

8) Lion House Rolls and Mints
By far some of the best rolls and mints I have ever had. There rolls are to die for, especially their orange rolls, so soft, gooey and yummy! Then they have these butter mints that melt in your mouth. Defintely a stop worth taking for a little sweet snack.

7) Hogle Zoo
It hs been probably 23 years since I have been to the Hogle Zoo and my how it has changed. They just finished renovating much of the zoo and it is so nice. My favorite zoo to-date is the Louisville Zoo, but this is a close second. Clean, organized, not too big, but enough animals to keep you interested. Hands on displays and teaching about the animals. Mist machines to cool people off on those 100 degree days and penguins!

6) DownEast Outfitters
I remember these guys from my college days, but they are so much more now. They now sell home furnishings, accessories, and clothing all at ridiculously low prices. They get slightly damaged or irregular items from top brands like Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, etc. But now they have there own line of clothes and I bought 4 shirts and a skirt... they are so cute!

5) Cafe Rio
Ahhh! My favorite food spot, by far. This is a mexican food wonderland. Their chicken salads are too die for! But everything on the menu is excellent. Besides tasting so good, I love this place because everything is fresh... no lie. You actually watch them grill the meat, cute the vegetables, and make the tortillas. I love knowing that what I am eating is how I would make it, no secret preseratives or frozen foods.... 100% a la fresh.

4) This is the Place Heritage Park
Again, the last time I went to this park, I was probably 6 years old. And it too has changed. It was really a great visit, especially for the kids. The kids can run around and see what it was like to live as a pioneer in the 1800's. They can make cookies, stamp rawhide/leather, become student and play. There is also a petting zoo, wagon rides and horse rides. Really a ton to do and the kids just ran from one place to another, living it all up.

3) Bountiful Rec Center
Now, why my city doesn't have one of these I will never know. But the Bountiful Rec center is awesome. It has everything, but the best part was their outdoor and indoor pools. The play area outside is for kids. It has a huge pirate ship as the play area and shallow water so kids can't drown (well most kids) and sqirting water and fountains everywhere. It was so fun for the adults and kids. Then you take a step inside and the pool had a full fledge twisty-turny covered waterslide and a lazy river and another play structure for the kids. Definitely one of our favorite things we did.

2) Mountains
Growing up in Colorado, everyone thinks of the mountains and how close they are, but not nearly as close as in Salt Lake. You can almost reach out and touch them. They are so close. I love driving everywhere and seeing these big massive mountains all around. The most beautiful sites are the mounatins with blue sky and white billowing clouds coming over them. Seriously, a wonderful, constant site to behold.

1) Family
One of our biggest draws. Having no family around us, we love to go to SLC to be with family. Cousins for the girls is really the best part for me as a mother. We had a blast and were so glad we could spend so much time and build so many memories!

A lot to Do

We are heading home from our trip to SLC. What a fun trip we have had. I think we have gone non-stop for 2 weeks, with only 2 days of not doing something every minute. So, needless to say, I have a lot of photos to review and post-process... try something like 3 gigs worth.

That is what happens when you want to preserve all the fun moments, try and perfect the skill of photography and when you go out and buy a 2 gig memory card (on top of the 1 GIG I already had). The possibilities are endless. Can't wait to get to work and see what fun photos I captured. I hope you are ready to see them too. (just give me a few days to get settled and back to normal life).

Very Nervous!

I have to say I am a total wreck right now. We have been on vacation for over 2 weeks. Before this trip, my 4 months old was a great sleeper. She would sleep 2-3 hours for her naps. Now, she sleeps only about a hour (if that). She hasn't had any normal nap schedule and doesn't get to sleep very much...because we are always on the go. And to make it worse last night, she woke up 3 times in the middle of the night (which hasn't happened for months)... I am sick to my stomach to think that when we get back, she won't know how to sleep for long periods of time again.

I would love to know if anyone has lived through a similar experience and if their baby went back to being a good sleeper? I am a happier mother, when my children get the sleep they need.. And I truly believe, children are happier when they are well rested.

Lucky Ducks!

I am throwing my friend a baby shower at the end of the month and thought I would share the theme and invites. The theme is Lucky Duck... who you might ask .. well, the mom-to-be, the dad-to-be and the little tike that will be joining their family. The shower will have rubber duckies throughout and the colors are shades of blue and green and of course the well-known rubber ducky yellow.

The invites are simple. Mostly because my original idea didn't turn out and with only a few days to come up with something else, this is what I created. Nothing fancy, but sometimes simple is best.

Getting Organized

There are so many products and services out there these days to help us get organized. I found a great little site called Momma Agenda. It has such fashionable and practical products to help in this endeavor. I love their notepads, which I am in constant need of. I have so many lists.. these would be just the thing to help me out. Also, they have great free downloadable schedulers to help you out and are just as cute and practical as their products.

And if you want even more a new Organize Magazine has been published for us organizers. It has a martha stewart feel about it. I haven't read it yet, but it does look interesting, so if I find it in the magazine aisle, I will be picking one up to check it out.

Safety for Everyone

Hannah's best friend is panda bear. And about 50% of the time he comes with us wherever we may be going. And when he does, Hannah has to buckle him into his very own seatbelt before we get on the road. It is great that she is so concerned about everyone's safety and well-being.

Cupcake, Cupcakes

As stated before, I love cupcakes. They are so cute and fun and the possibilities are endless. Here is another great cupcake recipe book. Well, it isn't a book, it is actually a deck of cards with recipes on them. So, clever. And to top it off, how fun is this cupcake timer. So, darn cute. The next time I need to make cupcakes, I am ordering myself the cards and timer to make my baking experience complete.

ROP

This one is from Christmas Time. I didn't take this photo, this one came from my dad. You can tell where the true photography talent lies in our family. But we all have something to strive for. I think this photo is just beautiful.

How's Your Karma

How fun are these? Karma checks. You can leave them for people when they do good or bad things to you. I love it. To leave one as a surprise on a person's car or doorstep. Wouldn't it be so fun to get one of these... well that is if you have done something good. I thought there were so cute and clever, I had to share.

Ella's Outside Tummy Time

Here are just some of the photos I took of Ella the other day. I love taking pictures of little babies on the tummies. They are so cute and their little heads are so funny sticking up so tall on top of their little necks. I took a ton of pictures, but narrowed it down to these three. Hope you enjoy!

Can't wait to try

I am sure everyone has heard about Skinny Cow by now. But in case you haven't, then you can be in the same boat with me. Well, almost. I have heard about them, but I haven't yet tried them and I am dying to. I have to wait until my little one is drinking on her own, because dairy upsets her, but when we turn that corner, Skinny Cow and Diet Coke are the first things I will be eating/drinking. I have to wait a few more months, but if you haven't tried them yet, go out and do it and let me know if all the hype is true about theses things.

Crazy man, but great photo.

I was reading CNN the other day and came across this story. Basically, this guy flew in a lawnchair for 193 miles in the air. Personally, I think this is crazy, but I have to admit, it makes for a fantastic picture. I had to post this, mostly because I love the photo.

We're out of Here

We are off to Salt Lake CIty, Utah to be with family. This will be the first time Chris' family has been all together in three years. Chris' parents are home after being mission presidents in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since they have been gone, they have had 6 new grandchildren, three of which they haven'te met (Ella being one of them). So, needless to say this is going to be a great family reunion in the truest sense.


Besides being with family, I am excited for Hannah to be with cousins galore! She will have a blast.


I am excited to hit The Gatewall Mall in downtown SLC. It is a retailer's paradise. Beautiful surroundings, great stores (which I don't have here), fun for kids (a water 'spouting' fountain area) and Ben's Cookies. our favorite cookies hands down.

While I am gone, I might be able to post now and then, we will see what happens, but until I get back, keep having a great summer!

Cheese, please!

Yesterday was so nice here. Although it was hot, there was a nice cloud cover all day (which is unusual for us), so we went outside and enjoyed the shade and had fun taking pictures of each other. Hannah got a digital camera from her friend Mikhail and she played with it all day. Thanks Mikhail! She took pictures of Ella and I and would position things to get the picture she wanted. She was so funny. She would take my picture and say "say cheese" and "that is a cute picture." I think she might have gotten some of it from me... from all the times I take her picture. Well, here are some of the the pictures from our joint photo session. I would post her pictures, but she deleted them all. Yep, that's right, this camera is for kids, but it lets you download photos from it. So, cool! At some point I will post some pictures she has taken, but it might have to wait a bit.

Funny Hannah

Hannah is such a creature of habit. I am told kids do things out of habit, because it is familar and gives them a sense of comfort and safety, but when do you worry that it might turn into OCD? Well, I won't worry yet, but here are just some of her "OCD" moments.

Chris is now home in the morning when Hannah wakes up. So, when he leaves for works, Hannah asks him "where are you going?" he replies "to work to make some money." This is repeated every morning. Well, last night when Chris got home from work, Hannah asked "Did you make the money?"

Every night that i go running, Chris always tells me to be safe. So, now each time I go running Hannah says "have fun, mommy and be safe."

Each time Chris or I go workout/running, we come home and Hannah informs us that we need to take a shower because we are "stinky".

Each night when we say our family prayers, we ask Hannah whose turn it is. We conclude who's ever turn it is and Hannah says "because mommy/daddy said the prayers last night." Each night she has to tell us who said the prayer the night before. And when she goes to bed, she always says "I am going to cry just a little bit." which she does for about 30 secs, unless she is really tired and then I don't even think it lasts that long.

These are just some of the funny sayings Hannah says each and every day.

On a side note: I just got this Bumbo chair for Ella, and guess who fits into it perfectly. Ella is still not quite strong enough to sit in it yet, so Hannah uses it all the time. I keep reminding her that it is Ella's and soon Ella will be sitting in it. But until then our big girl is playing the part of a little girl.

Getting Ahead

Ella can finally hold her head up while she is on her tummy. I am so excited because now I can take a variety of pictures of her... pictures of her on her back, on her tummy and well that is it for now.

As a side note: With Hannah, I thought that her growing up went quite slow. But I have to say with the second one, Ella is growing up so fast. I can't believe all that she can do. Hold her head up, grab for things, laugh, grab her feet and put them in her mouth. Now I know what people mean when they say "babies grow up so fast."

Off to a Great Start

How many of us are really good at keep our kid's baby books current for the first year or so and then, something happens and it is no longer a priority? Although the memories keep coming, we stop taking the time to write about them. It is hard work.... which is why I hestitate to even get this, but with Hannah starting pres-school this year, I figure it is a must. And it might help me get back into the groove of writing her memories down. This cute School Years book is super cute and might be just the thing to help me make sure I don't forget to capture the next fun stage of her life...the school years.

Just playing around

The thing about photography is that you have to learn how to take good pictures, but it doesn't end there. You also need to learn how to do the post-processing too. There are a lot of fun tool out there and so I decided to buy some great actions from Phaunt Actions. I love them. There are so many fun "looks" you can give your photos. Brilliant and bright, soft and subtle, urban acid, black and white and so much more. So, I have been having so much fun playing with my photos to see what I can create and find my own style. Here are just a few fun photos and I have been playing with.

The cool thing is that these photos were totally underexposed. They were really dark and now they are really light. The wonders of technology.

On The Road Again

Deep down, have you always wanted to see the biggest ball of string or the Museum of Bad Art? Come on, you know you do. Well, Hampton Landmarks can help you find these national treasures. Summertime usually means family trips and more and more of those trips are in the car these days. I came across this great website where you can search for unusual and fun country landmarks. They show you where to find real national historical site and the crazy ones you didn't even know existed. Check it out the next time you head out on the road.

First Time for Everything

After 3 years, Hannah finally had her first haircut or should I say trim. And luckily it was a success. I thought for sure she would cry through the whole thing (she is at the stage), but she did great. I think it was because she got to sit in a little red car and they put in a Winnie the Pooh movie (her favorite). She was very cooperative and her hair looks so much better. It isn't in her face anymore and because we took off some weight, it is even more curly than before.

Fireworks Trauma

The 4th of July is still my favorite holiday. I think it is because everyone is celebrating the same thing together. Most holidays are private family days, but not this one. Everyone gets out and does the same thing...swim, BBQ, watch fireworks, picnic, etc.

Our day went something like this. We went swimming at our friend's pool, (some of the pictures are of their daughter) which was nice because it was 105 degrees yesterday. Then we came home and everyone had a nap (except me). Then we got ready and went out to dinner and headed over to the fireworks show. It was at our high school's football field (which was really nice) and it was fun for Hannah at first. She danced and ran around with the other kids. Then things changed drastically. I questioned whether Hannah would like the fireworks and as soon as the first one went off.. the answer became perfectly clear. She hated them! She started crying hysterically and saying "I want to go home". She buried her head into my chest and just cried. She wouldn't look at them and just cried and cried. I have never felt so loved and needed. She was clinging to me. I just reassured her it was fine and plugged her ears (I think the noise was the worst part). By the end she was still clinging to me, but had stopped crying and was watching and when it stopped, wa-la, everything was back to normal.

We came home and the neighbors were doing their own fireworks. She was very nervous. She watched one and then went inside the house and watched the rest from her bedroom. She sat at the window in the safety of her room and enjoyed the rest of the fireworks. It was so funny.