tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88654965538764420622024-03-13T03:28:09.745-07:00 joy times twoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.comBlogger220125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-21590638063723378202013-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:002013-03-26T10:46:41.362-07:00June & Lyla Turn 2!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wasn't it just a couple months ago I was writing about the girls' actual <a href="http://katiehagen.blogspot.com/2011/03/births-day.html">birth day</a>? And a few days after that their <a href="http://katiehagen.blogspot.com/2012/02/one-year-old.html">first birthday</a>? Now they're two people, TWO!<br />
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I wanted to do a minnie mouse birthday party from the beginning since the girls love minnie and mickey (and I already own so many things I could use to match the party), but the girls didn't have outfits that would work with that theme and they really don't need any new clothes right now. I couldn't come up with anything else that sounded fun to me though, so I bought $8 of fabric from Joann's the week before their birthday and got to work. It felt so good to pull out the sewing machine again that I started doing various other projects throughout the week and rekindled my long lost love of crafting. <br />
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Little mice. </div>
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I have a small disclaimer before I get going here- I'm on pinterest too and see all the crazy, extravagant parties people throw and it really gives me no pressure to throw them. I also love simple little parties and think they're just as fun for little birthday girls (or boys)...and some of the painstaking effort put into what are sometimes ridiculous details are likely only done for blog praise from other moms and the kids would never notice. <i>However</i>, seeing as few people still follow my sporadic blog posts I'm certainly not doing it for that, I actually just love to throw parties- and we live in a house that's not very conducive to party hosting so I don't have people over very often which I really don't like. I love cooking a good meal and setting a nice table for guests. We pretty much throw a party once a year and it's one of the fun bonuses of motherhood for me. So you know, I'm not trying to outdo anyone- I just had fun and I felt like this one really came together which made me happy. :) (I thought it was even more fun than <a href="http://katiehagen.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-birthday-party.html">last year's</a> party, though probably just because J&L are even more into it now)<br />
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I was pretty happy with how their Minnie dresses came out and that's when I started getting <i>really</i> excited for their party, maybe a little too excited...maybe I started playing with some of their toys to "test" them before they got them. Maybe I really like Disney movies and the little people princess castle was more than I could bare, but that's neither here nor there. <br />
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Back to these two.</div>
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They kill me with their cuteness. <br />
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Then I decided to paint mouse noses on them with my eyeliner- what's wrong with me??? I draw the line at pageants though folks, we just have fun playing silly dress ups at home. </div>
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"Um...there's something on your nose."</div>
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The girls have fun with it too, otherwise it wouldn't work and you'd only see bawling pictures. I'm so glad they still indulge me though, I just can't get enough of them. </div>
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I might be crazy, but I decided everyone that came needed to have a pair of mouse ears. So I made 35 mickey/minnie mouse headbands. I made these over several days and cut foam circles as we drove to Provo and hot glue gunned ears every evening while we watched TV. Sometimes my assistants "helped" me. {please don't ask a silly question like if the glue gun next to Lyla was plugged in- it wasn't}. I actually enjoyed making the ears, though I will say it was by far the most time consuming part of the party. And since I'm getting old I also started feeling like I had carpel tunnel in my right hand from all the cutting. <br />
But- they were pretty cute and if you bought 35 mouse ears at disneyland it'd cost about $550, it cost me about $25 and hopefully some of the party guests can use them when they take a trip to disneyland. (or when they occasionally feel like wearing them in the comfort of their own home). Not all the men took theirs home<i>...weird</i>.<br />
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I decided to modify a Christmas minute to win it game I'd seen and had everyone wear the ears and try to stick a mouse nose on their nose, sadly I participated in this game so there are no pictures. (I guess I'm the only one in my family who thinks to take pictures of everything) It was fun though. I also was going to do a photo booth for everyone wearing their ears and noses, but it's hard to be the hostess and try to be in charge of everything, so I forgot about it till everyone had left. We'll live I guess. <br />
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I bought some $1 plastic tablecloths and put those little sticker labels on them to make a polka dot backdrop, I liked it so much I made 3. The walls somehow still felt naked so I added some large bows, also made of $1 plastic tablecloths. This was so easy and turned out just how I wanted! And since I'm getting so old bending over the tablecloths sticking on dots for a half hour made my back ache for 2 days. Am I falling apart?<br />
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I began gathering everything from around our house that was red, black or yellow. I liked the idea of a sort of carnival theme with minnie mouse so we had little carnival games- the nose one I already mentioned, shooting contests, pin the nose on the minnie, and a coloring contest.<br />
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I put Brad in charge of the shooting contests and they were a lot of fun.</div>
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For food we kept it simple with hot dog hot dog hot diggity dogs. (I actually got polish dogs and served them with JDawgs sauce- yum!) as well as popcorn. I even got cute little ketchup and mustard containers which happened to match the party theme perfectly, of course I didn't think to take a picture after I pulled those out and was actually serving hot dogs. <br />
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I put marachino cherries on the cupcakes because Lyla fell in love with them one night when my family had an ice cream sunday bar and ate about 20 of them. Strangely, she was more into frosting and sprinkles on her birthday. <br />
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One of my sweet instagram friends sent me these adorable polka-dot straws that went so perfect with the party! It was so thoughtful of her and they were a hit.<br />
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We got a cute little popcorn maker for Christmas which worked well, and then one of my few purchases for the party (besides necessities like food) was a little hot dog roller I found on Amazon- sadly we couldn't get the thing to turn, but the good news is I had no guilt when I decided to send it back after the party so it ended up being just a free table prop... And I'm pretty sure I served several luke-warm hot dogs. And as I cooked them on the stove top of the little studio kitchen upstairs the whole room filled with smoke. So things weren't perfect. But it was still fun. And once you put j-dawgs sauce on anything it tastes pretty awesome. No one complained anyways.<br />
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Opening Presents was a hit.</div>
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Our special present to the girls was this princess castle- I've been SO
excited about it, all of the princesses introduce themselves, say a
couple phrases, and sing a song from their movie! It's adorable. I hope
they play with it a lot because I'm kind of in love with it. We're all
smitten with it. If you have a little girl and like disney movies it's a
must have! </div>
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The little centers of attention, loving every minute of it.</div>
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They were even gracious enough to say thank you to a couple of people.</div>
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Blowing out candles like it's nobody's business. </div>
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The cutest party girls that ever were. That's what it's all about. They didn't want their ears during most of the party and since it <i>was</i> their birthday after all, I didn't push it. :)</div>
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Instead of going to the trouble of making them little cakes I probably could have put a small pile of frosting and sprinkles on a plate and it would've been the same to them. Note to children: cake is also delicious and unhealthy in case you were wondering. :) <br />
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It was such a fun day.</div>
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I almost forgot to take a picture of our family, but just before the last guest left we snapped a couple. </div>
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And the after party party. (just kidding, the girls crashed and the room wasn't nearly that clean) This was the after photo shoot party. :)</div>
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Happy Second birthday June and Lyla! Best two years I've had. Ever.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-52116846062146824782013-02-25T13:57:00.001-08:002013-03-05T10:05:15.706-08:00a trip to cali<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had such a fun trip down to California the first week of February and it was so nice to get away from the freezing temperatures and all the snow we've been getting this winter. Even though the weather wasn't completely beachy warm we still had some fun in the sand.</div>
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I got a pedicure with my mom and sisters which always makes me happy. </div>
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We got in some pool time which the girls loved! I think they might be ready for swimming lessons this summer. (you know, like the kind where the parent is in the water making sure they don't drown) </div>
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I'm still in love with the swim caps I got them last summer, though they're definitely in need of new suits for this summer!</div>
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June was bawling when it was time to leave the pool, she kept trying to jump back in. </div>
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All the cousins had fun, especially sassy little Claire. ;)</div>
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Then went to Disneyland which is always a blast!</div>
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It was so cute when we got to the Disneyland entrance both girls started freaking out because it looks identical to Hong Kong Disneyland, I think they thought we were there. I wish that too girls. </div>
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We got to check out cars land which was a lot of fun! They even had a little ride which was the first ride J&L have been on where there's a (very short) height requirement. They are so grown up.</div>
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The girls ate their first lunchables and rode the merri-go-round 3 times in a row. (not in that order)</div>
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June loved all the rides so much she'd cry every time they ended. Lyla was a little more skeptical, but still had fun even is she seemed slightly relieved when the rides were over. </div>
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They loved being around their cousins! It was fun to spend time with our California family.</div>
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We also shopped around at fashion Island and got some good deals at Macys, the girls loved running around to all the fountains & seeing the pet shop. </div>
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We ran into the most delicious cupcakes- ever. Really chocolatey red velvet cupcakes with delicious coconut frosting. They were amazing, I tried to copy them for the girls' birthday party. </div>
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The weather cooled down while we were there so by the time I tried to do some 2 year pictures at the beach it was pretty cold and windy.<br />
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June didn't mind.</div>
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Lyla did. </div>
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Even when I gave her popcorn, Lyla minded.</div>
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Of course Sunday was the most beautiful day of our vacation, always is. :)</div>
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No one wanted to hold Lyla's hand because she had pink eye. </div>
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We didn't eat too fancy on the trip, but we made sure to get our favorite nachos and virgin pina coladas at the beach. </div>
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Then we went home, after taking a bunch of new carpet scraps the marriot was throwing away. I'm so excited to redo our family room! :)</div>
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A quick photo op in Vegas. </div>
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A lot of random entertainment in the car. </div>
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Vegas, baby. </div>
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And back to real life. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-34165552439396542432013-01-15T12:19:00.001-08:002013-01-15T19:37:45.587-08:00a look back at a wonderfully cushy 2012Well it's a new year and I'm not going to make promises to myself that I'll blog regularly because I've realized I'm just not together enough to keep up with it. What I WILL tell you is that I'm going to blog in more detail about our time in Hong Kong and travels from last year, because I miss it and because I want to. Also, I take so many pictures and I really want to get them organized and printed into books for us- and I think keeping up with my blog a bit will help me keep things straight a little and remember some of the context behind the pictures.<br />
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I can't help but look longingly back at 2012. I'm sure 2013 will be great, but so far I don't have too many expectations because we don't have any big plans (and the girls are about to loose their free flying status!) boo!<br />
I'm not really sure what to expect besides the fact that June and Lyla will keep growing up and that's always fun to see of course. Even that doesn't seem like it will be quite so dramatic this year though. It's amazing to think about the little babies they were at the start of the year and the toddlers they became by the end of it. This year they were weaned, they turned 1, they learned to walk, they learned to talk- they've changed so much in every way!<br />
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2012 was an epic year for our family that I imagine won't be topped for us in many ways. Brad hates when I show off, so let me say I fully understand our last year was CRAZY and I can hardly believe we were able to do so much- and I also recognize it won't likely happen again. So let me just reminisce because it DID happen and I want to enjoy the memories. <br />
It started out with an amazing trip to Cabo {our first and only trip sans babies so far!}, a family trip to Hawaii, a long anticipated trip to Europe, and a completely unexpected 2 1/2 month adventure to Hong Kong.<br />
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A little unreal, right? Oh gosh, I miss 2012. At least I still have all of the seasons and different holidays and traditions to look forward to no matter what! I look forward to them at least as much as I do traveling so I'll focus on that this year. :) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-50734298911727559992012-12-20T21:32:00.001-08:002012-12-20T21:43:08.310-08:00in the dark streets shinethAs much as I'm missing Hong Kong this is a good time of year to come home- it's too easy to enjoy the Christmas season and it distracts me from how sad I felt when we first left. It feels a little rushed squeezing all our Christmas traditions into a couple weeks instead of nearly a couple months- but we're having fun trying!<br />
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The weather is cold, but we've been making an effort to get out of the house and enjoy the season- after all the constant stimulation of city life I think the girls (and myself) would be bored to death if we just stayed home all day and weren't around a few more people. At least right now we have the tree to entertain them.</div>
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Yesterday we went over to city creek and got a little dinner while the girls ran around inside at the play area. It is so beautiful down there and it makes me happy that I can take my girls shopping downtown like my mom did when I was little....AND they brought back the ZCMI candy windows! Which has all but restored my faith in humanity. </div>
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I always looked forward to them every year so it was a fun surprise to see their return.<br />
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City Creek, you've outdone yourself. </div>
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Now all they need is the old ZCMI candy counter and I could really recreate some of my favorite memories of shopping with my mom...</div>
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Temple square at Christmas time is so magical. The girls didn't even seem to mind the freezing cold too much.</div>
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They love baby Jesus, which of course melts my heart. They like to point him out in manger scenes. </div>
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I love when the girls get all cuddly- just another benefit of the cold I guess?</div>
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family photo attempt #34. When will the kind strangers who offer to take photos for us stop aiming at the cement below us? :)</div>
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We were all pretty cold afterwards so when we got home I thought it'd be a nice opportunity to give the girls their first taste of hot cocoa. I made up some cadbury cocoa I brought back from Hong Kong and whipped up some cream with crushed candy canes- I just knew they were going to love it.</div>
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And then something strange happened....they tasted, they stuck their fingers in...and then they were done.</div>
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Not as big of a hit as I was anticipating. Oh well, it was sort of cute to watch anyways and maybe they'll understand the cocoa business better next time. All in all a successful trip to see the lights at temple square! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-53665557355275901812012-11-14T21:37:00.002-08:002012-11-14T21:37:25.728-08:00Week one in Hong Kong {aka: leaving our safe Utah tower}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The truth: At one point during our first week here Brad turned to me and said "you are just like Rapunzel on tangled, during that one part where she leaves her tower for the first time and is so happy one second then crying and sad then next."<br />
It is true.<br />
Especially the first week or two I really was constantly going back and forth between a state of euphoria and sobbing. I kept being overwhelmed with how amazing the city is and feeling so lucky to be able to live here for a while. <br />
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{views of the street below us, walking & from my bedroom window}</div>
Then I'd remember we have two toddlers who are at possibly the worst age ever to safely get around this crowded, polluted place that's never designed with kids in mind. As I imagined being by myself with the girls all day I would start hyperventilating. <br />
Then we'd eat some delicious meal that cost us 5 bucks and I was back on top of the world. Till my tummy stared aching...<br />
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Then I'd remember we were going to find a helper! The big bonus of living outside the US- how thrilling, where was this dream helper a year ago when I really needed her? But, I slowly came to accept the fact that the helper thing wasn't going to work out for us, it's not easy (and not even technically legal) to do anything less than a full-time 2 year contract with helpers here. It was one of the things I was most looking forward to, so crushing that dream hurt a little. And as soon as I took the girls out as I'd planned to do by myself I realized it wasn't a long term solution. The girls technically haven't outgrown their baby bjorns, but my back and shoulders begged to differ.<br />
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But I did feel like wearing a superhero cape after I'd done it. It's funny to think back to how proud I was of myself that first time walking outside by myself with the girls, weaving my way through the crowds carrying a baby and navigating a stroller- not knowing exactly where I was going or how I was going to get there. It's all so normal now I hardly think about it. But the baby bjorns only lasted us a few days.<br />
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Knowing the baby carrying thing wasn't working out so well, I went on a quest to find a double stroller that was small enough for me to get around with. I saw a lady with a dreamy double
umbrella stroller in the HK airport and I knew it'd be perfect for the
girls in Hong Kong, I needed to have it. I made it my <strike>life's</strike>
week's mission. It was not so easy to find and each day it became more
apparent to me how much I needed it. I would've paid a grand for it. I can be a very determined shopping
hunter when there's something I <i>really </i>want. And vwala- I found
the very stroller I wanted and someone to deliver it to my door in Hong
Kong the next day. Boo-yah. It was a game changer, I think I'd still be
crying if we hadn't found it. I was so relieved I would have a way to get around with both girls by myself during the day- LIFE CHANGING!<br />
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A couple days after we got the stroller we got off the MTR station by Brad's work, there was a huge flight on stairs that me and Brad struggled to get the girls up in their stroller (we'd done this several times). The difficulty of each step reaffirmed to me that it would be impossible to do without Brad and I began thinking about how limited I still would be, even with a little double stroller. I felt like I was suffocating, by the time we made it outside I was full on sobbing. How could I stay for so long in this crazy place taking care of the girls with no help during the day? All by myself... I couldn't even lift the stroller up over curbs without Brad in front on me to lift the front (due to the vertical design and weight placement of the babies) When I said that with tears still streaming down my face, Brad showed me that I could actually use my foot on the back wheel to make it tilt up. I'd spent 3 days trying to get it over small bumps with so much difficulty- I felt so relieved when he showed me that I started laughing and said he just changed my life. That's when he brought up the Rapunzel comment.<br />
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Good thing I brought a blow up pool right?</div>
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So the adjustment was a little back and forth for me, but all things considered I'm proud of how I've adjusted and managed to carry on some sort of normalcy with the girls where we are right now- even if Brad thinks I was/am crazy. It could have been worse. Toddlers are crazy. Hong Kong is crazy. Combo= crazy town. Enough crazy that I almost think I could never have more children, but then I remember kids won't be toddlers forever, and we won't be living out of little more than a hotel in a wild city forever. Cause I don't think I could do this particular combo for much longer, even if it is a lot of fun.<br />
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The kitchen looks nice enough in a photo, but there is no oven and the sink is so tiny just trying to wash a plate soaks me in dirty water. The local eateries must pay them to design their kitchens like this- I prefer eating out when we can.</div>
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Good thing I brought Blow up high chairs, right?</div>
The first week here the girls adjusted to the time change like champs. Brad and I were getting up about 3:30 every morning, but were gradually able to learn to sleep in a little more. It felt good to unpack, grocery shop, and settle in a little. The girls loved playing with some of their toys we brought from home. Because our place is so small I feel like we have more toys here than we did back home somehow- the girls are able to make an epic mess so fast.<br />
When we arrived at our apartment we realized we forgot to grab the pack n' plays at the airport, so we had to go to the airport the next day to get them.<br />
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Good thing I brought pop up cribs, right?</div>
When we got them home the pack n' plays smelled all mildewy and gross so I tried to wash them in the shower with dish soap, after they dried they still stuck so I did the same thing again with vinegar. It had been about a week by the time they were ready for the girls to sleep in and I was so excited to use them! I put the girls down for their nap and left to run errands since Brad was home. He heard the girls playing and thought I'd decided to get them up, but after a while he went out of our room it was babies gone wild all over the apartment- they decided to escape their freshly cleaned pack n' plays. They've never crawled out of their cribs at home or even tried, but I guess they decided now was a good time to escape with the pack n' plays. I got home and tried putting a suitcase between them and after a few minutes I saw the curtain moving a little funny- I pulled it open and both girls were perched on top of the suitcase!<br />
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cute little rascals.. </div>
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So we went back to using the pea pods. But then they started escaping those too, those things that fully zip from the outside... June became masterful at it and even decided to undress herself while she was at it.<br />
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Lyla figured out how to escape them a little after June and that seemed to make her very proud, she came to find me while I was peacefully taking a shower- just when I thought I was safe. <br />
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We started safety pinning them shut and that has done the trick, though I still feel a little bad sometimes like we're caging in animals. But we love them and they have to sleep, and we have to sleep. (and for some reason when we moved to the smaller apartment they've let us put them in their pack n' plays and haven't tried to crawl out...fingers crossed!)<br />
I'm glad it's not our first week here anymore. :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-12501978651214383852012-11-14T07:08:00.000-08:002012-11-14T20:09:12.114-08:00halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know I said I was going to be good about blogging, but then we moved to an even smaller apartment...the good part is that it saves us $2000 a month in rent, the bad part is that there is a sheer curtain between us and the girls so I just sit quietly in the dark during their naps and in the evenings- it's pretty hard to do normal things like watch TV or get on a bright computer. But I decided I should dedicate an hour or so to recording my thoughts on being out here and organize photos. So here I am, newly resolved to blog yet again and sitting on a pillow on the floor of our "kitchen" where bright lights are allowed. Halloween is the only time-sensitive event that I feel needs to be shared before thanksgiving is over, so I'm starting with that and backtracking later. <br />
Yes, I've felt bad leaving the land that I love during my ultimate favorite months of October-December. I just don't want my children to miss out on any any of the special things that I grew up loving, it's so fun being able to share all of those things with them. I didn't really have many expectations for Halloween in Hong Kong. Since I was so worried about missing out I decided to make them new witch hats and snap a couple pictures the day before we left to Hong Kong. (have I mentioned how bad I am at prioritizing? I hadn't even started packing clothes yet..)<br />
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Cute right? Even though <a href="http://katiehagen.blogspot.com/2011/11/halloween.html">last year's</a> witch shoot was a little more thought out. </div>
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I just gave 'em a couple chocolate chips and let them do their thing. </div>
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I didn't think it would be possible for them to be cuter witches than they were last year, but somehow they keep getting cuter.</div>
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After I started seeing all
the halloween decor pop up all over Hong Kong I realized how silly I was
trying to do anything back at home in September. Our little apartment got festive quick as soon as I saw halloween decorations for sale.<br />
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All the markets were filled with fun chinese lanterns, hair wigs, masks and costumes- all at a fraction of the price you'd pay in the states. I just know in a year or two I'm going to be kicking myself for not buying a fun masquerade mask and a couple wigs..<br />
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Our ward had a Halloween party, which was fun. They started with a costume parade. </div>
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I didn't figure out our costumes till a couple hours before- I'd been
excited to make their costumes, but with no sewing machine I realized
store bought was the only way to go this year. Plus, I found a
children's large snow white costume so I could squeeze in the fun with the girls
too! </div>
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Pretty sure I had more fun than they did, but I think they still enjoyed it. </div>
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Here they are thinking, "doesn't this ritual involve receiving candy?"</div>
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Then they had lots of rooms with games which intimidated our girls for some reason, they wouldn't go near one thing.</div>
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They clung to us, which worked well for taking a picture at least. I made Brad dress up and put eye liner on him as we came off the metro, I'm glad I'm better at putting on my own liner than that...</div>
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The party was so late we had to leave before the trick-or-treating began. As you can see, the girls were pretty dejected missing out on the candy.</div>
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We got a lot of looks from people as we walked home- pretty sure the smiles were because the girls are too cute, the judgey facey were for me being too old to play dress ups. Most people don't get Halloween here though, and we threw them off since it was several days before. Either way, just a few "princesses" walkin' down the street with a pirate... :)<br />
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The malls around us got all decked out for halloween too (we live within a 5 min walk from at least 10 malls). Since my mom was in town we went over to times square one morning to take a few pictures.<br />
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This is kind of what I envision with them sweeping.</div>
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We had to work a long time to get June up to this comfort level though, the statues creeped her out.</div>
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Lyla ran around obliviously, by the time June warmed up Lyla had already begun to loose interest and was trying to run off.</div>
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I love the caution you can see in June here, it's so "her"- she wouldn't let go of my mom for at least 15 minutes.</div>
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Hence my mom in a lot of pictures, they had fun with grandma! :)</div>
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It was kinda a big deal when June finally touched something.</div>
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Cooperative Lyla. </div>
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Turning to me to find out what's the deal with that guy. </div>
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I don't know why I adore this picture of Lyla sweeping as all the passerbys try to get around her. Maybe because there are real sweepers like this out all the time trying to keep the streets clean. Maybe because I'm in love with those little brooms. Maybe just because it's Lyla. </div>
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Then on the actual day of Halloween we went to Disneyland, which was a total blast of course! They did a halloween parade and skeleton jack sounded even creepier singing in cantonese. The moon was so spooky looked like part of a back drop. All the disney characters dressed up in costumes and we tried our best to prevent the girls from having any nightmares. And they handed out marshmallows filled with jam. They were good though, don't doubt disney!<br />
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the crew.</div>
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They also hand out A LOT of stickers at HK disneyland- June was way into it.</div>
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Happy Halloween!</div>
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Just what I wanted, fun memories and a few pictures to remember it with.</div>
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All in all I think the girls had a successful halloween experience, even though we were never actually able to trick or treat- and we didn't eat much candy. There's always a next year! (and probably only one fun Hong Kong Halloween) :( </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-61911081614185627612012-10-10T19:22:00.000-07:002012-10-14T02:45:18.861-07:00arriving in Hong Kong & the midautumn festival<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eBaJvt9f-XM/UHTs2X58_hI/AAAAAAAAAP0/2ndSOa3eeQk/s1600/IMG_2309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eBaJvt9f-XM/UHTs2X58_hI/AAAAAAAAAP0/2ndSOa3eeQk/s640/IMG_2309.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I try not to let them climb on the table, but the girls can't get enough of all the action going on in the street right below us</td></tr>
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I've been trying to decide if I'm going to blog while we're in Hong Kong, it just sounds so overwhelming- and life is overwhelming enough as it is right now. But, I know I'd regret it if I didn't at least give it a try. Plus, I need to quit researching places to eat, things to do, and stuff I want to buy in Hong Kong during the girls nap time- I have lists longer than the time we'll be out here. Hong Kong really is an amazing place! I ought to blog first about our Europe trip, but I'm hoping I'll get into a groove documenting our new little life out here then get around to some highlights of England. So here it goes... <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUuEY0hYlI0/UHTtakDNuII/AAAAAAAAAP8/pRrSXd3oY9Y/s1600/IMG_2339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUuEY0hYlI0/UHTtakDNuII/AAAAAAAAAP8/pRrSXd3oY9Y/s640/IMG_2339.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was me taking the girls out for the first time by myself. I felt like wearing a superhero cape.</td></tr>
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Life is a little scary right now. (just in time for Halloween!) 3 weeks ago everything was going as expected- I was ready to get home from our amazing trip and make costumes for the girls, go apple picking and pumpkin carving and bake all sorts of pumpkin and ginger and cinnamon types of fall goodness as I anticipated the oncoming holidays of my favorite time of year. Brad was working at a good, stable job that he didn't love, but that I didn't expect him to leave anytime this year. Things were ordinary. Then something new came up, an opportunity that fit in with one of Brad's dreams of living in Asia.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9eOI_D9ilhQ/UHTt1LnoI8I/AAAAAAAAAQE/l2Psog6keVs/s1600/IMG_2422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9eOI_D9ilhQ/UHTt1LnoI8I/AAAAAAAAAQE/l2Psog6keVs/s640/IMG_2422.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yay! Brad's living his dream of living in Hong Kong and buying dragon fruit.</td></tr>
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There are a lot of unknowns in our future as Brad starts a new company... will we be back in Hong Kong? What will the end result of Brad's work be? I like to plan and I'm not a huge fan of unknowns, but being married to an entrepreneur involves some risks. This is one of the first big risks we've taken together, so I'm trying to have faith in the fact that we wouldn't have felt good about it if if wasn't a good thing for us to be out here. When Brad's last company (Zinch) relocated to San Francisco we went out there and did apartment hunting, by the end of the weekend we both could just feel it wasn't the right thing for us- we stayed in Utah and Brad left Zinch shortly after. This felt different, so I'm trying to remind myself of that when I occasionally think "what in the heck are we doing out here?!" I'm also putting faith in the fact that Brad is pretty awesome and he'll figure things out one way or another. And it certainly doesn't hurt that during this risky time I get to enjoy living in a new culture with all sorts of new and exciting things for me to discover.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D1r1bHa9Plw/UHTuOJn2wlI/AAAAAAAAAQM/bM9bYYVm9CU/s1600/IMG_2229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D1r1bHa9Plw/UHTuOJn2wlI/AAAAAAAAAQM/bM9bYYVm9CU/s640/IMG_2229.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldn't believe we could fit all our essentials into a few large suitcases. Simplifying does help to focus in on whats important- here's everything we need to call anywhere home. (and I think some decluttering is in order when we get back to Utah..)</td></tr>
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The girls did okay on the plane ride out- it was really hard, mostly because we had just taken 2 very long plane rides with them a couple weeks before. <br />
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Look at Brad multitask in the SF airport!<br />
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We really lucked out with our own rows on the long flight- the girls got some good sleep on the plane so that was nice.<br />
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We had a layover in Tokyo, which had the most hilarious signs and crazy toilets in the world. not only were they also bidets, but they played music or falling water noises so that you could do your business discretely. After our potty break we were depressed to discover we had to fly 4 more hours to get to Hong Kong. I was spent. Those four hours felt like 10 after all the traveling we'd done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">umm...i just wanted to pee, i can do that here right?</td></tr>
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We grabbed our bags, hoped in the car we'd arranged to pick us up, and arrived at our apartment realizing we'd left the girls pack n' plays at the airport. oops, more on that later.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the girls claiming their territory. "this place belongs to us. our toys go...everywhere! don't even try to stop us, this town is ours."</td></tr>
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We went to church in the morning- the girls did pretty well in nursery considering it was their first time going (they turned 18 months right about when we left for England) and they'd flown half way across the world just hours before.<br />
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We walked home and took long naps till I woke everyone up to go see the mid-autumn festival, being celebrated at the park right next to us. I kept trying to figure out when and where they were going to release the floating lanterns- to my dismay I discovered real floating lanterns are actually illegal in Hong Kong. Should I be glad that we're living somewhere that's concerned with laws and safety? Yes. Am I? No. When I first saw floating lanterns on the movie Tangled, I thought they were as real as magic golden flowers. Then I saw them on pinterest and started wondering if they could be real...Brad confirmed that they were real and informed me he'd released some on his mission in Taiwan. I decided it was one of my dreams to see them, and was so excited we were going to be in Hong Kong just in time for the lantern festival!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJ930fKAzuQ/UHYbyEkpAsI/AAAAAAAAATk/VYJBT0gDR-I/s1600/DSC_0834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJ930fKAzuQ/UHYbyEkpAsI/AAAAAAAAATk/VYJBT0gDR-I/s640/DSC_0834.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">maybe it was a little mean to wake them up...but we couldn't let them miss this right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N_bivOxUIbQ/UHYa1Ca2vJI/AAAAAAAAASs/mFV_PT4GCys/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N_bivOxUIbQ/UHYa1Ca2vJI/AAAAAAAAASs/mFV_PT4GCys/s640/a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Their safe, modern versions of lanterns were still very neat. Just not
quite as cool as the real thing- someday I'll have to visit a more rural
area in China that still does 'em the old fashioned (aka magical) way.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the big celebration happened to be at the park right next to our place, very convenient for tired folks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we're a happy, tired family</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this festival is all about the moon- it's always held on a full moon and everyone eats moon cakes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwkMcuk6A24/UHYbnBb0RVI/AAAAAAAAATQ/qqWBCMKBE2A/s1600/DSC_0708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FwkMcuk6A24/UHYbnBb0RVI/AAAAAAAAATQ/qqWBCMKBE2A/s640/DSC_0708.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's also about fire dragons.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJMSF1OE6O0/UHYnQ7tXn3I/AAAAAAAAAUA/EQdFb_xfP8Q/s1600/DSC_0909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJMSF1OE6O0/UHYnQ7tXn3I/AAAAAAAAAUA/EQdFb_xfP8Q/s640/DSC_0909.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and lanterns.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JS-_9wbnJI/UHYnUEFGZZI/AAAAAAAAAUI/am-s49YKvbc/s1600/DSC_0740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JS-_9wbnJI/UHYnUEFGZZI/AAAAAAAAAUI/am-s49YKvbc/s640/DSC_0740.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that thing that looks like a giant fire ball is supposed to be a moon.</td></tr>
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We ran around the roads trying to see the fire dragon without having to stay up till 11 with the girls.<br />
We were tired and our shoulders ached carrying the girls so we grabbed some dessert and I was pretty amused to see fellow customers at the restaurant taking pictures of our girls with their ipads- not very inconspicuous. Our girls are such Asian rock stars. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-walEmjGcqns/UHYbIBWpmII/AAAAAAAAAS4/_dEAIZVQ1wM/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-walEmjGcqns/UHYbIBWpmII/AAAAAAAAAS4/_dEAIZVQ1wM/s640/b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fire dragon was worth the wait though- so cool! </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fTGGSdFXG4k/UHZONkYO8SI/AAAAAAAAAUk/BUXio2XwxUA/s1600/DSC_0865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fTGGSdFXG4k/UHZONkYO8SI/AAAAAAAAAUk/BUXio2XwxUA/s640/DSC_0865.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">turns out we weren't the only ones who wanted to see the fire dragon.</td></tr>
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Thanks for the warm welcome Hong Kong! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-87398426536373252412012-09-22T09:12:00.000-07:002012-09-24T15:22:41.305-07:00England-Hong Kong...where do I begin?Let me start out by telling you- All I ever wanted was to live in England and have a happy family and travel the world. I guess it's a lot to ask, but in a sense this vacation was like all of my wildest dreams coming true for 2 weeks. The trip was perfection to me- the girls did awesome and were so pleasant, Brad loved it- the musicals, the golf, the accents, the beauty of the land- he really seemed to take it all in which really pleased me, it was fun being with my parents, we had perfect weather and I couldn't have imagined it going any better. Even though we were traveling with babies it felt like a vacation in the truest sense of the word- which was a pleasant surprise. I got full nights of sleep and had 3 extra sets of hands with the girls that I don't normally have everyday. I was imagining China, but forgot I'm not nursing the girls and they don't wake up every couple hours anymore, plus we had my parents this time- easy peasy.<br />
We traveled through...<br />
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England</div>
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Wales</div>
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Scotland</div>
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and even took a day trip to Paris!</div>
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Don't hate me. ;)</div>
I can't lie- I didn't want to leave. As we drove home from the airport late at night it felt so weird to be back. I couldn't stop thinking how <i>weird</i> it felt, we were just in all of these amazing places and now we were pulling in our driveway. After I got the girls changed and down for bed I just started sobbing and couldn't stop. I know I don't get any sympathy for those tears, but I just felt so sad it was over. I'd been planning and dreaming about this trip for so long, it exceeded all my expectations and suddenly it was just a memory and it was time to get back to real life. It really was a dream I didn't want to end. I'm normally at least partially relieved/happy when I return home from traveling, but for some reason I wasn't at all this time, I could have stayed there forever. I think my heart belongs in the UK.<br />
I felt so sad for Brad leaving to work the next day. Then all of the sudden Brad had an opportunity come up to be in Hong Kong for a few months...like literally this started happening the day we got home, and leaving 2 weeks later. So...we're moving to Hong Kong next week. Um...I said I wanted to move to <i>England </i>Brad.<br />
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Just Kidding...this will be quite the adventure and may open some doors for us so I'll take it. I'm missing some of my favorite time of year, but we'll be home to catch the end of the Christmas season at least. I guess somewhere inside me knew we weren't supposed to be home yet, I was just hoping it was the other side of the earth we were supposed to be on. Till later England, hello Hong Kong! </div>
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{photos taken last year}</div>
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It shouldn't be too hard to get around this town with two toddlers on my own...right?</div>
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Er...right? Should I worry? </div>
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OKAY. FINE. I'll hire an <strike>assistant photographer</strike> I mean nanny. </div>
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But only because <i>you</i> are worried.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-51033339763852466492012-09-21T20:59:00.001-07:002012-09-24T15:28:09.270-07:00fish n' chips, the english way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6_GosyBlBLE/UF0wMpr9AJI/AAAAAAAAANU/YRoRhitTSHk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6_GosyBlBLE/UF0wMpr9AJI/AAAAAAAAANU/YRoRhitTSHk/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I've always enjoyed a good quality fish n' chips, my favorite was Annabelle's (a little restaurant in Ketchikan that puts dill in the batter and of course uses the freshest halibut)....but then on our recent trip to England I discovered the beauty and simplicity of the English way. I opted to try the malt vinegar before plunging the fish in tarter sauce, and to my surprise it was even better! The little punch really balances it out, and does anything deep fried really need more fat like mayo anyways? </span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm not normally a big fan of deep fried food, but a few weeks back we bought a little deep fryer for Brad to make wings with. Once we got home from our trip I knew I'd found a new use for that terrible and wonderful little thing that makes our whole home smell like McDonalds. Some really delicious stuff can come out of it, and we don't use it too often so I don't feel so bad about wasting all those fat calories on something that isn't dessert. </span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is a pretty awesome recipe- definitely the best thing to come out of our deep fryer and even though it was my first time attempting fish n' chips they came out delicious! I used some of our cod just in case the recipe was a failure so I wouldn't waste halibut, but now I know this is definitely no waste of fish!</span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It's a combination of a recipe I got from a lady in Alaska, one I found online, what I learned at Annabelles, what I learned at some of the English pubs we visited, and what felt right. </span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I made this on the day of the big BYU-utah game so I went to the grocery store in my bright blue BYU shirt and hesitantly passed the beer aisle about 10 times trying to catch labels out of the corner of my eye before determining it would be misrepresenting too much and made Brad return in an unlabeled shirt to buy the beer. </span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Here are the girls at a pub, coloring away whilst we wait for our beloved fish n' chips:</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H_mHCg2rRnc/UF01cdCFtWI/AAAAAAAAANs/Vl3V2Z3LvUk/s1600/DSC_0612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H_mHCg2rRnc/UF01cdCFtWI/AAAAAAAAANs/Vl3V2Z3LvUk/s640/DSC_0612.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6444702417079217" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BEER-BATTERED FISH N’ CHIPS</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">¾ C flour ½ C cornstarch ½ tsp soda </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1 Tbs powdered sugar 2 tsp salt ½ tsp granulated garlic </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">¼ tsp ground white pepper ¼ tsp paprika ¾ tsp dill (optional) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1 tsp grated lemon zest 1 – 1 ½ C beer or ale 1 ½ lbs halibut or cod</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3 lbs potatoes, peeled oil for frying malt vinegar, to serve. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heat
oil in a deep fryer (or heavy pan) to 375°, peel and cut potatoes into
chucky-sized fries. Rinse and dry thoroughly. Fry for 3 minutes until
soft. Drain, shake, and set aside. Lower the fryer temp to 320°. In a
bowl mix the first ten ingredients(flour-lemon zest), then add beer till the batter has a
crepe like consistency. Add a splash of malt vinegar to the batter. Put
a little flour on a plate and dredge fish pieces in it, it will help
the batter stick to the fish. Take fish pieces one at a time and holding
onto the thin end, swirl around in the batter till well coated.
Immediately drop into the oil, cooking a few pieces at a time and making
sure they don’t stick together. Cook until golden (about 4-6 min,
depending on size) Drain on paper towels and place in a warm oven while
cooking the rest. Return fryer heat to 375° and return chips, fry till
golden and crisp. Sprinkle with fine salt. Serve immediately with malt
vinegar and salt (the English way) or tarter sauce and lemon (the
American way- it's just not as good)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some more of us getting our English pub on: </span></div>
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Brad looking so legit with his beard and hat at the pub...till he asked for a still water instead of beer. :)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-13143851234648468012012-08-15T12:37:00.002-07:002012-08-15T14:34:16.024-07:003 years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-afpOc_cUfGg/UCvetBjl1EI/AAAAAAAAAI4/FWm0enDIwqI/s1600/9924_146646615204_6926849_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-afpOc_cUfGg/UCvetBjl1EI/AAAAAAAAAI4/FWm0enDIwqI/s640/9924_146646615204_6926849_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Last week was a fun week celebrating my birthday and our anniversary. I dislike celebratory events being too close to each other, but we got married just a few days after my birthday so every August it happens- of course it's fun, I just wish I could bask in it longer. (you know, just ONE pedicure for the two events when they're in the same week...sometimes life is difficult.)<br />
Anyway, I turned 27. I really hadn't been looking forward to my birthday and hardly recall the last time a birthday for me was that awesome (16 maybe?), anyways Brad really went all out this year to make it special. He knows my favorite thing is food so he took me out to breakfast with the girls,<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HxvcYiFvZMw/UCvklH3XsSI/AAAAAAAAAJM/JpvsZM_tZYw/s1600/aaphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HxvcYiFvZMw/UCvklH3XsSI/AAAAAAAAAJM/JpvsZM_tZYw/s400/aaphoto.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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brought me lunch, </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gSVF27-rtq8/UCvkuagAkDI/AAAAAAAAAJU/oNO3yBQGn_s/s1600/aaaphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gSVF27-rtq8/UCvkuagAkDI/AAAAAAAAAJU/oNO3yBQGn_s/s320/aaaphoto.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
and we went out to dinner that evening at Brio, because I couldn't get this dish out of my head.<br />
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He has gotten so wise over the years...<br />
He also showered me with surprise gifts. The storage ottoman I'd been pining for (but given up on actually acquiring):<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oqTbPp7EdjE/UCvlAMozd4I/AAAAAAAAAJc/qw_zOYILIJY/s1600/FrameMagic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oqTbPp7EdjE/UCvlAMozd4I/AAAAAAAAAJc/qw_zOYILIJY/s640/FrameMagic.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
He also gave me a nice card and got me season tickets to PTC, which was a complete surprise and they have a very promising season this year. SO sweet of him! This should balance out those BYU basketball season tickets.<br />
On Saturday we celebrated our anniversary with pedicures, a dinner at Ruth's Chris (their steak and their shrimp were worth every penny!), going out to the movies, and spending the night at the Grand America. We had so much fun! Sleeping in is my new favorite treat ever since I became a mom. <br />
This all made me reflect on our first year married and how far we've come. <br />
And that brings me to marriage. 3 years to be exact. It's sort of amazing that my life could transform so much in 3 short years. <br />
It was just a few years ago that I was a lone girl with no idea what the future had in store for me... <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5cyb6ZGRpc/UCvWeRXeTXI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/bPV4CeJZ3pw/s1600/222813_8832710204_1301_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5cyb6ZGRpc/UCvWeRXeTXI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/bPV4CeJZ3pw/s640/222813_8832710204_1301_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Now I have my own little family a with handsome husband and two beautiful daughters- the works.<br />
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I thought marriage was a HUGE adjustment, now my parental self laughs and laughs at that naive girl who thought there was any level of difficulty adjusting to the life change of living with a man.<br />
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I love Brad and truly believe he was the exact person the Lord had in mind for me to share life with, we are a perfect combo in so many ways. I remember before we got married my dad voicing his one concern about us together which is that we both have these adventurous, dream-filled minds that sometimes doesn't take into account responsibility and reality as much as they ought to. (hence falling in love on the forbidden island of Cuba) And you can see how it's played an awesome role in our marriage ("let's go to <a href="http://katiehagen.blogspot.com/2011/08/china.html">China</a> with our twinfants!" "Okay, lets!!!") In all reality we are very responsible parents- much research was conducted, discussions with our pediatrician, we knew it would be hard, but we also knew the fun would be worth it. I really feel like life has been one big adventure since I married Brad. It might appear that the adventures are a result of wandering the streets of Cuba, riding camels in Morocco, and hiking the great wall of China with our babies, but I don't think that our life is full of adventure just because of some amazing trips we've been lucky enough to take, I could travel with someone boring to a foreign land and it wouldn't be the same. The wonderful part about being married to Brad is that even our days in our little old house in the Salt Lake valley can be filled with excitement and adventure. I love being with someone who wants to live life to it's fullness and who doesn't immediately dismiss my dreams, but thinks through them with me and considers which ones we can possibly make a reality.<br />
Life is all too real sometimes, but sometimes it's like a fairytale. This is how the story goes:<br />
<i>Once upon a time... </i><br />
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boy meets girl. boy and girl paint together. girl is skeptical of boy{s in general}, boy becomes skeptical of girl.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hiuCaoAFH3g/UCv4cqNbvtI/AAAAAAAAAMc/gw7n5_Iqyu0/s1600/Jan_and_Feb_Pics_107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hiuCaoAFH3g/UCv4cqNbvtI/AAAAAAAAAMc/gw7n5_Iqyu0/s640/Jan_and_Feb_Pics_107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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a year passes.</div>
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boy and girl reacquaint, very much intrigued they befriend each other. </div>
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Boy woos girl with MC Hammer dance moves-</div>
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seeing girl's infatuation with dress-ups boy further woos girl at a truck rally.</div>
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boy and girl visit a forbidden island {with a chapperone} and there confess their love.</div>
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girl finishes school, boy is too cool for school.</div>
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boy takes girl to NYC and gets down on one knee.</div>
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news travels far and wide of the proposed marriage between boy and girl.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DgCIZ9tmYu4/UCvsvtXYnYI/AAAAAAAAALM/OsWyJ652TTk/s1600/9924_135966825204_355774_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DgCIZ9tmYu4/UCvsvtXYnYI/AAAAAAAAALM/OsWyJ652TTk/s640/9924_135966825204_355774_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
a marriage takes place at the <strike>castle</strike> temple. </div>
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boy and girl become man and wife.</div>
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all the land rejoices.</div>
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man and wife ride camels in exotic lands. </div>
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man and wife live together in their little house.</div>
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wife teaches man to fish.</div>
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climbing a mountain, man and wife contemplate life.</div>
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man and wife attend a life changing concert.</div>
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man and wife are happy.</div>
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parenthood is imminent.</div>
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man and wife become mother and father to wee twins.</div>
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mother and father take wee twins to china.</div>
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the family of four safely returns to their homeland.<br />
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<br />
And they all lived happily ever after. </div>
I won't pretend that our marriage is perfect, it's not. There are incredibly frustrating days and miscommunications at times. I'm not going to pretend that all was bliss as we adjusted to our parental roles- My memories of Brad in the first 6 months after the girls were born are mostly staring at him with envy and madness in my eyes as he slept while I nursed a baby, or came back from nursing a baby, or was getting up to nurse a baby in the middle of the night. The injustice! I'm sure his memories of me from that same time include fear that I would remain forever a disfigured, hormone crazed lunatic who aimlessly roamed through our house crying and rambling on about well...the injustice! Sleep deprivation is dangerous folks, I don't recommend it. <br />
But I married a fighter. He's committed. He's not going anywhere, and he's willing to work for a good thing. Growing up in a house of all boys he didn't get a lot of exposure to life with women, it's a new world for him that although I'm not sure he'd really say he "enjoys" it, he has grown leaps and bounds in this area and I salute him for it. And I know he secretly likes some of his new world of little women. <br />
I truly believe if anyone were to find and marry the imaginary spouse of their dreams, the most perfect person you could imagine, in marriage you could easily grow to hate that person. You could grow to hate anyone being exposed to their idiosyncrasies and flaws day in and day out. On the flip side you could take someone you cared little for and through effort and sacrifice and sharing in life's experiences with mutual respect grow to love that person. I'm certainly not for arranged marriages, start our with a fighting chance by hand picking your favorite person. :) But if you think about your family- your parents and your siblings, you didn't get to choose them, but you probably love them a lot because you know each other so well, care about each other so much, and have been through so much of life together. <br />
I married the perfect guy for me, and I know as long as we focus on all the good that we have (which is so much) we really have everything going for us. Strong marriage, adorable children- I just have to pinch myself and knock on wood because sometimes it really feels too good to be true. I feel very blessed and don't take that for granted. Here's to the best 3 years of my life, I couldn't imagine anyone I'd rather share my memories with.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-91870905899305338622012-07-21T11:04:00.001-07:002012-08-16T13:26:11.225-07:00the 4th of Julyla<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer fun checklist: <br />
schools out! (hasn't applied for years, but...) check.<br />
the weather is warm! check.<br />
pool days! check, keep checking...<br />
BBQs! check.<br />
visit the zoo! check. As a family... <span style="color: red;">TO DO</span><br />
go on a hike!<strike><span style="color: red;"> TO DO </span></strike><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">check!</span></span><br />
breakfast at Ruths! <span style="color: red;">TO DO</span><br />
4th of July! check. <br />
Pioneer day/handcart days! pretty much check. <br />
birthday/anniversary celebration! <strike><span style="color: red;">TO DO </span></strike><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">check!</span></span><br />
I also kinda want to drive up to bear lake for a day trip... <span style="color: red;">TO DO</span><br />
I've almost got everything out of the summer that I want to. It's funny because from January-March all I can think about is summer weather. I want to be sweating in the sun. I don't mind being hot, I prefer it 100x to being cold. But by midsummer I always start getting an itch for the change that autumn brings. Sweaters. Changing leaves. Caramel apples. Pumpkin cookies. The anticipation of the best holidays of the year. October through December is by far my favorite time of year.<br />
Summer used to be so cool because you were out of school, but without school little changes- I have a few fun things to check off the list and July has 2 fun holidays (2 in Utah anyway) that break up the summer nicely.<br />
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THE 4TH</div>
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The fourth of July is always fun- BBQ, fireworks, instilling patriotism. </div>
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Unfortunately Brad wasn't in town this year and I couldn't keep the girls up past 8:45 so I had a nice, quiet 4th with my mom.</div>
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We went to a neighborhood breakfast then headed up to Midway for the holiday.</div>
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I took a few pictures of the girls at home before we left.</div>
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They were inspecting progress on our never ending deck project.</div>
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dusty bums</div>
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They love running around in the yard.</div>
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I love that they can't get out.</div>
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PIONEER DAY </div>
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Pioneer day isn't till the 24th, but in Bountiful we always celebrate it early, because Bountiful is just awesome like that."handcart days" is by far the funnest day in Bountiful! They have little carnival rides, booths where you can buy rolled gold and tiger paws, and my very favorite parade. In my opinion, the perfect balance of small town candy throwing and handing out of flags, mixed with a few impressive floats that are used in the big Salt Lake parade on Pioneer day- just right. In the evening they do a respectable fireworks show and I have great memories sitting in front of my parent's house watching the fireworks together.<br />
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The girls loved it!</div>
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I love this pic, my nephew tommy is hilarious.</div>
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It was my other nephew's birthday!</div>
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Lyla never let go of that flag.</div>
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June never let go of her chips.</div>
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They thought they <i>were</i> the parade at first, you know, until it started.</div>
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I won't even tell you what time my bro-in-law woke up to get us these awesome seats...let's just say Bountifulites take their handcart days seriously! Thank you rich for your dedication. :)</div>
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Doesn't it kind of look like L&J are in charge of crowd control?</div>
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<br />
Brad has never been to handcart days since we've been married. The first newlywed year he was out of town. I watched the fireworks with friends and imagined how fun it would be to be with Brad. Last year he was out of town again. I sat through the parade and tried to get the girls to notice everything with my family. I was disappointed when we weren't going to be able to go this year- we had 3 comitments in one night! In the end we decided to just make appearances at all of them- we gave the girls their first "taste" of a parade, hung out for a few minutes at Brad's big summer work party, and enjoyed seeing family at a wedding dinner. We really packed it in last night! The girls didn't even go to bed till after 9 which is the longest they've ever stayed up. It was a fun evening and I was so glad we finally got to go to the parade as a family!<br />
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I love the July holidays celebrating sacrifices for freedom, the sacrifices of my pioneer ancestors, and my love of America and Bountiful. God bless America, land that I love!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-49041934999424385222012-07-18T09:55:00.002-07:002012-07-18T10:21:20.578-07:0017 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Do you remember when I used to post letters to the girls every month and talk about all the cool new tricks they learned? Me either...because it's been like 1/2 a year since I've done that. Mom fail. I am not keeping a good record of all the amazing, funny new things the girls do everyday and I'm already totally regretting it. So to get back on track...<br />
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When babies turn one they suddenly, almost overnight, transform from a baby to a little person. Their face starts to look more grown up. Their hair gets longer. Their teeth all pop out {not as easy as it sounds people}. They start walking, which makes them look tall and lean and especially non-baby like. They start talking, like words that are associated with things & you start to realize that little brain is really working and they will eventually be a fully functioning adult person one day. And that day might be sooner than you imagined.<br />
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My babies aren't exactly babies anymore. They are the cutest, funniest little girls in the world, I love to watch them and everything they do makes me want to squeeze them and hug them and kiss them to pieces. {except the terrible-two-esque tantrums and whining that has been occurring a bit} <br />
Honestly, being June and Lyla's mom is the funnest, most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. Funner that a trip to India or Europe. Funner than planning a wedding. More fun than anything I could have imagined. (and I know funner isn't a word, but I don't think it makes sense not to be one so I choose to be a rebel and use it freely) <br />
As always, I just love watching them interact together. They really love each other and whenever they are apart they call for their sister until they see her again (they both still call each other Lyla! lol) They give hugs and high fives and occasionally pull hair. They will eat anything as long as they are able to dip it in something. Current obsessions include carrying purses, climbing on the table, wearing necklaces, raspberries, finding and trying on every shoe they can find, saying "aaaa" and trying to feed something to me or their sister, brushing their hair, brushing their teeth, and coloring in the tub with bath crayons. And modeling for me, obviously. <br />
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Some of their newest words are agua, mas, shoes, purse, and book. They are pretty good little talkers which I've been told is sometimes a little delayed in twins. I think June's second word was "thank you" and they've both been saying it since just after their birthday. On top of that their regular words include: dada, mama, bye bye (lately they say that whenever they put their purse on), grandpa, grandma, please, lyla, ball, woof woof, baby (about their favorite word- it means binkie, they really get passionate yelling for their BABY), uh-oh, belly button (more like beibut), car, hola...that's all I can think of, but they seem to be doing fine. Just in case you think I'm trying to show off my babies cool awesome skills (even though I would totally do that) this really is just for me. I want to remember, I don't keep a journal and I need to remember this stuff! So if you baby who is older/younger than mine says/does more/less than my babies there is no judging here, I think especially with having 2 babies at once learning different things at their own pace I easily accept the idea that babies have their own timeline and more likely than not they will eventually learn all the important skills that will turn them into capable adults, no importa at what month they did it first. That was Spanish there. It worked for me.<br />
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June<br />
Your sweet smile gets brighter everyday. You can also scowl like it's nobody's business. You love giving people the stare-down, although if I give it back to you for long enough you normally start to smile. You like to observe people and are always trying to figure things out whether its a lid on a bottle or a plug to undrain the tub- you'll figure it out. You love your sister and always call for Lyla after you wake up from a nap. You love taking care of Lyla and when shes throwing a fit you try to find a binkie or anything handy that you can give her that might make her happy. So sweet. You love to be held and will cuddle right up to me (or anyone really) and read a book or watch TV. You've become a cautious little thing- you like to explore but you take your time and always turn around and make eye contact with me before proceeding. You're freakishly strong and can throw things far. You've turned into quite the little dancer and really took it to the next level a couple months ago by making really fast little steps and lifting your feet while you dance. Since you were born you've always had flirty eyes and they remain the same. You're silly, flirty, sensitive & sweet- I love you so much!<br />
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Lyla,<br />
You have this hilarious obsession with getting up in people's faces, turning your head sideways and squishing your whole face up into a big, almost confused-like smile. You are also obsessed with one of your newer skills, turning in circles. You are such a good repeater you pretty much say a new word everyday- you watch someone say something and often say it right back to them. You like to get all cuddly on me, but normally after you get your fill (maybe 30 seconds tops) you're ready to go go go again. You've turned into a wild child, which is fun and sometimes scary. That's why your front tooth is a little chipped. :( Hey, at least it's not a permanent one right? :/ You are fearless and run away without turning back. You'll run into a field of kids playing soccer or a circle of young men talking at church. You want to be where the action is. When you dance you throw your arms in the air like you just don't care. You have some really cute thigh chub that I love to squeeze at least 20 times a day. You're spunky and funny and we love you pieces!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-36885968621218382192012-07-16T12:09:00.002-07:002012-07-16T12:09:17.003-07:00little kitchen with big dreams<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our big dreams of getting more cupboard and counter space can't seem to get past the dream stage {it's been a little frusterating, anyone know a good contractor? We found a guy we like, but we've been waiting months just to get a quote...} In the meantime we're making the most of our itty-bitty kitchen.<br />
A few days back me and a couple of my friends from nursing school decided to have a baking day and share recipes with each other. Alicia was good enough to take pictures so I stole some from her. We made chocolate con churros, marshmallows, and artisan bread. It was such a blast getting together and learning some new things! This was while Brad was in Alaska so the girls were there for a little bit- if you can't tell from the above picture, they were ready for a nap. Luckily they took a nice long one so that we could bake to our heart's desires. <br />
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The girls still love their little kitchen and it has on occasion been quite the life-saver while I'm baking. <br />
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Although they still prefer pulling everything out of the real drawers. On this particular occasion they found some yellow food dye and managed to get it all over themselves and paint the whole kitchen with it. Those guilty little faces...you just can't help but love them no matter what they do. <br />
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On a much more depressing note, I got an email from Magleby's last month informing me that their Provo restaurant location had closed (the one that sponsored the free cake for life) and so the free cake for life turned out only to bee free cake for a few months. A part of me knew it was too good to be true. I certainly made the most of those few months, in fact, maybe I'm the one who put them out of business..? I had already been saving weeks to get a big cake for Papi Chale's 90th brithday party, so I emailed them several times to see if they would still honor it, but they never responded... boo maglebys. {but thanks for those few awesome free cakes!} :)<br />
I was determined to still make an awesome cake for Papi Chale's birthday, I came up with a new recipe which tasted very good- but did kinda collapse in the middles. It's a work in progress. With some creative arranging I was able to create the appearance that the cake was in perfect form for the party.<br />
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Brad's family also made a video for Papi Chale and asked Lyla to play the role of baby Chale. Her acting debut was groundbreaking.<br />
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Anyways...in case you were wondering our family biggest loser is done- Brad won! I thought at the end there that I might have a chance to take him out, but he was a good loser. We are trying to still be a little more health conscience than we were before, but it is SO nice to be able to cook some normal food again. Even in a tiny kitchen. :)<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-71740465799616615892012-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:002012-08-16T13:29:51.274-07:00rainbow!I got the idea in my head that it would be fun to make a rainbow collage of pictures I've posted on instagram, I was going to spread them out over several days, but I had so much fun making them I became obsessed and made them all in one day.<br />
Rainbows are special to my family, so this one is dedicated to my brother Jimmy. He passed away 15 years ago today, I wish I had been older than 11 and been able to have more memories and clarity, but the ones I do have are special to me. I feel so blessed with a fun, happy life that is full of people and things that I love. There is a little bit of color missing from our family, but he watches over us and still brightens our life. I'm certain he's helped us find good spouses and hand picks our cute kids for us, among other things like the occasional rainbow to say hello. <br />
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RED</div>
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PINK </div>
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ORANGE</div>
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YELLOW</div>
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GREEN </div>
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BLUE</div>
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PURPLE </div>
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WHITE</div>
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I love a bright, colorful life! </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09703307531850051521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-44410452754229520362012-07-10T12:01:00.000-07:002012-07-10T15:39:51.101-07:00swimming up to my ears in social media<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The way I blog and interact in social media can really be a little obsessive, you could even call it... <i>bi-polar</i>. One week I'm posting multiple stories a day, sharing 50 pictures on instagram, and even socializing on facebook. Then it all gets old to me and I forget about the blog for several weeks, maybe check my notifications on facebook occasionally, and post a couple pictures so that no one asks if I've died. I can't explain why I can't seem to get a healthy, consistent balance like blog once a week or something- no, I will blog for 2 weeks straight then take 2 months off. You can enjoy some pictures from the pool a few days ago and skip or read the unrelated text. <br />
I do enjoy being able to stay in touch with people I wouldn't be able to interact with otherwise {hello. If you're on IG you <i>know </i>I'm completely obsessed}, but I also get frustrated by a lot of the aspects of social media. People acting like it's a competition. People blatantly copying things you do or say and taking it for their own. The people who don't say one kind word about anything I've shared who then want something from me. <br />
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There's something I want to confess now. Sometimes I hate pinterest- and it's not because I'm jealous of all the wonderful things other people are doing- it's because I'm mad everyone else can do them now too... (oh woops, do I sound like a brat and a half? Let me explain...) I'm not saying I've always known how to do everything on that wonderful site, I see new ideas on there all the time- some similar to things I've done, some much better versions than my own. But have you noticed how almost nothing seems original anymore? It's like everyone's "special" dinners and crafts and home decor are all slowly turning into the same thing. <br />
Here's the thing- I don't have one special talent that I'm especially gifted at. You know how most people have at least one thing that they really excel at? Whether it's basketball, singing, the violin, etc- most people choose something they really love and are good at, practice it for years, and become gifted at it. It becomes a part of them and they earn a label, like: "I'm a <i>dancer.</i>" <br />
But what do I do? I'm certainly no athlete, PE was always my least favorite time of day. I was the child who during a soccer game made dandelion nests and chased my shadow while avoiding the ball at all costs. The child who developed a stomach ache every time we had to play dodge ball and begged the teacher to let me sit out.<br />
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So I wasn't into sports- I took dance. I wanted to be a ballerina and auditioned to be a little gingerbread girl
in the nutcracker. I still remember watching the little girls who could
do back handsprings and wondering how they learned such amazing things. I
remember my mom carrying me out from the audition and crying on her
shoulder when I didn't make the cut. <br />
Then I followed a cycle of wanting to try everything and while partially enjoying many things I could stick with nothing. It may have been a combination of feeling inadequate and being curious about what else was out there. I painted. I played the piano. I wanted to be a singer but no one in my family was theatrical like that- I hesitantly took voice lessons and joined the choir, but never auditioned for a musical (though I envied any girl I ever saw take the stage). I wanted to be a cheerleader, but never took tumbling. I wanted to be a dancer, but never learned how to do an arabesque pirouette.<br />
I have always loved being creative and being artistic, even though I've had a hard time figuring out how to channel it. <br />
What do I do really? I do love taking pictures. I've been a scrapbooker since I was in elementary school. Don't let your kids start that early, they'll just cut all their pictures into odd shapes with decorative edge scissors. I've been quilting since Jr. High, I love piecing a quilt together even though it sometimes takes me years to get around to actually finishing the quilting on it. After the girls were born I started making headbands for them, I wish I'd had that skill before I got married- I could have made my veil a lot cuter...<br />
I have always loved to cook- since I was little. I still can't define my strength as one thing- I'm not a chef or the worlds best seamstress, but I have always loved the homemaking skills, even when it wasn't cool to. I guess even though I shouldn't feel this way, sometimes I feel like my best strength has been diminished because it is now trendy and easy to have all of those skills- no need to grow up spending all your years acquiring them, going to college learning about ikebana and hard ball stage for my profession (I graduated in home economics from BYU before nursing school)<br />
Instead, when I make something cool the first question someone asks me is "oh, did you find this tutorial on pinterest?". Unless the particular craft/skill/recipe happened to be something I did indeed find on pinterest I just say "no" and my blood boils a little as I think about how there is no worth or appreciation for my own skill. my own creativity. my own original idea. Now, someone else has had a similar or better idea and its on pinterest- and now mine isn't so cool. And the "dancer" isn't just a dancer but a dancer who can bake perfect rolls and make a quilt and paint furniture and do everything I can do- except I still can't do a pirouette.<br />
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So there you have it, I'm not as accomplished as I ought to be. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have
acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for
people like you. Oh wait...that was just a quote from Taken. Just kidding. What I do have is a set of skills that you have too, even though they don't make me special I still love to cook- to attempt an authentic foreign meal. I love to bake a delicious dessert. I love to pull a quilt out of the dryer for the very first time when it crinkles up and shows off all the stitch work. I guess I just need to get over the fact that some people may not be as in awe of my rolls because they found similar/special<i>er</i> ones on pinterest. That's okay. You eat your rolls, I'll eat mine. Heck, I'll eat yours too. I like rolls. I'm sure they all taste good just the same. After all, it's a pinterest world we're living in.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-49261005856703466012012-06-20T08:58:00.001-07:002012-06-20T11:31:21.760-07:00Good Morning (Bath Time).mov<br />
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Well, we have an official family videographer! I'm been wanting Brad
to take on that role ever since the girls were born, but we did really
only have our phones to take videos with for the most part- and I've
just been too focused on taking a million photos. I forget a lot of
times to do video (and rarely post the ones I do). It's one of those
little regrets...I wish I had video even when the girls were just
little blobs who did nothing, it would just make all that they do now seem
even more amazing!<br />
Anyways... I got Brad this gopro camera he's
really been wanting for father's day. He has some big plans for using
it in Alaska while he's fishing. He's also graciously accepted to use
his new toy to document some of our family life as well. He made his
first video yesterday of the girls taking their bath. My favorite parts are when June tries to brush the camera's teeth and when Lyla goes crazy trying to eat her bath book.<br />
So
cute and pretty impressive for day one! :) Also, if you are concerned
at all by the song choice- we don't actually think anyone is trying to
hate on our little angels, it's just a cute song that says good morning a
lot and Brad only has a couple of songs on his computer. FYI. Don't
hate.<br />
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P.S. June pooped in the tub for the first time after this video was over...disgusting, I <i>know.</i> I've been fearing that day and knew it was only a matter of time before one of my babies made me enter that world. I now have a new merit badge to sew on my mom sash. Except Brad cleaned it up, kinda seems like a man's job don't you think? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-4161272694793390452012-06-17T10:04:00.001-07:002012-06-17T10:04:13.261-07:00papi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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from June & Lyla for their daddy</div>
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Brad really is an amazing dad. One of his best qualities as a dad is how he never grew up. He doesn't take things too seriously and knows how to be silly and have fun and act like a kid. As a dad you couldn't ask for a better quality. <br />
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What a fun dad. Brad has always been a favorite among my nieces and nephews, always wrestling with them and teasing and having fun playing with them. Now he has his own kids to do that with.</div>
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They love their daddy. "dada" was both of their first words.</div>
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What better way to celebrate daddy than shooting some hoops?</div>
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being silly, just like dad.</div>
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Playing with daddy's hats...</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-79188053699709545932012-06-11T10:02:00.000-07:002012-06-11T10:02:03.198-07:00a chocoholic's dietI can't say I've been <i>perfect </i>not eating "bad" carbs or sugar for the past three weeks, but I've been pretty close. I'm pretty sure I've used more {chocolate} will power in the past two weeks that in my entire life. I think it's good for me to learn this month that I CAN do it. Most people who are like me (like eat sweets for breakfast and lunch) have been telling me "I could NEVER do that!" and I smile at them, but I know it's not true- they don't WANT to do it. Of course they could do it, if I can do it anyone could do it- it has been incredibly hard. It's not like I don't want to eat sweets and yummy baked goods everyday- but I wanted a jump start to getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and the family biggest loser has been good motivation. I figure if I can survive the extreme this month it won't be so hard in the future to make and eat all the sweets I'm used to, but to issue a little more self control in the amounts and how often I binge on my beloved chocolate.<br />
I've come up with a few healthy versions of sweet treats that have really helped me get through this so I thought I'd share a few of them here.<br />
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After some trial and error this is my favorite {yummy!} cookie dough that has
no butter, sugar, or flour. I haven't tried a baked version yet, but I will soon! I doubled this for my Sunday treat this week and it completely satisfied my sweet tooth.<br />
<i>measurements are estimates-adjust to taste</i><br />
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PERFECT FAUX COOKIE DOUGH <br />
1 spoonful peanut butter (can also use "better n' peanut butter"- low cal, low fat)<br />
2 spoonfuls sugar-free fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix<br />
2-3 spoonfuls skim milk<br />
2-3 spoonfuls oats<br />
1 small spoonful cocoa (optional, omit for a more traditional cookie dough)<br />
a few chocolate chips (optional if you add cocoa- I bought some sugar free ones that I add)<br />
Just add all the ingredients in a little cup, stir with a spoon and eat up! <br />
{It holds up well in the fridge, and remember because of the pudding and especially if you use instant oats it thickens up a lot so don't skimp on the milk. You can also add a little splenda in place of some of the pudding if you want} <br />
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HEALTHY CHOCOLATE SHAKE<br />
skim milk- fill blender 1/2 way<br />
1/2 pkg sugar free fat free chocolate pudding<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
1 spoonful splenda<br />
1 spoonful cocoa<br />
Add ingredients to the blender and blend for a minute or so till it's nice and frothy. Taste and add more ingredients to taste if you'd like it more chocolatey/sweet etc. The key is to blend it good- it increases in volume, gives it a lovely texture and makes it taste yummy. I keep a blender of this in the fridge at all times so that when I need a treat I can just re-blend and pour a glass of yummy chocolate milk. This has been my breakfast most mornings and sometimes in the afternoon or evening a little swig of this helps me get through the day.<br />
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This chocolate mousse pudding is what I've always used when I make trifle, regardless of health and I've discovered it is very versatile- this week I made a non-chocolate version to top some healthy-ish cupcakes I made for a shower, I've also used it to fill mock eclairs etc. This weekend I made this sort of chocolate mousse pie to take to a lunch with friends-<br />
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CHOCOLATE MOUSSE PUDDING<br />
1 large pkg sugar free fat free chocolate pudding mix<br />
1 1/2 C milk<br />
1 container sugar free cool whip, thawed<br />
Whisk together pudding and milk, stir in cool whip. Store in the fridge. It is yummy on it's own or it can make a great topping/filling etc- the options are endless and you can do it with any of the pudding flavors- white chocolate and vanilla both work great! <br />
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Noticing a trend yet? Lol, I guess my saving grace for this diet is sugar free fat free pudding mixes. There's so much you can do with them- they are so easy to use and add very little calories for the flavor and sweetness that they add. Although they contain corn starch, there are only a few Tbs of pudding mix in each box so when you make a little snack with a portion of it I think it's fairly insignificant compared to all the high-calorie alternatives that I'm replacing it with (think butter, flour, sugar, chocolate etc).<br />
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Keep calm & eat {sugar free} chocolate! :)</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-84332195648974497872012-06-09T20:47:00.001-07:002012-07-10T12:32:57.424-07:00twinformation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As a mother of twins I have to say it's been it's been really nice having a community of other twin moms to confide in- some in real life (hi mom), some through blogging, many through instagram. I think only parents of twins really "get it" (the twin part that is)<br />
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I absolutely love being a mother of twins- I feel so blessed and think it is the funnest thing in the world. I always wanted twins and that's what I got, I love it! That being said, I'm pretty sure I bawled everyday for about 6 months or so- a lot of that probably had to do with the fact that I never slept.<br />
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I realized my relationship with the world was changing- people asked me what I was having and when I'd say TWO girls, suddenly everyone had the okay to express every opinion they had with me, the perfect stranger.<br />
People helped me with family planning. "You will not want more children after this" and "I'm sure you're done now".<br />
People thought it was terrible news, "Oh my, your firsts? I don't know if I should I congratulate you??"<br />
Lots of people wanted to know about me and my husbands intimate life, "Do twins run in your family (the politest way to ask if I was taking fertility meds)/Are the twins <i>naturally </i>conceived?/Are these fertility babies?" <br />
It was some people's responsibility to make sure I understood how difficult it was going to be. "Your life is over", "My {relative}'s {friend} has twins and she wants to die". Oh thank you, that's very helpful to know. I'll consider that next time I get pregnant and maybe just go for 1 baby.<br />
People had very considerate stories to share with me like "I'm a twin! But my twin died inutero." What a wonderful story to share with someone pregnant with twins. <br />
Once the girls were born and I started taking them in public the real invasion began, I no longer went to stores and stayed out of people's way and they stayed out of mine. 90% of the time people are very nice, I actually think its fun to hear people exclaim "oh twins,
what beautiful babies, how blessed, etc" that never gets old. But
suddenly every stranger in the world was giving me parenting advice and
saying comments that have been repeated to me hundreds of times and have
driven me to the point that I avoid peoples faces when I'm out and walk
as fast as I can. <br />
Including, but not limited to:<br />
"You've got your hands full!"<br />
"Better you than me" {um yeah, I think so too}<br />
"I would die if I ever had twins"<br />
"I could NEVER have twins" {so what would you actually do if the doctor told you you were having twins??}<br />
"That kinda stinks, you had twins but they don't even look alike" (yes someone actually said that)<br />
"My kids are <2 years apart, so it's like having twins, in fact it's harder because they are at different stages" {yes, it's much easier to have 2 babies in that newborn-having-to-nurse-every-2-hours-never-sleeping-spitting-up-and-pooping-constantly stage, I also enjoy juggling 2 teething, whining babies with the exact same needs, I also think it is much easier...}<br />
Some aren't as bad, but I'll just point out that I hear them all the time...<br />
"double trouble!"<br />
"Is it hard having twins?" {um, yes.} <br />
"One of each, a girl and a boy!"<br />
"Are they twins?" <br />
I realize that people generally have good intentions, but hearing
some of these comments so many times in a row still sometimes gets
annoying. One particularly crazy day at costco I stopped counting the
number of times I heard "you've got your hands full" after 15.<br />
I
don't want to sound mean, I don't mind that Lyla and June get noticed-
in fact I'm so used to it I wonder what's up if I go somewhere and don't
get lots of comments. But its one thing to say a KIND comment in
passing and it's another to go out of your way to say nothing positive to a complete stranger. (Did the parents of these poor, deprived strangers never have them watch Bambi or something? If you
can't say something nice don't say anything at all.)<br />
I don't know what possesses people to decide that they should share
that they're so glad they're not me, with me. I don't see people in the
store and walk up to them because they just HAVE to know that I'm so
glad I'm not them. <i>weirdos.</i> But they are right, I guess it is
better me than them because June and Lyla are much better off being raised by me, a
person who feels happy and privileged to be their mom, despite how hard
it has been at times. It is double the trouble, double the diapers, double the bottles and tantrums and feedings and messes. But it is also double the fun, double the love, double the laughs and happiness. I get to experience all the joys of motherhood <i>times two</i> and I'd have it no other way!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-81319623842638267892012-06-08T08:40:00.000-07:002012-06-10T09:55:21.096-07:00little bakers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was organizing pictures on my computer when I realized I never posted any pictures from the girls' 1 year old baking shoot I did with them- and obviously the blog needed this cuteness, so here you go.<br />
I'd been dreaming up combining my two favorite things ever since the girls were born. (my babies and my baking)<br />
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Set up:</div>
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I decided I would use these pics for their invites. It wasn't anything fancy, but I think the picture kinda speaks for itself and makes up for lack of graphic design skills.<br />
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I did it in place of a pre-party cake smash--it was a baby cake batter party!</div>
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I made them some little aprons for the occasion.</div>
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and I was planning to make fabric chef's hats, but since they were <i>baking </i>I
wanted them to look like pastry chef hats, not just regular mushroom
style chef hats. I know that's ridiculous and no one would ever notice,
so now I kinda wish I'd gone the other route they might have stayed on better...oh well, we'll live.</div>
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I was so pleased to see how quickly they accepted chocolate as a favorite food, my offspring.</div>
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Help yourself.</div>
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Pure adorableness, in raw form.</div>
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Is there anything better than baking babies?</div>
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little June baker</div>
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She likes her chocolate.</div>
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little Lyla baker</div>
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Even after their bath I still found chocolate in Lyla's ear.</div>
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We all had such fun!</div>
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the end.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-53789983203997126632012-06-07T20:18:00.001-07:002012-06-08T10:42:23.202-07:00Pizza Nightmmmmm....pizza. Brad and I love pizza night, and I'm not gonna lie, I make a mean pizza. It's the perfect vehicle for my culinary creativity and it also helps accomplish my "perfect bite" theory. Everything is bite size and spread out meaning it's easier to get all the yummy flavors in your mouth at once. I started doing pizza night every week and was having so much fun creating different pizzas each time. So, even though the sugar thing has been much harder than the carb thing on the diet, I've missed the pizza night tradition.<br />
Then I realized pinterest could probably solve all my problems. I searched for carb-free pizzas and the yummiest sounding one was with a cauliflower crust- there are several versions out there and I changed it up a bit to use less cheese, more cauliflower, and make a bigger pizza. I wasn't sure what to expect, but honestly I didn't miss the bread- it was hard to believe it wasn't there and the texture and flavor were great! <br />
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CAULIFLOWER CRUST PIZZA<br />
1 head cauliflower<br />
1 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese<br />
2 eggs, beaten<br />
1 tsp dried oregano<br />
1 tsp garlic salt<br />
1 tsp crushed garlic<br />
desired sauce and toppings (precooked) <br />
Pull leaves off of cauliflower leaving the stem. Holding the stem, grate the cauliflower into a microwavable bowl (you'll probably end up with around 2 1/2 C of riced cauliflower). Microwave uncovered for 7 minutes. Let cool slightly then add remaining ingredients and pat out and shape onto a pizza stone. Lightly brush with olive oil if desired. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes then remove, add desired toppings then return to broil for a few minutes till toppings are nice and hot. Because of the cheese the crust will stick a little to the pan, use a metal spatula to scrape it off and everything will be okay. You could use parchment paper if you're really scared. Enjoy!<br />
{in case you were wondering, this particular pizza has BBQ sauce, chicken, bacon, onions, peppers, parmesan, and a tiny bit of mozzarella}<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-91219059307175597182012-06-05T07:43:00.003-07:002012-06-10T09:56:20.130-07:00water babiesYesterday started out as one of <i>those </i>days. As I prepared breakfast the girls managed to get a 60-pack tub of gum out from the cupboard- I looked over to see two babies with their mouths stuffed with every single piece of gum in the container- like chimpunks with acorns. As I fished them out of Lyla's mouth June ran as fast as she could from me, I ran to get them out of her mouth and saw Lyla retrieving her gum from the garbage can, it was actually pretty hilarious and no one choked so that was nice.<br />
After that we went grocery shopping. June kept standing in the stroller and I kept getting her back down. {my girls can maneuver their way out of just about any 5-point harness} At the checkout stand I was busy fishing all the groceries out from the bottom of the stroller when out of the corner of my eye I see a baby falling and a loud, scary smack. June was hysterically screaming with good reason as I held her and tried to finish unloading the groceries. It took a long time for her to settle down and in the car she started dozing off. I immediately panicked, was she dozing off because it's close to nap time? Because she has a severe concussion? She fell so hard right onto her head... I observed her while she napped at home and in the afternoon I literally wanted to lay on the couch and just leave the girls in some non-existent padded room with cheerios and soft toys for the afternoon. Since that wasn't going to happen I decided to try and be a fun mom and let the girls enjoy the summer weather- it turned out so fun and we all forgot about the morning's events. {June's giant goose-egg wasn't too noticeable in the pics, you might notice her left eye appears lower that her right...but it looked much better than today's shiner.<br />
The girls laughed and played in their little "pool" for about 20 minutes, it was so fun to watch!<br />
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having too much fun<br />
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warming up to the water...</div>
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starting to think it's hilarious</div>
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so happy to have their constant playmate</div>
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Splish splashin' away, then they tried to move the bucket which was way too heavy for them</div>
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They are just too sweet with each other sometimes, it melts my heart. </div>
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This was such a big hit, I'm convinced we need a real little baby pool for them to enjoy through the warm summer months!</div>
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I know I'm sharing way too many of these pictures, but I'm in love with all of them and this blog is for me- and I was never that good at following the "less is more" philosophy. :)</div>
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June loves playing with Lyla's hair.</div>
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perfect afternoon</div>
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Glad I didn't let the morning get the best of me, monday was a great day!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-79508336298210434252012-06-01T11:05:00.000-07:002012-06-01T11:05:06.589-07:00cookies and cakes and brownies, oh my!My family is doing a biggest loser competition, and anyone who knows me know that me and a diet are like oil and water. It just doesn't blend. I like to be happy and enjoy life- which for me revolves around food. I am passionate about eating well and having delicious food- especially baked goods and chocolate. Luckily for me, up until my pregnancy I was able to eat anything I wanted and with very minimal exercise (or no exercise) maintained my "happy weight". Then came pregnancy...I gained a lot. By 6 months I weighed what my mom weighed at the end of her twin pregnancy. I saw numbers on the scale I never imagined possible for me. It was a little scary, but I had 2 other people in my body so I cut myself some slack.<br />
After the babies were born the pounds fell off for the first couple of months with just breastfeeding. I still ate at least as much as I did when I was pregnant, and was so incredibly exhausted constantly that exercise wasn't even in the equation. I was 10 lbs heavier than I was before, but I was happy with the one month results. <br />
Then all of the sudden, 15 months later I still weigh the same. Maybe even a little more. When I stopped breastfeeding I kept eating the same and quickly realized something needed to change- I was gaining weight. Pregnancy completely changed my body, not just my ribs and my stomach, but it's ability to let me eat limitless amounts of sweets. I started trying to be a little more conscious about what I ate, and even went to the gym a couple times, but that only helped me maintain my weight, not loose it.<br />
I've never really done a diet before and always thought they sounded like a cruel form of slow death, but I've also never really had to <i>lose </i>weight. I'm not crazy huge, still in the normal BMI for my height- but I used to be at the very bottom of that "normal weight" category, and I feel like that's where I belong. I want to get back.<br />
So when Brad said no one else stood a chance against him in my family's biggest loser competition, it gave me the motivation I needed to prove to him that he's not the only "smart and hard working" person out there- I can do hard things too. It may seem ridiculous, but not enjoying my food is just about the hardest thing anyone could ask me to do. (outside of something crazy like leave my family)<br />
For 2 weeks I've had basically no sugar or "bad" carbs (actually good carbs in my book). I did cheat a bit one day (do donuts and chocolate cake count as cheating?), but that was last week. I feel more tired and ornery than normal and I'm even more convinced sugar <i>is </i>good for me. I've done some crazy things- things like make brownies...with black beans and splenda- just to mildly enjoy the experience of sitting down and eating something that <i>looks </i>like a brownie. This isn't something that I can keep up forever, but the competition is only 4 more weeks and I only want to survive this craziness till I'm back to my normal weight. Then I'm *hoping* that I can go back to an only slightly modified version of my ways to maintain that weight. (ya know, like instead of eating 10+ of the cookies I make maybe 4-5 can do the trick.)<br />
I want to beat Brad, but it's looking nearly impossible at this point. I'll still do my darndest to prove him wrong, but the most important thing to me is getting to the point that I can wear all my pants, that I don't feel self conscious when I get dressed, and feel a little more "myself". It's a little frustrating to imagine all this work will be in vain the next time I'm pregnant, but hopefully I'll discover it is possible to feel at home in my own skin post-pregnancy and that will give me more motivation not to wait over a year next time to give it a try. Here's to hoping.<br />
There is a smaller version of me trapped somewhere...<br />
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Probably trapped because of all the things like this I'm always making:<br />
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Ahh, cookies...my dear friends. See you in a month or two.</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-5150646064467651542012-05-31T21:27:00.000-07:002012-05-31T21:27:05.047-07:00little miss speedstersI have been eying various vintage-style {metal frame} kids cars online for months, the ones I was finding cost hundreds so I was in the process of crushing that little dream when these little beauties came along:<br />
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On a fabulous sale for $49! I did such a good job selling Brad on how we needed one that he thought we should get TWO! Which is a lot more fun for the girls, and I'm such a crazy nostalgic type of person that I imagine 25 years from now my daughters will be thanking me because they each have one for their children to ride. I'm weird like that, maybe because I was the youngest child of 6 and my mom didn't keep that many of my things, I swear my pictures skip from a couple of newborn pictures to when I was one. I've certainly over-compensated my loss with J&L...<br />
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Sometimes I start to think it's been about a month (or maybe sometimes only a week) since I've taken some pictures of the girls with the real camera and just thinking about it makes me tired. It's fun picking out outfits and backgrounds and silly themes to play with, but it takes work and the girls are a couple of wild cards who may or may not cooperate. Yet, literally every single time I decide to do it there isn't one regret and it turns into such a fun, memorable experience for the 3 of us! Every. Single. Time. We laugh and have fun and crazy stuff happens sometimes- but it makes memories and I end up with a bunch of cute pictures that remind me of that very day, what stage the girls were in and what they were doing making that little "shoot" special and fun.<br />
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While the girls napped I assembled their new cars, I'm a mechanic of infantile locomotives! Then I fed the girls, got them dressed, and introduced them to their new best friends.<br />
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They both ran up to them and wanted to sit on them. And at first they just sat there, stunned. So I wheeled them around to teach them about the whole <i>wheel </i>thing- and they loved that!<br />
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They worked on moving themselves.<br />
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They gave up and pushed the things.<br />
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They honked the horns.<br />
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They'd have some car troubles, but the handy little things kicked that tire and hopped back on.<br />
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Then they'd get back on and try again. For some reason I like this blurry pic, I guess it gives the illusion of motion, which is all the girls are these days- the twin tornado going from room to room causing {adorable} trouble:<br />
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Once we'd had our fun I took them into the other room and gave them some graham crackers and June went running back into the room. She found her necklace, put it on, found lyla's headband, and climbed onto her car. When Lyla chased in after her she handed Lyla her headband to put back on. "The show must go on!" She literally said that, it was a miracle. <br />
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June liked it.<br />
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Lyla liked it.<br />
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The end!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8865496553876442062.post-31288452500942755232012-05-15T13:58:00.003-07:002012-05-15T13:58:34.389-07:00"happy" mother's dayI sort of feel like this was my first mother's day, last year I was still crazy adjusting to motherhood and I don't really remember it at all. I think we celebrated with Brad's family at my parent's place in Midway. I didn't honestly have that high of expectations for it this year, but I also didn't expect it to be a horrible weekend.<br />
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I'm pretty sure Brad doesn't even read my blog, so I can speak freely, but I won't...to preserve our familyhood. I'll just share *most* of the story, because it's therapeutic for me. And maybe I'll discover there are other moms out there like me who perhaps didn't enjoy the breakfast in bed, pampered sort of weekend that one conjures up images of.<br />
It all began with Lyla having the runs on Friday which lead to a nasty diaper rash that still hasn't gone away. She only let me sleep a couple hours at a time on Friday night and reminded me of those first 6 months of sleepless nights. What a special mommy memory, thank you Lyla. :)<br />
We're doing yard work exchange in all of my familys' yards and this Saturday was my parents turn, so we spent the better part of Saturday building decks, weeding, and I mostly tended to sad little Lyla. The girls napped in the car and I stayed with them while Brad got a pedicure, don't judge him. I told him to do it because his feet were horrible, much worse off than my chipped paint.<br />
So we get home once I grab a few gorceries and I'm about to start preparing my lesson (Oh, did I not mention I had to teach relief society on mother's day too?) And Brad informs me we need to leave for a mother's day surprise. That's nice, but I have a lot to get done, he said it was just grabbing dinner and that scared me because Lyla has been the clingiest, saddest little think ever since the diaper rash. Well, turns out it wasn't just dinner- we drove all the way to provo with 2 screaming babies who had already spent most of their day in their car seats. And they were going to drive for another hour to a wedding reception while we grabbed dinner. Then we had to drive home with them, stop at gas stations to change dirty diapers etc...needless to say it was not so relaxing or fun, though filled with good intentions. <br />
I don't want to depress you, so enjoy this lovely quote before I continue:<br />
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We got home late and I commenced preparing hundreds of mini cupcakes to give to the ladies in the ward for mother's day. And also prepare my lesson, after organizing my thoughts my computer shuts down deleting everything I'd just done. No sweat, plan B, those hand outs I didn't ever get around to printing will save the day! At 11:30 PM I rush to Wal-mart only to discover that the photo center closes at 9. (be aware people) There's a lot of weird people at wal-mart around midnight on a Saturday, but I must have looked like the weirdest one of all in my pajamas with tears welling up in my eyes at the photo center.<br />
On Sunday morning I prepared my lesson while Brad watched the girls, then I walked into the kitchen to find June and Lyla eating and smashing my mini cupcakes I'd stayed up all night preparing. Good thing Brad wasn't in the room or pans would have been flying. I swear I'm always at my meanest on Sunday mornings that I have to teach, but knowing it was mother's day really gave me that extra edge knowing I ought to be enjoying some me time, be pampered, have a relaxing moment. That was a fleeting dream so I called my mom to come to the rescue and frost cupcakes and talk for a few minutes during my lesson. <br />
As soon as church was over we drove up to bountiful, quickly ate with my family, and had to leave early to drive to Provo and see Brad's family. Basically, mother's day weekend consisted of a lot of stress, crying babies, and driving. I wanted to pull my hair out and cry, why was I being punished this weekend for being a mom?! <br />
So, after all that where does this go? I will tell you, I think mother's day is a nice holiday that all mom's truly deserve, that forces those around them to show their appreciation and give them a break for at least one day. But it's really just one day, it doesn't change your life & at least I am a mom and I have June & Lyla, I'm very blessed and lucky. My own mom is amazing- like has babies in Samoa, raises 5 kids under 6 and still decides to have me amazing. She is always there for me and loves me and wants whats best for me. I'm so lucky to have her as a mom and really do pray that I can be a mom like that for Lyla & June. <br />
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I hope everyone had a better mother's day than mine, if you didn't we can wallow in our own sorrow together, if you did I'm happy for you and at least my standard of mother's day is so low that it has no where to go but up.<br />
All that really matters is that I am a mom, a very lucky mom, to these two beautiful girls:<br />
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Happy Mother's Day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4