Category: holidays

4th of July Recap

We had a nice low-key 4th of July weekend. On Saturday we took E to In-and-Out for lunch and then stopped by a local splash park. E had fun running around but after a while the wind picked up and he started shivering like crazy so we left.

Around here most of the fireworks displays were scheduled for Saturday night and one of the bigger displays was just across the freeway from us so at 9:45 pm we woke E up, strapped him in his stroller, and walked down the block to a park where we had a great view. E was enthralled and kept excitedly shouting out the colors of the fireworks. At one point he cupped his hand around his ear and when we asked him what he was doing he informed us he was “listening for the boom.”

N had the day off yesterday so we took E up to the NPS store to browse around and then came home and took naps. In the evening E’s babysitter came over and N and I drove to Salt Lake and had dinner at The Copper Onion (which was very tasty) and watched Exit Through the Gift Shop (which was excellent).

And now back to the daily grind.

Easter Weekend

This weekend was nice and low-key. My church held its general conference on Saturday and Sunday. It was nice to listen to the inspired words of our prophet and other leaders. Here in Utah where there are so many Mormons the conference is broadcast on local tv so you can watch from the comfort of your couch. It was a great time to reflect on my life and my relationship with the Savior.

I actually got to attend a conference session in person: not something I do that often. I went with my mom who is in town visiting my sister Jan. There were a few small hiccups: we sat next to a distracting couple who were smooching and whispering loudly through the whole conference, I had to leave my camera at the package check and then it took almost an hour to get it back after conference (the line was huge and then it took them 20 minutes to find it during which I was freaking out that it had been lost), and then we accidentally got on the wrong TRAX train on the way home. But it was fun to hang out with my mom and to be there in person to feel the spirit of the conference.

On Easter we gave E a basket with treats and his very first Slinky. (Predictably, he has been mesmerized by it/shown great talent at tangling it up.) And sometime this weekend between sessions of conference and eating Easter treats N showed me this video.

You’re welcome, people. YOU ARE WELCOME.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you’re having a lovely Christmas day with family or friends or doing something you enjoy. So far our Christmas has been very nice. The only issue we’ve had is that E still has a nasty cold he came down with earlier in the week so he is a lot more clingy than normal and we weren’t able to make it to Jan’s house last night as planned (we don’t want to get the new baby sick). But E is soldiering on and having a wonderful time despite not feeling 100%. (Funny how new toys will help with that.)


I’ve really enjoyed getting to know new people and sharing the doings of our little family with friends and family through this blog. Thank you for reading. I’m going to take a little break from posting but will be back after the New Year. In the meantime, enjoy the end of 2009!

Photos with Santa

Like a lot of two-year-olds E is not a big fan of seeing Santa in person. I had thought about taking him to the mall to get a picture of him with the big guy but E freaked out so much when he saw Santa at our little neighborhood party that I didn’t have the heart to drag him to the mall. Also, I just kind of ran out of time (see also: sending out Christmas cards).


This gallery of terrified kids with Santa is pretty awesome. Pictures #30 and on are “bonuses” and are their own special kind of awesome.

Christmas Lights

Earlier this week I went with our church youth group to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. I was with my friend Stephanie (she of the $9 designer jeans fame) and some of the older girls so it was a lot of fun to hang out and chat. We have a lot of great kids in our congregation.

Tonight N and I are planning on taking E to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. It’s right by our house and you can drive through the display in your car and stay toasty and warm. E has really been enamored of the lights this holiday season and I think he’ll have a blast.

The assembly hall at Temple Square.

The Salt Lake temple.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I still have a few last-minute Christmas tasks to take care of (and some that I’ve given up on, like Christmas cards) but I’m hoping to make time for some low-key fun with N and E.

Thanksgiving Report

With all the hubbub over our surprise visitor I forgot to mention how Thanksgiving dinner went, which was surprising well. The highlights were the turkey and dessert.

It was my first time cooking a turkey and I used this popular Alton Brown recipe which I hereafter pledge my allegiance to. It turned out fantastic–moist and flavorable.

And I made N’s much-wished-for berry pie, complete with star-shaped vents courtesy of a little cutter that came with a Play-doh set E received for his birthday (Thanks, Gwyn!).

It was very sweet and fun to sit down with N and E and eat our own little Thanksgiving meal.

Turkey Day Countdown! *Gulp*

Up until now I’ve successfully avoided ever having to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. But this year my luck finally ran out/we decided that it would be nice to have our own dinner now that we have our own little family.

But of course I’m horribly unprepared. Work has been really crazy lately, N and I are both coming down with colds, and E’s been feeling under the weather and cranky since he got his flu shot on Friday. Bleh. I wish I had another week to prepare.

But the holidays wait for no one. Since it will just be the three of us I’m planning keeping it as simple as I can: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, a vegetable dish/salad, store-bought rolls, and a homemade pie or two (N has his heart set on a berry pie and has vowed to help with the baking). My sister-in-law Miranda recommended this Alton Brown turkey recipe which seems doable and tasty, but other than that I’m not sure about which recipes to use.

Any specific suggestions? What are you guys going to cook?

E’s Birthday Celebration

E had a great birthday yesterday. My sister-in-law Miranda and I took the kids up to Discovery Gateway, a children’s museum in Salt Lake. They loved it. There was lots for them to do and explore.

L and E in a fire engine conveniently built with two steering wheels.

E and L at a construction play site.
(Lately E has been really into hats. If there’s one around, he’ll put it on. Last week he was wearing some other kid’s hat when I picked him up from daycare at the gym.)

Clambering around in a defunct Life Flight helicopter than was donated to the museum.

A, Miranda’s daughter, was a trooper while we were there.

After we got home I baked E some dairy-free, egg-free cupcakes from a mix by Cherrybrook Kitchen and then E and I went to the store to buy him some balloons (still one of his very favorite things). When N got home from work we had dinner and then cupcakes and presents.

The cupcake (and frosting) was well-received.

We gave E a Yo Gabba Gabba themed toy guitar. (He keeps unwinding the strings on his ukulele so we thought he’d do better with a string-less toy.)

And this toy car. Both were big hits.

E had a great day. He learned the word “birthday” and kept shouting it in excitement. It was a lot of fun.