My Life, Blog Style

December Pics and Catch Up

2012-01-15T23:07:00.001-07:00

Gabe with his new art desk! Loves it!

Merry Cheesemas!

Arrrrgh! Pirates!

Loves his new scissors and stamps!

It was a fabulous holiday season for all involved!

New kitty Shadow!

There were a few setbacks in December, one of them being a stray we decided to take in was too sick and died. Stumpy was only with us a short time and will always be apart of our lives. She left a tiny hole in our heart and we decided we could give back to another needy kitty and picked up Shadow from the Humane Society. She's a sweetie and is whipping Frodo and Wolfgang into shape! She's a lover and full of life.

Living Out Loud

2011-12-22T10:32:00.003-07:00

One my beautiful friend Hillary just had her 30th birthday. The 3-0 is a pretty big milestone in anyone's life. So we and a bunch of other beautiful friends headed down to a local club The Madison for some serious dancin'!

It was the funnest night of my life!!!! Happy 30, Hillary! May the next ten years be even more fantastic and may I be able to share many of those years with you!

Getting together with my friends and to go out dancing was an amazing feeling of awe and amazement. We're powerful and we're hot. It's nice to remember that every once in awhile. So here's to living out loud!

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Our anniversary and my attempt at making krispie rice treats....

Archie and I did it; we made 8 years this last week, December 12! You look back and think about where you came from, what you've done together over the last 8 years, and where you're at now. Basically, each year has to be taken on its own. And as it has added up over the last 8, I think we're doing pretty good. Some years have been tougher than others but we always manage to make it through. Here's to another exciting year!

We had a fantastic time with some new drinks at Murphy's and chips and salsa and then we walked up to the Roof fancy shmanshy's buffet!

The marshmallows were old and stale in my defense! Stale marshmallows do not melt nicely; they ooze and gooze into a sentient blob and run like a vole into the nearest sink....I thought it was going to attack! My next batch went a lot smoother! Whew.

Gabe and the Holidays!

2011-12-06T22:51:00.001-07:00

This is the first year that Gabe has been able to really get excited about this awesome time of the year! He loved helping with the ornaments; the bottom has very concentrated areas of ball ornaments! The only setback was having our Christmas tree stolen...(we picked ours out a couple of months ago and when we went to pick it up at the tree farm someone had already taken). But we got another one and it looks fantabulous...well, we forgot to look up how to actually take care of a real tree since we usually go for our pre-lit Walmart tree. So we forgot to water it and now it's dry. We are going to try to recut it tomorrow...we'll see!


Oh, we also cut out snowflakes!

Cookies have been made with more to go! I'm even planning on making egg nog and wassail from scratch this year. We even got an impromptu visit with Santa last week while at the store! Can't complain about a free 5x7 photo. We still need to get our holiday family photo taken and we're good to go!

It's been amazing to see Gabe's excitement. I remember what it was like when I was a kid. Making cookies, listening to Christmas music, dancing, hanging up ornaments, hugs, and kisses. Wondrous and magical.

Our Own Family Magic

2011-12-02T15:38:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted on here as much as I'd like. My camera has been on the fritz, among other things. So no new pictures right now. But the holidays, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa are all upon us. I love this time of year. It's always been a magical time for me. For me it's about family and friends, making cookies and delivering them to neighbors, helping those in need (not that this is the only time of year to do that!), trying out new recipes, meeting new people, setting up decorations, and starting new traditions with my own family.

It's really amazing to me that I have my own family and I can start making this time of year magical for my own son. So even though this time inevitably brings its own set of loneliness, stress and anxiety, I know it'll still be magical since I'll be with loved ones and enjoying this wonderful and short time on this planet Earth and celebrating traditions that have been handed down since time immemorial. And that's always a reason to celebrate. May you all have your own family magic this year.

This song below expresses my feelings so well as only Tim Minchin can. Enjoy!

Halloween and Such!

2011-11-02T13:53:00.001-06:00

We had a fabulous Halloween this year! This was Gabe's first year in understanding a bit about the excitement for candy and going trick-or-treating. He really enjoyed all the decorations and the "scary" books and the talk of candy, candy, candy, candy! I made my chili and zombie cupcakes! Our neighbors came over and celebrated with us and we all went trick-or-treating together. The weather was soooo amazing!!! I don't remember a Halloween ever being this warm. It was so nice to wear just wear my pirate costume without any kind of jacket or coat.

My zombie toxic bite cupcakes--teeth and all!

Gabe (Archie helped a lot) did a bat for his pumpkin.

Our Halloween porch.

Archie's and my pumpkins

We also drove up to Cascade Springs and enjoyed the scenery with our friends.


So naturey!

Gabe wanted pancakes last night so he helped me mix and cook!

More fun pics...

My little Babushka!

New haircut but a little grumpy

Happier after he got his goldfish!

Wearing Mom's boots!

I also ran my first half marathon on Saturday morning with my friend Annie. It was a costume run and I dressed up as a pirate. We also got a really cool pirate medal! It was the hardest thing physically I've ever had to do but it was a lot of fun. Annie kept me going even when she could have run on ahead and finished an hour before me (I don't think I would have finished if she hadn't have stuck with me!). Probably the craziest thing I've done this year! Woot!

Us, freezing our arses off at 5 in the morning!

Mondays With Gabe-Catch Up (1)

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's been over 2 months since I've updated...silly me. I've got some good pics of the Gabester! We also hiked Diamond Creek Hot Springs with our friends, and I even did an Undie Run with my friend Annie!

Chilling at the archeology dig at the dinosaur museum

Diamond Fork hot springs

Gabe with my shoes on!

If you have superhuman vision you can see the rattlesnake! Yikes!

Fingerpaints, not blood; I promise!

He loves stuffing things down his shirt!

Went X-mas tree shopping with some friends!

Our blue spruce tree!

Toughing up for the undie run!

I went with some lingerie to cover ahem...my special stretch marks!

me and Annie

Gathering at the State Capitol

Crazy fun months of summer went right on by! So fun! Looking forward to the Fall!

August Hikes: Stewart Falls

2011-08-09T22:57:00.000-06:00

Here's the as-promised pics!

July Catch-up!

2011-08-08T12:46:00.000-06:00

Let's see... We hiked up to Timpanogos Cave with some friends! Really cool. Gabe rode on Archie's back in the back pack and I pretty much held him inside the cave. But he made it through despite some screaming sessions and bonked heads!

A beautiful sunset!

We also had more adventures at Thanksgiving Point's animal farm and had some fun in our kiddie pool...we filled it up with hot water and just relaxed and had fun with some friends!

Gabe on his first horsie ever!

Also introduced Gabe to finger paints! Yeah! It got everywhere! Mess is good.

We've also been doing some extra hiking this month. We headed to Pleasant Grove's falls, easy breezy kind of hike. And then this last weekend we headed up to Stewart Falls! Both great hikes and we all had a lot of fun! I'll add the Stewart Falls pics in another post...

Got some glitter toes, too!

June and 4th of July Weekend Update!

2011-07-07T12:00:00.000-06:00

June was really fun. We headed up to Portland, Oregon for a few days and took a trip down the coast to visit some friends. I enjoyed spending time in the largest book store ever, Powell's! Spent some time at the beach, ate good food and just relaxed. We missed Gabe a lot but knew he was in good hands with my mother!

One interesting thing...at our first hotel in Gresham, the pool had too much chlorine or something and the second we turned on the hot tub jets our eyes started watering burning and we had trouble breathing! So we had to ditch the pool fast and we tried to get rid of the hives that formed that night....sigh. We can look back now and laugh.

Before I get ahead of myself...the first week in June was Eagle Mountain's Pony Express Days. We watched the parade and enjoyed a little time at the Carnival. Gabe had fun on the carousel but hated the dragon mini roller coaster; I guess it was too jerky and bumpy for him. It was so sad. He even went down the big slide with me (I even was scared going down that one!).

Here's the scary roller coaster Gabe didn't like too much!

Gabe enjoyed the boats with his friend Cameron.

This was pre-roller coaster start! Happy!

Chillin' in the cars

Carousel with Daddy

At the parade

We also spent time at the Dinosaur museum! Gabe really enjoyed it this year better than last. And our city just built a splash park so we tried that one out this last weekend.

Crazy hair right before haircut!

Caught him in the newspapers. So cute.

We also hung out with our awesome neighbors for some fireworks on the 4th!

Wolfy made an appearance as well

This kid was doped up on all kinds of sugar...

A Not So Vegas Weekend and Other Pics....

2011-06-01T09:41:00.000-06:00

We tried to be good siblings and come down to Archie's sister's surprise birthday dinner last Friday night down there in Vegas. We thought it would be a fun time, quick, but fun with Gabe...sigh, not to be. We got down there late and Gabe was pretty ornery from the drive down. A local neighbor of my bro and sis in law agreed to babysit all the kids while we were out til 1AM. It was fancy, for sure. Never eaten anywhere as fancy! So we did get some good free food. And it was fun to see Archie's sister and her family again; it's been a long time. Plus, since she had no idea we were coming, it took her a few seconds to realize that she knew us when she sat down with her husband. She was thinking that the restaurant is so busy they have to seat them with people they don't know! LOL! I wish I had gotten her reaction on camera...priceless.

Gabe helping to clean car!

We stayed one night at the Orleans.

Archie's very nice lobster brisque

My super fancy green salad!

So after a fun evening with his fam, we got back to Gabe and he was so miserable. He had a fever and was hysterical and so we rushed him back to our hotel room and got no sleep. None of us, really. We wanted to stay Saturday and see a few things and then go back to Archie's sister's place for a pool party and dinner but it was not to be. We were all way to miserable so we packed up and checked out for home that morning. It was a good thing too. Gabe slept like twelve hours that night and Archie and I were pretty close to that. We were just so exhausted. So we lost out on one of our hotel room nights...sigh, no refunds. But hey, the things we do for family, right?!

Mother's Day was fun as well. Went to Park City and Village Inn in the morning! Not too shabby.

Well, other exciting news...I got my haircut a couple of weeks ago by a good friend and got some highlights! I love it! It's the shortest I've had my hair since I was a little kid so a long time! It's fun!

We also put Gabe in a toddler bed! Thanks to Autumn!

Memorial Day we met my parents and my sister Cheryl up in Bountiful where our grandparents are all buried and then ate at Chuck-a-rama! Food and food galore. They had some tasty scones and salad dressings! Gabe hardly eats anything so....I think we got him to eat some jello and drink some juice. And since Gabe is such a Daddy's boy he got pretty rambunctious and I couldn't do anything with him and Archie couldn't so we had to leave early before we were all kicked out for disturbing the peace! Such is life in the child lane.

I love this one!

We also went over to a friend's house and Gabe thought it would be fun to climb into her cats' condo! So cute.

Out of the Mouth of Gabe...

2011-05-15T11:57:00.000-06:00

We're having fun and running around after Archie gets home on Friday. Gabe has some monster shoes since he has some monster feet so every once in awhile they are bound to trip him up...right into the corner of the wall while eating candy. So he freaks out and starts bawling. I'm giving him all the cuddles and kisses and hugs I can and so is Archie. This went on for a few minutes. Now I'm starting to get a bit worried that he may have a concussion (Gabe is my first so I do freak out over everything)....He stops crying and looks up at me and says: "More candy?" That was it! I cracked up so hard!!!! How could I refuse. So more candy it was.

Happy Women's Day!

2011-05-07T23:05:00.000-06:00

Image source: Broken Beautiful

Yes, it's mother's day and I want to wish all those who are mother's a happy one. But I like to think that just being a woman is pretty darn special. I remember when I wasn't a mother and how every year I'd head over for the family party and I just felt lame, deficient, etc. I have two sisters and they both gave to each other on that day, but I was always left out...My mom is pretty darn awesome so she always included me with a card and a hug...but still. What about all those women out there who want to be parents and can't? I just feels a bit too in your face every year.

So I say let's just celebrate womanhood! Whether you have children, want children but don't yet, don't have any and probably won't, let's just celebrate together! We're awesome. And no matter who you are, you awesome for who you are now, not for who you may or may not be in the future. Let's celebrate the wonderful women in our lives...our moms, sisters, aunts, grandmas, daughters, cousins, and friends! You are BEAUTIFUL!

More April Pics and Updates!

2011-04-25T15:14:00.000-06:00

Where did April go? No idea. All I know is it's still cold, cold, cold and rainy. I want more sunshine and temps of 70s...sigh.

It's been a good month. Gabe has really taken off too! He loves puzzles. I had some old puzzles from when I was a kid and brought them out for him and he's been figuring them out and doing them on his own. Crazy. He's putting a lot more two-word phrases together as well and understanding so much more. He's just so fun to watch and play with.

Here's some more zany pics!

Our little pirate!

I was painting mine and he wanted his done too!

Gabe got in his stuffed animal box and Archie piled them all in around him. It was so cute and fun!

Easter was so fun this year with Gabe. He even helped color the eggs!

He thought it would be fun to get inside his blocks bag! Then he got stuck!

Archie's helping him out.

March Madness...February Too!

2011-03-31T09:14:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy month! OK, not really but it sure feels like it! Lots of pics I didn't get up so here we go!

Lots of chocolate eating!!!

Gabe got a big pencil from his aunt for his birthday!

Kleenex fun!

In February we headed up to Midway for its Ice Castles!

Had some friends over for book discussions and dancing Wii style!

Archie built a fort for Gabe in his bedroom.

That's about it. Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?

PS...It looks like a nice day today! Yeah! I hope we can go out and enjoy the sun and warmer weather!!!

Love ing the Weather

2011-03-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

....until Gabe starts throwing all the wood chips at the rest of the neighborhood kids...sigh. But then we go back out and all is good again the world.

Today is Archie's birthday and he came home for lunch and we got some Subways and headed over to the park. It was so nice. Gabe just ran around and tried the big slides at last! He is getting braver and braver. Soon he'll be swinging with no fear!

Can't wait for the permanence of the weather to hit...nature walks, hikes...we're going to get one of those stroller trailers for bikes so Gabe can ride along. Yeah!

Also, for one more month, we have story time at the local library that I just discovered...so we're going to do a few of those too.

Gabe is putting so many words together now and learning to really communicate. He keeps telling me "sit" when he wants to read a story or for me to watch him build his blocks.

Just got a new kid's cookbook with Dora and Diego...hopefully Gabe will want to help out and we can have some cooking time together too and maybe he'll actually want to eat something!!!!

February In a Nutshell

2011-03-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Let's see...Gabe turned 2 and we had a lovely birthday party for him at Pirate Island. We managed to be sick for half of the month from Gabe and I, then Archie, and back to Gabe and I...sigh. Gabe also went to his two year checkup. He is still a nail...skinny, tall, and a big head! But the numbers are starting to even out a bit. Still has really large feet, though, like his daddy.

Gabe also has started saying "goodbye, Mommy. Goodbye, Daddy." "Sit!" "Daddy is asleep?" He was just so cute when he said these things.

Archie gave me Turbo Jam for Valentine's Day! I'm having a lot of fun with my new workouts. They're killer but not too killer and they're fun!

GOALS for March:

1. Stay unsick.
2. Eat healthy 6/7 days during the week.
3. Start training for some 5Ks in the Spring and Summer!
4. Cook more at home.
5. Be consistent with my homework.

Time will tell! And yeah for more Spring weather!

Birthdays and Fun and Kitties, Oh My!

2011-02-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm such a slacker with this blog...I know. Here are some updates of pics. Gabe had a wonderful birthday! We went to Pirate Island with close family and he had so much fun with his cousins and looking at all the arcade games. Lots of fun with cake too!

Waiting for a table at Cheesecake Factory New Year's Day!

He is just getting so big now. I love seeing him grow and learn. He's getting quite the attitude now. He knows the word go and he has no problems using that on us and pulling us wherever he wants us to go. He's also so great at recognizing many letters and he is starting on numbers. He's walking up the stairs now all by himself.

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The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy with all of us getting sick once and then twice! Grrrrr. I cannot wait til Spring!

Frodo's favorite winter spot...

This was sooo funny!

Valentine's Day was also fun. We still had little Gabe with us but we hit a semi-fancy restaurant and dessert and good snuggles. Gabe had fun with his new coloring book of hearts and stickers.

My parents, Archie, his cousins, Katie, Aunt Cristi, and Uncle Ty

We're really excited for summer. We've got some fun vacations planned and Gabe is old enough to start really enjoying the outdoors. We've been so cooped up this winter....we need to get out!!!!!!! I'm going insane....!!!

His cousins Bradley and William

Some funny things with Gabe...when he starts yelling gibberish at us and pointing and basically putting us in our place. He told me one time to get back! I couldn't help but just laugh!!!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!

2011-02-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

My little boy is now 2 years old! I can't believe it. He is getting so big. It's been a rough two years but a fulfilling two years. I can't imagine life without him now.

As of today his favorites are:

1. Dora the Explorer.
2. His two stuffed Walmart Tiggers.
3. Milk and chocolate milk.
4. Suckers.
5. Daddy.
6. Kitties
7. My Neighbor Totorro
8. The color red (everything is red to him!)
9. "Reading" his Dora book and his Dr. Seuss books.
10. Throwing anything and everything.

Happy Birthday!!! And here's to another wonderful year together!

January Wrap-up

2011-02-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

January started off fabulous! Great holidays and some fun resolutions. I started counting my calories and I did great for a week....then I got sick, Gabe got sick, and I'm still fighting my back pain issues...so I haven't been able to get a lot of sleep and just haven't felt all that well for the past little bit. But I'm still working on my exercise and being positive. I'm getting some physical therapy and I'm going in to see a neurologist soon...so here's hoping my neck and back and stuff get feeling better! I wish I could somehow survive on no sleep. I could get so much more reading in and writing and all that stuff. Oh well....

But I did read six books in my spare time and finished two others from December. We also got a new bed and so far so good.

I have some pics to put up but have been way too lazy to actually get them off the camera! Gabe is growing like crazy and is doing so many fun things. He walks up the stairs and down them all by himself. He's learning more of the alphabet and some numbers. I hope to post some pics by the weekend. We're looking forward to his 2 year birthday next Wednesday! I can't believe how old he is now!

This month I'm hoping to finish off 4-6 books, blog more than once a month here....you know, I'm hoping to actually think of being creative one day!!! Oh, and to keep plugging away at my homework...sigh....Can survival of a month be a goal????

2010 Wrap-Up and Christmas!

2011-01-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Christmas was pretty exciting this year! Gabe got way too much stuff...we had to with hold one gift so we could give it to him for his birthday in February! You just see cute little things/toys here and there and you don't realize how much stuff you get for the wee one when it comes time to wrap stuff and open them up! He still doesn't get the whole countdown to Christmas and the opening of gifts, but he still gets really excited about boxes and wrapping paper and eventually his toys! I try to give us all new PJs for X-mas Eve...he got some cute ones this year. Archie also used his awesome skills in carpentry to make a Gabe a fun little board assortment of things to do. He also made a fake butter bomb to take to work for a little party they had. Yup, he is a genius. The kitties got new cat nip, treats and treats. They don't really enjoy coming out to play anymore with Gabe tormenting them every day so we skipped the new kitty toys this year. We also made sugar cookies and gave them to our neighbors. Sent out holiday cards to friends and family. Attended a couple of parties. Got a new bed that isn't working for us so we are now finding a new one again....sigh. Need to fix the Xbox! But we did get Wii Mario Kart! Way super fun. We were pretty lame for New Year's Eve...we stayed at home and ate junk food! Watched a movie and played Mario Kart. That is how we rang in the New Year.

Oh, can't forget that we got him a Zhu-Zhu pet this year. That is a new favorite! The cats even enjoy that one!

I read a total of 78 books this year! That is a record folks! I reviewed most of them on my book blog Gofita's Pages.

I also really enjoyed in movies this year: (also includes new to me movies whether they came out in 2010 or not) Tangled, Despicable Me, Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, Easy A, Letter to Juliet, Angela's Ashes, Milk, Date Night, Whip It, and Zombieland. All of them absolutely superb!

TV shows new to me this year that I fell in love with: Burn Notice, Pushing Up Daisies, and Firefly (I know none of these actually came out this last year...new to me, though).

There also were some great songs too, but I am way too lazy to look them up for title and artist....ones I can remember: Coldplays Viva la Vida, Sarah Bareilles King of Anything, Christina Perry Jar of Hearts, Black-eyed Peas, Linkin Park, some others...They Might Be Giants Here Comes Science album.

I also lost a few more pounds! Yeah and am hoping to lose a few more this year.

The fake butter bomb...hope the gov doesn't come after us now!!!

The bear and hearts all have Velcro so he can take them off and on same with the lunch box.

His cute Sponge Bob pjs


Archie got a One Nation Under Grog T-shirt--arrrggh!

Grandma Crozier made him a cute little vest, too!

He got lots of tools!

We got a new Xbox 360 game but now our Xbox is on the fritz :(

Lots of Leap Frog magnet. Loves them!

Archie gave me a blankie for our anniversary and Gabe has commandeered it!

Gabe turns a big two this year. Maybe he'll potty train????? He is saying so many new words now. It seems like it has improved since he had his ear tube surgery in November. But maybe it would've improved with time anyway...but one thing for sure is that he has not been sick since! Yeah!

I'm also going to finish school this year and hopefully find a part-time job...we'll see. I also want to lose a few more pounds, especially the ones I gained over the holidays...sigh. I also am starting to write Gabe little letters every night to let him know what fun things he did or learned each day and share a bit of my thoughts with him. I had this idea after he was born but I've only been doing it about every two or three months...but this year each day! Also want to write in my journal at least weekly, and keep up on my blogs at least weekly as well. Work harder at getting school done and enjoy this year as the best one yet! Happy New Year to everyone! Love you all.

The End of Fall

2010-12-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm such a slacker when it comes to updating...sigh. Well, here are some more pics from October and November. Here are some belated Halloween pics!

This is at Cornbelly's. It was tooooo cold and we didn't last long.

My awesome pumpkin!


Archie's pumpkin

With Autumn at Springville Trick-or-Treat!

Pooh costume provided by cousin Bradley!

My mother-in-law Dianne came up to visit and we had a mini pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Ty and Cristi brought along a couple of their friends and their new puppy!

We also got blasted with some snow over a couple of weekends...and no it wasn't that supposed "blizzard of all blizzards" we were going to be bombarded with!

This is what I was waiting for...snow! I loved playing in the snow as a kid but once you are an adult you just can't quite get away with it...so this is the first year I've been able to play in the snow since I was a teenager!! Thank you, Gabe! We had so much fun. We built a snowman and made snow angels. Now the snow has all melted and we're just getting lots of cloudy days with rain.

I also attended an online ball and won a surprise Darcy pack from vvb32 reads.

Really excited about this one! Stationary, a book, paper dolls! and a necklace!

Gabe had fun helping me hang the ornaments on the tree. He loved placing the ornaments himself on the tree. I had to move a few, but for the most part they were great spots! He's a natural. He still doesn't get the whole holiday fun time with Santa and presents...but he'll have a lot of fun opening up his gifts on the big day! And I'm really hoping for some more snow!!!!!!

We also got a new king size bed for Christmas...a little early, I know. But I'm still trying to break it in...my back and neck have been a bit sore, but I'm hoping I'll recover soon.

I also picked up a book called Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas by John Matthews and we have been reading through the history of all holiday celebrations from Pagan, to Jewish and Christianity. It also contains some fun ideas on recipes and other ways to celebrate the coming of winter. I'm looking forward to new and fun traditions!

I love this time of year!

November Family Photos!

2010-11-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

We got our new family photos in the last nice weekend of the Fall! Whew!

These photos were taken by Marvin Kimble from Kimble Photography. They turned out great and look forward to getting our holiday cards out and our pictures up on the walls!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

2010-11-25T10:02:00.002-07:00

I'm grateful for my husband, my little boy, family, friends, love, knowledge, science, freedom, books, and the Internet! Hope everyone has a fabulous day here in the States and I hope everyone not officially celebrating has a fantastic day of love and hope!

Let's not forget about our dear turkey we're eating...poor little guy.

But may we eat together as friends!!!!

Cheers!

October...Come and Gone

2010-11-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Whew, life is just super crazy. Archie was gone for 3 and 1/2 weeks in September...then October hit and Halloween and sicknesses and homework. It's just been a whirlwind of life! That's great, though, right???

Archie enjoyed Singapore a lot and brought back some fun stuff and good pics.

I spent a night up in the Heber area with my local book club discussing the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Also went to a weekend getaway conference as well the next weekend.

Gabe got two sets of ear infections...not so fun, and is getting over the second one right now. But we were able to enjoy Halloween! Archie is always a pirate and Gabe went from a panda bear to Winnie the Pooh. I also colored my hair black and cut it shoulder length and decided to be a zombie Indian princess...Archie brought me back an Indian dress and other accessories!

Now we're working on getting the VW fixed and registered so it can run for another year!

Due to Gabe's numerous ear infections, we're probably going to have him get ear tubes. We're going in for a consultation tomorrow. I think he'll do so much better with them in and I'm hoping his speech will sky rocket or at least improve a bit more with them in.

We also get two Thanksgivings this year...one with Archie's family and one with mine. Boo yeah!

Gabe also received his first haircut in October...and it's already getting shaggy! His hair grows like Harry Potter's. Gabe also is getting better with words. He says please, bub-bye, more, water (he also signs it), hug, kitty, doggy, book...and others that I can't think of now. The experts say he should have a few more in his vocabulary...but hopefully he'll make it up with the tubes. He loves throwing things and hitting...not so good. So I'm hoping he'll love baseball when he's old enough to start playing! Gotta refocus his energy somehow. He also loves books. He loves looking through them himself and he loves having Archie or I read to him. I hope that continues as well.

Before haircut

After haircut

Bubble fun

A silly Halloween pic I threw together

zombie me and panda

Looking forward to November and the holidays! We also just got our family pictures taken yesterday at the American Fork Amphitheater! I can't wait to get them back. Gabe was a bit on the grumpy side so we had to bribe him halfway through with a sucker...so some of the pics have him sucking on a sucker! Oh well. Such fun memories.

Forgot to put on Gabe as Winnie the Pooh. I'll have to do that next post!

Lake Owyhee aka WannaHockALogee and Other Pics!

2010-09-10T16:07:00.000-06:00

We went camping up in Idaho at Lake Owyhee the last weekend in August with Archie's family. It was our first time camping with Gabe! The ride up was semi-eventful...we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, but Archie was a trooper in the 100 degree heat and fixed up in no time flat. The downside was we got a lot of extra flies in the car, which was really, really annoying. Every time Gabe was falling asleep one would land on him and he'd freak out and start crying again. So it wasn't the funnest driving.

We took the first exit of Boise and stopped there for the night. The next we had to get a new tire and then we were on our way.

The lake was really pretty, but the first day was really hot and stuffy. I thought Gabe was getting burned really badly and that he was going to get heatstroke. But the kids all cooled down in the mini swimming pool we brought.

It's been awhile since the Crozier clan has gotten together...we had two of Archie's brothers and their families, plus their mom flew in as a surprise so she was able to hang for the weekend as well.

We checked out the lake, waded in the hot springs...which were either too hot and you were getting burned or it was way too cold from the river water getting in. Gabe didn't know what to think so he just stayed in my arms the whole time while Archie and his brothers built up dams and what not.

Each day got a lot colder, which was nice since it was just soo darn hot that first day. We had amazing food from everyone pitching in so we ate like queens and kings. The only thing that was super hard was just Gabe not being used to it. He wouldn't take naps which made him extra grumpy and we had a hard time getting him to sleep at night, but once he was asleep he stayed asleep (well, he always got up at the crack of dawn). So we're hoping next summer he'll have a lot more fun being older. It was fun to get away for a few days, but we were all happy to make it back home and get some actual sleep!

I love eating blue crayons!

This is the closest to a smile I could get from him!

Oh, back to grumpy!

Also, Archie left yesterday for Singapore for three works for work. He's training the peeps down their in their new facility. He arrived a few hours ago at about 1:30 AM their time. It'll be a tough three weeks, but hey, I can't complain too much. He'll bring back some good souvenirs and pics! He also claimed the camera so no pics for a few weeks...Maybe I'll get him to send some via email and post some up here in a week or two!

Mini Update

2010-09-01T21:27:00.000-06:00

Just got back from some camping with Archie's family and it was super fun and crazy! Pics to come soon...

But I just have to add a couple of super cute things about Gabe. Yesterday we were getting ready to head out for grocery shopping and I told him that we were going and it was time to go. So I put on his shoes and got the diaper bag all ready...but then I remembered one thing I needed to do before we left. So I was sitting at the kitchen table and the next thing I know Gabe comes over and starts pushing my butt right on out of the chair! He wanted us to get going! It was really funny. He's never done that before. Nothing too big, but hey I'm a first time mommy and things like this are just so cute.

And today we were eating out at Olive Garden...well, Gabe is not a big eater. He basically likes bread, peanut butter, yogurt, and fruit, and milk along with anything really sugary and sweet. So I brought a peanut butter sandwich for him. He ate a couple of bites and then threw it at Archie...such a sweetie. But as my pasta dish came he kept whining at me so I moved the dish more into the middle between the two of us and he picked up the gigantor fork and spoon and started going to town on my pasta! At first he spit it out, but then he was like: "Hmmm, this is actually pretty good. I think I'll have more!" He got it everywhere and all over; it was beautiful. He ate pasta all by himself. Not saying that he'll do it tomorrow, but I'm hopeful now that he'll actually start eating some regular food!!! Yeah for small 'miracles!'

Shapes!

2010-08-19T08:10:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm a total nerd. Gabe, for the first time ever, put all of the shapes back into the big ball! It was such a crowning moment!!!! My big boy is getting so big! It was so amazing to just sit there and watch him dexterously put the star shape in and then the circle, triangle, and finally the pentagon!!!!! I just love watching his mind work and figuring things out.

I bought some sidewalk chalk yesterday and I had so much fun! Gabe made a few squiggly marks, but for the most part, he just wanted to throw the chalk and break it into pieces, or carry them around in his mouth and run away from me! But I drew a beautiful blue flower and a green cat! OK, they weren't beautiful, but they were fun to do.

I hope in time he'll enjoy some artsy things to do...and we'll throw in some science experiments for good measure.

Another July

2010-07-26T20:57:00.000-06:00

With trying to finish of my medical transcriptionist course I've been a bit busy and don't have a lot of time to blog so here's the long overdue update.

We had a great 4th of July with Ty and Cristi my bro. and sis-in-laws and their three kids along with a couple of their friends. We barbecued, played games, and ate lots of not so good things! Gabe had fun running around with his cousins and getting into good clean trouble! I just can't believe how big he is now. He's running all over the place and getting into everything! I wouldn't have it any other way.

He says "dada, mama, kitty" and other stuff too, but we have no idea what those are! Lots of just 'goo-ga-ga'! We love it.

He's still not a big eater, but he still loves his fruit, bread and peanut butter, oh and yogurt. He also loves eating whole apples too. I peel off the skin and he just dives on in! He's also going crazy with the utensils; he loves feeding himself yogurt and apple sauce. He's also pretty good with the fork and getting watermelon on it or his waffle pieces.

It's crazy cuz sometimes I think he'll have a really hard time with something and then he just proves me wrong and dives on in! Like I wasn't sure how he'd do with using utensils (obviously 18-month-olds aren't going to be able to use them all that efficiently), but I thought he'd be mad that I wasn't feeding him anymore. Nope! He loves it! Which is great for me since I don't need to sit there and feed him anymore!

Another funny thing...Gabe's hair. I just can't do a thing with it! I still think he's too young to sit down for a professional cut so I just trim what I can while he's in the tub...now he looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy...so cute, but grows out of control! It's so pretty, though.

We've also spent a ton of time visiting with friends and family over the last month. Almost every weekend has been spent somewhere or us having others over. Gabe has loved it! Gabe got to experience his first outside pool with my friend Autumn and her kids! He loved it.

This last weekend we set up our own outdoor pool and just sat out and soaked in the sun! We even got some of the neighbor kids to come over and enjoy.

It's been a great month and it's always so amazing to watch Gabe learn and grow. He loves books, or at least having Archie and I read them to him! He's got a few favorites. He also enjoys watching The Wiggles and Blue's Clues.

Let's see...Archie is also heading to Singapore next month for his work. He'll be training employees there for two or three weeks. I wish we could all go...

Still plugging through my online course and enjoying life!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T14:14:00.001-06:00

It's about love. That's my dad in a nutshell. He was my best friend as a teenager up till I met my husband. He was always very understanding in world that isn't so much. He taught me to think for myself and to question. He's always stood up for me when things got tough. He was the parent I went to when I needed comfort or someone to talk to. And now no matter where my siblings and I are he's always there just loving us for who we are and always there to lend a hand even when it's probably better if doesn't!

Thanks Dad for your love for that's truly what it's all about! Love you!

My First 5K!

2010-06-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

I ran my first 5K this morning! I've been training the last eight weeks for this...but about three days ago I caught a bit of a bug...coughing, stuffy nose, sore throat, the works. So I wasn't in top form this morning, but nevertheless I persevered and came in at 31:05.7 minutes!!! It was mostly downhill which really helped with my time since I haven't been able to do that well on my treadmill at no incline. I ran 3.1 miles without stopping once and while sick to boot! Very exciting and I have no shame in patting myself on the back! I'm hoping to run another one maybe this summer, but definitely next year without being sick. I may even try a 10K! I don't think I'll go beyond that, though. I don't really enjoy running and I think anything longer than 6.2 miles would just be beyond my sensibilities! So yeah me!

15 mos, Thanksgiving Point, and DVD Shelves

2010-05-16T17:34:00.000-06:00

Gabe turned a whopping 15 months last Sunday and had his respective check-up this week. He's still a nail, but his height is averaging out. He's almost 32 in. long and he's only about 22 pounds. But he's my big boy! He even took some major steps, literally, on Mother's Day! He'll be running around in no time much to our detriment.

Friday Gabe and I were invited to go up to Thanksgiving Point with our friends Julie and her daughter Kambree and her friend Heather and his son Hunter to go see the cute farm animals. I hadn't taken Gabe there yet so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do so. Gabe had a lot of fun playing with the other kids his age, but he wasn't so sure of the animals. They were pretty big and he still doesn't quite have the walking down and I didn't want him crawling around that! But they have a couple playhouses over there so they all had fun playing in the dance hall and the jail! Overall, it was a fun afternoon!

Archie has been working on our DVD shelves since last Fall and he finally finished them yesterday morning! He designed and made them and I am so proud of him. He's super handy and crafty. What more could I ask for? Well....I won't say! Anyway, they are beautiful now we have tons more room around our living room with even more space to expand our collection! Hugs to you, Honey!

The shelves w/o DVDs

With DVDs and the shelves' maker!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!

2010-05-09T06:01:00.002-06:00

Me and my mommy at the hospital! Love ya, Mom!

I thought it would be fun to post about the etymology of the word mother. It's a classic word like brother and father in the sense that its etymology can be traced back to Indo-European *mater- (asterisk means no historical documentation has been found for this word, but historical linguists have been able to determine what its likely form was).

Different forms of mother in various related and unrelated languages:

1.Old English: modor
2. Old Saxon: modar
3. Middle Dutch and Dutch: moeder
4. Old High German: mouter
5. Old Icelandic: modhir
6. Gaulish: Matrebo
7. Old Irish: mathir
8. Latin: mater
9. Oscan: Maatreis
10. Umbrian: matrer
11. Greek: meter
12. Lithuanian: motyna
13. Latvian: mate
14. Old Slavic: mati

Love language; it's fascinating! Hope you enjoyed some Mother's Day trivia!

All information was taken from Chambers Dictionary of Etymology. The mother words do not contain their proper accents/dashes, etc due to not having them on my computer or my inability to figure out how to do it!

The Many Adventures of Cars, Keys, and Books....

2010-04-20T19:37:00.004-06:00

It's been awhile. Life's always crazy! So here come some updates.

Gabe is still the fastest crawler! He loves standing for a few seconds on his own. He's getting excellent balance! He loves peanut butter and bread, fruit of all kinds, red foods like tomatoes, yogurt, and graham crackers are his staple. He doesn't eat a lot but what he does eat he loves! His hair is also out of control so I have to try and keep it trimmed up while he's taking a bath. It's still crazy, but it's the only way. His hair is really bad and he has only me to blame. One day he'll stiller and won't need my non-expertise haircutting!

We're loving the weather right now. Nice and sunny. We've enjoyed walks and picnics outdoors. We hope it stays like this for awhile.

Other fun adventures? Well, this month alone I've locked my keys in the car twice and once with Gabe in the car! Which resulted in the calling of cops and me completely freaked out and embarrassed. Thank goodness for Jeanene, my level-headed friend! And today while on the way to the library my tire blew up and went flat. Not too good with the tools and fixing flats so called Archie and he came to the rescue....except we thought we needed a certain tool and so off he went to get that only to find out that we didn't need it...so more time spent...we needed two jacks to raise the car...oh, I could go on. I tried to help out where I could but VW tire changes are not run of the mill. And right after I left the key bolt on the ground!!! So we had to go back and get it and all the while with Gabe screaming in the background for his nap. But at least I got a free book at the library! So it was a pizza day today....yummy.

This weekend I also headed out to Park City for a night in a lovely mansion with my book club gals for our night of all things Austen. We watched Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and Emma with Gwyneth on the huge projection screen with the comfiest bean bags in the world! And I ate my weight in junk food.

I've also decided to run my first 5K ever here in Eagle Mountain for the Pony Express Days. I'm training three days a week and hope to run the whole way! Woot! I've been a bit of a slacker when it comes to my eating, but exercise is doing well! So not dropping what I want, but still plugging along!

Also throwing in a couple of pics of Wolfy cuz he's a sweetie and my basketball team won our tournament; we were undefeated and got free Gatorade! The sweat of victory is great!!!!

So life is pretty crazy, but we're having fun!

Here's a couple of videos with Gabe trying to clip a lanyard back together. I think it's pretty cute!

Things i LOVED.....This Week!

2010-04-10T09:36:00.002-06:00

Watching Sherlock Holmes on Blu-ray

My devoted husband making yummy hamburgers

Receiving quite a few Goodreads swap books in the mail.

Getting a bonus

Sunnier days

Gabe standing on his own for a few seconds!

Kitty snuggles at the end of the day

Sunday Samplings--Worst dates ever!

2010-03-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm sure everyone has had one of those dates that you just never happened! My worst date would have to be Junior Prom back in the day.

I didn't have a date with just a couple of weeks left and there I am in Physics class blabbing about that to some of my friends. Well, the guy I sat next to heard...not a guy I particularly like at all. We fought all the time on everything. I guess that was something he happened to like...so the next thing I know he was asking me to go. He was kind of a "skater" dude. So a lot of his friends weren't planning on going to prom so he suggested we go in my friends' group...

It was just a really strange night. He really liked me, didn't know how to tell me other than hold my hand, say strange things, not talk to me at the dance then not dance, then dance, then declare his love to me at the end of the night. Plus, it didn't help that our wonderful prom committee chose an army base for our magical night of the dance, it was way too small for all of us, not the best atmosphere for sure...I really cried my eyes out when I got home door. It was quite the learning experience in the fun teen years! Well, he got over me pretty fast...and we never ended up friends. Kind of sad, but weird!

Any scary dates that aren't too scary you'd like to share?

Sunday Outing!

2010-03-22T11:54:00.000-06:00

It was a really nice day yesterday so we decided to grill up some hamburgers and head outside for a picnic on a blanket with the Gabester! Archie created some delicious burgers and we had a nice time playing and talking! We found that Gabe is not a big fan of the prickly grass and so would only stay on the blanket...though, we did get him to at least pick a few blades of grass and then return them to their proper places! Very cute! We are all very excited for warmer weather and thus more opportunities for outside play.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2010-03-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

It is my sweet and devoted husband's birthday today!!!! I will spare the details on how old he is!!!!

Thank you for being a wonderful husband who supports me in all my times of need. Thank you for being my best friend, the person I can turn to when adversity strikes (as it always does). Thank you for being a wonderful father that changes poopy diapers, gets up with our son in the night and takes a couple of days off work to watch Gabe while I recover from walking pneumonia. Thank you for always believing in me even when I have a hard time believing in myself and encouraging me to go forward, to look past the negative and see the good things in life.

I love you,
We love you,

your wife and son Heather and Gabe

Gabe Loves Tissues!

2010-03-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Nothing too new to report. I'm finally getting over my walking pneumonia and slowly my sinus infection and Gabe is over his ear infections! I hope! So I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks...I've been too sick to exercise much and too tired to worry about calories...so I'm thinking next week I'll start back up on that and see how I've done the last month with being sick and all! Yikes!

So here's some more Gabe pics to enjoy! He loves to pull apart the tissues and shred them and eat them! He's getting pretty close to walking, probably only a few months away now! He's a joy and a great baby! We love him so much!

Sunday Samplings- Canary Islands

2010-03-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share one experience while I was there...

We kind of stick out like a sore thumb as missionaries...in dresses and backpacks. So we were bound to get some interesting catcalls and such from some of the locals...

My companion and I were just walking down the street not trying to mind our own business (we're trying to share our gospel message), but minding our own business when it came to snotty teenage boys. We were assaulted with tennis balls! Thwack, right on my bum, thwack, on my head. I mean, what do you do in that situation? I'm in a foreign country, a woman, learning a new language...it's not like I can go swear at them in their own language, it would've been fun to do in English since they'd have no idea what I was saying. But then I'm representing my church and God...so gotta turn the other cheek.

So we just ended up ignoring them and hoped we didn't embarrass ourselves too much. Little punks!

Sunday Samplings- Bad Habits

2010-02-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Woo, bad habits really stick around forever...I thought I'd clear the air with myself and admit some of my bad habits in the hopes I can keep trying to curb them!

I really complain too much; it's so much easier to complain than think of one's blessings. I'm an impulse buyer, which means I spend too much money and don't save enough. Especially when it comes to books and DVDs; I'm just hopeless.

I'm also quick to anger and slow to forgive, which means I'm moody and prideful....

I could go on, but these really are ones I'd like to curb a bit more than the rest. Complaining can really dampen my attitude about life, which can get me angry, prideful, and wanting to go out and buy books and DVDs, which in turn makes me feel guilty since I don't really have the money...so they're all very vicious cycles....grrrrr.

What are your bad habits?

Things i LOVE Friday a Day Late!!!!

2010-02-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Not being sick anymore

Being able to celebrate Valentine's Day with no baby!!!

Still losing a bit of weight

Seeing Avatar in 3-D IMAX!

The Cheesecake Factory!

Pirate Island

Today is sunny!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Gabe!!!!!

2010-02-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Gabe celebrated his first birthday last Tuesday! I can't believe he's ONE. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday he was born and other times it feels like he should've moved out by now! It's been a rough and tumble year together...but he's growing and learning and smiling, laughing!

His first birthday wasn't the best by any means. He was just recovering from an ear infection and then got the icky pukey flu and passed it onto the rest of us. So we didn't do the cake that night just some presents and extra TLC.

So we figured we'd do the cake experience once everyone was better...so last night we headed down to Pirate Island and ate pizza and I made a cake from a box since I don't know the meaning of scratch. Gotta love Duncan Hines with chocolate frosting and yummy marbley cake goodness. It was a quick run to sing happy birthday and eat cake since it was way past his bed time! I even set up a cute Winnie the Pooh sign that said Happy 1st Birthday!!!! Yes, we chose a Pooh theme for the "party" that really only consisted of Gabe, me, and Archie...and I think the kitties may have made an appearance.

And for a weight loss update I lost 1.5 pounds while being sick and not exercising! Woot! But who knows what this week will bring....

My Dark Divine Giveaway!

2010-02-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Since I've been sick, Archie and Gabe for the last few weeks I haven't written for a bit. We celebrated Gabe's birthday on the ninth with presents, but no cake since he was chucking everything...but tonight we're heading out to Pirate Island and making some cake so pictures and details to follow along with my weight loss update.

For now I just wanted to let you know that I'm hosting a book giveaway on my other blog Gofita's Pages so sign up and you could win a free signed book. Click on the link to find out more about the book and the giveaway details!

Good Luck!

Weight Loss Update

2010-02-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

After four weeks with two of those weeks being sick, I have officially lost......................................................................................................................................................................................FIVE POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!! I've been counting my calories using Livingstrong.com and giving myself a day off once a week to not count calories. I also excercise at least five days a week and make sure I eat my fruits and veggies. I am very very excited and happy!

Also Gabe is crawling like crazy now and pulling himself up and balancing really well standing up. He made it up the stairs all by himself and pretty darn fast...before I knew it he was already up three stairs! It's been a bit tough on this weekend with him now getting sick with a bit of the flu bug, but he should be recovering soon.

Gabe....Crawling!

2010-01-23T20:00:00.003-07:00

Yeah! My little boy is officially crawling now! He's such a big boy. He was a bit wobbly for a few days and now he's really taken off! He explores a little bit, but he's really content to climb all over Archie and I cuz he can now. He's also pulling himself up and standing a lot more. He even pulls himself up in his crib and cries standing hoping one of us will come in and give him hugs n' cuddles.

Life has been a bit rough these last two weeks...got a really bad cough and still am getting over it so my exercising has been pretty nil and my eating habits while still respectable aren't enough to actually help me with my weight loss goals. So I'm sure I've gained back my two pounds or at least haven't lost anymore weight, but hopefully I'll be picking up a bit this week and within a week or two I'll be back where I left off. It seems to happen in life when things are going well...life sure knows how to set you back. But onward and upward.

Here's Boog with his sippie cup with a straw!

Boog being really grumpy but bundled!

Gabe put spoons all over his face!

He pulled his toy basket over himself! Too cute!

Playing a bit with my photo editor...

I love this one!

Not a happy camper

Still grumpy!

A short video of Boog crawling! I'm excited!

Weight Loss Update...

2010-01-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I've lost two pounds! That's progress...though, I may have blown it a bit today...Archie gave me a wonderful cold...so no exercise today and I was really hungry so I had a really big sandwich from our local deli, which is to die for....maybe not actually dying...but hopefully the cold goes away soon and I can feel good enough to keep on it!

Sunday Samplings- Scars

2010-01-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

This was just a random thought...scars have a lot of history behind them...whether they be mental or physical, though the mental ones cannot be seen...I don't have too many of them, but I thought they would make for an interesting topic for today! I could do mental, but I'll spare you and focus on the physical!

My major scars: The biggie...that's no surprise...my C-section incision. That one's never going away in this life time. But it was worth it to have little Gabe here with us now!

Chicken Pox: I've got a biggie on my back, rather large one on my hip and one on my right forearm.

Cuts: I've officially cut myself with two knives on the same left index finger; the scars even criss-cross each other! Me and knives...not a good combination.

Skinned Knees: They're not really visible, but I had a couple of whoppers as a kid...let's see, tripping over a big rubber ball at recess while wearing shorts and skinning my knee over the asphalt!

Stretch Marks: Yes, they're inevitable for almost every pregnant woman, but mine started as a teen....and only got bigger with Gabe in the belly and retaining enough water to fill up a king size waterbed!

I'm just thankful they're not any more violent than that!

Another Boog Update and Day 2

2010-01-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

Gabe is finally starting to crawl; it's not very far or fast, but he does the slow crawl when we encourage him to come to us! Then after a few minutes he looks up at me or Archie and you can tell he's saying "are you kiddin' me? Just pick me up already!" And then the screams commence and he flops to his tummy and goes spread-eagle. It's just so cute...he's getting there!

Today was panic attack mode. Gabe slowly crawled over to the heater/AC intake vent and grabbed his read plastic ball in his wee itty hand and boom...he continued to hit the vent with it cuz he liked the sound so much. He sounded happy so I didn't think anything of it for a minute or two. Then I went to check on him....blood. That's all I saw, dripping off his finger...he's scratched himself either on the grate or with his fingernail. But it was all over the vent and the wall, on his pjs. I freaked! I grabbed him to make sure he didn't have a severed finger...and then dashed him over to the sink to verify the damage. Just a small cut...I put a wet Kleenex on it to stop the bleeding and voila, done. No more bleeding. The boy didn't even cry about it; he was just having too much fun banging the vent with his red ball...oh, the joys of being a baby...:) So all's well again in the Crozier household!

Another successful day on my weight loss challenge! No junk food, no extra snacking, never felt too hungry and I did some Turbo Jam with the ladies today, which kicked my booty again! But now I'm relaxed since my dear sweet hubby did the dishes and cleaned up and to top it off gave me a back massage while watching The X-Files!

I guess as long as I'm doing so well at it I only need to update maybe once a week for twice a week...otherwise, boring! Or if I falter I can complain about that for a bit...my next weigh in is on Monday....

Day One

2010-01-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

I've recorded my weight (sorry, not going to share) and I started my food and exercise diary! For my first goal I want to lose 12 pounds by April 4th. That's three months from today and that's a pound a week. So today I counted up my calories and only went over by about twenty calories...so not too shabby. I only ate whole grains, well, I did have half of a graham cracker...I exercised with my Relief Society ladies. We did a cardio circuit! And I moved my booty for about 45 minutes! So my first day has been a success!

I will allow one day a week for a bit of junk...I can't completely deprive myself. So I'm on my way!

New Year Resolution

2010-01-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick look back at this last year....

Had an 11 pound baby via c-section, incision got infected, baby was colicky for four months, battled postpartum depression, started up a book blog, continued/continuing my education, tried to make ends meet despite the crazy economy!

It's been a bittersweet year and one I would not like to repeat. There's been a lot of joy and pain. I'm just so very glad that I'm not having a baby this year, pregnant, and have to go through the colicky phase with a baby while recovering from an infected incision, while sleeping downstairs on the couch because that's the only place that won't cause me as much pain, while also battling depression....whew...

So I say good riddance to 2009 and welcome in 2010!!!!!!!!!

My New Year Resolution is to lose 30 pounds by the end of the year. I thought to help myself out I would post about my ups and downs with this challenge on this here blog. One, it'll help to keep me honest. If I know I'm going to post about my day, good or bad, I'll be more likely to eat better and exercise more.

Also, some of the women in my church congregation get together four days a week for an exercise class so that keeps me motivated to get the exercise in. I also have Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, and a ton of workout DVDs, weights, a treadmill...to keep me moving this year.

I told Archie I wasn't going to buy anymore junk food for the house so I won't be tempted and I've committed to cook healthier meals (well, when I do cook, anyway!).

So I hope you'll join me here and there on my progress toward a healthier me this year! I hope you all will reach your goals as well and that this year may be your best yet!

Happy New Year and a Wonderful 2010 Awaits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2009!

2009-12-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

We had a really great time this Christmas! Our first with the Boogster outside the belly! Christmas Eve we headed on over to IHOP for some yummy food and then at home we read the Nativity story out of the Bible, sang Christmas songs and opened up one gift as is tradition. Then we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Since Boog doesn't really realize what day it is from the next we didn't spend too much money on him this year. He got a couple of block sets, some books, and Sophie the chewing toy giraffe! I mostly got books and DVDs! So I was set. And Archie got an iPod Shuffle and DVDs!

We spent the day lounging around and watching movies, eating lots of junk food, and just enjoying the day. I made potatoes and gravy, honey-baked ham, rolls, and salad! It was a great day. Here are some pics.

Boog also got a bunch of puppets from his grandma Crozier!

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-12-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

Six Years of Wedded Bliss?!

2009-12-14T10:27:00.005-07:00

Archie and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on Saturday! I can't believe it has been six years! Let's see what we have to show for ourselves....One baby, check! He's the sweetest boy ever and we love him! Deeper in debt, check :( I guess that comes from school, having a baby, and me not having a job yet. But are we happy? Yes! Life is a lot crazier, but we have fun and we love each other!

So what did we do? Nothing fancy...just headed up to Salt Lake City to spend one night at the Anniversary Inn (theme rooms). We chose the Mysteries of Egypt room. It looked a lot bigger on the website....oh well. We ate at the Roof Restaurant that sits atop the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with an awesome view of the city and the Temple. The food is sooooo good. I ate a lot shrimp and salmon and mahi mahi! Plus, the desserts were to die for. They had to roll us out of the building we were so stuffed. Then we headed to the Gateway mall to watch Blindside. That was an amazing film. Lots of tears in that one and Sandra Bullock was superb. And a little bit of book shopping to feed my habit and then we came back and watched another movie! Throw a little romance in between the lines and we had a wonderful night!!!

Pics of our cool room
Though, the bathroom was a bit small!
Our shower head was a snake!

In the morning we headed up to Park City to do some more shopping for Archie. He's been completely out of pants for awhile. And Tommy Hilfiger seems to be the only place that has his size. Then we headed back home and picked my mom up and Little Boogster and headed to Olive Garden for dinner.

Nothing too fancy, but it was a lot of fun and hugs and kisses to my mom for babysitting one night for us!

What did Archie get me? Since six years involves iron and/or wood he got me some really nice chopsticks with an engraving: Love and Laughter through thick and thin. Another set of kitty chopsticks and a wishing pot. I write down my wishes and put them in the pot and they come true! I'll let you know how many do this next year!

Sunday Samplings: Christmas Tradtions

2009-12-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up I don't think our family traditions were all that different from the average family...let's see...we opened up one gift on Christmas Eve after our retelling of the Christmas Story from the Bible. When I was super young I was "baby Jesus." We actually reenacted it! My mom usually made our gifts all a theme like everyone got pajamas or slippers one year.

Our Santa gifts never got wrapped and put under the tree...they would be in a certain spot either on the floor or the couch with our stockings stuffed with goodies and our favorite breakfast foods, such as cereal and Pop-tarts.

When I was really young we switched every other year with having the tree and the Santa gifts either upstairs in the living room or downstairs in the family room. That one didn't last too long since I only remember doing the a couple of times. I basement was pretty dark and dreary and our fireplace went out when I was pretty young...

We could never ever sleep, what child can? So we usually tried to sneak past our parents' room in order to go check early on our gifts! Those were good times. Then Christmas morning we'd get our padres out of bed and open up all our gifts. It was usually done oldest to youngest and then the next year I really would try to get youngest to oldest (that was me!).

For my own family we do pretty much the same. Still haven't come up with a theme for Xmas Eve gifts, but hopefully one day, maybe when Boog gets older. Archie's not a big pajama fan (yes, he's an underwear man!) nor can we find slippers that will actually fit his feet! So for now it's usually just open one gift and there you go! We do try and eat some Xmas Eve dinner at the tree with a blanket and read some spiritual Christmas stories and drink hot chocolate. Christmas day is usually just a lounge around the house day! We do not visit family on that day! Maybe we'll start new ones as we go along! That's what's so fun about Christmas, new traditions to be made while old one are not forgotten!

Christmas 2009 Family Pics!!!!

2009-12-03T06:41:00.005-07:00

I haven't been real great at keeping up with my family blog. I guess I feel that I don't have too much to say that anyone really cares about....life is life. Gabe is slowly getting up a bit more on his knees in order to crawl. He's cutting his top left front tooth. He's recovering from an ear infection and is still doing great from his October surgery.

My ward exercise group is still going strong and am loving it! I just wish I would eat better as well, then I might actually lose some weight. But with the holidays....I'll do good just to maintain at this rate. Then when the new year starts I can keep the goal of eating better! But you know what? I'm OK with who I am. I'm almost thirty pounds heavier than I was in high school....but for me that's OK. I carried around an 11.1 pound baby for over a couple of months...my stomach stretched beyond belief...I was bigger around than my friend was who had twins the year before! So I have a lot of battle scars....the most ginormous stretch marks known to humankind and a c-section scar that still itches and twitches like the Dickens. So I say as long as I'm trying to eat relatively healthy, exercise, and enjoy life it doesn't matter what my waist size is! Just trying to be happy no matter what.

Archie is great. He's the super go-to guy at work and he's just the biggest support for me and Gabe at home. Don't know what I'd do without him. He's the best!

Here are our 2009 Christmas pics!

Isn't he just the cutest!!! We'll keep him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

Looks like this one got some tan lines!

Looks like it was a great first Thanksgiving. Too bad the whites committed genocide on the natives...

So let's be thankful for the good things in life and for the ability to deal with the bad things as well!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Sunday Samplings- My Funniest Movies!

2009-11-22T14:56:00.003-07:00

I am a big, BIG, fan of movies! And I love comedies; they make you laugh and laughing makes you feel happier and it reduces stress! So just for fun I'm listing my top ten funniest movies list so if you desire you can view them yourself!

In no particular order:

1. The 'Burbs (1989): This movie stars Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher and even Corey Feldman! This movie had me crying since I was laughing so hard. One of Tom Hanks finest performances. You won't be disappointed!

2. Galaxy Quest (1999): Starring Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver! Take all the sci-fi shows, especially Star Trek and turn them into a spoof and you have Galaxy Quest. It's cute, it's funny, and even heart-warming!

3. Music and Lyrics (2007): Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore...I didn't think they'd ever have chemistry...but I was wrong! If you've been an 80s music fan you'll really love this one, but even if not, it'll still be a wonderful romantic-comedy!

4. Notting Hill (1999): Yes, another Hugh Grant! Just sweet, adorable, and laugh-out hilarious!

5. Stranger Than Fiction (2006): Yes, Will Ferrell can act and even take on some great roles that are both sweet and comedic! Plus this one has the always amazing Emma Thompson!

6. The Wedding Singer (1998): Yes, I am an 80s fan...so of course I just love this movie! And Adam Sandler can sing!

7. Tommy Boy (1995): Definitely Chris Farley's best comedy...I think it's the movie I can quote the most! Hilarious!

8. Clue (1985): Based on the game with the same name and also loosely based on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None novel. This one is definitely one of my favorites! You'll simply die laughing. So many quotable quotes in here as well!

9. Meet the Parents (2000): Whatever can go wrong when you're trying to get the approval of your significant other's family and parents do in this movie! It's so brutal but oh so hilarious! I just love Ben Stiller.

10. Mystery Men (1999): Yes, another Ben Stiller movie...he just cracks me up. A spoof on super heroes and this one doesn't disappoint!

Sunday Samplings: First Kiss!

2009-11-15T20:04:00.004-07:00

I was a bit young on my first kiss...I was 14...his name was Dillon...horrible kisser, super sloppy, and just icky. Needlesstosay, it didn't last too long, like a week. He was one of those popular guys and it was pretty funny that as soon as we were "together" all of his friends thought I was the greatest and just couldn't get enough of me! And then we "broke up" and I no longer existed! Oh, the funness of high school! HA HA! So glad I never have to go back in time to relive them....

Snow!

2009-11-15T10:55:00.002-07:00

Well, it officially became winter yesterday....well, a bit on Friday too. I was hoping the nice days would stretch out just a bit more. Boog and I were having a lot of fun taking morning walks with the weather being so nice! Oh well, with my exercise group four days a week and my treadmill I should be still good to go. I love the snow, but I hate driving in it and I just hate the bitter cold. I want to live in a nice mild climate all year round! Next winter, though, Boog will be able to play in the snow with me so it'll make it even funner!

My Fifty Follower Giveaway!!!!!!

2009-11-12T14:39:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to share with you all that at my other blog Gofita's Pages I'm hosting a giveaway! So if you want to check it out and sign up I would be so pleased and happy and all that great stuff! It ends tomorrow night at Midnight MST so hurry up!

Halloween and Family Pics!

2009-11-11T13:19:00.005-07:00

I forgot I had these!

Ty and Cristi's Halloween Party!

Gabe and Archie are pirates!

These were taken by Nancy...I just took a pic of the pic so they're a little fuzzy, etc.

Jumping Gabe in his Pirate costume

I just love the beer belly shots!

9 Month Checkup

2009-11-10T21:33:00.002-07:00

Well Gabe is officially nine months old! I can't believe it! He just keeps getting bigger and bigger. He is still a nail, though! He is 29.5 cm long and is officially too big for his car seat now (87th percentile). His head is 18.3 cm (83 percentile). Weight is 18.87 pounds (23 percentile). So he still has a big head, he's tall and doesn't weigh a thing! Just like his parents! Oh, wait, no! His doctor said everything seems to be going well and he looks as healthy as a horse!

He's still not crawling yet...so we're getting lots of tummy time in even though he just screams and screams! But he gets around really well in his walker since Archie took off a few obstacles so he can cruise around on the carpet as well as the linoleum. Now he's pulling off the DVDs, CDs, chairs, glass objects! We're baby proofing now!

He's finally sleeping better again at night since his surgery a month ago and his cold last week! Yeah! Sleep is somewhat here again. We also had our water heater go kaputz a few days ago and had to have a new one installed today. That was not so fun since it cost us an arm and a leg to do it...now I still have my car to register...got pulled over yesterday for my expired tags...grrrr! But it should be ready to renew here in the next few days as long as our catalytic converter light doesn't come back on within the next twenty miles! So wish us luck!

Sunday Samplings: Light

2009-11-08T22:22:00.003-07:00

I was going through some old high school papers and ran across this poem I wrote when we were studying Shakespeare...we had to write in iambic pentameter! Yikes! So I thought I would share it with y'all!

LIGHT

As first lighting is seen no harm can be
for no one knows wrath that soon will be seen.
The snake of they Father will think you glee
While he leadeth thee from the Super Being.
If thou no remorse thy essence be damned.
The inferno shall ye be with thy weeping
Voice and thy pains unleashed shall be manned
By Him. But for those whose wool's white and clean,
By thy shepherd ye have followed, thy soul
Will rise and resist His wrath. Ye gather
Thy kin to behold such glory they whole
Life has yearned; for they way made'st such matter.
Heavens shall open, He, thy god shall come
To take thee to thy father, His world from.

I was only fourteen when I wrote this! It's kind of dark at first and then I tried to throw some hope in there too at the end. Thanks for reading!

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy

2009-11-02T17:22:00.004-07:00

I guess that must be normal when you are a parent! But my poor little Boog has gotten a cold and now his nose is running profusely so we have to squeegie his nose every five minutes and wipe it with Kleenexes. We have him on Tylenol and he's sleeping in his swing to help keep him upright better so his nose doesn't drain as much into his throat...so sleep is more difficult, which means sleep is nonexistent again for me! Oh, the joys.

We were looking forward to dressing him up in his pirate costume and taking him to a couple of houses in the neighborhood, but that's the day he became sick. So we kept him inside, but our neighbor Stephanie brought him over some animal crackers! She's a sweetie! But my chili turned out pretty tasty so that was nice, but I didn't get time to get my costume ready...so I was my usual backup, a pirate!

For some more good news...let's see...Some ladies in my ward/neighborhood decided to start up an exercise class in our church building in the mornings four days a week and it has been awesome and so motivating! I haven't been this sore for years and haven't worked out this much since before I was pregnant of last year! My goal is to not gain weight this holiday season and with this exercise group and a little less on the eating I'll reach my goal and I hope to maybe lose a bit too!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T00:01:00.000-06:00

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Sunday Samplings: Childhood Unmemories

2009-10-25T14:11:00.002-06:00

Have you ever had someone tell you something about yourself when you were really young and you just can't remember it? I'm not talking about before we were three or four. But things you just don't remember after you are supposed to, things that someone who experienced the memories with you talks about them and you just have no clue!

Apparently I walked to Kindergarten with another girl in my neighborhood everyday and I have absolutely no recollection of it! I remember her bringing it up when we were teenagers and I had no clue what she was talking about. Somehow I had blocked it out! But I don't think it was a traumatic experience; she was really nice. I guess it's just one of those things, so I can't even blame old age on that one!

One Tough Week

2009-10-19T09:53:00.004-06:00

Gabe is recovering well from his surgery last week! And thank goodness; it's been a very long week for all of us. Quite a few sleepless nights for us, but he is officially sleeping again through the night and boy are we super happy! It was also so distressing to see my child in so much pain and discomfort. It just broke our hearts, so we are joyous that the pain is gone and he's is happy self once again!

Gabe eating his first apple!

Beer Belly Gabe!

Along the Alpine Loop

Daddy and Gabe Alpine Loop

Boog's Surgery Update

2009-10-12T18:33:00.001-06:00

Gabe had surgery on Friday. It went well and he's making his recovery. It's been a really tough weekend, but today he started smiling and laughing again and playing with his toys! He still isn't eating as much, but we're hoping he'll get his appetite back soon. Pictures to be put up soon!

Sunday Samplings- Past Household Chores

2009-10-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

I know I had chores to do, but they weren't really enforced too much as a child or a teen. I know I had to set the table a lot and put dishes away and sweep sometimes. I also had to clean my room and vacuum the living room from time to time. But as I think back I realize that I probably could've gotten away with not doing them. I still received an allowance and I hardly ever was grounded. But I respected my dad and so I did them every so often as a younger child.

As I got older I had my own sense of responsibility to do things around the house. My room was only semi-clean and if it got too nasty I usually picked it up then. My mom had mental health issues when I was pretty young up til I was in my mid-teens so I never had much of an example of my mom doing things around the house. If something got pretty dirty one of us kids usually ended up tending to it. My dad cooked most of the time or we got our own food. And my mom ended up losing so many things of mine in the laundry that I started to do my own pretty early on, which I'm sure she was grateful for.

So there weren't any chores I've ever enjoyed doing and still don't. My house isn't the cleanest, but things still get done in a timely manner. I'm a clutter horse as well. I also get that from my padres. My dad always had things on the table or the bar while growing up and now so do I! Plus I keep everything, but I'm getting better at that. I try and go through stuff about once a year and throw things out or sell or give them away.

Archie is the vacuum guy in our house. He's immaculate and anal about the whole process. I think his mom made him do it over if it wasn't just right. I'll do it, though, if he takes too long...

Sunday Samplings: Honesty Quiz

2009-09-28T10:28:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I know this was supposed to go out yesterday, but just pretend!

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Water.

2. Where was your profile picture taken? In our computer room.

3. Can you play Guitar Hero? Yes! I love it...but I haven't been able to play it for awhile due to being preggo and having a new baby...but give it time and I'll be back in action!

4. Name someone who made you laugh today? Gabe and my kitties.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why? I took my sleep drugs at 10:30, but ended up talking til midnight.

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you? Yes! I would love to be in a house with no HOA!

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks? Probably...

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you? Jan or Annie?

9. Do you believe exes can be friends? Depends...longtime ones...no.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper? Don't do carbonation period.

11. When was the last time you cried really hard? Last week.

12. Who took your profile picture? Me.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of? Gabe.

14. Was yesterday better than today? No.

15. Can you live a day without TV? Yes since I don't get a tv signal at all, but tv shows, absolutely not! I love the internet!

16. Are you upset about anything right now? Yes, but I'd rather not say publicly...

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Of course!

18. Are you a bad influence? For sure!

19. Night out or night in? In. Usually in, but I love eating out and movies or hanging and playing games with friends.

20. What items could you not go without during the day? Computer.

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? My friend Sarah.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say? I don't do texting.

23. How do you feel about your life right now? Stressful, but all right.

24. Do you hate anyone? No, but there are some peeps I'm not too fond of, though.

25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find? Old messages.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? I think so...

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before? Sure, cuz I totally am! ;)

28. What song is stuck in your head? Robin Hood and Little John...

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be? If anyone did I'd pee my pants and call the cops.

30. Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50? No way, Gabe will be way too young for that...maybe 55.

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow? School work, return library dvds and books, blog, clean, take care of Boog....

32. Do you think too much or too little? Way too much, I worry and overanalyze everything under the sun and then some.

33. Do you smile a lot? No, but I'm working on it.

My First Book Club!!!

2009-09-27T11:02:00.001-06:00

I've never ever been a part of a book club before so when I found out that a bunch of women in my church ward were in one I decided to join on up! We met for the first time last Tuesday and it was so fun. We talked about the books that we all love and what ones we want to do til January.

We're actually doing two for October: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I just started The Book Thief and is beautiful so far. The language is just beautiful. He has an amazing ability to bring life to his words. And Death narrates the story, which is just, can I say it? 'Totally Wicked!' And I've heard great things about The Help so that what is on its way to my house.

November: These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner. I've been wanting to read this for awhile now so I am very excited!

December: We thought we would slow it down for the Christmas month so we're reading a short story called The Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. I hear it's a very inspirational story and just perfect for the holiday season!

January: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I haven't heard a lot about this one, but everyone in my book club has been pretty excited to read it so hopefully it is!

So wish me luck! Woot!

Movie Review: The Jane Austen Book Club

2009-09-26T09:51:00.001-06:00

Jane Austen Book Club (2007): Based on the book by Karen Joy Fowler

Director: Robin Swicold

Genre: Drama, Romance

Tagline: You don't have to know the books to be in the club.

Summary:

Explores Austen's adage that general incivility is at love's essence. Sylvia's husband dumps her for another woman, so Bernadette and Jocelyn organize a book club to distract her. They recruit Sylvia's daughter Allegra; Prudie, a young teacher whose marriage may be on the rocks; and Grigg, a sci-fi fan who joins out of attraction to Jocelyn. The six read and discuss one Austen novel per month. Jocelyn tries to interest Grigg in Sylvia; Allegra falls in love with a woman she meets skydiving; Prudie contemplates an affair with a student; Sylvia's ex keeps popping up. In the discussions, characters reveal themselves in their comments. By the end, are truths universally acknowledged?

My review: I first watched this movie when it first came out and was undecided. It wasn't my favorite. But I decided to watch it again after hearing some glowing reviews from my fellow Austen Challengers. I'm really glad I did! I really enjoyed seeing how six completely different people could find a way to relate to all of Austen's books. I loved seeing their different perspectives on life and how they applied Austen into their own mini universes. I don't know if I completely agree with how Daniel and Sylvia turn out, but I still found all six characters interesting and romantic! I just love Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, and Hugh Dancy. So please check this one out if you love Austen and love a good romance!

Interesting Trivia: Each cast member was required to read the Austen book their character was reading in the movie!

Memorable Quotes:

Bernadette: All Jane Austen, all the time. It's the perfect antidote.
Prudie Drummond: To what?
Bernadette: To life.

Grigg Harris: What about me? Am I your friend? Or am I just some widget to help you make Sylvia feel better about herself? Why did you invite me to be part of your book club? What went through your mind the first time you saw me? "There's a man who is dying to read every book Jane Austen ever wrote." Is that what you thought?
Jocelyn: No.
Grigg Harris: But I thought, "What a beautiful woman. I hope she looks over at me." I thought if I read your favorite books that you would read mine. But, no, no, no, no... You just want to be obeyed. That's why you have dogs.

Book Review: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

2009-09-26T09:49:00.001-06:00

The Jane Austen Book Club:

Summary:

In California's Central Valley, five women and one man join together to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book. I loved learning about the characters and all their foibles. None of them are perfect and it shows. Fowler really delves into their backgrounds and thus we see a bit of why they are the way they are today. The movie had a hard time showing this since they could only fit so much into a two hour movie. So now reading the book I know a bit more about why they do the things they do.

I also loved the way all these different people can come together over Austen and liken her novels unto their own lives. We also see how Austen can subtly influence the lives of those who read her. I just loved the way the characters interacted with each other. Lots of times they didn't even like each other, but eventually they see the beauty in each other and love grows.

It's a wonderful read for any Austen fan and just a great read in general!

A fun quote:

"There was something appealing in thinking of a character with a secret life that her author knew nothing about. Slipping off while the author's back was turned, to find love in her own way. Showing up just in time to deliver the next bit of dialogue with an innocent face."

This is part of the Everything Austen Challenge

St. George Vacation!

2009-09-21T17:51:00.008-06:00

St. George was so fun and a much needed vacation! We left last Thursday and came back Sunday. Our wonderful friends Ruth and Cale and their son Ocean live down there so we spent a couple of days with them as well.

We enjoyed some fun at Pirate Island in Orem on our way down and in St. George on our way back!

Pirate Island St. George

Friday Archie humored me and let me head out used book shopping! They had a couple of quaint used book stores in the area. I got the Kite Runner, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Dracula, The Hunger Games, and Catcher in the Rye, along with a few others! It was a very exciting find!

We also hit the Dinosaur Track museum!

Then we headed over to Ruth and Cale's and went to dinner at Samurai where they cooked our food at our table! It was so fun! They even made an onion volcano of smoke! Boog got a bit scared, but was OK in the end. Then we went back to their place for some games and dessert.

Saturday we went swimming in the morning and we were the only ones there! Boog was a bit scared at first since the pool was so big, but he ended up enjoying the hot tub for a few minutes anyway! Then we headed up to the Silver Reef ghost town. Lots of fascinating facts and ruins.

He's our little Boo!

All tuckered out

some antique items

Silver Reef ruins

Later that night we met at Ruth and Cale's for some curry and then headed out to the play Aida at the Tuacahn outdoor amphitheater. We almost got rained out with two twenty minute stalls, but other than some lightning, high winds, and rain the show went on! Kudos to the actors for sticking it out. Aida was a great play, I highly recommend it.

Sunday we walked around the St. George Temple's grounds and then hit Cove Fort on the way home.

Some pretty flowers

Gabe on Daddy's shoulders

Pretty Leaves!

Stitch and Boog

And to top it off we had an excellent continental breakfast where I had Belgian waffles with real whip cream every morning!

It's good to be home again since Boog was in our room the whole time and sleep was an issue, but everyone is recovering from our vacation and are glad for the time to spend as a family!