Date Night

After spending the day ripping down wallpaper from our walls, we decided it was time to take a break and have some fun. But before I get to the fun stuff, I need to express how much I dislike wallpaper! For those who have seen the movie 27 Dresses, let's just say that if I could scream into a room like Jane (Catherine Heigl's character) did, I seriously would have done that every single day this past week. I wouldn't have said what she said, but I would have screamed and it would have felt so good! I think it's safe to say that wallpaper will never, ever grace the walls of this home or any home we ever own.

Now for our fun weekend. We attended a baptism for our church, which was nice. Afterwards, I picked up our babysitter and we left the kids at home for a few hours. We almost went to a movie, but decided not to do that because it doesn't allow us time to talk with each other. Nowadays we don't get much time to just talk with each other. We had such a great time! We ate at Pei Wei and then browsed Home Goods, my new favorite store. Afterwards, we walked around the new shopping center near our home and found a great new chocolate store. We enjoyed some gelato and sampled some unique chocolates, all while playing 2 games of dominoes on a nice table near the back of the cafe. We then headed over to Barnes & Noble and picked out some fun magazines and reading material to look at together. It reminded us so much of our college days when we were dating . . . simple, inexpensive (except for the babysitting - babysitters in my town make more than I did as an admin at BYU), but fun.

I arrived home feeling like a new person and ready to face a new week. Unfortunately, my disdain for wallpaper didn't change and if I look at one more piece of it, I will scream. So, I'm going to just forget about it for now and think about the fun Saturday night we had.

"Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?"

One of my most favorite Primary songs I remember from my childhood is "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime". For some reason, most children today do not know this song, as well as many other classic tunes I remember from my childhood ("Give Said the Little Stream" "Pioneer Children" etc). So, I decided to teach Laurel some of these songs myself and you know what . . . she loves them probably more than I do! Here is Laurel's rendition of "Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime" and a familiar sound in our home on a daily basis. I love it!

Going to the Dentist

When Laurel was 10 months old, she had her first dental check-up. This appointment was extra special because Papa Chris is Laurel's dentist. It was not surprising that the appointment didn't go very well - poor Papa Chris tried. Like most children, Laurel didn't like Papa probing inside her mouth in search of teeth that would soon poke through. Now here we are, 4 years later and going through the same tooth pain with Andrew. We're looking forward to those pearly whites poking through so that Andrew can have some pain relief. We're also looking forward to sitting in Papa's dental chair in September for our annual check-ups. This time, Laurel promises to be a perfect patient for Papa!

Straws

I came across this picture recently and just had to post it. Laurel is about 11 months in this picture and is sitting on the lap of Grandma Chris. At this time we were living in San Jose and drove to Fresno for a fun weekend. The significance of this picture is 2-fold. First, Laurel never drank from a bottle, ever! She drank from a straw at 4 months and never looked back. I tried and tried, but finally gave up. I remember getting all kinds of strange looks from people when they'd see this baby sucking out of a straw - it really was remarkable. But, it makes sense when you understand that she and Grandma Chris are kindred spirits for many reasons. One main reason is the love of drinks. Grandma Chris loves to stop for drinks and Laurel is always a willing participant. She also gets it from my side, too. Heidi, please enjoy a beverage at Hermies for me this week . . . I'll take crushed ice and my half/half mix! Looking forward to enjoying one with you soon! Woo - hoo!

Happy Fourth of July!

What a fun holiday this is! I just love celebrating the 4th of July for many reasons. Of course there is the traditional BBQ and homemade ice cream, along with the fireworks at the local park. It always takes me back to my childhood when my parents would pick up both sets of grandparents and bring them up to our home for a BBQ and fun with the family - we'd have a "real" BBQ with charcoal briquets, which I still to this day prefer over gas grilling. At the end of the day, we'd drive back downtown to Rose Park and watch the fireworks before dropping the grandparents off at home. I remember vividly the smell of firework smoke and crowds of people. One memory I have was when we stopped off at a Safeway on the way back to our car to buy some cold treats. We splurged and picked out the new Jello pudding pops that had just come out - those were the days! My favorite flavor was banana on that particular 4th of July. I'm always shocked at the things I remember from my childhood. I'm certain my parents would be surprised to know how much those pudding pops meant to an 8 year old. It makes me wonder what Laurel will remember from her childhood.

I think the best thing about the 4th of July is the opportunity we have to celebrate this great country we live in. We are so lucky to enjoy the freedoms we enjoy and I always feel a sense of deep patriotism for this country and those who have defended its borders and freedoms with courage, and in many cases, their own blood. Living in Philadelphia strengthened my love for this great nation.

Today we enjoyed a wonderful BBQ with our friends, the Neddos and Christensens. We swam, ate, swam, and then ate some more! Here is a picture of Dale with the kids in the pool. We also enjoyed face painting, thanks to our friend, Denise Blue. Didn't she paint a wonderful picture of Blue on Laurel's face?

After our BBQ, we walked over to the local high school and enjoyed a wonderful fireworks display. We enjoyed visiting with our good friends, Denise and Jason Blue. They have two really cute boys that we love to have over whenever we get the chance. Here is a picture of 4 really cute and excited kids.

Birthday Activities

In order to celebrate my birthday AND cope with the brutal heat, Laurel and I decided to head up to the shopping center up the road from us so she could run through the fountains. Laurel enjoyed cooling off in the water, but mom and Andrew were sitting on the sidelines baking in the hot afternoon sun. After about 30 minutes, Andrew grew tired and cried for some cooler air (so did mom). We decided to take a break and buy an iced strawberry lemonade at the cafe inside Barnes & Noble. The lemonade was disappointing and what was even more disappointing is that our Barnes & Noble does not carry Italian cream sodas, a staple in our family diet! Dale and I are very fond of Italian cream sodas because we frequently went to Borders and Barnes & Noble in Provo while we were dating just so we could buy those. Thank heavens for Cost Plus and Torani syrups!


When Dale got home, we headed for another favorite spot for dinner. Sonoma Bar and Grill is a great restaurant here in our town, but for some reason, it wasn't as good this time. It was still a great birthday experience because I didn't have to do clean up in the kitchen . . . what a nice break! Opting to skip a birthday cake this year, I chose to stop by Culvers for some frozen custard. I broke my diet for the night (poor Andrew) but it was enjoyable and a great gift for a gal who hasn't enjoyed dairy and soy products for 8+ months. I still can't believe I've made it that long - anyone who knows me well enough knows that dairy (especially ice cream) is a very important staple in my diet. I tell ya, the things you'll do for your children!


We ended the night with gifts and a little more time with the family. Dale is buying the family a grand piano in the next 1-2 months, so I told him to please not buy me anything. He still bought me a nice grill cookbook by Bobby Flay, which was very sweet and unexpected. I'm looking forward to learning how to grill better. Thanks for a very memorable 32nd birthday! Here is a picture of our family after we opened presents - you can tell by the wall in the background that we will be painting our kitchen in the very near future.

32 years ago . . .

I was born! I was just telling Dale that it seems like yesterday I turned 16, and now here it is 16 years later. So much has happened in those 16 years and even more in 32. I remember my mom taking me to the Utah DMV for my first drivers license . . . it was an unforgettable test. With the instructor in the passengers seat and me at the helm of our large, fluorescent orange striped Chevy "luxury" van (nicknamed the "Bengal van" by my fellow Brighton High School classmates), I embarked on a journey that would bring me freedom. I would be free to date and free to drive myself where I needed to be . . . life couldn't have been better (even if I was in a 1970's fluorescent orange luxury van "Uncle Ricco" van).

I pulled into position and realized I had gone too far. I reversed the car slightly and put my foot on the brake as the instructor sat himself next to me. As the instructor went over a few important parts of the test, I sat there in a daze just wondering how much better life could get. The instructor told me to go ahead and pull forward . . . uh oh . . . the car went BACKWARDS and bumped the car behind me! It seems I had forgotten to take the van out of reverse when I had readjusted the car moments earlier. Surely I had failed the test and by the look on the persons face who owned the car behind me, I was in trouble. To make a long story short, I didn't damage the car behind me and the Utah DMV passed me! How, you might ask? Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm sure glad I passed. My driving has improved phenomonally over the past 16 years and I'm proud to say I've never even had a ticket (knock on wood). Shortly after turning 16, I realized that dating wasn't all it's cracked up to be and I'm happy to say that I'm happily married and enjoy dating my best friend whenever I want.

My 16th birthday was one of the greatest, most memorable birthdays of my life. I enjoyed a great dinner at Market Street Grill by the University of Utah, took a carriage ride around downtown SLC with my parents, and enjoyed a concert afterwards.

Thank you mom and dad for giving me a chance to come to this crazy world. I've enjoyed my journey thus far and look forward to many more adventures to come.