Happy List

Little things that make me happy

- Having a made bed
- Noah coming up and giving me a hug
- Ikea having EXACTLY what I've been wanting, and couldn't find elsewhere
- Redwood road being done
- Snow on the mountains
- Fall decorations
- Feeling confident in my abilities
- Watching a movie wrapped up in a blanket

Granite Flats

I've been wanting to go camping for a LONG time now. We're talking like since I was pregnant with Noah. And granted we went in August for the Statham reunion, but we all got sick and Noah didn't sleep well and it just wasn't what I needed to get rid of this camping craving. So I told the Wardle's that they were going camping with us, assigned Craig to find us a campsite, and away we went!

We ended up going to the Granite Flats campground up American Fork Canyon. For those of you familiar with the canyon, it's up right by Tibble Fork. Fantastic little (ok, huge and sprawling) campground. Wardle's went up early on Saturday morning to get us a spot because it was a free, no reservations weekend. Us Indo people got up there around 2 because we had to drop Noah off in Orem. We decided it would be a more fun trip for everyone if he got to sleep in a house instead of a tent. After setting up camp and wasting a bit of time playing Craig's new Operation game, we went exploring down the "trails" leading away from our tents.









The trails lead down to a little ravine with 2 streams coming together in it. It was so pretty down there, the leaves had changed colors and were just starting to fall off the trees, the sound of gurgling water was all around, and it was just awesome. On our way back it was decided instead of following the trails we should make our own trail and just follow the streams back up, and then climb out of the gorge. It was actually a lot of fun. Zander was nice enough to create a log bridge for me and Steph (who were wearing flip flops) to cross the stream, and he also did some crazy Superman dive across the steep mountain face to save me cuz the tree I was holding onto decided to break. twice. Kind of a crazy adventure, but really a lot of fun.

We got back, cleaned up a bit, made dinner and dessert, talked to the neighbors, played Killer Bunnies (I won cuz I had ALL of the carrots), sat around the campfire trying to stay warm, then decided around 11:30 to head to bed. Wardle's heard an owl at some point in the night, but Zander and I didn't hear anything except the occasional clicking of Steph's propane tent heater.

In the morning we got up (Steph dragged herself out of her scalding hot tent around 10:30), played games, read books, layed around, ate breakfast, layed around some more, got packed up, and headed out. Wardle's headed further up the canyon up to Silver Lake to try and find a moose, and then came home the long way via the Alpine Loop. Us Indo's headed down to Orem, got Noah, dropped off the camping stuff, and headed home. All in all, a perfect way to end the summer.

Galoon 2009!!!

Every year in the fall the Indo family gets together and we all go to Lagoon. This started the fall that Zander and I were dating, and has continued each year since. Ok...we missed last year. Whatever. So we all went to Lagoon about a week ago and had a blast. Since we had kids with us people kind of got separated into different groups and doing their own thing, but it was still lots of fun. And of course we still got to eat out picnic lunch together, which in Indo tradition, included corn on the cob.


We took Noah with us this year, and I have mixed feelings about doing it. He was too small and young to ride a lot of the kid rides, but the few that he could ride he seemed to like quite a bit. With how much fun Eva was having, I bet Noah has a blast at Galoon day next year. If nothing else it was good to go and see what he can and can't handle as far as amusement parks go. And it was really nice for all 3 of us to be out and doing something different, and in the fresh air.

Science Experiment

The poor mother who owned the microwave where the experiments were performed....

Game Night - Small World

Likely my favorite Days of Wonder Game

Spin Cycle

This is how we spent our evening

Two things

1 - This movie was fantastic, uplifting, and real.

2 - I love this stuff now that I've finally tried it.

Wardle-Day

For those of you who don't know...the Wardles are Craig and Stephanie that we used to live below at our last apartment in Provo. We like them lots. Good friends. When we were still living below them, we seriously were hanging out 3-5 times a week. Since we've moved it's still been at least once a week. So Saturday was a Wardle-day. We all went to Tucanos for lunch because both Craig and I had birthday free-meal coupons that we needed to use. Then we went back to their house so Noah could have a nap. The boys had some errands to run, so Steph and I hung out at the house and she showed me how cool it is to make your own jewelry, and I'll be getting some stuff to start it up for myself in the next week or so. When the boys got back we played games, went to the Best In Music drawing thing, got See's candies, Jamba Juice's for dinner (no one wanted REAL dinner after a Tucanos lunch), then went back to their place to put Noah to bed and play games. It was a fabulous 11ish hour Wardle-Day.

Noah Time

In an effort to make it look like I have a life outside of taking care of Noah, I've been trying to post about things other than him. By doing so I've completely neglected posting about him. So here's some of his fun antics as of late.

Today when we got home from the grocery store he starting looking through all of the bags. (I assumed he was looking for his grapes) He then pulled out all of the cans and started stacking them in a tower. Unfortunately this adventure ended with the tower collapsing and a can landing on his foot.

He tries to walk backwards. They end up being little tiny steps, and it's really cute.

His new dance is stepping in place really excited. For those of you who have seen Marshall dance, it's kind of like that, but not nearly as energetic as M does it.

We borrowed some Baby Einstein movies from our neighbors, and much to my surprise and delight, Noah LOVES them. Up until now I've been hard pressed to get him to watch more than 5 minutes of a show so I can do the dishes or something real fast. With Baby Einstein he'll sit in the front room for upwards of 30 minutes happily watching the show and talking back to it fairly often.

He now sign's "Please" while saying "eeees". The more he wants it the more energetically he signs it.

About a month ago he discovered that there are rocks all over in this world. On the sidewalk, the road etc. He picks them up and carries them with him. Thankfully he doesn't usually try to eat them.

He says "kitty kitty kitty" whenever he sees a cat....or a dog....or just about any other animal. Oh, and he just said it about his little soccer ball as well.

He barks like a dog when he sees one (after he calls it a kitty) or hears one barking in the neighborhood. The trouble is he barks like my moms dog, which happens to be a beagle. So his bark sounds more like a howl than the standard "woof woof" bark.

Today's List

Some posts are just easier to do as lists.

- 2 loads of laundry clean, dry, and put away
- the whole house clean
- 4 digital scrapping pages done
- 3 Spanish exercises
- Windows open all day cuz there's that early fall crispness out there
- healthy breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner
- Noah playing with his "smart" toys
- Zander waking up on time without the alarm, and without me hearing him

Labor Day Weekend

Background Information:
2 years ago we were given a gift certificate for a night's stay at the Anniversary Inn. About this same time we attended a silent auction (bad idea) where we purchased, among other things, dinner for two at Zoom in Park City.

Saturday afternoon we went down to Orem, got some Cafe Rio for lunch, dropped Noah off, and headed out for our weekend get away, starting with Park City. We got up there a little early so that we had some time to wander around and look through galleries etc. I was glad to find that for the most part we have the same taste in art. Park City was really cool to go to though. It feels very "out of state", like somewhere in the northwest, and with an almost aristocratic air to it. Maybe that's encouraged by the number of Mercedes, Jaguar, etc. cars parked along the streets, and people looking slightly uptight as they walked around in their well-fit zip up fleece jackets. (it was a little cold and rainy) We walked up and down main street (I was excited to see the infamous Harry O's), and then headed over to our free dinner at Zoom. The certificate just said "Dinner for Two" on it, so we weren't really sure what to expect from it. I was thinking two entree's. Turned out that it was an appetizer, two entree's, and two desserts. We were so stinking full from appetizers and dinner that we had them package our desserts to go. (we have yet to eat them, and I bet that they're bad by now) The food was pretty darn good, but I wouldn't go back honestly. I think it's insane for someone to charge $36 for a meal, and I could have gotten just as good a steak at a regular steak house without having to deal with the "poshness" of park city. But it was still cool to go up there and have dinner prepaid style.

After dinner we headed down to park city to use up our stay at anniversary inn. We had previously reserved the Romeo and Juliet Suite for ourselves, just cuz it looked really pretty and elegant. Here are some really cool things about Anniversary Inn. They have cookies at the front desk for you to munch on while you're checking in. There is cheesecake and chilled apple cider in the room waiting for you. At a time that you specify, they bring you a snack later in the evening, things such as chips and dips, crackers, cheese and salami, spinach artichoke dip, etc. In the morning they deliver breakfast to your door at a time that you specify. There is a giant sized jetted bathtub. They also have movies that you can borrow for free, and they bring them to your room. All in all it's a very pampered experience, and it was a great weekend getaway.

Then we came back to real life feeling nice and refreshed. We went to the new Texas Roadhouse in Lehi/AF with our awesome neighbors the Hulett's. We'd never been there before, but they love it, and we'll gladly take their recommendations. Let's just say that this particular chain has great potential, but where they just opened, they need a few months to work out the kinks. My chicken and Elizabeth's ribs were great. The guys got steaks that were both RARE. My husband likes rare meat, but honestly, this was barely cooked. So we got the steaks sent back. Z's came back fine, Dustin's came back overdone. So they gave him another steak, double the size of what it was originally, and gave both guys their meals for free. It worked out fairly well in the end, but at the time it was pretty annoying to have to deal with so much just to get a steak for the boys.

Monday Zander had LOTS of homework to catch up on, so we really just had a lazy day. We spent the day in the house eating the abundance of leftovers from the rest of the weekend, went to the park for a little while with Noah, and just had a nice long relaxing end to a fantastic weekend.

Simple Things...

...that have made me happy in the last few days

- accomplishing creative outlet projects
- people telling me that various aspects of my outfit are cute
- going to Turbo Kick (even if I was expecting Zumba)
- people truly appreciating my cooking
- good friends. Thanks Wardle's and Hulett's.
- family breakfast of sausage and blueberry pancakes before Z had to go to work

Me

I don't like my name, and haven't for a really long time. Part of it is that it's such an incredibly common name, but mostly, I've never felt like it was mine. But I also don't know what I should be called instead, so I'll have to stick with what I have. Cooking failures frustrate me more than just about anything else in the world. In regards to cooking, I love trying new recipes and new ethnic foods. i love Thai food, and could eat it on a weekly basis and not get tired of it. I type really really fast, and pretty darn accurately as well. I play several musical instruments, well, played at one point anyway. I'm horribly out of practice on all of them, though I would really love to start playing piano and singing again. I miss dancing, and the social aspect that it brought into my life, and feeling like I'm flying/floating across the floor. I don't look like I think I do. When I look in the mirror it's like I'm looking at someone else a lot of the time. I love reading. it's an easy way to explore new places, countries, cities, lands, and worlds. It's interesting to read about other people's lives, whether fictional or not, and see how they react to certain circumstances, and wonder what I might do in the same situation. I didn't like reading until college when I took a Shakespeare class. After that class I quickly changed my major to English Literature. I've never known what I want to do when I "grow up." The last few years I've learned that I'm fairly stubborn, and like things to be done in a certain way. Having a one year old is making me more aware of this, and that it's alright if he doesn't do things exactly the same way that I would do it. I don't have a favorite color. I don't consider myself a strong person. I love driving in familiar areas, especially in cooler weather with the windows down. I still miss my 1987 jeep. It was my first car, it was trashed, and i loved it. I don't feel like I have to wear makeup every day. I want to be more creative. I'm good at copying other people's ideas, just not so good at coming up with them on my own. I have been in love more than once. I have had my heart broken more than once, by the same person. I have broken more than one heart. I like going on adventures, even if it's something stupid and simple. So long as it's an "adventure" I don't care what it is. I want to break this entry up into paragraphs, but since there are no cohesive thoughts longer than a few sentences it seems pointless, or over-done. I like organizing things, just not my own house. I'm a procrastinator. I love a good thunder, lightning and rain storm. Extreme wind scares me. I can watch the rain or snow fall for hours. I love the sound of snow crunching under my foot.