All About Me

I just want to announce that I have the most thoughtful husband ever.  Perhaps it was less being thoughtful and more concern about my sanity that prompted Chris to put together a "surprise" girls' trip with my mom to Park City.  I say "surprise" because knowing Chris, it was only a surprise for so long before he accidentally spilled the beans.   Last weekend, Chris flew my mom out to Utah for a few days, and on Friday we left the kiddos with Chris and Margie, and we drove up to Park City for some food...I mean some relaxation.  But seriously, we absolutely ate ourselves silly with the amazing food at the Stein Eriksen lodge!! I'm talking horseradish deviled eggs, shrimp rolls, watermelon gazpacho, mussels, Kobe beef, smoked salmon, and scallops...just to name SOME of the food we ate during that trip! After checking into our sweet suite and having enough lunch to last three meals, we went to the spa for a massage! It was such a beautiful atmosphere and afterwards we enjoyed some time reading (and more eating) in the steam room and sauna.  We then headed back to our room where I read in the hot tub while enjoying some Mt. Dew and fine chocolates (glutton anyone?).  We ended the night by playing checkers (I totally lost), ordering food up to our room, and watching Hunger Games while enjoying some chamomile tea (to settle our stomaches after all that food!).  I slept in the extra bed by the cozy fireplace, and get this: I actually slept through the night! I didn't have to be woken up every 2 hours by a fussy baby, or an upset toddler, or by the snores of my husband.  It was wonderful! Just me, my feather pillow, and the flickering flames.

The next morning we ordered bagels with cream cheese, salmon, and capers, and a few pastries. Go big or go home, right?  Danny was actually the one who delivered our room service! A big part of this trip was thanks to Danny, who works at the lodge, or we never would have been able to afford this extravagant trip.  It was fun to see him and thank him in person.  He and Chris did a great job orchestrating the whole trip.  

Getting ready to drive to Park City!

 After breakfast we got ready and checked out.  We headed down to the Tanger Outlet mall where we did some quality shopping and ate at a great deli.  It was an absolute zoo at the outlet mall because Derek Hough was making an appearance there and it was packed with people.  Of course, I did snag a quick shot of the guy himself since I am a fan of Dancing with the Stars.  He was a little shorter than I expected.

This trip was heavenly and of the greatest getaways I've ever had.  A HUGE thanks to Chris for putting this all together and offering to watch the kids, and a big thanks also to Margie for helping Chris with the kids! I'm not sure he would have survived without her.  :)  Also, thanks to my mom for making the trip out here and helping me have a great time!  It was bizarre having a trip just for myself and getting to do the things I wanted to do, but I could definitely get used to it.  :) I sure did miss my kiddos though and felt re-energized jumping back into the mommy world.  

Thanks sweetie!!

The Spitzers!

A little over a week ago we had Mike, Kirsten, and McKinley come and visit us for a couple of days before heading up to a family reunion.  We hadn't seen them in months and it was wonderful catching up and letting the kids play together! McKinley was such a good sport letting James rough-house with her, and she was great at holding Lily! Preparation for when her little brother/sister arrives in February.

Mike is an avid fisherman, and took Chris along for a (very early) morning fishing trip up the Provo River.   Chris hadn't gone fishing in years and years, and actually caught a fish! He came home about 10 lbs heavier from all the water weight because Mike "swears" he didn't know that his extra waders had holes in them...

That afternoon after lunch at Cafe Rio we went to Kangaroo Zoo.  Daniel, James, and McKinley had such a great time and were thoroughly worn out afterwards...almost as much as us adults were.  James absolutely LOVES the "big slide" there and was in the zone the whole time thinking about which ride to go on next! Margie even rented out the ball room where we had to shoot balls into the nets.  We all agreed that shooting the balls at each other was way more fun.  

Even though we only had about a day and a half with the Spitzers, we loved every bit of it and want them to come back! 

Family Visits

The past couple of weeks we have been enjoying some family visits! We were able to spend some time with Brooke and Margie.  James has been in heaven having more people to play with! We have been visiting lots of parks and we all took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo.  We even had a Girls Night! Margie was actually scheduled to fly back home, but ended up delaying her trip to spend more time here with us! Here are some pics of us all hanging out :)

Aunt Brooke reading with James

James showing Lily how to do tummy time 

Playing Horsie

James and Daniel at the park 

James sharing his hat with Lily

Girls Night! Courtesy of Elaina!

Lily and Westley 

The craziness will continue this week with the arrival of the Spitzer's, and my mom! Yay!

Fun week!

A few weeks ago we celebrated Daniel's 2nd birthday, and enjoyed some delish cupcakes (milk-free of course!), which Daniel thoroughly loved.

James got Daniel a musical guitar, and couldn't resist helping "D" open the present.  They are so cute together! James has always called Daniel "D" and says "Hey D!" a thousand times they are together.  I'm pretty sure Daniel thinks that's the way to say "hello" because he now says it back to James too.  It's adorable - they are the best of buds! 

The following Saturday, Chris had off work.  We decided to enjoy some time up in SLC so we took the kids to the Discovery Gateway Museum.  James had a blast, although I don't think we'll return until James is a little older.  There was just a little section that was designed for kids his age.  It was also way overpriced! It was still a nice change from our normal Saturday routine, and it was great spending time with the whole fam.  

Thank You Pinterest

While wasting time looking at Pinterest a while back, I came across a method for cleaning door tracks really well.  White vinegar and Q-tips get all the gunk out of those hard to reach places! I knew this was divine intervention, knowing my son's affinity for licking said door tracks.  I'm quite happy with the results, and am hoping the door tracks look less appetizing sans the dead bugs and dirt build-up.

Before (dead bugs were already vacuumed up):

After: