This Colasurdo Clan

Misc.

2011-12-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

Just a little hodge podge of what's been going on around here lately.
Ayva's Reflection contest entry won. She wasn't as excited about it as she could have been.

We ripped out the bench seat that use to be under this dining room window and all the flooring in the kitchen as well. Then we had some guys come in and lay down new flooring. I hope to someday have the wall repaired and the floor boards replaced. (Hey, a girl can dream.)

Another shot of the new flooring. (Excuse the mess, I am convinced I have mono.)

Or maybe this is the reason I am so tired. This little angel likes to wake up crying in the middle of the night to let me know he has rolled over on his tummy and doesn't like it one bit. He needs me to come to his rescue and roll him back over. Oh yeah, and could I change his diaper while I am up. He hates it when he's wet. (Gotta love him though. Just look at that smile. Couldn't you just eat him up?)

Speaking of eating...I have been eating these lately. They are delicious!!! Dangerously delicious. I should stock up.

And some other little tidbits that don't have pictures are:

-Peter got a new job. I am over the moon about this new development. He will be leaving the stress and long hours of oncology and moving to the ease and (hopefully) 4 day work week of orthopedics. Yeah!

-Just as soon as I can go to the fabric store without my kids I am going to buy everything I need to make a quilt. You'll want to stay tuned for this. If it works out you might be getting one for Christmas.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-13T19:08:00.001-08:00

King Pig

Angry Bird Ayva

Angry Bird Lilly

Angry Bird Bella

3 mos.

2011-10-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

My little love.

My Dad

2011-10-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

My dad passed away last week. When my mom called to tell me I didn't cry, nor did I cry as I helped her plan his funeral or at the funeral itself. I know this might sound odd to some but I honestly felt happy for him. I knew he was finally free from the pain and suffering he was experiencing being here with us. I will miss him. He was a very kind, and generous man. He would always strike up conversations with strangers, especially strangers who seemed like they needed someone to notice them. He had a unique sense of humor and used it during the difficult times in life to help get through them. He always treated my mother and my siblings and I with respect, never yelling at us or making us feel unloved. He enjoyed learning and was very creative. He loved the gospel of Jesus Christ and lived its teachings. I know I will see him again one day and I will be sure to tell him "job well done Dad".

Don't let her fool you.

2011-09-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Underneath her sweet and innocent exterior lies a little girl that can bring grown women to tears and have them begging for mercy.

I really do love this beautiful girl, but it will be a miracle if I survive her.

Updates

2011-09-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Enzo was blessed on August 21, 2011 by his father. It was a beautiful blessing. I can't remember everything that was said but I do remember Peter blessing Enzo with a sense of duty. Duty to God, duty to his family and duty to his country. He also blessed him to be a good leader and a righteous example to those around him.

Isn't he adorable?

We were so grateful to have some of our family around for the special day. My brother, Forrest, and his wife, Angie, and their children, Ethan, Elise, Jonas and Wyatt were there. (What a good lookin' bunch!)

Peters mom, Mary Lou, his sister, Emily, and her son Emmett, were also able to come. (More good looks!)

We are so happy to have this little guy in our family. He gets more attention than I think he would like but he'll have to get use to it.

This past weekend we celebrated Peter's 36th birthday. I thought I would include a picture of him that was taken at his recent triathlon. Isn't he a hunk? I think so!

He unfortunately had to work on his birthday but came home to a delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner. And for dessert? Vanilla bean panna cotta with balsamic strawberries. Delicious!

For his gift this year the girls and I picked out a new remote control plane. He was so surprised and happy to get this new toy. Now if he can just find some time to learn how to use it and take it out for some test flights.

Other little tidbits:

Ayva received her Climbing Higher award in school for "doing excellent work in reading, spelling and math". She is loving 1st grade. She really likes her teacher and her class. She also enjoys recess and playing on the monkey bars.

Isabella also got her Climbing Higher award in school already. Hers was for "academic excellence". She is also happy to be back in school. She is participating in a running club and has signed up for the choir. And of course, she also loves recess and the monkey bars.

And last but definitely not least, Lilly has started preschool (sorry, I don't have a picture of that) and is taking swim lessons. She is enjoying preschool and all the new friends she is making. She wasn't as excited for swim lessons but is starting to change her mind.

As for me? I am just trying to keep it together. No pictures necessary.

Mister Charming

2011-07-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

It's true, he is very charming. He definitely has me wrapped around his tiny baby finger. The proof? Well, we are two weeks into it and I am still nursing. (I hate nursing!) I allow him to interrupt my sleep multiple times a night to get up and feed him and then all throughout the day as well. I let him scream at me whenever he feels the need to unload on someone. (He has a lot of stress in his life you know?!) And the diapers...oh, the diapers...I am quick to change them upon his request because he does not like to sit in mess for even a second. He is very courteous though and has yet to spray his dear 'ol mom. (More charm!) I sure am loving having this little guy around.

Ayva turns 6

2011-07-23T12:16:00.001-07:00

Our little Junie Fish (one of her many nicknames) turned 6 last weekend and even though she had to share the spotlight with her new little brother she still managed to have a great day. I have always made my kids birthday cakes but since I got home from the hospital only a few hours before the party and I was freakin' exhausted we decided to let Ayva pick out her own cake at the store. She chose an Oreo cake and quickly declared that nobody was to have any of the Oreos on top, they were all hers.

Her Uncle Luke and Aunt Laura were in town for the special occasion and her Grandma and Grandpa Hallstrom and Aunt Chelle came over to help celebrate as well. (Sorry no pictures of them. I am regretting that now. Luke and Laura, you need to come back so I can get some pictures)

Just pics of Ayva opening her gifts. Proof for the future that we did do nice things for her.

I will end with a picture of the special guest. Ayva did told me that I didn't need to get her a gift because I gave her a new baby brother for her birthday. So nice of her.

He's here!

2011-07-16T15:12:00.001-07:00

Enzo Thomas Colasurdo was born on July 16th, 2011. He was 19 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. So far he is proving to be the mellow, laid back boy that I dreamed of having. There is no lack of kind sisters who are eager to hold him and kiss him and love him to pieces. We are thrilled to welcome him to our family.

Distinguished Cub Awards for everyone!

2011-06-30T13:16:00.001-07:00

Today was a big day for Ayva and Bella. They both received their Distinguished Cub Awards from school. The Distinguished Cub Award is given to the students that meet a list of academic requirements that the school issues at the beginning of the school year. There are usually about 15 requirements and they are different for each grade. Lilly and I attended the assembly and snapped a few, not so good, pictures of our proud recipients.

Ayva is on the top row in the pink dress with the big grin. Love her!

Bella is top row, second in from the left. Love her too!

And not to be left out, here is an adorable picture of the bean.

I am so proud of both of them for working hard this year and meeting all the requirements for the awards. Now they get to enjoy three weeks of summer at home with their very pregnant and cranky mother before returning to school and starting work on a new list of requirements. Have fun girls!

What a difference a year makes.

2011-06-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

So last year my little peony plant produced 1 beautiful bloom. This year we got 6 beautiful blooms. This makes me very happy!

Love is in the air.

2011-05-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

This month Peter and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on the 20th. Well, technically we haven't really celebrated it yet because Peter had to work all day on our anniversary and everyday since but I have a surprise planned for this Saturday so we will officially celebrate then. But my amazing husband did manage to pull together a few surprises of his own for me the morning of our anniversary.

I got these...

and this...

and my favorite breakfast delivered to me in bed. It definitely got the day off to a great start. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to find and convince Peter that I was worth all of the fuss, but I sure am grateful I did. He is the perfect guy for me and always will be.

In other news....
We have been enjoying some Northwest like weather here is Utah. Yes, I said enjoying. I love it and so does my garden. It has made it difficult to get out and plant our vegetable garden but our berry plants are doing amazing.

The raspberry monster.

Blackberries and strawberries.

I am also hopeful that I will be getting more than one bloom on my peony this year. I can see at least 4 buds on this bush alone. To me this is the most exciting part of my garden.

And here is my little hydrangea. I am so hopeful that this little guy will keep up the good work.

Closing thoughts:
Have you ever been around someone who was in better shape than you and it made you think to yourself that today is the day you were going to finally kick your sweets habit and start doing push-ups and sit-ups every night before bed no matter what. Well I had an experience like that today and then I came home and made a batch of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Ah well, I still have a chance at those push-ups and sit-ups right? Right!

Happy Spring!

Bella got baptized

2011-05-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today Bella got baptized. We were sad to not have much family here with us to celebrate but we are very grateful for the family and friends that did come out to support Bella. I am very proud of her. I really feel like she made this decision for herself and not because Peter or I asked her to do it. We have been working hard at home to teach her the gospel and to share with her how we feel about it. She has also had the most amazing Sunday school teachers the past couple of years who have taught her well and been great influences on her. At one point during her baptism my mom asked her how she was feeling and she simply said "happy". I know it is because she felt good about her decision.
After the baptism we took her out to Marie Calenders for a little treat and then over to the hospital to visit my dad. He had a tumor removed from his left lung last Wednesday and was really disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to attend Bella's baptism. She was happy to bring him a piece of pie and fill him in on the details of the day. (Mostly about the nice gifts she received.)
We love you Bella!

Birthdays and fancy water

2011-05-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

Lilly turned 3 last month and celebrated with a hand full of balloons, some great new toys, a trip to the movie theatre to see Rio and to top it all off, a delicious lemon blueberry cake (her request).
Lilly is an absolute joy to have in our family. She is energetic and silly and still loves to snuggle up with me. She is very complimentary and is great to be around if you are having a bad day, unless she has been the cause of the bad day. (It happens sometimes, she's not perfect.)

Then yesterday Ms. Bella turned 8. I can't believe she is already 8. I can remember the day she was born and in my mind I am still that young, new, incompetent mother. After doing this for 8 years shouldn't I feel more confident and wise? hmm....Pete has done a great job raising her.

She is getting baptized next weekend. I am very proud of her for making this decision and I love to see how happy she is about it.

She requested a cheesecake. I have never made one before but am always up for a baking challenge. It turned out pretty good. The top did brown and crack a little so I covered it with a raspberry puree and decorated with blueberries. Bella is really into the peace sign right now and that is easier than spelling out happy birthday with fruit.

Bella also had a culture fair last week at school. All of the classes in the second grade learned dances from other cultures and performed them for their parents at an assembly. Bella's class learned a Japanese drum dance and she did an amazing job. They were also asked to put together a display about their own families culture or ancestry. We wish we were more Italian than we actually are but we (when I say we I mean everyone but me) took claim to it and that was Bella's focus.

And finally just a word on Mothers Day. Pete had to work today but being the amazing husband that he is he still woke up early to make me a wonderful breakfast. A veggie omelet, hash browns, strawberries and mango, all the things I love. While he cooked the girls made me some cards and then they all brought it up to me in bed. They do this for me every year and it is my favorite thing. They also got me some wonderful gifts. My favorite is this glass beverage dispenser. When we went to Disneyland a few months ago, we stayed in a hotel that had several water dispensers in the lobby that were filled with water and sliced citrus. I loved having ice cold citrus water everyday as we were coming and going from the hotel. So now I can have this fancy water from a fancy dispenser in my own home. Love it!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Excuse me for being emotional, but I am pregnant.

2011-04-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

So I am home sick today from church with a terrible, week long (so far), self-diagnosed cold/sinus infection. I have had one with each of my pregnancies, it is just part of the process for me. But as a lay on my bed, house totally quiet, I have been thinking about not only my weakened body but my weakened emotional state as well.

For some reason pregnancy makes women overly emotional and at times irrational. The other day as I was telling Peter how a Pottery Barn customer service rep. made me cry for 20 minutes over the exchange of some crib bedding, Peter asked "can't you control it? You know that you are just feeling this way because you are pregnant, can't you just tell yourself not to get worked up about it?" "No", I said. I knew it was completely stupid to be crying over bedding but I still could not make the tears stop. Why is that? Why does pregnancy have to make women even more emotional than we already are? Peter suggested that it was to help us develop an early bond with the baby so that when they arrive we will love them despite the sleepless nights, diaper mishaps and their possible inconsolable crying. I think he is right. If being pregnant didn't present such difficulties than I might not have as strong of a desire to ensure this possible nuisances continued existence. I may take it all for granted and be left feeling disenchanted. No way! I put in 9 months of work, and I mean work! Physical aches and pains, nausea, sinus infections, humiliating crying episodes and worry over whether or not we could raise a law abiding, hard working, self-respecting, kind to his family and neighbors, not to mention a healthy and good looking human being. (Yes, I fear having an ugly child. Judge me if you need to.) So bring it on! Bring on the crazies and the varicose veins! I will endure it all because I know from my past three experiences that it will all be worth it. Or is that just the hormones talking?

And one more thing....this made me happy last night. The girls had set up a beauty shop in Ayva's room and invited me to come and get my hair done. I sat while they combed my hair and put in a few clips. While they did this Peter watched from the back of the room. I encouraged the girls to ask Dad to have a seat and work on his hair. This was the result.

I love the blond, clip-on hair pieces, they really bring the look together. To me, he looks like the best dad ever.

Disneyland and other notables.

2011-04-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

For the past three years our family vacation has consisted of a long car ride to Seattle to visit friends and family. We have loved these trips and have a lot of fun memories from them. However, this year we wanted to do something a little different so we packed up the car and made the long drive to Disneyland. The girls were very excited and have talked about the trip everyday since we got home. Here are a few of the highlights.

They met lots of Disney characters.

We ate lots of churros. (Oh, how I miss the churros)

Bella was so brave and went along with Peter on California Screamin'.

Here are the girls posing in front of the Mickey Mouse Ferris wheel.

Lilly and Ayva played in this ladies bubbles for close to 45 minutes while they waited for Bella and I to ride Soarin' over California.

We rode lots of fun rides, ate some really good food and had a wonderful time together as a family. After touring Disneyland for two and a half days we headed to San Diego and Sea World. The girls loved seeing all the amazing animals, especially Shamu and the other killer whales. The weather was a little chilly while we were there so we skipped doing the beach thing. We will definitely have to make our return trip to California when it is warmer so we can play in the sand and ocean.

Despite the long hours in the car, this was a fabulous family vacation that we will remember for a long time.

In other news, we had a peacock show up in our backyard a few weeks ago. Kind of cool.

For three weeks in March Peter was back in Alabama for the rest of his Flight Surgeon training for the National Guard. He graduated on the Dean's list from the program and made his family very proud. Hopefully he will now be done with long trips out of town for awhile, I am not a fan of single parenting.

And last but not least, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first boy, due this July. The girls are thrilled to be getting a brother. They are excited to get rid of some of their girly toys and to get some boy toys. i.e. trains, planes, trucks. I am excited for something a little new and different and hopefully a little less dramatic. (Fingers crossed)

(This post was for my brother who misses us like crazy since he moved his family back to Minnesota. I hope you enjoy the pictures bro.)

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T16:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!

From the gypsy, the witch and the cowgirl.

The Little Peony that could.

2010-06-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

We have two peony plants in our backyard. They are beautiful plants but for some reason they don't produce many blossoms. In fact one of them has never produced a blossom and the other one finally had a single blossom last year and again this year. One is better than none. This little flower has made me so happy today so I thought I would share. (If you have any suggestions on how to get my peonies to produce more blooms I would love to hear them.)

That Pete sure is neat!

2010-06-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Peter competed in his 3rd triathlon this weekend. He came in 2nd in his age group and 39th overall. Wow, imagine what he could do if he would train a little bit. Congratulations hon, we are proud of you.

I have a million things to tell you... (it's a little long)

2010-05-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

First, Lillian turned 2 last month.

What? I know I can't believe it either.She is such a happy, fun kid. She is so dang friendly. Always a smile on her face and an infectious joy that she spreads to all those around her.
She really knows how to relax and enjoy each moment, something I am trying to learn from her.

And she loves chocolate cake. Happy Birthday Lilly!

Second, Bella made it to age 7. (There has been some question around here whether or not she would!)

She had a fun afternoon picnic with some of her friends from school.I hired the lamest clown (not on purpose, of course. Ugh!) Turns out 7 year old girls are too old for clowns. Who Knew?! Needless to say it was a very awkward and expensive hour. We love having Isabella in our family. She is smart and funny and has a very kind heart. She loves to have friends around and never minds being the center of attention. I hope her wishes come true. Happy Birthday Bella!

Third, Peter participated in his second triathlon of the season last weekend in St. George. My brother also did this one so our family and his family all went down for the weekend and shared a condo. We had lots of fun watching them both fully compete this year. Last year they did the same tri and the swim portion got cancelled the morning of due to wind but this year it went off without a hitch. They stayed pretty close throughout and finished within just seconds of each other.

They are somewhere out in front. They really did fantastic on the swim.

Here's Pete coming out of the water and heading to transition to get on his bike. I wasn't able to get any pics of him on the bike due to the way the course was set up and the children I was left to haul around were distracting me.
Here's a terrible picture of him finishing. His time was 1:22:15. He was 35th overall and 5th in his age group. Here's a crazy picture of my brothers finish. His time was 1:22:27. He was 36th overall and 6th in the age group. Close huh?!

After the triathlon we went back to the condo for some family pool time. Bella and Ayva love playing in the water. Lilly likes to play next to the water. She gets that from me.

Ayva jumping off the diving board.

She could do that all day. She loves it!

Has her noodle, but doesn't want to use it.

(Turns out I didn't get any pictures of Bella at the pool. Oops)

OOOOO-la-la!!!

Later that evening we splashed in the water at a local park that the kids love.

Cool plant I took a cool picture of.

Fourth, Ayva graduated from preschool last night. (Thank goodness) In our rush to get there on time I neglected to check my camera for its memory card. I should of. Therefore I didn't get any pictures of her graduation (hopefully I will get opportunities to redeem myself in the future). I did take one of her as soon as we got home.

Ta-da! Bring on kindergarten.

In other news:

we got a new car (2010 Subaru Outback. So sweet!)

and

I will be competing in my first triathlon this Saturday. Wish my luck, I will need it!

And last but not least today is our 10th wedding anniversary. I can't believe I was able to fool him into marrying me and have been able to keep him fooled for 10 years. I truly am not worthy of him which makes me that much more grateful for him. I love you Peter.

Ta da!

2010-03-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a Happy Birthday banner for the past couple of weeks and finally finished it today. We have a nice long shelf in our kitchen area that I plan on hanging it from when it's someones birthday. (Well, I mean you have to live here and have a birthday. Otherwise it would be up all the time and wouldn't be that special.) I am happy with how it turned out. I was difficult to get a nice picture of it but you get the idea.

While I am here I may as well give an update on the kids.

Lilly is a bit of an odd duck and this makes her a joy to be around. She is a talker like her big sister Bella was at this age. (which is 2 next month) She asks questions and tells me what she wants using complete sentences. She loves to sing and dance and keep her toes clean.

Ayva is enjoying preschool and swim lessons and in her free time she likes to play Zelda and Super Monkey Ball Blitz on the Wii. She is very imaginative and kind but will always speak her mind. (not always a good thing)

Bella is also enjoying school and swim lessons. She is also a tremendous help at times with her sisters. She loves to read to them and lead them in games she makes up. I can't believe how mature she is getting. It really does just feel like yesterday that she was born. Wow.

That's all I have time for today. Thanks for checking in.

Let's go swimming

2010-01-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Today Lilly wanted to try on Bella's swim cap and goggles. Hilarious!!!

In case anybody is still interested.

2009-11-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. Isabella was a spelling bee, Ayva was a tooth fairy and Lilly was a lion. I decided that I was going to make costumes for the older girls to save some money and to get a bit more creative than I have in the past. I pulled out the old sewing machine, dusted it off and tried not to let my lack of sewing skills deter me from my goal. (I might have cussed a few times but I never quit) So here are some pictures.

Lilly the Lion. Roar!!

It is hard to tell from the picture but Ayva has a big white molar sewn on her leotard.

Bella's costume was inspired by her new habit of trying to spell out everything she says.

In other news...a few months ago I decided that I wanted to paint our kitchen cabinets. Eventually I want to change just about everything in our kitchen and it seemed logical to me to start with the cabinets. To make a very long process story short, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be but I love how they turned out. Before they were just your standard oak cabinets which the previous home owners had put some s shaped silver hardware on. Now they are a nice cream color with aged bronze hardware. Oh, and Peter put up some trim on the top. Ta da!

A half, and full and a new beginning

2009-04-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I ran my first ever half-marathon. I did the Salt Lake City Half with my brother, Forrest. I put in a lot of work over the past few months in preparation for this big event and it paid off. The weather was perfect for the run and the route was mostly down hill, all except for the last mile or so up state street (that sucked!!!). My brother did amazing and finished in 1 hour and 44 minutes. I met my goal of coming in under 2 hours by crossing the finish line at 1 hour and 58 minutes. I would definitely like to run it again and try to better my time. I did learn a few things this time around. #1 - Don't stop running. I stopped to use the port o potty and wished I would have just held it because trying to get going again after you have stopped is very difficult. #2 - Try to run with a buddy who can help you mentally re-focus when you feel like quitting. Running can be so much more of a mental challenge than one may think and it is helpful to have someone who knows when to give you a little push. Over all I am proud of myself for completing this challenge and am now looking forward to Ragnar.

Last week we also celebrated ms. Lilly's first birthday. We had a little picnic for her and invited my family over to join us. She had a good time and enjoyed her first taste of sugar, the cake. I had made some "clean" cupcakes and after sampling one early in the day I decided that I might need a backup dessert just in case nobody liked the cupcakes. (The cupcakes were made with sucanat which is dehydrated sugar cane juice and the bittersweet chocolate so the flavor was a bit strong) So I whipped up a "dirty" chocolate cake with "dirty" frosting and raspberries and boy am I glad I did. Delicious!!! As hard as I try to be a clean eater, every now and then I do need a little dirty. hehe

Along with turning one ms. Lilly got to have a check up with her doctor. We were excited to see that she had reached the twenty pound mark so we could turn her around in her car seat. Although my pediatrician said that the new recommendation is two years before they think children should be turned around. Two years? That's nuts! Luckily the law is still one and twenty pounds so I turned my little Lilly around.

This week also marked the beginning of ms. Bella's soccer career. She is on the yellow hornets team and loves how they get a treat and juice box after every game. Ah, the simple joys in life.

It is very entertaining to watch, well as much as I get to watch while I am trying to keep Lilly from eating rocks and abc gum. Here's some pictures.

A bit of an update

2009-03-15T20:06:00.001-07:00

Time for an update.

Lilly has 4, almost 6 teeth, she's climbing and crawling around as fast as she can and is sure to leave a mess wherever she goes.

Ayva is enjoying her swim lessons but that's about it. You gotta love her but she does spend most of her days unhappy about something. I am hopeful that she will grow out of this phase soon but I have been hoping that for months now.

Last week Isabella received the Climbing Higher Award at school for always doing her best work and for being a good example to others. She was so excited about it because they do a small video of the award recipients and then show the video on the classroom tvs. Then later that day she was out on recess and ran into a pole that some construction workers had pulled out from the ground to cut and left unattended. Bella didn't see it and ran right into it with her face. Luckily it just left her with some scratches and didn't turn black and blue.

That's her on the bottom right hand corner. Yeah Bella!

In other news...I have officially signed up to run the Salt Lake half marathon in April and have commenced my training. I have had 3 long runs so far with the longest one being 8.5 miles and things are feeling pretty good. My ward basketball team came in second place in our stake and we are now going on to play in a regional tournament. It has been so much fun to play again and I will be sad when it is over.

Peter is still working a lot. However, he has found time to start our garden. He has about a dozen seed starters going in egg cartons with everything from green beans to watermelon. He is anxious for the weather to warm enough for us to start digging up the back yard and establishing our own farmers market. I'll keep you updated.

Picture Tag

2009-03-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Paige tagged me to open up my sixth folder and post the sixth picture in that folder. Little does Paige know but I just clump all my pictures together and only have one folder. However, I don't want to be a party pooper so I decided to just post the sixth picture from my single folder.

This picture was taken early summer 2007. Peter took a parent and tot swim class with Ayva and is teaching her how to blow bubbles in this particular picture. We found out early that Ayva would definetly need to learn how to swim because she exhibited very little fear of the water. She continues to take swim lessons and loves it when the teacher lets her jump in from the deck. "No help, please" she'll tell them.

Thanks for the tag Paige. It was fun taking a look back at this photo.

A great date with my handsome mate

2009-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday evening Peter and I went to the symphony. We went and listened to the Utah Symphony perform Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. It was amazing! It was a one night only performance and I am glad that we heard about it in time to get a hold of some tickets. The featured violinist, Ralph Matson, was brilliant and along with the other members of the orchestra they had me glued to my seat. At one point I glanced around the theater and up at the people sitting in the balconies and was impressed by how still everyone was sitting, motionless, just listening. We have this symphony on CD and I have listened to it many times but hearing it performed live was something else. I can't wait to go again. Thanks Pete.

Clean Eating

2009-01-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for 2009 is to have healthier eating habits. This is greatly due to the fact that some of my other goals are to run a half marathon, a 178 mile relay race and compete in my first triathlon. (I know...What is she thinking?!) But I realized I needed to start looking at food in a different way. I need to see it more as fuel and not just as a way to not feel hunger pains or as entertainment. (Well, at least not all the time) So to help me with my nutritional quest I got a subscription to a relatively new magazine called Clean Eating. The philosophy of the magazine is to promote eating food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. So lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean proteins. And to avoid overly processed foods, refined flour and sugar, saturated fats and sugary drinks.
So far things are going alright. The biggest hurdle is avoiding refined flour and sugar, especially now that I have mastered the art of homemade rolls. I think we will just have to continue to have some things in moderation. Treats are also a bit of a struggle. The magazine has recipes for them but they call for ingredients that I can't find anywhere in West Jordan Utah. (Mind you we couldn't keep a Wild Oats opened out here:( ) Things like maple flakes and arrowroot powder I have to order online. But overall I am enjoying the benefits that come with this lifestyle.
One of my favorite recipes from the magazine is for Yummy Hummus. This is great for snacking on during the day with some carrot and celery sticks. Give it a try, you may like it.

Yummy Hummus
1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped (I would only use 1 clove unless you are trying to keep vampires away)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp 100% pure orange juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Happy and Healthy New Year to you!

Lillys got the moves

2009-01-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

This is my first time trying to post a video on the blog and I am not sure exactly how to so I am hoping this works. The video is of Lilly dancing along to the Barbie Diamond Castle Princess music. It is kind of long so feel free to just watch for a minute and enjoy.

Joy

2008-12-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

We had a very merry Christmas this year. Well, a very merry Christmas day. The weeks leading up to Christmas were a bit stressful because Peter was swamped at work and was gone 6 out of the 7 days of the week. He did have Christmas day off though so we were determined to have the best day ever. The girls had us up by 7 am to see what Santa had left. After opening presents we had our traditional french toast breakfast. Delicious! Then we played with toys and games until lunch and refueled with some left over ham from Christmas Eve dinner. Next we got in our swimsuits and headed out to the hot tub. We took turns daring each other to jump out and run around the backyard in the foot of snow we got over night. The girls were so funny running and jumping around in the snow screaming and laughing. Our neighbors probably thought we were crazy but we were having a good time. (sorry no pictures of the hot tubbin') Then we all got cleaned up and headed over to my brothers house for some food and family time. The weather even worked out perfectly for us. It pretty much snowed all day until about an hour before we went to my brothers and then didn't start up again until we got home. An anonymous neighbor even cleared our driveway at some point in the morning so when it came time to head out we didn't have to shovel off 2 feet of snow. Thanks neighbor.

Here's just a few pictures from our day.

It's a Christmas miracle

2008-12-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

So we have been living with dial-up internet for 3 long months now in order to save some money. It has been rough but necessary. Then last week Peter received an email from Qwest that they have finally set up DSL in our area and they were offering it at an affordable price. So as an early Christmas gift Peter got it all set up for me today and I am back to surfing the web at high speed. Yes!!!!!!!

Thanks honey.

Autumn Fun

2008-11-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

I am glad we were able to enjoy some of the best that autumn has to offer before the cold of winter took over and we got our first snow of the season yesterday. I do like a good snow storm but I could have gone for a few more weeks of the most enjoyable Indian summer I have seen in a long time. For me, nothing beats going for a run at dusk on a gorgeous fall evening while the sun sets and lights up the sky with pale pinks and oranges. I am a wimp however and once the temperature drops below 40 degrees it's all about the treadmill for me.
Another autumn activity that we were able to enjoy before the snow was playing in the leaves. We definitely get our fair share of leaves from the dozen or so aspens in our backyard dumping their ornaments all at once. The girls had a fabulous time covering themselves in them and throwing them into the air.

We also had the best Halloween this year due to the great weather. We were able to sit out on our front porch and pass out candy after we finished our trick or treating. Bella and Ayva were both witches this year and Lilly was a jack o'lantern. (Notice the carved zucchini in the backround...it's a scary lizard...we grew that ourselves in our garden this year.)

And finally here is a picture of Lilly basking in some quiet time with mom and dad. She truly seems to be the happiest when her sisters have gone to bed and she is left to receive all of our attention. She has been a wonderful addition to our family and it is so fun getting to know her and she gets older and more and more interesting.

Can You Believe It Has Been 6 Months?!

2008-10-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Lillian is quite an angel. She has been the perfect baby. Sleeping well. Eating well. Healthy. Happy. Loved by her sisters.

I don't know what it is about these soft books but she loves 'em. I think she hopes she can learn through osmosis? Hopefully she gets over this before school starts!

It's like travelling by ox and wagon

2008-09-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

We have recently changed our Internet back to a dial up connection and it has been painful. We have decided to tighten our belts in an attempt to pay off some bills and increase our savings and one of the things we decided to do was to get rid of our cable tv and our cable modem. It has been challenging going back to a slow, really slow, connection and I can barely stand waiting for just one picture to upload from the camera so forgive me if the posts don't include tons of cute pictures (or any pictures for that matter) of my adorable kids. I am happy to report that they are all healthy and happy. Bella is loving school and has been working on trying to make one of the mean kids in her class feel better about himself so he'll be a little nicer. She is such a sweet kid. Ayva misses having Bella around to play with in the mornings but loves being able to choose which shows she watches while I do my morning routine. She has also decided that she loves Lilly and is happy to entertain her with her silly antics. Lilly is getting so big. She has found her toes and can even get them into her mouth. She has started eating solids and so far loves bananas and carrots. She drools like a teenager having a 2nd period American History nap but I still love her.
Thanks for continuing to check back in with me even though my posts have been few and far between. I'll get better at this blogging business eventually.

p.s. A little joke I heard recently...What do you call it when you throw a cat out of a car window?...kitty litter...hahahahaha

No tears here.

2008-08-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for Isabella, she finally started kindergarten. She has been anxiously awaiting the start of school for months and it didn't disappoint. Originally I thought she had been assigned to pm kindergarten but luckily found out last week at her one on one with her teacher that she was actually in the am. This was great news to Bella because one of her great friends from church is in the am class.

She did have one concern about starting kindergarten and that was how she was going to get through the whole not-even-three-hours of school without a snack. She must have done alright because she can't wait to go back tomorrow.

While Bella was in school Miss Lilly had her 4 month check up. She is up to 14 pounds and has reached 25 inches long. She is simply the easiest baby ever! She didn't even cry during the 4 shots to the chubber thighs. (chub helps) She does have a bit of a drool problem, as seen here in her "just chillin'" picture. Isn't she a cutie?!
I have no recent pictures of Ayva. In all honesty its because she just hasn't looked or done anything cute over the last week. She woke up with pink eye last Thursday and has also had a nasty cold that won't go away. She is as grumpy as a a bee stuck in a hot window. (it's all that would come to me)

Surprise, it's Jack Johnson

2008-08-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

Last night Peter surprised me with tickets to the Jack Johnson concert at the Usana Amphitheater. I was totally shocked. He secretly arranged for babysitting and even missed his soccer game to take me to the show. I had never been to the Usana Amphitheater before and didn't know that it was so close to our house. So as we were driving there he had me thinking we were going on some sort of mine tour out near Kennecott. (Boring) Luckily it was all an act to throw me off and keep it a surprise as long as possible. To make things even better the tickets were for the area right at the front of the stage so we were just about 20 feet from where Jack was standing. We had a perfect view and Jack Johnson definitely didn't disappoint. He sounded great and was very entertaining. He even let one of his band members, Zach Hill who plays the piano and a multitude of other instruments, steal the show. He sang The Devil went down to Bolivia while playing the accordion and it was awesome. I think he got the loudest applause of the night. I had a wonderful time and am grateful to Peter for making it possible. Thanks hon!

In other news...I had a celebrity sighting this weekend. Saturday afternoon I took Bella school clothes shopping over at a large shopping complex near our house. As we were walking into one of the stores a car pulled up next to us and a woman asked if there was a movie theater near by. I pointed her in the direction she needed to go and then realized it was Marie Osmond. Pretty cool, huh?! I remained cool and unimpressed until she drove away and then I started saying to myself over and over out loud, "that was Marie Osmond, that was Marie Osmond."

I believe in Jesus Christ.

2008-08-17T12:09:00.001-07:00

Recently we had a lesson in Relief Society about a talk given by M. Russell Ballard entitled Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet. In his talk Elder Ballard encourages members of the church to use the Internet as a tool to share our message about the gospel with others and to be a positive voice amid the critics. After that lesson I contemplated putting my testimony on my blog but for some reason never quite got around to doing so. Then today I gave a lesson on establishing Zion. Part of what I gained from the lesson was a greater sense of responsibility to do missionary work and to share the gospel with others. I decided that one way I can do that is to post my testimony on my blog and hope that it might make a difference for someone else.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that he was crucified thousands of years ago by a wicked group of people but that he was resurrected and lives again. I believe that through his resurrection he has made it possible for us all to be resurrected and live again after our time on this earth comes to an end. I also believe that during his time on the earth he atoned for our sins. This makes it possible for us to seek forgiveness for times when we error thus freeing us from the pain that sin can cause.

I believe that we are here on this earth to be tested, to learn and to grow and become better people so that when the time comes we will hopefully be worthy and able to be in his presence again.

I believe that He restored His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, through a young man named Joseph Smith. I also believe that he continues to lead the church through a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who receives modern day revelation from God for our benefit.

I am grateful to have these beliefs because they help me to know why I am here and what my purpose is. Through his teachings I know what I must do to have peace and happiness in this life that at times can be overwhelmingly difficult and scary. He loves me, and it is this knowledge that gives me strength when I am weak.

I testify of these things in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Lillian's blessing

2008-07-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Lillian was blessed at church on Sunday and behaved just like an angel. She was awake for the actual blessing but didn't make a sound. Then when Peter sat back down with her she laid in his arms smiling up at him for about 15 minutes and then fell asleep. It was so sweet.

Peter gave her a beautiful blessing. (well what I could hear of it was nice but Ayva was making it hard to listen) I missed having Peter's family there but it was nice to have my family finally make it to one. Lillian even wore the same dress that Bella and Ayva both wore.

We followed the blessing up with a nice brunch at our house and Lillian continued to behave herself all day. It's like she knew it was a special day all for her and she just enjoyed it. She is such a sweet girl and we love her very much.

For Sale

2008-07-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

We are trying to sell our dining table and chairs for $900. If anyone is interested let me know. We have only had them for about a year and a half but I have decided I want a different style table. Everything is still in great condition.

Catching up

2008-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

We have had some fun this past week and it all started with a visit from Aunt Emily. Peter's sister Emily flew in from Seattle last Friday and stayed with us through to Sunday. It was so nice to have her here and the girls were thrilled with all the extra attention. We went to the farmers market, played at the swimming pool, enjoyed lots of adult conversation and had some delicious food. I only wish she could have stayed longer. Hopefully next time.

Then Peter took this past week off to help with potty training Ayva. We procrastinated a bit and waited until Tuesday to start. She did great Tuesday morning but then had a couple of accidents in the afternoon. We were all set to have a better day Wednesday but then Ayva woke up sick. She had thrown up during the night and continued to throw up all morning. Needless to say that brought the potty training to a halt. Hopefully we will be able to get back to it today.

I have included some pictures below from our week. First I have some pictures of my Lillies. I grew them myself. (hahaha) Next are a series of pictures from Monday when Peter decided to run through the sprinklers with the girls. He is such an awesome dad! And finally a picture of me with 2/3 of my girls. (Lilly was sleeping and I wasn't about to wake her up for a casual picture)

It's hard to tell from the picture below but the girls have ganged up on Peter and are trying to squirt him with the sprinkler.

I am lookin' for a date

2008-06-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Peter is going to be gone all day Friday and I know I am going to need a break from the kids around 6ish. Would anyone like to go see a movie with me?

What a nice surprise

2008-06-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you Aunt Abby for the packages, you made our day! We love you and can't wait to see you in July.

Oh, and one more thing...

2008-06-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

Don't you just hate it when little babies fall sound asleep in your arms while eating or rocking and you gingerly lay them down in their cribs and tip toe out of their rooms and quietly close the door and breath a sigh of relief and think to yourself now I can get something done and then not even 5 minutes have passed and that little baby is wide awake and crying at the top of their lungs.

A weekend wrap up

2008-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had ourselves a nice little Father's Day weekend. It started Friday night when we went over to my brothers for dinner and some fun on the Wii Fit. I have never been big on video games but it looks like my mind has been changed by the Wii. I will be asking Santa for one for Christmas...lots of fun! Saturday started with a great workout followed by lots of yard work and a hand full of errands. Saturday evening we had a ward BBQ that was lots of fun. Unfortunately we had to leave early to get home so we could write some talks. Earlier in the week we were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting but were so busy that we didn't get a chance to sit down and formulate our thoughts until Saturday night around 9:30pm. I think I finally got to sleep around 1:00am and Lilly was up at 3:30 and didn't go back to sleep for about an hour and a half then we were up for the day at 7:00am. Needless to say I was exhausted and looked forward to a nap all morning but Lilly managed to rob me of that as well. It's hard to get mad at her though cause she is so cute. (see pics below for proof of cuteness) We had a nice dinner for Peter on Sunday night and then went for a walk. Peter had told the girls earlier in the day that he would camp out in the backyard with them so they got the tent all set up, had some stories and singing and went to bed. Now it's Monday again and Peters at work and I am left to clean up the mess. I am on my 4th load of laundry, the dishwasher has been unloaded and reloaded, other dishes have been washed and the kitchen floor has been swept. The girls have all been dressed and fed, twice plus snacks, and I have changed a hand full of diapers. I successfully got Ayva down for a nap, Lilly won't let me put her down without fussing and Bella, well Bella just can't seem to do anything by herself for longer than 10 minutes.

Here are just a couple of pictures from our weekend. The first one is of Lilly before our evening walk and the second is of her after the walk. She loves to nap in the Bjorn. The third picture is of the girls as they got all set up to camp out in the backyard. They had such a good time playing in the tent and are really looking forward to going camping in the mountains. Hopefully we can do that sometime this summer.

Happy Fathers Day Peter, we love you!

The Potty Whisperer

2008-06-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ever since teeny tiny Lillian and her teeny tiny poops came home from the hospital I have been having a hard time changing big girl Ayva's big stinky diapers. So last week I decided that once her diapers ran out I was just going to start potty training. So we got started Sunday night We got Ayva all pumped up to "become a big girl". She had success peeing in the potty before bed and was thrilled to put a sticker on her potty chart and enjoy her jelly bean reward. Monday morning started off great. She woke up dry and again had success peeing in the potty. She put another sticker on the chart and quickly ate another jelly bean. While she was having breakfast I was nursing Lilly and watching The Today Show. They just happened to have a segment on potty training. It was about a woman in Illinois who calls herself the Potty Whisperer. She runs a potty training camp and claims that she can potty train most children in one day. (special needs kids being the exception) I listened with eager ears to learn more about her technique. She says that the most important thing when potty training a child is to never ask them if they need to go potty. She says to explain to them that if they need to go then they should walk over to the potty, pull down their pants and go potty in the toilet. That way they will learn that they are the ones in control over their bodies not you. Then she spends the next five hours letting them eat salty treats and drink sugary drinks. The salt makes them want to drink more and the sugary drink never quenches their thrist so they keep drinking. If they have an accident she makes them clean it up. She has the parents present to act as cheerleaders when a child has success on the potty. She says that once a child has that success and realizes they have control over their body it will increase their confidence and they will continue the behavior. Sounds good, I'll try it. So I brought Ayva's potty down to the living room and put it on the hardwood floor. I then changed her out of her pull-up and into underwear and then briefly explained to her that if she needed to go potty then she needed to walk over to her toilet, pull down her underwear and go in the potty. I then proceeded to fill her full of lemonade and goldfish. A few minutes passed and I started to think that after having so much lemonade she should be starting to feel the urge to go but following the "potty whisperers" advice I didn't want to ask her. So I sat near her anxiously awaiting the miracle of her just walking up to the potty and taking control of her own body. Well it never happened. She peed on the carpet twice that afternoon. Once was in the living room just 4 feet from her potty. Ugh. I had her clean up the messes but I don't think that bothered her at all. Now I can't get her to sit on the stupid toilet at all. So after one day of trying I am completely frustrated and ready to quit. Maybe I'll try again in a few months or maybe I will take Ayva to Chicago for a weekend and have the potty whisperer do it.

Congratulations to our graduate.

2008-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

This last week Bella graduated from preschool and as you can see from the look on her face, she wasn't so excited. She has loved going to preschool and has made many wonderful friends that she is terribly sad about never seeing again. (None of her classmates will be going to her kindergarten)
Part of the graduation program involved the kids coming to the front of the stage and saying into the microphone what it is that they want to be when they grow up. Bella said that when she grows up she wants to be a cook. I would like to say that it is because I have provided her with an outstanding example of someone who is an excellent cook, however it is Sponge Bob Squarepants who she wishes to emulate and not her mother. (Apparently he is some sort of cook on the cartoon.) One of the other children said that when she grows up she wants to make salmon and sushi...it was pretty cute.
Here is a shot of Bella near the end of the program. There were four classes graduating together so they had to go through all of the children stating their dreams for the future. Needless to say Bella got a little bored and anxious to get out of there and go have some ice cream. We are very proud of her and are excited to watch her continue to learn as she heads off to kindergarten this year. She is such a bright young lady and I am confident she will continue to do well in school.

A Memorial Day to Remember

2008-06-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day this year we decided to get out of town and head down to St. George to enjoy some much needed sunshine. When I was in college at Dixie I was fortunate enough to live at a condo resort named Los Palmos. One of my best girl friends from high school had a relative who owned one of the condos and let us rent it from him for two years. It was an amazing resort. A couple of weeks ago I decided to look it up on-line and discovered it was still up and running and I convinced Peter we should rent a condo for a few days. When I lived there back in the day it had four pools, one indoor and three outdoor, and it has since added a fifth pool. Since Peter had to work the weekend we didn't leave until Monday morning but were able to stay through until Wednesday. I think it worked out wonderfully because we missed out on the big weekend crowds and three days was just long enough to enjoy ourselves and not get on each others nerves too much. So here are some pictures from our swimming adventures.

I love the next picture because it looks like Bella is walking on the water. (This pool is only 2 feet deep and is perfectly heated. The girls really had the best time jumping in over and over. )

And here is a picture of the view I had from my lounge chair.

Besides swimming, we did a little shopping at the outlets, took a nice drive through Snow Canyon, played in the sand dunes, ate at my favorite Pizza Factory and took a nice little stroll through the updated downtown area. St. George has really changed so much since I lived there ten plus years ago and it was fun for me to return and see it all again. Hopefully we can make it a family tradition to visit at least once every year.

A fun sunny day

2008-05-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

So I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus since Lillian was born. It hasn't been for lack of interesting topics but rather the physical and mental exhaustion that has plagued me since her arrival. To be honest, she hasn't been the one to cause the exhaustion, she is actually a great sleeper and had her first 7 hour block last night. Her older sisters however have been putting me through the ringer. (mostly Ayva) Everyone keeps saying they are just going through an adjustment period and will settle down soon. I sure hope they are right. We did have a nice afternoon today though so I thought I better take advantage of it and blog about something positive.

It is a gorgeous day here today so after lunch we set up Bella's new sprinkler in the back yard and the girls had a fun time running through it. I was able to get some great pictures that I just had to share.

And I didn't want to leave Lilly out so here is a picture of her. She is such a good baby and I am so grateful that she is healthy and a part of our family. She gave us a bit of a scare when she was born but she recovered quickly and is just beautiful, just like her sisters.

This Colasurdo Clan...Grows!

2008-04-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lillian Marie Colasurdo.
7 Pounds 14 ounces.
19 inches long.
Born 4/21/08 at 1314.

Made quite the entrance and gave mom and dad a bit of a scare.

It was supposed to be a routine appointment. Mindy was not due for nearly 2 more weeks. Baby girl was rightside up however, and what we had thought was her bum was really her head. The doctor tried to turn her and it was going well until her heart rate dropped and he said calmly to the nurse and anesthesiologist there, "let's go."

To make a long story short, within a few minutes we were in the OR and she was here!

Mom and Lilly are both well, though will stay a few more days in the hospital.

Close up shot. You can see the poor kiddo's IV.

Thanks for all the help and prayers.

Posted by Peter for Mindy.

PS

Bella and Ayva say hello!

A bit of bragging

2008-04-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Salt Lake Marathon and as I mentioned earlier Peter and my brother Forrest signed up to run the 1/2 marathon portion of the event. The start gun went off at 7 am and they both finished just under two hours later. Not bad for their first attempt at running this distance. They had nice weather throughout with just a slight bit of wind at times. **Side note**(This nice weather didn't last all day. We had the windiest day EVER here in Salt Lake yesterday. Dust flying everywhere all day long. You couldn't see the sky, just a dusty haze everywhere. I have to say it was a bit annoying!)

Here's a shot of Peter as he ran the all important "final stretch" through the Gateway Plaza with the crowd cheering the runners on. (He's the one in the dark green shirt and black shorts.) Overall he had a decent run. His knees started to really bother him at about mile 9 but he powered through the pain and finished the race in 1115 place out of over 3000 runners.

Here they are after the race. I know they were both experiencing that runners high that you hear people talk about. The run was difficult but the sense of accomplishment that you feel afterwards is euphoric. I am very proud of both of them and hopefully I can join them next year in their quest to do better.

One funny thing about this marathon was the choice of vendor they used for the post run re-fueling station, or snack station. It was 7-11. That's right, the convenience store. So after running between 13 and 26 miles you had your choice of a hot dog or a deep fried bean burrito. Isn't that strange?! They did have bananas and cantaloupe and, my favorite, chocolate milk but a hot dog? Come on now, that's just ridiculous.

Waiting

2008-04-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

With my due date just over two weeks away, I find myself getting more and more anxious to have this baby. Not only am I looking forward to getting my body back but I simply can't wait to meet her, see what she looks like and to find out what her name is going to be. (That's right we still haven't decided on a name.)
In the mean time, Peter is going to be running a half-marathon this weekend with my brother. He hasn't had much time to train, work has been insane, but I know he will push through it and do a great job. I am a bit jealous though. I wish I was running it with him. Maybe I should give it a shot, I am sure it would send me into labor.
Also this weekend, my sister in law, Angie, who wrote Bound on Earth, is going to be at the Barnes and Noble on 10180 S. State St. for a book reading and signing from 1-4pm. For those of you who live in Salt Lake you should check it out. It really is a wonderful book and there will be refreshments. Yippee!
Wish me luck this week, maybe baby will decide to come a little early.

Sweet Pete!

2008-04-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

After having been stuck at home for almost two weeks with sick kids and being sick myself, my wonderful husband suggested that I take some time for myself and go to the spa. Fabulous idea! Yesterday morning Peter was off after having worked all weekend so he hung out with the girls and I headed to the Sanctuary Day Spa for a little r & r. A massage sounded heavenly but a haircut was necessary so I went with the haircut and a pedicure of course. (I have always had cute toes close to baby due dates and have always ended up wearing socks during delivery. I will have to remember this time to leave my socks off.)

Sorry about the foot shot but I had to show off the toes. Plus I am excited that my feet haven't gotten too swollen yet.

Here's the new do. Not drastically different from before. A bit shorter and thinned out a lot. The best part about it was that the spa used Aveda products (my favorite) so my hair smelled and felt amazing.

(And a little belly shot for Torrie)

After I was done at the spa I picked up some lunch from Chick-fil-a, another of my favorites, and headed home. Peter had bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers while I was out and had them sitting on the kitchen table. I am so lucky to have him, he is a wonderful husband.

Finally to top the day off, a friend from church brought us a delicious dinner complete with the most divine mint brownies. Thanks Carrie! I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Easter Dresses

2008-03-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post we missed church on Easter Sunday due to the flu, so the girls missed getting all dressed up in their pretty Easter dresses. Well despite the dusting of snow we received last night and the lingering cough and runny noses we still have, I got them dressed in their pretty dresses and made sure we made it to church this morning. I have to admit that as much as I was hoping this next baby would be a boy I find comfort in knowing that Peter and I do make some beautiful girls.Don't you love Ayva's smile in this picture?

I've got cabin fever!

2008-03-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

The past week has really taken its toll on me and I am starting to get a bit stir crazy. It all started a week ago Saturday when I had to go into the hospital at 10pm because I was having lots of contractions. They weren't the painful kind and timing wise they were all over the place. They monitored me for about an hour and then decided to give me some muscle relaxers to help bring the contractions to a stop. Luckily they worked, but we didn't get back home and to bed until about 2 am. I stayed home from church the next day to relax and catch up on some sleep. Then I have tried to continue to take it easy the rest of the week. Wednesday, Bella came down with a fever, sore throat and awful cough. I was sick with it by Thursday, Ayva by Saturday and today Peters starting to show signs of being sick. So we have been couped up in the house for almost a week straight and it's enough to make me mad. I sadly kept the girls home from church this morning so they didn't get to wear their Easter dresses. We might just have to re-celebrate Easter next week.
Happy Easter to all!

I'm looking for a good Dr.

2008-03-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am in the market for a new pediatrician and am looking for referrals. I want someone who is friendly and good with kids. (You would think that would go without saying but I have found it doesn't) I would also prefer someone who is in a small practice and is not one of ten Dr.'s in a group situation. Someone who is close by would also be helpful. So if anyone who lives near me can suggest one I would appreciate it.

Barbie and Ken

2008-03-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

So today at Target I decided to get some new outfits for the Barbie and Ken that the girls play with. As soon as we got home they rushed to find their dolls and get them dressed in their new duds. As soon as we got the Ken dressed they both started saying how handsome he looked. Ayva picked him up and started using a deep voice with him. They eventually got more of the Barbie dolls and they were fighting over who got to kiss Ken. At first it shocked me that they were talking about kissing and getting married but then Peter reminded me that they see that on all of the princess videos they watch.

So here's a picture of the happy couple. Yes, Barbie is an amputee. She was involved in a terrible horse riding accident and lost her arm. She is one tough Barbie though, and she has continued to ride horses with the use of just one arm. She is an inspiration.

A wonderful book!

2008-03-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

My sister in law, Angie, has written a wonderful book entitled Bound on Earth and I would like to encourage all who read this to get a hold of a copy and enjoy. I'm not just saying this because she is my sister in law, but it truly is a good book. In fact, my only criticism is that it wasn't long enough. I found myself wanting to know more about each of the characters. I hope she will be writing more about the Palmer family soon.
It does have the Mormon perspective on an array of real life challenges that we all have either experienced or know someone who has experienced and would be a great book to discuss for a book club.
I know you can get it at the library here in Salt Lake or on Amazon.com. Her name is Angela Hallstrom.
Congratulations Angie!

The ABC's of Mindy - Tagged to tell all

2008-03-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

A- Attached or single: Attached
B - Best Friends: Peter is my bestest friend, and then theirs my girl posse in Seattle. I miss you guys!!!
C- Cake or Pie: Why choose, have a little slice of both.
D - Day of Choice: Saturdays when Peter isn't working.
E - Essential Item: Water
F - Favorite Color: I don't have a favorite
G - Gummy bears of worms: Chocolate covered cinnamon bears.
H - Hometown: Salt Lake City
I - Indulgences: Oh please...chocolate milk (made with whole milk, of course), any kind of cookie, and chicken wings
J - January or July: JULY!!!!!!
K - Kids: Isabella, Ayva and baby no-name is on the way
L - Life is not complete without: People to share it with
M - Marriage Date: May 20, 2000
N - Number of siblings: 2
O - Oranges or apples: Again, why choose?!
P - Phobias or fears: My greatest fear is having one or more of my children taken from me.
Q - Quotes - I have never been big into remembering quotes or holding on to quotes for inspiration so I am afraid I got nothin' for this one.
R - Reasons to smile: Isabella and Ayva. Or I love to watch funny videos of marching bands when one member trips and falls down and then everyone else falls over them because they didn't see that person fall because they have to keep their heads up and pay attention to the conductor. hee hee
S - Season: I love something about each of the seasons so I can't really say I prefer one over the others
T - Tag some friends: I want to give a shout out to Sarah Platteborze who just started to blog and have this be her first tag. Also Lauren in hopes that she will do it and I can see something new when I check her blog. (she's a pokey poster, even pokier than me)
U - Unknown fact about me: I love to watch bull riding!!!
V - Very favorite store: For clothing - Ann Taylor Loft. For furniture and decor - Gardner Village. For Groceries - Central Market (which does not exist here in Utah)
W - Worst Habit: It is so embarrassing but if I am being honest I would have to say my picking. I have an awful habit of picking at my skin.
X - X-ray or ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y - Your favorite food: I love food!! There is no way I could choose just one favorite type of food especially right now in my pregnant state. However, I could really go for some FRESH fish tacos right now!
Z - Zodiac: Scorpio

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

2008-02-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

Peter had to work this weekend and so he was gone most of yesterday. I had spent the day cleaning the house, which I hadn't really done in weeks, and was exhausted by the time Peter got home and dinner time rolled around. I convinced Peter that we should go out to eat since both of us were too tired to make dinner. So we all hopped in the gay mini (yes, I am still calling it that!) with me driving incase Peter got paged and needed to call the hospital. So as I am backing out of the garage I am only paying attention to the passanger side of the car because I want to be sure not to hit the passenger side mirror on the side of the garage. Well, all of the sudden I hear this strange, crunchy scraping sound. At first I just thought it was the tires rubbing against the snow pack on our driveway so I kept backing out. Then within seconds I realize that it's not the tires making the scraping sound, it's the drivers side of the van backing into the passenger side mirror on Peter's car that is parked on the driveway. OOPS! Luckily it didn't do too much damage to either car. The mirror on Peter's car is a little loose but that's it. And the van...well the van has a nice 4-5 foot scratch on the side with a little dent. My first accident, well atleast the first one where it was my fault. Sorry honey! (I highlighted it below by wiping the dirt and salt off with a wet paper towel. It is still hard to see but atleast you get an idea of how long it is and how dirty the car is.)

We also painted our room last weekend and got new bedroom furniture thanks to President Bush and his tax-rebate present. I know it was a bit premature since the rebates aren't suppose to come until May but I will have a new baby in May and no time to paint or spend money.

It is hard to tell in the picture but the walls are a grey-blue color and the furniture is a creamy white. We both think it has a beach house feel to it. It still needs some more decorations. Some pictures and hopefully some new lamps. But atleast we got the major portion of it done before baby comes and turns me into a hermit.

The girls are both getting excited about having a new little sister. Bella is already playing well with baby no name. She will push lightly on my belly three times with her hand and then wait a second and baby will push back. She has been able to play this game with her a couple of times now and is convinced that the baby knows what she is doing and is very smart for her young gestation age.

And for my last little bit I have to tell you who was in our sacrament meeting today at church. Donny Osmond! His nephew is in our ward and was blessing his baby boy today. I was totally star struck when I saw him and since Peter wasn't with me to join in my surprise I found myself looking around the chapel trying to make eye contact with as many people as I could and mouth the words "it's Donny Osmond". Luckily he only stayed for sacrament meeting and didn't come to my sunday school class, that would have been too much.

I just need to get a little out of my system.

2008-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

My one and only resolution for this year is to be happier and more optimistic. I felt that was a simple enough goal that could be affected by the reaching (or not reaching) of the many other goals I have for myself. And for the most part things are going great. But there is one tiny thing that has been bothering me and I thought that maybe if I just took a few minutes and dumped it all out into the universe I could feel better about it and move on. So let's see if it works.
Now let me start by saying that I do understand that there are lots of women in the world who would love nothing more than to be pregnant and aren't able to and my heart does go out to them. I am not trying to take anything away from their struggles by sharing mine but boy this pregnancy stuff is rough.
Yesterday morning I was getting changed to go to the gym when Bella came into my room. I was just in my workout pants and sports bra. Bella says to me "Mom, you should be on that Biggest Loser show". Ouch!
Monday I saw the OB for a checkup and he starts off the visit by saying "alright, well you have already gained 15 lbs. so let's try to limit it to a 1/2 lb a week from here on out." Ouch!
The varicose veins that are all over my right leg. Ouch!
The sciatica. Ouch!
I won't elaborate on this one but let me just say that things are swelling more than they have ever swelled before. Ouch!
That's enough. Let's move on...

I am really stumped as far as names go. I said earlier that I liked Lola and I still do. I am just not sure how well that name will hold up as she gets older. It is cute as a baby but as a thirty year old?! I also like Hazel, and not because Julia Roberts has a daughter named Hazel, but because it has a z in it. "J" names have also been appealing to me. Names like Jade, Jacinda and Jocelyn. Any ideas?

A little slice of Christmas joy.

2007-12-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do something extra special for the girls for Christmas. Peter has been working a lot and I have been a bit on the cranky side and I felt like I wanted to make it up to them. So today we decided to take them to the Build a Bear Workshop and let them get some teddy bears. I know, I know, going to the mall the Saturday before Christmas with two small children is not the smartest thing to do but like I said, Peter has been working a lot and this was his first Saturday off in the last 4 weekends. So we got to the store and the girls quickly picked out the bears they wanted to get. We then proceeded to wait in line for 50 minutes to get the bears stuffed, dressed and paid for. It was pretty hectic but the girls behaved themselves and waited patiently to be done. And I have to say it was worth it. They love their bears! They have played with them all day and are now tucked into bed with their new friends.

And it's...

2007-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Another girl. I had my twenty week ultrasound today and it looks like we will be adding another girl to our family. She appears to be healthy and developing as she should be. When the ultrasound technician first said "it's a girl" I have to admit my heart sank. I really did want a little boy. But as she continued to move the wand around and I layed there watching our little baby kick her feet and suck on her thumb I quicky became alright with having another girl. She is precious.
So now we need to come up with some name choices. I like Lola Lucia, but am not completely tied to it yet. If you have any ideas of a names please let us know.

Happy Day!

2007-12-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

What a glorious day it is. Snow has been falling through the night and has continued all day. I have been burning my new candy cane scented Salt City Candle that has made our home smell of Christmas. I have gotten a couple loads of laundry done, the kitchen cleaned up, my design idea binder organized and my checkbook updated all while the girls have played nicely together all morning. (Peter is working) My brother came over this morning to fix our bathroom light, electrical problem, and brought me a plate of brownies, the frosted kind, which I have almost completely finished. Now I am going to get the girls bundled up to go out in the snow for awhile. After which they will have nap and quite time and I will continue to get things done all the while enjoying the warmth of my house of the beauty of the falling snow. I love winter in Utah!

The rest of my bits...

2007-11-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

49. I am afraid of moths.
48. I have a strong dislike (I have a personal goal to stop using the word hate. It is part of my optimistic training.) for the music of Alanis Morisette.
47. I have a strange admiration for the rapper Eminem.
46. The first time I ever flew in an airplane I was 14 or 15 and my brothers friend flew my sister and I to Arizona to see our grandmother in a small four seater that handled turbulence like a fly.
45. I want to be a better person than I am right now.
44. I love birds of prey and will likely become an official "bird watcher" when we retire and travel the country in our RV.
43. If I had any real kind of money, like Rockefeller money, I'd be broke.
42. I like to put together puzzles.
41. I am perplexed as to what to do with a puzzle once I have put it together.
40. I love to bowl and even took a bowling class in college.
39. My favorite part of Utah is Bryce Canyon and Zion's comes in a close second.
38. My greatest accomplishment thus far as a parent is that my girls like vegetables.
37. I have issues with the dentist and suffer high levels of anxiety when I have to go in for cleanings or repairs.
36. My first Thanksgiving turkey turned out pretty good. A lady I work with gave me the tip to cook the turkey upside down so the breast would cook in its own juices and it worked great. (well minus the crispy skin that I usually like to enjoy)
35. My brother once shot me in the leg with a bb gun.
34. I loved horses as a child and even had one for awhile. She was a palomino and I named her Cinnabar.
33. I have a weakness for donuts.
32. I love Aveda products.
31. Speaking of Aveda, I could use a good massage. (hint, hint to my kind, loving husband)
30. I have wonderful children who can make me crazy angry one minute and hysterically happy the next.
29. I hope to one day be part of a rowing team. (when we move back to Seattle of course)
28. I am terrible at being pregnant and would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my sweet husband for all that he has endured up to this point and for all that is to come.
27. I would love to totally remodel my kitchen and master bath and am willing to do all the work myself. (I know, I say that now but I am sure I would change my tune 6 weeks into the project when I am still cooking on a Coleman stove in the garage and have no running water in my bathroom. shh!)
26. I no longer look smokin' hot in a swimsuit. (sure, I like to believe I once did!)
25. My greatest disappointment as a parent thus far is how easily I lose my temper and blow up at my children.
24. If I could go to Hawaii, or any tropical island, tomorrow I would do nothing but lie on the beach and drink pina coladas.
23. Both Peter and I have a hard time making decisions. It took us months to buy our first couch. We would go to the store every couple of weeks and sit on the one we liked and hover over it trying to decide if it was a smart purchase or not. Finally we gave in and bought it when it went on sale.
22. I am grateful I grew up poor. I haven't always felt that way but the older I get the more I appreciate the life lessons I learned from not having much at all.
21. I had my appendix taken out when I was in high school.
20. I love to watch the X Games. My favorite event is the skateboarders on the half pipe.
19. I have big feet. Size 10 to be precise.
18. Pet peeves: 1) When companies misspell there name on purpose. ex. Skool Lunch Restaurant. 2) Men in speedo's when there isn't a competition going on. 3) The sound of someone swallowing or gulping. I have many more but will leave it at that for now.
17. Love Seinfeld!
16. I love to go river rafting.
15. I have THE coolest in laws!
14. I am most grateful for my good health and the good health of my family.
13. Yeah only 12 more to go!
12. The toughest experience I have gone through so far in my life was having Peter get called up to go to Kuwait 4 weeks before our first child was due. I am still not sure what I was suppose to learn from that trial.
11. According to a Newsweek poll I might b a democrat rather than a republican like I originally thought.
10. I use to love read-a-thons when I was in elementary school. We got to bring our pillows to school, treats and all the books we could read in one day.
9. I like pickles. Well only the crunchy kind you buy in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.
8. I am really looking forward to next winter when I can go skiing again.
7. I don't care for magicians. Not impressed.
6. My favorite place to run is the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle.
5. I have been to Canada!!!
4. My favorite subject in school was biology and my least favorite was English. (I am sure I have made dozens of grammatical errors throughout my list.)
3. I truly believe I married my soul mate.
2. I am grateful to have such cool and fun friends.
1. I am a Christian!

Well hallelujah! I am done and can head to bed. Good night!

50 little bits about me now and 50 bits later...

2007-11-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

100. I will be 32 years old tomorrow (no, it's not too late to send a gift).
99. I was a wild teenager and have the tattoo to prove it.
98. I have shamelessly watched almost every season of the Bachelor and am extremely disappointed that this seasons bachelor didn't pick anyone.
97. It took me a week to read Twilight and I still haven't picked up New Moon. (I know, what's wrong with me?!)
96. Fall is my favorite time of year.
95. I generally only like to watch a movie once. I have no desire to buy movies and continue to watch them until I have them memorized.
94. I will be cooking my first Thanksgiving meal this week. I'll keep you posted.
93. I met my husband in a bar/dance club. (see...wild!)
92. I love fried tofu.
91. I went skydiving for my 21st birthday.
90. I suffer from "foot in mouth" disease. I think it runs in my family.
89. I have great admiration for anyone who has a degree greater than an Associates in school.
88. I would love to return to school someday and get a degree in Nutrition.
87. I don't understand thank you cards. If I said thank you at the time of the service or when receiving a gift, why do I need to send a written thank you as well. Did the person forget or did they not hear me? Does the thank you only count if it comes in the mail?
86. My favorite day of the week is Sunday. (unless it's a fast Sunday of course. kidding!)
85. I would love to compete at anything in the Olympics.
84. As a teenager I worshiped Michael Jordan.
83. The older I get the more I like country music. (I guess it's a sign of senility)
82. I had to look up how to spell senility.
81. I love the outdoors and enjoy most outdoor activities.
80. Someday I would like to live in Connecticut.
79. I think one can still be cool even when driving a mini-van. (and you should too)
78. I know of 7 other women besides myself who are pregnant right now. 7!
77. I don't like scary movies at all. I can't even watch commercials for crime shows without getting scared. (sissy, right?!)
76. I have been to over 20 concerts in my life. My favorites: Ziggy Marley in Hawaii, Tom Petty in Salt Lake and Josh Groban in Seattle.
75. I have great respect and admiration for all the men and women who serve in the United States military and I cry every time the news shows a group leaving their families or returning to their families. It is an amazing thing that people are willing to sacrifice their lives for the safety of our country and for the benefit of people in countries besides their own.
74. I am a very competitive game player and at times wish that I could just relax and enjoy myself more.
73. I have to eat breakfast everyday. I don't understand how people can get up and go about their day without at least a bowl of cereal.
72. Someday I hope to own an older, craftsman style home.
71. I love to watch my husband play soccer. He has great soccer legs!
70. I love to listen to my girls sing a long to the radio.
69. I strongly dislike snorkeling.
68. I don't think Matthew McConaughey is sexy at all!
67. My favorite teacher was my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Drake. She sadly died of cancer shortly after I had her as a teacher but her influence on me has lasted a lifetime.
66. There are two different spellings for my middle name and I am not sure which one is right.
65. I use to want to run a marathon but I am over it.
64. I never liked fish until I lived in Seattle and experienced fresh salmon.
63. I don't like dogs.
62. Or cats.
61. And I don't understand having birds as pets either.
60. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
59. Once I start something I must finish it or I won't be able to sleep.
58. I hate to be poked.
57. Don't tell Peter but I wear the pants in the family.
56. My favorite movie treat is chilled Junior Mints.
55. I once saw John Tesh and Connie Selleca on the beach in Hawaii.
54. I want to learn how to dance like Julianne Hough on Dancing with the Stars.
53. In high school I tried out to be the mascot, a farmer. But in the end they chose my competition and he only made it through 1/2 of the year before he was busted for smoking pot in the boys bathroom and stripped of his pitchfork.
52. As a young girl I loved to catch frogs and play king of bunker hill with my brother.
51. Most embarrassing moment: I accidentally peed on my pant leg during a first date. We'll just leave it at that.
50. I love to snow ski.

Mindy, you really need to update your blog!

2007-11-10T11:55:00.001-08:00

I know, I know it has been a long time since I updated the blog but I have some decent excuses.
1) Since I started working my seemingly innocent part-time job I have had very little time for extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, blogging falls in that category.
2) The past few months I haven't been feeling very well. A combination of stress, exhaustion and nausea. The stress from having to cram time with the girls, house cleaning, grocery shopping, and all other motherly responsibilities into the first half of the day. Oh, and a little from having to shop for a new car and settling with a mini-van. (No offense to all the cool people I know who already drive mini-vans, I just wanted something different.)

And it turns out that the exhaustion and nausea are a result of being pregnant. Yep, that's right, Peter and I are expecting our third child sometime during the first week of May. (I am hoping for more like the end of April so new baby and Bella won't have birthdays too close together.) I have been much sicker with this baby than I was with either Bella or Ayva. And even though I am well out of my first trimester, the nausea continues. Funny thing though, despite being sick and tired I am really excited to be having another baby and thrilled about the prime parking spot I know get to use at the grocery store for the next 6 months.

So that's where I have been. I will try to do a bit better now, but bear with me.

I did manage to get some Halloween pictures taken of the girls that I also want to throw in this post cause they are so cute. Ayva wanted to dress up like Britney Spears but we were able to persuade her to be a beautiful princess instead.

We have a wonderful neighbor who made these gorgeous princess gowns for the girls. Bella wanted to be Ariel as a princess. And Ayva just wanted to be a Barbie princess.

Help!

2007-11-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

So last week I got the grand idea that I wanted to change the layout of my blog. Unfortunetly I didn't know what I was doing and I lost 95% of my links to others blogs. So those of you who used to be a featured link on my blog, could you please send me you link again. You can leave it as a comment or email it to me at jinjerroot@gmail.com. Thank you!

I've been tagged...

2007-08-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

I recently saw on my sister in law, Angie's blog that I have been tagged to post some answers to some provocative questions. So even though I should be working on a talk I have to give at Enrichment meeting this week I do have my priorities in order and will do this first.

4 jobs I have had:
I have had more than 2 dozen jobs in my life so I will just share some of the more interesting ones.
1) I was a veterinarians assistant for awhile when I first moved to Seattle. This job cured me of my love for animals. (well, at least the domestic kinds)
2) I also worked as a census taker for a couple of weeks when I was living in Seattle. Hated it!
3) In high school I worked as a sandwich artist at Subway and was one of the really goods ones who understands what "light on the mayo" means.
4) Ticket agent/popcorn girl at the old Century 9 movie theatre in Salt Lake City. This was the coolest job ever. As an employee of the theatre I was privy to the midnight showings of the new releases the day before their release.

4 movies I could watch over and over:
This is a hard one because I generally only like to see a movie once. But if I had to choose I would have to say...
1) About A Boy with Hugh Grant
2) Four Weddings and a Funeral with Hugh Grant
3) well, probably anything with Hugh Grant
4) Christmas Vacation

Places I have lived:
1) Utah
2) Hawaii - it was only for a few months but I worked and paid taxes while I was there so I am counting it!
3) Minnesota
4) Washington

Favorite tv shows:
1) What Not to Wear - I would love to get nominated and appear on this show. I would do that $5000 shopping spree in New York like it's never been done before! (without any complaints)
2) LOST - I have tried giving this one up because it frustrates me so but I just can't.
3) So You Think You Can Dance - because I can!
4) The Iron Chef - Peter and I watch this together every Sunday night before bed. I am not sure why, it just makes us hungry, but we love it. I like cuisine!!!

4 favorite foods:
1) My brothers bruschetta
2) Fish tacos
3) Fresh fruit cobblers with vanilla ice cream
4) Fried tofu crunchies...Peter makes them for me and they are the best way to eat tofu that I have found thus far.

4 websites I visit:
1) Craigslist
Besides my credit unions site and all my friends blogs, that's about it.

4 places I'd rather be:
1) Pyramid beach on Oahu
2) Going for a run on the Burke-Gilman trail along Lake Washington
3) On a boat in the Mediterranean
4) At a nice restaurant having dinner with family and/or friends.

Well there you have it...interesting, a?
So I am know suppose to tag 3 people and they should follow suit and post their answers.
1) Kelly
2) Marie
3) Torrie

Our Family Trip (not a vacation!)

2007-08-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

I keep telling Peter our trip can't be called a vacation because there wasn't enough relaxation involved, therefore I like to refer to it as a family trip. Despite the fact that I came home much more exhausted than when we left doesn't mean I didn't have a great time, cause I did!!!! Oh how I love Seattle. We had a fantastic time visiting our old city and seeing all of our family and friends. (except Auntie Melia, that's how Ayva says it, who was back east mountain bike racing)
We stayed the first couple of days with Grandma Lou at her new home in Tacoma. She was so wonderful to us and we all really enjoyed spending time with her. The girls especially enjoyed their little sleeping and playing nook that Grandma created for them upstairs. She even let them put a tv in there where they could view her many Disney shows. Thanks again Mary Lou!
We also got to spend some time with aunt Abby and cousin Finn. Finn has grown so much since we left and has turned into quite the ham bone. He gives great big, cheesy smiles and loves to giggle at himself. Abby sure has her hands full with him. He was in constant motion 80% of the time and was only still the other 20% because he was strapped into a stroller. Gotta love 1 year old energy...good luck Abby.
We spent one of our days playing the tourist role. We drove out to Bainbridge Island via the new Tacoma Narrows bridge. Then hopped the ferry over to Seattle and spent the afternoon at Pike Place Market. I wanted to get more pictures at the market of all the gorgeous food and interesting people singing for change but it was so crowded and I was either holding Ayva or Bella at all times. Pike Place is definitely one of my favorite spots in Seattle. I think it would be wonderful to live in walking distance of the market and to be able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and fish everyday. Oh, and the pastries, don't even get me started on the pastries! Even Mt. Rainier came out to welcome us back. That doesn't happen everyday.
On Saturday we met up with a group of friends to enjoy some of the Seafair festivities. Peter and myself ran the Torchlight Race with my good friend Lauren while my wonderful friends, The Blasers, watched the girls. (Thanks again Blasers!) Then we all watched the parade together. I am hoping that this becomes a tradition for us and our friends and that next year we will have even more of us participate in the run. (That is a challenge to Marie and Andy, you can do it!!) (oh and Paige of course who will quickly return to her post-pregnancy physique in 2 weeks)

For the last half of our trip we stayed with aunt Emily and uncle Todd. Isabella was so excited to hang out with her cousins and had a blast learning how to battle from her older cousin Emmett. (all kinds of battling from sword fights to military guys, she learned it all) Unfortunately her other cousin Harrison was at camp so we missed him but she got into enough mischief with Emmett. On our way to the beach one afternoon, Bella and Emmett had some markers in the back seat and decided to color themselves. I don't know how Peter and I both missed that. Sneaky little clowns. (Bella's face is the best. She has marker around her mouth, on her cheeks and on her forehead. Nice work Emmett.)

I just realized this blog entry is turning into quite the travel diary and I have either lost most of my readers or am boring the ones that have stuck around in hopes of an exciting ending so I will wrap it up here with a semi-exciting ending. On our trek back to Salt Lake our car broke down about 20 miles outside of Boise. It was pushing 100 degrees outside and we all sat and soaked as we waited for our tow truck and taxi to come and rescue us. It was too late in the day to find a mechanic who would look at our car so our "family trip" was extended by one day as we stayed at the Shilo Inn, went for a swim and enjoyed our complementary breakfast at the Buck Horn. Luckily it was just the fuel filter and they got us fixed up and on our way the next day.

The End

Look who's 2!!!

2007-07-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ayva doesn't officially turn two until Tuesday but we celebrated her birthday yesterday with a family party. We had taco's (Ayva's favorite food) and an ice cream cone cake. The cake was actually just a piece of Styrofoam that I frosted after cutting holes in it that could support the ice cream cones. This turned out to be a great idea, if I do say so myself, because it was so easy and there was very little clean up afterwards.

She loves the new Dora car my parents got her as a gift, especially the pretend cell phone that came with it. If she could only get her big sister to leave it alone!!

We are so grateful to have this little sweetheart as part of our family. She is funny and smart and always willing to give hugs and kisses. She is at a great stage in her development that is full of wonder and curiosity and though it gets her in trouble at times she is determined to figure things out on her own. We love you Ayva!

Hike #2

2007-07-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we set off for hike #2 in our summer hiking series. We went up to Brighton ski resort and hiked up to Lake Mary. It is a short distance up to the lake, only 1 mile, but it is pretty much up hill the whole way. Isabella did great, she walked all of it except for the last 50 feet or so when her feet started to hurt. I was so impressed with her determination to make it all the way up without being carried. Ayva on the other hand had to be carried 80% of the hike. She has developed a new fear of flying insects ever since she was stung by a bee a few weeks ago. So anytime a fly would buzz her head she would start crying and insist that we pick her up to protect her from attack.
The view was gorgeous and we even got to see a handful of these little marmots running around. This one let us get close enough for a picture.

Once we got to the lake we sat and enjoyed our lunch and then played around on the rocks for awhile. Even though there were a handful of other hikers around it was still very peaceful. The water level was a lot lower than I have seen it in the past so hopefully we will get a Seattle style rain storm soon. (just a little wishful thinking)

Here's a shot of me and the girls on top of a mini mountain. I think Bella might grow up to be a mountain climber. She had a blast climbing up on all the big rocks that were up there.

Life

2007-07-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

Life has been a bit crazy lately and has left me little time, or energy for posting much on the blog. However, it is rainy and windy here in Salt Lake this morning so I have decided to skip our outdoor swim lessons and update the blog instead. In fact that's a good place to start. Since Isabella is 4 she is able to go to her class all by herself and Ayva and I go and do a mommy and me class at the same time. Peter joined us for their first lesson so I was able to take some cute pics. Here's Ayva learning to blow bubbles.

In Bella's class they have been working on learning moves like the monkey, airplane and soldier. In this picture she is just doing an old fashioned favorite, the kick.

They are both doing great and having a lot of fun. I have also been taking lessons and boy is my instructor hot! Peter and I have been going to the pool one night a week so he can help me improve my technique. (Sorry, no pictures of me in my unflattering speedo and swim cap.)

Bella also wrapped up her dance class recently with a final performance at the Country Fest. I would love to share the video I have of her dancing but I still don't know how to put videos on the blog. Sorry. I do, however, have a really cute photo of her in her costume.

Sooo Cute!!!!

In other news...I have started working again part time. I got the job at the credit union I worked at before I moved to Washington. It is only 4 hours a day and I am really enjoying the peace and quite I get to experience while I am there. My parents have been coming over to watch the girls and the girls love it. They have been baking and making craft projects and getting away with eating more snacks and treats than they do when I am around. I am very grateful to have their support and help while I return to work for awhile.

Not much more than that to share right now. We are planning on being in Seattle at the end of the month to see our friends and family that we miss so much. We are going to be driving there so wish us luck, we'll need it.

Losing my little girls locks.

2007-06-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Isabella got her first haircut. It was a decision she came to all on her own. She has never liked having her hair combed and more times than not she ends up in tears as I try to get the days snarls out. Finally one day a few weeks ago she said, "Mom, I want to cut my hair short." I am ashamed to say that I truly agonized over whether or not I wanted to let her get a haircut. I was afraid that she would lose her precious blond curls forever and something about that made it a reality that she is growing up.

Here is her before picture.

Here are the precious blond curls that I stared at with a heavy heart.

And here is her adorable after picture.
It is true that the beautiful, golden curls that I use to spiral around my fingers as we watched TV together or read books together are now gone. But Isabella is still my sweet, darling little girl with a smile that lights up my day and gorgeous hair to match.

Why?

2007-06-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Bella has entered into the most dreadful phase of her childhood thus far, the "why" phase. She asks me why a million times a day and mostly about very unimportant things. "Why is the street closed mom?" "Why did they tear it up?" "Why are they putting in new pipes?" These are just a few examples from today that came about as we had to take a detour to the park. It is driving me nuts!!! When will it end?
Another frustration I am having right now is our diseased quaking aspens. When we first looked at this house it was the backyard that we immediately fell in love with. It is a decent size and is lined with quaking aspens along the south and west fences. These gorgeous trees create privacy and give us a fabulous sense of being in the forest when we are out back playing, not to mention the great shade they offer which keeps it cool. Well now at least two of the trees are diseased and dying and whatever they have is spreading to the others. We are having a tree expert come out tomorrow to give us some advice on tearing them out or trying to treat them. I will definitely shed some tears if we have to tear to many of them out.
In other news, I have a job interview on Friday. I have applied for a part time position at the credit union I worked at many years ago before moving to Washington. I would be working at the corporate offices doing research on discrepancies in members accounts. The hours and location would be perfect and it would help us get ahead on all the student loans we have accumulated. The real bonus is it would be 4 hours out of the day when my parents (they are going to watch the girls for me) could answer all of Bella's "why" questions instead of me. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
That's it for now. Thanks for checking in.

Our first family hike...ever.

2007-06-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday we took the girls on their first hike. We went up to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood canyon. Our goal is to hike up to Timpanogos cave by the end of the summer so we thought it would be a good idea to do some shorter conditioning hikes beforehand. I was really surprised by how well they did. The hike isn't very long, only about 1 mile round trip, but they both ran/walked the whole thing. The last time Peter and I did this hike we were able to hike up through the river all the way to the top. Once at the top you could enter a cave that went back behind the falls. But I guess a couple of years ago part of the rock face to the right of the falls
broke off and fell into the river making it harder to climb up to the top. So we just hung out down below and threw rocks into the water. (why do kids love to throw rocks into water so much?) I had to hold on to Ayva pretty tight while we were close to the river. She wanted to jump right in and splash around. Bella was a bit more timid and even cried a bit when we got closer to the falls because she was scared of the rushing water.

When we got back down to the car we enjoyed a nice little picnic and then headed home to do yard work. We all had a great time and are looking forward to a little spelunking before the summer ends.

Here is a shot of the spectacular scenery we enjoyed on our hike.

Ahh, summertime and the livin' is easy...

2007-06-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful weekend we had here in Salt Lake. My brother decided it was time to get the boat out and have some fun. So Friday morning we all (my brother and his family, my sister, my parents and us) headed down to Yuba lake which is about an hour and a half south of Salt Lake. The kids had a great time playing in the mud at the shore of the lake and out on the water.

Below is a shot of my nephew, Jonas, and niece, Elise, and Isabella taking a ride in the tube. My niece and nephew were so nice to let Bella take a turn with them because they usually like to go really fast in the tube but my brother takes it a lot slower when Bella is in with them. Needless to say they had a second, faster turn when Bella got out.

Ayva didn't waste anytime making herself comfortable on the boat and even tried to take over as captain.

I wasn't feeling very well while we were there so I passed on skiing, but had to take a whirl around the lake with my girls in the tube. Ayva didn't really care for this but Bella and I had a great time.

Peter did great on the wake board. I didn't get a picture of him but take my word for it, he is a natural athlete and will be doing some crazy tricks by the end of the summer. My brother has been wake boarding for a couple of summers now and has gotten really good. I am hoping between the two of them they can teach me a thing or two. Thanks again Forrest!

Saturday was also gorgeous outside so we created a water slide in the backyard for the girls. They had a blast!! Peter and I set up some chairs in the shade and sipped lemonade while they played. Good times.

Our Moab Get Away

2007-05-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Peter and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today, May 20th. We decided not to do gifts this year but to get away and just spend some time together instead. So Thursday evening we headed down to Moab to stay at a condo owned by one of the doctors that Peter works with and do some hiking in Arches National Park. We spent most of Friday hiking around the park to see Delicate arch, the North and South Windows (arches) and Turret arch. It was a beautiful day and we both got a little too much sun. Later that afternoon we went back to the condo and enjoyed some time by the pool. It was so wonderful to just lay on a lounge chair and feel carefree again. No children to chase after or take care of, it was fabulous. (However, I do have to admit that I was missing the girls a little bit by this point. Just a little bit)

This is a shot I took from the car as we drove through the park. The geology of eastern and southern Utah is so amazing. The red rock is so gorgeous against the deep blue sky.

Below is a shot of Delicate Arch. This is a very famous arch. Even if you have never been to Arches National Park I am sure you have seen this arch. The hike up to it is a bit strenuous and you are exposed to the sun pretty much the whole time but it is worth it.

Saturday morning we got up early and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at The Jailhouse Cafe in Moab. It is a cute little cafe that is only open from 7am - 12pm and only does breakfast. I had a whole grain waffle that was served with fresh fruit and nuts. Oh my, it was soooo good! Peter had some scrambled eggs with chorizo sausage and peppers that were served with corn tortillas, sour cream and salsa. (Mighty brave breakfast selection right before a big hike if you ask me.) I share this bit of info. with you in case you ever are in Moab you will know where to eat breakfast.
After breakfast we went back to Arches and hiked Devil's Garden. This hike leads you by 8 different arches. Below is a shot of Landscape Arch. It is the largest in the park and measures 306 feet from base to base. Back in 1991 a rock slab fell from the top right side of the arch. Luckily it made enough noise as it cracked and fell away that the hikers down below were able to get out from underneath it. However, since then the park has moved the trail so that hikers are unable to walk up underneath it. I was happy to see it from a safe distance. Magnificent!

Last but not least I thought I would share a shot of a baby buffalo that I took on our way to the condo we stayed in. It wasn't out in the wild like you might expect but rather just on someones small farm. There was a warning sign on the fence that said "Caution, angry buffalo" so I kept a nice distance and took my picture.

So Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I am grateful for him and I am grateful that we enjoy having life's adventures together. Here's to 7 more years of fun times.

What a week!

2007-05-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we celebrated Isabella's birthday by going to our favorite breakfast spot, Ruth's Diner, then we spent the rest of the morning at the zoo. Later in the day we had my family come over and we had a little barbecue for her. It was a lot of fun and Bella was on cloud 9 because she loves her birthday. The following day at preschool she got to be the special leader and bring the snack. Her friends sang happy birthday to her and her teacher gave her a little goody bag of treats. So far being 4 was great! Then Tuesday night she came down with a fever and started throwing up. She threw up a couple of times during the night and then once on Wednesday. Although the throwing up stopped there her fever continued to spike around 102-104 until Sunday. That's 5 days of a sick and GRUMPY Isabella. She is finally feeling better today and is much more pleasant to be around.
I had a great Mother's Day yesterday. The girls, via their wonderful dad, gave me a ever blooming gardenia plant, a hand juicer and we had a delicious quiche for brunch. Then it was off to church where we enjoyed some nice talks on motherhood. I was really looking forward to having Bella go up and sing a lovely Mother's Day song with the primary for the very first time but since she was still feeling a little under the weather she declined to participate. Oh well, maybe next year. It was my turn to teach Sunday school this week and that went alright. Then the elders took over all the teaching duties during the last hour so that all the women could be together in Relief Society. They also gave us giant sugar cookies as a thank you for all that we do as women to enrich the lives of those around us. And finally we went to my brothers house to have some dessert with my family. Delicious cheesecake with raspberry sauce! I love being a mom!

Happy Birthday Bella!

2007-05-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to believe that Isabella is 4 years old. It doesn't seem that long ago that Peter and I had our lives completely changed by this special little girl.

Isabella is an extraordinary little spirit. She is full of happiness (most of the time) and likes to have those around her happy as well. She is smart, silly, beautiful, kind and forgiving. She is a wonderful big sister who finds joy in teaching her little sister new and exciting things.

Isabella also loves to meet new people and make new friends. In the picture below we were at a local beach in Seattle for the afternoon and within minutes of arriving Isabella had met a little girl and asked her to play. The little girl was visiting from France and didn't speak very much English. It didn't make any difference. The two of them had a great time playing in the sand and water together. I love that about her!

Isabella loves to have fun. She loves to get bundled up and play in the snow and never complains about being too cold. She also likes to play in the water and on Uncle Forrest's boat. She is gutsy and enjoys trying new things even if they seem a bit scary.

Ultimately, Isabella is a princess. She is kind to others and likes to make her friends and family happy. We are so grateful that Isabella is part of our family.

Long time...no post

2007-04-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know, I haven't posted in awhile and people are starting to wonder what is going on. I don't have a substantial excuse for you, I have just been lazy. Sorry, it happens sometimes. But I am back and have already posted some of our recent outings to the soccer game and tulip festival. I thought I would just add a bit more here to update you all on other things that have been happening in our lives.
Peter and I were called to co-teach Gospel Doctrine at church. Last sunday was our first time and I sat and somewhat relaxed while Peter took the first turn. He did a great job which just made me more nervous to take my turn next week. Everyone keeps reminding us that we have big shoes to fill because the former teacher had the calling for 3+ years and was loved by all. He was only released because they moved out of the ward. So we'll see if we drive people to inactivity or if they can learn to love us as well.
Other big news is that my parents and my sister moved here from Minnesota last weekend. Peter and my brother Forrest flew to MN on thursday, loaded a truck and hit the road on friday. They drove straight through and arrived in Utah on saturday. The drive took them 24 hours and included an amazing lightning storm that lasted for hours and also a close call with a tornado that took out a couple of big rigs as it crossed the highway they were on. Luckily they are tough guys and cried very little about the whole ordeal. My parents and sister flew to Utah on friday and stayed the night with me and the girls. It is great to have them back and Bella and Ayva are already being spoiled in a way only a grandma can get away with.
Well there you have it. I can't think of much more to share with you. This is another reason for the gap in postings, not a lot has been going on. Thanks for checking back in and giving up on us.

Tulip Festival

2007-04-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake has a tulip festival? I was so excited when I got a flyer in the mail a few weeks ago for a Tulip Festival here in Utah at Thanksgiving Point. We had always gone to the Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon when we lived in Washington and loved it. So last Tuesday when Peter had a day off from work we headed down to Thanksgiving Point for the afternoon to enjoy the gardens. It was beautiful!!! At first we were a little bothered that it cost $8 per adult and $5 for children over 2 (in Washington it was free) but when we got in and realized that it was much more than some fields of tulips we got over the cost. The garden is 55 acres and is made up of many smaller "themed" gardens like Creek Garden, the Monet Garden, the Rose Garden, the Fragrance Garden, the Secret Garden, the Italian Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Parterre Garden, the Vista Garden, and the Waterfall Garden. Not all of them had flowers in bloom but all were connected but sidewalks lined with tulips, daffodils and other gorgeous flowers. I loved it and was definitely inspired to get more creative with the landscape of our house. More on that to come...

Here are some pictures from the gardens. Enjoy!

Real Salt Lake Soccer

2007-04-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Peter works with a guy who has season tickets for the Real Salt Lake Soccer team and wasn't able to use them on opening day of the season. He had come home from vacation and found his house partially flooded as a result of a broken hot water heater. So when he called to see if we would like them we jumped at the opportunity. It was a beautiful day and the tickets were great. We were surrounded by some really enthusiastic fans, as you can see from the picture of the guy with a soccer ball on his head, but that made it all the more fun. Real were winning most of the game, 2 to 1, but in the last minute the other team scored and it ended in a tie. A little disappointing but we were able to see Freddy Adu and got a little color from sitting in the sun for almost two hours so we left happy.

A beautiful day!

2007-03-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

It has been beautiful here in Salt Lake City the past week or so. The tulips are starting to come up in our backyard and the birds are starting to chirp around 6am. We have been enjoying the longer days by going for walks after dinner and the girls have enjoyed being able to stay up a little later.

So yesterday when Peter had the day off we decided to head up Emigration Canyon for some delicious breakfast at Ruth's Diner and then we went to the zoo. Ruth's Diner is so yummy and we highly recommend it for anyone who lives in Salt Lake or comes for a visit. The girls love their teddy bear pancakes and for Peter and I, it is their omelette's that we love.

It has been about eight years since I have been to Hogle Zoo and I was nervous that it was going to be the same as it was back then, very cement, unnatural and outdated. However they have made some significant improvements. They have created a larger outdoor area for the elephants complete with a bubbling water hole. The cats are out of their concrete enclosures and are outdoors in a more woodsy area. It is still very small but we had a good time strolling around with the girls.

Here is a great shot of the rhino's. And below is a good one of a very interested giraffe.

We ended our beautiful day with some play in the back yard and even some BBQ'd hamburgers on the grill. Oh, and of course an intense episode of LOST. (such a frustrating, but can't stop watching, show!)

Stitches

2007-03-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon Peter and Isabella were out back enjoying the beautiful weather we were having by playing a fun game of soccer. Peter gave the ball a kick and they both ran after it quickly trying to be the one to get the next turn. The ball came to a stop when it reached the short brick wall that extends around our backyard creating an upper level for plants. As Bella ran towards the ball she tripped and fell hitting her head on the brick wall. Peter brought her in the house, blood running down her face and did a great job of getting her to calm down and stop crying. He checked her out and decided to take her into the pediatricians office and let them decide if she needed stitches. She did. She actually got three little stitches in her forehead and was very brave during all of it.

Odds and ends

2007-02-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

So recently Isabella has become very interested in heaven. Her beloved Grandpa Bob passed away last year and at the time we discussed with her that he has gone on to heaven and that we will see him again someday when we die. And in the weeks that followed his death she would often bring up the fact that Grandpa was now living in heaven but then we hadn't heard much from her about it until last month. One morning as I was taking her to preschool she said " Mom, I will miss my Barbies when I go to heaven." I told her that heaven was going to be so nice that she would forget all about her Barbies. She then followed up by stating "I hope I have a nice bedroom there." A few days later she told Peter that she really hopes there's lunch in heaven. I have to agree with her on that one. It is just so interesting to hear the things that she is concerned about and then compare them with my big concern about heaven which is whether or not I am even going to get in.

This afternoon Bella went over to a friends house to play so Ayva and I headed to the mall for a couple hours. I sort of need a new pair of jeans so we went into Nordstrom so I could try on EIGHT pairs. Can I just tell you how much I despise trying on jeans. No matter how good I am feeling about my body before I go into the dressing room I always come out feeling like I could stand to loose a few pounds. None of the eight pairs that I tried on fit good or looked good. I finally bought a pair from Ann Taylor but I will probably take them back. And how about cost? It seems like jeans have gotten so expensive. Let me ask you all this...on average how much do you spend on a pair of jeans? Do you prefer to spend a lot on one or two pairs of designer jeans that look really great on you or do you look for more affordable jeans that might not look as good but they are cheap? Ugh!

Here is a fun photo of Ayva that I took the other day. She really is growing up so fast. She is talking like a big girl, she has gotten picky about what she eats like a big girl and she is even dressing like a big girl. These little dress up high heels are her favorite shoes to run around the house in. Amazingly she really can run in them and go up and down the stairs in them. She is a crack up.

And my last little piece of randomness is some music suggestions. I bought these three albums from Amazon this week and think that they are all really good so I thought I would share them with you.

For the Kids is great because it is children's songs but they are sung by cool bands like Barenaked Ladies, Five for Fighting, Sarah McLachlan and Cake who sing the "Mahna Mahna" song. (our families favorite)

Corrine Bailey Rae's album is wonderful. I really like her voice and lyrics. My favorite song on the album is "Like a Star", it is very romantic.

Brother Iz's album is full of beautiful Hawaiian music. We put it on last night while we were getting dinner ready and listening to it made both Peter and I nostalgic for Hawaii. My favorite song on this album is "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I love the sound of the ukulele.

Well there you have it. Just a lot of bits and pieces from my brain. Enjoy.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2007-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here they are in no particular order...

1. My husband and best friend, Peter. Don't tell him I said this because it will just go to his head but he is genuinely a great guy. He is very easy going and fun to be around once you get to know him. (Initially he can be a little shy) He is an amazing father and is always willing to come home and take over so that I can have a break even when he has had a long hard day at work as well. He has never raised his voice to me and is quick to forgive me when I raise mine at him. He is very kind, patient, smart and soooooo good looking. (great soccer legs!) We will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary this May and I have to say they have been the best 7 years of my life. Love ya hon!!2. I love to watch Isabella and Ayva learn new things. Last week Bella started a dance class and it was a thrill to go and watch her learn the see-saw rainbow kick and a plethora of other cute moves. She had such a fun time and so did I. Then Ayva has recently started to sing songs. Her favorites are Old MacDonald and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. I always sing songs to her while I change her diaper because it keeps her still and the other day she joined in while I was singing Popcorn Popping and even did the actions. It was so cute!

3. I love to spend $6 on a large bouquet of fresh flowers and have them last over a week. I bought these for myself on Valentine's Day and they still look beautiful. I have always loved having fresh flowers around but it is rare that they stay alive this long. Happy Valentines' Day to me!

4. A good eyebrow waxing. It pretty much speaks for itself.

5. A good run. For many years I have had a love/hate relationship with running. I have always wanted to be a runner but it definitely hasn't come easy for me. I started running on more of a regular basis about three and a half years ago and it wasn't until last summer that I had a really enjoyable run. It happened on the Burke-Gilman in Seattle. It was a beautiful day and Peter dropped me off at Matthews Beach. I ran along the Burke-Gilman to the Tracy Owen Station about 5 miles. The weather was perfect, warm with a slight breeze off the lake. I had my mp3 with me and listened to a little Josh Groban. My pace and my breathing remained smooth and rhythmic and my legs felt strong. It was a great feeling. It felt like a reward for all my past perseverance. Ever since that day I have felt like a runner.
**Side note** Speaking of running...I am trying to put a team together to run the Ragnar Relay in June. Teams are to have 12 members and so far I have 2 committed and 2 uncommitted. It is a 178 mile race with each member of the team running 3- 8 mile legs. Check out the web site for more info and then let me know if you are interested. http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php

6. Nature Valley Crunchy Cereal. This stuff is delicious!! I love their granola bars and this new cereal is even better. At the grocery store it was $4 something a box but at Target it was only $2.36 a box so I stocked up. (that is another thing I love, Target!) It is a little high in sugar but it is also high in fiber so give it a try.So there they are...six of my favorite things. Thanks to my friend Lauren for sharing some of her favorites things and inspiring me to do so as well.

Our week in review

2007-02-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

This last week was packed full of good times here at the Colasurdo house. Valentine's Day was more like Christmas this year complete with gifts, lots of sweet treats and out-of-town guests coming to stay with us. The girls were totally spoiled thanks to their wonderful Aunt Abby in Seattle and their generous grandparents in Minnesota. Thank you to them for the fun Valentine Day goodies. And thank you to our good friends the Cramers for being our first house guests and staying with us while they were here for Adam's sisters wedding. It was a lot of fun to see them and meet there new little guy, Anders.

Then on Sunday night we had our good friends, the Nilssons, come over for dinner. They were in our ward back in Seattle but moved to Utah about 3 or so years ago. They were such a support to me when Bella was born and Peter was in Kuwait. Meredith was even in with me for the delivery and John sat patiently in the waiting room ready to lend a hand if needed. (Luckily it wasn't needed, that might have been awkward) Needless to say there is a special place in my heart for them and it is nice to be able to hang out with them again.

And to top off our great week we woke up to 4-5 inches of snow on the ground this morning so we went sledding. There is a fun little park down the road from us and it has a nice size hill for small kids to enjoy sledding on. Bella loves to get out and play in the snow. Ayva is a little harder to convince but once she starts having fun she forgets all about being cold.

We did have one little bummer incident today. As we were getting all of our sledding stuff together and getting the girls into the car we accidentally locked ourselves out of the house. We made a few attempts to brake in through the windows but they were all locked. Peter even tried using a credit card to brake in through the door that leads from the house to the garage but had no luck. So instead of calling a locksmith and paying what we assumed would be a lot of money we just took a heavy brick from the back yard and used it to smash the door handle to pieces. The cost to replace it was only $9 so we felt like it was necessary destruction. Good work Pete!

Updates on the girls

2007-02-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

Isabella has really been enjoying preschool and is constantly amazing me with how smart she is. She has recently learned the days of the week and the months of the year. She especially likes May because that is when she will turn 4 and her mean parents will let her chew gum again. (She would always swallow it before so we told her no more until she was older and she got it into her head that 4 was older. Go figure!) I also caught her spelling the word brown today as she got herself dressed in her brown pants. My favorite thing about her preschool is that they have a song they sing that goes "we never hit or kick or push...our friends at Sunshine Square". I think they must have hypnotized the children and trained them to sing this song any time they hear someone say one of the key words, hit, kick or push because Bella will brake into song anytime she hears those words. It is hilarious!

She has also learned how to write her name a little bit better. Before she would just make a B and the two l's but now she has added in the vowels. We are still working on the Isa at the beginning. I think she is a bit resistant to writing out Isabella because I only call her that when she is in trouble.

Ayva is also doing well. Her vocabulary has quadrupled in the last couple of months and she has turned into a bit of a record player. She will pick up a new word and say it over and over again until I regret ever teaching it to her. She is such a sweetheart though. She will often ask for hugs and will put her hands on your cheeks and look you straight in the eye and ask "happy?" She had her 18 month check up last week and the doctor confirmed that she has metatarsis adductus which is a fancy name for pigeon toed. The doctors advice to me was to put Ayva's shoes on the wrong feet to help pull the toes out. I hate doing this. Not only does it look like I am an idiot but it makes it harder for Ayva to run around. But if it will work I will do it.

She is definitely all girl as you can see here. She wasn't happy getting her picture taken with her hair a mess and wearing nothing but a towel. Too cute!

Peter goes snowmobiling

2007-02-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

I realized that our family blog has very little about Peter so I thought I would post some pictures of his latest adventure. Two weeks ago, he went snowmobiling up in Northern Utah with my brother, Forrest and his close friend Darren. It was a short trip, only two days, just long enough to have a great time and still get plenty sore from trying to control the snowmobile.

Looks like a lot of fun!!!

Friends

2007-01-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

I miss my friends! I have the greatest group of girlfriends back in Seattle and I really miss hanging out with them. We were able to experience a lot of life's challenges together and also a lot of life's joys. It was always a great time when we got together to celebrate someones birthday or just to have a girls night out. The most difficult part of making the decision to move back to Utah was that I knew I would miss them terribly. They are all so talented in many different ways and I was able to learn new things from each of them. Thank goodness for good girlfriends! I love ya! We really need to plan our first annual weekend get together trip soon, ok.

A rough couple of weeks

2007-01-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

It has been a rough couple of weeks here at the Colasurdo house. Bella and I have both been sick. Bella first came down with a cold and then got a touch of the stomach flu. I had a touch of the stomach flu and now I feel the cold coming on. Ayva has had a bit of a runny nose. Amazingly Peter has been able to avoid catching any of it despite getting up in the middle of the night to clean up Bella's throw up. Tough guy!!!
We have also had a rough time with Bella and her teeth. Upon a recent visit to the dentist we found out that she has 6 cavities. This news was definitely more traumatic for me to hear than it was for her. The pediatric dentist that I had taken her to wanted to sedate her to do the work and I wasn't comfortable with that so I took her to a general dentist who felt that he could do it without sedation. We broke up the work into two visits, the first one being last week. I had Peter stay home from work and take her because I was so nervous about my decision to have her get her teeth filled without sedation that I couldn't be present if it didn't work and they caused her any pain. (I sound a little selfish here, I know) So she did great, everything went fine. They filled 3 of the 6 cavities without even having to give her nitrous oxide. So today I took her back in to get the other 3 filled and it was a completely different story. The water and sucker tools bothered her right off the bat so the dentist gave her the laughing gas and numbed up her teeth. But it didn't matter, she was too freaked out by that point and wouldn't sit still for them to do the work. The assistant asked me to help hold her still and keep her calm but as soon as Bella started crying, I started crying and had them stop. So now I have to take her back to a pediatric dentist who can sedate her and fix the other 3 teeth. Ugh!
We have had some happy things happen in the last couple of weeks as well. My new nephew, Wyatt Dean was born. He is my brother's 4th child and he is totally adorable. You can see his cute mug if you click on the Hallstrom Happenings link on my blog. Ayva has picked up a half dozen or so new words and has also learned how to sign "thank you" in sign language. And we painted our ugly ketchup and mustard colored bathroom a nice soft yellow and put in a new light fixture. (I will wait to post a picture until we finish all the updates)

Ayva has a fit

2007-01-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

So I have been a mom now for over 3 years and in that time I have never experienced the public humiliation that Ayva put me through today. I have seen it happen to other parents and heard friends talk about their children doing it but somehow I was always able to avoid it. But today I lived it and am really surprised that we both lived through it.
We were waiting in the check out lane at the grocery store. Ayva was sitting in the front seat of the cart and reached over and grabbed a package of crackers of the shelf. I didn't want to buy them or have her crush them and then put them back so I took them out of her hand and put them away. This caused Ayva to go into a screaming crying fit that lasted what seemed like 20 minutes atleast. Nothing I did to try and console her worked, she just screamed and screamed and screamed. I looked up from the madness to see that everyone in the store was staring at me waiting for me to do some magic mother trick and get her to shut up but I didn't know what to do except just smile and pretend like it wasn't bothering me. After a few minutes I took her out of the cart to hold her thinking that maybe that would help. As soon as I lifted her out into my arms she smacked me across the face. Ahhhhhh! So I put her down and she continued to scream the whole time we checked out, walked out of the store and got into the car. Then on the way home she fell asleep and left me to wallow in my humble pie. Kids?!

Callings

2007-01-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

Since moving into our new ward a few months ago, both Peter and I have been anxiously waiting for new callings. It's not that we are super excited to start having more responsibility we are just nervous about how much responsibilty we would be getting. So my calling came first and it came in the form of Mia Maid advisor. Yup, can you believe it. Four years serving in the young womens in my last ward wasn't enough. I was a little surprised by it. I had convinced myself that I was going to be called to the nursery where I know they need more workers. But I have now had a few weeks to get use to the idea and have decided that I am really looking forward to, hopefully, influencing the young women to do good. (and to always be available to babysit) Then this last week Peter's calling came. Elder's quorum teacher. I know he is a little nervous about teaching but I know he will do a great job.
Now in Seattle we were spoiled at church because our meeting time was 9:30 am -12:30pm and it never changed. But here in Utah where there are 4 wards meeting in our building we have to rotate times. This year our ward has the 1:00pm - 4:00pm time slot. This time is torture for people with small children but may we all press on. However, Bella is now a Sunbeam and Ayva is now in nursery so the time change hasn't been to bad on us, but as for the primary and nursery leaders, that's another story.

Sing in the New Year

2007-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, New Years Eve...this use to be one of my favorite holidays back when I was young and wild, but now that I am thirty something and a bit of a "molly" I feel like I could take it or leave it. In fact, the past couple of years I haven't even been able to stay awake until midnight. This year was no different. We did, however, attend a fun New Years eve eve party this year that a fun couple in our ward invited us to. It was nice to be able to get to know some of the people in our ward outside of the church setting. The best part of the evening was playing Karaoke Revolution on the X box. I had little trouble getting up and humiliating myself and was happy to do so in the name of fun. Amazingly though, I was able to persuade Peter to get up and have a go at it and found out that the boy can sing. He sang "Every Breath You Take" by Sting and nailed it. He's so hot! (I am talking about Peter and not Sting, although Sting is a good looking too) I didn't have my camera with me but a friend let me borrow hers and I was able to get proof that Peter can still cut loose and have a little fun.

Ahhh, Merry Christmas...

2007-01-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a happy holiday this year. Ours was good. Like every Christmas I ate too much and worked out to little but that is why a week later I resolved to eat better and work out more often. The girls were thrilled to find out that despite their terrible behavior during the year, Santa came to our house anyway. Among other things, Bella got a couple of Barbie dolls and Ayva got a rockin' elephant. (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Hallstrom) Peter got a new snowboard, boots and bindings and I got an ink refill for the printer. (I guess Santa was watching the times that I was bad.)

Part of our Christmas tradition is to get the girls picture taken with Santa. In Seattle we liked the Santa at Alderwood Mall because he had the real beard, was old enough to play the part and wore goofy Christmas shirts with red pants and suspenders instead of the red suit. So we were so happy to find a very similar Santa at Southtown mall here in Utah. Ayva on the other hand wasn't so thrilled.

After we saw Santa we took the girls over to a carousel that was also in the mall. Ayva's "bah humbug" attitude continued there as well.
Isabella is practicing to be on a float someday. No matter what chaos is going on around her at the time, if she is getting her picture taken she remains focused and poised. That's my girl!

I am in total shock in this picture because as Bella opened this book she read the title of it perfectly. I thought it was a Christmas miracle. "She can read" I screamed to Peter. I don't know how she did it. Unfortunately it turns out it was just some kind of fluke. She couldn't read anything else I tested her with the rest of the day.

And here's Ayva on her rockin' elephant. Isn't she cute! She finally got happy about Christmas and decided to have some fun.

Holiday Decorations

2006-12-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Snow! Snow is one of my favorite holiday decorations. I have gone without it for many years living in Seattle but Utah has welcomed me back with a nice little dumping of the always festive white stuff. Beautiful! (As you can see the house needed all the help it could get since we haven't hung any Christmas lights or donned our front yard with any blow up Santa Clauses.)

A Willow Tree Nativity. I have wanted to start collecting this nativity for a long time and thanks to my WONDERFUL sister in law, Angie, I have gotten my start. She gave me this portion of the collection as a birthday/house warming present and I love it. Thanks again Ang. I set it up in our entertainment center and the recessed lighting shines down on baby Jesus perfectly.
This picture was given to me last Christmas by my great friend Kelly Lee who WILL be a famous photographer someday. She had taken some pictures of Ayva for me right after she was born and used one of them to make this perfect holiday decoration. The words on the bottom of the picture say "A bright star shone, a babe was born, God's love was known." I will always cherish this gift. Every year as I unwrap it and find a special place to display it I will be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Christmas, Jesus Christ was born. Thank you Kelly.

Take a deep breath...

2006-12-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

Isabella finally started preschool today. In anticipation for this big event I have spent the past 2 days getting her excited about going in hopes that would decrease my chances of having to deal with her clinging to my leg and begging me not to leave her. She has always done well with going to other peoples homes in the past but she has always known someone that was there. And recently she has gone through a phase of shyness and insecurity about making new friends. In fact our first couple of Sundays in our new ward she refused to go into nursery and instead chose to sit in boring 'ol Sunday school with Peter and I. (It's not boring to me of course. Just saying that it would be boring to a 3 year old.) But today when I dropped her off she surprised me. She walked right up to her new teacher, took her hand, looked at me and said "bye mom". Just like that. No crying, no hiding behind my leg, none of it. She was so brave. I on the other hand returned to the car and had to take a deep breath so I wouldn't break out into tears. She is growing up and needing me a tiny bit less everyday. I am grateful for the time I have with her know 'cause she is a very special little kid.

Random stuff

2006-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Since it has been a few weeks since I last posted something I have a bunch of random things I want to share. First let me follow up with Bella's room and the paint saga. We finally were able to get the right color and another free Saturday to repaint her room. It looks great, now it just needs to be decorated. I am attempting to make a cushion for the bench by her window. It is turning out to be a pricier endeavor than I first anticipated. After visiting a couple different fabric stores I finally found a (special order) fabric that would work and of course it was $30 a yard and I figure I need about 2 yards. Then you add the foam cushion and cording into the equation and the cushion has become too expensive for a little girls room. Luckily I found the fabric at Joann's and I used a 50% off coupon to get it and also my dear friend Lauren sent me a gift certificate to Joann's for my birthday. Thanks Lauren!! And I know she will be so proud to read this and find out I am sewing again. She was a very patient teacher. So it will be a few weeks before I get it done but I will definitely post it for your viewing pleasure.

So one of the perks of living way out in West Jordan, UT is that we are just a few blocks from the Utah Olympic Oval, The Fastest Ice on Earth. It is a huge ice skating venue that also hosts a 442 meter indoor running track, indoor soccer leagues, drop-in hockey and a plethora of other great activities. So last night about 9pm I decided I wanted to go for a run. (Frankly I was motivated to do so after watching The Biggest Loser. Man those trainers are tough!!) Since it was about 6 degrees outside I decided to head over to the Oval and try out their indoor running track. I had such a great run. I ran on the same track that Olympic athletes had warmed up on. Apolo Anton Ohno, Casey FitzRandolph, Joey Cheek, Derek Parra, they had all graced this running track on their way to Olympic glory. It was very inspiring for me. I love my family and wouldn't change my life for anothers but if after this life I got a chance to come back and have another, it would be as an Olympic athlete. I am not even sure I know what sport it would be in or that it matters. I just am in awe of the "athlete". The determination and devotion and the satisfaction that must come from being one of the best in the world. Well it might be to late for me but I can always live vicariously through my kids right?!

All geared up. Here are some shots of the girls that I took yesterday as we ventured out to play in the snow. Ayva had a pretty difficult time getting around with all her gear on. She kept face planting it right into the snow and then wasn't able to stand herself back up again. Fun to watch!! Bella is hard core. She might just have what it takes to be an Olympic athlete. Either she has a disorder that keeps her from feeling cold (it was only 26 degrees out) or she just won't admit it because she is afraid I will make her go back inside. She had a blast jumping in snow piles and making snow angels. She was very disappointed though by the inability to get the snow to stick together so we could make a snowman. It was very dry and fluffy snow. Maybe next time.

Well, I think that is all I have for now. Thanks for checking in.

You've got to be kidding me...

2006-11-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

So after living in apartments with white walls pretty much my my whole life (minus the time we were in Peter's sisters wonderful house), I am ready for some color. Unfortunately it turns out I don't know how to pick the right color. Bella's room was our big project today. I wanted it to be the same color as it was when we were in Emily and Todd's house. It was this great soft green that went really well with soft pink accents. But instead the color I picked turned out to be more of a fluorescent green that makes the whole room glow like some sort of radioactive waste. Ugh!!! Any suggestions on how to fix this? Do I need to prime and start all over with another color or can I put another color on over this one to soften it and tone it down a bit? Painting sure isn't as fun as I imagined it to be.

Performance Anxiety

2006-11-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

Now that I have started this blog and sent it out into the world for all of you to view I feel a lot of pressure to post new and exciting events from our lives. However, I am finding that our lives just aren't as exciting as I had imagined. So just to keep you interested and coming back I am putting up some cute pictures I took of the girls today. (well I took the one of Bella and Bella took the one of Ayva) Bella is going through a bride phase. She likes to pretend she is getting married. Her pretend weddings appear to be a lot of fun because she is always winning lots of fun stuff at them. And Ayva, well she is just dang cute. A little bit of a troublemaker though. Today she climbed up to the table and grabbed Bella's half full cup of milk , held it up in the air and shook it. Needless to say she got a bit of a milk shower. I missed getting a picture of that for the blog because she started crying over the spilled milk. (hahaha) So Bella got a picture of her later on showing off her belly. They really are worth all the hard work. I feel very blessed to be able to stay home with them and participate in their experience.