Happy Birthday Todd! (1 week early)

It's Todd's birthday on Saturday (the 23rd). I was trying to be proactive and secure our babysitter early, so I called her last week. Of course, she is busy. She said she was open on the 16th though, so I decided Todd was going to do a little early celebrating!

I wanted to do something a little different for him this year. He isn't one to get excited about his birthday, or anything really, so I have a tough time trying to pull out that "It's my birthday!!" feeling that you have when you're little. I kind of look at it as a challenge. Can I really make those eyes light up? Can I make this one to remember?

So, I saw this place on a TV commercial. It's a go-kart racing place in Livermore. I thought he might enjoy it. It's not bumper cars, you can go up to 45 mph. So we go in the car and went!

This was his reaction when we arrived:

Ok, not really. I made him pose.

This is the place.

Here we are in our suits ready to race! (That's Todd standing by me, he's being stealthy)

Here is the track. We went around it 14 times. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it was plenty for me. Apparently I've become very sensitive to motion in my old age. I was ready for it to be over after about 7 laps.

Here's me after... whoa pretty girl! Head socks, helmets and neck braces equal cute hair!

Todd liked it, but he did not fit well in his car. Shocking. So it wasn't super enjoyable for him either. We both kinda sucked at driving, and kept getting past by the other drivers. Todd couldn't maneuver well cause his knees were in his throat, and I, well... I just sucked.

After we retreated to a fabulous restaurant on 1st street in Livermore. It's called Simply Fondue, and I say SIMPLY YUM YUM!!

This was our first course:

Yummy vegetables and bread dipped in Italian Fontina cheese. Next we had salads. Then we had our meats. Coconut shrimp, garlic chicken, smoked beef sausage, bacon wrapped tenderloin, jerk chicken, and black tiger shrimp. Holy cow, I was in heaven. So no more pictures, I was too busy eating!

Then came the final course.

The chocolate.

Pound cake, brownies, marshmallows, pineapple, bananas, grapes, apples, rice crispies, strawberries, and snickers bites all to be dipped in a divine milk chocolate fondue.

I LOVED THIS PLACE! We had a lot of fun here. It's a little pricey, but totally worth it for a special night!

I think Todd had fun. He's not as expressive as I am about stuff like that. People can tell exactly how I'm feeling, pretty much all the time. And when I'm happy or excited, you know it. I'm learning he doesn't react like me, but he still enjoys it. It was a fun night together!

Fashion Corner with Gabby

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay between editions. Gabby has been on vacation, resting from all her modeling. She is back though, and ready to show you another outfit.

This is a darling sleeveless dress, with small yellow and blue flowers. The blue polka-dot ribbon around the waist and the hem really make the dress!

Hangin' with my cousins!

My grandma Sally M. bought me and my cousins, Jenner, Carson and Sage, these sun hats and shades. Sage wasn't there to get hers, but the rest of us tried them out.

I kinda like my hat, I look good in orange. I do not like my glasses. I took them off immediately!

Jenner likes hers though. She looks hot!

I'm wondering... is this a sun hat or a sombrero?

No really...I'm back now!

Finally! I have my camera cord back, so I can blog. Blogging without pictures is no fun for anyone. I would like to thank everyone who commented on my "Feeling Guilty in California" post. I do feel better.

I want to post some random shots and get caught up. Here are some events from the last month.

Gabby and Great-Grandpa De! They became great friends this trip!

Gabby also spent some good time with her Great-Grandma Alta!

The girls and I spent some time with my fabulous friend Stacey at her home. Her dog Abby loved having us! She kept a close eye on Gab. She even cleaned her face a few times, such a caregiver that Abby!

Macie loved it when she hopped on the tramp!

It's One of Those Days

She's only 9 months old... How can she have that "I'm exhausted, don't bug me" look already?

This girl is going to be drama.

Feeling Guilty in California

Hey, sorry for not posting. Apparently I've left my cord that I use to download my pictures at my mom's house. So I have no new pics yet.

I have been reading some of my friends' blogs regarding their children returning to school. For the most part they are sad, and have even shed tears about this. I understand the tears for the kindergartner. I'm sure I'll be crying over that one too. I'm just wondering about the older children, and why I don't feel that way about my child.

I love and enjoy Macie, but I love that she's back in school. Macie does so much better when school is the major part of her day. She loves her friends, the activities, the LUNCH, and especially the bus!

I don't want her gone for 12 hours or anything, but the 7 hours is nice. I get to get things done, spend some quality time with Gabby, and then focus on her when she gets home.

Reading the other posts has got me wondering though... why am I happy she's in school? Maybe I'm not a good enough mom yet. Does it have anything to do with the fact that I didn't give birth to her? Does it take more time to miss them? What am I doing wrong? I'm not sure, but I definitely feel guilty about it. I know almost everyone who reads this is a mom, so what should I do differently? Any advice?

I'm Back!

Hey ya'll! If anyone is still reading, sorry I took such a long break! I didn't really plan to, it just kind of happened like that. We had a great time with our friends and family in Utah. I want to blog about a few things even though they happened a couple weeks ago, I hope you don't mind!

Macie went to visit her Grandma and Grandpa in Price for 2 weeks! She had a great time. She loves their dog Heidi, whom she calls "Heidi Ho". She also got to go swimming with her cousins, go to the museum, see movies and just hang out with the folks. They love having her, and she loves it as well. She had to call me everyday she was gone this time. I think it helped her to know that I was still there to talk to, even though not with her. It was cute.

July 15

I had the opportunity to go the American Idols concert a couple weeks ago. My mom asked me a couple months ago if I wanted to go. I said no. The tickets were pretty pricey, and although I love American Idol, I didn't need to see the concert.

(Some background:

Judy S.- Close family friend

Allen- Judy's son

Abbie- Judy's granddaugher, Allen's neice

We love these people, they are like family)

The day before the concert, Allen said he had backstage passes to meet the Idols from Jeff Archuleta, (David's dad).

I thought that would be fun to see them, so Allen bought me a ticket. I would have to sit alone, but I didn't care about that.

We got there and I left them to find my seat. I was hungry, so I grabbed a rice bowl, a bottle of water and headed down. I got someone to help me find my seat, because I hadn't been to the E-Center before. The guy led me onto the floor and just kept going further, and further up. We stopped on the 1st ROW! I sat down (alone) next to all these "die hard"fans. Here I am with my rice bowl, water, and camera. I looked like an idiot! I quickly took a couple bites and hid my food under my chair. The concert began and here are my shots:

10

9


8


7

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5

4

3

2

1

Ok, so I have to admit it was a great show! Even the ones that weren't my favorite on the show, sounded great! Brooke and the Davids were awesome! I had a great time! After the show, Jeff came down with only 2 backstage passes. It was alright though. Abbie and Allen went back. Abbie is auditioning for AI this year, and wanted to get some pointers. All the Idols were great to her and gave her good advice. Here are some shots of her:

Glad she put some clothes on...

Escaping?

After Gabby had been in bed for about an hour, I went upstairs to check on her, and put her blanket over her.

This is what I found....

I'm not sure exactly what the end result was supposed to be, but she gave up in the middle.

Apparently grandma needs bumpers on her crib.

Tea Anyone?

Greetings from Utah! The girls and I are on vacation in the beehive state for awhile. We arrived on Wed. at around 9:00 a.m. For those of you that are doing the math, yes, we did have to get up at 3:00 a.m.
We arrived safely, and all did well on the plane.

My mom picked us up at the airport and informed me we were going for surprise somewhere. I love surprises, especially from my mom cause she knows me so well.

We pulled up at the Art Market! The Art Market is a little boutique that only happens about 4 times a year. They have clothing, bags, home decor, art, fantastic jewelry, and just wonderful unique items, all from local artists. I have been buying, and loving things there for years.
I know it sounds dumb, but it is one thing that I've really missed since living away.

Anyway, they were having a special "jewelry only" boutique on Wednesday! Are you kidding me?

Utah is the promised land!

So after a half hour, I had collected about $350 worth of jewelry in my hands. Is that bad?

It took another half an hour to:

rationalize,
put down,
pick up,
try on,
imagine the whole ensemble,
put down,
think of the children,
rationalize,
pick up again,
and finally settle on one bracelet.

The second surprise was, we were going to have "tea" in the room next to the boutique. Mom made reservations for the 3 of us.
None of us had been to "tea" before, so we were a little excited to see what it was all about.


Granted, this was no date with the Queen, as I'm sure you are noticing the stacked up chairs in the background of all the photos. This was a toned down tea, if you will. No grand standing... just tea.

This was my cup, notice the very dainty "tea spoon".



We were given menus to pick our tea. There were several choices for caffeinated and decaffeinated.
Macie and I picked some decaffeinated one with Autumn in the name... sorry don't remember!
Moms had plum in it I think...

I didn't like the tea at all. It tasted like you grabbed flowers and twigs and blended them up. Not a fan.

We then were served these tasty beauties. Scones. YUM!



Then came our plates of very small people food. The shortbread cookies, and the cake like things on the left were delicious. The sandwiches.... not so much.



Seems like not so much food for the $23 a piece, mom shelled out for the tea! Yes that's not a type-0 my friends.

It was fun though, even if we did mock a lot! I believe Gabby liked her "tea" the best!

187 Kisses!

Those of you who have had babies, or just have them in your lives, know how much you love to kiss 'em!

The other day I was thinking (for some odd reason) how much I loved kissing Gab, and wondered how many times I really smooch her. The next day I decided to count. I came up with 187 kisses, give or take a couple.

I'm sure it differs from day to day, but how can you have a bad day when your smooching or getting smooched 187 times......

So whether you call it a:

Kiss
Smooch
Moochie
Smack
or Peck... get to it!

Varmints Beware!

A few weeks ago I posted about my troubles with the above varmints. I wanted to update you on a new development......

Since this orange haired beauty started coming around, the visits from my backyard invaders has not only lessened, but almost become nonexistent. I've heard terrifying cries, and seen some gruesome sights. This feline doesn't play.

I didn't want the squirrels around, but honestly...I didn't put a hit out on them!

New Traditions

Happy 4th of July!

When I was a kid if you were to ask me what my favorite holiday was, I would have had a really hard decision to make. Christmas or the 4th of July. I loved the 4th of July. Let me take you back with me for a moment...

Our ward had a 4th of July breakfast at the church beginning at 7:00 a.m. They also had a "make shift" band compiled of any ward member who could play or attempt to play, an instrument. The band would gather on a flat bed or pick-up truck (depending on the size of the band that year,) and drive around the ward at 6:00 to wake everyone for the breakfast. Now remember our ward boundaries in Bountiful Utah don't even go a mile, (this would not work in Brentwood).
The families would head over to the church parking lot for a great breakfast and a reunion of sorts. Not only were the current ward members there, anyone who had every lived in our ward, and their kids, and their kids, and so on and so on... It was always fun to see who came and what was happening in their lives.

After the breakfast, the kids would all get together and talk and goof around. After about an hour a water fight would usually break out. We loved that!

We would go home and change my wet clothes and head up to Grandma's in Kaysville. Grandpa had set our chairs up the day before in just the right spot for the parade. We would walk down to the parade and watch.

Then there was a carnival over by the library. We would go play games and get prizes. Loved that!

After that we'd go back to grandma's and hang out, nap, talk etc. Around 6:00 we would have our dinner out on the patio in the backyard. My grandma and grandpa Palmer had a beautiful backyard with lots of room for us! We would eat our yummy meal, you know the kind where everyone brings your favorite food, and you can't imagine getting full... ever.

Someone would grab the yellow plastic bat, and the baseball game was on! Everyone played baseball, except for the moms. All the kids loved this game, because our dads and grandpa would play. I will never forget those games.

When it started to get dark, we would get the sparklers out, and any other fireworks we had. I loved running around the backyard with my cousins and my sparklers, (probably not so safe now that I think of it, but no one was ever maimed.)

Once it got really dark we would haul the lawn furniture over to the side of the house for the BIG fireworks. Kaysville City puts on a big show at the high school about a half a mile from the house. There were always big crowds in the stands and all over the grounds at the school. We always felt so cool that we didn't have to leave the house and haul chairs 2 miles to see fireworks.

We huddled under blankets and stared at the sky, waiting. Then they came. And they were always better than the year before. Sometimes my cousin Blake and I would try to guess the colors before they came up.

Then it was over. And just like Christmas you can't believe it went by so fast!

Last year was hard for me. Being in California, away from my family on that holiday. Even though things have changed a lot since I was little, I still loved the 4th. I loved being with "my people".

I know I'm a big girl now, with my own family, and I need to find our own traditions. I'm working on it.

This year we did better. We went to Clayton for some festivities.

We had a great pancake breakfast, chatted with the locals a bit, and then watched the parade.

Macie's favorite part of the parade:

My favorite part:

Dogs in a parade. Dogs colored red, white, and blue in a parade. hmmm.

It was a typical small town, goofy parade, but I liked it. I felt like a real family.

I know our family is still growing, but hopefully we will come up with traditions that our kids will love, and miss, when they get big.