Girls Night Out

Two weeks ago (yes, I'm that far behind around here) someone from Fiji graced the state with her presence. A few of us gathered to celebrate over frozen yogurt. Here is the only picture taken the entire night.

MISSING!

HAVE YOU SEEN US?

Photo circa 2004. Notice the appearance of ankles and other podiatric bones.

It's not that my belly is so gargantuan that I can't see my feet. I catch occasional glimpses. The problem is that I don't see MY feet. They have been replaced by swollen mock-ups of my once beautiful feet. So if you see them around, tell them I miss them and ask them when they might be coming back.

Golden Onion Days

I think the title pretty much sums it all up. Golden Onion Days is like Orem's Summer fest - boutiques, performances, carnival rides, over-priced, deep-fried, yummy-smelling food, the whole she-bang. We checked it out and fell in love with life in Payson even more. There was a free children's fair as part of the activities and that was nice. We missed out on the parade so now I'm even more anxious for next year's Onion Days. Whoo Payson!

Barely Worth Mentioning

Here are a couple fun things that got overlooked the past few weeks.

We went to the Utah County Fair because 1) it was free 2) it was close, and 3) it was free. It lived up to our non-expectations and Zoe had a blast looking at the animals and driving the tractors. Worth every penny.


Every summer we have a "Lake Day" with the people James works with. This year was back at Utah Lake and it was a bit of a disaster. James' boss' boat wouldn't start and they couldn't get it fixed without delaying our day too much so we had lunch and called it quits. We got to spend a little time in the water while the guys went on a quest for parts so the day wasn't an entire bust. I just have to add that in 6 years of life in this valley, this is the first (and hopefully last) time I've been to Utah Lake. That place is DISGUSTING! Yikes. And they charge you $9 just to drive in. Zoe's lucky I let her in the water at all and I wouldn't go in too far past my ankles. Give me a windy, rainy day at Yuba (or anywhere else for that matter) any day.

The Chain Gang

It's September! Wow. Things are really getting down to the wire baby-wise around here. That's why I've been absent from the blogosphere. With weekly doctor appointments in Orem, crossing off a few more staycation to-do's, and starting in on some MAJOR sewing projects, we are meeting ourselves coming and going.

To commemorate the last month of pregnancy, and to get Zoe even more excited for Owen's arrival (you know, because she doesn't already talk about him ALL the time) Zoe and I made a count-down chain. I cut all the paper the night before so she helped me decorate a few rings, watched as I stapled them all together, then nearly tore the thing to shreds playing with it before throwing a tantrum when I finally took away "Baby Owen's Circles" and insisted they were only to look at from now on. Phew! Why don't I do crafts with this kid more often?

During a nap, I made a "Welcome Home" sign which morphed into a scrapbook page. All I have to do is slap on a couple pictures. That means I've already done more work for Owen's scrapbook than for Zoe's and almost as much as our wedding book. I'm a scrapper slacker. Oh well.

Got 3 Minutes?

Go HERE and watch the "Meet The Cast" video. Then start counting down the days to September 25th.

Umm....

So, like, I have, like 5 weeks until my due date! Isn't that crazy? This pregnancy has really just flown by. We are so excited for Owen to come and join our family. Zoe talks about him every day and loves to touch my tummy. Sometimes she lifts up her shirt and shows us "Zoe's baby Owen" so I don't think she quite grasps what is going on, but it's dang cute.

Anyway, I thought I'd take a couple minutes and document this pregnancy for my own sake. I have such easy pregnancies and I am so blessed. I have been way more tired this time around, but that's probably due to the fact that I chase a 2-year-old up and down the stairs all day. A few weeks ago I was having a tough time because Owen was getting a little too strong. His kicks were literally hurting me (anyone read Breaking Dawn? A few parts really hit close to home). I'm sure some people at the grocery store thought I was going to go into labor in the middle of the aisle as I was constantly stopping and wincing in pain from this little "nudger." Plus he was mostly kicking in the same spot so I was sore. Besides being strong, he is pretty persistent. He picks a spot to stretch or push against and won't give it up for a while. It was getting really uncomfortable for a couple weeks. Luckily, it seems like he has grown enough that he can't get as much momentum behind his punches or that he's settled into a position where they don't bother me as much. Either way I'm happier.

As anxious as I am about handling 2 kids and all that that entails, I am really excited to have Owen here. I feel so prepared in some ways and yet I know I'll be taken completely by surprise when he comes. I feel like such a different person than I was when I had Zoe - much more patient and relaxed, but less organized and "on top of things." Oh well, it's probably a healthier trade off for the whole family.

The next 5 weeks will be packed with so much change around here as Summer draws to an end, we get back into the routine of James going to school, and we tie up the many loose ends we have to take care of before Owen comes. I am so excited to share it with all of you and if you have any advice about the whole "more than one kid" situation (or just having a BOY for that matter) I'd love to hear it.

It Never Ends...

No, I'm not talking about this pregnancy (yet - stay tuned) but about Zoe. This girl can TALK. She is never quiet when we are home. She keeps herself entertained all day long, sometimes without ever taking a toy out of her closet. And all the while she is narrating. She also loves to read and she has quite a few books memorized. These videos are LONG because, like I said, she just doesn't stop. She's also started singing a lot and will throw in a few random stanzas here and there. What a Nuggle. I sure love being able to hang out with such a cool kid all day long.

A Camping We Will Go!

We have been meaning to go camping all summer. We finally got to go over the weekend. We spent two nights up at the lake and enjoyed every minute. The Namannys joined us Friday afternoon and spent that night with us. On Saturday as we made our way home, we stopped to hike to Grotto Falls. It was really just a great weekend. Words don't do it justice, so here are a plethora of pictures:

Tent Sweet Tent

We are a Happy Family

Exploring the Campground

Zoe finds humor in calling chips "twips"

She also enjoys walking like this and tells us she's "Bein' a Jeep"

The Lake - Dang Cold, yet Utterly Irresistible

Someone to Throw Rocks With

The Hike to the Grotto

The Grotto from Above

Hi Daddy!

The Grotto - Bringing a New Meaning to the Term "Cold Water"

My Newly Discovered Super Power

If you've ever been pregnant (or been around a pregnant lady) you know all about those heightened pregnancy senses - smell, taste, hearing, sensitivity to temperature. Last night I discovered a new one - the ability to detect power outages.

At 3:24 am the power in our neighborhood went out. I know because I woke up right when it went out and I checked the time on James' cell phone. How does one detect power outages when one should be dead asleep in the middle of the night? I have no idea. All I know is that I woke up to a very dark room (since the outside lights had gone out as well) and I saw James' phone light up - since it had been on the charger and that's what it does when it's disconnected. Then I suddenly felt hot and noticed that the ceiling fan was off. I looked around and all the clocks were blank. Then I heard the beeping from our computer's surge protector, which also serves as a back-up power source. The power was out for about 15 minutes.

How crazy is that? It took me forever to go back to sleep, but I'm glad I woke up so we knew to reset our alarms. Maybe next time I'll get super speed...

"It's An Open Invitation to Make Noise With Your Face"

If you haven't noticed, James and I love music. We are particularly fond of the Wilco variety. We especially like hearing live music, and yesterday we were able to be passionate about both at the same time. Translation: Wilco played Salt Lake and we were totally there! They had been touring for quite some time, but without ever stopping close enough to us. In April I had made up my mind that we would drive to San Francisco and shell out $300 each for festival tickets since they were making an appearance. A few weeks later they announced a show in Salt Lake. I got my hopes up. Then tickets for the show sold out in a matter of hours, without us obtaining any. I know! I scoured the internet pretty much daily until about 2 weeks ago extra tickets started popping up and we nabbed some. James' boss kindly offered to watch Zoe for us so I dropped her off and away we went.

The show was amazing. Wilco never disappoints - as a side note, it was very fitting that they came so close to our anniversary as we danced to Far, Far Away at our reception and we saw them in concert four years ago, shortly after we were married. Anyway, the show was at Red Butte Gardens and Fleet Foxes opened for them. It was the perfect night.

When Wilco started their set we made our way to the front and were literally yards from the band. I loved every second. They played a great set, taking a lot of music off of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, which are my favorite albums. Don't get me wrong, I love Sky Blue Sky, their newest material, but I was glad that the show didn't consist entirely of that album with only a few other things thrown in here and there. They didn't play our song, but they really didn't play any of their slower stuff. It was pretty much a rock show from beginning to end. They did play my all-time favorite (and all-around most perfect song) Jesus, Etc. and that was great. The title of this post is what Jeff Tweedy said when he told everyone to sing along with the song. That man is some kind of entertainer. I just love to watch him...

The only downer of the evening was that security was pretty on top of things as far as taking pictures and recording the show. We saw several concert-goers get a stern reprimand for doing such and the guards were always on the lookout. So I only got a couple seconds of footage here and there and a few not-so-great shots.

The whole evening was just great. Too great. Today I don't feel like it really happened. Especially since it is 9:00 and Zoe is still asleep. I must be in some alternate universe.

It Seems Like Only Yesterday...

It was 3 days after my 21st birthday.
Exactly 2 months after deciding to take that next step.
And only 9 weeks after breaking up for the last time.

Here's what we were doing 4 years ago today:

Boise and Birthdays

Whew! I am getting way behind around here. We took our "staycation" on the road and had an actual mini-vacation over the weekend. We had a friend getting married in Boise and another friend willing to drive with us and split gas money, so away we went. Previously I've avoided similar wedding trips as James and "the boys" have an all-day bachelor party involving golf, video games, and movies and I would be left to fend for myself in an unfamiliar city, usually without transportation - but this time I had an ace up my sleeve. I have an old roommate who lives in Boise and had a spare room for me and Zoe to stay in so we tagged along and spent the weekend with her. She even watched Zoe so I could go to the temple ceremony and the lunch afterwards. It was basically the only vacation we've taken since Zoe was born that has FELT like a vacation for me. Thanks so much Paige! To sweeten the deal, my copy of Breaking Dawn arrived just before we were about to leave so I had plenty of entertainment in the car (although I have mixed feelings about the book itself. I know others feel similarly).

We got back Sunday afternoon and since then we've just been playing catch up. Then yesterday was my birthday. James made me breakfast and Zoe and I spent the afternoon at the pool. The best (and so far only) present I got was that I finally found tickets to the sold out Wilco concert on Monday. We had to drive up to northeast Salt Lake City to pick them up, but at least they are ours. We were starting to give up hope of going. While we were out there, we decided to drop in on some friends and check out their new place. So not too exciting, but it seems that my birthdays never are. Plus I don't really see anything exciting about turning 25. Yech. But I did set aside some money for an Ikea trip and fixing my sewing machine, so I am happy. Craving a smoothie, but that's beside the point.

A Close Call

I'm guessing a lot of our female readers spent Friday night (and all day Saturday) much more pleasantly than we did. Just before midnight we got a knock on the door. It was a woman from the neighborhood informing us that we were being evacuated. Immediately. I thought it was all a bit ridiculous as the fire wasn't consuming homes yet, let alone any that were close to ours. I told James that we should just turn off our lights and pretend to be asleep. How would anyone know? James, being a more upright citizen, went outside and found someone slightly more official to talk to - a guy in a fluorescent, reflective vest. The real news was that we might have to evacuate. That we should prepare now because the next time he came around it would be with sirens and a p.a. system and we would have about 5 minutes to get the heck out of Dodge.

So we did just that. It was quite the educational experience. I found that my 3 priorities in regards to leaving my home with the possibility of only returning to its charred remains are :

1. Pack Necessities - clothes, toiletries, food, blankets, etc. Just enough to get us through a couple days.
2. Pack Valuables - our external hard drive, non-digital pictures, journals, keepsakes, and such. Basically anything that we would never be able to replace no matter how much insurance money we got.
3. Shower - Who knows when we would see another shower if we had to leave our home in the middle of the night? Plus we had been outside watching the fire so we smelled like smoke anyway.

We stayed up pretty late gathering things up, tying up loose ends, and waiting for the alarm to sound. We didn't think it would, but we didn't want to be caught unawares. Truthfully I probably should have been more concerned than I was. I realized this as we drove around Saturday morning to assess the damage to our beautiful mountains. The fire stopped less than HALF A MILE from our house. Yikes. I am surprised they didn't evacuate us.

All in all we were extremely lucky and blessed. The fire, though seemingly out of control last night, never reached the main part of the canyon and it looks as though no inhabited homes were damaged. I just can't get over how close it was, though. It was a good drill and while I hope we never have to think about it again, it's nice to put everything in perspective and take stock of your life in terms of a natural disaster. We've never had to do that before. Oh yeah, and it reminded us that we should update our insurance coverage!

We're On Fire!

Well, the canyon just south of us is, anyway. As I was getting dinner ready James called to tell me that his bus was running late and asked me if I had seen the smoke. I casually glanced out the kitchen window and saw the thickest wall of smoke rolling off the mountains. Here is the news story. Make sure and check out the other pictures on ksl.com. James submitted a couple of ours as well. It wasn't so bad until the wind shifted and now our neighborhood smells like a camp fire. Hopefully it gets contained soon and doesn't hit the main canyon. Good thing we aren't camping this week!

UPDATE: The wind is really blowing like crazy out there. They have evacuated our canyon. It really is a good thing we did not decide to go camping this week. That little hill sticking up over the houses in this first picture is completely charred now. So much for our beautiful view of the mountains.

Down the Red Slide

Zoe's grand birthday present this year was a slide. She loves it so much - throwing toys down it, having snacks on it, climbing on it, and even going down the slide. It's so great to have something for her to do in the backyard that doesn't involve water or any physical effort on my part.

It's Like This and Like That (and Like This and A)

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. Last night I told James it was because I had been using the laptop so much and I don't blog from the laptop. This morning he whisked the laptop away to work with him. What an odd coincidence. But also James has been using the computer a lot to work on musical stuff in the evenings and my afternoons have been a little hectic with the nap situation. Zoe did great in her bed for a week and then suddenly decided she didn't need to stay in her bed anymore. So I spend the better part of the afternoon in and out of her room until I just can't take any more and she goes into the crib. But she's still got a near-perfect record at bedtime so I can't complain too much.

Anyway, we have been busy around here, as usual. James had Pioneer Day off last Thursday and made it into a four-day-weekend. We went to the pool and on a ward camp out. The pool is great. For those of you haven't heard - the new Payson City Pool opened on July 3rd and it is about a 1/2 mile from our house. Zoe and I go at least once a week and it was great to have James join us. I actually got to go down the big slides. The pool has something for everyone and the best part is that the whole thing is padded in rubber, instead of having a concrete floor and sides. so I can spend my time on my knees in the shallow parts with Zoe and still be comfortable. If anyone wants to try it out, let us know. We're always game to go. Here are a few pictures to "wet" your appetite:












The ward camp out was ok. The campground wasn't ideal and it was really hot. It just isn't camping if you're in a t-shirt the entire time and you don't even want to come near the fire. Zoe loved being outside and kept saying "I camping in the mountains." The only obstacle we had with her was the sleeping arrangements. We took our portable crib because Zoe refuses to sleep with us, so she already wasn't too happy about that. Then we all had to sleep in the same tent, which she also didn't like. She knew we were still there and kept telling us to "go bye-bye" even though it was pitch black and way past her bedtime. Hopefully she'll get the hang of it as we have another trip planned in a few weeks.

This week is already packed as well. Tomorrow Zoe has her 2-year checkup and I have Enrichment. On Thursday I am helping with our Primary Activity Day. So of course I won't be able to get to the pool until Friday (because today we went to a movie in Spanish Fork). Life is just so rough sometimes!

The Ongoing Saga of the Big Girl Bed

We have success! Well, mostly. We tried before to no avail, so I put it on the back burner. But lately I've been trying to get Zoe excited about sleeping in a big girl bed. She has seen the bedding in the top of her closet and I've told her that she can have that when she sleeps in her big girl bed. Finally I had enough of the talking and decided to act. After she woke up from her nap on Monday I took down the bedding, hauled in the spare mattress and had her help me set up the bed. For the rest of the afternoon we played "night time." We practiced laying down on her pillow and closing our eyes, then we talked about when it is dark we go to sleep and when it is daytime we wake up and get out of bed. Zoe ate it up, and seemed to understand what was going on. That night we read books, tucked her in, and closed the door. And that was it! Normally she stays awake talking in her crib for quite a while (anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes) but not this night. We never heard a single peep from her after we closed the door! She woke up at 7:30 the next morning but didn't even attempt to come out.

Now, we are still having problems with the nap and she usually ends up in her crib after repeatedly coming out of her room, but we're working on it. I am thinking of getting some darker curtains for her room and maybe "childproofing" her door (read: locking her in). Is that too cruel, or just practical? I know it would definitely help in the morning as she decided to wake up and wander the house at 6:15 this morning. I'm sure the nap issue will work itself out by the time Owen needs the crib, or we will just cut the nap out all together - the only reason she still takes one is because we spend so much time playing outside in the heat and we keep her up later on these long summer nights.

We still have a few kinks to work out, but things are looking pretty good. We are so proud of Zoe for how "mature" she's become just in the last few months. Any suggestions for the napping situation would be much appreciated!

Zooropa!

Phew! Only a week after the fact - I'm finally catching up around here. The Monday after Zoe's birthday we packed up and headed to the zoo. Because, you know, we hadn't crammed enough action into a 3-day weekend so we went ahead and made a 4-day-weekend. Of course we had a great time. The Hogle Zoo is a little small (and a little disappointing to anyone who has to pay full price to see it) but it was definitely worth it. Zoe had a blast and we had fun watching her take it all in. Here are some highlights:

Checking out some monkeys

The Bird Show Rocks!


More from the Bird Show


Just in time to see the elephants get a shower


The first snake of the day!

Watching the turtle eat is especially entertaining


A riveting stop to see the giraffes

The Terrific Twos!

Zoe turned 2 on Sunday! Originally we were just going to have a quiet evening with my parents and a ladybug cake, but a few days before her birthday we found out that the Biggs family would be in town so we decided to pull out all the stops. We had 8 children ages 6 and under in our house with 9 adults, 2 cakes, balloons, and presents galore. It was great and I was surprisingly very relaxed considering the short amount of notice I had for throwing the whole thing together. I owe major thanks to our guests who helped out in so many ways - taking pictures with our camera, dishing out ice cream, feeding Zoe cake and ice cream so I could have some of my own, and cleaning up after said herd of children. I had the greatest time and I think Zoe enjoyed herself as well. Her favorite presents by far are all the little plastic bugs, animals, and dinosaurs she received. The hotwheels are a close second, though. Have I mentioned that Zoe is a girl? She is definitely an odd one. But we love her anyway!

Warning - The following is gratuitous Zoe fluff and meant for 1) documenting our child's development and 2) the enjoyment of family and very close friends. You have been warned.

Whoever came up with the term "Terrible Twos" never met Zoe. Every day I just can't get over how much fun she is. I'd say the terrible part of her toddlerhood was between the ages of 15 and 22 months. Here is a glimpse of Zoe at 2 years:

Vocabulary: She says EVERYTHING! She talks all day long - narrating her actions and those around her. She mimics our tones and will repeat what we say when she is across the room completely entranced by something else. I can't attempt to document the vast vocabulary she has completely mastered. She speaks in complete sentences almost exclusively, using "ni ni ni" to fill in the gaps between the subject, verb, or object, as she sees fit.

Concepts: Again, she understands nearly everything we throw at her and applies her knowledge to new situations without being prompted or guided. It is amazing to see the wheels in her head constantly turning.

Humor: Zoe has an insane sense of humor. She cracks herself up on a regular basis and she generally has mom and dad in stitches as well. Her latest joke is replacing the first sound of words (especially in her books) with an "h" sound. If the word already starts with an h, she replaces it with an "n" sound - I kid you not, she came up with this by herself. Another recent joke is to replace all the characters in her books with "Orange Tigger" and then cackle when we correct her. Something about the word "women" is also pretty hilarious to her and she will just say it and laugh whenever the mood strikes her.

Favorites: Zoe is a pretty well-rounded kid when it comes to toys and interests. She likes Dora (though she won't watch any show or movie for more than 5 minutes), having her toenails painted, and having "pretty hair." But she also loves cars, bugs, animals, dinosaurs, rocks, sticks, and water. She hasn't shown any preferences for colors yet, though she can correctly identify all primary and secondary colors, plus some tints and tones - white, black, pink, grey, brown, etc. She loves to count and gets to seven in her own way: "one, three, two, five, six, seven." She loves running in circles but will also attempt to run in a square, triangle, or oval - the result is pretty much the same.

Personality: She is as independent as the day is long and will play on her own for quite a long time, especially after a meal. She has to identify everything around her in at least one of four ways - ownership, color, temperature, and shape (some examples include "Tre's blue car, brown square cereal, hot yellow butter). She has to give her toys kisses - "pisses" - before putting them away. She is becoming a bit of a neat freak and has me wash her hands frequently during meals. She has also decided that washing works great for bonks too and will plead with us to wash whatever injured body part she might have.

I really just can't overstate how much we love this little girl. She is getting more fun every single day. She brings so much joy into my life it just doesn't seem real. Now, on with those terrific twos!