The women in this ward have a tradition of floating down the Salt River at the beginning of the school year. I thought this was a drunken, college activity, but at 9am, I guess it's also a Mormon Grandma sport. ;) They are spunky, fun-loving, salmon mousse- toting women and it was fun to spend the morning with them!
With Olive at Shelley's house that day, it gave me the chance to jet to Scottsdale to meet up with Megan for lunch! We went to True Food Kitchen, which wasn't quite as good as my first time, but still pretty yummy.
Mr. Weston and I got a date to As You Wish, one Saturday night. I was surprised at how much we both enjoyed it. Too bad they rape you with their prices or else we'd go back! We followed it up with some frozen yogurt and it always makes me happy to see how much he loves our one on one time.
Olive and I finally busting out our Africa skirts!
I know, I know! I do constant photo shoots with this chica, but how can you blame me?!! Especially in this crazy adorable, high waisted swim suit I just got her!
For Labor Day, we swam and had lunch at the Evans in the afternoon, then did a BBQ with friends at my parent's house in the evening. (They were in Alaska so the pool was free!) I was so glad it worked out. We are always with family on the holidays so it was a fun change to be with friends again.
We finished reading Ramona Quimby! This was another book I had from my Grandma. We watched an old school episode on YouTube and they boys got a kick out of her smashing her raw egg on her head.
Playdate with cousins!
I was on the computer when all three walked into my room, pushing the shopping cart and soothing their babies. It was SO DARN CUTE. Cradled in their arms, they'd "shhhh" them and rock them, pretending to be Mommys. I die. The other part that makes me giggle is Olive always announcing their shopping trip to Costco. Hmm, I wonder where she gets that from. ;)
This was the day that we had our first runaway. I forget the reason for Collin's injustice, but I guess he had had enough. (I think it actually had something to do with dinner and rules.) I was aware of him stuffing his backpack around bedtime, but I just ignored it while tending to the other two. He would leave, then come back in the front door to grab something, then leave again. This happened several times before I finally said to him, "Hey... what are you doing? How about you just stay inside." To which he petulantly lamented, "I just don't think this is the right family for me!" He told me that he had just forgotten his cup, then he'd be on his way. His cup for peddling, haha. He made a sign that said, "I need mony" and was planning on standing on the street corner with it. It was SO hard to suppress the giggles! He's holding his wind up flashlight in the other hand. Part of me wanted to let him go and see what would happen. Travis got home then and nipped it in the bud, telling him he could leave if he wanted to, but he couldn't take anything that he didn't pay for himself. I guess peddling naked wasn't so appealing. ;)
Shelley invited me to a Barre class while the girls were in preschool, so I tried it out a couple of times. It's hard for me to switch out of a cardio mindset, but this was definitely a difficult workout. Strength is not my strength, lol.
Our cousin, Natalie, happened to be there that day too! It was a Udall kind of day at Karve!
Grandpa had gotten sick and his doctor was worried enough to admit him for a few days. The night I made it over to visit, was the same night my mom and Craig happened to be there! We tried to take a picture but Grandpa was being funny so a candid one was the best we got. I had seen him the weekend before, doing an interview of him and my Grandma to capture some of the their life story on film, and he had looked pretty bad. It scared me, honestly. So I'm grateful he's home now and doing better!
Friday's are gym days! She is a gutsy one, doing the tallest balance beam and refusing help!
Camilla organized another girl's night with some ladies in our ward! We signed up for an aerial yoga class at a place in Tempe called Vertical Fix. It was 90 minutes of that strength training stuff I just told you I was awful at! Plus, you also need to be flexible, so I was basically the biggest joke there. But that's OK. It was really fun trying something different. I have a whole new respect for those trapeze artists in Cirque du Soleil! My word! Every muscle in my body ached and even my knee pits were barking! I don't believe this will be my new hobby. I'm not sure I want to be a part of something that uses the word "crotchy" in their craft, anyway. ;)
Afterward, we met up for dinner, with some more girls that couldn't make it to yoga. It was my first time trying Indian food! That menu was a foreign language to me, so Camilla ordered for all of us. The Tikki Marsala was good and the naan was too. I'm so lucky to be friends with these fun ladies!
In another one of her mama's dresses! Getting her ready for church is my favorite!! I love that she loves it, knowing it was my dress. Is there anything more fun that dressing up your little girl?!
9/11 fell on a Sunday this year and Travis heard at church something about a memorial at the Gilbert Civic Center. I feel really bad that I've never talked with my kids about this day before. So we watched the special edition of Music and the Spoken Word about 9/11 and took them to see this memorial. This is an actual beam from one of the World Trade Center towers. Hard to believe it's been 15 years.
I remember when we moved to Buffalo, Rachel's sister in law sent them the cutest care package, letting them know they were loved, even when far away. It took me a few months, but I finally got one together to send to Trevor and Gretchen. Hard to believe they're living in Puerto Rico now! Such a fun adventure.
Collin REALLY wanted to give the FHE lesson one night and didn't want any help! So he worked away in the toy room, creating these figurines to go with his lesson about Captain Moroni and the title of liberty. It was so entertaining watching him tell the story and having them re-enact the battle. His drawings of the "lamnite bad" and "nefit good" were my favorite. I love how enthusiastic he is about the gospel.
Got to document where my Monday and Wednesday nights go! I've spent the last several months sweating it out at High Fitness and I love it! Liz, in the middle, is an energizer bunny on crack and makes the classes so fun. Besides my toxic sweat running into my eyes, I always love how I feel afterward. Gotta do something to combat all these food posts, right? :)
Speaking of...
Had a fun lunch date with this cute dentist I snagged! It was a day that Shelley had Olive, so I did a session at the temple, got my teeth cleaned, then got them dirty again at Mangos. I've been doing macro counting this month and it's nice to know I can still squeeze a flour tortilla into my day.
We had Marcie and Jefferson over for some Cafe Rio dinner one night and got to have Jefferson's famous Jone's soda bottles to drink! I'm finding them everywhere now! Look for a snowboarding picture on the Berry Lemonade bottles and that's my brother!
3 cheers for mom getting Olive to her WCE. She missed last years. The whole office went gaga over her and she deserved it. Not a single cry or whimper when she got her shot! She is roughly in the 50th percentile for height and weight which is new territory for us and our skinny boys!
While he was checking her, I got really emotional out of nowhere. Joshua just suddenly entered my mind and I realized how I've always taken for granted my children's healthy Well Child Exams. You just never know what's in the future and a healthy child is something to be very grateful for. Oh how I love this sweet thang!
Ironically enough, we got home from open gym that day and Olive asked where Daddy was. He had been in Phoenix, shooting a commercial that day and then was going to visit Joshua so I told her that. Immediately, she was insistent. " I want to go visit Joshua!" I didn't think she was allowed in, so I tried to distract her and even bribe her out of the idea, but she would not be deterred. Finally, I gave in and called Carrie and she said it was OK as long as she wasn't sick and hadn't been around anyone else sick in the last week. So we got back in the car and drove to Phoenix. This was my first time to Phoenix Children's Hospital.
I had no idea what to expect, but thankfully, Olive wasn't nervous or put off by the surroundings. She hopped right up on his bed and they played with his toys and talked to each other for an hour! Just watching them made my heart catch in my throat. She really does love him and is concerned about him. It was the sweetest scene. I wish he wasn't so far away or we could come more often.
We had ourselves another date to Nicos! I was distraught to find out they changed the menu already, but my pork rigatoni was nothing to cry about! Trav got veal on polenta that was hard to not steal bites from. We were in a hurry to get to a movie, but we were seated at the bar by the chef and he ordered a dessert for us on the house. Guys. The most incredible toffee cake, topped with coconut gelato and a sauce that is NOT OF THIS WORLD. Ohhh my gosh. We devoured it. I have never been more pleased with a restaurant. And we still made it to our movie! (Sully... in case you were wondering. Two thumbs up! I feel like I'm picky about movies, but this was a good one!)
Don't forget to grab your homemade, salted caramel on your way out!
More playdates with Lindi! Just being together makes them giggle.
BLAH!!! This wicked creature scared the crap out of me when I was cleaning the kids' bathroom. I used to be grossed out about killing them but I let loose on this evil demon! Honestly, I whacked away at it so hard I'm surprised a string of obscenities wasn't coming from my mouth. There were scorpion pieces scattered all over the floor. I hope all of its nasty friends took note!! Don't cross me, fiends!!
We randomly heard about this Dole Whip stand in our neighborhood and decided to give it a try after FHE. Cute little set up with cherries, whipped cream and even a punch card! Seeing as how we're most likely funding a mission, we'll probably be back.
Marcie caught wind of this breakfast place in North Mesa called Sunnyside Breakfast Lounge, so what's 3 girls to do, but go try it out?!
These Tiramisu pancakes were a temptress cloaked in cream cheese sauce and mascarpone cheese. I'm still dreaming about them!! They were so good they must be against the Word of Wisdom. And not just because of the coffee powder, haha.
Unfortunately, the salmon benedict was just ehh. I'm just grateful it's so far away from me or else I'd be on the pancake diet right now.
Trying to feed my kids healthier after school snacks and they have been loving the surprises every day. The yogurt parfaits were a hit. Protein balls were not. Every day they leave for the bus, one of them turns around and shouts, "Don't forget to make us a nutritious smack!" (Perpetuating Collin's accidental lisp the first time he said it. Now it's tradition.)
Spent three weeks trying to get my Cub scouts through Bear Claws. The first day, all but one were bleeding. And they have some really cool soap rocks to show for their whittling. I'm the best den leader evaaaa.
The boys have been wanting me to come eat lunch with them at school. When a parent eats with you, you get to pick two friends and eat outside on picnic tables. I picked pretzel and cheese day. :) Since Weston has the very first lunch and Collin has the very last lunch, I got quite a bit of quality time in at Neely. I got to see part of Weston's music class (Great teacher... I don't know how he does it. Watching teaching now seems like more energy than I could ever muster up anymore) Weston invited Sadie and Preston to eat with us. Preston booked it to the playground before I could get out my selfie stick and the chocolate chip cookies I brought as a treat!
When Olive saw Collin, she burst out running and jumped into his arms! I got to have Collin read to me during AR time. I was actually really impressed with him. I got to go with him to the library to pick out a book and he was just very grown up about everything. Without being prompted, he greeted the librarian then introduced me and Olive to her. It's so refreshing to see your child behave well in public without you forcing it.
He invited his best friend, Bryson and another friend named, Kyle. That morning, when I was taking the boys to the bus stop, Collin perked up saying that Bryson has been wondering what I look like, so this would be perfect! Then he got a stern look on his face, jabbed his finger toward me and said, "Wear something NICE." I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended! But when I did show up, he gave me a thumbs up, kind of smirked, and said, "Good, you wore something nice."
That kid.
It came! The long awaited day came! Travis has been suffering for a long time with our bed. We've had it 10 years and over the last couple, his sleep has been deteriorating. He says he tosses and turns all night because his joints and hips hurt. He never buys anything but he did tons of research and finally splurged on a nice mattress. I liked our old one, but was totally fine with a new one if it would help him. After consulting Facebook, we also upgraded to a King. :)
I think it was better than Christmas day when it came. All his anticipation had me pretty excited too. Then I slept on it.
It is a wretched mattress.
It is super firm and feels like I'm sleeping on the floor. I tossed and turned all night the first night and it's only gotten slightly better since. One night, my arms kept falling asleep because I had them under my pillow. The entire next day my right arm ached like the nerves were damaged. I thought surely he would feel the same way. Nope. He likes it. Says his hips don't hurt anymore. What in the world?!! He went camping the day after we got it and I put our old mattress back on the floor and slept on it instead. It's been two weeks now and I still hate it. Waaaaaa. I don't know what we're going to do, but I for one, think Purple stinks. Maybe there is a Pink mattress out there. I'm bound to like that one. ;)
I've had these inane wispy hairs at my hairline for the longest time! What gives?! That's only supposed to happen after you have a baby. They won't grow for the life of me, so I finally cut bangs. Nothing dramatic, but I like the change. Except they won't stay out of my eyes, so I'm constantly swiping them away which makes for greasy bangs, hours after washing them. I just can't win.
This ward does Father's and Daughter's campouts! Travis is amazing for taking her. Especially because she was super difficult at night and he got zero sleep. Not sleeping while camping has to be cousins with that scorpion I killed. Both evil. He truly wins best dad award.
It's soccer season! That best dad award thing also applies because Travis is coaching Weston's team. So we are at practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at games on Saturdays. It's fun to watch them play and they love it. And hey, they get to play on real grass now!
Women's Conference!!
This one was extra special because the 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency, Carole M. Stephens, shared a story about Josie in her talk. I had known about it for some time and was telling everyone I knew. Josie is so amazing that I knew this was bound to happen sometime, but actually witnessing it, was something I'll always remember. Tears on tears. I'm so proud of her. She leads such a difficult life, but exerts any energy she has (and energy she doesn't have) to helping others. Her message is needed so badly.
We hit up the Factory that makes Cheesecake afterward and the selfie stick came in handy once again! Nothing like a night out with my sisters and mom eating good food.
This is so embarrassing of me to post, but I don't care. This blasted coloring sheet took me MONTHS of on again, off again, coloring. It's supposed to be relaxing, they said. It's therapeutic, they said. Well, I found it to be stressful. All that careful shading. An unfinished product hanging over my head and staring at me from my desk. Never again.
This is what your view looks like when you're boycotting your new bed and throw down your old mattress, filling up the last bit of space in your bedroom. I actually only slept on it the night he was gone camping. Then maybe retreated to it one morning for my last hour or two of sleep after an achy night on the Purple.
The boys had a Primary lesson on talents and their teachers asked me for ideas on what their talents were. I just wanted to document some of them! And preserve Weston's cute goal of someday growing things and helping animals. ;)
At least some good came from that mattress purchase. ;)
I was walking the boys to the bus stop one morning as Travis was leaving to work when what started as a few raindrops, turned into a pretty good downpour. We were huddled under the church doorway when up pulls the Pathfinder and Travis hands us two umbrellas! He had turned around after driving away, gone back inside to get them and then drove over to the church to save us. Seriously so sweet. It was like the gesture of the year to me. I love that man.
A simple side braid, but I loved how it turned out. Her grumpy face says otherwise. Every morning, all I ever hear is her screech, "I wanna ponytail!!!"
And how cute is this little number from Target?! I love when the season's change. Gives me a reason to go shopping for new kids clothes!
We finished another bedtime book! I remember watching this movie in school on rainy days. The boys ate it up! No pun intended. ;) And loved the movie too. Henry Green! Thanks for the entertainment.
