It's Valentine's Lip Sync Battle Time!!!!
I debated skipping it or trying an adults only party, but my kids were literally in tears over the notion.
They love it and count on it like their birthdays and Christmas.
We're lucky the extended family are good sports!
We did it on a Monday night and since I teach on Mondays, I was feeling a little over-extended. I opted for ordering pasta from Oreganos instead of making it homemade and it was the best decision ever. My mom brought Olive Garden salad and breadsticks and the others helped with parts of dessert and it was all super yummy!
You would think we'd run out of ideas or songs, but every year the family BRINGS IT. The Goodman's started with a skit mash up of several fun songs. The kids laughed their heads off!
My parents did a Highschool Musical number and ROCKED IT!! It was seriously so good! They had choreographed moves and knew all the words and my dad's facial expressions were hysterical! They won first place, easy peasy!
The Figs did not get enough credit for how awesome their number was! Marcie always comes up with something so good and I love that Austin is all in! They danced to "You Got It" by New Kids on the Block. Their outfits alone were the coolest.
David and Abbey didn't do one this year, but Cohen closed the night out with a remix of Baby Shark that EVERYONE got in on!
I made funnel cakes for dessert with lots of help from the chef of the family, Grandpa!
At one point, Marcie had Alexa play "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and started boppin' around the kitchen singing with a wooden spoon, getting us all to join in and I swear it was straight out of a romantic comedy, haha! I loved it! We have such a fun family! My heart was full that night.
Tanner allowed Weston to read him his bedtime story. These are the moments. Because I swear 80% of the other ones are fighting, whining, complaining or just general unmerriment.
I taught the older class on Weston's birthday and the kids tricked him into leaving the house (chasing the ice cream truck- how did that work??) and decorated the house to surprise him when he got back. I think he felt loved!
We made lollipop flowers for a little V-day project and I thought they turned out cute!
Weston is 10!! A big birthday turning double digits. He remains my easiest child. He is a no stress, go with the flow, requires little attention, sort of kid. Heaven bless him for it.
He could play video games for 8 hours straight.
He needs to snuggle like he needs air.
He has a stuffed animal ZOO on his bed. Each with their own name and story.
He could not care less about clothes. Whether they are trendy, match or are even clean.
He wants to be a pet shop worker when he grows up.
His room might be less than tidy.
He has a KIND SOUL. He is tender hearted and a major love bug.
He likes him some candy.
His best friends are Benson Hodges and Graham Law. And Rusty!
He loves babies and animals. His attention when he walks in a room will go straight to any babies.
His favorite sport is baseball.
He had 8 cavities at one teeth cleaning. Apparently, brushing wasn't his top priority. :[
He tells me regularly that I'm the best mom ever and that he loves me to the moon and back and there are no moms he'd rather have. Yes, all of that.
I won the lottery with this one.
It was an off year for a party, so he invited Sesilie to go bowling at Fat Cats and play at the arcades. We all had a great time!
After that we got to go to Olivia's baptism. So happy we get to attend baptisms again!
I swung by a bakery to get Weston's dessert request... macarons... and couldn't resist an eclair for myself! Can you blame me?
He so fancy! Macarons instead of cake!
Normally I just make their birthday dinners but it was the weekend and Stephanie doesn't cook on weekends, so we splurged! He wanted steak so we tried Texas Roadhouse but it was a two hour wait. And so were all the other steak houses we tried. Stupid Covid restrictions. Boo! He finally settled for Red Robin.
He wanted a race car track so that's what he got!
Oh how I super love this boy!! He either tries to pull me into his bed every night for snuggling or tries to sneak in my bed for cuddles. Every family needs a Weston.
Superbowl time! Who's playing again?
All I know is the food WON.
And Shelley and I had our own little game of "who can shimmy on their stomachs with their hands behind their backs to reach the candy first". It was a RIOT. Haven't laughed that hard in years!! I also tried out a new yoga move on Trav. He didn't know what we were doing, BUTT he saw it coming! ;)
Valentine's Day!
These cuties made love poems and decorated boxes for their valentine exchange.
The boys have ALWAYS been so creative with their Valentine's boxes! What I loved most was that even though some of the other kids in class didn't care to decorate a box or even participate, my boys aren't too cool for school yet! :)
I found some cute Valentine ideas on Etsy but I didn't want to pay for them so I designed my own and I think they turned out even cuter!
Ahhhh, he is the BEST!!! I always want a preschooler in my life. He. is . SCRUMTIOUS!!
I got my mesh mask!! I ordered one for everyone in the family except Tanner. ($100 later.... woof) But it is worth it. I got thrown out of See's Candy store but everywhere else I go people want to know where they can get one too!
Hehe. It took me a second, but when I got this meme, it was a keeper.
Friday night lights!
We bundle up to cheer Collin on!
And on Saturday mornings we cheer for Olive!
She almost got to see Layla get baptized but they were late. Darn it! So fun seeing all her sweet friends get baptized this year!
Listened to this book for the second time. All my running makes for lots of listening time. It is seriously the most fascinating story. I could talk for hours about it!!
Trav and I went on a fancy pants V-day date to Capitol Grille. I've heard so much about this place it was finally time to test the reviews. It was much more posh than I anticipated. And the check agreed. But I have to say, the food was amazing. Rachel told me to get the cheesecake for dessert and that was the best recommendation. It was out of this world. Unlike any cheesecake I've ever eaten before. So rich and decadent and creamy. And unique with a creme brulee top! I could not stomach spending that much money on dinner again anytime soon but for very special occasions, it's your place. :)
Holiday decorations make my heart happy!
Sadly, on actual Valentines Day, Tanner had a stomach bug, but we still did our Sunday brunch all gussied up! Red velvet, heart shaped waffles with cream cheese icing drizzled on top! I stayed home with him while everyone else went to Grandma's house. We stopped by Grandma Ann's house thought to decorate her windows and leave a cookie and rose. Tanner stayed in the car and I just talked to her across the lawn. She wasn't feeling well either. Sadness!
I really liked my sugar cookie recipe I've used for years, but something nudged me to try a new one. So glad I did. Thank you Mel's Kitchen Cafe! This cookie was incredible. I got so many compliments. Travis thinks I should sell them. I'm afraid he would have a 300lb wife if I did.
His drunk face is hysterical! He fell asleep in the car and didn't rouse for at least an hour. So I had my dinner alone then when he woke up we watched You've Got Mail. Very appropriate for the occasion! I haven't seen that movie in YEARS and it was delightful! Seriously, the cutest show! I was in such a good mood afterward. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, GOOD JOB.
I saw this quote online and wanted to always remember it. I need it in my house.
Normally, Travis has Tanner on the Friday's I teach, but he was sick in bed, so Tanner got to join the class. He really liked PE time and wanted me to take pictures of him while the kids were playing capture the flag.
I did a little art project based around the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo and showed the kids a YouTube clip of the actual Sistine Chapel. So of course, there's a bit of nudity. Oops! Boy did I scar the kids! They looked at me scandalously and I started to think maybe I had crossed a line! Even as I tried to explain Renaissance art, I heard it coming out of my mouth and it still didn't make sense, haha! So much for culture.
Olive is on her studio's performance team for her age, but they haven't had the chance to do very many performances because of Covid and cities not having their normal events. So they entered them in a competition instead. She is front and center and the other girls tend to look to her for direction. She was really nervous and it showed a bit, but I was so proud of her!
We threw Jefferson's fiance a bridal shower at my mom's house one Saturday and it was so fun! I don't go to enough showers, I've decided. Olive was uber thrilled to be a part of this girl event. I made fancy brownie bites with peanut butter frosting and a citrus water punch that I could not put down. Actually, it was the chicken salad sandwiches I couldn't put down. A lot of Katie's friends came and we had a small sprinkling of family that showed up. Really makes you grateful for the ones who made the effort to come. We put a lot of work into this and it was so nice to visit with everyone who came. With the set up and take down it was nearly a full day extravaganza. I came home, pooped. I think Travis probably wondered what was so strenuous about eating and talking, haha!
I just need to document poor Weston's rash. I first noticed it a few weeks after Oceanside. The boys all got bad chaffing from boogie boarding and he seemed to think it developed from that. It's all over his legs and arms and a bit on his back and stomach. The dermatologist shrugged his shoulders and prescribed a steroid cream which I didn't feel good about using. My mom tried reflexology. Next, I took him to Harriet. (Sweet Harriet) haha. She did her muscle testing and declared his spleen functioning at 2%. Told him to take Oregon Grape and Burdock twice a day. Plus calcium in the morning. He hates it but does it as faithfully as I remind him ;) Fingers crossed it works!
We have to keep a gate on our stairs because of this dang dog, but I still think she's super cute!
She requested octopus hair for Echo Ed the whale!
So, I started taking a hip hop class a couple months ago, just for fun. It's once a week in Mesa at Calli Overstreet's studio called Fuse Performing Arts. Camilla usually goes with me, but she sprained her ankle just a few weeks before the "recital". I have to put quotes around recital because, I mean, come on. We're just a bunch of moms. I had no idea when I started this that she would be having us perform. Admittedly, it was really fun. But also super embarrassing. I had decided I would invite my mom because I knew she would love it. Then I figured Olive would probably dig it too. When I was practicing at home, the boys said they wanted to go. (Kids are the best. You can be completely mediocre, but they think you're amazing. They were so complimentary when I was practicing and it made me laugh. And made my day.) Andddd, even though I felt the most sheepish about Travis coming, apparently he's non-judgmental of washed up 30 year olds living out their dancing dreams. So what started in my head as a completely anonymous performance, became a whole family affair! And then Camilla showed up! With flowers! I had quite the fan club in the stands. My people love me. I'm pretty lucky. We did a number to "I like it like that" by Cardi B that was my favorite. Plus a finale number to Bang by AJR but I forget the last song.
I had been fairly stressed out by the recital so it was extra relaxing to be in the air the next morning flying to Salt Lake with my homies!! This is the first time us high school friends have gone on a legit trip together! We have a bit of a divide between us on the mask situation and masks were still full in force at the airport. We were seated altogether in a row at the very back of the plane. I was by the window, then it was Jenni, Jessica, the aisle, LaRee, Shelley and a random man. Well, someone tattled on LaRee for not having her mask on while she was eating a snack so the flight attendant nicely reminded her and gave a wink. We were so grateful he was cool about it! But then, before we had even taken off, I suddenly hear Shelley talking in a loud, mad voice. At first I thought she was jokingly acting mad at the lady in front of her like maybe they she had realized she knew her, but no. Not the case. I guess Shelley's mask was below her nose and the lady sitting in front of her put her phone between the seats to take Shelley's picture. So when I heard Shelley she was yelling/not yelling at the lady to please delete it. When I realized we had a confrontation on our hands my heart instantly started racing. We weren't even off the ground, but here we go! I couldn't make out all that they were saying but basically the lady told her she should have her mask on and that she saw us in the terminal too without our masks (we had pulled them down once we were seated in a circle on the ground to talk) and that "we just think we can do whatever we want". Shelley told her she had no right to take her picture and the lady said "well you started it" and she said no, you started it by taking my picture without asking. I guess the lady had written "b****" on Shelley's picture and was sending it to someone. Thankfully, it didn't escalate any more than that. They think that the lady probably knew she didn't have a leg to stand on because the flight attendant had been really cool to us earlier. I was shaking afterward though! I kept thinking, oh crap. If this lady goes after Shelley, I'm going down too because there's no way I'm not standing up for her! But please, can we just go on our trip?! Haha. I wondered if there would be more drama when we got off the plane in Utah but she stayed in her seat until we all got off. Then I had to take a picture of the Australian flight attendant that we chatted with the whole flight. I think maybe he wasn't sad to be around LaRee and Jessica!
Once we landed, we took a shuttle to get our beater of a rental car (wise tip: just pay extra for the legit companies), then grabbed a late lunch. I had been reading articles from Female Foodie blog about the best restaurants in Salt Lake and Chungas came up repeatedly for good Mexican food. So we headed to the nearest one. Then paused on arrival. Was this the right place?! This nasty, orange, Filiburtos -wanna-be hut? Yep. It was. Thanks for nothing Female Foodie! We cautiously peeked in and decided we were there... might as well test fate and the veracity of our colons! It smelled heavily of Mexican cleaner... a good sign?? Wouldn't you know it, it was actually really yummy. Couldn't get enough of that guac. Don't go for the ambiance, but I guess the blog wasn't totally wrong. We also had lots of laughs about the name. There is a Chungas among us!
We checked into our hotel, the Doubletree, downtown, (hello warm, chocolate chip cookies!!) then thought we might do some shopping. But once we got settled, we stayed that way. Nice and comfy. Doing what we do best. Talking. That's also when Shelley busted out our gifts. Fluffy, tie dye slippers! We all swooned and immediately put them on. Our official footwear of this girls trip! So fun!
Before we knew it, it was time for our dinner reservation at HSL! Another Female Foodie recommendation. Now this place held up! Super posh decor. Fancy food. I guess some famous people have even sat at the table we were at! Can't remember who, now. The whiskey caramel pudding and chocolate torte were amazing. So was the cauliflower appetizer! It started snowing on us as we were leaving! I'll just let you picture what 5 Arizonan girls hopped up on sugar acted like in fresh falling snow! That also meant that I was driving us back to the hotel since Jess and were deemed the trustworthy "snow drivers". What they don't realize is it's actually not hard to do. But it did boost my self esteem a notch.
I shared a bed with Shelley and we all stayed up late, talking. Free therapy sesh.
Saturday morning we drove out to Pleasant Grove to start our day of relaxation and pampering at Purify Wellness Center! First came Hot Yoga. (A sweaty namaste to you) It was my first time and I really liked it! Although the instructor's accent was almost impossible to understand so I just copied the girl next to me. She probably thought I was into her or something for how many side glances I was taking. Next, we relaxed in the salt cave. Those zero gravity chairs paired with deep, salt breathing and nature sound music was heavenly. After that, I got to try Vitamin D light therapy. They place these pads over your chest and eyes that radiate light. It's subtly warming and the light seems to take on different designs over your eyes. Then you listen on a headset to a calming, meditation of sorts. This woman's voice sort of describes what's happening, like "the light is now pouring out of your fingertips and healing the cells of your skin". This goes on for about 30 min. It's very peaceful and soothing! Then I tried energy mapping! I've never done this before. You place your hand on these metal bumpy things and it's supposed to read your aura and chakras. Now, 10 years ago, I would have said this was all completely kooky and glorified witchcraft. But I don't know! I'm more open minded about it now. Maybe not 100% sold on it, but I do think it's interesting. The lady who was doing my session seemed to be describing me pretty well without knowing me at all. Anyway, then. THEN. Came the most incredible massage I have ever gotten. Words will never describe. I was reduced to a blob of serene putty. I floated out of that room. Jenni actually laughed at me when I emerged and said it was the best part of her day, seeing me with mascara smudged eyes and a blissful, sleepy look, stumbling on doe legs down the hall. I think my masseuse's name was Rachel (maybe??) but what I do know is she is a gift to mankind. And I told her as much. It's a probably a good thing I don't live here or all our dollas would go to Rachel and her massages. Finally, I ended with what's called Bemer therapy. It's similar to the light therapy in that you sit in a zero gravity chair and have these pads placed on your body. You're supposed to choose an area of pain that you'd like the healing directed at. I guess it's electromagnetic therapy that improves circulation and immune system function. The only thing I wished we had done was the sound bath and foot zoning. As it was, we spent all day there! It was HEAVENLY. Exactly what every mom needs in her life. We were the most pleasant group of girls you ever did see, leaving that place. And apparently, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City were scheduled to come here the next week! Just call us the Real Housewives of Gilbert. ;)
It was off to The Red Iguana for dinner and then Nielsens for concretes before we had to drop Jenni off at the airport. She had been the driver at the end of the day and left us laughing and terrified with her snowbird/teenager/drunk driving skills. Some things haven't changed much since high school, haha! Our angels are still protecting us!
Sunday morning we got brunch at a quaint, little restaurant called Roots Cafe. I got the House made Apple-pecan Cranberry Bread Pudding French Toast and it was YUMMY. But what Shelley and I couldn't stop munching on was the biscuits and gravy we got on the side to share!! Legit. Definitely a place to recommend!
It was attached to a cute, little shop that we browsed for a while, then we went on a hunt for some donuts to take home to the kids. Except, don't try to find places open on Sunday in Salt Lake! We struck out half a dozen times before we finally got to Tulle Bakery. It was mostly sold out, but I did get a few cookies and pastries to bring home. Oh, and we even stopped at a Smith's to get some Granma Sycamore's bread too! The good stuff.
Sometimes you leave town and end up needed a vacation after your vacation. Not the case here! It was EXACTLY the type of down time/connecting with friends that my brain and soul needed. So grateful for Travis willingly and happily taking care of business at home so I could do this.
