Mountains (Tuesday's Utah Adventure)

It has been years since we have been so close to mountains. In fact, that is all my kids would talk about. We had several excursions planned since we knew we wouldn't be seeing any more mountains for a long time. My dad thought of the perfect place. Silver Lake up at Brighton Ski Resort. Gorgeous mountains, serene lake, and tourist friendly wild life. We packed a picnic lunch which included my mother's amazing cookies. Quick comment about these cookies. My mother hates cooking, but loves her children more. And on special request, she made these amazing homemade oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies the size of Mia's face. I would have taken pictures, but one can't think straight while looking at them.

The drive up to the lake is beautiful. Some of the trees were trying on their red and orange leaves and the river doing its thing down the fallen rocks. The kids were fascinated by the mountains and what the change in altitude was doing to their ears. Tiago kept repeating my name and giggling.

The trail was really a boardwalk which made it easy for the kids to run up and down pretending to be either animal or man made machine. At little outcroppings, they could get close to the water which started a duck migration. From all over the lake, ducks started to converge upon my kids in hopes of food. Fernando handed the kids bait to encourage more interaction. I was excited until I realized that Fernando was giving them the good stuff. That's right, Fernando was throwing delicious homemade-unreproducible cookies to ducks with indiscriminate taste buds. I quickly solved that problem and offered them our whole wheat bread from our average sandwiches.







Aside from ignoring the "Don't Feed the Animals" sign, we ventured off the man made path and onto some of the massive boulders. Come on, could Mia really help her self with a Pride Rock like boulder? So the family minus Talia and me with the stroller balanced up fallen trees to the top of the rock. Sorry nature friends.



We finally made it around the whole lake just as several bus loads of kids came. Perfect timing.

FHE and Temple Square (Monday's Utah Adventure)

We met up with the Richen's Family at their new FHE spot of choice. The Temple Visitor Center. This was perfect for many reasons, but also for the proximity to the airport. We were going to be picking up Fernando Monday night. After a bite to eat at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Nauvoo Cafe, we strolled across the plaza of Temple Square to the North Visitor Center. We self guided ourselves around the wax figurines of Moses, Joseph Smith, Mormon, and others.
Tiago took a strange fancy to all the Books of Mormon in various languages. Not that I mind the subject, but I really didn't want to purchase an accidentally ripped Arabic version. Of course we went to see the Christus. This was my kids favorite part of the DC Visitor Center and it is much the same in SLC, but on a larger scale.
Tiago wanted to share his car with the statue, insisting that Jesus wanted to play too. On the way down, Tiago let the McQueen stand in race down the ramp. Mia found some plant and was making up some song. When questioned about it, she replied "This middle flower is me and all these other flowers want to be just like me." You go girl. For dessert we enjoyed a Lion House Cinnamon Roll.
What a fantastic FHE.


We were only a little late to pick up Fernando. Part of this had to do with my kids who were less then desiring to walk quickly to the car and the other part had to do with the sign argument in the car. I noticed a big sign directing all pick up traffic into the short term parking garage and my parents didn't. I conceded to a blatant proof of my point which forced us to drive around again. Fernando was a sport though.

Aunt Angela's house of fun (Sunday's Utah Adventure)

The first part of our Utah stay was spent at my sister and brother's-in-law house in Bountiful. Angela and I always have a strange amount of fun together doing all sorts of things. When we are too wrapped up or tired to play, we simply reminisce. Such past memories we giggled about this time was the "Higgs Mobile" and our famous A&R Surprise Cookies. The Higgs Mobile consisted of Angela and I making sputtering car noises around the house as we pretended to be in an old jalopy. Why Higgs? For those who don't know, wait until I post my tag response. As for the purpose. . .cheap entertainment.

A&R Surprise Cookies came about one day when Angela and I were hankering for some good old fashion Snickerdoodles. (bytheway, I am still looking for that perfect recipe. . .hint hint Tami Kamerath) We found a recipe and proceeded. Unfortunately, we didn't know or didn't apply the good rule of double checking your ingredients with your pantry. Because of this lack of foresight, we had to improvise. For example, instead of cream of tartar which is a staple for this type of cookie we had baking soda. Vanilla Extract? How about lemon juice. Eggs? Who needed them anyway. Besides a little time in the oven and then in the freezer should make them firm enough to eat. Trust me when I say, no amount of sugar cravings made these cookies palatable. Luckily, Angela (and hopefully I) have redeemed ourselves in the cooking department.

Angela and Josh made some deliciousness. Angela helped the kids make some yummy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies and Josh made some fantastic chicken on the bbq. Thanks for being great hosts. Josh staying up with me to watch You've Got Mail online while Angela slept on Josh's shoulder. (thanks for telling me to go to bed) Both a big thanks for letting my kids explore every toy option in the house. Angela singing "It's time for Some Campaigning" from memory. Also, being willing to sneak Tiago and Mia into the Sunbeam class you were substituting for since Tiago still isn't too keen on nursery. And much much more. Your both fantastic and your little boy Liam too.

It's Greek to Me (Saturday's Utah Aventure)

Due to the large-ish population of Greeks in the Salt Lake area, every year they hold a Greek festival. My dad took us long ago. I remember my first taste of gyro and loving it. There were dancers and artisans and Phyllo dough delights. So when I saw that we made it in town just in time for the last days of the festival, I jumped at the chance to go. You know, for the sake of teaching cultures to my kids.

We managed to find curb side parking and got cute little hand stamps. How could you not love a little toga wearing man dancing across your palm. I felt like we stepped into a scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The people and the conversation style was uncanny. We enjoyed the music and dancers from a distance. The kids joined in the fun at least for awhile.



Never again. Or at least I will never go on a Saturday night. We stood in a line long enough to give one the impression we were waiting for a brand new ride at 6 Flags. The food was ridiculously overpriced including the $1.50 pint of chocolate milk! My kids were half fascinated half alarmed by the lamb turning on the spit. That's right, a whole lamb. I am all for good bbq, but it was a bit much seeing the whole animal. I only noticed after Mia kept telling me about an animal that had eyes and stuff, but looked funny. Poor thing. I was choking on the smell of cheep beer and wine. When we finally serpentined our way through, I did find my gyro. The complete melt down of my kids though made it difficult to enjoy. Scratch Greek Festival off the repeat list.
Thanks to my sisters refusal to go (smart woman) Talia was saved from the late night fiasco.

Familiar Faces and Utah Fun Friday

Here is the first of several installments about our Utah trip. I decided to leave on a Friday September 5 to make a little more out of the short time we would have there. This meant I signed myself up to flying with three kids with a 2 hour lay over. (Great ticket price). We picked Mia up from school which turned out to be a sad point. Fun Friday at school doesn't start until 1 or so. I tried to console her with thoughts of airplanes and seeing our Utah family, but nothing trumps Fun Friday. She came along. I think that we had more luggage then people coming. I must say traveling with kids means tons of luggage. We had to take all three car seats as well as the double stroller. The amount of clothes could have fit into a carry on. Oh well, such is life. Lucky for us, our good friend and neighbor willingly took us to the airport in her van. We barely fit. I came prepared with snacks and personal viewing devices, but still it wasn't right. We blew through the snacks and no one was interested in the movies I rented to watch on the nano and ipod. They were relatively good. The flights were short which was good considering Tiago was over the whole airplane excitement a few minutes after take off. I was banking on naps that no one took and gratefully we only had a mini melt down for about 20 minutes. What could one expect when we left Texas at 2:45 and arrived in Utah at 9 pm Texas time?

When we arrived, Grandma and Grandpa were ready to take over and I focused on the easy part of finding the luggage. It was way past their bedtime and we still had to get our car rental. I had reserved a full size vehicle. The kind employee of Enterprise noticed the excessive luggage and offered a free upgrade to a mini van or SUV. I actually predicted this since no one these days is really wanting to rent a gas guzzler. I happily took the Sienna and made my way north to Bountiful and my sister's home. My kids were in heaven. Not only did the house have three levels of toy wonderland, Liam was a fun playmate, and Angela had two kitties to play with.






This had to wait for after a good night's rest. I elected to sleep between Tiago and Mia on a queen size bed for various reasons. One, I didn't want them to fight at this stage of the game. It had already been a long day and we didn't need any more delays for sleep. I also remember that one time we slept over at a friend's house and Mia woke up disoriented and shrieking. Hopefully my kids would sense me there and self regulate before waking up the household. Also, Talia was in a nearby pack and play and I really needed to keep feeding times short and sweet. I was able to enjoy seeing everyone get some good sleep.

Happy Birthday TWO Us!

Just like April, September brings birthdays in bunches. September 22 and 23 bring us 'one year older and wiser too'. This year, I had a little more difficulty getting revved up for my special day. No, it isn't because I'm getting older. Please, I almost have a six year old. I hope that I am at least age appropriate for that. I think it just isn't really exciting to have a day all about me. I was really excited for Tiago who has been excited to turn 3 for weeks may be more.

Monday 22 of Sept: For weeks, I have been hoping for the perfect morning. Definition of the perfect morning: I wake up happy and near the point of whistling because of the extensive sleep I got the night before. The kids wake up pleasant and ready to obey. I do my school mom chores and get breakfast and kids ready in time to walk to school. Such was this morning. The walk to school was even better with the crisp morning air. To make matters better, I actually followed a prompting I had, the first time. I saw a fellow church member who was about to drop his kids off at another friend's house since his wife was out of town. I had already done a watching shift for them the Friday prior so I understood what needed to happen. I felt as if I should offer to watch the kids just in case the other person couldn't. I ended up with one of the boys and was happy to have been trusted again with promptings. Also, since Mia has been at school, Tiago lacks and energetic playmate. This boy busied Tiago enough for me to make my new favorite treat for my birthday dinner, Pumpkin Muffins. The best part about my birthday is that Fernando was able to come home early. And even though he was passed out with exhaustion, it was nice to have him there. I had in mind breakfast for dinner with quiche, homemade Jamba Juice and the pumpkin muffins as my "cake". Fernando wouldn't hear of it and even though I had already cooked the quiche and muffins, I was whisked to Carino's to enjoy a heavenly dinner with excellent company. Side bonus is that Monday night is Family Night at the restaurant which meant the family portions meant to feed 3 people (more like 5) were at the price of a single entree. I ordered Chicken Penne Gorgonzola
(Sliced grilled chicken and fresh mushrooms sautéed in garlic and tossed with penne pasta in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce and garnished with fresh roma tomatoes) with a Blackberry Italian soda. Mia had a try of the soda, tipped back her head, closed her eyes and breathed out "heavenly". All was true. We had so much extra, I also got the gift of delicious leftovers. After words, I was taken to the mall to buy a new Sunday outfit. I didn't find much I loved except for a cute skirt. (Still nursing so I have limited options.) I also got serenaded by several on the phone, including a Birthday song in Spanish. Now that's awesome.

Tuesday 23 of Sept: Not so whistely, but still a good morning. Mia and I sang Tiago awake and he didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. I had a quiche and muffins uneaten from last night which made me feel like I was making his day special. Presents from Mama Clara, Papa Juan, and the Tias had to be opened so we ended up driving quickly to school just in time for class to start. The day was spent reading and rereading the truck books the Tovars sent. Fernando came home early again, but rested and ready to take Tiago to his namesake restaurant. That's right 2 miles from our house one can find a Tiago's Cabo Grille. We all felt pretty cool about that. Mia had a school assignment to take this class fish (a stuffed Nemo) to a place and write about it. She insisted that Tiago's restaurant would be the best place. The food was over priced for the quality. I would say it was like the Mayan, but burnt. We got free dessert that was heaven. . . A chocolate cake with a hint of cinnamon smothered in gooey chocolate sauce and served with a side of cinnamon ice cream. In the words of Rachael Ray, "Yum-O". He opened some Disney car movie paraphernalia and we called it a night.

Thanks to all who wished us well and for the rest, thoughts do count even if they were delayed.

Pretty amazing phone!

Awhile ago, I decided to keep one of my promises and get Fernando the new 3G iphone. After days to waiting and looking and hoping, some black phones became available in our state. (YES, our State) Unfortunately, it was several hours drive away. Fernando contemplated the trip, but realized that was slightly and only slightly ridiculous. Finally it arrived a mere 30 minute drive from our home. With love in my heart and 3 kids, I headed to the store imagining a smooth walk in walk out $200 transaction. In reality, I found a seemingly short line to get into the store to talk with a blue shirted Apple employee about getting a phone. I walked to the back of the line and tried to entertain the kids. The first 20 minutes made me question my plans. The next 20 toyed with my will power. I heard several people talk about the craziness of the line and those standing in it, but I persevered. The next hour and a half was sheer determination to get that phone at all cost. The real cost came to the poor remote controlled super toy kiosk worker. My kids were highly entertained and eventually peeled away kicking and screaming to finally go inside the store. In the end, we got a great phone with lots of perks. Commonly used features:

3G wireless technology: because we are internet junkies and love to look up whatever whenever we want

GPS: sometimes we use this for kicks while driving even if we know exactly where we are and where we are going (best time used was finding Antelope Island)

Phone: this combined with the internet look up allows for lazy calling and email sending

Camera: as you can see not too shabby