July- My Favorite Month

Why- you might ask is July my favorite month? In all this sweltering heat with electric bills climbing and popsicles coming out your ears just to stay cool! The fourth of July is my favorite holiday due to mass patriotism and wild fireworks! Here in Ogden the fireworks last all month with every city having their own weekend to put on a fireworks show. If you know me- you know that this thrills me to the core. Also massive amounts of hot dogs and hamburgers with teriyaki chicken and beef throughout puts a particularly permanent grin on my face. Popsicles coming out your ears- well that's the epitome of perfection. Who doesn't want to eat 20 Otter Pops (not exaggerating) while sitting on a swing on the back porch? And camping! And picnics in the park! And swimming and boating and beautiful clear skies to watch the stars burn at night! What could be more perfect?

Well I can tell you- Rodeos happening every weekend, one of the largest in Utah happening just a couple blocks from here. Parades full of flags, soldiers and veterans, high school bands, hundreds of horses, old cars, thousands of bubbles, old school tractors, tiny bikes, pioneers with handcarts, missionaries, floats full of children and dedications and memories, and candy being thrown for the lucky seeker! And what's better than this?? Well this two times! Yes that's right. The Pioneer Day parade went right past my window. We went outside to sit in the shade and watch it go by though- cuz what American watches a parade from the window?? Hello Miracle on 34th street- get out of your house! It's way more fun out there.

Well now we have an added celebration to the lovely month of July and that is PW's birthday. So on top of all that we got to watch our little guy turn 1! It was awesome. Oh and by the way- he loves fireworks and parades too!
But after such a month of awesomeness and partying sometimes we just need a little break.

Casualties of the Common Pool

Well- I don't really have much to say about this- though he did cry pretty hard for about two minutes. Poor guy.

Happy Birthday P.W.!!!

It's official- we have a 1-year old! Monday's celebration was complete with way too much delicious teriyaki chicken and beef, rice, pasta and potato salad, and cake! Thanks to everyone who came and helped- we honestly couldn't have thrown this party on our own and we're so glad to have such great family who loves us enough to help us out.

The splash pad was a blast- just a little cold!
Once upon a time there was a silly looking cake complete with Oreo cookie dirt and toy trucks.
Baby Polo got a hold of it and began eat the dirt.
He drove the trucks all over the cake construction site...
slipping it into his mouth every once in a while for a lick.
Then he Godzilla-ed that thing until...
He was satisfied with the remains. :)
Happy Birthday Wild Thing. We love you!

Ogden's Horses

Every year during the month of July Ogden places these life size horses- pieces of art- around the downtown area. That covers about 4 square blocks, and guess what- we live in one of those! Every single one of these horses is within walking distance from our house. I've taken some pictures of these ones but am planning to head out and take some more. There are some I really like and haven't gotten to yet!
Thought my nieces would like this one!
Jake and I love this one- astronomy nerds.
Kinda cool lookin'.
And for all those of you who are like me and love a good old fashioned rodeo!

Check back again for these that I've yet to capture on film... Our founding fathers, Indian cave drawings, Carousel, John Wayne, American Flag, and Mustang Sally!

Deconstructionism

My son has a disease- it's called deconstructionism. Everything that is orderly he must destroy. That would be ok with me if he was into putting things back. He's not. After the drawer has been emptied, it's on to the next one! A tower of blocks, a stack of movies, a cupboard of bowls, a dishwasher full of clean dishes, a drawer of towels, a fridge filled with magnets, anything! All are targets of mass destruction. Isn't he adorable? (oh yeah- and that's the tv remote he brought to the bathroom!)

What's up Mom? I'm gonna go make some trouble- you cool with that?Oh look- a basket full of tampons- this will work.
Hmmm- on to the next thing! Have fun cleaning that up!

I'm outta here!

Bath Time

So in our new apartment PW has his own bath. Yes that's right- his own bath! And so he gets to bathe every night before bed in the tub instead of shower every morning with mom- boring! Plus he loves the tub way more! 90

And yes- his hand is where you think it is. He has also recently discovered his manhood and is quite fascinated with it :)

Welcoming my new niece!

I want to officially announce the birth of my new niece Violette. I can tell we'll be pals because her name starts with a "V" just like mine. Weighing 6lb 11oz and measuring 20 inches long she graced her family with her presence on June 24th at 4am.

I had a little picture on my phone of the baby, Cathy, and Ella in the hospital. It was beautiful. I was dying to see more pictures. I called my mom to have her tell me how cute the little princess was. Well she let me talk to Shae for a second. I told him I was feeling a little "auntie anxiety" because I didn't have any more pictures of his new baby. Well I was quickly put in my place when he reminded me that my anxiety was nothing compared to the anxiety they were feeling with 3 kids! Oh yeah- I kinda didn't think about that! Sorry Shae :) But he sent me another little picture on my phone and this is the best it will show up. But she really is a cutie- I can't wait to meet her. Congratulations to Shae and Cathy. Good job guys- and good work Cathy! Hope that you guys and Ella and Con Con all have a fun time getting to know your new baby! Love you guys!

WINCO

Ok so I officially have a new love- it's called WINCO- acronym for Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Oregon. Well now it's here in Utah- and so I think they should change it to UWINCO (where you win) or perhaps IWUNCO (where I definitely won!) Ok so that is totally nerdy but let me tell you what I bought for $14.25...
1 huge watermelon
1 large canteloupe
3 medium Fuji apples
3 mangos
1 small box strawberries
2 grapefruit
3 avocados
2 cucumbers
1 stalk celery
1 bunch radishes
1 small bag baby carrots

Holy cow!! IWUN (co) and UWIN (co) every time you go there! And the produce here was not like it is at many of your other local grocery stores. Everything was beautiful and ripe. I also strolled through the bulk section to pick myself up a couple cups of a wild rice mixture that looked delicious. I even grabbed a handful (not with my hands though!) of one of my favorite candy treats- peach rings- for 50 cents. This place was heaven to me. I will never buy my groceries at Wal-Mart again. Also- if anyone knows anything about Bountiful Baskets I would like to get a few more details. The website is alittle confusing. Please email me or tell my mom about it! We're so excited to try it!
My $14.25 stretched to the max this week and I was extremely proud to walk in the door with my spoils. Every morning has been filled with strawberries and mangos for breakfast- it's been wonderful. And today- cubed watermelon and canteloupe to take to a family party- a total of $3.46. I didn't even care that I had to bag my own groceries!!! (a minor downside to the spoils of WINCO)

Chili Lime Popcorn

Oh yeah- you read that right. I thought I would get creative today and make some popcorn- so I popped a few cups worth. Well then I tried to think of what I wanted to put on it!! I searched my cupboards high and low and checked my pantry (oh yea by the way- they are MINE now since we have our own apartment!!) for yummy things to go on my popcorn. I laid out a cookie sheet and poured white and dark baking chocolate on some popcorn and then added raisins- it was yummy!!! For the rest I mixed some red chili pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic powder together. I tossed the popcorn lightly in butter and then tossed in the seasonings. Well it wasn't quite right so I added some lime juice. Holy canoli! It was perfect. A yummy and healthy snack with a kick! I might make that more often than I should... :)

Since We've Moved

For Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and Friends who haven't got to see this yet- we are so proud of him! He goes everywhere- fast!

A Little Con Con, A Little PoWa

These boys must be cousins!

The View From My Window

As most of you know- we have moved! We finally got our own place- well- renting any way! We live at The Junction in downtown Ogden. I am heading out today to take more pictures of all the fun things around us but I wanted to share with you "the view from my window".
This is the Ogden temple which we can see out the Northern window from our bedroom. It's beatiful.
And these are the mountains that welcome the sun in the East at 6:00 n the morning- we're definitely going to have to get some of those blackout curtains.

Summer is Here!!

Ok well maybe summer is not here- but we want it to be so I gave Polo a popsicle- just to prepare him for what may come- hopefully- if the sun ever shines here! Here are some pictures of the lovely mess. He's obviously enjoying himself- and thinks that he's pretty funny.

A Little L&L's with Uncle Shae

Uncle Shae came to SLC to visit! Ok well really he was here for work but we got to go down and see him! It was so fun! He took us out to L&L's Hawaiian BBQ and we had lots of LOVE and LAUGHTER! Oh- clever me. We got to spend some time with our brother/uncle who lives so far away! He shared parenting secrets with Jake and me, kisses with little PW, and tried to steal some other people's food! We're so glad we got to see you Uncle Shae- even if you are an accidental klepto. Especially because of that :)

My Sweet Baby Boy

Well nothing especially fun with Polo today- just that he is adorable. Here's a few pictures of the special moments just before nap time where we curl up on the bed til he goes to sleep- I'm such a sucker :)

I Am Glad For Many Things, Many Things, Many Things

Thank you Wal-Mart for being open 24 hours a day. Thank you for being located so close to my home. Thank you for carrying the products I need. Thank you for having the lowest prices around. And thank you for being the store that I trust to come to at 7 in the morning when my son has blown out his millionth diaper and I am in dire need for some help. Thank you for helping me this morning with my grocery list that consisted of the following:
1. Diapers (the nice kind that don't blow out, the kind that leave my pocket book empty and my worries about washing one more pair of poopy pants behind me)
2. Pedialyte (for replenishing Peewee's electrolytes)
3. Oxi-Clean (to wash out all the poopy pants and Peewee's blankie- thankfully it is ok!)
4. Excedrin Migraine (amazingly- this was not for me and the constant headache I'm having from changing so many diarrhea diapers!)

Thank you Huggies and Pampers for making diapers that are leak-proof (almost)so that I can salvage some my clean laundry. It's crazy- when one pair of pants got poopy I was running around the house trying to find things to throw in the wash!
Thank you Pedialyte for making a product I can trust to hydrate my son so that even though his diarrhea is out of control- his attitude is not!
Thank you Oxi-Clean for being the one thing I trust to keep my son's blankie clean, get out all the poop stains, and retain the integrity of the blue and white colored, squeaky, crocheted yarn!
Thank you Excedrin for being affordable and effective and easy to find!!

Blankie and Teeth

PW's doctore says that a good way to get children to have good sleeping habits is to provide a transition object like a blanket or animal- letting them know that when this is around it's time to sleep, and also giving them comfort. Well after a spell of sleepless nights I had to wise up and introduced a crocheted blanket as PW's transition object. Honestly... it works quite well! He loves it!
A little background on the blanket- my friend in the Spanish branch gave me the blanket at my baby shower. A woman in Mexico had made it for her when she was pregnant with her first child- a boy- and she had never used it. Well she's had three girls since then and figured I could use it instead! Thanks Amparo! We love it.


Also here are some pictures of his teeth- he's had them for a while but I finally got a good shot of them!!