The Tibbs Times

6 Year Old Brad!

2011-10-12T22:00:00.001-06:00

Today my favorite little boy in the world turned six years old. He already had a great party on Saturday, so today we celebrated with pancakes shaped like a 6 and cupcakes for his school class. He is such a fun boy and is crazy smart. He just baffles me with the things he comes up with sometimes. I did a little interview with him tonight and here are some things you should know about Brad:

Favorite Color – Orange (and yellow and blue)

Favorite Food – Pizza

Favorite Animal – Wolf

Best Friends – Micah, Gid and Corbin

Favorite thing to do – Pretend to be an animal and “Go Wild!”

Favorite thing at school – Reading & writing and helping the other kids (his teacher, Ms. DeJoelie, confirms that he helps the other kids a lot)

What he wants to be when he grows up – a Zoologist and a Helicopter pilot

His favorite singer – Shakira (blame me for that one)

Brad is 46 inches tall and weighs 47 lbs. He recently lost his two front bottom teeth (the first one came out at school which made him the coolest kid for the day). He loves school and is doing very well. It’s no surprise that all the girls adore him. One girl’s mom told me she talks about him “ALL the time” at home. It must be the eyelashes.

I LOVE YOU BRAD!

A bunch of the pictures of his “Mad Science” birthday party are posted here.

Brad’s First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-31T21:33:00.001-06:00

Hard to believe that I have a child old enough to go to Elementary School…but today was Brad’s first day of Kindergarten. He is at Newman Elementary and his teacher’s name is Ms. DeJolie and her assistant is Ms. Toni. They both seem like they’re going to be great. He was very excited to start school, and in his usual form was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. He walked right in and sat down with a smile on his face. The thing he was most excited for was, of course, lunch. He was also happy that they got to play on the “Big Kids” playground since when he was in Pre-K they had to play on the little one. He had a great day and was so excited to go back he could barely sleep tonight. I am so excited for him to learn to read and to progress at his other skills. I think it’s going to be a great year for him. Here are some pictures!

While Brad was all smiles, Lucy was pretty devastated. She’s going to miss her big brother and just can’t wait until she can go to school herself.

Lucy is Three!

2011-06-02T21:58:00.001-06:00

On May 21 Lucy Mae turned 3 years old. It sounds cliché but I can’t believe how fast it has gone. It seems like she should still be just a baby, but she’s a feisty little girl with all the attitude and personality I should have expected from a Tibbs girl.

Lucy is such a fun and energetic girl. She sings all the time, making up songs as she plays. Her favorite composition is a song she made up to say sorry where she gets a very serious look on her face and sings very quietly, “I’m sorry I was mean” three or four times. It’s very hard not to laugh. She loves to color and to paint. I hardly have room to display all her artwork. She has a soft baby doll she calls “Baby Lu” that she loves and takes all over the place. Her favorite color is red and she likes to point out things that are her favorite color as well as everyone else’s in the family. She adores her big brother and wants to do everything with him. Every morning she asks if Brad has school and is so disappointed if she hears that he does and they’ll be apart for 3 hours that day. Most of the time Brad is very patient with her but when they fight she holds her own. She’s also very smart and can spell her name, count to 10 (more sometimes) in English and Spanish and knows many of her letters.

Her aunt Jo-Elle and cousin Hailey gave her a darling tutu and t-shirt for her birthday and Lucy wanted her picture taken so we went to the park for a little photo shoot, and here she is at 3 years old.

March and April 2011

2011-05-30T13:08:00.001-06:00

March and April really flew by this year. Joe was out of town for work for a week in March. Having him gone really makes me appreciate him and all that he does to help with the kids. I would not be a very good single mom.

Brad played another little season of indoor soccer…and it went pretty much like it has before. He is a pretty decent goalie, but he hasn’t quite figured out the offense thing yet. He is REALLY good at telling everyone else what to do. I wonder if they have a place for kids to be assistant coaches?

At the recommendation of his Pre-K teacher we had him tested for the Extended Learning Program (ELP) in our school district. When we got the results back I was really unsure of what to think. He scored far above average on their math and reading test and in non-verbal problem solving he was in the 94th percentile (no surprise there). However he didn’t get into the program and it’s probably based on the fact that in verbal problem solving he was in the 30th percentile. It’s hard not to get caught up in what that means, but since I really have no idea what the test consisted of I can’t analyze it too much. Chances are he just wasn’t interested in whatever it was they asked him to do. Anyway, he’ll be going to kindergarten in the fall at Newman Elementary which is where he’s gone to Pre-K. It’s not our closest school, but I really like it there and think he will thrive.

In March I got a very exciting new toy – my Trek Lexa SL:

After riding my hybrid bike around last year and renting a road bike for the Heber Valley ride in September I decided that I really love biking enough to invest in a road bike. Joe helped me pick out this one and I simply adore it. It’s so fast!! The first weekend in April Joe and I went down to St. George for a little get away and rode ALL over. We rode up the bike trail in Snow Canyon which was a blast even though it has some crazy steep hills. I’m not very good at hills – imagine me trying to let go of all my inhibitions and hurl myself down a hill and breakneck speeds where if you hit a rock you just might die – not really my thing. I did get going about 37 mph down one and was pretty proud of myself. It was a fabulous weekend (although apparently I didn’t take pictures).

We had a very festive Easter season this year. The kids were invited to 3 Easter Egg hunts! We’re still eating Easter candy.

Our friends, Shannon and Mac Bludworth, held a massive Easter hunt at their house. Their yard was literally COVERED in candy, eggs and toys. The kids had an incredible time and it was so generous of the Bludworths. They are some of those really good people that you just love to be around. Here’s some pics:

The yard before the kids got to it:

They also got to have an Easter Egg hunt at Mike & Stephanie’s house at a Pitts family party. Bree gave each kid their own color of eggs to find which was fun and challenging for them. Mike had Easter Egg games for the grown-ups too including a relay race where you had to hold an egg on a spoon in your mouth, a game where you had to toss a raw egg back and forth with your spouse and an especially entertaining one where spouses placed an egg between their belly buttons and had to try to roll it up to their necks without using their hands. Since Joe is 1o inches taller than I am our belly buttons and necks are not really in the same place. It was pretty funny.

On Easter we got together with the Larson family at Tenille’s house and had a fun lunch and egg hunt there too. Pictures:

Dad and Tenille:

Nick & Lacy & Jayden

Lucy found one!

Ross

Brad hard at work.

Chelise with a full bucket.

Jack (and Carly).

And Mom and Janet…I think Janet is smoking a pencil.

A friend from the ward, Samantha Behl, needed to do some pictures for a photography class at school so she asked if she could take some of my kids. We went to a local park and she got some great shots – here are some of my favorites:

And one with me:

The only other exciting thing that happened in April was that we lost Lucy at a Utah Blaze (indoor football) game. We were there with the Hughes and Joe and Steve had taken the kids out to play on a small playground they have there. The next thing I knew Joe was bringing Brad back in and saying “I’ve lost Lucy.” I really thought he was kidding at first…but he wasn’t. She had taken off and was nowhere to be found. We reported her to security who (not so) reassuringly told me “Don’t worry, we haven’t really lost one yet.” and within 1o minutes they had found her inside the arena watching the dancers. Brad actually spotted the security man bringing her down the stairs and he and Laura were the first ones to her. I didn’t actually break down until they found her and then my emotions got the best of me. It was really scary not to know where she is and to have all kinds of bad things running through the back of my mind. Luckily all was well and we’ve had lots of talks since then about staying where you’re supposed to be.

February 2011–California and the Happiest Place on Earth

2011-05-29T22:29:00.002-06:00

In February Joe and the kids and I took Joe’s parents and went to California for five days. I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical about the whole Disneyland trip. I was 18 the first time I went to Disneyland and I wasn’t sure that the Disney magic of childhood would live up to all I had heard. Turns out it totally did. We had an amazing time. And I think the kids liked it too.

I took a million pictures, unfortunately a lot of them are saved on our currently malfunctioning hard drive so you get the ones I already had posted on facebook.

The first day that we got there we rented a van at the airport and drove to Huntington Beach. It was Lucy’s first time seeing the ocean and Brad’s first time that he could remember. It was too cold to go into the water but we had fun walking the pier, finding shells and watching some crazy surfers. We also saw a seagull with only 1 food…I should have taken a picture of that.

We spent 3 days going to Disneyland and California Adventure. We stayed at the Desert Palms which was about a 10 minute walk from the parks which was perfect for afternoon naps. It did rain on us a little bit which I guess is the hazard of going in February, however since we never waited in line for more than 20 minutes for any ride I will totally take a little rain.

Kathy and I took Lucy to have lunch with the Princesses at Ariel’s Grotto. It was totally worth the money because the princesses came to our table and talked with and hugged Lucy and she was absolutely in 7th Heaven.

Obligatory teacup shot:

Lucy tells everyone “I was a CRAZY driver!”

And some randomness:

One of the really nice things about taking Joe’s parents with us was that Joe and I got to have some time alone. One of the nights we went to California Adventure alone and rode the “Tower of Terror”. It was a GREAT ride! We both loved it.

It was such a fun trip and I’m so glad we did it. I can see why people go back again and again.

January 2011–Zumba Instructor? Me?

2011-05-29T22:09:00.002-06:00

Beginning in the fall of 2009 I started taking Zumba classes from Jessica Thompson at our local Rec. Center. It’s funny really that a form of exercise based in Latin Dance would appeal to me since I seriously lack in rhythm, but I fell in love with it and just couldn’t stop. In November of 2010 I started toying with the idea of getting licensed so that I could teach my own classes. At first I thought I was crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more I got really excited about it. On January 7 I took the certification class and got my license to teach. I decided to jump in with both feet and taught my first class to an enthusiastic group of family and friends on Martin Luther King Day and then got my real induction the next night substituting a big class of Jessica’s. Since then I’ve started teaching my own classes 4 times a week and I love really love it. I never thought I would be teaching exercise classes – especially ones based in dance, but I guess all those lessons I took starting at age 3 really paid off finally.

Oh! And I have a facebook Zumba page – check it out – www.facebook.com/NatalieZumba

And…..we’re back – Holidays 2010

2011-05-29T21:58:00.001-06:00

I’m not sure why blogging sometimes appeals to me and sometimes doesn’t. I think it’s because I have a desire to have a record of what happens to our family, but I don’t really have a desire to write it. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to want to write itself. So without further ado, here’s some of what’s happened to us in the last 5 months or so:

Joe and I made our third December trip to New York City. It’s awfully convenient that I have to go there for work during such a fabulous time of year. We stayed over an extra day this trip so I got some extra site seeing this year. We had an amazing dinner date at a place called Insieme and also went to the Natural History Museum.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Brad is old enough to really know what’s going on and Lucy is old enough to be appropriately impressed by everything and to get excited about all the fun. I snapped a few pictures of the kids before church the Sunday before Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we had the Larson side of the family over to our house for dinner. Grandpa Larson had a very good time playing Santa to all the kids. He got Lucy a doll stroller which she had been wanting and got Brad a Pirate Ship playset which Brad has played with all the time, and everyone got some books, so Grandpa did a great job.

Lucy woke up bright and early on Christmas and wanted to get dressed and ready before opening presents. She got very excited about everything.

Brad’s School had a Santa’s Shop where he got to take money and buy presents for each of us. He had a lot of fun with it. He bought me a ring of purple gemstones, he got Joe a “World’s Best Data” paperweight and he got Lucy this:

Brad got a fun set of Hexbugs which entertained all of us.

And Lucy’s big present was a Baby play set that I got a killer deal on at Costco.

That day we met the Tibbs family at Josh and Jo-Elle’s house for our annual gift exchange. Joe and I had to make a homemade gift for Steve and Kathy and I put together a book for them featuring Brad and Lucy as the main stars:

All of the cousins did a book exchange and we had a really nice time.

On Christmas Eve we also made a visit to see the lights at Temple Square. We got some nice pictures of the lights…

But the kids weren’t at all interested in having their picture taken together.

We spent New Year’s Eve with the Hughes family playing board games and eating pizza. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year…or at least to celebrate the holiday considering we went to bad by 10:00. Overall our holiday season was wonderful and we were very blessed.

New Brad-isms

2010-12-19T16:46:00.001-07:00

I’ll try to come back soon with a good update, because I know I’ve been neglecting my blog, but Brad had two real doozies at church today and I just needed to share.

First, during the sacrament he leans over to me and says "Do they reuse those cups every week?" so I said, "No, the use new ones each time." to which he replies "Well, what do I do if I want to recycle mine?"

Second, in primary they were talking about the 2nd coming of Christ. They were talking about how no one on earth knows exactly when Christ will come again. We do not know, the prophet does not know, etc. to which Brad added, "Not even Obama!"

Yesterday I caught him charging Lucy money from her piggy bank to borrow his toys.

This kid gives me a run for my money every single day.

Scales and Tails

2010-10-17T21:10:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we threw Brad the coolest birthday party on the planet. He had about 12 friends come over and we played games and ate cupcakes and then we had a show put on by Scales and Tails Utah. Shane Richins brought 7 of his closest reptilian friends to our house and taught the kids all about the scaly creatures. He was really quite funny and the kids just loved him.

The tissue balls are a Martha Stewart project you can find here.

I used spray-on food coloring I got at Wal-Mart and a star stencil I just printed off the internet to do the cupcakes.

Brad’s friends were very generous and he got some really great gifts.

We told him this year he had to choose between presents from Mom & Dad or a party and he chose the party. I’m pretty sure he came out ahead.

When Shane got there he set up a back-drop and a little stage area. He made Brad an integral part of the show, having him help introduce each of the animals. Brad was nervous at first, but got more brave with each new one. This was a Pancake Tortoise named, Shortstack.

This guy was a red-footed tortoise named, Fuzzy Wuzzy (who wasn’t fuzzy, was he?). He weighed a lot.

He also brought an alligator scull and talked to the kids about how to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, and that both of them make very bad pets.

This lizard looked a little scary with his pointy horns, but he was very tame, even letting Shane tap on his nose without snapping at him.

Shane had Brad dress up in snake wrangler gear before getting out the milk snake. At first Brad wasn’t too sure about the snake…

…but then he decided it was ok.

Which was good because then Shane brought out Naners – a 13 foot albino python. Brad, Corbin and Kennedy were the only ones who wanted to get close to her when she first came out. But Brad got REALLY comfortable with her!

And then everyone got a chance to get up close and personal with the animals.

Lucy wasn’t a bit afraid

And I even got in on some of the action.

It was really a great party and even the kids who didn’t want to touch the snakes still had a fun time. I will admit I may have gone a little overboard on the party, but I think I had as much fun as the kids. It was time and money well spent.

Happy 5th Birthday Brad!

2010-10-12T21:51:00.001-06:00

Today my little Brad turned 5 years old. I’m still a little bit in shock. Just 5 short years ago I was holding this tiny, helpless baby:

And now he’s all grown up!!

He chose pancakes for breakfast and I told him I would make them in shapes, thinking he would choose a “B” or a “5” but no, he wanted a bat…it was a bit of a challenge.

He also got a few presents…but I’ll be honest, they were all from the dollar store because we’re paying for a party this weekend.

Brad is such a fun kid. He has a great sense of humor and usually the only time he gets into trouble is when he forgets he’s a kid and not an adult. He is an amazing big brother always taking care of Lucy and playing with her. He is really loving Pre-K and is learning a lot despite the fact that he still says they don’t “teach” things. Lately we’ve been having a lot of fun playing board games together like Candy Land & Hi Ho Cherry-O. It’s really fun to play games with him that I loved when I was his age.

I thought for his birthday that I would share a book that Brad wrote in Pre-K last week. He drew the pictures and dictated it to one of the teachers in his class. It’s called “Dragons Begin” Enjoy!!

Better luck with the Pirates

2010-10-07T18:34:00.001-06:00

Some of you may remember our experience with Brad playing soccer last year. It was a bit frustrating (to put it mildly). Brad was totally uninterested in playing and our little team was horrible, but we couldn’t quit because Joe had come the de facto coach. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical when he said he wanted to play again this year, but he did a short season of indoor soccer over the summer and that went well, so we decided to let him play again. He’s doing much better this year with The Red Pirates (they let the kids pick the name). He seems to understand the game a lot more and he’s actually become quite a good little goalie (which is the position he really likes). He also has a friend from church, Kennedy, on his team, and one kid from his class at school, so I think that helps. Another thing that helps is that we have 2 kids on the team named Ricardo and Ramon who are REALLY good, so we’re not getting our trash kicked every game. I know that shouldn’t matter, but...It’s not fun when the entire game is spent going back to mid-field to kick off because the other team scored again. I try not to be so competitive…really I do!

Anyway – here are some pictures from last night’s game.

Waiting for the game to start

In this shot Brad was getting tired of waiting and started spinning on the field…that did remind me of last year.

Action Shot:

Checking for a skinned knee

Protecting the goal

Brad has decided that screaming his “Pterodactyl Yell” at the other team as they come toward the goal is good defense. It actually works quite well.

Lucy cheering “Go Brad!”

And this is my favorite – doing a somersault to celebrate a goal

The Call

2010-10-06T22:06:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer: This post is probably going to use a lot of Mormon jargon. I’ll try to put a little glossary at the end for those of you who aren’t familiar with all the terminology.

I knew before I married Joe that I was going to have to share him with a lot of people. The fact is that the man just has a lot to offer. He’s smart, funny and incredibly at ease in talking to pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. I was sure that his skills would be put to good use within his job, our community and most of all our church.

Shortly after we moved to this ward Joe was called to be the Young Men’s President. He’s been doing that for about 4 years now. It’s a pretty big time commitment. He has meetings on Sundays, activities one night a week and often on the weekend plus camping trips a few times a year. He’s been REALLY good at it. I think all the young men in our ward have really come to love him and to see through his example why it’s important to stay close to the gospel and to work hard and do what’s right. Of course, any time you’ve gotten really good at something and really comfortable, it’s time to move on.

A few weeks ago our Stake President stood up in sacrament meeting and announced that the next week they would be reorganizing our bishopric. The current bishop had been serving for over 6 years, which is a pretty long time for a bishop around here. I immediately thought that this reorganization would probably include Joe in some way, but I think he thought he was home free because no one had asked to speak to him yet.

We were on our way out the car after church when the Stake Secretary literally chased us into the parking lot and said that the Stake President wanted to see us Wednesday night. 3 days was a long time to wait and speculate, however when we finally got there they asked Joe to be the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric. Of course he said yes. That’s what he does.

So the big change happened the week before last, but I still don’t think we have much of a concept of what it really means. I know it means more meetings, more assignments and most of all more responsibility. I have total faith that he’s going to do an amazing job. That’s who he is.

Oh – I should probably add that while we were talking to the Stake President he literally said, “By the way, since you’re here…” and asked me to be the Stake Primary Secretary. I’m going to be doing that in addition to the Primary Music in my ward each week. I’m looking forward to getting to know more people outside the ward and to learning some new things.

We have always said that we choose to live in this area because we feel like we are where we’re needed. I know the Lord will bless us as we take on these new responsibilities and I’m grateful for all the support we’ve already received. It’s going to be a new and exciting chapter in our lives.

Ward - A group of Church members who attend church at the same time in the same building, similar to a congregation.

Young Men’s President – the Ward leader who is specifically responsible the young men ages 12 – 18.

Call/Calling – In the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints we have a Lay Ministry, meaning basically that the members are called to lead the church and volunteer to do so without professional training or pay.

Stake - A collection of wards (the actual number varies widely depending on the area) that represents a distinctive geographical area.

Stake President – The man with the primary responsibility of leading and organizing the Stake.

Sacrament Meeting – Sunday worship service

Bishopric – The leadership of the Ward consisting of a Bishop and 2 Counselors.

Primary – church organization for children under 12

If you have more questions check out mormon.org

Heber Valley Half Century

2010-10-06T21:32:00.001-06:00

On September 25 Joe and I rode in the Heber Valley Half Century bike ride. We rode 58 mils through Heber & Midway, up to Summit County, through Kamas and Francis and back to Heber. The map says 56.69, but somewhere we picked up an extra 1.3 miles. It was a serious challenge, but we had a lot of fun and I’m really glad we did it.

Heber 50 Mile Route
Find more Bike Rides in Heber Cityt, Utah

This ride was much more difficult than any ride I had done before because there were some MAJOR hills. Joe’s ride tracker said that we gained a total of 38oo vertical feet! The biggest hill was going up highway 32 from Heber to the Jordanelle Overlook. The hill was about 4 miles long and at times it has an 8% grade. If you don’t know what that means let me just say that it’s steep enough for them to put up signs warning trucks of how steep it is. I will freely admit that twice on that hill I made Joe stop just so I could catch my breath. I did however make it to the top.

And I was still smiling.

Joe also had to wait for me at the bottom of that hill too, because I was not willing to go 45 miles an hour and risk killing myself. We all know I have control issues.

One fun feature on this ride was that they include a “Biathlon Option.” When we got to the first rest stop at Soldier Hollow where the Olympic Biathlon was held, we got to hop off our bikes and do some target shooting. It was fun!

Oh, I also have to mention that I totally fell over in front of like 100 people about 1o miles into the ride. There was a lot of traffic (bikes and cars) going up to Soldier Hollow and we had to stop at a stop sign and I unclipped my right food from my bike, but I was leaning left and just fell right over. I was SO embarrassed. People were rolling down their windows to ask if I was ok. Nothing hurt but my pride.

Joe and I had 2 free nights at the Westgate Resort in Park City (because we once wasted 3 hours of our life listening to their time share presentation) so we made a weekend of it and Grandma and Grandpa Tibbs took the kids. We had a really great time and it was a lot of fun to do a long ride like this together. Joe was very patient with me and only really left me behind on the downhill portions.

Maybe next year we will ride the century course (100 miles). But then again…58 seemed far enough.

And so it begins…Pre-K

2010-08-31T21:37:00.001-06:00

Warning – this will be the obligatory first-day-of-school post. I don’t want my child to be the only one in the blogoshpere neglected.

We’re lucky to live in an area where there is a district run Pre-K program. I knew as soon as I found out about it that we wanted Brad to participate. While he’s highly developed when it comes to social skills, he’s just not interested in having Joe or me sit down and teach him anything about letters or numbers. I was hoping an actual classroom environment might be better. I guess we will see.

Brad is going to an elementary school about 5 minutes drive from our house. It’s not our local school, but it’s closer to our day care provider’s home and she’ll be picking him up most days, so it was the best option. Of course I had to practically sign my life away to get the district to approve him to go to a different school. I had to make 4 different phone calls and appear in person – twice. I just kept reminding myself that I’m going to have to deal with these district people for the next 16 years so I better be patient.

On Friday I went to the orientation and met his teacher. Her name is “Mrs. Keri Lynn” and she may be the nicest person on earth. Of course she must also be a tiny bit crazy to want to spend several hours a day with a room full of 4-year-olds. Yesterday Brad and I went together for a “visit” day where he got to meet the teachers and the other kids and see what it would be like. He had a great time and was very excited to go back today for his “First Day of School.” I walked him into the classroom this morning and he smiled at me and said, “Bye Mom.” and went to play. I am glad there was no tearful scene, but I must admit I was a little sad to be letting him go. Even though he’s been in day care at least part time since he was 3 months old, this is the first time I’ll be turning him over to someone I didn’t personally choose and in to an environment where he’ll be judged on how he acts and the things he does might affect his future. It was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

When I picked him up he told me he loved it. I asked him his favorite part and he said “playing on the playground” which is typical. I asked him if he made any friends and he said “no” but when I asked him if he met some people he thought he would get to be friends with he said, “Yeah, all the little girls.” I guess that’s typical too.

I also asked Brad what he learned today and he said, “Well, they don’t really teach us anything.” I have a feeling that they just do a very good job of hiding the teaching inside of other activities. Either that, or the parents and the district are all wasting a lot of time and money!

Anyway – here are the pictures of my grown up boy!

Lucy is still not sure if she likes the idea of Brad going anywhere she’s not going. She has never spent this much time away from him! Hopefully it will be a good learning experience for her too.

Bilingual?

2010-08-06T19:04:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we were in the car and Lucy randomly counted to six in Spanish. I’m pretty sure she can’t count to six in English. It made me feel a lot less guilty about the amount of time I let her sit in front of the television watching Diego and Dora. Since our neighborhood is predominantly Spanish-speaking I’m hoping my kids will both learn to speak it and I can benefit vicariously. I’ve been doing Zumba for 10 months now and still don’t have a clue what any of the songs are about because they are all in Spanish…of course somehow I don’t think that I’m going to learn the words of popular workout music on Diego. Maybe I’ll have to start watching MTV America Latina.

The Neighborhood “Cleanup”

2010-07-29T14:21:00.003-06:00

Every summer Salt Lake City runs the Neighborhood Cleanup program. It’s called the Neighborhood Cleanup but it should really be called “The 3 Weeks of the Year That You Are Allowed To Throw All Your Crap On The Side of the Road and No One Can Tell You to Clean It Up.” I HATE the Neighborhood Cleanup.

As pickup truck owners, Joe and I make fairly regular trips to the city dump in order to dispose of anything too large or heavy to put in our regular garbage can. I recognize that it might be hard for some people to do that and so I understand why the city has the Neighborhood Cleanup. The idea is that people can dispose of large items easily and for free. What I do not understand is why people think that means that they can throw their regular trash out in front of their house and ignore it. Residents are allowed to start putting their piles of crap (which is the nicest word I can use on this G-Rated blog) out in front of their house up to 10 days prior to their designated pick up date and then the City usually doesn’t get it pick up until several days after that date, so for 2 – 3 weeks every summer it looks like I’m living in the streets of some 3rd world country without organized trash disposal. I HATE the Neighborhood Cleanup!

There are rules about the cleanup. The postcard sent by the city says things like:

Do not block traffic, fire hydrants or sidewalks
Keep piles away from light poles, mailboxes, trees, or other fixed objects
Pile Size may be one dump truck load of material (apx. 20 ft. long x 5 ft. wide x 5 ft. high)
Separate green waste from your other cleanup pile
Tires or Household Hazardous Waste such as paints, oil, flourescent lights, batteries, electronic waste, etc. will NOT be removed.

If people would follow these guidelines then I would probably just dislike the Cleanup. As it is, people show a blatant disregard for all regulations (another thing I HATE).

Instead, this is what really happens:

Like how they have separated the “Electronic Waste” from the green waste?

I’m pretty sure some of that would fit in the garbage can.

This is ok, but I don’t want to know how that happened to the couch.

These people wanted a pile just because everyone else had one.

I don’t even know what to say about this one…where did they have all that stuff?

No parking…unless you are a mattress, an upside-down couch or an empty fridge-pack of lemonade.

This is nice green waste, but I’m pretty sure it’s pushing the 1 dump truck load rule.

In case you want to eat breakfast and open your mail out front. Oh, and then just leave your trash on the couch.

Unidentified furniture items…another television…more trash on the ground…see a pattern?

And all I can say about this one is…wow. Just wow.

I did see a few nice neat piles like this one:

And I like how the throw pillows are arranged here in case you want to have a seat:

But for the most part, the piles just make me sick.

I realize that by driving around my neighborhood with my camera and then posting these pictures I’m taking the chance that one of my neighbors might see their own pile here and get offended…if that’s you I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend anyone, and I really have no problem with people putting out some old carpet or large furniture. Oh, and if you are offended, DON’T THROW YOUR TRASH IN THE STREET!!!!! Thanks!

Produce Problem Solved!

2010-07-18T15:20:00.001-06:00

I don’t like fruit. It’s mostly a texture thing. I can tolerate a very crisp apple, but the thought of biting into a peach or a banana makes me gag just a little. I make myself eat from sometimes anyway – because it’s good for me. I’m pretty good with vegetables though. Especially if they’re covered with butter or cheese sauce. ☺

Despite the fact that I’m not big on fruit, my family really likes it – which I’m glad for. Maybe my kids stand a chance. Lately I’ve been really disappointed in the produce available at my local supermarket. They don’t have very many options and what they do have is just old and sad looking. Luckily Jen, a friend of mine, told me about Bountiful Baskets. BB is a volunteer Co-Op which specializes in fresh fruit and vegetables. For $16.50 (including the $1.50) you get a huge basket of produce each week.

How it works: You order online on Monday/Tuesday (depending on your location) and select your pick-up location. Then on Saturday morning you show up with your basket or box and take home your fruits and veggies! I’ve been so happy with the quality and while a few of the things we’ve received might not be what I would have picked out on my own (white asparagus anyone?) I kind of like that it pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me learn to cook and eat new things.

I should note that for $16.50 you get a TON of produce. They say that on average you receive $50 worth of food. It’s more than my family of four can eat in a week so I’ve been coordinating with my Sister-in-law, Jo-Elle, and splitting it. It’s nice that way because I only have to get up early to pick up the food every other week. Bountiful Baskets is available in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Nevada & Washington so check it out at www.bountifulbaskets.org. Their website is a little confusing so if you have questions let me know!

This is the produce I got this week – remember this is HALF of what came in the basket (Except that there was just 1 pineapple which Jo-Elle was nice enough to give me). There are bananas back there behind the grapes and that is a mango in front of the squash. The stalks in the middle are white asparagus. Any fun ideas about what to do with that?

My New Favorite Mash Up

2010-07-03T12:13:00.001-06:00

When I was in junior high one of my favorite movies was the Disney musical Newsies. My friends and I all thought Aaron Lohr was “super cute” and I’ll admit that when I see Christian Bale I think first of him singing “Santa Fe” and secondly of him clad in black armor with bat wings.

I recently saw this Newsies/Lady Ga Ga mash up posted over at Rage Against the Minivan and I just couldn’t resist posting it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Taco Seasoning

2010-06-16T20:58:00.001-06:00

Up until a few months ago I always seasoned my taco meat using this:

That’s just what I did. It’s how I learned to make tacos growing up and to be totally honest with you it never crossed my mind that I might be able to do it without the brightly colored envelope. Then one night I was making tacos and realized I didn’t have the oh so essential seasoning packet. After a brief moment of panic I decided to turn to Google and ask the all knowing “Internets” what to do. Turns out that packet is just filled with a bunch of stuff I already had in my pantry. I’ve tried a few different recipes since then and finally came up with a combination of stuff I like. Here it is – enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like heat)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Just brown 1 lb meat (I use ground turkey) and drain the fat and then add in about 1/2 cup of water and the seasoning and let it cook for a few more minutes. I promise it’s even better than the stuff in the envelope!

Yes, I lost it.

2010-06-06T22:14:00.001-06:00

I’ve been debating for a while now about writing this post. I don’t want to write a post about how I look…but people keep saying “You look so great! What did you DO?!?” so I guess I should probably write something about what I did. Warning, this is probably going to boring. Feel free to quit now.

On September 1, 2009 I woke up, took a shower and went to my closet to find something to wear to work – a process which was always sure to put me in a foul mood. Nothing fit. Nothing looked good. I put on a pair of pants that should have fit (they were a size 12) and they were tight. I was so frustrated and just DONE.

You see, I got married in 2001 and by 2004 I had gained about 20 lbs. That was on top of the 1o lbs I gained after high school. I’ll be honest, I just ate whatever I wanted. I figured I could work out a little harder and everything would be ok. I’m sure (SURE) I was just about to do something about my weight when I found out I was pregnant with Brad. At that point any ideas about weight loss went out the window. I had a good pregnancy with Brad and didn’t gain much weight. Any time the doctor checked my weight she would say “Well, you were a little ahead of the game to begin with.” Ouch.

I was one of those lucky women who loses weight while breastfeeding and Brad nursed like a champ so I was able to get back down to about 18 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight a few months after he was born. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted again. I’m pretty sure that’s a trend there.

Just when I started thinking I should lose those extra 15 lbs, I found out I was pregnant with Lucy. Another good excuse right? It was another good pregnancy and my weight was pretty good, although I looked like a stuffed sausage at the end there. Unfortunately for me, Lucy wasn’t quite as good at nursing as Brad was, but by that time eating whatever I wanted was a way of life.

~Fast forward back to September 2009 and my too tight size 12 pants~

I decided right then and there that I needed to lose some weight. I figured that I could take off a few pounds and fit back into my pants and all would be right with the world. I knew quite a bit about health and nutrition, because I had taken several related classes in college, but I had never really put them into practice. I knew the basic equation to losing weight was to burn more calories than you ate. I was really lucky that an online friend had recommended myfitnesspal.com for calorie counting and I remembered the site. This turned out to be key.

My Fitness Pal is a website which allows you to quickly and easily track all the food you eat and the calories you burn (and it’s free!!). It’s amazing what an eye opener it is to know how many calories are in the food you eat. Add that to the fact that I just didn’t want to have to record that I ate an entire bag of cheetos, and I found the website to be really helpful.

The main plan I followed was to have a daily net calorie intake of about 1475. Net calorie intake means that if I burned more calories than I normally would through exercise I also ate more calories. This helped me feel full and have enough energy to go through my day and to keep exercising. Quite often I hear about people cutting down to 1200 calories a day, but that was way too low for me and I found I was still able to lose very quickly at 1475.

Next I cut out fast food and soda. That was a really big deal for me because there have been some times in my life where I was eating fast food as many as 10 times a week and drinking more than 50 oz of diet soda a day. That just makes me sick to think about now! Cutting out the fast food proved to be a lot easier than I thought it would be – it just took more planning. Quitting soda on the other hand was really hard. I replaced my morning caffeine with Crystal Lite On The Go “Energy” mix and I still drink one of those every day. Someday I’d like to quit caffeine completely, but today is not that day. By cutting out soda I was also able to increase the amount of water I drink. I shoot for at least 64 oz a day and usually drink more than that.

About a month into my “lifestyle change” I discovered Zumba. Zumba is a type of aerobics designed around Latin dancing. I am NOT the most coordinated person and I have never done Latin dancing, but I LOVE Zumba. It’s so much fun that the hour goes by quickly and I burn 500-700 calories every class. I go once a week to the class at the local Rec. Center and I’m still not super coordinated but I love it so much I don’t care.

In addition to doing Zumba once a week I also hit the gym 2 other times. Generally I do a 10 minute warm up on either the Stairmaster or the elliptical and then I do about 30 minutes of weight lifting. I really like the Body for Life weight lifting program which is to do sets where you increase weight and decrease reps each time. I usually do upper body one day and lower body the other. After weights, depending on how much time I have that day I’ll go back and do 20 – 30 more minutes on a cardio machine. I never had to work out or exercise more than 3 times a week the whole time I was losing weight.

Sticking to the routine described above I was able to lose 20 lbs in 3 months. Ironically, I reached my goal weight the week of Thanksgiving. I felt great and had so much more energy than before. I started getting comments on my appearance from friends and co-workers and was thrilled when I got to buy size 8 pants and a SMALL sweater for my holiday party at work.

Over the next 3 months I continued to eat well and exercise and dropped another 1o lbs and 2 sizes. I was honestly shocked by the additional loss since I now weigh less than I did in high school. At that point I settled in to what I believe is my “healthy weight” and I have now maintained that for another 3 months. The day I walked into Ann Taylor and bought a size 4 skirt and top I almost dropped over dead. I have NEVER been a size 4 in anything. I can honestly say I feel healthier, stronger and happier with my appearance now than I ever have before. Who would have thought that would happen at age 32?

By losing weight at a slow, steady pace, through a healthy diet and exercise, I truly feel like this is something I will be able to maintain throughout my life. The irony of the whole situation is that I decided to lose weight because nothing in my closet fit. I now have the same problem, however I’m much happier to need a new wardrobe because everything is too big than I was when everything was too small.

I should also mention that I had a companion on this weight loss journey – my sister Tenille. Tenille has lost over 40 lbs and looks amazing. We have encouraged each other along the way, and I’m sure that a healthy little bit of sisterly competitiveness has helped too. In fact, just yesterday Tenille and I completed a fitness milestone together. We rode 33 miles in the Little Red Riding Hood bike ride in Logan, UT. We had such a great time. It was hard, but so much fun and totally worth it. We’ve already decided next year we’re doing the 57 mile ride. I can’t wait!

Zion National Park

2010-05-25T22:19:00.001-06:00

Even though I have lived in Utah for pretty much my whole life, I have visited very few of the state and national parks. We have so many here and I decided it was about time to start taking advantage of them, so Joe and I planed a 3 day trip to Zion National Park and went this last weekend. I have to say I was not disappointed in any way. The vivid color of the mountains and the peace of being in nature there was just amazing and I loved every minute (well…almost).

We left after Joe got off work on Thursday and drove down to Cedar City to spend the night. I have to say that I don’t know what parents did before portable DVD players, because our kids would have been a nightmare. As it was it took them like an hour to fall asleep after we got to the hotel, even though it was late because they were just wired. (Side Note – I have to give a quick shout out to the Best Western Town & Country in Cedar City – it was VERY nice and a we got a great price. The room was clean and new looking and they had a full breakfast included in the price. If you ever have to stay in Cedar City I would highly recommend it.)

On Friday morning we drove east out of Cedar City and took the scenic route to come into Zion through the East Entrance. This gave us the chance to see some of the unique features of that side of the park. The colors are so rich and it was just a wonderful ride. We drove all the way through the park and checked in at our hotel in Hurricane (which I will not give a shout out to…) and then had to go swimming because that’s pretty much the only thing Brad wanted to do on the whole trip. We discovered Lucy has basically no fear of water, which is not really a good thing. Then we went out for pizza and let Lucy open her presents because it was also her birthday! It was even more impossible to get the kids to bed that night. They are both so used to being put to bed in their room with the lights off and the door shut that being in a room with everyone else was just too much. They did eventually fall asleep about 9:30 and I think Joe and I were asleep right after that.

On Saturday morning we had signed up for a 2 hour guided bus tour of Zion Canyon with one of the park rangers. It was a great way to get our first look at the canyon because the ranger, Rosalie, told us all kinds of interesting facts and stories that we would not have heard on our own. The ride was a little long for the kids and by the end Lucy was saying “No stay with the group!” but Joe and I were both really glad we did it.

From April through October no cars are allowed into Zion Canyon – you have to take one of the shuttle busses that are run by the park. Before we went I was a little worried about that, but once we got there I understood why. The canyon is only about 8 miles long and it’s very narrow – just one lane of traffic each way. Apparently before they started the shuttles there were cars and RV’s everywhere and you couldn’t even get through. Now there are just the busses running every 8 minutes or so and it’s very efficient and peaceful. I honestly can’t imagine it any other way.

After lunch of PB & J’s on Saturday we started out on a hike to the “Emerald Pools” which are 3 different pools you can get to in just under 3 miles round trip. Joe carried Lucy in the backpack and Brad managed to hike the whole way (not that he didn’t complain, because believe me, he did. We just kept telling him how tough he was and that not may 4 year olds can do a 3 mile hike and that kept him going). The hike to the first pool was pretty quick and easy but to get to the middle and upper pools you have to hike up what amounts to irregular stone stairs. It was fairly steep but the scenery was so beautiful and when we got to the upper pool it was totally worth it. The colors there were just amazing – really like nothing else I’ve every seen. Because there is a lot of snow run-off right now we saw 4 or 5 different waterfalls and were able to hike through their spray. Such a great hike!

That afternoon we had to go swimming at the hotel again (ask Brad and he’ll tell you that was his favorite part) and then Joe had the idea to have a cook out at one of the local parks. We picked up some hot-dogs and chips and some marshmallows for roasting and hit the park where the kids played while we cooked. It was a great evening and a low cost way of doing dinner on the go. The kids also tired themselves out and went to bed much better that night.

Sunday morning we got up early again and hit the park by about 8:15 to ride our bikes up the canyon. Because only the busses are allowed on the road it makes a great place to bike. The first 3 miles or so were pretty difficult because of the incline, and at one point I made Joe stop so I could just catch my breath, but after that it leveled out a little and the rest of the canyon was great. It was 7.8 miles from the visitors center to the end of the road at what’s called the Temple of Sinawava (the whole canyon circles around two columns which represent the alter to Sinawava) and it took us a little more than an hour. Not very fast, but we were pulling the kids uphill! We took a break and went on a little walk along the river there and then headed back and I can say that I really enjoyed the ride down the canyon more than the ride up. It was an incredible place to be able to ride. It was so peaceful and the grandeur of those mountains is just breathtaking. We were out early in the morning in the crisp cool air, and it was perfect. I wish I was more poetic because I just can’t do it justice. It truly makes you think about God’s love for us in providing such a beautiful world for us to live in.

Anyway, we drove home Sunday afternoon and stopped in at Joe’s parents house for a little break before hitting the last 60 miles into Salt Lake. It’s wonderful to live so close to places like Zion so that we can do it in a weekend. I’m really looking forward to more of these quick trips now that the kids are getting older. I guess as long as the hotel has a swimming pool the kids will enjoy them too!

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures, but I posted the rest of them on Facebook. You can view the album here.

Lucy Mae is Two!

2010-05-25T21:01:00.001-06:00

On the 21st of May our little Lucy turned 2 years old! We were on a little vacation to Zion’s National Park (which I’ll write about later) so I didn’t get to post on that day, but she had a great day. Here are a couple cute pictures of her opening her presents at the hotel:

(Of course Brad is right there to “help” her)

Lucy is such a fun and happy little girl. She laughs and smiles and sings all the time. She sings “Follow the Prophet”, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and of all things “Good Morning Baltimore” but she just sings “Oh Oh Oh, look at my hair!” over and over again.

She loves Brad so much and wants to do everything he does. She copies what he says and follows him around like a shadow. So far he seems to enjoy her most of the time and doesn’t mind her tagging along.

On the flip side, Lucy is also very stubborn and likes to do things HER way. The thing that drives me the most crazy is when she just whines instead of actually speaking and saying what she wants. For some reason she thinks if she just whines enough I’ll figure it out. She also likes to be the queen of the castle and order people around. Earlier tonight she was sitting at the table saying she wanted her binkie and I told her to go find it. She said, “No, Mommy go find my binkie.” I told her I was busy doing dishes and that she should go find it and she said, “No, I’m busy eating my snack". Gotta love it. (I did not go find it for her by the way, she can think she’s the queen, but really she’s only the princess and things always go the queen’s way).

When we got back from out trip on Sunday night Lucy decided she wanted to sleep in the toddler bed instead of the crib and has been in the “big girl bed” every night since. I’m hoping at some point she’ll give up the binkie just as easily if I let her do it on her time.

Two is such a fun age and I look forward to spending this year watching Lucy grow and develop her personality even more. I love her so much and can’t imagine our little family without her smile.

Here she is with the cupcakes she took to daycare for her birthday treat – Happy Birthday Lucy Mae!

My Nana’s Diamond

2010-05-14T22:34:00.001-06:00

My Nana (my mother’s, mother’s, mother) was an amazing little woman. She was born in January of 1900 and live do be 97 years old. Having seen nearly an entire century gave her an wonderful perspective on things and she had this way of making everyone she came into contact with feel accepted and loved.

When I was little I always looked forward to going to Nana’s house because I knew she had a candy jar and she would offer me a piece as soon as I came in. She had a display case full of figurines and music boxes from her travels all over the world and I would sit in front of it looking at all the knick-knacks for what seemed like hours. She would tell me stories about the places where she got them and the people she met. Her home overlooked the entire Salt Lake valley and I looked forward to walking out on the balcony and taking in the view. Visiting her was always very special.

Nana was five feet tall, although she always claimed that when she was young she was 5’6” and that she had shrunk. She was very healthy and happy until nearly the end of her life and she was an important part of mine.

When Nana died, my grandmother, Nadine, inherited Nana’s wedding ring which Nana had worn along with her husband’s on a chain around her neck when it would no longer fit her finger. One day just after Joe and I had announced to my grandparents that we were going to get married my grandmother asked to talk to me. She asked me if I had an engagement ring and I told her that we had not bought one yet. Joe and I had both just recently returned from missions for our church and we didn’t have a lot of money. I was not really interested in having us go into debt for a ring and we hadn’t decided what to do. My grandma then told me that she wanted to give me Nana’s diamond for my ring. I was completely overwhelmed by the gift. Not just because of the monetary value, but because it meant I would always have something to remember my Nana by. Joe and I were able to pick out my ring and Nana’s diamond was mounted in it – giving me exactly what I wanted and a very special gift.

Today I threw my ring and Nana’s diamond in the garbage can in my kitchen. I was an accident of course. I was making cookies and I’m usually very good at placing my ring in a specific spot on the windowsill when my hands are dirty, but for some reason this time I left it on the counter and when I cleaned up it was swept into the garbage. As soon as I realized it was gone I started frantically searching the kitchen. I looked on the counters, the floor, and even in the garbage disposal. I quietly said a prayer that I would be able to find my ring and soon realized I would have to search the garbage. I took a few things off the top and figured I would need another bag to move things to, so I got another bag and was just about to transfer a mostly empty can of pineapple tidbits when it slipped out of my hand. When it hit the floor my ring rolled across the room. I was so thankful to have found it, tears filled my eyes.

The sad thing is that this isn’t the first time I’ve lost my ring. I’ve misplaced it a few minor times and once I was literally sitting in a Broadway show when I noticed it was gone, only to find it in the finger of my glove. The only other time I really thought it was gone was while I was pregnant with Brad. It was summer and I was very pregnant and my fingers were huge and puffy. I had moved the ring from my ring finger to my pinky because it was just too tight. I was walking back to my office from lunch when I suddenly looked down and realized it was gone. Being pregnant and overly emotional probably didn’t help the situation and I totally panicked. I back-tracked to the cafe I had eaten at and asked the man behind the counter if he had seen it and he replied that he had not, however he knew I had been wearing it when I came in because he specifically noticed it on my pinky finger. I walked outside and began looking around the sidewalk table where I had been sitting to eat when a random man sitting on a bench asked me what I was looking for. Choking back the tears I told him that I had lost my wedding ring. He said “Look in your purse. My wife always loses hers when it drops into her purse.” I opened my purse and sure enough Nana’s diamond was at the bottom.

I love my wedding ring. It’s beautiful and the simple band suits me. I love that it symbolizes the commitment Joe and I have made to each other for eternity. I also love that the diamond came from someone else I loved and that loved me. I can’t help thinking each time I’ve lost the ring that Nana has had something to do with helping me find it. Whether it’s placing someone with good advice on the street at just the right time or making me drop the pineapple can, or maybe it’s providing me a feeling of comfort during a particularly difficult day, I’m grateful to have my Nana watching over me.

Photos by Brad and a trip to the Zoo

2010-05-08T14:50:00.001-06:00

A while back one of my co-workers, Nick, upgraded his digital camera. He found out that his old one wasn’t worth much in the world of e-bay and decided to pass it on to me to give to Brad. I didn’t give it to Brad right away since I thought it needed to be a special occasion, and I decided when I took the kids to the zoo that it was the perfect chance to let him try it out. He did take a LOT of pictures of the sky and the sidewalk, so I’ll try to spare you those and give you the best ones.

Lucy and the back side of an elephant.

Lucy and some garbage cans

Me – from Brad’s perspective

Self Portrait

Porcupine

Wild Cat

Meerkat

Tiger (we went up to the back of the tiger enclosure and the mother and 3 cubs were all sitting really close to the cage, it was so neat!

I think he’s quite the budding photographer – what do you think?

And just for fun here are some of the out-takes:

The hardest job in the world

2010-04-25T08:43:00.001-06:00

The hardest job in the world is being a parent. I’d like to see anyone argue with that. Being completely responsible for the health, education and well-being of another human – one who starts off completely helpless and progresses to a state of curious self-endangerment – is stressful, tiring and mind-numbing.

I recently read a fabulous blog posting over at Her Bad Mother called 10 Things I Hate About Motherhood (And One That I Love). I so completely identified with this posting. Being a mom is hard. The sleep deprivation is insane and the act of putting someone else before yourself 100% of the time is very difficult.

But – when Brad looks at me and says “Mom, you’re my best friend” or when Lucy pats my head and says “Mommy, hair pretty.” it melts my heart in a way that nothing else can. My children are smart, funny and incredibly entertaining. They make me laugh and smile way more often than they make me cry.

How could I not just love them?