December 7th was the day we were going to rake up all of our leaves. But before we could even get started it began to snow. I bundled Chap up and snapped some pictures of him in the first few flakes. What I didn't know was that I was getting excited prematurely. Over the course of the day it dumped probably 6 inches or more at our house. We even made a snowman. Mine and Chap's first time doing that. (That's one of my favorite things about being a mom, getting to experience things for the first time with my monkey).
Yesterday was my 26th birthday. And although I kept up with tradition and took no pictures it was a magical day. Seriously, probably the best birthday I've had in years, maybe even since my 16th. Nothing really changed except my attitude. I know some of you would scoff at me being mortified by the idea of growing older but that has pretty much been my thing for the past several years. This year I decided that I wasn't getting any younger and I should just enjoy it while it lasts.
I woke up early and went to exercise group at Jaime's house. I love being able to get some time chatting in everyday while doing something that's good for me. Chap was well behaved and didn't cause too much trouble. Next Chapter and I just hung out and I got all the pictures off the camera (felt good to catch up with that). Then I decided to go Christmas shopping, so we headed out. We met Logan for lunch at Port of Subs and then I picked up a Dirty Dr. Pepper and Chap and I went to the mall. He fell asleep there and stayed asleep all the way home and slept in his crib for almost 2 hours. I wrapped Christmas presents and blogged about his birthday. When Logan got home he made me homemade shrimp scampi. So yummy! Then we braved the freezing temps and went to Target to buy new dishcloths for my birthday. I got lots of money from family, which I was counting on, therefore I bought a carpet cleaner on Black Friday and I was hoping to get enough to cover that. I did with an excess! Not sure what I'm going to buy next though:) Probably something for Chap since I'm a huge sucker for that kid and I think he needs everything (even though I'm already overwhelmed by what he already has). I also got an almost one of a kind door mat from my sweet father-in-law. You see, he delivers for Pier1 and he bought himself this door mat and I loved it. I told him I did and he got one for me too. Apparently there are only 2 in the state of Utah at this point (not sure why but that's what the inventory said) and I own one. I can't wait to try out my carpet cleaner on that spot in the living room that's been driving me nuts for months. Oh and before Chap went to bed Logan read me the Happy Birthday to You book by Dr. Seuss. It's our new tradition since Chapter:)
Anyway, it was a spectacular birthday. I'm so blessed to have Chapter and Logan. They made me feel so loved and special yesterday. And I don't know if my new chilled out attitude can be attributed to some major breakthrough in my mind or it it's because I'm getting older but my new philosophy is that it's a waste of time to stress all year about turning another year older, when in fact I'm not really that old to begin with.
We're going to gloss over Chapter's birthday just for a moment (because the pictures are still on the camera and it's a pain to get them off with Chapter "helping" me).
For Logan's birthday we went to Horseshoe Canyon. Again, it's a destination that we have been meaning to to do for years. But waiting only meant that we had the pleasure of sharing it with Chapter. We got many weird looks from family when they heard that we intended to carry him all 7 miles in a pack on our back. But let me begin by telling you that this was my kind of hike, with a destination around every corner and lots to keep me motivated.
We've been meaning to hit up Lehman Caves for years now, but we'll admit that the idea of driving there and really of even going to Great Basin National Park seemed like it would be pretty boring. But boy were we wrong. We took off on Labor Day weekend (right after church) on our adventure since we both had to teach that Sunday. It was Chapter's first camping trip and it was awesome. The drive that we supposed would be boring was really pretty fun. It was like driving through a giant empty Sevier Valley which was pretty awesome. Great Basin National Park is also amazing. We expected it to be desolate and filled with nothing but blah but it was so beautiful and we'll definitely go back someday (if it ever opens again, haha). It's located at the foot of a beautiful mountain range. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there but since it was a quick trip we didn't really mind. After all, the Cave is indoors and Logan recently developed this ingenious plan to sleep in the car (and I lament we didn't figure it out years ago).
On August 17 we celebrated 6 years. It's been a roller coaster; kind of crazy, but I'd do it again.
We decided to celebrate by taking Chapter to his first movie, Planes, and then eating our traditional homemade shrimp alfredo. YUM!
Chapter turned 10 months 3 weeks ago. To celebrate we took him to Cedar Breaks on the wildest stroller ride I hope we ever go on. Logan kept repeating, "I swear this was paved when I was little." But it was really an adventure in bushwhacking our way through stickery wilderness with a stroller. Yeah. An adventure we'll never forget, and never repeat!
My washer is practically family. When we moved to St. George 5 years ago we got an apartment with it's own hook-ups. It was pretty much my dream up to that point:) But we were short on cash so I started scouring the classifieds for the perfect set. I finally found it. It was listed in a yard sale ad that happened to have a phone number. My beautiful set of mid-1990s Maytags were only $125 if my memory serves me correctly.
This is a magical washer. Perhaps I love it more because it was so cheap, or perhaps because it is a super capacity, or maybe it's our sticker collection on the front, but this is probably my favorite piece of machinery, second only to my car.
Well it started to leak:( I was terrified as Logan nearly completely dismantled it. But as usual Logan was able to fix it and all it needed were two new 98 cent hose clamps. Hooray for a few more years!
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you are from the South Sevier area, it's all about Pioneer Day.
We made our annual trek to Elsinore for Pioneer Day this year as we have for each year since I left 7 years ago. My whole family was DYING to see Chapter and teach him that this is clearly the best holiday there is.
For the 4th this year we went to Kanarraville. Logan's Granny's old house is still up there and the whole gang (minus Josh and his family) stayed up there the night before. And it was pretty much the worst least restful night I've had since the one immediately following Chapter's birth. And that is saying something! It was hot, noisy and just WAAAAY too many people in that tiny old house. We finally got to sleep about 2am and Chapter slept fitfully until maybe 5ish. Yeah.
That morning we went to the parade (Chap's first) and then to the program in the cultural hall. There was a little boy who did a Napoleon Dynamite dance that was so funny I cried (I was sleepy). Then we went to Cash's house for the BBQ. Logan was so excited that he had made some homemade yeast rootbeer to share. His Granny used to make it every year but they haven't had it since the early 90s. It's disgusting. But they were all oooing and aaahing and guzzling the stuff. It's an "acquired taste".
