Disney on Ice

The girls just love their princesses! So for a birthday treat Grandma Katie took us to the Disney Princesses on Ice. It was fantastic!!!!!!! My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Nora wasn't sure what to think at first and got a little scared at times, but she loved it. But I think Morgan loved it the most. She was dancing, bouncing, clapping, and laughing right from the start.

Thank you Grandma for an absolutely fantastic day!

Things I miss about SLC

As many of you know Salt Lake City is very high on my list of places I would love to live. There are many reasons for this...here are just a few.

The food - We ate out a lot, I mean a lot after Morgan was born. So we miss many of the yummy restaurants near our house...Greek Souvlaki, Gandolfo's, Paradise Bakery, Z-Pizzeria, Rumbi, Noodles, Taco Bell (yes we have one here, but the one by our house is horrible! And they don't have tostadas), Banbury Cross Donuts, the Chinese place in Smith's on 8th South (Thanks Amy), Crown Burger, Cafe Rio (Sorry Zach), Pei Wei, and Arctic Circle (speaking of which, I bet they have pumpkin shakes right now, yum!).

Smith's Marketplace - They have everything you could ever need! And we could walk there from the house. Ben pointed out the other day that this didn't happen often, but it was nice knowing I could.

The fabulous weather - Yeah it is hot in July and cold in January, but that goes for everywhere. The Fall and the Spring are fantastic! Besides everyone there is so active that the weather doesn't hold anyone back. I will miss taking the girls to Liberty Park for walks, sledding, slides, and people watching.

The number 1 reason I love it - The people - SLC has some very awesome people! Those that play tennis, those that work at the Y, those that live in the hip SoTro neighborhood, and those that stay at home with their kiddos. I feel lucky to have met so many wonderful people! We miss you!

Why not?

So this is the new question. "What?" was always easy to answer, but now I'm going to have to get creative. And I think I heard Nora say holy cow today when she saw a lizard. So cute!!

I did it! I did it!

I mowed the lawn for the very first time! Usually I can do without very loud things that can cut my arm off. But, we have been so busy lately and it seems to have been raining for a year, so the grass was a little long (not too bad, but I'm not sure how fussy the hoa is here). Ben gets home so late from school that it is already dark, so I decided to surprise him! I have a limited window of opportunity for this sort of thing. I have 1 hour 3 days a week that Nora is in preschool and Morgan takes a nap. So every time the mower crapped out I would check to see if she was crying. Why do they crap out so often? And why are they so hard to start? I made it through the front yard...the back will have to wait. I tried to use the weed eater, but I think I need a lesson on that too.

I want to thank my friend Jennifer for the tips! They were most helpful.

Look Mom...

So Nora is sitting on the couch and very calmly says "There's a lizard." I say "On the TV?" Nora says "No." Just as I turn around and see one hanging out on the blinds. I wasn't quite as calm as I wasn't expecting a visitor. Ben says that I have a bug scream, but I think the lizard scream was more of a gasp. So turns out rubber gloves come in handy for lots of things.

Some cute new pics...enjoy!

Our Pets are Crazy

So everyone knows we have two cats and a dog, but I'm not sure you realize how nuts they are...

Maddie has been in our family the longest. She is pushing 12 and nearly dies every time we move. If she sees a cardboard box she goes into hiding. When we moved to SLC I had to force feed her with a syringe for 4 months. She did pull through though and decided that Melvin wasn't so bad after all. It was as if she had a near death experience and decided to live life to the fullest. Then we started packing boxes for the trip back down South. She kept eating this time, but mostly hung out in the closet or under the bed...you could forget about downstairs. So it came time for her yearly shots and they recommended a dental cleaning. If you have ever had this recommended you know it is ridiculously expensive, but it had been recommended before so I thought we should do it. Well they put her under to do the procedure and it must have acted as her near death experience because she is out and about now...even downstairs. And it was much cheaper than the last move.

Tweeter is a beast. He weighed in this year at 21.5 lbs. So he is on a diet. The reason he weighs 21.5 lbs is because he thinks he is a dog. He eats Melvin's food, chews up anything made of foam (flip flops, blocks, door stops...), and doesn't move around much. The other day he came down the stairs and my friend thought Nora had gotten out of bed. He is an oaf, but so fun to pick on!

Melvin just turned 5 and I think this must be the magic number for dogs. He no longer runs off every time the front door is opened, I love this. He is great with the girls and they really try his patience I'm certain. He is a bit of bed hog...anyway the reason I got on this tangent today is because Melvin is a squirrel killer! There is an abundance of squirrels where we live due to the dense forest that is the South. Ever since we moved into this house when you let him out back he goes tearing after a squirrel. I never thought he would actually catch one of the poor things. Luckily Ben was home and was able to handle the situation. I found this so maybe if he keeps it up my grocery bill will go down...http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Squirrel-and-Liver/Detail.aspx yucky!!!