Summer Adventures: Part 1 - May 29 - June 8

Jared and I flew to Utah May 29th and spent a week and half staying in Bountiful at my maternal grandparents' house with the kids. Here's a look at what we were up to...

Visiting baby Parker (my sister-in-law's first)


I'm an aunt!


















Playing at the park...























Giving Isaac a handsome new summer haircut (Jared did the clipper part, I cleaned it up with scissors)...

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

Olivia's very first time ice skating!!!

She started out tentatively, holding my hand or the wall...



There were a few falls, including one that required comforting...



But soon she was taking off at lightning speed...



And Olivia in her usual dramatic way declared it "the best day of my life!"














"Hiking" through Bountiful's hills...







Admiring ladybugs...



And giving outdoor performances...



Visiting the Utah Natural History Museum...
Seeing dinosaur bones...
















Playing in a teepee...


And best of all... digging for bones!















Next up... Jared and I on my family's road trip... pictures coming soon...

yes, I'm still alive

Hi, friends! Just wanted to put a quick post on here to let you all know that I have not dropped off the face of the planet. We were in Utah for a week and half and are now on a road trip with my family. We are currently in Minnesota and will be back in Utah on Saturday for the duration of the summer. Internet access has been scattered, but I promise LOTS of pictures and stories in the near future!

last day in tarrson hall

Today is my last day of work at the Geriatrics and Special Care clinic at the School of Denistry. It has been a good six weeks. I have made a decent wage whilst cruising the internet and becoming more informed on a wide variety of topics. I even got to read a couple books. Plus, I have learned about our Medicaid system a bit, made and answered many a phone call, and done some paper shuffling. I had the pleasure of working with some great people. Haven and Christine are most pleasant, helpful, and patient. And Dr. Samuelson is a true one-of-a-kind who couldn't be nicer. This morning he took Christine and me to breakfast at The Carolina Inn just to say thank you for all our work. Love the breakfast buffet! I am going to miss them and all the others here at the Dental School with whom I've worked. This job really has been perfect during this transition time.

Now it's off to Utah to be a full-time step-mom for three months! Many adventures ahead....

which jane austen heroin are you most like?

What girl can resist a quiz like this? My thanks to Suzy for posting the quiz on her blog. Enjoy!

Take the Quiz here!

a cheesy tale

Have you ever had a vision for a really great meal? You can picture it perfectly in your mind--what ingredients you'll need, how to prepare them, how it will look on the plate. My husband, Jared, often has such visions and last night was no different. We are still house-sitting and enjoying all the delectable foodstuffs in the pantry at our disposal, and the other day Jared found organic capellini pasta made in Italy. The creative culinary juices began flowing. His vision was this: fresh sauce made with tomatoes and spinach accented with fresh mozzarella.

Last night on our way home, we stopped in Whole Foods Market to get a few needed items, including the aforementioned fresh mozzarella. Jared found a 16 oz. package with a sign marked $3.99. Although, there were a few types of mozzarella in the area, there was only the one sign. But at the check-out, the cheese rang up as $7.99. Quite the difference! Jared questioned this, and the check-out lady made him go get proof of the $3.99 price. Well, it turned out that the $3.99 was for 8 oz. packages. On principle, we did not purchase the cheese. Why wasn't it properly labeled in the first place? And secondly, why did the check-out lady have to be so contrary? It seems to me that in these circumstances, they usually just change the price since there was confusing placement of the cheese and prices. We left Whole Foods, usually a place of pleasantness, with a bad taste in our mouths.

Jared's vision for his Italian dinner was steadfast, so we decided to stop at Target to pick up the cheese and a couple other things. We found the fresh mozzarella in the "gourmet" foods section and to our utter dismay it was $5.99 for 8 oz.!!! Oh, the irony! We had to laugh as we made our way to the back of the store where the regular dairy stuff is located, despite our disappointment. We really thought we'd be stuck with normal mozzarella. But then, to our utter joy, we found a different brand of fresh mozzarella for just $2.89 for 8 oz.!!! Vindication was ours! We bought two packages and enjoyed it immensely with our capellini and delicious whole wheat Italian bread.

wanted: creativity

I want a new name for my blog. When I set this up I was too excited just to get it up and didn't put much (or any effort) into choosing a name for it. So I may be trying a few things out. Don't be alarmed.

new favorite

I've been a little out of the music loop the past few months, but Saturday morning, I watched Vh1's Top 20 Countdown to see what was going on in pop these days. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear Brandi Carlile's The Story. I had heard this song awhile ago, liked it, but forgot about it. After seeing the video on Saturday, Jared and I immediately checked her out on iTunes and bought the album. It is SO good! Simple, catchy melodies, lots of guitar, and Brandi's super-cool voice make this singer-songwriter's album my current favorite. Go to her website and take a listen!

top five reasons to love whole foods market

5. The feeling of indulgence at being in a store full of healthy food, most of which is much too expensive.
4. Fresh ground peanut butter that will make you excited for a sack lunch again.
3. Delicious, whole wheat, tastes-like-it's-homemade sliced bread for only $1.99!
2. Shockingly, they have the cheapest milk around!
1. The free samples throughout the store, especially the fruit, that are so reliable you can go shopping hungry and not over-buy.

here kitty, kitty

Jared and I are house/cat sitting for Jared's professor. They have three cats and live in this really cool house near Duke University campus (more on the house later). Yesterday we had quite the scare. We came home from school/work and couldn't find Thomas the cat anywhere. He is the friendliest of the three and has greeted us each day in the kitchen. Upon conferring, we realized we hadn't seen him since Tuesday morning. We searched everywhere with no sign of him. I called his name and went through every room. I was envisioning having to drive up and down the street looking for a dead cat along the side of the road. Tom likes to escape, and the cleaning lady had been here the day before, so I was afraid he had gotten out then. But Jared came inside having talked to the neighbor who told him Tom hides in closets when the cleaning lady comes. Sure enough, that's where Jared found him. The poor thing had spent more than 24 hours in that closet and didn't make a sound. He came running down the stairs and started gobbling up his dry cat food. We decided he deserved the good canned stuff and here he is scarfing it down, poor thing. He must have been so hungry. Jared, being the wonderful guy he is, cleaned up the mess Tom made in the closet.

race to the whitehouse

I'm not a political junkie, but I do like to be informed and having once been the producer of a little political show in Salt Lake City, I'm probably an above-average follower of politics. That said, I have been excited for quite awhile about next year's presidential election. Speculations began last year on who would run and who had a shot, and now the race is in full swing--with nearly 18 months until election day! I'm not a history buff, but I'm pretty sure this is unprecedented. What makes it especially interesting is how wide-open the race for each party's nomination is and how many have lined up for a chance at the White House. This month things have heated up more with televised debates among each party's candidates and the media coverage of the race is increasing. I find it all very fascinating from a news standpoint. I'm excited to see how the next year and half play out, especially during the primaries. I don't think we've had primaries this exciting in quite some time.

As for me, I don't even know if I'm voting Republican or Democrat, but I do have a favorite on each side--two men who are gaining more momentum but are still in the under-dog position-- Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. They both have an uphill battle but they definitely each have a shot at the nomination. Obama has been a media darling for awhile now, and Romney is making headlines more and more. He recently appeared on 60 Minutes and is on the cover of this week's Time. Could a Mormon win? Could an African-American? These are exciting times in American politics!