A Trip to Utah

For Labor day, we drove up to St. George for a quick visit. My mom, Lisa, and Aaliyah were so excited that we were coming, that they drove down from Salt Lake area and rented a room in a hotel for a few days in order to hang out with us. We made sure to visit the good places like Angelica's and Red Fort. Elisa and Aaliyah (and my mom) wanted to go to the mall. We also enjoyed a a yummy meal that Makayla made and of course, swimming! 

September 2:

Eating at Angelicas. Yum!

At the mall. I took this picture for Gabe!

We went out for shave ice at Bahama Bucks after the mall. I didn't like what Elisa ordered (an oreo something), it was actually icky. I don't think she liked it either. I didn't order anything for myself, I just mooched.

Erik went with the boys and his parents to Iceburg for lunch. The boys enjoyed their shakes and ice cream.

My mom made reservations for later that same day to go to Red Fort. Yikes, eating out twice in one day! It was super yummy though, even the kids liked it.

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Sept. 3

Sept. 3

We went to an hour of church in the morning. Erik went up to the pulpit to bear his testimony. Me and the kids only went for the first hour. We walked home, and on the walk home I saw more than a few books scattered on side of the road just as the cul-de-sac started. None of them were good, so I just left them. But what a weird thing to leave by the roadside! The kids enjoyed each other's company and Ian loves, LOVES playing board games with Grandma.

Makayla made us a yummy casserole dinner. My family came to crash the dinner party.

The kids were highly entertained when Bryce brought out his creepy Alien animatronic Halloween decoration. Bryce loves decorating for Halloween! He has so much stuff that he has to start in early September!

For dessert, Makayla acquired a fresh peach pie from Croshaws, along with a chocolate silk pie. Yum!

Later that evening the kids and my mom and Grandpa all swam in the pool. Yep, it was still warm enough to swim. I forgot my swimsuit but I don't think I would have swam anyway.

A nice pic I took of my mom!

Bryce briefly taught me how to do some cool tricks with my phone camera, but I've since forgotten how to do whatever I did here.

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Sept. 4:

Boys still asleep! They always go to bed too late. I came in their room to get Ian ready to bring with me to meet my family at their hotel for breakfast. I was surprised that he was still snoozing; he's almost always the first one up. I woke him up because I knew he'd be upset if I went without him. We had a yummy hot breakfast at the hotel lobby. There was even a prize basket for the kids to choose from.

Going to be a good day!

Saying Goodbye to Grandma, Aaliyah, and Aunt Lisa.

Saying Goodbye to Grandma after eating at Chuck-a-Rama. The kids sure love that restaurant! Erik hates it, I am mostly indifferent, but it's not usually my choice to go. Then back home to Phoenix, since it was back to school and work the next day.

Random August Happenings, Part II

August 20th

We had a cookie potluck after church. I was originally going to just skip it and go home, but the kids really wanted to go. So I went home during 2nd hour and made some bright pink strawberry cookies using a cake mix. They were a big hit with the kids, and by far the most colorful cookies on the table! Here are the kids enjoying their milk and cookies, being photobombed by one of Elisa's friends. Erik was working that day, can you tell I had to tie Ian's tie myself? 

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August 21

Gabe had his dental appointment, and the dentist said--judging by the x-ray--that he needs orthodontics sooner than later. A permanent tooth (highlighted in yellow) is trying to come down but it is blocked by other permeant teeth. I made an appointment for him at the orthodontist that they recommended. He  needed to loose two those two baby teeth asap (highlighted in blue).

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August 21

I finally finished this watercolor painting. And by finished I mean re-outlining the shapes in black sharpie, putting it in a frame, and plopping it on my entryway table.  I had painted this in watercolors at a relief society activity earlier in the year.

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August 22

This popped up while I was doing my Spanish Duolingo!

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August 24

Baby Gabie crying at the orthodontist, because he was scared they might pull some teeth. They didn't of course, but just the offer made Gabe feel all the scaredy feels.

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August 25

Yet another dress for Elisa! I made it from fabric I found at Goodwill. I really like the dress (it's not as screwed up as that purple dress), except the zipper likes to sneak on down while she's wearing the dress, but that is easily fixed (when I remember to do so!).

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August 2

Erik saw some pickup trucks towing some military helicopters on the freeway.

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August 27

This cute little yellow birdie hung around our back porch. It had no fear of us and it even let me pet it. It was so tame I thought maybe it was someone's domesticated, caged bird that had gotten loose. I tried to look up the breed of this bird on the internet, but I didn't have much luck. I've never seen yellow birds in our yard before and I haven't since. In fact, I've never had a bird get so unusually close to humans. So either this bird was bonkers with rabies, or it was a special messenger.  Although I can't seem to find what type of bird this is, I did find this about visitations from yellow birds: 

"In Christianity, yellow birds are often seen as a symbol of joy, happiness, and divine blessings. They are believed to be messengers of hope and encouragement from God. In the Bible, birds are mentioned numerous times as spiritual messengers, and their appearance is often associated with divine intervention.

The presence of a yellow bird may signify that God is watching over you and sending you a message of positivity and good fortune." Source found here.

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August 27

I finally cut Ian's hair! I didn't want his hair cut...and then he did...and then he didn't...and then he finally did! So I got to cutting. I wouldn't have minded him keeping his long hair, because he gets cute ringlets in the back, but I think he was tired of having hair in his eyes. It made quite the pile when I was finished! I cut his hair a little shorter than I liked, but his hair grows fast enough that it's no big deal.

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August 27

I made myself a shirt out of some velvety purple fabric I found at Goodwill. It is a medium to heavy weight and has a slight stretch. I wear it to church with a black skirt.

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I thought this meme was funny. I'm tempted to print it out and hang it in my laundry room haha. Hey, in my defense Margaret, I'm betting that you didn't have baskets upon baskets of laundry like I do.

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Random August Happenings Part I

Here are some pictures of stuff we did in August:

August 2

Elisa, her friend Jayde, Jayde's mom, and I went to see the Barbie movie at the theater. I had been wanting to see it for awhile. It was okay, a little obnoxious in its over-the-top, modernist-thinking dogma, but it had some funny parts. We couldn't hear the voice audio for the first 20 minutes, so we were given vouchers for free movie tickets for later! 

August 2

Ian drinking through double straws at Cafe Rio.

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August 4
Erik and I (and Ian) went to Right Honda in Scottsdale to look at vans. Our old van was old and gross so we figured it was time for a new one. Initially we thought about buying a brand new van, but there was another van on the lot that was $10,000 less then a new van, only 3 years old, and had all of the upgrades such as a movie screen for DVDs. I was adamant about not getting a red van, but this particular van was a muted shade of red, more of a maroon/reddish-brown, so I was okay with it. We agreed to buy the van right then because it was a good deal and we didn't see the point in waiting any longer. The salesman annoyed Erik with his ignorance of the final cost, but once we finally found out we signed the papers. Ian was a good sport about staying at the boring dealership the whole time. Erik drove the new van home and I drove the old van with Ian to a nearby mac-n-cheese place that was expensive and not very good, I don't even think Ian liked it all that much.

The new van in the lot

Ian at the dealership

The new van in our garage

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August 9

I made Elisa a new dress out of some very silky and satin-y fabric I found at Goodwill. She had very specific requirements: she wanted a square neck, spaghetti straps, and a circle skirt. I wasn't going to give her spaghetti straps, but I did make straps that were  just thick enough to cover her bra. The circle skirt is a wee bit wonky (she doesn't notice) and the zipper was installed at an angle (whoops--also unnoticeable with the ties). So all around a sub-par construction, but Elisa likes the dress and wears it often.

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August 9

For no reason other than Ian is adorable, I took this picture of him sleeping

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August 12

Erik found and killed a rattlesnake while he was cleaning out the back patio. This guy was hiding behind the the pool storage bin. More accurately, Erik called our neighbor Joe who came over and killed the snake.

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August 12

Erik ordered a new pool, this time an Intex so hopefully it will hold up for longer this time. It was on clearance so that was convenient. Its actually a little deeper than the other pool. The kids have swam in it quite a bit since its been set up, especially Ian. It is too cold to swim while I'm writing this, but I'm sure it will get plenty of use next year!

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August 19

We went out to dinner to BJ's with Erik's friend Dan and his wife Angie. This image was on our table, I took a picture of it because I thought Gabe would appreciate it!