Fall Break at Spring Lake

Corbin had two days off school (whoopee) for Fall Break, but the exciting part was that Russ had a day off too! So we went and played at Spring Lake - a little fishing, picnicking, feeding the ducks, catching caterpillars. And it was a gorgeous day!

I know you've been wondering

20 YEARS AGO . . . I was
1. Partying at the Houston Marriott (where Dad worked) for Mom's surprise 30th birthday and probably new year's eve.
2. Losing my younger brother at the Houston Galleria
3. taking picnics to the park with my friend and pretending I was homeless

10 YEARS AGO...I was
1. Dating my soon to be hubby - who took me shopping for my birthday
2. Failing out of almost all classes at my first semester of college
3. Working at Club Omni as a bartender (where I met my husband!)

5 YEARS AGO...I
1. graduated from BYU with a degree in International Studies, Latin American Studies Minor
2. had a baby during finals and walked at graduation while he was still at the hospital
3. isn't that enough?

3 YEARS AGO...I was
1. living in a two-bedroom duplex that we owned in Provo.
2. working at HELP International
3. Taking my brother to El Salvador and my husband to Guatemala and Belize

1 YEAR AGO...I was
1. hiding the fact that I was pregnant (because I was still in the denial phase)
2. driving Corbin 25min each way to preschool everyday so he could go to BYU
3. finally getting used to having two boys

THIS YEAR... I
1. had my third baby boy
2. have been doing an experiment on the effects of long-term sleep deprivation
3. became a blogger!

YESTERDAY...
1. Went fishing and picnicing at Spring Lake (I'll post pics soon)
2. Enjoyed having my husband home for an entire day and didn't get dressed until 11 o'clock
3. made to-die-for caramel brownies and hosted book club at my house

TODAY...
1. finally put up Halloween decorations with Corbin
2. returned the breast pump I had rented (pointless since Colton refuses to take a bottle)
3. ran errands (5 different places), including grocery shopping, with 3 boys - yes, I am crazy

TOMORROW...
1. Pick up my brother, Mason, at the airport at 8am
2. think of something fun to do with a 16 year old, a five year old, two year old and a baby
3. take a nap (ha, ha)

NEXT YEAR...
1. celebrate 10 year wedding anniversary by going to Africa
2. start a Masters program in either Non-profit Management or International Development
3. be done breastfeeding!

I think this was a fun tag, so if you want to do it, I TAG YOU!

Russ' new ladies

Russ' parents bought a couple new horses last month and decided that they would give one to Russ. They said he could choose, but of course he has fallen in love with all of them and so now they are all his babies. My in-laws got a good deal on them because the people who owned them couldn't really afford to take care of them, so unfortunately they are pretty scrappy. Russ has been working hard to bring them back to good health and to work with them so they are friendly and rideable. He loves horses! Too bad two of my boys seem to be allergic!

This is the mom of the other two. Her official name is Outlaw Ann Jones. We call her Annie. She is 7 years old and has had 5 colts. The old owners just used her for breeding. Poor thing! She has never been ridden, but is very even tempered, so she should be okay.

This is the older of the two colts. She is a year and a half. Her name is Sadie. I think Russ likes this one the best - if he actually had to choose one.

This is the youngest, Josie. You can't tell, but she is really thin and malnourished. She is only about 5 months old. Russ' parents weren't even going to buy her because she was so sickly, but when they bought the other two, the people just said they could take her for free - that's how sad she was. She has already gained weight in the last couple weeks though and will hopefully be a bit healthier before winter.


Josie, Sadie, and Annie

Fondue-licious!

Yes, that is chocolate. This was the other part of my extended birthday celebrating . . . The Melting Pot with the girls! It is sooo yummy. Russ doesn't love this restaurant like I do, so the last few times I have just gone with my girlfriends and it is so fun! If you have never been, you HAVE to go. I totally recommend it! This is the dessert part, we also had cheese fondue and regular with steak, chicken, shrimp, etc.

For those of you who are Melting Pot Connoisseurs, here's what we had (and for those who aren't, just close your eyes and imagine it . . . )

Wisconsin Trio Cheese Fondue
Fontina, Butterkäse and Buttermilk Bleu cheeses with white wine, scallions and a hint of sherry. Each cheese fondue includes fresh breads, vegetables and apples for dipping.

SpinachMushroom Salad
Fresh spinach, baby Portobello mushrooms, red onion, chopped bacon and Roma tomatoes with a warm Burgundy Shallot Vinaigrette.

Signature Selection
Filet mignon, shrimp, teriyaki-marinated sirloin, boneless breast of chicken and fish fillet. Cooking Style: Coq au Vin - Flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices and burgundy wine.

And then the good stuff DESSERT -Yin & Yang Half dark chocolate and half white chocolate, artfully swirled for a perfect balance of flavors. Served with strawberries, bananas, pound cake, graham cracker covered marshmallows, Oreo covered marshmallows, cheesecake, rice krispie squares, and brownie bites.


Thanks Sharee, Miranda and Jen for such a fun birthday dinner!

PS if anyone ever wants to go and you don't have anyone to go with, I will totally go with you - you don't have to wait for your husband to take you.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday (the big 3-0) was a few days ago and I have been meaning to post for awhile anyhow. So you know how people post when its their kids' birthdays - they write how wonderful they are and all the things they love about them? Well I thought since no one else is going to write about me, I would write all the things I love about myself and how much I have grown this year. Just kidding. But I did want to post about what a fun weekend I had! First of all my husband was off for three days in a row (well, he did work one night shift, but I was asleep so that doesn't really count). This is significant because I can hardly remember the last time he had one whole day off!


So Saturday morning I picked up my mom from the airport - yes, she came just for my birthday (and as a bonus she got to see her grandkids). We hung out for a bit and that afternoon I got to take a nap with my husband. Heaven! After that, Grandma stayed with the kiddos and Russ and I went to the movie. Colton is refusing to take a bottle (another story) so we came home, fed the little rugrat and then headed back out for dinner. We ate dinner at an Indian restaurant called Bombay house. It was so yummy, but it made us really miss our friends who just moved to Seattle (he used to cook us the BEST Indian food). When we got home all the boys were actually in bed AND asleep! Yeah!

Sunday we layed around all day. We tried to grill steaks, but we were out of propane. We cooked them on the stove, so not quite the same, but good. I left the house for only a few minutes to let the boys ride their bikes. It was so relaxing! Plus the Broncos won, so that made me happy.

On Monday (my actual birthday), Russ watched the boys while my mom and I went shopping and to lunch. It's always nice to have Mom around to pay for things. :) Shopping for what I want is always the best birthday present! So that was really fun. We went back to get Colton and head to the airport and I had a little surprise from my boys. They are so awesome! Corbin made this cool banner and he wrote it all by himself!
They also made me my favorite dessert - Ghiradelli Brownies! Too bad we had to discard the middle section because they were too hot and melted the candles. They were so good though!

That night after I took my mom back to the airport, we had dinner with Russ' parents - almost all food from their garden. Spaghetti squash, watermelon, cantalope, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, and more that I'm probably forgetting. Yum.

And that's not all! The celebration continued on Tuesday. Stayed tuned and prepare for the mouth watering that will occur . . .

Just Two Things

My sister tagged me a few days ago, or maybe it was like a week or two ago, I have no idea. So here it is . . .

Two things you go by:
1. Mom
2. Babe

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. a brown shirt with a big white spit up spot on it
2. shorts that used to be too small (yay!)

Two things you want very badly at this moment:
1. a full night's sleep (ha,ha)
2. Money (sounds vain, I know, but sometimes I think it would relieve just a little stress)

Two things you did last night:
1. ate dinner made by my husband
2. hosted a women's group for church (group visiting teaching - interesting, eh?)

Two things you ate yesterday:
1. like 5+ butterscotch birds nest things
2. totinos pizza
(It's all part of my "Eat cookies and lose weight" diet - I'll have to write about it sometime)

Last two people you talked to: (if you don't count yelling at my kids to stay in bed)
1. My friend Amber who just had back surgery
2. My husband who is at work

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. getting a haircut - hopefully
2. attempting to clean my house before my mom comes this weekend

Two longest car rides:
1. Road Trip from Colorado to Arizona to Las Vegas to southern California all the way up to San Francisco and ending in Utah
2. Family vacation from Houston to Orlando, FL

Your two favorite holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Halloween/Fall

Favorite vacations: (recently?)
1. Belize
2. Yellowstone

Favorite beverages:
1. ice cold water
2. Fuse Peach Mango
(Yes, I finally kicked the Dew addiction)

I tag Janae, Emily, and Dorie. What are just two things about you?