Go Green or Go Irish

That's my philosophy for St. Patrick's day. Since I do not know of any good Irish restaurants in Utah Valley and I can't cook a beef pasty like it should be, I decided we would just go green for the day. Plus, I think that is funner for the kids anyway. Also, I do not decorate until the actual day because (A) the kids think its cool to wake up to green, clover decorations everywhere and (B) we are not really celebrating a season of St. Patty's - just the day. So here ya go, our St. Patrick's day 2009 . . .

Breakfast was green eggs and hamCorbin wasn't so sure at first, but turns out he really liked it and Russ and I were the ones that were not so sure about green dye in our food.

Dinner was pasta shells with pesto, green jello (the melon kind, not lime) and bread w/ green parsley. It was all a big hit. Turns out I really like the store bought pesto. ;)

So there you have it. Our green holiday of fun. Now bring on Spring!

Calling all Space Rangers!

Cody had a Buzz Lightyear party this year for his 3rd birthday. I tried to make it nice and simple and I think it turned out fun and just right . . .

Everybody got to decorate their own flying saucer with markers foam space stickers and then we went in the backyard to test them out. They actually flew really well. And thank goodness for the nice weather!

We also played a game where you had to destroy Emperor Zurg by knocking down all the cans. This was a big hit. We didn't even have to have prizes and everyone thought it was a blast!
Corbin helped me make the galaxy bottles ahead of time that everyone got to take home as their little "thanks for coming" gift. (If you can't tell, their kind of like lava lamp looking things with sparkles and stars inside.)

And of course we had to serve pizza . . .

Cody had a great time opening all his presents and giving all his friends hugs afterward.

Yummy cupcakes finished the party off perfectly. And we still had one happy birthday boy at the end of it all.

Weekend Getaway!

Some of you already know that Russ and I had a little weekend away, since I had to ask everyone and their dog to watch my boys. Yes, we had this great plan, but it didn't work out and it seemed to be a bad weekend for everyone. But really, who doesn't want two cute little boys for a WHOLE weekend? My Dad did offer to come over, but then my sister-in-law came to the rescue. (Which was good, because I really want my dad to come when I'M here!) So the big boys got to go stay with their cousins in Idaho and Russ and I got to take a trip to Seattle to visit our friends Jen and Rahul. So thank you Bridjette and thank you Miranda for watching Colton!

It was a quick trip, but so fun and so worth it! We got there Friday afternoon with plenty of time to visit and go out for a fun dinner. We ended up at this Spanish restaurant called Brasa. At first I thought it was kind of weird and definitely too fancy, but it was SUPER good. They had the best gnocchi I have ever tasted and Russ totally like the octopus. I couldn't get past the tecture of the little sucker things, couldn't they just shave those off - Yuck!

Saturday we got a tour of Microsoft, where Rahul works. That was cool. They seriously treat their employees good - they have fully stocked break rooms each with its own Starbucks coffee/cocoa maker and fridges full of juices, sodas, etc. They also have another break room that looks like a little lounge with cool tables and lighting and a whole x-box get up complete with all the Rock Band gear, etc. And yes, they can just play it whenever they feel like it. Rahul is allowed to go into work at whatever time he wants. He said rush hour at Microsoft is at about 10am. Crazy huh.

In one of the lunch rooms, they have one of those Surface things that you can play with. Its those boards that they use on the news, like for the weather and stuff. Ya know where you just use your fingers to grab and move the things around on the screen. It was SOOO cool! It had maps and games and cool drawing things. If I had fifteen hundred dollars, I would totally buy one.

After our Microsoft tour, we headed into downtown to go to Pike's Place Market. We've been there before, but it was years ago, and I think it is always fun. They have so many different things there. I think it is so fun just to look at everything. So we walked around a bit and even bought some shrimp and swordfish that Russ and Rahul cooked up for dinner. It was the best fish I have EVER had.

We also drove over to Alki which is on the other side of the water so we had a great view of Downtown Seattle and the Space Needle (and soe awesome fish and chips). Russ really wanted to go fishing. It was typical Seattle weather, a little on the chilly side, but a great view and lots of fun.

The next day we went hiking to Wallace Falls, which was snowy and slushy and of course we weren't really dressed appropriately. And as fate would have it, my camera battery died. Total bummer, because it was a gorgeous hike and I'm pretty sure we looked like these silly city kids out there hiking totally unprepared in the snow. But it turned out to be super fun and we were really glad we weren't turned off by the initial mud puddles and slippery slopes.

Thank you Jen and Rahul for an awesomely fun weekend! Can't wait to do it again!

Real people win radio station contests . .

So most of you have heard by now of our glorious news yesterday, and even though I had emailed nearly my entire contact list and then some, everyone asked "Did you post it on your blog yet?" So here it is with a little background to make the whole thing more exciting (as if winning a trip needs any more excitement!)

Back in February, there was this "Safe Kids Fair" in Salt Lake and it was free, so I thought that would be a fun activity for the fam and since Russ had the day off, we had to go because if it was just me, I probably would have skipped it. (Managing three little kids in crowded places is not always a rewarding experience.) Anyway, since it was free, I thought what the heck, if it stinks then we just get in the car and go home - no big loss.

It turned out to be quite fun, there were ALL kinds of vendors with all kinds of handouts, treats, games, prizes, etc. They even gave you a little bag as you entered to collect all of your goodies. Russ said he actually thought it was cool. It was at this big convention center and they had a firetruck inside and everything. I was actually going to do a whole post about this, because it was really fun, but obviously I haven't posted in awhile. So here's a few pics from our fun little outing:

Corbin riding in the bike rodeo and learning bike safety

Corbin and Cody trying out the Police bikes

Fighting with a storm trooper (not quite sure what this had to do with safety)

Cody hanging with the talking ambulance (this was really cool, because it was run by a lady that talked through a head-set like 10yards away, but the kids really thought the little robot ambulance was talking to them because it would say their name and stuff)

Trying on firefighter gear is always fun (this one seemed way too clean to have been actually used by a firefighter, but it was still cool)

So on to the real story, one of the booths was this radio station and they had this big table of legos where kids could play and build things. My boys LOVE legos, so of course we had to stop and play for a minute (or twenty). Then we saw that there was a contest to win a trip to Legoland and since Corbin has been wanting to go there forever, he got totally excited. So the deal was you build a lego creation, they take your picture, they posted it on the website and then people could vote for the winner.

The plane in progress (Corbin was very proud that it included a bathroom as well, no details were forgotten):

In the mind of a five year old, he thought "I built my lego creation, now when do I get my trip to Legoland". So when we got home, I spent several days explaining to him the nature of the contest (and basically preparing him to lose, because who really ever wins these things anyway). It took them a few days to post the pictures online and by that point we were preparing for a trip to Seattle (that post will come soon) and just busy, busy, busy. So we got back from Seattle, spent a day recovering and then it hit me! And I was like crap, I think we missed it! So I got online and realized people could still vote and there were only like 231 entries. I thought I better try - for Corbin, because he wanted it so badly and by the time we can afford a trip out to California, he will probably have outgrown the desire to go. Plus, I figured about 10-20% of the people took their pictures at the fair and then totally forgot about it, then there were probably 10-20% who voted and told grandma to vote, but that's it. So somehow I convinced myself that we had do-able odds. Long story short, I sent an email to almost all my contacts - friends, family, high school buddies, colleagues, etc, etc. And apparently a few people passed the word on and people actually voted - because it worked!! In two days we blew everyone else out of the water. Thank you, btw, to all of you who voted and got others to vote - obviously we wouldn't have won without each and every vote. It is nice to know that I have so much support from friends and family when I really need it!

So here's what we won (or you can click here to see Corbin's pic and more details):

Airfare for four to San Diego, California.

Two night stay at Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel.

Four tickets to LEGOLAND® California.

Delicious dinner for four at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza

Four passes for the hop on and hop off Old Town Trolley Tour of San Diego.

Wahoo!! We are so excited! Russ and I both had perma-grin yesterday. And when we looked it all up online with the boys, we got even more excited. We can't wait! We pick up the package from the radio station this week and I think we just work with the travel agency to pick when we want to go. So has anyone been? Any suggestions on when we should go? And yes, I think we are going to see if we can add a day or two to spend more time there and do some of the other fun things in San Diego. Ahhh! I'm so excited!

So Corbin's uncle, who was an avid supporter and campaigned tirelessly, requested us to video tape when we told Corbin, so stay tuned for the posting of that. :)

Open House

Russ and I took the boys to the Draper Temple open house on Wednesday and it was a fantastic experience! Obviously Corbin was the most aware of the significance and of what was going on, but Cody was so well behaved and interested and I think he learned a little bit too. If you are unfamiliar with LDS temples and what they are for, click here. If you are LDS and want to go to the cool temple site that my boys love to look at, click here. It's kind of like GoogleEarth, but with temple pics :)

For those who have never been to a temple open house, or have been when they were a kid and don't remember, it was extremely well organized for the number of people that go through there. The logistical operations plan for over 400 people every 20 min. Luckily the day we went there were much, much fewer than that. I think we were quite lucky, the day we went, there were just a couple other people in any of the rooms with us. It was very calm and peaceful. And I can't believe how good my boys were! I was so proud of them. They walked through each room, staying on the little mat walkways, looking at their pamphlets trying to figure which picture was of the room we were currently in. Corbin, of course, kept commenting on how beautiful and amazing everything was and wanted to read all about it. Cody took quick glances, thought a few things were cool and asked what random things were for (like the thermostat and the elevator buttons). So back to what I was saying about the logistics - when you make your reservation, you are assigned to one of three color-coded churches situtated somewhat near the temple. Before you board the charter buses to the temple, you get to watch a little movie about temples and the history of Draper. It was short and sweet, but very well done. It set a nice tone for the event. The boys loved the bus ride. The guy in front of us asked Corbin if it was better than a school bus (which it far surpassed, of course), but Corbin has never been on a school bus! The bus trip definitely added to the fun and coolness of the day.

So you get to see the temple as you are driving up, but then that is about it, because as soon as you pull up, there are long tented walkways, with heat I might add, that lead all the way into the temple and then out again when you are done. The day we went the weather was fairly nice, but I'm sure these came in handy on the days when you were shuffling in slowly with hundreds of others in the blowing snow. Plus I think they are probably a good was to keep everyone from entering the temple all wet and drippy and dirty. So you walk in and are in awe. It is clean and beautiful and you are surrounded by gorgeous artwork and friendly faces. What a wonderful feeling! It was nice that there were not many people so we could go at our own pace and I could explain to Corbin and Cody what things were for, what happens in the temple, and why it is important. They were so receptive. I was elated to be there with my whole family and even more happy that it turned out to be such a good experience. (Don't think that this happens just because it is the temple - I had several friends tell me of their experiences of children screaming the entire time, or running and trying to escape the whole ordeal). But I do think I was blessed with peaceful children, even if it was just for one short hour. I was so grateful! I think the boys were most intrigued by the baptismal font. Cody did say that he wanted to go swimming, but I explained to him what it was for and he didn't say anything - I think he was trying to figure that one out. Both boys liked looking at the murals in the ordinance rooms. They thought the celestial room was gorgeous, which, of course, it was. By the time we got to the sealing room, Colton was done being packed around in the carrier, so Russ stood outside while the boys and I listented to a sweet old couple give a brief synopsis and testimony of the purpose of the temple and being sealed together as a family. Corbin was excited to see where he will bring his bride someday. (He talks about it quite often, and at one point told me that his bride was going to half to choose him, because it was just too hard for him to pick one.) So out we headed through another tent tunnel to the church next door with a very nice reception area set up. If I hadn't already known it was a regular church, I never would have guessed. It looked so nice. We ttok a few minutes looking at the pictures of temples from around the world, then grabbed a few cookies and bottled water and headed out to the heated tent to wait for our bus. I snagged this picture just before we hopped on the bus. I really was there, I promise. Glad I got a picture of all my boys together though. All in all, it was an awesomely incredible trip and I am SO glad that I took all my boys and my hubby and that we could share this experience together.

Rub a dub dub, 3 men in a tub

I don't know about your kids, but my boys absolutley LOVE bathtime. Sometimes they even get in just for fun. I like the fact that I can do all three at once now. It makes it a little easier - I think. Sad to say that I gave in though - when we bought this house I swore that I was going to keep my garden tub all for myself as my special place of zen and relaxation. But it is just so much bigger and actually fits 3 growing boys, and I kind of like having them in my room where I can get a few things done while they are bathing. Ahh, what we give up for our children.