Top 10!

I have to brag about my husband just for one little, tiny post. He just found out he is in the top 10% of salesman for 2009 in his company--worldwide! This is his second year in a row making it in the top 10-- and he's pretty excited about it. Anyway, nice job honey. You deserve it!

Dinner Fiasco!

So a friend and I decided to do a dinner exchange one night a week. Sweet! And I thought I would start off the fun. So yesterday, I decided to make this:

And this:

And some of these. . . yummy!

Delicious! However. . . things did not go as planned. First, I made the base of the brownies earlier in the day. I baked them in your typical glass Pyrex plan. Well, when I took them out I set them on the countertop. It had probably been sitting there for a full minute or two and I wasn't even touching the pan, when it shattered into pieces. And not just a couple of pieces, it broke into tons of tiny pieces on the counter and floor! Ugh! So I had to sweep and mop while keeping a 15 month old out of the kitchen.

Ok, I could have dealt with just that. But as I was cooking everything, our power went out! And didn't come on for about 5 hours, by the way. So, the sandwiches I just had to assemble as I thought she might want to cook them in her George Forman at home (aka panini grill) so they were fresh. But the soup!- it was cooked, but you are supposed to blend half of it to make it good before you eat it. Well, no power, no blender. And at this point I am doing everything in dim lighting as it's getting darker.

So, OK- I have half finished soup and half finished sandwiches, but the brownies are complete. I pack it all up and head over to her house. But I'm in a hurry and do I remember that I have a bowl of soup on the floor-no! Soup-everywhere on the floor of the car! Ugh!

I figure it can't go any worse next time. It can only get better!

Hawaii, Encore!

So. . .Danny had to go to Hawaii for work. I know--HAWAII! They were completing a job on the Hawaii temple. He asked me if I wanted to go, and at first I said "No way!" Taking a 15 month old on a 6 hour flight there and back after I swore I would never do it again was just not appealing to me. But then the thought of Danny calling me from the beach while sipping some POG (papaya, orange, guava juice- so delicious) while I was stuck here in the snow was too much to handle. So I decided to go.

However, two days before going, I got strep throat of all things. My mom was still here from her Easter weekend trip so she took care of Shayne for me while I laid on the couch both of those days. You are a lifesaver mom! Then, a few hours before my mom was supposed to fly home, she suggested that she could take Shayne home with her while we went to Hawaii (we were leaving the next day). Perfect right! You would think with all my doubts about taking Shayne with us, my illness, and the fact that we don't get offers like this often that I would have jumped at the chance, right???? I COULDN'T DO IT! Everytime I looked at Shayne and thought about it, I started crying thinking how much I would miss her. Danny told me after my mom left that I made a "big mistake!" I know! I blame it on being sick.

Not sure why I can't get these pics in order, but this was the after effect of a red-eye flight and a 4 hour time change. We are still adjusting.

But once we got there and adjusted to the time change, we had a great time. We stayed on the north shore of Oahu at Turtle Bay Condos. I would totally recommend it for anyone. Heated pool just out of our condo with the beach only a few step beyond that. The north shore is true Hawaii- no shopping, not a lot of restaurants, tons of surfers, and big waves. We did go to the PCC show and dinner one night, to town to get a snow cone, and drove around BYU Hawaii once, but otherwise it was the beach and the pool for us.

On our way out of town, we went to Pearl Harbor. Danny's true calling in life:

Beach girl:


Sunset beach:
Turtle Bay:

We had a great time! And I am now putting this in writing-- I will never take a 15 month old on a 6 hour OR red-eye flight again. Standing in the back of the plane with a wiggling kid on your hip for 2 hours is not all that fun.

Easter Weekend

So I begged my parents to come and visit for Easter weekend. I played the guilty "don't you want to see your grandchild?" card. Totally worked. Shayne loved my parents and especially my mom who stayed a few days longer. Soon I found her following my mom all around the house instead of me! Sweet! My mom had been telling me I needed to get Shayne a haircut, so we went to a little kid's haircut place and got her hair done. However, despite the balloon and sucker in her hands, movie playing, and cute car chair to sit in, she had an absolute fit!

On Easter Sunday, we had my parents, Danny's parents, my grandmother, and Danny's grandfather over for lunch in between conference sessions.
Shayne got a kitty movie (Aristocats), bunny potato head, and some empty easter eggs from the Easter Bunny. She couldn't have been happier. And her favorite gift was. . . . the empty easter eggs!
Cute dress my mom got for her:

St. George Trip

We took a trip to St. George in March. Danny had to go for work and so I wasn't about to be left behind! We loved escaping the winter to get some sunshine in. Our friends came down too and we did some hiking, shopping, eating, and swimming in the pool. It was a great break from the usual schedule.

Cutie kids:

Cowboy up!

So I went with a friend to the Zac Brown Band concert this weekend. And yes, I wore my cowboy boots and my friend wore her red ones. I have to say that there was a was quite a bit more ratted hair, sequined tank tops, and drunken-fool, dancing around people than you would typically see in the general population. I don't know what it is about country music that brings that out. People watching is always so fascinating. But, the band played and they were REALLY good. However, I have realized that I am becoming so soft in my old age. By the end, my feet hurt from standing, my neck hurt from looking over everyone's shoulder, and it was past my bedtime. I really like this groups music though. I love groups where they are real musicians and can play instruments really well as well as sing. Loved it!!

P.S. We saw a couple with what looked like a 3 year old and an 18 month old at the concert! What??? At least they put headphones for ear protection on them, but come on!

My New Niece!

I took a quick trip to Arizona with Shayne to go meet my new niece, Avery, my sister Sarah's little girl. No better time to visit warm, sunny AZ then during the cold, smoggy month of February in Utah. She's a cute little thing.

Big yawn:
I felt like this trip to AZ was also a trip down memory lane for me. We did some things that I did a lot of growing up. We went to a duck park with a pond that I remember fishing in with a little kid's 'tony the tiger' fishing pole. There were several people fishing in it the day we went and I couldn't help but wondering what kind of wacky, terrible tasting fish you could catch in this murky, stagnant gutter-run off pond. Yuck!

My mom and I took Shayne to the Phoenix Zoo. It was sooo much fun and Shayne really enjoyed it. I remember going to the petting zoo at the zoo and being surrounded by goats. I remember them eating a paper out of my dad's pocket once. When I took Shayne in to pet the goats, most of them were asleep and lying on the ground. We found one just the right size for her though:I was wondering what had changed with the goats and I realized that they used to let you feed them pellets. Well, no longer and, therefore, they are no longer much interested in you. Shayne was a little wary of Pedro the donkey, but he was nice.
My mom took Shayne into the monkey exhibit where you enter into a big cage with a bunch of little spider monkeys. They do have warning signs saying that the monkeys may jump on you, bite you, and the guide warned her to stand back a certain distance or you could get peed on! I was quite proud of my mom for taking the chance.
One night we introduced Shayne to the magic of bubbles:
And picked ripe, sweet oranges off the tree in my parents' backyard to eat. I think I ate 3 a day the whole time I was there.
I didn't get pictures of it, but Shayne's favorite thing during the trip was my parent's little mini schnauzer. She would follow her all around, sit in her dog bed, and ask for her in her own way (shrugging her shoulders and doing her 'woof woof' dog sound) everytime she was out of sight. Ah, Arizona I miss you.