Thanksgiving

We drove to Colorado for Thanksgiving to stay with J's parents for nine whole days! We got to see J's brothers and his sister and her family. It was a really fun time and R had a blast playing with her cousins, the cat (Spanky) and the dog (Alfalfa). She seems to be more of a cat person though, she and the cat were buddies the entire time. I got a great picture of them looking at a book together. J's mom did a great job with the food and tried to make it as healthy but still tasty as she could. I actually lost a pound during Thanksgiving (way weird). We only went to two stores on Black Friday because I hate shopping that day despite the deals. There are just too many pushy people out and it doesn't put me into the Christmas spirit. We only ended up buying J a new cell phone which we got for an amazing deal ($300 phone for $30 after 2 year new phone discount, mail-in rebate and sale price).
Some other news is that before we left on our trip, J took his last CPA exam! Well, hopefully his last one. If he passes it and the one before it, which we haven't received results for yet (after almost two months!) we will be completely done and get a nice bonus from J's work. Cross your fingers for us!

Vacation

So this is a catch up post. I don't consider my blog to be a priority (obviously). We had a great time over Halloween weekend on a getaway trip with some good friends. The hot tub was so relaxing and it is really pretty out there. We are currently on vacation in Colorado visiting J's family for Thanksgiving. R is having a lot of fun with Spanky and Alfalfa (the cat and the dog). I will try to post pictures of this trip eventually. Happy Thanksgiving!

Boo at the Zoo

Last Saturday we took R to the zoo for the annual Boo at the Zoo. It was soooooo packed, but fun nonetheless. R was really excited to see all of the animals, especially the giraffes and any type of bird. A little boy made her cry by stealing her candy bucket, but she forgot about it shortly. R dressed as a pink poodle. It was a really warm day and R's costume was well insulated so she didn't want to stay in it for long. She was dressed as a little girl with messy hair and dirty pants for the rest of the day. She kept trying to climb over the fences to play with the animals too.
After the zoo we went to a Rodizio's with some friends and ate too much meat (cause that's what you do there).
Since R likes Yo Gabba so much I painted her a Brobee face on her Halloween pumpkin (he is her favorite). She wants to go check on it outside all of the time to make sure it is still there.

We are leaving today to spend Halloween weekend at a nearby resort with some college buddies. We are really excited for the chance to relax and we are glad that we get to spend time with our friends before they move away from Utah.

Everything you ever wanted to know about R

This post is going to be all about R for my family's sake because they don't get to see her much. This is everything that I could think to write about her and then some. Enjoy!

THINGS SHE LOVES DOING...

DANCING, singing ("La La La"), coloring pictures, spinning in circles until she falls down, watching Yo Gabba Gabba (she says yo and yeah and is glued to the t.v. when it is on), brushing her teeth and pretending to floss, splashing in the bath, jumping in leaves and rolling around AND last but not least going to the park!

THINGS SHE HATES DOING...

sleeping, sitting still and wearing a diaper


FAVORITE FOODS...

bananas, pears, any melon, peaches, green beans, baked squash, swiss cheese, peas and pancakes/waffles Really, she loves food in general and will eat almost anything. She seems to like spicy food but I am scared to give it to her.

FAVORITE TOYS...

her Pooh Bear (she brings him everywhere, feeds him bottles, tucks him into bed and puts diapers on him), little racing cars, BOOKS (she looks at her books all day long!), Ellie (her rocking elephant)

WORDS SHE CAN SAY OR ALMOST SAY...

mumma, da (for dad), yes, no, hi, bye, boo, night night (nai nai), knock knock (naw naw -which she says when she wants a locked door to open), cheese, shoes, Jesus, milk (mill), water (wawer), nana (for banana), Aus (for Austin the baby I watch), YEAH! (which usually sounds like J-YEAH), yo, yum, bath (bat), bed(bet) and sleep (slee)

OTHER TID BITS...

She is small for her age(in the 20th percentile in height and weight) except for her big head (in the 90th percentile).
People often ask me if I am her nanny because of her blond hair and bright blue eyes, but if you watch her face for a while she is unmistakably mine.
She loves helping around the house and in the yard (especially with laundry, sweeping, raking and digging).
She is a neat freak and likes things put in a certain place. She also needs to do everything in the same order as usual or she gets MAD.
She loves to go outside and is constantly bringing me my shoes and a jacket (she can put her own shoes on now, but she used to bring me her shoes and by the end of the day there would be a pair of her shoes in every room in the house).
She doesn't like to sleep with a night light, she kept unplugging it, so I got rid of it and she has slept all the way through the night ever since.
She loves to say yes and rarely says no. She repeats yes over and over again when she is talking. For example, she will say, "mumma, yes, nana, yes, yes, yes", if she wants a banana. I think it's funny.

OUR NICKNAMES FOR HER...

Pumpkin, Raquelly, Raquelly Belly, Sweet Pea, Crazy Pants and Broccolina (which my Nonna started)


WHAT A FUN KID!


ROLLING IN THE LEAVES LIKE A CHAMP

6 Things Nobody Would Know About Me...

I have been tagged by Elisa, so I will try doing this for once, I don't usually do them.

1)I don't like to wear jewelery other than my wedding ring and the occasional pair of earrings. It makes me feel tacky for some reason, whether it is or not.

2)I love to recycle. This one is nerdy but I feel really happy when I do it. If I am out and need to throw away something recyclable, I will bring it home to recycle it instead of throwing it in the garbage. So if you ever see me put garbage in my purse or car, that is why I do it.

3)I can't eat cottage cheese. The texture of it makes me gag.

4)I don't deal with stress very well and often do deep breathing to relax enough to handle situations.

5)I love to paint. Sometimes to relieve stress I buy canvas and paint. My paintings aren't very good and I only show them to Jon, but it is very therapeutic and is a great creative outlet.

6)I secretly wish I could wear ballet flats all year round. I wear them in the cold right up until it snows and it is impossible to wear them. I love just being able to slip them on - no zippers or laces, it's the best.

A Visit From Mel and Nate

Finally, I am back writing again. I don't have as much spare time lately. At the end of last month J's sister Mel and her husband Nate came to visit. It was fun having them here and J's brother stayed for one night of the few that they were here. Mel and I went on a really long walk, around 4 or 5 miles up to this really beautiful spot in the east bench that has a great view the city. You can even see the lake from up there. Mel wanted to go on a long walk. The only problem was that it was a super windy day, especially once we got up so high. R nearly got blown over, and didn't want to stick around long, so we headed straight home.
Mel also really wanted to go to the Air Force Museum so we did that as well, and got a bit lost on the way (but I will do that now and again). It was really cool though, I honestly didn't think that I would like it at first but it was really neat to see all of those old planes and they had a flight simulator there as well. Mel and I also got to go to the General Relief Society Meeting which was great and was catered by a Chinese restaurant.

Another One Bites the Dust

My shedding tree

So this is a big deal to us, though most people won't be quite as excited - J passed 2 out if his 4 CPA exams so far (and with flying colors). These tests are tres dificil so I am very proud of him. Only 10% of people pass them all on the first try. Let's hope he keeps up the good work so we can get them over with lickety split. Between him being in tax season, going to his 10 hour day at the U of U on Saturdays and studying R is missing her pops pretty badly. Also this is something that I know nobody will really care about but I am glad that I figured out - my huge tree isn't a maple tree it is a sycamore tree and they are super messy. It is normal for them to shed their bark constantly and make a huge mess. I thought that the tree had a disease or something. My rake will never collect dust though and R likes to help the tree by picking off the bark. I am also happy that J's sister Mel and her husband Nate will be coming to visit this weekend.

I am a nanny now too, by the way. I didn't think that it would work to take on an extra little boy, who is 8 months old, and my spicy little meatball, R, who is a handful, but I guess when I really want to I can multitask. He is a dream to watch though because he takes 2 long naps so I basically only watch him for 3 or 4 hours out of 8 that he is at my house. R has never taken a nap longer than 1 hour and normally she only sleeps for 30 minutes during naps. I had no idea that babies could sleep for 2 or 3 hours during a nap. But here's to hoping that my next child will be a sleeper so that I can have the energy to play with R to her heart's desire. She is really into dancing right now and she makes me dance with her. Her dancing usually ends when she spins in circles until she falls down dizzy and lays there laughing instead. What a nutty girl.

Trip to Idaho

We have missed a lot things about Idaho since we left. A friend got married out near Kelly Canyon this past weekend so we headed up to Idaho for a short, one night vacation. We packed a lot into our short trip. We got into Rexburg on Friday night and went to some of our old stomping grounds. On the way down though, R spilled milk all over her car seat and it made our car smell terrible until we finally got it cleaned up and aired out. We got our favorite frozen custard from BRC. The next day we had to be out of our hotel by 12 but the wedding didn't start until 4 so we decided to head up to Mesa Falls after we stopped at Millhollow for sandwiches (which is my favorite place to eat, I have craved it for over a year now) and then went to the sand dunes. R was a wilderness girl all day. She loved hiking around the falls and she wanted to look at every flower and pine cone she came across. She also loved the dunes, she was giggling and tumbling around the whole time that we were there. It was really funny to watch her. We also went to Albertson's and bought cereal and if you know J and I, we can't resist stocking up on 10 for $10 cereal deals, even on vacation. They don't have cereal 10 for $10 in Utah as often as they do in Rexburg. So we eventually went to the wedding and it was beautiful with a great reception. The End.

More Pictures

Just some random pictures.

R thinks that if she kisses the door it will open for her.

I Heart Summer

I was skeptical of my new town before I moved here because people told me it was gross, but I have really liked it here. They have free lunches for kids in the park all summer. There is a great children's museum, the whole town is surrounded by views of either mountains or the lake. I am close to hiking (a 2 minute walk to a trail that leads me to a waterfall), fishing, and camping. The only downside is that our mall is how you say "crappy". But it should help me save money because if I have to go very far for decent shopping then I won't go very often.
J has started his fall busy season - woe is me. But it will be over on October 15th and I will get to see him again. At least I have my R to keep me busy. She would live outside if she had her way so we go on 2 walks per day and spend the rest of the time playing on playgrounds or in the backyard. And oh my stars, the backyard is absolutely covered in leaves and branches. If anyone has been to my house they know I have a massive tree. I looks like a maple, but I don't really know. It  sheds bark constantly for some reason and drops these green balls everywhere which sprout up more trees. But, to make matters worse, the other day it rained for the first time all summer and leaves and branches and green balls are now everywhere. I have been raking and raking and have barely made a dent.
My little gal is getting to the point where she is picking things up so quickly. She doesn't seem like a baby anymore and she wants to do everything herself. She prefers to eat sitting in a big chair, she tries to wipe herself while I change her. She picks out her own clothes and brushes her own hair. She makes me put lotion in her hands so she can put it on herself and she does the same thing with the soap and the washcloth in the tub. She also likes to rinse herself off by pouring water on her own head in the tub! She is a cleaning machine, if she finds or makes any crumbs on the floor she gets the broom and tries to sweep it, she also puts any paper she finds in the garbage. She continues to love helping with the laundry and she wipes things down when I give her a paper towel. When she dances she stomps her feet like in Flashdance and spins in circles until she falls over. I could, like any mom, go on and on, but I will say one more thing.... the other night, right as she was falling asleep she gurgled the word sleep and then passed out.