Chopsticks and I Pods

Hooray for Aunt Christina! That is what R would say if she knew how. They had so much fun together while she was here. R is still looking around the house for her now the she has been gone for a week.
While showing Christina around town, I actually went downtown for the first time other than to go to J's workplace and it is a pretty cool area after all. I say after all because my city doesn't have the greatest reputation in Utah. But having lived in both Salt Lake City and here I must say that I don't feel any less safe here and there are cool places to eat and shop just not as many as in Salt Lake City. Also the bums are much friendlier. One of them told Christina and I we made the world a more beautiful place. Isn't that sweet? Maybe not? We found this great sushi place on 25th street that we frequented. We also went to Salt Lake City for a day so Christina could go to my favorite salon (Lunatic Fringe, they are awesome), have lunch and visit a friend who we grew up with who goes to LDS Business College.
R loves I pods apparently. She kept using Christina's, she would put the earphone up to her ear and bob her head up and down. She has also become obsessed with being outside and looking at trees, animals, bugs and whatever else is around. She picks out her own clothes and shoes now.

Just take a look it's in a book...

R loves to read. She grabs a book everyday and finds a cozy place to sit, which used to be her pink armchair until we moved but is now inside of any kitchen cabinet that she can manage to jimmy open. She opens up her book, usually upsidedown, and starts mumbling and giggling.

Catching up...

I hate moving! But the moving and unpacking is all over now. We love the new house. J is learning to be handy getting everything set up for us. He owns his first power tool, a drill. R has been the accident queen and fallen on her head a couple of times. She likes her new room, probably because it doesn't resemble a cave like her last room did and she doesn't have to share it with boxes and a printer. She is also saying cheese and broom now. She is obsessed with the broom and likes to hold the dust pan while I sweep. She makes me sweep 3 or 4 times per day to get her broom addiction fix. My floors have never been cleaner! She also likes to open cabinets and sit inside of them, carry her purse on her shoulder when we go out and brush her hair and teeth.
Our neighborhood is way cute, I have been going on walks and looking at all of the cool old houses around. It has been so hot though (in the high 90s everyday). One day I wanted to walk to the grocery store instead of drive, thinking it wasn't very far. It was farther than I thought, of course, and I walked through sprinklers on my way home to cool R and I off.
I just bought a plane ticket to Chicago for August 4th, I will go there and then head to Ontario on a train after a few days. I am excited about this trip although the thought of taking R on a plane and a train in the same week sounds nightmarish. J will not be attending this vacation, he has to take classes for his CPA exam and study until he can't stand it anymore. I miss having my family (and my bestie Renee of course) around and I want to take R to the beach and the animal farm, etc. once we are in Canada.
I hope that everyone had a nice Canada Day or Independence Day. I celebrated with J and his brother. When I say celebrated, I mean we went to breakfast and just hung out and tried to have a relaxing weekend. We could see some fireworks from our house so we just watched them from the street.