An Early Christmas Present

Today Rob surprised us all with a NEW PUPPY for Christmas!

He came by special delivery, wrapped in a big red box with a bow around his neck.

His name is Jasper and he is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is a half brother to Duke, the puppy we gave my mom and dad last year for Christmas.

Liam has been saying for a month he wanted a puppy for Christmas.

This was his reaction when he saw Jasper!

Liv was super excited as well!

She is helping Jasper feel at home by hand-feeding him which he really likes.

So FUN to have a new Christmas PuppY in our home.

A Room with a view

For all my complaining about the cold winters in Utah, I absolutely love FALL! (I am working on trying to like winter....definitely a work in progress!)

We were so spoiled this fall with mild temperatures and gorgeous fall colors. This is what I get to see outside my kitchen every day!

Our backdoor neighbor has the most gorgeous colors in his yard

I absolutely love this view of Timp

I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.... in a warm house.... with great central heating! :)

San Francisco

One of the perks of having a husband who travels for his job is getting to go with him. One of the perks of having friends who like to travel in private jets is getting to fly on a private jet. Put the two together and you get an unbelievable trip to San Francisco!

Rob, me and the Pestana's getting ready to fly in style to San Francisco

We went to Alcatraz and took the guided audio tour. Very fascinating and informative. I absolutely loved seeing this place. I was also glad that I was just visiting and not an occupant there. Even though it was a beautiful "warm" day for San Francisco, it was still really chilly with the wind whipping off the bay.

On the Ferry to Alcatraz

Since the boys were working and going to conferences, Heidi and I got to play! We went to an awesome anusara yoga class via taxi, found an organic Juicy Lucy's juice bar and farmers market, and one of my personal favorites...ran across the Golden Gate bridge. The bridge was pretty empty when we went across in the morning. The return trip was packed with tourists and soooo cold. The wind was gusting and swirling around us and literally pushing us back. Maybe it was a sign to return to sunny Sausilito!

Once we got over the bridge it warmed up considerably. I couldn't believe the temperature change once we got out of the bay fog. We ran along a (thankfully) gentle downhill curvy road and ended up in one of the most charming places I've been...Sausilito.

After a yummy breakfast of yummy organic steel cut oats and fresh fruit we ran around Sausilito and explored this enchanting place. It was amazing to look across the bay and see the city literally enveloped in fog while we were in warm sunshiny heaven. We debated about taking the ferry back to the city and instead decided to run back to the bridge and catch a city bus. It was fun to run up under the bridge on a fire trail and then join the masses of tourists trekking back across the bridge. We caught the city bus or the "muny" as the locals call it and that in itself was an adventure. We met some flight attendants from Mexico that thought Heidi and I were married to each other, rode through China Town where the bus became crammed with way too many bodies, successfully made our route transfer and then safely made it back to our hotels.

ONe of my favorite parts was going to see Wicked! I had been dying to see it and was so excited when Rob told me he bought tickets to go! We had amazing seats and I loved every minute of it. I snapped a picture before the show started and was immediately accosted by two flustered ushers both telling me, "no pictures allowed!" oops! The show held up to all my expectations.

We had an amazing time shopping, eating amazing meals, enjoying time with each other and good friends, and thankfully beautiful fall weather in San Francisco. I can't wait to go back!

Quote of the Day!

Owen said to me today, "Mom the only words I can say are, What the Heck, Oh my gosh, and Hot Ladies!"

Huh?

I said, "What does Hot Ladies mean?"

He said, "That ladies are burning on fire!"

I said, "How did they get on fire?"

"Magic!"

Oh........

Go Owen Go!

Owen went on the knee board for the first time today! He did so great, he leaned back, kept his arms straight and held on tight. In fact he kept holding on, and on, and on....we finally had to stop the wave runner to get him to let go of the rope. Even though he bumped his head when he fell off the knee board, he came up smiling and was so proud! Way to go big O!

Crazy Montana Weather!

While in Montana this week enjoying a great family vacation with our favorite Canadian family this happened....imagine hail the size of marbles to golf balls coming down on a corrugated metal roof! Crazy!

When you hear me screaming it was to prevent my daughter from going out in the storm to see if the baby birds who are living in the rain gutter were ok. It was so loud she couldn't hear me. Thankfully, she did hear me before getting pummeled by ice balls. This is a small one...

YUMMY!!!

I just made this amazing salad and loved it so much I thought that I must absolutely blog it and share it with ya'll. I slightly modified the recipe and it turned out great. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Shrimp Avocado-Bowl Salad

 Citrus Dressing:

¼ C freshly squeezed OJ

¼ C freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp grated lime zest

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp stevia

 

Salad:

 1 C frozen precooked baby shrimp

(about 6 oz)

3 T chopped mint, more for garnish

¼ C chopped cilantro, more for garnish

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (I omitted this because I didn’t have it)

½ English cucumber, diced

½ C tomato, diced

2 avocados, ripe yet firm

8 T Citrus Dressing, divided

4 C shredded romaine lettuce

 

1. Thaw shrimp and drain. In a bowl, combine shrimp with mint, cilantro, cheese, cucumber and tomato.

2. Split avocados and discard pits. With a table knife, gently score flesh of avocado without splitting the shell. Scoop out flesh and add to shrimp salad. Reserve avocado shells, set aside.

3. Pour half the dressing over the shrimp salad and gently toss. In another bowl, toss romaine lettuce with remaining dressing.

4. Divide lettuce among 4 plates. Set avocado shells atop romaine and fill with shrimp salad. Garnish with additional mint, cilantro and cheese and  serve.

Liam's race

This morning, bright and early, our family ran a 5k/1 mile fun run sponsored by the Utah Hemophilia Foundation called the Blood Run. Liam and I ran the 5k and every one else ran the 1 mile fun run. This was a really fun event for our family to do together and supports a really good cause that affects us directly. Liam was so excited to run this race to help everyone, and himself, who has hemophilia. Liam lined up at the front of the pack and took off sprinting as soon as the whistle was blown. He sprinted for about half a mile and then we ran/sprinted/walked the rest of the way. I was so proud of all the kids for supporting Liam in this event. Although no PR's were set today, we had a great time and were so happy to support a good cause. We also won 7 raffle prizes to boot!

Left to right

Liv, Me, Rob, Alex, Gavin, Sarah (cousin), Sydney (cousin)

Owen, Liam, Nate (Liam's friend)

Liam was as excited to climb this tree as he was for the race!

Liam and Owen

Coming in on the home stretch

Liam's leading the pack

Sprinting now....

Almost there....

Post race smiles!

Nate and his mom Julie ran most of the way with us

LOVE SUMMER!!!

What's a better way to spend a Sunday evening than up the canyon enjoying the beautiful weather in a beautiful surrounding with family and LOTS of sugar? Yesterday we went up AF canyon with my brother Matt, his wife Amber, and their cute baby Cash to roast shmarshmallows, throw rocks in the raging river, and just hang out and enjoy Mother Nature's gift to us. We had an amazing evening and were reminded how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful place. Thanks Matt and Amber for inviting us to go with you!

Who know's how many smores Gavin had? We lost track after 5!

Owen enjoyed playing in Matt and Amber's camper

We found out that roasted Zinger's were pretty good

E. L. Fudge cookies are the ONly way to make smores

Liv contemplating if she has any room left to eat that roasted zinger on the end of the stick

Matt, Amber and Cash

 (no that's not a mole on Matt's chin, just a little roasted marshmallow he is saving for later!)

Me and my honey!

Liam definitely got the award for best roaster...

He eats with such poise and grace!

Such a cute couple!

He is definitely NOT related to this baby, but they are both cute!

How about a little game of slap jack?

What handsome guys!

Do these children even look a little bit like me?

WOW!!!

It is so fun to "hang out" with my kids as they get older. They are so funny and kept us laughing with their antics and observations. Alex and I played a game called "get to know you better" which consisted of asking each other questions about themselves. I loved it! I've honestly have been dreading the "teen-age years" but find that so far my kids are just as delightful at 12 as they are at 3! What a lucky lady I am! ;)

A picture says a thousand words....

Spring Soccer

This is Liam's soccer game last Tuesday night....

Liam's the one in the tree in the background! 

Gotta love it! ;)

Easter JOY!

This Easter Season was one of my favorites! First we had General Conference which I just loved!!! My favorite talk was by Elder Holland on the Savior and His Atonement. He gave me new insight on the Savior's sacrifice that I had never thought about before. My friend Holly sent me a link to a cool video clip that takes from his talk.

Then the next weekend I got to be a part of an amazing experience. My favorite friend Jen and I were invited to be a part of Lex de Azevedo's oratorio called Hosanna. Lex took directly from the King James Bible the story of the last week of the Savior's life and resurrection and composed the most beautiful and amazing music to tell the story. Jen and I were in the antiphonal choir which is basically a back up choir. The soloist were professional singers who had been on broadway, the opera and were soloist for MoTab. Jenny Oaks Baker was the violist which was by far my favorite part of the music. We performed two nights at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown SLC. The experience was powerful, and one I will never forget. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of such beautiful, inspiring, testimony building event. We even had General Authorities attend and Kurt Bestor...so that means I'm kind of famous now :)

I know that it wasn't by chance that I was in this choir. I feel that Heavenly Father gave me this amazing opportunity so that I could deepen my testimony of and love for the Savior and share those feelings with my family and my friends. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and his Atoning Sacrifice so that I can repent, change and go home to Him!