We're headed to the beach!

San Diego here we come! We are going away for the weekend to cool off in the California sun. I can't wait and neither can Maya. All day she has been saying, "Let's go to the beach!" When we went to the store, she was sure we were headed for the beach. Poor girl doesn't realize we are driving to the beach as opposed to the usual 1 hour flight. She is in for a rude awakening! We are leaving during naptime tomorrow so hopefully the little ones will sleep for half of the drive and watch a movie for the other half (Maya that is, Kenyon doesn't really watch TV yet :). I will be sure to have some cute pics to share when we are back!

Cute Maya moment - when I layed her down for her nap today, she said to her stuffed animals in her bed, "Hey guys, I am back!"

Cute Kenyon moment - nearly every daytime moment with Kenyon is cute because he is full of squeals and smiles. The night-time moments are not so cute right now...

There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

It rained in the middle of the night so we woke up to cooler weather. So cool, in fact, that at 10:00 a.m. it was only 80 degrees. Jer was gone on a bike ride with a friend so I threw the kids in the stroller as fast I could and we headed to the park. No one else was there because the slides and swings were wet, but we didn't let that stop us. Kenyon had his first swing on a park swing and you should have seen the smile on his face. I hadn't brought my camera so I went to take a picture with my phone and the battery died. Sorry - no picture, but I had to share our brief encounter with cooler weather!

Halloween - Already!

I know it is more than 2 months away, but I can't help but share that I got the cutest freakin' costumes for my kids tonight. I love the costumes at The Children's Place and I knew they were coming in this week so we went to check them out. I can't give them away, but I can tell you they involve a witch and a pumpkin and they are cute, cute, cute! Here is a pic from Maya last year on Halloween and I can tell you that this year will be just as fabulous, if not better. I bet you can hardly wait :).

Happy Friday!

Just wanted to share some recent pics of my cute kids :)

This morning Maya wanted some paper. Then she wanted me to cut it into strips. Then we had to draw a smiley face on each strip. Finally she wanted an envelope to put them in. What an imagination this girl has!

Having fun with her "project"

Gotta love that smile!

Trying to sit up - taken just before he toppled over

Welcome to...

I read this joke on my friend's blog and couldn't resist not copying and pasting it here since this is EXACTLY how I feel at the end of my first complete summer in Arizona!

LETS ALL MOVE TO PHOENIX ARIZONA! Now this is probably the funniest thing you've read to date...but oh, those of us who live here know how true it is. Laugh, smile, enjoy and have a great day, somewhere out of the heat :) Remember this when you see that little red dot in the southwestern part of the country. The one the reporter points to as being the hottest on the national weather map the next time you watch the TV weather program.LETS ALL MOVE TO PHOENIX

May 30th: Just moved to Phoenix. Now this is a city that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! Watched the sunset from a park lying on a blanket. It was beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.
June 14th: Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I'm turning into a sun worshiper.
June 30th: Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.
July 4th: We drove up on South Mountain to take in the view overlooking the city to the north and the surrounding farmlands on the Indian reservation to the south. I counted no less than 18 of those mini-tornadoes of the desert called dust-devils. This must be the southwest's version of fire-works.
July 10th: The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this heat? But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected. At least it's kind of windy around sundown everyday. Yesterday all the trees on our street were knocked down by the wind blast. They tell me that only occurs once in a while.
July 15th: Fell asleep by the pool. (Got 2nd degree burns over 60% of my body.) Missed 2 days of work, what a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.
July 20th: I missed Jerry (our cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got back to the hot car for lunch, Jerry had swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and exploded all over the $2,000 leather upholstery. I told the kids that he ran away. The car now smells like Kibbles and CRAP. No more pets in this heat.
July 25th: The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as heck. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.
July 30th: Been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. $1,500 in dumb house payments and we can't even go inside. I didn't know that I was allergic to massive amounts of mosquito bites. How do they survive the heat? I feel like I am living in a Pizza oven. Why did I ever come here?
Aug. 4th: It's 113 degrees. Finally got the air- conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and is bringing the temperature down a little. Stupid repairman peed in my pool. I hate this stupid city.
Aug. 8th: If another wise Dude cracks, "...but it's a dry heat", I'm going to tear his throat out. By the time I get to work the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like a dead cat!!
Aug. 9th: Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and sat on the black leather seats in the ol' car. I thought my butt was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs. I tried to lift my butt off the seat by grabbing on to the steering wheel and got third degree burns on my hands!! Now my car smells like some kind of burnt offering and fried cat guts.
Aug. 10th: The weather report might as well be a recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do crap for 2 months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this barren desert?? Because of the water rationing $1700 worth of cactus just might dry up and blow into the pool. Even the cactus can't live in this heat.
Aug. 11th: We saw our first sand storm today. They even showed it on TV as it blew across the valley. A wall of dust 2,000 feet high advancing on the metropolis like something out of a Japanese science fiction movie. The never told us that it is frequently accompanied with light rain and hail. The car looks like it was used in some kind of mud hog derby. The light aluminum awning I put up for shade looks like someone tested a couple of thousand ball-peen hammers on it. And it only cost $150 to have the pool filter replaced.
Aug. 12th: I got the water bill today. $536 and that's because I tried to keep the cactus alive and the pool's automatic filler never shuts off. We have been trying to keep the area around our house a little cooler with this new misting system that everybody says works. All I see when I turn it on is a cloud from the roof line to about eye level that disappears into steam.
Aug. 13th: Today we got the electric bill. $642 for running the air conditioner day and night to cool the house down to about 90 degrees.
Aug. 14th: Welcome to HELL!!! Temperature got to 115 today. Forgot to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and said, "...but it's a dry heat", My wife had to spend the $1500 house payment to bail me out of jail.'

3 Favorite Recipes

My friend Kyle that lives down the street took pity on me when I told her that I don't cook. So she has taken on the project of teaching me how to make "easy meals." I must say, it is working. I have cooked every night this week! So I wanted to share my 3 favorite recipes that she has given me. I never thought I would post recipes on my blog, but here I go!

Apricot Chicken (this one is my favorite!)
5-6 frozen chicken breasts
1/2 jar of Wishbone Russian Salad Dressing
1/2 jar of apricot preserves
1 packet of onion soup mix

Combine it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours

Burrito Filling (I liked this one, but Jeremy and his cousin LOVED it - it must be a man's recipe)
2 frozen chicken breasts
1 can of black beans
1 cup of salsa

Combine it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and you have a delicious burrito filling to put with your tortillas.

Caramel Popcorn (This has become a naptime snack because it is SO easy)
1 bag of "natural" (unbuttered) popcorn popped
1 cup of marshmallows
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar

Melt the last 3 ingredients and then pour them over the popcorn and stir. To die for!! :)

The Bumbo seat let me down

I took the kids swimming today and was so excited to try Kenyon out sitting in the Bumbo seat. It didn't go as expected. The seat floats, even with him sitting in it, so it doesn't work in the water. I still love the thing, but I wanted to warn those that are headed out to buy it that it doesn't work in the swimming pool.

Boutique - Clothing, jewelry, purses, jeans and more.. in Gilbert, AZ

My good friend Niki is having a boutique tomorrow night and everyone is invited - even those not in AZ are welcome to make the trip!

(The link is not working so email me for directions: britanyut@yahoo.com)

My Latest Addictions

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Have you read it? If not, where have you been hiding??!! Her books are everywhere and the talk of the town. I kept putting off reading them because to be honest, the only books I have read since Maya was born are parenting or adoption books. I am so boring! Also, it is about vampires - not really my thing, but it is also a love story which is up my alley. So I gave Twilight a shot. It is the first one and then there are 2 sequels, New Moon and Eclipse. I cannot wait to read the next 2, but I must wait until I get caught up on housework first :). Oh and I love the author so much that I am going to listen to her speak at a local high school tomorrow!

2 - The Bumbo Seat

I have seen these around, but never thought it was a baby must-have. It is! I tried it out at a friend's house yesterday and Kenyon can sit up in it so well. So I went and bought it today. I plan to use it in the swimming pool (shallow area or top stair), at the beach (we are headed there Labor Day weekend), for feeding, on the counter when he wants to watch me cook or do dishes, and the list could go on and on. I love this thing!! I am sure you will see pics of Kenyon in it in posts to come.

Kenyon's New Toys

Kenyon is getting so big and strong. We tried putting him in the johnny jumper and exersaucer this week. He loves them! We had gotten rid of our exersaucer when we moved from Utah so a good friend loaned us hers to use - thanks! The best part about his new toys - Maya loves them too! She pushes him in the jumper like it is a swing and she plays with the toys on the exersaucer. You've gotta love anything that entertains both kids while I shower, cook, clean, etc.

Day of Rest

Yesterday we were at my parents' house for dinner. Of course, when we are there Maya wants to swim. I took her aside and explained to her that Sunday is a day of rest in our family so we don't swim on Sundays. She walked away seeming very happy and content with my explanation. I thought, what a great Mom am I - she totally got it! Then she walked up to my Dad and said, "Grandpa, can I go outside and rest?" She is so clever! She knows that once she is outside, she gets in the pool whether in her swimsuit or not.

Swim Lessons and Pretty Toes

Yesterday was Maya's last day of swim lessons. I am so happy with how well she has learned to swim in one summer. I captured this shot as she jumped off of the diving board yesterday. (My friend Meredith was about to push ber because she was taking forever, but she finally jumped)

Today I took Maya to a kids salon called Lollilocks. They do hair cuts, pedicures, ear piercings, etc. I had her toenails painted. I had gotten a pedicure yesterday so I told her she could have pretty toes like me. On the way there she kept yelling, "Don't paint my toes!!" My mom said I was forcing her to get her toes painted, but I knew she would love it after we were there. And she did! She picked out her favorite color for the polish - blue!

Finally, here is a picture of what Kenyon does best while we are at swim lessons and salons: sucks his fingers and plays with his toy in his car seat. Such a happy baby!

Kenyon's Adoption

We finally spoke with our attorney in Florida this week, but we don't really have any news. We just have to keep waiting to see what happens. Our attorney had major surgery yesterday and will be out for 3 weeks so nothing will happen for the next month. The part I am the most bummed about is that I had bought really cute white outfits for the kids to wear when Kenyon's adoption is finalized and we can have him blessed in our church. I bought 3-6 months for him though, so it is not going to fit and the 90 day return policy is up. So they are going to start wearing them to church and I will just have to buy new outfits when the time comes.