Panguitch Getaway

Oh dear.  Here we are, at the close of Mark's last break.  From here on out, he will be at clinics and offices 5 days a week, even through Christmas.  He will leave early and work late.  Lunch with him will be hit or miss.  And if he ever decides to take a day off, it comes out of his pay.

Sigh.  Real life is coming at us too fast.

I have really, really enjoyed our cosey, cheap little student life.

Well, for his last free break ever, Mark wanted to take some friends and go to Panguitch.  To sum it all up in two words, I would say refreshing (due to the clean air and wide open spaces) and relaxing (thanks to all the sitting around we did). 

We loved it.

My number one favorite memory was when we set up Mac's bedroom upstairs.  He suddenly started running, jumping, and squealing with delight; as if he knew what a fantastic place this was and all the memories and sweat and love that went into it.  Mark couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as he watched his son find so much joy in a place that means so much to him.  Sigh.

Besides that,  we threw a lot of rocks.

 We went on a lot of drives.  Four wheeling was a favorite.

We went on a lot of nice walks, and loved sucking back that clean, cool air.

 We held many stick-racing contests; a favorite childhood memory of Mark's.

 We watched waaaaay too much Elmo.

 And played a lot of games with our wonderful friends.  Behold ... the final scores for Ticket to Ride.  Yes, "A" stands for "Allie".

We loved the company, loved the relaxation, loved talking to the small-town locals, loved exploring the little shops and wondering how people lived off them, and adored the great outdoors.  Chris Gunn, we can't thank you enough for all the work you've put into this place so we can all make so many memories there!



A Thomas Family Visit

Oh I love these visits so much.  The only mildly tragic thing about this one is that it would be Jamie's last. She is taking off to Rochester, New York for an LDS mission!  I am so proud of her, and will miss her like crazy.  Sigh.

All my family really wanted to do this time around was be with Mac.  And so, we did things that Mac likes to do for the five days they were here.

Like eating sushi.  (Actually, he just wanted the oranges and rice.  The sushi was for Jamie and I.)  Rachel and Trent gagged a little, and Mom did great, until she had a plain old raw piece of fish.  The she stopped eating ... which was troublesome, as we paid for all-you-can-eat.  More for me, I guess!

 Mac loves beaches.  We went to a lot of them.  But he ended up sleeping at home while Mark did homework.  (Finals week.  Fun.)

 We shopped ... few things get Mac as excited as hiding in the clothes racks and such.  He stayed under this table for quite some time.

The rest of our time together was spent at parks, going jogging, playing Telestrations and Guess Who, making food, reading, drawing (occasionally with chalk from Aunt Jamie), and watching lots of the Fringe. (A new obsession introduced to us by my father.)

Mac was spoiled rotten, and loved every minute of it.  He is now passionate about Elmo, and wants to watch the Elmo's World DVD Mom got for him all the time.  He still asks for "Bumpa".  He's started waving good bye, writing his own name (It looks like a lot of zig-zags, like an extension of the "M" we kept drawing for him), and can successfully watch Elmo and his ducks on the ipod without accidentally pausing it.

Every time people visit, Mac seems to learn at least 6 new things.  Thank you my wonderful family, for making the long trek out here!  We sure do love you.

Being Prepared vs. Being Paranoid

Since I have become a mother, life in general seems to be a much bigger deal.  I have always considered myself to be a pretty relaxed, go-with-the-flow kind of person, but some of that has really changed in the past 2 years and 4 months, when I first found out I was pregnant.

The knowledge that I was growing a human being and would have complete responsibility for his welfare spurred me on to eat better and exercise regularly, not just when I had a burst of energy.  I wanted to pack things into that little body that would help him to grow into all he could be, which required me to re-think what "emotional eating" was to me.  I wanted to go for long, slow jogs to get the blood moving through me and through him; to keep the good stuff coming in and the excess moving out of the way.

That has continued on for me, and though I am far from perfect, I won't lie:  I feel about a billion times better about myself and this studly little dude I am attempting to grow into a good human being.

Lately though, I have been quite stressed about emergency prepardness.  Being Mormon, I've heard about it my whole life.  Grow a garden, have food storage, have an emergency plan, etc. etc. etc.  I never gave it much thought, though.

Until all this happened.

There have been all sorts of non-stop updates about the nuclear power plant, about radiation spreading.  Living on the coast as I do, I have been slightly paranoid and have checked reports regularly. 

I finally decided it's time to get some emergency preparedness going.  So I got a list from my always-prepared sister-in-law Heidi, and have packed a bag with the following:

• Water
• 3-day food kit
• Compass
• Ibuprofen
• Crackers
• Chapstick
• Deodorant
• Socks
• Poncho
• Flashlights
• Pocket Knife
• Sewing kit
• Rope
• Can Opener
• Garbage Bag
• Book of Mormon, G's
• Whistle
• Money (small bills)
• First Aid Kit
• Hygine kit - tampons, wipes, tooth brush
• Copies of insurance, emergency contacts, i.d.'s
• Books, card games, coloring books, crayons
• Mess kit
• Matches
• Radio
• Batteries

It stays in the trunk of the car, which I am now attempting to refill whenever it gets to a half tank instead of completely empty.

Am I being paranoid?  Maybe.  But it sure makes me feel better.

18 Month Mac-isms

Although having a toddler is most definitely harder than having a sweet, innocent, cry-because-they-actually-need-something infant, toddlers are so much more fun. It is just something else to watch them grow and figure out the world.

 

Lately:

• My favorite new word of his is: "maja" for "pajamas". 
• The loves airplanes. Everytime he hears one zoom overhead he roars and then points to the sky and says, "There it is." 
• "There it is" started with airplanes and looking for Dad at school, but now includes anything that goes his way. For example: when he gets his blocks up to a substantial tower, he says "There it is". He also says it when he gets the golf balls all lined up outside. Or if he has been begging me for something, most commonly a cracker, and gets it. He grins and says, "There it is." 
• Laughing contests with Seth. They squeal and mimic each other and laugh and laugh. Today they were doing that and Seth said, "Oh Mac," as his giggles calmed down. So so funny.

• "Push it." Mac is such a little technology nerd. Anything that blinks, glows, wiggles, or has buttons he is obsessed with. He can work the ipod incredibly well. His favorite is to move the apps to different spots on the screen. He loves remotes, the t.v., the computers, and the car.
• He loves to look for Waldo, and can say his name, minus the "d". I need to get some more Where's Waldo books.
• Other favorite books include: "Caps for Sale", "Peek-a-Who", "Where is Baby", "The Hungry Caterpillar", "Baby's First Words", any of our books featuring Elmo or Grover, and "The Rainbow Fish". Every morning he pulls every single book off the book shelf until he finds one that he knows. I wish he would add the book shelf to the many things he likes in order.
• Still stacks/puts in a row everything there are multiples of.
  

  

  He had more shopping carts lined up, but kids kept taking them.  Mac handled it very well.

He loves trains lately.  Probably because they line up.  His lips are adorable when he says, "Choo choo!"

He is really into stacking pillows lately.  Here he is also saying: "This".  Love his mouth.

• He now says "This" for any word he doesn't know. That would be my own fault. When he's whining and pointing to something, I usually picked it up and say, "Do you want this?" Now everything is "This". Oops. Time to get better at naming things.
• He doesn't want to sit in the high chair any more. He prefers the bumbo at the table. I kind of like it better too. Makes us feel more family-ish.
• Sometimes on Sunday afternoons we go look at the school's FFA plot and see all the farm animals. Mac especially loves the baby pigs and the cows that lick his jacket.

Good bye Disneyland!

 

The Big 2-4

Mark and I had to count together from 1987 to 2011 on our fingers to figure out how old I was turning.  I guess I'm a little young for that.  Funny how birthdays are such a huge deal before you're 21, and then afterwards ... it just becomes life and you try to soak it all in without waiting for the "next big day" to come around.  Actually, I think for me it was 22.  I wanted to be able to say I was 22 and pregnant, because for some reason that sounded better than 21.  You definitely avoid the teenage pregnancy glare when you passed into the realm of legal adulthood.

Anywho, it was another good one!  Favorite moments include:

• Getting presents all month long.  Best March I've had since we got engaged.
• Birthday cupcakes at the road show.
• Birthday texts at 5:00 a.m.
• Going to JCPenny three different times with different coupons to get the most out of my $50, and coming back with an entire new outfit.
• Breakfast made for me (mostly).
• Yard sale that turned into a dog hunt.  Thank goodness Karen found the little guy.
• Snuggling with my boys (Mac seemed mildly sick, but only for a couple hours.)
• Making myself sick with Mongolian BBQ.
• All the glorious trashiness of Knotts Berry Farm.
• A ka-jillion phone calls and facebook posts.
• The best gag-gift I've had in ... ever.  Nothing could ever topped pink crocs.  Yuck, yuck, yuck.  The worst shoe in a horridly bright color ... eeesh.  Mark loved it.  He thinks this will convince me how wonderful crocs are (he has a creepy love for them), but there is just no way. 
• Movies and more snuggling.

Road Show

Our ward did a road show.

I haven't done one of those since I was probably 13 or 14, and apparently the rest of the church hasn't either because none of the youth had any idea what a road show is.

Well, as much fun as my first one was, I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to perform in this one.  Yes, I was in a couple plays in high school ... but ... I don't know, I think the years have made me slightly more sarcastic and judgemental.  At least when it comes to acting retarded in front of everyone ... on a stage.  Which is weird, because I tend to do it in everyday life.
Luckily for my development of character, my darling "A-sider" husband got reeled into the road show with his new calling in Youg Men.  Add that to all my friends cajolling me to participate with them in a "mom's dance" or something, I decided it would be fun and went along.

I was the only mom that had never danced before, and though Jenn had to keep whispering to me which move came next, and I forgot a couple key parts which would have greatly improved on the hilarity of the skit, it turned out really fun. 

A couple of my lovely mom friends before the show ... wish I could've gotten everyone.

Mark participated in the Blue Man Group number and banged on a garbage can.  Mac couldn't take his eyes off him.

My favorite moment in the entire thing:  in our first performance (there were three) during the finale, I glanced over at Mark.  He had his arms out, brows furrowed, and projected so much awkwardness ... I laughed out loud.  He was so very sweet, and turns out he's a great drummer.  Maybe my littler A-sider has some B-side in him after all.  A regular Zac Efron.

Blocks

At Ross the other day I found some foam blocks.  I have been wanting to get Mac some cool, old school wooden blocks for a while now, as he enjoys lining things up so much.  As I toyed with the decision to buy these foam ones instead, I was came to a very final decision when I thought of Mac's love of throwing things.  (That would be thanks to his father.  Honey, could we start the baseball brainwashing a little older next time around?)

I think these blocks may have been the best toy I have ever gotten him!  He loves to build little towers with you or by himself.  He hates to knock them over.  He's played for a solid half hour by himself with them!  This is a big deal for me.  I can make dinner without feeling guilty about sticking him in front of the boob-tube again.

There are only two bummers about all this:

1. Screaming and throwing happens almost as often and cheering and clapping.  This kid wears every emotion on his sleeve, and it turns out tower-making is a very emotional process.
2. My living room is constantly messy.  If I try to put them away while he is around, he immediately dumps them all out and starts building towers again.

It's all worth it.  I love to see him so focused and excited about something so simple and fun.

Nursery

Oh my word, can it be??!! 

My little boy is off to nursery!  I didn't expect to feel anything but excitement at getting him off to play with toys and friends; he has definitely been nothing but busy these last few months at church.  Too busy to sit quietly in a priesthood or relief society lesson.  Mark can't remember the last time he really listened in church, and my listened-to lessons are always my own, that I have to listen to as I am the one teaching.

But, as I attempted a little photo shoot before we went off to church, I did feel a little pang of saddness as I realized that my baby is not a baby any more.



Our official letter we got in the mail with all the nursery rules.

I took probably 15 pictures before church trying to get one good one.  These were my favorite failures.

 Ah, a semi-normal smile!


I love this outfit because it brings out his eyes.  Can you put "tan" eyes on a driver's license?  I'm still not sure what to call them.

 Mac raced in as soon as we brought him to nursery, but towards the end they brought him back to me with a stinky diaper.  I happily hauled him off to change him, and discovered quite a mess.  I did not want to let a little blow out ruin his first day at nursery, so what did I do?  I washed his pants in the sink with soap and water, and then dried them as best as I could.  He seemed totally fine with it, so I dropped him off and began to walk away.

And he was screaming.

I watched through the little window, and eventually "5 Speckled Frogs" got him to calm down.  With 5 minutes left of church, I could hear a shockingly familiar screech through the vents ... but ... there were 5 mintues left.  He would be fine, right?

He was still crying when we went and got him, but it didn't take him long to start yammering on about "Set" and all the toys.  I'd call it a success.

Beach Camping

My good friend Janae is a planner.  She is detailed, capable, and on-the-ball.  I am so glad we are friends. 

She planned a camping trip for all of us -- right on the beach!  It our first outdoor adventure with our little man, and it turned out to be perfect in that we were actually still in complete civilaztion.  It felt a little more like camping in your backyard ... if your backyard includes a lot of sand, firepits, trees, and a vast ocean.

When Mac wasn't rolling around the tent, he was in the sand.  That kid was grubby and dirty and absolutely in heaven.  Except of course, when he was screaming because we tried to get him to do ... anything, actually.

Sweet, smiling, happy, strawberry blonde Molly enjoyed a little sand herself.  And I only heard her cry at night ... which you couldn't blame her, it was 40 degrees and chilly.  Mac woke up at one point and Mark attempted to stuff him into his sleeping bag, but Mac wiggled out and came to me, and slept with me for the rest of the night in my little mummy bag.  I don't think I slept longer than two hours if you add up all my dozing, but it was actually incredibly ... special.  I've never ever slept with Mac before.  I definitely don't want to do it again, but still, it was a memorable night.

Janae was in charge of breakfast, and boy did she deliver!  German pancakes in the dutch oven??  They were delicious, and had just a hint of that firewood taste.  Good work Janae.



And of course Mac had to have some morning eggs.



As it warmed up, Mark and Taylor ventured out to perfect their boomarang technique.  Mac got sick of lounging in the sand with me and Janae, and we all decided to join the boys.

We spent most of the time watching them try to get the boomerang -- and my softball -- out of the tree.

I did lunch, and it consisted of hotdogs.  But not just any hotdogs!!  Mark made a point to annouce what a huge moment this was, that I had been talking about my Mexico hotdogs ever since he had known me.  And so we had a moment of silence and feasted up ... bacon-wrapped hotdogs!  If I was truly attempting to recreate my Mexican moment in heaven, I wouldn've topped it with guacamole, grilled onions, garlic, and a bit of sour cream.  As it was, ketchup was still really really good.

In the afternoon we ventured out to find some tide pools, but ended up turning back because a fierce wind picked up.

Rain was forecasted for the night, and our tents couldn't seem to keep their rain covers on.  After a blustery attempt at getting dinner going, we decided to pack everything up and leave late that night.

My dinner attempt consisted of tin-foil dinners and cheesey dutch oven potatoes.  The potatoes were fantastic.

The tin foil dinners, not so much.  UGH.  My failure was practically complete, but thankfully there were enough potatoes to fill everyone up.  But I will say that I am a person who learns through trial and error, and this error definitely taught me enough to make my next attempt a complete success.  Hollands, I'll make it up to you.

After we had everything packed, we roasted everything we could and talked until we were just too tired.  The greatest discovery of this entire trip was brought to us by Janae:  fire-roasted breadsticks!  We wrapped dough around these giant sticks and cooked it to a golden brown, then coated it thoroughly in butter and cinnamon sugar.  The results were divine.

And so ended our first-ever campout.  We may have left one night early, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are determined to do it one more time ... later.  When it's super warm.