Fall Break

Lucas started his fall break on Wednesday when he got out of school early. After school we drove up to the Canyons Resort outside Park City where we met Sarah, Sean, Gracie and Isabel Armstrong at the Grand Summit Hotel that they were staying at for the night. They had invited us up to go swimming with them.

The pool was nice and warm but with the little breeze coming off the mountain, any part of our body not in the pool got a little bit chilly. The kids did not seem to notice as much as the two moms did. :) burrrrr. Even little Isabel did not seem to mind the cooler air, as she loved splashing and playing in the pool.

Lucas and Landon had so much fun swimming with their best buds and may have just stayed in there all night if they had a choice. Unfortunately for them I did make them get out so we could get dressed and head home to have dinner with Steve.

Thursday we woke up and played board games before our little friend Danee got dropped off for the day. We watched her earlier in the week as well but before that it had been July since we had even seen her. Lucas has been asking to see her which was pretty cute. He decided he would help me watch her or so he said. He did help put her shoes on when we went to the park and helped her in and out of her seat belt. That counts as helping right? We spent the afternoon at the park playing soccer and watching high school kids play Quidditch, you know the game Harry Potter plays while flying around on a broom. Yeah I had no idea people really played this!! Of course they were not flying but they were running around on their brooms. Speaking of brooms.....

Thursday night I met up with some friends at Inferno for our annual Witches Night Out. The margaritas were super yummy and so were the steak nachos that I shared with my friend Jessenia.

It was weird and a little sad to have some of our friends not present for the evening but we still managed to have a fun night. There were lots of new faces this year as well, including my friend Nicole and her guest Jenny. Once the DJ started at 10 pm we were able to get out on the dance floor and bust a move before heading home for the night.

Friday morning Lucas had his little friend Parker from school come over and play. They have been wanting to play for some time now and so Lucas was so excited to have him over. At lunchtime we picked up grandma Judy and went to lunch at Chilis and got to see Uncle Fris (that's how Landon says it). We did not have any plans at all for the remainder of the weekend so we just hung out around the house playing soccer, football and board games. The boys and I painted pumpkins and did crafts while Steve began winterizing the house. I'm sad to see Lucas head back to school but I'm excited for the coming week filled with Halloween fun.

Fall is in the Air

Last week I accompanied Landon on his first school field trip. We met up with his Wonder Kids Preschool classmates at the Sandy Fire Station where we were treated to a very interactive and entertaining puppy show. I was quit impressed with the fire safety knowledge Landon had learned in school prior to the field trip.

While at the fire house, Landon was pretty quiet which is normal and as soon as we were walking away he started rambling about how his friend Josh was there. It was just funny because he did not say a word to Josh the whole time.

Last week we took our friend Henry with us to the Hogle Zoo. I'm not really sure why, but we have not been to the zoo since last spring. I bought a pass and then did not go at all during the summer. I guess it goes to show how busy we were. We also met up with Sarah, Sean, Gracie and Isabel at the zoo.

After Lucas finished his soccer game last weekend, we picked up his friend Chase and headed to Wheeler Farm for the Pumpkin Festival. Although the three boys had a great time in the hay maze and on the wagon ride, I decided next year we will find a new place to go and pick out our pumpkins. In the past we were able to pull the pumpkins straight off the vine but this year they had huge boxes of little pumpkins that they placed in an open area that you went in and chose your pumpkin from. I was a little disappointed.

We always enjoy just walking around looking at the animals and playing on all the old tractors. Plus now they have a big playground that the kids spent more time on than anything.

Fall is in the Air

One day while shopping for a birthday gift for a friend, Lucas found a wrestling figurine he had been wanting for quit some time. He started to cry and throw a fit because we would not buy it for him. I told him maybe he could do some chores around the house to earn his own money so he could purchase the toy. He then said he did not want to go the birthday party because he wanted to go home and get to 'work'. Well he did go to the birthday party and the next day he started pulling weeds. It took Lucas and Landon a couple of days but they finally got all the weeds in front of the bay window pulled and I gave them each $10 to spend as they pleased.

Lucas loves playing soccer with his new team this fall and we love watching him continue to improve. He wants to sign up to play basketball this winter but I think I may try to get him and Landon into karate instead, at least for now. I do want the boys to try different sports and then ultimately chose their favorite sport because I do not want them in multiple sports during the same time. I enjoy spending some time at home. :)

Lucas had 'Wild Hair Day' at school and while I thought his hair was pretty wild, I was surprised to see that his hair was pretty tame compared to some of the other students. Luckily he had not gotten the haircut that he keeps begging for yet.

Not to be outdone, Landon 'Hams' it up for the camera.

We got a package in the mail from Aunt Tonia and the boys spent at least an hour popping the bubble wrap.

Last week we got our first snow of the season and Landon could not wait to go outside and play. Although I was ready for cooler temperatures, I was not too thrilled to go from upper 80's to snow. I did manage to go outside with him long enough to throw a couple of snowballs and build a baby snowman. Plus by then his fingers were numb and he was ready to go inside. By evening it had warmed up enough to melt most of our snowman and the boys were determined to play soccer outside. Every evening after dinner Lucas and Landon can't wait to get outside and play football and soccer with dad. I love to watch how the boys play together as a team and beat the snot out of their dad. ;)

Midway, Utah - MGW 2011

This year our "Moms Gone Wild" trip took us to Midway, Utah. Our good friend Lori is pregnant and due in the next month or so and therefor we did not want to venture too far away from home. I had never been to Midway and was just excited to get a break from everyday life and spend some much needed time with my favorite friends. We rented a beautiful condo at the Zermatt Resort and therefor had access to all the hotel amenities.We arrived at the condo Thursday late afternoon where we had a couple of drinks and spent some time catching up with our out of town friends. Brandi flew in from Oklahoma and Alison flew in from her new home in Texas. We went to dinner at a fantastic Mexican restaurant called Tarahumara that had the largest salsa bar EVER!! Then we headed to the local grocery store so we could grab dinner for the following night as well as other necessities. Friday morning I woke up and went for a little walk before heading to the fitness center at the Zermatt Hotel. While walking and talking on the phone with Steve and the boys I saw a group of deer right in front of me. I stopped and watched them as they stopped and watched me before gracefully running off. While running on the treadmill I noticed a fenced area in the back of the Zermatt that was home to some goats. The longer I ran I noticed that some of the goats were not in the pin and shortly after asking the trainer if they were supposed to be running free I got to watch a couple of men dressed in Swedish costumes 'herd' the goats back in to the pin and fix the fence.

Around lunch time Sarah, Angi, Jessenia and I headed to Rocky Mountain Outfitters to go on our scheduled horse back ride. I thought I would be a lot more nervous than I was since the last time I was on a horse, some 25 years ago, I was bucked off twice in one day. Thankfully our pre-ride cocktail seemed to be just right in calming my nerves. :)

My horses name was Apples and as soon as I saw her I knew she was the one for me, she was by far the prettiest of the bunch. At first she tried to push her limits with me by stopping ever so often to snack but I soon learned I was going to have to be stern with her. She did let me take her jogging a couple of times even though I'm not so sure our guide approved. It was so much fun and was an experience I won't soon forget.

We headed back to our condo at the Zermatt where we watched some quality t.v. - Jersey Shore before it was time to get dinner ready and get ourselves ready for a night out on the big town of Heber. We ended up at The Other End Bar & Grille where we were treated with live music from the band Whiskey Dick.

Not exactly our type of crowd or music but we knew that with a couple of drinks and 9 good friends we were bound to enjoy ourselves. My only regret from the night was buying a hat that says Whiskey Dick on it and has the silhouette of a naked girl from the mudflaps on it. Something I most likely won't be wearing when I go to pick Lucas up from school. ;)' We really loved when the band went and took a smoke break every other song so that we could play good music on the jukebox and get our groove on.

Saturday morning Jessenia and Sarah joined me in the gym where we tried to sweat out some of the liquor that was consumed the night before. If that didn't do it then the sauna afterwards did. We all took it easy most of the day and even managed to catch a couple more episodes of the Jersey Shore. Angi and I did venture off at one point to the gift shops to try and find souvenirs to take home to the kiddos. We happened upon some natural pools on the Zermatt property before heading across the street to the Homestead to roam around and check out their natural pool.

After roaming a while we called the house to see if anyone else wanted to wander into town since we had been unsuccessful in our search for gifts and we also needed a ride. Luckily Jessenia was going stir crazy so she picked us up and we stopped off at a cute little coffee shop, Fill-er-Up, for a cup o' Joe before hitting some of the local shops.

Still unsuccessful in finding gifts we went in search for another tavern in Heber we had heard about and found out that they were having karaoke that night at 9 o'clock. We hit Wal Mart for a few things we needed for dinner and I got the boys each a toy to take home. Not very original but they loved their new Bayblades.

After a yummy dinner of pasta salads we once again began the task of primping before hitting the Timp Tavern. We had lots of fun with karaoke and just might make that a moms trip tradition.

Sunday we were all up early and ready to get home to our families. For those of us in the Salt Lake Valley, it was a short little trip and for the other two girls we are so thankful that they go through all the headaches of flying to be with us on this weekend. Love all these ladies and don't know what I'd do without them.

Landon Goes to Preschool

Landon was a little hesitant about starting preschool last month. He kept asking me if I was going to stay with him while he was in school. :( He was so excited to go shopping for new school clothes, shoes and especially his new big boy back pack but I don't think he really realized that going to school did not include mom.

When I dropped him off he started to cry as I walked him to the front door and then I went home and carried my phone around for the next couple of hours waiting for his teacher to call me to tell me to come and get him. Fortunately that never happened but he was very excited to see me. His teacher said he did not cry very long and started to warm up to everyone after the first hour or so. Whew. Now when I drop him off at school I look forward to going running and getting a shower with no interruptions.

After his first day at school Landon and I went on a special date for pizza and he told me all about how nice his teacher Ms. Nicole was. He was not too thrilled about going to school the following Monday and told me that if I left him there he was not going to talk, which he does occasionally and it drives me nuts. Luckily when I picked him up Monday he said he did talk to Ms. Nicole. Occasionally he still has a bad day and cries at school but for the most part he is adjusting well and so am I. He has not cried when I drop him off since the first day of school but towards the end of class he says he cries cause he misses me. I miss him too as well as Lucas but I have learned that no matter how much I wish against it, they keep getting older.

Lucas once again started his fall soccer season and has so far enjoyed five soccer games and multiple practices with excellent weather. I was asked to coach again this season and fortunately for me they found enough volunteers and Lucas ended up with an exceptional coach and team. He likes to brag that they are still undefeated, even though they officially don't keep score for his age division.

Landon tends to get a little restless at the games on Saturday and so I think I will look in to getting him into Karate or something this winter so that he will have his own "thing". Lucas wants to play basketball so we will see how that pans out. I don't mind as long as he is not playing two sports at the same time, then it just becomes too much for......me. (haha and him as well.)

Last month Landon also learned to ride his bike without any training wheels!! Steve had taken them off to put the chain back on Landon's bike and he said he did not want training wheels anymore. Steve started pushing him in the grass on his bike then let go and Landon just kept on riding. It was amazing. The next day he was riding on the sidewalk. Then the next day he was riding around the block but still needed a little push to get going. The next day he did not need help getting going but would only go in a straight line. Then the next day he was going around the corner without stopping. The day after that we rode our bikes all the way to Quail Hollow to pick up Lucas and he didn't need any help at all!

Look at him go!!!