To Market, To Market...

Every Friday there's a Farmer's Market that we (probably mostly just I) look forward to.
Tamale's, Italian Ice, Gardens, Fresh Produce... what's not to look forward to?

Lavender Lemonade

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you make a lot of lemonade, jazz it up with some lavender!

Lavender Lemonade

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup (a generous handful) fresh or

1 TBSP dried lavender blooms stripped from stems

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained

Combine sugar with 2 1/2 cups water in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lavender blooms to the sugar water, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand at least 20 minutes (and up to several hours). Strain mixture and discard lavender. Pour infusion into a pitcher. Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups water. Stir well and watch lemonade change color. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*My across the street neighbor is a Master Gardener. That's really what her title is. She teaches classes all over and occasionally teaches the Relief Society some garden stuff. She had a class with some taste tests over the summer, and oh my goodness-you all must try this. Savor it. Smell it. Love it. If you want some lavender I have a lot in my yard. Come by or I can even send some. Enjoy!

Big Wednesday

I know every kid does it. Every kid gets old enough to be dropped off at preschool, left to make choices all on their own, to learn, play, and experience stuff their Mommy will only hear vague descriptives about. It was a very exciting morning in our house because it was Taj's first day at Sunshine Preschool. He was so pumped for it and when it was time to go ran down the sidewalk to his seat and told me "Love you. Bye." before I had a chance to get myself emotionally seated and ready for "bye". I am proud he was so into it all. I am told he was a great listener and did everything he was told.

Wednesday was also Bennett's birthday. We had a blast at an alpaca farm. Carlotta here was a great sport.
I think I know where to go next time I need a sitter. They could have sat and cuddled this sweet animal all day.

Look at these two studs. They are both three this week and were totally showing it at the party. After eating and talking about how much they love chips they chased and tackled each other all around the pasture. Lindsay had to pull out the Texas sheet cake (so amazing) to get them to come over. It's so boy and a event I've been looking forward to as a mom of a boy. What a great day.

Pirate Taj

Three years ago yesterday our little swash-buckler (what does that really mean?) was born. Wow! We still can't believe it. We knew we wanted to make it special so Micah and I threw together a pirate themed party. About half way through the prep (a lot of prep) I worried the kids wouldn't get into it. They were REALLY into it.

First there was a treasure map from an old chest.

To find a pirates treasure we had to dress like pirates.
After a lot of excitement and "Arrgh" ing, we followed the instructions on the map. At the gate they all yelled, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me."
There was another boat trying to get to the treasure first, so they all threw water balloons at it, and knocked a parrot down.
They pulled out their telescopes and finally spotted the treasure! This is actually the birthday cake and the reason we went with the pirate theme.
The kids seemed to love it, which made putting it together all so worth it. Having kids has been so much fun, and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, smart, and fun little pirate.

I always wondered...

...what kind of people would pay to go three miles out to sea on a little boat and then after watching a skipper named Chip throw chum out to get sharks to come to the surface, get into a cage and immerse themselves in the same water where ten foot sharks were visibly swimming and eating. Who would do that? Honestly.

I was hoping to use my hair as a way to discourage snacking. Hairball.

She Did It!!!

This has been a big month for Eden. She's really crossed over from baby to little person. She gives kisses, has six and a half teeth, started carrying little towels or buckets around ( with my finger in the other hand so she could walk), pretends to talk on the phone, fake laughs and even says a few new words. Tonight she officially became a toddler. She was holding onto my finger after dinner as usual, then decided to let go. She walked herself to some toys with the couch helping her, then I moved away and asked her to come to me and SHE DID IT!!! At eleven months and without crawling. I'm so proud.

Captain Mark Rocks!

Saturday was family day at the beach. Mark Lee, I mean Captain Mark (according to Taj) took us out on his catamaran along with the Moffats. We had such a great time. The ocean was crystal clear.

Taj loved it almost as much as Micah did. Mark's a great sailor, Dad, and photographer. Stay tuned for some pictures he took of our family, or check out his blog at: http://holladayphoto.blogspot.com/ He's very talented, and we're glad to have him and Ruby and Atticus as friends. Thanks again Mark!

If I Said It Once...

I said it a thousand times. Having kids is a great way to do some really fun stuff you might not do otherwise. For example:

We have gone to visit a helicopter by Turtle Bay Hilton everyday since we've been here on Taj's request. Nana stepped in and decided enough was enough and gave us the coolest gift ever. We got to go on a helicopter! I'm telling you Nana, totally worth every penny.

We had an amazing time. I had no idea I would love it this much, I mean, Taj loved it. I love this pic cuz you can see Ziggy, the adventure dog that got to come with us. I never even considered doing it before, but as you can see it was a half hour of incredible fun. It felt like we were on a magic carpet ride.

Don't be shocked if Micah changes his career to some type of tall man aviation. It was amazing and we'll be going again as soon as we can save enough pennies.

More Perfect Days

Being a Mom/activities coordinator I am constantly trying to think up fun things to do. At the top of my list is always go beach. Being in Utah hasn't been able to rid me of that, but has made the time here so so soooooo special for me. Ashley Moffat, another beach enthusiast Mom, has been amazing at putting together little (and sometimes very big) outings. The kids wear each other out, and the adults get a chance to talk and play in the most beautiful place in the world. Taj and Velzy (Ashley's little girl) have become quite fond of each other, and I couldn't be happier. I'm also glad that we haven't been blacklisted for living on the mainland for so long.
Taj absolutely loves it here, and I love sharing it with him.

*Pictures stolen from Ashley and Liko. Apparently I'm so excited about being here that I don't remember things like camera's anymore.

Cousins to the rescue...

My brother Jake and his wife had a babysitter crisis and had to call on us for help the other day. I won't be offended that we were their last resort. We had such a great time with Amaya, Taj's cousin. We decided that the best plan for attack for three kids under three was to wear them out at the beach. It was a great plan. We saw this Hawaiian Monk Seal.
Found this tube which turned into a circus act.
Taj was such a gentleman helping Amaya walk on the tube.

They were really good friends. I'm so glad Micah and Nana were there to get us all through the day in one piece. We love Amaya!

Ear Wax Candles Party

My father-in-law Steve couldn't hear out of his right ear the other day. It was so bothersome that, jaw drop, he went to the doctor about it.

We got talking and yada yada yada, we all did ear wax candles.

What you do is put the candle funnel in your ear snugly and light. I guess the heat somehow vacuums the ear wax out.We were all doubters, and I'll spare you the picture results we found when we cut them open, but I will be doing them regularly from now on. Feels so good.

we kind of LOVE it here

Watching the sunset from the hammocks by Turtle Bay... a perfect way to end the day.
a new surfer born
I can't stop this water baby... she loves the beach

Did I call him a surfer? He's a monkey first, surfer second.
It really is heaven behind us. This place is as beautiful as I remembered.

Oh Yes!

We're home...Finally!

*I do take pictures of Eden, promise. I'm usually in them so I opt not to post them.

Gateway to Fun

Micah's super busy with work these days. This happens every summer with it being "busy season" for the onion crops he represents. We found ourselves in a Saturday rut, and to get out of it we drove forty-five minutes to Gateway Mall. It's a fun outdoor mall, kind of like Ala Moana. Taj and Eden had fun getting wet in the fountain. After playing we ate and shopped a little. Oh, Anthropology.



If for some reason you are trying to picture me Mommying, you can picture me bent over leading Eden around like in the pics. She's got a crazy grip, and won't let my fingers go without a fight usually.