Traveling...

We made it to Mexico! I flew with the kids by myself this time. And somehow managed to make it through 2 flights then immigration and customs with 3 small children, all of our luggage and 3 carseats. Surprisingly I only broke down and cried twice. This was the only moment all day that they were calm (none of them slept on the plane) so I thought I would take a picture. But we are all here safe and sound and loving our vacation.
The kids love the giant wash tub that their Abuela bought for them.

Here David and his aunt Vivian, a.k.a. Tia Vivi, are jumping on the beds (while Erin is sleeping of course)

Anya has not had much practice with stairs and was still crawling down backwards until she just woke up one day and decided that she was going to go down the stairs like the big girls. After she did it the first time, she practiced her new trick 4 or 5 more times to make sure she had mastered it.

Their aunt Liliana, a.k.a. Tia Lili, had a birthday this weekend and we arrived just in time for her birthday party and the delicious catered taco bar. Here the taco guy is roasting the pork and shredding it with a big knife.

Here is the birthday girl and the other guests waiting in line for their tacos. They were sooooo good. I broke my diet and ate an ton of tacos (exact count undisclosed).

Here Erin is performing karaoke (to a Hanana Montana song of course).

Then today we went to the pool and let the kids swim all afternoon. I know I am biased but I think Anya makes a great beach babe.

Here she is sitting with her feet in the pool alongside her Abuela.

The girls loved swiming with their Abuelo too. I should mention that their Tia Vivi and Tio Jose helped a lot with the kids in the pool since they are both older and excelent swimmers.

Here David and Jose are about to get in the pool.

As always, David has to pose for the camera. What a silly boy.

He did it!

David is officially potty trained! He is 3 1/2. We have been working on this for a long time and we thought he would never be fully potty trained and he IS! He is such an easygoing kid that the usual prizes (stickers, candy, toys) didn't really motivate him much. He enjoyed going to pick out a toy truck at the dollar store after he had reached his goal, but he didn't do it because of the toy truck, he did it because he was finally ready. I am so proud of him and so excited too. He is just so proud of himself. I can't remember the last time I had just one child in diapers. It's weird but I remember feeling a renewed sense of confidence as a mother after Erin finally learned to go potty and I have to say that it feels great to having done it the second time as well. It just occurred to me today that if Anya learns as young as Erin did then by this time next year our house will be diaper free! Now THAT will be a day of celebration. :)

Kids club...

The kids were being mysteriously quiet the other day so I peeked into their room to see what they were up to. They were having a private meeting in their little "kids club" that they had created on Erin's bed. They were also sharing a bag of pretzels.


Anya is such a climber. Her new favorite place is on top of the kitchen table. Every time I turn my back she is perched up there again. This time she took the top off of the yogurt and smeared it all over the table, but was as happy as could be. I can't seem to keep her feet on the ground.

Easter Carnival...

Today we went to the Easter Carnival at the historic Wheeler Farm. They had everything from face painting to pony rides. We had a lot of fun. It was packed though. I think maybe too many people heard about it and at $2 per person for an all day pass, it seemed like everyone in Salt Lake showed up. They had all of these bounce houses for the kids and one of them was a really small baby bounce house. So Anya got to bounce with Erin and David...


We had to wait in line for some things, but it was nice having time together as a family. And luckily, there were lots of fun things to do in line and tons of farm animals to look at.

We saw the Easter Bunny but Erin and David hesitated to get too close. Anya got closer than anyone but soon decided that she didn't like him either. When she doesn't like someone or something she puts her little hand out in front of her and says her favorite word, "STOP!"

David got to chase some ducks today. He just loves chasing ducks. He does it every week at Sugarhouse park too. He thinks its cool that they run away.
Anya loves ducks too. In fact she calls EVERY animal a "quack, quack." Although, today she did say "mooo" when we were watching the cows.

The kids got to color eggs and other craft projects. Erin colored a mask. They also got to watch a snake handler with a boa constrictor and attend a short hip hop dance class for kids.

They got to climb on antique tractors and we took a tractor pulled wagon ride out to the Easter egg patch.
I had to throw this picture in because David makes such a handsome little cowboy. He just loved being at the farm today. He loved running around and getting dirty. I really couldn't get mad at him for jumping in the mud, because we DID take him to a farm.

Easter Bunny House...

The other day, we got a bunny house kit at the store. The kids had a blast building and decorating it. They made a huge mess. Then they got to eat little pieces of it for the next few days. It was a really fun family activity. Here is what it looked like before they ate it...

Still alive, just unpacking moving boxes...

We are still alive, I promise. We just moved back to Salt Lake City. I have been unpacking boxes and painting and cleaning non-stop since we moved in. Every night when I put the kids to bed, I start cleaning, painting, or unpacking and I find myself at 2:00 a.m. still at it. I am a little overwhelmed at the amount of work this move has been. Part of it is because I am painting every, and I do mean EVERY surface (inside of closets, cabinets, ceilings) of this place. If you want to know my OCD reasons for this just send me an email and I will be glad to explain it.

We moved from the quiet suburbs of Spanish Fork back to the busy city in Salt Lake. I was trying to analyze this week if I am a city girl or a country girl and I haven't come to any definite conclusions although my friend Cynthia will tell you that I am a city girl. I do however see wonderful things about both places.

The suburbs are great here in Utah because of the wide open spaces, the big backyards and the kids playing in the culdesacs and riding bikes with the neighbor kids. And the kids actually go trick-or-treating door to door in those neighborhoods because it is so safe. All of that is nice. My complaint about S.F. is that if you ever want to grab a burger, or anything for that matter, after 10:00 p.m., good luck finding one... and enjoy your 15 minute drive on I-15 to the Provo exit. Also, of course if you are looking for your favorite, national chain stores (Old Navy, Barnes & Noble, Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy) your trip will take you all the way to Orem (20-25 min. in traffic). Here everyone has to commute to work. And here's a petty one for you... all of the houses look exactly the same! There's no telling your friends to take a left at the stop sign and yours is the blue house on the left. Blue, red, green, etc. houses are hard to come by. Every house has some shade of brown or gray with stonework or bricks and/or stucco. You'd have to say, take a left at the stop sign and mine is the 12th tan house with stonework and stucco on the left. Don't get me wrong, the houses are very nice and new there, just a little too cookie cutter with the colors and styles. And yes, I know this one is a personal preference.

Then there's the city. Not as safe, obviously. Tons of cars and creepy people. Very small yards if any. Air pollution. No neighborhood trick-or-treating. But here are the things that I missed out in the suburbs: Big city parks. One of the most walkable cities in America. Nice clean UTA buses on almost every street and TRAX trains (you really don't need a car at all). Any product or service you could imagine at a stone's throw. Big box stores. Shopping malls. Private schools. I have taken the kids out in the stroller almost every day this week. The sidewalks are clean and the crosswalks at intersections have electronic pedestrian walk signs. Even if we limit our walks to a 6 block radius, we can walk to 2 grocery stores, 3 playgrounds, 1 elementary school 2 preschools, the post office, two 7-11 stores, 3 restaurants,2 children's clothing stores, 2 fabric stores, 3 hair salons and 2 spas. If we extended that radius to 10 blocks (which we have walked plenty of times) we would include an 8 screen movie theatre, Toys R Us, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Panda Express, Noodles and Company, 3 more grocery stores, a third 7-11 store, 3 more elementary schools, 1 public library, 3 historical landmarks, 4 more playgrounds, 5 Auto repair shops,15 more restaurants, etc. I guess I love the freedom to walk where ever we need to go and not having to pack everyone in the car and drive 5 exits down the interstate to get somewhere. This way we get more exercise and sunshine. And both of those things make me happy.

So I guess my question is this: if money were no option, would you choose to live in a small town suburban area or would you live in a big city?

Erin's friend...

I just had to post this picture of Erin and her friend Isabella. They play together all the time and I'm sure Erin will miss Isabella when we move. She has been such a good friend to my little girl.

Starting day 5...

I am starting day 5 of the cleanse. Day 4 was the hardest for me. I think that was my "detox" day. It wasn't too bad, but I woke up with aches and pains in all of my muscles and a small headache. It got better as the day went on, but I was cranky all day. I woke up this morning with a lot more energy and a few pounds lighter. I am down 7 lbs. after the first 4 days. I'm sure this is all water weight and colon cleansing though. I have not exercised really at all. I've heard that most people have a ton of energy from day 5 through day 10 so, I am excited to finally feel an energy boost. Still not hungry!

4 down, 6 to go!