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!

"Mommy, me fix it with tape. K?"

So, I heard some noises in the kitchen just now and I noticed that all of the lights were on. I found David in the kitchen going through the junk drawer and when he heard me come in he turns around and holds up Erin's Barbie doll and a roll of tape and looks up at me sweetly but nervously (not knowing if he was in trouble) and says, "Mommy, me fix it with tape. K?" I love that he immediately thought to fix it as he is our little fix-it-guy and that he was going to fix it with a huge roll of packing tape. He is so cute.

Homemade Laundry Soap!

Last night Cynthia came over to help me make my first batch of homemade laundry soap. It's really easy to make. Took us about 30 min. and now I have 180 (top load washer) loads of liquid laundry soap for approx. $2. I have already tried it on 3 loads and it works great! It doesn't create bubbles though so I googled the problem and found out that its the soap and not the bubbles that cleans clothes. Actually, the stuff they put in detergents to cause the bubbles can damage your washing machine and take years off its useful life.

I used Michelle Duggar's recipe. You know, the one with 18 kids. I got all of the ingredients at our local Macey's grocery store.
So, here is the recipe if anyone wants it:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Day 3 of the Cleanse...

Today is the third day of my "Master Cleanse" experience. I have 7 more days to go! The cleanse drink consists of: filtered water, cayenne pepper, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and organic, grade B maple syrup. That's all I have had to eat/drink for the last 3 days. Well, that and a salt water mixture in the morning and at night that flushes everything out of my colon.

With the exception of about 10 minutes the first day, I haven't felt any hunger at all. I didn't like the taste of the drink the first 2 days but today it has been much better. I have to admit though, cooking for Miguel and the kids isn't fun. But I am able to make myself just enjoy the rich smells of the food and then drink my cleanse drink and be satisfied. I have cravings from time to time but they usually hit when it's about time for my next drink (every 2 hours). I feel like I am getting a lot of the toxins (from fast food, soda, sweets, ect.) out of my body. I have been in a good mood overall and have been fairly productive. A pleasant side effect of the cleanse is that I have lost 3 lb. in 3 days.

I will keep updating the blog with my progress. It is a good way for me to deal with this experience that at times can be difficult. I'm sure this next week will be great though. Everyone that has done this cleanse says that days 3 and 4 are the hardest. Wish me Luck!