Lettin' Loose

I'm working on letting Leila get dirty and be a kid. She kept making her way towards this puddle and I kept chasing after her not wanting her to get wet and filthy. Finally I gave in and realized I just need to let go and not worry so much...she needs to build a good immune system anyway. You can tell the girls were having a little too much fun in the puddle, kept them busy for a while and allowed Erin, Cristina and I to talk uninterrupted.

After a little splashing, Bella, Jadie, and Leila enjoyed some refreshing watermelon. 

At this time, we had no idea this would be the last play date Jadie, Bella, and Leila would have in a long time. I'm glad I didn't know because I don't think I would have been able to handle it. Exactly one week from this day at Erin's house, Erin and James packed up and moved to Las Vegas. It all happened so fast, last Wednesday James had an interview with a law firm in Las Vegas and the next day he got the job! A couple days later their house was packed and empty and by Monday they were in Vegas. We're so, so happy for them to be moving on in life but I can't describe how much we will miss them, it was so hard to see such amazing friends go.

Luckily, they're only 5 hours away (closer than their origional plans of moving to California). I'm going to miss the days of the 3 girls playing together. We only started doing these play dates in February but the 3 of us instantly connected and became such good friends. You better believe we've already started planning our next visit to Las Vegas to visit them.

Slowly, our friends are moving away. We have friends in many parts of the country...that's what becoming grown ups and getting RJ's is all about but I think we'll be around for a while. Especially since my parents will be moving here soon. I can't wait for that day to come.

Nie Nie

Last week, American Fork Hospital held a girls night out. Nie Nie was the guest speaker and the whole reason we (Rachel, Emily, and I) went. I like to follow her blog and have done so for some time now because she's such an inspiring woman and has a lot of faith. I was excited to actually get to meet her in person and hear about her accident. For those of you who don't know, Stephanie and her husband were in a horrible plane crash 3 years ago. Stephanie was burned on over 80% of her body. I love the way she has responded to this trial, instead of tearing her down, this experience has strengthened her and in turn has inspired those around her.

Here's my paparazzi shot.

I wish I would have taken notes because there were so many things she said that touched me. I appreciate and respect how positive she is and that she can still see the beauty in life though she has had many trials. She said of all the hard times (and there have been many), her daughter not being able to look at her for 3 months was the hardest. I can't imagine what that would do to you as a mother, she said she felt like a monster. She doesn't feel that way anymore and I'm glad that she's confident enough to speak about her experiences in front of a crowd (she does this all the time and has spoken all over the country) because I left uplifted and came home feeling grateful.

The main message she wanted to share with us was a message of hope. Hope that things will get better and hope to be happy, though life can be very, very hard at times, we need to keep going. One of the things I took away from her speech was to learn to appreciate the little things in life. Nie Nie needed to re-learn how to do many things after the accident, walking and using her muscles mostly. Now little things like tying her childrens' shoes, buttoning buttons, and zipping zip-loc bags are happy moments for her. I take those moments for granted everyday and need to learn to appreciate the simple things in life that I don't realize make me happy. Sometimes I don't like cooking dinner or cleaning up after my husband and child - but what if I never had the chance to do that again? I would miss it.



Rachel and I even made it on her blog, check out the back of my head here. I'm the one in the blue shirt towards the back and Rachel's in hunter green.

After Nie Nie spoke, there were tons of booths set up with all sorts of girly things - it was a girls night out after all. They offered free food, massages, hair styling, nail painting, health tests/screenings, educational stuff, life insurance info, etc. You name it, they had it. I was able to get some good information on varicose veins (I have spider veins and they WILL turn into varicose veins...gotta love genetics) and I got a perfect worksheet that states who will be responsible for Leila if we die (we've been thinking a lot about that lately). Can't forget the awesome SWAG too. Love my GNO's with my favorite gal pals.

Parade of Homes

Like most people in America (and Canada I suppose since most of their shows are based there), we love HGTV and gazing at photos of reno's, dream homes, green homes, and any other home they put together for some lucky duck. We hope to be one of those lucky ducks someday and occasionally browse by the "Be on HGTV" tab to see if they're ever in our area (yes we're renters but don't think that will last much longer).

Thanks to the Parade of Homes, we were able to peek in some of the most beautiful homes in the Salt Lake Valley. Some homes absolutely took our breath away, while others left us uninspired. We loved a home mostly because of the styling and decor, new construction these days seems to look the same.

This was a two day event for us and we still didn't get through all the homes, but I think we made it to the most popular. The parade of homes was Grandma Fuessel's idea. She told us she would watch Leila if we wanted to go...we couldn't turn her down and were so glad she offered. Eric and I were able to enjoy day one without Leila. It's so nice to have time to ourselves without worrying about schedules, naps, etc, and focus our attention a little more on each other.

The coolest home was the recreation of the "UP" house. Everything was exactly like the house in the movie (which was mostly the outside, staircase, and living room - the rest was left to their imagination).

Even the characters from the movie were there and added to the fun. Why can't all new construction have as much character as this home? They can obviously build it, but they choose to build big brown boxes with tiny decks and backyards instead. 

This was the only home that had a line, the rest we were able to walk right in. I took hundreds of photos for design inspiration, here are just a few of my favorite rooms (note: the pictures don't really do them justice):

Loved this deck, great idea to add these curtains. Adds dimension and shade to the backyard.

All the beds we saw looked so comfy and plush, it made me just want to jump on them. I can never get my bed look like this...I'm workin' on it.

Great idea to store craft stuff in this old shelving unit. If I had a laundry room that looked like this I'd do laundry every day...so bright and organized. 

This next home was to die for...the location was amazing, the views were amazing, the home was amazing, and the decor was amazing. It sold for 1.3 million (as pictured) and it wasn't missing one thing. Every part of the home was decorated perfectly, there wasn't one thing I didn't like. This home won a lot of the home awards for the parade, it had our vote. It was nestled in the avenues and every room had a perfect view of the city. I was kinda diggin' the monochromatic color palette too.

I want to make a chandelier that looks like this...it just had little love notes scattered everywhere. Good idea.

Want this cabinetry. 

My dream garage door (but maybe not as see through).

Think I'm gonna scratch the idea of getting my masters in school counseling...I want to go to design school! Eric and I have already talked about it and we're gonna start our own design company together...one day!

Secret Swing 2

Remember this post from way back in the day about the secret swing? We wanted to see what the hike was like in the Summer so we packed our deuter and made our way up to the White Pine Lake trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We were hoping the swing was still in good shape since two winters have passed since our last visit.

The hike was pretty with the snow, but even prettier now that we could see what was underneath. I love how close the mountains are, Utah is so beautiful.

Once we pass this look out we're almost there.

The swing was a sturdy beast, so we were shocked to find that it was broken! 

I'm sure the weight of the snow and moisture didn't let it withstand mother nature. Though we look happy, we were so, so sad. At least the seat was still there and hadn't slid off the cliff so we were able to enjoy our packed lunch while enjoying the beautiful view of the valley.

Gorgeous.

Summer Lovin'

We didn't have an exciting or exotic vacation planned for this summer...but we've still had a blast around town and have tried to drink up every bit of summer this year. Because no one likes to read a travel log, here are some tidbits of what we've been up to in the great outdoors.

Movies in the park
Nothing screams summer more than movies in the park and under the stars. We saw Big, haven't seen that one in ages!

Park in Cottonwood Heights...I'd love to live in this neighborhood.

Chillin' by the lake
Utah Lake may be the stinkiest lake around, but get past the smell and the gnats and it sure can be beautiful at sunset.

Taste of the Valley Festival

The Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce put on a great event at the Riverwoods outdoor mall. For only $10 we were able to try bits of food from about 50ish local restaurants and vendors. After we ate to our bellies' content, we were able to vote on our favorites. My favorite was Crio Bru for their cocoa drink, they won Most Unique.
Other awards:
Best Presentation: La Jolla Groves
Best Hospitality: Goodwood BBQ
Best Kept Secret: Coney's
Best Taste of the Valley: Cafe Paesan

We went with our friends Julie and Curtis and all agreed that it was the best $10 we've ever spent.

By the way, I'm loving the newly renovated Riverwoods Mall. Live music + misters to keep us cool + water fountain for the kids to play in + cool lighting + promenade  = great ambiance.

I'm always taking pictures of Eric mid bite.

Provo Rooftop Concert Series
During the Summer months there are free concerts on the rooftop of a parking garage in Provo. Who doesn't enjoy free concerts on a roof?

Seven Peaks

...we sure have gotten our money's worth out of our passes!

Leila sharing her graham cracker with Daddy.

Little Leila and Jadie in their adorable matching hats. Love these girls.

Leila and Violet

Olympic Park
We took my sister, niece, and her boyfriend to Olympic Park while they were here for Leila's 1st birthday.

K120

We rode the world's steepest zipline (but I think it could've been steeper)...

...and we couldn't forget the alpine slide. We had to show these Californians what Utah's all about.

Happy Summer!