Tuesday, September 30, 2008

My two handsome boys!!





Ready to head out the door to church.

Helping Daddy study

The past couple of weeks have just been so busy for Brad with school work, assignments and tests. Our days would start at 5:30am- off to work. I'd pick Brad up from the train station at 6:00pm- a quick bite to eat and then it was into the study untill 1:00am every night. It was hard on all of us. Gabe and I both missed daddy! One night I took Gabe in to say goonight to daddy and he practically jumped out of my arms into Brads. I think he was hoping to be able to stay and help daddy study. We are glad those weeks are over and are looking forward to Brads upcoming week off from school in October.








Look Mummy...I found a hole!




I couldn't resist posting these pics. A couple of weeks ago while Gabe was sitting in his highchair after dinner he did some discovering and was quite proud of what he found. Thankfully this hasn't become a habit yet, but every now and then that pesky little finger seems to meet up with its friend "the hole". I love Gabe's crazy hair in these pics too. He had just woken up from a nap. Can you guess which side he slept on?


A play date!

Yesterday afternoon cousin Andrew came over for a play date with Aunty Nat and cousin Gabe. I had so much fun spending the afternoon running around after these two little rugrats. We cooked dinner, vaccumed, folded and unfolded laundry, played the piano, and played with the toys.
When Brad got home from work, the four of us went for a trip to the mall. The boys were both so good and we had lots of fun. In the car ride home from the mall, Gabe was in a forward facing car seat and Andrew was in a rear facing car seat sitting next to each other and they were both taking turns laughing at each other. It was really funny to watch.
Andrew is Gabe's only cousin and my only Nephew so he is definately our favorite! I am so grateful that the boys are both so close in age and we live so close so that they can grow up together. The are already great friends and play so well together and they are so funny to watch.
After I fed Andrew his lunch, Gabe had fun pushing Andrew around the kitchen. Gabe thought he was so big and Andrew just kicked back and enjoyed the ride.

I think I've mentioned before how Gabe loves to fold laundry with me. It is so cute to watch him, he totally thinks he is helping me. He has watched me fold enough clothes to know that I usually shake them before I fold them, so when he picks up an article of clothing he shakes it first and then looks to me for approval. He loves to climb in and out of the basket too. Andrew didn't seem to mind helping with the laundry, although I think he just had fun showing off his steady standing skills to Aunty Nat. He loved it when I would cheer for him when he got to his feet.

Playing the piano

Playing with the toys
In this shot both of the boys were actually dancing to the music the little walker makes. It killed me how cute they both were!

Andrew loved sitting on the walker and Gabe loved pushing Andrew around on it. They make a good team.


Big Buddah!

This morning before work I went to the Energy Solutions Arena and hung out with Big Buddah. Fox 13 was there along with a representative from the Utah Food Bank collecting food. Anyone who brought down 5 cans of food was given a ticket to go to Disney on Ice which is coming to the Energy Solutions Arena for Disney's 100 Years of Magic show on November 12th. Through a lady I work with, I was able to give back my regular ticket and get a VIP pass for 4 to the show, a pass to a media party in the VIP room and a photo oppurtunity with the stars from the show. I am so excited for this oppurtunity and I CANT WAIT to take little Gabe!

After I donated my food, I stayed for a while and talked to Buddah. He is such a nice guy. The strange thing was, that it didn't even feel like I was talking to a TV personality. It was just like talking to one of my Tongan or Samoan friends back home. Then one thing lead to another and I was on the 7:45am segment with Big Buddah as Mini Mouse aka his assistant. I'm sure I looked like a total spaz but I was able to give a shout out to my baby boy and my mum and little brother Blake were able to see me on TV so it was worth it. The pics aren't great because they were taken with my phone, but it gives you an idea.










Monday, September 29, 2008

First taste of a PB&J

Nana Sandy sent me a txt this afternoon asking me if Gabe had ever tried peanut butter. I told her that he hadn't, only because I hadn't been game enough to give it to him yet. I figured it would be just my luck that I would be home alone when I gave it to him and that his head would swell to the size of the moon, I would freak out and it would not be a happy day. So I figured with Grandpa and a epi-pen close, I told her that if she was feeling game then she could give it a go. I guess it was a hit. Gabe loves peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. She did say though that he had to keep drinking water to get it down. That made me laugh. I had her take some pictures so I could post them.

Not too sure what is going on here. Not sure if he is mad or just mid bite.


Lovin the one droopy curl in the front!

Look mummy "No Hands!"There's the water!

Did you know my husband is a genius?

I have to set this one up:

So last week as I was running out the door to work one day, I grabbed my cell phone (off the charger) and noticed that it had hardly charged. Slightly annoyed, but not having time to think about it (much bigger fish to try...LOL) I went on with my day. I love my current mobile and it has...so far... seemed indestructible (even with a distructobaby in the house). I continued to notice during the week that it wasn't charging properly and I was fearing that it might be time to break down and get a new phone. I really didn't want to go through the hassle and the expense so you could say that my poor phone had been running on faith and prayers all week.

Needless to say last night when Brad went to put it on the charger and noticed that the prongs that fit into the charger were bent beyond repair I was bummed. My response to him was, "Honey you are a genius, I know you can fix it, you can fix anything". He wasn't so enthusiastic and a pin and knife later Brad declared defeat. I was exhausted and went to bed huffing and puffing. Then....I woke up to find this in his office this morning:




This people, is my cell phone battery charging! At first when I saw it, it took me a minute to figure out what the contraption was and where the heck it had come from. Then the lights in my tired brain switched on. I went straight into the kitchen where Brad was eating his breakfast and declared him a true genius. Just when I think he can't possibly do anything else he manages to amaze me yet again. How did I get so lucky? I'll never stop asking myself that very question! Thank you honey! Now we just need to decide if the $50.00 we are going to have to spend on batteries is really worth keeping my tired old phone OR if it really is time to break down and get a new one!

You know you have had an awesome weekend when...

You know you have had an awesome weekend when...you only spent two days and one night away, but it feels like you were gone a week!

This weekend our friend Wendy from Melbourne invited us up to Park City to stay in her brand spanking, no one has even slept in it yet, just closed last Thursday, gorgeous new condo at the 5 star Westgate Resort in Park City. She had said to me that she wanted us to come up for some "well deserved R&R" and that is exactly what we got. Ahhhhhhh. We drove up on Saturday morning and when we arrived, Brad made a yummy pancake brunch. Wendy's friend Bobby came too and we enjoyed a lovely meal together. Really what beats Brads heavenly pancakes topped with mashed banana, strawberries and vanilla ice cream? Nothing if you ask me!

After brunch, we hit the Park City outlets where Wendy spoiled us yet again (despite my begging and pleading). She wanted to make sure that Gabe had an outfit from his Aunty Wendy to keep him cute and warm this winter.

When we got back to the condo, Wendy headed home to her condo in Redstone and "left us to enjoy some time alone". While Gabe napped, I made dinner and then after dinner, we headed down to the pool. We spent the evening jumping from the pool to the sauna and just having so much fun. Gabe had so much fun swimming with mummy and daddy.

I was a little nervous that Gabe wouldn't sleep well away from home, but he gave us an extra treat and slept through the night and even slept in until 7:00am. Perfect! Once we were all up on Sunday morning, I made us some eggs for breakfast and then while Gabe went down for his morning nap I enjoyed THE most incredible shower. Have you ever had the pleasure of taking a shower in a floor to ceiling granite European Steam shower? OH MY! I was in heaven and am still dreaming about it. It is a shower and steam room in one. The shower had two shower heads. One of them was a regular on the wall shower head and the other was on the ceiling of the shower and was huge. The shower head above was about the size of a large dinner plate and it was like showering in the rain. Anyway, I could go on forever about this shower. Let me finish by saying that the hot steam in conjunction with the cool rain shower was divine!

When Gabe woke up, we had fun walking around the massive resort and exploring all of its amenities. At 1:00pm Wendy came over for a roast chicken lunch with all the sides. Then for dessert that morning I had made some homemade oreo cookies and we had them topped with a smidge of vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry puree. Wendy had mentioned to me that whenever she comes to the states she is always hungry, but because the food is different is never sure what to eat. I could more than sympathize, so I wanted to make her a home cooked meal that I knew wouldn't be strange to her. I thought it was the VERY least I could do and I had so much fun doing it.

Later on in the afternoon while Gabe took a heavenly 3 1/2 hour afternoon nap, Brad and I enjoyed some time just relaxing and watching a movie. It may not sound too fancy to most, but I am easily excited and easily pleased and we just felt so blessed to be able to spend the weekend there. THANKS WENDY! We definitely drove home on Sunday night feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

I can't wait to go back for my birthday and will be counting the sleeps until it comes. Only 46 sleeps to go! =)

Sadly, in my rush to pack to go away I forgot the camera. We took the below pics with Brads phone so that you can get an idea of what it was like. Enjoy!



View from opposite side of the condo- looking toward the front door


The barKitchenDining areaThe Bed
The spa...IN THE BEDROOM!
BathroomMost awesome shower EVER!Gabe on the ride home
I think this face says it best. This is how we all felt after a weekend in paradise!

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Metro downtown


Its not very often that I get to get out without Gabe...other than to work or to go to the gym. Last night my friend Wendy who is here visiting from Australia invited me to go to a gig downtown at the Metro Condominiums with her. Wendy and her husband have been thinking of purchasing one of the condos to have as their home here in the US for when they come to visit. The location was awesome, the food was great and the entertainment was cool. I love architecture and interior design and so was excited to check the condos out. It was an interesting crowd. An eclectic mix of rich investors and socialites made for some great people watching too. I loved the shapes and lines of the furniture and decor and the way they mixed neutrals with pops of color. Those of you who know me, know I love color!
I wanted to steal some pics from the condo website but couldn't. If you are that interested click on the link.