A breath of fresh air

We made our way up to the Whiting cabin (or as Carter calls it, the "cabinet") for UEA weekend to spend some quality time up in the mountains with our family. We had such a blast, as usual! I don't think I have eaten that much since Christmas! My boys loved being outside so much and I loved that they weren't watching TV. Here's a few pictures of the trip:

I had to take this picture of Preston's jeans splattered with mud literally 2 minutes after we had arrived. He was already getting into the spirit of being in the mountains!
Aunt Mellie greeted us on the 4 wheeler and Carter and Preston immediately got on for a ride. This is one of their favorite things about being up here, thanks for all the rides Mel!
We had a campfire both nights we were there and it was so much fun. Smores are the best!
Carter was constantly looking for the perfect walking stick.
Little Smoreface!
The next day James made sugar cookies with the kids and let them frost their own. Preston wasn't too interested when he had chips around. He ate atleast half of the bag himself.
Carter was pretty proud of his since it had a spiderweb on it (James helped a bit) CHEESE!!

We all want a ride please!

Bethany and I went for a run up there and about died. I didn't realize how much the elevation would affect me. It was about 10,000 feet up there so I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Maybe I need to train up here for my next race!
Saturday we went on a hike up to Ruth Lake. It was so pretty and Carter did pretty good to hike with us. Preston was in a backpack with James and enjoyed all the scenery from up high.
Isn't the scenery gorgeous? This family picture might have made the Christmas card but the sun is WAY too bright on my face. Bummer. Our picture from last year was up at the cabin but looks like we will have to find a different location this year.
Preston could not get enough of the Mike and Ikes. He wouldn't share with anyone.

Here is a typical Preston picture. His eyes are closed in about 75% of them. He says cheese then closes his eyes. Love this boy!

On Sunday I got no pictures which I am bummed about. We went on a nature walk and ended up turning a corner on the trail we were on and were face to face with a momma moose and her baby. We turned around immediately and high-tailed it out of there! That made James' whole trip, he is obsessed with wildlife. He even watches hunting on TV even though he doesn't hunt, just to watch the deer in action. Who does that? Anyway, we had so much fun playing games, eating a ton of food, reading People magazine (every single adult read it!), and just relaxing together. One of my other favorite things is the talks that James and I have on the way up and back. It is good for us to reconnect and forget about work and life for a few days. Thanks to Melanie and Carl for inviting us up! We loved it!

Happy News

How cute are they?? My BFF from highschool, Karynn is engaged!! I got the news yesterday and I am so happy for her. At 29 she is definitely ready! It's been a long road for her with past boyfriends and waiting for the right guy to finally come along. We went to dinner last night and I got all of the details about the proposal (he did a great job), wedding plans, honeymoon location, and some other gossip we needed to catch up on. December 13th can't come fast enough! Congrats Karynn and Derek, I can't stop smiling!!

Snow and Cornbellys

If any of you haven't heard yet, we here in Utah got snow on Sunday! Carter woke up and looked directly out the window and screamed, "SNOW MOMMY!" He wanted to get into his snow clothes immediately but I told him he had to wait until the sun was totally up. Was this really happening? October 12th? I swear it gets earlier every year. This weekend is supposed to be warm again, so I am not totally upset yet. Fall is still here for another week atleast.

Carter finally got to use his Diego shovel we bought on clearance this summer. It was supposed to be used for Grammy's sandbox but somehow never made it over there. It seemed to work just as good with the snow. This snow was totally melted by about 5 o'clock that night. Carter and James even built a snowman, but I was too cold to take a picture of it by the time they were finished! Just imagine a cute little baby snowman...
Today was Carter's first fieldtrip for preschool to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point. Well I guess it wasn't technically a "real" fieldtrip since I just drove him from our house to Thanksgiving Point because I couldn't find my keys for about 20 minutes. They ended up being in my purse the whole time, grrrr. I was supposed to be a helper mom and take care of a few other kids while we were there. It definitely kept me on my toes with Preston along! We made it there a little before the rest of the class so we took some pictures while we were waiting.

I wanted Carter to put his arm around Preston for this picture but Preston was not happy about it. How cute is that beanie?! It was Carter's and I couldn't wait for it to fit another one of my boys. I love it. We definitely needed it. It was FREEZING when we first got there.
Derek and Carter on a fun hayride that was really bumpy
The cow tractor ride was where Carter reminded me that he has a very strong personality(not that I needed any reminding). He wanted to sit up front and didn't want to share a little car (cow) with anyone. Two other girls wanted to share but had to sit in the front so he had to switch with them. Big mistake. He was kicking and screaming the whole time until the ride started. Even trying to get his picture after it was over was still traumatizing. The funny part was that I asked him on the ride home what his favorite part was and he said the cow ride! Kids are so funny. Don't you love the cowboy boots? He had to wear those today, I figured it was pretty appropriate.
I thought he would say that this was his favorite part. They had old style water spigots that you could pump water through and push some rubber ducks along the little gutter thing. He played here for a good twenty minutes and managed to get his whole sleeve soaking wet. He didn't complain, so I didn't complain!
Snacktime! Carter was in charge of the snack and couldn't wait to give out the fun Halloween frosted cookies. I think they were a hit. I went with the orange theme with the goldfish too. Ok, I only realized after I had them both but hey it works!

Cambrie and Carter in the cute wooden train
In the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkin. Carter saw his right away and held onto it. He was so proud! We are going to carve some tonight that we bought last night but got home too late. I love fall!
Preston with the pumpkin he picked. It was a little green and moldy so I kindly chose another one for him while he wasn't looking. :)
Again, how cute is that beanie?! Okay really you have to have a cute kid to go with it!
I thought that they would be totally tired out from the 2 hours outside, but they still had a little more to get out before lunch time. They had their plates ready and were chasing each other around with them. What a fun game! I think I am tired now after writing this post! Whew!

A tribute

My hair dryer (is it two words?) finally bit the dust a few days ago. I have had this hair dryer for atleast 10 years. It's like I am losing an old friend. Does anyone else feel that way maybe about a hair brush or favorite toothbrush? Am I crazy?? I went to Target looking for a replacement hoping they would have the same kind, but to no avail. I had to settle for this revlon one that is way stronger and has more gadgets and settings. It even came with a free lime green scrunchie. The scrunchie did soften the blow, but I am still missing my old conair. May she rest in peace.

Update on my boys

My boys are growing up. Some days it seems like it isn't coming fast enough, and then days like today I am just reminded how time moves too fast. Preston will be 2 next month and it literally seems like about 2 months ago that we brought him home from the hospital. He has started to get quite the little personality, and is talking so much more. Carter has always acted older than his age and lately he has been cracking me up with all the questions and phrases he comes up with. One of my favorites is when James couldn't find his keys and was frustrated and said as any normal Brit would, "Where are my bloody keys?!" to which Carter turned to me and asked, "Mommy, why are Daddy's keys bloody?" It was pretty hilarious. He also thinks he is a diver and came over to me while I was on the computer a few days ago looking like this. I couldn't resist a picture. Notice his ears folded under the strap around his head. So cute. He has learned some nursery rhymes at preschool and recited them for me on the way home last Thursday. I was floored with how perfect he remembered them all. Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Hey diddle diddle, and Hickory dickory dock are the ones he knows. I'm sure if you ask him to recite one for you, he would love to. He is so proud of himself, and gets a little smirk on his face when you tell him how good he did. His preschool class is going to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point next week which he always calls "Corntummys". He asks to go every day and can't wait for his first field trip with his class. I love this age!

I went in to check on Preston before church to see if he had woken up yet so that I could get him dressed and this is what I found. How comfortable can that be? He is my night owl and will sit and kick around in his crib for hours sometimes after I put him to bed. He doesn't cry, he enjoys it I think. I sometimes hear him growling like a dinosaur or talking jibberish to himself. He is a good little dude.

We went up to Nunns Park in Provo Canyon tonight to see all of the leaves changing. It is so beautiful! I love fall. This is when I knew that my boys were growing up. I didn't really have to worry about Carter up there this time. He kept close by us and didn't whine or complain at all. This is a big step for Carter who has been my challenge in that area. I think he is finally starting to grow out of that stage (knock on wood!) Even Preston did really well with only some wet shoes from walking too close into the river while throwing rocks. They had a blast. Hotdogs, smores, rootbeer, a river, rocks, and friends, how can you go wrong? Thanks Canlas Fam! Here is our attempt at a picture with the changing leaves. Carter thought he was so funny running away. Little punk! He finally decided one alone would be okay. I bought this jacket for him and got a 5t for some reason which is totally huge on him. What was I thinking? Well atleast it will fit him for sure next year! Well I figured the grandparents would like a little update on what has been happening with these two little cuties. For all the rest of you, I'm impressed you made it this far!

Need input

I am looking into putting together a 5k race for my cousin Sean who has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. All proceeds would go toward his medical bills and treatment. Does anyone know how to go about this? He and his wife of only one month were both University of Utah students so I am wondering if maybe the school could get involved somehow. Winter is approaching quickly so we need to act fast on this. If you have any contacts or know how this can be organized, please respond!

Andrea's Shower

I love my family! Yesterday we had a shower for my cousin Andrea who got married in July back East. Her and her new hubby are living in Provo going to school so we wanted to get her anything else she needed for their new life together. She is the nicest girl ever and didn't like to be in the spotlight, but handled it really well! We got to hear how they met, how he proposed,(I love hearing those stories!) and their future plans. We also got to meet my cousin Julie's new boyfriend which was fun. He was pretty brave to come into a room full of women! He seems great, and I am really glad that he makes her so happy. Love was in the air!

The Stephenson girls
Jason and Andrea-aren't they so cute? I miss the newlywed days...doesn't he look like Chris O' Donnell? I kept telling him that, but he doesn't know who that is. I must be getting old.

Gratitude

A few things I am grateful for this week--

*Redbox movies-can't beat a dollar/free with code!

*Discovery Park

*my new job starting Monday

*My sister-in-law Bethany for watching my kids while I work

*Valley Center Playhouse-(please read singletonliving.blogspot.com for further details)

*more zucchini than I know what to do with

*Good books including Stargirl and Tuesdays with Morrie

*diapers

*the weather-it stills deserves a shout out

*old friends

*people I can be real with

*snuggling with Carter

*cafe rio

*reading books with Preston today

*fresh fruit

*my hard working husband
*50 cent cans of cream of chicken soup(go to Albertsons)

*a nice 3 mile run outside this morning

Today was a good day. Nothing exciting happened, just got to be with my family. Life is good.

chef James is back

After a long absence chefjamescookingpot.blogspot.com is back up and running. I have been busy in the kitchen trying new things and concocting some great dishes which have been tested on friends and family. Check it out I will have a lot to share in the next little while.

James

Blog Love

I got tagged by Adhis because she loves to read my blog (I love to read her's too, it is so funny and well written). Thanks Adhis! I am so flattered. The rules are that I have to tag 7 other people and tell them how much I love to read their blogs. I have so many that I love, but I can only choose 7. Sorry! So if you are one of those 7 , feel free to post this on your blog and give some other bloggers some love.

1. My cute sister Melanie- carlmelwhiting.blogspot.com

2. My hilarious single friend Katie-really people, if you haven't read her blog you need to, it will make you laugh for days! -singletonliving.blogspot.com

3. The girliest blog on the net- cupcakechowder.blogspot.com

4. The biggest twilight lover I know- annban10.blogspot.com

5. My neighbor with great stories of junior high- werewinginit.blogspot.com

6. A funny mom and great chef trying to survive in Australia- benatriley.blogspot.com

7. Adventures of a single mom while her husband is in Iraq-gardnerhawaii.blogspot.com

Girls Trip 2008

It was that time again for our annual Stephenson family girls trip (My mom's side of the family.) Although we were smaller in numbers this year since my cousin Jacque's father-in-law passed away suddenly so her family attended funeral services, we still had such a great time (but missed them too!) We went Thurs.-Sat. up to Park City and stayed in a nice condo right in Red Stone Plaza right next to a lot of shopping and restaurants, it was awesome. Here are the girls minus Aunt Sharon and Bethany:

Back: Mom, Melanie, Aunt Mary, Shauna

Front: Me, Shannon, Sarah

So the first night we looked through the dining books and decided on this place called "Good Thymes since it had a variety of food that hopefully everyone would like. Wrong. It was disgusting! I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak and got it with American cheese. Does anyone else think that is just wrong! Provolone people, hello! Shannon and Melanie ordered a quarter chicken and got a huge piece of a bloody chicken leg served to them, nasty. And the most annoying thing was the lady wouldn't split our checks up! Needless to say, they got the thumbs down from me. Of course I was the only one brave/stupid enough to get up on the wall in front of the restaurant and make such an ugly face! The next night we ended up going to Red Rock and it was amazing!! Chicken Parmesan to die for. I was bummed I forgot to take a picture with a thumbs up in front of it. Oh well ,there's always next year.

We stayed up talking until about 2 am and it was so nice to wake up at 10 and not even feel bad about it! We got ready and hit the outlets. Here are the Tenney girls ready for a good day of shopping.
And shop we did! I got a lot of fun things for me like 2 hats, earrings, and a new purse. Here we are with all of our bags (well almost we still had some in the car from before.) Bethany met us up there and we talked her into spending way more money than she wanted! Everything she tried on just looked so cute on her she had to buy all of it! That is the fun in shopping together, you get everyone's opinion.
My mom got a purse last year and I took a picture of it, so in keeping with tradition, since I got a purse this year too, we took one together. After shopping is the funnest part because we do "Show and Tell" and show everything that we bought and lay it all out. We also add up all of our receipts and see who spent the most. This year since Jacque was not here (she always wins!) Melanie took top prize for most money spent. Although I do have to say most of it was for her kids' school clothes, so that doesn't really count right? :)
My mom is also a personal stylist for my aunt Mary and dyes and cuts her hair. She has actually been stopped by people and asked who does her hair because it is so cute. The funniest part is that my mom doesn't have a license but she still does a great job! I kept telling my aunt she looked like she had white dreadlocks. I am sure she will love me for putting this picture on here!
I love being with my family and I think this getaway is so necessary to keep connected and for my sanity!! I had a ton of junk food, no sleep, a hurt stomach from laughing so hard, and memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks for the fun girls!

Perfect Weather

Since I am one of the biggest complainers about the weather, I decided to do a post about how wonderful the weather has been in Utah the past few days. I have turned off the air conditioning and just had my windows open all day, it's the best! Being in the high 70's and soon to be low 80's is the greatest. Thank you Mother Nature for being kind to me. You deserved a shout out.

First Day of Preschool

It finally arrived! Carter has been talking about this for a long time and was so excited to go. I take him to a girl that lives in my sister Melanie's neighborhood. She was a kindergarten teacher for about 10 years and just had her 4th baby and decided to stay home with her, so she started a preschool. She seems great and I know Carter needs the structure of school, and to mix things up twice a week! He mostly was excited about his new spiderman backpack which is about as big as he is, and to wear his orange helicopter shirt which he picked out himself. When we got there I said bye and he didn't even acknowledge that I was there. He went right in and did his thing. That is definitely his personality! He has never been afraid of anything new, he just dives right in. When I picked him up after it was over he told me that he played with dinosaurs, described each of them, and that was about all the details I got. He pretty much just said yes or no to everything else. Kids are so funny. I just need to figure out what I am going to do for the 2 hours that he is gone. It is not exactly close to my house so I don't want to go all the way home and come right back. Today me and Preston went to my brothers pizza place and chatted with him for awhile and then went to Ross and looked around. I may start going to the gym and putting Preston in the daycare there so it will force me to work out. Any other suggestions? All in all, it turned out to be a good day.

Big Boy Bed

Since Carter is now 3 1/2 and a week away from starting preschool, I figured it was about time to put the crib away! He loved his crib and knew how to climb out, but still would wait for me to get him every morning. I wasn't about to mess up naptime and bedtime with a normal bed that he could get out of easily! We decided to try him out in a normal bed for a few nights in our guest room and he loved it. He still would call for me to come get him in the morning so I thought that this wouldn't be too hard of a transition for him or me. We headed over to Ikea to scout out a new bed for him. We decided on this one because we want him and Preston to share a room when we have another baby (don't get any ideas, that won't be for awile :) and thought this was perfect. It is a reversible single or bunk bed you just flip it over and can make space for a bunk bed by putting a mattress on the ground. Pretty ingenius I thought. Carter also spotted the canopy on top and had to have it! Since Ikea is so cheap, we sprung for it and the fun duvet cover to match. James had a "fun" time putting it together last night while the kids were in bed and put the last screw in tonight just in time for bedtime. Carter was so excited. It made me a little sad to see him so grown up! Time keeps flying by...

Ode to my Husband

Let's just face it, my husband is awesome. I know some of you hate the "bragging blogs" but too bad, James totally deserves it! Today he finished his first OLYMPIC triathlon and did a great job. He has done some sprint tris in the past and really wanted to push himself so has been training for this for the past four or five months. Many of you may have seen him running or biking around the neighborhood making loop after loop trying to get the allotted time in he needed to train for that day! He finished in about 3 hours (his watch broke) and said it was the hardest thing ever. They had to swim in the Jordanelle Reservoir for 1 mile, bike 25 miles, and run a 10k (6.2 miles). I am so proud of him and that he was able to accomplish this! We also had our 7 year anniversary on the 10th, so here are 7 things that I love about James:

1. His accent---I thought it was adorable when we met and still find it totally adorable now. Although it has definitely gotten more American sounding, I still smile every time he says Heather, garage, trousers, little turtle, dirty dancing, rooty tooty fresh and fruity(from the IHOP menu),water(which every waitress never understands), ponce, bloody, the list could go on and on!

2. What a wonderful father he is to my boys. They absolutely adore him and he is definitely the fun one of the two of us. He takes them to the Dinosaur Museum, Cabelas, and the pool without me all the time. He also lets Carter get a pink cookie every time after they go swimming which he thinks is the greatest thing ever!

3. He always puts my needs before his. That is how it has always been. He always knows when I have had a bad day and need a break and is happy to let me get out and do my thing. Girls nights, bunco, hanging out with family, he will always stay home with the boys for me to have fun. He also really encourages me to run and makes sure I get my long runs in no matter what.

4. He still is romantic after 7 years. He is one of the most thoughtful, fun, original guys I know. He always has something cool planned for big days throughout the year. He makes a huge deal about my birthday and throws me a party with all my family and friends. On my race day he presented me with a certificate to get a massage at 1pm after the race. Breakfast in bed, flowers, picking me up a yummy treat he thought I would like, making t-shirts, watching chick flicks, project runway, the hills, and other girly shows with me, making me countless gourmet dinners, I love it all.

5. He makes me laugh. Although technically I am the funny one in our relationship(he still tries to disagree with me on this one), he still is pretty funny. :)We can sit and laugh our heads off at his one liners. For instance today I was crying from laughing so hard about his description of his race..."Getting kicked in the face about 100 times was fun, followed by veering off course only to find myself totally away from everyone else at the edge of the lake, and running to the finish with the lady with the megaphone asking me what my name was and where I was from, as I can barely breath let alone chat with her." Okay maybe you had to be there, but I was laughing pretty hard. He makes me laugh, enough said.

6. His politeness and manners--This comes with the territory of being British, but I still love it. He still asks me if he can eat things at our house, will always let me get my dinner first, and if there is only a little bit of food left he always asks if I want the rest. My family is anything but polite, especially when it comes to dinnertime and he learned this first hand when we were dating. We do it buffet style and get in line and you better hurry or you might not get any. James didn't want to be rude and waited for everyone to get some. Sadly, my brothers are pigs and there was nothing left when he finally found the courage to take his turn. He learned the ropes pretty quick after that but still would never take the last piece of meat or potato in fear that someone else might not get some. I love him!

7. He is a great listener. He will just let me talk if I need to vent and at least acts like he is interested and cares. He also remembers things I say I want or like even if I am just saying it in a nonchalant way, and will surprise me with them later. That means a lot. He gets me. When you get married you think you know who you are marrying, which you sortof do, but there are some things you just can't know until you live with someone and see them in different situations. James has been 100 times better than I could have ever imagined. He is everything I ever wanted and way more. Cheesy I know, but true. He is just a deep down good person with an amazing heart. I love you babe, here's to a lot more!

Half Marathon #2 Completed!!

This race turned out to be a lot different than what I had in mind. I have learned quite a few things from this race as compared to the last. One being to try to train on the course you are running BEFORE you run it on race day. I had been training on a flat surface and this race was downhill which I thought would be easier. It was in some ways but it killed my knees and made me get blisters on my toes, both of those things I hadn't experienced before the race. I also ended up having to go #2 halfway through (sorry if that was too much info!) and found out I had a stomach bug that lasted the rest of the day. It was pretty brutal. I have a lot to learn!

Here is some of us carb-loading the night before at the best place ever, Brick Oven.

Here are my number one supporters on race day- James even made the cutest shirts for the boys to wear. They were a hit!
It said "My Mummy ran the Provo half marathon and all I got was this t-shirt." So funny!
Here are the four of us at the finish line Bethany, Melanie, me, and Brooke
Here is us running toward the finish. Brooke finished about 30 minutes before us and decided to run back and find us and cheer us on the rest of the way. She kept me going when I wanted to stop and told me to just pick up my knees and finish! Thanks Brooke, I needed your encouragement. By mile 10 I pretty much crumbled and was finished. I had to walk a lot and I appreciated Melanie and Bethany for staying with me the whole way so that we could all finish together. I killed their chance of getting a good time, but it was nice to go through the finish holding hands and knowing that we had done it all together. I love these girls! I was so proud of them and they were doing so awesome. Bethany said she could have gone for 5 more miles! Thats the hard thing about running, you have great days and then you have bad days, I guess it was one of my bad days. I am still proud that I finished, and I actually did beat my time from last year, but feel a little disappointed knowing that I could have done better on a different day. Life goes on! I guess this will push me to do another one and keep improving. Well maybe tomorrow after my body doesn't feel like I'm 90 years old...