Fall Ball...

Initially, the fresh green hills just east of us looked like they were puking slowly.  Little drops of brown, orange and yellow began sprouting up and my So Cal roots and almost entire life spent there might explain my initial confusion.  What was going on?  

Apparently, it was fall starting.  The colors, the beautiful colors, just looked absolutely dreadful to me.  What happened to the lush green hills I was so acquainted with?  

Once I realized Fall wasn't so bad and actually quite gorgeous everywhere else with red, orange, yellow everywhere and cooler more sustainable outside to play type of weather, it really grew on me.  

We found some time to break away from our normal shenanigans in the play room/office and had some fun in the leaves.  

And then we decided it was time to start prepping for our winter sledding adventures.  

What Is Custard?

This won't make sense to anyone but me... but I've always thought of custard as the yellow stuff that Chinese people have in the form of pudding with shaved ice or in buns that you get from the bakery.  As a frozen delight?  Not so much.  So the whole concept of frozen custard has quite confused this Asian girl from California, specifically Arcadia Arcasia.  My taste buds can't recognize the difference between frozen custard and frozen yogurt, but it doesn't matter because both are good.. and we've found the next best thing... whatever frozen custard is... with italian ice!  Now italian ice also confuses me a bit.  It's sort of like a soft ice, not hard like shaved ice or as soft as snow ice (a Chinese thing from California only so far...), but flavored ice nonetheless and quite good.  Now pair it with frozen custard, and you have Rita's... a winner!  

We made it over to Rita's for family night a few weeks ago.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones with this bright idea on Monday night (the Momo designated family night), but we beat the rush and enjoyed it.  

I usually am never one to judge in terms of clothing.. I myself have been caught in ludicrous outfits quite often in the name of comfort.. but Andy sort of topped it this night.  I sort of just laughed when I realized what he was wearing: scrubs with a BYU long sleeved work out top and .... sperry topsiders?  Really Andy?  It doesn't get any better than this.  

My favorite part are the pink scrub ties.  

I can't wait until Bubba can enjoy this as much as we all do!  He's not pictured because he was just sleeping.  Sorry Bubs!

I Love Sundays

When I first joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, I was befuddled by the fact that I'd be losing a day usually dedicated to working out, brunch, relaxing, and shopping.  The missionaries taught me that Sunday was a time to retreat from work and aimed towards spiritually uplifting our family and self.  It was a rough adjustment at first, but four years later, I sincerely look forward to Sundays which are dedicated solely to uplifting things like family, worship, covenants, and relaxing.  I also can appreciate the challenge to get to Church on time with kids and make it through Sacrament meeting with my sanity.  

Here in Salt Lake, we live a few blocks from Church.  We don't walk regularly, but we always see our neighbors walking and last Sunday, Andy and Jordan decided to walk back while Bubba and I drove home.  The sun was out and made the cold quite pleasant.  Bubba and I got home, unpacked, and then waited for Jordan and Daddy to get back.  

 Jordan was so excited.. he was running back, probably the whole way!

 Our weekly Sunday photo.  An absolutely gorgeous day in Salt Lake!

 Here's Jordan close-up... so excited to run home!

Since being called as a Sunday school teacher recently, Sundays are always a nice retreat from the week's worth of planning for my lessons.  I can take a deep breath and not worry about another lesson until a few weeks later (I rotate with another teacher).  During the week, I don't usually have much time to craft, so I get to do a lot of crafting on the weekends (which for me is nothing serious, mostly things that are cheaper to make yourself considering the time commitment and novice crafting level I'm at).  I also catch up on my writing, organizing, and plan for the week with recipes and going through the week's activities.  We enjoy watching NFL football and sometimes golf at home together (well the boys enjoy it as I do other stuff) and we always have Sunday dinner with our extended family.  It's simple but great and I look forward to it every week.

And now, I'm in the mindset of wondering how stressful it must be to have two days of weekend to plan and figure out.  To me, having just one day to coordinate with my husband (what are we doing with the kids, when are you golfing, when am I doing an exercise class, are we eating out for lunch or dinner, etc.) and knowing exactly what Sunday will bring is comforting and nice.  I love it!

Go Cougars!

One of the perks about living in Utah is that we're only 45 minutes from Andy's alma mater.  We made our way over to a pre-season basketball game last Saturday with just the four of us and gave ourselves plenty of time to spend some money (per Andy, contribute to his school) at the BYU bookstore.  

Bubba sporting his new BYU beenie.  

Andy got this ghetto hat (flat bill) from Ross and I don't like it when he wears it, but hey - it looks pretty good on me, like a trucker hat.  Win win.  

Jordan was sooo hungry that he kept pointing to the popcorn at the concession stands.  We finally acquiesced and here he is, thoroughly enjoying his $4 bag of Y (per Jordan, "ra ra") popcorn.  

If BYU got over 80 points, Yogurtland would give us 3 free oz, so as soon as they did.. we made like a check and bounced.  We beat the BYU Momo crowd and enjoyed our free fro yo!

Jordan had so much fun, he wouldn't stop asking us when we could go back.  

Happy Halloween!

Our tradition broke this year with Jordan wanting to be Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so we let the boys go together as Jake (a DIY pirate costume) and a parrot (purchased from Old Navy on sale).

Not everyone knows what Jake looks like (if not hooked on Disney Junior shows) and good for you - so I put a comparative below for reference.  Pretty good for DIY eh?  Too bad it was freezing!  Next year, we need to go with something warmer.

This was the first time Jordan truly understood saying "trick or treat" and then receiving candy, thanking someone for it and even saying "Happy Halloween!"  The Disney shows he's been watching have also helped with his enthusiasm for this holiday.  It makes me cringe a bit to think they can have so many shows about Halloween yet shy away from Christmas.  Oh well, such is the world today eh?  

We'll have to ensure Jordan stays away from the candy until it's gone, there's quite a bit - we didn't go to many houses, but most of the homes we went to with people we knew all provided full sized candy bars!  Eek!

Bubba is 6 Months Old!

I often feel guilty that I haven't doted on every milestone of Bubba's with the same depth and attention that I did with Jordan.  Time just absolutely flies with two children and seems to be moving so much faster than when we were in Spokane.  While I'm grateful for the time in Spokane and the leisurely schedule we sometimes had, having family nearby really makes a huge difference in a new city.  

By the time I realized Bubba had turned 6 months, all I could do was snap some photos asap.  Gone are the days of naked baby with month card and in its place are these.  Better than nothing right? 

He was sleeping through the night until I wrote this.  For a few nights in a row, he was waking up 2-3 times but last night, he went back to sleeping through the night.  Thank goodness!  Let's hope tonight is just as good. 

The boys woke up Friday morning so full of energy despite being slightly sick (runny nose, coughing, rashy)

I didn't feel comfortable with Jordan going to school since his nose was disgusting and instead, we met Andy for lunch when his lunch meeting got cancelled.  Sweet!  

Time With Puo Puo and Chinese Breakfast

When I went to LA almost three weeks ago for a work meeting, I also got to spend some quality time with my parents, brother, and just Bubba.  You never know how easy traveling with just one is until you have two.  I imagine that's the same with each additional child!  I had a grand ol' time traveling just with one.  It was all just too easy.  

Before the flight on Friday, I got a chance to finally eat at Yi-Mei, this new Chinese breakfast place less than a mile away from my parents' house that is closed on Wednesdays and was closed last time I was in LA and tried to eat there!  It is amazing.  I can't wait to go back and it has officially been added to my list of regular spots to eat at.  

The screen above is magnificently in Chinese and English so you can not only read the menu but also see great photos of it all!

Mmmm. pineapple cake.  I wanted to take some of these home with me but I was already taking two boxes of mooncakes (something I never really craved until I couldn't have it anymore)

I love those yellow things.  I forget the name in Engrish but it tasting yummy.  

Chicken marinated Chinese style.  Hao!  

Our breakfast - soy milk, peanut milk, salty rice roll, beef flatbread sandwich, chicken, and ground stewed beef with rice and boiled egg.  Delicious!!!

Close-up of the beef flatbread sandwich.

Just me and Bubba in the SINGLE stroller.  Love.  

Just me and my second born, that's all.  No big deal.