My Protest

Recently Utah decided that EVERY phone number had to have the 801 area code placed in front of it, no matter where you are dialing from. (Even if it's not long distance.) Ever since then, there has been this wave of people being "801- happy" (if you are one of these people, I still love you.) So you may be asking, "What does '801 happy' mean"? It means that when somebody tells you their number they ALWAYS say 801 before it, and they pause to let you write it down before moving on to the other, less obvious digits in their number. As if I don't know! Granted, some people have out of state cell numbers. That and ONLY that would be the time to give me your area code. If you don't give me an area code, it's pretty darn clear that you have an 801 like all the rest of us! So if you are getting a number from me and I just tell you 7 numbers...please,whatever you do, don't say, "is that 801?"

Frightening monsters? Tis the Season!

Happy Halloween to one and all!!! We have a couple of frightening 'monsters' around our house that always make chills run up Gracee's spine!
This may look like a mere stereo to the untrained eye--but to Gracee it is a huge-mouthed creature with spinning teeth! The mouth pops out whenever one of those many buttons is pushed--not sure which one til she tries it--but when she does, she has to speedily rush to mom or dad for protection. It hasn't hurt her yet, but she's pretty sure that it could strike at any moment....

This one has a name that speaks for itself, "Devil"! She keeps going around the door to peer at it. When she does, she starts whimpering and tries to get our attention Once she gets it, she stops whimpering and points to it with a VERY troubled brow! When we use it, she has to be in our arms or far from it. She just stares at it with a mixed look of awe and trepidation.

A Camera in my Heart...

Today me and Russ and Gracee went to the canyon to enjoy one of our last warm and sunny days. Gracee looked so cute and was so cheerful toddling around. (She's starting to take a step or two--videos to come!) The leaves were all sorts of vibrant colors. Red, yellow, orange, brown...they were swirling all around us in the breeze! We had a yummy picnic and then played around on the grass and went for a walk. Gracee loved it every time we passed the water--she'd tense up and reach for it. She loved putting her feet in it. It was such a serene afternoon. The whole time I kept wishing I had the camera. It was one of those times I just had to tell myself to take a vivid shot with the camera in my heart. I have a lot of priceless photos in there, ya know. These moments are what the epitome of happiness is to me.

Happy Happy Birthday Gracee dear!

So I am of the belief that every parent has the right to freak out over their child turning one. Hopefully I am this sentimental about all of my children's "firsts". She seems to have taken her birthday as a rite of passage for many things, as future posts will attest! Anyhow, please celebrate with us by browsing this post and sharing any birthday wish you may have for Gracee! "Welcome to my party SkyMax (her cousin). Can I touch your hair? It's so lovely..."

Sharing food with Gramma Hannig

Play time with Aunt Stef

"Mom, dad....why are all of these people staring at me?? I like it, but why?"

"You want me to do what??"

"You're sure this is okay?"

She really did own this cake. Ever since her birthday, she keeps wanting to hold the whole piece of whatever it is she's eating. "Nevermind all of this piece- breaking business, give me the whole thing mom!"

"I LOVE eating this way!!"

A blood bath! And yes, that is a tomato in her hand, she's obsessed with squeezing and biting into produce!! What can I say? A chip off the block!

She loves to clap! Her hands and cheeks were rosey the whole rest of the day!

Though she had guests to entertain, she got distracted by our apple stash--her best friend right now. She loves to toss them around and take one bite out of each one!

Surprise!! My good friend Jesse dropped in from Cali to stay with us for a bit.

Two Kenzies and two Grac(i)ees!

Where's Gracee Girl? One year today..

A year ago this day we were getting acquainted with our new little nearly 8 lb bundle. Now 11 lbs. heavier and bursting with joy, Gracee has enriched our lives immeasurably. All those who know her or have met her are struck by her engaging ways. She LOVES making new friends and seems to really have a love for people. Hope you enjoy these two videos! Let me know if they work, this is my second attempt at being fancy by putting videos on here...

STAYCATION! Try it!

So if anybody has advice on moving pictures around to get them in a desirable order--I would love it!! I used to be able to move them, but it's not letting me anymore!!
ANYWAY! Here are some very out of order pictures of a staycation me and Russ took. It was in an effort to get us all refreshed for the 2 year overhaul we have on our hands with Russ starting his MBA program. I think it worked!

We took a whole week off and just played...yup! Here in Utah. Gracee and Russ both do much better in their own beds. =) My mom came to be a permanent babysitter for Gracee so could come and go as we pleased. It was just lovely. Russ made it so fun. Here are some of the things we did:
Fishing with Russ's cute dad!
Dinner at our favorite restaurant--Carrabbas!

On my birthday, for tradition's sake (and mine!), we did a tandem bike ride up the canyon with Gracee hooked to the back! she fell asleep on the way up! (We're making the # 29 with our fingers, if you can't tell!)

Amazing eggs and breakfast in bed from my honey! He's so good=) Look at that cut up fruit, he sure knows me!

Living Aquarium with Gracee. She really like this place!

Gracee at the stingray petting zoo. She had so much fun here!

She liked it here a lot better than the zoo because she was closer to the animals I think.

The zoo. She was pretty bored I think. A little disappointing. Next year?

We at lunch at the Lionhouse in Salt Lake.

We watched a 3-D IMAX show about bugs...it was really cool!

We went to "This is the place Monument" and Village.

We saw the new Oquirrh Mountain temple. We also ate at Sweet Tomatoes that night, yummy!

Good food and good company. That's a vacation to me. The only thing I didn't love was that I still had to do the 'household things' in order to keep my sanity when we were at home. Mom cleaned a ton--but she couldn't do it all. When we go on vacations AWAY from home, I don't have to clean at all!!! Other than that, it was to die for! We wanna do it again!

It'll all come out in the wash...

So my friend, Kimberlee just got her own place and was in need of a dryer...that's when it all started... We bought this front loader used when we were first married. It's never quite been "right". But being the thrifty couple we are, we have suffered through having to go down and stop the washer in between cycles--otherwise it just kept running. However, a couple weeks ago, our 'well-oiled machine' COMPLETELY stopped working. I cloth diaper and have several sheets to wash a week from my massage practice, so I called Russ right away and warned him that we better start looking. Luckily, our friends Heather and Dave let us do a load over there in the interim. Dave also helped Russ with the nasty mess of unhooking our old one and installing AND picking up our new one! I say "one"--but we actually got a new dryer as well...because hey! It has to match! We got a steal on both of them. The dryer was even floor model.

so that left us with an extra dryer...

(Here's the dryer...I couldn't get my pictures to go in the right order today, sorry!)

Here's Dave and Russ trashing the carpet roll that has been cramping my style in the garage for a year! WOOHOO! Good Riddens (sp?)!

So when I was at Kimberlee's the other day, I said, "so YOU'RE the reason our washer broke??"

It's interesting how things sort of have a way of working out.

(Here's the yucky mess I was referring to. )