Love the Place You Live

It's officially been almost a year since we made the BIG MOVE to our current residence. (Can something 'almost' really be official? Well . . .) Really, we didn't go all that far--just a four hour drive--but sometimes it feels like worlds away. To give all of our friends and family a taste of what it is like here, I have created a list of Southern Utah's unique characteristics.

(Caveat: My opinions may be tainted by my neighborhood, religion, or acquaintences and are not intended to be offensive. This is how it feels to me.)

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN ST. GEORGE WHEN:

1. you need 4 wheel drive to get to the neighborhood campout.
2. you know everyone at the grocery store and they're all related somehow.
3. the library closes at 5:00.
4. your kids come in from playing in the mud and they are red (try to get THAT out of a white t-shirt.)
5. you see entire stores dedicated to cowboy boots.
6. "cold" is 40 degrees.
7. "hot" is too hot.
8. your co-worker asks you if you have been to the Temple yet.
9. there are no public pools but every other house has one in the backyard.
10. you see polygamists at Wal-mart
11. half the valley is preserved for the desert tortoise which NO ONE has ever seen.
12. you are surrounded by friendly, helpful people at every turn.

Family Finances

It's tax season. And for some reason, tax season always makes us take a serious look at our financial situation. It's a good thing, it really is, but I HATE it. I hate being reminded that we have so many expenditures in life.

The last two years were spent with Diego in business school. I was fine with scrimping and saving while we were in school because I had in the back of my mind that IT WAS TEMPORARY. So we are finally out of school, and into the job that we want and we live in a relatively inexpensive place to live. So why is it just as bad a before!? And to me, watching every penny is like watching every calorie, it just makes me ornery. No fun allowed. Diets and budgets are "no fun allowed."

Well, obviously, I buck up and deal with it because the only other option is for me to go get a job that wouldn't even cover the cost of day care (beside the fact that it would kill me to put my kids in day care.) But now I am forced to face the fact that not getting what you want is 100% non-temporary.

We Love Disneyland!

Last week we took our kids on the 6 hour drive to Anaheim to visit my grandma, aunt, uncle, and of course . . . Disneyland. We have been so excited to go. Well, at least me and the kids were. I found out while we were on our trip that Diego thought we were going to Disneyland for the kids. I was going for me.

I woke up the first morning and my right eye had swollen shut. I was very dissapointed because then I had to wear my glasses and I look deformed in the pictures. I never did figure out what was wrong with my eye but the swelling went away three days later when we were safely back to our own home. Needless to say, I ducked out of a lot of the pictures--not that I look that fabulous anyway but you know . . .

Nicolas' favorite ride was Star Tours--he rode it three times in one day. Alisa liked the parades the best. She was sure funny-mesmerized.

For those of you who don't care about a million pictures of my family . . . sorry. I thought maybe my family would like to see these though.


Mr. Toad's Wild Ride


Alisa waiting outside Star Tours--she was too short to ride it


Us with our Mickey Mouse suckers: they were a big hit with the kids and very iconic. It makes you feel kinda special to eat Mickey Mouse suckers while you are walking around Disneyland.




Riding the train around the park: every time it stopped Alisa tried to get off. I'm sure she thought it was like any other ride--when it stops, it's done.


Driving the Autopia cars


Nicolas in an Autopia car


Waiting for the Autopia cars


Nicolas sitting on the Toontown fountain. This fountain periodically makes funny sounds.


Nicolas with Mickey Mouse. Our first ever character picture. He was terrified last year and this year Alisa was terrified. Hence . . .



Mark Twain Riverboat: I had never ridden on this one before.


Mark Twain Riverboat with New Orleans Square in the background.


Alisa watching the Parade of Dreams


Nicolas watching the Parade of Dreams


Riding the new Nemo submarine ride: Alisa was too busy watching the submarine driver to pose for a picture.






They loved the Nemo ride.


Bet you didn't know there was a petting zoo at Disneyland.


On pirate island


Nicolas pumping water on pirate island


Crossing the bridge on pirate island


Eating cotton candy: this is a fun memory because Alisa didn't know it was food until we showed her what to do with it. And by the end of the bag, we were all laughing because of the stickiness of it. Nicolas had a mustache and Alisa couldn't get it off her fingers.


The Mickey Mouse ears resurfaced the next day. Recycled candy.

My kids actually like each other!

Who knew.

Yesterday morning Nicolas woke up and asked if Alisa was up yet. We said she wasn't so he went back to bed. Apparently, she is the only reason he gets up in the morning. Two days before that, Grandma Valentine brought out a cool new toy while Alisa was napping. Nicolas could hardly wait for her to wake up so that he could share it with her. He asked for her every three minutes and wanted me to wake her up. (Incidentally, the moment she woke up they fought over it incessently.) Also yesterday, Nicolas went to a friends house for the afternoon. When Alisa woke up from her nap, she walked around the house calling for him even after I told her he had left. Lastly, if I give Nicolas two cookies it is definitely assumed that one is for him and one is for her. Like when he steals treats, he steals them for her too.

I only relate all of this because between all the yelling, and hitting, and screaming there is some relationship building. And I am gathering evidence for myself for my memory vault. I hope they always love each other. (Although, maybe in the future they will learn to love each other with a little bit more kindness.)

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

I am the best at complaining about my body because it is never perfect enough to me. However, the other day, my friend told me that we only get one body and that we better use and love the body we get! Duh. Why didn't I think of that? But it makes you sort of appreciate what you have.

Relatedly, we were talking about how after we get to know someone, we don't judge them based on their appearance anymore. We start to judge people on their personality, confidence, and actions. We simply like to be around other people who make us feel good. So what I am getting at, is that it doesn't matter if I am physically perfect because I can love myself anyway and (get this) other people will love me too!

Strangely, thinking about this sort of makes me want to let other people know that they are ok "just the way they are" too.

Beautiful Snow Canyon

We spent a morning at Snow Canyon State Park last month. This amazing canyon is 5 minutes from our house and is basically the view from our back window. We loved it and it is the perfect place for little kids--lots of short hikes, caves, and slickrock. It even has a huge sand dune that they allow you to walk, dig, and play on. Very fun stuff for our little family. (By the way, you can see it doesn't take much to thrill us these days.)

PS This is as big as I can make these pictures but if you click on any of them, they will get bigger.

Quote of the Day

We have been trying to encourage our children to listen to the speakers at church by bringing less toys. Nicolas' response this morning was, "but I can't be reverent without toys." Actually, I have a hard time being reverent without toys too.