Preschool Pals Does the Zoo

 Yesterday was FREE day at the Hogle Zoo.  Free combined with 60 degree weather meant the zoo really was quite a zoo.  I think we spent longer trying to park then we did in the actual zoo.  As far as animals it was pretty much push your kids to the front of the crowd for a glimpse at the few animals that they actually had.  The zoo being under construction makes it so there isn't very much to see.  The girls were also their usual photographic self's.

At least so were the other children in our preschool group.

Grovecreek is Our New Best Friend

 One of my biggest worries about moving into my parents house while searching for our next house was leaving our friends behind.  Hunt is big on playing with friends, all day long, every single day.  Our old neighborhood was perfect for this and there was always somebody to come over and spend the day with us.  I loved it.  She loved it.  Paisley loved it.  The friends loved it. (I think.)  What were we going to do when the afternoon rolled around and we had no friends to play with.  

Luckily for us Grovecreek Canyon has come to our rescue.  We took the dogs for a walk up there the other day and I thought we'd be gone for a half hour or so.  I was so wrong.  I practically had to drag the girls off the mountain.  They loved following new trails, searching for the perfect hiking stick, breaking every single piece of ice in the river, and feeling like we were on top of the world while enjoying the view from the water tower.  We've went back several times since and I love that my girls are getting old enough to be in the places I like to be and do the things I like to do. As embarrassing as it is to admit my new goal is to be able to keep up with Huntley hiking by summer.  I never thought I would say that and I love it. 

Hair Do's

 Doing my children's hair is not one of my strong suits.  I know, I know, you are all shocked.  Arguing with Hunt over getting out the tangles and then spending forever trying to braid and having it look worse than when I started is just frustrating to me.  We just let it hang loose, wild, and free.  Except in the case of Paisley who was blessed with curls and the crazier it looks the more compliments she gets on how adorable it is.

We're finding out living at grandma's is a whole different story.  Every morning she asks the girls which princess they want to be and does their hair.  People notice how non homeless they look now and I've gotten two comments about how living at my mom's must be making a big difference.  Not quite sure how I should take that :)

And since Frozen is all the rage we typically have a morning of Elsa and Anna hair do's.  Unless you let Paisley be in charge.  She's a big fan of the Olaf.  I still laugh out loud every time I think of her saying she was doing Olaf hair.

Recharging

Monday holiday's are the best.  

 Especially when they fall after an extremely crazy week where your whole life as you know it completely changes.

It gives you one more day from the everyday grind to recharge and reboost your spirits.

 Especially when the weather is nice and you can go exploring on a mountain.

 And bring along your favorite cousin pal to enjoy the adventure.

 The only downside is discovering the creek is a little too cold to play in during the month of February.

Personally the ice buildup around the rocks was a dead giveaway but I can hope they won't make that mistake again.

Our House

A little over three years ago I was having one of those days.  You know the kind where you are just antsy about life and your future and want to do something about it.  At the time we were living in the Green's basement and I was working full time.  Chris had been trying to get on with a fire department unsuccessfully and we were trying to have a baby but I ended up miscarrying.  So during this particular day I was feeling like I couldn't control much in my life so why not throw all my energy into something I could control and buy a house.  I sent Chris a text saying "We should buy a house"  and he responded "If I can have a dog."  A fast month later we were home/dog owners.

Our budget wasn't very big so there weren't a whole lot of options in our price range.  Of course we picked the one with the most work thinking it would be fun to turn it into our own.  We spent up until this last November living in a constant state of construction.  Something was always going on.

 I wouldn't trade all the chaos of the last three years for anything.  We learned what it was like to spend quality time together as a couple working hard.  We spent countless hours with family and friends who were so kind and willing to help us in our many projects.  Most importantly it was the right place for our family to be and we have grown in ways we never would have if we hadn't lived in this particular house.  I also know I'll be blessed for the rest of my life with the amazing friendships we created here.

My biggest regret of our little blue house was the fact I didn't really take any before pictures of our house.  When moving this past weekend we found our appraisal paperwork and couldn't believe it was the same house.  The place was kind of a dump and it would have been fun to have before and afters.  When we were getting ready to move I hurried and took pictures of the entire thing so that the girls would be able to look back and see where they spent their first few years of life.  The pictures aren't great and the house isn't perfect (why I didn't take pictures during one of the million times I had it ready for a showing is beyond me) but at least it's something we can always look back and remember with fondness. 

Goodbye little blue house, we'll miss you!

Weekly Round Up

Last week was a "third" week and we all know I don't blog during those weeks, every moment is precious.  So here is what we did in those precious moments.

The night before Chris came home I told the girls they could sleep in my bed.  They always end up there but this time I made a big deal out of actually starting the night off there and watching movies together.  They took over the whole bed and I hardly got any sleep but they looked pretty cute the next morning.

The next day we got to go pick up Chris from the airport.  Typically we pull up to the curb and he jumps in and home we go.  This time he said he wanted us to actually park and come inside.  I went even one step better and wore real clothes, put on makeup and did my hair.  Unfortunately the homeless looking children going crazy on the escalators were too distracting and he didn't notice. It's all good though, watching their faces light up when they saw dad was pretty great.

Our week flew by mainly due to actually closing on our house and moving out.

Pais spent the majority of the week sick and wore her fireman pj's for a few days.  Hunt on the other hand experienced her first sleepover and got to stay up until midnight watching movies.  She loved it!  I on the other hand didn't love having to get up at 7 to pick her up since it was on a school day. 

Valentines was pretty low key since 90% of our lives were in boxes.  Luckily Waffle Love saved the day and offered BOGO waffles if you took your picture in front of the truck and IG'd it. Every time we go to the waffle truck the girls want their pic taken but for some reason they refused this time so I took one for the team and got my picture taken.  Chris snapped the most flattering picture ever of me but it was worth the free waffle!

Oh Huntley!

Yesterday while driving home from my mom's Hunt spotted the Timpanogos Temple and we had the following conversation:

Hunt: "Mom!  Look it's the temple where you were married!"

Me: "Yep, is that where you want to get married?"

Hunt: "No way!  Look at what happened to you!"

Personally I think I've got a pretty nice life but according to a 5 year old, getting married was not the way to go.