Daily Morning Routine

7:30 (ish) wake up.  Revel lying in my bed for a few peaceful moments

7:33 get Wesley if Layton is gone and help him look for his binky that he inevitably chucked out of his crib

7:35 turn on Sarah and Duck at Wesley’s insistence and start getting ready

7:40 pee, brush teeth, wash face, pick out outfit

7:50 still picking out an outfit and glancing at my phone to see what time it is

7:55 go sit with Wesley and watch “duck” for a minute

7:56 get dressed

7:58 put makeup on

8:05 Wesley wants me to put my computer on the counter so he can watch “duck” while eating breakfast

8:10 Wesley is eating breakfast

8:12 start making breakfast – always “overnight” oats these days that I make in the morning and let sit until I’m at work, that’s how my “overnight” works

8:17 pack Wesley’s bag

8:20 Get Wesley down from high chair, wash his hands, coax him into a diaper change which inevitably he freaks out over and screams and cries that I am relieving him of his 10 lb overnight diaper

8:23 put on Wesley’s clothes

8:25 gather the 50 million things I need to carry out the door including Wesley

8:30 buckle Wes into his car seat

8:31 pull away from our home and breathe a sigh of relief, I did it.

Memory Grove

After dinner last night, Layton suggested we go to Memory Grove Park up by the Capital.  I had never been there and Layton went last week on his work’s “sketch trip” (they do all sorts of fun activities during the lunch hour like driving somewhere cool and sketching, or volleyball, or other team building activities) and had loved it.  I was excited to go since I’d grown up in Salt Lake City but had never been there. 

It’s a long skinny park that is parallel to the Capital, but on a much lower elevation.  There’s a nice walk way and grass, and a river that feeds into a little pond.  There is a beautiful Greek/Roman looking structure called the Meditation Chapel.  Unfortunately, it was closed and we weren’t able to go inside.  We peeked through the front doors that had glass panes and could see the beautiful stained glass windows and ornate ceiling but I wish we had been able to go in.

It’s an off leash dog park so there were tons of adorable dogs running around and Wesley loved every minute of it.  He is obsessed with dogs and it makes me really happy.  Even though I don’t want a dog myself, I’m just happy he isn’t afraid of them and he is so cute with how excited he gets about them.

We walked up the path, past the pond and came across the river portion.  Layton and Wesley took of their shoes and walked through it; Wes was a total champ and walked for several yards before he was done.  He is a total water baby and I am so happy about it.  We kept walking up the paved path for a little ways before deciding to turn around and head home.

As we walked back down the path, Wesley came across a little acorn hat and then became obsessed with throwing it and chasing it, picking it up and throwing it again.  We were walking on this cobble stoned path that tripped him up a few times, once he fell and his legs flew up as he smacked his head, Layton and I both gasped and were ready for the screaming tears, but they never came! He jumped right up and continued to look for the acorn hat.  We were so surprised and laughed because it looked like it had hurt a lot but he was just way too concerned about getting that acorn hat back. 

The weather was beautiful and warm, and I said happy I was that we had gone out and gone to the park to walk around and play.  I mentioned that there are now fewer warm months than cold left in the year so we needed to make the most of it.  I love these special nights that aren’t extra fancy, but feel like they really matter and will be something I will always cherish.  

Love Letters

dear Hamilton,

i really cannot get enough of you and you are making me so passionate about this country i live in and its history and that makes me so happy

dear nightly caramel apple shake,

you are healthy and divine and i look forward to sipping you down every dang night

dear summer,

you are truly THE BEST and i seriously never want you to end.  life is so wonderful with you around because i get to spend so much time with my two favorite guys.

dear new gold sandals,

you suddenly help me look instantly classy and put together no matter what else i’m wearing and i love you for that

dear new favorite quote*, 

thank you for confirming to me what is just complete pure truth and what i am trying to do right now

dear lemon hdyro flask,

i’ve waited a long time for you and i am digging your “no-sweat” exterior like nothing other

dear mini instax polaroid camera,

thank you for finally helping me print pictures because we know i’m never going to do that unless it’s instant

*"for what it's worth: It's never too late to be whoever you want to be.  i hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, i hope you have the strength to start over" - f. scott fitzgerald

Picture Dump

Pictures as of late…

Get Out Games

On Saturday, 7/22, we did an Escape Room at Get Out Games in Provo with our married Checketts’ siblings.  We’ve been doing monthly get togethers this summer and it has been so fun!  So far we’ve had a game night, a concert and this escape room.  If you have not heard of what seems to be this recent phenomenon of escape rooms, I highly suggest checking them out!  They are incredibly fun! We’ve done a Harry Potter themed one before which I, of course, loved.

This one was more science themed.  There had been a nuclear spill of one kind or another and we had to shut off different parts of reactors and what not to shut the system down before it went berserk.  They had fake smoke periodically pouring into the room and wouldn’t shut off until we had unlocked the box to press the button.  Then there was a tiny room within our room that housed the reactor that we had to shut down, and then we had to figure out how to get out of the room to shut the entire system down. There were several different keys and clues that we had to work out and you only have 60 minutes!  If you don’t figure it out, they leave you locked in the room f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Kidding….

We got out with I think 10 minutes to spare.  It was fun!  Although I often feel like I don’t do much (I tend to hang back in these situations), it is still so fun to try to work through the puzzles and figure things out.  I especially loved the Harry Potter one because it was all Harry Potter and things I love.  Whereas this one had the Periodic Table of the Elements and that doesn’t get me too excited… I can’t wait to do another escape room though!  We have a few in Salt Lake and I am excited to try them out.    

The Liberty Park Farmer’s Market

Brand new this year is a farmer’s market every Friday night at Liberty Park.  We finally went a couple of Friday’s ago and it was fun!  It was definitely smaller than the one downtown at Pioneer Park but we live so close to Liberty Park and the smaller crowd makes it pretty appealing.  

Wesley loved all the dogs walking around and tried to chase after and pet every single one.  We tasted some amazing Jam and some Lemon Spinach (I thought it was tasty, Layton thought it tasted like a weed).  We bought a savory crepe and sweet limemade to share.  We also bought some delicious organic peaches and we could not keep Wesley from downing one right then and there.

There were chocolate dipped bananas that you could buy with homemade toffee bits and other toppings (we didn’t try this one time but definitely want to go back and try it).  They have a free bike valet as well so you can ride your bike and not worry about where to put it. 

We walked around the park afterwards and went over to the playground and splash pad for Wesley.  He loves the playground there but is a bit afraid of the splash pad.  The water is a little too intense for him and he doesn’t like it spraying in his face.  So he more just hovers around the edge and periodically gets a little wet, it’s pretty cute. 

We headed home for Wesley’s bed time and after we put him to bed, we played scrabble with Layton’s sister.  I grew up playing Scrabble often on Sundays after dinner and I’ve always loved it.  I was a little rusty and Layton still beat me >_< but it was so fun to play actual Scrabble! I feel like so often we just play speed Scrabble, it’s nice to just have a nice slow game of real Scrabble.

RSL Game

If you can’t already tell, Layton is a huge fan of soccer and in marrying him, my inner soccer fan came out.  I had no idea I would like watching it so much.  Of course Layton is super stoked about the fact that we have our own MLS (major league soccer) team right here in the Salt Lake Valley, so we try to go to a couple of games a year.  The tickets can be a bit pricey so we don’t go as often as we’d like, but we’re considering a season pass since we love it so much.

I love how well supported our Real Salt Lake team is! I am honestly surprised at how much people love them, it’s super great.  Whenever I go to a game, the energy is so contagious, you really can’t help but get into the game and scream, jump on your feet and boo when something doesn’t go our way.  

Layton planned a game for us and his family to go to and it ended up being a couple of days before the 24^th of July so there were even fireworks afterwards.  That’s one of my favorite things, going to an event and then having a fireworks show afterwards.  We played Sporting Kansas City and boy, it was a dirty game.  It definitely seemed that the ref favored Kansas City and they fell and flopped like 15 times whereas we had men down maybe twice.  We were all screaming and on our feet a good chunk of the time and even though it seemed unfair, it was so fun to have an intense game! RSL played their hearts out! They worked so hard and played magnificently.  We scored a spectacular goal but unfortunately fouled on of Kansas’ players in the goal box which = penalty kick which they scored.  Unfortunately it ended in a 1-1 tie.  It was sad since we played better and harder, but it was fun to be at such an intense game.

The fireworks after were spectacular and I am once again grateful to live in a free nation.  The 24^th is celebrated here as Pioneer Day.  We celebrate our pioneer ancestors crossing from the East to the West and establishing what is so much of what West America is today and especially Salt Lake City.  They worked so hard and gave up so much and I now live in such a beautiful place to which I owe them so much.