Krispy Kreme and Story Time

Today started with a nutritious breakfast of a Krispy Kreme donut (my mom bought us a dozen when we were in town yesterday). This was Bree's first experience with Krispy Kreme. I picked out a couple with sprinkles (or, as Bree would say, "splinklies"), because I knew Bree would love them. It really came in handy last night as a distraction as Grandma sneaked out the door. (Note-to-self: inticing sprinkly donut = no post-Grandma break-down!) So, even though I gained back those 2 pounds I tried so hard to lose last week, the donuts were delicious! (I'm so close to my weight goal! Mason's almost 9 months, but these last 10 lbs are the worst!)

Then, at 9:45 this morning we attended the weekly Baby Story Time at our library. Bree and Mason both love the songs, books, and toys. Thanks to Jill, the teacher, who is new in town and who volunteered to organize this group. We don't have "Mommy and Me" or "Gymboree" here in Globe, so I'm grateful for story time!

A Day for Danelle

Yesterday my mom and I went to the temple to do the work for my sister, Danelle, who passed away almost two years ago. I did her initiatory work, and my mom did her endowment. It was an amazing and wonderful experience, and I'm so thankful that I was able to be a part of it. I loved spending the day alone with my mom--it's been too long since we did something like that just the two of us! We did some shopping, went to Red Robin in Danelle's honor, and talked about life. Thanks, Mom--I love you!

My house isn't green anymore!

Can you believe it? After 2-1/2 years in this hidous green house, I finally did something about it! We took forever to decide what to do...we thought we wanted to stucco, which we couldn't afford, so we waited and waited. Well, we finally figured that we'd never have the money, so we just patched up the old siding and painted it! I love the color--depending on the lighting, it's silvery-gray or light blue! Now, if you live in Globe and you drive by my house, you will realize that only the front is painted...this is only temporary, I promise. I still have some scraping and patching to do in the back, but I assure you that it won't be long now! People are going to get lost in our neighborhood now, because the "eye-sore of a mint-green house" landmark will be missing! Yay!

Before: In Progress:

Yay for October!

Although it is true that we have been "enjoying" weather in the 85-90 range, I am so ready for fall and all the festivities it brings. This past week we brought out the fall/Halloween decorations, and I realized that I couldn't possibly have Chad put up lights on our house when we haven't painted it yet (painting has been on my to-do list for months now, but I was waiting for just the right time...you know, for cooler weather, etc.). So, thanks to this motivation, Chad and I got out there and painted the chimney and eve where the orange Halloween lights were to go. Well, once I had started painting, I couldn't stop. The weather was cooperating nicely, giving me a cloud cover and a bit of humidity to prevent the paint from drying immediately in the can and on the brush, which is what would happen on a normal AZ day. Using a roller (incidentally a great work-out), paint brush, and a steady hand, I actually finished the front of the house--details and all! It looks amazing--I'll post photos next time (I haven't taken any during the daytime yet!) Anyway, to make a long story short, Chad put up the lights, and I put out the wreath, fake jack-o-lantern (a must for our hot weather), and some glowing tombstones. Bree loves going out there to look at the lights.

We also decorated a haunted cookie house. Chad put up a show of protesting, but he always gets into it once we get going, providing excellent advice. I broke down and bought a pre-assemble house kit (I've done it from scratch before, but it is a pain, and decorating is most of the fun anyway). Bree was so excited to help decorate the "cookie house" and by the time we were finished, there was black icing everywhere, but the house turned out really cute.

Finally on the agenda this week was fondue. Some friends of ours invited us over for chocolate fondue, and we took our pot since they didn't have one. Bonus: we got to take home the leftover chocolate, which meant an extra night of fondue goodness. We've never let Bree participate in the fondue-process before (for obvious reasons... chocolate + upholstery=very bad). Now that she's 2-1/2, she has mostly mastered the art of eating without making a total disaster. Also, now that she's 2-1/2, she is no longer content to always let us put food into her mouth, especially when it involves fun things like skewers and dipping that she wants to do herself. Well, not surprisingly, Bree shares her parents' love for chocolate fondue! (BTW, she dressed herself, obviously. The winter clothes just came out of storage--wishful thinking on my part--and they're still a novelty!)
So, that's what's been happening at the Wallace house this week. Stay tuned for photos on the house. And later this month, I will reveal the adorable costumes my adorable kids will be wearing for Halloween.

Family Campout

Chad and I have been talking about going camping ever since we moved to Globe 2-1/2 years ago, but we never made it happen. We had heard that there were nice places to camp nearby, but we didn't know exactly where. And then there was the issue of weather and timing--too hot in the summer, too cold come fall.

Finally, I did some research on the internet, and found the Pinal Peak campgrounds. Globe sits in the shadows of the beautiful Pinal Mountains (photo to the right is the view of Globe from the mountains), and after driving about an hour on a windy dirt road through the mountains, we came to the campgrounds, which are at about 7500 ft elevation. It was beautiful up there--Ponderosa pines and oak trees (yes--oak trees!) provided shade until the sun went down. Then it got cold! I am not used to needing to pack cold-weather clothing, and unfortunately we made it up there with no sweatshirt for Bree or socks for Mason. So I dressed Mason in his teddy-bear sleeper right away, and we tried to make Bree wear Chad's huge fleece, but she preferred to freeze. Luckily we brought firewood, and there were piles of firewood everywhere up there, so we managed to keep warm.

I was worried that we wouldn't get any sleep, but after Bree whined for at least 30 minutes (Mason had no trouble falling asleep in his playpen), we finally slept with only one early morning trip to the potty (Bree's little potty came in very handy!). The kids loved the campfire, we roasted hot dogs and had s'mores, and since Jiffy Pop is impossible to find in Globe, I made popcorn in a pan on our camp stove (which, incidentally, I have deemed decrepit and unsafe).

So, all in all, our first family campout was a success--delicious food, beautiful surroundings (by the way, we only saw one other person on that entire mountain!), comfortable sleep arrangements (we knew that 8-man tent would come in handy some day!). This was just the first of what we hope will be a yearly family tradition.

P.S.: I wish I had more/better pics, but my camera died after the first few shots! *tear*

Kenzie's TAG

10 years ago I:
Was starting my junior year of high school, which was actually my freshman year of college, since I was a "Running Start" sellout, and got my AA and HS diploma at the same time. I vaguely remember early mornings driving to GRCC in Kristina's VW, taking a horrific 8:00am history class (sitting in darkness trying to keep my mind focused on the endless supply of transparencies and monotone lectures that our instructor had). I had also just said goodbye to my missionary boyfriend, to whom I wrote faithfully for a while, and then took full advantage of his advice that I date lots of guys while he was gone.
5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Practice for the duet I'm singing with Amy in church this Sunday
2. Get a facial (haven't had one in years, and although pore extractions make me cry, they are so necessary)
3. Take a nap since Chad doesn't work 'til 4pm
4. Make phone calls related to RS pres duties
5. Go to Walmart for fun, since there's not much else to do in Globe on a Friday night
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Popcorn--I should eat only Smart Pop, but my fave is pan-popped in Butter Crisco
2. Cheese and crackers
3. Pretty much anything chocolate that I happen to have
4. Yoplait Smooth and Creamy Light yogurt, any flavor
5. Fruit--apples and peaches mostly, sometimes canned pears
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Build my dream house somewhere with perfect weather
2. Build a house for all my parents to live nearby (close, but not too close)
3. Fund medical research
4. Buy Chad a boat, a truck of his own, and a separate computer, so he'll stop asking.
5. Visit somewhere out of this country (Ensenada doesn't really count, does it?), or even just the East Coast, or Florida would do fine
5 places I have lived:
1. Auburn, WA
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. North Las Vegas, NV (yes, it's a separate town, but only technically)
4. Redington, AZ (this is not actually a town)
5. Globe, AZ
Five jobs I have had:
1. "Fit Technician" at an athletic shoe store (read: sales person with the extra bonus of actually putting the shoe on your foot and lacing it up)
2. "College" intern (remember Running Start?) working for the same investment company my dad did, doing computer stuff like data entry and cleanup, and some basic beta testing of programs; $10 an hour was a lot of money for a high-school kid!
3. Live-in nanny (very similar to "Nanny Diaries" minus the sluttiness)
4. Pawn shop attendant (sat behind the bullet proof glass and everything)
5. Collections agent, as in *rrring*, "Hello sir, this is an attempt to collect a debt"
(I ran out of room to put RN, but that wasn't as exciting as those other things)
I tag: whomever. I know a few people read my blog, so if you participate, it will prove to me your devotion! Just answer the above questions, and be as embarrassingly honest as I have.

Just for an hour...

On days like today (season premiere of The Office), I kinda wish I had cable/sattelite TV. I'm a little bummed that I'll have to wait until tomorrow to watch it online. Of course, there would be draw-backs to watching it tonight, like: poor reception on our rabbit-ears antennae (if the input to the TV wasn't broken--so sad), crying and complaining from my children who would much rather be watching Mickey or Pooh, and pesky commercials. So, maybe it's a blessing in disguise, because all those draw-backs would inevitably add up to one cranky/frustrated yours truly. Is it lame that I take my Office watching so seriously? ...Nah.