What???

There is a SEPHORA in Utah. I know, I know, you don't believe me, but it is true. It is is Ogden on Riverdale Road of all places. I read in the Money section of the Tribune this morning that Sephora was opening a distribution center on the West side of Salt Lake City. What? We get a DISTRIBUTION CENTER and not a real store. So, I got on their web page and did a search of stores that were opening. And, lo and behold I found IT. I even called to make sure. It is located inside JC Penney (WHY?)and their GRAND OPENING is this weekend. She said that they carry most of the brands - but not everything the larger stores have. Why Ogden of all places??? I'm not trying to offend any Ogdenites out there, but really! Hopefully that means there will be a large store in Salt Lake sometime soon!!! I probably won't be loading Max in the car to make the trek way up North any time soon. I'll just continue to take advantage of their free shipping. And I was wondering what I was going to blog about today...

A Little Gossip

Mark had a meeting today with the Church and they said that H & M is coming to City Creek (the new mall in Salt Lake City). Well, the guy would neither confirm or deny about H & M, but when Mark asked and mentioned that his wife would be thrilled, his face went bright red. He was speechless. He also said that 50-65% of the stores are going to be new to the state. The new Nordstrom is going to be 60,000 square feet on each level (2 levels total - wahoo), the creek (City Creek) will be stocked with trout, an 18 foot, cascading waterfall, a retractable roof and the restaurants will be able to purchase their land, so they can serve alcohol. Some of the stores there it might be their first location in the U.S. How exciting for Utah!!! I really just want a Crate & Barrel, Sephora and H & M. We'll see...

Mark is always in the know. I try and beat him to the punch, but with him working downtown right in the mess of it all, he sometimes beats me.

Waiting for Daddy

This is my first video - yeah for me! I've had my Flip since Christmas and haven't posted any videos to my blog. I can't believe it! It was a little difficult. Apparently Google is having some issues and I had to change the case of some words and add some quotes around other things. It's a good thing Google has a help section, otherwise some nice man wouldn't have posted his "fix". I wish I knew HTML, but I'm not that smart! Maybe someday...

Max and I frequently go downtown to visit with Mark and take him to lunch. Our favorite place, as I've mentioned before, is Big City Soup. I had the Corn and Crab and it was delicious!!! We were a bit early and Mark was finishing up his conference call, so I decided to talk to Max. We rolled down the window and opened the sunroof, just enjoying the weather, which is a bit rainy. He was saying "hi" to everyone that passed us. They all smiled and waved. I know that they thought he was the cutest little thing - I could see it in their eyes! Don't listen to my voice. I hate listening to my voice after it's been recorded. But, Max's voice on the other hand is so sweet. I love him so much! Isn't he so smart? I think so! He is really talking up a storm. Mark asked him what he'd been doing this morning and he responded with "ball game". Really! Balls are his favorite!

He has a huge scratch on his nose from Saturday at Red Butte. He is so clumsy and trips a lot, but he's still learning.

I love that it's just the two of us all day long. He is my buddy and a joy to be around. I'm really relishing this time and am not ready to add to our brood yet, but it is a definite possibility in the future.

It's a Party!

My sweet niece Lily is celebrating her fifth birthday this week on Tuesday, the eleventh of March. Saturday, we had the opportunity attend her friend party at Red Butte Garden. I can't believe that she is already five and will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. She is the only girl in our family of six boys and has to put up with a lot around all of them. Isn't she so lucky??? We all love her so much!

The party included painting terracotta pots, which they got to plant a Pineapple Sage and bring home.




They also went on a scavenger hunt around the Children's Garden looking for various animals that would be there.





Doesn't Mark look great? He's lost nearly fifty pounds and he's still plugging along on this diet thing. He is so handsome, if I do say so myself.

One of Lily's friends, Parker, fell into this pond. I'm so surprised that Max didn't go in. There were some orange gold fish and he desperately wanted one. At one point, he was starting to climb in. Anyways, Parker came into the party soaking wet. He is autistic, but can really talk up a storm. He was so funny! Although, he was a bit embarrassed by all of the attention. He really just wanted to get back to chasing the girls. All boys are the same, no matter what age. They just want to chase us around!



This is Lily's baby brother, Charlie. He looks just like Lily did when she was a baby. Charlie turns one in a few weeks! He and Max love each other very much. Max loves to say his name.



What is a birthday party without cupcakes??? They were delicious!

The Farm

Today was such a beautiful day! After school and Max's nap, I took the kids to Wheeler Farm. I knew Max would love it because he loves reading books about animals. We had a lot of fun. There were two new baby cows that were running around their pen. Will and Ben thought that was so great.



The bunnies are always a hit. They thought they would share some of the bread we brought for the ducks with the bunnies.



Seriously - what a PIG! (enlarge pic)



Ben found a stick, which he smuggled into the car. I told him to throw it out, but no. He would later regret bringing that stick with us. He hurt his hand with the stick and our car. Don't ask. But, maybe next time he'll listen to his dear old mom. She knows best!



Will couldn't stand all the excitement and had to listen to his music.



Max loved chasing the ducks (notice the small stick in his hand). I think it's a boy thing because Will and Ben used to and still do the same thing. I wonder where Max gets it from?



While chasing the ducks, Max chased them right back into the pond.



Max got a little too close to the pond's fence and slipped down into the water. I should have taken a picture, but I figured that I'd better get him out before the ducks got him. When I pulled him out, we lost a shoe. Luckily, I was able to save it.





After getting bit by a duck, Max didn't like the idea of feeding them anymore. His face is priceless!

A First

Mark calls Max's arms "Go Go Gadget Arms" because he can reach anything on the counter top. It seems as though they telescope. After dragging him around this morning, our last stop was the grocery store. While unloading the food, Max wouldn't leave the food alone. He kept throwing stuff down on the floor. Well, he grabbed the grape tomatoes and threw them. They went everywhere. I was so frustrated that I decided to put him in "time out". This was a first for him. Surprisingly, he knew what was going on and stayed in place until I lovingly explained to him why he was there. But, before I did that I snapped some pictures. He is so dang cute and I had to post...






Isn't he just the cutest. My favorite is the one where he is obviously crying. He is such a doll. As you can tell, I love him very much. I feel bad that I got mad at him, but he's a little tornado around the house. I took him to XPEDX to get some wrapping paper and he was throwing a fit in the store and he never does stuff like that. I'm in for it.

It was such a nice afternoon, that we walked down to pick up the kids from school today. Max loves being outside, as do I.
























Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer - if you consider the 50's nice. I do, considering the winter we've had. I want to take my kids somewhere - maybe Wheeler Farm. Anyone want to go?

We are all feeling much, much better. Max and I still have a small cough, which is supposed to linger a little longer. That gunck we had was HORRIBLE! And, I'm glad it is over. Can't wait for summer!!!

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

March is appearing to come in like a lion. It was a nice day this morning, but now a storm is blowing through. Hopefully it won't last long, I need to get outside and enjoy the weather as I haven't been able to this week.

I am so miserable. I don't know what I have, I hope it's not that nasty Influenza going around. It all started on Monday after school. I met Ben as he was walking home from school and he was crying, saying that his head hurt. Later that night, Will started complaining of the same pains, headache and sore legs. High fever set in through the night and it's lasted for days and days. Will and Ben missed the rest of school this week. Will is pretty much back to 100%, with a slight cough. Ben is still sick, you can really see it in his eyes. Although he is much better than he was. I haven't given him Motrin since last night. Ben is asleep now - he fell asleep downstairs while watching the television.

I started to get achy on Wednesday night after my friends dinner. Thursday I seemed to be okay, just a little cough. Yesterday was the worst day. Mark stayed home from work to help me, which was the ultimate life saver. I have the worst headache, body ache, fever, chills and cough. I haven't thrown up, but have wanted to because my cough is so bad that it gags me. Last night I couldn't fall asleep. I wanted Mark to give me a blessing so bad, but I didn't know who to call at such a late hour. I finally gave in to taking some NyQuil (that stuff is horrible) and was able to get a restful night's sleep. I didn't get out of bed until 1:30 this afternoon.

Today I am feeling better. I don't seem to have a fever anymore and my body doesn't ache as bad. My body is just sore from the coughing. And it's not a real productive cough, although it is starting to be more productive. I know, this is exactly what you wanted to read from me today. I'm sorry, it's the only thing that is going on with me lately. I just hope and pray that Mark and Max don't get this bug.

Mark has been such a trooper through this whole ordeal. Doting on me, doing laundry and taking care of the kids. In fact, right now he is at the grocery store with Will and Max. What a guy! He even put socks on me and helped me put on my "under" garments last night.

I hope none of you get this sickness, it is horrible. I know my friend Kami was sick this week and a few of my neighbor kids have been sick with this same thing. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy - I don't think I have any!

I just want spring to be here soon so we can all be outside, planting flowers and playing at the park. It is raining outside now...