Wasatch Back--Part I

Luke is running in the Wasatch Back relay, and I have to say I'm very proud of him. It's a team of 12 people who run 3-9 mile legs (3 each) from Logan to Park City. Here's a snapshot of Luke on Friday morning:



A little pre-race stretching in the shade:



Getting his number pinned on:



There were over 500 teams of twelve, so starting times were staggered. Here's a look at Luke's group at the starting line (isn't Logan gorgeous?):



Here's Luke finishing his first leg of the race (pre-vomit):



We are headed up to Park City to see the "All American All Trons" cross the finish line. I can't wait to hear all about it. I have a feeling there will be quite a bit of sleeping in the near future--Luke sounded exhausted when I talked to him this morning. Stay tuned for part II!

Go Bees!

My office went to the Bees game on Saturday night. Here's the breakdown:

Cotton Candy, $3


Peanuts, $3


Hot dog, $2.75
Parking, $6
Water, $3 (isn't this still a natural resource?)
Diet Coke, $2.75

Time with my kids at the baseball game...priceless!

We had a great time. Dylan was focused on Bumble, the mascot. He was very concerned with the fact that the giant bee was squirting other kids with silly string and signing autographs for complete strangers. This is not the kind of treatment he gets from the Jazz Bear! Didn't Bumble want to take him for a spin on his four-wheeler? Take him out the the pitcher's mound and leave him there as joke? Why wasn't this guy paying any attention to him? It was very funny to see the genuine concern on Dylan's face. Luke has spoiled him when it comes to feeling like the center of attention with mascots!
I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face when it was time for the fireworks show. Isabelle's eyes were as bright as anything in the sky. She sang the words to every song that blared out of the speakers, and loved every second of it. It made me want to take the time to hold both of my kids close, and try to experience the night through their eyes. To not worry about the long walk back to the car, and how long it was going to take to get out of the parking lot with all that traffic. To just sit there, with Dylan on my lap and Isabelle's hand in mine, and live in the moment. So I belted out a few lines from "Put Me In, Coach" and "Afternoon Delight". Cheesy as it may sound, it was a moment in time that I won't soon forget. I am so lucky to have Isabelle and Dylan around, teaching me to just sit back every once in a while and enjoy life and the ones I love.

So-So Cupcake

There's been a buzz going around about this new place called "So Cupcake" in Holladay. I happened to be in the area, and my sweet little Dylan (who we all know loves a good treat) was with me, so he and I decided to go get a cupcake. I heard a couple people at Izzy's school raving about the red velvet one with cream cheese frosting, so we ordered one. $2.57. Really? Ok, it's probably an oversized cupcake and totally worth it. The girl at the counter takes my money and hands me a cute little take out box. Dylan and I decided the decor at the cupcake place was too 'gewly', so we headed off to Wheeler Farm. My mouth was watering the whole way there! We pulled in...found a place to sit...opened our cute little box...and there it was. A regular old small sized cupcake. We ate it. Hmmm...that was it?
Later that week, a patient brought some bite size cupcakes from the same place to our office. Maybe I hadn't given them a fair shake. Maybe I just don't like red velvet, I think to myself. They are really cute cupcakes, after all. So I tried the coconut one. Eh. And the 'So Cozy Cinnamon and Sugar'. Eh. I just wasn't that impressed.
It's a cute little shop, and it's also got a really cute story behind the way it got started. So, if you check it out, let me know what you think. Maybe I just don't know a good cupcake when it's right in front of me.

Zoo Day

We had family here over the weekend, and we had so much fun. We went to the Living Planet Aquarium (not so fun), Veteran's Memorial Park (fun), and Hogle Zoo (totally fun). We had a chance to go out to dinner, and one of our favorite activities of the entire weekend was playing frisbee in the World Market parking lot. However, if you are the owner of a white truck that was parked near the World Market on Saturday, it wasn't us. Anyway, I took my camera along, but never actually got it out to take photos. Silly me. Thanks to Sam, I have a few pictures of the kids at the zoo. Weekends like these make me miss my family, and wish we lived closer to one another, but I guess it makes visits a lot sweeter. Thanks to everyone for a great time!

Boy's Weekend

The boys made it home from San Diego. They were pretty worn out, but it sounds like they had a great time. They arrived on Friday, went deep-sea fishing on Saturday morning, and attended a Padres game on Sunday afternoon. The game went 18 innings. Yes, I said 18. A six. hour. game. That's a lot of baseball for one day. They ate a lot of good food, and hopefully made a lot of memories that they will cherish forever!
The boys drove straight from the airport to Fred and Kelly's. We celebrated and had some burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon...a perfect memorial day dinner. I took a pasta salad that my friend Denise gave me the recipe for. It was really good, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I think summer is finally here!

Five Herb, Heirloom Tomato & Fresh Mozerella Pasta Salad

1 lb penne, cooked "al dente" and drained
1/4 C each: chopped fresh parsley, basil, oregano, mint, and thyme
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, coarsley chopped
1 lb. fresh mozerella, cut into 1" dice
1/2 C shaved parmesan cheese

Place pasta in bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 6 main dish servings.

The Host

Is anyone out there reading The Host? It's the new Stephanie Meyer book, and I didn't even know it existed until Hope told me this afternoon. So, needless to say, my agenda for the weekend includes playing with Izzy and Dylan, reading, sleeping, and more reading. That is, if The Host is anything like Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I usually wait until the kids are in bed to pick up a good book, but I cheated and read a few pages...I am really excited to read this book! If anyone has read it, let me know what you think.

Also, we've really been having a lot of fun, even though I haven't posted anything. Dylan graduated from preschool, Isabelle performed Alice in Wonderland with her ballet class (cutest mole ever), and Luke left for California this morning. He's going deep sea fishing with Fred and Jake, and to a Padres game. Hopefully he'll have lots of fun pictures for me to post on Tuesday! I hope you all have a great, safe Memorial Day weekend!

Izzy's Got Skills

Isabelle does things when she's good and ready. Learning to ride her bike was no exception. It was so much fun to run behind her today and pretend to hold the back of her bike, knowing that she was doing it on her own. Really doing it! I wish I could have captured the look on her face at the moment she got it. Amazing. And yes, she picked out her own outfit. Had I known it was going to be such a momentous afternoon, I would have offered some fashion advice. Way to go, Izzy!