Le weekend

I will admit, that sometimes, my mental coping (aka: weekend) starts on Friday morning. 

Happily this past week, some mental coping took place, even at 5:37 AM. 

And the rest of the weekend was pretty good after that... 

Saturday morning, my friend (former colleague), Rene picked me up and we headed to Herramin to run a "Wonder Woman 5k". Her first. She did so well! It was so much fun, and really incredible. I will say the up-hill, headwind-in-your-face race was definitely a challenge, but Rene was simply incredible! 

The two of us before and after the race! 

They even gave use these fun, girly charms as we finished! 

We are Wonder Women! 

Somewhere that afternoon, Adi had run away and we found her "hiding" in the ceder chest. I love that she thinks that we can't see her--I did the same thing as a kid! 

You can't catch me!

Later on Saturday, we headed up to Sugar House to meet up with our friends Brad and Allison with our friend Dan. It was a lot of fun. I seriously need an Apple TV. (Yes, need people!) 

On the way up, Adi said the cutest thing... 

"Go really fast Dada. There's a truck in our way." #mylittlegirl

Church was a lot the same, but at least the weather was nice in the afternoon. Adi and our neighbor friend, Graham had fun running and rolling down the (little) hill by our place. 

#sundaybest #friends

Our ward has a neat tradition of "Break the Fast" (yes, it is a family ward. I've already gotten quizzical looks over this.) and so, Ryan and I whipped up a storm yesterday. My favorite success... Blackberry-Lime Butter Cookies. 

Way better than the Strawberry-Lemon recipe.

Blackberry-lime butter cookies. A better take on the Strawberry-Lemon cookies from #ourbestbites. 

That's what happens when you have limes instead of lemons and blackberry preserves in stead of strawberry jam. 

The break the fast was fun, and it was still only just after six, so we had a lazy night, watched some tele, and the Binx took a bath... 

So nice. 

Singing... 

Smiling... 




Singing and smiling... She has such an uncanny memory for songs. (:

And don't forget these two snuggle buddies...

And yes, she is in her suit. From the moment I mentioned "swimming lessons" she's been refusing

 to get out of it. It makes me happy that she likes the water so much though! 

---

And, a dog. 

Best Food in Town!

If you are looking for delicious food, at a family-friendly location, that is priced well, AND has good service, look. no. further.

Smokehouse BBQ on University Parkway is amazing. We love it.

In fact, we chose it over Cafe Rio yesterday when Erin and Jennifer were down to see us.

Ryan always goes for the gourmet ultimate cheeseburger (spring greens, smoked Gouda, blue cheese, Brie and more...) and I always go for the delicious $5 pulled-pork special (succulent pulled pork on a soft and chewy bun). Adi always lucks out because their Mac and cheese is the best I've ever had. Ever. (And I've had a lot.)

But, the best part is Paul's (he's the owner) sauces. They are incredible. I love the chipotle, sweet, and Alabama sauces. You need to try them.

Really. Don't think. Just go!

(And tell your friends!)

Dashing through the... Trees

After Santa pictures, we had about 20 minutes to wait for edits. So we hung around Thanksgiving Point to check things out.

There was an greenhouse.

And reindeer - Adi loved them.

And, best of all, a Christmas-tree lot. 

It didn't take long before she realized what these mini-forests are good for, and that's running.

This little one got a hug.

Tuesdays

Kenz is teaching the second block of a class on Tuesday nights, which means Binx and I can get a treat hang around campus for a little while we wait for her to finish. 

Last night, we decided to hang around the JFSB courtyard.

The ice cream was supposed to be a secret...

Oops...

She got some wiggles out.

After class was out, Binx had to try out the big desks. I'm sure we're going to miss these Indian summer nights when it gets cold. Either that, or we'll enjoy the Christmas lights on campus with warmer treats.

Weekend in Pictures

Friday, we used our Pass of All Passes and went to Seven Peaks for the first time as a family. 

Adi has been several times without us, including the time of these pictures when she was actually at Seven Peaks with an aunt and uncle.

Saturday, photo booth at  Brave.

Sunday breakfast of banana walnut pancakes and buttermilk syrup.

Brave

We decided on Friday that littlest Binx was ready (more like we were brave enough to take her) to see her first movie in the theater. So we got treats and seats at the end of a row, and we were good to go (with only a few potty breaks at the beginning).

Binx liked the "baby whisps"

but was a little freaked out by all of the bears. 

I secretly enjoyed the scary parts because she wanted to cuddle and her concern for the mama bear brought her to cry out, "Run!" several times. I love how uninhibited she is.

And we were suckers for the photo booth in the lobby as we were about to leave.

If you ask Binx if she liked it, she will tell you "No, it was scary."

Maybe next time we'll choose something that requires less courage.

MIA.

I know. I know. It's almost been three weeks since I last posted. That is honestly unheard of, I blame it partly on my new found obsession with Lie to Me but also on our busy, crazy lives, and well, a funk.

But, I'm back! And updating, so...

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind!

Most important, Ryan and I celebrated four years of marriage! And this year for our try-to-get-a-picture-on-our-anniversary picture we snapped a picture in front of our new home (although you mostly get a lot of us).

(Circling the above picture... ) We also got a few painting projects done including our pistachio-green exercise room and our bright-red kitchen accent wall.

Adi had fun driving her convertible and gave us reason to laugh at her impromptu fountain splashing!

Over memorial day, we visited East Lawn where my mother's parents are buried and the Orem City Cemetery where my cousin Sheri is buried.

Adi had a great cabin weekend and officially wore her pink, power-ranger-esque helmet with Uncle Adam, I got a haircut at the BYU Salon (Gasp! I know, I was a little worried, but she did a great job and get this--one of the barbers has been there since 1965!), Adi had fun in an ottoman at TJ Maxx, we made homemade Buckwheat Blueberry pancakes...

And last, but definitely not least, we visited Grandpa Great one weekend where Adi was spoiled, spoiled, spoiled.

Life is good.

Yogurtland with the Binx

Binx and I decided we would rather not unpack last night. So we went on a little date, instead.

We had a gift card to Yogurtland, and so we decided to give it a try. I had no idea what we were in for. It was amazing...

Huge selection of flavors and toppings, you choose and you pay by weight. 

Our huge cup of pistachio and regular with fruits and such only rang up to $3.50 or so.

We'll definitely be back.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Life around these parts is bu-sy and looks a lot like this... 

And this... 

But, that doesn't mean we're not having some fun. (:

For example, Friday, we stopped by the Sweet Tooth Fairy for some delicious cake bites... 

Saturday, my older brother, Chris, and I stopped by a place called Jim's for breakfast. Chris loved his Belgian waffle...

It's an art you know. 

The final product. 

We helped with HarvestMarket... 

And "helped" Grandpa with the desk project. Sadly, the sandpaper cost more than the desk itself. C'est la vie.

"I helping."

"I cleaning."

All-in-all, great weekend.

Now, if we could just buy a house...