A little shout out to the Community Food Co-Op of Utah

I am so excited about my new food co-op that I just have to share! I first heard about the Community Food Co-Op of Utah on a frugal living blog a few months ago and I thought it sounded like a great idea. You join the co-op, paying a small donation ($5) and then you can order fresh produce and meat at a huge savings. There are different packages that you can order and then once a month, you pick it up at the nearest location. I was a little nervous doing my first order because I wasn't sure how high quality it would actually be, so I ordered the Half Share. I got everything in the picture for $14, plus $5 for the tamales, and the quality is EXCELLENT! The boys and I ate three of the four oranges in one sitting yesterday because they were sooooo good. Today I made a salad with the lettuce and strawberries (yummy!), and I have big plans for my meals this week. This is what the Half Share included in April (it varies slightly from month to month):

Half Share $14 ($21-$27 retail value)
1 Pckg. Lean Salisbury Steaks
1 Pckg. Lean Pork Cubes
1 5-lb. Bag Red Tomatoes
4 Oranges
1 Head of Broccoli
1 Head Red Leaf Lettuce
6 Bananas
4 Tomatoes
1 lb. Strawberries
Stone Ground's Artisan Wheat Loaf
16 oz. Rice

I'm so impressed! My only regret is that I didn't order the Harvest Share ($23), and get even more yummy stuff. If you are interested, the next order date is Friday, May 15, with a pick-up date of Saturday, May 30. The nice part about joining is that you don't have to order if you don't want to or if one month doesn't work out for you. You're not tied down to anything. There are "teams" from Ogden down to Nephi. Just check out their web site (it doesn't look like the May order form is up yet, but keep checking).

It's finally here!

Today the new No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novel was released, and I got it!!! I am so happy. I've had this date marked on my calendar forever, but I'm too cheap to pay shipping and pre-order from anywhere, so I just pressed my luck and went to Costco this morning and... they had it! It wasn't out on the table, so I asked the little book-stocker guy if he knew anything about it and he said, "Oh, yes, it's right here, waiting to be unpacked!" Then he opened a box, and gave me the first copy! I got hooked on this series four years ago when I was expecting Luke and all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and read. Lucky for me, I only had one child at the time, and he still took naps, so that was possible. I think there were six books in the series then, and there has been a new one every April since. This is book #10, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, and I am so excited to read it. I love this series. It's such a fun, easy read. If anyone ever wants to borrow any of these books from me, just let me know. I have all ten!

She's on the charts!!!

As you may know, my Abby is one tiny little Babby. We do not know how this happened, since neither of her parents are tiny people. I have a gnawing fear that one of these days, some tiny little lady will show up on my doorstep holding a big huge girl with a gigantic fluffy head of hair like Luke's and say, "This is your baby. You got mine in the hospital. Now let me have her back!" And I really don't know what I will do! I love Abby more than anything! I couldn't give her away, even if she wasn't my real child.... But anyway, she's probably mine, and I'm just not going to think about it anymore. So the good news is, she is doing awesome. She has always been in the 0.0 percentile for her age, which means that out of 100 kids the same age, she is bigger than 0.0 of them. Sometimes 0.04 or something like that. At her 12 month check up, the doctor was concerned because she was only 14 lbs. 8 oz. and had only gained 2 ounces in three months, so he wanted her to come back for a 15 month appointment even though usually kids don't come back until 18 months. So in January, at 15 months, she was up to 17 lbs, which was great. But she was still tiny! Yesterday, however, I took her in for her 18 month appointment, and she has tanked up!! Not only has she gained THREE pounds, she has grown two and a half inches!! She is now officially 20 pounds (and 4 ounces!!) and 29 1/2 inches long, which means she can graduate from her carrier car seat. And, (drum roll, please) she's now on the charts! Her height is in the 4.89 percentile and her weight is in the 3.8 percentile. I know, it's a silly thing to be proud of, but I am just so happy... I'm bustin', Jerry, I'm bustin'!!!

She is all over the place and into everything. She is so close to walking, and I know one of these days I'll look up and she'll be running across the room!

She flies up the stairs but hasn't quite figured out how to get back down, which is VERY convenient, let me tell you.

She loves to push her little stroller around, until she hits a wall and needs me to turn it around for her. Also very convenient.

She kind of reminds me of Little Critter. In the hair department, anyway. Good thing she's cute!

One of the cutest things about her is how much she loves her daddy. She says some version of the word "Daddy" all day long. Da-da, dad, daddy, da-doh, you name it. She is always thinking about him and looking for him. There he is!

Dad! Da-da! Da-doh!

Come here!

She loves kisses.

How's my girl?I love how content she looks in this picture.

Ahhh... but the best part is:

She loves her mommy, too!

Mexico 2009

Well, we had a fantastic trip to Mexico!! We left on my birthday, which was so fun. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I kept telling myself "Happy birthday, you're going to Mexico!" We left the kids with Jason's parents and it was so nice to not have to worry about them at all while we were gone. Jason insisted on calling them every single day (or arranging for them to call us), and it was fun to hear how much fun they were having without us. Let me tell you right now, traveling without kids is a BREEZE. I kept feeling like I was forgetting something or I should be doing something, and then I'd think, "Oh yeah, no kids! I can just sit here and read!!" It was awesome. We made it to the airport on time despite the several inches of SNOW we woke up to, and just marched right in to the airport. We had a birthday lunch at TGIFriday's in the Dallas airport, and for some reason it was soooo good. Then it was off to Cancun! Once we stepped outside, a lady holding a "Mr. Yates" sign ushered us to a Suburban and we headed down to our resort. It was gorgeous!!

It was about an hour south of Cancun on the Mayan Riviera near a town called Playa Del Carmen.

There were big freaky lizards all over the place.

Crazy tropical birds...

And these little guys. This is a coati (pronounced "ka-WAT-ee"). They were zooming around the hotel grounds in the late evenings and no one knew what they were. They seemed vaguely familiar to me from listening to episodes of Diego in the background of my life, so we called Dallin and described them to him. Of course, he immediately said, "That's a coati!" and told us all about them. Then we were able to pretend we were intelligent when one zipped across our path and other people shrieked, "What the h--- was that?!!!" "Well, it's actually a cousin of the racoon, the coati. They are native to this part of Mexico..."



Yes, my favorite part of the trip was probably the food. I could live on french fries with guacamole. I don't think a better food combination exists!! And there is nothing like guacamole in Mexico. I did not hold back while we were there.


Jason likes to show off his calves when he senses that I am taking pictures of him from behind.

We climbed to the top of this huge Mayan temple. We took a day trip where we went to several different Mayan ruins, went zip lining across a lake, rappelling into a "cenote", which is an underground cave with water in it, and to a remote Mayan village and ate authentic Mayan food. I was holding my breath, just waiting to get sick, but neither one of us got sick the whole time we were there. Yay!

This is inside the temple at the top.

At the top of the temple from the outside.

And then, of course, the beaches.

Here we are being fugitives late one night at a neighboring resort's beach, which was just a short walk down the beach from our resort. For some reason, it was so fun to hang out at the other resorts and explore all their amenities. We almost tried out their food, but decided we better keep it legal, so we settled for watching their entertainment and relaxing on their cots.

And here we are in 30 years on my 62nd birthday. We are totally going to let it all hang out (Jason especially). I can't wait!

Dallin's Lost Tooth!

I'm calling this post "Dallin's Lost Tooth" because #1 - Dallin lost his first tooth, and #2 - we lost the tooth. Seriously, it has disappeared. We have searched high and low, and it is weird because I know it was sitting on the counter in a little bag when we left for church. I suspect foul play because I asked Luke about it several times and after saying no, he didn't know what happened to the tooth, he finally said, "Well, you shouldn't have put it in a baggie and left it right over there." Hmmm. I would not be surprised if it turned up in a very odd place. But anyway, I can't believe Dallin is old enough to loose a tooth! Somehow, the tooth fairy knew that he lost it and delivered his ONE dollar (setting the standard low here, people) that very night. I was sad when I realized that the first tooth he lost was actually his very first tooth (one of them - he got his first two teeth on the same day when he was eight months old). I remember how excited I was when he got his first teeth and how I felt like my little baby was so grown up. Now they are falling out. Makes me a little sad!

The loose tooth.

It finally came out!

"Mom, look at my teeth, too!"
I suspect someone was a little jealous
by all the attention Dallin got....

V Day

This year I didn't have much planned for Valentine's Day because the day before was our big Young Men/Young Women fundraiser, which was a Valentine's Dinner/Dance and was quite a large production. I wasn't planning on anything for Valentine's Day besides just getting that big event out of the way, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I walked into the kitchen on Friday morning and found this:

Oh, how sweet! Roses, a bottle of Martinelli's, a bag of chocolate-covered ju-ju hearts, a gift certificate to go tanning... I thought, "Why in the world would I need to go tanning, besides the fact that I am extremely white? It's February - who cares?" Then I opened up the card, and it all made sense - a trip to Mexico! These are pictures of the resort we stayed at in Peurto Vallarta on our honeymoon. I think we're going to try for Cancun this time. Anyone have any suggestions for places to stay/things to do there? I'm so excited!! This has been the longest, coldest winter I've ever had and I have been craving sunshine and beaches and warmth. I'm so tired of being cold! Now I have something to look forward to. Jason's plan is to go sometime next month, so I can't wait to get it booked and official!! Jason is just too good to me.

So after that fun surprise, I had renewed courage to face the night ahead. Our fundraiser turned out really well, with only a few minor snags. The food was amazing, we had a great turnout, and it seemed like everyone had a really great time. Several people suggested that we make this an annual event, but I can't even think about that right now. That's like asking someone who is in the hospital after just giving birth if they are ready for another baby.(I hesitate to post pictures of people in the ward without their knowledge, but I'm pretty sure Brother Field won't mind! This is why I love my ward.)

Happy Birthday to my sweet six year old Dallin!

Six years ago tonight I was in the hospital with a brand new baby boy, wondering how I had ever lived a day without him. I can't believe that helpless little baby is now a big, responsible six year old! I remember being six. I remember my sixth birthday party. I remember what it felt like, and now my very own child is that age! It freaks me out a little bit. But today I tried not to think too hard about it, and we had a great day. Dallin wanted a "hunting birthday" and that is what he got. The festivities started last night with a birthday party at Jason's parents' house. Dallin got lots of fun presents, including a "hunting" quilt that he LOVES made by his Grandma Rita. I made camo cupcakes, which was fun, and I was quite proud of them. Dallin woke up today so excited for his special day, but he didn't want anything different than he usually does. Cinnamon toasters for breakfast, ramen noodles for lunch, nothing out of the ordinary. He had his (our) first friend party ever and it went really well. I was nervous but I didn't have to stress too much because Jason took the afternoon off work and took care of most of it. He bought Dallin's presents, decorated the cake, planned the games, and managed the party. Lucky me! I just got to enjoy it. It pays to have a husband who is trying (successfully) to pass his obsessions on to his children, at least on birthdays.

The camo cupcakes.

The cake that Jason built. Yes, there is a guy in a tree stand (hooked to the trunk of the dead apple tree that used to stand in our yard) getting ready to shoot his choice of a javelina, a deer walking down a mountain trail, a moose wading in a lake, or a bear wandering through the woods. I baked the cake and made the frosting, Jason did the rest.

The party started with a little shooting competition. The little herd of animals on the floor were the victims.

Pin the horns on the deer. Jason drew the deer, of course.

Dallin was quite proud that he got so close. The only problem was that the horns were upside down. Oh well, good job anyway.

Dallin got (another!) new bow from his daddy.

The kids got to try shooting at a target in the basement. They were a fun group!

I love this age.

Notice how I paved the mountain path with the candles, like at a reception or something? See, I can be creative, too!

We finished the day with a little family trip to Chuck-e-Cheese's. Dallin and Luke had a great time, and we all put on lots of hand sanitizer afterward.

My three hunting fools.
(Yes, guy at the soda fountain with the saggy bum, I am taking a picture and you are in it. What's your point?)

It really was a great day, and I can't believe I am now the mother of a six year old! I just love that little boy. Congratulations to me!