16Nov 2015

Halloween 2015

By K + Z 0 Holidays, Sloan Permalink 0

This was technically Sloan’s very first Halloween. She missed last year’s by 10 days. I wanted her to experience all that is one of my favorite holiday – sans all the candy.

We made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies [twice, if I am being honest] the week prior. Sloan loves to watch the mixer go – I always let her have a front row seat. We finally decorated the house – technically they were only up 8 days before I set up Christmas, but we’ll just not talk about that right now. Sloan was surprisingly unphased by Skully the Skeleton. There was even a tender moment when she grabbed his phalange. Yes – owning an anatomically correct skeleton model makes you an expert on anatomy, in case you were wondering. The day of Halloween Sloan had a few visitors. Uncle Blake and Aunt Brittany came over to see Sloan in her costume. She was a popcorn – per Zach’s request. We also went trick-or-treating at my parent’s new place – which is temporary – where Sloan received a bubble machine from my parents. It’s going to be a whole solid day of entertainment when I decide to bust that baby out. Then we went to Mimi and Papa’s house to trick-or-treat.

It was Zach’s most authentic costume to date: himself, with a side of popcorn. We let Sloan stay up a little later and help pass out Halloween candy to our local treaters. We had quite an influx and ran out of the “good candy” so we had to refill half way through the night with ghetto bite size candy. But I am sure it was Sloan’s favorite part of the night. She thew her first ever fit when it was time to put her down to bed. She wanted to mingle with our spooky visitors. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, but holidays are definitely more exciting with children.

But what WAS extraordinary was the massive fist fight that happened across the street later that night at my neighbor’s house. THAT was exciting. If only my video camera on my phone could have captured the essence of it all, at 2:00 am, from my bedroom window. It will go down as my first time ever calling the po-po on someone. Ever. And I’m from Taylorsville. People from the Ville would call me a “snitch” and my street creed would be ruined for life. Luckily, the Boro is pretty chill. Sloan’s first Halloween definitely won’t be forgotten…by me at least.

09Nov 2015

The Sloan Ranger’s First Birthday

By K + Z 0 Personal Permalink 0

I’ve been waiting pretty much my whole life to plan a first birthday party for my child. I wanted to do a Candyland themed party but Zach shut that idea down real quick. He decided it should be a “Sloan Ranger” themed party. He was adamant. So, I decided to put my dreams of making giant lollipops and “sugar coated everything” on hold. One of my children will have a Candlyland party. Mark my words.

We rented our neighborhood clubhouse and Zach and I set up all the tables and decor after church on Sunday.

I wanted to get a game for the kids [Sloan’s cousins] to play and since Zach wouldn’t let me get a real pellet gun and glass bottles (he claimed that one of our nieces and nephews would shoot another and we’d never be forgiven) I had to settle for a plastic version. Best $10 I ever spent on Amazon.

Sloan by months. It’s crazy to see how far she’s come and how much she has grown.

The favors were trail mix – “Happy Trails – the Sloan Ranger”.

There was also a face painting table. I was worried the kids wouldn’t be able to come up with warrior face paint ideas – so I made a chart of actual indian face paint. Turns out I was wrong. They were super creative on their own.

Sloan loves herself a good crowd. She was happy as can be watching her cousins dart around and stealing bites of everyone’s cornbread.

Zach only had one other request when it came to the party and that was the food. I had planned for Dutch Oven – but Zach convinced me that ordering BBQ from Smokin’ Bones in Bountiful was a better idea. He couldn’t have been more right. We got roast turkey, beef brisket, (giant) square of cornbread, potato and green salad. The birthday cake was made by a local girl in Kaysville – Delish Cake Spot.

Sloan’s guests ate from pie tins and the wooden cutlery I painted.

We had a watering hole – along with some root beer, cream soda, and good ol’ fashioned Coca-Cola.

The face paint turned out to be a hit. Well, at least for the little ladies. I didn’t ask any of the parents how they felt about it, though…

The same girl made Sloan’s smash cake – a little two-layer naked cake that I put on a slice of wood with some succulents.

I was the most excited to see Sloan dig into her cake. I don’t feed Sloan sugar (apart from the few licks of my soft serve vanilla cone now and then) and I knew she would have a ball wrist-deep in her cake.

Turns out she didn’t really like to get her hands dirty. Once I broke off a chunk for her, though, she didn’t mind taking a taste.

Luckily she had many eager cousins that were willing to help her really get in there.
Easily the Shoot-Out game was the highlight for Sloan’s boy cousins. I ended up sending it home with Zach’s brother and his three boys. Hopefully they get as much enjoyment out of it as Zach did before the party. I am actually surprised the batteries weren’t dead by the time the party came around.
After everyone had a slice of cake we opened Sloan’s presents. She was totally spoiled by her family. Diapers for days, darling outfits, a ball pit tent with 200+ plastic balls, dolla dolla bills for her college fund, and adorable books. She is set for the next year, that’s for sure. Honestly, they could have given her bags filled with tissue paper and she would have been as happy as could be.
IMG_1173-1 Sloan’s birthday party felt a lot like Christmas. It came and went so fast and I was sad when it was all over. I can confidently say Sloan’s favorite part of the entire party was her guests. I’m so grateful that both Zach and my family could be there with us to celebrate. Sloan loves each and every one of them.

This year has flown by. I knew she’d turn one eventually, but part of me has been in denial. I haven’t been sad about, though. I’m excited. I’ve decided my favorite thing about being a mom is watching Sloan grow and learn new things. I’m just thrilled to be a part of it all. I imagine I will only love her more and more as each year goes on. That is something to look forward to.

We love you, Sloan. You’ve made this year everything and more we could have ever hoped for.

31Oct 2015

Fall in New Englad – Part 2

By K + Z 0 Family, Vacation Permalink 0

There were a lot of things I was looking forward to on this trip – but one of the highlights for me was touring the mansions in Newport. We arrived later in town and had time to do some shopping and then have dinner at a nearby pub. The next morning was all business: mansions all day. As many as we could possibly tour.

Our first was the Elms. Built by the Berwinds [who made their fortune in coal]. We toured the house ourselves and then got a private tour of the servants’ headquarters afterwards. Walking through the front gate gave me chills. I had learned about all these architects and designers in my design program so it was surreal walking through the actual houses they had worked on.

We had some time to walk around the grounds for a bit before heading off to lunch at The Shop. I’d say the Elms was my third favorite of all the mansions we toured. Then, off to the next estate: the Breakers. I was looking forward to this property the very most and it did not dissapoint.

What WAS disappointing is that I couldn’t take photographs inside (or inside any of the mansions, for that matter). But pictures wouldn’t have done justice. Oh, the Vanderbilts [who made their fortune in the railroads] they really knew how to spend some serious coin. I think the part that floored me the absolute most was the fact that these were not just homes. These mansions were deemed “summer cottages”. They were not the families SECOND homes, but their fifth and sixth vacation homes. I would die to see what place they all called their permanent home actually looked like.

After the Breakers (which turned out to be my second favorite) we went down to the water to take a sunset sail on the bay.

It was chilly, but luckily they provided us with blankets (and Siri shared her spare pair of gloves with me) so we stayed pretty warm. Behind us [the brown structure] was Jackie O’s childhood home. The views were incredible and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

And, like a 10-year-old, I requested to drive the boat “all by myself” and was surprised the captain agreed to it. He didn’t go far…obviously… I felt like a legit Kennedy or something, with the American Flag blowing in the wind behind me.

We pulled back to the pier with an incredible view of the moon on the water.

We warmed up for dinner at a nearby chowder house where I had my very first lobster roll. No better place than in Newport!

The next morning was our second round of mansion tours. First, was Rosecliff – where part of the Great Gatsby was filmed. It had more owners than any other estate, but has one of the best views, in my opinion.

Then, on to Chateau Sur Mer. Considered one of the first stone mansions in the Newport area. It was incredible, but kind of creeped me out. It felt more medieval than it did palacial. The ground were amazing, though. The trees alone are hundreds of years older than anything that we have here in Utah.

Last, we toured Marble House. My absolute favorite. Saved the best for last, I suppose. Another one of the Vanderbilt family estates, it didn’t feel like it belonged in America at all. In fact, each new room I went into reminded me more and more of Versailles in France. The homage to King Louis was evident – if you didn’t get that from the giant bust of him in the staircase landing. I couldn’t decide which part perturbed me more: the fact that these people were TRYING to be royal or the fact that they had enough money to act like they actually were. The entire estate was marble. The walls, the ceiling – nearly every square inch. All the furniture and ornamentation was Louis XVI style which was completely over the top but wonderful. My favorite was the lilac bedroom (which reminded me of Marie Antoinette – thank you glorious internet)…

…and the fact that each different room had a Christmas tree decorated in the style of that particular room. I snuck a few pictures here and there, but again, they don’t do it justice.

Afterwards we had time to do a little shopping and then have dinner at 22 Bowen’s [my favorite meal of the entire trip] on the pier. We had delicious sea food and Lori and Rachael braved eating an entire lobster (that we later learned could have possibly been pregnant). So there’s that…

We popped in and out of shops until they all started to close and we made our way back to our hotel.

The next morning some of us had planned to walk/run the Cliff Walk. It is a designated path along the edge of the water. The ocean on one side, and all the mansions we had toured on the other. Gina and I dropped the members of our troop off at one end and we drove to the other, planning to run back. Waves were crashing along our way – we even got sea sprayed a few times! It was my favorite run of the trip.

We passed Marble House and all the other mansions up to the Breakers and then ran back to our hotel.

It was a great way to end the trip. We showered up, packed our bags, and had lunch at our hotel before we left for the airport.

It was hard to leave – but the thought of coming home to my baby and my baby daddy after 5 days made it easier. We had a fantastic time. Good laughs, great people. Not to mention all of that with a beautiful backdrop.

Thank you, Hendo ladies! And New England: I am coming back for you. But until then, a few of my favorite things about you to hold me over…

stone fences
pumpkins on every doorstep
the seafood
apple stands
american flags everywhere
cobblestone streets
sea spray
the local’s accents
stone churches
apple cider
blankets of leaves

30Oct 2015

Fall in New England – Part I

By K + Z 1 Family, Vacation Permalink 0

I had been anxiously awaiting this Hendo Girl’s Trip since we started discussing it months ago. It’s been a dream of mine to do a “Fall Foliage Tour” of New England for almost 5 years, but Zach and I just never seemed to make it work with our schedules. The leaves change within a very specific time frame, and you have to be ready for it. So when the girls started planning – it couldn’t have come fast enough.

We left Salt Lake for Boston early Friday morning. The four hour flight went by very quickly for me – thanks to Mindy Kaling’s new book. As soon as we stepped outside the doors of the airport we noticed the weather was a lot chillier than at home. I couldn’t have been more excited about it.

Siri – who met us from Ohio – picked us all up in our rental car (a giant black Suburban). Instead of staying in Boston, we started our trip off with a drive to Rhode Island. It took us a while to get there because we left at prime time rush hour, but we took a detour for dinner along the way at Seina. Our next stop was at the Pumpkin Walk at Roger Williams Park. It’s the largest display of real carved pumpkins in the United States. The entire zoo was covered with an insane amount of Jack-O-Lanterns.

Even the trees were adorned with teeny tiny little guys, all lit up.

Not only was the sheer number impressive – but the detail. The larger pumpkins were carved with entire scenes from movies or portraits of different characters and everywhere you walked had a theme – sometimes corresponding music.

I would have loved to see how they hung and displayed the pumpkins in the daylight, but I am sure it would have ruined the magic of it.

After we left the Pumpkin Walk we drove back to our home for the next few days. Gina rented us a stone house in Waterford, Connecticut. It was late when we arrived and the streets were too dark to appreciate fully how incredible this place was.

The next morning when I woke up I almost peed my pants when I looked out the windows. The owner had placed mini pumpkins all along the stone fence around the property…

I couldn’t get over how picturesque the place was. Like it was picked right out of a film or a painting…

That first morning we set off on our first little road trip. We drove through several dreamy little towns and made a pit stop at a local apple stand.

They had pumpkins in a wooden trailer, for crying out loud!

We made it to Putnam, Connecticut for lunch at a quaint little place called Jessica Tuesday’s and to walk around town for their Fall Festival. There were booths set up all over and live music. Every street corner, every planter was decorated…

Some of us bought maple flavored cotton candy, others bought knit hats with pom poms, and some (Gina) danced along with the live band.

Then, to Massachusetts again. We visited Old Sturbridge Village, an actual community that dates back to the late 1800’s. We stopped for ghost stories at the barn, learned how these people lived, and watched them work.

We even asked a pair of gentlemen what they were doing and they informed us they were building a fence, and they legitimately were! I watched them haul wood down the dirt road. Women were baking over a real fire – some were sewing and doing other chores.

My favorite part of the village was the covered bridge with a view of the pond.

After Sturbridge we had dinner in Mystic, Connecticut before driving back to Waterford for the night.

The next morning Gina and I went for a run around our neighborhood. I wish it was our real neighborhood. But even temporarily, I was grateful to be there. The sidewalks were absolutely covered in bright leaves and the houses along the streets were just as beautiful. I kept thinking to myself, “How does one find themselves in Waterford, Connecticut?” I could definitely call this place home.

Then we were off to Essex, where we had tickets to ride the Fall Foliage Train. When we arrived I was impressed how legit this train was. It was the real deal – with a conductor and everything.

Some of us were lucky enough to ride in first class where we each had our own little swivel chair placed right in front of the windows. It was just us – and a bunch of leaf peepers.

We even had the cabin all to ourselves for a brief moment before they loaded up on the return trip.

It was very relaxing to roll by and see all the leaves and the view of the river. After our train ride we walked around Essex for a while. Quite possibly the most charming of all the little towns we visited.

The old houses we all spiffed up for Halloween. It reminded me of my favorite – Hocus Pocus.

After our walkabout we left Essex and drove back to Waterford for the last time. We packed our bags, loaded up the car, and made our way from Connecticut to Rhode Island. I’ve never been so sad to leave a rental home. Until we meet again, stone house. You were an absolute dream. Don’t change a thing!

21Oct 2015

Fall Festivities

By K + Z 0 Activities, Family, Sloan Permalink 0

I’ll be honest – I’ve been praying for fall to come for nearly the entire summer. It’s not that I don’t love the summer months, but fall takes the cake for me. Or pumpkin cookies. Whatever. The weather has been so pleasant. Even though we have had some stormy days, that doesn’t stop Sloan and I from enjoying the dreamy temps.
Sloan loves to see the decor in our neighborhood. I take her down the same street on our walks so she can enjoy a few of her favorite houses in all of their blow-up glory.

We spend almost all of our afternoons at Danger Park – swinging and sitting on the forbidden rocks.   I am just trying to soak up every last minute with my 11 month old. It almost doesn’t seem possible.
This last week I conned Zach into going back to Cubby’s in Sugarhouse for another tri tip salad. He obliged – but his tri tip was in sandwich form. Give Sloan a straw and she’ll be as happy as a clam.   She also has found her singing voice. She sarenades us [and all of the other customers] while we dine. Dinner AND a show, I guess. Cooking has become a lot more fun with another mouth to feed. Every meal is Sloan’s “first”. This week she tried manicotti for the first time and nearly out-ate Zach.

At least I found a meal that I can make that they can both devour.

I also baked. Baking and fall go hand in hand with me. I rarely bake goodies at home anymore [trying to eat fairly clean] but pumpkin chocolate chip cookies have been calling my name. So there was no stopping me…  I spent a lot of time this week prepping for an upcoming Hendo Girls Trip. But priority one before I left was mailing out all of Sloan’s first birthday invites. My father-in-law has never been prouder to see a name he picked out for a grandchild stuck enough to plan a birthday after. Work stuff hasn’t changed. Most days I feel a little overwhelmed with the projects I have taken on. But I don’t regret it when I see all the fun development. Custom awards for the Alder executives got cranked out this week.

Along with the outdoor signage being installed. This was a huge one. I designed this MONTHS ago and production has been rather slow. It’s so fun to see these things happening, finally!

I’m looking forward to a week [almost a week] off from work stuff when I travel to New England with the ladies in Zach’s family. What I’m not looking forward to is being away from my two little BFFs for that period of time. By the time I return home I will have a one-year-old on my hands.

20Oct 2015

Headed for Halloween

By K + Z 0 Family, Holidays, Personal, Sloan Permalink 0

For Family Night we ran some errands down in Salt Lake. We dined at Noodles and Company – where Sloan had her first kid’s meal. To be fair, she really only had the strawberries and apple sauce, but she was acting like it was Thanksgiving Dinner.

The week marked a month before Sloan’s First Birthday. I suddenly realized how far behind I was on party planning and kind of went into fast forward [panic mode] during her nap times. We got her party favors…

…table centerpieces…

…and other random stuff done for the party.

Sloan’s obsession with avocado has reached new heights. I have to buy them by the bag to fulfill her addiction. It’s been fun to try new meals with it, however. This white cheese macaroni and avocado is a serious game changer…

Speaking of meals – Thursday my mom’s side of the family all met down in Provo to go on a “Halloween Cruise”. We stopped to eat at Cubby’s (at my request) because I’ve been dying to try it. The line was out the door – no joke – and we had to rush to finish eating in time for our cruise ride. The tri-tip salad was out of this world.

Sloan was totally spoiled as well with a million new people to watch during dinner and being spoon-fed by her aunt Brittany. She was thrilled, despite her expression…

When we arrived the place was packed. So packed, that we didn’t make it on the boat for our time slot [7:00] and the next available time was 8:30. We hung around the place and anxiously awaited our turn.

I’ll be honest – the word “cruise” was misleading. If I could rename the event it would be the Halloween Float. Zach was disappointed you couldn’t buy drinks or snacks on the boat. Sloan was having the time of her life…

It was the latest she had ever been out. Ever. We didn’t get home until far after 10:00. Her ride home was all zzzz’s.

Friday night Zach and Sloan had a Triple D [that’s what Zach calls a Daddy Daughter Date] and I got to eat dinner and have a box party with my friends. Kristina’s parents are moving, and obviously mine are in the process, so we all brought boxes of old photographs, notes, and other memories from our Junior High / High School days. I’ve been friends with these girls for 17 years. It makes me feel ancient, but laughing with them makes me feel like I’m back at BJH.

Saturday the three of us spent all day together. We went to lunch down town where Sloan ate her weight in black beans.

We also stopped at Trader Joe’s for some pumpkin supplies [mostly their pumpkin butter] and left with the cutest little festive succulent.

That night Zach and I had a babysitter for the Utah game. We went out to eat for sushi at Naked Fish and the weather turned cold and rainy really quickly. I am a fair weather fan – so Zach invited his friend Joel to join him. I mean, I love Zach…but sitting in the pouring rain for football is where I draw the line. After our meal we went our separate ways. The baby sitter was planning to stay until 10:00, so I hit up Swig and Target before they closed. Just me and my date of a DDDC.

The Utes came out with a win and I didn’t have to sit in the pouring rain – so I’d call it another successful Date Night.

The next morning was church. The schedule has been switched for our meetings and Sloan basically thinks it is just the worst. It wasn’t our finest block to date, but we did our best. At least she was kind of smiling.

After church we drove up to Layton for the annual Henderson pumpkin carving extravaganza. Sloan had her very first interaction with a pumpkin and she was a huge fan. She would have swallowed it whole if I would have let her.

We let her paint her pumpkin in her birthday suit. Her handprints didn’t turn out like I would have expected.

I’d say it was as quality as can be expected for a “baby’s first pumpkin”.
She spent the rest of the night cruising around with Dad – and she couldn’t have been happier.

FullSizeRender-3 I’ve never been more excited for a holiday than I have been for this upcoming Halloween. Sloan will not remember a moment of it, but I will. Holidays are so much more fun [planning and experiencing] with a little one in the house.

Yearly Archives 2015