12Oct 2015

Being a Family

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

Monday Sloan and I had a whole day out and about. We ran a million errands and then had lunch at Costa Vida. Even though we were away from her only for a long weekend – it felt like she had grown leaps and bounds. She even fits [kind of] into some of her summer clothes [meant for this summer, of course] just in time for the fall weather to show up in Utah. I put her in her dad’s favorite shirt – Later Skater – and had to laugh when I saw the sign posted outside the Costa Vida entrance. Haters.

For some reason, I was craving breakfast for dinner. So I convinced Zach for Family Night that we have a big helping of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. He obliged and Sloan had her first taste of pancakes and “scrambie eggs”.

Putting Sloan to bed that night was pretty ridiculous. We tried on all her stuff that we got her while we were in Chicago and after her bath we read her a million stories. We both laughed at how long we were lingering. It’s hard to put her to bed after not seeing her for three nights.

The next morning Sloan and I were up bright and early for the grand opening of Madewell’s store at City Creek. We were lucky enough to get a gift card last time – so my friend Jenn and I showed up an hour before the opening to get in line. Luckily, we both got gift cards [50 dollas!] and the trip was well worth it – if you ask us. Don’t ask Parker and Sloan, though. They were not thrilled…

Later that night we celebrated Jenn’s 30th birthday – Lindsey, Jenn, and I – at Trio in Salt Lake. Spending time with these ladies is good for my heart. I appreciate their friendship more than they will ever know. And 30 looks SO good on Jenn…

The rest of this week was spent catching up on all my work projects, cleaning my house, and going to Danger Park in our skeleton pajamas. Because that’s how classy we are…

Friday evening my friend Derek married his fiancé, Brian up at Millcreek Inn. They’ve been together 5 years and the wedding couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather, the lights in the trees. Let’s just say my first official gay wedding lived up to the hype.

It was great catching up with ma girls and seeing Derek as happy as he was that night. He and Brian are made for each other. Even their vows were perfectly in sync (completely coincidental).

Saturday was packed. We drove from NSL > Taylorsville to help my parents pack up their basement into a storage unit. Sloan napped while we carried years worth of furniture, boxes, and pure garbage [my mom is the most organized hoarder on this planet] and packed it in a truck. Then we drove from Magna > NSL to shower and get ready for my cousin Tadd’s wedding BBQ. So from NSL > Draper we went. We stayed for a while, caught up with some family and friends, and then drove Draper > NSL to change for the Utah Football game. Sloan hung out with a babysitter while Zach and I had date night. We ate sushi at Tsunami and then rushed over to Rice Eccles. The game was a blast. Intense, as usual, but so fun to watch. Our seats really do make this experience for me. Still can’t believe Zach weaseled his way into this deal…

After the victory, I convinced Zach to stop on the way home and get some Diet Coke and a Cinnabon. So even though we got home way passed OUR bedtime – we stayed up until after one in the morning eating our spoils and watching one of our new favorite Netflix shows.

Sunday came and went. Church. Naps – Zach voted to watch some ESPN. And dinner at my parents’ house.

I haven’t been too emotional about my parents selling their home. I really am excited for them. But for some reason the thought of Sloan not being able to jump on their trampoline got me all upset Sunday night. I’ve had a million memories made on the old trampoline. Before we left for the evening I took Sloan out there to bounce on that baby. It may be the last time she ever gets to, considering the timeline. She was in heaven. You can tell by our squeals and double chins in this photo that it will be sorely missed…

This weekend Sloan also turned 11 months old. She is a maniac. Climbing up and over everything, walking [assisted, of course], and basically running this house with her pouty puppy dog eyes. She eats just about everything and anything. She is such a great sleeper (and napper, but I don’t want to jinx it) and I just thank heaven above every night how lucky we are to have her in our family.

We’re not perfect parents, but we’re trying our best. Zach and I balance each other out pretty well when it comes down to it. He’s the fun parent – and I stress out about giving her balanced meals and reading to her constantly. Either way, I hope she loves being a part of us. Because she makes being a family SO wonderful.

05Oct 2015

Sportsiversary

By K + Z 0 Family, Food, Personal, Vacation Permalink 0

We started planning for our anniversary a lot earlier than usual this year. With the holidays and Sloan’s birthday – we didn’t want to be gone at the end of November. So we planned to go on a trip, just the two of us, a few weeks early to celebrate. Chicago it was. Zach wanted to fit in as many sporting events as possible and I wanted to shop and eat 24/7. I nicknamed the trip our “Sportsiversary”. Three games in three days.

Before we left, I was a hot mess. So excited to have some alone time with Zach, but a total basket case about leaving my baby. That’s another thing I said I would never do – be a freak about leaving my kids on vacation. Maybe it gets easier the more you have? Or maybe for some it never gets easier. Either way – it was much harder than I expected. We dropped Sloan off at my mom’s house Thursday and then hustled to the airport. Zach caught me looking at photos of Sloan on my phone – 28 minutes into our trip…

The flight was a breeze and went by really quick. By the time we got in we were starving. We ditched our bags at our hotel and walked on over to Gino’s East for some deep dish pizza. It was Zach’s one request [food wise] of the trip.

Friday we slept in, I went for a run on Michigan Ave, and we had an early lunch at the Velvet Taco. If you ever go – get the tater tots. With the egg. Afterwards we shopped. For hours. Zach didn’t complain once. We went in and out of stores all up and down the Magnificent Mile and Rush Street. Then we stopped at Sprinkles to refuel, obviously.
We walked back to our hotel so we could change for dinner at Joe’s.

They found out we were celebrating our anniversary and sent us two glasses of champagne to our table. To spare an awkward conversation – we gave our glasses to the couple in the booth next to us to toast. For dinner we shared an order of the Alaskan King Crab. I am not a big Crab [or shellfish fan in general] but this crab is beyond amazing. And they make eating it enjoyable – they cut it and crack it for you at the table.

After dinner we changed our clothes and made our way over to U.S. Cellular Field for our first Sox game. Our last visit to Chicago we went to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs – so it was only fitting that we saw the Sox this trip.

Besides – I got to channel my inner Ice Cube and get a Sox hat [much classier than a Raiders hat, in my opinion]. It hasn’t really felt like fall to me quite yet in Salt Lake – but on that crisp evening at the ball park it got me all kinds of excited for the season. At the end of the seventh inning there was even a romantic moment with Southpaw, their mascot. The real mystery that Zach and I couldn’t figure out is why the poor guy is green??

The next morning we slept in, I went for a run by Navy Pier, and we got ready to go out and about. It just so happened that Zach’s brother Sean, who is currently living in Ohio, was taking his boards in Chicago. He was staying in a hotel right across the street from a Shake Shack – so meet up for lunch with him was a no brainer.

We spent the next few hours catching up with Sean and then sent him on his way with good luck wishes.

Even though we were cutting it close, I dragged Zach into a few more stores before we had to make our way over to our dinner reservation at Bandera.

We had been there before when the Hendo girls visited for our Girl’s Trip a few years ago. I decided to take Zach back to try it and we both left agreeing it was one of our favorite meals of the trip. Their cornbread is out of this world. We’re going to order it next time for dessert instead of an appetizer…

After dinner we took a cab over to the United Center for the ice hockey game. We took a risk and decided to wait to get tickets until 45 minutes before the game started. There weren’t any seats we liked for the price – so we kept waiting. Thanks to Zach’s perseverance, he bought great tickets while we were at dinner [on the 12th row!] and I convinced the concierge at a nearby hotel to print them off for us.

The facility was incredible. I mean, I know Jordan won a billion championships and the Blackhawks have had their Stanley Cup victories…but I didn’t expect the place to be that nice.

The fans were in a league of their own, as well. I think hockey fans are some of my absolute favorite when it comes to sporting events.

The place was absolutely packed – and the game did not disappoint. Patrick Kane was so fun to watch! It’s alway more fun to leave the home team with a win.

Sunday morning we slept in until they almost physically kicked us out of our hotel. We checked out and stowed our bags so we could catch a cab over to Soldier Field. The crowds were crazy. This trip made me realize how devoted and true Chicagoans are to their teams. It was so packed that we rode a bike taxi to the entrance of the stadium. We got ourselves some warm fan gear [and Sloan a stuffed bear] and settled into our seats. With popcorn and pretzel in hand, we witnessed all the gore (and glory) that comes with being a Raiders fan. We got amazing seats (again, to my husband who manages to finagle his way into a win-win situation always) on the second row. They were located on one of the end zones and it felt like we were surrounded by Raiders fans. Luckily, we made some fast friends…

After the game we had very little time to grab our bags and head over to the airport. The weekend went by very quickly. Although we were both in our own little world – sleeping in, staying up late talking for hours, shopping, eating at fancy restaurants, and just spending time together – we both missed Sloan beyond our expectations. The flight from Midway to Salt Lake seemed like it took 12 hours instead of 3. I am so grateful to my parents who watched Sloan and gave her the weekend of her life while we were away. It’s hard enough to leave your baby behind – but to know she was well taken care of was the greatest relief.

Even though it’s an early celebration – seven years with my best friend feels like a blink. Time flies when you’re having fun!

01Oct 2015

St. George + Vegas / Girls Weekend

By K + Z 0 Family, Personal, Vacation Permalink 0

One of my family’s favorite movies used to be Sister Act. When my aunt heard it was playing down at Tuachan she bought all of us girls (myself, my mom, my sister-in-law, my two cousins, and herself) tickets to see it together. She planned a weekend down in St. George for the six of us. We left thursday afternoon. We decided to rent a mini van – rather than driving two cars down – to save on gas. Since I was the farthest north, I picked up the van along with everyone else on my way down south. Last minute we decided to do a one night stay in Las Vegas – the only way to swing it would be to do it the first night. So after all of us – and our luggage – was crammed into the mini van, we set off for Vegas. Our van had a DVD player, so Pitch Perfect 2 was a highlight on the journey down. The drive down went really quickly. I surprised the group by booking a suite at the Vdara for the night. Since we didn’t get in until after midnight, we really only had time to try on the complimentary robes and get ourselves into bed.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and set off for the New York New York for lunch. Half of us grubbed at Shake Shack and the other half at Tom’s Urban. Luckily, Tom’s didn’t mind that we brought our to-go bags of Shake Shack inside the restaurant.

After lunch we ventured over to the Fashion Show Mall. We hit up a few stores and my mom was bound and determined to get all of us a matching piece of jewelry to commemorate our trip.

After the mall we drove over to the Venetian. We walked around the Grand Canal shops, stopped and got macarons at Bouchon, and then had dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. Cassidy had the brilliant idea to try the zipline over at the Rio. So after our dinner we drove off the strip as the sun was going down.

The whole escapade still makes my stomach ache from laughing. Once we arrived and signed ourselves in, we rode the elevator to the top of the building. On the deck we waited in line for our turn to ride. I was paired with my paranoid mother. Cass and Britt went first and didn’t die. Then my mom and I. We stepped on up, got strapped in, and my mom was already squealing. Once they released us, she screamed so loud I am confident the entire strip – maybe the entire state – heard her. Not to mention my hand had lost all blood flow due to her lockdown on it.

I think that attraction photos are a waste of money – but when I saw this one come through on the screen, it was a must-have. The best purchase of my entire trip.

After Tammy and Lindsy had their fun on the ride as well, we made our way back down and to our car. My mom requested Sprinkles on our way out of town, so Sprinkles it was!

We ate our cupcakes on our drive back to St. George. We didn’t make our way into town until after 1 AM. Once we arrived at our hotel we found out there was a complication with our reservation. We ended up at a different hotel and there was only one family suite available – so all six of us shared the room. It was actually pretty hilarious and surprisingly my best sleep of the entire trip.

The next morning we slept in and checked out of our shared suite. We decided to do a little more shopping and have lunch. While everyone finished up, Britt and I drove over to The Sugar Cookie for a half dozen to share. Afterwards we drove back to our new hotel, checked in, and got settled. We got ready for dinner and the play.

We dined at Anasazi Steakhouse – where you cook your steak on a hot rock. Our family loves red meat, so I figured it would be a hit when I made the reservation.

After our meals [smelling like steak] we drove over to Tuachan. Even though musicals are definitely not my thing – the show was darling and the cast was really talented. Mad props to all those performers who dance and sing in full costume in 80 degree weather.

And because we hadn’t had enough garbage for the weekend – we stopped at Village Inn to get ourselves some pie. We backed da van in next to two Corvettes…cause we had to.

I have always joked that I would never own a mini van, but this trip has softened my sharp edges on the subject. Also, what am I always the one who gets conned into driving the mini van?!

The next morning we checked out, had breakfast on the go, and drove home. The weekend went by really fast. It was fun to spend time with the girl’s in my family – we really don’t do things like this often enough. We now have fun plans for next year and I am already excited. Even though we had a great time – I was more than anxious to get home to Zach and Sloan. The look on her face when she saw me when I got home Sunday was worth every second of missing her.

Here’s to the first of many girl’s trips to come!

29Sep 2015

Catching Up

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

A few weeks ago, the day of rainstorm we had lunch over at my friend Lindsey’s house. Sloan was in heaven playing [aka trying to keep up] with the four boys. She was elated to have people closer to her size to throw things around with.

Since we didn’t have ideal weather, we busted out some of our warm cozy clothes. Just in time, too. The girl is about to bust out of them already. I have been putting sunglass on her when we go on drives [she honestly loves them] and she about had a coronary when I tried to take them off for lunch. So Ms. Thang had her lunch with her sunnies on.

Wednesday Sloan and I had lunch over at a friend’s house. Heidi was due with Rex the same day I was with Sloan, but Rex was born three weeks earlier. It’s crazy to see them side by side – Rex has Sloan beat by 5+ pounds. I went to high school with Rex’s dad – and it was kind of trippy to see how much he looks like Jake.

This week I started prep for Sloan’s first birthday. Zach’s warned me several times the last week or so about “going too far”. I told him he was crazy…
I didn’t even see his side of the story when I started to hand-paint all the wooden cutlery…

He had a “come to” talk with me when he found me bidding on a buffalo skull on Ebay. I decided to take a break from birthday party prep until after my upcoming girl’s weekend with my family. Sloan has been enjoying all the fun, however. She was especially stoked when her teepee showed up one morning.

I’ve loved seeing Sloan’s personality develop. She is already really easy going. She doesn’t even complain when blinded by her beanie for a 20 minute drive down to T-Ville. I had no idea it had slipped over her eyes. Not a peep…

She also loves to make friends. Jeanene bought her a singing stuffed animal [he dances, too] and she is determined to make friends with it, despite its scary looks…Her appetite has also significantly changed. She has always loved solids – but who knew she could out-eat both Zach and I. One night this week I picked up Costa Vida to go and decided to share my black beans with Sloan. She ate all my black beans and half of Zach’s as well. The girl knows what she likes…

Friday was Knowlton Elementary’s Fall Festival. My sister-in-law Gina was heading up the whole thing and I did all the signage for the event – so Gina hooked us up hard core with some wrist bands and tickets. I didn’t have to convince Zach to come – I just informed him that the Kaysville Corn Dog Truck would be there. He was in.

Sloan is still a little small for the face painting and giant bubble machine, but she fell hard for the Petting Zoo. Even though she was skeptical of the baby camel, the baby goats were a hit!

Saturday Zach and I had date night. We dined at the Gateway and then saw Johnny Depp’s Black Mass. I’m a sucker for gangster movies – and a true story? I couldn’t resist. So Italian and mobster movie it was…

Also, while I was packing, Sloan learned a new trick. The heave. She basically launches herself onto anything and everything. I don’t know if this counts as “pulling herself up” on things…but let’s just say that it does?

Or maybe she just wanted to be a stow away on our trip. I was a nervous wreck leading up to this weekend. I hadn’t left Sloan for more than one night before – and a long weekend seemed like forever. Luckily, Zach took work off and watched her the entire time, which put me at ease.

It was a great week and we spent every second we could all together, just the three of us, before I left.

14Sep 2015

10 + 30

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

We had a week of milestones. My baby turned 10 months and my baby daddy turned 30. The older she gets [and chubbier] the more people comment that she looks like me. I have to laugh – and in their defense she did get her cheeks from yours truly. Poor Beary Sanders…he doesn’t stand a chance in our monthly snapshot anymore.

It was a nearly a full week of celebrating. We had a lot going on including two heartbreaking funeral/wakes and tons of work things to do. My sweet cousin Kelli passed away and I attended a wake for an angel baby, Finn. They both really put things into perspective for me and my little family. I held on to Sloan and Zach a little tighter this week.

Two days before Zach’s birthday I literally couldn’t wait any longer to give him his gift. He had already received his Utah Football tickets as his real gift, but I didn’t want him to have nothing to open on his 30th birthday! So, a few days early, I let Sloan give him his surprise. I still don’t know what it is called – but he was completely shocked when he opened it. He has been wanting one of these self balancing automatic skateboards since he saw Justin Bieber and the Texan’s Brian Cushing cruising around on them.

The two of them spent the evening tearing up our streets. I wish I could have filmed our neighbors staring at Zach as he zoomed by them pushing Sloan in her stroller…

Friday night was the Utah State vs. Utah football game at Rice Eccles. I threatened to wear blue – but Zach told me I couldn’t sit with him if I did. So, out of fairness, I wore neutral gang colors. I support my husband and his Utes, but will always be an Aggie fan!

Saturday I got to see lots of family at Kelli’s viewing. I hate that is was because of such terrible circumstances, but it was great to be with them briefly.

Saturday evening we had our regular date night – but on Zach’s actual birthday. He asked to not break tradition – Benihana and a movie. I’ve celebrated with him for the past 8 years this exact way, and not even for his big 30th Birthday did he wish to break the streak. When we arrived the dinner crowd hadn’t really shown up yet so we sat at a table all by ourselves. Zach would later tell practically everyone he knew that we got a “private table at Benihana” for his birthday. He was as happy as could be with just the two of us celebrating – and other than my entire body smelling like chicken fried rice – I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way either.

Sunday, even now, was a total blur for me. I had to teach my first Gospel Doctrine lesson that morning – so much of the morning was spent preparing for that and secretly hiding all of the supplies for Zach’s surprise party. I still can’t believe I actually kept it a secret for so long – I’ve never lied to my husband and the whole thing felt like it would eventually blow up in my face at any moment. After church Zach and Sloan played and watched football while I packed all of the gear and food in my car. Luckily Zach is totally in the zone when a game starts so he didn’t even realize I was packing veggie trays, fruit bowls, crock pots, and party decor in and out of the garage for 45 minutes. Then I left with Sloan – claiming to have an appointment to get her pictures taken. I know…that’s the best I came up with. He totally bought it.

Zach was totally surprised when his dad asked him to help him with a problem at the skating rink, he didn’t have a clue until he pulled into the parking lot and saw everyone’s cars in front of the entrance.

I can’t thank my family and friends enough for all the help they were to me to make it happen. We served all of Zach’s favorite things – chips and salsa, popcorn, fruit chew candies, ham fried rice, sushi, rice crispies, peanut butter blossoms, and in lieu of a cake – strawberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.
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Tons of family and Zach’s friends came all the way up to the Layton skating rink to celebrate with him. That night he told me it was the best birthday he’s ever had. Happy 30th birthday, Zach. I can’t wait to spend 30+ more years celebrating you!

07Sep 2015

Labor Day Weekend 2015

By K + Z 0 Activities, Family Permalink 0

Monday night for Family Night we ate dinner down town before driving up to the University. We wanted to gear up before the first football game of the season. We strolled around campus and then each bought some Ute attire.

Sloan scored a multi-pack of t-shirts and wore them pretty much all week – she looked like a die hard fan.

Speaking of a big score: I found the most exceptional thing for Sloan at Target this week. She’s outgrowing her beloved PUJ tub and I’ve been trying to find some way to transition her into bathing in the big tub. As soon as I saw this yellow monstrosity in the baby aisle at Target – it was all downhill from there. Zach was totally mocking my purchase until he saw how ecstatic she was bathing in it. Besides, Zach’s nickname for Sloan is ducky [because of the long hair she was born with on the back of her head that resembled a duck tail] so it was a match made in heaven.

Progress is slowly but surely happening at my Alder project. The majority of the furniture has been delivered and placed. The custom reception desk I designed was installed as well. It finally feels like everything is coming together…

Thursday was the long awaited football game. My mom volunteered to watch Sloan for the night. We put her in her red Ute tee for good luck. Zach and I then met his sister and our brother-in-law at Rice Eccles for the festivities. They scored Crimson Club dining passes for us – so dinner with a view – as the people started to flood in. Zach ate two red velvet cupcakes. TWO.

The night ended with a victory for Utah. I kissed Zach goodbye and Gina and I drove up to Park City to meet the rest of the Hendo ladies for our weekend up in Park City [and Midway] for Swiss Days. My very first night away from my baby. It’s no secret that I am not a big fan of Swiss Days and all that it entails – I go for the family time, not for the shopping. A girl’s weekend with the Hendersons is always a good time though – so I put my big girl pants on and left Sloan at home with Zach.

To my surprise – I kind of crushed Swiss Days. I have never spent more than $20 at their booths…until this weekend. Let’s just say that Sloan’s supply of slouchy beanies has grown exponentially. Plus they had Diet Coke in can form, so you can’t lose in a situation like that.

After we hit the booths and had our traditional lunch at the local pizza joint – we returned to our hotel to shower and nap. A nap in the middle of the day. It felt like Christmas, kind of. If I had spent Christmas checking my video monitor in my baby’s room 40 times a day…

That night we had dinner at the Riverhorse on Main Street. The sea bass rocked my world.
We drove back to our hotel just in time to roast some mallows at the s’mores bar and enjoy a free concert in the hotel lounge. The finale of the night, though, was a dip in the hot tub outside.

The next morning we slept in, got a work out in, and checked out of our hotel. We kept the party going with lunch in Park City, shopping at Fashion Place Mall, and dinner at From Scratch before a movie at Station Park.

The long weekend was a total success. When I returned home – Sloan had left me a note and my favorite treat on the dining table.
One thing I have learned about being a parent is to never say never. I have had to eat a giant slice of humble pie [multiple times, actually] when it comes to the things I vowed I would never do. For instance: smothering my child with kisses and loves to the point where I could eat her face. I could have cared less about the cookie. As soon as I walked through the door all I could think about was mauling my child to death. Though the time away was relaxing and fun – nothing beats coming home to a gummy grin.

I missed Zach, too…of course.

Yearly Archives 2015