19Apr 2017

March Madness

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

I know it’s April, but so much happened last month besides Targhee and our St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

In March there was a lot of baking. Cookies, mostly. But other things as well.

Cheesecake has been a family favorite. But I don’t ever give up on those sugar cookies. I just can’t. I helped host a shower for a sweet girl in our ward and my food assignment was sugar cookies. So I made three dozen for the shower and I felt like I was eating cookies for the entire month!

The shower turned out so cute, all thanks to Rebecca and her darling decor!

And my favorite part of hosting showers? The leftover flowers.

We spent a lot of time outside – there were days when it really felt like spring was going to stay. It didn’t, but we don’t mind!

And for those days went it wasn’t spring – we painted our toes, made homemade ramen, and went to Kangaroo Zoo. Which Sloan calls “Kazoo!” for short.

We also went to Beauty and the Beast – which we loved. Gaston came, too.

Before Targhee, we practiced a lot inside on the carpet snowboarding with our new helmet.

Only a day after we returned from Targhee, Zach left for Cabo with his friends. But he didn’t leave us empty handed. He had a whole bag of surprises for Sloan to open (one for each day he was gone). He is the most thoughtful person and he even attached a little note for me on each one.

Sloan is beginning to change. Her personality is mostly the same, but she’s growing up. Learning a lot, comprehending more than I can imagine, and exploding with emotions (good and bad). Trips to the store aren’t as breezy as they used to be. Unless we get a cart with a car. And find a friend, I guess?

But luckily she is always down for a run in the jogging stroller. Not without a snack, though. And more snacks upon arriving home.

Some more highlights were going to the Discovery Gateway with our neighbors and friends. Sloan loved it and loved being with the twins just as much.

I also got to attend my old college roommate, Whitney’s, baby shower. She’s having a little girl here soon!

I’m lucky that both of my current roommates love pizza. So I make it often. Probably too often.

We had a couple dates this month, too. Our latest involving hot chocolate and macarons. It was wonderful.

Not as wonderful, but delicious considering, Sloan and I are addicted to protein bites. Almond butter + protein powder + raw honey + chocolate chips. When you want a cookie but you’re trying to eat clean = protein bites!

It was a great month. March was one of the best to date. Our little family of three is making memories that are going to stick.

28Mar 2017

Targhee 2017 / St. Patty’s

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

Targhee with the Hendersons was a little later than usual this year. It happened to fall over the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day! So – to keep up with tradition – we had our St. Patty’s Day dinner a few nights before heading up to WY.

We decorated with left-over decorations from Sloan’s 2nd Birthday. Balloons and streamers make a simple rainbow, and Sloan thought it was the greatest thing she had ever seen.

We spread out some chocolate coins and gold paper plates and we were set! Homemade green bread and rainbow linguine were on the menu. Sloan enjoyed playing with the colorful noodles more than anything, and Zach and I got to eat a full hot meal without any distractions. So I’d call that a definite win!

We continued the rest of the week making green meals, in good fun. I tried the most delicious chicken artichoke pesto pasta recipe that all three of us went crazy over. I’ve already got it on the menu again for this week.

Thursday after Zach got off of work we packed up the car and drove up north. The drive went so smoothly – the best road trip to Targhee we’ve had to date. Sloan read books, we all listened to music, and we finished the ride with a showing of Beauty and the Beast. We arrived at the resort around 8:30 pm. We unloaded and got Sloan into bed and then unpacked all our supplies in our room.

When Sloan woke up – the Leprechaun had left her something in our room. I love this age – everything is so magical and I don’t want it to ever change. Her favorite item in her basket? A tiny green cutting board of her own to help me with dinner prep.

That morning was Gina and I’s meal assignment – a Leprechaun Breakfast! Lucky Charms, green french toast, and little green footprints leading towards the “pot o’ gold” that the pesky leprechaun had left the kiddos. They loved every bit of it and a real leprechaun ended up gracing us with his presence (aka Zach is the creepiest costume to date). Sloan was unsure at first, but that didn’t stop her from grabbing her loot out of the cauldron when it was her turn.

Then we dropped Sloan off at the Kids’ Club so Zach and I could snowboard together for a few hours. To be honest, I was extremely hesitant to do this. Zach told me it would be pointless for us to drive all the way up there and both not ski. So he set up Sloan to stay in the Kids’ Club for half a day to test the waters. Long story short: she ended up doing great and didn’t want to leave when her time was up.

Zach and I even got 8 runs in together with a few other members of his family before lunch time!

When it was time to go pick her up we got to spy on her through the windows. She loved having her cousins Cole and Clark in there with her!

As soon as Sloan woke up from her nap back at our room we all set off for some snowboarding time together. We took Sloan on the kiddie lift for the first time and she was in awe the whole time. I will say though, snowboarding with a toddler goes a lot smoother when it is in the morning – not in the afternoon. We learned that the first day and didn’t make the mistake again.

That night we had dinner at the Branding Iron to celebrate Jeanene’s birthday [which was actually on Sunday, but we wanted all of us to be together to celebrate]. Sloan hung out with her older cousins while all the adults ate peacefully downstairs in the restaurant below them.

The next morning we did some earlier snowboarding together as a family. Sloan enjoyed it so much more in the earlier hours and did amazing on her little board – especially considering the snow conditions. It was icy and it made her go extra fast down that little bunny hill.

Cole and Sean and Siri came out for a bit, too and Sloan got to shred alongside her closest cousin for a bit. It’s so nice having these two only a few weeks apart – Sloan adores Cole!

After our shred sesh we dropped Sloan back off at Kids’ Club and she couldn’t have been happier. Zach and I got more time to snowboard together and met up with the majority of his family members and some of our nieces and nephews.

Part of the crew on the crest.
Mark the Shark and I cutting up some corduroy. Zach and I on the cat tracks.

It was all so much fun and so great to be together. When I picked Sloan up from Kids’ Club she was bummed to leave, but when we got back to our room she took a KILLER nap. When she woke up we went swimming at the pool along with a few of her cousins.

We had taco night in Mark and Jeanene’s room and then made our way back to our room to put Sloan to bed.

We left the next morning after Zach got a few runs in and I packed up our gear. We made it home before dinner time and in record breaking fashion unpacked the car and ALL our bags before we passed out for the night.

Targhee is always such a great time – and we were blessed with amazing weather while we were there. So grateful the Hendersons keep this tradition going, we never want it to stop!

15Feb 2017

30 / Las Vegas

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

Zach.

He is the best husband that there ever was.

I woke up on the morning of my birthday to surprise after surprise. I heard Sloan wake up and went into her room. Once we were both up and ready we went downstairs. Zach had a full spread waiting for us. Bagels and cream cheese, fruit parfaits, muffins. He even had balloons, decorations, and cards.

In one card he gave me some spending money for our weekend out of town. The other card told me to hurry and get ready, because he had a babysitter coming over and we were going to spend the afternoon at the spa. I couldn’t believe how thoughtful the whole gesture was. Once she arrived, we drove up to Layton for our couples massage.

It was so relaxing and enjoyable and when I got ready to leave – he took me into one of the private rooms for a foot soak. He had a large Diet Coke, sandwiches, and my favorite treat – a Cutler’s cookie – waiting for me.

Once we got back home – Sloan had just woken up from her nap. We played the rest of the day together, honestly doing nothing productive at all. As I moved from room to room, I would notice little notes Zach had left me around the house. He even left me a note in my car. I couldn’t help but tear up every time I read one. It made my whole day – even more than the spa and the amazing breakfast.

It was honestly a perfect day. I am not big on birthdays for myself. I always try to make them special for Zach and Sloan, but mine I could take or leave. But this particular birthday was the best I’ve ever had, by far. Zach always makes things so fun and special, and he really went above and beyond to make it wonderful.

That weekend we had planned to go to Las Vegas for a quick getaway. We stayed at the Encore (first time for the both of us) and Zach literally let me do all of my favorite things: sleep in, work out, eat, and shop. It may sound uneventful to some – but that’s my kind of vacation. We arrived there Friday afternoon. We had lunch at the Cafe at the Wynn – where they have my favorite salad in all of creation.

We took an afternoon snack break at Sprinkles, for a red velvie.

Then we took an Uber to the Forum Shops. We spent most of our time at Nike and stopped in a few other places until it was time for our dinner at Joe’s.

We shopped around some more and then made our way back to our hotel.

The next morning we both went to the spa. I had an appointment for a facial (my first one ever) and Zach wanted to enjoy the spa amenities. The facial was amazing – in fact, I’ve been converted. I don’t think I could pick a massage over a facial now that I have experienced one for myself. She did put some amazing product on my lips, which I loved, but gave them a tingly sensation. I would later realize that “tingle” was numbness and I wouldn’t regain feeling in my lips until the next morning. But still…I loved it and would do it again in a second.

We later had lunch at Shake Shack.

We then spent the majority of the day at Fashion Show Mall and Zach wins the award for most patient husband. I don’t even want to know how long we were in Zara – I can’t think about it.

We then went to dinner at Momofuku. It was already packed when we got there at 6:30 – luckily, Zach got a reservation. When we arrived I was totally bummed they didn’t have chicken pho on the menu, like their New York location. But, the waiter assured me I would love the “chicken noodle soup”. It wasn’t until my first taste of my dish that my faith had been restored. Even though the menu was completely different – it was so very good. He can do no wrong, that David Chang.

We stopped on our way out at the Milk Bar – where Zach treated himself to something coated with cereal that he really liked.

We contemplated going to a movie, but decided to take a suggestion from my sister-in-law Gina about the “Feature Presentation” that they offer at the Wynn hotels. When we got back we ordered two candies, a buttered popcorn, and two sodas in CANS and ordered a movie to our room. I had no idea they even offered this – and it was totally worth it (and less expensive than a real movie with all the trimmings, I might add). It was an absolute home run! (Thank you Gina!)

We slept in and packed up the next morning, eager to get home to Sloan.

A lot of my friends have been struggling with the thought of turning 30, but I feel the opposite. I feel good. I am excited. My 30-year-old self is completely content. I never dreamed as a teenager I would be in love and married to my best friend (well, I hoped…but I didn’t KNOW), have the sweetest little soul for a daughter, and to be able to make memories with them every single day.

Ask me how I feel at 50, ok?

Because 30 is actually pretty bomb, guys.

29Jan 2017

Dirty 30 in Palm Springs

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

I’m going to be 30. In less than a week, but who’s counting? My high school friends and I decided we needed to do something to celebrate this milestone and we voted to go on a Girl’s Trip. We debated on several locations: but Palm Springs won out for the most convenient + best weather.

We had booked the flights and vacation home several weeks in advance, and the trip totally snuck up on me!

We flew into Palm Springs late on Thursday night. We didn’t arrive until after 10 pm. We went straight to grab our luggage and then to pick up our rental car. Once all was settled (and crammed into the back seat of our crossover) we drove to a nearby grocery store for some supplies. Little did we know that we would be returning to this said grocery store every day (some days multiple times a day) during this trip. Thank you Ralph’s for putting up with us! They even had Sea Salt Caramel Halo Top in stock – so I couldn’t have been happier.

The property we rented was one of my favorite parts about the trip. My mediocre iPhone photos don’t do it justice. Whitney is the one with a professional camera. The pool was in and of itself a game changer.

One day my dream is to have a lap pool in my backyard. Swimming laps is one of my favorite things to do for exercise. One day.

We unloaded our groceries, unpacked our bags, and settled in. True to form – we didn’t call it a night until well passed 3:00 am.

The next morning we woke up to rain. We had breakfast, showered up, and went to lunch at Bill’s Pizza. I wasn’t expecting it – but it was actually one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.

After lunch we hit up the outlets just outside of Palm Springs. They had nearly every store you could think of. Their Lululemon Outlet even had a 30 PERCENT OFF EVERYTHING sale. Britt and I were over the moon. Since the rain didn’t let up, neither did we. We weren’t finished until it was nearly closing time.

The next day was warm and sunny. I went on a run before the rest of my crew was up and at ’em. I had been dreaming of it for weeks. Running on the treadmill has had me gloom and doom lately, so running amongst all the mid century modern homes and palm trees was like a little slice of heaven.

I got back, had breakfast, and showered up for the day. Since the weather was good – we grabbed lunch and then drove over to Indian Canyons for a hike. The first route was short, but it was my favorite. There was a natural spring coming down the canyon with palm trees lining nearly the whole way. It was so picturesque and the temperature was perfect.

We did a second hike – called Palm. It was short and sweet as well, but a great view and more of a desert landscape mix. It was the perfect activity for the warmest day of our trip.

Later we had dinner at Trio – a surprisingly busy restaurant down town. We stayed up again – way passed 3:00 am – and awoke very slowly the next morning.

We all weren’t up and ready until the afternoon and decided to get a late lunch at Melvyn’s [Britt’s request – it was one of Frank Sinatra’s favorite restaurants].

The chicken pot pies were bigger than expected, but it hit the spot on our rainy afternoon.

After our late lunch the rain wasn’t letting up. So instead of staying at the house, I convinced a few to go back to the outlets with me.

We shopped around until closing time, returned home, and then went and picked up some pho for dinner.

We ended our night with a swim in the heated pool while it rained!

The next day we had to be up earlier in order to get ready, pack up, and check out of our place. We loaded up our rental car, locked up the house, and set off for brunch. Turns out the occupants of the entire city had the same plan we did on that rainy morning. Our brunch spot was a hub of activity – so for the sake of time we decided to eat at the airport.

We all got lunch and awaited to board our flight.

We always joke how close we are – but we never see each other. Last time I went on a trip with these girls – I was about 4 weeks pregnant with Sloan! Time passes so quickly. We always promise to see each other more often, and hopefully we will keep that promise this time. Because being together at Christmas is not nearly enough.

So glad I have these ladies to celebrate this milestone with and I couldn’t have picked a better way to do it!

25Jan 2017

In No Particular Order: January

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

I can’t believe I’m saying this and risking jinxing it all – but my New Year’s resolutions are actually going great! I love to bake and cook and have really made an effort over the last few years to make healthy and somewhat satisfying meals for our family. Some they like, some I like. And there are even a few we all like! I was craving corn bread randomly one day and decided to make cornbread and turkey chili. I found the best recipe on Yummly and it was a hit! It’s even made with yogurt instead of oil, so it was even lower calorie. I love turkey chili – though not everyone in our house does (ZACH) everyone gave it a go and it turned out great. If you ask Sloan and I, that is. One evening after Zach got home from work we rushed over to a pond nearby our house that had completely frozen over. It was the perfect time and place for some more ice skating. Sloan was in heaven. I was frozen solid. I wish they had a one-piece onesie in my size. I don’t know if I am just getting old or what…but I’ve been freezing this entire winter season. Sloan experienced Play-doh for the first time and acted like it was the most revolutionary thing to happen to her since cheese. If you know her – cheese is the end all be all.Sloan and I went to Kangaroo Zoo one afternoon when she was up from her nap. It was a stormy day, so it was great to get out of the house for a bit. Sloan loved all the slides and blow-up activities…but she was more concerned about the chairs being all organized a certain way. She gets that trait from me, poor thing…
We got Sloan her second haircut this month. It was much needed. Her hair is growing faster than it seems possible. We are actually due for another one this week! One night for FHE we made homemade pizzas. It was super easy – store bought dough and sauce – but it was a blast! They actually tasted much better than I expected, too. Artichokes were the hero, I’m telling you… Sloan’s Bubba (my brother) bought her a coon hat at Cabella’s and Sloan has been a big fan. Like, wearing it instead of her shirt, kinda fan. Zach begged me to make manicotti a few weeks ago. I’m not a huge fan of the dish, but I try to be a decent wife once in a while. I was convinced Sloan wouldn’t last through dinner prep – but was surprised at how much she loved helping me fill all the noodles with the cheese filling. She helped me stuff 12 noodles – barely moving a muscle. Recently Zach and I had a date night: Pizzeria Limone and the Jazz game. Because pizza is always on the top of my list and because SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS is on Zach’s list all day erry day.
We had Classic’s company seats and they did not disappoint. PS – Did you know there is a Swig counter at the Vivint Smart Home Arena? Yeah, it’s true. The weather hasn’t been ideal the last few weeks for snow sports. We’re dying to take Sloan up snowboarding, but it keeps storming on us. Luckily, she is just as happy to be indoors and being pulled around on the carpet by Zach. She even learned a new trick: a board grab. While wearing her coon hat, but that’s not surprising. We are in the “dressing ourself” phase and I’m actually not mad about it.

25Jan 2017

The Last of December – New Years

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

After Christmas I was lucky enough to spend a night with my high school girlfriends for our annual Christmas get together. Alison was in town from New York and that’s the day that worked best with everyone. So even though it wasn’t BEFORE Christmas, we still exchanged our “Favorite Things” and stayed way too late at Kristina’s new beautiful home.

We had pizza, pizzookies, and stayed until passed 2 am talking. It is always the same. No matter what happens – we always pick up right where we left off. I love that part so much. We really all are so different. That’s why we work, I think. Because we balance each other out.

I also got to go out with another group of high school friends for dinner not long after to Alamexo down town. We all brought our significant others and it was a blast seeing those that live out of state and catching up with everyone. I branched out from my typical chicken tacos and got the salmon. It wasn’t a bad call…

Before the holiday, my mom had some time off of work and joined Sloan and I for a movie. We went to Sing at the Cinemark with the recliners in Sugarhouse. It wasn’t our favorite flick – we all agreed Moana was better – but Sloan downed half of a large popcorn all by herself. She obviously gets that from her father. I didn’t have a single bite. Not to mention the blue Slurpee my mom bought her disappeared faster than expected.

For NYE we decided to join Mark and Jeanene up at the Hendo Cabin and stay the night. Papa picked us up in the Ranger and we unloaded all our gear for our short stay.

We unloaded our stuff, Sloan explored the cabin – particularly the play room – and we all bundled up to go on a snowmobile ride. Sloan loved it. I thought she would hate the fact that her face was freezing, but she didn’t mind one bit and even got upset when we made her go back inside.

Afterwards we had a delicious dinner (have I mentioned my MIL is an amazing cook?) bathed Sloan, and put her to bed. We stayed up late watching Liar Liar – still as funny as it was 10+ years ago – and when Zach and I got in bed for the night we went over our resolutions. A tradition we’ve had since we’ve been married. I did a mental, physical, spiritual, and financial goal this year. Zach did something similar, and we agreed to work on them all together. I have a feeling 2017 is going to be even better than this past year.

We had a big breakfast the next morning, loaded up our stuff, and drove home. It was gorgeous on the drive home. As far as you could see – everything was covered in bright white snow.

It was a perfect, laid back holiday. Here’s to hoping our New Year’s resolutions make it past February…

Category Personal