05Apr 2016

Conference Weekend

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

I have to start off by saying that my sweet Sloan is cutting SIX TEETH. She’s gone 4 months with only having two teeth – and now we’re on our way to having six. One of her top teeth just cut through, along with a molar, and behind it a cuspid. She’s a total champ. I didn’t even know about the top ones until I brushed her teeth one night and felt some friction – there it was. She has been showing no signs whatsoever and all I can do and think is how lucky we are that she is so even tempered. There is a reason I had this child first, I know it…

Her hair is getting long enough that I can actually style it. Kind of. I’ve never been so proud of two little piggie tails in my entire life!

I had a killer streak this week when it came to meals. I tried two new entrees I have never made before – and both were surprisingly good. Bacon wrapped turkey tenderloins……and California shrimp stacks (thanks to my friend Lindsey). Both will be made again in this household – very, very soon.
Saturday Sloan slept in until 8:30 – so we lounged all morning in our comfy cozies.

Not wanting to break tradition, I made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Maybe my best batch yet. I’m telling you…I have been on a roll.

We listened to the first sessions of Conference, which was by far my favorite of all the four sessions I watched. Renlund (spelling?) spoke straight to my heart and I hope to keep that feeling that I had that morning with me for as long as I can. It was one of the more spiritual experiences I have ever had during conference in recent memory. Afterwards we went on a family run with Sloan in the jogging stroller. She was in heaven, pointing to every dog she spotted along the trail.

I forgot to mention that this week I got my hair done by my friend Jenn – who was brave enough to attempt my request to be an ashy blonde. I am happy with how it evolved [it took a few attempts because my hair is so dark] and I still don’t recognize myself in the mirror sometimes.

Saturday evening Zach went to Priesthood Session and I went out with the women in my family for dinner at the Dodo and a movie at the Sugarhouse movie theater. We so My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (the original is my mom’s FAVORITE movie) and let’s just say…I’m glad I went with that group of people instead of Zach. Zach would have lost his mind.

Sunday morning I whipped up a batch of German pancakes per Zach’s request for breakfast and we didn’t move more than a 15 foot radius for…hours. We watched the first and second sessions hanging out in our pajamas, eating/snacking non stop, and just being together as a family.
We spent the time between conference sessions reading book after book and building towers with Sloan.

My lucky streak with food ending Sunday night when I made the most mediocre meal of my homemaking career. But, it was good while it lasted. They all can’t be winners, I guess.

I have loved the last few weekends. It’s been wonderful to be with family and then to round it off with a great Conference weekend. I feel renewed, or recharged, and can’t wait to see what the next few weeks hold for us.

20Mar 2016

St. Patrick’s Day 2016

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

I must preface our week by saying that upon arriving home from Targhee, unpacking, laundry, and checking my emails…the week didn’t start off great. My inbox was flooded with requests from several clients – including two time sensitive projects due Thursday morning. I had to reschedule some commitments and appointments so I could be available to finish the two of the biggest projects. It was a stressful welcome home, but we managed. Wednesday night I had only completed 50-something pages of the 80-something page project and it was already late. I didn’t think I would have enough time to do anything festive for Sloan for St. Patrick’s Day – but Zach convinced me to do it anyway. I didn’t decorate the house or buy any St. Patty’s graphic tee’s for Sloan. But his mom and my mom both used to cut out green feet and leave a trail that lead to surprises that the “leprachauns” had left the night before. It’s stupid, but we both loved it as kids. So I cut out those dang feet, threw some green colored items in a bucket, and laid out the feet in a trail. I finished my project very very late that night, but I finished it.

The next morning Sloan slept in a bit, which was heaven sent, and we lead her to the trail of green footprints.

Her little “ooohhh” when she saw the basket of goodies (mostly food, obviously) was worth it. I know a lot of people don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and think the hype is lame – but it used to be so much fun for me when I was young – and Zach was more adamant than I was about the whole thing. His mom takes holidays even further than MY mom did [which is hard to believe].

We had some green colored scrambled eggs for breakfast, got dressed in a couple of green items, and ran our errands. We had avocado mac (because, it’s green) for lunch before her nap.

I worked some more during nap time and then when she woke up we went on a run on the Legacy Trail.

We got back, I showered up, and we went to get dinner for another separate – but related tradition: March Madness prep. We always have pizza and do bracket strategy. We had done our brackets the night before, so I picked up pizza for dinner. I told Zach I was going to have dinner hot and ready on the table when he got home. I didn’t lie…

We watched the games, put Sloan to bed, and watched a few more afterwards. It was a fun day. I’m so lucky to have these two people as my best friends forever.

17Mar 2016

Targhee 2016

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

Long story short: Sloan threw my phone in the toilet over a week ago. I hadn’t backed up my phone for over a week, so I lost a bunch of information and photos I had taken. Lesson learned: back your phone up and never leave the toilet seat up for any reason. Als0 – I told the tech at Apple what actually happened (instead of fabricating some ridiculous lie) and he gave me a FREE brand new phone. It pays to be honest, kids. I can’t stay mad at her, though. She’s too sweet to me – she had no idea what she did was devastating and terrible.

Sloan is happiest when she’s outside. It’s a fact. Since the weather has been gorgeous the past few weeks, we’ve been spending a lot of time outside. We’ve been going on a lot of runs on the Legacy Trail also. It’s a win-win for both of us. She gets a solid 30+ minutes outside, with the wind in her hair, and I get a workout in.

I’ve been on an organization kick lately. My bathroom cabinets being my main objective. I’ve cleaned out nearly 18 drawers in various rooms in the house. It’s the weirdest form of stress relief for me. Also, I realized I don’t need to buy shampoo, body wash, or travel sized ANYTHING for…a while.

Saturday I had a bunch of returns to do – and I brought along Zach and Sloan with me down to Fashion Place. We dined at – where else? Hot Dog on a Stick, of course. Sloan went for her broccoli/apple pouch instead. Later that night we had a Date Night at my brother’s house. My family and I are going on a vacation in less than two months and we’ve been doing a lot of planning. My mom organized this big themed dinner and even made us name tags. I guess I am more like her than I thought…?It’s been a good mail week at our house. Sloan’s Easter dress finally made an appearance and my friend at Alder hooked us ALL up. Hats, tanks, even a shirt for Sloan – most of this stuff I designed, which is always fun to see in person. Zach’s stoked about his free hats and I can’t wait until cooler weather again to wear my half-zip jacket.

Speaking of organization, our family room has turned into something I have tried to avoid for the last few months: Toy Central. In an attempt to keep it looking less cluttered – I bought a new toy box, which I am IN LOVE WITH. Who knew they made such gorgeous pieces of furniture for TOYS?Monday we went out to eat with Mark and Jeanene for my [late] birthday. We dined at Market Street and they joined us afterwards at our house. Sloan loves her Mimi and Papa. She also loves halibut, which we discovered at dinner.

Wednesday we drove up to Fruit Heights to see our newest niece: Quinn. Chad and Rachael had her Monday and she is a little TINY piece of heaven. That makes baby number 27 for the Henderson grandchildren. Also, Sloan had her first encounter with a bird. I think they make her as nervous as they do me.

Zach surprised me one afternoon with flowers [I love tulips of any kind] and Cutler’s sugar cookies. I think Sloan enjoyed the flowers even more than I did!

Thursday evening we left to drive up to Targhee for our annual Henderson ski trip. We left at the perfect time. No rush hour and a little after nap time for Sloan. It made the 5 hour drive fly by.

We arrived late and as soon as we hauled the stuff up to our room and put Sloan down for bed – we did the exact same nightly ritual as last year: binge watched the House of Cards on Netflix.

The next morning Sloan was up bright and early, ready to hit the slopes. The bunny hill at Targhee is A LOT steeper than the one she is used to at home. Surprisingly, it didn’t phase her. She loved every second – clapping, high-fiving, and singing to herself as she cruised down the hill.

We even ran into some of her cousins on their way up on the lift. Sloan’s looking at their skis, like “Why do they have TWO snowboards on?”

She was not thrilled when it was time to take her in for a nap. I am telling you, though: snowboarding wears her right out. She logged some serious hours snoozing in her cozy cot. I stayed inside while Zach snowboarded with his family. I finished a book I’ve been working on since our anniversary trip last year and got to eat Mike and Ikes. Another win-win.

In the afternoon we let Sloan hang with her Mimi and Zach and I went out on a few runs together. Every time that I snowboard for the first time of the season, I forget how much I love it. It was so fun skiing all together with Zach’s family and spending some time with Zach.

The next day was the same. This time Mimi and Papa joined us for Sloan’s morning shred sesh. She did even better on this day…but maybe it was because she had a bigger audience?

After Sloan woke up from her nap – Zach and I went out again while Sloan stayed with Mimi. We are so lucky to have Jeanene. She is so sweet with Sloan – and Sloan LOVES spending time with her.

After we got back we showered up and went out to dinner at the lodge. It was an adults only dinner [except baby Max and Sloan] and the food was great.

The next morning we woke up to snow – lots of it! This awesome company, Broko Bindings, sent all three of us a pair of binding plates that rotate. It’s a super cool concept. Sloan and Zach got to do another test run up at Targhee. Even in a snow storm, she’s as happy as ever to be on her snowboard.

Afterwards we went inside so we could get some lunch and Sloan could take a nap.

Lori and I were assigned dinner that night – so we cooked up some grub while Max zonked out in one of Mimi and Papa’s spare bedrooms.

The next day, when we packed up to leave, we woke up to some serious snow. We were grateful the storm didn’t come until the day we left, it would have been a white-out on the mountain! Driving home was gorgeous – the trees covered in powder is something I will never tire of. I love Targhee and the Tetons, it is all so beautiful.

As soon as we drove out of the snow storm, Sloan zonked out. She looks too much like me when she sleeps, poor thing [double chin, mouth ajar]…

We made it home safe and sound – and in record time. With only one bathroom break/lunch break/diaper change, we’d say that’s our best journey home from Targhee to date.

Thank you Hendersons for another fun family ski trip. We love spending time together on the slopes!

29Feb 2016

Same Old Same Old

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

We had a pretty uneventful week. Mostly chores, cleaning the house, and boring work stuff nobody wants to hear about.

Sloan is starting to look more grown up every day. Now that her hair is [finally] getting longer, she is starting to look like a toddler rather than a baby.

Zach was recently called to be in the Young Men’s presidency – which is the perfect calling for him – and so he is gone Wednesday and Thursday nights. While he’s been gone for dinner, I have tried to make some things that he doesn’t particularly care for. One, being crepes. He likes them in Paris, but not when his wife makes them, apparently. I haven’t made them in years, so I thought it would be fun for Sloan and I to have them this week for dinner. I made one batch, which made 18 crepes, and figured we would have enough for dinner AND breakfast. Turns out Sloan dislikes crepes as much as her dad does. She wouldn’t even keep them in her mouth, just kept spitting them out. Like father – like daughter, I guess?

Friday Zach took a long lunch and the three of us went up to Park City. We are going to Targhee in a few weeks for a family ski trip with the Hendos, so Zach thought it would be a good idea to get Sloan up on the slopes again for a refresher course. Turns out she did better than 95 percent of the other kids (and adults) on the bunny hill. Ski instructors kept stopping me and asking me how old she was, some recognizing her video that went viral. We only took a short break for some snacks (cheese and wheat bread – her fave) and then went back at it. Zach tells me EVERY SINGLE DAY that he is going to teach Sloan to ride the half pipe. Every day I tell him the same thing, like a drone: “I believe you. I just don’t want you to get disappointed if she doesn’t love the sport as much as you do.” I haven’t seen Zach this proud in my entire life. The way he smiles when he is with her, teaching her how to snowboard, is different than any smile that I’ve ever known. He’s such a sweet and fun dad. I’m lucky we’re partners in this whole parenting thing…

Since the weather has been so wonderful the past few days, Sloan and I took advantage of it. We went for a four mile run this week and she was all smiles the WHOLE time. This girl is her happiest when she is outside.

Saturday Zach watched Sloan so I could attend one of my sweet friend’s weddings. AJ is the last to be married out of our Interior Design Program and we could NOT be happier for her. She found someone that perfectly compliments her and you can tell by just glancing at her that she is incredibly happy. I am so glad she let all of us be a part of her big day!

Saturday Zach and I went out on our date for dinner and a movie. We went to Current and got tickets to Eddie the Eagle at the Sugarhouse theater. It was such a feel-good movie, I highly recommend it! (Plus, I love Hugh…he wins the gold medal if you ask me.)

Sunday we woke up, made blueberry muffins, and got ready for church. Praise you, 11 o’clock church. You are my favorite.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it to all three blocks – there was an applesauce incident that I won’t bore you about. Let’s just say it nearly required a shower on my part. We went on a family drive, had dinner, and then put Sloan down for bed so we could watch the Oscars (with leftover popcorn).

Dear Leo: I’ve been devoted since your Titanic debut…and I really haven’t stopped loving you since. Even though the Revenant nearly gave me my first anxiety attack, I’m still a diehard fan.

22Feb 2016

Catching Up

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

Before Mexico [and trying to currently] I was on kind of a health kick. Eating super clean, doing BBG every day for 6 weeks, and trying to make all around healthier choices. I get in a groove and I become kind of obsessed – I thrive in a routine.

I’m addicted to homemade protein bars. My friend Lindsey got me hooked on her recipe for protein balls…and then I found a very similar one that translated to protein bars. I triple the batch and eat them for breakfast almost every day.

I also tried a new recipe for homemade brownies that I am hooked on. You replace vegetable oil with strawberry puree. It’s not perfect, but as good as you can get when trying to eat healthier.

Before we left to Mexico – our friends at GoPro hooked Sloan up with some major swag. We can’t wait to try it out on the mountain with her in tow.

For my birthday, my family asked where I wanted to eat. So I chose my favorite, J&G Grill up in Deer Valley. We spent the evening up there all together. It was a gorgeous day and the food was amazing. Literally, the red snapper blew my mind.

Sloan loves spending time with her grandparents and aunt and uncle.

Sloan got sick a few days after we returned from Mexico…probably from someone on our return flight home. She’s not been herself and it’s breaking Zach and I’s hearts to watch her so sluggish and sad.

I thought a mini cupcake [her first ever cupcake, actually] would lift her spirits. Turns out she doesn’t like frosting. She is definitely Zach’s child. She liked the idea of the cupcake more than the actual taste of it.

The only upside to her being so down is that she is a little lover. She will cuddle, hold my hand, and rest her head on my shoulder forever. Never moving, just making sure I stay close to her at all times.

Zach and I have had some good date nights the last month or so. I’m telling you: getting a sweet babysitter [bless you Hayley] for date night is the best thing Zach has ever done for me. I need my Zach time. Even if it is scarfing down fish tacos at Lonestar.

This week I finally nailed down the almond pastry I’ve been attempting [6th time is the charm, I guess?] when my neighbor emailed me her family’s version of it. It worked – although it’s not as pretty – and my entire family is excited we can now make this a Christmas tradition. Yes…it’s February, but pastries never get old. And yes…I said I am TRYING to continue to eat clean. These babies had half a pound of butter in just one batch…

We’re looking forward to the next few months: packed with family events, a couple of vacations, and some holidays! Besides, spring is my favorite season of all.

05Feb 2016

What does VIRAL mean?

By K + Z 1 Family, Personal, Sloan Permalink 0

I’ll be honest: the last week or so has been absolutely crazy. I usually blog Monday morning about our week and sum up what we did and things I want to remember. I want to remember this week/weekend because we have made some crazy memories and learned some valuable life lessons in the process.

We had a wonderful week. It was slow and fun at first, mostly laundry and running errands. On Thursday Zach decided he wanted to take a long lunch and head up to Park City with Sloan to test her skills up on the slopes. FYI – Park City lets kids 5 and under ski for free – so it was a no brainer. I fed Sloan her lunch and then Zach picked us up. We drove to PC, found a killer parking spot, and bundled Sloan up in her snow gear. While we were walking up to the actual resort – people were laughing and pointing at us, some even said, “Good luck with that” and “Is she really going to snowboard?” We just laughed and had her wave at people. It was pretty entertaining. Once we got her on the hill Zach let her go down the mountain with him holding on to the Riglet the whole time. She didn’t fall once and kept her balance each time. We filmed a few bits of her going up and down and then Zach let her go down without the rig while he ran beside her. She did a lot better than we both expected. She was having a blast so we kept doing a few runs with her until it was time for her snack – which she ate on the snow in her snow clothes.

We drove home and I put her down for a nap. While she slept I downloaded the videos off the camera and put the video on Facebook. It was terrible quality, so I decided to upload it on YouTube (because the quality is so much better) and share it on Facebook instead. I didn’t have a YouTube account, so I had to set one up. Then I did laundry and other chores while Sloan continued napping. People were really sweet about the video and a lot of people were viewing it on Facebook and making nice comments.

The next day KUTV picked up the story and asked Zach for some information and photos. He obliged and they posted it on their online page. Within minutes the views went from a few hundred to THOUSANDS. We thought it was hilarious and didn’t think a thing of it. Then, Fox13 called. Then Channel 4. Fox 13 came Friday to our home to interview Sloan (even though I told them she could only say “mama” and “dada”) and it was pretty hilarious. Let’s just say it didn’t go very smoothly. Sloan was more interested in jumping off the chair we were seated on or grabbing the interviewer’s microphone. Regardless, they ran a cute story about Sloan. Other stations started picking it up and running the story and video in their evening news. That night, after it aired at 5 on Fox, Zach started getting phone calls. A ton of phone calls. FOX National News, CBS, and even CNN. We couldn’t believe it. Saturday morning CNN did a phone interview with Zach and it exploded after that. It went from 3 million views on KUTV’s site to over 13 million views in a matter of hours. We had a date night planned with Zach’s family, so our sweet Hayley came over to tend Sloan while we went out to dinner with some of Zach’s siblings.

When we woke up the next morning, CNN had run it on all of their affiliates and everything was going crazy. The response was incredible. Here are some links that we’ve kept track of [my favorite being ABC National News, KSL, and Zach’s favorite…the New York Post video] and this is the perfect place to store some of them.

Snowboarding Magazine

The Weather Channel

It’s now been played all over the country and even other countries like Jamaica, Argentina, China, the UK. Some guy from Norway even interviewed Zach about Sloan and her “next steps” when it comes to her snowboarding skills. Hundreds of people have emailed me the past few days. Some saying sweet things about how we are getting our daughter outside and teaching her to have fun – some asking about her equipment. Park City has sent us some Smith gear and GoPro [this is where Zach lost his mind] even contacted us about sending us some new stuff for Sloan – including a brand new Hero Session 4! Burton, Salty Peaks, and several other companies also have contacted us.

Monday was by far the most bizarre, when Good Morning America contacted Zach AT WORK. How they got his work number is both creepy and impressive, but they got a hold of him. They told him that Sloan’s video was the first thing they discussed in their production meeting and they wanted to run the story. They planned to run the video and do a Skype interview from our living room. It all was very surreal. Monday morning ABC National News also called for a phone interview, which was my favorite interview we’ve done thus far – and one of my favorite stories. The sweet reporter, Stevie, who interviewed me about Sloan was one of the best interactions we’ve had above all.

Tuesday morning we woke up at 4 am to get ready for Good Morning America. We set up my laptop on the coffee table of the front room and woke Sloan up at 4:45 to get her dressed. Waking up a 14-month-old at 4:45 is risky business. She wasn’t her normal sweet self, and we were hoping all would go well. I think considering the circumstances, she did pretty good. We had to sit and wait for the interview from 5:00 am until 5:45, when the actual live interview took place. Keeping Sloan sitting still that long was no picnic [just ask everyone in our ward during sacrament meeting – they know Sloan well] but with a little help from some yogurt melts, stacks of toys and books, and in the end – my phone – it all worked out.

It was most definitely a stressful experience, but something we both know we would do again if we had to do it over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we’re glad we did it, and that it is over. The link is here if you want to watch it for yourself.

We were also live on Channel 2 later in the week, where Sloan tripped and fell...but thankfully they edited it out on their website and social media. It was a fun experience and people were so excited to see the little girl that got almost 70 million views in 4 days. They kept saying how far the story had reached and how grateful we let them run it first. Here is the link to our live spot if you want to check it out.

With all the positive and sweet things people have said and done to reach out to us – there have been the negative things as well. Surprisingly, nothing negative has been done on any news or media stations directly. How sad is this: the only negative backlash we have received is from Facebook. Mostly comments on the KUTV article about her not wearing a helmet and us being “irresponsible parents”. It didn’t bother me [because I have a helmet in my hand during almost the entire video – even the smallest one I could purchase was too big for her and she couldn’t see beneath it] until I read a comment criticizing Sloan’s appearance. Some guy called Sloan a “fatty” in a comment and I about died. Truthfully, I was so hurt and upset that I decided I would never read a single comment after that one. I’ve been tagged in hundreds of comments since and I haven’t even given them a second glance. Make fun of me – that’s fine, I can brush it off. Make fun of my baby – I’ll go mama bear on yo ass. So since then, it’s been very enjoyable. Not looking at the negativity on Facebook has made me realize that anyone can turn anything into something bad. The video was meant for family and friends to see how Sloan has progressed, something fun and hopefully enjoyable to watch for others. But it has exploded and we can’t help but laugh about the whole situation. Who knew that such a silly video would be watched by so many millions of people. As a parent, you obviously think your child is adorable – but to see others enjoy her and get to see her personality a little bit, that makes you very proud. You can tell by the video how much she truly enjoys it, and how proud Zach is of her.

One of the most enjoyable things about this whole process is how people have reached out to me. All kind messages – flooding my Yahoo and Gmail and Facebook Messenger. Some have said how sweet it is to watch Zach be such a sweet, loving, and proud father. Some that they love that we are teaching our child to enjoy being outside and teach her a sport that will bring her joy in life. Others have said how they admire the patience and love it takes to teach a child to snowboard – let alone get her snowboarding clothes on. Most of all, I am glad to know that people respect the fact that we are enjoying being a family outside, not plopping our baby in front of a TV. I know there have been comments about her not wearing a helmet, that we are careless for teaching her such a dangerous sport…but all I have to say to that is they just don’t know Zach and I very well.

So what have I learned from this experience? How lucky I am. I am a mother of a sweet, fun-loving baby girl. Who loves to be outside – whether it be playing, snowboarding, or going on walks – with her parents. For me, it’s not really about how great of balance she has or that she can actually ride on a snowboard. It’s the joy you see in her smile when she’s doing it. That’s what makes me the proudest parent of all, seeing my little girl smile like that.

Category Sloan