0 I am such a giant nerd: I'm counting down the days till this book is released!!!

'Hunger Games 2': A First Look

By Diane Roback -- Publishers Weekly, 1/22/2009 3:30:00 PM

When readers of the bestselling fantasy novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins reach the last page, many of them will be eager to know, “But what happens next??” Unfortunately, we can’t tell you yet, but we can show you, for the very first time anywhere, the cover for the sequel, Catching Fire. Scholastic is publishing the book on September 8 with a 250,000-copy first printing (Scholastic Audio Books will release a simultaneous audio edition). UPDATE: release moved up to August 5th, since the book is already COMPLETELY WRITTEN !!!

The Hunger Games came out last September, after much pre-pub buzz; it has 225,000 copies in print, with 26 foreign editions to date. Collins is currently at work writing the third and final volume in the trilogy, tentatively scheduled for 2010. <--UGH!!!

David Levithan, executive editorial director at Scholastic, says that the manuscript for Catching Fire is available in-house on a “need to read” basis only. “It’s the most secrecy I’ve had about any project I’ve ever worked on.” Why such secrecy? Levithan says it’s not a ploy for attention—they really don’t want the book’s plot to become public. “We want as many readers as possible to find out what happens in the book itself,” he explains. “We don’t want a Midnight Sun to happen [an early draft of Stephenie Meyer’s companion novel to Twilight was posted on the Internet last summer, causing the book to be postponed indefinitely]. <--I could really hurt that person!!!] It’s pretty remarkable what [Collins] has done and where she’s going. There are lots of twists and turns, and part of the fun is the surprise of it.”

Fans in the book industry can have their first chance to find out those surprises at the end of May—Scholastic will be giving out ARCs of Catching Fire at BEA in New York City.

This is the official plot summary of the book:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

If you have not read HUNGER GAMES, you M-U-S-T!!! I couldn't put it down. I'm more than willing to lend out my copy, as soon as I get it back, again. Stenphenie Meyers was right, this really is an all consuming book. Hum, on second thought you might want to wait till the last one comes out in 2010. This wait is TERRIBLE!!! (my post about Hunger Games last fall: HERE)

1 Beautiful Day on the Slopes

My brother-in-law Troy just sent me this great picture we took a few weeks ago up at Beaver Mountain. It was an amazing morning. The fog was thick in the valley and burnt off fast -fabulous view from on top. The runs were soft and the sky was blue. Exhilarating!!!

BIL-Paul & SIL-Maho, FIL-Eldon, BIL-Troy & GF-Heidi, ME-Sarah
(yeah, I'm the only board in a group of silly skiers)

4 Takes a wash and keeps on playing

For Christmas Nate gave me a pink 'Sansa Clip' 2GB MP3 player. It got great reviews, has a full display, and a built in FM radio. It is super tiny and perfect for working out and snowboarding.

Last TUESDAY I was relaxing in the evening after the HUGEST powder day in the history of Beaver Mountain...TWO FEET!!! Then it dawned on me, although I'd checked all my coat's outer pockets, I had left my CLIP in my coat's inner pocket. AND MY COAT WAS NOW IN THE DRYER!!! Sure enough, after an extra-long cycle in the washing machine and at least 15 minutes in the dryer it would not turn on. I was DEVASTATED. Stupid me!

AMAZINGLY the next morning it turned on and played fine. The battery was nearly dead, but
it charged up fine. I can not believe that it is JUST FINE!!!

1 Last week's Scrap Night

Here's a layout that I put together a few weeks ago at our monthly scrap-night. I love only taking my laptop! Digital is so much less mess than traditional scrapbooking. I did spend most of my evening organizing and exploring PhotoShop. I'm not too fast yet, but I spend a good share of my time just playing with all the features.

0 Thankful Thursday (-ish) #7

1) Siblings: This past week Nate was able to go to St George with some of his brothers and buddies for their annual golf vacation. I am so glad that he loves to hang with his brothers. All SIX of the brothers (no sisters) are fabulous and get along great! I hear of families that aren't close and go months without talking, but I can't really picture it. I think Nate talks to at least 2 of his brothers EVERY day. Most days he sees at least one of them. In the summer they golf, boat, and play softball together. Since work has been slow this cold winter, Layne & Nate have played racketball a few times a week.

When Nate left last week, I loaded up our girls and headed to my parent's home in Rexburg. All FOUR of us sisters (no brothers) have been here. I don't see my sisters as often as Nate see's his brothers, due to proximity, but I talk to them several times a day between phone & IM. This week its been great to be together with them and let our kids -"the hord"- play.

Back when I first found out I was pregnant with baby #2, I was torn. On one hand I was estatic to welcome a new baby to our family, but on the other hand I felt very guilty for displacing my baby Allie, who had just had her first birthday. When I expressed my concern to my Mother, she pointed out that we were NOT kicking Allie out of her spot in the family, but rather giving her the most priceless gift: a sibling. How true!

2) Disposable Diapers: I can't imagine having to wash out cloth diapers! Props to our parents and grandparents. I just don't think I could do it. I've almost lost my lunch over several Kylie blow-outs this week. I don't think she's 'sick', but her system is having some issues. yuck!

3) Kylie's giggles: She really is 'Smiley Kylie'.

2 Kylie tid bits, too

Kylie is growing FAST! She is wearing 2T clothes already (she doesn't turn 2 till May), a full 9 months earlier than her sister. Since birth we've noticed how 'long' she seems: long fingers, long toes, long body. In fact, she is now wearing the Strawberry Shortcake tennis shoes -size 7- Allie got at age 3! She can reach her hand around the door knobs, but I don't think she has actually opened a tightly shut door yet. Its only a matter of time, sigh. Now if we can only get her hair to grow!

Kylie loves animals. She isn't intimidated at all, even by large dogs. Our cat, Marble, actually is much more tolerant of Kylie than Allie. Kylie is soft and loving with her where as Allie often tried to chase her.

4 Allie tid bits

Allie is all about dancing at the moment. She loves to dress up and shake her booty to the Strawberry Shortcake CD. She dances everywhere we go. She really enjoys the music during sacrament meeting and can't understand why she can't twirl down the isle during the hymns. Her Sunbeam teacher has had to institute having a 'dance party' during the last few minutes of class to keep Allie from putting on impromptu recitals during the lesson. What a silly goose.

Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard Allie getting out of bed and shuffling the hall. When I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom she just exploded into tears. It took a while to get her sobs to subside. She nodded 'yes' when I asked if she had a bad dream. Later when we were snuggled up warm in my bed I asked her what the dream was; what she had seen. "Kylie is gone. She ran away." Ow, how tender. Allie was terrified her sister was gone. We snuggled and sang until she drifted back to sleep. When I took her back to bed we peeked into the crib to show "A" that little sis was sound asleep in her bed. What a tender thing.

2 Thankful Thursday #6

1) My own little corner of the house: It may not be 'finished' but I have so enjoyed having a a little bit of space to call my own.

2) Leftovers: I really enjoy cooking and baking, but sometimes it is very nice to pull a container out of the fridge and call it good. Today I've been on the computer for my job all day and dinner was the last thing on my mind.

3) Allie's growing vocabulary: I love having conversations with my oldest girl. I stand in awe of her everyday. It is so fund to see what she comes up with next.

4 Popcorn seeds do not belong in the Ear

The past month I have enjoyed swapping children with my sister-in-law Maho. On Tuesday's she watches mine so I can snowboard and on Fridays I watch hers so she can snow ski. It has worked great thanks to other carpool mom's that are cool with dropping our kids off at our opposite houses on the appropriate days. Our kids get along with each other great. Its almost easier to watch all 5 of them than just my 2. Last Friday was the exception to that rule.

The day had been going great. The kids played happily in the basement most of the morning. Lunch was calm and I was cleaning up when I heard someone crying. I didn't think much of it until I realized it was Kai, the oldest. He came out of the room sniffling and then started howling again when I asked what was wrong. With the help of the others I learned that my Allie had shoved a popcorn seed (leftover from our morning snack) down Kai's ear. CRAP!!! Allie denied it, but using a flashlight I was able to see it, WAY down in his ear canal. I hope I looked calmer than I felt. It must worked since Kai settled down. I don't think it was hurting him; he was just scared. Maho was due back in less than a half hour. I was sick about returning her kid in need of a trip to the doctor...on her Birthday no less. UGH!

The last thing I wanted to do was push the seed further in or do damage to the inner ear, but I figured I should make a few attempts to get the seed out. First, I tried spraying water in his ear to flush the seed out. I used a large needle-less syringe, but the seed didn't move. Tweezers were out since it was so snug in the ear tube, but I could see a little space under the seed since the tube wasn't as round as the seed. Kylie was crawling all over me as I attempted a delicate manuver. Carefully I pressed up on the seed from below with a toothpick. PLOP! The seed fell out. WOOAH! What relief for both Kai and I. He was all smiles as we put this prized seed in a zip-lock baggie to take home. Right on cue his mom knocked on the door. I felt silly for 'allowing' it to happen in the first place, but at least we were able to get it out with no harm done.

As for Allie, she lied about her involvement for over 15 minutes despite the other kids tattling on her before she finally fessed up. I think that is what disturbs me the most about the whole incident. And this is far form the first lie we've heard from her. In fact telling the truth has been a daily lesson at our house the past few weeks. If you have any ideas on how to teach your kids not to lie, I'd love to hear. Obviously what we are doing isn't working.

0 Kylie Bug

Kylie is quite a silly bug.

She is constantly making us laugh!
We think she will be the class clown in school.
She has a thing for shoes.

0 When the house is too quiet...

...it usually means that the girls are up to something. This time they had gotten their own snacks.

3 Help?!!?

Do you have MY copy of 'Breaking Dawn'? I was only going to read books 1-3, but I can't stop thinking about Bella & Edward. UGH! I don't remember lending it out, but I can't find my book 4 anywhere. Guess I'll read Midnight Sun in while I keep looking.

1 Thankful Thursday #4 ( a week late) & #5 (today)

NOTE: I did try to post a few times in the past 2 weeks, but blogger has been having some issues.

1) Carpooling: Allie's preschool is just around the corner, but it sure is nice to just send her out the front door over half the time. I'm especially greatful that the other mom's haven't minded dropping Big-A off at Aunt Maho's on the day's I've been snowboarding.

2) Aunt Maho & my kid trading scheme: It has been super nice this year to not feel guilty about leaving the kids to snowboard. They love playing with their cousins and since we alternate days, its all even!

3) Smart Wool Socks: The only real draw back to snowboarding is the cold. I hate being cold. BUT a few years ago I found the BEST socks and they make all the diference. I do think its time to replace mine. On day last week I was on the mountian in sub-zero weather and they just aren't are warm as they once were. Five years is plenty to justify the cost.


1) Our sharing time assignment is over for the YEAR!!! It wasn't that bad, but it's still nice to have it out of the way.

2) Good LONG BookS (aka the Twilight series): I re-read the first 3 books over the past 2 days. AHHH! Nothing quite like a romance fix when real life just isn't that fun. I'm still debating if I want to take on #4 since it wasn't my favorite. Maybe this weekend?

3) E-mail: Without the instant file sharing and conversations I wouldn't be able to do my job from home. I don't always like the hours I have to work, but I love that I can do it from home for the most part.

1 Thankful Thursday #3

1)Online Banking & Quicken - Seriously this saves me hours every month. For several years I didn't really taken advantage of these. In fact for most of our marriage I've been 'behind' in Quicken by several (6-7) months. Hey, two full-time salary incomes with no kids spells financiall wiggle room. However, I've been up-to-date and reconciled in all our personal accounts at least once a week for nearly 9 months. It might give me an ulcer every time, but I'm so glad I'm not doing it by hand. My next goal is to carry this over to Nate's business account.

2) Clean air & Endorphins- About this time of year the valley smog soup really weighs heavy on my mood. If I had a crystal ball last fall I would not have purchased a season snowboard pass, but since its long been paid for (no refunds) I guess I better get my money's worth. I love to get away to Beaver Mountain for a few hours. It is truly amazing how immediate the effects of a crystal clear sky and clean fresh air are. The rush {physical & emotional} I get from racing down the hill is exhilarating. Bring on the snow!

3) Crockpot - I've been hungry ALL day today due to the smells wafting from the slow cooker on my counter. I don't think there is an easier meal than throwing a whole chicken on top of a chopped oinion, carrots, & potatos. It truely is plug-and-go. I tried to lift the bird out after 10 hours on 'lo' and the thing just fell apart. Talk about melt in your mouth! I might have to go back to Albertson's...their whole chickens are on sale for $0.69/pound.

3 Adventures in Bread Making

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In college my bread maker was my Mormon-coffee maker. Most nights I'd fill it and set the timer so that I could have a hot slice on my way to class. I continued the habit as a newlywed, but somewhere along the way my machine died. Nate bought me a new one, but I never quite got it figured out. After about 8 years in the closet, I pulled it out and gave it a whirl. My first few attempts were LESS than perfect. In fact they we completely inedible bricks. I tried more water, new yeast, extra wheat gluten...finally I figured out the right combination for white bread on the quick cycle. YUM! Warm bread from scratch with home-made strawberry jam in under an hour!!! Devine! I think my husband would vote for that for dinner every night of the year.

Tonight I'm attempting a box mix on the full 3 hour cycle. We will see.

2 Big Buisnes is getting BIG!

Here is Allie setting up a movie for her stuffies. She is playing 'pretend' so much more these days. While it is wonderful to see her imagination bloom, playtime seems to be turning into big-mess time.

Last week our wonderful neighbor babysitter, Kenzie, invited Allie to her school's child development lab. It was her first class at 7:30am, but Allie was up early and ready to go at 6:45am. She was so proud to tell everyone who would listen about the lockers, games, and art projects. I think Allie has always been about 15 in her mind.

Side note: we are growing out Allie's bangs. There are at the really awful length right now, so I am being creative pulling them back. UGH! I want to cut them so bad!

1 Sledding

Last week we went sledding with the neighbors. Thanks Teresa for inviting us. The girls had a blast. Allie was fearless! We had to hold Kylie in the sled while we kicked and screamed the first few times, but before long she was climbing on the sled of her own accord.

2 Thankful Thursday #2

1) The Book of Morman - I have started this great book once again. I'm setting a goal to read it through again by May. I say read, but this time around I'm also including listening to it on my mp3 player. Last night I downloaded a zip file {click HERE to go to the site} with the entire book broken down with a track per chapter. I played 5 chapters while I was on the treadmill this morning, but I'm not sure if I'll try it again. I struggled to keep my heartrate up and focus at the same time. Oh, well. I'm still excited to have another option.

2) Hot Showers & Baths - Really! Call me spoiled, but I don't think I could live without hot running water. I love to just soak in the heat and feel my body relax. Awh! Just thinking about it makes me relax.

3) A Wonderful Neighborhood - I'm so glad that my girls have so many little friends so close to us. It is wonderful to feel safe sending Allie out to play. I love that my kids are growing up in much the same environment that I did.

0 The Toothache, part 3...dare I say THE END???

Went to the dentist today. Spent an HOUR in the chair waiting my turn AFTER I had been numbed up. In fact I had to be RE-numbed (darn that other patient) since it had been so long, but other than that all went very smoothly. I'm still numb, go figure, but no massive swelling and most importantly no pain. I'm knocking on wood that this stupid tooth behaves itself from now on. I'm ready to eat solid food again.

2 Adventures in Digital Scraping & a word to the not-so-wise

As you've heard I've taken the plunge into digital scrapbooking. In fact, in a post below you can see my very first attempt at a Layout (LO). I was very excited on Friday to attend my monthly scrap night carrying one small laptop bag and show all my friends the many benefits of going digital. It was nice, but weird, not to make two trips into the building! However, the the smooth night took a turn for the worst when my brand new (under 3 weeks) external hard drive gave up the ghost when it got jarred. UGH! Thankfully Sam's Club exchanged it and nearly all my files are safe elsewhere, but I learned a very valuable lesson. You've heard it before, but don't rely on a single storage medium! Thankfully when I set up my new drive I just happened to burn DVD's of all my files before I deleted them from my laptop's hard drive. The only thing I lost was a week's worth of free, downloaded digital scrapbook files (I didn't store duplicates) and a couple hours I spent organizing, but at least I didn't loose anything of real value (pictures of my kids or work files).

So here is the fruit my labor, my first two 2-page spreads. One if from this January and the other is from a year ago. I'm not exactly sure whether to focus on 'catching up' or staying current. Maybe I'll alternate between 2007 & 2008?

{Want a closer look? Click on any picture to enlarge it.}

3 Thankful Thursday #1

* Note: My friend Hanne started doing a weekly post she calls 'Thankful Thursday.' I've really enjoyed reading it, so I'm going to try it out myself. I guess its kindof a New Years resolution of mine. We'll see how diligent I am. I'm excersising a bit of faith that counting my blessings will bring me an added measure of peace.

1) MODERN MEDICINE: I am holding a grudge against pain pills in general right now, but really I am greatful for ANTIBIOTICS. I hate to think how truly awful my tooth saga would be without them. And then there is the entire dental practice aspect. What would have been my options up 100 years ago? Pulling the darn thing?

2) NATE'S OPTIMISM: I am by nature a pessimist. I tend towards the worst case scenario, which is looking bleak right now. Nate however is the eternal optimist. Maybe that was one of the things that drew me to him in the beginning... no,it was his good looks and hot car. Either way, it has been a foundation I constantly lean on. I know I would crumble without his strength.

3) STAYING HOME WITH MY GIRLS: Being a stay-at-home-working-mom is definitely NOT the best of all worlds. In most ways it is the worst of both situations. All the chores and late work hours. However, I put up with all that for one shining perk: I get to be with my girls. They teach me everyday. For example, last week Allie wanted to go out in the snow. I defaulted to saying no, but when she asked 'why?' I had no answer. So out she went. Kylie was devastated to be left behind. She even put on her coat, hat, and scarf by herself and followed me around with a boot and mitten. Her cries were asking 'why not me?' Again I had no answer, so our we went. And it was actually FUN! Who would have thunk? Not me! I was amazed at how wonderful I felt pushing and pulling my girls up and down a small backyard lump of a hill. But it was invigorating despite the medication haze. We enjoyed it so much our ritual the past week has been a post-nap snow fling followed by hot cocoa as I make dinner. We've tubed down our Sorensen neighbor's sled hill and built snowmen despite my face looking like a chipmunk. Who cares? Not my girls!

5 Thanks for BOTH gifts!

Gift #1)
My sister Ellen and her new husband Stoddard had our family for Christmas. Aunt Elle created a "Just-Add-Snow" Snowman Kit! Everyday since then Allie has been begging to use it, but our snow has been the light, dry fluffy stuff that won't stick together. Well today it warmed up enough to start melting the fluff...so much so that it became pack-able. So a snowman-making we went. I had to enlist the help of our good neighbor Britney to lift the balls up onto each other since the snow was so heavy. Allie added some 'hair' and christened him 'Coat'.

Gift #2)
Please 'Oh' and 'Awh' at my first attempt at digital scrapbooking. {click on the picture to get a closer look!} My wonderful mother got me PhotoShop Elements 7.0 for Christmas &this is my first attempt at a digital layout. I'm rather pleased with it. I hope to become more fluent in all that this grand program can do. I've been busy downloading free files for a week and have now set the goal to make at least 6 layouts before I look for anything new.

6 Toothache, part 2

If you don't like going to the dentist, DO NOT READ!!!
(that includes you, Camille)

It seemed like it took forever for Monday to come, but eventually it did. Nate was out of town, so I took the girls to my wonderful in-law's home early in the morning and called the dentist hoping to get in right at 8am. They did work me in, but not till 11am. The x-rays still looked clear with no sign of an abscess, although I presented all the other classic symptoms. The root canal procedure start very smooth other than some fiery pain as the anesthetic injection spread to the area of inflammation. In fact, after about an hour I was getting board as the dentist started disinfecting the 3rd and final root canal.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was in the worst pain of my life. Childbirth times ten! I was shaking and tears poured as I forced myself to use all my control to stay still as the dentist worked quickly. He and his assistant scrambled, attempting to stop the flow of oozing fluid and reduce the pain. Later, he told me that somehow the disinfecting solutions (bleach and hydrogen peroxide) must had leaked out the end of the root into the surrounding tissues. Instantly I had a major inflammatory reaction, including massive swelling and fluid discharging into the bone, gum, tooth, and root. He had to abort the procedure. When the flow had stopped, he put on a temporary filling. Just typing about this brings me to tears. I can't describe how awful it was.

Even an hour later I couldn't stop shaking and weeping even though the pain was in check. I was in shock. I had to call my mother-in-law for a ride home. The dentist consulted with the pharmacist and they settled on a new pain prescription to which I "shouldn't" have a reaction to since it was only "distantly" related to codeine and hydrocodone. I was tentative...and I should have been. With the second dose I was shaky, woozy, and dizzy, not to mention the headache, all for a good 36 hours. No more pain pills for me!!!

Its been a few days and the left half of my face, from my eyelid to under my chin, is still swollen. Today its just puffy, but yesterday I looked like I had wisdom teeth removed, including some light bruising. (sorry Ellen, there will be no pictures - I made sure of that) Amazingly the pain has been fairly low and really only bothers me in the middle of the night. Oh, and I can't really eat much. Even chewing with the other side has been problematic since I have shooting pain if THE tooth touches food or the teeth below it. Don't point out that this could be the means for loosing a few pounds, because I made a cake for myself since I figured I could gum it up. YUM!

Mostly now I'm just dreading going back tomorrow to finish the procedure...that is if things have settled down enough. I want to get it over with, but what if it happens again??? Stay tuned for part 3.

UPDATE: my next appointment won't be until at least Monday, due to the residual swelling

5 Toothache, part 1

So its going on a month since I posted. I really meant to several times, but the holidays were just so busy. I took over 2 weeks off work, but all the festivities and a trip to Rexburg just ate up all my time. I'd like to post some pics, but I'm not sure I'll get to it.

Right now I am suffering from a major toothache. Its a tooth that has been a ticking time bomb since it was crowned about a year ago. The dentist had to get a bit too close to the pulp when crowing it. Over the summer it acted up, but some antibiotics cleared it up. I just had a cleaning 2 weeks ago and the x-rays looked great. The hygentist was actually able to scrape off a bit of extra cement along the gum line and I've been able to chew with it for the first time! I guess all that chewing must have upset if.

It started up last Tuesday/Wednesday, but of course everyone was out of the office for the long New-Years weekend. I did get an antibiotic prescription called in on Thursday (thank you Specialty Hospital Pharmacist for staying past noon closing time so I could get there). At the time I turned down the dentist's offer for a additional pain prescription since Ibuprofen was good enough on Thursday morning, but by Friday I was desperate and dug around our medicine cabinate. I know I don't do well with codine, but I decided it was worth the risk to take the Lortab left over from Kylie's birth.

Well, the first two doses helped a ton, but the 3rd put me in a semi-concious/semi-coma state for 4 hours and then I was gravely sick for 24 more hours. Vomiting, shaking, dizzly, gross. I am NEVER taking that stuff again!!! Today is Sunday & I seem to have gotten most of the toxins out of my system, but I still feel wozzy and have a headache...not to mention the tooth pain has spread to the entire side of my face. It even hurts to smile. I REALLY hope the dentist can work me in to his scedule tomorrow morning. Six days is ENOUGH!!!

1 Pint Size Fun

The Tree House Children's Museum in Ogden is simply fabulous! I TOTALLY recommend it! My sister Abby introduced us last year (Kylie was barley crawling), so this was our 2nd visit. They have all kinds of interactive displays and hands on activities. The kids were ALL over the place and with 5 little girls under the age of 5, that kept us 3 mommies running. I think you can tell from the (lack of) quality of these photos. This time spent the bulk of our time @...

• The Baby Place: a doll hospital nursery and doctor's office
• Grandma Sophie's Kitchen and Garden Market
• Days of the Knights, with princess dress-up area
• Pick up a Stick and Play Music Room
• One World Village: traveled world round
  
• The Art Garden: Christmas countdown craft
  

Visit their webpage: CLICK HERE

1 Salt Lake Temple Square Lights

Last weekend we made our annual trek to see the lights on Temple square with our neighbors the Sorensens. Of course it was cold, but not nearly as cold as it usually is. This year Troy, Heidi, & Alia to join us. The girls were all eyes as we strolled around the grounds in a large hoard. They were very good at staying close. I only got a few pictures before the batteries in my camera died. They last so long (I thinkI've been on this set since July) I forget about them. I'll probably post more pics when I get them from Hanne & Troy.


After the lights, we had dinner at Sizzler & walked around Toys-R-Us. It was a late night by the time we got around to putting the girls to bed at Uncle Troy's house. I was worried how Kylie would go down since it was the first time she's slept outside a crib/pack-n-play. The stinker tried to walk out of the room a few times, but fell right asleep when I laid down by them on the floor. Since it was 2+ hours past bedtime and they were completely exhausted, it only took 2 minutes! The next morning Troy said he was woke up to the sound of Allie calling him from the bathroom. What a great uncle to help her out in her hour of need. When I came upstairs a while later (to see if the girls were awake) Troy had them settled in his office chair watching a cartoon on his laptop. Yep, he just might be their favorite uncle.

*update: Kylie climbed out of her crib this morning (first time ever) so I guess we'll be thinking about moving her to a 'big girl bed' sooner rather than later. Drat! I was hoping to keep her locked up for a bit longer.

5 Now that is some good music.

We spent last weekend in Layton/SLC valley. I'll try to type up some more details on the weekend and post some pictures, but I just had to get this video clip up right away.

FRIDAY:

• Lights on Temple Square with the Sorensens, & Troy/Heidi/Alia
• Dinner @ Sizzer with all of the above
• Browse 'Toys-R-Us' with Sorensens
• Sleep over at Uncle Troy's house (Kylie's first night not in a crib/playpen)

SATURDAY:

• Morning at Ogden's Tree House museum with Abby, Heidi, and all our girls
• Play at our Beattie cousins' house
• Abby & I slipped out during nap time for Jamba Juices -yum!
  
• Attend Abby's mini-music concert in conjunction with a neighbor piano teacher
  

My sister Abby plays and teaches violin (she is AMAZING!!!) and her neighbor teachers piano. Saturday they had a few of their students play at a mini-recital, but the highlight was when the two teachers play a duet together and then a solo each. I was concerned how my girls would behave, and rightly so. Kylie was a mess most of the time & I ended up holding her most of the time, so it was a good thing it was a short recital. Allie's eyes were glued on the instruments, until I asked her to move to the back of the room. See, she just couldn't keep her body from dancing and she was sitting on the front row. Soon the other little girls were joining in. At one point there were 7 pre-schoolers dancing in the back of the room. I grabbed my camera and filmed a bit. I was holding Kylie during the first half, so please excuse the wiggles. Notice how Allie was more than ready to applause when she thinks the piece is over. So cute. Mom, I was going to just post the kids, but the music was so beautiful I knew you would appreciate hearing the rest of the piece.