Cousin Trip to Discovery

Tuesday we took a little cousins trip down to Discovery Gateway. The kids had a ton of fun and we moms had fun watching them have fun! (All the cool pictures are from Sara..I’m not the cool…)

Kaitlyn & Easton have a great future ahead of them in broadcasting!

Kaitlyn could play "house" all day!

Me, Hailey, & Kaitlyn~Sara, Jackson & Easton~Tamara & Camryn

After a fun time at discovery, a failed nap attempt, a NAUGHTY trip to Walmart...Kaitlyn fell asleep in time-out

A Hot Bath & a Good Book

So, I’m a book nerd. This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but there it is. Besides my family and the Gospel (of course) there is NOTHING I love more than a good book. When I want time to myself, time to relax, time to just be happy – I fill up the bath with super hot water, get a big glass of water and usually some sort of chocolatey treat, then I lose myself in a love story, a chase against the clock, or a little bit of magic.

Jane Austen is one of my favorites. I love everything about her world – the clothes, the propriety, the Mr. Darcy’s and Colonel Brandon’s. Elizabeth Bennett is my absolute FAVORITE character ever written. Then there is the Twilight Series. Its not all about Edward for me (although he’s a lot of it) it’s about this world she’s created that even though it is full of mythical creatures, it’s still has all the struggles and emotions of real life. I love that. Then there is Harry Potter. What I wouldn’t give to be able to apparate and duel dark wizards. I don’t really read non-fiction, I probably should broaden my horizons a little, but really I love getting lost in a pretend world of romance and drama, escaping reality for a bit. (I did read Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell recently, that was definitely the best NF book I’ve ever read.)

My most recent faves are books I found out about just recently. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Holy Crap! This book had everything, drama, suspense, looove, and a cliffhanger to die for. The second in the series, Catching Fire, was even better. I TOTALLY recommend these to anyone. Yesterday I finished the latest book I’m adding to my collection, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. What Stephanie Meyer did with Vampires, Maggie did with Werewolves. Love it! (thanks Alex for recommending these!!!)

Brian doesn’t really read. I try to get him to. I’ve tried to explain how there is nothing better than finding a book that you just can’t put down, I say this to him with so much emotion and longing that usually he looks at me with eyes that say “I married a crazy person.” And its true, I’m totally crazy and totally a nerd.

So my dream: to write a novel. Will it ever happen? Maybe, who knows. I’m still waiting to have a Stephanie Meyer-esque dream so I know what to write about. Till then, I will content myself with the vast world of fiction that sits before me. *sigh*

Erin’s top 10 (13 actually)
Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Confessions Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison
The Work & the Glory by Gerald Lund
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
The Rescue by Nicolas Sparks
The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The Giver by Lois Lowry

If i keep sitting here, i'm sure i's come up with many more... :)

Vampire Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Stephanie’s birthday with, what else….A TWILIGHT PARTY! It was so fun. Everyone at the house went to so much effort to make it look very twilight-y, the decorations were gorgeous! (probably because Edward’s face was on most of them!)

The food was yummy and very vampire-esque. I made cookies shaped like wolves and hearts, a la Bella’s bracelet!

Stephanie dressed up like Rosalie and looked AMAZING! Her outfit was perfect. She even had amber-colored contacts, I don’t know if you can really tell in the picture below, but it was like looking at an actual vampire!

This is Abby & Steph with Edward! :) Abby was dressed like Alice. My cousins go ALL OUT!

We even got the little girls in on the festivities. Brian may not think so, but I know I am raising them right!

Oh the happy couple. Brian was a good sport about the Edwardiness and had a fun time. He sported his "I am Edward, I like boys" shirt very proudly.

One Last Hurah for Summer

Yesterday I took the girls, along with some others in the ward, to the Zoo before the weather gets all cold. Kaitlyn had never been to the zoo (that she remembers) and she loved it. every time I ask her what her favorite animal was she tells me a different one, so she must have liked them all!
There were a lot of baby animals there this time. Kaitlyn loved the baby elephant Zuri. There was also a baby giraffe and baby tiger cubs. I guess the animals are drinking the same water as all the other girls in Utah!

All the kiddos! Phoenix, Kaitlyn, Jack, & Tanner

This tiger came right up to the glass and was licking it! The kids were going crazy!

Hailey had fun at the zoo too....eating her duck!

Bell Canyon

This summer Brian and I decided we wanted to go hiking. So about once a week-ish we would drop the girls off at my parents and head up the mountains.

One of our favorite hikes we found was the Bell Canyon Trail up off Wasatch. You start in the middle of some condos but once you’ve been going for about 20 minutes you walk up over this hump and all the sudden THIS is what you see:

It is beautiful. As we hiked around more we got some beautiful views of the salt lake valley. THIS is why I love living here and never want to leave!