The last few days of vacation

At the end of our second week of vacation, we drove to my brother and sister-in-law's house for their baby blessing.

The route to their house is one that we've traveled before, and there is some gorgeous scenery out there. I loved all the trees around where they live.

sunset, while driving to their house.

daytime view of some of the trees, on the drive back home.

another daytime view, showing the river and the gorge.

LMS and her cousin who's two played very well together and had lots of fun. Last time they saw each other, the cousin wouldn't leave her parents' sides, so they didn't play then.

My brother and SIL have four kids; their oldest 3 and LMS, along with grandparents and various aunts and uncles had a marshmallow fight. This is done by constructing a blow gun out of PVC pipe, and then blowing mini-marshmallows at each other. Great fun till someone starts licking the marshmallows before blowing them at you (yuck!).

the four grandkids all ready to go. the girls weren't really sure what was going on, the boys have their game faces on and are ready to go!

loading up

blowing marshmallows on the grass

We had a good time visiting with family (a decent number of my siblings were able to make it) and meeting our new nephew.

The day after the blessing we started the long trip home, which was really loooong. We stopped at my sister's house for awhile so the little girls could play for a few minutes. We had originally planned on spending the night there on the way home, but ultimately decided not to, and we had both told our daughters they would get to see each other. It wasn't too much of a detour, so we had a quick visit before getting back on the road.

At one point we stopped for gas and a potty break, and LMS saw baskets of fruit in the store and got very excited. After taking care of business, she picked out an apple and a banana, and proceeded to eat them all up. She didn't want the candy that was everywhere, she wanted the fruit!

munching on her fruit while watching a movie

This morning around 2:30 am, we were almost home, and we saw cop lights behind us. We weren't sure why he pulled us over: we weren't speeding, we weren't to the construction zone yet, there was no erratic driving going on. Turns out he pulled us over as a "courtesy" to let us know our headlight was out. Thankfully, he didn't see our expired trailer tags; he just gave us a warning and told us to get it fixed as soon as possible (got that taken care of today!).

I discovered the tags were expired the day we left on our trip. That was a Friday, and the DMV is closed on Fridays, so we couldn't do anything about it. For some reason, we weren't sent a renewal notice, and while my parents have used the trailer on several occasions, this was the first time we were using it, and I thought we still had time left on the tags. We needed the space for the things we were bringing, so we took a risk and brought it anyway. Tomorrow, I will be going out to the DMV and getting it taken care of. No more illegal driving for us.

our trusty little trailer.

2nd week of vacation

At the end of the first week, we returned to Mr. M's grandma's house with his immediate family. That's his parents, older brother, younger sister and her 3 kids, and youngest sister and her husband and 5 kids. It got very crowded and noisy in that little house. Luckily, Mr. M has an aunt who lives 5 minutes away, and she invited the 3 of us to sleep at her house each night. So we got some peace and quiet each night and didn't have to fight over who got to use the bathroom next. It was so nice....

The guys got to golfing again- Mr. M had a great time again. We've both decided that if we had the time and money, we could get into golfing. Of course, we would need a lot of practice, since neither of us is very good.

I got my very first pedicure, which was an enjoyable experience. Not sure why it's taken me this long. Probably has something to do with my funky, short toes and not wanting to draw attention to them. Too late now!

The city Mr. M's grandma live in has a great trail system next to the river, and it's close to where she lives. Last year, LMS and I went running on it; this year we went for another run, and a bike ride. Mr. M, his brother, LMS, and I went for a 20 mile bike ride. Longest ride I've ever gone on, and so much easier than a 20 mile ride here would have been. We have too many hills out here for a 20 mile ride to be easy. It was a nice ride, and a nice day for it.

We also got to go swimming at another aunt's house. It felt so good after the bike ride, and everyone had lots of fun.

We went to see the new Harry Potter movie with Mr. M's brother. It was enjoyable, just don't get hung up on the differences from the book.

We were also able to go to the Temple with Mr. M's parents and grandmother (his brother left his recommend at home in his bag, so didn't get to go), which was a good experience (of course!).

LMS and her cousin who's a month and a half older than her (let's call him Little Mister Mischievious) had a great time playing together the whole time we were together. While we were camping, it wasn't uncommon to see the two of them holding their little folding camp chairs and hauling them from one place to another. No idea why, but they must have thought it was fun, since they kept doing it.

LMS is eating ice cream, LMM has a binder clip in his mouth (why??). great expressions on both faces!

LMS and LMM twirling on a chair, great big smiles on both- they're having a blast!

1st week of vacation

The first week of our vacation started with traveling to Mr. M's grandma's house. We followed Mr. M's parents (and his sister and her 3 kids), and spent the night in their travel trailer. It was a bit crowded, but we were able to park in a truck stop, open the slide-out, and sleep. That's the way to go!

Unfortunately, I went to sleep with our credit card in my pocket, and when I checked in the morning, I couldn't find it. We looked all over, talked to the employees of the truck stop, and ended up calling the credit card company. No unauthorized charges had been made, so we thought maybe it was still in the trailer, but since we had looked and couldn't find it, we had to report it lost/stolen and get a new card sent.

The next day, after putting LMS down for a nap on the same bunk we'd slept on, I looked down, between the pull-out curtain and the bed, and there was our card. Of course. At least it hadn't been stolen, but it was too late to stop the new card being sent.

We spent a day and a half with Mr. M's grandma, then headed up to the campground, and spent the rest of the week camping at the lake with Mr. M's immediate family, aunts, uncles, cousins; and some more extended relatives the last couple days.

We had fun in the lake. LMS was cautious at first, but really enjoyed the water. Someone brought a canoe and a kayak, and I took LMS out in them. She insisted on helping paddle both the canoe and the kayak and had a great time. Maybe we should get a kayak of our own...

We all got bit by lots of mosquitoes. During the day, the mosquito repellent worked pretty well, but come dusk, nothing worked. We had all brought different brands of repellent, and we tried them all, but we still got bit. And they were stong, persistent things: I got several bites through my jeans! The poor little kids got some pretty nasty welts.

We made s'mores every night. I couldn't eat the graham crackers, so I pulled apart a marshmallow, put a square of chocolate inside, closed the marshmallow back up, carefully skewered it, and then very carefully toasted it over the fire. A bit messy, but very ooey, gooey, and yummy.

It didn't get dark till almost 10 pm, so LMS was always in bed during s'mores time. One day, her nap lasted till 7 pm (I think she went down a little late, and was just so exhausted that she slept longer than usual), so she got to stay up later and make s'mores.

toasting marshmallows, not looking too excited.

eating the finished product. love that smile!

We went on a short bike ride, during which I managed to fall over, again. I was stopped, with one foot unclipped, and I was turning to look at my rear tire, which was riding kind of low. Somehow, I lost my balance, and toppled over. I scraped up my leg a bit, but it wasn't too bad. At least none of my accidents have been while I was actually moving.

One morning the guys had some male-bonding time and went golfing. Mr. M had a great time.

Another day, we drove a ways to a reservoir to go on a hike. LMS was the youngest by quite a bit, but managed to walk almost all of the mile/mile and a half to the top. I only carried her for a short distance before she decided she was ready to walk again. She did really well, and didn't whine and complain at all (unlike some kids we know would have done).

the first reservoir, which was just above the parking area. very pretty.

LMS climbing and hiking along. she's holding my walking stick, which she insisted on carrying.

Mr. M and LMS on the trail.

this was our view as we reached the top of the trail- the second reservoir. gorgeous!

the 3 of us, with the sun in the wrong position

Home from vacation!

We got home at 3 this morning (waaay later than planned), and immediately crashed in bed. I slept in a little, but not much- too much to do. I need to get caught up on emails (there's a couple hundred in my inbox that need to be sorted), unpack, start laundry, and run into town to take care of some errands there.

Road Trip update

I ran out of time to post before we left for our road trip: we were busy packing, rewiring our little cargo trailer (for hauling our bikes, bike trailer, tent, and so on), and trying to get all the last minute things taken care of.

We've spent the last week camping in the mountains with Mr. M's immediate and extended family.

We're spending most of this week with Mr. M's immediate family and on Friday will be heading out to my brother and sister-in-law's for their baby blessing. After that, we'll be heading home.

I'll post pictures when we get back- we went on a really cool hike that had some spectacular scenery. I really like the area where we were camping- too bad you have to be independently wealthy to live there (there's really not any jobs there, especially in Mr. M's field).

I finally found my keys!

Yay! This morning I went out to the car to look for my keys. I figured I'd have better luck in daylight, so I didn't do it last night. I looked in the back, where I thought they would be, but they weren't there. So I opened the door next to LMS's car seat to look on the floor, and saw my keys in one of the door pockets.

I have no idea how they got there (especially that pocket, since it's right behind the door handle and I never put anything there), but I'm not complaining. I'm just happy I finally found them. It's been driving my crazy and stressing me out. Those smart keys with all the buttons on them are super expensive to replace, and I was not looking forward to the cost involved. My brain can relax a little now....

Sand and water tables are great

This morning we went for a 4 mile bike ride with my sister. It felt like a lot longer than 4 miles because of all the hills. We took a route I've never gone before and it turned out to be one hill after another. Tiring, but a good workout.

When we got back, I finally got around to cleaning LMS's sand and water table. I meant to winterize it last fall, but never got around to it, so it got rather scummy over the winter. I bought a new bag of playsand the other day to replace all the sand that mysteriously disappeared over the last year or so. After cleaning it out, I put the new sand in, filled it with fresh water, and cleaned off her toys.

She just loves her sand and water table. She could (and has) literally spend hours playing at it. I really like that it has a cover to keep critters of all sizes out.

I somehow managed to lose my keys on Saturday (I know I used them to get our beach towels out of storage, but I haven't seen them since), and cannot find them anywhere. I've looked in all my bags, looked in the yard, looked under and around and in everywhere in our room. The only place I haven't looked is the back of the car (where I put the towels), and I'm really hoping they're in there. Unfortunately, Mr. M's had the car all day, so I haven't been able to check.

A big lump in my throat

The longer I avoid gluten, the easier it is to recognize reactions to stuff I shouldn't be eating. My body is finally able to react to smaller amounts of gluten, now that large amounts (toast, flour tortillas, etc) aren't overwhelming my system. Now when I eat small amounts of gluten, my throat swells up a bit. Not enough to cut off my air supply or anything, but enough to make things uncomfortable and make me feel like I have a massive lump in my throat.

While this reaction is uncomfortable, it does help me pinpoint when I eat something I shouldn't. When I started reading about gluten intolerance, the people all mentioned that when they ate gluten they'd have to spend several hours in the bathroom. I figured since I never had intestinal symptoms, I wouldn't have a way of telling when I ate something containing gluten. Good to know that's not the case...

There's still something that's tripping me up, but I'm not sure what it is. I can't pinpoint it to one or two foods. I keep going back to those elusive 'natural flavors' or cross-contamination. Hard to tell which it is. Definitely a steep learning curve here.

A day on the water

Exercise log:

Yesterday morning I helped my dad mix and pour cement for a concrete pad that the air conditioner compressor will sit on. By the time we were done, it was too hot to go running. Luckily it cooled off in the early evening and I was able to go for a 3 mile run/walk before the rain moved in. The run felt good, but I definitely prefer running in the morning.

This morning we went to a local reservoir to do some boating with friends from church. Mr. M managed to get up on a kneeboard and I almost got all the way up. The water was just too choppy from all the other boats in the water. We also took turns being pulled in a tube behind the boat. We had LMS and Mr. M's 5 year old niece with us, and I took LMS and Mr. M took his niece out in the tube. We went nice and slow on those turns, and the girls had fun. Overall, it was an enjoyable time, and I managed to get a little bit of a workout while trying to get up on the kneeboard.

Coming back in after several hours on the water. The dogs enjoyed the ride too.

Weight loss:

I've lost another 3 pounds, for a total of 13 pounds. This is just awesome, since it's been soo long since I was able to lose any weight. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of comparing where I am now to where I was when I got pregnant with LMS, and I still have another 20 pounds to go till I reach that point. Kinda depressing. Although, once I reach that point, I only need to lose another 30 pounds to get down to my ideal weight for my height and bone structure. I'm making progress, which is so much better than continuing to slowly gain weight.

Gluten free:
I'm loving the side effects of being gluten free. Not only do I no longer have my body constantly telling me to eat (in an effort to get the nutrients it needs), and have finally started losing weight, but I just feel so much better. I have more energy- physically and mentally; I'm thinking a lot clearer- my brain is slowly de-fuzzing and I've even managed to come up with some reasonably creative ideas for singing time in Primary the last couple weeks. Yesterday I managed to be quite productive, even later in the evening when I used to hit my 'done' point.

Project progress:
I finished sewing LMS' dress, which really was a quick and easy project since the it was just a panel of fabric that had to be sewed together. The hardest part was figuring out some sleeves- I'm not a fan of spaghetti straps/ribbon ties/what-have-you- I wanted some real sleeves. The ones I made turned out pretty good, but I'm not completely convinced that they look good.

In addition to helping with the cement, sewing LMS' dress, and running, I also did laundry, paid bills, ran some errands in town, cleaned up and put away my sewing stuff, and sorted through a shopping bag full of misc. papers that were on my desk at one point, then shoved into a bag and chucked in a corner of our already overcrowded closet. Things are neatly filed away now, and all that's left to do is put away laundry and vacuum the thread bits off the floor (I make a mess when I sew).

I've got my sewing projects done for now, which is good since everytime I need to sew something I have to haul everything out of the cupboard and set it up on my computer desk. I will be so happy when I can have a dedicated sewing area!

Projects for the coming week:
* Mailing items I sold on ebay (the auctions close this weekend) once they've been paid for.
* Visiting teaching- we're leaving Friday afternoonish and will be gone till the end of the month, so I only have a few more days to get our visits done.
* figure out packing list and shopping list for trip
* finish making list of gluten free items available at fast food restaurants
* go shopping for items needed for trip
* make sure car and trailer are ready for trip (tires, oil, maintenance, etc)
* figure out best way to pack everything so we have room for everything
* do family pictures and LMS' 3 year pictures (a little late, I know...)

Sew fun

Project progress:

I fiddled with my layout some more- I'm definitely liking the daisies (which I scanned in myself). This is another layout that I did all myself- the polka dots, the yellow center, the daisies, and the header. I like the overall look, but I'm not completely happy with the polka dots. They're not fuzzy this time, but the really light yellow ones are just a little too light. I'm having fun figuring out how to do all sorts of cool stuff with photoshop, though.

I finished my seat cushion covers and started LMS' pink dress. I have to wait till she wakes up to finish it- I need her to model it so I can figure out where to put the sleeves.

Left one shows the back with zipper, right one shows top side

For the last week, I've been trying to remember where I put my fuel belt. I know it was hanging on a hook on the back of my door for quite awhile, and I remembered taking it down and putting it somewhere, but I could not remember where I put it. I spent yesterday and today looking through boxes, bins, and trunks trying to remember where I put it, and I finally found it in a bin full of blankets. Not sure why I put it in there... Now I can use it when running, which is why I was looking for it in the first place.


Exercise log:
I wanted to go running today, but I had a headache when I went to bed last night, and I woke up with it this morning. It hung around all day, making things difficult. Running with a headache is never a good idea for me, it always makes it worse. I've been drinking lots and lots of water, trying to make up for how much I didn't drink yesterday. Hopefully the headache will be gone tomorrow.


Gluten free/allergy update:
I've eaten corn on several occasions the last few days without any problems. I ate cheese Tuesday, but I also had a couple sips of LMS' strawberry something Capri Sun juice drink. I did have a bit of a reaction, but it wasn't very bad, so I'm thinking it was because of the juice. I had some cheese this morning without any problems, so now I need to see if it's fresh strawberries or strawberry flavor. I'm hoping it's strawberry flavor and not fresh strawberries. I have enough chemical sensitivities that it's a miracle I can still eat processed food. So far it's just perfume, shampoos, laundry detergents, dish detergents, etc that give me problems. Maybe I've progressed to chemicals in foods. I'll have to do some more experimentation.

LMS being cute, playing dress up with the super hero cape my mom made for her birthday

It was a lovely day for our bike ride

Exercise Log:

Let's see, Monday I ran with LMS to my inlaws. Ok, that was only about a quarter mile, but it does have a good size hill in it. Nothing terribly strenuous though. Yesterday we went to the zoo with Mr. M's mom, sister and her kids, sister-in-law and her daughter, and cousin. We spent several hours walking around, pushing strollers, which doesn't sound terribly strenuous, but is definitely tiring. Today we went for a bike ride. It wasn't a terribly long one (about 3 miles), but there are at least 6 long hills on that particular route, which makes for quite a workout. Plus I haven't been biking on a regular basis, so I'm not in the best shape right now.

Progress report:

I got my ebay/shipping mess in our room cleaned up. Everything is now neatly organized and extraneous items are back in storage. Since that's taken care of for now, I pulled our my sewing machine last night and sewed some drawstring bags for our biking accessories. One for our helmets, one for my shoes, and one for misc. stuff (jackets, extra gel seat covers, etc). I didn't take pictures because while they turned out fine, they're strictly utilitarian, so nothing special. I used the same striped fabric I made LMS' apron out of. At some point I had bought several yards of this fabric, thinking it was super cute. While it is nice enough, it's not super cute, so it's been sitting around for several years. Now I only have a little left!

I've also started some seat covers for our intelligel seat cushions. We looove our seat cushions (and our mattress), but the seat cushions are just the blue gel matrix, which can get a little... sweaty... when it's hot and you're sitting for a long time. Plus we want to be able to tie them to the seats so they stop following us out the car when we get out. With our upcoming long road trip, we want to minimize both problems as much as possible before we actually leave. Thankfully our mattress does not make us sweaty- it looks like a regular mattress, with quilted upholstery covering it all.

My OCD is starting to be appeased...

Upcoming activities:

Last summer I was going to do a 50 mile bike ride with my brother when he did it for Scouts. They ended up not doing it, though, so we're going to do it this summer, in about a month. At this point, I think it's me, Mr. M, my brother, and at least one, possibly two, sisters. Mom and dad will drive the car from the start to the end. I think I'll start out with LMS, but I don't know that she'll stay with us. If she or I get tired, she can ride in the car with my parents. The route is supposed to be a gradual downhill with only a few small uphills, so hopefully it won't be too bad.

LMS trying to avoid the camera while at the zoo

Busy holiday weekend

Fourth of July Fun
I had a busy and productive weekend. I researched, photographed, wrote listings, and listed 24 things on ebay (it takes awhile to do it right). We went to a Fourth of July breakfast our church held. While LMS napped at home with my mom, Mr. M and I, along with his dad, my dad, and my brother, did some target shooting. I haven't shot anything since I took my hunter's safety class 4 years ago, while pregnant with LMS. Luckily the shooting part (which included laying on your stomach on the ground) happened before I got too big. side note- the kid next to me was using a .22 that kept shooting super hot shells out, several of which hit my body, and one of which hit my neck. I have a .22 shell-shaped scar on the side of my neck now. Good thing it's not super noticeable.

Anyway, my point was that it's been awhile since I did any shooting. We spent several hours shooting rifles and handguns of various calibers (don't ask me what they are, I can't keep them straight, other than .22). Good times were had by all. I've decided I like .22s: they're easy to use (aim and fire), aren't super loud, and don't require a muzzle brake to reduce kickback (though what a muzzle brake can do is quite awesome), and don't weigh a ton. I find the .22 rifle and handgun easy to hold and use, and now that I think about it, I learned to shoot using my mom's .22.

Progress on Projects
In other news, since I got everything listed on ebay (and only used two of the boxes in the 3 very large packing boxes full of smaller boxes saved for shipping purposes), I broke down all the extra boxes today. No point having them take up space in storage if I'm not going to be using them. I also helped my MIL sort and put away some camping stuff that's been spread on their garage floor since they upgraded to a bigger, newer travel trailer a few weeks ago and sold their old one. And in between those activities, I've been reading an absolutely hilarious blog I stumbled on called Cake Wrecks. It's laugh-out-loud, snort out your nose, fall off your chair funny and definitely worth a look.

I do need to list a bunch of books still, but I need to do some research first to decide which one will bring in more money: half.com or amazon.com. I think I'll go through our 30+ boxes of books one at a time and list whatever I don't want to keep. I'll probably donate whatever doesn't sell to the library- they have an ongoing used book sale to raise money.

Gluten Free
I'm doing pretty good with staying gluten free, though there's something that's still bothering me. I'm not sure if it's dairy, corn (I used to have asthma attacks as a teenager after eating corn), or strawberries. Or possibly one of those elusive "natural flavors" or "natural colors" which could very easily be made with barley. I can always tell when I ate something I shouldn't have because my throat swells up a bit and I start feeling munchy (gotta eat something now) again. I've been experiencing it this evening, and given what I ate for dinner and a snack, it could be cheese, strawberries, or natural flavors or colors. I don't think there was corn flour in the french fries... So, that narrows it a little, but not enough. Guess I'm going to be keeping a food journal from now on so I can figure out what it is that's still giving me problems.

Flowers on a suitcase

I didn't run or bike yesterday, though I did get a good workout. I shifted boxes around and crawled across boxes and bins and dining chairs to get to our cooler that was at the back of our storage container. It was really hot, so it was like exercising in a sauna. Fun! I also sorted the boxes of stuff to get rid of into a 'garage sale box' and an 'ebay box'. I brought the ebay box in and will be photographing and prepping listings so I can list the stuff this weekend. The sooner I get rid of it all, the better. We need the space, and a little bit of extra money would be nice.

I also brought in a suitcase to work on. Last time we went on a road trip, we stopped at the store that sells Pottery Barn rejects and got the duffel bags that we're giving as Christmas presents to Mr. M's nieces and nephews. We also picked up a suitcase for me, but when I tried to pick out the monogram I realized the fabric the suitcase is made of is not conducive to having thread picked out of it.











The holes were going to be too prominent, so I found some flower patches on ebay and sewed them over the monogram. The pink one on the left is actually covering a small hole that I found when we got home, and I sewed the white one on so the pink one wouldn't seem quite so out of place. My fingertips are still sore from pushing the needle through all those layers. I think it turned out pretty good, though.

This morning we went for a four mile walk. It was very hot, but a good workout. Afterwards, we got out our $5 WalMart special slip and slide and had fun with it. It was a good way to cool off!

I've started working on the thank you notes, so with what I did yesterday and today, I'm making good progress on my current projects. My list never seems to actually disappear- new things are constantly being added to it. At least I make good progress and can cross them off as I finish them.

Spotlight on Little Miss Sunshine

Rodeo fun
At the beginning of June we went to the local rodeo with Mr. M's parents, brother, sister, and their families. LMS was sitting in front of us, next to her cousin, and we got this cute picture.







First career choice
Last week LMS told me she wants to drive fire engines when she grows up. Not sure where that came from, other than maybe from watching fire engines in parades.

Potty time
Yesterday she was sitting on the toilet, and when I looked over, she was shaking her bum. I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was "shaking the poopy off her bum". What do you say to that?

Slip and slide
Today after our walk, I got out our $5 WalMart special slip and slide. I demonstrated what to do, and then tried to get LMS to do it. She didn't quite get the concept. That, and the slip and slide wasn't on a hill, so it was kind of hard to get any kind of momentum going.





I moved the slip and slide, which gave it a bit more of a slope, so water pooled in the little pool. LMS walked up and down the slide part several times with me holding her hands, then sat down in the pool to enjoy the water.






The water was cold enough that sliding around wasn't that fun for me. LMS thought it was fine, but little kids handle cold better than older folks like me.









I don't know about city water sources, but we're on a well, and that water is cold! It's nice to drink in the summer, but does make playing in the sprinkler a bit more of a challenge.




LMS had lots of fun, and I had to drag her away so she could eat lunch.