Run for the Border

... Or "Think Outside the Bun" or "Eat Great Even Late"... whatever slogan you prefer, it all means the same thing, YUMMY Taco Bell.

Maybe not everyone shares the same sentiment but I've always been a fan of the Bell. Maybe it's because my dad managed one while he was in high school or maybe it's just because of their cinnamon twists. Whatever the reason, I was all about going to support our local TB when our new friends told us that there was a lawsuit against TB because someone thought they weren't using "real meat". Anyway, these new friends wanted to have a little "support your local Taco Bell party" and invited us along. Unfortunately, Tyler missed out on it because he was snorkeling on some beautiful island (or maybe working) but Owen and I were all about it.

This is our new friend Jeff. As you can see, he REALLY
 Loves Taco Bell.

His beautiful wife Caitlin and Owen's
new buddy Max

The John Family

Can you tell I'm super pregnant and loving my burrito?
I'm really not that big. It's because I'm the one closest
to the camera. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself as I look
at this.

Owen liked his burrito but was
a bigger fan of the straws and wrappers.

Who cares if it's real meat or 80% meat 20% oats and other things. Whatever it is, it works.

After Taco Bell, we were invited over to our friend's place for some cookies and ice cream... so good. That was not Owen's favorite part though. Owen's favorite part was lying on the carpet with his buddy Eli and rolling around. Not sure if it was the joy of having carpet to lay on rather than tile or if he was being fun for Eli. Either way... they were so cute playing together.

Anyway, Tyler's been gone this week and because we hate when he's gone, we try to keep ourselves busy. Luckily we have friends that will hang out with us and invite us places even when I don't have a husband to bring around.

Some other things we've done this week....

A girl's night at our place to watch Arrested Development and eat good foods. We didn't really get to watch any Arrested Development because that's what happens when you get a bunch of girls together. Mostly they just chat. So sad that I didn't get any pictures but can I just say that I LOVE the girls' I've met here? I do. Love them.

Because of a good friend with a family pass to  a great science museum here in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, we checked that out. Owen was super impressed.

Did not want to get out of this car.



Driving the ambulance



Training to do a future tractor pull



He was pushing and pulling this vacuum with
him everywhere he went.





Flight simulator



 

We took a few walks. And speaking of walks... today on our walk, Owen was insisting on having a hat. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a hat for him so I had to make one out of my jacket. He didn't care whether it was a jacket or an actual hat. He sported it almost the entire time.

We also went to a Jai Alai game; do you know what Jai Alai is? It's this...














We go more for the people watching that the game watching. At the Jai Alai stadium, they don't just have that, they also have poker, they have a counter where you can place bets on anything you can imagine and they have a snack bar where you can eat really cheap nachos and ice cream to your hearts desire. All of these things combined really bring in a great crowd. Super entertaining. 

But mostly we watched Shrek, the Grinch and Nemo and counted the minutes until this handsome guy came home to us.

I keep wondering what I'm going to do when this baby girl comes along. I'm not sure that I can get out of the house with two. How do you go places with two kids? I can barely keep up with Owen at this point. How will I do with a baby in tow? I know my friends that have more than two are laughing at me right now because for them it's a breeze, but seriously... I'm a little nervous about it. I keep hoping Tyler just won't have to travel once I have the little lady but since there is no chance of that happening, I'm asking you to send any advice, tips and tricks to toting two kids around my way. It would be greatly appreciated.  

Orlando... yes please.

Let's get honest here... sometimes I REALLY miss Utah. I miss the seasons, I miss the mountains and most of all, I miss our families. Somedays I could really go for a big hug from my mom and dad (yes, I'm 32 years old). However, there are definitely times when Utah doesn't sound so great to me... times like this:

Have I mentioned that every time you tell Owen to say cheese he makes this face?
And usually looks away when he says it.

This week Tyler was headed to Orlando for work and suggested that Owen and I come along. He then mentioned that Sea World has an annual pass for Florida residence for $80. Yes, $80 for the whole year... isn't that fantastic? Well, I thought it sounded fantastic, so Owen and I decided to hitch a ride with Ty and come hang out at Sea World all week. I didn't get a ton of fantastic pictures because most of the time I was holding Owen or sitting so close I couldn't get a great picture but I'll post just a few favorites. BTW... there is this one place with the dolphins that they don't want you to take pictures because some professional is taking action shots and then they try to sell them to you,  well Owen pet one of the dolphins and the photographer got an amazing picture of it so I was all about buying it until I realized it was $20. $20 for a 6x8? I just didn't think I could do it. Does that seem like a ton to everyone else? I mean really... Anyway, some of the highlights:

Entering Sea World... YAY! Isn't he cute in those little sunglasses?

Riding the rides. Again with that smile. Love this kid.

Planning the day

We also did some swimming, relaxing (it is currently 10:15 am and Owen is still sleeping. How crazy is that?), and riding the trolley (Owen's favorite thing. He liked to ride on it and have me sing the wheels on the bus while on the bus. Such a little cutie).

Oh, we also hooked up for dinner with some friends that were here getting sealed in the Orlando temple. It was so great to hang with Dr. G and his wife. Owen couldn't get enough of them. He kept trying to do his "balance the spoon on your nose trick" for them.

One more thing. I tried Dipping Dots, you know, the Ice Cream of the Future for the first time at Sea World. I don't get why they are still around or why they are still using that slogan. I'm still a way bigger fan of ice cream of the past.

That's all.

Oh wait, maybe one more thing.... is this Valentine's background way too much? I want to be festive but man... not many options without being really loud about it.

Christmas and Utah Randomness

Aren't kids in snow suits the cutest things ever? With their little hats and mittens and their poor little arms stuck mid-air because of puffy jackets? I really loved putting Owen in his little snow suit this year. I was super excited to take him outside and build a snowman with him. He was more excited about the prospect of knocking the snowman down once  me, my mom and dad finished building it. Oh well, he was still a lover of snow which made me super happy.

Have I mentioned I love winter activities? Espeically the ones leading up to Christmas. Our family has a few traditions that I can't wait for each year.  My personal favorite, making popcorn balls and then heading out to see the Christmas lights.

The only thing I hate about the Christmas season is when it's over. I love Christmas Eve but always feel sad Christmas morning. I get all sentimental and wishing it wasn't all going to be over with. I will say though that having Owen around this year made Christmas morning so much fun. He was super excited about the gifts (or the unwrapping of gifts). I won't bore you with a million Christmas pictures, just a few of my favorites from Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

The three youngest got rocking horses.... so cute.

Owen loves Baby Jesus or "Baby Geez"

New train set from Santa

The Rhodes Clan

Loved the unwrapping

Luckily my mom hates when Christmas is over as well so the week after Christmas, she had an after-Christmas Christmas party for the grandkids. It was fantastic. So much fun to be had and it made the holidays seem like they were lasting a titch longer.

Shoot the marshmallow through the snowman

Christmas Jeopardy

Wiggle the bells out of the box

Get ten puff balls in the bowl with just your nose

Painting window hangings

So much fun. What a great grandma! Owen and I were super excited to be there to take part.

A few things Owen discovered while in Utah:
1. His love of "The Grinch", not the cartoon, the one with Jim Carey. Also his love of Shrek. He watched them at least once a day if not more. What is it with our child and green monsters?
2. How much he misses being around grandparents and cousins.

Aren't they the cutest group of kids ever?

Grandpa Rhodes

Grandma Rhodes

Loved playing Wii with Grandma and cousins

3. How to sing Ruldolph with actions and twinkle twinkle with actions. I'm not kidding, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I know I'm his mom but really... so cute.
4. His love of treats or as he calls them "teets". Living with Grandma for a month does that to a kid.
5. His love of boxes. My dad seriously wants to market boxes to parents. Every grandkid my parents have, ages 2-11 played in the box that my parents saved from their water heater.

6. He loves my dad's night ritual of cookies and milk. He wasn't such a fan of eating the cookies as he was of dunking them in Grandpa's milk and leaving them there.

7. His favorite new trick "balancing a spoon on his nose"























I know this post is a bit lame and a little late (seeing that it's almost mid-January). One of my new years resolutions: Get back to the blog. I've been super lazy with it. Non-creative and hardly ever writing. Hopefully with the new year comes a new sense of creativity.