CONTROL FREAK

Lately, Luke has insisted on doing everything on his own. By "everything" I mean things like taking off his clothes and diaper once he has a "poopy", and then literally wiping his own butt while I change his diaper. (Of course, he can't really wipe himself. It's more like him waving the baby wipe aimlessly around his butt.) It's really messy and disgusting. I'm thinking of buying suspenders to help keep his pants on. If he weren't so skinny, he'd probably have a tougher time removing his pants, but as is, he's got a plumber's crack even when they're buttoned tight.

He also refuses to let me feed him. This might sound glorious to parents who are struggling to teach their kids to self-feed, but Luke hasn't exactly mastered the use of the spoon yet. Here was the scene this morning after Luke refused to let me spoon feed him a bowl of cereal (this is very typical):


To make matters worse, he screams if any particle of food touches his hand. (OCD?) He also wants to sit in a big person's chair, which is like the equivalent of an adult trying to eat soup placed on a bar while sitting on a step stool. When I take the spoon and try to feed it to him he says, "No!" and shakes his head wildly.

I will try to end this post on a positive note: Let's see... it's good for my 18 month old to want to be independent. I am grateful I have tile floor instead of carpet under my kitchen table. I'm grateful he's eating. I'm grateful he tells me when he has a "poopy." Yeah. That's all I can think of for now.

GIULIANI BLOWS IT - BIG TIME

Will someone who supports Giuliani please explain to me why this guy is leading the polls? I just don't get it! I would like to think that if the latest allegation is true regarding his extramarital affair with his now current wife, he'll have a tough time winning in the primaries. Then again, people tend to overlook things like this all the time. Ugh.

GETTING OVER MY PRIDE

Before I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom and cut our income in half (your welcome, Erik), I had certain things I insisted on, such as never buying clothes at Wal-mart and a real Christmas tree. Then I stopped receiving a paycheck and reality set in. I'm now beginning to realize how prideful I was about stupid things that don't matter and could really save us a lot of money.

I don't know how Wal-mart is where you live, but every Wal-mart I have ever been to in California has been N-A-S-T-Y. It is the last place you would ever want to buy clothes or groceries. (This is very different from when we lived in Provo and bought all sorts of groceries from the semi-clean Wal-mart there.) Well, I broke cardinal rule #1 last month when I found a pair of Wal-mart yoga pants that cost $10 cheaper than it's Target equivalent and realized that its all in my head. What makes Target better? Is it cleaner? Are red and beige more pleasing to the eye? They have trendy designers? I still love Target, but admittedly, Wal-mart is cheaper. Will I tell people when I buy my clothes there? Hmmmm, not sure yet.

The other thing I swore never to do was have a fake Christmas tree. They seem so plastic and kitschy. Then a few months ago my grandfather insisted we take his. I was torn because I detest artificial trees, but I like saving $50. My practical side won out and honestly, it's not too bad. If you spray a little Pine-sol, it almost feels like a real tree. Now that I think about it, I really am grateful for the tree since it means one less Christmas expense.

While I am on the topic of Christmas trees, let me just say that the inventor of the Christmas tree obviously never had a toddler. This is only day two of our first "Babyproofing Christmas" and we're already down 4 ornaments, at least. We hung all the breakable ones (which is 95% of the ornaments) up high, and yesterday I went to the dollar store looking for unbreakable things to decorate the lower half. Although, just because they don't break doesn't mean they'll stay on the tree. I'm finding ornaments all over the house now... our closet... a corner of Luke's room. That boy gets around!

LANGUAGE BARRIER

I heard Erik listening to this tonight and thought, "Wow, my Spanish is really good! I understand everything he's saying!" until I went into the room and saw that the title of the video was "One Semester of Spanish Love Song." Talk about a blow to my ego!




Here's the French equivalent. I think it's just as funny as the video above and probably even more so for anyone who speaks French. (Am I the only one out there that has seen the 1960's French musical, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg? This video made me want to watch it tonight.)

THANKSGIVING EXTRAVAGANZA

We returned home late last night from our trip to Arizona to see my family. It should have taken us 6 and a half hours, but it was more like 8 because of all the traffic when we hit L.A. The last thing I want to think about right now is driving anywhere. (We're going to L.A. once, and Camarillo twice in December. Hopefully we'll forget how bad our trip home was once we have to drive a long distance again.) Gratefully, though, Luke does do a fabulous job in the car.

No matter how much I try to prevent it, we always end up looking like white trash when we travel. The best example of this was when I exited the bathroom yesterday at In-n-Out in San Bernardino and discovered Luke laying completely naked on the hood of our car. He had wet through his diaper, clothes, and car seat, so Erik was changing him. Luke smiled at me, still completely naked and said, "Night night, mommy, night night." and pretended to go to sleep. It's a good thing public nudity doesn't bother him yet.

Sadly, I didn't take a lot of pictures this weekend. Things I should of photographed are when I won 2 out of 2 games of Risk and the amazing Thanksgiving dinner. (I really am grateful to come from a family of such good cooks.)

Oh well, these few photos will have to suffice:

It's very rare for us all to be together, so we try to take "family pictures." One of these years we should hire a professional, because no one is ever very satisfied. I thought last year's efforts turned out better.


My parents live near the Phoenix International Raceway. It was free to go in and look around at all the cars. Just when I'm beginning to think Luke is super smart he calls all the fast cars, "Choo-choos!" We're still working on that distinction between trains and cars.


As a child, my great-grandfather homesteaded some property about 20 miles or so from where my parents live now. The house is no longer there (they picked it up and moved it to California when they left), but it was really neat to go out there with my Grandfather, see where he grew up, and hear about how the area used to be. How they lived out in the middle of the desert with no electricity for over five years, I will never understand.

Oh, it's just us again. This was the only picture when Luke was kind of looking at the camera and his fingers weren't in his mouth.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAN ONLY VOTE 5 TIMES

If Marie Osmond wins Dancing with the Stars next week I am going to be really mad. I don't know what I'm going to do, but it will probably include spitting in anger! She just isn't that good.

Scary Spice better win... or else... or else I'm going to be really mad. I don't know. I'm sure I'll get over it 15 minutes after the show ends next week, but seriously, she should win. Seriously.

THE HUNGER STRIKE IS OVER

Luke is eating again! This past week he has eaten all sorts of real food, including spinach, carrots, taco soup, pork ribs, lasagna and tostadas. Oh happy day! I was really starting to worry that he would shrivel up into nothing if I didn't start spiking his milk with a protein shake mix.

Since it's only been a week, I'm not claiming to be an expert in getting kids to eat. Although, I have been making quite a few changes in the way I do things, including:

1. My Attitude. No more looks of desperation, begging, and chasing him around the house with a sandwich. It's on the table. If he's hungry he knows where to find it. Even if I'm not hungry, I sit down next to him at the table while he's eating.

2. Toddler Plates and Cutlery. I bought this stupid little plate that came with a toddler fork and spoon last week. The best thing ever. Even if he doesn't use them properly, he gets excited about holding the fork.

3. Feeding Him 4 Small Meals, plus snacks. Essentially I am feeding him little things all day. It is a lot more time consuming than 3 big meals, but he eats more. In between the four little meals he eats snacks like graham crackers, fruit, and cheese.

4. Luke "helps" cook. This is a little crazy (and messy), but it really makes a difference. I let him help spread the peanut butter on the bread. (Yesterday I handed him a knife covered in peanut butter to spread it on the bread and he just licked it clean. Oh well, at least he's eating!) He loves waiting for his toast to pop up. If I'm stirring something in a bowl, I give him a bowl with a spoon so he feels like he's helping. Today he even "helped" me peel an orange. (Or "orngeee" as Luke calls them.)

5. If he says "no", give it to him anyway. 9 times out of 10 he rejects the food I offer him. He even says no to cookies. I used to say, "Oh, he said no, so he must not be hungry." Instead, I've started putting the food on the table regardless of his response. Once I begin eating myself, he usually hops up and eats what is on his plate too.

REDBOX-A-GO GO!

My sister-in-law Trine (aka Poop Boots), posted that one of her "Family Fantasies" that rarely happens is to watch DVD's with her husband, snuggled up on the couch in their pajamas, eating popcorn. Wow, Erik and I didn't realize that we were living such a fantasy lifestyle. All we ever do for "date night" is sit on the couch and watch DVD's! This weekend was especially good because we actually watched decent movies. (Last weekend we watched Evan Almighty which was so-so. It's the kind of movie that Luke will probably really enjoy when he is 5.)

Friday night we watched Disturbia. It's been awhile since I've seen such a suspenseful, funny and entertaining movie. If you haven't seen it yet or know nothing about it, I definitely recommend it. I don't really want to say much for fear that I will spoil it. Probably not "Best Picture" material, but definitely a great rental!

Saturday night we watched a movie about an insanely good looking couple and a pretty girl who mistakenly falls for a hobbit played by Jack Black. Things that I found to be unrealistic (in order of importance):

1. Kate Winslet falling for Jack Black.
2. Kate Winslet teaching the old guy to walk without his walker in 1 to 2 days.
3. The whole WGA dinner thing happening within days of the old guy's acceptance.
4. Jack Black acting serious.
5. The rate at which Cameron Diaz and Jude Law's relationship accelerates. (Maybe the relationships of absurdly good looking people move at a faster speed then the rest of ours? I wouldn't know.)
6. How willing the two ladies are to blindly turn over their homes to complete strangers.

Maybe it wasn't supposed to be realistic. Either way, despite the obvious flaws, we both enjoyed "The Holiday." I was also very grateful for not too much physical contact between Kate Winslet and Jack Black. Nobody wants to see that. Only beautiful people should be allowed to kiss in movies. Just a thought.

PROUD PARENTS

We took this picture of Luke after church this evening. (Excuse the sword and food in his mouth, it's the only way he will pose.) What a great day! The Primary President said we could start bringing Luke into the nursery a month before his 18 month birthday to "acclimate" him as long as we stayed with him. I sat in the corner the first hour and watched as he magically turned into this angelic child I didn't recognize. The second hour approached and the nursery leaders told me to go and leave him in there because he was doing so well. (How often does Luke behave well anywhere??!?!? Answer: Rarely.) When I fetched him at the end of church, the leaders told me just to leave him in there from now on because he did so well. The most dramatic part of the afternoon came when I had to remove Luke from the nursery when church was over because he loved it so much.

Erik and I are amazed that our "crazy and wild" Luke was so well behaved. I wouldn't believe it, except that I saw it with my own eyes. He didn't throw toys! Or cry!! A kid even pushed him and it didn't phase him!

The best part is that after what has seemed like an eternity, I finally get to go to 2 full hours of classes at church without having to worry about Luke! Goodbye hallway! (Knock on wood.)

BIRTH OPTIONS OR LACK THEREOF

When I found out I was pregnant, the two biggest worries that kept me up at night were 1) what am I going to do with Luke when I am in labor and 2) how am I going to drive an hour to the hospital.

Labor options in Tehachapi are:

1. Drive an hour to a hospital in Lancaster/Palmdale.
2. Drive an hour to a hospital in Bakersfield.
3. Have your baby at home with the local midwife.

As much as I like the idea of a home birth, something in the back of my mind keeps telling me its a bad idea. Maybe its the proximity of my home to a hospital that makes me nervous, or that I really don't want to be responsible for cleaning up the mess. Either way, option 3 is a no go.

I know that Luke's birth went so smoothly because I was able to spend a huge chunk of my labor in the water. They don't call it the "aqua-dural" for nothing. The water helped my labor progress quickly and made my contractions feel like menstrual cramps. I had a really hard time getting out of the tub to drive the five minutes to the hospital because I was so comfortable. After that experience, Erik and I decided that we would really like to try a waterbirth at the Ventura Hospital the next time around. Then we moved to Tehachapi...

Last month I toured the Mercy Hospital "Birth Center" in Bakersfield and was told that "no one" does it naturally at the hospital. (I find that hard to believe.) When I asked if I could go in the shower during labor, the nurse looked at me like I was crazy and said that since I would be having a monitor and epidural, that would be impossible. Although Camarillo's little hospital didn't have tubs, they did have nurses open to and trained in assisting with natural childbirth, as well as waterproof cordless monitors that allowed mothers to labor in the shower. My visit with the nurses in Bakersfield was very disheartening to say the least.

There are 4 hospitals within a "reasonable" (if you call driving one hour "reasonable") distance of our home. I'm planning on calling the other 3 today to see if they have tubs or if they will allow me to bring a rented one in (surprisingly, some hospitals are actually very open to this). It's just one of those things that makes me so mad that I feeling like crying, which I have done plenty of this morning as I have pondered my lack of labor options living out here. I hate this all or nothing mentality of the hospital only doing epidural labors.

When a nurse or my doctor has asked me about my birth plan and I respond that I intend to do it naturally (barring any complications), they respond in this condescending tone, "Sure, honey." When I say, "I did it with the last baby, and would do it again!" I get the same response, "Uh-huh. Yeah."

My greatest fear, however, is that I'll go through all this work to bring a rented tub into the hospital or change doctors in order to deliver in a different hospital, and I'll end up having baby #2 at Mile Marker #42 on Highway 58!

(One of these days I'll write a post about why I prefer to do it naturally... but that's for another day... especially since many of you probably think I'm a freak for wanting to go to such lengths to labor in the water. Believe me, if you've labored in the water before, I know you understand my plight.)

FOR THE SAKE OF HIS MARRIAGE

How much do you want to bet that the person happiest that Cameron Mathison got kicked off Dancing with the Stars last night was Mrs. Cameron Mathison?

Did anyone notice that his wife was never shown in the audience when he danced, not once. They even did a package a few weeks back with Cameron talking about how his wife fully supported him and she knew that dancing with his partner, Edyta, was just "an act". Uh-huh. If that's true, why wasn't his wife on t.v. saying that?

I don't question Cameron's loyalty to his wife, but put yourself in her shoes. I don't know what his wife looks like. (I didn't even know who Cameron Mathison was before Dancing with the Stars). However, they have a few kids, so I'm guessing that although his wife may be beautiful, she probably looks nothing like Edyta. If I was his wife I would have a hard time watching my husband dance suggestively and look like he is in love with a half-naked super tan European goddess every single week to the praises of America and the judges. People always rave that Dancing with the Stars is a "family" show, but Edyta "Wear as Little Clothing as Possible" Slutvinska merits the show a "TV-MA." Seriously, who said ballroom dancing means you have to wear a sequined bikini every week with a weird fringe see-through shawl to keep it "modest"?

POOP JUICE

Mmmm, poop juice looks and sounds so appetizing. Doesn't it?

Luke has consistently been a fantastic sleeper for almost two months now. He goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. and sleeps straight through till 7:30 a.m. the next morning! It is a beautiful thing and I finally feel like I am getting my life, or at least some sanity, back.

Our big problem now is poop juice. (When I say, "poop juice" I mean, literally, POOP JUICE. ) When he doesn't sleep all night (which is rare, but does happen), he'll wake early in the morning covered in poop juice. Even when he does sleep all night, he is covered in poop juice. This means I am washing sheets almost every single day and changing his pajamas constantly. I also think my fingers smell like perma-poop. It is disgusting.

Last night was really bad because we (Luke and I) are both sick with a cold. He woke up a lot from coughing so much. Around 2 a.m., I deliriously put him in bed with us. At 5 a.m., Erik takes Luke out of bed, puts him in the bathtub and says to me, "Hey, you know you're lying in poop juice, right?" Since I am so tired, I just pull the sheet off, wipe myself down with a towel, and climb back into bed. That afternoon, my Dad sends me an email about avoiding staph infections and the number one thing is, "DON'T SLEEP IN POOP JUICE." Okay, it didn't say poop juice, but I'm sure that sleeping in it is sure to bring on a staph infection. Great.

So, here's my question. Is there any way to avoid the poop juice? A special diaper that will hold it in? Erik is suggesting that we change Luke's diaper every 2 hours during the night, but I don't agree if I am the one doing it. Mostly because I am selfish and I don't want to wake Luke or myself up every 2 hours to change a diaper. There's got to be a better way, right?

SWEET DREAMS, LUKE

Who needs a toddler bed, when you have a COOLER!!

While I was cleaning the kitchen last night, Luke crawled into this empty cooler lying on its side in the middle of the floor and said, "Night, night," and then pretended to sleep. It made me laugh really hard. For a minute I contemplated taking the lid off because he looked so comfortable and content. Honestly, it would be cheaper than buying a toddler bed that he's just going to grow out of in a year.

THE BEST FEMALE VOCALIST EVER?

The other night I was driving home from Bakersfield and listening to, of course, Delilah. If you don't know Delilah, you should. Although it's got to be the worst radio show EVER (half the time I swear it's an SNL skit), I can't get enough of it. The show usually goes something like this:

Caller: My husband and I have been together for 20 years, married for one. I have skin cancer, and my husband just got deployed to Iraq. We both love listening to your show together.

Delilah: That's great. It sounds like you found the perfect guy. I still haven't found the perfect guy. My love life is crap. I will play the perfect song for your perfect man serving our perfect country.

Then Delilah plays either "God Bless the USA" or "You Are So Beautiful to Me" or "I Miss You Like Crazy."

Honestly, I am really jealous of Delilah because she gets to pick songs for people all night. I don't how she does it without laughing, but she does. She also has this really cheesy theme song that is just some female voice singing, "Delilah, Love somebody tonight!"

Anyway, back to the story:

So, I'm thinking how cool it would be to be Delilah, and then I drifted on to wondering who is the best female vocalist of all time. I went to this website, and their list included:

Barbra Streisand



This is my personal all time favorite karaoke song. She's better than Neil Diamond, but that's not hard. Best singer of all time.... hmmm... doubtful.

Celine Dion



This is a video we can totally relate to. My apologies to anyone who lives in a castle and your fiance/husband/boyfriend died in a violent motorcycle/lightening accident. I always expect Meatloaf to appear in this music video.


Mariah Carey



I still need to see this.

Others on the list were:

Britney Spears (ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She sings like a robot because her voice is digitally enhanced.)
Shania Twain (Bad bad bad)
Whitney Houston (When she's not on drugs.)
Nelly Furtado (What?)

I don't know if it is coincidence, but I have to close my eyes when I listen to most of the people on this list sing because they (okay, mainly Celine and Barbra), make funny facial expressions (similar to Clay Aiken's). Any opinions on who is the best female vocalist of all time?

YAY, IT'S DONE

You know how it is when something consumes your life for any amount of time and when it is finally finished, you just feel such a sense of relief? That is the joy I am feeling right now at knowing this is all over.

I found out about the "Film Festival" activity that the Stake Young Mens Presidency was planning on doing at church about a month ago. The rules were pretty basic. It must be between 6 -7 minutes, must include all the youth in the ward (yeah, good luck with that), and must follow the theme, "Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly." I am turning it into the Stake for approval tonight and if all goes well, they are showing it this Wednesday, with all of the other ward's films.

I know the rules sound simple, but I spent a lot of time asking myself why I volunteered to be in charge of this thing. One of the hardest parts was working with the other leaders. It has been an interesting process trying to incorporate everyone's ideas and not make people feel bad. Another hard thing was that I had to trim the movie down from 20 to 7 minutes, which will probably hurt many kids' feelings. I am also very grateful that I don't have to be in charge of the Deacons (the 12 - 13 year old boys).

If you can't figure it out - our concept was about avoiding "filthy" movies... (and yes, I know I named it after my least favorite movie of all time...)

DENIAL

I have decided to take the Christina Aguilera/Jennifer Lopez approach to pregnancy. That's right, I am waiting for the highest bidder of which magazine I will officially announce my pregnancy to. Both of them, only this last week, confirmed they were pregnant, despite it being super obvious for some time now.

Take a look at this picture of Christina Aguilera from a few weeks before she announced her pregnancy. Other than literally seeing the baby crown, I don't know what else would scream "I'm Pregnant" more than this picture.

Then there is Jennifer Lopez with the free flowing mu-mu's she wears 24-7. You're not fooling anyone J-Lo.

However, now that I am finding myself in a similar situation, I completely understand J-Lo and Christina's problem. I don't know why it is so hard for me to tell people, it just is. It's not a secret that I'm pregnant, I am just not talking about it much with people I interact with on a daily basis. Newsflash: Most people in my day to day life do not read my blog. So, my options are either:

a) borrow Candace's shirt that says, "YES, I'm Pregnant" and wear it to church
b) don't tell anyone
c) just tell people

For now, I have chosen to go with Option B and it is becoming increasingly awkward as my belly is getting bigger and BIGGER. I'm not huge.... yet... but it is at that point where I know people are wondering if I am fat or pregnant, or both. Should I even worry about telling people or just figure that once I start walking around with two kids instead of one they will have it figured out?

LA GRÈVE

I am all too familiar with strikes. The French LOVE to strike. I don't think I emphasized this enough. They LOVE LOVE LOVE to strike. The two most memorable strikes of my mission (in France) were of course, 1) the postal strike, because it is horrible as a missionary to not get any mail and 2) the garbage strike. I actually really enjoyed the garbage strike. Yes, the garbage bags sitting out on the corners forever were gross, but the best part was when the garbage workers paraded through town on the back of garbage trucks, all while tossing garbage EVERYWHERE. The leader of their parade was not a garbage worker, but this crazy investigator we had who just wanted to be part of the action. Like I said, the French LOVE to strike.

The top news story this week (at least in L.A.) has been the writer's strike. It seems the WGA can't agree with "the man" about things like internet royalties for tv shows. I don't know. I like a good strike, but when this means that I can't find out what happens with Jim and Pam on the Office or watch 30 Rock or watch more than 3 episodes of Lost when the season starts in February, well, I get really irritated. I mean, I already waited all summer for my shows to start, and now I'm going to be forced to either watch lame reality shows like "The Bachelor" or read a book. READ A BOOK?!!?!?! (Just kidding, kind of.)

So here is my public plea to "the Man." Just give them (the writers) whatever they want. You know you will eventually, so just do it and let us all get on with our make-believe television lives.

TOO MANY PHOTOS

Mental illness is not funny. Or is it? I keep wondering if it is totally uncouth for me to be writing about this. It makes me laugh, but some of you might view my reaction as cruel. I guess the whole point is that when someone you know is going (or has gone) "nuts", the only real options are to either laugh or cry. I am choosing to laugh.

My grandmother, Lollie, lost her mind some time ago. She's always been a little off, but lately it's been really bad. Today I received two huge boxes from her in the mail addressed to "Master Luke Lassen c/o Kathleen Stewart Lassen." Knowing my grandmother, I figured they each contained one large pillow wrapped in aluminum foil because she's known for sending things like that. Or then there was the time that she mailed me an envelope containing photocopies of all the birthday cards and letters she sent me as a child. (Isn't it crazy that she thought to photocopy a birthday card before she sent it to me in 1983 so that she could send it to me when I was 24?)

Well, the first box contained a set of cobalt blue pots and pans, along with a really nice Le Creuset tea kettle. I'm sure Luke will really enjoy them. Some were used and some still had the price tag stuck to the bottom. To the tea kettle she attached a receipt from a year ago.


The second box was the fun one. Master Luke Lassen received... (drum roll, please)... a dozen or so random framed pictures from her house! They were each wrapped in so much bubble wrap that Luke kicked the pictures around like soccer balls before I unwrapped them and they still didn't break.


I know, you're thinking, why is this funny? Just wait. One of the pictures was this picture she took of other pictures. She was obviously really determined that I see ALL THE PICTURES.

Since there was no card attached, I couldn't help but calling her to ask what cryptic message she was trying to pass along to me through this package to Luke. She told me, "Dahling, it is very important that you show Luke these pictures every day so he knows that he has another family that loves him." Okaaaaaaaaaaay.


Therefore, according to Lollie's wishes, tonight I began our new evening tradition. I think I will take a photo of this photo of me holding a photo of photos and send it to Lollie. I am saying to Luke, "Here is a photo of photos of me, your aunts, grandma, and your great-great-grandfather. This is your other family that loves you." Confused? So am I.

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS

Erik was supposed to be doing an inventory of his plane kit tonight to get it ready to sell, but instead I found him playing make-believe in the garage.

Wow, either Erik is really strong or the plane body is really light! You decide.

The Long EZ with the lid on. Yes, in case you were wondering, he really was making "Vroom, vroom" noises while I took this picture.

I agreed to sit in it with him and make a few "Vroom, vroom" noises. And, no, it does not make me want him to build it. (This is what parents do when the kids go to sleep. We play "pretend airplane" in the garage.)

STEPPING OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE

I got home really late last night from a quick weekend trip to Utah to see my new nephew. This was my first time being back in Happy Valley since we moved away 2 and a half years ago. When I first moved to Provo in 2002, I felt like I was living in the Truman Show. Everyone seemed a little too friendly and everything a little too perfect. Then I got used to it and really began enjoying myself there. It was actually really hard and sad to leave when we moved back to California in 2005.

So going back was... interesting. Granted, it was a quick trip and sadly I didn't get to do or see even half of the things/people I wanted to. It is always very interesting though to step outside the bubble and look back in with a new perspective.

Random Thoughts on Happy Valley

1. Provo seemed so crowded. I don't know if this is because I live in a 6,000 person town now or because it really is.

2. Cafe Rio was very disappointing. Either they changed the recipe of those salads since I moved or they were never that good. I don't think I will insist on going back there again.

3. Californians are easily identifiable in Provo by wearing flip flops in 50 degree weather with big coats.

4. Sam Hawk (the Korean restaurant by Smith's) is still really good, but we had to wait almost 2 hours for our food to be served! Everyone had to wait this long for their food. I kept looking around for the other customers to join me in a revolt, but no one seemed to mind the insane wait. As my sister, Kelley, mentioned, "Anything tastes really good after a two hour wait."

5. There really is no place like the dollar theater in Provo. We went to a showing of Sidney White and there were people sitting on the theater floor to watch that movie. SIDNEY WHITE!!! All during the movie I kept trying to figure out why people were laughing so hard. Then, at the end of the movie, people clapped. I'm pretty sure that half the theater was drunk because I don't know how else they could have found that movie as funny and entertaining as they did. I know, it's Provo, they were "drunk on fun." (Sidney White was probably a step above the Britney Spears movie, "Crossroads".)

6. I am publicly admitting how jealous I am of my sister-in-law, Trine, who lives in Provo. I really don't think she knows how lucky she is. They have never had to pay for a babysitter, have a dollar theater and lots of restaurants close by, and usually go to the temple (together!) every other week. All I could think about was how we rarely go on dates without Luke because we can't afford to pay for a babysitter and the date. (When I've mentioned trading babysitting with friends, they have told me they don't think they could handle Luke plus their own and they're probably right). The only way we've been able to make it to the temple is to drive 2 1/2 hours there (one-way) and then take turns on who goes inside so that one of us can stay out with the Luke-ster. I know, many people have it much harder than us, but I still want to remind all of you in a situation similar to Trine's of how nice you have it!