About a Girl...

It's official- after a lot of feelings and speculation, we finally know! We're having a GIRL!!! Yay! We are really excited. Interestingly enough, Christian and I both had feelings, independent of each other, that this one was going to be a girl. Thank goodness it was too, because I think I told everyone I knew about it and I would have been really embarrassed if it had been a boy.

Failed Attempt #2

Alright, so I don't think we're cursed, but we have definitely had a run of bad luck in our outings as of late. This last weekend, I was running with Oliver and noticed a sign at the local elementary school advertising a Fall Festival there on Saturday night. So, that night, we got Ollie all suited up in his frog costume and headed on over. Well, upon closer inspection, the sign read that the festival actually took place on Friday night. Of course, Christian wasn't about to let me slide on that one, so I had to do some quick thinking on what we could do with our little frog man. I remembered that Old Navy was having something and I was sure the mall would host some kid of Halloween something. I couldn't stop laughing our whole walk through the mall- Oliver was the only kid dressed up (Of course- it's a whole week before Halloween!) and we had MANY on-lookers. We got to Old Navy and all they had was a dinky coloring table! So, we wandered around, looking for something to redeem our night with Oliver and finally settled on the mall playground and a carousel ride. I have to admit, though, he did look awfully adorable and so innocent and shameless in his costume.

Super Saturday and More...

Wow- it's been a while and this is going to be quite the catch-up post. Saturday, two weeks ago, was the last weekend of the famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We had yet to make it down the official lift-off site, so we decided that this was the year to make it happen. We got up at an unreasonable hour, waded through the fiesta traffic, paid for parking and entrance into the park, only to find out 5 minutes later that the lift off had been canceled. So, instead we walked around, snapped a few pics of Gov. Bill Richardson, and then headed home, even resisting the urge to binge on a yummy New Mexican breakfast burrito after all of our troubles. Before we headed out on our second of three outings that day, we had a good ol' New Mexican hail storm. Next stop was the Albuquerque Aquarium. Oliver got as close to the glass as we could push him- he was totally freaked out. But Christian loved sharing all his shark knowledge with the little guy nonetheless. After a little run-in, literally, on the way home,we headed off Wall-E, the movie. What a day!

Yep, that's the man- Bill Richardson.

After a failed attempt at the Balloon Fiesta, Christian was really as frustrated as he looks in this picture...

The shark tank at the aquarium.

They just put in this beautiful Japanese garden at the aquarium and Oliver loved the waterfall.

We got Oliver a zoo and aquarium pass for his birthday a few months ago and we really have yet to use it. So, yesterday we made it out to the zoo, one hour before it closed (which, in my opinion, is the perfect time and perfect amount of time).

Christian was kind of obsessed with this jaguar. Beautiful, huh?

Oliver was liking just running around more than seeing the animals.

We finished off the night with Ironman, the movie, at our friends', the Alders. Oliver loves, loves, loves Eric and Rachel and follows them around and snuggles with them the whole time we're over there.

Food Storage/emergency prep.

We want to get on this food storage train but need some help. I know nothing about food storage. I spoke with our ward expert lady and learned a bit, and got the list of foodstuffs we can get at our cannery, but I'm looking for any advice on any aspect of food storage and other emergency stuff one should have.

Fist question: how do I figure out how much food it will take to feed 2 adults and 1 kid for 6 months or a year? The church website had nothing helpful. Does anyone know of any website or calculator for that?

Do you get most your food storage through the cannery, or are there things that are better or cheaper that you get through other places?

Any other advice on what to get or not get?

Aside from food and water, here are the things I can think of offhand that we should have extra of. Tell me what i'm missing:

flashlights, kerosene heater/cooker, fire starting stuff, sanitary stuff, bigger clothes for kids, batteries, crank radio, medical and first aid stuff, 7 or 8 guns, cabin in Montana, camo gear.

Tell me your thoughts, whatever they be.

Conference Weekend at the Bells

So, after a relaxing week in Sundance, Christian and I joined the Bells for Conference weekend. We met up at Hogle Zoo on Friday, then went out to dinner that night at The Dodo with just the adults- a real treat. The rest of the weekend was filled Conference, Conference, and more Conference. I was actually pretty proud of myself, this being the first year ever I haven't dozed off during one of the sessions. Though, it might have been impossible with all the kiddos running around providing ample amounts of entertaining distraction.

Cousin fun, whether or not you like it, Oliver...

All the cousins were so helpful with Oliver, making sure he kept up with the group and felt included.

Grandpa and Ollie.

This was the only other slightly redeemable picture from the whole weekend- the rest were all really blurry. This is Oliver with his 2 other cousins his age, Abe and Benny.

Sundance

One of my favorite places in the whole world is at Sundance, UT. My parents spend a week at our cabin up there every fall, and this year they invited Oliver and I to join them. In my opinion, there is no more beautiful time of year than early fall in Utah. The greens, red, oranges, and yellows are so amazing against the blue sky and mountains. I highly recommend a visit to the Provo Canyon anytime during the last 2 weeks of September until the middle of October. And, if you really want an experience, grab lunch at the Sundance cafe- it can't be topped. Anyway, so my Mom was selfless enough to fly out to Albuquerque to help me make the drive to Utah with Oliver. After 10 hours of pure bliss (and I really mean that- Oliver was an angel), we arrived in Provo at my sister Julie's apartment where we spent the night. The next morning, Julie cut and colored my hair (I was her first girl hair cut ever at the Paul Mitchell cosmetology school. Talk about trust...:)) We finally made it up to the cabin, but not before a stop at my fave, Bajio's for a chicken salad. We spent the rest of the week at the cabin, filled with beautiful walks/hikes/talks. It was so relaxing and nice. Christian flew out on Thursday night and we went on a hike to Stewart Falls on Friday morning before heading out to spend the rest of the weekend with the Bells (post to follow).

Oliver with "Poppy" on our hike to Stewart Falls.

Stewart Falls