Lentils and quinoa are hip.

Bleh.

I dont really hate any particular food. Sure there are foods where I would say, "I'd rather not." But I would eat them anyways, but lentils and quinoa are one of those things I really struggle with. Lentils much more so than quinoa. Usually when I share this with people though I get a response like, "oh really?! I love lentils!" Or "I just love quinoa!" Proceeding there declarations of love they will continue to share with me all the ways they use it and where I can find it made really well. Dont get me wrong, I have had good quinoa, but nothing which has been produced by my own two hands.

I've begun to get the impression that it's "cool" or "hip" to like quinoa. As a result I almost feel embarrassed to tell people I dont like it. I've begin to wonder if admitting I dont like quinoa is like telling people you don't like fluffy cute bunnies.

Really I want to like it but... EEK GAG! It's disgusting.

The first time I found quinoa was at Costco, in a really large bag. Matt and I thought we'd take it home and try it. We did and after 3 years that bag is almost gone and I promise you I haven't eaten more than a couple spoon fulls from that bag of quinoa and most of what we made got chucked. (I am thinking about those poor kids in destitute third world countries. I'm sure they'd eat it.)

For the record, I have tried to like quinoa! I promise! So how have I tried to make quinoa??

One week I thought I'd make some quinoa breakfast with fruit. However, when Day 1 hit no amount of sugar was going to make the quinoa taste any better with my blackberries.

I've tried cooking it like Brazilian rice, which gets it's delectable flavor from garlic, salt, and sometimes onions. Not even my Brazilian rice recipe could make it taste better.

I tried to imitate the Whole Foods black bean and corn quinoa salad recipe. It's actually pretty good. It's flavored with a red wine vinegar. It tasted great at Whole Foods.... not in my kitchen. 

Matt & I are turning into those parents. The kind that read labels and count how many things we can't pronounce or how many things look strange and decide we are not going to give our child THAT. We haven't given our child any candy and we waited until he was one to give him fruit.

There's a specific brand of baby food I really like. It's called Ella's kitchen.

It is "organic" but they have fun mixes of veggies and when Calvin was only eating veggies and no fruit they had lots of fun selections. They had a LENTIL and Rutabaga one that I loved. I'm not sure if Calvin loved it.... but I did! :)

In order to be a good parent I once decided that I needed to love lentils and quinoa for Calvin's sake. So one week I sat down and planned what meals I would eat that would involve lentils or quinoa.
Day 1 lentils with sweet potatoes. Gross.
Day 2 quinoa black bean salad. Whole Foods makes it better.
Day 3 pizza. No, that's not quinoa crusted pizza or pizza covered in lentils. It's the regular kind with cheese, tomatoes and whatever else you'd like to throw on it. We really didn't make it to day 3. :)

I still make lentils now, but I just feed them to Calvin. 

Anyways, when people say their children are like garbage disposals.... I KNOW WHY. Because they will eat anything. I'm sure people mean to say that there child will eat paper, little plastic tidbits, zippers, dirt, little rocks, etc.  Calvin will eat our QUINOA and LENTILS!

When I made red lentils with sweet potatoes on Day 1 that Matt and I struggled to eat, I gave it to Calvin. I told some colleagues at school what I made and they said it sounded delicious. (bleh)
And to Calvin, it was absolutely delicious.

This kid eats better than I do! I blend up parsnips, eggplant, zucchini, and beets cooked in vegetable broth and puree it and he eats it all with brown rice. :)

Logan

I really ought to post more. :)

Two weekends ago it was UAE weekend. I know the U stands for Utah and the E probably stands for Education but I'm not sure what the A could be. All I know is that it means NO SCHOOL! It's a popular time for National Parks in the state to be filled up. I know we made that mistake once. Finding a camping spot was difficult.

Matt has been working out of town and racked up a lot of reward points so we got a "free" place to stay in Logan a the Holiday Inn Express. Wahoo!

On facebook I put up a post asking for a list of cool things to see in Logan. It was really helpful and we got to do quite a few of them. Here are a few pictures from our visit.

 Silly that I noticed the signal at the crosswalk. I wanted to look at Logan as a "brand new" and maybe even a "foreign" place. So when I saw something I hadn't seen in SLC for a while I thought, "hey! This is new!" *click*

We walked downtown and visited a few bookstores and candy stores. We bought some super yummy Bluebird Chocolates and looked at some pretty historic houses and sites. 

 We visited the First Dam and my son LOVED the ducks. He would look and pause at the ducks in such reverence. After hearing the ducks quack and make their own little sounds Calvin at one point perked up and chimed in, imitating them in his own way. 

The Zombie Walk

We weren't sure what it was going to be like. We just saw something posted on the City of Logan's Event Page and figured we'd check it out.  I think it was some type of food drive, I'm not quite sure. We just wanted to see some zombies walking.  More people were zombies with fake blood and torn up clothes but a few them decided they would be the ones who would save us from the Zombie Apocalypse!

I thought it would be really cool if I could get a photo of all the zombies crossing Main Street.... but that is obviously not the case in the photo above. I mean look how politely you see them crossing between the white lines at a designated spot and at an appropriate time but there's my husband in a bright blue jacket smiling like nothing is the matter. "Honey! Watch out for the zombies!!"

We ended the evening with getting "good" food. We got pizza at a place near USU, got appetizers at a Brazilian restaurant, and got Aggie Ice Cream at the creamery on campus. For the record I think it's pretty much equal to the creamery in Provo. So good! :)

The next day we hit up the farmer's market, visited the Logan's little zoo, and went to Bear Lake.
We had Bear Lake Raspberry shakes which were delicious! We also went up to Paris, Idaho to see the Paris Ice Cave. It was pretty anticlimactic, but at least we know that from experience, right?!

Love the explanation of this species! "Rock".

Yup that's the ice we have found Paris Ice Caves.

 Of crouse Matt wanted to see if Calvin could climb up all the rocks by himself. What we failed to realize is that Calvin took great pleasure in sticking his hand in small dark holes whenever he saw one and popping rocks in his mouth like skittles. I can't even believe how thoughtless he is about just throwing rocks in his mouth. It's like we're watching a movie and the natural thing is just to, you know, pop a rock in your mouth and continue like it's no body's business.  I'm sure if he wasn't distracted by all the little dark holes and small rocks he could have done fine climbing up.

 

This was pretty much the end of our trip, really. 

On the Map we saw that there were some roads that could take us from this location to Preston, Idaho which would be a straight shot to Logan, Utah. That way we wouldn't have to go back to Bear Lake, down Logan Canyon and back into the city. It would save us a lot of time. Besides we had a "Haunted Logan" tour to go to. I love Utah history and I love the ghost stories associated with this state! 

So we tried one of the small roads that were suppose to go to Preston. Well, there was a split in the road and we choose one way because the other way had a big sign that said: "Road Not Maintened for Passenger Vehicles". Personally, it seems to me to be pretty clear that we shouldn't go down that road, so for the time being we don't. However the road we do choose thins out and we decide to turn around and head back up to Bear Lake and down Logan Canyon. 

We see a bunch of ATVs and Matt stops one of them and asks if he thinks our car could make it on that forbidden road. Uh....? 

The man assures that although some spots are tight we should be fine. I shake my head and tell the man no, but Matt just pats my lap and assures we're going to be alright. Except that we're not alright because after almost making it to a better road our car hits a knarly pointy rock and our tire goes flat. After flattening the spare tire we decide that we'll probably have to find a new tire and put it on our car in order to get out of that tight, steep, and rocky road. Oh geez. 

Look at those rocks! A super jagged one got our front tire.

So in short, the ATVers give us a ride down, we get a ride to Preston (45 minutes away) and then we call Matt's parents in Pocatello to come get us. Matt gets the tire store owner to open shop at 8pm to sell us a tire, and Matt drives off with the Tow man that our insurance provided for us. 

Calvin and I go to Pocatello with Matt's parents and Matt joins us Sunday morning around 2am. :)

The best part of this whole escapade was the fact that Calvin got to take his very first ATV ride. We latched on the carseat and rode away. Calvin at one point seemed pretty excited. He would talk make sounds as we went over bumps and smile big. However as a result of his distaste of keeping his hands covered from the cold wind he started to get fussy. Even after his hands were icy cold he refused to let me hold them or keep them warm from him. I dont get it.

I am the 1%.

That's right. We're having twins.
Apparently 1 in 100 women have "multiples".

I am the 1%.

However that number can vary based upon genetic factors. For example, in my family two of my aunts have a set of twins and on the same side of the family I have a cousin who has twins. Not sure if these two blessings are identical, but either or would be fine! Babies to come March February (Twins generally come early).

Somehow I knew this was going to happen. As I was going for my first prenatal appointment I had a thought, "it would be so bad if I were to have twins! I'll have to make something special for Matt, to soften the blow, when he comes home so I can break the news...what should I make?!"

I quickly excused this thought with, "you're silly. Don't count your chickens before they hatch! What are your chances of having twins anyways??"

The doctor did an ultrasound and said nothing. It was pretty quick and naturally I was a little nervous. I said, "did you see anything?!" He smiled and said: "I think I see two."

Tears started to form in my eyes, but I wasn't going to loose it just because he "thinks" he saw two.

After he did a vaginal ultrasound he smiled and said: "yup" and pointed to the screen to show me two little sacs floating somewhere in my belly with little alien like creates rotating in each one.

I lost it. The tears came streaming down.

Sweet man gave me a hug and said: "I bet those are tears of joy with a little bit of shocked mixed in with it." My response was almost, "definitely not joy."

Matt was more surprised than I had expected and it made me feel so good. So good. He also didn't seem very surprised, but maybe that's because he was just so excited. Matt is really into being "efficient" and I tell him that two babies instead of one is what you could call a very "efficient" pregnancy.

 Honestly, his excitement really made up for a lot of my fears. As time has gone on I feel a lot more confident and at peace. I've read a lot of things on twins and that mostly consoles my fears, but it also makes me worry about things I couldn't possibly have thought of on my own. There is such thing as The National Organization of Twin Mothers and there's a chapter in SLC. I'm thinking of joining. Apparently they have fondue parties and double stroller walks in the park. I'm hoping one or some of them have 3 or more children under the age of 2 and can give me some good advice of what to do.

With that said...

We are currently accepting donations for diapers! So next time when you are de-cluttering and you're trying to figure out what to donate to your local thrift store and you see those old, dust collecting diapers, think about us! We will proudly take any diapers that are just collecting dust in your attic or basement closet! We really won't be picky. We'll take any size and any brand too!

The only thing we're not accepting are used ones. So no used diapers, please. :)

Heaps Canyon & The West Rim Trail

It's a big deal, even if you haven't even heard of it. :)

Matt has wanted to do this canyon for some time and at the beginning of January made plans to accomplish this dream.

Having people come over to practice ascending a rope in our garage and throwing a bag full of sand across the street was only a small part of it all. Matt read LOADS about doing this canyon. He lost weight. He did lots of other canyons to physically get prepared for what he was going to find in Heaps. I was thoroughly impressed. This canyon is difficult because of how long it is, because of the pot holes you could find yourself in, and my greatest fear, the last rappel which is 500 feet in total but split up into 3 parts. The third part being 300 feet of free hanging rappel-ness.

He's hardcore. What else can I say?

This is the beginning of the 300 foot rappel.

My dad and I waiting at the last rappel to see these guys come down.

Group photo of all who did it...Duke, Jordan, Raul, Matt & Zach

Can I just say that this canyon takes A LONG time to do? Well.... they say like 10-24 hours. (depending on conditions) Matt thought they'd be done by 4. They were planning to start at 3am but got delayed to start at 5am instead. Zach's wife and family came up to watch him do the last rappel and it was suppose to be a surprise. Matt told them to be down and waiting by 4pm, but by Noon Matt was ready for it so he decided to take lots of "breaks" to buy them some time and sent a text (yes he had reception from where they were at) to Zach's wife to let her know he was there.  Matt realized he couldn't hold Zach back much longer and he just went on hoping the text was received and that everyone was down below. They were done by 2-3pm, only because they had to "rest" so that Zach's family could catch up to them. I was surprised I made it! Zach's wife texted me and, and me and my dad booked up to Emerald Pools in time to see them all come down!

We all started at the West Rim trail, Matt all those guys that did the canyon, my dad,  and James on Friday afternoon and they set off early Saturday morning to do the canyon. The West Rim Trail was GORGEOUS! Matt wanted me to go along and do Heaps with them but I had my own reservations, one of them primarily being the 300 foot of free fall rappel-ness.

Besides, I always wanted to hike the West Rim. :)

Summer Bliss: Turning One is About Survival

We made it! Well.... actually.... our little Baby C made it! Wahoo!! I never thought this day would come, really. I thought it would only be too appropriate to have a "survival" themed birthday party for him. There was no theme to this party.It was just to fun celebrate his first year of life. Huzzah!

We had a small party with family and a WATERMELON CAKE!

                       

Aline cut off the top and bottom parts of the watermelon and then just cut out in the inside to get the shape of this cake, then she added the fruit and whip cream. She added leaves because it's his birthday and he can eat what he wants to.( Calvin likes to eat leaves and grass. :))

The cake was too cold so Calvin wasn't really into it. I'm telling you, this kid HATES cold things. You put something chilled in his mouth and he'll spit it right out. I've spoiled him with really making sure his milk is warm, maybe even hot. 

We had a pinata! What's a party without a pinata?!

   

  

 

 

 

He is my favorite! 

I posted a lot of pictures but I can't get enough of him. :)

Here are some stats on Calvin. 

Weight: 19 lbs

Heighth 29 inches

29 percentile for heighth

10 percentile for weight

He hates cold food but will eat anything that's sufficiently warm

He loves to clap his hands 

He will sing along with a few tunes

He loves to climb up on top of things

He loves kids and babies 

NO TEETH!

Summer Bliss: Tonga

What kind of mother would I be if I didn't let my son touch the Pacific Ocean?!

I knew I wanted to blog about Tonga but I knew there were so many things I could write about that this blog post was going to be unusually lengthy and no one would really be that THAT interested to read EVERYTHING that we did. So, this is my attempt to be brief.

Here are some fun facts about Tonga.

+They have one of the highest literacy rates in the world.
+They are at the same latitude as Rio de Janeiro
+They are besties with China (China seems to give them LOTS of money. LOTS.)
+They are a christian nation

You can't talk about Tonga history without talking about Queen Salote. It's suprising how often this comes up in conversation.

So.... in 1952 at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II it was raining. All the dignitaries and politically important people world wide were there to witness the event. In short, as someone rushed to give Queen Salote an umbrella or something or other to cover her head from the rain she refused it in order to show respect to the Queen of England by not having her head covered.

I'm not kidding you that people in Tonga are still talking about this more than 60 years later.

Anyways here are some photos to maybe explain our travels a little more.

The whole reason my mom even went to Tonga was to attend her High school reunion, which is cool. Here's another fun fact, they have one EVERY YEAR. My mom's been going to Tonga for the past 3 years as soon as she knew they were doing this. This is her and her friend Tai from high school. It says "50th Anniversary of '62." .....

Yeah those are totally from last year.

Anyways to kick off the "reunion" they have this huge parade where we march in the streets waving flags and waving at people. It's kind of a big deal.

There were, I think, only 6 of them representing the class of '62

I feel like the whole island came to our little parade, seriously, the WHOLE ISLAND.

Most people were just holding banners and waving. My mom thought she'd go the next step and bring a horn. Just so that people would notice the Class of 1962. Baby C and I just smiled and waved. 

Where all the kings are buried. I couldn't get closer to take a better photo.

My sister complained last year that there is no McDonald's or fast food chains in Tonga. But.... I found a Mr. Chicken!

Our "cruise liner". Yup... riding in style. Baby C's first cruise ship. ;)

Let me explain why I included these next set of photos. (My mom took these.) When you enter Highschool you get put into a "house", just like at Hogwarts. I dont even know what the houses are called here but when you enter high school they just throw you in one of these, randomly selected, and when you play sports and do other stuff you play for your house. Each house has their own color. In this school the colors that I saw were red, yellow, blue, and green. My mom belonged to the red house. 

ANYWAYS.... they were having some type of celebration too and these were their floats. Yup... made from the back of a truck. I thought how economical and practical that would be! Can you imagine the Macy Day Parade with trucks?? People would save SO MUCH MONEY!!

Well at this reunion they have a ball where everyone dresses up really fancy. I think this is my Mom's favorite part. She made sure I brought a dress too but I was so tired I decided not to go but as soon as I saw my mom's dress I threw mine on just to take a picture.

This year this ball happened to be a masquerade and everyone needed to bring their own mask. My Mom bought a black one before she came but while in Tonga she found a blue mask that, no joke, went perfectly with her dress.

  

Notice the conservative colors of the dresses of her friends. ;)

To wrap things up...

1. There was a HUGE FEAST where the families of the current students at Tonga prepared food for the visitors for the last day. It was the BIGGEST Feast I have ever been to. I have never seen so much food.

2. The bread in Tonga is the best. So soft and tasty.

3. Everyone in Tonga speaks English pretty good, although they all speak Tongan to each other.

4. Calvin is a ladies man.

 

I dont know any of these people. They aren't related to me and maybe my mom knew who they were. I took more but I am having a hard time loading them. Calvin loved strangers. Women would flock to him and pick him up and Calvin would smile and be cute and I thought I'd take a picture for the future. If he's having self-esteem issues in the future I'll just throw these out.

I'm sure my son could move in with strangers and he wouldn't even care. All he would want is to be fed.