Thanksgiving

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving. The plan originally was to go to Idaho and be there with my parents and some of my siblings but at the last minute plans sadly changed. As I talked to my mom on Thanksgiving-eve she said that no matter the circumstances I should make the best of the day and be happy. I was in the Walmart parking lot getting ready to go in and buy clorox and dishsoap but after talking to her I added some thanksgiving ingredients to the menu to pick up too.

There was no turkey or pumpkin pie (the turkeys were rock solid frozen and i didn't think one would be defrosted to cook and be ready in time, and I am sadly the only one in the family who likes pumpkin pie!) so we went with ham and an apple caramel cake.

Thanksgiving morning we watched the Macys day parade and I made crescent rolls and deviled eggs (both staples at thanksgiving although my mom's rolls are much better! mine turned out well for my second time using yeast :). and of course some potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and the little pickles and carrots (that are also tradition!)

Rocky invited his sisters over to eat with us and I called my family in the evening to see how their day was. I spent a lot of time remembering past thanksgivings...from the ones in California to the ones in Idaho with married siblings! Also of course remembering black friday shopping teehee....and of course I was on the phone with my dad when some of my siblings left to get in on some of the "gray thursday" deals. 

I am thankful for my family...my wonderful husband who I love and adore, and our little Riley who is so funny and growing so fast! As well as my extended family for their love and support. I have so much to be thankful for, including the gospel, many opportunities, and of course our safety and health!

Speaking of which...a couple days after thanksgiving riley came down with croup but luckily we caught it early and took him to the doctor who gave examined him- his lungs still sounded good- and gave him some steroids to help with the inflammation in his throat. we kept him in (although the doctor said the cold air would be good for him) and told him no late night parties! He is doing a lot better now. It made me so sad when he woke up various times during the night crying because he was so congested and coughing. During the day he didn't let it keep him down, although he was a little more snuggly :) he is usually not a snuggly baby at all so that part was nice to be able to hold him and cuddle him! He is super inquisitive and curious!

Family Night!

We had a little family night today! In the Gateway (an outdoor shopping mall) was hosting a concert featuring Kurt Bestor and a children's choir and doing their annual Christmas tree lighting. It was going to be a date night that turned into a family night and it wasn't super cold (until the very end) so Riley was happy in his little bear snuggle suit.

We got to the Gateway early and found parking and then window shopped...Dick's sport store, Aldos, Forever 21, Berkenstoff toy store while we waited. As the children's choir started to sing it also started to pour rain! We hung out under the eves of the toy store along with some other people, but that only allowed us to listen, not see the choir. Nonetheless, they sounded so pretty! Security started handing out free umbrellas about 20 minutes into the concert and those went pretty quick, but luckily it stopped raining about 10 minutes later! I think there were a lot of prayers that it would stop raining! We ventured out and got some hot chocolate and cookies that they were handing out and listened to the end of the choir and then to Kurt Bestor. He played beautifully...something not easy with the cold I'm sure!

The most exciting part of the night was the lighting of the Christmas tree! they had a synchronized music and light show including the tree. The tree itself was donated by a family in Utah. KSL (a local tv/radio station) starts looking for a tree in September and came across this certain tree in the front yard of the family's house. The family had decided the tree was getting too big for their yard (it is huge!) and generously donated it! The music and light show was so fun and they will have it replaying on the hour in the evenings during the Christmas holiday season. Riley loved the lights, the people, the music...everything! He is very observant and was taking everything in.

After the show we scurried on back to the car because we were starting to really feel the cold! Pictures and video are on my facebook and hopefully soon on the blog! It was so nice to have a (Saturday!) family night out. In the past these have been sadly close to non-exsistant but now that we have a different schedule we have plans to have more family outings and more date nights!

Hi!
 sooo...the month is flying by just like october flew by.

riley had a fun first halloween. trunk or treats, a cute costume, fun pictures! he was a little jack-o-lantern and the weather was great for the trunk or treat activities we were invited to. he came away with a steal of candy, but even better, a lot of great memories!

the first restaurant closed (also at the end of october) and...moving is a pain! i got a great deal on a storage unit for the time being until the new location opens. it was bittersweet because i have a lot of great memories of rocky and me there...lots of learning experiences from me working there...so many things. but sometimes not everything is in your control and you have to look on to bigger and better things! the restaurant in sandy is still open and i am helping right now with their lunchtime delivery.

i went to some fun blogger events! rocky and i had a little date night at taste of chocolate and were able to support the cause of vaccinating ninos in other lands who don't have the funds to get vaccinations. there were a lot of kinds of chocolate to sample from different countries. also we won some sweet prizes, including a huge gift basket of chocolate treats from whole foods...yumm a chocolate granola with strawberries...caramel chocolate organic truffles...and a ton more!

i did miss out on a couple blogger events that i hope to be able to be a part of in the future! there was a great passionfruit blogger event, where you could go and get help with your blog...this (obvi!!!) would have been such a great one to go to because my blog...oh my blog! however, i carry on ;)

my awesome sweet friend edith, who was also one of my best companions on the mission came to visit from california! she also cam for a baptism and sealing but stayed a couple nights with us and it was great catching up, going out to eat at pei wei (her first time!) and of course riley getting to meet his tia (aunt) edith! i still call her hermana (sister) from the mission...it has just stuck! she is amazing and i can't wait to see her again!

i have also gotten to hang out more with my sister stace who also lives in utah. we have gone to some blogger events together and shopping...she gets coupons for free stuff at old navy and we went together last saturday to pick out free dresses! i got a cute black and white striped dress with 3/4 sleeves and she got a two toned blue sweater dress- great for winter! we always seem to run out of time so fast when we are hanging out.

riley is such a cutie cute cute little baby who doesn't want to be a baby! he is crawling like crazy, standing on his own and walking supported by the couch or whatever he is holding onto! he loves to feed himself cheerios and other finger foods and loves fruits and veggies! he is not a fan of rice cereal, snuggles, or getting dressed. he is super vocal and loves to play, read his books, be around other people and babies, and is so attentive! if there is something he wants he goes after it (especially because he is climbing and crawling faster now haha). he sleeps really well during the night and the whole family is happy about that! he really is such a sweet, lovable, happy little guy! we feel so blessed that his health has been excellent and even with him starting to get his teeth in this last week, he hasn't let it get him down! i got a lot of great tips from friends and family via facebook as well about teething!

i could go on and on about riley...he is growing and changing and all that fun stuff. but i will continue with...

We got a lot of snow last weekend!!! it was crazy and it has stuck around for most of the week but with the sun it has melted off somewhat. we hope to have good traveling weather for thanksgiving next week! it is so nice to be inside and watch the snow falling and is horrible to drive in! the city has been great about clearing the roads so far but saturday night i got a scare when it as coming down pretty heavily and i was out driving and of course no plow had been through. i got home safe and was happy to not have to go out again that night!

rocky has been going to the gym a lot, i am happy he has been able to get back into his regular routene because in october things got kind of crazy and he is a lot happier when he goes to the gym! i have to get back int othe whole gym thing as well...we are working out how we can go together because we always used to go together in the evenings before riley came home...and yesterday we both confessed how much we miss that! i know i can go on my own...and if i go during the day they have childcare there but i would rather go with rocky because it was something i really loved doing with him (even though we didn't do everything together it was having him there!)

and so things go....november is going by super fast and soon it will be december! i am blogging from the mac and i have no pics saved on here. i need another power cord for my hp. thats all! for me, blogs are more fun with pics so if you have read all this without the pics i hope you have used your imagination a bit! or if we are friends on facebook you can find cute pics of riley and some of the other things i talked about! goodnight!

Riley

With his Idaho grandparents!

Family time

a night out- salsa concert

Riley's turn to hit the pinata!

At Jeff's wedding- love Riley in his little suit!

Such a great smile!!!

At the falls in Idaho after Jeff's wedding

That cute bellybutton deserved a face...teeheehee!

Riley is so cute cute cute! Where do I start? I guess starting with pictures :)

Riley will complete being home 6 months this month. As cliche as it sounds, time flies! He has gone from a little sitting observing baby to a growing, rolling, starting-t0-crawl, observing and grabbing baby! He loves to play so much! He loves books, going on walks and being outdoors, his papa ( he is a daddy's boy!) and is finding his voice- yesterday he screamed as he played and "talked" all afternoon.

Riley has also started to eat solids, he recently tried- and loved - broccoli. peas, and pears.

This summer has flown by, I can't believe it is September. We were able to go to Idaho for Jeff and McKayla's wedding in August, which was a fun little family trip. We are still in Utah for the time being! We have had a pretty low key summer but have gotten in some bbqs, going to the downtown farmer's market, seeing some new movies that have come out, just things like that!

We have had some fun times and we are making some plans that will take our life in a different direction = moving! It is exciting and making me nervous at the same time! I am glad that it will be something that will help us learn and progress and grow.

Just a few photos...and the best video ever!

Playtime with cousin Kayra (supervised of course!)

Happy baby!

Rocky and his mom at Tucanos!

Riley meeting his great grandpa!

Nicole and Riley!

At a salsa concert (Groupo Niche) with my sister in law Rossmary, cousin Eli, and friend Diana

The family came to visit for Riley's baby blessing (my parents, Evan, Stace and Tony, Jeff and McKayla, my mother in law and my niece Kayra)

Stacie and Tony helped us paint the restaurant! It took longer than expected but the stuck it out till the late (early) end!

Out to eat with Eli (Rocky's cousin) who came to visit from Japan!

Father's Day!

Crepeville with Kokob during our visit to California!

I need a blog makeover!!! I figured out how to put a banner on my blog but I can't figure out how to center the title of my blog. I am able to do the basics like change the background/layout but to add tabs or anything else (besides the basic stuff on blogger) keeps me occupied more time than I'd like to admit! So a little update...Riley is growing like a weed, or at least eating like he is growing like a weed! He is still long and skinny but he is full of energy all the time that he is awake and I have given him the nickname of "rolling riley" and he wants to crawl with all his might! His little legs are strong (he will stand if we support him) and he scoots around a little bit too. He is sleeping really well during the night, loves to eat his feet, and is really smiley and loves to play and laugh! Rocky has been busy with the restaurant and we are planning a few things for the near future and looking at some options. I am less busy with the restaurant now and am putting to use in other ways what I have learned as my time as a manager there. Somehow this is sounding like my part in the Christmas newsletter...! Lets see...we are headed to Idaho next week for Jeff's wedding! It is super hot here...we like to go out at night and we went to the drive-in movies last weekend with Stace and Tony and saw Spiderman. I always wondered if your car battery would die after keeping your car on to listen to the movie for the whole duration of the movie? Luckily we didn't have to find out (although I am stuck with wondering) because Stace and Tony brought along a radio and we listened through that while sitting outside (better than sitting in the car!)