Happy Halloween

Girl's Night Out

I think the pictures speak for themselves. We all had a fabulous time at the Grand America!! Big thanks to Kristen and Sam for planning and setting everything up.

Liam the Vegetarian

So as I was making dinner this evening, a chicken and broccoli dish, Liam informed me he didn't want me to make his portion with chicken anymore. We recently watched Food inc. and saw some pretty horrific chicken farms and slaughterhouses. I asked if he was now a vegetarian to which he replied in the affirmative. Not much further into the conversation, however, Liam informed me that he still wanted to eat chicken nuggets and was only a "1/2 vegetarian." I claimed there was no such thing but to no avail I was never was able to convince him otherwise. At the end of dinner I looked down at Liam's plate and discovered that this self proclaimed 1/2 vegetarian had eaten all of the chicken but not even touched a single piece of his broccoli.

A Summer Farewell

After I took my oral boards in June I finally had some time to enjoy the summer. In case you were wondering, yes, I PASSED!! Last big test of my life OVER with. So to start the summer off I shared some space at a community garden and grew some vegetables for the first time in my life. I quickly realized how much I have been missing out on all these years. You just can't buy anything at the store even remotely as good as you can grow yourself. I have found a new hobby and loving it. Ben even has carved out an area in our yard for a garden next spring. I'll post some pictures later.

Another new hobby I found this year has been cooking. Of course, what was I going to do with all those fresh home grown vegetables and after the movie Julie and Julia came out I have been in love with french cooking and Julia Child's recipes. I can't say they are the healthiest and most low cal dishes but everything I've made has been scrumpdidiliumptious. Ok, that might not be a real word but describes my enthusiasm. I got some apricots from a neighbor down the street and after making some jam I decided to attempt an apricot tart from the Art of French Cooking. Here is my first attempt at a tart. I never thought I could make a decent crust but somehow it turned out. Yummy!!

Liam also started second grade this year. He got placed in Ms. Moyles class, a very stylish teacher who wears pink crocs and orange pants. She is very fun and energetic and Liam seems to enjoy having her as a teacher. He is gradually becoming more independent and even wants to brave walking home on his own...a whole 2 blocks from the house.

Lastly, Lila has turned into a complete girly girl this last few weeks. I swear I didn't push this on her at all, we hardly have a doll around the house, mostly trucks and legos. All of a sudden she only wants to watch Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid. If fact she came sobbing to me after a little boy told her she wasn't a princess. Oh, life is so rough at 2. We also bought her first Barbie, Ariel the Mermaid, with red hair!! She also likes to wear not only 1 but 3 tutu's at a time while she sings and dances around. Here is her latest stylish purchase, slip on brown boots she can wear with all of her dresses.

Summer Pics

Finally got around to getting Lila and Liam's pictures taken thanks to my sister Jenny. It wasn't easy but here as some of the best. Liam wouldn't agree to pose unless I gave him the big lollipop and Lila just plain didn't want to be involved. Somehow Jenny worked her magic and managed to get a few smiles.

French Canada

After deciding a trip to Europe was just out of our reach this year Ben and I decided to do the next best thing and go to Quebec. It clearly felt like a foreign country when we walked off the plane and everyone around us was speaking French. Montreal was the first stop and below is a picture of Ben walking around the old town.

Our second day in Montreal consisted of visiting the Botanical Gardens. The best gardens were the Chinese ones seen below.

Later that afternoon we took a 2 hour drive northeast to Quebec City and found our hotel in the old town district. You can see our hotel just behind me in the picture. It was an old building that had recently been updated.

The next day we spent exploring Quebec. After taking the Funiculare up to the top of the mountain we found the very well known and beautiful Hotel Frontenac.

All around the famous Hotel Frontenac are quaint little shops and historic churches and homes.

The UN actually named Quebec a world historical site, remnants of the old town wall and Citadel still are present.

After visiting the Citadel on our last day I couldn't help but want to see what I looked like in one of their uniforms.

Summer Fun

We always love when Stan, Nga and Anise come stay with us. Glad we got to enjoy a night at Deer Valley with the Utah Symphony and Ben Folds for a summer evening concert. Wish they could have stayed longer.