Cousin Time in California

When you are a little boy, suddenly being immersed in half of your extended family all at once can be a little overwhelming. Traveling to different places and seeing all of these different people--all who want to lavish you with attention--can be exhausting. But Rich is handling it like a champ.

Two cousin memories I want to remember forever:

We got to hang out with the Brock and Erin family earlier today, and Rich LOVED seeing someone his size (their daughter Violet, who is almost two). He still did his own thing, but every now and then would wander up to his cousins to check out what they were up to. Note to Violet: Rich owes you one for pushing you off the ottoman earlier today. (I don't think Rich intended to push her off, but push her off she did.) You can use it as leverage when you're older to get something you want from him. I'll back you up on it.

Later, we went to visit the Logan and Amy family, and again, Rich thrived with all of the other kids. But, he is a bit of an explorer, and managed to pull a fireplace grate on top of himself at one point. He was more scared than hurt, but he just kept crying. Jonas (who is three-and-a-half) went into his room, got one of his shirts, and gave it to Richie to comfort him and help him stop crying. It was absolutely the sweetest moment. One little cousin trying to help out the other. And you know what, that little present actually did help.

Anyway. We are so loving being in California with family. (I'll try to remember to get some pictures of my own this week.)

(So happy to be with family!)

A Cookie Compliment

I don't know if you guys will remember a post I wrote AGES ago about my lack of cookie-making skills, but I have always felt like making good cookies has been a sore spot for me. It's only very recently that I feel like I've learned how to make cookies that are decent enough to share.

Our ward is having a Christmas party this weekend, and I thought that I would ask our Relief Society president if there was anything they still needed help with. So when she paused for a moment, then said, "We still need cookies, and I hear you have a great cookie recipe," I was thrilled. I mean, sure, it's not MY recipe. And Tyler came up with the best part of the cookies (half chocolate chips, half butterscotch chips). But still. It made me feel like I've accomplished something. I went from terrible, un-shareable cookies to delectable, respectable cookies. Maybe it's silly. But it still made me feel really good. People like my cookies. They've heard I have a good recipe. It's almost like I'm a legend. (Ok, maybe that's a little too far. But it is cool. And like I said, it really did make me feel good. Even though, again, I can't really take credit for how good these cookies are.)

Anyway. I posted the recipe for these cookies awhile ago. It's here, if you want to check it out. Tried and true. Relief Society approved.

Looks like I'll be making these babies again this week. (Note: Tyler actually made the cookies in the photo above.)

PS, if you love cookies, you should check out my friend's blog. Ashley is a cookie-making genius. Every now and then she posts about some of the incredible cookies she makes. I mean, talk about talent. (I hope it's okay that I'm linking over to your blog, Ashley. Whenever I think of cookies now, I think of you. And your amazing cookies. If it's not okay, I'll take this post-script down.)

There Is Much To Be Thankful For

Although I did not take the time to blog each day during November about all the things we have to be thankful for, I have really appreciated the focus on gratitude that I see all around me. Many of my friends and family have blogged about or posted about the things that they are grateful for, and I really have enjoyed seeing the things they have to say. 

I feel like this year, we have had so many blessings, and good things just keep coming our way! It's like somebody up there likes us. ;)

A part of me regrets that I haven't shared throughout this gratitude month all the things that I am thankful for (or at least the things most top-of-mind), but I have been trying to reflect on my own what all there is that we have been blessed with, especially lately. 

Without sounding too sappy, I do want to say how grateful I am for Tyler, and for all the sacrifices he has made (and continues to make) to support our family. We decided a long time ago that when we started our family, I would be a stay-at-home mom, and my main job would be to care for our home and family. From a financial standpoint, this decision we made means that Tyler has to work harder than he would have to if I was not staying at home. It also means that he is under more pressure to provide for our family, and I know that sometimes, he really feels that pressure. I am incredibly grateful for all that he does so that we can have our physical (and spiritual) needs provided for. 

So when I look at the feast we had on Thanksgiving--and are still working on as leftovers--I see all the hard work that Tyler is putting into his schoolwork and job. And I am so very grateful for that. 

Thanks Tyler, for all you do! We sure appreciate you around here.

HE PASSED!

For the last year, Tyler has been working his tail off to study for and pass Exam P--which would certify him as an actuary.

Today, Tyler took the test (for the first time) and PASSED IT!

I cannot tell you how much awesome is in this news. This is why we moved away from Spanish Fork. This is why Tyler went back to school. This is what we have been working for, for so long.

Now, it's only the start on getting him to the career he wants, but it is a HUGE start!

I am so so proud of him. He has worked incredibly and amazingly hard for this, and it is SUCH a blessing.

"Sam"

If you spend any time with Richie any time soon, you'll probably eventually hear him repeat his newest word, "Sam."

I'm pretty sure that when he's saying it, he's thinking about his favorite book character from his favorite book, Green Eggs and Ham. He LOVES that book. Our particular edition has flaps for Rich to pull open. Those flaps fascinate him.

In fact, the flaps fascinate him so much that he ripped his book to shreds the other day when I left him alone for a few minutes.

But, yay for duct tape, scotch tape, and hot glue! Our copy may be a little rough now, but boy is it loved.

"I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-Am!"

(Insert Rich's applause here. Yes, he does applaud me almost every time I read this book to him.)

If you look really closely, you can see part of my book reconstruction. Let's just say that I am definitely not meant to be a book restorer.

Halloween 2012

The longer I wait to actually post some pictures of Halloween, the less likely it is to actually happen.

I even started a Halloween post like, a week ago, but then I never got around to finishing it. So, I'm just going to insert it here, less than two weeks later. And since I am so late, I'll just flood you guys with pictures. Deal? Deal.

Tyler loves Halloween. He always has. But since we've had to be a little extra careful with our funds this year, we didn't get to go all out Halloween-style. (We're saving that for Christmas. Well, as much as we can, at least.)

But, sometimes, grandparents like to see their grandkids celebrating the holidays, so my mom helped us splurge a little to transform our son into THE HULK!

Have you ever seen the Incredible Hulk look so adorable? I haven't.

Unfortunately, the Hulk didn't care so much for his hat. So even though he looked totes adorb with it on, I didn't force him to wear it.

After all, I made him wear his costume all day.

In the morning. (Rich likes to cuddle for a few minutes after waking up. Yes, I did put his costume on him almost immediately.)

Running errands.

Picking up some Halloween candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters.

Richie's favorite part of Halloween though, was probably the time he got to spend playing outside. Halloween day was beautiful and warm; so I decided that Rich/the Incredible Hulk needed to get some play time where he could just roam around freely.

And he had a blast!

He explored everything! He was fascinated by the sticks and leaves and grass. He loved the bark on the trees. Even the concrete was interesting to him.

And of course, he managed to look as handsome as ever.

But what Halloween is complete without some trick-or-treating? Since Rich is a little stranger-shy right now, we decided to only visit family.

But he loved it! (Especially the Thurgood's dog. Apparently, Rich loves dogs.)

So, our Halloween was a little low-key this year. But it was still awesome!

Bedtime is a Precious Gift

I've often felt very very grateful that Rich is such a good sleeper. He always has been--which has definitely made my life easier.

And I'm definitely glad that we have a routine that helps Rich wind down and realize, "Ok, my day is over. It's time to sleep."

But today, I was grateful for Rich's bedtime for a whole new reason. Well, new to me, at least.

Today was not Rich's day. He's teething (3 molars at once!), he fell a couple different times (once banging and scratching his head), he might have a black eye (we hit a bump while he was in his stroller), and he got tripped over right before bed (which I think was more of an over reaction than an actual painful experience--he was pretty tired at this point), and he shut his fingers in his dresser drawer (also more than once today).

So tonight, as we put Rich down for bed, I was just grateful that he survived the day. And that with all the bumps and bruises he acquired today, nothing was so serious as to send us to the hospital. (I seriously live in fear of that day. Sometimes it feels like it's only a matter of time until I have to rush him to the ER.)

Hopefully tomorrow will be a much happier day for Rich.

(In case it isn't, I have the ingredients to make Rich some Rice Krispie treats, which he loves.)

There were some good times today too. While Tyler studied, Rich and I went to the park. Rich LOVES getting to crawl around everywhere and explore everything. And I'm sure that once he gets the hang of walking, he's going to love running all over that park.

A Close Call

Last night, I finally got Tyler to watch the first episode of Sherlock with me. And as I was getting ready for the day, I thought about one scene in particular--Sherlock was commenting that the state of the murdered woman's wedding indicated the health of her marriage. Because her wedding ring was dirty, he deduced that her marriage was an unhappy one.

So, because I have a happy marriage, I decided to give my ring a good cleaning. After all, it always looks so sparkly afterward. (I do clean it frequently, by the way. It's not like my ring was dirty. I just thought of how pretty it always looks after a little polishing up, and went for it.)

But, horror of horrors, as I was cleaning my ring, it slipped out of my fingers, and seemingly in slow motion hit the counter and bounced into the heating duct on the floor of our bathroom. (Why, Utah? Why are there grates on your floors? This doesn't happen in Texas. Right, Texans? At least, I never noticed this until I moved to Utah.)

Now, because of the strange placement of air ducts in our apartment, I have a few of the vents strategically closed to prevent the upstairs from becoming too stuffy and the downstairs from being too cold.

Luckily, our bathroom air duct is one of my strategically closed vents. So although my ring fell into the air duct, the vents were closed, and there it lay--on the closed vents, beneath the grate covering the air duct.

So I motioned Tyler over, almost panicking, and not sure what to do. At this point, I was sure that I was about to lose my wedding ring forever. I couldn't remember if our bathroom vents open and close easily (some of our vents are super stiff, others open and close with a brush of our fingers), and I knew that if I wasn't careful, I could accidentally open up those vents, and my ring could tumble into oblivion.

I started searching for a paperclip, thinking that if I hooked my ring just right, I could pull it  up through the grate safely. As I was ransacking our dresser for a paperclip, Tyler (the wise) suggested I grab some tweezers.

After a moment's pause, I realized that this was indeed a genius idea, absolutely superior to my paperclip thoughts. Especially because there were some tweezers basically sitting in front of my face.

Together, we went back into the bathroom, and Tyler stabilized the vents while I rescued my wedding ring, Operation-style.

I put my ring back on and just sat there, practically shaking and near tears. Tyler, in his attempt to be comforting, said, "It's ok. We're still married." I responded with something to the effect of, "Yeah, but I almost lost my ring!"

And Tyler, again trying for comfort, said, "You would have found something else that you liked."

He was absolutely, 100% serious! I could not believe what I was hearing, so I tried to clarify. And indeed, his thought was that if my ring had been gone forever, we would have just replaced it with something else.

I just--I mean, how do you explain an (irrational??) attachment to an object? I was speechless. And then I rebelled. No way. This ring is an antique. It's one-of-a-kind. Irreplaceable. I actually might have died if we had lost my ring. I would, at the very least, never fully recover.

I'm not totally crazy, right? Is this a woman thing? Or is this just a me thing? (This is where you guys respond and tell me what your wedding rings mean to you. And make me feel better about how attached I am to this object that I can't take with me into the next life--but might try to smuggle in with me anyway. I'm only mostly kidding about that last part.)

It's probably two or three hours since almost losing my ring, and I still feel a little in shock at the horror that almost befell us (me).

But all's well that ends well.

And I'm never opening that air duct again.

Days Off, Family Style

I love it when Tyler has a day off. This is so rare these days, what with school, work, and study for Exam P.

But today is USU's Fall Break. And Tyler doesn't have work. Or homework. (Although he does have to do some studying. And grade some quizzes.)

What this means for us is that we can squeeze in some family stuffs.

So we are!

Beginning with a beautiful walk this morning down to Center Street to check out some of the older (and cooler) houses out here. These homes really have some personality!

I mean, check 'em out!

I just love the colors on this home. I don't know that I would want my future home to be this colorful, but there are lots of pretty details here. And I love that front door. And some of those windows.

And this house! Check out that witch tower in the front. I'm not entirely sure what it is I like so much about this house. I just think it's cool. 

Tyler really liked the double doors on this house. I think that round-about (or whatever it's called) in the front yard is interesting. 

And HOLY COLUMNS! I think that there are actually eight huge columns in the front. Along with all the other columns on the porch. (I love that big open porch.) I don't think this picture does justice to how big those columns are.

I think you'll have to click on this picture to make it bigger so you can see all the different details on this house. The colors, the woodwork, even some of the windows are unique (I think--I might be remembering wrong). Still, it definitely has charm.

I thought all the lattice-work was really interesting on this house. And again, a nice big porch, interesting windows and doors. (And a lovely, big lawn.)

This next house was, by far, my favorite.

Gorgeous. This house is all about the details. Nothing is flat or boring. And it looks like it's probably got four levels to it. (Houses in Utah are tricky. Most of them have a basement floor.) Of all of these houses, I think I would most like to tour this one. I'm sure that the inside is as lovely as the outside.

And this house was the first hospital in Logan. Cool, right? Check out the plaque on the gate outside this house:

And finally, the last interesting house on our walk home--it's not actually on Center Street. I don't remember exactly where it was. Maybe a block away? Anyway, again with those witch towers.

So interesting right? You just don't see houses like these everywhere. I really wish I could know the history of each house. Who built it and when, why they designed it the way they did, do they still live there, etc.

But really, the best part of this walk was this moment here:

Sometimes, when we walk, Rich reaches out for his dad's hand. And I love it. Rich holds his daddy's hand while we walk along; he's just content to be outside with us.

Anyway. Good family stuffs accomplished.

The First And Only Time I Cheated On A Test

was when I was in fifth grade. I'm still ashamed of myself for it, even though it was so many years ago.

It was our states and capitals test. We had to be able to look at a map and identify al 50 states and their corresponding capitals. I studied and studied for that thing. But when it came time to take the test, there were just a few that I couldn't remember. One of my friends saw me struggling and offered her help. And I took it. We used sign language to communicate, and some how totally got away with it.

It wasn't until after I turned in my test that I realized what I had just done. I was a cheater. I felt awful. Like some part of me had been ripped away.

My mom will have to fill in the blanks here about how and when I told her about it. I want to say that it was right when I got home from school, but I honestly don't remember. I do remember that mom asked me what I thought I should do about it. And I knew. I had to turn myself in.

But it was a Friday, which meant I had the whole weekend to torture myself about it. Whether I grounded myself or my parents grounded me, I don't remember. I think they must have felt bad for me though, because I remember them (Dad?) letting me watch a Shania Twain concert on TV that night. And as silly as it sounds, that little mercy really did help me feel a little better. Because I did feel awful.

Straight away on Monday morning, my mom and I went to talk to Mrs. Neander, my teacher. I told her what had happened. She was very kind, and asked me what I thought we should do about it. I think I told her that I thought I should have to re-take the test and get a zero on it. I know I thought I deserved a zero.

But all she had me do was re-take the test. Which I ended up getting an 'A' on--although it wasn't a perfect score. I remember being surprised at how lenient everyone was to me. I totally felt like I deserved the worst punishments ever. (Whatever those may have been to my fifth grade self.)

Anyway. The point of this post is all background to what happened Saturday morning.

Tyler and I were sitting at the kitchen table feeding Rich and somehow, began to quiz each other on our states and capitals.

It was bad. Embarrassingly so. Like, I knew Helena was the capital of something, but I couldn't remember what. (It's Montana. Shout out to my home girl, McKenna.) And I thought Salem was the capital of Massachusetts. (It's the capital of Oregon. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts.) And Tyler and I were convinced that Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania (it's actually Harrisburg). And I was sure there was a New Jersey City. (There might be. I know there's a Jersey City--right? But the capital of New Jersey is actually Trenton.)

And who can keep track of the capital of Maine?!?! I couldn't. I couldn't even think of one city in Maine. Let alone the capital. (It's Augusta.)

So really, the point of this post is really to say that cheaters really do not ever prosper. Maybe if I had better committed this info to memory in fifth grade, I would not be so woefully inept now.

And maybe because of my fifth grade indiscretion, I feel like I am honor bound to learn the states and capitals and know them forever. As in, this is the only way I can truly redeem my pride. So yes. I made flash cards. And yes. I am determined to know my states and corresponding capitals by the end of this week. And hopefully be able to identify them all on a map. (Though that might have to come later. Geography really has never been my thing.)

So when you see me, quiz me. See if I am redeeming my pride--or if I am letting my brain rot away into nothingness.

Love

I mean, I just love this picture.

Ugh. Food Poisoning.

I don't think I've ever experienced food poisoning before. And after having finally experienced it, I'm not sure I ever want to deal with it again.

I will say though, that it has been the weirdest thing to simply not be hungry. It's not even an, "Oh the thought of food makes my stomach turn," kind of not hungry. There's simply no appetite.

Which is weird.

At least for me. Because it wasn't that long ago (like when I was pregnant and then later when I was pumping) when it seemed like I was ALWAYS hungry.

But I must say, I have the best little boy ever. He's been so patient with me not feeling well. I can tell it's been a little rough on him (he's not getting to roam around as much as usual, and he's not getting as much attention as usual), but he seems to be taking things in stride pretty well.

And I'm sure that Rich has been liking that when he does get to roam around, he can do pretty much what he likes. You know, within reason.

Like exploring our upstairs bathroom. He loves opening and closing the drawers and doors. And he pulls out about half the contents of the cupboards and tosses/rolls things around. (No worries, all the dangerous stuff is on top of the counter, out of his reach. So yes, our bathroom is a little chaotic most of the time.)

Blessings: Rich hasn't gotten sick. Tyler got sick, but I don't think he got hit as hard as I did, so he's already recovering really well. Baby Einstein is a lifesaver--it's the only thing Rich is even remotely interested in watching, and for the past couple days it has helped keep him entertained so that I can recover (aka lay down in his room while he plays/try not to die). And Rich has been sleeping really well through the nights, despite all the noise Tyler and I have been making as we revisit the food we'd had for dinner. This also means that Tyler and I have been able to get pretty good sleep (despite throwing up) which has aided us immensely in recovering quickly.

So all in all, food poisoning is terrible. I encourage everyone to avoid it. But it isn't (or at least hasn't been for us) the worst experience of our lives.

PS--when did Richie get so big!? He can reach doorknobs now! (Although, thankfully, he can't turn them.)

Best Husband Ever

You know, sometimes women just need some retail therapy. Even if life is going great. And even if money is tight.

Today was one of those days. I told Tyler this morning that I really just needed to go shopping. Kohl's had sent me a $10 off anything coupon in the mail, and I felt like I could put that $10 to good use. Especially with the seasons changing.

But you know, money is a little tight right now, and I didn't want to do anything that would make him uncomfortable. So before I left for Kohl's, I went upstairs to ask Tyler how much money I could spend. (Note: Tyler is not at all "in charge" of our money. We just like to clear purchases with each other before we make them. But since I didn't have anything specific that I needed, I wanted to pre-clear however much money I could spend. Does that make sense? I hope so.)

Tyler's response is what makes him the best husband ever. He grabbed some leftover cash that had been sitting on his desk for a while, handed it to me, and said, "I'm tired of this laying around."

Every woman's dream right? I mean, could there have been a much better response?

So, happy and excited to treat myself to some shopping, I left for Kohl's, Thanks to some great sales, and the $10 coupon, I only spent $17-something. And I ended up with a new top, a new sweater, and some new socks.

And I ended up with the best husband ever.

The Loveliest Thing, or The People in Logan Are So Nice

Sometime last week, one of our neighbors put some of their extra produce out in a basket for anyone to grab if they wanted it. So, I grabbed a couple of squash, and went on my way. 

Today, as Rich and I were out walking, we ran into this neighbor, and I thanked him for giving out his produce.

His response was, "Do you want some more?"

Now, normally in these situations, I clam up a little, feeling awkward, and I generally refuse taking things from strangers. But I gave myself a little talk last week, as I took those squash, that I wouldn't feel guilty accepting free food. We can certainly use it. 

So, I surprised myself (kind of) when I said, "Sure! We'd love some." I guess my self-pep-talk last week really worked. 

When our neighbor responded to me by asking how much I wanted I didn't know what to say. I mean what's an acceptable answer that isn't greedy? I mean, I was already feeling a little greedy by so readily accepting his offer of free produce. So I said something to the effect of, "Oh, just a couple." I really didn't want to be a bother. 

But instead of bringing me just a couple, he brought me a whole bag full of beautiful yellow squash.

AND THEN he brought me another TWO bags--one filled with green onions, and the other filled with green bell peppers. 

It was amazing, and so kind. I truly hadn't expected anything at all. I just wanted to say thanks for the produce I'd snagged earlier. 

One of the best parts of this experience was hearing his wife calling to him from inside their house (their windows were open) and encouraging him to share more than just their squash with me. 

I really just felt like I'd won the lottery. It was just so, so nice. And when I thanked our neighbor again for this new produce, he just smiled and said, "Well, our garden got away from us this year."

As I walked away, I really just felt awash in gratitude. I've gotten the impression before that those who plant gardens are never stingy with the fruits of their labor. (At least, not in my experience.) Maybe this is cliche, but as I walked away, I started thinking about all the blessings and generous gifts that so many of our friends and family (and neighbors) have given us over the years. It really was humbling, and it made me want to be better and more giving.

AND it made me excited for all the new recipes I can try. Or new twists on old recipes. (Like tonight. I made mac 'n cheese with a delicious squash crust. Even Rich loved it. He gobbled it down.) 

And in case you were wondering, yes, I have already been searching Pinterest for fun ideas with squash. 

Long story short: best neighbors ever.

Look into the face . . . of EVIL!

Are you prepared to see what evil looks like?

Here it is.

. . . . .

I bet you never thought that evil could look so tasty, huh?

Ok. So maybe peanut butter isn't actually evil, but it sure can feel that way when you have a little boy who breaks out in hives when he eats even the smallest bit of that good ol' PB.

I mean, just look at this face. Who could ever want to hurt this cute boy?

You can only kind of see the red splotches/hives all over Rich. And maybe you can only see them in this picture if you're his mom. Which I am.

This is what happened.

When we were in Oregon about a month ago, Rich happily devoured a PB&J given to him by his lovely Aunt McKenna. Along with the PB&J, he ate some Crenshaw melon, and some other stuff. As he was eating, I noticed that the skin on his belly was breaking out in hives! But I didn't know what was causing them. I figured it was either the peanut butter or the melon. But he'd had both before without any adverse reactions.

So, for the last month, Tyler and I have made sure to be extra careful to keep Rich away from both peanut butter and melons. But we were advised to try each potential culprit again to narrow down what his hives might have come from.

And tonight, I decided, was the night. I spread a thin little layer of peanut butter on a Ritz cracker, and Rich ate about a bite of the cracker before he tossed it onto the ground.

Within 15 minutes, his torso was covered in hives.

I'm grateful he only had a tiny bit of peanut butter. Imagine how bad his reaction could have been if he'd eaten the whole cracker!

So now we know. No peanut butter.

But does this mean no peanuts? No peanuts in the house? No peanut oil? I'm not entirely sure of our next step, and since peanuts are in everything and seem to be everywhere, I definitely need to know what kinds of protection Rich needs to keep him safe. (And how to be prepared for a peanut attack. You know, should anything slip by me or Tyler.)

I'll keep you all updated as we learn more. In the mean time--don't be fooled by peanut butter's creamy goodness.

I mean really. This is the face of goodness.

Welcome to Parenthood

Sometimes, even when you are doing everything right, you still manage to do something wrong.

Today, for example, I took this kiddo with me to Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries:

He was such a good sport. (I think he enjoys looking around at all of the different things Wal-Mart has to offer. AND he likes it when I put things in the cart he can play with.)

But by the time I finished my shopping and got Rich in the car, it was clear to me that he was ready for a nap. He was rubbing his eyes and he just looked so tired. So like a good mom, I took him straight home and put him down for a nap.

And seriously, he was down and out in two seconds flat. Poor guy.

While Richie slept, I got some things done: laundry, scripture study, planning dinner for tomorrow, catching up with my dad, getting in touch with Tyler so I could plan when to start dinner, etc.

And I was feeling good! Being productive, making the most of my stay-at-home-mom-ness.

Did you notice what I didn't mention? Remember how Rich and I went to Wal-Mart and got groceries? I didn't. As soon as we got home, I totally spaced it and left those groceries in our 90+ degree trunk for over an hour.

In fact, I didn't remember until I was out with Rich on a walk, getting ready to meet up with Tyler. And all I could say was, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh." I couldn't believe that I had just totally and completely forgotten about the groceries.

All I could think about was the frozen berries that I had decided to splurge on at Wal-Mart that were probably ruined. (They were. Totally thawed. But guess what, guys. I'm a risk-taker. I re-froze them, and I will eat them. Absolutely, yes I will. Even though the packaging warns against re-freezing. I'll let you know if I die.)

Luckily, most of what I had gotten at Wal-Mart didn't need to be kept cold. I mean, it could have been much much worse. Really, the only thing I'm calling a loss is our milk. (I'm not a crazy risk-taker, you guys. I don't even drink milk if it's been left out on the counter for an hour, so I definitely won't be drinking milk that's been abandoned in a hot trunk.)

And Tyler was so good about it all. His response was, "Well, we all do dumb stuff. It's done and over with. No problem."

But even so, I still felt like a fool.

I would say "all's well that ends well," but I still have those berries to get through first.

Wish me luck?

Logan Lovin'

Tyler and I joke often about how we should have a soap opera called "Logan Lovin'" that details our adventures out here. Like the time we were out on a walk and passed a house that had so many bees outside it that the whole yard was buzzing. (Yes we ran past it, yes we thought we would die, and yes we did survive.) Or the other time we rescued a kitten. Or the time our car got wrecked. Or the time we went to check out my old house (from when I was Rich's age!) and thought we might get jumped. (Cause let me tell you, if Logan has a ghetto, that house is in it.)

Anyway, when we moved out here, I decided that I wanted to actually get to know this town a little bit. The people who live here, love being here. At least, it seems that way. So why not find out what is great about Logan?

This time on Logan Lovin':

 One of the things I've wanted to do for a while now is go to the Willow Park Zoo. After all, my mom used to take my sister and me for walks through the zoo, so why not take Rich and see what he thinks of it?

So far so good, right? Rich trying to interact with the animals.

He loved the Capuchin monkey. He just watched and watched and watched it roam all over its cage. Really, I don't think he cared as much about any of the other exhibits. But this one he loved.

Tyler and I, on the other hand, loved the rest of the zoo. We really weren't expecting much from it. It cost us $2 each (free for Rich) to get in. And no one was even collecting the money. There was just a metal jar/lockbox thing you put your money in as you entered. We easily could have entered for free and no one would have even noticed.

But this zoo was awesome. It was big and casual and clean. And it was filled with all kinds of birds! The variety of animals wasn't tremendous, but the variety of birds was amazing!

Even bald eagles!

And we saw tons and tons of ducks. In fact, we're pretty sure that this is where our mighty ducks came from.

(This is only a portion of them.)

Tyler's favorite exhibit was the bobcats. Even though they were asleep and didn't do anything. (I think it was his high school mascot. Right, Tyler?)

And mine was probably the bald eagle. I'd never seen one in real life before. They are pretty amazing/fierce/awesome.

But this guy was pretty cool, too.

Anyway. The zoo was great. And Rich was such a trooper. Our trip cut into his naptime, but he handled being exhausted like a pro. (Probably because we were outside. He loves being outside.)

We'll definitely be going back to the zoo again.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Logan Lovin'.