30 Is the New 20

Happy birthday to Me!

 

On Saturday I turned the big 3-0! 

 

Celebrations started last Sunday when we had a family birthday dinner.  I chose the meal, opened presents and had cake/ice cream.  Families are the best!

 

Friday, the day before my birthday co-workers decorated my desk area.  Someone made a cake and it was a fun workday, if that is even possible. 

 

 

Saturday was the big day!  Nolan had a rough night and I was up with him from 3:00 am - 4:00 am before he finally fell back asleep.  Ryan let me sleep in a little before we headed to breakfast.  Ryan surprised me by taking me to Eggs In the City (on 13th South 17th East).  When we lived in the area we always wanted to try it, but for some reason it never happened.  It was fantastic and I can't wait to go back there again.  My parents came to meet us before breakfast and took Nolan with them so we had the morning to ourselves.  We visited a few of our favorite consignment shops and finished off our morning by getting new phones.  We had been wanting to do it forever, and with Ryan's job it just made sense to make the plunge.  We both got iPhone 4's (they were "free").  I still can't believe we have smart phones since he held out so long without them.  The rest of the day was spent napping and going to the Utah game.  They lost to Arizona which was a bummer but I still love going to the games! 

 

 

It was a great birthday and being 30 isn't so bad!

Nolan at 18 Months

Nolan has his 18 month check-up on Monday morning and everything looks great!  He had 2 shots this time: flu and his final Hep A.  The Dr. said this would be his last batch of shots until Kindergarten and I couldn't be happier about that! 

 

Here are the stats:

Height: 32.75 inches (65th percentile)

Weight: 25 pounds (30th percentile)

Head: 18.89 inches (30th percentile)

 

At 18 Months Nolan:

*Loves to jump off the floor and can do it without falling over

*We finally got rid of his Binky - I did it cold turkey and he didn't even complain or have a hard time without it.  We did this just after he turned 17 months old.

*Loves to feed himself and actually does a pretty good job.  He feeds himself yogurt, applesauce, waffles (even stabs them with a fork) and pretty much everything else we put in front of him.  It always ends messy but he wouldn't have it any other way.

*Still loves his Animal show

*Likes to walk everywhere and not be carried anymore

*Tantrums have begun and I'm talking sit/lay on the floor tantrums

*Brings us books to read to him

*Has to sit on our lap when we read to him

*Says, 'Mama', 'Dada', 'Nice', 'No', 'Graham Cracker', 'Banana', 'Yes', 'I do it', 'Cookie', 'Dog', 'Duck', 'Popye', 'Pie', 'Ball', 'Football', 'What doing' and a few more things I can't remember right now

*Loves to laugh

*Loves to "sing" songs

*His new favorite song is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

*Loves cousin Corbin and Easton

*Loves being outside

*Picks up sticks and leaves to bring in the house

*Doesn't like to crawl up and down the stairs - he has to go the "normal" way.  We still try to have him crawl, I think it is much safer at this point

*Hasn't climbed out of his crib yet although I'm sure it is just a matter of time before this happens

 

He keeps getting cuter and more fun as he gets older!

Happy Halloween!

At work everyone dressed up and we had a nice catered lunch, costume contest and people brought their kids in to trick or treat.  I didn't bring Nolan in because he doesn't need any more energy from the candy, he has enough and I had some work to do that had to be done by the end of day.  Seeing all the kids come around made me excited for next year when I will bring him in for all the fun!

After work we headed over to my parents to show off Nolan in his costume.  We carved pumpkins and had dinner.  My mom passed out candy while the rest of us watched the Jazz game.  They won - which is always a bonus. 

He wanted the toy that my dad had but I had to get one more picture!

Nolan Goes to Nursery

Yesterday, was Nolan's first "official" day in nursery!  He has been coming with me to nursery ever since I was called in there about 3 months ago.  So, he was pretty used to the kids, leaders and what went on.  I had the day "off" yesterday (we have enough people so we can rotate out- which is nice) so I just walked him up there, dropped him off in the younger kids class and tried to leave.  He clung to my leg which he never does, since he is so social and is typically running into every room.  But after one of the leaders showed him a ball, he ran over there and I left.  It was nice to sit in Relief Society and Sunday School without having to chase him or be out in the hall with him, but I did miss him and hoped he was doing OK and getting along with the other kids (not hitting, throwing etc).  When I went to pick him up, he came running over and was so happy.  He held his picture that he had drawn one mark on all the say down the stairs into the chapel. I can't believe he is getting so big and old enough to go to nursery. 



Zion National Park

 Last weekend (October 12 - 14) we went with Jared and Annie down to Zion to meet up with Ryan's dad.  We left Friday after work around 6:30 pm and got to Hurricane (where we were staying) around 10:30 pm.  We all shared a room that night and I was happy Nolan slept through the night since he didn't sleep much at all on the way down. 

Saturday, we got up and took our time getting ready.  Had breakfast at a local cafe and headed for the park.  Ryan had planned on us doing the Observation Point hike which would take most of the day.  We parked Craig's new truck in town and caught the shuttle.  We didn't start hiking until 1:00 pm, which I wouldn't have done in the middle of the summer.  But there was some cloud cover and the temperature was perfect.  We knew it was going to be 8 miles round trip, and was listed as a moderate hike. 

After completing the hike, I would say it is a strenuous hike since it is uphill the whole way, tons and tons of switchbacks, steep drop-offs (nothing like angel's landing) but well worth it!  Nolan was a trooper in his pack and loved being carried, he didn't complain/scream at all.  I wish he would have slept on the trail, but luckily he slept once we got to the top for a little bit.  Craig did awesome and Jared helped to carry Nolan for a bit giving Ryan a break.  Before we entered the park we stopped at a local store for some sandwiches to eat once we got to the top, which tasted great.  Why does everything taste so much better outdoors?

Everyone kinda split up on the way down, Jared/Annie made it down first, me/Ryan were second and then Craig.  It wasn't a race or anything, we all just went at our own pace on the way down which was nice.  Jared and Annie had a bet going on what time we would reach the bottom of the trail....not sure who won on that.  We were all exhausted after the hike and just headed back to the hotel.  Ryan and his dad went to the store to get some dinner for everyone and we all ate in our hotel room.  I fell asleep shortly after dinner with Nolan while Jared, Ryan and Annie went to the hot tub. 

Sunday, we got up and had breakfast in the hotel.  Packed everything up and went back to Zion.  This time we just drove through the park.  We drove through the tunnel to Mt. Carmel.  Stopped there to eat lunch at Ho-made Cafe or something like that.  Next time I am in Mt. Carmel, I am definately going back to this place - totally touristy and I loved it!  Lunch ended, Craig went south and we went north.  The drive home went quick, thank goodness!

 

It was a fun weekend with everyone!

Pumpkin Patch, Wagon Ride & Hay Maze...Oh My!

Last night me and my mom took Nolan over to Wheeler Farm to visit Josh and Macy who were working there.  My dad and Ryan were both out of town, that is why they didn't come along.  I haven't been to Wheeler in a long time....in fact I'm not sure I have ever been there.  Anyway, Josh and Macy have been working there for fun this fall and we wanted to check it out. 

Nolan loves all things Halloween so I knew he would have fun....I just didn't know he would have that much fun!  He loved walking around the pumpkin patch looking at all the inflatable things and having all the pumpkins around.  He found a stem of a pumpkin on the ground and carried that around with him all night.  He would not let it go.  Next, we took him to the hay maze and he loved running around in there.  I loved that Nolan could run around in there without me having to say, "NO" to him all the time.  We did follow Nolan through the maze and ended up going out the way we came in, but oh well.  Last on the list was the wagon ride and Nolan didn't like waiting in line (no Disneyland anytime soon for us since all you do is wait in line), but he did love the ride and sat still the entire time looking at all the lights and just wondering what in the world was going on.  He even held my hand which was pretty cute. 

We had a fun night at the farm and I was glad my mom suggested that we go out for the night!



First Campfire

Wednesday night we went up Millcreek canyon to have our first campfire of the year!  I have been wanting to do this for a while so i'm glad we finally made it happen (even in October).  We went up with Charlotte, Tony and baby Jett and had fun.  Nolan loved seeing the fire and I am so glad I had the idea to take his backpack with us because Nolan would have been all over the place for sure if we hadn't "contained" him. 

Nolan thought it was so funny to tickle Ryan 

Charlotte and Tony - baby Jett is under the blanket

The Living Room

Saturday afternoon we went on a hike with Annie, Jared and Ottis (Annie's dog) up to the living room.  I had been there before, but it had been a while.  Ryan was our fearless leader and he lead us along the craziest path!  We wound up in the gully and were hiking through scrub oak that i'm pretty sure only animals go through.  After a bit of our wandering Jared went up to a high point and was able to tell us where to go to find the right path again.  We all gave Ryan a hard time about it, especially when we were on the way back down and realized just how easy the hike could have been.  We enjoyed lunch in the living room and had a fantastic view of the city!  Salt Lake really is beautiful and I am so glad we live here and love being back! 

Happy 6th Anniversary!

I can't believe it has been 6 years since our wedding day!  What is even more crazy is that we have been together for 8 years.....2 years dating and 6 years married.  Here's to eternity and beyond!

Love you JRW!!

It's the thought that counts.....right?

The big weekend (Broncos game) had arrived!  I dropped Ryan and and Jared off at the airport just after 8:00 am for them to catch their 9:16 am flight to Denver.  I told Ryan to text me when they got there.  Since we were already up and ready for the day, I decided to get my grocery shopping done early.  Smith's in the Ave's is totally dead at 8:30 am and it was the perfect time for grocery shopping with Nolan.  We unloaded and put away all the grocery's.  We were back in Nolan's room playing when I noticed the time and thought I should have heard something from Ryan by now so I went to check my phone.  The text should have said "Made it to Denver just fine." Instead it said we are still in SLC....my heart just sank and I immediately called him to find out if he was joking or serious.  Well he was serious. 

They boarded the plane on time and after being on the plane for some time, they were notified by the pilot that the plane's computer was malfunctioning and they would try restarting several times to see if the warning light would turn off.  After it did not, everyone was told to exit the plane.  The pilot mentioned, the flight to Denver next to them was overbooked so 'don't bother pestering them trying to get on the flight', adding insult to injury.  They got off the plane and Ryan wanted an update after some time had passed.  There wasn't anyone at the desk, so he walked back down the ramp to the plane and asked the crew what was going on.  One of the flight attendants said he had a lot of time to wait and he could go get some breakfast. 

After returning from picking up breakfast, they were told that a new computer was coming and the plane should be ready in 30 minutes.  After an hour or so, a Frontier employee at the gate asked anyone on their flight to line up to try to reschedule their flights as it no longer seemed likely the plane would be leaving.  This was at approximately 10:20 am.  Ryan and Jared waited in this line until 2:30 when they finally learned that they would not be able to reach Denver this day unless the original plane could be fixed.

During their time in line they were given no updates, security was called twice because customers were so upset about lack of information and misinformation that was being provided.  At one point were given tickets to a Delta flight, only to reach that gate and discover they had been put on a flight that was overbooked and they were not permitted to board.  This happened to several customers.

Another fun thing happened to them while they were in line.  They watched another Denver flight board right in front of them.  They had announced over the speaker that it was overbooked but they issued roughly 8-10 standby tickets, while paying passengers were still waiting for the flight from 5 hours previous.   Also a pilot cut the entire line, and was immediately offered a seat on the 'completely full' plane.

Once they were finally able to reach the counter the person at the desk really didn't have much to tell them.  A part was shipped over from Denver at some point, but that still hadn't worked.  Just before 5:00 pm Ryan called me and said that they were calling it quits and there was no hope of them getting to Denver for the game.

It was quite the day and I was really bothered that they weren't going to make it to Denver for the weekend.  Everyone involved was really looking forward to it and for it to not work out was horrible. 

The Utes lost to ASU and Denver lost to the Texans (i'm sure it was because Ryan and Jared weren't there).  It wasn't a good weekend for the Wallace's!

Antelope Island

A few weekends ago we ventured out to Antelope Island.  Ryan had been wanting to go there forever and I couldn't remember if I had been out there or not so we decided to give it a whirl.  Neither of us knew what to expect when we got there - in our minds we thought you would just drive around the island for an hour and then go home.  We were wrong....it turned into an all day adventure.  We stopped at the visitor center, drove around the island looking at buffalo and even saw an antelope.  We drove to the farm and enjoyed our time there.  We saw thousands of birds and Nolan loved that!  I loved going to antelope island and can't wait to go back there so we can see more of what we missed the first time.