Good Weekend

This weekend was super nice. 

I had a good read at Roan's doctor appointment 

I took my fortune to heart and made plans and a commitment towards a goal I have this year which has made me both nervous and super excited. (More on that to come) 

 Friday night I played games with my sister. It was lots of fun playing The Game of Life. When we were kids we played this game for hours and hours. Now that we are older this game moves a lot faster, ironic or what. I think it was because as children our little hands couldn't spin the wheel so well and we played with more than just 2 people. One time I had so many kids in the game I almost had to have a second car. This time I only had one kid. We played 2 rounds in under an hour. At one point in the game my sister left her husband at the wedding chapel for nearly half the game. Coincidence to her real life, I think not. :)

I gave Roan a dandelion weed flower that he held onto for 30 minutes as we walked and played at the park. The weather was so amazing. We spent most of it outside walking and ate most of our meals on the patio. I love the smell of spring. As long as I have lived here I don't remember the blossoms and flowers smelling so amazing. This combined with the cool breeze and the stunning mountains really makes me love living here. I know there is still winter but man Spring and Fall in Utah are just amazing.  

 We visited my cousin who was kind enough to travel super far south to pick up this toy for me. It is Roan's Easter present and he loves it so much.  

We also had a little tea party on Sunday. 

Our visitors included Wacko, Blue Power Ranger, Dog, and Garfield

Eureeka had a short guest appearance at the end of the festivities. 

(I love that Roan is playing with a bunch of my old toys that are now dubbed the grand-kid toy's)

 Drink this! 

But at the end of any tea party boys will be boys and stack up the dishes. 

Geez Roan what did you put in this tea...it is soooo good. 

I love weekends!

How was yours?

Stuff

I feel like I have been really boring on blogging lately. I even googled "things to blog about" for inspiration. Maybe I will come up with more stuff over the next little while. Until then here is an update on life for us as of late. 

Roan had his 15 month appointment yesterday.

weight: 24 lb (50 percentile)

height: 34.5 inches (99 percentile)

He is super super tall!!

He got his splint off over a week ago since his fracture. Since then he has been making up for lost time and getting into everything. I think he was really excited to get it off, that same day he carried nearly all his toys from one side of the room to the other. He was extremely happy and independent. He is walking strong and we can tell that his leg gets stronger with each passing day. 

Love his face and the look he is giving me here. I feel the same way about you buddy. And check out his super fast arm going in for a hug. 

His cousins Karen and Michael spent the weekend at our house. Michael and Roan were each others shadows the entire time. We had to get a picture of their matching pajamas. 

There are two things Roan has been into lately. Cars and chairs. He loves watching cars and playing with cars and turning other toys into cars. We have a few small toddler chairs for him and he loves to carry them around and practice sitting and standing up in them. He always gets a proud satisfied look on his face when he plays with the chairs. He is quite the artist too. One day he put his little chair in a large rocking chair, very deep Roan. 

Roan also has two molars that just came in on the bottom and two are working their way down from the top. He has been a little extra melodramatic but other than that nothing crazy. Based off other peoples stories I thought it was going to be awfully crazy. With those new guys he now has 12 teeth. 

As for me my x-ray showed the fracture was healing and that I had the okay to no longer wear the boot. However, I still dealt with a lot of pain when I didn't use the boot so I kept it on for a few more days. When I don't wear it I wrap my ankle area with an ace bandage. I am also exclusively wearing my Doc Martin shoes. I think my leisure shoes hurt the fracture. When I wore them my ankle would swell up and ache, but with the Doc Martin shoes I can walk longer without pain. I might need to buy new shoes after I cam completely healed. I was kind worried that it fractured again in a different spot but since the change of shoes it has felt a million times better. 

The doctor said it will take until the end of the summer to heal completely so I should avoid high impact sports, running, jogging, and jumping. My cousin is coming into town from Washington in August. We both are hoping to be healed up enough to walk/lightly jog a 5K then. I am a little frustrated with the time this is taking to heal but grateful that it is not a more serious break which take a zillion years longer to heal. I can live with light walking and swimming and biking this summer. Counting my blessings. 

We are planning on closing on our house May 6th. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for this. I am excited to finally have our own place. I am excited to call this place ours. When we first talked about buying a house at the beginning of the year it seemed like we were years away. We got seriously lucky. Everything fell into place and we couldn't be happier. We got the home appraised and it's worth more than we are paying so we are starting out with some equity which is truly amazing. The sellers have been nothing but wonderful and cooperative with our requests. They told us they were praying for a good family to buy their home that they put so much love into and little did they know we were praying for a good home with love. I truly believe that we were brought to each other at this time. Some other awesome things are happening and I will dedicate a post to that later on. Right now I am just so grateful for this blessing from Heavenly Father. We cannot wait to start this new chapter to our lives. To keep busy we are getting a few things organized and lined up for the move. We will need to clean the home and do a few other needful things but we hope to move in within a week of closing. Thank you all so much for your love and prayers with this process. We pray for a continued smooth road. Once we get settled we are going to throw a huge open house and you are all invited. 

Star Wars Birthday Cards

Our good friend Aaron had a birthday this week. We put together a Star Wars package to send him to celebrate. These were the cards I made for it. I had so much fun putting this together and laughed my pants off the entire time. If you have seen the movies then you should get the references. If I have to spell them out for you then you should get with it and see the Star Wars movies already. 

(Many Bothans died to bring you this...)

 This was on the back of the envelope

(Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru! It's time for my birthday cake...Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru?!?!)

 The back of the above card. LOL

(NEVER! I'll never open my presents before my birthday. You failed your highness. 

I am a Jedi, like my Father before me.)

 

This one was my favorite 

Happy Birthday Aaron!

What The World Would Be Like Without....

My favorite comedian, leading lady, and red head would have to be Lucille Ball. As a child I would run home from school to watch reruns of I Love Lucy. I have also seen most of her movies, biographical movies, and read her memoir. They used to sell the complete series of I Love Lucy at Costco for $100. I regrettably passed up buying it too many times to be "financial responsible". Stupid responsibility. I wish I splurged. Now it is no longer there. I am sure I can buy it in pieces at a greater cost. Thankfully the series came out on hulu plus. I just need to have a few sick days to get my marathon going. :)

I have always loved Lucy. I loved the comedy skits. I loved the character relationships. I loved that she used comedy to get out of sticky situations brought on by her own desire to be in the limelight. I loved her own philosophies on life. I think I connected with her the most as a child when I thought I was dumb and slow at certain things that other people were better at, such as reading out loud and spelling. I was very embarrassed to read aloud but had to as a requirement in school. I couldn't spell very well and therefore didn't pronounce the words correctly. Afraid of being mocked socially for this I tried to cover up my poor reading skills through comedy. Just as I had learned from watching I Love Lucy, I would dramatically read out loud and if I didn't know the word I would make up something that I thought was clever and then own it and run with it. For the most part this worked amongst my peers and pinned me as a clown. However, many of my teachers did not find it that funny. That didn't matter though because I felt satisfied with the results and I had comic relief that I learned from Lucy to thank for it.

What would the world be like without Lucy? I know I would have suffered more socially had I not watched and learned from her show. Besides finding joy and laughter from her craft what else would have been lost?

 Allow me to be Clarence from "It's A Wonderful Life" and tell you what the world could have been like....by the end of this you should be ringing bells so I can get my wings.

Shows like The Real McCoys, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Three Sons, The Untouchables, I Spy, Family Affair, Mission Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, Star Trek might not have made it to TV. Well maybe they would have by another means but who really know. And yes! You heard me right on that last show I named. STAR TREK! All Trekkie's should pay homage to Lucy. Lucy and her first husband Desi Arnaz formed the production company Desilu Productions in 1950. This company produced or filmed the above shows including I Love Lucy.

Later she bought out Desi's shares and became the first woman in television to be the head of a production company. Desilu was eventually sold and merged into Paramount Pictures in 1967.

The I Love Lucy show wasn't the first show to do taping with a live studio audience but it sure popularized it. In fact, many production companies today use those laugh tracks in lots of TV shows to date.

I believe Lucy was a pioneer who saw television as the big screen at home; a comedienne of the highest magnitude; and a virtuoso of her craft.

Do you have a favorite politician or entertainer who you believe has made an impact on our world?

Two Donuts

I have been really inspired lately by Al Fox. I first saw her post a few weeks ago that one of my friends shared on facebook. I spent the next few hours from that moment reading her blog and watching all her videos. It was really energizing and that followed by a fantastic General Conference really got me feeling like I need to act on doing more daily good. It has been said that when you are feeling down lose yourself in service because you will find yourself. I believe that to be true as I have tested that theory in the past. Now I am doing pretty swell on this whole depression thing so its not like I have been feeling really down as of late. I think that even when you are happy you should serve because it will be all the more jolly. Anyway, the last month they have been pounding talks out in church about deepening ones testimony and praying for opportunity to testify so needless to say ALL of this has been on my mind about how I can take action to help deepen mine. One thing I have been doing to help this process is pray every morning for the opportunity to share the gospel through service and to recognize and act on those opportunities  I think we have them everyday but don't see them or ignore them because we are scared.

Today, Friday, I was on my way to work. I work in downtown SLC but live in Utah County. That is quite a commute but I don't mind it. The drive gives me time to think and reflect about all these thoughts running through my head. This week was kind of hectic emotionally with a lot of upcoming changes in our lives. Positive changes, yes, but still some nervousness. I am also following up with a doctor this week about my fracture. I want everything to go well because I am anxious to get back on my feet and into my fitness routine. I have really been getting down on myself, especially this week, because I am not exercising I am also not eating the best of things. I know, I know I can get back up and try again and I plan on doing that NOW. But the battle in my head this morning was over whether or not to eat two delicious donuts I had with me in the car . These aren't just any donuts, they are Banbury donuts. One had chocolate on it and the other was a cake donut with chocolate and colored sprinkles. Should be an easy answer since I am trying to stay healthy, but this is where I can be very weak and vulnerable, especially when I have had an emotional week.

So I threw myself a little pity party for a few minutes in the car and wallowed over the decision. I shouldn't eat them because I want to start being better now...but I have already ate so much crap this week what is another day gonna do to me? I thought maybe I would just eat a bite of the donuts and then throw the rest away. However, I knew better and that in the state I was in I wasn't going to stop at one bite. I tried pawning the donuts off on my family but they all declined. During the drive some good upbeat songs came on the radio about being a "fighter" and "keep holding on". Then I thought how can I turn this trial into an uplifting service experience. Right then and there I said a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to put someone in my path that needed these two yummy donuts. I felt really good about it and continued on my drive with excitement. As I got into downtown I scanned the sidewalks for people. No one was around and I was catching all the green lights. When I did stop at a red light the sidewalks were empty, I work very early. Then as I pulled into my parking garage there was a man walking by. He was carrying a backpack and an unrolled sleeping bag. I am sure he was homeless. I rolled down my window and asked if he was hungry. He replied, "Yes." So I handed him the brown paper bag full of these two delicious donuts and told him to have a happy day. He smiled and told me, "God Bless!"

I like to think that he really needed those donuts or just that small act of kindness to lift his spirits. I have no idea what the outcome of that might be. I am not telling you all this so you will put me on a pedestal. I am not telling you this to make you feel bad for not doing the same thing this morning. I am only telling you this to testify that if you ask for opportunities and the courage to show your testimony through service, even within a moment of that prayer, Heavenly Father will give them to you. Seize those moments and act on them. They are wonderful. I feel better giving those donuts to that man more than I would have enjoyed eating them myself. I love donuts so why not share them with others. I LOVE the gospel so why not share that too? This life is so full of tough storms for everyone and I know I have been able to weather mine because of kind acts and service from others. I want to pay it forward. If everyone does one nice thing a day it would be so amazing.

I testify that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and gives us the strength and courage to serve and share what we know is already wonderful. Now go and make it a happy day!

Random Recent Stuff from Roan

Playing outside of Fafa Madsen's house (that is Danish for Papa Madsen, what we call Grandpa Madsen)

 This kid loves to stand and sit in chairs thru most of the day

 

He is saving a seat for his friend Dane.  

 This is how we watched conference. He had to hold and play with his mirror. 

Some of the talks were nail biting. :)

This is the face he makes when he coughs.

How to eat a banana by Roan

How to blow on grass and leaves by Roan

Our First House Part 1

We had our home inspection yesterday and it went really well. We are going to review the full inspection notes soon and go from there. But from the looks of it everything is in super condition and any fixer uppers we have ahead of us are minimal and for the large stuff we will have warranty insurance that we may renew from year to year.

The owners were there and we got a chance to chat with them. They are so great. They told us that after we saw the house they wanted to sell it to us specifically because they loved us and our enthusiasm. They answered our questions and told us a little about themselves and their situation. They have owned the home for over 30 years and moved out to take care of his dying father. He passed and they inherited his much larger home and items. So they moved back in to get things organized and sell, which is probably why they are so anxious to sell because they have two houses two many. The owner is in the steel construction business and his hobbies include tiling, which is obvious when you see the house. His craftsmanship is beyond great and we can tell he has put a lot of love and pride into this home.  He was so nice and said that if we ever had any questions after moving in or needed help with any of the settings on the equipment they are leaving he would be glad to stop by. We couldn't be more grateful for these golden sellers. 

Of all the houses we have seen this one has ALL but one thing we were looking for in a home. The more we see it the more we love it and feel like it was built for us in mind. The thing it doesn't have is a specific cold storage room for food storage. Not that we have a lot of food storage but it is something I would like to build up. We have ideas on space to convert in the mean time. 

Without further ado here are a few pics we took yesterday. I took more pictures but I am not going to post them yet...sorry to be a tease. Lars really wants to take fancy smancy pictures and video after the owners have moved out. The family room is full of boxes from wall to wall and ceiling to floor. Here are a few of my favorite things so far. More to come as this next month progresses. 

 The front; the dinning room entry way

The Kitchen

From left to right; top to bottom

Back of the house; deck from grass view, deck from stairs view

Back corner of the yard with cement pad complete with electricity; side yard, neighbors blossoming tree 

(I thought it was pretty and starting singing popcorn popping :))

upstairs bathroom, jetted tub/shower in master bedroom, more back yard

Love

I entered a local contest to win a free date night and some other gift cards. For the contest we had to send in a letter about what we love and why? They wanted something with pizzazz and heart. I didn't win. But I was pretty proud of my entry nonetheless. So here it is...

Hi! My name is Stephanie Joy Barlow and I love "Living It Up!" My parents were more than correct when they gave me my middle name. I was the youngest of 6 and a girl. This thrilled my parents because there were already 4 boys and 1 girl and my Mom really wanted to have another girl. All that made them very happy so they gave me the middle name "Joy". Little did they know how true I would try to live up to that name. 

I have always, and will always be, a fun loving, optimistic, enthusiastic, smiling gal. Even when times are tough, and a lot of times they are because well...this is life, but I try to make the most of things. Who wants to waste time being blue...The Blue Man Group...maybe...but not me :) This was my motto throughout my youth. I didn't think I needed anything else because I loved to live it up on my own and that was enough. Then in 2003, I met a cute boy named Lars. "What a fun name," raced through my mind at first. "Oh he is hot with his blonde hair and blue eyes." That was my second thought. And then he smiled and laughed at a joke I told. That day forward I knew my life would be all the more rich with him by my side. After a short courtship we married and since then have been living it up together. We have had many adventures and misadventures together. We both graduated from college with our associates degrees, started a short lived PS3 Rock Band named The Bee Sharps, created a production company, lived in California for 4 years, broke a few fingers while roller skating, gone camping 30+ times, made 250+ able-skivers, ate said 250+ able-skivers (not all at once), seen countless movies together, and much much more. We just love being together. And that is enough...or so we thought.

9 Years into our marriage we decided to unlock more of our hearts when our son was born. Our lives became much more zealous. Now all I want to do is relive my life over, but with our son by our side, so we can experience all the wonderful things we have done together so far through each other's eyes. Both of these guys are my loves and anchors in life. I can get a little crazy with my "Living It Up" attitude. Some people don't like it and try to box me up or tell me to change. But my two anchors are there to hug and kiss me and tell me they wouldn't have me any other way. This year is our 10 year wedding anniversary. We would love to win a free date to help us celebrate our love that has grown and had so many of life's awesome experiences. Whether or not we win we are going to continue to "Live It Up!" Because that is just what we do and I know we have so much more to see and do together as a family.

How It Came to Be

Wednesday, April 3rd, we looked at a house and after that decided to change the specs on everything to expand our search. Our Realtor, Dave Rock, went into the online MLS system and made the changes and also changed the settings so we would get notifications more often when a house becomes available. 

Thursday, April 4th, we looked at a bunch of meh and so so houses from our expanded search. Feeling discouraged we returned to our Realtor's office to put another offer on the house we put an offer on last week. We felt that it was the best we had seen and decided to give into the sellers counter offer.

While Dave was drawing up the paperwork I received a notification and pulled up the list of houses and Lars and I reviewed them. 

No 

No

Heck NO

hmmmm

STOP THE PRESSES I yelled. 

All three of us huddled around the computer looking at everything about THE house. It had been on the market since September 2012 and they just reduced the price within the hour into our price range. Our Realtor immediately tried to make contact with the other agent so we could see it that night.  From the specs we knew this house was a great deal and wouldn't last and I wanted to play hard ball. It was 8 pm at night, while we waited to hear from the other agent we decided to at least go drive by it. We all jumped in the car and scurried to the house and met in the middle of the road directly in front of the house. By then it was 8:30 pm. The house was occupied and we still hadn't heard from the agent. 

Then the unthinkable happened. 

The owner of the house came out the front door. Dave, who is incredibly awesome by the way (not just because he has seen and loves Galaxy Quest, but because he is a rock star at his job). Dave politely went up to the gentleman and introduced himself. He carried on a conversation with the owner and soon brought us into the conversation and introduced us. We got to ask him various questions about the house. The owner said that he would invite us in but they just put the kids to bed. He also explained that they had moved out of the house to live with his Father who was dying of cancer. They moved back in along with tons of furniture and boxes of his father's items. So there wasn't much room in the house at the moment as they were still getting things reorganized. He said we were welcome to return on a later date. While we were planning an appointment the owners wife came out the front door and joined the conversation  SHE invited us in and said that the kids were still awake and that if we didn't mind the mess she would be happy to give us a quick tour. She also commented that she has been in our shoes before and understands the urgency to see houses as they become available.
She was a good sales lady and super nice. 

The tour was amazing. We saw many things that weren't even in the pics. This house has just about everything we are looking for in a house and it is in the right condition. As we walked through the house she told us all the stuff that would stay, which was a lot. She even said that if we bought the house she would throw in one of the king sized beds. The master bedroom/bathroom was amazing. The backyard even more awesome. We graciously thanked them over and over for letting us in and wished them a goodnight. 

We had a planning meeting at the cars and decided to do whatever we needed to get the house. It is in a great area and worth more than they are asking. We put our best offer in but the selling agent said he will present the offers on Saturday and then that turned into Monday. That night Dave called and indicated that things are looking good for us. We are on the up and up since we have met the sellers and left a positive impression on them. 

Lars said that as he was driving to the house he had a strong feeling and a prompting that said, "Are you ready to see the house you are going to live in for the next few years?" We love love love this house. It feels right and I have had so much peace with our offer, even though they took taking forever to get back to us I still felt calm. I just knew that if it was right it was going to work out in its own time and then move rapidly after that. We put it in the Lord's hands. 

Tuesday, April 9th, Dave calls us with the best news. They accepted our offer and moved up the closing date. Things are moving super fast but will hopefully continue to fall into place. 

What an amazing story. What are the odds that we were going to see the house late that night? What are the odds that it came thru on our notifications and that the owner just happened to walk out his front door when he did? For me the story is even more amazing because we actually got the house. Sometimes things just happen right and fall into place just perfectly. I couldn't have planned this any better. 

I will take a video tour and post it later on. 

5K Cancelled

Over the weekend I decided to not use the crutches or take any Advil. I did my best to take it easy and despite my efforts my ankle/leg/fracture area was sore by Sunday night. I started to feel hesitant about even walking in the 5K. I didn't want to chicken out on my commitment so I prayed for my fracture to continue to heal properly in time for the 5K.

Monday morning I get to work and check my email and read this:

Salt Lake City Event Notice

Dear Stephanie, Thank you for choosing Dirty Girl and registering for our Salt Lake City event. Unfortunately, due to the low volume of registrants, we will be unable to hold the event on April 27th. Our goal is to provide an over-the-top experience that is like no other. To do so, we require a critical mass of participants. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure enough Dirty Girls in Salt Lake City. BLAH BLAH Cancelled....here is how to get your money back or get a voucher for another race blah blah blah! I am totally getting a refund. :)

LOL. I had to laugh about the last line....not able to secure enough "Dirty Girls in SLC". LOL I know where I can find some. Totally kidding! We are all Daughters of God.

I was both bummed but also extremely relieved. I don't want to further injure myself. I am going to get through this injure 100%. Then dance and prance in the mud.

So the Gator Galz are no more. I was going to run with my coworker and sister in law. We are already looking into other runs. There are other dirty runs and color runs that have caught my interest. One of my favorite cousins, who is also runs, is going to be in town in August. We are both on the mends and if we are cleared then we will run a 5K together. I have something fun to look forward too once I am in good health.

In the mean time I have not been counting calories or exercising. I kind of suck but I don't really care right now either. I will work it out and get back into shape soon enough. I found a program that my other cousin used that looks legit but not crazy. I am still doing research and if I decide to do it I will bring you all in on it. I love myself and my body I just always think I can do a better job at taking care of myself. BAM!

What Destiny...

What is your calling in life?

What is mine?

I have been doing a lot of thinking this past month...uh oh. :) Sometimes I feel like everyone has a nitch. Something they are amazing at or are well known for or sure of. Like this, or this, I know I shouldn't compare myself to other people. Maybe I am watching wayyyyy too much Youtube. I really want to know what is my calling. As I go through life I ask this question a lot. I want to know if I am fulfilling my destiny. When I was younger it was all about getting an education, then marriage, then a baby...I did most of that and those are and will forever be continuous work, learning experiences, enjoyments etc.. I am not bored with those...I love those but I sometimes keep feeling like there is something more I should/want to be doing. I feel like I can give more or be more...almost like I am not living up to my full potential. I want to get more out of life but I haven't a clue where to start. Will I ever reach my full potential in this life or will I only find content in something during each phase of my life? Am I in between phases right now?

I used to wish that I only had one really special talent. I am a jack of all trades but a master of none. I love and enjoy doing various things, probably because I can't stay focused. For this reason I wanted to be a famous actress so I could utilize all the little things I know into one big thing. I don't want to be a famous actress anymore, not really,  but I would love to be famous or known or remembered for something...but the question is WHAT???!?

I have a job but I don't see myself doing much within that as far as destiny. I always try to throw myself into my son but I don't want to smother him and live my dreams through him. I only want to be a balanced Mom. I have often thought about homeschooling him so I have something additional to do and contribute too but maybe that is not the right fit for me. I am not sure I am confident or patient enough to do that and I wouldn't mind him being in school so I can do things that define me while he is there and so he can have that experience. I am not sure I want to make that my life or maybe I am scared to be molded into a stereotype.  I have tried becoming a runner and so far that has not turned out well. I thought about maybe going back to school and getting my bachelors in teaching. I love art, exercising, cooking, and talking to people. But what can or should I do with myself? I feel like I am asking questions that I should already have the answers too but then again I think it is healthy to re-ask questions because that is how you change and expand yourself.

So I have been praying a lot about where Heavenly Father wants me to be. I get strong promptings with I hear talks or lessons about service and deepening ones testimony. I pray for opportunity and the courage to take action and serve. I am trying and not doing so well at reading my scriptures daily or going to the temple. But that is okay because I just try again the next day. I am not sure if I will ever find these answers. If I do I will let you all know. Even if I do get the answers my feelings may change. I hope I get answers because I really want to feel....useful and known or good and remembered for something. I guess I am looking for a legacy to leave. I don't want to just disappear and have that be that.

I really just wanted no needed to get these thoughts and feelings out there. I have been molling these thoughts over and how to express them for weeks. I am going to figure something out and take it to the Lord. I would love some confirmation or something so I know where I am going and what I am doing is where I need to be  or what this is.

 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must ^astudy it out in your^bmind; then you must ^cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your ^dbosom shall ^eburn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

Doctorine and Covenants 9:8

A Winter Day in the Park

One wintery day the temperature was 40 degrees. 

This created a spring hustle in the air. Everyone and their dog was out playing in the warm weather. 

 The Barlow family took a stroll to get their fill

We explored this stuff under the snow called GRASS 

(love this pic with his hip popped)

 

made a snowball 

 then dropped it because it was so cold

 it is so hard to make a snowman with nothing but grass. I can't wait until next winter so we can make a proper snowman...said no one ever!

Lars got a new lens that makes your pictures look like they are from the 70's. It is the same thing on most phone camera filters but those are free while this lens was not free. Whatever, at least he got a new toy to go with his other toy. :)

Enjoy the new spring weather!

You Make Sushi Now

For Valentine's Day Lars and I took a sushi making class. 

The best part was that we got to eat what we made.  

Shrimp Tempura roll 

 

We also made Sashimi but we didn't take pictures of that

Crazies Roll

 For this roll we had a competition for best presentation.
Lars won and we got an additional roll to eat.  

 The instructor said that Lars' roll looked better than his own. 

 The class was held at a restaurant called RICE. We got tickets through living social or groupon or something. This is my new favorite place to eat sushi in SLC. All their sushi is 50% off all the time and it is delicious and fresh. My favorite place to eat sushi in Utah County is KOI Sushi. Seriously everything is good on the menu there and if you are new to sushi this is a great place to start. Or you could start at our house because after one class we are experts and will whip some up for ya like that along with a knife throwing show. :) We both are looking into buying the ingredients so we can make some simple sushi's at home.