6 Years Baby!

Yes, it has been six entire years since Juan and I tied the knot (how did that expression come to be? Weird.) Anyway, yesterday was our anniversary and we realized that 6 years really brings a lot out in a couple. For example, we gave each other the gift of a clean house from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Never before now would we have ever considered cleaning as an activity worthy to perform on that celebratory day that comes but once a year; however, it was a gift that keeps giving as I am sitting in a still-clean living room as happy as ever. After cleaning, we all drove up to Park City to go hit the outlets (as Gap and BR were having these amazing sales that couldn't be missed. I'm talking wool sweaters for less than $7, people!) We were in the market for brand new kid clothes, too (focus on the "brand new KID" part.) Why, you ask?

I know that I haven't mentioned it on the blog yet, so here's the big announcement:

We're having a BABY! And it's a BOY! And I'm due on April 4th!

This is really, really exciting news for us so it really strikes me as strange that I didn't hint at it earlier on the blog. As I am contemplating why, I think it's because I am finding that I use Facebook a lot more frequently and sometimes I forget to post the news here as well. Anyway, that's one of the biggest reasons we went to Park City--so we could find some boy clothes for the wee one. (Yeah, I just wrote that! It's cute in its own Irish way.)

Back to the anniversary....

So, Juan and I finished off the night by hitting Happy Sumo for dinner (sushi comes with cooked fish too, to all those who are judging the pregnant lady right now.) ;) All-in-all it was a pretty relaxing and satisfying 6th year capstone date.

It's surreal to think that over the course of just six years, I married my dream guy, we graduated college, had two amazing children, got through dental school, are working our way through a residency and are expecting one more little munchkin. Wow! It really does seem like time moves as fast as lightning. Sure do love my man and I am so glad that we're stuck with each other forever. And rather than get all mushy-lovey-dovey right now, I'll just say that I'd rather be with him on his worst day than with anyone else on their best day. Yes, he's just that perfect.

Halloween 2011

(Once again, these pics were taken with my phone. Sorry.)









This year was fun because the girls decided on their costumes early on in the month of October. This was actually later than I had planned since I would not have much time to put them together before or after our time in Blanding. Siena decided she would be a Princess Butterfly. Qiana, of course, wanted to be Rapunzel. These costumes were definitely reasonable, since we already had most of the trimmings. The only real preparation was going to be in the Rapunzel wig. Juan and I took that project upon ourselves the Saturday before Halloween, and since it turned out to be easier than we thought, we all had time to do some early trick-or-treating at the mall. Monday (Halloween) rolled around and that was the day for the real fun to begin. First, the girls went trick-or-treating at their Abuelo's work, which was fun for everyone. Then, they went with their cousin, Ava, to the mall for more trick-or-treating. Thinking about how much candy they have, I think the real reason we brought them again was so their costumes could be put to good use, rather than worn for just a couple of hours. :) Finally, it was late enough to start the neighborhood rounds. We went to Ava's neighborhood with her and let the girls go around to about 8 houses with her. That was all they (we) needed to feel like their Halloween was complete. It was pretty fun this year to get involved with the Halloween holiday. We have probably not been as excited about it in the past because our girls weren't really old enough to get into dressing up. Now, it's pretty fun to watch them dawn their "new" personalities along with their costumes.

Blanding and our time there

Blanding, Utah is one of the most remote places I've ever "lived", but I loved being down there for those last two weeks of October. It's not nearby any large city and only has one grocery store, but somehow you can find everything you need to keep you busy. Juan took a few pictures of the Reservation Clinic so we could all see what it was like. The girls and I never had a chance to go see it since it was 40 miles away and we didn't have a car, but I don't think we missed too much. Like he told me, Montezuma Creek is literally a street with a few buildings on it.

Coming into town:


Going out of town: (yes, that is a horse in the road.)


The clinic:


That's all.

While Juan was gone at work Monday through Thursday, the girls and I just tried to create a routine. Every morning, we would go outside and greet the neighbors' two rabbits. After the girls lost interest in the bunnies for the day, they would go to the backyard and start howling and barking at another neighbor's dog until he whined back. This would go on for about another 1o minutes until I was sure all of the neighbors were awake and annoyed at us, then we would resume our spot on the front porch. There, we either observed the bees in the chrysanthemums or the girls would hunt for dandelions. Some mornings were filled with searches for feathers, sticks, or rocks for their "collections". Come to think of it, it was in those two weeks when the girls gathered together more "collections" than at any other time. Around noon, we would eat lunch and then have some indoor play time. That either involved the girls performing Zumba or songs for me in spontaneous talent shows, or make-believe time when they pretended they were puppies. And for your information, they were good little puppies. They played fetch, rolled over and did tricks at their owner's (my) command. If only I could get them to make their beds for fake doggie snacks..... No, I won't go there.

Anyway, we were all so lucky when Friday morning came because Juan didn't have to work and we had three-day weekends to do as we pleased. Natural Bridges National Monument was only an hour away, so that first Friday (after a brief stop at a nearby Ancestral Puebloan ruin five minutes from our house,) we headed out there. It was pretty amazing. I'd been to Arches National Park before and thought it was pretty cool, but when I saw the arches at NB, I was inspired. They were sunken down into deep canyons of stone, but carved out from wind and water erosion over thousands and thousands of years. At our last stop there, we all got out and hiked down to the bottom of Owachomo Arch, the shortest hike of the bunch. The girls were impressed as well as tuckered out by the time we got back to the car. (It was only about a 1/2 mile hike, but it did the trick!) On our drive back, we hiked another trail down into the Butler Wash Anasazi ruins. This was a perfect segue into our trip the next day to Mesa Verde. The views of these preserved cliff dwellings are spectacular. The fact that they lived where they lived and that part of that history is so well-preserved is incredible to me.

(He'd be so embarrassed if he knew I put this on the blog :)

We read in an information brochure back at the house that most of the plants in the area were utilized for everyday living. We especially saw a lot of Yucca plants, which provided fibers for clothing, shoes, basketry, tool-making, and cording. The girls were excited about the juniper berries that were growing on the trees along the trail, and when I learned that they were edible, I was pretty impressed at the strong-stomachs the ancient people had. Those berries are powerfully potent. In fact, they were inspiration for part of our Thanksgiving 2011 menu, which I'm so excited about! More details to come....

The next day, like I said, was dedicated to visiting Mesa Verde (about 2 1/2 hours away near Cortez, Colorado.) My parents took our family there when we were kids and I remember being wide-eyed at the artifacts and ruins, most especially because I was staring at them through my first ever disposable camera. The girls were just as interested once we told them we were going to go on a tour of "El Palacio de los Indios". Any type of castle/palace would intrigue them, whether new, old, or really, REALLY old. We did take the hike down into the Cliff Palace (which dates back to 600 A.D.,) and were surprised at how well the girls held up. The guide kept telling the group that the hike was extremely "strenuous" before we started, but personally I think they were just weeding out the slowpokes. There's not much to say other than it was incredibly interesting. I'll let the pictures say the rest.

(These first two were taken at the end of the day, after our official Junior Park Rangers fell asleep. They still wear their little badges with pride.)





Look closely into the background and you'll see another ruin. (This family picture taken courtesy of two nice Italians. Grazie!)

















"I'm gonna get you!"


Archaeologists are still excavating this part of the ruin, so we weren't allowed back there.


Climbing out of the kiva





Part of the Cliff Palace hike. It was literally this narrow through most of the way back up through the cliff.





The hike: a family effort


Listening to the guide tell us all the history behind this place





Water break


We had three more of these babies to climb by the end of the hike. Luckily, my girls are great climbers. At one point, I had looked behind to talk to Juan while we were waiting for the people ahead of us; by the time I had turned my head back to Qiana, she was already half way up the ladder by herself. I about died of a heart attack!

After taking the hike/tour, we took at drive along the top of this elevated mesa (about 8,000 feet above sea level.) All along the way, we pulled off the side of the road to stare in awe at so many cliff dwelling ruins. When I say "cliff dwelling" I literally mean it. They situated themselves in eroded nooks of sheer cliff walls for protection. I can't even imagine how many people fell to their death by accident. Although it's hard to think of those people as being more than primitive, I really did gain an understanding of their knowledge and skills. They understood the seasons, how to build with sub-par materials, and how to grow crops in clay-like soil. I loved seeing the artifacts that the museum there had on display because it brought their everyday life into perspective. After another hike into a real kiva, (a typical, religious underground room) we were ready to drive back home. It had been a very insightful weekend.

Well, We're Back Again

Yay! November is here! (I think it ties with May to be my favorite month.)

So much to catch up on....

• ADA Conference in Las Vegas
• Moving to Blanding, UT
• Visiting a TON of Indian (read "Ancestral Puebloan") ruins at Mesa Verde & Blanding
• Hiking in Natural Bridges National Monument
• Moving BACK to civilization
• Halloween

I think it's going to have to be broken up into multiple posts, though, because I don't have the patience to wait for all the pictures to upload right now.

ADA Conference

Well, this was fun for us. It's been a long time since we've left the girls with babysitters overnight and we had never left them for a whole week before so we were a little anxious by the sixth day to see them. But in the meantime, we did a lot of partying!

Okay, let's get real... no partying. But Juan and I did get to treat ourselves a little more than we have in the past while in Vegas. We decided to forego a show and instead focused on experiencing Las Vegas as foodies. After sitting through two 2.5-hour dental lectures per day, we went to some awesome restaurants thanks to Restaurant.com. If you're ever in search of some good grub, here is a short list we made of our top picks (which all offer gift certificates at Restaurant.com):

STRIPSTEAK by Michael Mina

Fleur by Hubert Keller

Border Grill by Susan Feniger

Addiction @ Rumor Boutique Hotel

Plus some great grub was found at Carnegie Delicatessen (a chip off the ol' NYC namesake)at the Mirage Resort. If you ever find yourself standing in front of a mile-high chocolate cheesecake behind the glass of Carnegie Deli, DON'T resist the urge to walk away. Pull out the wallet, grab a shovel and DIG IN! It will be an indulgence you will treasure on your thighs and butt for months to come. Remember, all that happens in Vegas, doesn't have to stay in Vegas.

The last day, and our travel day, we were able to go to the beautiful Las Vegas Temple. That was quite memorable, which was something we were going to need to get us through the drive back to Utah through the hours and hours of desert terrain.

Thankfully, we arrived in Salina where my Dad met us with the girls. It was so great to give them both a big bear hug and kiss their chubby cheeks! The next day was travel day....