Taylor Swift Concert

Snow and I had the best time ever at the Taylor Swift concert. Don't be fooled...Snow is the one with her tunes loaded on his ipod!I bought our tickets online the first minute that they went on sale and this was the result.I know this picture is wretched, but your eyes are not deceiving you, we are on the second row from the VERY top. Seriously if someone knows the secret to getting decent concert tickets, do tell!

One bad thing about the nosebleed section is that it is very hot, especially for women who are 4 weeks from giving birth! P.S. take a moment to feel bad for the only suckers in energy solutions arena with worse seats than us--that is them in the background.

Here is Taylor singing my favorite of her songs, You Belong With Me. This girl can totally put on a show. For instance this song included cheerleaders, and her in a band costume that miraculously turned into a slinky sequined number by the end. There was rain, a crazy drumming competition, a wedding dress, ballroom dancing, about thirty songs all about a girl being jilted by a boy and a house full of tween-aged girls. What was not to love! No seriously I am not being sarcastic--it was super fun and you should check her out next time she comes to town.

Chinese Dress

Snow's sister Naomi served her mission in Hong Kong and was recently able to go back for a visit. While she was there, she and her friend Dora picked up this cute little dress for Saylor. When we took the picture Naomi insisted she make peace signs because it is "very Chinese". I thought the result was adorable and wanted to share it.

Hike to Buffalo Point

Last weekend was the first that Snow has had off in 6 weeks, plus the weather was great so we tried hard to take advantage. After Saylor's soccer game( see previous post) we grabbed some smoothies and headed out for a family hike on antelope island. It would be a gross exaggeration if I told you that this was the most scenic spot I have ever encountered, but it was fun. At least it would have been fun if it weren't for the No See Ums. Yeah, we didn't know what they were either, but believe me we learned. They are some bizarre biting gnat that were thriving out there on the Great Salt Lake. At first I thought I was crazy because my scalp was stinging and itching like crazy--but all we could see were these annoying little gnats swarming us, and gnats are harmless right? WRONG! Lets just say that we learned first-hand about the enhanced interrogation techniques used at Gitmo involving insects, and had I been privy to any government secrets I would have been singing songbird to stop the madness. This is gross, but each time a tried to scratch my scalp to ease my discomfort I came away with bugs under my nails! The only person not bothered by the little buggers was Saylor. She had the best time ever, and was loving climbing the huge boulders. I guess if soccer doesn't work out, she might have a future in rock climbing, she was surprisingly fearless. Sadly we never made it to the end of Buffalo Point--we just couldn't take it. I guess we will have to do a little more research before our next family outing. I have reluctantly included (for those of you who have been pestering me for it) a picture of me: fat belly, fat face, fat bootie and all. This may be more gross to some of you that the bugs under my nails! Oh well, only 5 weeks to go.

Farewell White Sharks

Last Saturday was the final game of Saylor's tiny tot soccer season. This introduction to team sports proved to be a little rocky for Saylor. She spent the Fall wanting to play on the playground instead of on the field, and the first half of the Spring crying because her games were now scheduled during nap time. The last two games, however, were a bit more encouraging...She actually asked if it was her turn to "go in" and she ran after the ball with the other kiddies when she was on the field. She still wasn't aggressive enough to touch the ball unless she was kicking it in from out of bounds, but at least we saw some progress. Her excellent coach had his wife take some nice team photos. Sadly, picture day also happened to be the day that we were running super late and I couldn't find her matching pink soccer shorts, and I didn't have time to do her hair, but I still think she makes an adorable athlete.
On the final game the coaches held back all the other kids and let Saylor take the ball down the field and score a goal. I have never seen her so proud of herself! She ran straight off the field and gave Snow and I high-fives and hugs. After the game all of the kids got a medal (which Saylor is still wearing everywhere including church), and Saylor is convinced she got it because she scored a goal. It was really fun to see this side of her and we can't wait for next season to start.

The best $40 we ever spent

We bought Saylor a tiny bike for her 2nd birthday(feel free to check earlier posts if you are dying to see a picture of it) and she never played with it. Since the weather has been pleasant she has been playing outside with some neighbor girls who have bikes and she finally figured out how to pedal. In fact she even got invited to go on a bike ride with some friends and she had a really hard time keeping up with the other kids with her scrawny baby bike. We decided that it was time to break down and get her something more age-appropriate and boy are we glad we did. When I first showed Saylor pictures online of the bike I planned to order (a $40 huffy sea star from Walmart) she was not impressed. Her exact reply was "but mom it doesn't have any ponies or care bears on it." When I told her the choices were this bike or no bike (because I refused to spend twice as much on a bike with Dora on it), she quickly decided she really liked it after all. Snow put it together and here are pictures of its maiden voyage. Since this joyous day she has spent literally hours on it each day. She LOVES it and I love that she would rather ride her bike than watch Dragon Tales. For once in our parenting career Snow and I chose a toy she actually played with for more that 5 minutes. Wahoo! It is the little victories in life right?!

Saylor Said

So lately my daughter has been killing me with her funny comments.

Yesterday she asked Snow to play "mommy and kid" with her. Saylor was going to be the mommy and Snow the kid. She says "OK I am the mommy I am going to clean the kitchen." I said "Is that what Mommies do, clean the kitchen?" she said "Yes, and Daddies check the computer."

Last night we were for FHE we were talking about The promises you make when you get baptized like stand as a witness of God at all times and I explained that meant always being a good example. I reminded her of a time when she told a friend not to say a "naughty" word. She said "Ok mom I promise to tell everyone not to say oh my gosh, stupid, or butt!" I was laughing so hard.

I had a few more to share but I am running out of time--maybe later.

Easter

Nothing was more fun for my crafty three-year-old than doing a little Easter egg dying:

We didn't actually hunt any of these eggs, but Saylor loved eating them. I would peel them and she would take them whole, dip them in salt, and nosh away. My sister Shi got a pink chick from her roomie and Saylor thought it was the neatest thing ever!

The Easter bunny left Saylor some clues to help her find her Easter basket. In the end she tracked it down to its hiding place in the babie's crib:

Here she is all dolled up for Easter Sunday:

And egg hunting at Grandma's:

Don't worry, we also had a lot of talks and a special FHE about the real reason we celebrate Easter.