Surprises

It's been a pretty uneventful week, but alas, I still report. A few surprises came our way...

Kate received a surprise package in the mail containing her new swim suit. Dave and I saw it at Janie and Jack screaming out Kate's name. I just about threw a fit over how stinkin' cute it was! There were none in her size, but we ordered it for her online, and mmm...she looks so squeezy in it...especially in her little swim cap. She wore this for HOURS the other night, refusing to take it off. Who can blame her? She looked fabulous.

Thursday morning came an unexpected and unhappy suprise--Kate woke up sick. Grandma Sherrie stepped in to play the part of mom and took Kate to the doc for me. In spite of being down and out, Kate still impressed. When the doctor came in, Kate pulled out her grown-up communication skills and explained, "I have an ow-ee in my neck and I need a band-aid." The doctor checked her and confirmed that she did have a sore throat, although no band-aid was given for relief. Kate also let the doctor know, "I need some medicine." After a few more checks of her ears and breathing, the doctor wrote her out a scrip. I was very proud to hear that Kate could take care of things on her own...

Most of the weekend was spent at home trying to get Kate better. Last night, however, we did go to a surprise party for Reese's 72nd birthday (Dave's dad). It was an event for the just the adults of Dave's family, and everyone brought appetizers to share. We played a little Reese-themed game, visited and laughed, and watched a short video of Reese's life. It was a very light-hearted and fun night.

A few other side notes...

Potty training is on hiatus for now...at least for Kate. I decided I couldn't give it my all until summer rolls around. Ken (Kate's doll), however, seems to have the whole thing down. It just so happens that Dave came into the toyroom the other day, and walked in on Ken doing this...

Surprise! Ken's potty training, too, and we didn't even know it. It appears he's had another little person teaching and coaching him through.

Also, take a little glimpse of Dave's newest love affair...

his pot rack. It's nicely nestled in our pantry and looks pretty snazzy, right?

The Navajo and the Sundance

Friday night we ate over at Brian and Natalie's. For being a such last minute ordeal, Miss Natalie threw together a rather amazing and very delicious Navajo Taco Feast. Oh, the Navajo taco. Complete bliss. Still thinking about it.

Following dinner, Kate and our niece, Cammie, watched Alice In Wonderland, while the adults gamed. We played Buzz Word, which happens to be made for the mind of Dave; he just makes the rest of us look like idiots. Of course, Team Blackhurst won. Team Robinson would have won had they been competing against me alone, but against Dave, they stood no chance.


The next morning, Dave and I sharpened up on our skiing skills. We met up with Dave's co-workers at Sundance for a second year in a row. You know, I always "think" I don't really like skiing, but once I make myself do it, I truly enjoy myself. I always start off really crappy, and then as the day progresses, I start to figure the whole thing out. And once I stopped falling down, I was able to take in the breathtaking, mountainous views. If you're like me and despise living in coldness, skiing is a good way to help you gain a little appreciation for Utah's winter wonderland.

The best part about skiing at Sundance is that you can ride to the very top of the lift and ski the Back Mountain (which offers Blue slopes the whole way down). There are some very cool quaint trails that take you past some cabins and things. And it's actually kind of romantical skiing alongside your honey.

At lunch, we all met up and ate together. Dave and I both got the Frito Pie (which, in greater detail, is a layer of Fritos + a layer of chili + a layer of cheese, all equaling the perfect comfort food for skiing).

Later that night, we should have soaked in a warm, bubble bath and slept to help our muscles recover; instead, Discovery Gateway (the children's museum) beckoned us. We'd been to the Museum of Play in New York and it was incredible, so we figured this must be cool too. Ehhh. Not so much. I think Utah might have slightly more children than New York so everything seemed extremely used and handled, plus it wasn't exactly cheap to get in.

Kate with the building blocks

The grocery store part was definitely fun, and they had some microscopes that were pretty cool. Kate had a good time, especially being there with Hayden and Parker...but I don't think we'll go back.

We finished of the evening at Jason's Deli. I happen to love Orem's Jason's Deli, but the Gateway's is...well, poo. It's not very clean, or friendly, or fast, or good. I think as long as I'm not going back to the children's museum, I'll also not go to back to that Jason's Deli.

Sunday morning the pain set in. Muscles we didn't even realize we had were screaming out in agony! But church, like every other week, was good. We really love our ward, and have a bishop that goes above and beyond to make our ward strong and united. Every week, Dave and I both comment about how much we enjoy going to church, which is pretty good thing, I think.

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day

Well, friends...today I hold my head up high. According to my recent trip to the hot guy who fixes teeth (aka Dave) I have only 4 cavities! Sure, 4 may "seem" like a big number, but since my last visit, which was two years ago, I have one less cavity this time (we're taking baby steps here people). Someday I hope to once again join the No Cavity Club (which I was true member of until I reached the ripe old age of 5, or maybe 6).

Also on her way to Cavity-Freeism...

is our little Kate.

She experienced her first trip to the dentist today! She was extremely uneasy about the whole thing and has said for several days prior to the event that she 'couldn't want to get her teeth cleaned.' Thanks to some sly convincing from both Dave and the assistant, Christi, we got Kate to cooperate!

Not only cooperate, but she also sat in the chair all by herself and didn't act at all bothered the whole time! It probably helped that she got to watch Charlotte's Web while being worked on, OR that her dad was the dentist, but either way, we were certainly proud.She got some cleaning, flossing, and polishing done, and Dave also did some nice filing work to Kate's two front teeth (the edges were a little jagged to begin with). They look beautiful now!

Kate, too, walked out of there with her head held up high; and with her arms full of prizes and new tooth-brushing equipment.

We're Not In Los Angeles Anymore...

The weekend has been an amazing one already.

Friday night we were supposed to tend Kate's favorite cousin, Cammie, while the rest of her fam went skiing. Because of the snow storm, Aunt Jenny decided the girls would stay home and have slumber parties. They invited Kate over to play, which left me and Dave to go out by ourselves. Mmmm...lovely.

We kicked off the evening by going to Spark Restaurant Lounge in downtown Provo. We had heard great things about this place and decided it deserved a visit from the Blackhursts.So...upon first arrival, I was a little nervous. The inside is very "chic" for lack of better words. It's pretty modern and loungy inside. They have a bar that serves only non-alcoholic beverages, and a loft area for casual dining and drinking. We'd seen plenty of this sort of thing in Los Angeles, but it felt a little awkward for Utah County. Then came the awkward seating (have you ever eaten so close to other diners that you have to consciously try to not listen to their conversations?) Such was the case for us. So you can see why I was a little nervous, but mostly just worried that the food would be lacking.

Long story short, very impressed by the food. Okay, so not so short story...I got a flat iron steak served with sauteed spinach and a heavenly fried-on-the-outside, mashed on-the-inside potato. Dave had the salmon served over a bed of potatoes in cream sauce, as well as two different specialty beverages. And dessert was my absolute favorite...vanilla panna cotta served with kiwi, guava and passion fruit pearls. I know...what the heck is that? Heaven...mostly. But really, panna cotta is almost like a vanilla pudding or custard. And then it was topped with these little flavored tapioca beads. Sounds sick, especially since I don't like tapioca, but oh, ho, ho! Do try this if you can. Wish I had a pic for that one. Anyway, kudos to that place for going out on a limb and trying to bring a little bit of L.A. to Provo. After experiencing the food, I was suddenly okay with everything going on inside, and made me realize how much I like going to non-chain restaurants.

After dinner we came home to two little girls snuggled up in bed; wearing jammies, watching movies and giggling. It looked like Kate, too, very much enjoyed herself.

Thanks, Aunt Jenny!

So then this morning we were reminded that Utah is very different from L.A. in more ways than one. Snow is everywhere today and we tried to make the most of it...

Kate helped her dad shovel snow.

She also made snow angels (something I didn't realize she knew how to do).

And then we went sledding.

I officially love the weekends.

Feats and Defeats

Okay, so big accomplishment:
Sunday after church, Kate up and decided she was going to be a big girl. I'll try to spare you the details, but in short...from noon till bedtime she kept the star of her undies, Princess Aurora, dry. We're not too sure where her motivation came from, but we think it had to do with a little peer pressure from her friends in nursery. Kate's motivation ceased on Day 2 (and so did mine), but I was glad to know that once she gets serious about it, she can actually do it.

Big disaster:
Last night-1:00am, 3:00am, 5:00am, & 6:20 am. Someone (I'll bet you can guess who) suddenly decided that she "can't want" to sleep in her big girl bed anymore. As a result, this same little someone kept trying to sneak into Mom and Dad's bed at various times in the night. I held my ground and kept returning her back to her bed. After one night of this, I'm desperately hoping it doesn't happen again, but am pretty convinced that it will. We've gathered that she's been having bad dreams from the little things that she says, and it makes us really sad for her, but my bed (and who sleeps in it) is not negotiable...

Our World in a Minute

Unfortunately, I've been suffering from a severe case of Writer's Block lately; thus, the blog, too, has suffered. I'm forcing myself to sit and write so that "Uncle Mike on a mission" actually has something to read this week.

Let's begin with problem-solving...

Like all the other crazed resoluters, I've been "very much considering" getting more fit. I started by going to a district-sponsored class called "Powerful Mind/Nutrition". The class did nothing for me...super boring, not motivating, and no aha moments.

Then Wednesday night for enrichment, excuse me, "Relief Society" we had a guy in our ward (who's a trainer for Gold's Gym) come and discuss nutritional tips. That was a much better class; it taught me how to calculate my daily caloric intake, and gave me some tips for a more effective workout.

So...I've pretty much got a world of amazing nutritional information going on in my head, but this body of mine (for some reason) won't get in gear. Maybe I should just accept the marathon invitation from my friend, Lindsay; that would most likely get me up and training (although I may have burnt that bridge with her after the smart remarks I made after receiving the invite). Solutions to my latest problem, anyone?

Next, let's talk about hot air...

This is my teaching partner, Andrea (whom I love), and me...and this is our class's hot air balloon getting ready for take-off.

Yesterday at school the third grade launched their mini hot-air balloons (after much icky construction time). Let me tell you...ultra-cool, but THE biggest pain in the neck to make:( Quite frankly, I was secretly glad to see the thing go...The third graders do this every year, and have always gotten to relaunch the balloons several times. But because of the extremely cold temperatures outside, it made for excellent flying conditions and we never saw our balloons again. Once launched, they drifted far, far away, and looked like they landed somewhere around I-15 near Thanksgiving Point...you can see in the pic below a tiny little spec of color in the sky as it creeps up happily towards the freeway...I haven't yet heard of any car accidents over there, so that's a good thing.

Moving on...

We've recently gotten the chance to meet up with old friends. Our first encounter was over Christmas Break. We met up with the Tiede's at the Grand America for their breakfast buffet. We ate like kings, but more importantly, loved catching up. It's been a couple years since we've seen Cameron, and nearly a year since seeing Rachael and Olivia so it was a much needed event.

Kate and Olivia in the G.A. toy store

Then last weekend some other California friends, Matt and Laney, paid us another much needed visit. They always make for a night of fun and seem to be very popular ;) so we were honored to get a Saturday night with them. We dined at Los Hermanos, and then they taught how to play chicken foot; super fun, but not as fun as the very dark, top-secret info Laney revealed about the show House Hunters. If any readers are curious as to what that may be, talk to me personally...I'd hate to ruin the show for any die-hards. Anyway, you can see why we live for nights with these people...

That's about it in the world of the Blackhursts...you're welcome, Uncle Mike. Hopefully you'll send us a super LONG letter, super soon.

EVE

Due to a lack of friend-age, Dave and I didn't have plans for New Year's Eve. Dave took matters into his own hands and booked a package deal with the Marriot City Center. The package included:

Deluxe AccomodationsA magnificent view of the EVE festivities at Gallivan Plaza Trax tickets And EVE wristbands that got us into a variety of activities like:

a flick at Clark Planetarium Arts & Crafts at Discovery GatewayAnd not pictured...a performance of the Nutcracker. Now when I say The Nutcracker, it was more of a "Hey, do you dance? Are you also not busy New Year's Eve? Great. Why don't you come star in our show?" It was not exactly your typical Nutcracker, but good enough, I suppose.

There were a million other options for fun like comedy shows, iceskating, animal shows, contests, etc. We had to pick and choose because we were limited on time. After all the festivities, we overindulged ourselves at the hotel's dinner buffet (and later, the breakfast buffet the next morning) that was also included in our package. They provided party favors for each of the diners that included hats, noisemakers, and horns. You'll notice in the pic above that Kate insisted on wearing Dave's hat, leaving Dave to wear a feathery, feminine hat. I'm sure he'd like me to mention that he didn't wear that hat by choice, and only put it on for the pic.After dinner we dashed off for some swimming at the helltell (that's what Kate calls it). Later at the midnight chime, Dave and I watched two amazing minutes of fireworks right outside our window, and sampled some strawberries and bubbly (aka cider) while Kate slept.

How's that for having no friends to entertain us? Good thing we have Dave. Maybe we'll make this a tradition.