HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Since I'm not planning on taking Vi trick or treating, we dressed up for the one and only time on Monday night for our ward party.

Remember how the year before we had Violet we were hockey players?

Well, this year, we just improved that costume by adding a VERY cute prop:

(for all of our past costumes, see last year's Halloween post!)

Hello Kitty gets her diaper changed

Now if Violet would only learn to change her own diaper, then we'd be in business!

A Date in Thai Town

My favorite thing in the world right now is going on a date with Glenn.  It didn't happen very often for about a year after we had Violet, because we don't have any free babysitters around (can't wait to live near Violet's grandparents again!). However, a few weeks ago, we started a babysitting group with the other parents in our ward.  Now we get to go on a date pretty regularly, and I love it!

We've been wanting to go to Thai town and see if the Thai food there was extra good, and we weren't disappointed!  We went to a place called Ruin Pair.  We looked online for recommendations for restaurants in Thai town, and this one kept popping up.  Everything we got was delicious, and we had leftovers for lunch yesterday!  

(took pictures with my lame phone)

(the pad thai that didn't last long enough for me to get a picture of it :))

Intramurals

My regular soccer team is on hiatus, but just as that season ended, the intramural soccer season for USC started and our ward organized a team!  I'm not actually allowed to be on the team because I'm not a student, so I'm just playing until they start checking for IDs.  I have played in the first two games with no problem!

So far we are... defeated.  0 wins, 2 losses.  So we have some room for improvement, but our team actually isn't that bad, we just need to get used to playing with each other.  It is also a totally different style of play because it is 6v6, and there is no offsides.

Glenn and Violet watch from the sidelines.  Last game, when I was on the sidelines because I'd just been subbed out, every time I yelled or clapped, Violet copied me.  It was so cute!

By the way, how did I fail to share this picture from the beach with you in the last post???

(She's looking through the mesh part of the camping chair, if you can't tell)

Open water swim #2

You may remember that a couple of months ago, I went swimming in the ocean with my friend from our ward.  On Saturday, we went out again!  Also, I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to complete my final New Years Resolution of doing a triathalon. Remember how right before the one I planned to do in April I injured my achilles tendon really badly?  Well, I'd planned to do one in October, but when we went to sign up for it about a month in advance, it was already full!  So this might just have to be a carry-over NYR for 2013.

Anyway, last time was my first time ever doing an open water swim, so we stopped pretty frequently so Myka could give me some pointers, and just because I was a little nervous.  This time I felt a lot more confident (although the water was horribly cold at first!  It was actually raining as we were driving to the beach, and I kept thinking "WHY ARE WE DOING THIS??  I got used to the cold water fast though, and it felt great while we were swimming).  Because I felt like I knew what I was doing a little more, we swam for a lot longer, and with way fewer breaks.  

Before the swim:

Glenn and Violet played on the beach and the pier while we swam:

Check out the size of this bird next to Violet!

  

3 good things that happened this weekend

1.  On Saturday morning, we didn't want to have cereal for breakfast, so when we got hungry, we left to go grocery shopping.  When we got to Ralph's, we bought doughnuts and milk and sat and ate before we did the rest of the grocery shopping.  It was so wonderful that we might make a Saturday morning tradition of it, although we think we should probably find something healthier to eat.

2.  (I'm just realized how badly we ate this weekend) Last night for dinner we had cinnamon rolls.  It was awesome, and they were the best ones I've ever made.

3.  Violet and I both got sick this weekend, and on Saturday night, which is when we were both the sickest, she literally woke up every hour and a half.  It was horrible.  Now for the good part:  On Sunday night, she slept all the way through the night til 5, I fed her, and now she is still sleeping.  Here's hoping she sleeps in this morning.

(also, raspberries were on sale this weekend.  Violet is a happy girl.)

crybaby

Remember how in the past, Violet has been SO brave about getting shots?  Well, she went to the doctor yesterday, and I'm pretty sure she is now old enough to remember what happens there.  She played happily in the waiting room, but at soon as the nurse said, "Violet has to get two shots today..." she started crying at the top of her lungs.  She cried whenever the doctor or nurse were in the room, and when she actually got the shots, she cried so hard, and continued to whimper for a few minutes afterwards.  

She has gained a couple of pounds! She is now 19 lbs, and 29 inches tall.

Here's why you shouldn't ignore a one-year old for too long...

Last night, Glenn and I were watching the debate and not paying much attention to Violet, but she seemed to be entertaining herself pretty well.  It was still light outside when the debate started, and as it got dark, we never turned on a light, so we were watching in the dark.  A couple of times Violet tried to get me to come with her, and I thought she just wanted to play in her room with me, and I just kept watching the debate.  

Finally, I stood up and turned on the light.  There were tiny white footprints everywhere and Violet was no where in sight!  I followed a perfect trail of footprints in to the kitchen and found this:

The little rascal/sweetheart was nervously trying to scoop handfuls of flour back into the bag!  You could tell she was really worried that she was in trouble, and of course it just made us laugh even harder.  I guess we got what we deserved for ignoring our little sweetheart for too long!

Dinner: Grilled Mushroom and Asparagus Salad

Remember my new favorite cookbook, The Fresh and Green Table?  Well, the soup I made for when my mom was here was amazing.  Glenn was probably the biggest fan of it, and he usually doesn't care for soup!  On Sunday night, I made a third recipe from this book.  It is a salad with grilled portobello mushrooms and grilled asparagus on top of a mixture of spinach, napa cabbage, scallions, and cilantro.

(our camera is terrible at night, so neither of these pictures is great.  I posted both so you can imagine something in between for how it actually looked :))

The best part was the mushrooms.  They were marinated in all kinds of good things before they were grilled, and were absolutely delicious.  

K, no more food posts for a while, I promise.

My mom is gone :(

It is amazing how long I looked forward to my mom's visit, and then it was over so fast!  But we had a great time.  My mom said her favorite part of the trip was riding the bus downtown because Violet said goodbye to every person who got off the bus.  My favorite part was meeting Glenn for lunch on campus at Moreton Fig, a really nice restaurant in the alumni building.  

Here are some pictures of the highlights of my mom's visit:

At the Natural History Museum.  Somehow we only ever manage to get pictures at the museum with the alligator and the polar bear:

Afterwards, we met Glenn at Moreton Fig.  Notice that Violet had a wardrobe change.  My mom got Violet quite a few presents from the gift shop at the Museum, but this t-shirt was my favorite:

We got these beautiful dahlias at the farmers market on Thursday, and I'm still enjoying them:

Just before my mom left on Saturday morning, we walked over to the rose garden.  It is beautiful!  I can't believe I've never walked around there before.  

Now that my mom is gone, I keep thinking of even more things I want to do with her!  Violet misses her grandma too.  She basically wouldn't let Glenn and I hold her while her grandma was here!

Pizza Friday - Part 3

see part 1 and part 2

I can't help it, I like taking pictures of the pizzas I make so much I just have to share them with you!  

This week we had Pizza Friday on Tuesday, because we have dinner plans on Friday (which is code for celestial marriage institute class where they feed us dinner).  This pizza had a homemade alfredo sauce, mozz cheese, caramelized onions, and prosciutto (which is code for ham, but prosciutto sounds so much fancier and is basically the same thing).  Oh yeah, there was also fresh thyme, just 'cause I was putting anything I had on this pizza, and I wish I had tripled how much thyme there was, because those were definitely the best bites!

My mom is here!

And Violet is in heaven!  It took about ten minutes after my mom got here before Violet wouldn't let anyone else hold her.  It is pretty amazing how much she loves being with her grandma.

We went to dinner last night and a really cool place.  It was called Bottega Louie.  Our food was delicious, and they had the most beautiful desserts!  

We have a lot planned for today!

When Dad babysits...

My mom is coming to visit today!  I'm picking her up at the airport this afternoon, and I am SOOOOO excited.

Here is a video I have been meaning to share.  Violet thinks this is the best game ever, and Glenn loves that he doesn't have to retrieve his own nerf darts.

Poor, poor Allison

My first doll when I was little was named Allison.  She took many baths with me, and is therefore scary-looking.  I bequeathed her to Violet, and she is definitely Violet's ugliest toy.  She is also, as it turns out, her favorite toy.

So far, Violet has not insisted on taking Allison in the bath with her, but she does like to brush her hair. Also, the other day, Violet wanted to take Allison when we were leaving the house.  The only way I could get her to leave her without a big fuss was to help her tuck Allison in the crib with a blanket and then tip toe out so we didn't "wake her up".  I can't believe a one-year-old can have such strong opinions!

Beasts

I just killed a two-inch cockroach.  That may have been capable of flight.  And was striped.  Even Violet was scared.

Then two minutes later I found evidence in our kitchen that there is probably another mouse in there.  Anyway,  I don't feel like posting anything else today.  Mostly because I'm afraid that if keep my back turned for too long, something is going to creep up on me...  

Bladin'

Look carefully and you might be able to guess what Violet is so eagerly awaiting...

Glenn and Violet went rollerblading again, and this time I made sure to get a picture!

And they're off!

(Is he the best dad or what?)

The Fresh and Green Table

I've been reading this cookbook lately

and I am loving it!  It is my favorite cookbook I've read in a while.  Often, I find myself reading cookbooks that I really enjoy, but I never end up actually making something from them.  This book inspired me to action right away.  I wouldn't call the recipes particularly fast and easy.  Instead, the author really tries to make vegetable tastes really, really good.  

The first thing I made was the Southwestern-spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.  I made it for when my mom is visiting next week so I won't have to cook too much while she is here, so it is in the freezer right now.  However, Violet and I ate a sample bowl before packing it away, and we both loved it!  In fact, once we finished the first bowl, I filled it up again just for Violet.  She just kept coming back for more!

Last night, I made the Savoy Cabbage, Apple, Onion and Gruyere Rustic Tart.   It took some time to make (so Vi was in bed by the time it was ready to eat, so she didn't get to try it) but Glenn and I both loved it!  

There were enough leftovers for lunch today!  Lucky us!

Beach Bonfire

One of the cool things about living in Southern California is that we get to have awesome ward activities, like beach bonfires!  On Friday afternoon we drove to Dockweiler to meet our ward there.  Violet had her first hot dog and her first smore, and she was in heaven.

Exercising with dad

My favorite thing about Mondays is that Glenn has the morning off from school and we have time to go running together.  It is amazing how much more fun it is to run when I can talk to Glenn.  And he pushes the stroller.

Today after the run, we did some planks, and Violet was interested in trying too :)