Fantastic Mary

Me “Cora you are some kind of stinky. Did you go poo poo?’
Cora “No not yet. I not poopy yet.”

From the back room I hear, “Eww poo poo.” Me, “Cora did you poop?” Cora, “Not yet. Later”

Me “Cora what do you want for breakfast?”
Cora “Uh, hmmm peaches, and cheese. Hmmm Kix kix kix. Hmmm Applesauce.”
I will give her all of that and she will eat all of it.

If Cora doesn’t want something and says NO! we ask her Cora, “what do you say?” And this is what she says, “No tank you thank you tank you.”

Cora comes running from the other room, “I wanna dance.” And busts out her awesome moves.

Cora says paper as if she was French, “papiere.”

Her favorite songs to sing are;

“Water” = Give Said the Little Stream
“Pop” = Tiny Tim The Turtle (bubble, bubble, pop.)
“God” = I am a Child of God
“Fox” = Old McDonald Had a Fox (our own little rendition)
“Beam” = Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
“This one” = Do As I’m Doing (She asks for this as she’s patting her knees.)

Every time I put a dress on her she asks, “Church, nursery?” And the proceeds to ask about, “John, Vicki, Tirtin, Tarly, and Papa John.” All her friends she sees at church.

She spends her days, “cooking”, “making tooties”, and “doing colors.”

Her automatic response when ever we are in the car and Pete honks the horn, “Gosh, Go!” very loud.

This post is LONG over-due but still needed to be done. I have a great boss who rewards his employees greatly. His family owns a house in Hawaii and let’s me use it. This was our second time using the house and it was great. We figured with Cora coming up on the age of 2 that we wouldn’t be able to afford a trip like this for awhile. So we packed up for a 12 day trip to Oahu and were off for sun, beach, and relaxation.
The first few days we were at the house with just us three. It was so nice to relax and not have any “plans.” Pete didn’t have too much computer work to do so most of the time was spent lounging and watching TV together. Oahu was experiencing a ton of rain so there wasn’t much beach going, but rain is Hawaii was better then the Blizzard going on at home.
A few days later our friends from Ohio; Cortney, Amy, and Will James, joined us. From then on it was a fun filled vacation. We visited lots of places, spent ample time on the beach, and ate great food. We were so lucky to be able to do it. We even took time to scout out some of the LOST filming locations. Too bad we didn’t get to see Kate, Jack, Sawyer, or Hurley….

I am copying Cat since I love food probably more then her.
If I was on death row and had to pick one last meal I wouldn’t have to think twice about it. I would have 2 entrees;
Bajio Chicken Green Chile Quesadilla with extra meat. By far my favorite meal. The extra meat is key as it adds more of the delicious onions and sweet sauce. Black beans with sweet rice, and mango salsa.
Second entree would be the Filet Steak that Pete had last week at Carraba’s. It was divine. Along with a baked sweet potato.
For dessert I would ask for the Macaroni Grill Lemon cake. That thing is absolutely amazing. And the sauce it’s covered in couldn’t be any better.

This picture was taken quite awhile ago but it’s pretty funny and I totally forgot about it. Pete was asked to take pictures at the Primary Activity of the little kids as missionaries. A lady in the ward brought cardboard cut-outs of her kids on missions and the kids stuck their heads in them. They were hilarious pictures.

You can all stop feeling sorry for me because I look fat in all these recent posts. Yes I do have a baby bump. Now all the rumors can stop.
(Pete just informed me that no one feels sorry for me and there are probably no rumors. For a second I thought I would be featured on the cover of US.)

With Pete being a photographer family pictures are near impossible. Not only cause we are busy taking other people’s pictures but Pete hates being in pictures. I convinced him that this was the year we would do family pictures and send out Christmas cards. We asked one of our favorite friends if he wouldn’t mind taking a few quick shots before we went out of town. By the time Pete got home from work and we made it back to Orem it was too dark to do anything outside. So we headed to a festive holiday display at Target, yes Target.

We tried to be all sneaky and act like we were admiring the decorated trees as we arranged them to our liking. We even took a ladder from another section to boost Cora up. We got a few weird looks and security walked by extra slow but we were able to get a few shots in.

This is Pete trying to be out-of focus and therefore out of the shot. He thought it was a good idea until he realized he looked like a creepy stalker in the background. And not part of the family.

Pete won Jazz tickets at work by making an awesomely high tower from Post-It Notes and straws, we are very proud of his skills. When I was working at Nu Skin we had the chance to go to games quite a bit. Since we hadn’t been in 2 years we were super excited to get the chance.

Cora absolutely loves basketball games. She actually loves the mascots, from far away, as soon as they get within reach she freaks out. We sat in the Nu Skin Suite and were able to snack and keep hydrated as we watched the Jazz lose. It was a fun night and we hope Pete can build an even higher tower next time so we can go again.

Our house was previously owned by my brother Blake and he always hoped to someday replace the driveway. Well last month we made that wish come true. My awesome family and great neighbors helped us demo the driveway one Saturday. We started at 9:00 in the morning and finished just in time for the last load to make it to the dump before closing time. We were able to us Blake’s dump trailer and our neighbor “borrowed” a Bobcat from the city with a jackhammer on it. It was so nice to have everyone there to help.

We have yet to drive on it but we are sure it will be wonderful. And our neighbor John will love the difference when he shovels it after every snowstorm.

Here is Cora’s contribution to the new driveway.

Just a little taste of more posts to come. I have the blogging spirit and will be posting all night. We love you and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A good family friend challenged her readers and I thought it would be fun.

Things I don’t care about;
Cora being in her pajamas or grubby clothes all day. If I go out I dress her the best I can. But when we are in, what’s the point?

Making presents or treats for every person in the neighborhood. I apologize but I am sure they will all get enough sugar creations to last them through the holidays. It doesn’t mean I care about them any less.

Dressing like I “should.” Whether this means dressing like an adult or like every other “Utah” mom I don’t care. I do spot the occasional outfit that I would love to have, but we all know I couldn’t put it together if I tried. So I wear what I want when I want and don’t care. Although Pete’s opinion does matter sometimes, he has a great eye.

Trying to be different. We are all different in our own way. And everyone is spending way too much time and effort to try to be different. Little do they know they are all being the same.

A certain person. She chose to see things the way she wanted to. And in doing so has ruined a great friendship for her husband and mine. But I don’t care anymore. I have no regrets and did nothing wrong.

Eating too many Oreos. Until I am getting Oreo stained teeth I will eat Oreos to my little hearts content.

Staying up too late. Pete is a late owl and I hate going to bed without him. So I stay up way too late everynight.