the's NO PLACE like HOME

For my daughter's sixth birthday, Dustin and I took her to Disneyland for the first time.  It was the perfect time to go because we could escape the cold Utah weather and she wouldn't miss a day of school.

The part I was dreading the most, the long drive from SLC to Anaheim ended up being the best part of the entire trip.

My daughter greatly disliked Disneyland with the exception of meeting the princesses and fairies.

In all fairness, the park was extremely busy.  And, with all the many things to see and do, after an hour into our second day, she had reached  her limit.  As we made our way back to the hotel, I thought about all the time and money we invested into this trip, hoping it would be a wonderful birthday weekend, only to be disappointed with her lack of enthusiasm. 

Every year, I take my girls' pictures at the exact moment they were born.  Back in the hotel room, I compared the picture of from this year to the one from the year before.  Exhaustion and stress at Disneyland.  Complete joy at our house.

Luckily, I had a friend in the area that had an annual pass to Disneyland, so while Dustin and Isabelle spent the day in the hotel I went back to the park with her.  It definitely was not how I planned the trip to go, but ultimately that's how things worked out.

Dustin sent me pictures of them hanging at the hotel, and Isabelle was the happiest she'd been all weekend.  I'd always known her to be a home body, but I didn't think she'd pick home over the so-called Happiest Place on Earth.

I suppose you could argue I have an ungrateful child, and to a certain extent you may be right.  However, I took away so much more from this trip than I ever expected.  I learned that my daughter does not need much to be happy.  In fact, less really is more in her eyes.  I also learned that there's no other place Isabelle would rather be than at home.

And, I guess, that's not really bad thing.

In the meantime, we'll save our pennies and keep birthdays here low-key and in the comfort of our own home.

{#homeisthehappiestplaceonearth}

{f}: FIFTY STATES

I promise all the items on my bucket list are not about traveling.  :)

Dustin and I set a goal shortly after we were married to visit the 50 states in 50 years.  We gave ourselves AMPLE time to accomplish this goal; however, there is one important rule:

We have to spend at least one night in a hotel within the state.  Layovers in airports do not count.  

So far, in less than 8 years, we've crossed off the following states:

California

Nevada

New York

Idaho
Utah
Montana

All but the trip to Idaho were taken prior to our becoming parents.  Clearly, our traveling days have taken a backseat since then.

Anyway, maybe this summer we can attempt a short trip.  Perhaps to Colorado or Arizona.  Heck, we could even do Utah which would probably be easiest since we live here!

What's the best state you've ever been to? 

{e}: EUROPE

There needs to be at least some mention of Europe on my bucket list, right?  Who doesn't dream about going to London or Paris?  Of course, there's also Greece and Italy and Germany and Switzerland.  How does one narrow it down?

I don't think I would ever travel with young kids to various parts of Europe.  I would do that with teenagers though.  Call me crazy, but I think going to foreign countries as a younger person is important.  My first REAL trip (I'm not including my trip to Canada when I was in high school) out of the country was when I was 19 when I went to China with my university's orchestra.

  

So, this is a goal I would like to accomplish with my husband AND children in, hopefully, the next 15 years.

{d}: DISNEY WORLD

I can't wait until I can take my kids to Disney World.  Considering the fact that we live in Utah, going to Disneyland is a much more practical and less expensive trip.  Because of this, I'm adding a trip to Disney World to my bucket list.

Source

I've only ever been to Disney World once.  My husband has never been.  I remember loving my time in Florida and know it will be an even greater experience when I am able to share it with my husband and kids.

I hope to cross this one off the list in the next 5 - 8 years.

{c}: CROSS COUNTRY

Dustin is big into road trips.  Since getting married, I've become more fond of them as well; however, I'll usually always prefer to fly over driving any day.

One day, I hope to drive across the country because I think it would be an amazing experience.  I imagine doing this just with Dustin.  No kids allowed.  So, this will probably have to be a trip that we take when we're empty nesters.

I think it'll be worth the wait, and I hope to cross this one off my list in 20 years.

U is for UTAH

I live in a nice suburb just north of Salt Lake City, Utah.  With the exception of a few years I spent in Idaho, I've lived in Utah my entire life.  It's a great place to live, and I'm happy here.

And, in case any of  you are wondering

Yes, I'm Mormon.

No, I'm not one of 15 wives married to the same man.

Ok, moving on...

Here are a few things I love about Utah

An good skyline with gorgeous mountains

An awesome library (aka where everyone gets their engagement pictures taken) right in the center of the city

A place for Winter sports

And a place for Summer activities

At Christmas time, I can walk through this whenever I want.

And the newest addition to the city is an indoor/outdoor mall.  Only shop here if you're fans of stores like Nordstrom and Tiffany & Co. just to name a few.

So, there's a little tour of my place of residence.  Utah is an easy target, but when all is said and done, it's not too shabby.

i'm an AMERICAN

When I was 19 years old, I had the amazing opportunity to go to China with the Weber State Symphony Orchestra.  I played the violin (still do actually) and was attending college on a music scholarship. The trip was scheduled for March 2000, my second semester at college; however, I found out about the trip months before I even began going to school.

When I heard about the trip, my initial reaction was not to go.  I didn't know anyone in the orchestra (yet) and worried I wouldn't have a good time because of it.  Thankfully, my mom, in all her wisdom, told me I should go.  So, I went.

When the trip finally arrived I had made some good friends, and while I was nervous to travel so far from home I knew it would be a good experience for me.  The 15 hour plane right wasn't that bad, but traveling with one of my most prized possessions, my violin, made things somewhat complicated.

The plan was to stay in Shanghai for 8 days.  We had three different concerts scheduled in that area, one of which was combined with a Chinese orchestra.  Due to limited stage room, only half of my orchestra was able to play with the Chinese performers, and fortunately for me I was able to play.

After our stay in Shanghai, our plan was to fly to Beijing and tour the area.  No performing.  We planned to see The Great Wall and Tiananmen Square just to name a few.

Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, it was evident that us Americans stood out, especially those of us with blonde hair.  Young people, probably college students, who spoke English would run up to us on the streets just to talk.  People were so excited to see us, were so curious about us for no other reason than that we were from the United States of America.

My best memory of China was along these same lines.

I was walking around the streets of Shanghai.  I was not alone, but I don't remember who was with me.  A Chinese man and woman approached me.  There was an obvious language barrier, but the man pointed his camera to me, so I assumed he wanted me to take a picture of him with his wife.  As I reached for the camera, the two shook their heads and I soon realized that they wanted a picture of me.  I stood next to the man, his wife took one picture of us together and another of us shaking hands.  And that was that.

They wanted a picture of me because I was an American.  As long as I live, I will never forget that moment.

My trip to China was amazing.  Not only did I see and experience amazing landmarks, I gained a greater appreciation for being an American.  I was grateful for my freedom and was happy I didn't have to live in a city flooded with soldiers carrying machine guns.

It is really easy to get caught up in our differences.  There are so many sides to each story.  Tolerance for different opinions and lifestyles is steadily decreasing.

But, hopefully, no matter what, we, as Americans, can always appreciate what we have.

NEVER

"Never say never!"

-Good advice

I don't know where the saying "never say never" came from, but it really is good advice, especially if you don't want to look stupid for doing something you said you'd never do!

Here are two examples of when I never should've said never.

First, the mini van.  Everyone seems to have vans in Utah.  Wherever you go, there is always a plethora of vans on the road, in a driveway or in a parking lot.  Even my parents had a van.  Vans are everywhere!

When I got married, a little over five years ago, Dustin and I made the decision to never own a van.  We didn't like the look of the van, the stereotype that people that own vans have like a billion children and so forth.

Then, we bought Sammie, our Cocker Spaniel.

Then, we decided to keep Tod, the stray dog that wouldn't leave our porch and whose owners we could not find.

Then, our daughter Belle was born.

Throw in living hours away from both of our families; hence, a lot of time spent in the car just to visit family.

Combine all these things and the car we had just wasn't cutting it in terms of space and comfort.

So, we decided to look for a bigger car, keeping in mind we were NOT going to get a van.

Test drive after test drive after a dozen test drivers later, we finally agreed to check out a van.  As soon as I got into the car I KNEW it was the right vehicle for our family.   Not only did it have room for 7 people, it was so spacious.  All of our luggage would easily fit, the dogs would have plenty of room to lay down, and so much more.

We bought the van and have really been pleased with it ever since.  

Never say never!

Second, DVD players in cars.

You know how when you're not a parent you still seem to think you know what other parents should or should not be doing with their own children?  You see a mom letting her kid run around in a store and think, "My child will never do that!"  You walk around judging parents left and right as if you were the only person in the world that ever thought about discipline techniques.

Before my daughter was born, and whenever I was on the freeway or doing some city driving, I constantly saw cars that had DVDs in them.  In all my ignorance, I swore, when I had children, there would never be a DVD player in the car.  "My kids will be not be addicted to TV," I thought.  "I'll be able to entertain my children so much better than any old DVD player!"

Well, never, lasted less than 2 years.

After listening to Belle scream in the car for hours (i.e., 4 hour trip to WY Thanksgiving 2009 = 4 hours of screaming) and enduring other tantrums whether we were in the car for an hour or just 5 minutes, Dustin and I finally caved and got a portable DVD player.  We have a great setup.  I hold the main player with all the controls (because I have to have easy access to the rewind button when Belle decides she wants to watch the same clip over and over again) while the other screen is on the headrest of Dustin's seat - perfect for Belle to watch all of her fun movies.

(Try listening to that 44 seconds of video 10 times in a row.  Fun stuff!)

So, from now on, I'm going to withhold saying never as often as I can.  I can't say I'll never say never again, but you never know.  :)

Thoughts?

So, ANYWAY....

My life has changed somewhat drastically since my last post.  At that time, we were living in Idaho Falls, ID and our house was on the market and had been since February.  Our plan was to move to Utah so we could be closer to our families.

Here are a few more details:

• 7/22:  Realtor called to schedule a showing
• 7/23:  Same realtor called to schedule another showing with same clients
• 7/24:  Two realtors called to schedule two separate showings
• 7/27:  Received offer on house and immediately countered
• 7/28:  Received a counter to my counter.  Didn't budge on our counter knowing full well the buyers could walk, but took the change anyway
• A few hours later on 7/28:  Buyers agreed to my original counter.
• 7/29:  Buyers asked if we could be out of the house in two weeks.  We said yes.
• 8/16:  The official date to close on the house.

In those two weeks, my husband and I managed to move the majority of our belongings to Utah and he found a new place to work; however, he still had a lot of things to do at his current job before he could quit, so he stayed in Idaho Falls until August 27 while my daughter and I went to Wyoming to stay with my in-laws.

On August 16, we closed on the house.  We immediately booked it to Utah to find a new place to live.  Our plan was to find a temporary rental until we figured out where we wanted to buy a house.

After three weeks of being apart, my little family was altogether again under the same roof on August 28.  Dustin started his new job the Tuesday after Labor Day and we all started to settle.

Fast forward one week.....

Dustin got a new job opportunity 70 minutes away from our house.  The job was too good to pass up:  amazing benefits, great opportunity to advance or "move up the ladder," overall, a tons better job than his current.

Fast forward two weeks....

We found a NEW place to live just one month after moving to Utah.  By moving, it cut Dustin's commute over in-half AND we were much closer to my family.  A better job, a better location, better everything.

In other words:  August = Idaho and Wyoming, September = Utah #1, October = Utah #2, November = Utah #2.

I think we'll stay put for awhile....

Assuming I still have any readers, what have you all been up to??

LANGUAGE barriers?

This thought was inspired by a Facebook page I recently saw titled:

"YOU came to OUR Country. YOU learn OUR language."

Before I dive into the good stuff, I want to make clear that this post is NOT about illegal immigration. I am NOT in support of people coming to the United States without proper documentation. I am NOT trying to justify why people cross the border illegally. This post is my thoughts about the Facebook page. Period.

With that said....

In 2005, my husband, Dustin, and I vacationed in Montreal, Quebec on our honeymoon. It was my first time visiting the Eastern side of Canada and I was excited to see a new part of the world.

As most of you probably know, Quebec's first language is French. After living in Montreal for two years, studying French in school (which included a 3 week course in France), Dustin was prepared to speak the language. Of course, because French was not his first language, any Quebequoi would know right away he wasn't local because of his accent. Nevertheless, he was prepared and fully capable to communicate in French. Because I didn't speak French, however, when it was just the two of us talking to each other we, obviously, would speak English.

Our first evening in Montreal, we went to a restaurant near our hotel. When we were greeted by the hostess, out of habit I said "hello" to her. Her entire demeanor changed and, based on her facial expression, there was no denying she was utterly annoyed. I could just imagine her thinking "Ah, stupid Americans!" She began speaking English and walked us to our table. When our waiter arrived, she spoke to us in English despite Dustin's attempts to convert to French. The service was awful and I felt like I was such a bother to everyone.

We experienced the same type of reaction almost every place we went. The Quebequoi refused to speak French with Dustin. At dinner, our waiters only came to our table when they absolutely had to (to get our order, to give us our food and to give us our check), and never asked us how we were doing, if we needed anything else, etc. It was so frustrating and I couldn't believe how horribly we were treated just because people assumed we couldn't speak French.

One day, we were in Quebec City. We just so happened to be in the city on a busy day when some festival was going on. While driving around, we got to an intersection where a policewoman was directing traffic. Dustin apparently did something that upset her, so she came to our car to talk to him (in French, go figure). She realized he had an accent which only made matters worse. For the next 10 - 15 minutes (and I'm totally not exaggerating), she made us wait at this intersection while she let all other directions go multiple times. Only until there was a huge line of cars behind us did she finally let us proceed.

Overall, it was a great trip. Quebec is a beautiful area. The architecture was amazing, and in some areas it looked like Europe. The pros of the trip definitely outweighed the cons, but I'll never forget the way we were treated.

Some of you may be thinking that I'm too sensitive and interpreted things incorrectly. Maybe the people were trying to be nice by conversing with us in English? Had I not been there myself, I probably would've thought the same thing. But, in these few examples it was very obvious the people did not like us.

Up until this trip, I had never been treated with such disrespect based on my nationality and language. I was floored by the experience and not because I expected everyone to conform to me (after all, I was the one who was in another country), but because everyone assumed we were unable to communicate with them in their primary language.

I immediately thought about my experience in Quebec when I saw the aforementioned Facebook page (which, by the way, three of my "friends" are "fans" of. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of this post). I couldn't help but wonder how many Mexicans, Hispanics, Latinos, etc. (because, let's face it, that page isn't referring to Europeans or Asians) that appear not to speak English actually do.

Is being bilingual a thing of the past?

Is it possible we are too quick to judge?

Thoughts?