The last few days

Asher is back to smiling himself to sleep. Phew! I am grateful for his sleep schedule and good attitude. He has always been a good sleeper.

So, I had a birthday last week. I wouldn't mention it except I don't want you to think I was neglected. On Thursday morning Dan made me pancakes and my AZ sisters took me out for brunch. I was very full around lunch time, and I felt loved.

Dan also took me out to dinner at Pastis, a yummy European deli that serves food you would swear they stole from a very high-priced restaurant. Our appetizers were some sort of fish(right), but they were the best part of the meal. I hate fish, but I loved this. I also had crepes. To die for.

Dan was cute because he gave me a few gifts wound up in a ton of ribbon. He told me he couldn't find the tape. He also prefaced every gift with "This is a lame one..." followed by the reason why he thought it was a dumb present. I thought all my gifts were very nice and sweet. (Sun shields for the car, phone chargers, DVDs of Pride & Prejudice, Pushing Daisies, Harry Potter 1-5, and he tried to order me a vanity.) I had a great birthday.

On Saturday our car went caput while we were running errands. Dan's brother helped us, gave us the name of the BEST mechanic (we already like him better than anyone in SB) and ended up towing us there. Thanks for 3+ hours out of your Saturday, Stephen! And thanks Stecks for the use of your car in the mean time.

Yesterday I got my hair cut and colored at a girl's house that my sis-in-law Amy set me up with. Tiffany was great, fast, and at least $30 cheaper than anyone in SB. She has a room right in her house set up for her hair appointments. She even washed my hair in one of those tubs. Her kids played cars with Asher while I was there. What a dream!! Thanks, Amy!
Also on Tuesday: We got to go to the most beautiful building in Mesa. It was an awesome experience. (Thanks Rachel, Stephen and Lauren for watching Ash!)

Change

A very beloved and astute man pointed out that I needed to change a part of my blog. He is right. My hometown is officially no longer Santa Barbara,CA. Sigh. In memoriam, and I don't care if you think that is the wrong word choice, I am posting all the things I will miss about Santa Barbara.

-My family there. Leaving them was the hardest part.
-Our ward. Seriously, our whole stake was amazing and we felt that we were being useful by serving in that area of the world.
-The beauty of the area, which is closely related to...
-THE WEATHER. You can't fry an egg on your porch in SB.
-My connection to the community. I always saw people I taught or worked with when I was out and about in Santa Barbara. I've got no theater connections out here...
-The manageable size of the city. You could get anywhere in 15 minutes or less. And I never got lost, but I could still explore and find new quirky places.
-The fun non-chain stores and restaurants and high-end shops. A few places that I will specifically miss: Blenders in the Grass, The Palace Grill, and the Blue Bee stores. There are many honorable mentions, but I don't want to bore you.
-SBCC. I love the City College. It is beautiful and I always feel like I belong there. (Not so with UCSB.) It is cheap to take a class or two and the teachers are great. I love to learn new things.

FoodWise

My awesome sister-in-law Amy told me about a GREAT store here in Gilbert.

Yesterday I dropped in while running errands. Here is my report:
The service at FoodWise is friendly and informative. The store is owned by an LDS family that specializes in the best food storage products I have ever seen. Their containers are revolutionary and their food is delicious and nutritious. They will let you try any product before you buy. They give free cooking classes on Tuesday and free bread making classes on Saturday. They even gave me a small loaf of homemade bread to sell me on the free class (and it was good). The powdered milk I tried was the BEST powdered milk I have ever had BY FAR. I would drink it on a daily basis, and I hate powered milk. Seriously. (I bought the powdered chocolate milk... ohhhh it was good! I'm using it for hot chocolate.) The prices are great, and they have everything from spices to solar ovens. Their food lasts forever... even after you open the containers and use some. If you are looking for a great rotating food supply, look no further. If you live outside of Gilbert, you better pray they deliver.

Oh one last thing. The guy asked me if I was from California. I replied in the affirmative. He told me he could tell because of my accent. There's something I don't hear everyday.

Biggest Birthday Present Ever

FYI, we finally closed on our new home this past Friday. I'll never forget the date, because it was my boy's 2nd birthday.

We love our house, oh how we love our house. But we love our boy more. Here are some recent things about him:
-He knows the names of every character in Pixar's Cars. Except for the VW van which he just calls "Hippie." We still don't own that movie.
-He doesn't like to do the same things over and over anymore. If we start to sing a lullaby for the third time that week he will say "No. No. No." (very sweetly mind you) until we stop. He likes new songs. New activities. New toys. The one exception to this is playing with his cars. I swear I play cars with him at least an hour each day.
-He is really attached to me now that we have moved. He follows me everywhere... unless there are cousins around.
-He gets distressed when we put him to bed now. It's not a big deal, he just doesn't smile himself to sleep anymore.
-He really loves his silky blanket.
-Every time we walk outside during the day he says "hot. hot. hot. hot."
-He has been drinking a lot of juice and eating a lot of cheese.
-He is no longer afraid of the pool. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
-He is a very good mimic. Watch what you say!

Highlights

Here are some highlights from Bear Lake:

Asher's adoring fans (and built in entertainment and babysitters) made this a true vacation.


Going to some caves a few miles from our lodge. (I had never been in a cave. They had me sing in one of the big rooms. Good acoustics.)



Watching my child look like the "Star Wars Kid" of YouTube fame with an oar.

Other highlights without pictures:
-Going to the Logan Temple with a few other Hixons.
-Shopping in quaint craft shops and getting shaved ice with Amy. (SOOO tasty.)
-Having a fun 4th watching about 1/2 of our fireworks before they were confiscated by the fire marshal.
-Jeopardy a la David.
-Seeing a few deer in the backyard.
-Going on a boat with Dan driving and Asher clinging to me until he fell asleep.
-Being with all 57 other Hixons. No Empty Chairs.

Young at Heart

...but I don't know how much longer I can do stuff like this.


Last night I went with Rachel, Hannah, Chip and Simon to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince here in Gilbert Arizona. It was a great movie, even though the end was a bit anti-climactic, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I did not however enjoy The lack of sleep I received as a result of this activity. I got to sleep around 3:30am and woke up at 4:50am. Apparently Asher thought that it was time to get up. He usually sleeps til at least 7:00am, today was just my lucky day I guess.

Anyway, thanks to Rachel for the good time and the picture. Thanks to the Harry Potter actors for being amazing especially Luna, Ron, Harry (who had some delightfully nutty moments in this one) and Snape. I already can't wait to see the next one.

Weird Stuff

First on the Agenda: It is free slurpee day at 7-11. Hope you take advantage of this wonderful marketing ploy. Dan sure did.

Onward. Yesterday while I was at Walmart looking at but not buying cheap movies, a large pasty man wearing a bluetooth headset approached me. He asked me if I knew anyone who was looking for a full or part-time job. I told him I did not. He asked if I was sure. I clarified that my husband had a job and that I didn't want one. He asked what my husband did. I told him. He asked what I did. I told him. I politely reminded him that I wasn't interested and went on over to the food section. At some point I saw him talking to some other young girl.

This man never even told me what his company did. Granted I didn't ask, but I think this is highly suspect. I mean, there were no qualifications, he was just supposedly giving out jobs to people who didn't have them. I'm guessing it was either telemarketing or white slavery. Hey, it happened in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Vacation's all I ever wanted...

We just got back from Bear Lake. When I say "just" I mean last night at about 12:00 Arizona time. When I say "back" I mean back to Stephen and Rachel's house because we are still homeless. When I say "Bear Lake" I mean one of the prettiest places I've ever seen here on God's great Earth.

It was wonderful. All 58 of the Hixon offspring stayed in a huge Lodge where each of the 10 families were in their own themed room, complete with its own bathroom. Ours had a walk-in closet which we used as a separate room for Asher. For the first time in a while I felt like I had my own place to retreat to. Thank you Mom and Dad Hixon. It was relaxing to be there. I might do some highlights later... there were quite a few.