The BIG 3-0!

Matt finally decided to join me in Club 30.

His birthday was on Tuesday, so after he came home from work, I had him take Gavin downstairs while I quickly prepared a meal - with a twist.  In the center of the table were 30 cards - each telling of something that turned 30 this year.  

 (Can you tell which balloon Gavin picked out for Daddy?)

I had the cards numbered so the first 5 had to do something with a food item I put on our plates.

 Dinner's ready!

 For example:  Did you know that in 1983, the Chicken McNugget came to be,  M*A*S*H* aired its final episode, Cabbage Patch Kids became quite the rave, Reading Rainbow debuted, and the Apple IIe computer was invented?  It's true.

(Flirty Thirty Pose)

After reading about the other 30 things that turned 30 this year and finishing our meal, I took Matt to Chili's for chocolate molten cake.  (His fave)  Then we went to a couple stores to pick out his presents. 

Happy birthday, Mr. Matt.  I love you to the moon and back.

Gavin "The Handyman" Anderson

 No job is too big or too small...

 "Just sock-it to me!"

Ready to assist

Break time!

18 months!

Yes siree, he sure is!  That means he's eligible for nursery! Wahoo!  (Only our new church time is 1pm - right during his nap time and he's decided to sleep through the entire 3 blocks of church for the past 2 weeks.  I feel like I'm getting jipped!  This NEVER happened before!!!)

 This boy LOVES his baba.  :)  Even though babycenter.com says he should be done with a bottle by now, I'm letting that one slide.  He's gradually weaning himself, so why rush it?

 I also pulled out of storage the Spiderman shoes he's wearing, and he insists on wearing them always.  They are the kind that light up when you walk.  Needless to say, G has been stomping all over the house these days.  :)

 Sandbox fun.

 The "Wheeeeeee!" aka slide.

 Gavin calls our backyard a "park" and asks to go the "park" frequently.

 No more high chair for this BIG boy.  He now eats at the counter - and stands the entire time.  

(That's just the way he prefers it.)

 "Puh-kins!  Cuuuuuute!"  -- The G-Man

 The swing is by-far his favorite thing at the park - and always has been.

 Last Saturday, we went to the zoo.  We forgot our stroller, but G did remarkably well at walking the whole time we were there.

Kissing a sea lion.

Clapping once he mounted the tiger cub.

I sure love my 1 1/2 year old!

The Move.

On October 12th, we moved out of our little 3rd-story condo in Eagle Mountain and into a nice, beautiful home in Woods Cross.  Everything went smoothly.  Moving is hard work.  I told Matt that we could NEVER move again... unless it was to Sanpete County!  :)

Things I'll miss about Eagle Mountain:
The coziness of our condo.
2 of Matt's sibling's families.
The walking trails.
My church calling.
My visiting teaching ladies.
Familiar faces/friends from when I taught school there.
The community park.
The fresh air.

Things I won't miss about Eagle Mountain:
HOA fees.
3 flights of stairs (groceries + baby + 3 flights of stairs = almost impossible!)
Ridiculous utility rates.
Having to travel 20+ minutes to get to certain stores.
Matt's commute.

Life in Woods Cross is treating us well.  We've had a few move-in glitches:

• the mouse we spied sauntering through our laundry room.  (It's since passed away.)

• accidentally changing our neighbor's password for internet service.  (Still confused on how that even happened, but they forgave us.)

• missing garbage day.  (In our defense, we were told by the city it was Thursday.  We just thought all our neighbors were overly eager when they put theirs out Wednesday morning.)

Matt's commute is significantly reduced, so much so, that he doesn't know what to do with the 2 extra hours in his day!  :)

A Day with Izumi

Izumi and I met when we both lived in south-east Provo.  We were in the same ward and instantly became good friends... more like soul-sisters, really.  :)  Izumi moved back to Okinawa and 5 years later, she came back for a visit!  In all reality, it felt like it had only been 5 days instead of 5 years that I hadn't seen her.  Friendships like that are the best!  

I picked Izumi up in Orem and since I was in that neck of the woods, I took her with me to see the newest addition to the Sorensen family:  Miss Carly CoDeal.  Isn't she cute?!

(Don't mind my hair-do.  The best part about it is I knew it was like that but I never had the time or hands to fix it!)

Then we went to Spring Lake to feed the ducks there.  It's a beautiful little town centered around a lake.  I think I should like to live there someday.

 I wonder if this duck knew what was going on with her hair...

 Gavin with Izumi.  (He pretty much fell in love with her.)

We ate a little picnic lunch as well.  

Then we went back to Eagle Mountain and let Gavin take a nap while Izumi and I chit-chatted.  (She also helped me wipe down my kitchen cupboards.  Visitor/moving in the same week = it had to be.  Glad she was ok with it!)

 We took the mattress out of G's room and put it in the next room for Izumi to sleep on.  Gavin thought it was a trampoline and was all kinds of wild.

 This is right after giving Izumi a nice kiss on the lips.  He just LOVED Izumi!

BFFs

 The next day we went to Neptune Park then drove Izumi up to Bountiful.

It was a great day with Izumi!  Come again, dear friend!!

Meeting up with the Mendenhalls

Aunt Dixie and Uncle Robert were in SLC for General Conference so we met up with them on Friday for dinner and dessert.

 Gavin at City Creek's indoor play area.

 He loved it.

 Walking back to our car.

 Hand slapping game with Uncle Robert.

 I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Aunt Dixie and Uncle Robert gave Gavin a pretty nifty board book that he just LOVES!

Thanks for the get together!  We had a lot of fun!

My Little Towhead

Remember that bald baby that graced our presence for over a year?  Well folks, throughout the summer he sprouted some hair!  It's getting pretty bushy now.  (According to his gene pool, he's only got about 18 or 19 years until he'll start to lose it again.)  He's been lengthening out and slimming down too.  He's been in size 18 month clothes ever since November.  I'm just barely starting to break out his 24 month attire.