American Idol

Actually I hate that show (note the title of the post...that show). So this post isn't about my undying love for Americas next top idol (Although I have been known to indulge in a little 'America's Next Top Model, shhhh, don't hold it against me).

I have a few people I look up to and respect. People that I think I would one day like to meet. Which, considering I am pretty anti-social and don't always enjoy the company of humans, a few people, in my book is a lot.

I was able to meet see 2 of my idols (that just sounds creepy, right?) when Chris and I went on our 'Horse, Architecture and Beach Retreat'. I write 'see' instead of 'meet' because unfortunately I am a huge anti-social dork with a serious phobia of people, (although I hide it well) and was at an awesome seminar where I got to learn from 2 of my horse training idols. After the seminar, they came out to get pictures with people. I wanted to meet them so bad and get my picture with them but was too much of a wimp and got a picture of them with some other chic. 

 

 

Awesomely sad. I was devastated. Even Chris was a little heart broken for me. 

 

A few months ago Chris came home from a bishopric meeting and said, "Who is you favorite Apostle?" Without a second thought I stated, "Elder Christopherson". Since he was put in to the Quorum of the 12 and has been able to address us at General Conference I have loved every talk I have heard and he has quickly become one of my favorites. Chris then informed me he would be coming to our Stake Conference.

I was ecstatic and could hardly wait to shake his hand and hear him talk...in no particular order.

Would I be brave enough to shake his hand?

 

 Well I definitely was brave enough to stand several feet away, while my friend Vicki inconspicuously took that gem of a picture on her phone. We were laughing pretty hard the whole time, me trying to build my courage to shake his hand. Never fear, I was brave and I shook his hand. Man, Kelli you're so brave!

 

 



Knights of the Round Table

Slaying Dragons, Sleeping under the stars, and a giant slipin' slide. Who said family Reunions are boring? Not when you're in the the Page family and have some pretty amazingly talented and creative aunts and cousins! The Lil' Campin' Bug had so much fun with her cousins, lucky for us she loves the great outdoors so she also had a blast camping.

 

Our Camp was quickly transformed into a magical land of knights and princesses.

 

(My sweet niece and nephew Princess Alivia and Sir Canyon)

Each cute, little cousin got a shield with the Page family crest on the front. The boys got a sword and the girls had a crown placed upon their head and a sceptre in hand. My little princess couldn't stop waving her sceptre around.

 

(Princess Nory wouldn't leave Princess Grace alone. They were the best of friends the whole time)

The theme was chosen for a very important purpose. My ancestors were servants to the King and somewhere along the line one was knighted. I'm sure it was for slaying dragons and saving princesses from evil wizards. My wonderful Aunt Ann talked about our family history and what the Crest represented. Then everyone was knighted.

But that is when the trouble started. A horrible, smelly, fire breathing dragon had stolen the Kings treasure. What is a King to do? Good thing he just knighted about 15 rambunctious knights. The qwest was on.

 

All those princesses and knights were able to tame that wild beast. After the battle, Princess Nory had to keep going back to the dragon to check him out. Even the next morning she wanted to go see the dragon again.

 While the treasure hunt was going on, the menfolk pulled out the map. What's a Page family reunion without a little "pull out the map that every Page male has in their glove box and figure out the best place to find a big elk"?

With all the excitement it only took the Lil' Princess 2 hours to finally fall asleep. Chris and I opted out of the cabins and our tent and slept under the stars. It was so beautiful. We laid under that great big, beautiful sky watching stars, planets, planes and satellites, cuddling tight in each others arms...ahhh disgustingly cheesy. All the while listening to Nory singing and laughing, climbing on the sides of the pack n play riding it like a horse and then falling inside it laughing hysterically. It really didn't take her 2 hours to fall asleep only 1 and a half. She was a champ for her first of many,'sleep under the stars' nights.

The awesomeness didn't end there. The next morning it was time for the giant slippin' slide...dah da daaaaaah.
The wild child princess hated it at first. She rode with Chris because a cute new babylove is currently taking up residence with me. We had waited too long to take any chances. So when the Dr. says, "No", we listen.

Terrified anyone?

 

Maybe these 2 are related

 

 

I was able to get in on the action, when I tried to help push Chris and Bug down the hill. It turned out just like it looks...No one going anywhere.

 

 

 

After only forcing her down the slide 3 more times the results from the first to the last ride were drastically altered.

 

 

She wouldn't stop going down. When it was time to quit for lunch we had to pry the tube from her cute little hands.

 

All in all, I am pretty sure the 2013 Page Family Reunion was a success!

 

 

 



Pinterest Interest

Chris and I have a difference of opinion on what is funny. I have the, "see someone trip and then they look around all embarrassed." Like dry, sarcastic funny bone. Chris has the, "If you rhyme 2 words," slap stick, goofy funny bone.

 

I'm not quite sure how many times I have heard Chris say ,"I have no interest in pinterest" after I've said, "I saw something on pinterest." Funny boy.

 

After the 100th time I've heard this, I thought it was high time that Chris eat his words. Thus the beginning of something in our household I like to call "Pinterest Interest". Once a week I make a new recipe that I found, you guessed it, right off pinterest.

 

My first attempt was this

 

It was yummy and gets 4 gold stars in the Brown family! Elanora loved it!

 

Next I made this.

Darn, it won't let me swipe the picture for my blog. I hate when that happens. It is Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken. It was a little disappointing. I thought it was going to be the best thing ever, I mean bacon and a packet of ranch seasoning, can't go wrong with those. It was okay and gets 2 thumbs up.

 

Now this was super good

 

 The sauce was to die for! A little time consuming, but worth it. This definitely received 10 points and 2 high 5's.

 

I made an elk steak marinade. I won't post the link because how many people eat elk steak for dinner? It was pretty good, with the left over elk steak I made fajitas.

 

Now this was the best of all the game!!! Again, I can't post the picture but it is a good thing because you would be drooling all over your computer. Bruschetta Chicken. So good, so easy. It earned a whooping 5 gold stars, 5 thumbs up, 150 Gryffindor Quidditch points and 3 very licked clean plates.

 

 I have discovered that cooking isn't too horrible and that I'm not as bad a cook as I thought I was and Chris definitely has interest in pinterest now!

 



And We're Fighting in 1...2...3...Now

Chris and I don't fight very often. I mean, really how could I fight with that hunky beast? He is just too darn nice. But every once in a while the planets align and I get tired and hungry but don't know which I would rather do, sleep, eat or be mad.

 

Last Saturday, everything thing was in perfect orbit. We had the longest week of being out in the crazy hot sun everyday  and staying out until at least 11:00 pm every night. Saturday was no exception. We had a jam packed day full of church building cleanup, a toddler bed found on ksl pick-up, all smashed between baptisms for 2 of the cutest kids you will ever meet. Really, I wish I had pictures so you could see just how perfect Nory Bugs cousins, Ashley and Ashton are and what a perfect day it was. It was amazing to see those cute kids and the spirit was so strong!

But by the end of the day I was so exhausted I could hardly stand. Elanora had only a 30 minute nap that she took in the car while we were driving from place to place. With toddler bed squished up against Nora's car seat and her singing all about getting to sleep in a big girl bed, we weary travelers made it home.

This is where the trouble began. I was so tired and sat down on the couch and soon fell asleep. When I woke up at 9 I was disoriented and still tired. This is when the trouble started. Chris informed me that Elanora had gone to bed on her big girl bed like a champ....awesome right?...NO, I was so mad that I didn't get to tuck her into her new bed with Chris (we usually tuck her in together, kissing her, singing with her and giggle with her as we put her down). I missed her first night in the big girl bed.

So I  peeked in on her feeling warm and fuzzy that my baby was such a big girl.

(This was first thing the next morning)

Then I promptly ignored Chris for the rest of the night.
But how can I stay mad at that face of his? Especially if I may have overreacted a tad.


(This was at nap time the next day)

(This crazy baby likes to sleep with a creepy bunny that I made her, a cat my Aunt Nadean bought her and her baby that she named "Baby Brother Sister)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Night Nora Cried

You really can't beat the 4th of July! The celebrating of our freedom. The expressions of love and gratitude to those who have and still are fighting for our freedom. I am always overcome with emotions on this day and am so thankful to have been blessed to be raised in this wonderful, free country.

Chris and I hope to instill in Elanora a sense of humble pride and respect of America and the ideals we hold dear.

 

 

The 4th is definitely one of my favorite holidays for all of the above reasons. I also love the fact that you can be in almost any town no matter how obscure and still find a celebration. And lets be honest, you just can't beat fried food and fireworks :)

 

The little town we decided to celebrate in was my hometown of Layton (and for the record, when I say Layton, I pronounce the 'T', in case you were wondering).

 

We started out at 8:00 am with breakfast in the park. Although it was a little sad because half our usual party wasn't there. After breakfast, my dad has to sneak over to the baseball games with Elanora in hopes that she will one day play. He is doing a pretty good job because the only shirt she ever wants to wear is "Grandpa's baseball shirt". 

Next came the parade. Definitely the highlight of Nory's day, well the candy part anyway. She shoved as much taffy in her mouth as she could possibly fit and because it was scorching hot, half of it melted all over her clothes and everything else she touched.

 

She had the set up! Her cold water bottle, taffy in the pocket of her little chair and awesome shades.

 

She chilled in her chair most the time. She did jump up and dance as the cheerleaders went by. I'm sure she would have jumped up when the horses went by but she had to make a pit stop at the potty.

 

 We always have a huge group hanging out on the usual corner.

 

 

Elanora loves to be anywhere the cousins are!

 

 

She was one tired baby after the parade

 

 

 

Now the fireworks were a little more complicated then a dancing, music, candy filled Smorgasbord of a parade.

 

We thought a little preparation was in order. So the night before, we bought some fireworks to tryout. Begrudgingly, Chris got some at the store because I refused to let him use the ones hidden in the shoebox.

 

Nory had seen fireworks all over the sky but when we started a few in our driveway, she really wanted no part of it. That little Fire Cracker, after lighting only 2 said," Okay, let's go to bed now, I really want to go to bed." The rest of the night and the next morning she kept saying over and over, "Fireworks aren't scary, they are beautiful."

 

So when the cannons at Layton park went off, I was surprised she jumped and came over to me but wanted to get back down and play with the cousins. As soon as the first fireworks exploded in the sky she wanted nothing to do with them. She jumped in my arms and buried her face in my shoulder, digging into my neck every time one went off. She would jump back and forth from Chris to me, not quite knowing which was safer. The poor Lil' Sug' started crying (unfortunately, I forgot the camera to document).

The turning point was when her cute cousin Canyon brought her some popcorn. She wanted to eat it and she needed to turn around to eat it. So she ended the night warming up to the fireworks but I wouldn't say she enjoyed them. She did go and sit with grandma Page and we got this picture on the phone. She doesn't look too terrified, only nervously chewing her arm a little bit :)

 

 

As soon as the grand finale was over, that silly little baby jumped up, did a double fist pump in the air and screamed, "YAY, WE DID IT!"

 

 The next day she did love holding sparklers at my brothers house. But when we started the fireworks she informed us that she would rather play with barbies inside the house.

 

 

 That Little Fire Cracker is still telling us that fireworks aren't scary, they are beautiful. Let's hope next year she can believe that those affirmations are true.

  

 

Summer Hiking Anyone?

We decided that because it has only been one million degrees outside and because when I was prego with Elanora, we went backpacking in the High Uintahs and she turned out beautifully, that we should probably get some hiking into the Saturday mix.

 

We woke up bright and early so we could be on our way before we melted into puddles on the trail, because of course that would make all the other hikers have to trek through big mud puddles and we are considerate hikers. You know, leave nothing behind.

I was a little sad waking this cute face up. She looked so peaceful!

 

 



 But is was worth it. Snowbasin was so beautiful and our little mountain girl loved every minute of it.

From being packed in the backpack...which was a little surprising with miss independent,

 

 

to taking a break and eating fruit snacks...no surprise there. She was a happy little chipmunk shoving in as many fruit snacks as could possibly fit in her mouth.

 

 

To finishing the hike on her own 2 super cute feet. She hopped and skipped, jumped and ran down the trail.

 

 

The bugs were horrible by the time we were finished with our little family stroll. After the hike, as we were driving in the car, Nory was patting her legs and saying, "Come here little fly and sit on my lap." Clearly she takes after her mom with her love of all things, animals and bugs. Unfortunately this crazy baby likes to look at monkeys...where did I go wrong?

 

We decided a little dip after our arduous hike would be wonderful, so we headed over to Pineview for a swim.

 

 

 

The water was shockingly cold, even for a scorchingly hot day. The Lil Fish liked being in the water but she hated the waves and the kids splashing around her. She made it impossible to hold her in the water, that little squirmy baby. She mostly wanted to play on the beach.

 

 

She loved playing in the sand and obviously took it very seriously

 

 

Hopefully we are starting this new babylove off right.

So we can cross off going to a concert (not including the passing out) with this new love and now hiking :)



Brave

When I was pregnant with Elanora, the only thing that was constant was the way I was feeling and how my body felt, was always changing. I would get used to feeling the wiggly little baby, who was continually moving. Then I would wake up one morning and I would have a strange pain in my side. Nora went from wiggly to kick boxing and a belly that had grown seemingly impossibly more.

 

When we brought the Lil' Miss home I was terrified. I had no idea how to take care of a baby (interesting enough, even though I've gone through this before, I'm still terrified to bring another squishy, little, love home).  Knowing my mothering skills were lacking, how could I be comfortable tackling this crazy new adventure?

 

Lucky for me I had rock steady Chris and a stubborn, determined nature that had resolved to not screw up this beautiful babyface too much. And of course love... ahhh cheesy, sappy parts!  It helped that Chris and I know how to sit back, enjoy the ride and have fun doing it.

 

 

I was unprepared for how much I could love this little perfect angel. How my emotions could be so invested and wrapped up in her well being and happiness.

 

Again, as she changed and grew almost daily from brand new quietly sleeping baby, to colic and acid reflux riddle, seeming to never stop crying, into happiest, smiliest girl in the world, my only constant was change.

 

So, I wonder why in the world would I be surprised yet again for another change, another phase.

 

Nory has an independent streak that has been intact since birth. Never wanting to be cuddled or rocked. Doing everything so early. When I drop her off at my mom's she hardly even waves as she bounces off to the sandbox to make "cakes". Until one day she woke up and decided she was terrified to leave Chris or my sight. Literally one day she could care less where we were and the next, she was crying at my mom's house when I walked from the sandbox to the porch, while Grandpa and her cousin were still in the sandbox. What in the world!

Nursery...yikes! She absolutely loved nursery and could hardly wait the entire week to go back. She sang all the songs everyday. So how sad we were when out of the blue it was the end of the world when we dropped her off.  My cold, cold heart completely broke when I saw the look of terror in her eyes. How could I abandon my baby girl? We couldn't. I wrapped her in my arms and didn't let go.

This last Sunday, Chris and I were more fully prepared. We had a plan. We knew it would be tragic but my little lion heart is brave and would be okay...but would I?

We went to church, business as usual. My heart pounding in my chest. Chris's uneasy face up front. Both knowing what was to come. I silently prayed. I got an answer, it wouldn't be easy but it would be okay. I felt peaceful.

It wouldn't be easy was an understatement. Chris and I dropped her off and instantly the flood gates opened, she reached for us saying, "no nursery". We made the hand off quick and said "we love you baby, have fun in nursery". Then I hid right by the door and listened in anguish as my beautiful baby cried for me. My heart crying along with her. Wrapped in my friends loving arms she cried for 2 minutes, then wanted to play. Not one problem, not one care in the world. All the while I sat in Sunday School and Young women's panicking thinking she needed me, but she didn't. Every time the door would open my worried eyes would watch, making sure it wasn't her. Chris did the same. We were sweaty, ulcer filled parents.

I left young woman's early, to pick her up. She slowly sauntered over, holding a picture she had colored saying, "I colored Joseph Smith" and jabbering about the songs she sang, the toys she played with and the snacks she had. Extremely happy and maybe proud of herself. She did something hard, something scary...My brave little lion heart.