Utah Summer 2018

 Ahhhhh summer! It's always so great in Utah, although I took Utah Summer for granted until I lived in Monterey where it's cold in the summer! And they don't have fireworks for the 4th of July! So that's when I instituted Utah Summer. And my boys love it.

After I got back from DC, I took the boys up to Cache Valley to stock up on my favorite skincare, and the drive was so beautiful and green!  I stopped at the Box Elder campground to catch the tail end of these gorgeous poppies. I've trained J well, because I was ready to go and he said "I'm not ready to leave! I like running in the flowers!"

 A few days later was one of the reasons for our Utah trip: my cousin Klarisa got married and J was the ring bearer. I was so worried he wouldn't cooperate but some bribery worked wonders. His cousin Laila was the flower girl and they sure were adorable!

The other event we went for was welcoming my baby brother home from his 2 year mission in Colombia! They've all grown a lot

The rest of Utah Summer was filled with all the other great Utah Summer things: playdates with friends, summer Sunday dinners, yummy treats, hikes, baseball games, and the boys favorite: Cherry Hill. 

^^Dom's look at my grandpa kills me!^^

 

 ^^also visited this special lady^^

 Until next Summer!

My J Says (and some favorite pics of his 3rd year)

Ok ok I definitely had a hard time narrowing down these photos I just can't help myself! I think 3 was a good year for our J!

And here are some favorite little things he has said lately :)

 "Oww my mustache is hurting!"

 "J, I love you to the moon"
"I love you far away all the way where Jesus lives!"
(he says that lot and I love it haha)

 "Well I'm the boss so I'm grumpy."

"I need water I'm drinky!"

 ^^he loves babies and it's the sweetest!^^

 "Mommy, say thank you to me for being-haive"

"No, Dominic, we don't have to be quiet we not in church!"

"We haven't gone to Home Depot in a while...so we should go to Home Depot."
(definitely went to home depot that day ;)

 "What are you doing, J?"
"Just calling Jesus."

"No, the consequence is over!!"
(if only we could choose when the consequence is over haha)

"I got you a present Dominic, some chasing glasses!"
(aka the transformers glasses they wear to chase each other around the house)

 ^^he has an obsession with maps. i love it^^

"Mommy do you know why I like drinking syrup? Because it smells like dessert!"

Love you so much, J!  

Traditional Things I Love: Stationery and Business Cards

I was reading an article online the other day about military traditions that we don't want to die, and it was really interesting, and some were things that apply not just in the "military world"---namely things regarding stationery. I LOVE stationery. I love seeing different designs from different people which I think reflects different personalities. And I just love getting actual mail that isn't junk! I just got a birth announcement in the mail and even though I already knew about the birth from social media, I still loved receiving it!

So anyway, some of those stationery things that the article mentioned were Christmas cards, and business cards aka "calling cards." With phones and social media, business cards are one of those things that are becoming more rare, but personally I still think they're great, because when someone gives one to me, it serves as an actual reminder to look up whatever the card is for when I get home.

In the military world, the business card also serves as a "calling card" aka an information card for others. I first was introduced to this on our overseas tour in Okinawa, and it was extremely helpful when you are meeting a lot of new people pretty regularly. Whenever someone gave me one of their cards, I always thought "I really need one of these for myself to make it easy on other people as well!"

So I finally did!

I went with Basic Invite, a local company based out of St. George. They have so many adorable designs, and what was really cool about them is that all their designs are completely customizable with sooooo many color options. And that's for all of their stationery, not just business cards.

^^there's even more colors on the other side^^

^^Love that they print the pretty design on the back too^^

So yeah, even though I don't have a business per se, I like having my little info cards. And now I'm really looking forward to Christmas card time aka one of my favorite times of year! In addition to the color customizing with the cards and envelopes, Basic Invite also offers an address capturing service (a link for your social media where people can input their addresses. MUCH needed for me since lots of my friends and myself included are regularly getting new addresses) and also address printing for free with orders YES!

(Also they ship to FPO/APO addresses for any friends of mine still living overseas :) AND they are currently offering 15% off with the code 15FF51.

Long live stationery. Emails, e-cards, and e-invites are convenient sometimes, but they never can replace the feel and thoughtfulness of real cards. I hope they never die!



Check out Basic Invite's business card info and templates by clicking here or here. And thanks to them for sponsoring this post!

Visitors! Also how to do a week in San Diego for Free

 My sister and her kids came and visited at the beginning of June, and it was such a fun week! There are A LOT of things to do in San Diego, and lots of them can cost a lot of $$ ha! When I asked Jenn what they wanted to do that week, her answer was "mainly the beach!" And based around that, we unknowingly had a week of doing all free activities...not counting the cost of food and ice cream ;)

First, we took them to one of our favorites: the San Diego Botanic Gardens, which are free for military and the first Tuesday for SD residents--luckily the lady was nice and let the non-residents in for free with me.

 We went to the base beach later that day. Dominic thinks every beach is his nudist beach ha! Also on this beach afternoon we saw a pod of dolphins jumping and doing tricks and it was AMAZING!

 The next day we spent a glorious beach day up in Laguna. It was so beautiful and so perfect. We also got Banzai Bowls, and Katelyn and her kids joined us as well. Such a great summer day!

Another beach day, another naked beach boy!

 We spent the next day down in San Diego. We hit up the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center, and my kids actually listened! This is a great place for kids. The presentation is interesting for them, and then they have a great kids play area panning for gold and other pioneer activities. And it's all free, and right next to Old Town, which is also free. Also the missionaries will give you coupons to the restaurants in Old Town--just ask.

 We also went up to North Park so I could show Jenn Pigment aka my favorite store, and we had lunch at Lucha Libre where I reserved the Champions Ring (that is free but the food isnt ha) and the kids loved that!

 ^^A flight of ice cream from Hammonds yum^^

The next day, Jenn's husband had flown in, and they went to hike Potato Chip Rock. Free, but I stayed behind with the kids. Maybe someday I'll do that hike! And then the next day (and their last) we devoted it completely to the beach. We had a great time. The kids played for hours and hours, the guys boogie boarded, and the girls read and took naps. And Dominic snacked the whole time. And then we had dinner on the pier. Lots of fun.

So there you go! If you're looking for other free stuff to do in San Diego, I recommend SeaPort Village, Coronado, and Balboa Park as well. 

Now I'll leave you with one more pic--Jenn's puppy and my puppy. The real puppy liked to nip Dominic a lot, which he did not like. But now they are the best of friends. So cute.