Ilene's 2010 New Year's Resolutions-

Oh yeah...
16- Work on getting Toby potty trained, try not to have any accidents on Linda's carpet.

Foam Chairs-

Greg and I bought second-hand foam chairs for 3.50 each and replaced the covers with ones we made, for Josslyn and Kathryn (Greg's nieces) for Christmas 2009.

They used to be Elmo chairs. We reused the zipper but bought fabric in colors they liked and ironed on their names.

They turned out all right I guess. I had the hardest time figuring out how to sew these together. If I ever make one of these covers again, next time I would use a stretchy material in a fun print.

Salt Lake Temple Painting-

For Doug and Sarah's Christmas gift this year we decided to paint the Temple they got married in.

We bought a beautiful 16x20 frame at a great price at Hobby Lobby (they have great sales).

I spent around a total of 8 hours painting, then we immediately framed and wrapped it up for them. I used acrylics so the paint dried fast.

I had such fun painting it! I like painting architecture, it's much simpler to do compared to portraits or landscaping in my opinion.

Arm Warmers-

You're probably thinking why don't I just wear a jacket when I go running outdoors? Why make these arm warmers?

Well, I get overheated in a jacket but my arms freeze, when I run in cold temperatures. So I could have gone out and bought a bunch of long sleeved shirts, but I decided to make these instead. Cheaper, more versatile (I can take them off if I want).

I cut up a scarf that I didn't need and sewed on a button at the top to attach to my short sleeved shirts (I also attached buttonholes to my shirts, easy to do).

I've worn these since the beginning of the cold weather and I am loving them! I can also wear them when I ride my bike (in the spring).

Projects I Can't Post Yet-

Since Linda (Greg's mom) suggested to everyone to home make their Christmas gifts for family members this year, I have projects coming out of my ears! I love to make things though, so I'm having a ton of fun with them. I can't show all the things I've made yet, I have to wait till after Christmas so I don't spoil the surprises. But as soon as I can, I will post all...

Family Portraits 2009-

This is our first Family Portrait photos we have ever done! I think they turned out great - when Toby kept his finger out of his nose!

I really like this one, this one is the one I put as my profile pic for a bunch of websites.

And here's one with Toby and his doggy! He loves that thing - I have to wash it all the time because he's constantly biting on the nose. That's the second nose that doggy has had, and a few weeks after this photo was taken, Toby had chewed off the new nose! Yuck. But look at that beautiful smile!

More of Toby's Birthday-

I was going to go with a train cake, but when we decided to get Toby a dump truck for his birthday, I decided a dump truck cake would be fun. And it was pretty easy. I used two small pound cakes and then covered them in frosting and m&m's.

Toby's ready to eat the dump truck!

Gina my niece. I was happy she was able to come!

Gina's daughter, Trinity

Birthday gifts - dump truck, loader, batman trike, Mr. potato head, books, clothes, and hot wheels. Toby loved all his gifts!

Oh yeah, Toby also got an elephant pillow from Grandpa and Grandma Platt. So soft and fluffy!

Trying out his Batman Trike at the park.

Trying out his dump truck and loader

Loader down the slide!

Dump truck going down!

Splash

Wheeeeee!

Uh Oh! I think we're gonna crash!

Birthday Fun

Potty Training Update-

You remember I posted that Toby actually told me he wanted to go potty that one night? Well, he hasn't asked to go since and I've been asking him to go potty about once a day. I'm content to let it stay on this step for a long time, up to the time we move out of Marlan and Linda's house. Because then once we have our own place, we can move forward aggressively onto the next few steps, one of which may include pee accidents on the floor. And I really don't want to do that step on Linda's beautiful carpet!

Stroller Pack-

I needed something to carry drinks and snacks in while I walked Toby in the stroller to the park. And I didn't want to buy anything for it, just make something out of the stuff I already had.

So I got a pair of Toby's pants that I didn't like (corduroy is annoying!) and cut off the legs. I sewed up the leg holes and sewed one of the legs to the front as a cup holder. Then I sewed Velcro on the sides as handles.

And it can stay on with the stroller folded up and put away. I've tried it out and I'm satisfied with it. It works great!

Potty Training-

I'm new to the business of having kids and teaching them things. So I have a website (babycenter.com) I like to check out from time to time to let me know what I should be teaching Toby and what good advice other mothers have on there. The other mothers were discussing potty training so I decided I might as well get started on a seemingly long and difficult process, so I bought a potty for Toby.

According to Babycenter, the First Step is to get the child used to seeing the potty around. So for almost a month I had the potty in his room collecting dust. Second Step: get the child used to sitting on the potty with clothes on. Well, that step took a couple days, then Toby himself pushed past that and onto Step 3 where he sits without clothes and diaper. I expected to stay on this step for at least a month, with Toby not peeing. I decided to buy a batman shaped pez candy dispenser and whenever he sat on the potty he got a candy from the "Batman". That lasted for a couple days also - he seemed to understand what he was expected to do and he peed! Again I expected not to go any further than an occasional pee when I asked him to go to the potty (I have been telling him to go potty about twice a day). Well, you can guess what happened today; Toby decided to jump ahead to like, Step 5!

We were sitting watching "Biggest Loser" and about an hour before that I had taken him in to go and he went pee a tiny amount. During the show Toby came up to me and kept telling me "I want to doe" and I couldn't figure out what he meant. So finally I told him to show me what he wanted and he grabbed my hand and took me to the bathroom door. He impatiently waited for me to get his diaper off and then he proceeded to pee a full amount! He recognized the need to go and then got me to help him go in the potty instead of his diaper! And his diaper was a new one from the previous potty time so I know he hadn't peed since then.

I know this sort of thing happens all the time with other parents and their kids, but even knowing that I'm still amazed when Toby makes intelligent connections and figures things out. He's growing and learning so fast I can barely keep up!

The Map

click here for Jordan River Parkway Map.

This is the KMZ file for the approximate trail we took, including detours, along the Jordan River Parkway trail. We did everything in green (except where it doesn't connect to the rest of the trail) and red, but didn't take the hiking trail down to the lake.

A KMZ file is what Google Earth reads, so if you have Google earth, you can see this map. If not, download it (free) here.

Jordan River Parkway Tour!

Greg wanted to tour the whole Jordan River Parkway on Labor Day this year. Marlan, Ben Holling and I wanted to go also so we planned to have Linda drop us off near Saratoga Springs and Utah Lake, and she watched Toby.

The JRP isn't completed in spots so we had a few detours. Luckily Greg looked up alternative routes. Although the JRP is approximately 40 miles long, our ride turned out to be a total of 50 miles with the detours and a bit of backtracking. :)

Which way do we go, left or right? A brand new road we got to ride on.

Riding through construction-

Going under Bangerter Highway

7000 South - Marlan's back tire felt a bit low so we stopped and pumped it up a bit. Fortunately, no one got a flat tire or anything serious so we were able to concentrate on having a good ride!

Raging Waters in the background

Here's Greg throwing up into the Jordan River at around 46 miles. Just kidding! He's just spitting out some water. I asked him to pose for me.

Yes, we made it! 50 miles in 5 hours! (just under 4 hours of riding, 1 hour cumulative of breaks) Here's Marlan celebrating in the shade!

We all started getting tired at around 40 miles and by 50 miles we were ready to call it a day. We didn't actually make it to the Great Salt Lake, but we succeeded in riding the length of JRP, which was our goal. I loved that we didn't have the sun in our eyes. Also we had most of the hard hills at the beginning of the ride so we were fresh and ready for them.

I wanted to post a map showing our route and detours and stuff, but I couldn't find a good way to get one on here. Maybe Greg will post one.

It felt so good to take a shower! This is gross, but I had a bug squashed inside my shirt! Yuck. Makes me wonder how many bugs I accidentally inhaled!

Total Riding Distance - 50 miles

Total Riding Time - 3 hrs 56 mins

Total Break Time - 1 hr

Time Span - 8:46am to 1:50pm
Approximate MPH - 12.5

Toby is Learning the Alphabet!

Check out Toby's alphabet and counting skills-

Group Ride with Infinite Cycle-

Greg and Marlan saw an announcement on Infinite Cycle's website about a fun bike ride around Riverton, Daybreak, and Herriman on Saturday August 22, at 6:30 am. I wanted to go too, so Ben agreed to watch Toby. At the beginning of the ride, we all rode together. At the intersection pictured above, 2 of the riders decided to grab their friends so they turned right while the rest of us kept straight till 114th.

Here we've made it past Daybreak and are heading west on the long stretch of road north of Herriman.

If you look in the background, you can see Herriman in the distance.

I was having fun taking pictures of everything. For instance, here is a picture of my shadow.

When we turned left onto Bacchus Highway, we stopped for a minute. Greg said he felt faint and he went and laid down on the side of the road. Luckily he was feeling better after a while and we got going again. Unluckily, there was 2 or 3 huge hills coming up that had Greg walking them instead of biking! Greg had problems this bike ride because he hadn't ridden in a long time.

Someone painted "Almost There" on the side of the road, near the top of the last hill.

At the top of the hill, taking a breather! Then it was pretty much downhill from there! Marlan hit the speed limit of 35 mpg! At the Rose Canyon Road 4 way stop, Greg turned towards Riverton while Marlan and I continued up through Emmeline Drive and down.

We met Greg back at the start, the Infinite Cycle shop by Bangerter Highway. Greg had ridden 16.25 miles, while Marlan and I had gone 21. I got to tell you, I love my bike! I had such a good time and I rode in comfort with my nice comfy bike! I hope we do that again some time - maybe every Saturday! I think I could even take Toby next time...

Toby "takes" photos

For Josslyn's birthday, Ilene and I got her a miniature digital camera. Today, Toby found it and was playing with it. Cuteness ensues.

Herriman Beach

I just found out that Herriman had a small lake with a beach! When Greg and I did "Parade of Homes" last summer, we saw what looked like a lake being built, but I had forgotten all about that till now.

So I got directions and went to see it on my bike with Toby. The sand is a bit rough on the feet and the water is a bit cloudy, but it was so neat! I love living near a beach!

The bike ride only took about 20 minutes. Unfortunately I didn't think to put on a swim suit (even though I had Toby in one!) so I didn't get to swim, but next time I go, I'm swimming!

We walked the whole shoreline! It's a really small lake with only half of that with sand.

At first there wasn't a lot of people. But as the morning wore on, the parking lot filled up.

We had a blast at the Herriman Beach! I can't wait to go again! So far, this has been the funnest summer I've ever had!