Friday, November 1, 2013

September 2013

We started off the month with Halle’s first soccer game of the season.  That same day we also went to a Utah football game.

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Eli was so tired the next day at church that he fell asleep, and trying to get him to stand and go to class didn’t go so well.  Jared was nice enough to stay with him so he could sleep a bit longer.

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We visited the 9/11 memorial site they have in Sandy by Jared’s office.

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9/11 was Jared’s birthday and I surprised him with a home-made ice cream cake.  It was really delicious.  The bottom layer is a combination of Oreo, cream cheese, and powdered sugar, followed by chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, a layer of Oreos, then cookie dough ice cream, and ganache.

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Another football game.

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I generally make an effort to dress myself and Eli every morning even if we have no plans for the day, but I allowed us a pajama day on 9/19.

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We did end up getting dressed, just not until the afternoon so that we could take Halle to swim lessons.  I took the camera to video Halle, but Eli gets SO sad at lessons that it was a nice distraction for him since he wasn’t old enough for lessons.

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9/20 my mom and I drove to Kanab and St. George for a girls’ weekend.  In Kanab we volunteered at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary with the senior dogs.  It was so much fun and I can’t wait to go back.  We then drove to St. George for a family friend’s wedding reception.  On Saturday we spent some time with a life-long friend of my mom’s then did a session at the temple, and went to a play a Tuacahn.

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They serve a delicious vegan lunch buffet for only $5.  It’s served in a location with a beautiful view.DSC02245

We thought it was funny it says “a gated community.”DSC02248DSC02249

This is Omar.  He’s 10 and just laid on the floor like this, even while I was sweeping and mopping his enclosure.  Apparently he just lost his friend that was with him and was quite depressed.  He was super sweet.

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This is Jerry.

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This is Nadia.

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Lunch time!

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Me and Omar.

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And my absolute FAVORITE Jude.  He’s also 10.  He SO enjoyed the love and affection; I couldn’t stop hugging him and taking pictures of us. 

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Taking Jude for a walk.  He has hip dysplasia, but did great on this walk and was so obedient.

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This is Kuzco.  He was in trouble, so we weren’t allowed to go in his enclosure.

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This is Sonoma licking my face.DSC02297DSC02299

I can’t remember this one’s name, but its teeth were hilarious.DSC02302

If you know how much we love dogs, you can understand how difficult it is to love and care for these guys for a few hours, then just leave them.  They so appreciate volunteers, and I was so grateful when we asked the guy running this area what we could do to help, and his answer was “socialize” which just means love them and pay attention to them.  DONE!  The dogs have surprisingly large enclosures.  They’re not stuck in a little cage like you see at the shelters.  They have a large indoor area with a bed, and a VERY large outdoor area to run and play in.  They can go in and out as much as they want through dog doors.

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After the play we went to Iceberg.  That’s my grilled cheese sandwich on the left, and the most ginormous onion rings I’ve ever seen on the right.

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Thanks mom for the awesome trip.  And that was our September.