Funny zoo experience

So, I had a funny experience a couple of weeks ago when I went to the zoo with my sister-in-law and nephews. I was just hanging with the fam, checkin' out the monkeys, when a girl walks by. I immediately recognized her and was trying like crazy to figure out how I knew her. I couldn't think of her name, but I knew what her kids looked like, where she went on vacation, what she got her husband for his birthday, that she loves photography, etc...After a few minutes, I figured out how I "knew" her. Oh ya, don't worry. I have stalked her blog! It was so crazy that I knew all these things about her and she had NO idea that I did. Crazy....actually, pretty creepy! In my defense, I found her blog because it was linked to a silent auction for Nie Nie. I think she was donating photograph sessions. It's not like I spend hours on end just looking at the blogs of people I don't know (though I do occasionally stumble across some interesting blogs that I get sucked into). Has anyone had this happen? I guess this is the kind of thing that prompts people to go private.

Anyway, so back to the zoo. My mom and I had a great time at the zoo with my sister-in-law Carolyn & my nephews. Rob even met up with us on his lunch break. It was such a beautiful day. I hadn't been to Hogle Zoo since I was a kid, so it was a fun little trip. My nephew Carter was a little hard to warm up to at first, but for the last half of the day he just couldn't get enough of grandma. Here's a few pictures from the photoshoot.

Sienna's Blessing

Sunday, Sept 28th was Sienna's blessing day. Who says you have to be all in white for a baby blessing?! I thought I'd be rebellious and go with the hot pink headband and add a little sass. It's my favorite headband on her. It was a really neat day. The weather was beautiful, many of our family members and close friends were there and Dan gave a beautiful blessing. My favorite part was when he blessed her with the gift of charity. I feel so blessed to have a beautiful baby girl and a wonderful husband who holds the priesthood and was able to give her such a special blessing. The Hanson ClanThis is my favorite picture of me & Dan, and of course my uncle Joe thought he was funny and got in the picture. Why is it that boys never grow out of this? Uncle Bradley GUncle Rob (and my ghost baby!)
Aunt Nelly

Dixon Clan

I love these girls!

The Hoagland FamilyALL the girls!

Sienna stoked to have finally have that uncomfortable dress off of her!

Fall Favorites

Caramel apples, football games, pumpkin cookies, perfect weather, pumpkin patches...I love this time of year! Yesterday we drove down to Woodland Hills (south of Provo 20 minutes in the mountains up above Spanish Fork) to my parents to help with some landscaping and I was amazed at how beautiful the drive was. I love seeing all the leaves changing. I can't wait to see more of it. I also love that it's time to start busting out the sweaters (which I appreciate even more with all the extra poundage from this baby!), my favorite soup recipes and the Halloween decorations. I thought I'd just share a few of fall favorites.


Arizona Corn Chowder
In large pot, saute the following ingredients (it will be a paste):
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 medium onion--chopped

Stir in & bring to a boil:
1 can corn--drained
1 can chicken broth
1 16 oz. jar of salsa
1 large can chicken (or 2 shredded chicken breasts)

Add: 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
When cream cheese is melted, add:
1 cup of milk
Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Enjoy!



Homemade Caramel
This is the best caramel recipe (thank you, Kelli McDonald!). I love to make caramel apples with this recipe, then used the extra for caramel popcorn. Both are delicious! (Warning: it is dangerously addicting!)

Mix together the following ingredients & bring to a boil:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cups corn syrup
When boiling, add:
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Boil on medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the caramel forms a soft ball when a little bit is dropped into cold water. Remove from heat, then add:1 tsp. vanilla
Let stand for 5 minutes before dipping apples.




Easiest Ever Pumpkin Cookies
This is a weight watchers recipe that I got from my friend Christy. So, basically it's "good" for you. You'll lose weight even thinking about making them! If you make it without the chocolate chips, I think you can have 4 cookies for 1 point. Anyway, I really like this recipe for 2 reasons--1. they taste great and 2. they have very few ingredients and are super easy to make! Here's the recipe



1 box of spice cake mix (which is on sale at Albertsons right now for $1/box)
1 15 oz can pumpkin
Optional: 1/2 bag of mini chocolate morsels

Mix ingredients together and spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like your cookies.

The sweetest thing...

Seeing your baby smile for the first time has got to be the sweetest thing in the world! About a week ago Sienna started smiling (for real, not just the gassy/sleepy smile). It's been so much fun. We haven't been able to capture her full grin yet with the camera, but I'll post some pictures as soon as we do. This picture isn't great, since it's from my cell phone. It's her half smile. I put this bow on Sienna and emailed it to Dan saying, "The bigger, the better!" This one really is too big for her right now (and the angle makes it look even bigger), but it's ridiculously cute, so I couldn't help try it on her! (Thanks, Natalie!)

Castle on a Cloud

Les Miserables...what an incredible show!! My in-laws took those of us who live in Utah to St. George to see Les Miserable on Sept 20th. It was Sienna's first road trip and her first show (at 5 weeks old), and she was quite the trooper. I got a little nervous at the beginning of the show because she was a little fussy (which is not the norm for her) so I was starting to think that it was going to be a long night for me, but after a few minutes she fell asleep for the rest of the show (which felt like hours, since I was so worried about ruining the night for the people sitting around us). The show really was amazing. I've seen it several times before (in New York, Utah and London), but it was so cool to see it at an outdoor amphitheater. I was amazed at the talent, especially since many of the performers were from Utah. I really loved Javier and Marias. It was such a beautiful night. We stayed over and went to breakfast the next morning (a birthday breakfast for my sister-in-law, Kate! Happy 21st, Kate!) at the Bear Paw Cafe, which was delicious! I had stuffed french toast. What was it stuffed with? Oh, just vanilla brulle. Are you kidding me?!! It was so tasty! It was a great weekend. Thank you, Roger & Deanne!

Just chillin' before the show
My beautiful baby
Dan's parents Roger & Deanne and his brother Jeff and wife Kate
The handsome couple :)
Dan's brother Eric & his wife Liz (and her adorable new red purse that I want to steal!)
The girls (we missed you, Jen & Debi!)

Just one of the amazing desserts, oh, I mean breakfasts!

Still cute

I took this picture with my mom the other day when my mom and I were out shopping. I'm not sure why it got messed up. I mostly took it to email to Dan since he thinks these flowers/bows are ridiculous, but I had to show him how cute she looked in this headband. Most of the time I put the little flowers on Sienna. She has so much hair that sometimes I just don't know how to do her hair with the headband. I'm sure it will take some learning! This was my first attempt with a flower this big. It is kinda ridiculous, but I still think it's adorable. Whenever I talk to my dad he asks, "Still cute?" I think so!

Traumatic Experience...

Sorry kids, this is going to be a little TMI. Feel free to just skip over this if you're not up for a disgusting story. So, the other day I went to the park with some friends and when I came home I knew I needed to change Miss Sienna's diaper. I got the new diaper ready and held Sienna's legs up by her ankles to wipe her bum, when all of the sudden Sienna started squirting nasty newborn diarrhea poo. Nasty projectile vomit poo all over me. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or scream. My phone was within reach, so I attempted to take a picture just so I could show Dan what his precious baby girl did to her mom (and that this was worse than anything he had experienced). The picture doesn't even show the half of it--it was all over my shirt, arm, neck, pants, the couch. I mean, this was some serious force. It was so bad that it soaked all the way through my clothes. It was disgusting. I was telling the story to some friends and I said, "It's a good thing Sienna is so cute" and Connie said that she and her husband always say that cuteness has saved more babies than carseats. I loved it. So true!!! All I have to say is that motherhood is definitely not for the faint of heart!