In some ways, life has felt slower than ever and, in other ways, faster than ever before! Funny how that works! I am relishing in some of the slower moments I've had with long nights when Ben is in class. One night I decided to finally decorate my home blocks,which resulted in this. The problem=they don't match anything in my house.
I got together with some Browning girls to make 16 crock-pot meals in an hour and a half--what a fun and productive team effort!
Homemade bread is my weakness in life (actually, one of several).
I finally got to see what our backyard looks like in a snow storm since we were gone for the only other snow storm during Christmas. Snow produces magic.
When Ben occasionally has an hour to spare from HW, we exercise downstairs together. I still can't get over the sunsets we see from our house (you may never stop hearing me say that--sorry!)
We finally got to taste the real deal of my brother-in-law's salsa. It was SO good that we couldn't stop eating it, and that's coming from two tomato haters, so that's saying something!
Did I mention that some of the cutest animals on the planet can wreck the greatest havoc, especially when they've been taking residence in your attic!? I am grateful to know that I haven't been making up the insanely large noises I hear at night, but knowing that raccoon are on the other side of our ceiling kind of gives me the heebie-jeebies.
The second raccoon we caught was much bigger. I know everyone says they're mean, but these two were so cute and friendly. I think they were just terrified, actually. We are hoping to gain full ownership of our home in the next few weeks.
Once the whirlwind of remodeling ended, the raccoon problem started back up as well as Ben's busiest class yet, resulting in him leaving at 7AM, getting home at 10PM, and often doing homework until 11 or 1 at night. I don't know how he does it. I barely see him for more than an hour each day.
To get a break from this craziness and to save on pennies, we decided we'd take a mini staycation this spring! We reserved our two days off from work and planned some low key activities for dates. It was wonderful to just be together and relax from the tumult of our lives!
Our first adventure was breakfast at No Frills Diner in Ogden and then the aquarium in Draper! (Part of the staycation deal was we'd go out to eat so I could get a break from cooking; even though I love cooking, I needed a break too :) )
The tropical exhibit was our favorite!
Jellyfish....so beautiful and so creepy at the same time!
The otters were my favorite! But they were asleep when we went by; good thing they look so cute!
The 3-D movie Sea Monsters scared me more than I thought a child's show could!
Oh you know, just a shark swimming above us in the shark tunnel.
The aquarium was a fun break from real life. I am so glad Utah is getting more and more educational and fun attractions! We ended the day by going to Ikea and watching 12 Angry Men for Ben's class assignment (which I actually LOVED!)
We got a wreath from Ikea that I decorated with ribbon. I love how Celtic it looks! Ikea for the win!
Letting magpies out of the raccoon traps has been one of our daily occurrences. Silly birds!
Our second day of staycation consisted of going to the matinee of Cinderella--one of my new favorite movies! I loved its message and that it emphasized that kindness can be a super power!
After Cinderella, we went to the Union Station to go through the museums, which I had never seen before.
I love the main hall of the Union Station--so beautiful!
A model of Ogden!
We got to go through the Browning museum and learn about guns! It was fun to learn more about the ancestry Ben has.
J. Edmund Browning is Ben's great-great grandfather!
I loved getting lost in the Union Station and finding treasured hallways like these.
Truth be told, Ogden is finally growing on me with the temple, 25th street, its re-vitalization efforts, and increase in good restaurants :)
Speaking of good restaurants, we went to Rovali's, an Italian place on 25th, and we fell in love. We usually never get drinks or desserts when we go out, but we made an exception for our staycation. Best decision ever! A watermelon Italian cream soda, Italian pizza, and cookie dough cake slice later, I was on cloud 9!
This picture does not do this cake justice. This cake had the perfect ratio of a light, fluffy cream frosting! I can't look at it any longer....it's just too tempting.
Saturday, our last day of staycation, was spent taking it easy (well, Ben insisted on doing some yard work), reading, and me loving our daffodils! Like only an amazing husband would do, Ben took me to Petsmarts (plural because we had to go to three before we found one that had a full fledged adoption day!) because he knows how much I love animals and that being petless has been hard for me.
And once this rat gave me a high five, I mean, four, I knew that the three stores were totally worth it!
As I'm writing this post, this is my view....
I had to share! Maybe one day I'll stop posting about the sunsets!
