I Heart Google Reader

Its a festivus miracle! My blog stalking was just taken to a new level. I no longer have to sift through all my links to see what people are doing. Google is going to do that for me. I love, love, love it. I've been sitting here wondering what I'm going to to do with all this free time that I now have? But don't worry for those who like to read from some of my links, I'll leave those there for you. I think I'll go file my heels and deep condition my hair.

Time Keeps Slipping into the Future

Holy cow does time fly by and the next thing you know you've been married for NINE years. Happy Anniversary to us! Here are some favorite pictures from days gone by.

1999

Our engagement picture that went in with our wedding invitation

2003

Our Christmas card picture

2005

Hanging out at a favorite Maine lighthouse

2007

A picture without a child, rare by this time in our life.

2008

Corral Pink San Dunes - Kanab, UT

Like Father Like Daughter

Scary, very scary!

Reprieve from the Heat

It seems as though there comes a time in a girls life when she just needs to get some sort of break from the Arizona heat. Yes, today was record breaking heat for Arizona. My mother-in-law who has lived in Arizona before called me in a panic and explained that it doesn't usually get this hot, this fast. But it just our luck, because when I moved to Boston and started commuting downtown for work it was the beginning of February and it was record breaking lows.

Thank goodness for pools. Noelle has become overly brave with her water wings and really liked wearing the goggles.

She also didn't mind eating wheat thins from a bag full of pool water. I guess that's the problem when you're one portion hobo and the other feral?

(video to come after I do some editing!)

Noelle Singing Twinkle-Twinkle

We love her singing voice. Its so sweet to listen to, even when she's supposed to be sleeping. Also you can see the amount of concentration by looking at her furrowed brows.

Traveln' Down That Road and Back Again

Well what's better to do when you have some spare time on your hands than make a last minute decision to go on a small road trip?We couldn't think of anything either so we stuck with the first idea. During our irregular family night of going to the library we decided that we'd go visit our moms for Mother's Day. This was not enticing to Boo as he was not looking forward to the eleven hour drive north. So to break it up a little we decided we'd stop around the half way mark and spend the night in Hurricane, UT. But before we got that far we decided we'd visit a few northern Arizona sites along the way.

Our first stop was at Sunset Crater National Monument. We walked through some of the lava flows and got a great view of the crater from the bottom. Given that we weren't prepared for the cooler temps and windy weather, we opted for the short hike. Noelle thought it was more fun to push the stroller than to ride in it.

Our next stop wasn't far from the first, at Wupatki National Monument, which was a collection of pueblos that we could walk around and see how people lived nearly 800 years ago.

We continued our drive, which took us through Zions National Park at night so there wasn't much to see, and then we arrived at our destination, the Travelodge of Hurricane (total dump, but a fine place to sleep.) Noelle fell asleep in the car with her blanket over her head.

During our time in Utah we met our newest cousin, Jacob, who was born just in time for us to visit. We played with cousins, got our first taste at Guitar Hero, checked out the beautiful flowers at Temple Square and spent time with all of our moms.

Noelle even had her first sleepover at her Auntie's house and participated in the Race for the Cure.

For our trip home we stopped in Kanab, UT.

While we were there we visited the Corral Pink Sand Dunes.

Boo dreaded the mess that would soon engulf our car, not to mention our clothes and all surfaces of our bodies.

It seemed like nothing but juniper trees in orange sand as we were driving and then we rounded a corner to find rolling hills of sand. Noelle and I thought it was great.

Staying in a hotel room with a toddler is another story however. We have to turn off all the lights and tv to make her think that we are all going to bed with her. Being the naive parents that we are, we thought it would only take a few minutes and she'd be out. Not the case at all.

Noelle sang in her loudest voice all the songs she's been learning lately. At one point Boo and I were laughing pretty hard and as quiet as possible from our different beds, as not to let her know we were still awake. At one point she tricked me with a few moments of silence and then jumped right back into her singing. Then finally a couple last songs and she was gone-zo. It was forty minutes of singing.

On our way out of Kanab we saw a funny site. Something that looked like a cop waiting to catch unsuspecting speedsters. Look closely.... even creeps me out a little bit.

We sure had a good time during our visit, but I'm also glad to be home in my own bed and to have Noelle in her own bed. Now its back to reality.

Random Clips of Noelle

This video is just a bunch of random clips that I put together from the last week or so. She says some funny stuff, but the best is of her with her ice cream and purse. (Notice she's missing the bottom of her cone)

Interpretation: Noelle tells me she's eating cupcakes for breakfast, then says pancakes and that she's going to have a big bite.

Albertsen Family Tradition Revived

On Friday night we took a drive down to Mesa to visit my cousin Michael and his family. It just so happened that his mother (Aunt Yo) was in town as was my mom, Gramma Nay. One big love fest. Noelle and cousin Mike were instant buds and she was even so sad when she couldn't ride in their car to dinner, fearing he was going to leave her with us.

We got a private piano concert from Jacob, a tour of their house, and took a dip in their new pool, and then decided we'd all go out for dinner. They casually suggested Organ Stop Pizza. Say what? My eyes nearly popped out of my head with excitement. I think I even shook Boo so that he would understand what they said.

For as long as I've known the Albertsen's I've heard about Organ Stop Pizza. It was a tradition of theirs during their days living in Tempe to go at Christmas time after seeing the Christmas display at the Mesa Temple.

They've described it as this organ that rises out of the floor and some guy plays songs that most people would recognize. Holy cow they weren't lying. One of the largest Wurlitzer organs in the world. The musicians need engineering degrees just to operate that bad boy.

This is Chuck-E-Cheese for geriatrics, but kids like it too. The whole display was pretty spectacular for a pizza joint. Noelle was equally amazed. Notice we parked her right where she could see. We can't wait for Grammy & Papa Albertsen to come visit so we can go back.

Happy Birthday Ben & Jerry

Since I've been delinquent in posting the fun things we've been up to, I'll just add a smattering all at once.

Last week I got an email from my mom which I was convinced was just another one of those "forwards" that she tends to send around. It said that I could go and celebrate Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream's birthday and by doing so would be rewarded with a free ice cream cone. I like to check these things out before showing up to make a fool of myself asking for free ice cream, and sure enough my local B&J's was hosting a party. So thanks B&J's for having a birthday and letting us party with you. Thanks mom for sending me a good "forward."

Noelle was overly possessive of her ice cream. When we'd try to help her she'd hold on so tight that she eventually smashed the bottom half of the cone which mad for tricky holding.

Later that day we got to spend some time with Papa Albertsen, who was in Arizona for business. He took us to dinner, where Boo got the brontosaurus rib feast. (at least that was what it looked like when they brought it out.)

We also got the biggest piece of cake I've ever seen. There was an entire giant cake in a refrigerated case and we pointed it out to Noelle who exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!"