I'm Noodles for Noodles

5 reasons why I love the Noodles and Company in Orem, UT:

- The firs time there they gave us a free rice krispy treat because they had just finished making them and wanted someone to enjoy them at their most delicious stage

- We went there for work once and they messed up our order. To make it up to us, they gave everyone a free meal

- They have a birthday club where you get a free meal without any strings attached. I got mine yesterday and wanted to buy some flat bread, since it is the best, and they threw it in for free so I didn't have to scrounge for change

- The owner manages the store wonderfully and really makes you feel like a valued customer

- Mac and cheese...need I say more

They gave us smarties at the bank

Today we had to stop at the bank after "cuddle time" at the library and along with our reciept they slipped in some smarties for Keeli. I know banks often have suckers and treats for little kids but it didn't make it any less special today. I smiled the whole way home and couldn't wait to let Keeli try her first smartie. Little acts of kindess don't go unnoticed and I want to say thank you to everyone who takes time out of their day to think of others.

Sometimes it's easy to forget we live in a world full of other people besides ourselves...here's me renewing my effort to forget myself and remember someone else.

Butterfly

Perhaps I am a little cheesy to be quoting a Hannah Montana song but these words hit my heart strings and everyone that knows me already know that I am a chees ball....there's no shame in it!

Thank you mom and dad for keeping me safe and helping me to become who I am....this song is for you.

You tuck me in,
Turn out the light
keep me safe and sound at night
little girls depend on things like that

Brush my teeth and combed my hair
had to drive me everywhere
you were always there when I looked back

You had to do it all alone
Make a live, make a home
Must have been as hard as it could be

And when I couldn't sleep at night
Scare things wouldn't turn out right
you would hold my hand and sing to me

Caterpillar in the tree, how you wonder who you'll be
can't go far but you can always dream
Wish you may and wish you mine
don't you worry hold on tight.
I promise you there will come a day
Butterfly Fly Away
Butterfly Fly Away

Catch your wing now you cant stay
Take those dreams and make them all come true
Butterfly Fly Away
We been waiting for this day
All along and know just what to do
Butterfly,Butterfly,Butterfly,
Butterfly Fly Away

I like to move it move it

Well it is official, Keeli is on the move and walking like a champ! She loves to walk around with her purse, a huge black pillow, flip flops or any cell phone she can get her hands on. Enjoy the pics...notice she is already borrowing my clothes. :)

I love the fall

I love the fall. There's something about new school clothes, getting back into a routine, eating chili and cornbread, and slipping the sweaters back on after a hot summer. I love the leaves changing and the perfect weather for long walks.

I am excited to watch the leaves change, sing halloween songs, and celebrate most of my family's b-days.

I don't miss the disney channel

We recently moved to Draper and along with our move we have said goodbye to cable. We still get the local channels on one TV we have; however, the TV stays off except for movies and so you think you can dance which is no longer airing. I thought I was going to miss watching HTGV, Food Network, and most of all Disney. Strangely enough, today, two weeks after our move, was the first time I even thought about TV. Not because I wanted to watch it but because I was thinking about Keeli's name, which we heard on the channel.

Needless to say, I don't miss TV at all. Blobbing out in front of the TV is never as satisfying as reading a book, weeding, or just sitting in the back yard enjoying the summer night.

Goodbye TV, hello life!

What to eat for dinner tonight?

Eric and I are often indecisive when it comes to going out to eat. We both love eating out but often find ourselves revisiting the same places over and over. It would take us about an hour to finally decide where to go and by that point we were so hungry that we would just end up going somewhere close and fast...which often ended up being a waste of the entertainment budget! To fix our dilemma we decided to play the alphabet game. We decided we would start and A and work our way down. Below is the adventure that ensued....

A - Arbys - Another quick fix but we had to start somewhere

B - Brazil Brazil - This little gem has moved to Salt Lake unfortunately. It is a great place to get lots of delicious brazilian food.

C - California Pizza Kitchen - Their margarita pizza is to die for. A little pricy but we really like the place...we had to go a few more times in fact

D - De Mae - We would have never tried this place on our own. Great food and company; however, we still don't like sushi

E - Ernies Deli - Definitely go for breakfast...they have awesome breakfast sandwiches...okay lunch

F - Fuddruckers - We got hooked on this place, especially since they always send out coupons in the mail. While I was pregnant we would go here almost once a week for awhile

G - Golden Corral - We thought it was expensive for the quality of food we got. Plus I couldn't stop thinking about when Eric ate butter thinking it was ice cream there. We did run into some of Eric's good friends from Brazil though

H - Hot Dog King - If you are in the mood for an adventure go to Hot Dog King. I never knew you could do so much with a hot dog. It was a little creative for my stomach though.

I - Iceberg - We were disappointed this go around. Don't get their peach shake.

J - JCW - We love this place. I ordered fish but ended up getting chicken instead...both are good though!

K - Kneaders - We will definitely be back....good food and key lime pie...mmm

L - Los Hermanos - Family favorite. Get the queso dip...only way to go

M - Marleys - This is the restuarant at the new Harley place. Good food, just kind of made for hobbits...everything was mini.

N - Nicoliatlia Pizza - Awesome pizza. A little greasy but soo good. Get some breadsticks if you really want to enjoy life.

O - Olive Garden - The breadsticks were better than usual and the white cranberry juice is the best.

P - Pizza Factory - I love their breadsticks with alfredo

Q - Quiznos - Very good, especially now that they lowered their prices.

R - Ruth's Chris - We went here for a work party. We couldn't believe the price tag but everything was amazing.

S - Spaghetti Factory - Kind of a let down. I loved the vegetarian lasagna though

T - Tucanos - Gotta love the buy one get one free on birthdays. It's tradition

U - You try and find a place that starts with U!

V - La Vigna - Very expensive and to top it off I left all my leftovers at the place. Sad day. The service was good.

W - Wingers - mmm...I still crave this place.

X - We were going to go to Xango but couldn't convince each other we would find anything edible.

Y - Yamato - Awesome food! I loved sitting on the ground and eating soy beans. Go if you haven't before!

Z - Zupas - Eric even liked the soup and sandwiches and that is saying A LOT!

We had a blast trying different places and being "cultured". If we ever get in a rut again, we will probably start over again!

Happy Birthday Keeli!

Keeli is officially one years old now! I can't believe how fast time has gone or how much Keeli has grown over the last year. Each day gets better and better and I can't imagine life with out our little miss sunshine.

What do you think?

Eric and I have been trying to think of boy names lately...no I am not pregnant we just like to think of names.

What do you think of Anson for a boy?

U2

I was listening to pandora.com today when U2 began to play. I haven't always been a big U2 fan. When I was a teenager I used to love going to church dances. Every dance they would play the same U2 song and we would all belt out the song as we rocked around the dance floor. I would belt out the song with the rest of the them; however, after hearing U2 over and over again the song definitely lost its pizzazz. I thought that every U2 song sounded the same and since I heard one of them over and over I wasn't done with U2.

Years later...Eric enters the picture.

When Eric and I started dating I quickly found out that he loves U2. One night while we were out he asked me if I like U2. For some reason I told him yes. This is the only flat out lie I have ever told Eric. I must have wanted to impress him or something. ;) A little while later Eric and I were talking to my room mate and U2 came up. My room mate was so confused and said, "Laci, you hate U2". Oops...I then had to explain that I really didn't like U2. I was just a little embarassed to say the least.

Well, time has passed and after listening to U2 with Eric quite a bit I have decided that U2 isn't all that bad. I have to be in the mood for some U2, but when I am the mood, I can definitely jam to their tunes.

Have you ever done something like this? Is there anything that you have hated for years and then suddenly find yourself liking your long time enemy? I am sure I could name a few other things....their stories just don't include white lies.

I love you!!

This was Keeli's V-Day outfit. :) Don't worry, she didn't really wear it all day long.

Trust

“The simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him.”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

I am constantly amazed at my daughter's undiluted trust and love. It can be so difficult to trust people and the world around us; however, children freely embrace almost anyone they see. I can definitely see why the Lord has commanded us to become as little children.