FREE DR. PEPPER!

Of all the freebies I've posted thus far, I am most excited about this one. I'm not a big soda drinker, but when I want one it's going to be a Dr Pepper. I think drinking another kind of soda is just a waste. When I get a cold Dr Pepper in my hands and take that first drink, ahhh, it tastes like heaven. In was in fact the only thing that made me feel better during my early pregnancy days, and my doctor told me to drink as much as I wanted. The nectar of the gods could not have tasted any better. Apparantly the Dr Pepper spokesman is a Guns n' Roses fan because he made a comment back in March that if the band would release their in-production-since-1994 album in 2008, he would give a can of Dr Pepper to everyone in America. Well, folks, the big day has arrived. Guns n' Roses is releasing their "Chinese Democracy" album this Sunday, November 23. Starting at 12:01am on Sunday, you can go to DrPepper.com and get a coupon for a free 20oz bottle. The coupon is good until February 28. I think they have it set up with a registration form so you can't get a whole bunch. You can read the story at the Fox13 news page. I've never been a big Guns n' Roses fan, but I'm sure liking them now!

It's officially official!

I went to the Salt Lake County Library Services webpage to check on a book-on-cd that I had requested. Before I clicked on the holds link, I glanced at the homepage in general. Right in the middle, beneath the "Be Curious with George" graphic there is a list of upcoming "What's Hot at the Library" events. "My Many Colored Days - Paige Moore" is the fourth item on the list! I'm famous! I set up these dates back at the beginning of October, but with it posted I feel like it's even more official. I am doing my activity at seven different libraries in the county system. If you are interested, click on the links and plan on coming to the library nearest you. I'd love to have fans on my tour! And just in case you were wondering, my book was "in transit," but had not yet arrived at my preferred neighborhood library. Sigh.

Our big adventure

Miriam has been fascinated lately with transportation, especially trains. This may be due to the fact that we live near a Trax line. Anytime we go over the railroad tracks, she "ding-ding-dings" like the sound the arms make when they come down to stop people from crossing when the Trax is coming. When we were bikeriding, we would frequently stop and watch the dinging arms come down, the train go by, and the dinging arms go back up. We've taken Miriam on Trax, but I don't think she was really aware of what was happening, so we decided to go on a train ride. She was so excited!

And when the train finally came, she couldn't believe she got to be so close to it.

Once we were on the train, she became quite subdued. She wasn't scared, but she wasn't about to leave the lap of either mom or dad. This was actually a nice change from the normally incredibly independant and active child we have. I really like this next picture because it looks like she is just thinking about life and where she fits into it. I personally have had some great thinking sessions while taking public transportation, so I may be transferring my experiences to her, but I still like the picture.

The train ride was the big activity for the day, but as a destination we went to Salt Lake and walked around Temple Square. Once she was off the train, she was off. No more subdued meditation for her!

Miriam LOVED the fountains and was even lucky enough to get a dime to throw in. Oh, she was in heaven. As the nice girl that she is, she also shared her snacks with dad. Miriam took the raisins and the m&ms, while giving the nuts to dad. Smart girl!

We rode the train back home where Miriam saw a lady eating a snack. Once she realized it was appropriate to eat on the train, she asked for her snacks and munched the way home. It was a wonderful adventure.

What once was lost...

I left my camera at the Moore family Halloween party in Layton back the week before Halloween. Never fear, I used Brent's camera for the ever-since pictures, so we have lost little to none of our pictoral family history opportunities. The lost camera was passed from the cousin in Layton to the cousin in South Jordan and last week we went and had dinner with Curtis and Kelly and kids, retreiving our camera at the same time. I should have taken some pictures that night, because the kids were really cute playing with each other. But alas I didn't. Still, I now have all sorts of October pictures that have been in limbo since then. Okay, maybe not limbo, but at least Layton and South Jordan. Here is our current family picture. I like to think of this as how Miriam sees our family. Herself as the most important with mom and dad there just for her. And really, isn't that accurate?

Have I mentioned how great this cat is?

One of my favorite times of the day is right after Miriam wakes up in the morning or after her nap. We sit and rock and sing and read and talk and cuddle until she's ready to go play. Sometimes it's about 30 seconds, other times we sit there for a good 15 minutes. Either way, it's the only time she really sits still in the entire day. If he's around, Zeke will frequently join us. He sits on my lap and overlaps to Miriam's, which thrills her. He is patient while she points out his eyes, ears, nose, and tail. When we're reading, she always makes sure that he gets to look at the pictures, especially if there's something extremely exciting. Today Miriam was spending some cuddle time on Brent's lap counting dice when Zeke joined them. She carefully balanced the dice on his head while he sat motionless so as not to ruin her project but rather help with the success. I am just so dang amazed at what a great cat he is. And what a great girl she is.

Just a few reasons why I love Macey's grocery store

Complementary ice cream cones at the deli, Smarties at the cash register, and a free balloon as we leave the store. Usually the ice cream lasts until the Smarties, the balloon gets us to the car, and the Smarties get us home. Today we only had a few things to get so the ice cream lasted until we got home. Still, I'll take a little messy over a little whiney any day of the week. They're building a Winco here in Midvale, which is terribly exciting. I'll have to see what they hand out there, though, before I decide if it's possible for me to switch over.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Okay, so there was more like three days between these pictures, but the day before the snow shot we rode our bikes to go vote. And yes, those are pajamas underneath the coat and the boots. She was looking out the window yelling "SNOW" when I went in to get her out of bed. I couldn't even get her diaper changed before she gathered her "BOOTS" and wanted outside.

Halloween Happenings

We had a fantastic Halloween season.

The big Moore Family Halloween Party was the week before Halloween in Layton, and Miriam spent the whole ride so excited to go to a party. As soon as we walked in, the host walked out with a scary head on. She turned around and wanted to go back to the car all done with the dang party. But we stayed and she warmed up to everyone especially once the scary head got taken off. There were two noteworthy moments of the evening. First: one of the little girls was showing off all of the toy guns. She had just shown us a gun that shoots out marshmallows had moved on to another one. Brent asked her "what does it shoot?" "Ummm... mostly people." I laughed right out loud. Second: one of the moms was talking to her 6 year old daughter. "Honey, you've had enough candy. Sit down and eat your cake." Again, I but had to laugh.

We spent time at Engh Gardens at their hay maze and at Gardner Village to see the witches. Miriam's favorite was the "Witchy Poo," who was in an outhouse. She woke up that afternoon talking about the witch on the potty reading the paper. What a girl.

Trick or Treating was great. Miriam warmed right up to the idea that people just give you candy if you walk up to them. But she was very good at saying "thank you" once she got reminded. She has always liked exploring people's front yards, so it was nice to have a socially appropriate reason to walk up to people's front doors. She was absolutely exhausted when she got home. We put her down and didn't hear from her again despite the ringing of the doorbell from the later-than-us Trick or Treaters. I was proud.

So passes yet another successful holiday. On we go to Thanksgiving. We have another set of vocabulary words to master. Good thing "pumpkin" can transfer...


Yes, we are working on the "hands down" idea. It's a work in progress.