My favorite things

1. Del Taco. It's official, I like Del Taco better than Taco Bell. We went while we were in Colorado, and I forgot how much I love that place. It brought back memories of when Emily (who introduced me to it) and I would drive to North Orem for a fix. Their spicy jack chicken quesadillas and chicken soft tacos are fantastic--and don't leave you with that icky what-was-I-thinking feeling that Taco Bell does. Unfortunately, the nearest Del Taco is in Ohio, so I won't be getting another fix for a long time. Toledoans don't know how good they have it.

2. Spring. When we left, the leaves were just beginning to come back on the trees. Now, everything is green, it's warm, sunny, and gorgeous.

3. My birthday, proving that I still haven't matured beyond the "it's my birthday--heeeeeeeee!" stage. But birthdays are a fabulous excuse for going out with friends, eating lots, and general self-indulgence. I bought everything I need for my perfect dinner (tri tip sandwiches and chocolate delight!) on Sunday, and the aforementioned perfect weather will be a nice compliment. Between now and then, there will be much celebration, but again, it's just an excuse for excess. So go ahead and eat that ice cream/leftover Easter candy/midafternoon meal at Del Taco--you're not bingeing, you're celebrating me!

4. My new skirt:
I tried it on at Ann Taylor Loft and quickly realized that I may be spending my entire summer in this skirt. So thanks to a buy-1-get-1-free coupon (who knew ATL did those?), I got it in black and green. It's much cuter in person, and the elastic waist and jersey knit make it more comfortable than yoga pants. (I realize according to Stacy and Clinton, "comfort" isn't reason enough to buy something. But perhaps if they had to chase/wrestle a 40 lb 3-year-old at the park on a humid Southern summer day, they'd change their minds...) So just a heads up to those looking for flattering, comfortable summer wear--run to Loft, thank me later.

5. Vacation planning. Sarah's post pretty much sums it up. And while August in Orlando may be slightly uncomfortable, we'll be having so much fun it won't matter. Plus, I'll be wearing my marvelously comfortable new skirt. I was initially excited merely by the thought of Mabes getting to go to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. Between the castle, princesses, rides, and--oh yeah-- celebrating her birthday, she very well may explode with joy. And after reminiscing about past family vacations last week, I'm looking forward to having a ridiculously fun time posing for pictures on rides (have you found those yet, Moom?), keeping silly Captain's Logs (more on those later), and all the general craziness that accompanies Ostler gatherings. It's going to be a blast.

Springtime for Mabes in Colorado

Again, we were prepared for cold weather, rain, and warm weather, but this surprised us:

Mabes was delighted, though. So the kids bundled up and headed outside to play while Sarah shoveled the driveway.

"Uhhh...little help, guys?"

Mabes tries to help Aunt Sarah...


...while Moom plays.

Mabes discovers that sledding is much more fun.

When we talked to Dave on Saturday night, Mabes told him all about the snow and sledding. He had gone to Columbia (SC) that day to go to the temple and play golf with a friend. It was 83 there--a slight weather difference.


Sunday was much warmer, so much that it seemed like the kids were just playing in sand rather than snow.

...until Mabes tried to walk in the snow barefoot; she quickly realized that just because the air was warm, didn't mean the snow was, too.

So they put on their boots and played on the swingset.

And this one's for Becca:

Travel tips

1. If a friend offers to watch your kid the day before a trip, take her up on that offer.
As my parents can attest, I don't like to put people out. So when Tanji called and offered to watch Mabes so I could pack, my first thought was, "oh, that's not necessary, we'll be fine. I'll save the offer for when it's really needed." But then I started thinking about how nice it could be, and how much more fun Mabes would have playing with Tanji's kids than running errands with me, so I took her up on the offer. I was actually able to pack early and get all my laundry and errands done. It was so nice to leave for a trip and not have a knot in my stomach from being rushed. I'm very appreciative when a friend watches Mabes when I have a dentist or doctor's appointment, so when someone volunteers to watch Mabes for something unnecessary? It was huge, and made for a fantastic start to the trip.

2. Get your kid pumped up.
On Tuesday morning, Dave woke up Mabes just before 7 so we could get her dressed and rush out to the car. She yelled something about chicken (must have been having a dream), and generally doesn't like to be woken up. But then suddenly realizing what day it was, she threw her arms in the air and said "today we're going to get on the airplane to go see Ainsleigh and Dono!" She happily got dressed quickly and hurried out to the car. Very un-Mabes-like.

3. Choose your breakfast wisely.
If you're faced with a to-go breakfast choice of a Chex bar or Fiber One bar, you might think the Fiber One bar would be the healthier, more filling choice. But if you haven't had one in a while, choosing one on the day of travel is not the best idea. That, combined with all the carbonation they give you, make for very bloated and uncomfortable traveling. (Dave pointed out that they don't give it to you unless you ask. But hey, if American Airlines charges for snacks but gives you the whole can during beverage service, you bet I'm going to get my complimentary Diet Dr. Peppers!)

4. Take advantage of fun things at the airport...but be aware of the time.
We may have been a little late boarding the second flight because Mabes was having so much fun riding the train between terminals at the Dallas airport. But we were in a later boarding group and we totally made it, so it was fine.


5. Despite your best efforts, there are always things you could have packed.
See post below. Also, before we left, I checked weather reports and was prepared for warm weather, cold weather, and thunderstorms. I wasn't prepared for this:



We landed in Denver just a few minutes after my Mom, so she was waiting for us at the gate. Mabes was very excited to see her and squeeze her, and then we were off to get our bags and see the cousins. Since then, they've just been running around, playing to exhaustion. My Mom posted some pictures of swimming, and here are a couple of others:

Heading outside for a backyard camping trip:


Proving that jumping on a trampoline is made exponentially better with fluffy skirts:



And these are the other pictures I wasn't able to post the other day. Another Easter dress pic:

From Mabes & Co

And a skirt I made for Mabes with my new sewing machine, courtesy of Dave's grandma. Mabes picked out the fabric herself and loves her new twirly skirt. Thanks, Granny!

From Mabes & Co

Party Pooper

Despite being potty trained for over a year now, Mabes still has the occasional problem of forgetting the importance of bowel control when she's having fun. She's 3--I understand accidents happen. So when I packed 11-12 pairs of underwear for an 8 day trip, I figured I was overpacking and planning for the worst. I did not expect to be doing laundry on the 4th day.

Other than that, we've been having a great time. The kids are playing together well, allowing my Mom, Sarah, and me to chat and eat at our leisure. It's just a little annoying when the chatfests get interrupted by a certain 3-year-old claiming she doesn't need to go potty, but the dropping in the entryway begs to differ. (Mom and Sarah both asked if we should take a picture--it's good blog material, right? I decided that perhaps some things don't require photographic evidence.) We've reverted to potty training mode, and so far, no accidents today. Fingers crossed.

Happy Easter!

(okay, I'm a little late--it's been a busy week!)

Easter weekend was fantastic, starting with an early morning egg hunt at the church. Mabes cleverly discovered that not all of the eggs had candy in it, so she'd pick up an egg, shake it, and if there was no rattling, she'd drop it and move on to the next. All about efficiency.

We then colored Easter eggs. As evidenced in the picture, Mabes approached this with typical ennui.
Saturday night, we went to Chili's (Grandma Jackie sent some money for Mabes to take us to dinner), where Mabes devoured a plate of macaroni & cheese. That night, she told us it was her best Easter day.

On Easter Sunday, Mabes got all dressed up in her new dress and was thrilled that she got more candy at church. We had dinner with friends, and by Sunday night Mabes was all wound up, but we had a lot of fun.

And I uploaded some other pictures to post before I left, but somehow I deleted them so I'll have to have Dave email them to me. Mabes and I are in Colorado now and having a blast--pictures and a Captain's Log coming soon...

Babysitting Mr. Chicken

Sunday was General Conference, which meant our tradition of homemade cinnamon rolls and watching church in pajamas. My mom's cinnamon roll recipe is fantastic but makes way more than we can eat (wimps!), so we decided to share with some neighbors and our friend Angela. When we took the rolls to her house, she let Mabes ransack her room, and Mabes discovered Mr. Chicken. As we were about to leave, Angela asked Mabes if she wanted to take Mr. Chicken home, take care of him, and show him a good time until Monday night, when Angela comes over to watch 24. (Kind of like our own 24, but instead of nonstop edge-of-your-seat terrorist-killing Jack Bauer action, it's just Mabes and a giant stuffed chicken hanging out. So really, nothing like 24.) Mabes promised she'd take good care of Mr. Chicken, and would report the next day.

We brought Mr. Chicken home, and of course, Mabes decided he wanted to play dress ups. I asked if perhaps Mr. Chicken was actually a girl, and Mabes said "no, even boys like to be pretty."

She checks his crown and compliments him on his dress, and then they play trains.

And then they dance.

Bedtime! By this time, Mr. Chicken and Rocket had become acquainted and were getting along swimmingly.

The next morning, Mabes informed me that Mr. Chicken was, in fact, a girl. It must have come up in their late night heart-to-heart. We had some errands to run, so Miss Chicken came along for the ride.

Mabes decided that Miss Chicken wanted to go for a walk. Sadly, she didn't fit well in the stroller and it didn't come with a lap extension belt. I improvised.

Mabes stopped to pick up a "magic leaf" to show Miss Chicken. Again, I don't know how she decides which things on the ground are magic, but at least this magic item didn't end up in her nose.

And then Mabes decided Miss Chicken would prefer a faster pace. I can only imagine what passers-by must have thought of seeing a three-year-old trying to maneuver a giant stuffed chicken in a stroller.

And since it was a nice day (right before the stupid-freezing-weather-in-April blew in), Mabes and Miss Chicken enjoyed a picnic lunch on the balcony.

They played the rest of the afternoon, and we had chicken for dinner. Mabes didn't seem to notice, but Miss Chicken seemed a little concerned. When Angela came, she told Mabes that since Miss Chicken was having so much fun with her, she could keep her a little longer. So now, when people at the grocery store ask Mabes her name or how old she is, Mabes launches into stories about Miss Chicken. It's a nice change of pace from the Rocket stories.

Oh, and my mom has a blog now, proving that she is the cutest moomy ever. Yay, moom! I'm thinking it will be nice to have 3 blogs to document the madness that will be next week at Sarah's. Mabes and I were talking about how crazy fun it was going to be, and Dave just shook his head and muttered, "poor Joel." Good times!

Bowling with Mabes

It's been too long since I've updated, and that's due in part to the sheet of pollen on my car each morning and the havoc it is wreaking in my sinuses. But yay that the trees aren't bare any more! Plus, I just haven't had anything to say. I think I may have to take Laura's advice and just post a random picture of Mabes when I don't feel like blogging--just giving the heads up now.

Anyway, a couple of rainy Saturdays ago, we took Mabes mini-bowling. She loved it. A summary in pictures:

First, Mabes gets her ball. She hugs it. She tells it he's her best friend.


Then the wind-up, as she prepares to hurl her best friend towards a bunch of pins.


She turns around for a chat, ignoring the ball and it's progress.


"Oh, yeah! I forgot about the ball--look, it knocked down some pins!"


"Yay for Mabes!" She jumps and does a victory dance.


Then she hugs. She loves hugs. I'm pretty sure she hugged after each bowl.

Repeat, over and over. Watch out, PBA.