Weekend play

We've had a couple of eventful weekends! Last weekend, we had plans to go camping with Patrick & Shaylee (James's brother and his wife). It turned out to be something of a catastrophe! First of all, we weren't able to get a campsite. There was a snafu with trying to reserve one, and by the time we all got off work, all the first-come-first-served sites were taken. So, we ended up camping in our backyard: "Camp Holley."

As we were getting set up, however, James and Patrick discovered that their tent (borrowed from Shaylee's parents) was broken. Guh. Fortunately I was able to zip over to my parents house and borrow one of their tents. Meanwhile, Shaylee was working on dinner, which unfortunately was taking forever--we discovered that the fuel on my campstove was running low, which was why things weren't cooking. However, it was getting pretty late by the time we got it all figured out--about the time that the boys finally finished putting up the tent, after a couple of tries. So, it was about 10pm by the time we ate!

Shaylee had made homemade fries to go with the burgers that James and I made. When she finished with the fries, we needed the campstove, but her pan of grease/oil was still hot. So she laid the pan down on the patio to cool while we continued making dinner, intending to dispose of the grease once it was cool. But after dinner, we went straight into our campfire--the one truly pleasant part of the evening. We roasted s'mores and Starbursts and watched birds (we think) flying back and forth in front of the stars.

James and I had already settled down in our tent when we heard Patrick and Shaylee rustling about for awhile--dealing with their belongings, I thought at the time. But the reality was a sad state indeed. It turns out that Shadow had consumed most of the pan of grease, and proceeded to vomit several times in the house, as well as in Patrick and Shaylee's tent. They hadn't noticed when they first went in and it got everywhere. It was awful, James and I were so embarrassed. After they got cleaned up, we got them settled in our guest bedroom for the night.

Needless to say, our "camping trip" did not turn out at all as planned. The next morning, we dropped the pretense of camping, and determined to just enjoy the rest of our time together. We had breakfast, played games, and hung out most of the afternoon, which was a much more pleasant experience than the evening's adventures!

Sunday evening, we had decided to make our first attempt at Chicken Bryan, our favorite dish from Carrabba's. We get the same thing every time we go. So we decided to try to make it ourselves! (And so maybe we can try other things when we go next time.) It turned into a very special evening for us. We got all dressed up. We ate from our wedding china and silver, with candlelight. And to our delight, our chicken bryan was delicious!

This past weekend started off with a trip to the Call's new house. A few days ago, I posted a plea on Facebook--James and I have wanted to go swimming all summer, but it just hasn't happened. We finally made some time, but lo and behold, it turns out that the pools have limited their hours because school's in session, and we wouldn't be able to go. Fortunately, we have awesome friends! The Calls were very kind and invited us to their house to swim. Their pool is warm enough that Joel got to give it a try! He was not a fan of the life jacket, as you can see, but once we took it off and just held him in the water, he enjoyed splashing for a few minutes.

After classes on Friday, we got to visit with our friends the Estradas. It's been AGES since we've all hung out, since before Joel was born, in fact. We had a blast playing games and whatnot. But one of the best parts of the evenings was watching our babies interact! Savannah is 2 1/2 months older than Joel (though he's bigger!) and just on the verge of crawling. They were so cute together!

Saturday was a day that James and I have been eagerly anticipating. We had tickets to the national tour of WICKED, playing up in Salt Lake. We were so excited to see it! Of course, there was some nervousness attached--we had a babysitter (non-family) for the first time. I was a little anxious about it, but everything turned out great. The show was amazing, and we came home to a happy baby.

It's just nice sometimes to have a great weekend. =) That's all!

Why I am grateful to be breastfeeding

Today I am feeling incredibly grateful. Breastfeeding can be an awfully taboo subject, and I was feeling nervous about posting my thoughts. But the reasons that I am grateful have nothing to do with bragging or with flaunting my breasts (which I think is a bizarre attitude about breastfeeding, regardless).

Breastfeeding is really hard sometimes. It can be painful. It is hard to feel chained to the baby, with a 2-hour timer always counting down. It's tiring, especially at night, to be the only one who can feed him. I don't have many close friends who have breastfed their babies, so I have at times felt isolated, and I have had to figure out some things on my own. The hardest was figuring out how to breastfeed in public, especially when it got warm and Joel started refusing to eat under a cover. I've had to adjust, learn, and acclimate.

Still, with all the challenges, I have come to love and appreciate breastfeeding. So today I simply wanted to share, without any criticism of others, why breastfeeding makes me personally feel so blessed:

1. It's convenient.

I am so grateful that I do not have to deal with the hassle of bottles, formula, temperature, sterilizing, etc. While I recognize that they are necessary for many families, and I respect the women who make that choice for whatever reason, I am grateful that I don't have to mess with it. I carry my baby's food with me, at the perfect temperature, ready whenever he needs it. It's pretty amazing!

2. It's cheap.

I actually had no idea how much formula cost until a few weeks ago. I never looked into it, because I was always planning to nurse my baby. Formula is a racket! Holy cow! My only investments for breastfeeding were a couple of nursing bras, some nursing garment tops, nursing pads, and a nursing pillow--and even that was an indulgence. I am so grateful that we don't have to bear that particular financial burden.

3. It's good for Joel.

I know that formula has come a long way and I don't mean to criticize anyone who bottle-feeds. But there is no denying that breastmilk is very good for babies. I am grateful that I am physically able to breastfeed, because it helps me know that Joel is getting good nutrition. I am grateful that I don't have to worry about his weight or his health. I know that he is getting what he needs, and I definitely count that as a blessing.

4. I love spending that time with Joel.

I'll admit, as I stated before, that sometimes breastfeeding is a pain. But it's totally worth it. I love the bonding time I get to have with Joel. He's gotten into this adorable habit of pulling off periodically to smile at me, before hungrily latching back on for more. My most tender motherly feelings always come while Joel nurses. It is so sweet, so precious. I know that mothers who bottle-feed have wonderful bonding experiences just as much as I do. But I am grateful that breastfeeding opens up those opportunities for me and my son.


I don't think there needs to be shame in ANY way a mother feeds her child. Breastfeeding has its criticisms, as does bottle feeding. It's all nonsense. Mothers who love their babies, who do everything in their power to make sure their babies are fed, clean and happy, are all rockstars. Though my gratitude today was particularly focused on breastfeeding, mostly I'm just grateful and glad to be a mother. It's hard, it's exhausting, and it's totally awesome!

Black Belt Overnighter

At our Taekwondo studio, we have a 6-month preparatory period preceding our annual black belt test, which takes place in January. We call it the "testing cycle" and each year we kickoff the cycle with the Black Belt Overnighter.

I've had the opportunity attend the Overnighter many times, both as a coach and as a testing candidate. Though we do generally the same things each time, I thought this year was especially enjoyable! That's partially because I'm a candidate this year (I always find it more fun to be testing, personally!) and partially because I'm testing with James! (James is testing for his 3rd Degree, and I'm testing for 4th.)

We started at 2:00pm last Friday afternoon. After a brief welcome from our master instructor, Master Sorenson, we launched right into our conditioning requirements. For our black belt test, we have six endurance drills that we are required to perform:

1. Roundhouse Kicks in 1 minute.  (100 minimum)
2. Knuckle pushups without pause. (10 minimum)
3. Banana [lay flat on the floor, lift feet, shoulder blades and arms ~6 inches off the floor] (60 seconds minimum)
4. Buddha [squat with thighs parallel to the floor] (60 seconds minimum)
5. Leg lifts in 1 minute. [laying on floor, lift straight legs vertical and back] (20 minimum)
6. Mile run (12 minute maximum)

I was anxious about meeting the conditioning requirements. Though the minimum requirements are not overly challenging (we set a base at the Overnighter, and then have to beat our scores about once a month until Black Belt Testing), my overall fitness is still recovering from having a baby three months ago. So, overall, I was fairly pleased with what I achieved at the Overnighter:

Roundhouse Kicks in 1 minute: I got 127 (James got 137)
Knuckle pushups: I got 21 (James got 40)
Banana: I got 1:05, which was the top time of our group (James 1:04)
Buddha: I got :54, so not quite the minimum required. (James got 1:44, the top time)
Leg lifts: I got 28 (James 34)
Mile run: I ran in 11:41 (James 7:25)

This gave us a baseline to work from. I'm excited to see how much I can progress as my body continues to recover, and I work hard over the next six months!

After the conditioning requirements, we did some housekeeping things, then I got to give a presentation on Meditation, to help everyone prepare for our meditation the following day (more on that below). I thought the presentation went well, though it's hard to tell how much the young guys absorbed. (Our youngest candidates this year are 10 years old.)

From there we went to the ropes course! This is always a highlight of the overnighter. We go to CLAS Ropes in Provo and do the high ropes. Not only is it a blast, but it also serves as a metaphor for overcoming fears/challenges, and working as a team.

James climbing to new heights!

Valerie on the zipline

Joel hanging out at the ropes course

This year, I got to do the giant swing, the zipline, and we all finished with an activity called Eskimo Blanket (see the video!)

We left the ropes course at 9pm and headed back the studio. I settled Joel down for the night, then we stayed up playing games for awhile (I continued my personal tradition of teaching everyone to play Blackjack). James and I went to bed around 1am, but some of the kids stayed up until 3 or so.

Master Page woke us all at 5am. We grabbed a "trail breakfast" and headed up Provo Canyon for our traditional sunrise hike to Stewart Falls. I wore Joel on the way up to the falls, which wasn't too bad, except for a couple of rocky bits where my balance was questionable. Once there, we each crossed under the waterfall in a metaphor of becoming a black belt. Then we settled down to meditate. The kids testing for 1st degree meditated for half an hour, 2nd degree for an hour, James for an hour and a half, and I got to meditate for two hours. The first hour or so wasn't super productive for me, because of the baby. (Note to self: leave babies behind for future meditations!) But he fell asleep in my arms, which thankfully allowed me to get into the mode. Once James was done, he came and stole the baby, and hiked down with Joel while I finished.

No, not sleeping. James eases his back during his one-and-a-half hour meditation.

Stewart Falls

Valerie during meditation

After the hike, we headed back to the studio, had brunch, then started working on our self defense demonstrations. James and I are super excited about our SD demo this year, not least because we get to be on a team together (with Mara and Molly!) These demos are one of the best parts of Black Belt Testing, and definitely the part that I have learned the most from, in the past.

And that was it! It was a great kickoff for testing. James and I are totally stoked to be testing together, and look forward to this exciting journey we have before us!