Last week Benjamin was born. Our family is so excited for this addition to our family. The kids are stoked for another cousin.
Visiting at the hospital.
Ben with his Great Grandma Williams.
Nathan loves babies.
It’s hard to believe Caroline was that little a mere 8 months ago.
We wish their family lots of happiness and even more SLEEP (which aids with the happiness).
DISCLAIMER: I’m not making sweeping claims. I’m not pointing fingers. I’m not patronizing.
Everyone in Utah heard about the sweet family in Layton who had two little daughters killed from pesticides that were improperly applied to their yard. So, so tragic. That family lived just a few blocks from me.
Almost everyone in the world has had a loved one die from cancer and wondered what caused it.
My son has a rare endocrine disease. Why?
Learning/behavioral disorders, type 1 diabetes, migraines, the list goes on and on.
I have been trying to live and raise my family in a more healthful way for a few years now. We've all heard about "going green" when it comes to food and energy, but I haven't heard very much reported on how toxic the world around us has become.
I picked up this book and decided it would be a good read in order to open my mind and be less ignorant of what is going on.
I'm not into scare tactics, which some of this book does use. But if you have a clear head and read it for general knowledge about what's going on, it's very informative.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: What’s Gotten into Us? is a deep, remarkable, and empowering investigation into the threats—biological and environmental—that chemicals now present in our daily lives.
Do you know what chemicals are in your shampoo? How about your cosmetics? Do you know what’s in the plastic water bottles you drink from, or the weed killer in your garage, or your children’s pajamas? If you’re like most of us, the answer is probably no. But you also probably figured that most of these products were safe, and that someone—the manufacturers, the government—was looking out for you.
The truth might surprise you.
After experiencing a health scare of his own, journalist McKay Jenkins set out to discover the truth about toxic chemicals, our alarming levels of exposure, and our government’s utter failure to regulate them effectively. What’s Gotten into Us? reveals how dangerous, and how common, toxins are in the most ordinary things, and in the most familiar of places:
• Our water: Thanks to suburban sprawl and agricultural runoff, 97 percent of our nation’s rivers and streams are now contaminated with everything from herbicides to pharmaceutical drugs.
• Our bodies: High levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals from cosmetics, flame-retardants from clothing and furniture, even long-banned substances like DDT and lead, are consistently showing up in human blood samples.
• Our homes: Many toxins lurk beneath our sinks and in our basements, of course, but did you know that they’re also found in wall-to-wall carpeting, plywood, and fabric softeners?
• Our yards: Pesticides, fungicides, even common fertilizers—there are enormous, unseen costs to our national obsession with green, weed-free lawns.
What’s Gotten Into Us? is much more than a wake-up call. It offers numerous practical ways for us to regain some control over our lives, to make our own personal worlds a little less toxic. Inside, you’ll find ideas to help you make informed decisions about the products you buy, and to disentangle yourself from unhealthy products you don’t need—so that you and your family can start living healthier lives now, and in the years to come. Because, as this book shows, what you don’t know can hurt you.
We all know these chemicals can be dangerous, but I don’t think we take it very seriously. We always hear “Yes, it can be dangerous, but with the small quantity we are exposed to, it’s not.” Seriously, how many times have we heard that? The problem is…what about the cumulative effects of ALL the hundreds of “small quantities” we’re exposed to every day, let alone over our entire life???
Obviously, I’m not going to commit all of my energy and savings to implement everything non-toxic, but there have been some small changes we’ve made over the last couple of years to be more “green”. They include:
In all honesty, these changes haven’t cost us any extra money. In fact, they SAVE money. Our grocery bill has actually gone down considerably.
The book has a hundred things we can do to limit our exposure to toxins but the top things we hope to implement over the next couple of years are:
I’m really not trying to be a preacher or to put myself out there as an ultra-conservationist freak. I’m not blaming all cancer and other health issues on these toxins. I just want to be informed, not ignorant. I believe that continually implementing small changes can make a difference to my family’s health and wellness of life.
Here are a couple of links I’ve found to be helpful.
Safe Mama http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/
The original One-Stop Child Safety, Product Recall, Health, Well-Being, Non-Toxic, Eco-Conscious Resource, For Parents.
Oompa Toys http://www.oompa.com/
We offer our constantly expanding collection of European wooden toys, baby toys, educational toys, lunch bags and modern children's furniture to urbane and discerning adults who want to expose the young children in their lives to non-character branded, quality toys that are designed to withstand generations of use. We believe baby toys should be natural, safe, eco-friendly, non-violent and from manufacturers who provide safe and nurturing environments for their employees.
Shop Smart http://www.shopsmartmag.org/ 
{This post has a lot of pictures of Cara that I took. You just can't ask a mom to choose her favorites!}
Our little stinker of a colicky baby has all of a sudden turned into a pleasure beyond description. She has finally started sleeping through the night and has two long naps a day. Heaven!
She is in the 61% for height but still underweight. We’re working to fatten her up. (This one was taken on the ipod.)
This last week she has been busy sprouting two bottom teeth,
Learning how to sit,
and has decided to skip scooting and go straight to crawling (at least, she’s working on it). She gets up on her hands and knees and then propels herself forward, landing on her chin. She gets frustrated, but she’ll get it soon. I, on the other hand, wish she wouldn’t try so hard!!
My baby is rapidly getting older and will soon be a baby no longer. It’s extra sad because I don’t feel like I got to enjoy her “babyhood” much with all of the crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now she’s moving on to bigger and better things without letting me bask in the glory of my tiny child.
I love my littlest baby girl. Her smile lights up her face and mine. I can’t wait to see more of her vibrant personality blossom. It’s very vibrant indeed.
For those of you who can’t see the above video, here is the link.
Rob had to go to St. George for a 1 day drilling assignment. Did I want to tag along? He didn’t have to ask twice. Actually, he didn’t even need to ask once. He already knew what the answer would be.
Sunday we drove down stopping at Fremont Indian State Park on the way. I was actually expecting more from it, but it was still a good spot to let the kids run around and explore the petroglyphs and fake dwellings. Maybe it would’ve been a lot better if they were old enough to go on some of the harder hikes.
Monday Rob drilled in the desert while the kids and I enjoyed our 2-room suite (sign up for the hotel rewards program and just ask!! We get upgraded for free more than half the time). We took a couple of walks and ate candy on the grass. After Rob got back we went to dinner and then to Kayenta Art Village. We had so much fun there last time that we decided to go again. It was much easier to walk around now that I’m not 7 months pregnant and HUGE and SORE. Rob also took us on a super adventurous ride in the bed of the truck. We sped up to 10 miles per hour and even went backwards! The kids loved it. We played in the dirt and ran in circles. Oh, the simple joys!
On Tuesday we left for home but we stopped at Zion National Park for their free day. Good thing it was free because we didn’t get too far up any trails. The kids just wanted to dig and dig and dig. We weren’t complaining, though. The weather was pleasant and we were in a beautiful part of the world.
Nate loves maps, just like me!
Thanks, Rob, for letting us tag along!! We had a blast. 
Adrienne White Ericksen, Julie Raines Snow, Dustie Thorne McDonald, Whitney Mason Barney
I worked in the ZCMI shoe department (first at the Foothill store and then at Cottonwood) from age 16-18. Some of my favorite memories of all time come from that era. I made many friends while there but the above three gals are my favorites. We’ve been good friends ever since (13 years!). We’ve been through boyfriends, jobs, cars, and marriage together. Granted, we haven’t always stayed in touch as well as we’d like; life just seems to get in the way. But I KNOW that if I ever needed ANYTHING, Adrienne, Dustie, and Whitney would be here in a heartbeat.
I love you, girls!
Our family stopped in the town of Beaver on our way home from Southern Utah. We didn’t feel like eating fast food so we opted for a fifty-year-old cafe instead. Talk about character! I (Julie) walked around the immediate vicinity snapping a few photos of the scene. Pretty nifty.
A year ago Rob and I were sitting on our bed and decided it was time to move. It was time to sell our beloved townhome in Layton and move into a single-family home in the Salt Lake valley closer to Rob’s job in Murray. We prayed about it and it was right.
We decided to spruce up our home to get it sell-worthy, especially since there was a lot of competition in the area. We tiled the front entry, bathroom, hallway, kitchen, and dining room, replaced all the carpet, and refreshed the paint. We decided to try and sell it ourselves first before we got an agent. We listed our home, and low-and-behold, within the same two-week period 3 other townhomes went up for sale.
Nobody’s townhome sold. We got an agent eventually, but to this day, only 1 of the 5 townhomes for sale has sold. The market is too bad at the moment, I guess. So after 6 months of not selling (and frustration), we decided to rent out our home instead. We got a bite after only two days. The catch was, we’d have to be out in two weeks. So we packed everything up and moved to my parent’s house while we conducted our new home search. Two days after we moved word came that our renter had to back out. We rushed to get a new renter and two stressful weeks later we got one.
Next came our new home search. We looked in Sandy. We looked in Draper. We looked in South Jordan, Riverton, and Herriman. Most places didn’t fit what we were looking for and nothing felt right. We looked in Bountiful. Nope. We finally looked in Lehi and when we walked into this house…we knew this was it. It felt good.
Now, just because it felt right, doesn’t mean it was easy…for me, at least. There were a couple of occasions when Rob and I were going through and signing paperwork when I froze and couldn’t initial on the dotted line. Talk about commitment! I have always wanted to move every few years and live outside the state and even country, but it doesn’t look like that is in the cards for us. At least, not for a very long time. Here’s to 30+ years in Utah County…REALLY??!!
Sometimes I got indigestion thinking about it. I also felt like signing the house loan meant I was solidifying my life as a conformist suburban housewife. But then I remember all the weird feelings I had looking in all the wrong places and how good I felt when we decided to move here. I think about my children and what is the best life I can give them. The life I want for them entails living in a fun and friendly neighborhood, being close to family, having great schools, and there being plenty of other people around them with similar values. So, alas, here we are. I will subdue my exploring urges and buckle down here for a while…and be happy about it. We are extremely blessed to be able to live in this area and regardless of some of my deep down feelings, I do love it here.
Now for the pictures. We’ll call these “Before”. Who knows how long it will take to get “After” pictures. Probably years. But that’s ok.
This home was bank-owned but in terribly good condition, considering. The whole thing has new carpet and paint.
The backyard is (was) amazing. I guess the guy who lived here spent 20 grand on it. It’ll be so nice when all the trees get bigger. We’ve been working hard pulling weeds, pruning, checking sprinklers, figuring out the lighting, and will soon be planting grass. The big rock pile is actually a water fountain and it works! We just need to make it look pretty again.
I don’t have too many pictures of the views yet, but we have a lovely view of Mount Timponogos (when it’s not cloudy), Utah Lake (a little corner of it), the mountains behind us (and gravel pits), and the freeway (so I can tell when Rob will be home a few minutes late).
This also shows the small neighborhood park just behind us and a few houses down.
Here is the entryway.
This is the loft looking towards the front door.
This is another view of the loft. It’s our favorite room in the house.
One day I’ll have this bookshelf looking awesome. Have I ever mentioned that all growing up I DREAMT of having a library with a ladder? Well! Here it is!!
Master bath. It has a separate toilet room and a walk-in closet. Our room stays so much tidier now. 
Unfinished basement (for now). Rob is SO HAPPY to have somewhere to play his drums again. 
Our living room, family room, bedrooms, and the other two baths are standard so I didn’t include the pictures. They’re entirely undecorated and only half furnished anyway. We’re trying to get things set up so we’ll be ready for parties and dinners. In the meantime, come and pay us a visit!
