Homeowners in Hyannis

Last-minute, my mom and I decided to go see my sister Jill and her family in Massachusetts. Jill and Rob recently purchased a home in Hyannis (Cape Cod) and I was dying to see it! They bought their home back in October but had to get some things fixed before they were able to move in. For starters, they needed more electricity. 3 lights for the entire house didn't suffice and only having one power outlet per room didn't cut it either. Their house is over 100 years old. It is absolutely charming. The hardwood floors are original to the house! The stairs creak. There are vintage hooks. Jill has vision and her style is magazine-worthy! The word that describes it best is COLORFUL. The trim in each room is a different color and it all ties together seamlessly. 

When I brought up the idea of visiting Jill to Andrew, he was fully supportive. He told me I should absolutely go even though it meant his week would be chaotic. He's the best! I jumped at the chance to spend time with my mom before she leaves--which is coming up much sooner than I want. Let's not talk about that. Jessica wasn't able to make the trip with a 1 month old baby and we missed her and Lindsey.

I was eager to see Jill's place and help them finish moving in. We went to Massachusetts during Jill's spring break, so she didn't have to work. It happened to be spring break here too which was convenient for babysitting purposes. I had many helping hands to make this trip possible. Many thanks to my friend Valerie, my Dad, Andrew, Jacob and Will (babysitters in our neighborhood), and Canny Kids Daycare.  

I want to tell you about our traveling experience, the incredible food we ate, the projects we completed, and the fun we squeezed in.

Travel

My mom and I took a redeye flight to Boston at 11:59pm on Easter Sunday, April 17. We flew back to Utah on Saturday, April 23. It's a long journey. Neither of us could sleep on the redeye, so we finished the newest season of "Sweet Magnolias." We experienced quite the scare when we were leaving Salt Lake. We were seated on the plane and my mom couldn't find her phone. We looked everywhere. She realized she left her phone in a faraway bathroom at the airport. She frantically exited the plane to retrieve her phone. I was stressed to the max and worried she wouldn't make it back to the plane in time. Collecting her phone from the bathroom was a 1.4 mile roundtrip walk. My mom sprinted. At one point, her name was called over the airport speaker calling her for final boarding. I wasn't sure if I should stay on the flight and risk my mom being left behind. She made it just in the nick of time and was breathless, sweaty, and had snot dripping all over.

I wish I could say we avoided drama on our return flight, but that didn't happen. We found out at midnight the night before our flight home, that our flight was delayed 8 hours. We scrambled to book a new flight and ended up getting under 2 hours of sleep before having to dash to the airport to make our early flight.

Food

We had so much yummy food! Jill's home is in an incredible location. There are 90 stores and restaurants around the corner from her place. The Mexican restaurant we went to had salsa I wanted to drink. Having pizza once didn't cut it. Give me all the pizza. We found the perfect place that has figured out the proper greasiness and crust thickness ratios. We had to stop by the local popcorn store and it was hard to pick just one flavor, so of course we got 3. The Chinese place we got has the best Low Mein I've ever had. Andrew, I promise to take you there! Rob is a phenomenal cook. I've heard about his burgers for years and now I understand the hype. Delish! His Grandma is famous for her pasta sauce and we were fortunate enough to eat that one evening too. Making her homemade sauce recipe is an all-day process. To top it all off, we found incredible ice cream because clearly we were starving. Katie's Ice Cream was a little too easy to access. We got ice cream 3x. Let me tell you about the Smoreo ice cream. Why isn't this a thing everywhere? It was spectacular. I ordered it all three times (in addition to another scoop, obviously). I didn't know it was possible to have marshmallows melt in your mouth after being frozen, but the marshmallows stayed goey. Now I desperately need another scoop...

Projects

Jill and Rob were finally able to move into their home about a month ago and I'm glad we could help them settle in. We spent the bulk of our time working on things around the house. At least 2 employees at Home Depot began to recognize my mom and me because we were there lots. We got good at playing jenga and had to fit several oversized storage bins into the car. I built a shelf for the kitchen pantry! Don't be too impressed--no tools were involved. We finished unpacking and organizing the basement as well as the upstairs. I had no trouble sleeping at the end of every day. It's exhausting to move and I'm happy we could assist. Jill told me my next business venture should be an organizing business.

Can you spot me? Home Depot was a disaster. It was undergoing major renovations. We literally had to climb through boxes to find what we needed.

Basement Before

Basement After

Fun

Jill and I got pedicures one afternoon which was relaxing! If only I could outgrow having ticklish feet...

We took a break from working on the house one afternoon and drove to Chatham. It was a breath of fresh air. My mom wanted to drive by Lemony Snicket's house but apparently he wants his address to remain anonymous just like his real name. We saw many fabulous, massive, multi-million dollar homes. We walked the adorable main street. Of course, we stopped at the book store and I bought my kids some souvenirs. We made our way to the lighthouse and beach too. There happened to be a chocolate shop called, "Chatham Candy Manor." It didn't take any convincing to get us to stop there. Jill mentioned her friend in New York ships chocolates in from this place. Well, "Chatham Candy Manor" might have been the highlight of my mom's life. "Jill, you're going to die." "This is better than See's Candy!" High praise. We definitely worked in a second stop at the chocolate store on our way back to the car. My mom got a box full of coconut chocolate balls and I've never seen her happier.

Friday was dedicated to having fun. We took an hour ferry ride to Nan Tucket Island. You can walk to the ferry from Jill's place. We sat on the top deck outside on the boat. Once away from the city, the ferry picked up speed and so did the wind. We tried to move indoors, but it was hard to walk since the water was so choppy. A stranger told my mom, "Ma'am, you should hold onto the railing and don't attempt to go down the stairs." One man walked next to me as I precariously ventured down the stairs with Daisy in tow. He told me he was worried on my behalf. Clearly, we were clumsily wandering around. We survived.

Upon arrival at the island, I learned that the streets of Nan Tucket are paved with cobblestone! The Daffodil Festival was going on and there were fresh, beautiful flowers everywhere and signs saying, "Daffy Days." We meandered around the ritzy island. Stopping at the 2 bookstores was a given. We ate lunch and decided to rent bikes to roam around and see more of this fancy place. I volunteered to ride the bike with the baby seat, so Daisy was with me. Daisy was so into riding the bike! In fact, she sobbed when we attempted to take her out to explore the lighthouse. We rode to Children's Beach which was almost deserted and breathtaking. There was a playground and the bluest water you've ever seen. We were able to sneak back to the Lighthouse later with no tears. I loved that people thought Daisy was mine. I'll take credit for her cuteness any day.

I was gone long enough for my family to miss me. James was antsy to open his souvenir and brought it up instantly as I walked in the door. Izzy cried a couple times while I was gone. Since my return, Isabelle has worried when I've left that I've gone on another trip. Everyone really missed my cooking. I intended to grab takeout the night of my return (since I was going on under 2 hours of sleep), but to the grocery store, we went. My kids ate multiple helpings of my homemade meal. Every time I grocery shop from now on, I'll be reminded of my vacation. I bought a reusable Cape Cod grocery bag. It's time to start planning a time to bring James, Izzy, and Andrew with me to Massachusetts! 

Coming for Ya, Carta!

Once again, Andrew has accepted a new job. Look out, Carta, Andrew is coming for you! Andrew worked for Hivewire in Lehi for nearly 14 months and felt like it was time to move on. Andrew started searching for a new job after 4 people left Hivewire within a few months. That's quite the turnover, especially given the fact that Hivewire only has about 15 employees. It was unsettling. Andrew has had job offers from Angel Studios, Nerd Wallet, and Alter Domus, but none of those companies felt right. When Andrew told me he was going to accept the offer from Carta, I was shocked. He felt so peaceful about taking the job.

Right before our trip to Caldwell, Andrew got an excellent offer from a company named Alter Domus. The offer seemed nearly too good to pass up. Andrew was stressed about the opportunity and after going to the temple felt like he shouldn't take the job. I trusted Andrew and want him to be happy with his career, however, I was baffled. Why was this company not for Andrew? Our answer came pretty quickly.

No longer than 4 hours after turning down that job, Carta reached out. I guess Carta sent Andrew an offer around the same time that Alter Domus did, but they sent the offer to an incorrect email address, so Andrew never received it. Andrew followed up with Carta after interviewing with them which is how they discovered that Andrew did not get the offer they attempted to send him.

The offer from Carta was good. It has a 401k which is something small start-ups like Hivewire lack. Carta has some pretty cool perks too like great insurance, 3 months of paid paternity leave, unlimited paid time off, and working from home for the month of July. Andrew's demeanor was so calm with this offer. He seemed optimistic and sure that he would take it from the get-go. When asked if he was going to attend the temple to get some clarity and come to a decision, Andrew said, "I don't need to. I already know what I'm going to do." It was a night and day difference from the other offers. This experience was neat and taught me that the Lord knows what he's doing and sometimes I don't see the full picture.

What does Carta do? Is it also a start-up? 

Carta organizes stock options for companies. Although it was once small, Carta now has over 1,000 employees. I'm a bit relieved that Andrew will be working for a more established company. They have not IPO-D (gone public) yet though. Andrew will continue working as a Quality Assurance Engineer.

When does Andrew start?

Andrew will begin training on Monday, May 2 and all of his training will be virtual. Carta's employees have been working remotely throughout the pandemic, but they recently started going into the office a few days a week. Andrew has the flexibility to work from home sometimes.

Andrew gave his current company, Hivewire 2 weeks notice before beginning his new job. We were surprised when Hivewire told Andrew they only wanted him to work one more week, instead of the 2. It didn't seem very classy of them not to pay Andrew for 2 weeks, but hey, Andrew now has this week off which will be lovely. We have some fun and some not so fun plans for the week. (We see you sprinklers!)

Where is Carta located?

Carta's headquarters are in San Francisco, California, but there is an office in Salt Lake City. Google Maps says Carta is 26 minutes from our house.

I'm not super savvy when it comes to LinkedIn, but I guess one of the Co-Founders at Hivewire wrote a recommendation on LinkedIn about Andrew on his last day: "Andrew was an incredible part of our team. It brought a lot of peace of mind to know he had our back and was keeping our product standards high. If you ever have a chance to hire or work with Andrew, I highly recommend him." Huzzah, Andrew! Carta doesn't know what's coming for them!

Weekend in Caldwell, Idaho

April 7th couldn't come soon enough! April 7th was the day the kids have anxiously been waiting for for weeks! It was the day we were supposed to leave to go on a trip to Vaughn and Tavia's house in Caldwell, Idaho. James and Izzy were dying to see their cousins and Grannie was even going to be there. Well, our plans changed when the kids got a bad case of the pukes. 

Who knew that James getting ill on Sunday, April 3 would last for days?? We assumed it would just be a 24-hour stomach bug, but boy we were wrong. Izzy got the sickness on Wednesday, April 6, the night before we were supposed to leave. It was bad. She threw up 10x within a 2-hour period. She wasn't magically cured after Wednesday night and couldn't keep anything down Thursday--the day we were supposed to leave. We thought the trip was off. We've washed so many sheets and seen enough throwup to last a lifetime. Big thanks to Andrew for being the clean-up crew. It was nearly a full-time job.

On Friday, Izzy seemed significantly better and was even able to eat breakfast and keep it down. We decided to hit the road which felt risky. We had a throw-up bowl handy and fortunately, we didn't put it to use. The kids were angels on the drive both ways! We read some library books, but they mostly got to watch shows. Unlimited TV time was a rare treat for them. On the way home, the kids were both exhausted and snoozed. We didn't have to stop once on the drive either way, even though it was five-and-a-half hours long. Our gas light turned on, but we made it! Thank you children for exceeding my expectations in the car and letting me read my book in peace.

Andrew's cousin, Sierra Stewart got sealed in the Meridian, ID temple which is why we made the trip. The day of the wedding was frigid. I haven't been that cold in a while and the reception was moved indoors due to the nasty wind. Wedding festivities took up the bulk of the weekend. There was a bridal shower one evening, pickleball any chance there was a spare second, the sealing Saturday morning, lunch at Golden Corral (which reiterated my feelings about buffets), a reception out in the country, and a potluck lunch after church. 

Bridal Shower

Pic from the church website. My hands were ice cubes and I didn't take a pic.

James and Andrew saw Sonic 2 with some family and James went on and on about how cool it was. I got to meet and know a lot of Andrew's cousins for the first time. I had a hard time remembering so many new names. I found out I wasn't the only person with this problem. Andrew's Uncle Dean asked Andrew if I was his daughter which was hysterical. We gave Uncle Dean a hard time about that the rest of the weekend. Pretty flattering I suppose. Andrew's Grandma Rose Harvey who is 92 even made the trip from Canada. This was only my second time meeting her.

Grandma Rose (Isabelle's middle name is Rose after her.)

The bride and groom--Sierra and Eli 

(Note that the dance party is in the garage. Boo mother nature.)

We did have one throw-up incident while on the trip. Izzy woke up on Saturday morning at 4am with an iffy tummy. Thankfully, it was just a one-time thing and hopefully, we didn't pollute everyone. We managed to find time to play games in the evenings. It was entertaining to play "Chameleon" and "Skull King." I hardly saw my kids for the duration of the trip. They were busy playing their hearts out with cousins. Blayre and her family were there too, so we had a house full of kids. Isabelle's cuteness was appreciated and noted. A big shoutout and special thanks to Vaughn and Tavia for letting so many of us stay at their house.

Buying a sandbox has become a priority. Izzy even went out there alone without a coat.

We had some sad kids when Sunday afternoon rolled around and it was time to leave. I'm just glad we were able to still go on the trip. As always, it was nice to be home in our own beds. I definitely missed a text at 9:30pm asking if we made it home safely because we turned in early. And just like that, April 7th has come and gone, and so have the pukes! (Hallelujah!) 

Live List

We've been tackling our family "Live List." My sister introduced me to the concept of making a "Live List" which she read about on Kelly Jensen's blog. A Live List is kind of a bucket list of things we would like to do as a family for the season. I've become semi-obsessed with the idea. Having a visual list on the fridge is a constant reminder to make time for the fun stuff. I am a good planner, but have I always penciled in family adventures on our calendar? Our Live List ranges from activities to hikes, to parks, to new kinds of food to make/try. This list is a work in progress. No, we haven't finished everything on our Live List yet, but we've really enjoyed spending more time together doing things besides chores and housework. Below are 7 things we've done from our Live List:

LIVE LIST

• 1. Go to the Clark Planetarium in SLC.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

I'm proud to report that this year, my birthday request wasn't "alone time" which is all I wanted last year. Instead, I wanted to do something all together as a family. It seemed like many other people in Salt Lake County had the same idea to go to the Planetarium on a Saturday. It was extremely crowded. It's a free Planetarium and it seemed like the exhibits were geared more towards older kids. I'm not sure if I would go again, but we still had a nice time. The highlight was definitely the movie. James has asked a couple of times since we saw it when that movie is coming out, so we can watch it again. Andrew and I were the meanest parents ever because we didn't let the kids get something from the gift shop.

• 2. Try a new restaurant. I don't know that this should really count because Andrew and I have had this restaurant before, but the kids haven't. As part of my birthday celebration, I wanted to eat at "Crack Shack" in Salt Lake City.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

This time, I didn't get the spicy sandwich that I learned had a bit too much kick for me. Instead, I got a chicken sandwich with an egg and you better believe it will be my go-to order. Not too long after going to "Crack Shack," we learned that "Crack Shack" is opening a new location in Lehi which was music to my ears. I have plans to go there with a friend immediately when it opens.

• 3. Drop off a treat to Elder Ditto. 

The only picture I have of this is a picture of the mission office door. The first time we tried to drop off the snacks, the mission office was closed, so we came back another day. While we were at the store buying some of Elder Ditto's favorite snacks, a stranger stopped us and gave each of our kids a $1 bill to buy a treat with which they were pretty excited about.

• 4. Go swimming at the South Jordan Rec Center pool.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Our kids love the water! They swim with floaties and cherish their independence in the pool. The lazy river, whirlpool, and slides keep them busy and wear them out. Walking to the car soaking wet in winter temperatures was shocking for the kids and me. Note to self, maybe we should bring a change of clothes next time. The kids are starting swimming lessons, and I'm hoping they'll be floatie-free soon. We have a pass to the rec center and should really utilize this excellent pool more often.

• 5. Send all the Ditto missionaries letters/cards.

March 21, 2022.

There are currently 5 missionaries serving in the Ditto family. For family home evening, we worked on cards/pictures for the missionaries. We sent mail to California, Colorado, Peru, Argentina, and Utah. We had James tell us what to write on each picture he drew and what he said to the missionaries was hilarious. Hopefully, the mail brightens their days.

• 6. Go to the Hogle Zoo.  

Friday, March 25, 2022

We've always liked and listened to the song, "Going to the Zoo." The week leading up to our zoo trip, we listened to this song on repeat and when it was finally time to go to the zoo, we had it blasting in the car. "We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, how about you, you, you? You can come too, too, too, we're going to the zoo!" It's quite catchy and gets stuck in your head easily.

It was the perfect zoo day. The temperature was in the 70's and it was gorgeous! We arrived at the zoo right when it opened at 9:00am. Obviously, we rode the train and the carousel. There were so many animals to see! The monkeys were especially active and funny. The lions were right up close to us. The kids started roaring like lions at the exhibit (which you can kind of see in one of the pics) which cracked me up as well as some strangers nearby. The gorillas happened to be eating their breakfast and it was fascinating to watch them devour huge pieces of lettuce. The polar bear kept flipping and it felt like he was performing for us. We caught part of the Seals and Sea Lion Show and the kids got to see all sorts of tricks. We wanted our zoo day to be extra special and told the children they could pick out a stuffed animal. I thought they would pick a typical zoo animal such as a monkey, elephant, gorilla, giraffe, etc, but I was wrong. Both the kids picked snakes. James got a rattlesnake that makes noises when you shake it. You may notice the snakes in the first zoo pic above-- don't let the snakes fool you. They are not scarves. Apparently, when we looked at the snakes, they made quite an impression on the kids. This zoo day goes down as one of my favorites.

• 7. Have Grandma Langlois over for dinner. 

Sunday, March 27, 2022

We invited Grandma to join us for Sunday dinner. As per usual, Grandma brought the kids a plethora of treats. We asked Jess and Chris and my mom to join too. Grandma was able to meet baby George. Grandma didn't stay long and frantically dashed home to watch the Oscars. (Poor planning on my part. I've never watched the Oscars and checking when that aired didn't cross my mind.) Izzy got to hold George and it was the sweetest! James was heartbroken he couldn't hold George (Stupid cough). 

A lot of the activities on our Live List are free for the kids because they completed reading logs through PBS kids and in return got several free passes to museums, etc. (James got in free to the zoo, and the movie at the planetarium was also free.) I can't wait to get to more items on our Live List like the Living Room hike, the Alpine Slide, ice-skating, bowling at BYU with a necessary stop at the creamery after, and more. There is so much to live for year-round. After talking to my sister, I learned 3 upcoming things on her Live List are: Go to a daffodil festival, go to a baseball game, and start a clothesline. No matter where you are, or what season it is, making a Live List can help you realize what your area has to offer year-round, even during your least favorite season (Take that, winter). What's on your LIVE list?

The Homey Ditto Home

Our house is starting to match my style. We've done a few projects recently which have made a drastic difference.

1) Playroom: We got a fun, whimsical rug for this room. It adds a playful vibe to the space. My sister found the rug, so shoutout to Jill. We (mostly Andrew) also hung a gallery wall in the playroom with pictures from our latest photoshoot. Hanging the pictures was daunting and we had already put it off once after a night of failed attempts. Andrew did a wonderful job measuring all 8 photos ensuring that they were centered on the wall and exactly 2 inches apart. Using command strips to do the hanging proved to be much easier than nails. (We tried both.) The morning after we put up the gallery wall, Izzy excitedly proclaimed, "The pictures didn't even fall down!" Apparently, even she could tell we're novices. We rewarded ourselves with Cold Stone for finishing the gallery wall. It was kind of a headache to do. It was totally worth it though. The room is pretty elegant for a playroom. I just love it! For my birthday, my mom and sister got me a kid's table and stools. The kids love this table and use it all the time. It really finishes off the room nicely. 

The blue star rug is from Wayfair. The table and stools are from IKEA.

The frames are from IKEA and were $9.99 each. We ordered the pictures from Costco.

The room has been transformed. We've changed out the curtains, curtain rod, and flooring. I also painted the baseboards.

2) Kitchen light fixtures: We replaced the lights above our kitchen island as well as the light above our dining room table. When Andrew took down the old light fixtures, I noticed just how dusty they were. Oops, I should probably be embarrassed to admit that. I tell myself that maybe I would have liked the previous lights more dust-free, but yeah right. The new fixtures make a world of difference. Our ceilings are so high which made the light installation extra tricky. Changing the island lights seemed to be a 3-person job and fortunately, my dad was able to lend a hand. He brought his ladder and stabilized it while Andrew tinkered with the lights. In order for Andrew to be able to reach the lights, we had to put the ladder on top of the counter which was precarious. In my Mom's words, "Rick, you can't be falling and breaking your back!" Andrew risked potential bodily injuries and his back remained unbroken. Phew! Finding pendant lights that were long enough felt like a never-ending chore. After browsing the web for hours, I finally just decided to spend more money than I wanted on black pendants from Lightology. I didn't know I married an electrician, but Andrew is a self-taught master!

Close-up. We got the light from Amazon and it's significantly brighter than our old one.

3) Yardwork: Our yard will be our never-ending-project for the next several months/years. Last week we removed 2 poky, unattractive bushes as well as a pine tree. (I think the pine tree was starting to die and am sad we didn't get a pic.) We had dirt delivered to spruce up this area. We used all of the dirt and need to order more. The curb appeal of our house is infinitely better now. Our kids really enjoy being outdoors which makes it easy for us to get work done. I got a text while we were outside working on this project to go meet my new nephew, George. I jumped at the chance to meet this sweet boy and came over a hot, sweaty mess. James and George have birthdays 1 day apart. So thrilled George lives 2 minutes away.

He's so tiny!

Our house continues to move in the right direction and is feeling homier by the second. Come see for yourself!