The Kandells: April 2009

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Daddy Post

Okay so I am really busy today at work as it is the last day of the month to fund our loans, however I have had a desire to blog a bit today about my kids and wife. I really am a very blessed man these days.

Adyson: Well Hailey will tell you that Ady is my precious, never do wrong, beautiful, make me melt, daughter. Serioulsy it scares me how much I love her and feel she can do no wrong. What is not to love about her? Lately here are some of the things that she has been doing that I enjoy so much:
1. She loves to make little beds all over the floor and cuddle up and lay in them
2. She still loves dressing up like a little princess
3. She loves helping me cook. This is my CURRENT FAVORITE FAVORITE. It reminds me of growing up and wanting to do the same with my parents. Every night i get home from work she asks, "what are we going to make daddy?"
4. She loves flowers, it reminds me of my mom.
5. She loves to eat strange foods, but thinks tomatoes are nasty! JUST LIKE ME

Max: He is getting so big, he is bigger than Ady. Even though he is so big, he is still a softy and a mommy's boy and I must admit, I like that. I dont want him being too tough quite yet. He loves to be held and loves when I sing songs to him. Yes I do sing to Max.
Here are some of the things he has been doing lately that I really enjoy:
1. Loves to run away and play hide and seek. If I act like I am going to go after him, he just takes off running with the funniest grin on his face.
2. He loves to Eat. Now that reminds me of my Dad. It doesnt matter the time of day or his mood, Max will eat it.
3. He loves to shower! The other day i turned on the shower to get it ready for max and before i could tell him NO, he had walked in the shower with PJS and diaper still on and just scooted back into the water. It was so funny. You had to see it to understand.
4. He adores his sister. If Ady has it, max wants it. I am trying to teach him that this does NOT WORK for princess dresses. I think it is so cool how he looks up to her. This reminds me of my sister Lisa because she has always wanted to be like me! Ha ha just kidding she is much more than I am.
5. Max loves to scream. Now I must admit I dont like this much, but it is a part of max right now and I want to look back and be able to remember. We will be driving in the car and out of nowhere he will just scream loud and then laugh.

Hailey! Wow what a super wife and mom. I don't publically give her that much credit and need to. I hear stories from time to time from my friends and co-workers about how hard kids are or their wife said this or that. I can only tell you I have it made! She is such a great mom, and is got to be the most organized person I know (other than me). If you were to open her calender you would see all sorts of stuff every day. Hailey manages to do so much and still keeps a clear head and good attitude. Here is a list of some great things Hailey has done lately:
1. She is my super event planner. She single handedly organized my entire company trip to Cabo and it went off perfectly! She is throwing a great big shower for our neighbor this weekend, has planned her brother's honeymoon, is working on the wedding, and so much more
2. She is the great at keeping the house tidy when i get home from work. Now i thought about not putting this on the list in fear that i may look like a male shovenist, but I must admit, it is so nice to get home from a hard stress filled day at work, and not have to worry about cleaning up the house. I love coming home that way. Wives, if you husbands are looking for excuses to work later and later, you might want to apply this trick.
3. She loves to mother. I serioulsy tell you she absolutely loves her role as a MOM. All of it, the good, the bad, the ugly. I love to see her mothering.
4. She lets me work. I am a work aholic just like my dad. I struggle to take time off for vacations and NEVER come home early or at lunch. I know it bugs her, but she allows it to happen. I appreciate that.
5. She loves to Blog. I am so happy she has found this passion for blogging, because it will be so nice to come back 10 yrs from now and laugh at ourselves, remember the forgotten times, and just reflect on what we were doing, what was important, etc.

Well that is it for now. Sorry I had to brag a bit about the family. I truly love them.

Dentist Part 2

So, remember how I said I was so nervous to have 7 crowns seated yesterday? Well, I was, they partially sedated me (gave me anti anxiety stuff to relax me) and started hackin away with their tiny tools at my temporary crowns, like 9 shots in, I was still feeling sensitivity in one tooth, but oh well I was ALMOST DONE. Then oh wait, the new crowns are too white, they dont match my existing teeth. Hmmmm.... better but them on anyway and make another appointment in 2 weeks to try all over again.

Just the thought of having it to do it all over again makes me want to cry... so I do. And I have.... And I still hurt.

Spring Pasta Salad

Stumbled across this little gem on the day of Max's birthday party and threw it together. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I am making it again tomorrow.

Spring pasta Salad with Asparagas

asparagus stems, peeled if tough, and ends trimmed 4 cups penne pasta 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes 1 large bunch (around 12) spring onions, sliced into thin rounds 24 ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in half and drained for 20 minutes in a colander to remove excess liquid 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts 1 large handful fresh basil leaves, lightly chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION: 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and blanch it until just tender, about 3 minutes. 2. Scoop the asparagus from the water with a large strainer spoon and place in a colander. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking and to preserve the bright green colour. Drain well and slice into small pieces on the diagonal, leaving the tips whole. 3. Bring the water back to a rapid boil and cook the penne until al dente (tender but slightly firm to the bite). Run the pasta under cold water and drain well. 4. In a large serving bowl add the pasta, the blanched asparagus and all the remaining ingredients. 5. Season with salt and pepper, and toss well until all the pasta is well-coated with dressing. Taste for seasoning. This is best served at room temperature. Serves 4 to 5 as a main course, or 6 to 7 as an appetiser or side dish. Cook's note: Another lovely addition to this dish is around 200g freshly shelled spring peas. Blanch them for 1 minute in the boiling pasta water after you blanch the asparagus. Drain well and add them to the bowl along with the other ingredients. {if it seems like I mispelled things is wrote them weird, I didnt I copied it straight out of the British recipe site.}

Dentist

Tomorrow morning I am having 7 crowns seated (put in) and 7 temporaries ripped out.

Just the thought of it makes me want to scream into my pillow.

Still Obsessing over Sushi Samba

{an appetizer Eric and I shared before everyone else got there, weird right?}

This past weekend, we went to dinner at Sushi Samba, Eric and I who actually fell in love over sushi, (really we did, it was however in retrospect, the worst sushi we have eaten) but we have always been big fans of new sushi spots. But this one might take the cake. Even over Nobu. So amazing. It was actually a Peruvian/Brazilian/Asian Fusion restaurant and they cook out of 3 kitchens. So they recommend you eat family style and they bring you samples from all over the menu instead of only having one thing. It was so fun. I got to try stuff I never would have thought to order. And do you know how I KNOW it was so good? Because I didnt even think about getting out my camera to take pics of it, I was too busy eating.

It was also fun to go out with these cool/cute couples. All the guys are employees of Eric's who we are friends with but don't hang out with all that much. We had so much fun all together though. Great weekend! We loved it!

(more on the other exciting things later)

High School Girlfriends

{Me, Chelly, Katie, Kristin, Liza and And}

Last night I got to have dinner with some of my favorite people to have dinner with, my High School girlfriends. We went to macaroni Grill in downtown Salt Lake, which happens to be where we always went to dinner to celebrate each others birthdays when we were in High School, not everyone could make it (especially since a couple live out of state) and everyone schedules are so busy it is hard to find a night that works for everyone. And we missed the ones who weren't there. But, it was still so fun.

{sorry Andrea, I guess the waitress didn't think you needed to be in this pic}

Whenever we get together we usually have some of the same conversations

"Do you remember how stupid we were when we did this...."

"remember when we ran out of gas in Haley's van? or ran through the frat house? or crashed the green gator at Pier 49 pizza? remember when we dated that guy? or drove in Lindsey's Geo? How about this dance? or that fight? or Chelsey and No Doz? FYA??

It is so much fun. We can laugh and talk for hours. I never want to leave and we usually are the last ones in the restaurant.

All our stories made me a little nostalgic, so today I went and looked through some of my old pics I have in a box in my closet, so I thought I would scan and post some of them. For my memories sake, and my girlies. I love you guys!

I am so glad that 10 weddings (just one for each of us) and 12 kids later, we can still have so much fun together.

{Kristin, Jessi, Andrea, Me, Chels and Linz}

{I think we thought we looked adorable this day... haha, just look at that extreme posing}

{Me and Liza Lou}

{Liza, me, Linz, Katie, Chelly, Andrea and Kristin}

{Kristin, Jessi, Chelly, me, Andrea and Linz}

Here Comes the Sun

{Loving my little redheads freckles}

This post is a stark contrast to the post I wrote just a week ago about having snow. Today was warm, sunny and beautiful. So this morning we did a little park hopping. First we drove down to the Vintage in Provo to go to the park with my friend Haley and Camille and their kids.

Ady was outnumbered by the boys and was not interested in running through the sprinklers with her clothes off and throwing sand the way they wanted to. But the kids did love being outside.

{Ady, Hailey, Sam and Gavin}

{Sammy, Gavin and Max}

Then afterwards we were going to stay in Provo for Ady's ballet class when, 2 mins before class we realized Ady had left her ballet bag in the garage at home....

so we headed back towards home. And decided to meet up with some friends and neighbors at the park by our church for more fun in the sun.

Hannah and Cecily, 2 of Ady's favorite girl friends were there, she was much happier playing "fairies" with them. However, Max still wanted to throw things. Oh well, you can't please everybody.

{Max, Ady, Cecily, Ainsley and Lexi}

{Ady and Cecily above and Hannah and Lexi below}

We are so excited it is starting to get warm, warm weather+happy kids= very happy moms

Garden-Inspired Dinner Party

It is so beautiful outside today, I have been daydreaming about Spring being here for good, and the endless possibilities of running with Martha's idea of a garden inspired outdoor dinner party. I am even drafting up some invites in my head. Who wants to come?

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Haley! (no, not me) my cute little blond friend sitting next to me in the picture above. If you know me well, you have certainly heard me talk about my Haley. (yes, my) She is my hero in many different ways. Haley has been through so much in her 27 years. Lost her first son Johnny at 18 months old (he was hit by a car in their driveway the day they moved into our ward by the guy who came to hook up their gas.... painful for any mother to even imagine), lost a husband (not to death but in another way) just following her son's death, and has been a single mom for 2 years to her son Sammy (age 3 now) and manages to smile and be positive through it all.

I love her. She is the sweetest girl and one of the best people I know. Not many people who have gone through the challenges she has have come out on top the way she has. She is amazing in every way. So sweet, so genuine, so incredibly good. She really is like no one else I have ever known.

{Camille and Melinda}

So for her 27th birthday, Melinda Camille and I took her up to Sundance to the Foundry Grill for dinner last Friday night to celebrate her fabulousness. For real isn't she is total babe?

(sorry about the picture quality I stole these pics off Haley's facebook and copies are not as good)