Sealed for Time and all Eternity

Last week I got the wonderful opportunity to fly out to Utah for my baby sister's temple sealing. It was so incredibly beautiful to see Liz and her husband Tony sealed for time and all eternity with all of our family there to support her.

It was also so fun being with my family and seeing all of my siblings grown up and married.

Uda girls from youngest to oldest.

Liz, Sarah and baby (she's 8 months prego) Naomi, me, and Rachel.

Top left is me with my brothers, Josh and Jake, and Jake's new wife Scarlet. Top Right: Josh and Sarah. Bottom left: The whole Gang minus Chris and the spouses who couldn't be there. Bottom right: Rachel, me and Sarah, 4 year gap between all of us.

Another great thing about being in Utah was getting some much needed girl time with my mom and sisters. We spent a whole day together catching up, eating, watching movies, getting pedicures and just being girly.

Lunch at the Olive Garden. So yum.

Mani's and Pedi's. My toes were very grateful, it had been way too long.

We also caught the Chick Flick Killers. Definitely don't waste your hubby's time with this one. (But fun to watch with my sistas : )

I also got the chance to catch up with my girlfriend Angela from Minnesota. She moved to Utah at the same time we moved to Boston. It was so great hearing about all her new adventures and eating the always delicious white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory. : )

The trip was such a nice break, and even though it was hard being away from Taber and the girls, it was actually wonderfully relaxing and therapeutic to have some alone time and have a true vacation from all my responsibilities. I'm glad to be back though and was lucky enough to be followed home by my oldest sister with her three kids who will be staying through next week. More to come on our adventures here in New England.

Weekend in Maine

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take advantage of our close proximity to Maine and take a little Rigg family vacation. Being there with just our own little family was awesome. Definitely made me feel all grown up with our family of four.

DAY 1:

Our first day there we went to Perkins Cove in Ogunquit and took the girls on a lobstering boat tour.

On the deck with Daddy getting ready to board The FINESTKIND lobster boat.

The lobster boat was awesome. They took us out to sea and we pulled up big lobster traps and got to touch the lobsters, learn about which ones you can keep or throw back, and see lots of other fun sea creatures that came up in the cages.

Teya found this little starfish that washed aboard and was instantly smitten. We saw giant lobsters, hermit crabs, snapping crabs, and even had a flounder flop into Taber's lap. But when we asked Teya what her favorite part was without hesitation she said, "baby starfish." : )

My favorite part was holding this giant 8 lb lobster daddy. The thing was seriously bigger than our dog!

Here's another pic of the captain holding him so you can really see what a monster he was! (average lobsters that you eat are like 1-2 lbs, so this guy was a beast! You can't keep them when they're over 5 lbs though because they want those big guys out in the sea for breeding. So after we all got to see it they sent him back to the ocean.

After our boat ride we did some exploring around the cove and then we stopped to eat at Barnacle Billy's. After all our hard work lobstering it only seemed natural to go and eat one!

DAY 2:

The next day we decided to hit up the beach. Taber had done a nice 7 mile run on it the night before so he knew just the right spot to take us.

Teya was off like a lightening bolt running in and out of the water. It was COLD!! like, numb my feet cold, but she didn't even care. That girl loves the ocean. Brinley stuck close to me and Taber but definitely had fun splashing around.

We spent several hours there splashing, digging, walking, listening and relaxing.

Splash puddles. They never get old.

Brinley the little Mermaid

Teya in her giant sand pit creation that we built to stop the incoming tide from getting our towels wet. We left before the tide made it in but she sure loved digging it.

After the beach Brinley took a much needed nap while Taber and Teya continued swimming at the hotel. Then it was dinner at the beach fire grill, ice cream at a homemade ice cream shop, and bed for some tired little travelers!

DAY 3:

On our last day there we left Ogunquit and went to check out the beaches down in York, Maine. We found one with a great little park and the girls had a blast playing there.

Then we went to the famous Goldenrod Candy store where you can watch them pull the homemade taffy right there in the window. We loaded up on sugar and then poor Brinley just crashed. I was trying to take a picture of her zonked out on Taber's shoulder when this lady offered to take one of all of us so I said "why not?"

On our way out we did a quick stop at the Nubble light house. Can't go to Maine without visiting a light house right? The kids were both asleep in the car so we jumped out for some quick pics. My hair is a little skiwompous because it was so windy but at least you can see how pretty it was.

Sadly all good things must come to an end. It was hard coming back from vacation but I'm so glad we had the chance to see some lovely parts of Maine, and most importantly, spend some great quality time together as a family.

Business Trip Crashers

Top 10 highlights of crashing Taber's business trip:

1) We got to stay at a fancy schmancy resort where everyone treated Teya and Brinley like celebrities since this wasn't exactly a place you'd expect to see kids.

2) Room service! I don't know why I love it so much but I do.

3) Staying up late and watching movies in bed with my girlies.

4) Swimming in the deliciously warm heated pool

5) Having the pool all to ourselves while we were there!

6) exploring the beautiful grounds in beautiful weather

7) Having time to stop and smell the flowers.

8) Meeting up with Taber during his breaks and just being able to see him so much while we were there.

9) Stopping at the Ice House for some Giant ice cream cones that were soo good!

10) Spending uninterrupted time with my kids without any distractions or obligations.

When Taber found out he would be staying at a beautiful resort in the nearby coastal town of Portsmouth he invited us to come along. We were happy to come and escape the heat in our non air-conditioned house! It turned out to be tons of fun and super relaxing. Something so nice about not having to worry about chores, house cleaning, or other obligations. We got home today and thankfully the temperatures have cooled down! We're heading to Maine for Memorial Day weekend but when we get back we're installing some window A/C units!

Spontaneous Beach Day

On Tuesday the forecast was calling for temperatures in the 90's. Normally that would be fine except for one major problem. Our house doesn't have air conditioning. Apparently that's not totally unusual out here in New Hampshire since supposedly it doesn't get very hot. Well I wasn't about to turn into a baked potato in my house so when my friend Becca, who also doesn't have AC, called and invited me on a last minute beach trip I said, "Heck Yeah!"

We drove out to Hampton, about an hour or so from where we live. It took us awhile because everyone in the state of New Hampshire seemed to have the same great idea ; ) Once we got there though it was so worth it!

This was Teya and Brinley's first real beach experience and holy cow did they LOVE it! The tide was out so there were lots of little shallow puddles to play in. Teya ran and ran up and down the water front. Brinley tried to keep up but ended up settling for puddle splashing closer to me.

I took a million pictures because 1) I have a habit of doing that anyway and 2) Seeing my kids at the beach for the first time was just sooo stinking cute!

After about 20 minutes of running like a crazy person up and down the coast, Teya settled down with her buddy Isaac to work on sandcastles.

A lot of digging and splashing was in involved.

Then Teya discovered a giant puddle/pond where she could really swim around.

It was nice because the puddles were a lot warmer than the ocean so the kids loved them.

Puddle Bellies

Even though we didn't plan for it, I can't think of a better way we could've spent the day. Thanks Becca for inviting us and helping us escape the heat : )

Brainy Baby

Brinley has been singing her ABC's for awhile now but this is the first time I've heard her pretty much nail the whole song. She even sings the, "Now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me " part at the end. Keep in mind she still speaks "Toddlerease", so the sounds get jumbled a bit, but not bad for 22 months.

p.s. please ignore her hair. I promise I do it sometimes. maybe....

Brinley's ABCs from Rigg Family on Vimeo.

Banana Crumble Muffin Recipe

Here it is for those who asked! Click here: Awesome banana muffins

I added a 1/2 tsp vanilla and substituted 1/3 cup of olive oil for the butter to lose the trans fats : )

Go Bananas!

Remember these? There were over 150 bananas in that lovely loot. A few more than our normal 24 per week quota. : )

And since bananas go bad pretty quickly, we had to get busy. We chopped up half of them and frooze them for smoothies later on. And then I started baking. The Banana crumble muffins I made were just heavenly. Ended up making them twice last week.

Then we discovered an easy and A-M-A-Z-I-N-G recipe for bananas foster. HOLY BANANA-RONI! Had to make that twice too.

After the bananas foster I thought maybe I should try something a little healthier. I found a weightwatchers recipe for Banana Oat bread. Very hearty and quite filling.

On Sunday morning the girls helped me make banana pancakes. We topped them with the most divine homemade banana syrup. Taste bud nirvana.

Strawberry/banana and chocolate/banana smoothies were also a big hit for breakfast during our banana week.

And of course, whenever the girls wanted a snack, they still asked for plain old bananas. : )

People thought we were crazy taking home all those bananas but my Dad always taught me, "Waste not, want not. " Dad, I hope this makes you proud : )