temple square

Tonight for Family Night we went to Temple Square to look at the Christmas lights. I have to admit, it wasn't as spectacular as I remembered it once being. They don't seem to put up as many lights anymore. One thing that is truly beautiful are the luminaries. They all have Christmas-related words (peace, love, hope...) embossed on them in different languages. It is really well-done and very pretty. The kids had fun and Gracie, especially was a good sport. They all looked so cute in their hats and mittens. Adam discovered that if he puts him hands in his pockets then they will stay warm. It was very cute.

Because our camera is broken I don't have any pictures to put on. But I did find this picture online and thought it was a good representation of what we saw. Merry Christmas!

i'm in the movies

They made a movie about me. Well it isn't exactly about me, but the lead character is patterned after me. I went and saw "Enchanted" last week and I am pretty sure someone has been following me around. Now sure, I don't have red hair and I am not really a big fan of rodents, BUT I love making new friends, I sing and dance all day long, I'm sometimes really naive and ditzy, and I am super idealistic about love.

I loved this movie. I don't often want to rush out and see a movie twice or even own one, but this was a true exception. I wish there were more shows out there that promoted happiness, kindness, and love. It was good and clean and I identified so well with Giselle. Sometimes I feel like I have fallen into a strange, unfriendly world (and the only thing that will make it better is a fabulous dress, a clean house, and a song).

back up and running

Hello cyber-sapce; I am back after my long and trying break. The internet guy came today and got me all hooked up.

So, amazingly enough I don't really have anything to say. I seem to be drawing a blank right now. I have to think of something and blog later.

the hills are STILL alive

Hello my fellow bloggers...I haven't forgotten about you. I know I haven't posted anything in almost a month and I have a really good reason for it. We have dial-up...need I say more.

It takes forever to post anything. We are getting high-speed this week because neither Scott nor I can handle the slowness any longer. So give me a week and the fun will begin again. Until then...CHEERS!

PS my camera also broke a couple weeks ago, so I don't have any pictures to post anyway.

happy birthday tubby goo

Today my boy turned three years old. He sang the Birthday song with everyone until they got to part where they said his name. At that pont I think he realized he was the birthday boy. It was very cute and he was very proud of himself for blowing out the candles. My family all came and it was such fun having a reason to get together. By the end of the day he was pooped and conked out on the couch with Scott. I love my Adam and I am so grateful to have him in my life. He may be a stinker and the worst eater I have ever met, but boy, does he melt my heart. Happy Birthday Tubby!

we've moved!!!!!!

AND I also know why all the rain forests are disappearing.



So we have finally sold our home in Washington (for about $40,000 less than what it was worth six months ago - you gotta love the housing market). It closes on Tuesday and we are so thrilled to not have that hanging over heads any more. Luckily about the time we went into an agreement for our Washington house we found the perfect house here in Utah. As you can see from the pictures it isn't glamorous or super amazing - but it is great for us. The biggest selling point - the detached two-car garage in the back for Scott's workshop. This means that I can actually park in the attached garage without having the dodge tools and storage and Scott can have the space he has always dreamed of. Yipeeee! Plus, I actually have a beautiful, decent sized kitchen now (something I lacked in the WA house). We are thrilled. We actually don't close on this house here until the 29th, but because we were homeless this month they let us rent in until we close.

Okay, so my big discovery about the rain forest! Well, Scott's company paid for a moving company to pack and move us (so great, by the way) and holy cow, I am pretty sure most of a rare Brazilian rain forest is sitting on the side of my house. Between the boxes and paper I am thinking Al Gore may want to start pointing the whole environmental thing toward the rich who use moving companies (and go on cruises, which use amazing amounts of fuel. So much so, that by you driving a "green" car isn't going to make a drop of difference - little political note there. I think Al Gore is an idiot and Nobel just lost all credibility with me).

Anyway, with all that said - we are thrilled be here and never have I seen a more beautiful November. No offense to my Washington friends, but good riddance.

computer down - more to come later

So, we have moved into our home and don't have the internet set up yet. There will be more fun, informative, and entertaining blogs to come.

"...and your little dog too!"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It is such fun having kids that are old enough to enjoy Halloween yet young enough to not notice that I have eaten half of their candy after they have gone to bed. So we went from a Tooth Fairy and Chicken (Halloween 2006 costumes) to a black-themed costume year; namely a Witch, Skeleton, and the cutest Lady Bug I have ever seen. The kids had a blast. I think Adam tripped only two or three dozen times at the most - a new record for the world's clutziest child (other than me, but I am not a child). We had our traditional pizza dinner beforehand and then it was off to the festivities. It was a fun night.


Inspecting the Loot

gardner village

I made a great discovery today - it is called Gardner Village. I loved it! It is this fun place with cute and creative shops. For Halloween they have it decorated with witches - it was pretty much the cutest thing I had seen all week. I tried to take pictures, but my dumb camera decided to poop out on me. So instead I am posting their logo. As a side note, I am telling you - I love Utah! There are such great things to do here - I haven't been able to figure out why everyone doesn't move here.

google

Have you ever Googled yourself? Well, I did this afternoon and found an interesting mix of people and organizations with my name. Here is a list of only a few (afterall, with two names as common as mine, you might imagine how many there really are):

In Singapore there is an organization called Emily Hill - you can go to http://www.emilyhill.org/ to find our more information - it seemed quite innovative. My biggest question is why is an organization in Asia called Emily Hill; a very English name? I might actually e-mail and ask.

In Australia there is a seemingly successful porn star named Emily Hill. I didn't really dig to deep for any other information. I am sure you can guess why.

A writer for "Spiked" online is named Emily Hill (other than the organization, she came up the most for various articles that she had written).

One of the main characters in Alfred Hitchcock's 1931 film "Rich and Strange" is named Emily Hill.

And lastly, there was a woman named Emily Hill who translates notable German literature into English.

So, there you have it. You ought to Google yourself. It is pretty fun to see who else is out there with your name.

surf's up.....or not

The beach house. It was amazing.


The view of the waves from the house - as you can see they are not really surfable.


Football on the beach - Scott is the one is royal blue running.


This last weekend Scott and I went on our annual surf trip to the Oregon Coast. Every October and bunch of friends and us rent a beach house in Seaside, OR and we go surfing. This year the surfing was a bust - the weather was bad and the wave were even worse. So no surfing for us! But the house was amazing and it was such a blast to see our friends. We played volleyball and football on the beach, ate some good food, roamed around Cannon Beach, and stayed up late not having to worry about our kids. With or without the surfing it was still a great weekend!!! We can't wait for next year.

The meshing of two worlds - Scott is wearing the surf shirt from 2005 and I am wearing this year's (Uhh...about the pose...I think I was trying to model the shirt and still look skinny).


This is Heather (the organizer of the surf trip) with her 7 month old baby Orion. I thought it was funny how happy he was folded up with his feet sticking out.

family picture time

On Saturday we had my sister-in-law take some family pictures of us. The lighting was great and except for the fact that Lily hates to have her picture taken it went okay. We haven't gotten them all back yet, but here are a few of my favorites from the ones we have gotten back.

twins

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I want twins. In fact I am just planning on having them next. I

have wanted twins since before I can remember. When Renee and I were in high school I used to trick her into dressing the same as me (I would wait to see what she was wearing that day and then a minute before we would leave I would appear in the same outfit - sneaky, sneaky). It used to make her crazy. So, I am now doing it to my two girls. They don't seem nearly as annoyed with it as Renee was. And really they only have to put up with it until my twin girls come.

let me count the ways...

I am a terrible wife. Scott got an e-mail from his sister the other day saying she knew everything that was going on with me and the kids, but there was never any mention of him on the blog. Karen, thank you for helping me realize that I need to talk about Scott a little more. Afterall, he is pretty much the dreamiest guy I have ever known. Upon hearing about this, my cousin Erika tagged me. So here is everything wonderful about Scott...

What is his name? Scott David Hill
How long have you been together? Seven years in December
How long did you date? 4 months

How old is he? 30
Who eats more? Scott (especially if I make something sweet-he has no control)

Who said I love you first? Me

Who is taller? Scott

Who sings better? Me, but he also has a really nice voice

Who is smarter? Scott
Whose temper is worse? Oh, totally mine
Who does the laundry? Me, I am picky about how it is done

Who does the dishes? This is a source of contention between us - I would prefer to just do it alone (I get it done more quickly), but he thinks it is more fun and efficient to do it together.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? It depends, whichever side is further from the door then I sleep on that side (I'm weird). So right now Scott is on the right side.

Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? We take turns
Who cooks dinner? Ususally I do, but sometimes Scott does - he is an amazing cook

Who drives when you are together? Scott

Who is more stubborn? That is a toss-up
Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Again, a toss-up, but I think it might be me.
Whose parents do you see the most? mine

Who kissed who first? We aren't really sure, it was pretty mutual and the moment is hazy in both of our memories. Although I think it was him.
Who asked who out? Scott called and asked me out the day after we met.
Who proposed? Scott
Who is more sensitive? Me; only when it comes to him - he is the only person who could really ever hurt my feelings - I don't care what everyone else thinks.
Who has more friends? Me

Who has more siblings? We have the same amount of kids in each of our families - mine has 5 girls and 1 boy and his has 5 boys and 1 girl - weird. But we fall in line in very different spots - he is the oldest and I am the 5th.
Who wears the pants in the family? I don't like that question. I am definately bossier and more particular about things, but he is definately the head of our family. So I guess we both do.

So, there you have it. Oh, and for Karen's sake and anyone else who might be wondering, Scott is doing really well. He seems to really be liking his job and he is LOVING the sunshine. I am a pretty lucky girl to have ended up with someone so wonderful.

P.S. the pictures are in order from oldest to newest - here is what they are of: Engagement picture, leaving reception in his Bug, our trip to Hawaii last year (two of them), Oregon Coast Surf Trip last year, and Gracie's birth

ring, ring....hello 21st century

Scott and I have entered a new phase in our lives. The commitment is big and the decision was tough, but we decided to go through with it. We have now arrived. We are cell phone owners. Not just that, but pink cell phone owners (Scott's is gray - BORING). I have to be honest with you, I have no clue how to use it - maybe there is a course offered at the local college. Luckily my sisters own the same type and have been able to give me a few tips - you know, like how to make a phone call. So wish me luck on this new adventure into the modern world.

wait....that isn't what I asked for!

So, I have been starting to look a little Pentecostal lately and thought maybe it was time to trim my long stringy hair. It is very thin after having Grace and it was starting to look bad. So I went and told the girl what I wanted and amazingly enough I didn't get what I asked for all (big shocker there). Instead she gave me the "mom haircut." I shouldn't have told her I have kids - because apparently when you have kids it means you want to look frumpy. The nice thing about hair is that is always grows - in the meantime I just get to look like a dork!

P.S. Don't you love the lame corporate apartment furniture in the background?

the amazing polka-dot cake

Last week was cousin Isabel's 1st birthday and my sister Renee made the most amazing cake for the celebration. She insists that anyone can do this, but I am convince that she is either incredibly gifted or has traded her soul to the devil for this fabulous talent. She does it all from scratch (she even makes her own fondant from scratch) and is so creative. You should have seen the frog she made a couple weeks ago. Oh, and those "ice cream cones" behind the cake are actually brownies with whipped cream. How clever.

chuga-chuga, chuga-chuga, choo-choo

On Thursday the kids and I decided to take a trip on the train. It was such fun. We drove to the Sandy TRAX station and rode into Salt Lake. We met Scott for lunch on Temple Square and then the kids and I spent the afternoon playing around there. Lily and I had such fun looking at all the brides (it was weird how many people were getting married on a Thursday). The train was such a fun way to travel and cheap too - for all four of us it was only $6 roundtrip.

good times!

Good times for all.

Need I say more.

the gateway center

We love Salt Lake City! I have had more fun taking the kids around and exploring. We went to the Gateway Center in downtown SLC the other day. This is a beautiful shopping area with a really fun plaza in the center of it. It is like a plaza/fountain combined. Lily had a blast running through the center of the plaza trying the avoid getting wet. Adam had fun running around the edge of it and Gracie just had fun sitting there in the sun.

rock-a-bye tubby!

We drove home late the other night from my parent's house and of course the kids fell asleep. Scott decided rather than just carrying Tubby (a.k.a Adam) in he would bring the whole seat. This is Adam outside the front door while we unloaded some things. He slept there through the whole thing.

hispanic heritage month!

Since, by definition, I am of Hispanic decent I thouhgt it would only be appropriate to wish everyone a Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!!! I am not really sure what we are suppose to do during this month - maybe Hispanicy sort of things like eat empanadas, tortillas, or tamales (my personal favorite). Or maybe we could get a pinata, have a fiesta and then a siesta, rounding out the day with a good mate (pronouced ma-tay). However we are supposed to observe this month I have to say that I am grateful for my heritage. So here is a little bit about what I learned in observation on this month:

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18. The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census (information taken from http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hhm1.html).

So there you have it. In honor of this month I have decided that my children will dress up as Dora, Diego, and Boots for Halloween (I kind of decided that a while ago when I realized my children look just like them and shorts and t-shirts are easy to find). Adios!!!

A day with Grandma Dearie

Yesterday afternoon the kids and I went to see my Grandma Dearie. She is truly amazing. She is 89 years old (a fact of which I had to remind her of yesterday - she still thought she was 88. Oops) and still is in relatively good health. She hadn't met Gracie yet, so it was an historical moment.

One funny thing did happen later - BUT you can't tell Grandma. When Scott got home and we were eating dinner I told the kids to tell him who we saw that day. Without hesitation Lily blurted out, "we went to see the dinosaurs!" She's old, but not that old - although I think the lady sitting in their lobby might have been.

Pals and Pigtails

We had some visitors the other day - my mom, Renee and Isabel, and Melissa and Clara. We all went to explore Ikea - since I live about a block away. Isabel and Grace had such fun poking at eachother. They are only four months apart and are destined to be pals (probably whether they like it or not).

Yesterday I decided Gracie's hair is long enough for a pigtail. It was just too cute that I couldn't pass up taking a picture.

VRROOOM!!!

The kids and I are stuck at the apartment all day today - so this morning I decided we would make the best of it by turning some moving moxes into cars. Lily jumped right into action, even adding her own artistic touches to the car. It took Adam a few minutes to realize he wasn't really going to move but that this would still be fun. Gracie was having such fun watching them (sorry about the nakedness - she had just spit up all over herself and I was in the process of getting new clothes out).