A weekend retreat

I have been a mom now for all of 15 months - and this is what I THOUGHT I KNEW for sure. Weekend getaways are no longer relaxing and peaceful. In fact they cause me anxiety (if any of you knew Harrison the first 10 months of his life - you know what I am talking about).

So when some friends asked us up to their beautiful cabin about 2 hours away - an internal battle began inside me. Wouldn't it be fun to get out of the city? The mountains are so beautiful in the late summer! How crazy will Harrison be? Will we still have friends after the weekend is over? Will Jay and Jessie decide kids are not for them? etc., etc., etc.

My anxiousness was short-lived. The cabin was incredible. The company was the BEST. The relaxation was divine. The napping was long-overdue. The morning walk was perfect. The games were super fun. The food was totally delish and Harrison was an angel. Thanks Chris and Amber for having us!

To my amazing parents...

Today marks 35 years that you have been married. 35 years! Thank you for being such wonderful examples to me. I have never seen you fight - and I have never heard you yell - no small feat to be sure. But mostly, thank you for being just plain wonderful. You both have been so very supportive of whatever I chose to do (even when I moved to a little island in the sea with $200 to my name and no job), and have always been encouraging when I needed it most. You have been my loudest cheerleaders, my most devoted fans, and most fiercely loyal friends. I love you Mom and Dad. Here's to 35 more.

Oregon or BUST!

Recipe for Disaster...

4 adults but only 2 drivers
4 kids under the age of three
1 car
13.5 hour drive
10 wild burros
20 jack rabbits (sorry to one of them)
1 herd of cattle
4 deer
1 snake
Dash of fear
2 tired burning eyes
60 miles of curves
2 nervous, excited grandparents
1 sigh of relief at a 4am arrival

The famous Zimmer 'Dirt Dessert' was consumed by all....

Lithia park was enjoyed by all four cousins....

Harrison lounged in his car and was pushed around by everyone.....
(notice three different outfits. Translation: he NEVER pushed)

Grumpa taught H all about gardening at 6 in the morning...

and the beautiful gardens were enjoyed by all.....

Cousins Cook

The Leonard (from the Cook side) cousins (minus Kim and Owen - we missed you!) were all in Utah and we got together. Babies met each other for the first time, cousins caught up after way too long, memories were shared, and of course food that was oh-so-delish was eaten.

We attempted a picture of just the kids - some wouldn't leave their mothers clutch, some wouldn't smile, some cried, some crawled away, and only Asher seemed ready to pose.

But somehow we managed to get a photo of everyone there - Please come again soon!

Dear Salt Lake City,

Thank you from the bottom of my little heart for having City Clean-up week.

Thank you for motivating us to chop, saw, rake, dig, and till 50 years of neglect from our yard.

Thank you for letting my sweet husband and I put a pile on the curb the size of the Taj Mahal.

Thank you for picking up said pile even though it was CLEARLY over the size limits.

Thank you for being full of rock-loving citizens who loaded their trucks with our discarded rocks before you even came with your giant bulldozer-scooper-dumptruck thingy.

Thank you for allowing our wonderful friends and family to live in your beautiful city so that we could have free help on said chopping, sawing, raking, digging, and tilling day.

Thank you for having a Carl's Jr. near my home so the troops could eat such nourishing and healthy food.

And thank you for not fining me for the appearance of my yard - your stern, registered letter I had to sign for scared us into action.

Love,
A, J and Big H

PS. Maybe next year the weather could be a little cooler than 152 degrees. Thank you.

Before.....and after....goodbye dead apple tree....

Before....and after.....goodbye natural fence....goodbye privacy.....hello world

Up next ------ stump removal, dirt moving, new planting, and a fence. Stay tuned.

Our Little Game

One of Harrison's favorite things to do these days - is be put in his crib with every stuffed animal we can find, and then throw them out one by one. He jumps all around, thinking he is so dang cute (which I sorta think he is) and then ends with a perfect follow through (watch out majors, here we come)! It makes his softball/baseball loving mama oh so very proud.

Once he is literally out of breath and exhausted, we end the play session with books and blocks...

and kisses to this precious little mug....

Boring. Unless ...

Time for some better visual catching up with Harrison. We've normally posted only photos and been too lazy to take the time to upload video of little H and his shenanigans, but his grandparents want to see his gapped teefers in living color (the duration of these videos are a litmus test of "grandparent-ability"; apologies in advance for all who are not in this category)

A Visit from Sebastopol

This past week we had to HONOR of having Aunt Grace, Cousin Kate, Cousin Hannah and beautiful baby Liliana here for a few days from California. We ate fabulous food, swam in pools, saw a baseball game from a luxury suite (the ONLY way to go with babes), received traffic tickets (my fault - sorry), and just spent time together talking and watching the little ones. What did we talk about before babies??

Although the week was not full of crazy wild activities, I had a wonderful time and hope they did too! Please come again soon!

P.S. - I was the worst picture taker of all time - so Hannah, will
you send me a few of the ones you took? Gracias.