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.

Harrison and Claire

Thick as thieves - these two...



Is there a more darling profile in all the world?



Nothing like ONE front tooth...

The two of them circle the coffee table again and again - each trying to get the best position to open the drawers on the one side. When they first see each other every time we get together - Claire flaps her arms and a smile spreads across her face, and Harrison claps and smiles right back. I LOVE it.

The 23rd of July

I love small town America. And even though Bountiful, Utah isn't really all that small, it felt like it was last week at the 23rd of July parade. The 24th of July is Pioneer Day (when pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley) - and so to NOT compete with Salt Lake and their crazy-big parade extravaganza (which I will never attend), Bountiful puts on a parade the night before - and it was PERFECT. Floats, marching bands, dance teams, bagpipes, fire engines, salt water taffy galore, and more floats. WE LOVED IT.

The parade route runs just a block from Emily and Tim's house and so we got to park at their place and walk over to where Emily had reserved spots earlier that morning. Harrison and Claire loved all the action - it was Harrison's first parade after all - since he was sound asleep in his crib during the 4th of July hoopla in Ashland. Aunt Lizzy held him up so he could see the fire trucks - he pointed at them and had a conversation in his own little language with her. Even though is was blazing hot - we can't wait for next year's parade!

Toys

I FINALLY decided to use my brain and moved EVERY toy out of the living room and into Harrison's room.

Things that have improved because of said move:

1) my life

2) my sanity

3) my level of cleanliness

(that's right - my child DOES play with a nose sucker!)

(and oh yeah - he can put together blocks now)

Happy 29th Birthday

Yes. I know. That officially makes me two and a half years older than my husband - deal with it.

Birthdays before homeownership and babies were quite a bit different.....they didn't involve early morning yard work and grocery shopping to be sure. But as we went to work on my hubby's birthday rather than indulging in a lazy mid-morning feast of yester-year...we were reminded how much we love our little old house while pulling weeds and spraying round-up, and how our little one doesn't seem so little now that he has six teeth and gets his own gallon of whole milk each week at the grocery store.

We spent the day as a family. And I loved it.

Later that evening, my sister Emily, bro-in-law Tim, and cousin Kodie, watched Harrison so that we could go to dinner at Jordan's favorite restaurant of all time The Red Iguana, and catch the evening show of the Dark Knight with Kim & Tim. I LOVED the food, LOVED the movie, and LOVED the company. Happy Birthday Honey!

The next day, we had Jordan's parents, sister and bro-in-law, nephews, my sisters and their hubbies and little Claire over for a birthday dinner to break in Jordan's new BBQ. Jordan manned the grill, Dave brought delicious pasta salad, and a feast was enjoyed. Thanks everyone for coming!

Jackson helped his Uncle Jordan blow out the candles...

Claire scooted around the house to her heart's content...

And H showed off his sweet wrestling singlet from his Auntie Toria...

Commence thigh squeezing...

But perhaps the greatest birthday present of all.....for the first time
in an entire year, Harrison made it through one whole hour of
church without leaving the room.....it must have
been the tie (his first time ever wearing one)!

VACATION!!!

Our little vacation couldn't have come at a more perfect time! We spent a week in Ashland for some much needed R&R and LOVED every minute of it.

Day 1 - After driving through the night - Harrison began to explore his new surroundings and got a much needed little trim...

Then off to Lithia Park for some good playtime with his Papa...

Love my boys...

We ended the night with tin foil dinners and fresh corn cooked on the fire pit off the side patio. I LOVE that fire pit and can't believe I still don't have one in MY back yard....another project that might have to wait until next summer...anyway, dinner was truly delicious.

Going home is such an awesome treat now. There is something wonderful about being home with your parents and being taken care of again. My mom put on some pretty amazing spreads during the week (Jordan was in heaven), making sure we returned to Salt Lake well-fed and happy. Thanks mom!

Day 2 - Crater Lake
Confession: I HATED going to Crater Lake growing up. Let's be honest. The drive seemed WAY too long and WAY too curvy to just get out of your car, eat a picnic lunch, LOOK at the water and then drive home. Torture to a kid - you couldn't even swim!

However - many years have passed and I can now appreciate how incredible it is. The water is A-MA-ZING, the trees are gorgeous, and the air is to die for. I am so glad Jordan finally got to see it. But for the record - I still hate the drive, I still get car sick, and I still secretly wish we could swim in the water. Harrison lost it on the way home - but we survived!

Day 3 - Redwood National Forest and the Oregon Coast
Since Jordan has only ever been to Ashland for weddings and Christmas - we really tried to dive into Oregon and see the sites. My mom was soooooo wonderful and took Harrison for the entire day while we headed out to the coast. I must admit, it was weird to leave him. We haven't been apart for more than 5 hours in an entire year - but I would be lying if I said I didn't really enjoy myself!

We stopped to see the Redwoods - I had forgotten how incredible they are and how I felt INSTANLY healthier breathing such awesome clean air.

Note to self: must camp there next summer for sure!

Now the Oregon coast......Brookings to be exact. I pictured a quaint little town similar to Bandon by the Sea perhaps....not so much. It began with a search for a local oceanfront seafood restaurant. Not too much to ask of a coastal town we thought. After driving down several streets that led to the ocean and seeing nothing but storage units, paint supply warehouses, and Tranny-Man (WHAT??!!), we ALMOST gave up and went to KFC. However disaster was avoided when we asked three ladies on their mid-day walk where the local hotspot was and we were promptly sent to the HUNGRY CLAM. Perfect. Jordan loved the Fish & Chips, and we were able to soak up a little of the local culture before heading up the road just a bit to Harris Beach.

I think I can count on one hand how many times I have seen the sun at the coast - lucky for us, that day was one of them. The weather was perfect. We walked along the waterline, took a nap in the sun on a bright blue blanket, watched about 100 Japanese exchange students attempt to brave the waves, and waded in the water until our feet actually hurt from the cold. Everything was just right.

And then we realized that in every culture around the world, the jocks are
still forcing the nerds do all of their manual labor.......

As if the Hungry Clam, Tranny-Man, and our little nerdy friend weren't enough, Brookings just kept on givin'. The same ladies who sent us to the Hungry Clam also told us where to find super delicious ice cream - so on our way out of town we made a little stop. Commence unbelievable small town kitsch.

The Slugs 'n Stones 'n Ice Cream Cones was no ordinary run-of-the-mill ice cream shop. At first I thought we were in a really bad curio shop - and then noticed the ice cream counter way at the back. Walking to the counter was like a trip back to the 80's. There were beauty queen pageant pictures, old prom pictures from every couple in town from the last 20 years, and high school sports newspaper clippings stapled and taped to every inch of available wall space. I loved it. The menu was hand-written by someone (most likely a teenage girl) with very bubbly and almost illegible handwriting - I couldn't figure out what to order. Everything was named after a local resident with slug thrown somewhere in the title like 'Norma Sue's Banana Slug Split' or 'Tanya's Delicious Dirt, Worm and Slug Sundae' etc., etc. We ended up with regular old cones - but as promised, the ice cream was delicious! Check out the sign hanging in the window - we had to take a picture.

On our way out of town, we stopped to fill up with gas at the local Chevron. One of the gas station attendants (below) was giving a back rub to the lady in camouflage. I rolled down my window as our gas was being pumped just in time to hear this disturbing conversation:

Camo Lady: Well......what time to you get off?

Chevron Employee: Around six.

Camo Lady: Well......I guess I will be back then. My husband died last week - just keep rubbin' and I will be here at six.

Chevron Employee: OK.

Disturbing on SO many levels - so of course I had to take a picture. Unfortunately, the back rub had ended, as well as the conversation about the deceased.

As we drove out of town we couldn't help but smile. Brookings may not be the seaside retreat we were dreaming of - but we had a few hearty laughs, met some great folks, and soaked up lots of local culture!

We even looked into how much properties would be to buy.......and of course in the local real estate pages was the woman we would trust without a doubt....

Day 4 -
Finally a day with no driving. We played with the cousins next door, took naps, Jordan went shooting, and Harrison got to experience life on the 'farm' with Grumpa. They mowed the lawn (front and back) and then fed the grass to the neighbors cows. He loved it.

Later that evening, Jordan and I went out to dinner to Munchies downtown, and then to a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I haven't been in years, and Jordan had never been - it was incredible. We saw 'Comedy of Errors' set in the Wild Wild West - from the seventh row. Spit was flying into the audience, guns were blazing, and we laughed and laughed. It was a perfect evening topped of with pie at the Oak Tree Restaurant (of course)! Thanks Mom and Dad for watching Harrison!

Day 5 - Happy 4th of July!!
You haven't lived if you haven't seen the Ashland City 4th of July parade. Forget the floats and beauty queens - we've got middle-aged belly dancers, loin cloth clad pooper scoopers, political candidates passing out flyers, and the naked lady on roller blades blowing a conch shell. Yes, Ashland marches to the beat of its own drum. As the parade was coming to an end, Jordan leaned over to me and in the nicest possible way said: 'Honey, this parade isn't just weird, it's GROSS.' And although that was hard to hear, I have to say it was pretty true this year. I saw too many grown men in fairy costumes and tutus, and too many body parts on people that shouldn't be showing body parts. It was a good time filled with lots of laughs - mainly thanks to my dear cousin Marla who cheered every entry! We had a great time. The pics we took are on the camera in Ashand, so you will just have to use your imagination.......

The afternoon was spent next door at the Hassell's (along with their 26 grandkids) having a delicious BBQ and watching the kids go crazy on the water slide. Games were played, food was enjoyed, old friends and family were seen, fireworks were watched, and it was a beautiful, amazing day.


Day 6 - Home again we go
My dear friend Jessie and her 2 kids came over in the morning - it was so fun to see them, catch up, remember old times, and be grateful we weren't in high school. Isn't is wonderful not to be a teenager anymore?

What a great place Ashland was to grow up. I am excited for Harrison to visit in the future and have even more fun (if THAT is even possible)!

He will get to ride in these cool cars again...

Swim in pools just his size.........and have cute, fun cousins like this to play with!

Goodbye's are always hard for me, and this one was no different. We had had six wonderful days of relaxation, sightseeing, and wonderful food with the people I hold dearest to my heart. Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful vacation - WE LOVE YOU!

My Ashland

I love my Ashland because...

McDonald's, Dairy Queen, and Pizza Hut all went out of business...

Everyone knows to keep the door shut at Lithia Shoes so that Louie the cat doesn't escape...

Every trip to Bi-Mart means you see someone you know or that knows your parents...

Restaurants have names like Happy Falafel...

Shops have hand-written signs that say 'Don't bother with plastic - we won't take it!'...

Grown men and women wearing fairy wings and NOTHING else, will on occasion, dance in the streets...

There are NO car dealerships, malls, or bowling alleys within the city limits...

The middle school marching band uniforms are tye-dyed T-shirts...

The city band decked out in their teal shirts and white pants play every Wednesday evening in the summer at the band shell in Lithia Park...

'Don't panic! Eat Organic!' signs are posted in grocery stores...

It is home to the unparalleled Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the beautiful Lithia Park...

All my childhood memories were made there...

- BUT MOST OF ALL -

Ashland is where this house is.....

And where this Grumpa shows his grandson all the wonders of the 'cushy' farm...

And where this Nanna plays and plays with her grandson...

We can't wait to come back!