They have arrived

Now it’s just getting them out to you!

What am I doing wrong?

Should it really take me over two hours to update and publish a post?  I can’t figure out what I’m missing, but after a couple hours of that, I’m a little discouraged from sitting down to post again.  Any suggestions?

I’m thinking the grief is being caused by trying to include pictures.  So while I think you all -notice I’m not Texan enough to say “ya’ll”- like to SEE how our family is doing in pictures, this time I’m just doing a verbage update following my new mantra of

FINISHED IS WAY BETTER THAN PERFECT

Since Memorial Day (when we went to San Antonio) things have been pretty uneventful around the house.  Eliot and I have been going swimming once a week with the church playgroup as well as story and craft time at the library.  For the most part, those are the only events that really get us out of the house besides grocery necessities.  I just haven’t really wanted to venture into the humid heat for unimportant things and we’ve been working to cut down on gas expenses.

Trevor’s work has been keeping him busy, for the most part.  One night he worked until close to 5:30 a.m. the following day, and other days he says he’s killing time by programming our bills spreadsheet in Excel while waiting for work from project managers.

At the end of July we went to spend time with my family on my grandpa’s farm for a family reunion.  I think most of you readers were there and have copies of the same pictures I would post so I don’t feel too bad not taking the time.  However, if you want to see some pics from others’ blogs you can find them here [okay, so I thought more of my extended family had posted about the family reunion, but I guess not].

The vacation was EXACTLY what I was looking for: cool nights and evenings outdoors.  We were able to sleep in a tent in my grandpa’s yard with lots of family nearby in trailers or just on the grass.  The morning we needed to come home I woke Eliot and reminded her to eat breakfast before getting on the plane she responded with, “Mmmm…ahhh [waking up sounds]… it is sure nice to come and visit family.  My two favorite parts were… fishing and… *yawn* um… I can’t remember the other one.  I think it’s because I stayed up too late last night.”  The fishing she’s talking about it a toy fish pond (like at a fair/carnival) Leah organized.  She loves the purse she pulled out, and all the toys inside.  Later, Eliot told me she remembered the second thing she liked the best was visiting the temple open house.  This was her third one, and Trevor’s first.  Kind of funny, I thought.  Just Sunday on the way home from church she told us they were talking about temples in her class and she shared that she went to the open house and saw the big animals (oxen) with the font “on their backs in the movie [you see before touring the inside of the temple], and then on the paper [in the brochure they give you] and then inside for real! and I thought of Morgen.”

Some of the highlights of the reunion were the cupcake eating contest that Trevor won, the $2 bill I won in the dart throw, the motorized swing carosel my grandpa made, Dad’s showing of fireworks, and an amazing geneological video Leah made and presented.  (she goes to a lot of effort to learn about our ancestors and share the info with us).

After the reunion and we returned to my parents’ we had just a day before returning home.  That day was spent near Leah’s house and getting new family pictures taken.  I haven’t seen all of them yet, but here’s the sneak peak I got from our photographer, Leah’s friend.  Even from these few examples I am so amazed at her abilities to make us look so good.  We had a good time, and she was go generous to do these for us.  I’m anxious to see our individual family pictures because I’ve wanted new ones for so long.

Things are moving right along for our new baby arriving early in October.  Just two weeks ago I got a lot of comments along the lines of “Finally you’re starting to look pregnant”.  I think up until now I’ve just mostly looked overweight so it’s nice to have a recognizably pregnant belly.  For the most part Eliot is being patient with waiting the nine months.  There was a couple months when she didn’t understand why it took so long and just wanted to see the baby “now” but that anticipation has slowed some and she’s watching the calendar.  Even she comments on how my tummy looks big enough that the baby can come out.

This pas weekend we -I mean Trevor- got lots of boxes down from the attic that I need to sort through.  He also did a great job of re-arranging stuff so the crib and big dresser will once again fit in Eliot’s room.  And, Eliot did a great job of going through her toys with me and getting rid of (mostly trash) toys that she can be done with.  Next step is sorting through her clothes that no longer fit so there’s room to share the closet.

All along Eliot has been saying she “picks” the baby to be a girl, but the last appointment I had she went with me and said that the baby’s heartbeat sounded like a boy .  She’ll tell you that we just have to wait until we see if the paper in the bassinet at the hospital is pink or blue and then we’ll know what name to give “The Beast”.  That’s what I call the baby for now.  It never fails that as soon as I lay down to sleep is when it decides to move most violently.

I can’t think of anything more to update.  I think I’ll do this at least once a month rather than getting it done when I have pictures.  We’ll see…

The monster post (with lots of pics)

So here’s the trip to San Antonio.  Eliot helped me select which pictures to post, and I tried not to discourage her desire to share them all .  However, first I need to state my disclaimer: I was hesitant to take this trip without buying a new camera first.  I’ve been wanting one for-e-v-e-r but don’t have it yet.  I’m just not pleased with the pictures my current camera produces, and I really wanted to have these pictures from our trip.  In my mind, the trip was somewhat of a big step for our family.  We rarely – wait, I don’t think we’ve EVER - taken a trip by ourselves to a place we don’t know without staying with someone we know.  This time, we went as a small family of three for three nights and stayed in a hotel and were tourists.  We had some enjoyable times and really appreciated the time away from reality to really focus on each other.  The only bad thoughts I have about this trip are looking at the less-than-great pictures I’m left with; so sad.  Oh ya, and the regrets of going to the Guinness World Record Museum; what a waste.

Rather than going straight to San Antonio, first we took a side trip to a little community called Brenham.  One of three Blue Bell ice cream factories is there.  It’s the best ice cream ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So, this post was started almost two months ago (I didn’t make my goal of posting within two months of the trip) and now I don’t completely remember where I was going with everything.

Brenham was a small community that seems to be almost nothing but Blue Bell’s factory.  I found it very interesting that the milk they use to make the ice cream is from cows only within a 200-mile radius of Brenham in order to keep the milk fresh.  I also learned of a few flavors that I’ve not seen in stores before so I’ve been on the lookout.

We arrived in San Antonio and immediately took the hotel shuttle to the Riverwalk.  It was a fun place to walk around and see all the vendors and shops right on the sidewalk.  Eliot kept mentioning that if Morgen was with us he would want to get in and swim, but she would hold his hand tight and not let him .

Most of the images you may see of the Riverwalk include these colorful umbrellas in the background. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learned they are the patio dining area of Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk.  Most of the restaurants had a patio area where you sat right next to the water.  It was fun to toss chips to the birds and ducks, but I don’t remember seeing fish.  We did take a ride on the riverboat and were told lots about the history of the area.  A couple of the afternoons it rained -and rained kind of hard- but it was still enjoyable to be in the rain and on vacation.

We were able to go to the Alamo and watch a video on the events.  It’s a place I would like to go and spend more time and learn more, but Eliot was a little impatient and didn’t find it very exciting at all.  Most exciting for me was that I was able to get my National Parks Passport stamped!  Here’s a picture of the flags representing the six countries that were represented in the battle, and Eliot and I standing outside:

Now I just need to get the Alamo charm to go on my travel bracelet to make my vacation complete .

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Alamo we went to the Guinness World Record Museum.  As I mentioned previously, I was a bit disappointed in it.  There were a few interactive things (enough to entertain Eliot more than at the Alamo) but for the most part I felt like I paid a large admittance to read the book of records in display form rather than portable book form.  It’s a place Trevor and I both agreed we wouldn’t return.  Nonetheless, here’s some pics:

Trevor attempting to match the Guitar Hero record.Eliot, in the heaviest man's body.

On Sunday we decided to talk a slower-paced activity and went to the Botanical Garden.  It was very calm and serene and most of what we saw Eliot commented that Montana and Eric and Leah would love to see what we were seeing.

"Take a picture of that red bird and send it to Leah," Eliot kept saying.

We were sad we didn't see this Wysteria arch in bloom, but we imagined the beauty.

I enjoyed this bamboo fence from the Japanese area.

Here's one of the few pictures we have of the three of us.

Trevor admiring the dry climate he longs for and calls "home."

We all recognized this plan right away as "Morgen's plant" because we still have those we received from the funeral.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day we took the boat ride was pretty stormy, and we waited out the worst of it under a bridge:

This building was kind of interesting because it looked very flat from this angle.

Here we are on the boat ride, with the patio umbrellas of another restaurant at which we ate on the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the boat ride we walked some more and found this nice waterfall, and another bird (more of a crane?) walking around it in.  Again, Eliot really wanted Leah to see it so I tried my best to get a good shot, but without the success I wanted.  Then, here’s Eliot and I in front of the same waterfall.

This big red sculpture is called “The Torch of Friendship.”  It was a gift from Mexico and sits up on the street level just above the Riveralk.  In the background is something called “Tower of the Americas” that we didn’t make it to seeing.  It sounds to be pretty much an observation deck of sorts and was created for the world fair in 1968, HemisFair.

And, while Eliot did a GREAT job being a tourist, most of the day was spent asking when we would be going back to the hotel.  For Trevor and I, the hotel was nothing more than a place to sleep, but for her the hotel was the fun part with the pool (not that we don’t do that enough at home) and someone else to make our bed .

Overall, it was a great trip and fun to see new parts of Texas.  Sadly, we drove away knowing of places we missed and want to visit next time.  Specifically, the one restaurant suggested to us was a deli called Schilo’s.  I was so anticipating the chicken salad sandwich, but the day we set aside to go we found it closed (but good for them because it was Sunday).

This belongs to…

We’ve had a lovely July with lots of fun with family and friends…and it is not over yet!  But rather than focus on the events, this post is more of a public service announcement and the rest will come eventually.

An indirect cousin of mine lost her digital camera this weekend.  And like me, she had images on that camera’s storage card that only exist on that card.  She’s just sick over this loss.  This happening just a few weeks after Eric found an SD card that when we opened it up contained hundreds of pictures over months of time – and no way to know who it belonged to.  My sister-in-law had a similar experience recently when she left her camera on the back of her car and it drove away, but hers has a happy ending:  A few days after they discovered it missing she got a call from a stranger in Nevada.  He had been traveling through their part of Idaho and found a camera on the side of the on-ramp to the freeway and he stopped and picked it up.  Fortunately, in the background of one of the pictures on the camera her car’s license plate was displayed.  And even more fortunate was his ability to do a license plate search and get a working phone number to contact her (he either was or has a friend who is in law enforcement).  Her camera survived the trip off the car and through the post and is still in working order…more important is she has her pictures back (this being the same sister whose external hard drive fried and she lost her photo archive, which if I’m remembering correctly followed an earlier loss when her laptop frizzled a few years prior!)  Anyway, I’m paranoid of losing my pictures and generally have them backed up in double protection, a second copy in-house plus online backup.  But at any given time there exists some pictures on my camera that I haven’t yet moved onto a computer and depending on when that point in time may be some pictures would be a great loss.  Because of these lost and found stories, I’ve come up with the idea of having a “This belongs to…” image permanently stored on the camera that will clearly display my name and contact information.  That way if my camera and/or storage card are ever separated from me, then there is a way for someone to make a good choice and find me to return it.  I wish the SD card we found had one.  I feel sick for their possible loss while it sits here intact, lost.  Good luck protecting your memories!

Shopping savings

I’ve wanted to build up my food storage and also save money on our grocery bills so last week I started coupon collecting and following some advice I got from a recent Relief Society enrichment.  Eric still does the day-to-day shopping, but on my lunch breaks I head off to collect the stock-up type puchases.  I did okay my first week out, but today I did a lot better!  I paid $36.19 and managed to purchase:

• 6 jars of Skippy peanut butter
• 10 pouches of tuna
• 4 6-pk of Hershey’s bars (it is s’mores season after all)
• 9 boxes of Kellog’s cereal
• 3 bottles of Heinz ketchup
• 2 bottles of Ragu spaghetti sauce
• 8 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and
• 1 box of Jolly Time microwave popcorn

Wa-hoo.  I saved $88.19!  I was really excited.  It broke down to be $14 in store coupons, $8.50 in manufactures coupons, $7.80 in bonus buy savings and $57.89 in preferred savings.  Now, it is true, it took up some of my time to collect the coupons, map out my plan and then carefully collect it from the store so I was sure I was getting the right stuff, but in the end I think I paid me back for my time and a little extra.  And I’m hoping it gets easier so it will take me less and less time.  If you’ve a mind to you could get to the store before Wednesday and get a lot of the same savings.  Let me know and I’ll send you the details.  I love finding things we need at low, low prices.  How can you beat a box of blueberry frosted mini-wheats for 67 cents? Or a box of Kraft for 38 cents? Yum.

Wasn’t he with you?

So I spent the week away from work this past week and we all moved around the house working on things here and there and with all the goings on, Asher managed to find himself unattended for a few moments and took the opportunity to make some mischief.

You might wonder why our toilet is out seeing the light of day and why Asher is posed on its closed lid with an ice cream-shaped bottle of bubble bath.  It is because two days before this pictures was taken Asher flushed a bottle like the one pictured (the actual one was safely tossed far from grabbing fingers and is now on it’s way to take up space in the landfill) and it managed to worm it’s way through the porcelain twists and turns until reaching that final backward ‘L’ bend and wouldn’t go any further.  Of course, we caught him flushing but didn’t see anything except for half of the remaining toilet paper roll he had put in on top of it.  We hoped all would be well but the next day when it was stopped up we suspected there was more than the paper in there.  We did an inventory of the nearby bath toys and wondered about a squirting duck or frog, but when we could find only 3 of the 4 bottles in the set we had a pretty good idea.  Of course, this was the day before we were expecting overnight visitors from out of town.  We plunged and plunged until we broke the plunger.  We went to the hardware store and bought a real plunger and plunged some more but to no real avail.  And so, after consulting the Internet and finding reports of many other frazzled parents in similar circumstances, Eric charged up with a wrench, ripped the toilet from it’s sealed up stance, carted the toilet to our backyard where he tipped and turned it, allowing the bottle to follow its course backward and again see the light of day – probably for the last time.  The toilet is back in place, albeit with a running leak we can’t figure out (clean water into the tank, and not the opposite thank goodness) and our confidence in conquering household bathroom projects was boosted.  Thanks, Asher, for the opportunity to learn and grow and to overcome our misgivings of remodeling the bathroom.  Now we just need a crash course on tiling and we’ll be set!

And so just a day later, Asher wandered off downstairs and settled in behind his Dad sitting in the computer chair, cuddled up to Macey, found a blue marker and decided to add some style to he and Macey’s exteriors (and the chair mat, too).  Yes, this picture doesn’t do justice to the artist’s work, especially on his own, chin, cheeks and arm (you can tell he’s right handed since it’s totally clean).  But it does give you the right impression.  Of course, Eric thought Asher was upstairs with me, and I thought Eric knew he was downstairs with him.  Anyway, it was really considerate of Asher to use a washable marker so it all disappeared with only a little rubbing.

And so we almost felt compelled to buckle him to something solid, with no markers in reach, but overall it seemed to have gotten out of his system and we enjoyed the remainder of the time mishchief free, for the most part.  Oh, the fun you can have on a stay-cation!

Dog’s best friend

Since Macey has come to stay with us, Asher has become her fast friend around the table.  They both know better, and most times we are proactive and lock Macey away for meal time.  But there are a number of occasions where we’ve caught them both in the act.  Macey will often stand at attention near Asher with her eyes intently watching his movements.  We’ve caught Asher throwing food to the ground for her, filling his fork/spoon and lowering it to her, holding his cup down for her…

The other day Eric walked back into the kitchen while Asher was at the table eating and when Asher saw him he immediately started signing “STOP” over and over to Macey.  Oh-ho, not quite so innocent as he thought we might think, but it was a good try.  Macey will do the same, when she’s caught she switches to a casual and relaxed look like, “nothing going on here, guess I’ll go to sleep” and close her eyes.  And boy does her head hang low when we call their game and send Macey away until Asher’s finished eating. 

In some ways, I find it a wonder that Asher feeds her people food from the table.  It’s certainly not something that he’s watched done to learn how- quite the opposite.  And although he does possess his Dad’s mischievousness, his behaviour with this does not really fit that category.  Maybe they came to a mutual agreement, Asher has agreed to do his best to make some portion of what’s fed to him available for Macey and in exchange Macey will remain docile while Asher uses her as a step up to the bed, couch or chair.  Whatever it is, it seems to work out for them.

Freezing time

How do these kids keep growing up so fast?!  It really is wonderful to have growing and developing kids and I’ve enjoyed each stage of development, hardly wishing for the next phase to come faster but relishing the delights of the present.  Montana is off for a sleepover with one set of her loving grandparents and while driving home tonight after dropping her off we were talking about her first sleepover – how long ago it was, how much she’s grown, how little she missed us.  Hooray for grandparents and hooray for family sleepovers and hooray for sleepovers at grandparents’.  It is a fun time for the grandchild, as a fondly remember, and its fun for the grandparents, too, I’m sure.  I love having Montana come home from a visit to either of her grandparents’ home and hear about the fun they’ve had and the time she’s spent with these special people.  Thanks grandparents!

Needless to say, it was little too quiet at home with her gone, but I enjoyed having the time to spend some one-on-one time with Asher (even if he did talk on the play phone the entire time I changed him into PJs.  However he was talking to had some funny things to say!).  And so tonight I face another weekend, one where I’ve got full coverage for one of my two.  What can I get done?!  Eric is planning on some sprinkler system work – ahh, the endless work of home maintenance.  Yet, I’m contemplating whether I should paint the bathroom or if I’ve got the gumption to start painting the bedroom – ahh the endless work of home development.  But what about just kicking back and resting?  Reading?    I always want to end the weekend with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.  But too often I just get paralyzed by indecision on what to do that Saturday comes and goes without any progress anywhere.  Or I’m going, going and exhaust myself and sometimes leave things halfway finished.  I face this same cycle every weekend to work or to play, and how hard.

So I’m taking an informal poll – In your life, where is the balance between work and play on Saturdays?  Is Saturday’s the day set aside to do the dusting, laundry, home projects?  Or do you sleep in, watch Saturday morning cartoons (not that there are any good ones anymore), make lemonade, go as your fancy takes you?  I can’t wait to hear – maybe you can help me find more balance.

In the meantime, I’m posting a picture of Montana during a recent game of “Freeze tag”.  Grandpa let her sit frozen for sometime while he caught his breath.  She and I played it a few nights ago and I finally begged off and switched to Red light, Green light so I be still for a rest.  She hardly eats, where does she get the energy?! 

Flown the Nest

This morning I decided to take my life back under some semblance of control, since it feels that it has been running wildly out of it for weeks and counting.  Admittedly, it was a rough start to a day for being one where I’ve declared it’s back in control (since I was slow to get out of bed and slow to get out the door and slow to start my work day) but sometimes isn’t the start of it just thinking it and then feeling it?  By lunch I was walking around with a bit of bounce and sense of accomplishment and I’m happy to say that it has just continued to build as the day has progressed.  And it has allowed me to be focused and gotten a lot done.  Now, I’m already slipping, since I told myself to target 10:00 for shutting off the day and curling up in bed with a book, but I’m still awarding myself points for sitting down to do this post (which is something I keep delaying and delaying).  I finally faced why I was delaying – so many things to catch up on and my blogs get too lengthy as it is and the time I have to invest is too much.  So, I’ve decided to make a list of the things I’m delinquent on and then I’ll just sprinkle pictures and details here and there in short spurts. We’ll see how this new tactic goes.

And so here is a list: a trip to Oregon, Easter, Asher’s glasses, inaugural Game Night, our new dog Macey, Sister’s Day, Montana’s pre-K school, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Brian’s wedding, Summer fun, and on and on and on.  And with that said, lest you think my post titled infers a “one flew over the cuckoos nest” theme, I’ll continue with the story behind it – an annual spring event that’s culmination concluded this past week. 

Growing upward outside of our kitchen window is a plum tree that brings a special gift with each season, especially if you are bird lover (I guess if you’re not then you may view this as a gift-giving tree in only one season when the juicy, sweet treats ripen in the late summer).  During nearly each of the 7 springs we have lived here, a pair of robins have built their nest and raised their young right outside of our window.  We have a front row view of the pair scouting a site, building and shaping the nest, patiently and intently waiting, feeding their babies with increasing appetites requiring double-duty and endless foraging for food, cleaning the nest and overseeing the launch into the world outside of the nest.  Here are pictures from this year’s clutch – at least four blue eggs were laid (we saw three live babies being raised and Montana found one cracked egg with yolk in the grass).  It is a delight and privellge to watch them grow so quickly and rhythmically year after year and a reminder of the treasured gifts that were created in nature by a divine hand. 

 

Apr 15 – Scouting for a site

May 2 – Nest construction

May 27 – waiting for lunch

May 27 – Lunch has arrived

May 27 – time for a rest (notice the mud on her beak from her recent worm-catching?!)

May 30 – Feathering out

Jun 6 – One day out of the nest

 

The Texas Bluebonnet

So, I’ve been told a lot about Texas, and learned a lot about the culture first-hand; although I’m sure I still have a lot to learn. Since the bluebonnet is the state flower and you’re not allowed to pick them, I’ve been told the only thing to do with them is get your picture taken in them.  It wasn’t too hard either.  There is a large field in our community that I often saw people doing just that.  Trevor said he even saw some people with a large yellow couch -I think it was yellow- in the middle of the field to add to their photo shoot.

This was an experience I wanted to have, as I have seen many and liked how it looked, but wasn’t certain I would get complete cooperation from my other half .  Luckily, Kevin and Kristy came to visit one weekend in April and Kristy had the same plan and thought the same of her other half.  So, after church Kristy went and took her girls in their dresses, and then took some of Eliot and I, and then we allowed the kids to get into more comfortable clothes and we took just a couple for fun.  Here they are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I think it’s pretty evident in Eliot’s crumpled eyebrows that she wasn’t quite into this experience.  She kept talking about the fire ants and didn’t want to get bitten.  In this second one she was asking to be done.  I don’t remember specifically what she said, but I must have thought it was funny.

 

I wanted a few of Eliot by herself, but you can see that the chances of that were probably less than those when she was sitting on my lap.

 

 

 

 

Enter cousins, and wardrobe change!  Look at the difference it made to our little girl!  I’m not certain of the details, but she sure was enjoying it more with them.  Oh well, it’s still a great picture, even if it’s not one of mother and daughter.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this next little sequence of cooperation.  She did her best to pose as we asked, but wasn’t quite comfortable smelling the flowers so she kept watching us for the “you can stop” que.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, it was a great experience.  We decided we would hit the field much earlier next year as a lot of the flowers were already starting to wilt.  Maybe with one year under her belt, Eliot will do better with her fright of the fire ants.  Thanks to Kristy for her great picture-taking!

Next post: our San Antonio trip!  I’ll set my goal to have it done before two months pass :/