A Weekend Away

It's cold and chilly these days and I am tired. I took a nap already today, taking my chances that Eden might be taking a longer nap. Thankfully she did. She has been grumpy because of traveling and vaccines yesterday. I can't blame her, I imagine her little chunky thighs hurt and she is so tired from taking in life around her.

Today is Davis's 29th birthday. We met when we were 19 and here we are celebrated ten years later with birthdays, a child, moves, jobs, a house, a puppy, travels, and great friends and family. I love him so very much. My heart overflows with joy walking by his side in life.

We are between two weekends of travel. This past weekend we went to Moab with our great friends and neighbors. We both have little girls and are in very similar life phases. Plus, we just really enjoy time with them. The trip was extremely enjoyable and relaxing. We love traveling around Utah, it is a gorgeous state with so much to offer. Next weekend we will take Davis's mom to Zion National Park.

So, let me photo drop now. Since the little one is stirring and I am about to be on duty again.

Third time to Arches National Park and we finally made it to Delicate Arch.
It was worth it.

Happy Family. Beautiful World.

This piece of rock is mysterious, delicate, and lovely. And very popular. We waited our turn for this shot.

Phil and Harper

The next day we went to Canyonlands National Park after a nice, long slow morning.

I love my little Eden

Kassi and Harper

Life is more fun and more challenging with children. But we all can't imagine anything better.

Her cheeks!

It's just so far.

Kassi demonstrating the safe approach to canyon viewing.
We appreciate their weirdness.

Group shot taken by a guy who almost dropped Kassi's phone. close call.

this was just a pretty little scene

Mesa Arch

Father daughter time. They are they best.

So there you go! Have a lovely day. Happy Birthday Davis!

SIX WHOLE MONTHS

I am freaking out a bit that Eden turned 6 months old on Sunday. How can it be she that is a whole half a year already?!?! Each little moment seems long but then every day seems to speed by us. My heart has never been so full and joyful but so raw and vulnerable. Children, man, they make your heart feel all sorts of things you never could imagine before them. I knew I would love her but I didn't realize how much I would love her and it continues to grow as she grows.

Happy 6 months, little lovie!

We have found so much pleasure in watching her meet milestones. She is very smiley with her big rosey cheeks. She interacts with us more and more daily and discovers cause and affect. She can roll all over the place and scoot backwards a bit. She is trying foods and sitting up in shopping carts, if they have a safety belt. She works on coordinating movements and is pretty good at it. Watching her interact with her environment is so fun. We just love her so much!

All smiles in her winter hat
(until it covers her eyes)

checking out beets for the first time

shopping cart fun!

We have just started trying out a few foods. We are doing a combination of baby led weaning and pureed foods. She likes to suck/gum on apple slices. Beets seem tasty and fun until she actually got a bit of it stuck in her mouth. She is very skeptical of most foods for whatever reason at this time. But we aren't in a hurry and she there is fun in learning about textures, tastes, smells and so on. Funny girl does like to suck on kale leaves but applesauce is way too weird for her still. If she is going to be in our house, she will eventually fall in love with food of all kinds. Well, if nature and nurture have any role in child development.

Utah Symphony date night

AND we were able to go on a real date night this past Saturday. A super sweet and awesome girl from church watched Eden for us while we went out. Funny note, she was my camper at Ridge Haven many moons ago and is now a PhD student at the University of Utah. Thank you, Elena! We haven't been to a symphony since our due day date over 6 months ago. After the symphony we had dessert together at a local restaurant. It was a lovely evening and much needed. It was strange to think that just half a year ago, our lives were just the two of us going on dates whenever we pleased. While that time was fantastic, we are so thankful for our new addition and obligations.

Halloween

Cutest little pumpkin

Eden experienced her first Halloween. Neither Davis nor I grew up celebrating much Halloween other than trick or treating and Reformation Celebrations at church. So, we weren't planning on doing much. But a five dollar pumpkin suit and a party at Davis's work seemed like a totally acceptable way to have fun! Eden picked out a few pieces of candy as we explored the building's decoration. I ate the pieces Eden picked out, thanks Eden! On Saturday we celebrated with friends who found out they will be having a boy in February. Again, Eden dressed as a pumpkin for the party. It was the perfect amount of Halloween fun for us.

Sunday best!

a little play time together

Every day seems to fly by. The weather is getting cooler and therefore harder to get outside. These two have been "playing" together on the floor. I can't believe how big Eden is getting. It is such a joy to watch her grow.

End of October

This past week we had more family come to visit us. Davis's sister, Caroline, her husband, Dustin, and their youngest, Levi, made the trek from North Carolina to Utah. Caroline earned a retreat from her work and Dustin came along to check out Utah's fly fishing scene. Apparently we have some good fly fishing around these parts.

I like the progression in these. Photos are more challenging with kids.

We did what we do best. Eat and enjoy the company of others. We made some meals at home and also ate out. They saw some of the local sites and we caught up on each other's lives. It was really fantastic having them come stay. We wish we could see them more often.

Breakfast at Eva's before they left

We weren't too great at getting photos of the adventures but that only means we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures.




Eden is getting more mobile. I put her down on the floor and she usually starts rolling or scooting backwards/sideways. She isn't close to crawling yet but it's hard to keep her in one spot. This is especially tricky when we try to change her diaper. She immediately flips over on the changing table.

becoming increasingly interactive
with her environment :)

She rolled into the couch and seemed to be
having a good time playing there

I tried to get her to sleep today without being swaddled. Poor thing keeps flapping her arms like wings and rolling all over the crib. She played with her pacifer and threw onto the floor several times. It took an hour to nap this morning. I gave up after 45 minutes this afternoon and swaddled her.

gumming on an apple

Also, we haven't been feeding her real food yet. However, she has gotten tastes of things. She enjoys gumming on apple slices. Honeycrisp is the best. This coming weekend will be her first Halloween. Our first Halloween with kids. Typically we do absolutely nothing for holiday. It seems weird to celebrate spooky, creepy, gross, and evil things. Growing up we trick-or-treated and had Reformation parties at church. However, this year I splurged on a $5 pumpkin onesie for the occasion. After I get off work tomorrow I will take her to Davis's work so she can do a little trick-or-treating. Actually, she'll just be visiting people dressed like a pumpkin since none of us need candy.

To Florida We Went...

Davis's dad, step-mom, and half sister live in Orlando. My grandmother lives in Northern Florida, in a very rural area on the Suwanee River. We hadn't seen these parts of our families in a while. It seemed time to make a trek to Florida. My parents also came down from Georgia to see us too.

Eden had her first flight ever to Orlando. It was a red-eye deal and I was super nervous. She did great! Mostly she slept and ate and when she was awake she was happy. Hooray! We had breakfast with Davis's family before we headed to my grandmother's for the weekend.

So very jungle-like compared to Utah!

rope swinging

here is hoping those alligators don't try to get us

There isn't much to do but spend time together. So that's exactly what we did. Except Davis and I went on a walking adventure along jungle-like paths I used to explore in my youth.

Eden and Grandma-great (and me)

Eden loves her grammie and griz!
They love her back.

Eden was able to meet my grandmother, whom she is named after. Marie Genevieve and Eden Genevieve, two peas in a pod. I am so thankful we made it down when we did. Grandma got sick shortly after we left and ended up in the hospital. She is doing better now but would have made visiting harder. I love seeing our family together. Every time we part ways it stings the heart. I am grateful for quick and frequent transport to the ones we love. Back in the olden days a move across the country could be a goodbye forever deal.

On Tuesday while we were traveling, I had my 29th birthday. We were able to see a best friend, and my "twin", and somewhat see the ocean. Two things that were important to me on this trip.

Florida loving

We met up with Alexis at St. Mark's nature preserve. There was the ocean (but no beach), a light house, birds, crabs, and some alligators. We had lunch at Sonic. I went into a diabetic coma from my birthday cake shake. Then we parted ways and went back to Orlando. There we celebrated with carrot cake, trick candles, and family time. It was a good birthday.

Cocoa beach adventures

OoooMmmmGggg. My heart!!

The next day we took a little side trip to Cocoa beach where there was actually a beach with the ocean. Eden seemed cool with it until a way caught us by surprised and she got splashed more than she wanted. We strolled up and down the beach until we felt she had enough sun. Eden got a lot of swimming time later that week at the neighborhood pool. She became more and more comfortable in the water and even splashed a little. Sadly, no pictures of that though.

Florida adventures in Orlando

We mostly hung around Davis's dad's house. We played with Lilly when she was not in school or gymnastics. We took Regan, the Basset Hound, for walks. Most of our time was spent relaxing in the humidity. We enjoyed some seafood as well. I am sad to report we forgot to take pictures together. I think Davis's dad has some but I need to get them from him.

Our trip back was an evening flight. Eden struggled a little more with this. She didn't cry, just some screaming, not too bad over all. But everyone seemed nice about thankfully.  I guess Orlando to SLC probably has lots of kids on the flight normally anyway.

I hear my little one stirring from her nap. Time to go!

Fall is here!

The update for today shall be brief. I am trying to get a lot of things accomplished before we head out of town for the week.

SO. stinking. CUTE.

Fall is here in Utah. We have been enjoying the aspens up in the mountains. Their colors come and go so quickly. We did some hiking with friends lately to catch the colors before they fade.

Silver Lake area in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Big Cottonwood Canyon September 21, 2015

Big Cottonwood Canyon September 29, 2015

One week can make a huge difference. Fall is so lovely and I wish it would linger longer. Winter and summer seem to dominate.

My little hiker babe

We entertained a few visitors lately. Eric and Sarah came for the weekend from Fort Collins. It was way fun but way too fast visit.

Family time: Oktoberfest at Snowbird.

Eric and Sarah... and us. Those two are the best!

One of my best friends of all time, Lora, came with her daughter, Camille, from Boulder Colorado. We spent the week catching up, playing with our daughters, hiking, eating, and bumming around Salt Lake City.

this picture gives me the giggles

hiking Willow Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Lora and Camille

Lora took a lot more pictures than me. But I did take a few! I dropped them off at the airport yesterday afternoon. Now I am sort of hustling for Eden's first plane trip. Red eye to Orlando! I will be glad to get this over with!

just because :)

Four Months

Like all passage of time, it is difficult to believe Eden is already four months old. She is one third the way to a year. She is a delight and a joy all while turning our world upside down. She loves smiling, spitting, babbling, finger eating, drooling, rolling from back to tummy, and is getting better at napping but worse at night sleeping. She had her four month check up yesterday and is 14 pounds 10 oz and almost 25 inches long. She had her second round of immunizations and handled it like a champ. Her doctor said we can start introducing her to real foods now, but I think I'd like to wait until she is closer to 6 months. Plus, I'm not ready to deal with really smelly poops.

baby and her look-a-like :)

It seems lately every spare moment has been taken up something. Usually yard work. As a very wise lady at church said "a garden will run you ragged". Or something like that... in other words, our big garden keeps us very busy. I understand why people don't want the hassle but we do enjoy the labor and the fruits of this labor. We recently harvested our onions, more beets, carrots, and tomatoes. We were gifted 100+ pounds of fresh peaches. Something must be done with all this!

one of nine jars of peaches
(5 gallon freezer bags and 4 cobblers were made too)

12 jars of tomatoes
(tomato seafood soup also made)

We have given a lot away too. Our apple tree is bursting with apples that need to be picked. I suppose this weekend we'll spend time dealing with that abundance. I have dreams of apple butter and homemade applesauce. My grandma had the best homemade applesauce. I also made 6 loaves of zucchini bread the other day only to find more very large zucchinis growing. Have mercy!

Flaming Gorge camping trip

We did take part of the longer weekend for Labor day to make a quick camping trip with our Fort Collins friends. It's our third annual get together in nature. The trip was fast but so wonderful to be with old friends. Here is Libby's blog for a better recap and more pictures! Eden did great camping and she did not freeze at night, as much as I was fearing she would. She is a little heat factory like her father. Napping was tricky camping but overall, huge success. She even tolerated the nearly four hour drive quite well!  There were some other issues that kept us from sleeping well, or I should say kept me from sleeping well. Quick thunderstorm, wind, coyotes, owls, drunk neighbors, drunk neighbors who can't figure out how to turn off car alarm after 10th time it's gone off... Eden slept through most of the hubbub. Good job!

Flaming Gorge is cool...
probably cooler if you have a boat :)

All in all, life is good. We are thankful. In October, we will make a trip to Florida to see my grandmother and Davis's dad. I am nervous flying with a wee babe but crying baby or not, we all know flying is not fun nor comfortable in economy class.

Fall is approaching and our activities are about to increase with visitors, work, and more responsibilities at church. Lately my heart has been very heavy with the sad events around the world. We've have been thinking about what it means to be loving, hospitable Christians in a time like this. I want to be wise with what we can take on but I also don't want this burden to pass without doing something. Maybe more on that later...