Nap-time Project

I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom. It is definitely the best job I've ever had. It was dream job for years and it has lived up to all my expectations. I love being able to have time to take Cohen to the park and the library. I love participating in the little games Cohen makes up throughout the day. I love being available to help out family and friends who need a little extra help. And it truly don't even mind the house cleaning and cooking that comes with the job. One of my favorite times of the day is nap time. I love reading stories to Cohen (even if it's the same book three times in a row), singing him lullabies and snuggling with him. And I also love the couple of hours I get to do whatever it is I have a hard time doing while he's awake--like blogging, reading, and sometime I even get to take a nap myself. This week I was able to finally get around to finishing up a home improvement project; painting the front door. We've pretty much remodeled our entire house: paint, flooring (tile, wood, carpet), bathrooms, kitchen, yard, etc., but we still have a few project to tackle. Our front door has always been an eyesore, but we didn't do anything about it because we couldn't make up our minds as to whether or not to replace it. I finally decided to just paint it. If we decide to replace it later, at least it will be more inviting in the meantime.

Much better!!!

Here a few pumpkins from my friend's and our garden. I adore this time of year!

FHE

Lately we've been doing a much better job of planning and implementing Monday night Family Home Evening. We've started writing letters to Sam's grandmas who live out of state, having simple lessons that Cohen can understand about things like the temple and prophets, and of course, we participate in fun recreational activities together. Yesterday we went on what will probably be our last canyon campfire cook-out of the season. I'm crossing my fingers that it will stay warm long enough for us do this at least once more.

I think they're having fun!

Jr. Prom Revisited

Sam and I were recently invited to attend the The Leonardo's Opening Gala.  (Back in my pre-mommy, arts education administration days, I was somewhat professionally involved with The Leonardo. Also, my sister Lisa has worked with them all long they way.)  The gala was a black tie optional event. For days I wondered what on earth I was going to wear. My black-tie-optional wear is slim-pickins.  I had resigned myself to being a little under dressed and wearing something I already had. Sam, on the other hand, was very excited to finally have the chance to wear a shirt he's had for ages. I don't know exactly what it's called, but I call it his Dumb and Dumber shirt. I knew the quirky, artsy crowd attending that gala would appreciate it.  

I figured the last time I went to such a fancy event was probably my Junior Prom. I went to high school during the height of grunge, so even formal school dances weren't very formal. But Junior Prom was the exception. The event was held in our state capitol's Rotunda. Everyone who planned to attend had to go to several early morning promenade practices where we learned a very formal group dance. We also rehearsed how everyone would enter the Rotunda (our state capitol building's ball room) by walking as couples down a long, marble stairway (very scary when you're not used to high hills!)  For this dance I had a very specific idea of what I wanted to wear, but I couldn't find anything like it. Luckily my mom is a very talented seamstress and she made it for me! 

Because it's the only dress that my mom made for me (she made tons of them for my older sisters and even made one of my sisters a wedding dress), and because I still LOVE it, I've kept it all these years. I didn't really think I'd ever have an occasion to wear it again, but here it is 15 years later (I added the short jacket since it is sleeveless). 

My handsome husband and me in front of the very cool Hylozoic Veil exhibit. 

Thanks for the invite, Lisa. I had a blast hanging out with the fam, visiting with  old colleagues, eating yummy food (including donuts flambe and prosciutto-wrapped watermelon), seeing the neat-o exhibits, and most of all, being on a hot date with my hot husband!

Dinosaurs & "Timber!"

We recently took a weekend trip to see dinosaurs and cut down a few trees. Obviously the dinosaur thing was for Cohen. Sam made the mistake of telling Cohen our plans a few days before we left. The next few days it was all he could talk about, accompanied by several tantrums. Three days is WAY too long for a two year old to wait to see "real live" dinosaurs! He was pretty excited about chopping down trees, too. The lumberjack portion of the trip was to find enough lodge pole pine to finish the stair rail in Sam's parent's log home. The town we went to also happens to be the place Sam's great grandparents lived, so we also spent some time tracking down their house. 

Staying at a hotel just isn't complete until you've jumped on the bed!

Excavating some fossils.

Picking out a present at the gift shop to send to our favorite sister missionary.

Then up to the beautiful mountains we went. I don't think I've ever been to this particular part of the Ashley National Forrest before. I can't believe how thick the trees were in some spots. Seriously, in some places they were so packed, I don't think I could have walked through them without a chainsaw handy. I thought we'd be finished in no time, but we could only cut down dead-standing trees, and those proved to be a little harder to find.

Cohen "helping" dad haul logs through the woods.

Here's Cohen and me practicing our funny faces while Sam was hard at work:

Okay, so I'm totally embarrassed to have this photo of me out here on the web, but Cohen's face totally makes it worth it.

Just as we were getting ready to leave we found this darling little thing. I was so tempted to bring him home with us, but with Cohen's bug squishing skills, I don't think it would have lasted very long.

I have to give serious props to Sam. I spent most of the time playing with Cohen and napping in the car. I hauled a few logs back to the truck, but Sam pretty much completed this task by himself. He's a stud!!

A trailer full of logs and a very happy little boy. Mission accomplished!

Little Climber

I'm a little behind in getting to his post, but better late than never, right? We spent Labor Day weekend with Sam's family at his sister Marci's house. We enjoyed a lot of the same things we did on the 4th of July with a few additions: Sam's sister Charlsia who lives in Colorado and her family joined us this time, giving us a total head count of 24; we actually drove the four-wheelers this time; we set up a projector outside and watched a late night movie under the stars; and we went hiking and rock climbing. We brought our camera with us but didn't take a single photo the entire time. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and take it all in without thinking about the lighting or which lens to use. 

Charlsia took a few pictures of our climbing adventure, which is a good thing since it was Cohen's first climbing experience (not including the climbing wall in our garage). 

All ready to take on the wall. Notice the tape around his hands--that was his idea.

Taking a breather and enjoying the three foot view. 

Gotta love the juxtaposition of his taped left hand and diaper peeking out the top of his pants. 

A Day On the Farm

Yesterday we went to Wheeler Farm. Cohen used to go there regularly with my dad, but it's been a while since he's been. We invited one of his best friends from our neighborhood to come along and they had a great time chasing chickens, climbing the tree house, riding the hay ride, and their favorite, "driving" the tractors--they seriously could have done that ALL day. 

While I was driving out of the parking lot, Cohen said, "Go farm, again!" Understood, Buddy! We'll go back very soon.

Wildflowers and Campfires

It's been a very fun and eventful summer, but we haven't had much time to do something we usually do a lot of during the summer: camp.  Weekends have been extra busy with family stuff, and Sam hasn't been able to take any time off from work during the week since he recently started a new job. We finally had some time last weekend, so Friday evening we headed up into the mountains. 

Cohen chilling in the tent. He loved the tent so much that he wanted to go to be early ... until he found the marshmallows.

Cohen woke up bright and early the next morning. Sam took him outside to let me sleep a little longer (I love that man!) and together they got the fire going and made breakfast.

Cohen "helping" daddy with the muffins.

A bouquet of beautiful wild flowers picked for me by Cohen. (It's okay to pick wild flowers if a two-year-old gives them to his mom, right??)

Sam enjoying his muffin experiment (muffins cooked in hollowed out orange peels). They turned out perfect!

After breakfast we packed up our stuff and went on a hike.

Cohen isn't too interested in riding in the backpack anymore.

Thanks for making sure I stayed hydrated, Buddy!

Sam gets to go camping again this weekend with the scouts, but hopefully we'll be able to go again as a family before it gets too cold. This summer has flown by!