Four

        We loaded up the minivan this past week and bravely took our first trip as a family of four to the Great Smoky Mountains (or as Grace likes to call them, the Great Foggy Mountains).  As I've looked back on it, it's interesting to me how this little four day trip very accurately mirrors in miniature the four month trip we've had thus far as parents to both Luke and Grace.  Let's begin with the beginning...

        We got a later start than we'd hoped, rolling out of Columbus around noon.  Does that sound a little bit familiar Luke?  A late start?  Not wanting to come out until the last minute and than having to be forced out by time and space restraints? Yeah, I thought so.  

        So, there we were, slowly making our way south.  The first leg of the trip was lovely.  Grace was happily and dutifully entertained by the five million Disney movies we got ready for her the night before.  She was one happy soon-to-be-camper.  Not unlike the way she was during those first couple weeks when Luke slept a lot, people were constantly coming to get her and whisk her off for play dates, dinner always ended with dessert, and Grandma and Grandpa were there to give her all the extra attention she needed.  

       Things continued that way on the trip---peaceful, with the occasional nursing break---until the last couple of hours.  That's when the road trip honeymoon ended.  Grace was sick of her movies and Luke discovered he didn't have to just sleep and coo docilely, he could scream instead.  Cue the second two weeks of Luke's life.  He stopped sleeping well, and fussed frequently.  

        Once we got to the campsite, things calmed down and everybody was much happier.  We set up the tent, got settled, put the baby to bed and had a late dinner.  Everybody slept amazingly well that night and we had every reason to believe things were going to be great.  Except for the bugs.  There were lots of bugs.  I hate bugs.

        The second day started off slowly.  We slept in and finally rolled out of the campsite around 11.  This might have been partially due to the fact that I forgot to pack some key components involved in campfire pancake making...  But we were hopeful. 

       For our first activity, we decided to hike to Laural Falls.  Ha.  A mistake if ever there was one.  Just like Luke's second month of life, it was a disaster.  All kinds of non-stop whining, dramatic vows from both parents that we were never going on a trip with kids again, hungry baby cries, and far too many incidents of tripping.  Parallel that to lots of night waking, daytime fussiness, lots of new adjustment tears on Grace's part, lots of new adjustment tears on my part, a whole lot of parental tripping as we realized the methods that worked with Grace were completely ineffectual with this baby, and you've got Luke's second month.  Add that to a terribly hot day in Tennessee, a far too late lunch, and a heavy thunder storm around dinner time, and you get my drift that the second day (and month!) weren't my favorite.

        But, like any rough time, there were bright spots along the way:

Some rare smiles on the way to Laural Falls.

                                                                             

Playing in the water at the falls...the highlight for Grace of any outing.

The Falls themselves were pretty.

Watching Grace comfort Luke as they sat in the pouring rain and waited for dinner was
a sweet sight for even the grumpiest of parents.

Walking around Gatlinburg, getting some ice cream, and going mini-golfing to
cheer ourselves up before our soggy dinner.

Genuine wild life (a Copperhead Rattlesnake) can lighten even the
darkest hiking mood.

      See? The second day wasn't an entire bust.  And, now that I can look back with a little perspective enhancing distance (ha, ha), neither was the second month.  It was brightened by new baby smiles, a lot of support from friends and family, and a little daughter who loved, loved, loved her baby brother no matter what he did.  

       The third day (likewise the third month), started off awesome and just got better.  We realized we needed to take control of the day if we wanted it to go how we desired so we woke up early and left the campsite at the crack of dawn (7:15 am in our book... :).  We were rewarded with...wait for for it... 

A BEAR SIGHTING!

All my camping/wilderness life all I've ever wanted to do was see a bear.  Heck, I lived in West Yellowstone for an entire summer and saw nothing but a bunch of fat, old bison.  But, here?  A bear!  A cute, little black bear foraging for grub maybe 15 feet off the side of the road.  Oh, we were in heaven.  

       After the bear sighting, a nice, scenic drive around Cades Cove, and a quick nursing/play in a river break (absolutely essential to Grace's happiness and thereof ours...), we headed to Newfound Gap (the line between the North Carolina and Tennessee sections of the park and home to a section of the Appalachian Trail).  Here, we had lunch:

Where we sat as we ate.

What we saw as we ate.

Grace and I hiking on the Appalachian Trail. 

After lunch, we hiked on the Appalachian Trail for a while, just to say we did.  We did so with much trepidation in our hearts...knowing full well how our last family hike had gone.  But Grace LOVED it.  Not a whine escaped her lips.  Oh the magic of the third day...

Luke hiking the Appalachian Trail.  :)

So gorgeous.  I wish this showed even a bit of what we actually saw.

 

Luke woke up after awhile.  He liked the hike just as much awake.  :)

      After the trail, we headed to Clingman's Dome, a lookout point at the highest peak in the park.  It looks kind of lame from here but it was actually pretty awesome.  The hike up there just about killed us though.  Steep as the day is long.  I won't even post the pictures we took of the views because they're ridiculous and insulting to reality.

     The day ended with our best dinner of the trip---tinfoil dinners with a side of roasted corn---some bubble blowing, a firefly watching expedition for Grace and Spencer, an early bedtime for Luke, and a little hike near our campground where we found a hanging vine straight out of Tarzan.  Spencer was in heaven.  I tell you, does it get any better than this?

Just like the third day, this little guy had the sweetest third month.  Once we figured him out a little better (which began with a brief crying it out episode and ended with endless nights and days of better sleeping...), he became the baby to rule all babies.  I've always said that I'm not much of a baby person but Luke is well on his way to making me one.  He is a smiling, sometimes laughing, cuddling, sleeping machine.

        Day number four was mostly business oriented---breaking camp, cleaning up, eating up the last of our food.  Whilst engaged in this, Luke took a nice, long morning nap in his little travel bed.  I LOVE this bed.  So superior to the wretched pack n play we lugged around during Grace's early years.

On our way out, we stopped at a little pull-off area to fit in one last, short hike.  We were rewarded tenfold. Again, I cannot say enough how disappointed I am with our camera.  This area was breathtaking.  And Spencer rigged up a tripod out of branches to make the family picture possible.  Oh Spencer...master of everything.  :)

Grace and I

The whole family

We had to snap a photo of this area near Knoxville, TN.  A good portion of the landscape along the side of the road was COVERED in...ivy?  It made the whole of Knoxville look as if it were one big, oddly-shaped sculpture garden.  I could not get enough of it!  The rest of the trip home was long, but uneventful.  We rolled in around 8:30 pm, forgot to have dinner, and put the kids to bed as soon as possible.  :)

Which brings us to the wrap-up of Luke's fourth month.  As with the last day of our trip, there's been a lot of "getting back to business as usual."  He's settling into two long naps a day and a lovely, early bedtime.  Things feel more normal, though Grace and I are struggling a little getting used to having to be home for  Luke's nap times.  It makes the days seem a little long...much like that eight and a half hour drive back to Ohio.  But, little by little, we're making it.  The Anna volcano erupts a little less often.  And it seems like maybe, just maybe, someday in the far future, we might be able to make it to...

five.

Luke Philip

I'm not officially posting...yet. I just had to get these pictures up because I can't get enough of them. And Luke. I promise a more wordy, interesting post will come soon. Until then, a HUGE thank you out to Rebecca Mudrick (www.rebeccamudrick.com) for taking these amazing pictures.

Oh little Luke, you're one in a million.

Family Photo Classics

Because, sometimes, life is like a grumpy three-year-old.

And that deserves to be remembered, too.

Happy New Year, everyone. :)

Highlight Reel

Since my blog-record keeping has been so...less than inspiring lately, I thought I'd throw in a long list of photos from the past six months to make myself feel better. And so, folks, here you have it: the highlights (at least some of them) in no particular order from our spring, summer and fall.

"Grace Conquers the Dentist"

Just a few weeks after her third birthday, we took Grace to the dentist for the first time. I have (undeservedly, since I eat candy like a fiend...) really good teeth that rarely have any problems. Spencer's teeth...don't have quite the same track record. I was interested to see where Grace's teeth would land. Luckily, she seems to be taking after me!

She was awesome. She loved the whole thing. The hygienist was thoroughly impressed and kept saying they'd never had a better patient---adult or child. Since Spencer and I had both had our teeth cleaned only minutes before, I suppose that does not say much about OUR patient skills. Alas.

"More Zoo trips than the average Family"

We go to the zoo a lot. And I really mean a lot. Never has a zoo membership been more thoroughly enjoyed. We just love it. We feel like we have a personal relationship with most of the animals. And the manatees! Oh, how I love manatees. It doesn't hurt that Columbus has one of the best zoos in the nation. And that it's only 20-25 minutes from our house.

"Our Brief Stint as Cyclists"

We bought semi-nice bikes at the police auction in April. They cost us hardly anything, but brought us a lot of joy. Until they were stolen. Less than a month after our car had been broken into. But let's focus on the good things about Columbus. Remember the zoo, everyone? Sigh...

"Whirlwind Chicago Trip"

Spencer's mom came to stay with us for two weeks during July, which we loved. Just before coming our way, she'd been visiting with Spencer's sister and family in Wisconsin. To make the trade-off more fun, we met in Chicago and spent the day. Yes, that does mean that we drove a round trip total of 12 hours in less than 24 hours, but it was still worth it.

This was, by far, my favorite part of the day. On a stroll through Grant Park, we turned the corner and immediately ran into this little scene: dozens of people (old, young, fancily dressed, clad in sweats...) dipping their bare feet into water. Apparently, hot, sweaty feet afflict us all. They are the great equalizer. People who generally wouldn't sit within feet of each other on a bus were waiting in lines to exchange foot sweat at very close proximity. It was awesome.

Hooray for Chicago!

"Spencer Conquers the Air"

I bought Spencer a flight lesson through Groupon for Christmas last year. He finally used it this summer and a new obsession has been born! He would probably do a better job at writing about this, but Grace and I sure enjoyed watching him fly around in the sky. I'm sure there will be much more of that in our future... :)

"Spencer and Anna Conquer Cedar Point"

Wow. That's all I can say about Cedar Point. I didn't know that roller coasters could be so enjoyable. At one point, we were in line next to a man who spends his days travelling from amusement park to amusement park. An...interesting life-style, to say the least, but long lines easily lend to attentive listening. He went on and on about all the amusement parks he'd been to and kept declaring Cedar Point one of the best. Apparently, among the coaster obsessed, Cedar Point is a big deal. :)

We had a great time, and the day was only made sweeter by the fact that Spencer's ticket was free and mine was more than half off. You gotta love student discounts. And really generous incentives for giving blood.

"Rose Festival"

We didn't make it to half as many summer festivals as we should have this year, but at least we got this one in with the Warnicks. Missing the Duct Tape Festival near Cleveland was an especially big disappointment, but hopefully we'll have our priorities straightened out for next year...

"Deek Creek Follies"

We always look forward to a few good trips here with the Warnicks. Especially for the brats. Bryan barbecues a mean brat. That sounds decidedly terrible. I hope you all know that by brat I mean a fancy hot dog.

"Strawberry Picking"

Guess who bought a bunch of canning jars at a yard sale, promising herself she'd at least make freezer jam, but has not? Me. Oh there is no end to my lack of motivation while pregnant...

"Anna and Ellie Conquer a 5k"

When it comes right down to it, 5ks are much better than half-marathons. Which, themselves, are much better than marathons. You can look this happy after it and you still get a cool t-shirt and free yogurt. :) Having done all three multiple times, I definitely vote for the preeminence of the 5k.

"Spencer Conquers the Physics Department"

Here is Spencer standing next to his award-winning ($250 to Barnes and Noble, thank you very much) research poster. Grace and I couldn't be prouder. And they always have such nice meals/snacks at these things... :)

"The Graces Conquer Finger Painting"

A couple of afternoons a week, Grace and I get to hang out with another little three-year-old Grace. It's been awesome. In this particular photo, they've just finished finger painting but I hadn't gotten to the re-clothing part. They started reading stories to each other (and singing songs about "two naked Graces...") and I just couldn't resist the photo.

"Trip to Ithaca"

Back in May, we took one last trip to Ithaca to visit Sam, Emily and Alex and meet little Edison for the first time. It was a lovely trip. If only they hadn't moved 16 hours away...

Such an incomplete conglomeration of our past six months, but...a finished post nonetheless. Until next time!

Pink Cupcakes

From the moment we told Grace we were going to have a baby, she was adamant that it was going to be a girl. The mere mention of the possibility of a boy baby brought immediate angry outbursts and expressions of disgust.

At first, we found this fairly amusing. And, no doubt, typical. Grace is a girl, mom is a girl, it only makes sense that any baby that comes out of mom should also be a girl. Heck, I felt a little that way myself. The thought of having a little boy inside of me seemed a bit weird. Like being invaded by a foreign power. :)

But...as the date to discover the gender neared, Spencer and I realized that something had to be done. Grace was coming to the ultrasound with us, and neither of us wanted to deal with the inevitable mess that would follow should that little baby have boy parts. After stewing over it for a little while, and consulting with some friends, we came up with the following solution...

See, as of late, Grace has been obsessed with two things: pink cupcakes and pink kitties. I have no idea where the pink kitties thing came from. I've never seen one. But they're a very real entity to Grace. In fact, on any given day, Grace will proclaim that the only things she likes in the whole world are pink cupcakes and pink kitties. Yeah, just try and feed THAT kid lunch...

Anyway, we decided to present the following options to Grace: if the baby is a girl, we'll go get ice cream as a family to celebrate. However, if the baby is boy (immediate grimace on her part), we'll go to a bakery and buy some...drum roll, please...PINK CUPCAKES!

It worked like a charm.

From that moment on, Grace was quick to mention that she was "okay" with the baby being a boy. When that magical ultrasound occurred, and the gender was announced, Grace was THRILLED. She's never turned back.

The power of those pink cupcakes astounds me. My child is waaaayyy too motivated by treats.

"If you move into a bigger place, they will come..."

This summer, Spencer, Grace and I took a crash course in hospitality and hotel management. I don't know for sure if we passed the course, but I think I can say that we didn't...fail?

Starting in mid-June and ending with the month of August, we hosted five different sets of family/friend variations. Some booked us for only a night, and some chose a more extended stay. We accept all kinds. Oh Ohio, the crossroads of the Midwest. :)

We only got our first visitors for a night and a few hours the next day, but we made the most of our time. Jennie and Grant Sleight and their 2 cute little boys stopped by on their way back to Colorado from a whirlwind trip to DC. We made homemade rolls together (since I'm supposed to be mastering them this year...ha) and talked and talked. I swear I took pictures of the finished product, but they seem to have disappeared. Sorry, Jennie. We ate them all and I promise they looked good. Since there is no evidence to prove otherwise, I think I can safely say that they were the best looking rolls EVER. :) At least...they beat my last lumpy, little, rock-like attempts.

Our next visitors stayed for a bit longer, but unfortunately, we slacked on taking pictures. Spencer's sister Esther and her family stayed with us for a few days over the fourth of July. It was fantastic and got us out doing fun things we'd usually put off or just not do. And THAT, folks, is the beauty of having lots of visitors. :) We were sooo happy to host Esther and her family. Grace got her fill of older boy cousins, which are most definitely her favorite kind of cousin. Spencer got his fill of lighting off illegal fireworks... Oh Spencer.

Next came a visit from Spencer's mom, my lovely mother-in-law. She visited for the longest time--a little over two weeks--and it really couldn't have gone better. I've never had to do the dishes so little in my life. :) It was wonderful. She can come back whenever and however often she wants.

And Grace. Oh Grace. Grace loved having Grandma here. Non-stop visits to the park, treats, and unlimited adult attention. Does it get any better for a three year old? Not to mention Grandma came to us fresh off a year spent in China. All I can say is that Grace had the coolest singing, Chinese birthday candle ever.

Amazingly, Gwen actually served her LDS mission some 40-plus years ago in our very own Columbus, OH. She spent time working in two areas within our stake boundaries, one of which we had recently lived in. It was pretty great. We went on several adventures together exploring places she remembered and were even able to reconnect with a really great bishop that she'd worked with. It was her first time back. :)

Slate Run Living Historical Farm. Loved it. But could've done without the near eye witnessing of a chicken beheading. That's just not something I want Grace to experience yet...

Ohio State Fair. Grace's first carousel, ferris wheel, and gigantic slide ride. All were very successful, but required a lot of pre-ride encouragement.

Our next visitors were really short-lived, but we enjoyed them all the same. Spencer's oldest brother Daniel and his family stayed with us for a night on their trek home from Quebec to Utah. We had just enough time to stay up late the night they got here, have breakfast together, and go check out a local Indian burial mound. Not too shabby for a visit of less than twelve hours. Oh, and again with the older boy cousins. Grace was in heaven.

Our last visitors had their stay extended a few days by Hurricane Irene. See? There are always good things that come from the bad. Camilla and her sweet, little boy returned to Columbus to stay with us and we couldn't have been happier. They moved from Columbus to the DC area (one of the reasons for our DC visit last fall...) last summer and we had missed them terribly. I can't remember the last time I stayed up so ridiculously late so many nights in a row. But it was so worth it.

See? We've been busy. I'm sure you all knew I had a completely reasonable excuse for falling off the face of the blogging world...

Minimalism

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is almost nothing I like as much as I like de-junking. There, I said it. I get more of a high out of getting rid of things than acquiring them. And, believe me, I do like acquiring things so that's saying a lot.

But there's just something about being able to look at an object and say, "I don't need you anymore." There's just something about the feeling of having control over your possessions, rather than them controlling you. It's empowering. And wonderful. And, let's be honest, something that frequent moves make utterly and completely imperative.

This post was born as I sorted through my and my family's material life just this past month. We completed our fifth move since Grace was born (she's three...) and our seventh since we've been married. While this number may seem trivial to many, it's a lot to a girl who spent the first eighteen years of her life in the same house. The biggest change I went through was the periodic rearrangement of furniture that came from pure and unadulterated summer boredom.

But, back to the task at hand. Each time we move, I try to get rid of clothes. And, each time we move, I plead with Spencer to do the same---fruitlessly. See, while I pride myself on being fairly non-sentimental, Spencer is as sentimental as they come. While my church/girl scout/choir/cross country/yearbook t-shirts from high school have been living it up in various thrift stores throughout the country for years, Spencer's football/wrestling/soccer/choir/scout day camp/mission/family reunion/you-get-the-picture shirts are still sitting pretty in our dresser drawers.

Knowing these mean a lot to him, I always try to gently broach the subject come move time. "Spencer, I don't think I've ever seen you wear this shirt. Do you think we might...?" or "Spencer, I think this shirt would benefit kids on the west side so much. Maybe we could...?" Each time, perhaps one or two shirts have been deported. But I get it. He doesn't have to be like me. My way is not necessarily the best, it's just my way. But hope springs eternal...

I've discussed this issue various times with friends and they always suggest I make a t-shirt quilt. Which...is a fabulous idea, of course. If I was the quilting type. Or the crafty type at all. But I'm not. And the idea of cutting up Spencer's t-shirts and patching them together piece by piece literally makes me want to throw-up. So...that's just not going to happen.

But then, miracle of miracles, this past move something entirely new occurred. I caught Spencer during a magical moment of pure and utter material apathy. It was glorious to behold.

"What about this shirt?" says Anna.

"Toss it," says Spencer.

"And this one?" Anna inserts timidly, not daring to test her luck too much.

"It can go," comes the reply.

"Surely you want to keep this one?" says Anna, beginning to feel a little worried but so happy she can hardly contain it.

"Nope."

This, folks, is how I know that Spencer loves me. While that apathetic moment was as rare as it was magical, Spencer has not gone searching for his shirts at Goodwill or griped about me taking advantage of him during a weak moment. He has taken my minimalist/let's-keep-our lives-completely-encapsulated-in-clear, plastic-containers-obsession and met me halfway. He has given me a good portion of his old t-shirts. What more could a crazy, control freak ask for?