Jellyfish!

Oh how I wish, I wish, I wish that life were as simple as it is when you're on vacation.

Just like I owe you a birthday post, our weekend trip to visit the King's deserves a proper post. But until then can I just tell you how much I enjoy this family? These pics are from our visit to the aquarium. These little girls make me swoon!

And did you know that Russell is my Godson? He has so much awesomeness in the 6-year-old body that I can barely stand it.

I love this picture of my two favorite ladies. Can you see why I want to stay there forever and ever?

I owe you a birthday post

We celebrated Norah's first birthday for, like, three days. You'd think I'd post about it. I'm not sure why I haven't. It may have to do with the fact that I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that my daughter is one. Oh, and I work full time. And I have a house, a husband, a daughter, two dogs (one of whom is very, very fat and hairy), two cats, a lawn to mow, and sanity to maintain. I'm not complaining; I've just been a little overwhelmed.

So, you get Fourth of July update and birthday will have to wait.

We got a splash pad in Eagle Mountain! It's kind of dinky and small but Norah thinks it's the best thing ever. We went on the Fourth and it was actually overcast and cold. Colman and Norah were the only ones willing to brave the chilly water.



We also had a BBQ with the Stewarts. Just look at Norah waving the Red, White, and Blue. Now that's an American baby that the Stewart family can be proud of.

I'm very amused with myself right now.

And guess what? Somebody discovered that opening drawers is super awesome fun. She's also very amused with herself--constantly. That means that she's starting to leave a visible path of destruction wherever she goes.

Chop!

Have any of you seen Nic lately? He's hard to catch at home (just ask me and Norah) but have you seen his hair? His hair has taken on a life of its own.

Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

And exhibit 3:

Out of control right?

He finally got a haircut yesterday. This is the first picture he sent me:

Ewwwww!

And want to know possibly the worst thing he has ever said to me in my entire life? He told me that I need to crochet a squirrel because he has the perfect tail for it. Ahhhhhh! Does that make you gag like it did me? Why would he say something like that out loud? And why would I share that on the Internets? Both are very good questions.

Here's the "after" photo he sent while he was still at work:

That look on his face is very similar to the one that Norah had when she first saw him this morning: a little unsure and kind of confused about the missing hair.

I think both of them are adorable.

Warming up

Last summer was a lot of trying to figure out this parenting thing, get some sleep, and not feel fat anymore. This summer is going to be much, much better. Like, so much better.

We tagged along with my family to St. George for Memorial Day. We swam, visited with Granny and Grandpa Wilcox, played cards, and a lot of stuff that I didn't take pictures of. My dad did capture me and Norah enjoying the ride down:He also took my new favorite picture of all time:
Norah's hands are always too busy to to carry things. That's what her mouth is for.We also got a chance to go boating one weekend. Don't let her squint eyes fool you; Norah had a blast, which means that so did everyone else.


She got quite a thrill from standing and looking over the edge. I blame Nic for her lack of fear.






This past weekend was a bust, what will all the sickness and the vomiting. But you guys, we are going to have such a fun summer. Right?

Dancy dance

This is how we dance around our house. Norah is already better than me. But she does get to do it topless, which I think gives her an unfair advantage.

About the stuff and the things

So...I haven't updated in a while. Not because there's been a lack of material; it's more of a lack of motivation. You see, season 4 of Mad Men is on DVD and I'm just so tired. It's way better to ogle the secretaries and wish I had access to their wardrobes instead of actually doing something after Norah goes to bed.

But. But! I have made actual meals at least four or five times in the last two weeks. I do believe that is more than I have cooked the entire year. No wonder I'm exhausted, right? We've also made our yard look respectable and Nic is nearly done tiling my bathroom. Oh, oh, I also starting going to yoga and spin again. And, and I've also stopped pushing the snooze button ten times meaning I don't regularly look like a hot mess at work. It's the little victories.

With the warmer weather Norah has embraced grass as an acceptable crawling surface. That means lots of plants, and dirt, and what is that? in her mouth at all times. It's good for her, right?


And can I tell you about her hair? She was born basically bald but with three long strands sticking out up top. Now that's multiplied to this:

Which reminds me of this:

I suppose I could try to tame her hairs, but, no, it's just not going to happen right now.

She's just so...awesome. Like, full of awe and also ahhhh. All of the sudden she's turning into a little person with opinions and likes and dislikes and how did this happen?

Really?

Our weekend "getaway" literally started with a tire flying off our trailer. It didn't just go flat; it removed itself completely from the structure it was supposed to be supporting. Like, we don't know when it came off or where it ended up. We did retrace our route, so we do know that at least it didn't cause an accident.

Norah was such a good sport. Just waiting patiently for Dad to figure out what the heck.

New tire and a few hours later, we did get to Moab. Then we drove out of the camp ground and immediately ran out of gas. Here's me trying to make the best of it.

But look! No big deal. We made it on a trail Friday evening, but it was freezing cold and Nic's brother didn't have a top on his Bronco--so this was short lived.

So, so beautiful.

There goes Nic and Norah. She was a champion Jeeping baby.
Even though the whole day was exhausting.
I know that my parents took Josh camping when he was just a few months old. So at 10 months, Norah is pretty grown up. But our version of camping involves a truck-bed camper with a heater, sink, microwave, and toilet. I have no idea how anyone camps with a baby in a tent.

On Saturday we decided to go on a trail called Moab Rim (i.e. trail on the side of a cliff). Totally amazing and gorgeous during the day. Not as incredible when it took us four hours to get down in the dark.

I told Nic that I lost track of everything that went wrong. The things I remember: running out of gas again, broken power steering, something that caused a tire to have to be switched out, hardwiring a fan so an engine wouldn't over heat, and on and on. There were three vehicles in our group, so these problems weren't exclusively ours, but added up to us getting back to camp at nearly 11 p.m.

But did I mention that Norah was a trooper? You guys, she was so good. She only got upset toward the end, and at that point I think all of us wanted to cry, so can you blame her?

Oh, earlier that morning Nic also rolled his friend's Jeep. In the parking lot of the Motel 6. Not on a steep hill or gnarly obstacle. Just on flat ground. Messing around and then bam! Jeep on its side. Nic may be a little upset at my mentioning this, but really? How does that happen?

Again, Norah was so nice to us--even when we put her in baby prison because of all the dirt.


We were planning on going out again on Sunday, but after Saturday night, everyone was over it. So we went to Hole in the Rock and toured its bizarreness.

As we were leaving our house Friday morning a pelican flew over us on Pioneer Crossing. "Look," I told Nic. "That means we're going to have the best trip ever!"

So moral of this story: Pelicans are a bad omen.