two babies and some spelunking

Today I bring you some non-phone photos of our trip. If you read my previous post you might remember that our plans got a bit rearranged. Originally we were going to drive to Boise for Labor Day weekend, but the night before we were going to head out Hunter was up with a cough. ALL NIGHT LONG. Normally that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but just days before a friend called to let me know that her daughter had been diagnosed with whooping cough, so my kids had been exposed. We decided that a trip to the doctor was in order, just in case, and then we decided to wait on test results before we left. It gave us a wonderful long weekend where we had nothing that we had to do. We bought a fire pit for the back yard, roasted marshmallows, camped out, played guitars and sang silly songs. Sometimes things not going according to plan is exactly what is needed, and it was.

I decided that I would do the drive by myself the next week. It was exhausting and empowering all at once. We stopped in Utah to visit dear friends, then headed up to eastern Idaho to visit my brother and his family. Can you believe these are the only photos I have of that part of the visit?

Those little cousins were so super cute– opposites in every way. Savanna is bald– Eva has out of control fluff. Eva weighs 22 lbs. and Savanna is something like 15 lbs. Savanna eats a ton of whatever you offer her– Eva just gave her food to Savanna.

While we were in eastern Idaho we also had a quick visit with my dear friends Jessica and Tracy. I have no photographic evidence. Our kids loved each other and played like they had just seen each other yesterday. Poor Tracy laid on the couch with her hurt hip. Jessica, in all her skinniness, ate roasted veggies from her garden and shared with me the finer points of Sparrow Girls. One wonderful part of this trip is that I got to spend time with friends that I wish I could just pack up in my pocket and take with me everywhere I go. Jessica and Tracy are two of those friends. My friend Erin in Utah is another one.

On the way to Boise from Blackfoot we went to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Every time we’ve done this drive I’ve wanted to go, but put it off for want of just getting there (either Boise or home). This time I did it. I took 6 kids to the crazy, other worldly landscape out in the middle of no where. I, the lone adult, took 6 kids through lava caves. It did take me 3 times as long to feed them lunch, clean up from lunch, get shoes on those 12 feet, and get on the trail than it would have had Barry been with me– but I did it! It was worth the memories.

Pintuck tee for me

Hi. It’s been awhile. We got back Wednesday from an epic road trip through Utah and Idaho. I did have every intention of blogging through my trip, but obviously I didn’t. It is much trickier to blog from my iPad than I thought it would be. This post has been in my draft box since the beginning of our trip in early September, but never got finished because I’m such a creature of habit I couldn’t get my photos to be the size I wanted until I got home to my own computer. So, here’s my post about the sweater I finished BEFORE we even left– and the words I wrote then too. I promise I’ll fill you all in on my trip as the week goes on because naturally you are dying to know all about my exotic adventures driving through lots and lots of sagebrush.

I’ve had my summer sweater on my needles all summer, and now that summer is coming to a close it’s finally done! We had planned on driving to Boise over the Labor Day weekend, but we had sick littles and a whooping cough scare, so we decided to lay low and stay home (*edited* Our departure just got a bit postponed and rearranged). The thing I was really bummed about was missing the dedicated knitting time that long road trips are for me, but Barry gave me ample time to knit anyway. After a trip to the Fancy Tiger for buttons and learning to crochet from you tube I put the finishing touches on Monday. I’ve worn it a lot this week.

Details:

The pattern is the pintuck tee by Lien Ngo.

The yarn is Elsbeth Lovold Hempathy in pale silver.

This is the trickiest thing I’ve ever knit on the smallest needles (size 4 ) with the most shaping. That actually made it really fun and not too monotonous. I wish I had made it an inch or 2 longer and I’m not crazy about the sleeves, but other than that it fits great. I’m too lazy to do anything about the sleeves now so it just is what it is. The yarn washes great in the washing machine, and I’ve read that it is machine dryable too, but I’m too chicken to put it in the dryer. It definitely got softer when I put it through the washer and then laid it flat to block it.

My next project is something simple. Legwarmers!

when Granny and Papa were here

My parents came to visit and we packed as much into the short time they were here as we could. Right after we picked them up from the airport we packed lunch and headed to Castlewood Canyon for a hike to the “rock forts” as my kids call them.

The next day our sweet Logan got baptized. He planned the service himself, picked the songs, made phone calls to his Primary teacher and our Home Teacher for talks, asked his sister and piano teacher to give prayers. Barry baptized him and he asked my dad to confirm him. It was so sweet and beautiful and a wonderful reflection of Logan and who he is and who he loves at this time in his life.

I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture and Logan and Papa together.

On the last day their flight didn’t leave until 9:00 pm, so we had some adventures that day too. The weather was perfect for visits to Dinosaur Ridge and Red Rocks.

Our tour guide Dan-o-saurus took us back 150 million years to touch some stegosaurus bones. You can then the bones from the rest of the rock because of their color, texture, and taste (so Jonah licked the rock).

Here are some dinosaur foot prints from underneath.

Logan is being stepped on by an apatosaurus.

Back in the 1930s when they were building Alameda Highway they uncovered this field of iguanadon foot prints. The footprints are colored in with charcoal to make them more visible. Pretty amazing, huh?

We made a quick stop at Red Rocks to see it, then wandered around Ikea for lunch on the way home.

We love you Granny and Papa! It was so fun to have you here. See you again soon!

Happy, happy birthday Eva dear!

So, princess Eva had a birthday today. I anticipated having an emotional day, seeing how my last baby is crossing that bridge from babyhood to toddlerhood, but it’s been a sweet, relaxing day. I feel good about this whole thing. Good and complete. Eva’s the other slice of bread to our “girl- boy- boy- boy- boy- girl” sandwich we’ve made here and it all feels just as it should be.

We didn’t do anything elaborate, just opened a couple of presents