Safe and sound

We made it home yesterday. The roads were great; we picked the PERFECT day to travel. B was such a good girl, too. She sat in her seat the entire way to Pendleton, played like mad at McDonalds, then slept most of the way from there. We were amazed and SO PROUD. We are all glad to be home and happy to have one more week of family time before Craig heads back to school and work.

Let's concentrate on the good news, shall we?

Some good news: my fever is gone, and the radiologist says that my pneumonia is cleared up! I've have 3 iron infusions now, and I am feeling some results. So, yay for that!

It's going to be a while

Well, the roads are terrible and they are going to stay that way for a while. The only hope for decent travel is to go on Friday or Saturday, so we are going to meet Dan & family in Pendleton and caravan over the Blues together. Craig had been thinking along those lines but hadn't mentioned it yet, and then Dan called and offered to caravan with us. So when the spiritual leader and another very trusted preisthood holder have the same idea independently of eachother, I take that as the way to go. I would be really sad but for the fact that Mom is having such a great time having B all to herself, and B is having such a wonderful time being there.

We are going to keep checking the road reports and see which day will be the best, then plan from there. Another possibility that I'm trying not to dwell on is that the roads will still be terrible, and we will have to wait until the next two storms pass and go NEXT Tuesday or Wednesday. In the meantime, Craig and I will concentrate on this time we have to hang out just the two of us.

We miss our B :(

The original plan was to leave yesterday, but that didn't work out because of the weather and waiting for some correspondence from my Dr. in Yakima. We didn't leave today because of the weather; when I checked this morning, the road conditions said "severe weather hazard" the whole way. Then just a few minutes ago I ran into our old branch president at Fred Meyer and he said that they actually closed the Freeway from Pendleton to La Grande because there were so many accidents on Cabbage Hill. So we are hoping we can leave tomorrow, but it looks pretty iffy.

The good news is that B is having a marvelous time with Mom. They went to the mall yesterday and ate at the food court which she thought was great fun, and of course just looking at all of the beautiful decorations they put up at Christmas gave her plenty to do. Mom also said that they got stopped by dozens of people who commented on how cute and friendly she was. So in addition to just having a good time, Mom felt really good because just by being there and seeing B, they made hundreds of people happy.

She has been playing with a Santa doll and kissing it over and over again, so when they saw that Santa was there, they got in line and when it was B's turn, Mom told Santa that if he held out his arms B would probably run right to him. Sure enough, she did! How cute. Mom got some pictures too, and I am excited to see them.

I have 4 gallon-sized bags filled to the brim with cookies to take home, so today I think I will keep myself busy with pumpkin bars and scrapbooking, which I am dreadfully behind in. So it will be a productive day. I still would rather see my B though.

Funny girl

Carolyn is doing some of the cutest things right now! She is very into giving kisses to her toys and "nice-ing" them (she hugs them under the side of her chin and says "nahhhh"). She is a very affectionate girl. She recently started wrapping her arms around our necks while giving hugs, and sometimes she just likes me to hold her and she rests her cheek against mine. Such a tender heart. She keeps us laughing too! She mimmicks me on the phone by walking around with it propped against her shoulder and since she has been at mom's she has been saying variations on "hello" while she walks around with it. Another thing she does that just melt everyone's heart is reaching up with both arms while rapidly opening and closing her hands. Sometimes she reaches so hard it looks like she might dislocate her shoulder! The really funny thing is that she does it not only to us, but to the grocers and the bank tellers and the nurses and yeah, pretty much everyone we see! She is just so fearless and knows that everyone in the world is her friend. So sweet. If only she could stay that innocent and optimistic! Sniff, sniff. She loves haning out in her cave, and she also LOVES finding Craig's shirts in the laundry basket when I am (trying) to fold them and wear them as capes.

Christmas questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both - depends on the shape and stuff

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial, and flocked :)

3. When do you put up the tree?
As soon after Thanksgiving as I can!

4. Do you like eggnog?
Oh yeah! It's a little rich for me though, so I like to thin it out with 1% milk

5. Favorite gift received as a child?
My mom always made Christmas magical and invented money somehow, so each year I was surprised and each year was memorable for various reasons. My siblings also did some really neat things. One year Lisa and Amy, both starving students at BYU, saved their money to eat at Pizza Hut a couple of times so that they could get me the "Beauty and the Beast" hand puppets. There was also a year when I was 8 and Dan was 12 and I had been eyeing a doll at the mall. I checked on her every week, and one week she was gone and I was devastated. Dan had already bought her and snuck her out to the car without me seeing :).

There have been some very memorable gift as an adult, too. David, knowing what a jazz nut I am, bought me the soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The really funny thing was that I had never actually seen it! Lisa knew what the gift was and made sure that we rented it. Of course I commented on how great the music was. As for Darren, a couple of years ago he sent everyone a card game that he taugt everyone when I was a kid. That was really fun and special because playing cards with "the big kids" when they were home, which was rare, was pretty much my favorite thing in life. He also sent out a compilation cd of the Christmas music we grew up with. As for Craig, my favorite is my rubber duck with the earr muffs and coat. He bought me a rubber duck on our honeymoon and it has kind of become a tradition. Also one year he picked out a pair of gorgeous earrings for me totally by himself. Gotta love a man who knows your taste in jewelry. Another random but very thoughtful gift he gave me was a book of cheeses - different kinds, their characteristics, where they originate, etc.

6. Hardest person to buy for?
Craig

7. Easiest person to buy for?
Mom usually

8. Do you have a nativity scene?
I have a few :)

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can't really think of anything

11. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Charlie Brown Christmas

12. When do you start shopping?
December 26th!

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My signature Christmas cookies!

15. Lights on the tree?
Yeah lots! Just not the multi-colored ones. I never have liked those

16. Favorite Christmas song?
Can't decide. Here are my favorite albums, though: Darren's compilation, Lisa's addition, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Osmonds, Old Navy Holiday 2000, and of course Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis. They are my favorite. Those two make me homesick though, so I have to be kind of careful about when I listen to them. And I usually call Mom right after :)

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel to Mom's

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
Yeah, but I don't feel like typing them now

19. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Either one. I grew up with an angel though, so that would be my preference if I could find one that wasn't too cheesy looking

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning! We open them one at a time, each person taking a turn starting with the youngest and going to the oldest. It makes the gift-opening last for hours and really fosters the concept of being more excited about what you are giving than what you are getting.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
"Holiday trees" and all of the other PC crap!

22. Favorite ornament theme or color?
The theme for my tree is music-themed ornaments and purple bulbs. Craig's tree is mostly red and gold/silver.

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
We always order pizza for Christmas Eve. Christmas day varies, but my Mom always works hard to make a nice meal and it is always good

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A cast iron pan

News about Tad!!!

Tad was the best man at our wedding and has been Craig's best friend for years. Many of you will remember him. We have lamented for a long time about his single status. Well, no longer! He took an interest in a gal named Brianna early on in the quarter and took her as his date to his annual birthday dinner (October 16th). They have been hanging out since then and recently had a chat and yeah, Tad is no longer single! We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. Now we just have to distract him from the sting of her leaving for Christmas - she will be gone for 3 weeks. Poor Tad. And Carolyn isn't even here to love on him. Hopefully though the excitement of new and very long-awaited romance will ease the ache :).

Grandma Heaven

This is finals week for Craig and he needed time to study without B sitting on his head or yelling at the top of her sizeable lungs, so we sent her off to Grandma's house! Mom & Herb met me in Pendleton on Tuesday and took her from there. They are having such fun! And I am very much enjoying having free time! I am going to bake cookies all day. Of course I miss her . . . still it's nice to have a break. It stinks living so far away from my Mom, but it's awesome that she is retired and loves nothing more than having Carolyn alone for a week. Tomorrow I have another iron infusion, and possibly a voice lesson on Saturday (more on that later). And since I left to drive Carolyn to Pendleton, Craig has written two papers and studied for a final exam, so the time has been productive. We went on a Taco Bell run together in the wee small hours of the morning, which obviously we don't ever do. So all parties involved are having a good time, and we will be traveling to Mom's probably on Monday. And the great thing is, the fun will only get better and better from there as more people arrive. Then Mom will REALLY be in Grandma heaven :)!

A visit with Santa

Santa came to campus this weekend during Ware Fare! Ware Fare is a holiday bazaar that CWU has put on for over thirty years and has become a HUGE community event. When I was still in school they hired me to sing for a couple of years, which was always good timing financially!

Poor B was a bit grumpy, as you can see. Well if you don't know her she may not look that grumpy, but the fact that we couldn't get her to smile is very indicative that she was not herself. She has been working on molars and had a cold. My poor sweet girl :(.

Anyway, here are the pics with her Christmas dress and new coat (her first experience in black friday sales :)!

Recognize these, anyone?

Well, if you aren't one of my parents or siblings, you probably don't.





For those of you who don't know, I wore this coat to say goodbye to my oldest brother David when he left for his mission (It has a matching bonnet but there was no way she was going to leave it on). And I wore the red dress my second Christmas. Thanks mom for saving them!!!

Thanksgiving Travels

We had a very busy holiday weekend! We drove to Auburn (near Seattle) for Thanksgiving dinner at Craig's aunt's house on Thursday, and then home the same day because I had another treatment scheduled Friday morning in Yakima. We spent most of Friday in Yakima. Craig took Carolyn over to Grandma and Grandpa Cannon's while I was at my appointment, then they picked me up and we all met up with Dan & Jessica for lunch. We all had fun as always. We went home again and used Saturday to rest up a bit and give B a day without spending a significant amount of time in the car. Sunday we went to Renton (also near Seattle) to visit our new niece Eva Mae, who was born Thursday night (Craig's sister Heather is the new mommy). Craig's mom and 7-yr-old brother stopped by too while we were there. It was so fun to hold a new baby again and visit with everyone!

Too much Grey's Anatomy?

I heard Carolyn grunting in the kitchen (I was in the bedroom), and asked Craig if we had a girl who was pooping. He said no, we had a girl who was NOT pooping (she does that a lot). I responded by directing him to push 20 cc's of apple juice, and then I laughed at myself :).

Cute girl

B did the cutest thing today! We picked Craig up from school and were on our way to the park to play "soccer" and we heard a smacking sound coming from the backseat. Craig looked back there are Carolyn was giving her baby kisses. We told her that was very sweet and that she was being a very good mommy. She thought it was pretty great.

You really do have to be your own advocate

Long story short - after detailing all of my history and my experience with dietary supplements NOT working for me, the Dr. said "Well, let's try a dietary supplement and re-test in a few weeks and see if that boosts your iron level. If not, we might try an IV". Right. Apparently I was the only one present in that conversation. So I asked if there was any way we could just skip move right to the IV because I didn't want to waste my time. He said sure and I had my first transfusion on Tuesday, and am scheduled for 3 more treatments with labs done before the last one. There can be complications and pain, but mine went just fine. I did have some side-effects yesterday (Thursday), but with some heat wraps and tylenol I was fine after a few hours. All in all, not bad in the least! I am excited to feel better and have more energy. I know my husband and daughter are too!

An appointment

The hematologist in Yakima comes to E-burg a few times a month, so they said they could see me at my doctor's office on December 16, but that I would have to go to Yakima if I wanted to get in sooner. Needless to say, I didn't want to wait that long. So they are actually fitting me in next week! Yay! So I am hoping that they will start treatment then, on Tuesday the 11th.

Oh, and I still have my fever. Whatever.

Answers and optimism

So apparently it was in fact a radiologist who looked at my x-ray and he was quite certain that I had a small amount of pneumonia. My cat scan also indicated some lingering sinusitis, but a very minor case. My fever persists, but I am only on day 4 of my new course of antibiotics.

The nurse who called me inititally about the anemia said I had "some anemia". Well, it's actually severe anemia. After my pregnancy I had come to the conclusion that my body just isn't capable of breaking down iron supplements because I had tried every kind available and nothing was helping. It looks like I never really got over it. So that makes me feel tons better just knowing that I have been really ill and I am not just being a wanny. The pneumonia and sinusitis are most likely the result of the anemia because my blood can't carry sufficient amounts of oxygen and that impairs my body's ability to do . . . well . . . pretty much everything. All things considered, I am really lucky to have been as healthy as I have! I am an avid handwasher, it's true, and with this new information I'm really glad I developed that habit. So I will be seeing a hematologist soon, and the most likely course of action will be either a shot or an IV iron treatment. It may end up being several treatments, and there's a small chance they will want to do a bone marrow biopsy. My Dr. thinks that is pretty unlikely though because I have a really good explanation as to why I got so severely anemic while being otherwise healthy. My B-12, folate, and calcium levels, for example, are all great. So while my body will always struggle more than most to absorb nutrients, it obviously does better with some than others. And I am more than fine with getting an iron shot or IV treatment. Sure it won't be a walk in the park, but it will be A LOT better than being this anemic. And I look forward to my next pregnancy (which will not be immediate) with a lot less trepidation. Not that I had a bad pregnancy, but I had a really bad post-partum period that my body apparently never really fully recovered from. So with treatment I will be well, and I will know exactly how to deal with anemia that will probably occur in my next pregnancy.

So everything is a lot clearer now other than the fever, but I am hopeful that it will sort itself out when my other issues are resolved.

The mysteries continue

First of all, Carolyn and Craig are fine. Yay for that!

My fever continues, but still isn't usually bothersome. My blood work is back and shows iron-defieiency anemia, so that explains the fatigue. "Something" apparently showed up on my chest x-ray, so I am being treated for pneumonia. I really don't think I have pneumonia, though. I've had it twice before, and I felt like crap and obviously had a terrible cough and rattling lungs. I don't have any of that now, and my blood work doesn't indicate any kind of infection - my white blood cell count is actually a little below normal. But my doctor still wants be to proceed with my antibiotics and do another x-ray in three weeks. In the meantime I will be going in on Friday to deal with the anemia, and I will ask about the rest of the results of my labs. I have to admit that I feel a little uncomfortable with the antibiotics since overuse has led to more resistant bacteria, but I am trusting my doctor that this is the right course of action. So now I am taking azythromyscn (commonly called the z-pack) and doxycycline. Hopefully we'll see some results soon!

Medical Mysteries

We have had all sorts of adventures in health care over the past month. I have had a low-grade fever for a month now. The weird thing is that I haven't had any consistent accompanying symptoms. I've had a few headaches, a few body aches, and some fatigue to varying degrees. After the first doctor's visit which was 10 days after the fever started, he said to give it another week because it could be a viral thing that would go away. So I did rest & fluids for a week, and the next week I had picked up a cold so he gave me a 10-day round of antibiotics for sinusitis. A few days after that was over, I went back and they did a chest x-ray just to make sure they weren't missing anything there, and a blood test for mono. That was negative, and the x-ray was unintersting. Tomorrow I am having a catscan of my nasal area. After that, I don't know what they will do.

In the meantime, it was time for my annual blood work, and I get every test under the sun. I was hoping to be feeling better before I had to deal with that, but I finally just gave up and got it done on Friday. We tried initially on Wednesday but I wasn't hydrated enough to get anything (I have terrible veins). So I drank a TON of water and when I went back on Friday they had to poke me 4 times, but were able to get the 10 vials they needed, so that was good.

Craig was doing great until he caught the cold I had, then started having stomach issues that snow-balled into severe gastroenteritis. He had a headache, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, chills, EXTREME fatigue (like he slept 20 hours a day for 3 days straight and has no memory of the few hours he was awake). After a few days of this, he was lying on the couch almost in tears because of pain in his neck. I got nervous about that and looked up symptoms for meningitis online and sure enough he had all of them except seizures which doesn't always happen anyway. So we called Tad to sit here while I took Craig to the ER (Carolyn was already in bed). It was a good thing I caught a nap that day because I had to stay up until 4 am with the ER visit. He didn't have meningitis but he was very dehydrated, so they gave him 2 liters of saline and some anti-vomiting meds through an iv. His blood tests didn't indicate infection, so it looks like just a really nasty virus. So with all of this, he had 3 visits to the student health clinic, an ER visit, and missed more than a week of school and work. So now he will be scrambling for the next few weeks to get caught up.

Carolyn had diarrhea for 2 days, but hasn't had anything else. The Lord has been very good to me and protected me from that stomach bug, too. I consider it a miracle that between Craig and the rest of the ward that I have been spared. But the Lord knows how much more serious it is for me to get those things with my altered physiology than other people, and I was told in a blessing from Craig that I wouldn't get it. So now if they cam just figure out the cause of the fever, that will be great!

Stopping to smell the roses . . . and foxtrot with my baby

After the wonderful general conference we just had, I am thinking a lot about what I am thankful for. I suppose that for a lot of us, our thoughts tend to turn in that direction this time of year anyway. It seems like every talk that has to do with parenthood comes with the advice to cherish every moment of it because it goes by so fast. I can attest to that. That's one thing that I took from President Monson's talk: "enjoy the journey". I can't even believe that Carolyn is over a year old, and this time last year she was still wearing new-born sized jammies! I am so glad I have a digital camera that has allowed me to have so many memories from her first year (thanks again, Leese!).

Life is good right now. Sure we have been sick recently, and Carolyn just cut a molar, and we are "starving students". But really, we aren't starving at all. Thanks to the providence of the Lord and careful budgeting, we are okay. And when we have a little set-back like delayed financial aid disbursement, we have more than enough credit to see us through.

In the past week or so, Carolyn and I have kind of created a tradition of sorts. When we switched back to regular cable with our move, we got music channels which I LOVE!!! I can listen to jazz and opera any time I want. And Carolyn is getting a lot of exposure to good music because of it. When I want something on for "background noise", I do that. One night when she and I were tidying up the house waiting for Craig to get home, I picked her up and we danced around. She thought it was great fun. So now we do it almost every day: foxtrot around the house together in the evenings. It's fun. And while she still thinks I am the coolest person on the planet (next to Daddy, of course) am going to keep doing it until she just thinks I'm weird and doesn't want to.



P.S. She finally has enough hair to use these baby barrettes that the Leethams gave her for Christmas. Cute, isn't it? :)

Picking pumpkins

On Saturday, we went to a local nursery with our neighbors the Millers to get some pumpkins from their pumpkin patch. It is an annual event aimed mostly at kids with games, face painting, a petting zoo, and live music. There is also a maze that has free admission, but we had to head home for Carolyn's nap before we could go through it.







Carolyn with Jenna Miller:

More pics of the new place

Kitchen Wall:



My pretty new diploma in its frame:



The bathroom:



Bathroom art:



More bathroom art:

Pics of the new place

Here are some pics of our new apartment! The artwork is all stuff we've had since before we got married, but never had room for.

From the entry way looking right:



From the entry way looking left:



The hall:



The stove (I love this stove :))

Conference Party

Well, I didn't word it that way - Amy did actually. Carolyn got a hold of my phone on Friday while I was bathing and called Amy. When I got out, I heard the phone ringing (Amy calling back) but couldn't find the phone right away because it was with Carolyn under the end table in the living room. By the time I found them, it had stopped ringing. A few seconds later, it rang again, and it was Amy, an through our mutual confusion we pieced together that Carolyn had called her to begin with. Funny girl. Anyway, Amy and I chatted for a bit and I told her that we were preparing to go to Dan & Jessica's for conference, and she said she was jealous about our conference party. :) Conference makes me happy :) :) :). A few new temples were announced yesterday, one of which will be built in Rome, Italy. ROME! Can you believe it? What a testament to the power and progress of the work. :) :) :).

Carolyn has been having a blast with Auntie Jessica and Uncle Dan Dan Dan Dan Dan (as she likes to say), and of course wreaking havoc and tormenting the boys. They love it though. Ha! Yesterday they made Zuppa Toscana based on an Olive Garden recipe they found online. SO GOOOOOOOOD.

Dan has a cold and is feeling kind of shmucky, but we are all having fun anyway. Yesterday I didn't change out of my pajamas other than briefly while I took a bath. It was great.

There have been some wonderful talks this conference. I have felt comforted, inspired, assured, challenged, and edified. Can't ask for more!

Loving our new place

We love it here. We finished up today at the old apartment (throwing stuff away we decided wasn't worth the effort of packing), and we are down to only one box that isn't completely unpacked. Not bad considering we only started the whole process 20 days ago! It feels great to have down-sized and sent a lot of stuff off to LeAnne's that she has been gracious enough to store for us for a couple of months - then we'll probably rent a unit somewhere. I finally have a dishwasher, which has already made a huge difference for me.

Carolyn also likes it here. At the old place she we had part of the living room partitioned off where she could play, but it was very small - maybe 12 square feet. Here she is free to run (and I do mean run) everywhere except the kitchen and the bedroom. She sleeps in the walk-in closet, and is doing really well with that too.

She had a blast at mom's, and mom was just totally in Grandma heaven. It's so great that mom is retired so when we get to visit, Carolyn really is the center of attention. Mom played with her, read to her, sang songs with her, and took her out to do fun things all day every day for just short of a week. She got her pictures taken and created quite the sensation at the mall, and went out to lunch with mom & two of her girlfriends. I'm so glad that she got to go and be totally spoiled rather than being a bit neglected and frustrated here.

We like out new ward a lot, although she is such a wild girl that church is kind of an exercise in endurance right now. We don't get to both sit in a meeting . . . um . . . ever. I can't wait til she's old enough to go to nursery so we can go to class again in peace! Only 5 and a half more months :).

We are unpacked but still have a bit of organizing to do. When I get everything finished I'll post pics later this week. Craig starts school on Wednesday, so we are really glad to be al settled in.

Going Well

The move is going well. It all happened really quickly. The amount time between applying and getting the keys was 10 days, which is really super fast considering we had to pass a government screening, submit all kinds of tax and other financial records, etc. We found out for sure that we were going to move for sure a week ago (today is Monday), and The Elders' Quorum came over on Saturday with trucks to pick up the furniture and most of the boxes. That's one nice thing about church membership . . . you can call your home teacher and 5 days later they will show up with several other men to do the heavy lifting!!!

We love our new place and are very excited for our new ward. Zach & Anna are in our ward, as well as one of Craig's childhood friends and his wife, who are expecting a baby boy in December. We also have some very nice neighbors 2 doors down (more ward members) who came over to help us when they saw the action on Saturday. They have a 6-month old baby girl. I know Carolyn will be thrilled to have friends to play with!

Speaking of, we sent her to Mom's for the move. She has been there since Friday and they are all having a ball, including Herb. He is such a softie with her! Very sweet.

Busy busy busy

Well, yesterday we had to gather up a bunch of bank records and make another photocopy of B's social security card. We also needed to find Craig's social security card. Fat chance. So we found the form online to order a new one but found out that he would have to go to our local office (which is in Yakima . . . not so local) in order to get a receipt to prove that it has been ordered. In the midst of all of this, our car had a flat tire, and I mean FLAAAAAAAAAT. So he got to empty the trunk to get to the tiny spare which was also kind of flat and put that on. Apparently the jack was a joke too so we are going to look into getting a new one. Anyway, changed the tire, went to Les Schwab and they said it was beyond repair but that since we bought it there, they would give us a credit equal to what would have been the remaining life of the tire. So we got a brand new tire for $35. Yay!!! By the time all of that happened it was too late to go to Yakima, so he went this morning and is on his way home now. He will drop off the receipt, then we will get a call once everything is compiled and looked over so we can sign our new lease and pay the deposit, etc. And GET THE KEY! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

BIG NEWS!!!

We are moving! Not away from Ellensburg yet - just a couple of miles away into government subsidized housing. It's pretty sudden, but we are ready. Emotionally, that is. Of course the packing thing takes a while. The biggest reason for the move is financial. Gotta pay back those student loans somehow, and the reduction in rent will help a lot! Also, our current place is at the top of a long flight of very hard stairs. Mom has been freaking out about it since Carolyn was born (actually before that because she was always terrified that I would fall and hurt her when I was pregnant). Even our landlord has expressed concern, so it really is time. The new apartment complex has lots of wide open spaces for her to play, and a couple of playgrounds for when she gets older.

P.S Carolyn is walking almost exclusively now. I know I've been really bad about posting recently - I was only home a few days from vacation when we started filling out paperwork and found out today that we will be able to start moving by the end of the week.

BIG NEWS!!!

Happy Birthday Tinker-B!

Mama shared her baked beans with me for dinner :)

Alligator Adventure

Beach Baby

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Spirit Lake, Idaho

Crazy fun month

It seems that August has just been one trip after another after another! We started the month by going to Spirit Lake, Idaho (in the panhandle) at Tad's mom's place. We played in the lake, went on a boat ride where we saw osprey hunting, their nest, and a Mama moose with her calf. That was cool. We also went canoeing and kayaking, and to "Silverwood", a fun amusement park. We all had fun.

The following weekend, we went to Dan & Jessica's again because David & Jana (with all 5 girlies) came to visit. That was great fun! We had campfires, went shopping, ate some more of Dan's amazing smoked ribs, and of course played Shanghai Rummy. I even won!

After that we hung out at home until Baby Carolyn and I flew to Boise on August
18th, then to Raleigh, NC with Mom & Herb on the 19th. We stayed there for the night, then drove down to their beach house in Myrtle Beach, SC. Amy & kids met us there and it was so busy busy and fun! It was a little bit diffucult to plan outings around Carolyn's nap schedule, so between that and the 3-hr time zone change, her sleep schedule was realy out of whack, which translated into really nasty nights. She only let me get a decent night's sleep once, and another time mom took her and let me go back to bed. Normally she sleeps 12 hours without a peep (yes I know I am VERY lucky). She's still not totally back to normal now, but doing much better.

We did lots of sight-seeing, and of course went to the beach a few times. Normally they like to go early in the morning or in the evening, but there was so much wind from whatever hurricane we were just on the outside of that it wasn't really enjoyable in the evenings. One day we went right in the middle of the day, and that was much better. The hurricane was causing a bit of a riptide so the surfers were staying pretty close to shore, and the waves were pretty harsh - not that that was enough to deter Andrew or me from bodysurfing. Baby had way too much fun at the beach. I will post pics later tonight.

Herb's son-in-law Ralph is the piano player and orchestrator-in-residence at the Carolina Opry, and he hooked Amy and me up with tickets, so we got to have a little girls night out, which we figured we hadn't done in like, 20 years. The show was wonderful - as good as I've seen in Las Vegas or anywhere! After that we did some last-minute souvenir shopping and then went out to Sonic for a fried ice cream blast and onion rings. Yum! Thanks again Mam for babysitting all the kids!

We left on the 26th, and lt me tell you it was intense. I got up at 5:30 Idaho time, finished packing and helping mom clean the house, then we made the drive to Raleigh, where we found out that due to a mechanical failure in a flight tower in Texas, our flight was delayed. It ended up being okay though because our connecting flight in Chicago was also delayed. We got to Boise just fine but Baby's car seat didn't, so we got a loaner. I got Carolyn down and went to bed at 1:30, so yeah, it was a 20 hour day. Gross. The next day they delivered the car seat just about an hour before I flew back to Seattle.

Craig's week was not quite eventful as mine, and he was very very VERY ready for us to come home. He was very sweet and tidied and vacuumed the whole apartment before he cam to get me, which was so nice. We spent the next couple of days relaxing, unpacking, recovering, and then this weekend we went to the fair on Friday. Then on Saturday Zach & Anna called us and offered us tickets to the rodeo with them, so we got to do that too! All in all, a very eventful August with LOTS of travel. I suppose it makes up for last August when we didn't do a whole lot besides prepare for the baby!

Chopped it!

I've been complaining that I wanted to cut my hair for over a month now. Long hair was just not working for me anymore. It's too hot to wear it down, and I was really bored with putting it up. And even when it cools down, long hair takes more time to look good than I am willing to deal with for now. So this past weekend while my sister-in-law Jana and I were at Dan & Jessica's, she obliged me and off it came! Here it is!

Jazz! Recording! Fun!

Saturday we met at noon, had a final run-through of "Bless the Broken Road" - a country song that he turned into a decidedly jazz arrangement, set up the equipment, and started recording around 1:00. All together we had 16 tunes, which we were able to get done in 5 hours. Waters of March (in both languages) took a few tries, but there were several other tunes that we didn't rehearse before recording, and took one take. That makes me happy, because then you know that they are truly in the moment and for that reason, jazz in its purest form. I did "Here's to Life" again, which I also did with him on my first c.d. in 2001, and despite that fact that we have done that song together dozens of times, we did it completely differently than we had ever done it before. It was REALLY really REALLy really REALLY fun. Of course the music isn't perfect, but it isn't really supposed to be. What it is supposed to be is honest and authentic, so I am pleased.

I just realized that I haven't said anything about what's on the new c.d. The title is "The Sweetest Season", and most of the songs are inspired by marriage & motherhood. There is also a tune inspired by all of my jazz teachers, and a few inspired by my siblings.

I am going to have a c.d. release party in a couple of weeks, and I am leaning toward also releasing a "best of" c.d. at the same time just because I have PLENTY of material for one, and some people who aren't totally into jazz might enjoy having some classical/opera interspersed.

Caz is cool

Caz is pretty much the hippest cat I know.

He was on the West Side doing a reading session for ACDA in the days leading up to my recording, so we decided to record here in the music building on his way back through town rather than going back to CBC. Friday night (July 25th) we got together to run through a few things.

Now Caz is acknowledged by Vijay (my jazz director here at CWU) as the most prolific composer/arranger in the vocal jazz scene. Caz composes original tunes that are being very happily adopted by groups in the tri-state area, is an amazing arranger, and an unparalleled poet/lyricist. FreeForm (the group he founded and continues to direct at CBC) has also received national recognition on multiple occasions. Add to that the fact that he records, masters and mixes all of FreeForm's recordings - two of which received awards from DOWNBEAT magazine (basically the jazz equivalent of ROLLING STONE) and the fact that he is also a really good jazz piano player, can scat your ears off, and yeah, he is a ridiculously talented individual. And lucky for me, a dear mentor and friend. The music I had was from 3 sources: a Disney book, the fake book he wrote as his masters' project, and an online company. Many of my tunes were from his book - nicknamed the Cazology - but he spent a lot of time going through the online stuff and even the Disney book, and "fixing" things. Of course 99% of people would have no idea that they needed fixing, but he is just that brilliant, and I got to reap the benefits. After that we went through some of the tunes that he was less familiar with, then we called it a night.

A week behind

Right after my recording was done, I got super busy helping Delayna & family prepare to move. So, I am a week behind in posts. So the next two posts are from two weekends ago - (July 25, 26). Then after that I will get to this last weekend.

Even more Relay pics

Luminarias: Beacons of light and hope amid the darkness that is cancer

More Relay Pics

The Man of the hour:



More pics of the camp site:





A tiny team Georgie supporter & Auntie Jessica: