Best Wife Ever...

The Award goes to ME!!

Look what I smuggled into my suitcase - fresh from Utah.  

 Two, tasty, amazing Cafe Rio pork burritos.  

Tasty.  Oh - and of course the creamy dressing.  

Sweet-goodness for my awesome husband. 

The Wrap-Up...

Hazel and I had an awesome time in Utah.  It is hard living two thousand miles away, flights aren't cheap and schedules are hectic.  But I love seeing my family.  I love watching everyone ooh and ahh over Hazel and I love the way she laughs at her cousins and chases Cat (the cat I saved then left with my parents - ahh choo!).  I am sorry I didn't get to see a lot of my friends (and no, I really doubt I'll be there for the 10-year this summer) but  I am grateful for every second I got to spend with my family.  

I had a blast chasing my niece and nephews around, playing at the park, staying up way too late chatting and watching Lost (no, I'm not sucked in).  I got to do most of my favorite "Utah" things...Cafe Rio, Thanksgiving Point, Tai Pan, eating on Mom and Dad's deck (yard envy), Liberty Park, shakes with Dougie, DownEast, Cafe Rio, Nines, Joe Vera's, Hogle Zoo, the U of U...I think there were more, but I can't remember.  I didn't get to ski (lame) but I did enjoy my mountains.  

The Fam-Damily - bless the little waitress's heart - she cut out poor Hazel!

It was just nice.  I loved it, but as much as I love it my home is in Maryland, and nothing was sweeter than getting off that plane with Hazel and having Seth greet us with a big hug and fresh flowers.  Having our family together again just makes everything alright. 

Tulip Festivous!

Mason, Drew and I got really into the festival!

After the day at the zoo, we wanted to see more wild and ferocious creatures.  So we headed out to Thanksgiving Point to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the Tulip Festival.  

Beautiful!

Grandma G (my awesome mudder) has the hook-ups and hooked us up with golf carts and segways.  Ah, she is so helpful!

Technically we do have the ability to walk, but it is a little easier to keep the cousins somewhat contained on the golf cart! 

Doug and Mollie - sorry it's blurry, but you guys are just stinkin' cute in your helmets! 

We had an awesome time.  

(Our real goal was to try and get a picture of all the cousins, not sure we were successful, still waiting on Aunt Karen's verdict)

I love, love, love the gardens, so pretty!  

(PS- this waterfall definitely "appears" smaller in the picture, so fun!)

Zoo-tastic!

Grandpa decided work was overrated and that Hazel needed to go to the zoo (her first time!). We met up with some of the fam and headed off to see all the animals.

Grandpa, Uncle Doug, Mollie, Hazel, me, M, M and Aunt Karen

We had a blast!  Hazel loved staring down the animals, she was fascinated by them.

We rocked the train, love it!

But if we are being honest, I think she loved riding the carousel with Uncle Doug the best.  It was hilarious to watch him, he was so worried about her falling off that he had his arms wrapped around her and would squat up and down as the carousel moved so that he constantly had a "good grip" on Hazel.  Hilarious. 

 

Hazel was always in good hands with Mollie and Doug.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Grandpa for a fun day at the zoo!

celebrate that kid!

We came out for Gavin's blessing, it was a very nice blessing and afterward we headed to Kel's clubhouse for some waffles...mmm, tasty!

 Hazel was a big fan of the Man of the Day, he wasn't so sure about her!

Little did I know I'd become Master Waffle Chef!

 Hazel met her Great-Grandpa C for the first time, pretty exciting!  All four generations!

 Ah!  I got caught reminding Drew how cool I am.  How can he not love big squeezes from me!?

girls.girls.girls

Ah, to be with the girls.  Sisters.  Friends. Girls.

Hazel and I had lots of girlie activities.  We took a field trip with my mom and sisters to see what's changed downtown in SLC and we stopped for some tasty dessert at this yummy bakery.

We also were lucky enough to be in town for a Super Sister Saturday (oh, how we have missed those!) We made some sweet bling-jewelry with my sisters, my mom, her sister and her daughter - oh so much fun!

Then Hazel got to meet some of her favorite non-related Aunts.  We are slowly drifting away from SLC, and it's hard to get to get any of us together.  We met up at Liberty Park (my favorite) to visit and play. 

(Mel -who rocked the SLC Half-Marathon that morning, me, Hazel, Christina & new baby Theo, Wein and Hazel's buddy Kate and Miss Rock) 

..I LOVE my girlies!

We are still working on Hazel's "sharing"...she wanted nothing to do with her own toys, and everything to do with Kate's.  She gave Kate her clunky phone and stole Kate's sleek, pink phone.

Arrrrgh!

Anyone that knows me well, knows I love Pirate jokes.  Oh, I love them.  If you're a really good friend, you have probably heard "My Five Jokes" (more than once!)

Imagine my excitement when I found out we were going to Pirate Island to celebrate my sister's big birthday.  Pirates galore!  Grandpa G even challenged the balloon expert to make an armadillo.  

Me thinks he succeeded!

Hazel was thrilled to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa G.  Oh, I think new, baby Gavin was excited too.  (I had just told him a joke, he loved it!)

Flying Angels

In a former life of mine, I enjoyed flying.  I would check all my bags, carry on nothing but a purse, settle into my seat with my iPod, a fresh book and my "traveling socks" (in case the flight was chilly).  I looked forward to long flights, limitless reading time, interrupted only by the occasional offer of a drink or snacks.

My life now, I dread flying.  Hazel is no stranger to flying the friendly skies.  She has been on several cross-country flights in her short, little life.  Seth always flies out with us, but usually it's just me and the baby flying home...no problem.  However, these were all before she was a super mobile, nap-dependent, wiggly, no-way-I'll-sleep-in-your-arms kind of kid.  She's too young to watch a movie but too old to be content on my lap.   I have been dreading this five hour flight for a while, a long while.

I prayed (yes, really) that we would survive this flight.  No, I wasn't worried about crashing, I know I need to put the mask on me first, then Hazel, use my seat cushion as a flotation device (in case we actually land in a lake as we fly over Iowa)...  I was more concerned about the harsh looks, glares and stares I may get as my poor child wailed.  I can't handle that. 

Travel day arrived.  Hazel ate her favorite pancakes at the airport, and we crawled around all over as we waited for our plane.  I secretly hoped the flight would not be full and hopefully we could pretend Hazel had her own seat.  Nope, overbooked.  Boarding time came, and it was our turn (bless you, Southwest, not only do you like my bags, but you let me choose my seat too!).  We began our usual routine, search for an aisle seat on an empty row.  That way whoever chooses to sit by you knows full well you have a kid.  I made it two or three rows back when a nice couple caught my attention and asked ME if I would like to sit by them.  I gave them the WHAT look and pointed to Hazel.  They nodded and asked if I wouldn't mind if they held her.  I sank into the seat next to them and blinked back tears. 

The flight was long, at one point I was positive we were at least three hours into the flight.  Only to look at the time and discover it had only been an hour and a half.  Hazel was antsy, wiggly and normal, she was yawning and dozy but refused to nap.  But thankfully I was not alone.  The wonder-couple, M and R, gladly snatched her from me when she tired of my attempts to entertain.  They let her look out the window, play with their iPods, and even drool and slimy-finger his iPad (yeah, I now want one).  I know it's totally cheesy, but I teared up once or twice on the flight.  Just overwhelmed by their kindness and willingness to help.  Honest answer to a prayer.

They inspired me, and reminded me of the person I want to be.  I want to be that person who isn't bothered by someone else's crying baby, who looks for ways to make someone else's life a bit easier.  Someday I want to find a way to be an answer to someone's prayers.

Thank you, M and R. 

In My Mind,

I'm going to Carolina...

Seth was hired to photograph a wedding in North Carolina and asked if I'd like to come along.  Hazel said she'd rather hang out with Grandpa and Grandma, deal. 

It was such a fun, little weekend trip.  When we were in college we saw a show about some towns in North Carolina and always talked about moving there, even though we'd never actually been there.  We were excited for a chance to finally see if it met our expectations. 

We headed to Greensboro and had a fun time exploring the city and surrounding areas.  We wandered around and eventually found ourselves at a Greensboro Grasshoppers game.  Oh, how I love minor, minor, minor league baseball!

Guilford the Grasshopper and his buddy Babe Ruth (the "bat-dog" - yes, he retrieved the bats)

Not bad, for buying tickets 5 minutes before the game started.

Seth had to work Saturday afternoon/evening, so we spent the morning hitting up some boutiques and then had a tasty picnic in one of the many parks.   

Seth headed off to do his photographer-thing and I did a little shopping and then settled down with a book and loved every second of my quiet time. 

It was so nice, but by Sunday we were ready to have our little Hazel back and be home. 

As we drove home, I told Seth (and I quote) North Carolina is beautiful, we would have been okay if we had moved here.  But, I really love Maryland, it's amazing, the trees, the water, our friends, our house, I don't even hate the twenty-minute drive into "town", (it probably helps that there is a Target 5 minutes from our house). 

Seeing as Seth loves his job and I love our house, we are not moving anytime soon.

Seth looked very relieved with my love for our home.

Then we passed a billboard, just outside of Greensboro, that said:

New Homes from the $110 -140s!

What?! Seriously?

Seth locked me in and kept driving.

Look Who's Laughing...

We were out measuring and taking pictures of our sad, little yard in hopes that my mom, the landscape extraordinaire, would help us out with a "plan" while I am in Utah. 
We noticed Hazel was not a fan of the cold grass (she doesn't mind it when it's warm from the sun). 

She didn't want to get off her quilt...

Seth found her attempts to reach the tape measure, with out touching the grass, hilarious...

I found his outfit hilarious

sun = good

Why is it that the sun just makes everything better?  Hazel's going to spend the weekend with her grandparents and so I wanted to give her all of my attention today.  To spoil her, I invited Anna (and her mom and brothers) to the boardwalk/park for a picnic.  It was so nice. 

It apparently took Hazel and Anna a minute to realize they were sitting next to each other.

I was just telling my sister that all of our pictures are of Hazel.  Hardly any of Seth and me.  Well, here's one with Hazel!

I am honestly not sure who Jack likes more, me or Hazel.

The girls decided to escape our little picnic, Anna was leading the escape and Hazel was doing her best to keep up crawling behind.  

(No one needs to tell Hazel she could keep up better if she walked, we like crawling!)

Bzzzzzzzz.

What's that sound? Oh, just the sound of a first haircut.

Before:

After:

She loves it.  As do we.