Finally, Family!

My brother Cameron (in dental school at Case Western) and his wife Audrey and three kids Grant, Claire, and Brigham live in Cleveland and we miss them tremendously. Ever since they (months and months ago) announced that they were coming to Salt Lake this summer we all have been counting down the minutes! We've been able to spend some time with them... not nearly as much as we'd like... but it has been great. Cam came to Batman with us, Audrey and I got some good thrift shopping escapades in, I've made blue-and-white lego soup with Claire, read some books with Brig, and Grant... well, he has become so independent that it is hard to get a minute with him!

Cam's family ready for church



The first official picture of all four grandkids!



We went to see the Japanese drummers at Red Butte. It was awesome. Guess which kids made it through the concert and could handle all the booming? Crosby and Brigham, the babies. Funny, huh?! Grant and Claire ran out of there plugging their ears the whole way.

Piggyback at Red Butte Gardens:



My dad and Cam took Grant and Claire fishing/camping and so my mom, Auds, Brig, D, Crosby, and I met them up there one night for DELICIOUS dutch-oven chicken and s'mores. We saw a mother moose with her baby and seven deer, it was beautiful and I wanted to stay!

Brig AKA Pigpen. He couldn't get enough of the dirt. At one point he was laying in it and throwing it onto his body. He morphed from a towhead to a brunette in about one minute.



D and I are still working on getting our first acceptable family picture. Here is yet another attempt in vain, but this was us "camping."

Usually when family's in town I try to be around them every second I get, but it has been more challenging to do that this time around. Having a five-month-old makes it hard to pick up and constantly leave the house which has been a bit sad since we've wanted to spend more time with Cam, Audrey, and their kids before they leave. Regardless, home is definitely where Crosby is his best self for the most part.

When weeding out clothes that are too small for Croz now, I came across this adorable robe that my friend Kenzie from work gave Crosby. Matching slippers too that used to fall off his little newborn feet! And now, well...



It's a tad small. He he!

Crosby is looking older these days, no?



When they talk about smiles that MELT you... I am a total sucker every day with that grin, I tell ya.

The blog would not be complete without a documentation of Crosby's first encounter with eating. I finally whipped out the rice cereal last week and here's a video snippit of his reaction when D fed it to him:



He is becoming more accustomed to his little high chair and the concept of eating from a spoon. We have an eating practice session once every day. Barley this week, yahoo... so far so good!

D has a show tomorrow night again at Huka about 9 pm. This picture's a little wacky of D but cute of Croz. Too bad I can't take Crosby with me to D's shows ):



But... I'm going to try and go this time thanks to willing grandparents who like to babysit. I think all three of my brothers might even come. See you there!

Summer Cold

I know us humans can get colds any time of the year, but getting a cold as summertime peaks feels a bit strange. Nevertheless, 'tis the season in our household. The past FIVE days have consisted mainly of these five things:











Make of this what you will. The mint Oreo binges have got to stop! However, when you're sick you can justify ANYTHING. Including a nice long Sunday nap with the hubby.

Ah. Heaven.

PS Apologies to those who got sick because of us ): Sorry family ):

Honorable Pioneers and Another Show

Pioneer Day... those not native to Utah think it is quite silly. I hold a very respected place in my heart for the pioneers and their history. D and I visited his brother in Omaha last Fall and we were able to go to the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters, which was really cool. I get an onslaught of gratitude every time I learn more about the pioneers. They suffered profusely but drove themselves forward regardless.

It is such a gratifying spiritual experience to involve oneself in the history behind the pioneers, particularly if you personally have ancestors in that respect. In '97 my mom, my brother Stephen, and I participated in our church pioneer trek and, yes, they ARE all they are cracked up to be! I always attempt to describe things but this experience cannot be described; it can only be lived. It humbles you, strengthens you, exhausts you, and then forces you to look to your Father in Heaven. I came across a story my mom had written for me about her great-grandmother (my great-great-grandmother) Hannah Jane Robertson:

"Hannah was the mother of three small boys and a widow at age 26. She was traveling with her brother and three sons in a covered wagon and became stuck in the quicksand. Hannah's brother strapped her oldest son to one of the horses and pinned a note on his shirt knowing the horse would have to find water and then hopefully people to help.

About 2 am lights came shining over the desert and she knew help was coming. Help arrived with water and supplies. She was taken with her two younger sons to the Anderson home where her oldest boy had safely ended up. It took the search party until the following evening to get the horses and wagon out of the sand.

Hannah wrote in her journal, 'I hope someday my children and grandchildren can read this poor record I have tried to write for them. I wish I could spell and write good, I have many things I want to say but can't.' "

This in itself is an amazing story and I try putting myself in Hannah's place... yet this is only a small taste of their hardship. I am glad I went on that trek to, at the very least, devote my respects to those who helped to slowly but surely pave the way for the lavish lives we get to live today. Let us all be mindful of and happy for ALL our lives are now blessed with!


Well on a lighter note D will be playing once again with his band SlowRide at the Huka Lounge on Thursday evening between 9 and 10 pm. Once again, that's Thursday, July 24th at Huka. I know everyone'll need a way to cap off their busy Pioneer Day... head to Huka!

151 East 6100 South in Murray

Happy and safe Pioneer Day, everyone!

Moulin Rouge!

Friday I hosted a Moulin Rouge! night out on the patio and it was great fun!

Give me your kissy can-can pose, dahling:



What a rock star my dad was to help out with setting up the projector and humungo movie screen outside complete with an awesome sound system (yes, we warned the neighbors)... and my rock star of a mom who watched Crosby so I could have a fancy-free night with the girls even though both parents had SO MUCH to do.



We had every movie treat imaginable, including the decadent chocolate-covered strawberry. This is my cute cousin Elese:



Moulin Rouge is, to me, not just a movie but a spectacular work of art. I love it for so many reasons: the costumes, the music, the love story, the chemistry of everyone together in the movie. I was able to visit Montmartre (the district of Paris where the real Moulin Rouge is) myself and although that area is basically prostitute and sex-shop territory now, I still found it so very beautiful, especially with the Sacre-Coeur in its glowing glory at the top of the butte. I imagine myself living there at the turn of the twentieth century, 1900's Paris, strolling the streets as a Bohemian and mingling with artists like Toulouse-Latrec! I just love love love this movie if you haven't sensed that quite yet (:

I strung some red lights to add to the mood. As it got dark, the movie got even better and we all started singing along when it came time for the Elephant Love Medley, oh yeah baby, no holding back there.



Had a blast, and am definitely doing another movie night before this summer escapes. It was so very wonderful to see some of my dear friends and family and being able to catch up after too long: from L-R: Amy, Aimee, Joanna, Sarah, Lis, Elese, aunt Julie.

Sarah in the red-striped shirt was one of the gals that I met when studying French in Switzerland. On one of our free weekends while in Switzerland the school allowed us to travel wherever we wanted to so she and I and two other girls planned a trip to Paris where we visited the Moulin Rouge so she was there with me! It's been fun to stay in touch with her.

Tonight

D has another show tonight!

It is at Liquid Joe's and SlowRide plays around 9.



1249 East 3300 South

Where's Crosby?

A couple of mornings I've heard Crosby playing in his crib and after a while decide to go in and see what he is up to. I use this little duck blanket thing as a bolster to keep him on his side while sleeping but he loves to smother himself with it and while that is a concern, it's hilarious because I go in there and all I see is a big duck-headed baby. He too thinks it is SO funny to put that over his head!



This was from the 4th of July; great posers, right?



Crosby hangs on to the "railing" of his carseat, and he was hanging on even as he fell asleep. D says it looks like he's riding the subway (:



Granny B thought it was a fun idea to stick Croz in his 4-year-old cousin Eden's baby doll stroller. Although he's a bit large for it, he just sat there totally content and wondered what the heck we were laughing so hard about! (And if any of you don't know Grandma Barua, she MUST feed Crosby every five minutes. "He needs to eat! He's hungry." And we would have just fed him like a half hour ago. She's ALWAYS feeding him and this picture is no exception!)



When I have stuff to do, I'll put Croz on our bed, bolster him with pillows, and find him in a pose sometimes. This was one of those moments:



We love our Crosby guy SO very much! He is getting to be incredibly active and is rolling over a lot. He is such comedy relief every day with that mysterious smile and elated giggle!