Summer?

I've been living in Salt Lake for a long while now, so you'd think I'd clear from my head the notion that Summer begins when May begins. It's fun to pretend like summer is here though. Crosby insists on shorts every day now - rain or shine, D and I are still snuggling under our down comforter, and I still can't bring myself to put Lennox in short sleeves most days. I really appreciate the rain and actually like it. It's no fun when you're a kid though; Crosby's ready to get OUT!

Lack of summery weather didn't stop us from attending our zoo date. A group of friends who used to work at Dan's back in the day all decided to get together... some with kids and some sans kids. Erik & Alysa brought Callan, Mirjeta & Jared came with Tavi, Steph brought Tyler as her date ;) I've missed them! Too bad I didn't get pix of everyone. Here's the trio of us girls.



Crosby wasn't loving the spitting dinosaur. Neither was I.



Every time I observe the gorillas my heart sinks :( It is quite fascinating that just by looking at their faces you see how intelligent they are. Did I hear someone say wasted potential? Seriously... I'm planning on making friends with them soon because they might rule the world someday and gain back some justice. Wow we must look like big-time idiots.



D's beanie epitomizes our lovely ever-changing Utah climate... cold one second and hot the next.



Croz was fond of trying on hats



My 30 days of Bikram just ended. I thoroughly enjoyed making it to as many classes as possible and taking in one of my favorite sources of solace... I hope I can consistently revisit practicing Bikram, as I love it dearly. But for now, back to dancing in the kitchen!

My dad's Brazilian friend Dalva was staying at my parents' place so D & the boys & I went twice to visit with her. She is awesome. She is animated. She is loving. She has something to say every millisecond! I loved "talking" to her, even if my dad had to translate every word. Since Portuguese is a mixture of Spanish and French I was banking on understanding some of what she said. C'etais tres difficile. I was incredibly impressed with my dad, though! He knew EVERYTHING she said. His language skills were flowing like mad. I very much enjoy listening to and watching people speak different languages. Communication is fascinating. She was the cutest lady and kept saying how much she loved Crosby and that he was full of love. She would point to Lennox, who was crying both times she saw him, saying he's the nervous one. She kept looking at D holding the boys and saying that one of the best things you can ever have is a man who loves and takes good care of his children. I hope we see her again someday...



Cam & Auds are officially moving out of their Cottonwood Heights home :( We have loved our visits there and I cannot BELIEVE it's already been two years since they moved back to Salt Lake.

Cousins.



I was acting all nostalgic Saturday night, taking pictures as if they're moving away from us forever. It's just hard though because they still don't know EXACTLY their next destination and #1 that's been outrageously difficult for them but #2 I keep feeling inclined to savor every moment with them before they potentially go somewhere really far away. I can't think about it too hard; Cam holds quite a large part of my heart.



And who holds a large part of Crosby's heart?

Brig.



Well, each one of them really... they are the only cousins he gets to see on a regular basis and he loves them so much!



We all went over for a farewell movie night in their huge beautiful backyard. All snuggled in our chairs with our blankets and sweatshirts. Eating peanut M&M's, popcorn, and blueberry ice cream watching Despicable Me.



Nan & Grandpa with all of the grandkids.



Sunday morning I went crazy with the zucchini bread again. Baking, that is. I just have to have aromas filling the kitchen! I made some to freeze, some to give away, then we were off to church. Then to Sabita's to make her a birthday dinner (her favorite stir fry), as her bday was on the 20th.

Monday we took Sabita on errands. Then had a playdate at Colette's place; they just got a new tramp & invited Croz over to jump with Stella and they had a blast. Lennox slept the whole time down in their basement. Colette has this gorgeous home and when I walked into her kitchen I was overcome with the most delightful citrus scent. There was this sleek silver contraption on her counter with a soft blue light in the middle, steam slowly escaping out the top. An essential oil diffuser. This is now on my list of things I probably will never get but really want. It was magnificent.

In our ward they're trying something out called "Nourishing Neighbors." They leave out cute little take-out cartons with a name & phone number. They're names of older folks in the neighborhood who could use a dinner & a visit. So I grabbed a certain one, feeling like I should take that one. The problem is that it sat for at least a week or two and I started to feel horrible, so on Tuesday since I was making chicken noodle soup I called the number and told the lady I'd be by with dinner... I was so glad I chose her! She ended up having a history with my Great Aunt Fay and other family members. We sat in her living room having a nice visit. She was a lot of fun to talk to and I guessed her age to be 75 or so. She said she just turned 90. I was in shock. She wants me to bring Croz & Lennox in the summer to visit.

I have been working (only mentally) on improving my chicken noodle soup. I had only made it once before by combining two stellar recipes and it really turned out despite how intimidated I was to make it. It's the kind with those thick noodles and a murky broth. Red potatoes. I made a HUGE batch this time, so was nervous on proportions but threw stuff in anyway and didn't meticulously measure. I don't know why I do such things when I could risk wasting a batch of soup meant to feed 16+ people. Maybe because it is so outrageously daring. Ha! What an exciting life I lead. Anywho, the soup prep took a good part of the day mixed with the duties of young ones but I was loving making it. I made a big batch of breadsticks as well and took dinner to our downstairs neighbors. It was the day of the U2 concert and so I was allowing myself lots of caffeine and lots of loud U2 music with reckless abandon. When my mom showed up to watch the boys she must have thought I was quite the strange one as I'm divvying up bowls of soup for people while frantically saying, "I haven't even tasted the soup!"

Jigga making chicken noodle soup and dancing to "Get On Your Boots!"



The U2 concert! This has been the date D & I have been waiting for! Steve bought tix for us about a year and a half ago but due to Bono's emergency back surgery/recovery, they had to reschedule the tour dates. So **MAY 24TH** has been this big blinking light of a day to look forward to for SO long!

The album below is the one D bought me the month we started dating, in October of '98. I love the B-Sides part of it. It takes me back; we would have U2 and Led Zeppelin playing in my parents' living room into the wee hours night after night. This was our "getting to know each other" time that I'll never forget. It is where my soul squared away a place for D. We did nothing but talk for hours and hours and hours night after night while everyone was sleeping. There was this kind of building up; for an entire two months we didn't hold hands. We didn't kiss. We just talked and gave looks. It was magic, and so was the music.



Needless to say... ECSTATIC!!!



I love my bro.



Seriously I don't remember ever being so revved up for a concert. The crowd was electrically charged. They walked out so close to us. I was screaming 12-year-old girl style.



In heaven.



I kept thinking how some guy was singing so loud and I'd turn to look at D and it was him! Everyone was singing/screaming so loud the entire time. Blake & Steve were dates.



They played some great songs that I never thought I'd hear at a U2 concert, like Zooropa, Miss Sarajevo, & Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me



Toward the end Bono had the coolest mike suspended from cables or something. At first it was red and then they turned it sparkly to match the stadium-sized disco ball for "With or Without You." It was the GREATEST show; we absolutely loved every second.



We've loved each other a long time & U2 reminds us of that ;)



Wednesday morning we met at the park with the Daveys! Arthur and Croz had the greatest time chasing birds with sticks. Running free, digging in the sand, sliding and swinging. Karin and I got to chat some while tending to the needs of the teeny ones.



Wednesday night I escaped with three of my buddies to a movie out at Jordan Commons, which was a nice diversion. So refreshing to laugh and talk no boundaries with the girls!

Thursday was Jiffy Lube day, more Sabita errands, and yardwork day. I finally pulled some weeds and worked 'til 9 pm pruning laceleafs. I've been wanting to for days and weeks on end. It's just that this entire week Lennox has barely slept in the day. It has been truly exhausting because housewise I can't get anything done. I don't understand how he went from 2 or 3 solid naps per day to zero. I know teething is playing into it, but he's got to be exhausted...

Friday we spent the day at Cam & Audrey's helping them move. Croz had a ball playing on the tramp and walking barefoot outside all day. Everyone pushed really hard and got almost all of the moving done; most of it to their storage unit and then the rest to my parents'. I can't believe they're going to be EVEN closer... living at my parents for now. I am afraid we could get used to this!

Friday was Claire's birthday too so we all booked it to the park to have cake & ice cream and open presents before the rain came pouring. Happy #6, Claire!

It is a true delight to be this boy's mom. He is acting older...



... and wiser. He asks lots of questions. If we're going to the store, he needs to know which store. If I mumble something he has to know what I said. He asked me the other day: "What is time?" and "Do you know how much the kitchen weighs?" as he held up a ruler :) He's still a sucker for anything construction!



I've been telling him that as soon as we clear off the patio we can get his sandbox out. He's been helping me work in the yard... he asks for tools and gloves and likes to look for worms. He LOVES to run free and that is the one thing I regret... I wish he had more opportunities to!



Lennox likes to think he's helping in the yard ;) He has made it clear lately that he despises being away from his family. He has to be where everyone else is, preferably within a five foot range of his brother, who he worships.



Finally that first tooth emerged... can you see it?! He's had bubbles under his gums for a while now, poor guy



He will chew on most anything. We can't get enough of this Jigga; he is a roly-poly ball of giggles and drool.



Even though he's teething and probably doesn't feel great, he always manages to smile continually! He is the most pleasant, sweet baby. His eyebrows are starting to crack me up. Very animated.



Speaking of eyebrows, I am here to present (drumroll) ... Mini-D!