Five-Year Anniversary

Jim and my five-year wedding anniversary was on Friday, May 10, which meant it was an anniversary/Mother's Day combo weekend. 

On Thursday, I got delivery of a dozen roses (complete with a sweet note from Jim and Ever) and a dozen gourmet chocolate-covered strawberries, all of which Jim and I consumed that night (except for one, which I ate Friday).  It was Jim's first real acknowledgment of Mother's Day, and I really appreciated it.  Problem is now I have to reciprocate for Father's Day. . .

We've really enjoyed going out of town for long anniversary weekends, but that's a lot harder now that Dolly's joined us.  I arranged for Mikayla Shirley, our barely-16-year-old babysitter, to babysit Friday early evening until Saturday at 7:00 P.M. (she had a dance that night) so we could spend a Dollyless night in San Diego.  It was Mikayla's first official overnight babysitting job, and all went well.  Apparently Dolly went down fine around 7:00 P.M. and slept until 7:30 A.M.  It was hard to leave this face . . .

. . . but Mikayla gave me updates by text, so I knew all was well.

We checked into the Manchester Grand Hyatt by Seaport Village and then walked through Little Italy looking for a restaurant.  We settled on the Indigo Grill and really enjoyed it. 

 

We bought some gelato from a less-than-friendly dreadlocked fellow and made it back to our hotel just in time for the season finale of Blue Bloods.  We took a late-night jaunt through the hotel, checked out the pool, and did a quick spin around the restaurant at the top of the other hotel tower.  According to the materials in our room, this hotel is the tallest waterfront hotel on the West Coast or something like that.  Jim was going to have a second dessert in the restaurant, but the menu was scanty and not enticing. 

Saturday morning we slept in until about 8:30 thanks to our high-powered curtains.  We were kind of sad about that because we'd hoped to fit in lots of things (early run, breakfast, leisure time in front of our ocean-view window, maybe pool time, etc.) before checkout.  We decided to combine our run and breakfast.  We took a selfie before we left.  I positioned myself slightly behind Jim to avoid the appearance of enlarged features due to proximity to the camera.  The end result - I look miniscule:

 

 

Our hotel was across the street from the Kansas City Barbeque, featured in the bar scenes in Top Gun (where Goose sings "Great Balls of Fire"):

 

This is our hotel.  The windows at the top of the closer tower are where the restaurant is:

 

We ended up having breakfast at this cool little café:

 

The pancake and waffle offerings were extensive and exciting.  I was tempted to order the famous peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast . . .

 

 

. . . but ended up playing it safe with a pumpkin waffle.  Jim had an interesting blueberry cornbread waffle, and we shared a big bowl of fruit.  Then we ran five miles.  It was tough.  I blame the giant breakfast. 

We ran through the Gaslamp Quarter, past Petco Park, and down by the harbor. 

 

I'm the really tiny person under the leaning tower.

 

 

This is outside the Convention Center, where we stopped for a potty break.

 

That's the USS Midway in the background.

The Star of India, the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship afloat, originally launched in 1863.

 

We passed this interesting graffiti (?), the meaning of which eludes me:

 

We quickly cleaned up at the hotel and then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around.  We went through Seaport Village, noticed this Christmas store, and thought of Mamo:

We took a ton of selfies, at my insistence.

This one's my favorite.  Turns out I look a lot better white-washed:

There were a bunch of people flying kites (you can barely see them in the distance on the left):

 

There was also a weird bird man (I say "weird" only because I think all bird people are weird) who let people pose with his birds for a fee:

 

Jim really liked this building for some reason, which sported only tiny windows.  He tried to take a picture out front, and we got yelled at by the security dude and front desk person, who said you can't take pictures of federal buildings.  Turns out it's a prison.  So we walked a short distance and took a picture, just to show them:

 

Sculpture by the federal courthouse:

Fanciest courthouse I've ever seen, which I find interesting since California courts have no money:

 

I don't remember The Dark Crystal, but that's what these weird things reminded me of:

Jim saw this fancy burger place when we were in Little Italy for the Art Walk and had been dreaming of it ever since.  So we went there for lunch.  I wasn't really hungry so just had a delightful little salad.

 

We walked back through the Gaslamp Quarter, spent way too much on a not-very-exciting sundae at Ghiradelli's, got a slice of pizza, and then headed home.  We were bummed we couldn't fit in more restaurants, but we did the best we could.  That night I passed out on the couch around 9 P.M.  I think the run and all those hours of walking did me in. 

 

All in all, it was a nice little getaway.  Wish we'd had another night, but longer kidless trips are going to be tough - at least until Bags moves here and starts babysitting for us.  



Art Walk in Little Italy

In researching things to do in San Diego, Jim discovered the annual Art Walk in the Little Italy neighborhood.  (This is part of his tour-San-Diego-to-make-Whitney-like-it thing.)  This year the Art Walk was the weekend of April 27.  A bunch of blocks are closed to traffic, and about 350 visual artists show their work in little booths.  There are also live performances (music, dance) going on at various spots. 

We aren't really in the market for art since we a) have no more open walls, b) probably couldn't bring ourselves to pay that much money for anything, and c) are too afraid of going in and really looking when the artist is standing right there and we'd feel bad about not buying anything.  So we walked the streets and looked around without getting too close.  We didn't see anything we were really wild about, but it was fun to take it all in. 

 

Of course, Dolly had to get out of the stroller for a while and pretend she's big:

 

We enjoyed some of the buildings:

There were a number of people holding signs like this one:


Note the guy playing live music in the background under the green tent.

There was a band playing on the stage on the right:

Little Italy sign, Art Walk sign, and lots of people:

Random hula hoopers:

 

Dolly and I under the Little Italy sign:

A very nice man offered to take a picture of all of us.  He missed the whole point of capturing the sign:

 

 

On our way back to the car, we passed this shop, where two girls were getting set up as human mannequins.  It was really weird:

It was a fun outing, and this exposure to Little Italy ended up inspiring our anniversary weekend celebration.  Post coming soon.

Pat's Run 2013 (Plus a Visit from the Harwoods)

Saturday, April 20 was Pat's Run.  We rented a five-bedroom house with the Karners in Buckeye, a suburb west of Phoenix.  Houses are cheaper out there, and it made our drive to and from Arizona shorter (although it also made our drives to Phoenix/Tempe longer).  Jim, Ever and I left on Wednesday evening.  The Karners followed on Thursday morning.  Ever's not generally a huge fan of the car, so we drove at night in hopes she'd sleep the whole time.  Turns out Dolly can't sleep very well in the car - possibly because she usually sleeps on her belly (or on her knees bent over with her face pressed against the mattress).  She slept some but fussed the whole last hour.  I think being strapped into one position like that is hard for her.  We made it to the house around midnight.  We scoped it out and chose rooms.  (Ever got her own room!  Hooray!)  Ever ran around and explored a bit before bed.  'Twas a late night. 

Thursday morning Jim went on a nine-mile run.  (He's decided he needs to do the Boston marathon, which means he has to qualify in another marathon with an average per-mile pace of seven minutes and 26 seconds.  He did a lot of research into various marathons and started a training program in March.  At this point, he's thinking he'll do the Pocatello marathon in August as his qualifier, but we'll see.  He hasn't registered yet.)  After he got back, we walked up to Main Street for lunch.  The neighborhood was quite nice and included some lovely tree-lined streets.  We had a delicious lunch at a pizza place at the end of Main Street, which was very quaint.  Regrettably, I took no pictures of this outing.  We hurried back so Jim could meet Derrick and Chris (Derrick's brother) at the golf course for an afternoon session.  Melanie dropped the fellas at the golf course and then brought the kids (Christian, Kara, and Chris's daughter Ally) to the house.  The kids played near, and a little bit in, the pool that afternoon.  Turns out nobody in Arizona has a heated pool since pools get uncomfortably hot on their own in the summer.  That meant the pool was really too cold to be much enjoyed at this time of year, but the kids dabbled.  Ever found a baseball and kept throwing it in the water and wanting people to fish it out for her so she could do it again.  She desperately wanted to get in the water, but I didn't want to take her.  I ended up letting her hang out on a step in the pool in her clothes. 

We were going to meet the boys for dinner at the golf course that night, but Ever was super tired and dinner was going to be way past her bedtime.  Jim got us Subway and a delicious Oreo shake from Jack in the Box (we discovered the shake on our drive to AZ, so we enjoyed two such shakes in about 24 hours), and we stayed in. 

Friday morning Jim watched Dolly so I could run.  Inspired by Jim, I ran 6.36 miles.  The farthest I remember running before is about 6 miles - and that was probably about 15 years ago - so I was pretty proud.  We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and kept Dolly busy with straws. 

 

We drove to Phoenix for lunch at the home of Jim's former mission companion, Wade Eagar.  Wade's wife, Deirdre, made a nice lunch, which we enjoyed despite not being hungry at all because of our giant breakfast.  Wade surprised us all (including his wife) by secretly inviting another former companion, Joe Mask. 

After hanging out at the Eagars' for a few hours, we went to ASU to pick up our race packets and then went on to Gilbert to meet Jim's former roommate, Mike Latteier, at his son's tee ball game.  We'd hoped Ever would sleep in the car, but she only slept for a few minutes.  When we got to the park, we let her play for a few minutes before heading to the tee ball game.  She enjoyed the slides - particularly climbing up them.

We chatted with Mike on the tee ball game sidelines.  Dolly met a little girl ("Stranger Girl"), and they quarreled over a container of Ice Breaker mints Stranger Girl was carrying around. 

I gave Dolly my mints so she wouldn't have to take the Stranger Girl's.  I was excited that Dolly would have a playmate, but Stranger Girl's mom snatched Stranger Girl away and said Stranger Girl would just come after Dolly's mints, too.  Dolly was left to watch the game alone. 

 

After the game, we went back to the Latteiers' amazingly gorgeous and gigantic house.  (I've never known anybody who lives in such a fancy place.  It's a super-affluent neighborhood, and apparently some of their neighbors, including a General Authority, aren't so warm and fuzzy.)  Kristen, Mike's wife, met us at the house with dinner from someplace called Paradise Café.  It was delicious, even though I still wasn't hungry.  (It was a really bad eating day.)  We enjoyed visiting with the Latteiers and didn't get home until after 9.   Late night for Little One. 

Saturday morning we got up at 4:45 A.M. and left the house around 5:15 to get to ASU for the race.  We'd been told that we absolutely had to be there by 6:15 because they were cracking down on security in light of the Boston marathon bombings.  We ended being a little late, and the you-have-to-be-there-by-6:15 thing ended up being a total lie.  We kind of wished we'd slept a little later, but we didn't have too much time to kill.  This year they let people with strollers who wanted to go faster (like a 10-minute-mile pace) go in corral 12 instead of making everyone with strollers go in corral 26 at the very end like last year.  Derrick and Chris waited to go with us (Mel stayed home with the three Karner kids).  Jim doesn't have a slow setting, however, so he took off with the stroller, and I followed.  We lost Derrick and Chris shortly after we passed the start line and never saw them again.

The race was fun.  It's really crowded, and despite being in an earlier heat this year, we still had lots of slow pokes and walkers blocking our way.   We did manage to weave around people and run the whole time (unlike last year), although not quite as fast as we would have liked.  We ended up finishing the 4.2-mile race in 36 minutes and 38 seconds.  I felt soooo much better this year.  The weather was much cooler (in fact it was perfect), and I'm in such better shape than I was four months after giving birth to Ever.  It's amazing to finally be able to run again! 

We got out through the crowds in the stadium and called Derrick and Chris (who, it turned out, only finished about 20 seconds behind us).

 



We reunited with them up in the stadium, where we enjoyed some bananas and Gatorade and took some pictures.  It's impossible to get a good picture in the stadium.  If you can see the field in the background, we're too dark; if you can see us, the field is too light.

 

 



Jim, Dolly, Derrick, and Derrick's friend/former mission companion, Seth, who also ran.

On our way out, Jim and Dolly hit the mist machine.  Jim loved it because Dolly snuggled into him every time.

I don't remember seeing this dude, but it looks like he's just standing there staring at Ever like he wants to steal her:


 

 

We didn't have to check out of the house at any specific time, so we went back, cleaned up, and let the kids play outside by/in the pool.  Chris's daughter, Ally, challenged me to a handstand contest.  I got to cheat and have terrible form because I'm old, so I gave her a run for her money.  (She does gymnastics and, I imagine, is a lot like I was at that age.  She cartwheels everywhere and was doing back handsprings in the backyard.)  The kids and men launched some water balloons over the backyard wall and into the nearby field. 

 

We drove home Saturday afternoon/evening.  Dolly didn't fall asleep until right before we pulled into our driveway.  Crazy kid.  It was a really nice little family vacation, and it was fun to visit with friends while we were there.  I'm so glad we started this tradition. 

 

Jim's former roommate, Mark Harwood, his wife, Jill, and their three boys (Ben - 4, Sam - 2, and Josh - 6 mos.) stayed with us for almost a week beginning the Saturday we got back from Arizona.  The Harwoods are living in Spokane now and wanted a warm-weather vacation.  We got the house all ready for them before we took off for Arizona and left a key under the mat since they arrived a few hours before we got back.  They were the most courteous guests ever.  They bought all their own groceries (meaning we got what they didn't finish), made us dinner, bought us flowers, stripped all their beds before they left, brought us goodies from Spokane, etc.  It was a little crazy having boys in the house who are in that active/loud stage, and we were afraid we might have made the Harwoods feel bad because it was sometimes clear we weren't fans of the goings-on.  (Jim, especially, cannot hide his displeasure, and he regulated on the kids multiple times.)  It's awkward to be in a position where you want to tell other people's kids what to do/not do, but you're not really allowed to because the parents are around.  I think it was nerve-wracking for Mark and Jill, too, because they were worried about Ben and Sam damaging the house and were just generally highly aware that they were in somebody else's space.  In conclusion, it seems unlikely that the Harwoods will return, but we were glad they came.  It was fun to see them, and it's nice to have visitors.



Dolly's Day-to-Day

Dolly likes to assist with the housework.  She always helps unload the dishwasher.  The silverware is her specialty; she hands it to me one by one.  She helps put groceries away after we go shopping.  The last time I tried to mop the floor was a total nightmare because she kept wanting to take the mop away from me. 

She's very silly.  Once we watched her (on the video monitor) take her shirt off in her crib before she lay down to nap.  Another time, when I went in to get her, she had taken her pants off.  This day, she got one of her arms out through the neck of her shirt, which she thought was very funny (she pranced around and around showing it off; I couldn't get her to stay still for a clear picture):

 

Her favorite game is throwing her little yellow ball into the wood bin next to the fireplace and having Jim pretend that he's totally infuriated.  He fake screams, "Noooooo!  You threw the dirty ball in here!"  Then he takes it out and throws it, and the fun starts all over again.  Sometimes when Jim's not around she throws the ball in and then says to herself, "No!" 

She's had a lot of fun putting things on her head:

She really enjoys playing the piano.  Now that she can climb up onto the bench and dismount with ease, she goes into the construction zone (where the piano is) multiple times a day to play.  She messes with my sheet music, too, as if she knows what it is.  She doesn't usually pound too much and actually sometimes plays one note at a time, so that's nice. 



 

She likes being outside and tries to reach the door handles to let herself out.  She's still just a little too short, thank goodness.  Jim hasn't replanted the backyard, so it's not very enticing.  We go out once in a while, though. 

I always worry about sun exposure.  I would take her outside way more if I didn't have to either a) lube her up in sunscreen or b) fear that she's gonna get fried and end up with skin cancer.  She won't wear her hat anymore, but I have hope that she'll get used to her sunglasses:

Sometimes she eats; sometimes not so much.  We've decided that if Jim's around, the most effective meal strategy is to have Jim feed her while I prepare her numerous courses (the majority of which are invariably rejected).  Avocado and asparagus are usually hits.  Sometimes she'll do cheese, peas, quesadilla, macaroni and cheese, bananas.  I can't figure out why she loves something one day and then won't touch it again.  (She ate about a million tomatoes and strawberries at our friends' house one day and then has generally rejected both of those things ever since.)  She's into utensils.  In order to get her to eat, I give her silverware for things that would be a lot easier for her to eat with her hands. 

Jim takes Dolly on walks when he gets home from work, usually down to the end of our cul-de-sac.  Dolly walks in the middle of the street and points and grunts at various items of interest (like storm drains or dogs). 

I threw my headband on her to keep her hair out of her face. 

She loves walking up other people's driveways and climbing up/sitting on their steps.  This is not our house:



 

I still haven't consistently switched her to one nap a day.  Can't quite figure out what her schedule should be right now.  Often I try so hard to get her the naps she needs, only to have her sleep ended prematurely - or prevented entirely - by ill-timed bowel movements.  I don't understand why she always has to go at naptime!  (Because this is my journal, I get to include these details.)  She doesn't cry about dirty diapers, so I have no way of knowing if she needs a change or if I should leave her in case she's just taking a long time to fall asleep.  I think I should invent some sort of odor monitor.  She will seriously hang out quietly in her crib for hours.  I'm so glad we broke down and got a video monitor so I can at least confirm whether she's sleeping.