Oh the Places You'll See

I am back. From vacation, from recovery, and from Harry Potter. I think officially I am back in the swing of things, and on the top of my list is to update my blog. I apologize beforehand for this entry, because its going to be one of those boring catch-you-up-on-my-vacation posts which have no real juicy details or wit. But if you keep reading, then I know you do really care about me. . .

We first vacationed in Utah where we visited Cody parents and his family. Cody took a separate plane than Claire and I, so I was a bit scared that flying solo with Claire would result in me eventually banging my head repeatedly against the plexiglass airplane windows, but I am happy to report that Claire did really well on the flight and we made it to SLC without a concussion of any sort. It was hot, hot, hot in Utah, but thankfully Cody's parents are a firm believer in blasting the AC! Loved it! We had a good visit with the family. Some highlights for Claire are all the animals she saw while we were there- Max, the bird; the coy fish in the pond at Cody's parents house; Mygraine, the cat; and the ponies that Grandpa Nelson took Claire to visit. If we ever couldn't find Claire at Grandma's house, we knew was probably sticking herself halfway in the cat house trying to get the cat out. You can say she smothered the cat with affection. Claire also had so much fun playing games with Grandma Nelson- the morning we left, she was wandering around, looking for grandma, saying she wanted to play a game. She had a great time.

Cody was able to go fishing (shocking, I know) for a couple of days and according to him he had smashing time. While he was away, I was able to visit with my old freshman roommates. Liz and Angie came over with their cute kids and we had a good time reminiscing and catching up. I don't have a picture, but you can look here for a pic Liz took. My only regret about Utah is that I wasn't able to see all my friends that are still there, but maybe next year. . .

Cody and I were able to go on a date while we were in Utah, a rare occurrence for us, and we went to a Kalai concert. It was really fun to catch up with Kalai and Sarah and also to see him perform again. He has some great new music.

After a week in Utah, we packed out bags and headed to the wide open basins of Pasco, WA. As I walked into my parents home, I was greeted by a sign, beautifully created by my nieces, that heralded me to my surprise baby shower. My sister's had thrown together a little baby shower with my family. We played a rousing round of Match Game and ate cinnamon rolls (courtesy of Tiffani and they were excellent). What more could I have asked for? I was very touched.
The next day we headed out to the beautiful North Cascade Forest to go camping at Lake Chelan. I haven't been camping in years, so I was pretty excited. Camping was one of my favorite things to do as a family growing up. This is the place where I will omit mentioning all of the whiners who weren't willing to cowboy up and stop complainin'. I had a great time, though it was hot (100 degrees), but that just made the lake feel all the more perfect. We spent the mornings eating yummy breakfasts (my favorite part of camping) and the afternoon's playing at the lake, and the evenings, sitting around the lanterns (nobody wanted to make a fire- too hot and smelly). The highlight of the trip was the treasure hunt my mom made for the kids. It was pretty cool- there was an authentic pirate map, swords and hats for all the kids, a message in a bottle, and a real buried treasure on the beach! As a side note, I would like to thank Ben for teaching Claire how to kill and how to die. She does it all the time now! I, of course, don't have any pictures of our vacation to post, but my sister posted some here.

We had a great time, we miss everyone, and I am already looking forward to when we can trek west again. My very favorite thing was seeing Claire play with all our nieces and nephews. She still talks about all of them.

We have been home for a week now, we still don't have our car seat back from the airport, and I am finally back to my normal sleeping schedule. The highlight of my week home so far, is that I went, like the real nerd I am, to get Harry Potter at midnight on Saturday and finished it by Monday morning. Loved it!! And I revel in the fact that I am such a nerd about it.

And for the last and final random note, this morning I cried while watching an Avril Lavigne music video. And that's all I have to say about that.