family

we went to bend, oregon to visit our closest friends. we have known them for at least 10 years, if not longer...which in turn means they have known us this long. they are the kind of friends you really experience life with. helped eachother through break-ups, lived dreams out together, stood next to eachother when we said 'i do,' and celebrated at the birth of our children. the ones with thousands of stories you share also reminding you of some you forgot, and making you realize that you haven't laughed this hard in a long long time. the friends where no matter how much time you've been apart, you just pick up where you left off. the friends that aren't just friends, they are family.

they used to all live here in phoenix, and then one by one conveniently moved up there. and it had been a little while since we were all in the same place together. some of them got to meet clémence for the first time. we didnt do much, just hung around, watched our kids play together, had a beer or two, and told stories...and that was exactly what we wanted...and needed. here are some pictures from the trip.




clemence's first trip on a plane.



trying to entertain her with the reflections of my ring.

a warm welcome at ron and erin's home.

dylan and clem getting aquainted.

we went for a morning hike along the deschutes river.





the babes in their carriers ready to go!



a little worn out, she decided the hike back
was a perfect opportunity to snooze.



the boys headed out to get some provisions
 for a night at nole and carrie's



i was so excited it was just chilly enough that she got to wear
her stella mccartney anchor sweater.



nole doing the honors with a toast...of course!

naptime the next day...such a precious little nugget.

while the boys celebrated a bachelor day with nate, the girls went to the pool.

on the way home clemence just started giggling at dylan in the backseat. she isn't used to having a friend back there..it was so adorable so i grabbed erin's phone to get it on video.

at common table...an awesome restaurant that ron helped open
with amazing causes to help the community.

 after our meal we headed down to the farmer's market. this is my favortie memory from our trip. it had just rained, everyone was holding each other's kids, we were all sharing food and coffee. this, to me, is what true friendship looks like...or rather true family.

with 'uncle' ron



clem with her boys.

a little walk by the water.

the next morning. nole peeling off a a tightly wrapped cover over his new tattoo
....and some of his arm hair along with it. ouch.

ridin in the minivan and singin along to aladdin....and
yes, all of us know all the words to all the songs and
let's face it, pretty much can quote the entire movie.

playing with finley and learning to share.



our last day. we took a walk around by the old mill.



and somehow made our way (the back way)
to the deschutes brewery for some free samples



nate and maleea...our great excuse to go back to bend for their
wedding in oct.



'uncle' nate doing some entertaining.





family.



we had an amazing trip and hope that someday we will all end up in the same place together.

 but for now we decided to start an annual summer trip up to bend...something

for us and our children to look forward to.

holiday

we'll be on holiday for this week visiting some of our closest friends. i can't wait for the nicer weather and good conversation. so i'm taking a short break from phones and computers, but i'm sure i'll have plenty to blog about when we return.

bon voyage!

an addition; a reminder

i added a little 'list' to our chalkboard fridge.  something to help us remember in case we forget. something that we can change and adjust as she gets older. and im not saying we won't fail at these, because at times i know we will, but at least it is there in front of us to help us be the parents we desire to be.

(the artwork on the left was created by our
dear 3 year-old friend emery...isn't it beautiful?)

if you created one for your family, even if you are not a parent...what would it say?

a recommendation...

we recently (and finally) got a playard for clémence (thanks to grammy and gramps sazdanoff). after scouring the internet for some time, reading reviews etc., i decided upon the Joovy Room2 Ultralight Playard. and i must say i am completely happy with the decision! its simple and modern-looking , is only 21lbs which is about 30% lighter than most typical playards, has 9sq. feet of room, and comes with a soft sheet to go over the padding. it also folds 2 different ways; one is the traditional way so it can fit in the case and the other is halfway so it can lean against a wall. i chose the 'greenie' color but it also comes in black.

i don't own anything else from this company but will most likely be buying the matching highchair pretty soon. so if you are in the market for a playard, please check this one out. our daughter loves it!! she is learning to crawl and since we have wood floors, it is the perfect space for her to practice without me having to worry about her falling over!

(oh and if you do consider buying this...amazon has the best price i found and free shipping!)

here's a little video of her playing in it.

hometown love

to the place where i was born,
the place where i grew up,
the place i found God,
the place i left,
the place i came back to,
the place where i made my lifelong friends,
the place where one of those friends became my love,
the place where i married my love,
the place we left,
the place we came back to,
the place where we bought our first home,
the place where we had our first child, our beautiful daughter...

arizona, i will always hold a special place in my heart for you.

one half of a year.

happy six months darlin...your mommy and daddy love you more than you'll ever know.

the photo strip on the left is of my mother and i when
i was about the same age. thought i would start a tradition...
or at least if photobooths aren't around when she has her children, it
will be pretty cool just to have these.
don't we look similar? i love that.

s'il vous plaît

listening to serge and jane this morning....

... and dreaming of paris again. i cannot wait until jeremiah and i can take clémence someday soon.