Starting Over

April 23, 2015

This will be our home for the next few months. After a whirlwind experience of deciding to sell our home, putting it on the market and having it sell the first weekend, we have been BUSY to say the least! After trying to find a place to rent in LaGrande, OR, and realizing it was impossible with all the animals we have, we decided to buy a travel trailer. We'll be living in an RV park for the next few months. Craig is trying to get a job so we can secure a loan for a new place. Oh yeah, did I mention this was a complete and utter leap of faith? All in all, while stressful and exhausting at times, things have been working out beautifully. I've been a bit obsessed with minimalism and tiny homes so this is the ultimate chance to put it to the test. I am really, really looking hard at my stuff and my relationship with it. Nothing like living with two other people, two dogs and three cats in 300 sq feet to put it all in perspective! Stay tuned, we've only been here a little over a week, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of growing pains. 

Fourth of July 2014

Willing to hold a sparkler this year!

Inspired

Miles and I were looking through his blog yesterday, so I was inspired to dust off the keyboard and get back to posting.  It's nice to have little memories recorded.

Summer concert at Red Butte gardens-Fitz and the Tantrums.  

Sleepytime

Miles fell asleep "reading" to himself.  :)

Another night he was "reading" to himself and he had put my reading glasses on, upside down, and adorable!

A Day that Will Live in Infamy

Well, I've had this post sitting in the queue for awhile.  Perhaps the trauma has faded enough now for me to say a few words.  This was taken summer 2014.  We are in memory grove, a favorite hiking spot, perfect for little legs and little dogs.  On this particular day, Miles decided to keep running ahead of me while we were on our way to the car.  No problem, I was able to keep up and keep him in my sights.  Then we get to the sidewalk leading to the cars.  This is on a dead end street which eventually opens up and leads to the Avenues, or downtown, depending on which way you turn.  At this point, Miles thinks it's hilarious to keep scooting away from me, you know, a game of keep away.  I think, no problem, he'll stop at the car, which I communicate to him to do, but as he sees me draw nearer, he takes off.  I yell to him to stop, but he is fast.  I'm running now and by the time I get to the end of the block, he has disappeared.  Gone. He does not answer my calls (b/c this is the hilarious part of the game), and I cannot find him anywhere.  Fast forward, frantic running, talking to people, calling Miles, and crying, lots of crying, I decide to call the police.  I have no idea where he's gone and I don't want him wandering around the streets much longer, making it harder to find him.  My brain has virtually imploded at this point.  BUT!  I keep talking to people, asking if they've seen him (and I'm sure scaring the hell out of them with my tear-streaked face and frantic nature-not to mention breathlessness after running all over creation and back!), and lo and behold, Mr. Miles shows up at the end of the street, in the exact place I lost him-seen by a gentleman I had JUST talked to! I cannot even describe the feeling of RELIEF (quickly followed by extreme annoyance which I had to temper).  Turns out, he had rounded the corner and run down this weird little side street that was sort of like a dirt road.  Guess the fun ended when he realized no one was playing with him anymore.  I'm so glad he figured out how to turn around and head back.  He also seemed quite unfazed by the whole experience.  The police showed up at this point and the officer was very nice.  She was calming and gentle and tried to normalize the whole experience. All in all, I don't think that much time had passed.  I can't be sure because, well, my brain turned to mush, but I'm guessing it took no more than 30 minutes for all of this to transpire.  Longest 30 minutes of my life!

Fast forward, winter 2014/15: We've all recovered at this point, in fact, I'd all but forgotten/blocked it out. However, there were definitely a few months of strict rules about how far ahead he was allowed to run and lots of practice listening to me when and if I yelled 'stop.'  Ha!  Now I know why I stopped blogging.  It all seems so fine now, but it took me a minute to recover from this little incident and I was definitely not in the mood to recount the tale.  Alas, time is the great healer.  A faded memory.

Jungle Explorers

Grandma Julie and the boys went on a little adventure this summer without me.  Craig's boss has a lovely piece of property a couple of hours way, that he generously lets us use from time to time.  It's just an undeveloped gem in the woods for now, and lots of fun to explore.  

Picnic in the park

A quick snap mid-bite.  Enjoying spring with a picnic in Sugarhouse park.  (May 2014)

Buddies

A sweet moment this spring on our way to the aviary with Isaac.  I couldn't believe that Miles let Isaac take his hand, and actually held onto it for a bit.

Easter Weekend 2014

Took a little trip to St. George over Easter weekend,  We stopped in to visit Grandpa and Grandma Evans and also saw Craig's brother and sister-in-law at her family reunion.  

Our favorite hike in Snow Canyon

Easter basket!

A little ice cream snack on the drive home.  

First time outside

See what I mean?  They were about 4-ish weeks old here.  

Meet the Girls!

Cocoa, a Plymouth Barred Rock

Matilda, an Easter Egger (she'll lay green or blue eggs)

Rocket, an Australorp

Princess Leia, an Easter Egger

Honey, a Buff Orpington

Close-up of Princess Leia, unbelievably cute! Seriously, they were only about 4-ish days old in these pictures.  They changed so quickly!!  This baby phase was over in a blink!

We did it!  On March 7, 2014, we got chickens.  Well, I got chickens, Craig is not really a huge fan.  He's been a great sport though, built an amazing chicken coop.  That's the end of it though, from now on, totally my responsibility.  Miles has loved them.  I bought five, wanting only three (chicken salespeople are convincing at the farm store), and so far, they all seem to be hens.  Hmmmm.  Looks like two will be going to live with my friend Russin.  We didn't plan the space for five.  Probably won't have eggs until this fall, but in the meantime, they are a great joy to watch.

Glitter time!

A picture of fishing lines.

Yes, of course you need to use the whole bottle of glitter!  That's just how it's done!

Memory Grove

Early spring walk at one of our favorite spots.

Feeding Pelicans

In a moment of spontaneity, we decided to feed the pelicans at the aviary.  It took a little convincing, but Miles actually touched the fish and threw some in!  No one was more surprised than me!!  It was actually quite fun.

Getting cozy

Chalkboard Art

Miles was four when he did these, some of his first attempts at people-ish things.  I love this stage in kids' drawings, when legs and arms come straight out of the heads and eyes and smiles are HUGE!

Alpaca hat!

New winter hat in the yarn Miles picked out at the open barn day at Blue Moon Ranch. They raise alpacas and it's not too far from us, so we enjoyed the opportunity to visit.  The yarn is so incredibly soft, now I'm dreaming of having a fiber farm someday.  Miles is totally on board, saying things like, "when are we going to move so we can have sheep (or goats or a cow)?"  I love it!

Glitter!

Having fun with new glitter pens from Nana.

Silliness

"putting on his jammies"

While he was joking around here, I have had many moments while Miles gets dressed where I just shake my head and wonder, "Is this his first day on the planet??"  Seriously. He often tries to put his clothes on over his pajamas, forgetting to take the latter off first, puts two legs in one pants hole and then wonders why he can't pull them up, or it just takes him FOREVER to stay focused on the task. It's really like he's completely spaced out sometimes.  Occasionally this is funny, but mostly it's just tiring!

Christmas Tree (December 2013)

On the hunt for our Christmas tree.  Brother, this blog has gotten ridiculous.  I don't even know what season I'm in anymore or what I've posted!  I'm so behind.  Can't say I see that changing though, so I'll just keep muddling forward. It was a cold and snowy day, but Miles loves a good run through all the trees, so all was not lost.