Falling back on the past

I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, broadway show tunes and oldies. Even on road trips  my dad would listen to a set of cd's called power classics or something along those lines. They were more upbeat classical music, but classical music nonetheless. Not all of the music was boring, I remember being fascinated by The Grand Canyon Suite and by the composer's ability to tell a story and replicate the sound of hoofbeats in music. We would listen to stories on the record player and Peter and The Wolf was my favorite! (This was before I broke my dad's record player).
Despite there being interesting music mixed in there I always envied my friends whose parents were more contemporary and "with the times" and looked forward to the time when I could listen to whatever I wanted ( I remember being scolded in Junior High when I left my clock radio on when I for school and my mom discovered I had been listening to soft rock).
When I did get old enough to make my own music decisions I almost totally abandoned my upbringing of classical music in favor of more popular styles. In the last few years, and especially in the last few months as I have had more struggles in my life and needed more peaceful moments to rejuvenate my spirit I have fallen back on my childhood and back in love with more classic sounds that can soothe me.
This definitely doesn't mean I have distanced myself from popular music entirely but I am definitely becoming more balanced. I definitely appreciate that more popular artists seem to be adding classical instruments such as the cello and violin to their music.
It is easy to look back on our past and focus on the negatives but there are always good things to be found if we look. My parents tried to instill in us a love for music and poetry. Those things may have gone a little dormant for a while but they are resurfacing and bringing back wonderful memories. I am so grateful that my parents put in the effort to give me a gift that I can fall back on over and over in my life.

Abby's First Camping Trip

Abby's first camping trip! We went with some good friends who have a daughter about Abby's age. They ran around in the dark chasing each other. Abby had a running flashlight around her neck and Claire had a cute little animal flashlight and it was fun to see their lights bobbing around in the twilight. Abby loved getting dirty with a friend who loved dirt just as much!

Both girls had cute monkey pajamas that didn't stay clean for long! The rain jacket came in handy as it began to sprinkle not long after we arrived. It ended up pouring rain  most of the night. Despite this and the fact that Abby didn't sleep much which meant we didn't either, we still had a fantastic time and are looking forward to another camping trip!

Abby loves the outdoors and loves her friend Claire. It was so fun to hear them say each others names as they ran around following each other. 

What a cute pair!

Great grandparents

Two weekends in a row we went with my parents to visit my grandparents at their farm in Idaho. Abby had a blast! Playing on the farm equipment and "driving" the tractors made for a happy toddler!

My cousin has a little boy the same age as Abby and they had the best time playing together! After getting seriously dirty, a bath was the only solution for Abby and Jaydyn. 

Painting birdhouses with her cousins. Ignore my lack of makeup and general sweatiness and look at my adorable and happy daughter!

Playing with Jaydyn.

Look at that little pink rabbit getting ready for the swimming pool.

The second weekend we went was the same weekend as my great aunt's funeral. I've been to a handful of funerals in my life but never a day like this. 

The viewing at the family home started at 9:30 am and the funeral started at 11:00. After the funeral (about an hour and a half), they went to the cemetery, then everyone came back to the church for a luncheon and then everyone went to one of the relatives house for ice cream and to sit and chat. 

When one has a toddler you have to be able to fit in a nap somewhere in there. We stayed home from the cemetery and she actually fell asleep in my arms sitting in the rocking chair in the mothers lounge, which, if you know Abby, you know is a huge miracle!

Abby looking at the funeral flowers with my mother.

Abby and her cousin loving jumping on little trampolines at the ice cream get together. 

I took off Abby's dress because I knew the ice cream would be messy and this family member has a huge pond with slides and zip lines, etc... and I knew she would want to get wet. 

It took her all weekend to warm up to my dad  but once he let her "drive" she was a happy camper!

water baby

A few weeks ago I was giving Abby a bath and couldn't resist playing with her hair. I knew it was long but I didn't know it was THAT long!

Last week Abby was getting antsy while waiting for Scott to come home from work so we decided to play outside while we waited. After walking up and down our street a few times we laid down on the grass in our front yard to take a break. Abby can't sit still for long so she disappeared up onto our porch where we have a few planters.

This is what Scott came home to find happening on his porch!

I guess a little supervision when she's close to dirt would be a good idea! She had a lot of fun with it though!

Who needs diapers? Not Abby...

It has begun. After putting Abby down for her nap she was jabbering and trying to get my attention. Usually she's good about laying down and going to sleep so after a while I went in to check on her and what do I find? A TOTALLY naked Abby standing her crib looking very satisfied with herself.
When did she learn to take off her diaper? I was torn between laughing and crying while I stripped the sheet off her mattress. Thankfully we had a waterproof sheet under her fabric one...I have heard stories from other mothers and  I know it could have been much worse than just wet. Oh, the joys of motherhood!

On another note, she has become such a good little "mother" to her babies. She loves to wrap them up in blankets and towels and carry them around giving them kisses, trying to feed them her food and give them bottles. What a sweetie, it melts my heart every time. And then when she's done with the baby she throws it on the floor and moves on to something else. Yeah, we might have to work on that part of it soon.

Teva Mountain Games

In the middle of the week last week we found out that we were going to be headed to Vail CO for the weekend! Scott's company, Goal Zero has a couple of booths at the Teva Mountain Games and so we headed out there to help man the booths. Well, Scott helped man one of the booths and Abby and I walked around sporting our Goal Zero shirts to help represent the company.

We were supposed to leave around noon on Friday but Scott got stuck at work doing paperwork, which kept us from leaving to go do the trip for the same job. Ironic, huh? I was a little nervous about the six and a half hour trip in the car with an eighteen month old. The ride there was not the smoothest experience but it could have been much worse. Anyone who has heard her scream can understand just how much worse it could have been.
We managed to arrive just before one in the morning and discovered we were staying at the Marriott(the company paid for the hotel).  Nothing like pulling up to a full service hotel and having a valet and bellboy hovering around the car that Abby has trashed, waiting the unload our car. I had planned on staying someplace like Holiday Inn or Motel Eight. So, I brought a cooler of food and a box of snacks and a box of paper products, etc... that's a little awkward to try and load onto a hotel cart! You would think a full service hotel would have continental breakfast and free wi-fi. But, no. Breakfast is served in a restaurant and costs about $20 and wi-fi is $10.48 A DAY! You would think you would get more perks at a nicer place right? Just shows what I know...
Even with all that, we had a great time over the weekend. Vail has a free bus system that picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off at the Games which was great, no parking worried. It was great to see what  products are new in the outdoors world. We caught a glimpse of a few of the competitions going on which expanded my view of outdoor activities. Who knew you could take a stand up paddleboard down the river?

 Hanging out behind the goal zero booth in adventure town. And yes, that is one of Scott's co-workers in the background...

Company pizza party Saturday night

Vail was definitely child friendly in some ways. They had this great splash/wading fountain for kids. Abby is definitely a water child, she was in heaven splashing and trying to keep up with the older kids running around. Trying to coax her out of the water didn't work and as we carried her away her screams echoed across the area, you would have thought we were kidnapping her.

Awesome  full size lego car.

The ride home went MUCH better than the ride there!

We finally found a truck stop on the way home. Abby has her own wacky little personality!

Gentle Reminders

There are times in life when you are given gentle reminders that you could do a little better. We have the sweetest little girl. She loves folding her arms to start a prayer. Several times in the last week she hasn't eaten when she's in her high chair with food in front of her, she's got her arms folded, waiting for us to pray before she eats! Before she goes to bed she has started kneeling on the floor, waiting for us to say a family prayer. What a great reminder that our little ones haven't been away from heaven for very long and they watch everything we do and learn from us.

                                    Wearing daddy's hat and watching Curious George.

Abby has learned which words are associated with saying goodbye and so when you say one she will start blowing kisses or waving. If you are really lucky she will come over to give you a kiss on the cheek, which is really just when she puckers up her lips and gets really close to your cheek and she waits for something to happen. Sometimes she will make a "smacking" noise as though she's actually kissing you but rarely makes contact with your face. LOVE IT!!1 What can I say, she melts my heart!