Skip to main content

On the road again...

Image
By
 Since Nathan was born, we have definitely been on the move! We have flown to Arizona and Nebraska by way of Utah. We have driven to Crater Lake and to the ocean. We have made three trips to Maple Valley but we were not done yet! We spent the long Veteran's weekend in Boise visiting with "Grandma and Grandpa" Davolt, Uncle Jesse, Aunties Jessica and Jennifer and Cousin JD. This was Nate's first trip to Boise and we had not been there since last Christmas.

Knowing how long the drive can be, we left after school on Thursday night, staying with Jeff's cousins Mark, Miriah and their two boys for night. The family generously gave up their beds so we could have a place to sleep and even prepared a delicious breakfast in the morning. Jeff's Aunt MaryLynn and Uncle Terry joined us for breakfast, and got to spend some time with Nathan. Friday morning, we hit the road again and arrived in the afternoon, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! Melody prepared a feast that left me wanting for nothing, and reminded me how great Thanksgiving dinners are.

Saturday morning, we started with another lovingly prepared breakfast. Jesse and Jessica also shared some good news: they are expecting their second child! Jessica is due June 2, which happens to be Nate's birthday.

Once everyone was ready, we enjoyed the brisk fall sunshine while exploring the Farmer's Market in downtown Boise. While downtown, we took the opportunity to stop by the capitol building for a tour. We toured once when David and Melody first moved to Boise, but hadn't been back since the recent remodel. The inside was beautiful and majestic with marble columns.

Naturally, Saturday afternoon was dedicated to football and lounging around the house--my idea of a perfect fall weekend. The Huskies and the Boise State Broncos both lost unfortunately. Sunday was our day to make the long drive home. We made two stops for Nathan to eat, but otherwise, he endured the trip without much fuss. Jeff, Jennifer and I also endured the trip without much fuss.

Cuddles with Grandma Davolt
Uncle Jesse knew how to make Nate giggle.




The week before we left for Boise, Jeff dropped his phone for the ump-teenth time and it refused to turn on again. I finally agreed to spend the extra money and purchase iPhones for both of us. Jeff always envies the latest technology and has been asking for this purchase for years. We have now transitioned from very simple, very un-smart phones to the smartest phones available. I do like having access to my calendar when I'm on the go and of course all the bells and whistles that come with iPhones, including Siri. One thing that I really like is our ability to take, send and receive pictures. Now, I can conveniently take pictures of Nate to show off to friends or send to Jeff, my dad, sister, in-laws, etc. For example, one morning last week, I had just arrived at school when I heard the new sound of a message. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the image below. What a great way to start the day!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tradition

By
At no other time of the year do I think about "tradition" more than during the holidays, from Thanksgiving through Christmas. I do like the sense of timelessness that traditions afford, reminding us of past Christmases and the people or places we cherish most. As much as I love the traditions of years past and years to come, I think it's healthy to miss or change traditions every now and then. My own childhood was filled with traditions for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as was Jeff's, but I also recall the experiences when traditions were put on hold or changed, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes for reasons beyond our control. I suppose it's the same for all of us as we grow, move, lose, and gain. Not that I go out of my way to disrupt any plans for my family now, but rather, to remind us that life doesn't always go the way it has before and we can enjoy the time together no matter what. Having our own family caused Jeff and I to decide on what would be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Raising Boys

By
I absolutely love having two boys.  There is an energy and excitement that definitely keeps me young.  When meeting other parents with all boys there is always an unacknowledged kinship and assumption that we deal with the same rowdiness, crudeness and overall chaos that is a house of young boys.  For six years now I have always said I am so thankful to have all boys rather than girls.  There is this assumption that boys are so much easier than girls.  That as a father girls are so much scarier.  That things like braiding hair, princesses and unicorns, teenage love, menstrual cycles, and protecting sexual innocence are so much harder for a father to navigate as a parent of a female.  But what if this assumption that boys are easier, that they are less work, that boys are not as high maintenance to parent as girls is partly responsible for toxic masculinity and so many of our societal problems that can be traced back to the patriarchy? I think about...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christmas 2020

By
Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on Our troubles will be out of sight As a result of the pandemic, the model train festival we typically enjoy this time of year was canceled (thus no pictures with Santa). We missed family and friends this year. The fun energy of the last few school days before Winter Break was not quite the same over Zoom. I missed singing carols in church during month of December.  As the season progressed, I couldn't help but reflect on other times in history where celebrations were small and often just a nuclear family. Times and places where travel was too difficult or too expensive to justify leaving home. For those generations of families, the traditions were as simple as reading the Christmas story together or baking a special bread. In so many ways that was our Christmas this year and by seeking the joy in each moment, we found our hearts lighter.  We visited our favorite local tree farm to find THE TREE.  We...
1 comment
Read more