Moving on, and moving up! (but still staying in the basement)

Yes, we are moving. To the middle of Bellevue. Less than five miles from where we had been living. I say had because we already moved-- yesterday. And now I am in my 11th place since moving away from my parents home (not including the mission). But we are officially done with apartment living, and have moved up in the life to the basement of a house.

It was totally Anna's fault. If I had to listen to her complain about living at the top of a huge, daunting hill across from a deserted mall and the T-mobile building one more time....or listen to her endless rants about there not being a park nearby, and the terrible parking situation....
well, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to do it....for her!

So now we live in a neighborhood, close to a farm, blueberry fields, a few lakes, walking paths, and a library. And having a driveway doesn't hurt either...and an extra bedroom....and a kitchen that doesn't look like it was crafted for a small sailing vessell. I have a kitchen....a REAL kitchen. You can dance in it. I tried...last night.

But I know we were supposed to be in the place that we were for a few good reasons:

Amanda Chan
Ruth Thompson
Andrea Dance
Kari Dance
Laurel Criddle
Monica Bowen
Carrie Hong
Angie Nielson
Kim Largent
Katie Hatfield
Maggie Szhu (sp?)

I couldn't have made it through this first year without you guys. You were an answer to my prayers and made my life joyful when I could have been very discouraged!

The poopy came, and it came, and it came, and it just kept coming

I don't know what Anna has, but every one of her diapers is poopy. Her poor little behind! After 7 poopy diapers in a row it was just raw. So we put her in a bath, and she pooped in that. So we got her out of the bath, and let her run about without her drawers on, and she pooped on the floor. Wow.

In other news, I almost burned the house down today. I was trying to make dulce de leche by boiling some sweetened condensed milk. However, because we are moving this week, Richard had packed up all but a few small pots, which meant I had to continually refill the pot of boiling water as it evaporated.
Skip forward to an hour later. I am watching "Glee" while packing up our clothing from the bedroom and I realize I have not checked the pot in a long time. I run from the bedroom and the whole kitchen is full of smoke and the pot is bone dry and the can of sweetened condensed milk has morphed into a bloated, sinister, black aluminum can oozing caramel. I take the pan off the stove with a towel and then dive behind the counter, thinking of my next move. Have you ever had a pot explode in front of you from changing temperatures too quickly? Well, I have, and its kind of scary. So I let it cool down for a couple of minutes, and then seeing one of Anna's sippy cups nearby filled with water, I grabbed the cup, took off the lid, and threw the water in the general direction of the pot, all while ducking for cover. I heard loud hisses of steam, but no pop and shatter, so all was well.

Needless to say, the dulce de leche was not salvagable (and that's a lot coming from me-- usually no food is too old or burned for me to eat it!).

The house is a wreck. Anna is a poop machine. And we are moving....in three days.

oh, right. now for a question so I can get people to comment on my post. So what can I do to get Anna to stop pooping. What can stop up a baby! And does anyone know if a metal pot can explode if it gets too hot and then is cooled down too quickly. These situations seem to come up frequently and I could use the advice for next time. And there is always a next time!

Tales from the sea: will you dance with me?

So Richard and I just got back from our first cruise, a three day trip from Vancouver to San Diego. No stops along the way, just lots of food and fun on the ship, and water as far as my eye could see.

Richard and I took turns going out and about at night while the other one stayed with Anna in the cabin. The first night I decided to see what was happening around the decks and I found this great swing band up near the bar, dance hall area. I plopped down so I could listen for awhile, and after one song, this really old guy came up to me and asked me to dance. I had forgotten my rings on this trip so there was a little part of me that was afraid he was looking for a new missus in his life. He was a great partner, however, and we had a great cha cha, and I thought, "what a great, unique experience to have on my first cruise-- what fun!" And then I sat down and thought that was the end of it. The next song starts, and a second really old guy asks me to dance-- this time to simple swing step. We had fun, and the song ended. I made sure to tell him that I was reminded of dancing with my father on my wedding day.

When the third song started, and a third really old guy approached me with "I haven't danced with you yet!" I started to get suspicious. It was a like a scene from "some like it hot" only in reverse, with the rich old guys seeking after a younger woman (a really younger woman) to marry. So I made sure to tell him that my husband was back in our cabin with my young daughter.

That was when he decided to tell me that he was a part of a group of four men who were hired by the cruise to be dance leaders. Essentially, their job was to dance with all the women who were alone, sitting by themselves.

Well, I didn't stay around to see what the fourth dance leader was going to do. I went back to my cabin.

The next morning, I saw two of the really old guys, and they both remembered my name. I felt a little sheepish at the time, but I really did enjoy it. IT was memorable, and I DO like to dance.

Utah photolog: Stardate 2010

Our trip to Utah was truly wonderful. Anna gave it four stars, two thumbs up, and a lot of drool.

Swinging has become her thing. She loves flying through the air, but only as long as we adoringly teasing her the whole time.

One of the highlights was seeing our good friends the Gunnells again. They came up for just an evening, but I still sigh when I think of how far apart we are and how happy they make us when we spend time with them.

Richard blowing out the "nearly better than sex" chocolate caramel explosion cake.

Anna always plays better with a willing audience. Here, grandma Rose and Aunt TT give her their full attention.

My sister Katie is a kid magnet. They flock to her like Christmas trees or geese.

Anna is just cute...what can I say. Lets hope this is the last time we see her behind bars!

Many many girl cousins....again. Anna was in seventh Heaven.

My sister in law Teria is a great mom. I am so glad we got to see her and her two girls-- Georgia and Ivy.

I love my sister Kate. It was a treat to spend time with her this trip. She was nice to me the whole time! And the kids loved her. She knows how to play games with kids better than anyone else. She doesn't have any kids (yet) but I could sure learn some lessons in playing from her.

Anna is a book junkie. She would do anything to find someone to read to her-- probably even sell milk on the street corner.

Here, my niece Lilah had her first swing experience. She is a cutie.

We got to have dinner with our friends, Alena and Lincoln Hall. They have a son, Townsend that was quite the ladies man. Already he has made the first move to hold Anna's hand.

And there is almost nothing more romatic than feeding a girl food.

what did I tell you about the book junkie!And last, but not least, I got to see one of my old mission companions (well, the companion that I always wanted but never had) and her cute girl Emma.

Charity

Charity. I'm working on it. Its hard. MUCH harder than I thought.

I don't know why I thought it would be easy to be charitable. Its just the pure love of Christ right? I should have known it wasn't going to take a mere 15 minutes to achieve, or else it would have been called the pure love of Rachael or the pure love of Geoffrey. Nope, I can feel it is going to take a LOT of time for me to even come close. Why?

charity vaunteth not itself...
(meaning I can't boast about myself excessively. I'm a middle child-- I'm ALWAYS trying to draw attention to myself)
charity envieth not...
(I fail at this almost every day)
charity thinketh no evil....
(meaning I have to think the best of people-- all people. Usually I only think well of people when it serves my interest or doesn't affect my self-esteem. Otherwise, I am only too ready to think ill of people if it makes me feel better about myself)

So I am going to start with "thinking no evil." I am going to try to give people the benefit of the doubt. To think well of them. And when others do well, I am going to try to applaud them instead of feeling discouraged that I don't share their talents. And I will try not to talk about others behind their backs or dwell on their faults because it makes me feel better about my faults.

And above all, I am going to pray.

Lessons from our trip to Utah: Volume 4

What goes around, comes around!

During our last few years in Provo, our favorite activity was having different families over for dinner. If we saw anyone interesting or new that we wanted to meet or get to know better, we invited them over for dinner. It was the one thing we knew we could give people-- a good meal, and hopefully some good conversation.

By the time we left Provo, nearly 50 different families or couples had eaten at our house-- many of them becoming some of our best friends after that first initial dinner date.

So it should have come as no surprise that so many people invited us into their homes and to share a meal with them during our latest trip. Richard and I were so touched to have been loved by so many people that we had loved.

We are humbled to know so many great people, to have been blessed by such friendship. There are so many people who leave us awe, feeling blessed to have such an association in our lives. Anything that we have given has been returned to us a hundred fold.

Lessons from our trip to Utah: Volume 3

The best moments from any trip are never photographed.

Probably because the happiness of great experiences with family or friends can rarely be captured by posing people on couches or outside of their houses; and, as I am learning with Anna-- children rarely hold still long enough for you to capture that perfect passing moment.

Here are some of those perfectly wonderful experiences from our trip that never got photographed:

*Anna sleeping in her fort on the floor at her Aunt TT's house
*Going to a movie (like a real date!) on Richard's birthday, gripping Richard's hand the whole time because the movie was so gripping, and eating lots and lots of candy!
*Going for a run on the morning of Richard's birthday, in the rain (HE suggested it-- not me! Seriously, it was a birthday miracle!)
*Seeing some of our best friends, the Gunnells (*sigh* the shortest four hours of the whole trip) and eating what can only be described as the perfect ooey gooey chocolate peanut butter cake (almost better than sex...but not quite)
*for Richard-- seeing BYU triumph over the University of Washington in the season opener football game
*for Rachael-- how do you capture the thrill of not having to cook or clean for 9 days
*Seeing my mom (a self proclaimed bland food lover, who rarely eats anything spicier than "mild") devour a home-made buffalo chicken pizza.
*Seeing the stars!
*Taking a beautiful hike near the base of SnowBasin with Courtney, Naomi, and little Lilah
*Riding up the ski lift at Sundance with another pair of great friends, the Wrights, and spending time with their new little son Owen (he could definitely be a contender)
*Reading Mockingjay late at night (thank you Kendra!) with Richard.
*visiting our old ward in Provo, and actually feeling that spiritual fire again (which sometimes is lacking in my usual sunday experiences when I am trying to chase a sleep deprived toddler).
*watching T.V. with Carly. Simple, but so luxurious and fun.
*walking around Red Butte Gardens with my family on labor day (and it was FREE too)
*Going for a walk on my old haunt-- the Provo River trail (it helped me train for three marathons!)
*the chance to have dinner with so many good friends-- Alli and Morgan, Alena and Lincoln, Kendra and Miles, Krista and Nate, and Summer and Emma.
*Seeing Anna take some of her first steps!

I did take some pictures, but as I said, the best moments are never really captured on film. Hopefully, I caught at least a few "good" moments-- more to come on that later!

Lessons from our trip to Utah: Volume 2

We missed Utah. Badly!

We thought we were doing fine-- enjoying our home up here in Seattle. We had convinced ourselves that we could possibly stay up here the rest of our lives and be happily content. We had congratulated ourselves on being so independent that we could live a thousand miles away from our family. We told ourselves that we actually preferred the Seattle climate to anything else...

And then we stepped off the plane, blinking in the harsh Utah sunlight, and realized that we were wrong. And although our skin instantly dried up and our lips became chapped, we felt we were coming home.

One night, while staying at my brother's house, Richard pulled me to the window and showed me the stars-- bright within a cloudless sky. I hadn't realized that it had been many months since I had seen them. How beautiful. Nights are darker in Utah, and the days are brighter. The sun felt differently (I know what you are thinking-- "thats what we call a sunburn Rachael!"). It might not be lush and green like Washington, but I love the mountains and canyons of Utah. There is nothing quite like it anywhere else.

We drove down to Provo, a town that I was initially loathe to ever live in, and I realized how much I had grown to love it over the four years I was there. Not that I especially like the plethura of chain fast food restaurants or the crowds of freshman, but I like what I became while I was there. In Provo I became a law school graduate, a wife, a friend, and a mother. Those are powerful memories.

Spending a week in Utah solidified our desire to live there again. It might not happen for a few years, but we will get there. And until then, we WILL enjoy our time here in Seattle. ITs nice to know that we can be happy anywhere-- well, maybe not in Kansas...but almost anywhere!

Lessons from our trip to Utah: Volume 1

Last night Anna decided to have a conversation with me-- not at 6 pm or 8 pm but more like 2 am. Apparently there were some things she wanted to discuss with me-- like not to drink two diet cokes and eat some dark chocolate muffins while I am still nursing.

She chastised me in her gentle infant way and about an hour later things were looking better after she passed out on the bed next to me.

Its true, I deserved a time out for that one!