~HB ADVENTURE~ – Page 90 – "If you don't see the book on the shelf, write it." ~ Beverly Cleary

January 12, 2014

Sentimental About It All

elvrum family north dakota

I’m a sentimental person and I value my family above all. A few years ago, when Maggie was 14 months(!), I had the opportunity to take a road trip back to North Dakota with my extended family in celebration of my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary. Without a doubt in my mind, it was one of the greatest trips of my life. That isn’t to say that there weren’t logistical issues, puke, or even fights. There were all of those things. There was even The Most Disgusting Hotel in the Universe, and I still count it as one of the many blessings in my life.

Barry and I often talk about things that we’re doing well, things we could improve on and things that we are really doing awful at. These conversations are a good way to keep us on track of our goal to have a happy, healthy and loving marriage/family. Traveling has long been on our list of the trying to improve, and having babies and working has eaten up these past few years. In doing my recent post about 2013, we realized that even though this year felt like we didn’t do much (aside from becoming a family of five (Sydney counts!!!)), we did plenty. Harrison, Disneyland, San Franscisco, Montana, and Fake Camping were all little pockets of our year that expanded us and our horizons.

As I took Sydney for a walk today, I found myself thinking back to the summer that started off with a road trip to North Dakota. The more I thought about it, the more it made me thankful for those two weeks. Not only did Maggie get time with everybody, I did as well. I got to ride in the back of my grandpa’s car as we drove around the town he and my Grandma grew up in and listen to him point out different landmarks. He had so many anecdotes and stories that wouldn’t have meant as much had I heard them in any other capacity. We went to the town museum where distant relatives’ photos hung on the wall, my great grandparents’ addresses were easily found in the old directory, and my grandpa discovered a piece of furniture that he’d made as a 15 year old. We got to spend the day at the lake house where my Grandma grew up, exploring the property, walking the land.

We all proudly stood on the steps of the high school that my grandparents graduated from, sporting shirts announcing our support. My uncle flew in and surprised my aunt, a gesture that touched all of us. Barry and Genevieve were sorely missed, but all the grandkids were there and really committed to celebrating 60 years of marriage in the small town that was home to my grandparents before coming to the PNW. It was a lesson in my family history, taught in the most hands-on way. (Which also made me think about my trips to Scotland/Ireland with Midge, but that’s another post for a different day….but same feeling of gratitude) Families don’t get to do this type of thing with any sense of regularity and I’m well aware of how unique that trip was. Today I was trying to put it into perspective by imagining Maggie as a mother to her first child and going on a road trip with Audrey, my brothers/spouses/children, my parents, Barry and me. I simply can not wrap my brain around it, but I sincerely hope that it happens. Decades down the road.

We decided a few weeks ago that we’re not going to have a formal birthday party for Audrey in the way that we have for Maggie. Instead, we’re choosing to go on a trip to Harrison to celebrate her first year. Traditionally, Barry and I don’t exchange gifts for our birthdays, we try to go somewhere instead. We’ve decided to start this tradition with the girls as well, (don’t worry, they’ll get gifts too) and what a better time to start than right now. This year my parents, brothers and Genevieve will be joining us and just tonight as we were corralling the girls, Barry turned to me and told me how excited he is for the trip. I couldn’t have agreed more.

January 11, 2014

Quick Update

This last week was going to be the week that we got back to normal, after being sick and Maggie having a big break from going to school. In a small way it was ‘normal’ in that Maggie went to school for those three days and our house hummed back into life without being decorated for a holiday. We were supposed to have my grandparents over for lunch, but they had to cancel. My mom was able to come down for a visit instead and while we were eating lunch, we got on topic of the most wonderful spa in the world that I had two gift certificates to. Before I knew it, I was packing up my bag to head to the spa, all while air-guitaring around the house, and headed out the door.

I went to the spa by myself for four hours and had the best time. I didn’t talk to a soul, read my book and ate big plate of noodles and veggies. I also got a body wrap….which I’ll probably never, ever do again. Barry had given me a huge package last year for my birthday, and I decided to try out the body wrap. I ended up feeling very claustrophobic and not exactly relaxed. Lesson learned. But huge thanks to my mom for offering to watch the girls and encouraging me to go. It was the most unexpected way to spend half a day, and very much appreciated. I’d typically be salivating over going to the spa, but I hardly had time to do even that….just a few air guitar moves while I packed.

The next morning my aunt, Nancy, came for a quick visit and we sat around talking and catching up. I didn’t take a single picture of her visit, but it was still nice to see her, since the holidays were a bit busy this year. My mom ended up taking Maggie to spend two nights in Anacortes and so after they all left, it was just Augie and me.

Having just Audrey around these last two days have been somewhat productive for me (during her naps) but I’ve also learned how involved Maggie is with our every move. I also think that Audrey really misses having her big sister as a play companion, too. While Maggie has been in A-Town, I have gotten play-by-play updates of what she’s up to (bowling, roasting hot dogs on a big fire, visiting Midge, playing train with Grandpa, etc.) and even though I get lonesome for her, I’m certain she’s having a ball. Audrey has also had a chance to swizzle her hands on some toys (markers, dolls, etc) that Big Sister usually keeps away.

We’re headed up to get Mags this morning….I miss The Little Biscuit.

audrey bell in front of house

audrey bell eating fire place
audrey bell_

audrey rainbow colors-2

January 5, 2014

HB Does San Francisco

I’m ready to be done with epic posts about holidays, years in review and vacations, but I’m not willing to let these times pass without trying consolidate events in some form of sequence. In early December, we joined Barry on a work-related trip to San Francisco for a week. We stayed in a very fancy hotel in the heart of the city and spent majority of the week exploring the Bay Area. In look at the pictures, now a month later, it is very apparent to me that I only busted out my ‘big’ camera when Barry was around or we were in our hotel room, juggling two kids in the city was enough to deal with, let alone take any photos of the experience. So, these pictures are a slim glimpse into our week.

My brother had sent us a detailed e-mail about some of the places that he likes in the city it was very helpful and fun to find different nooks and crannies that he loved. Tartine, also recommended by Cora, was a super yummy bakery. Since I love baking, and Netflixed nearly all Cake Boss episodes after Audrey was born, it was fun to go to a bustling bakery. Barry also went to Blue Bottle Coffee and stood in line for a tasty drip.

During the days that Barry was at his conference, I took the girls to a few different neighborhoods in the city: Bernal Heights, Noe Valley, Russian Hill, Chinatown . As a family we went to Golden Gate Park, Saulsilito, Fort Baker, Rodeo Beach, Ocean Beach, Lands End, The Wharf, and a few other places that aren’t coming to mind. It was fun to have a reason to get out and about, and staying in our hotel, although fancy, just wasn’t ideal.

Our hotel was right next to Chinatown and parking on the street was very, very challenging. We went with the choice to park in the hotel garage, valet, and it felt so awkward, but there really wasn’t another option. I have no doubt in my mind that the valet guys got a kick out of our little crew. With the exception of the first morning, we’d come down into the garage (because it wasn’t until the last day that I realized that all the other valet people had their cars brought to the front of the hotel…) with everything we might need for our daily adventure. They really were friendly to us, but every day I felt like a country bumpkin out of place. By the end of our trip, they wanted to hear all about where we were going and what we had planned for the day, often suggesting things that we might like or areas that were similar to what we’d enjoyed.

Kara had suggested to me a trip to The Golden Gate Bridge Fortune Cookie Factory. After looking on the map, and determining that it was only half a mile away, I loaded up the stroller with our bag full of things for the day, along with Maggie. I also strapped Audrey in to the Ergo and hit the pavement to find it, deciding that we’d hop into the car, and skip a stop at the hotel room, on our way back. Here’s the thing about San Francisco that I failed to think about: THERE ARE HILLS EVERYWHERE IN THAT DAMN CITY. That said, a simple half mile walk, while pushing a loaded stroller and wearing a baby was enough to do me in. And then to discover that the “forturne cookie factory” was down a random alley way, left me in tears of laughter. Kara and I, or maybe Kara with anybody, tend to have really interesting/fun/random adventures and so seeing two little old ladies behind a glorfied waffle machine was simply endearing. I bought $5 worth of cookies that would have lasted a lifetime, had I hauled them home. To say that I was sweaty mess by the time we got back to the hotel and car, would be an understantment. For the remainder of the trip, when I had difficulty gauging how far something was, I chose to drive when I had both the girls.

It really was a fun time, lots of great parks and areas that if I never had to leave that little patch, I’d be happy. More than anything, I became appreciative of where we do live and how convenient it is to do things near our home. I’m starting to have a deep, deep yearning to have a space that allows us to be a bit more wild and free, but living in the heart of a huge city for a week, I realized that our set up is pretty great.

And now for the pictures:

audrey bedhead sf

maggie audrey papa slide sf maggie barry park sf maggie dancing on wall sf park