Christmas Cuteness

Helena had her first Christmas program on Thursday. I'm continually impressed with what preschool teachers can get a group of eight two-year-olds to do. Her teacher told me she was so nervous about one or all of the kids melting down that they totally forgot to sing one of their songs.



Here's the full video-- we got great shots of her but weren't able to get the whole group because it was packed in there! Helena's very enthralled with her hat and I think she was lip synching a couple of times. Oh, and she shows off her signature Galbreath dance moves at one point. She's the one in the the pink scarf.

Oh, and here's a little craft Helena made at school this week:

I think she thinks all holidays are Halloween.

Happy Holidays everyone! We leave for Kansas on Tuesday! Yay!

-Emily :)

Mini Break to Laguna Beach

Very last-minute we decided to join Ash on a work trip to California the week before Thanksgiving. Laguna Beach in November sounded stupendous...and it was. Even though Ash ended up having to work longer hours than he had anticipated we still made time for some family fun and seeing my long lost friend Tish!

Speaking of Tish, she's probably secretly mad at me that I haven't blogged about this yet...as she did herself so eloquently right after we were there. Tish & I worked at KU Endowment together for a few years when we were in college and then she moved out to California to pursue THE DREAM -- acting. We've kept in touch via blogging, e-mails and the occasional text and phone call but I haven't seen her for probably about 4 years. That's way too long! It's so nice to have those friends in your life that you can just pick right back up with no matter how long it's been and how many little life details you've missed in each other's lives due to long distance. I got the skinny on everything she doesn't write about on her blog and she laughed at me when I showed up towing a stroller. Helena loved her and told me later that she was 'nice and pretty'. I wish we would have had more time to hang out...but it was really so great to see her.

In Laguna Beach we stayed at a little bed and breakfast two blocks from the beach. Helena liked the beach, her first visit to one, but was a little scared of the crashing waves at first. Eventually she warmed up and was putting her feet in the waves and digging in the sand. It was a little too chilly to actually swim, but a couple of times we got in a little bit too deep, fell down, and got our clothes wet. It was good times.


I also took Helena to the Long Beach Aquarium-- such a neat place. We had a blast. Helena petted sting rays, watched sea lions play fetch and, her favorite part, got the play on this boat. Don't ask me why she thought this was SO FUN but I don't think I've seen her freak out this much ever. She was running back and forth and screaming and having a good old time.

Sheer delight on her face. So hilarious.

Anyway, Laguna Beach in November = awesome. Great mini break. Big thanks to Ash for stubbornly convincing me that it was OK to go.

-Emily :)

Turkey Day!

We had a great, more family-filled Thanksgiving this year. My dad, his wife Teresa, my brother Evan and my Grandma Millie & Grandpa Bill braved the winter driving season to come spend it with us.

We had a really good, relaxing time just chilling with everyone. And I was finally able to show Ash what a Thach thanksgiving is all about-- pie, football and NAPS! His family doesn't really nap at Thanksgiving and it drives me nuts and no one eats more than one piece of pie (love you guys!!). It's way too grown up and sensible. I think by the end of the day every Thach in the house had sampled one of each kind of pie.

Ash made the turkey and it was really fabulous. As a reward, he got to sit at the kids table with Helena.

After dinner, Helena & my dad went round after round of the game my family calls 'One More Time'. Basically my dad has a portfolio of flips that he can do with any kid aged 1 to 10. And when I was little I loved it so much I wouldn't ever let him quit-- hence the 'one more time'. :)

And finally, we got in a group shot thanks to the auto timer on my camera. Not too shabby. Thanks for coming to visit everyone!! :)

-Emily :)

Whirlwind

Hello everyone! I'm alive! Exciting, huh? We've had a busy couple of weeks with Ash working in California, then us going out to California to hang with him while he worked, and then it was Thanksgiving with family visiting and then things got really crazy.

Oh, and did I mention I'm pregnant too. :) Hence the lack of blogs for about a month. I'm exhausted. I try my hardest to make it until 10 each night...and most nights I fail miserably. Other than tiredness and some nausea and being a picky eater (all plagued me last time as well), I'm feeling OK. We're due June 16th and no, we're not finding out what we're having...again (I know, people, I can hear the sighs from here). Come on, it'll be fun! My next doctor's appointment is on the 15th, so here's hoping things continue to go well.

Anyway, when I get my energy up a bit (crossing fingers) I'll blog about our California mini break and Thanksgiving. Other than me growing a placenta and a baby, there's really not a lot going on around here.

-Emily :)

I am not...!

So this afternoon I'm walking Helena out of school and this other lady stops and holds the door open for us and says "Oh, she is so cute." I say thanks, walk a couple of steps and Helena yells "Mom, I am NOT so cute." The other lady heard it and just starts cracking up.

We've entered into the official 2-year-old 'no filter' territory, folks.

The other day she told the rental car guy that she had to poop, too.

-Emily :)

How We Survived a Republican Fundraiser - Part 2

So Ash & I got all dressed up and headed downtown to meet up with his boss and some other co-workers for the Governor's Ball last Friday. I successfully found something to wear...the jewelery ending up being the biggest pain in the ass (thank you, Banana Republic for only making expensive bracelets INFANTS can wear!) But I think we looked pretty snazzy.

Anyway, we got there and found the bar (complete with sparkling apple cider and sprite on full display... silly Utah), found Ash's boss, got our picture taken by a row of flags, and headed to our table.

Ash, his boss and his other boss (who he calls 'the bish')

Unfortunately, I have to admit the night wasn't as craptastic as I had hoped (you know, for the sake of the good old blog). After surviving an annoying, washed up news anchor as the emcee, the Governor basically just got up on stage and kissed all of the corporate sponsor's' asses. Then they gave money to the Utah Food Bank. No political speeches, just thank you's and a hokey story about how the Governor evidently still shops for his own groceries yet still doesn't get recognized correctly at the supermarket ("Man, you sure do look like the Governor!").

The Governor came around to our table and thanked us all for coming. Ash actually fist bumped him. It was funny. After that, I can't really remember what he said to us because I was trying really hard not to laugh too hard about the fist bumping.

After that, we finished up our dinner (it was OK, not the best food I've ever eaten) and then the 'program' began. A slew of Utah-native, former Dancing with the Stars and American Idol contestants did a melange of spooky, scary Broadway tunes that were actually very good and entertaining. Ash couldn't get "Puttin' on the Ritz" out of his head afterwards and I came away really, really wanting to see Wicked.

Oh, I almost forgot....the funniest part was when they performed Michael Jackson's Thriller -- the singing and the dancing -- and the Michael Jackson stand-in kept doing this weird fake crotch grab instead of just going all the way with it. It was like someone was all "Whoa people, we've got sparkling apple cider drinkers in the crowd....definitely don't REALLY grab your crotch."

-Emily :)

Ladybug!

Helena definitely embraced Halloween more this year. Even added the words spooky and pumpkin to her vocabulaly and can convincingly laugh like a witch.

She had a Halloween parade at school on Friday afternoon, where this is the best picture I got of her:

She was the first one in line and took her 'marching orders' very seriously-- stopping briefly to say "hi mom, hi dad" then went about her mission of leading her class in the parade.

She was marching so close to her teacher (the one in the gold cape), that you can't even see her here!!! She had her head down and everything. That's the rest of her class standing at the door. So funny.

She also fully discovered the joys of "kitty kats" and reeses peanut butter cups. There was loud stomach gurgling after her overindulgence, but no puking, thank god.


She did make a pretty cute ladybug. :) We didn't officially take her trick or treating becuase Ash wasn't feeling well...and, she's only 2. She won't remember...until she reads this when she's fifteen.

-Emily :)

How We Got Dragged Into Attending Republican Fundraising Event -- Part 1

Wow, never thought I'd have to type that sentence up there. Yes, Ash & I are attending the Governor's Ball this evening. It's not completely voluntary...we are basically seat fillers for Ash's company, who has so generously contributed to the sitting governor's campaign coffers.

Anyway, it's black tie, I found out on Wednesday...good times. After frantically searching for a dress, shoes, jewelry, breaking new jewelry, buying different jewelry AND finding a babysitter...we're all set to go. I contemplated buying a really really sleazy dress to wear tonight...sure would blend in with the plethora of jesus jammies we're sure to witness...but I decided to take the more tasteful, black, Ann Taylor route. In case you didn't know, Utah is the capital of very demure, sleevy evening attire.

Part of me feels like we're inadvertently being democratic spies tonight. I'm going to take a little notebook to jot down funny things that happen/are said throughout the night. Hopefully I'm not pumping this up to be less than blog worthy. At the very least the food should be good and I read that there will be Broadway-ish production numbers.

But, think of it, this is the creme de la creme of Republican fundraising events in Utah. I COULD SEE AN OSMOND...IN PERSON. And I'll ask them to sign my chest...you betcha!

-Emily :)

Rock Chalk Indoctrination

Looks like we've got a little Jayhawk on our hands! :) Gotta move back to Kansas before they get to be that age so we can get in-state tuition.

-Emily :)

Caffeine Makes Me Positive...

I know this is random, but one thing I really like about Utah actually has to do with their coffee shops. If you're waiting in line in your car, the local, drive thru ones walk outside and take your order before you get to the actual window. It's awesome, super fast and they're always really friendly. And friendliness in customer service in Utah is a little hard to come by sometimes.

Anyway, and you all thought I just had sarcastic things to say about Utah! Oh, and this pumpkin spice latte is fabulous.

-Emily :)

You can buy 50 pounds of anything!

One of the more evident regional differences in Utah in terms of grocery stores is the prevalence and constant presence of emergency food preparation products. I'm not sure if these products exist anywhere else in the country in your normal Walmart or Kroger store. Evidently it is a tenet of the Mormon faith to always be prepared...beyond your normal boy scout preparedness...and keep a year's supply of food in your home at all times. I personally do not have the funds, storage space, or religious conviction to undertake this task, but it sure does make grocery ads semi-entertaining.

Behold:

Yep, a 25 lb. bucket of rolled oats. Seems practical...healthy...not too gross.

Then...a $60, 40 lb. bucket of kidney beans. I think I'd rather starve than eat those after they've been in my basement for a few years. But, I guess if you have 10+ children, they probably would go pretty fast.

Dried Chicken Teriyaki with Rice...wow. Inventive and disgusting at the same time. And probably not worth $22. Folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg, trust me.

Ash & I figure should the Apocalypse come upon us while we're here, we're in good company. All the Mormons would HAVE to share their bounty of stored food with us, right? That would be the Christian thing to do. Either that or we'll have plenty of stockpiles steal from.

-Emily :)

Birthdays All Around!

Whew...trying to recover a bit from the last two weeks. First I endured my third fund drive at work. Enough said about that. Then Ash's birthday (had a great time at a really nice dinner & the Jim Gaffigan show, even with me having to beg for tickets that should have been at will-call, but weren't)...then my Mom, niece Ellie and my Grandma Sarah & Grandpa Harris came to Salt Lake City to celebrate Helena's 2nd birthday and my mom's birthday as well (it's the day after Helena's).

Helena was really cute this birthday. She understood what was going on a lot better than last year and was really excited about her chocolate cake, new Wonder Pets fly boat, sticker books and the trip to the zoo.

On my mom's birthday, we took a scenic fall drive through Provo Canyon, ate lunch at a fabulous little mexican place in Heber City, then drove back home for some R&R.

Some photos from the weekend:

First of all, even though this will undoubtedly overshadow the cuteness of my own kid, some shots of the new baby elephant at the Salt Lake City zoo. Hands down, there is absolutely nothing cuter than a baby elephant:

Especially when it starts to play around with stuff like a kitten!!

OK, sorry. Back to Helena. She's cute too. :) Here she is sporting her new hat and new snow boots while playing with her fly boat.

Blowing out her candles on her Ming Ming cake. Ellie, ever the birthday pro, showed her what to do with the candles. We were very excited that she 'recognized' her cake. There may have been high fives involved... :)

Happy Birthday Helena! You're the coolest! We love you!

-Emily :)

Protect Insurance Companies PSA

Protect Insurance Companies PSA

I'll keep my opinions to myself at this point since I'm really supposed to be working right now. :)

-Emily :)

Hot Pockets!

We're going to see Jim Gaffigan for Ash's birthday on Friday night. Oh yeah...so excited. He freakin' cracks me up. Hopefully my expectations aren't too high.

My favorite schtick he does...makes me think of my friend Suzanne every time. :) But just the hot pockets part...not the other gross stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9c9lAfXQHs

-Emily :)

Safer Than the Sidewalk

So today I'm driving home from work on a fairly busy street in downtown Salt Lake and I see a skateboarder riding along in the middle of the road - taking up an entire lane of traffic. Then I remember that earlier today I witnessed a scooter (not an eletric one, either) doing the same thing. So, I think to myself, this is weird...does Utah have some sort of law that skateboards and non-motorized scooters can share the road like bicycles can? You know, because Utah's so strict with other laws, they probably have lax traffic laws to compensate. So, I pass the skateboarder on the left, and then call my Utah-native/work friend Gina to ask if she knows if it's legal to ride a skateboard in the middle of the road.

So, I'm on the phone with Gina asking her about this (she says it's illegal, by the way) and all the sudden I look back and skateboarder dude is signaling to change lanes. He's in the right lane, I'm in the left beside the turn lane, stopped at the light.

All of the sudden, BAM!, skateboarder dude HITS MY CAR and falls into the street. He's dazed, skateboard broken in half. I hang up the phone and roll down my window and ask him if he's alright. He says he's really sorry and that he's fine. I say, "You know, you probably shouldn't ride your skateboard in the street like that."

His response: "You know, it's actually safer than riding on the sidewalk."

Ummmm....right. You just slammed into the back of my car on your skateboard. You're the epitomy of safety, dude. You're lucky you're not dead right now...especially since you weren't wearing a helmet.

And I say, "You need to either walk or get a car, buddy."

-Emily :)

Three Musketeers

I feel like at this time in our lives Helena and her cousins are at such a cute age. Trying to capture as much as I can when we're visiting everyone.

Such a little cutie....but look out! He's a wiley one!

Helena and Kane have a little bit of a love/hate relationship...as in Helena likes him as long as he's not messing with her program. :) Helena's still taller than Kane, but he outweighs her by about 5 pounds.

Bubble machines are the bomb!

Lying in the grass after playing a little too hard. Helena wants to do everything Ellie does...so sweet. They're going to get in so much trouble together when they're older.

Sweet little Ellie turned 4 (!) last week...Happy Birthday Ellie Belly!

Emily :)

Two Ash's in the House!

I'm behind in blogging about certain life events...my apologies. I do my best. :)

Ash's dad came to visit the end of August-- his first time in the SLC -- and we had a great time showing him around and he had a great time chilling with Helena (and us too).

Ash and his dad went fly fishing the first day he was in town. Didn't catch much, but definitely wore themselves out enjoying the great outdoors in some extra hot temperatures.

We hit up Snowbird ski resort for a tram ride up to Hidden Peak and the Oktoberfest they had going on that day.

Ash & Helena watching the yodelers at Oktoberfest.

We also drive up to Bingham Canyon Copper Mine, not far from our house to nerd out a bit in the mining scene. It was really cool, I have to admit. And I think those mining trucks were officially the biggest pieces of machinery I've seen since Big Brutus.

Helena was a little coy during her Grandpa Ash's visit, but perked up just as he was leaving to get on the !AIRPLANE!. Actually hopped right up into his arms and was ready to go flying with him.


Thanks for visiting, Ash! Come back anytime!


-Emily :)

Rain! Panic! Head for the Hills!

So today it rained in Salt Lake City. And not just the normal, drizzly, spotty rain...but a real live thunderstorm. I'll admit that this is one of the things I miss the most about Kansas...a good old storm cloud rolling in once a week or so with thunder and lightning to boot!

As I've mentioned before, I can pretty much see the entire salt lake valley from my office window. Perfect locale for viewing storms when they occasionally come through. So today it was stormy out, and you could see there's some pretty intense rain and a little bit of lightning coming our way.

And here's where the craziness begins. I get a text message from the University of Utah saying the following: "Emergency alert from U Admin. Severe storm expected. U will not close. Take necessary precautions and find shelter."
(Sidenote: after the Virginia Tech shootings, the University of Utah, like most universities developed an extensive emergency alert system to communicate emergency instructions to students and faculty quickly when warranted).

OK, fine. A little overzealous, I think, for your standard severe thunderstorm, but we don't get these much around here so...OK. Then, the buzz around my office is that since it's a severe thunderstorm that means there's a tornado somewhere. Wow, I decide that someone logical definitely has to step in here. I put on my midwestern know-it-all hat and eduate them about the meterological warning system and how there's clearly not a tornado involved in this situation. Jeez.

Then, in the next 10 minutes I also get an e-mail, two voicemails and a message at my house about said severe thunderstorm from university administration. Lord. Calm down people.

The storm passes, we get a few wind gusts and it rains hard for maybe 10 minutes. No hail, very little lightning. Definitely no tornado.

Do you think they could save these emergency alerts for maybe, I don't know, A REAL EMERGENCY? Like an earthquake, a shooting, a campus wide gas leak....yeah, something like that. For god's sake it could snow 5 feet in two hours with traffic deadlocked all around the city and they wouldn't say a peep!

Regional differences. Gotta love them.

-Emily :)

I know, the suspense is killing you...

Sorry for the cryptic post last week, but I had a secret to keep. Ash & I decided about three weeks ago to take advantage of some decent airfare prices to fly to Wichita for Labor Day weekend to see my family.

Since it was fairly last minute, I decided to try to surprise everyone (minus my mom, my dad and my brother for various reasons). We had planned to mainly surprise my sister, who had mentioned she was upset that she wasn't going to see us until Christmas awhile ago. So my mom set up a breakfast date with her at 'the grill' on Saturday morning. My sister, ever the cooperative one, calls last minute to say she had had a little too much fun the night before and wasn't up to going to breakfast. OK, so the original surprise plan wasn't going to work. So after my dad and her husband Justin made her mad berating her to go to breakfast, we decided just to ambush her at her house.

We walked up on the porch and she looked out the window and was totally shocked. Her face was hilarious! She was so excited...so was Ellie. Later she told me, "That was so cool...I don't think I've ever been surprised in my whole life." Yay! Mission accomplished!

We also successfully surprised both sets of my grandparents and my Aunt Jodie and her family who were visiting from New Mexico.

We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Also got to see Aimee and Micah, and Michelle and Andy on Saturday night. Thanks for coming to Burrton to hang out with us, guys...all the great laughs were so therapeutic.

-Emily :)

My Walmart Sells.....

I'm not sure if these are really available at my Walmart,
but it wouldn't at all surprise me.  I'll look the next time
I'm there.  Some people take modesty WAY too seriously.  I
think it's more obscene to wear this than a normal swimsuit.

(Thanks for the tip, LA!)

Hope everyone has a great long weekend.  I'd tell you what
we're doing, but it's top secret.  Yep, we're that cool.

-Emily :)

Broadway Here We Come...

I think possibly the cutest thing Helena's done ever is start to sing. Completely adorable. She's got the basics in her repertoire - Wheels on the Bus, If You're Happy and You Know It, the Wonder Pets theme song - but here you see her morphing a couple of other basics together. She gets off to a rough start, but it ends up pretty priceless.



After Ash watched this he said "I never really realized those two songs were the same tune."

-Emily :)

Alcoholic Tirade

I think I might start writing a series of "Seriously, Utah is Weird" posts... there's so much fodder.

Here's my pick of the week:

Utah restaurant liquor licenses going, going . . .

I have a hard time swallowing why Utah has this quota system for liquor licenses based on population. You'd think they would welcome any new investment in the community in these difficult economic times...even if they want to serve...GASP!...alcohol. Why in the world would you let the state and not the market decide how many liquor licenses to issue in a given year? And there's only 1 full permit left for this fiscal year, and they expect 80 requests statewide. They only adjust the licenses based on the population growth once a year (the last official count was in June), so that's 79 potential business owners that aren't able to execute their business plan for their establishment as they would like to, and if they do open then their business may well suffer until they're able to get their liquor license.

Ugh...I could go on. But I won't. And I thought Kansas liquor laws were weird! Nope, Utah takes the gold medal on that one. Wonder what they would all think if they knew Ash & I shipped three cases of wine back from Napa this summer and didn't pay taxes on it. Oops! Hope the DABC isn't monitoring my computer.

-Emily :)

Six Years Ago...

This month, Ash & I celebrated our sixth anniversary. I know, how have we been married SIX YEARS?!? I think that means we're getting old.

Anyway, my wonderful co-worker Gina agreed to babysit for us and we headed up to the mountains to go on a more strenuous hike than we usually can with Helena in tow. Sounds romantic, huh? We packed up a picnic, some wine, and headed up to Dog Lake.

We definitely achieved our goal of challenging ourselves on the hike. At one point I wasn't sure if we were both going to make it up or not. (Sidenote: as our anniversary present to each other, we got a membership at a gym by our house, and Ash had just worked out really hard earlier that day.)

I kept cheering Ashford on, at one point saying, "Just think, this hike is a great metaphor for marriage. You keep trudging along, and sometimes it's not fun, but in the end it's so worth it." Ash replied, "You mean it's hard, it sucks, and then you die?!?" Good to know he still has a sense of humor when he's about to pass out. That 0.6 miles at a pretty steep incline wasn't very pleasant. We got to the lake, and scarfed down our well-deserved food while watching several people's dogs frolick in the water. One continuously swam after a group of ducks the entire time we were sitting there. It was very entertaining.

The way down was much easier terrain (as with most hikes) and we also spotted our first Utah moose!

Happy Anniversay, honey. I love you six times more than when we got married! ;)

-Emily :)

The Gies' Have Landed...

A couple of weekends ago, my Aunt MariAnn and her family (Uncle Bill & cousin Conner) came to visit us. We were really glad to have them (we love visitors, obviously!) and tried to show them all the sights while they were in town. My favorite outing was the hike we did in Big Cottonwood canyon to Lake Solitude. The wildflowers were in full bloom and it was just gorgeous.

Helena loved my aunt and seemed to be a bit confused that she looks a little like my mom. She called her "MeeMaw" for most of the visit. We hit up the local brew pub downtown, too. Uncle Bill was very enthusiastic about his beer sampler.

We also took them on the obligatory jaunt to the Great Salt Lake. Ashford decided to try to get us a better view of the scenery and ended up taking us out in the middle of nowhere (we saw a guy test shooting his MACHINE GUN!). But we also saw the Morton Salt plant which was kind of cool.

I decided after this bout with visitors that one thing I really like about not living close to everyone is that when people do visit us, we get to spend more quality time with them. I can't remember the last time (if ever) I got to spend 3 days with my aunt and uncle-- and it was really great. We had conversations we don't usually have time to have, Ashford and Conner bonded over bowling, and my uncle had the chance to chide me for cussing too much on my blog (I was just glad that he was reading it! And, I think it was only once and it was pivotal to the story I was telling). :)

Thanks for choosing to spend your summer vacation visiting us!!

-Emily :)

P.S. - Aunt MariAnn, send me your pics from Arches!!! I want to see them!

Flickr picture update!

Pictures on my flickr site are fixed now from my San Francisco post.

Flickr and I do not get along...arrgh. You guys are so polite for not saying anything about it being totally messed up!

-Emily :)

Helena's Days of Summer

Helena's really starting to get to be a fun age. I can already tell the terrible two's will be a constant negotiation, but man, I have to say she keeps getting cuter. :)

Here's Helena utilizing the new backyard. She enjoys emptying the pool more than actually swimming in it.

Miss Attitude showing off her penchant for Hershey's kisses and her most recent accomplishment of two ponytails utilizing some actual 'back of the head' hair.

Eating chocolate cake at dinner this past weekend.

It's hard to take a pic of Helena without food on her face since the only time she really sits still is when she's eating and strapped down. Here she's exhibiting part of the full cup of refried beans she ate for dinner. Yes, my kid won't eat any fruit but applesauce and bananas, but refried beans are always a go!

As I was uploading the pic above, this one below was right next to it in my computer files and I realized that we took this almost a year ago today. Definitely less hair, teeth and a little paler than last summer. I can't believe she's going to be two in just a couple of months.

-Emily :)

P.S. -- Thanks for snapping a couple of these, Aunt Mariann!

Wine in the Family

While in Northern California, we stopped and had brunch with Ash's Aunt Deb & Uncle Bob, cousin Lisa and her husband Brandon and 2nd cousin Anthony. Ash's uncle is an official vinter and we had the privilege of asking him all sorts of burning questions about grape farming and wine. Their winery is called Broman Cellars, and man, it's good stuff. We definitely made sure to arrange to send some back to Utah (Thanks for helping us break the law, Lisa!). Our late morning wine tasting also went well with the fabulous breakfast casserole Deb made.

It was neat to finally see their property and small vineyard. We're definitely going to go back and visit in the near future since they are one of our few 'western state' realatives!

Some pics from our visit:

Bob's "Scientific Tasting Table" in the winery office- at least that's what I'm going to call it. I'm sure he'd call it something else. ;) As a layperson, I thought it was pretty cool. Kind of reminds me of making perfume.
Lisa & Deb in the vineyard.

Cabernet grape vines on their property.

A lotus flower blooming in their backyard pond. I had a great time shooting all of the fabulous flowers around their house.

California is so beautiful and so diverse. I can't wait to go back!

-Emily :)

San Francisco

Ash & I spent a couple of days in San Francisco on our vacation. It's been a few years since I've visited a really big, congested city and I have to say it kind of startled me. I hate to admit it, but it did. I just can't imagine living there...so many people on a peninsula that's just 7 miles across.

When we first arrived we had lunch at our hotel since we were starving after it took way too long to 'park' our rental car -- a Hummer we got in a surprise upgrade. Hummers evidently aren't popular rental options in Cali. In the hall of our hotel, I'm pretty sure I saw Brittanya from Rock of Love Bus checking in. Random, I know...

After my celebrity sighting, we headed on a walk through Chinatown, snacked on a sweet curry bun and bought a Hello Kitty backpack for Helena and then had some drinks at a random spot.

Then we headed over to check out Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world) and then went over to Fisherman's Wharf where we stopped in a little shop for a wine tasting. It turned out to be really great -- our host was super nice and even clued us in on a great local sushi place to have dinner at. That's us, getting the recommends from the locals a la Rachel Ray. Ha!

The other afternoon we were there we hit up the Ferry Building and shopped a bit in Union Square.

I got some great pics while we were there as well: Check them out!

-Emily :)

Whew...I'm back!

After 3 weeks of non-stop traveling, we're back in the swing of things. I'm currently downloading 200+ pictures I took on all of our adventures and plan to post about everything over the next week or so. Needless to say, our vacation was desperately needed and really, really fun. I will say I don't need to drink for awhile, however. Two weddings on back to back weekends was rough on my liver.

Nate & LeighAnn's wedding was nothing short of spectacular. The setting was idyllic and it was great to whoop it up with all of my old work friends. And I think that's the only wedding Ash & I both got teary eyed at. Might have been the wine...but damn those two are just so cute together.

San Francisco was great, too.

As was our our visit to Ash's Aunt Deb's house/vineyard in Napa.

Helena had a great time visiting my family in Burrton. So much so she started calling my sister and brother-in-law "mom and dad." Man, doesn't take her long to adjust.

After we hooked up with Helena in Kansas City we had a whirlwind weekend there visiting friends and family and attending Phil & Dana's wedding, which will come with its own set of stories. Here's Helena and Ash's cousin Brendan playing in the pool together.

And finally, I headed out for the public radio development conference in San Diego last week.

So, that's what we've been up to, in a very brief nutshell. More to come!! Hopefully I haven't lost all of my readers!

Congrats to our newly wedded friends who were gladly the catalyst for all of our travels!

-Emily :)

2 1/2 weeks off work...oh yeah...

Leaving this morning for California (San Francisco & Napa Valley) and then coming to Kansas next week! Oh, and did I mention the California trip is kid free! Amazing.

Be back in a couple of weeks...

-Emily :)

Ta-Dah!

This brings a tear to my eye:

We have a tree now! The sod still needs to green up a little bit, but such an improvement!

Our attempt at xeriscaping at least part of the lawn. I'll probably plant some drought tolerant things along the sides eventually. I feel like the pics don't do it justice, but trust me, it makes our house feel so much more like a home now that we don't have to completely ignore our backyard.

-Emily :)