home on the range

I always forget how rural my home town really is.  I am struck by the sheer amount of fields and pastures. I find that I don't take the scenery for granted the way I did when I lived in Utah.  It is, simply put, a beautiful state.

We are here for three weeks.  My children have already gone ferrel in my parents back yard.

I am doing all sorts of projects that will keep me busy almost everyday I'm here.  I'm excited to share the fruits of my labors with you.

Speaking of fruit, peaches and cherries grown here in Utah are akin to Hawaiian pineapple. They are ridiculously good. Candy good even.

I am so exicited to meet up with old friends and new while I'm here.

Rhonna Farrer is a good friend of mine that is going to be helping me on a little project. She is getting ready to launch her new website and it's going to be amazing.

Rhonna is looking for talented girls to be on her design team. Go to her blog and you can read all the specifics. 

It feels good to be here. In Utah. The beehive state. Home of the big pink cookie.

And lots of livestock.

hey fever

I think, because you are here, reading this little ol' blog post of mine, you must be wondering what a girl like me is up to these days.

I'll tell ya.

I'm sitting on my over-sized sofa holding my bundle of joy. That's all. Oh, and sometimes I get up to get the boy something to eat. But not very often.

There is nothing like being home. Finally, home.

Before we left Utah, my Dad forced me off his sofa and into the great outdoors. I was reluctant to leave my little Birdie behind in my mother's care. But my father insisted. It would only be for a couple of hours. He promised.

We took a little nature hike into the foothills.

The boy, having his father's sensitive genes, developed a raging case of hay fever. His left eye turned red and puffy and incredibly weepy. Always an opportunist, my son decided that what he desperately needed was an eye patch. You see, not only is Thom suffering from hay fever, he is also suffering from hey fever, as in "hey guys, what about me?"

Since this was the only manifestation of his desperation to reclaim his spot in the lime light, I decided to acquiesce. If an eye patch was going to smooth his transition to older brother, well, by damn, I was going to get the kid a patch.

Sugar Daddy took the boy to look for a patch that would meet his needs. They came home with a video game. It seems that video games can also cure hey fever.

I can hang with that. Eye patches can be a little scratchy anyway.

So Thom is playing his video game. Sugar Daddy is ordering in pizzas. And I'm playing with Amelie.

That's what a girl like me is up to these days.

first bubble bath

peace

For those of you out there, waiting to exhale, let it go. Let it all out and breath deep the sweet air of today.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

Last weekend will go down as one of the best in our life.

The when, where and what to wear of our meeting ended up to be very inconsequential. As is turns out, we have known this girl for ages. She is family.

She is a pint sized American sweetheart. She's a pink beach cruiser on the boardwalk, a vintage JuicyFruit commercial, the girl next door that all the boys plan to marry some day.

Did you know that peace is the only emotion that Satan can't duplicate? He's got love and happiness down pat. He can fool you into believing just about anything, but peace, well, he can't touch it.

As I sat across the table from our birth mom, I was wrapped in peace. I know she was chosen to carry our child. I know that we are bound together by forces we may not understand until we die. I know that I will love her, and her family until I take my last breath and beyond.

These are tough times for so many people right now. I feel a little guilty for our happiness. I feel like a child with a huge lollipop while the other children look on. I want to share my sweetness with everyone. I want everyone to take a big lick and know that God is good. Miracles happen. Hang onto your faith and work towards peace in your life.



Here's a few pics from Mayberry (a.k.a. North Ogden):

wild child

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."- Anne Frank

As a parent, I want my son to experience all kinds of different things in his life. I want him to eat sushi and chew on tree sap until it turns to gum. I want him to feel snowflakes on his face and salt water up his nose. I want him to know how a GPS and a handheld compass work. In short, I want him to experience his life fully, to be able to look beyond the bleakness of modern life and embrace the inherent beauty that surrounds us.

I bought this book for Sugar Daddy for Christmas.

I found it on my friend's reading list, and being the Survivor Man that he is, I knew my husband would love it.

He does.

The boy went skiing for the first time yesterday.

He fell down A LOT. And I'm glad that he did. It teaches him perseverance.

At times I am sad that I live so far away from my family. It would be so nice to see them more often. But then I am reminded just how lucky I am. My son will grow up knowing about the ocean and the beach, and when we make our pilgrimages to my parents house he learns about snow and mountain life. Hopefully we can give him the experiences he will need to be a well rounded, happy adult.

Survivor Man Dad has specific plans to start the wilderness indoctrination as soon as possible.

the greatest snow on earth

The boys hit the slopes, and hit the slopes, and hit the slopes. . .





Even Finn played all day in the snow.





Personally, I preferred a little warmer location.

I am now the proud owner of this little number in not one, but two colors.

roots

Sugar Daddy likes to say- you can take the girl out of Utah, but you can't take the Utah out of the girl.

We took a picnic up to North Fork Canyon. This is the place I learned to cross country ski when I was a child. This is where I went to Girl's Camp and learned how cruel girls can be to each other. This is land that my father knows like the back of his hand. Today, I took my son there and stood at the waterfall and watched him cry big crocodile tears because we wouldn't let him scale the rock wall. It seems he got a healthy dose of the Campbell gene for outdoor adventure.

I find my western roots are peculating to the surface of my life. I love that there are so many country western stations here. I love that just up the street from my parents house the Barker family still runs a small dairy farm. Although my home town has grown and is no longer the "Mayberry" I once knew, it still has a small town feel. People still smile and wave from their pastures as you drive by.

The Skipping Stone necklace was one of the first things I listed on Etsy. I have sold every one I have listed. I picked up a few stones on our little hike tonight. I can't wait to get home to my work bench to make them into jewelry.