Okay, I know this is dumb, but...

I'm just so proud! Someone's blown my cover, so now I can just come right out and say, "It was me, okay! I did it!" But I had help, so I can't take all the credit! This is just a sampling of the sweet pictures my accomplice took, late one night at a family gathering (and under the influence of severe sleep deprivation. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life! Thank you David for providing the creepy doll, Mom for the bed sheet, and Meem for the photography skills.) We commandeered our sister Anna's blog while she recovered from childbirth and posted... our own version of our newest niece's first photo shoot. The funny thing is that I think some people actually fell for it (see comments)! HAH! View the complete collection here. Do you recognize mommy?

Our Favorite Things: Family & Vacation

After leaving Utah, we visited family for the next 2 months, bouncing around between Southern Oregon, the Oregon Coast, Mt. Hood, and Seattle. We had a grand ol' time with our loved ones, so we could go on and on about all our adventures. But that would be a very long post. And it’s late. And there’s a delicious thunder storm going on outside that I want to go and watch. So here are only the highlights, in no particular order:

Rivka, her handsome dad and nephews Jacob and Isaac.

Rivka and all of her sisters at Isaac's baptism. What a treat to be all together at once!
Rivka's entire immediate family, minus only brothers Adam and Pietr, who are serving church missions in Taiwan.
Perfect new niece Audrey.

Dad. Totally in his element.

Chace. In his element(s. Air and water.)
Multnomah Falls.
Homeless gypsy child in the woods. Also known as my nephew Max.
Rivka and mother riding through The Witch's Woods.

The birth of the Baconator.
Rivka riding in a storm around the newly discovered Bella Star Meadow. (Hey! Don't look at me! I didn't name it!)

Audrey, and her favorite auntie.

The Oregon Coast.

Sea lions at Newport.

I've always got to keep my wits about me with this man. I never know when he'll try something!

Thomas got pretty good with that kite!

Uncle Chace and Laney.
I guess you can't really see what's going on here. Kate is sitting in Auntie's lap, innocently trying to eat her s'more. Auntie then tries to intercept said s'more on its way to Kate's mouth. As picture 3 indicates, it did make it to Kate's mouth...
Chace, feeling like a new man out on the range, and rethinking that job he's taken!

Star Creature Catchers, Kate and Grace.Pike Place Market Pig, Seattle.
My favorite part of the market. Food, glorious food.
Our dear friends, the Griffithses, visiting us in Seattle.
Macey was always a step ahead!
Ferry ride = wind = photoshoot! Hey! Just because we're legally adults doesn't mean we have to act like it! Oh, what will our children think!?
A gorgeous lake on Mt. Ranier to which we hiked.
The water was so clear and beautiful you could see right to the bottom.
Mighty kayakers about to brave the treacherous Cedar River.

Chace's favorite pass time: wakeboarding in the shadow of Mt. Ranier.

Rivka's favorite pass time: eating Reeses s'mores by a fire on the beach.An afternoon with my oldest friend, Angela. Definately a highlight.

My baby brother towering over his 16th birthday cake and sporting his birthday mumu. What is this world coming to!?

After Graduation...

Chace and I went with his parents on a little trip to celebrate! Among the places we visited are:

Zion National Park (for a lot of hiking)...

St. George (to go to the temple)...

Las Vegas...
Uh, I mean Venice (quite an experience!)...
The Hoover Dam (impressive)...
The Grand Canyon, South Rim (beautiful. And big)...

And back through Manti (where Chace's parents were married)

All in all, it was one dam good trip (I couldn't resist!) Thanks Paul & Michele for tagging along!

Lonely

I've decided I'm not a fan of Chace traveling.

I dropped him off at the airport for his first business trip at 5 am yesterday morning. And while I do enjoy stretching out diagonally across the bed unrestricted, I am dearly missing my roomie. Especially since there are all manner of creaks and squeaks in the night. But the creepiest happening so far was last night when, at about midnight, I was dozing on the couch and was awakened by a loud noise. It sounded like the blender. IT WAS THE BLENDER! How it turned on by itself, I will never know. What I do know is that I am very anxious for the return of my body guard tomorrow night!

Pic-O-The-Week: Simple Pleasures

We haven't had a Pic-o-the-Week for a while, so I thought I'd share with you one of my life's simple pleasures: Abuelita: Autentico Chocolate. We keep a pitcher of this in the fridge to reheat in the mornings. Find it in the Hispanic aisle of your local grocer! (Note: it may go by another name in your area. In Roseburg, it was called Ibarra. But Mexican hot chocolate by any other name is just as sweet...) Look how happy it makes this little old lady! It can do the same for you!It also makes Chace feel like he's back in Europe- a cup of hot chocolate and a muffin for breakfast, while studying a foreign language, in this case, my old French textbook. Are we nerdy or what?!

And speaking of life's simple pleasures, I've read some writing lately of an extraordinary man named Lowell L. Bennion, which I think are words to live by. Perhaps they'll be helpful for you:

"Learn to like what doesn't cost much.

Learn to like reading, conversation, music.

Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.

Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.

Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different... different from you.

Learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.

Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.

Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.

Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow in a winter day.

Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others."

Peaches… Matey!

This Monday will mark Chace’s fourth week as a Dow employee! So far he’s made quite a name for himself. Interestingly enough, that name happens to be Peaches! Apparently after the confusion last summer among the secretaries regarding Chace’s name (“Is it Paul? Or is itChace?” It’s actually Paul Chace), it was determined that he would be known on the Dow books as “P. Chace.” Now say that three times fast. “P. Chace… P. Ches… Peaches… PEACHES!” That’s what the secretaries call him. Now add to that his great… shall we say resourcefulness in accumulating “supplies” for his office, and his reputation among his coworkers for cleaning up after company lunches and bringing home doggie bags for his adoring wife. Now we have Peaches the Pirate! What a way to begin your career!

Here’s his first day of work, just outside the security gate, with his buddy Scott. My, my! Don’t they look professional!

(And for those who are curious: we may move to New Jersey for a few months and then be back here in Michigan to finish up training til Christmas. After that, we don’t have a very clear idea yet where we will live for the following few years, but Houston and New Jersey are possibilities. If we go to Houston, I want this house! Can't you just see window boxes spilling over from the 2nd floor and wisteria climbing the side? And can you tell I’ve spent some time on Realtor.com?)

Post-Father’s Day Post

One of my new resolutions is to be better about decorating for and celebrating holidays, birthdays, and other special events. Growing up in my family, these occasions were acknowledged, but were never a really big deal, (which is understandable in a family where there is at least one birthday per month just with the children, not to mention grandchildren and extended family) and which I think is actually good in some ways. On the other hand, I worked for an extraordinary woman by whose home décor I could discern the season without fail, and who would not only plan her childrens’ birthday celebrations for them, but would do it in advance of the actual birthday! Imagine! As I’ve seen the approaches of other families, I’m beginning to see where I would like the balance to be in our little family. So, as the old man-of-the-sin-of-not-adequately-celebrating-special days, when Father’s Day came around, Chace and I reflected, sometimes vocally to each other but mostly just in our own minds, on how much we love our dads and our dads-in-law. We called them to say so. And life went on. No big deal.

A couple of days later I learned that a very dear friend had just lost her father. I spent most of the day in tears, aching for this sweet friend who was now without her sweet dad. He died just a week before Father’s Day. How different her Father’s Day was from mine. She made no casual phone call, scribbled out no hasty ‘Happy Father’s Day’ note. After the initial shock I felt, almost disbelief really, I began to try to imagine what my friend was experiencing. It felt like those paranoid late nights as a kid when I used to lie in bed and wonder why dad wasn’t home yet and consider the possibility that he never would be. Those feelings have been more frequent since my marriage to a mechanical engineer who has often assured me he’ll be home from a test or a study group by 9 and then not shown up or answered his phone till 11.

In those agonizing moments, I always return to the same consolation: I pray. I plead that my fears are groundless. Then I wait. And then, unfailingly, the calm comes softly to my frenzied mind and racing heart. Peace. And I’m content with whatever may happen. Someday that fear will not be groundless, and I imagine my heart will break. Nevertheless, I’m so glad to know that this life isn’t the end. That, in fact, it’s just the beginning! My dearest wish is to live in such a way that I will somehow deserve to be with my loved ones for eternity. And I know that such a thing is possible through the mercy and grace of my Savior and the restoration of His gospel. How priceless is that knowledge!

So Dad and Paul, I know it’s late, but you’ve been much on my mind lately. I sure love you good men. And you're pretty hansome too!