Sad to Leave, Glad to Be Home

We're back.  We're exhausted.  We had the very best time.  Since pictures are worth a thousand words, this post will be mostly pictures and very few words.  To see all of the pictures from our week, click here.  I promise you'll find more than you're probably hoping to see, but feel free to browse.  The few pictures below give a glimpse, but hardly do justice.

Asher is a regular on the train at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  He took Sara along for a ride and she loved every minute of it. 

Sara and Samara found themselves eye-level with the fish.

Though we couldn't swim due to bacteria in the water (?), we dipped our feet in Lake Michigan.

We snuck away for a bit to explore and managed to find ourselves in a beer garden on Navy Pier.

We all enjoyed the Bean at Millennium Park.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't have fun house mirror tendencies.

Mom, Grandma Lou, and Todd near the splash area at Millennium Park.  Steve was chasing Sara around somewhere in the background.

Italian beef.  We came, we ate, we conquered. 

Our fabulous hosts: Dan, Caroline, Asher, and Samara.

Trip Part #2: Lake Ida.  The perfectly peaceful remedy after our event-filled-whirlwind Chicago trip. 

Enjoying, relaxing with Grandma.

Freshly paved roads + Grandpa Todd at the helm + just enough wind to make your hair blow back = unbeatable wagon rides.

This view just never gets old.

Have Suitcase, Will Travel

This is just to inform you all that I'll be taking a little blogging break as we spend some time traveling to see family.  Today we are flying to Chicago (sadly, Leigh is out of town this weekend) to visit my cousin, Dan, his beautiful wife, Caroline, and their little ones, Asher, who is four, and Samara, who was born just a few months after Sara.  Grandma Lou will be there, along with my parents, and Melissa & Adam.  We're looking forward to a weekend full of laughter, adventure, and memories.  On Monday, Steve will fly back to Dallas because he has to return to work (which isn't so hard to swallow when I think about this time last year when he was without employment).  Sara and I will pack our things into Mom and Todd's car, drive back from Chicago to Minneapolis with them, and then spend the rest of the week hanging around MN.  There's no telling what fun the week will hold!  Until then, stay cool and dry (I think that's a pretty fair blanket statement for most of the country right now, right?!). xoxo

Jackpot!

Fireworks & the Works

We had the best 4th of July weekend!  It started Friday when both Steve and I were home from work.  His team got a "freebie" day because they'd met their weekly sales goal by Thursday, and I opted to stay home, too.  Sara went to school for just a little bit to participate in the school-wide parade.  It was super cute, and there were lots of parents there.  I was glad we were able to go, too.

All of the toddlers and babies rode in wagons, but apparently Sara refused.  She beats to her own drum, which we already knew.  The older kids waved banners and flags, sang, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  The younger ones wore the t-shirts their teachers made and just generally looked cute.  The whole thing was over in about 15 minutes, but it was worth it to be in attendance!

I'm not going to talk for long about our current weather situation here, but you'll notice that I had no choice but to embrace the humidity/my curly hair for most of the weekend.  We're getting hurricane rain and humidity - big time - but that's all the complaining I'll do about that because at least we're far enough north that the only part of the hurricane we feel is the rain.

Saturday we hung around the house for most of the day while it rained and rained.  We got the floors mopped and did lots of laundry, read books and colored.  The rain cleared enough by fireworks time (about half of the cities around here do fireworks on the 3rd, and the other half on the 4th.  Not sure why, but it just means more fireworks for us!), so we headed to the Wylie High School parking lot for the show.  Since it'd been raining so much, we opted not to sit on the grass and watched from the bed of the truck instead, which turned out to be perfect. 

Here's Sara waiting for the show!

Sara was mesmerized!  She snuggled up with some blankets and sat in awe of the display.  She cheered and "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" throughout the show, and clapped enthusiastically at the end.  It was so fun to watch Sara enjoy the fireworks.  Steve and I have always loved watching the fireworks together, and it feels so complete to have her in on the tradition, too.

On Sunday morning we got up and headed to the Fort Worth Zoo.  Sara enjoyed seeing all of the animals and imitating their sounds.  Her favorite part, though, was looking at the aquariums filled with fish ("ish") and turtles.  It is such a joy to watch her discover and interact on these types of trips.  I just love to look at the world through her little eyes ... everything is a wonder.

After the zoo, we headed to Joe T. Garcia's for margaritas and famous fajitas on the patio, and we were not disappointed!  We ended our day yesterday at a pool party at G & G B's neighbor's house, and then watched fireworks on that side of town.  For the third night in a row, Sara was up past 10:00, so for the third morning in a row, she really slept in!  Today was spent lounging, playing, swimming, and grilling.  Completeness.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th with family, friends, fireworks, and - of course - plenty of fine food! 

Perspective

I opened my e-mail this morning to multiple e-mails from people I actually know, as opposed to the 20+ spam e-mails I typically find.  It was exciting for only a moment.  The first e-mail I read was sent to inform me that a high school friend's dad passed away.  The second e-mail I read (which turned into a series of e-mails) was sent to inform me that a sorority sister passed away.  Both Tuesday night.  I'm finding myself swallowed in grief tonight.

My high school friend texted me over the weekend to let me know that her dad wasn't doing well, and that he had probably just a few days to live.  I can't say I was surprised about his passing, though that doesn't make the pain that I know she's feeling any less. 

My sorority sister dealt with an illness her entire life.  I remember in college she'd have to occasionally spend a couple of weeks at the hospital in Iowa City, but she always came back happy and seemingly healthy.  As I talked to Leigh on the phone this evening, I made a statement about the fact that we knew during college that her life expectancy was shorter than average ... but during college, 30 seemed so far away and the reality of her illness was never my reality.  She was one of those beautiful people, inside and out, with whom you couldn't help but be friends.  She was always in the center of the fun.  She and I lost touch after college, and I haven't seen her in years.  I think what makes me most sad today are my thoughts of her son - about Sara's age - who is left without her and who, sadly, won't remember much of her.  I simply cannot fathom.  For those who did remain close friends with her over the years, I know their grief far outweighs mine ... and even mine is heavy. 

I decided that I needed to pick up Sara early from school today, around 2:00.  We hit Target (detergent for me, shoes, dress, and pj's for her (all clearance, you know me)), and then Sonic's happy hour.  As we were walking from the car to the house, Sara managed to spill her entire cherry slush all over the garage floor.  She cried and cried out of pure devastation.  So we got back in the car, drove back to Sonic, and got a new cherry slush.  She'll never remember (or appreciate) the gesture, but it felt important to me in that moment to mend her broken heart (all it took this time was a 50 cent slush). 

Today was a day of perspective for me, as days like this -- fortunately and unfortunately -- always are.  Any tantrum-filled, tearful, unnecessarily dramatic moment with Sara will always be better than any moment without her.  I didn't need today's e-mails to make me aware of this fact, but they certainly gave me some perspective that I didn't have, or  perhaps simply chose to ignore, before I read them.

Photo Shoot

Here's a peak at Sara's 18-month pictures (the ones we had taken at JC Penney's last weekend).  I have not been good about documenting Sara's life with professional pictures, but am so glad to have her captured in photos at this beautifully tender age.  We had a very pleasant experience at Penney's; the staff was great with Sara, they got lots of good shots (it was impossible to choose a favorite), and they were happy to apply my Sunday-paper coupon to the purchase. 

I think we'll be repeat customers!

Caught rolling around ...

Singing "no more monkeys jumping on the bed"...

Sweet face ...

Relaxing ...

Capturing quintessential Sara ...

Fathers

"Fathers, be good to your daughters,

Daughters will love like you do."

-John Mayer

Today is the 100th anniversary of Father's Day.  Tomorrow will mark sixteen years since my own dad passed away.  It seems like a lifetime ago and a day ago all at the same time.  While my memory in some areas sometimes fails me, I don't believe I'll ever forget every raw detail of June 21, 1994.  Death -- my dad's, especially -- seemed to so define my early teenage years that I have a hard time recalling more than a handful of childhood events.  Still, my impressions of the kind of dad I had haven't faded.  I'll always remember my dad as being my biggest fan.  Anything that was important to me was important to him.  He was a practical joker, an intelligent businessman, a friend and role-model to many, and one who, even in death, has never left my side.  I like to think he'd be proud of me today.

Todd is the father that came into my life when we were all least expecting it.  He never hesitated to be the father-figure we needed, all while being sensitive to the fact that we'd already be given a dad.  Todd has loved me as deeply as any father could, and he's been a constant voice of reason in my life.  I will always believe that having two dads in my lifetime was part of a greater plan, and that Todd's presence in my life is proof that silver lining exists.

As a mom, one of my greatest blessings is the fact that I have a front row seat everyday to watch Steve as a father.  I have to be honest: when we met as 19-year-olds, I wasn't sure he had it in him.  But as is probably the case with most first-time dads, I think his "Parenting Lightbulb" went off the moment Sara was born.  He was a changed man as of 8:07 a.m. on December 11, 2008, and he hasn't veered from dad-mode ever since.  I'd never known him to love as fiercely and as passionately as he did in those moments surrounding Sara's arrival, and as he has every moment since.  Steve is an attentive, sensitive, hands-on dad, and Sara absolutely adores him.  I know that he will always make Sara feel safe and loved, and I couldn't ask for more.    

Let's give all the dads out there an extra hug, high-five, or fist pump today, even if they missed the laundry basket again or had yet another memory lapse regarding what to do with dirty dishes.  We never said we loved them because they followed household rules ... we love them because we know that nobody will ever love us or our babies the way they do.