Yosemite

We just had a quick day trip on August 18th. Yes, we realize Lachlan is way too big for the bjorn, but we needed something to hold him while we hiked. 

We hiked about a mile each way to the Grizzly Giant. The tree has been measured many times, most recently in 1990 by Wendell Flint. It has a volume of 34,005 cubic feet (962.9 m³), making it the 25th largest giant sequoia living today.

Look at the roots of this tree!

Resting at the Grizzly Giant

We made it!

Lachlan petting the horse that took us on a stagecoach ride.

Funny story, Bear's wallet fell out of his pocket while we were sitting in front of the Wawona Hotel. We had to call the hotel and have a staff member go look for it for us. And luckily, it was still there - we weren't even sure that was where he had dropped it. Yosemite was just under 2 hours from our apartment. Bear planned to go back and get his wallet within the next couple of days. But then we heard about the fire in Yosemite and started freaking out that we wouldn't be able to get back in! But we were coming in from the south side and that way was still open at the time. Lucky, lucky! I can't wait for more family vacations and day trips in the future.

Our Life Lately

As if I didn't have a baby face enough, my cheek was swollen for almost a week after wisdom tooth surgery.

Lachlan + Summer = summer love. They have such a love-hate relationship. They almost act like siblings. Dewey babies forever.

He looked like a little farmer boy in his oshkosh overalls.

We went to Solvang for the first time and hung out with the Arntzes and Sniders! We rode the big family bikes around and went shopping in the boutiques.

This boy can't get enough seaweed.

Lachlan got his first freshly picked moccasins! I love that he can't take them off of his feet.

My little baseball boy

We went to the Monterey aquarium! I didn't plan it, but Lachlan has whales on his outfit.

We have fun, hospitable in-laws who got us into the aquarium for free. This is right as we were about to leave. Can you tell the kids were done?

My niece Opal. I love her gut. She's only 4 months old and weighs 4 pounds more than Lachlan

We made pizza at Nate and Izzy's. (Please don't judge my  "I just woke up from a Sunday nap hair")

Do you believe that these cousins are 4-1/2 months apart?

Still working out 6 times a week! Only 1 week left of Insanity!!! Then I'm going to start T25

I have arranged for Lachlan and Summer to be married.

This Pad Thai was to die for. And they put into a cool call. I can't get enough Asian food.

Swimming, Cookies, and Poop

With all of my tutorials, I got behind on updating about our life.

We rented a nice leather couch for the summer. It was a good decision.

Lachlan will eat anything we give him. We have yet to find a food that he doesn't like. And I can never spoon it fast enough into his mouth. He usually tries to grab my hand to go faster or just cries.

We go to the pool at our apartment a lot.

I added lots of low-lights to my hair.

Lachlan started eating cotton balls while I was doing my nails. I'm telling you, he eats anything.

I found a good pool toy that keep Lachlan in the shade without having to cover him in sun screen.

Lachlan loves to kick his feet out of his footie pajamas.

I have been called as a substitute Young Womens teacher for the summer. Leslie, another Dewey wife and I were in charge of Mutual this week. I talked about stress, and Leslie taught us yoga and meditation. Except I didn't get to try it because I was wrestling Lachlan the whole time.

I love it when it looks like he's deep in thought. These are my favorite jammies of his.

I had to take a couple of calls from work and so Lachlan was on his own for a few minutes. I forgot that I had left leftover cookies from a YW activity on the kitchen floor. But they were in a plastic case in a plastic bag! He opened both, and I find him with cookies in both hands, happily cooing and munching away. I don't know how he opened the case, but he's sitting in it. This kid just turned 7 months the other day...oh, and a white rug for a kitchen is not a good idea.

Like I said, we swim a lot. Our white skin doesn't make this very obvious though.

I tried a frap from Starbucks finally. I usually get their salted caramel hot chocolate, but it was over 100 degrees outside!

The weather has been very hot and will just keep getting hotter over the next few days. And the humidity doesn't help how hot it feels, but I actually love humidity. It's good for my skin. 

Yesterday it was the cookie mess, which was pretty cute, but today...the cookies came through Lachlan. He cried for a long time because his tummy hurt, and wouldn't let me comfort him. Again, I had to take a call, and he unloaded and unleashed so much poop while I was talking. It immediately started leaking down his leg and he started crawling, dragging a trail of poop through the carpet. That was a fun mess to clean up :(

Boating and Father's Day

I'm working on the tutorial, but I'm not done yet and it will be up soon.

Lachlan playing with daddy's baseball cap right before he came home and we went boating.

We had a lot of fun Saturday afternoon/evening. A cousin of Bear's coworker Riley owns a boat and we got invited to go out on the lake with them. It was a really nice boat and really enjoyed ourselves. It was the first time wake-boarding for both Bear and I, and neither of us were able to get up and stay up. We both tried close to 10 times. And now we feel like we got hit by a truck.

I was worried about losing my phone so I put it away and didn't get too many good pictures.  Yes, my husband wears his hats backwards.

I was afraid that Lachlan would cry the whole time from being in the sun and having to wear an uncomfortable life jacket, but he didn't make a noise. He fell asleep sitting up in our laps and so we put him under the driver's seat and he slept there for a long time. I don't know if it was the rumble of the boat or what.

Lachlan looks miserable in his life jacket, but he was so good. He didn't make a peep.

We went in the late afternoon, so the water had been warmed all day and felt like a heated pool. But we didn't get sunburned. I'm so mad that people who know how to wake-board make it look so easy! We did have fun on the tube. Bear did it way more than I did and fell off a few times.

Tubing

The water was clean and we had a good time barbecuing and boating with our friends. I just hope I'm never this sore ever again.

Sleeping under the captain's seat

Bear and I gave talks for Father's Day. Bear's talk was tasteful because he talked about how all of us might not have dads, but all of can have or can be father figures. This doesn't mean taking over as someone's dad, but being an example to look to. And we will always have our Heavenly Father. Father's Day talks can either turn into awkward confessionals about relationships with your own father or kids, or just be a eulogy to a parent of the speaker that the rest of the congregation doesn't really care about. 

I on the other hand, had to talk about moderation. I loved this topic because I learned so much for myself. I finally learned that temperance is moderation. And I had heard the scripture and quote "all things in moderation", but then I started seeing the quote "all things in moderation, including moderation". I wondered if that was true, and these are the quotes that I found during my research:

"Part of the spirit of the Word of Wisdom is moderation in all things, except those things specifically forbidden by the Lord. It is well to avoid extremes in dress, hairstyles, makeup, conduct, speech, and music. Extremes may attract the attention of some, but they are more likely to turn off those you really want to impress." - James E. Faust

"Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things. Peace of mind comes from strengthened faith in Jesus Christ. Happiness comes from being diligent in keeping covenants made at baptism and in the holy temples of the Lord." - Kent D. Watson.

"What better example do we have of temperance than our Savior, Jesus Christ?

When Jesus Christ, the greatest of all, suffered for us to the extent that He bled from every pore, He did not express anger or revile in suffering. With unsurpassed self-restraint, or temperance, His thoughts were not of Himself but of you and of me. And then, in humility and full of love, He said, “Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” - Kent D. Watson

"I need to caution myself and each of my readers that the very nature of this message could tend to the same downfall that it warns against. The idea that our strengths can become our weaknesses could be understood to imply that we should have “moderation in all things.” But the Savior said that if we are “lukewarm,” he “will spue [us] out of [his] mouth” (Rev. 3:16). Moderation in all things is not a virtue, because it would seem to justify moderation in commitment. That is not moderation, but indifference. That kind of moderation runs counter to the divine commands to serve with all of our “heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2), to “seek … earnestly the riches of eternity” (D&C 68:31), and to be “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79). Moderation is not the answer." - Dallin H. Oaks

"The Saints should not be unwise, but rather understand what the will of the Lord is, and practice moderation in all things." - Joseph F. Smith

"As plain and direct as a prophet’s counsel is, however, we sometimes tend to get sidetracked. Some members wish to follow the Prophet when it is convenient, but ignore him when sacrifice or deeper commitment is required. Some, forgetting the simplicity of the gospel, may over-emphasize one part to the neglect of another. Others may complicate the guidance given them, blurring the plainness of divine directives and losing their sense of spiritual balance. Some even fall prey to rumor, fanaticism, distorted virtues, misplaced values, and shallow religious commitment.

For example, some of us eat excessively, while others ignore getting healthful nutrition. Some sleep too much, others not enough. Some ignore proper body care and conditioning, while others almost worship the physical body. Certainly one must gain all the new information he can in matters dealing with the health and care of our bodies, but I believe the Lord expects us to use wisdom and common sense. The key words are balance and moderation—thoughtfully applying all the truths one knows, not just a big emphasis on one of them." - O. Don Ostler

So basically what I got from all this was there were many areas that we need to have a good balance in - the way we look, talk, take care of our bodies, and act around other people. We need to balance our time and activities. But when it comes to being committed to the gospel and commandments, we can't be lukewarm. We have to give 100% to the Lord. And we can look to the Savior as an example and ask His will and how to be moderate ourselves. By doing this, we can avoid being too discouraged by our weaknesses, or an apathetic attitude thinking we don't need to give it our best.

Father's Day gift

 Bear wanted the Bear Grylls brand machete for Father's Day, but I accidentally bought him the parang. I clearly don't know my knives very well. I felt weird checking out with a big survival knife at Sports Authority, when I've bought a kitchen knife about that big before so I guess I was just being silly. Bear wants to survive the zombie apocalypse. He's happy that it says "BEAR" on the blade. I think he secretly wants to be Bear Grylls deep down inside. 

I also bought Bear some nice leather flip flops and we made some breaded chicken for dinner together. All the spices were a little strong for me, but Bear loved it, so I guess that's what matters because it was his day. If you want to try it, the recipe is right here.

Softball, crawling, and Heaven is Here

Would anybody be interested in me doing a tutorial for the Kansas Twister quilt? 


Bear is enjoying church softball. Thursday was his third week, and their first loss. He shows up in his college baseball uniform and the guys on the team like to joke about it. Lachlan and I go and watch him. 

Playing with the nursing cover

Being a stay at home mom was a bigger adjustment that I thought. But I wonder how different it would be if he got home at normal dinner time and we had two cars. It's nice to catch up on the reading and quilting that I don't get to do during school, but I miss Bear always being home when I'm home and the freedom of having the car most of the time.

Lachlan found a friend in the mirror

Lachlan gets up on his hands and knees and does a real crawl every once in a while. It's the cutest!

I get to be his mommy

Good hair day

I finished the purple block. I put a quarter on this time to show the size.

I went Father's Day shopping yesterday. The one thing that he actually asked for makes me laugh. I felt so silly checking out at Sports Authority.

We get to go boating with a coworker after Bear gets home from work today so I'll post pictures of that and Father's Day next!

I also  finished reading Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson.

I was quite happy with this book. The main message was one of hope and faith. And so I'm actually a little peeved that people are choosing to focus on the little details of her financial situation. It's not your business. It doesn't matter how they were able to pay for flying lessons etc. She didn't deserve what happened to her - rich or poor. And just because her extended family was able to buy them a house after the crash...I have no room to judge. It sounds like some people are just jealous. We can never judge people's personal lives. If you're focusing on her money, you have missed the whole message of this book.

I was kind of bored with the first half because I wanted to get to the details about the crash, but I realized she really wanted you to see how every aspect of her life was affected, and how she had to start all over and push through. Her marriage and family could have totally fallen apart but because she had hope, she made it through.

I also love her determination to be a good mom. I went and held my baby for a long time once I was finished reading, Her book reminds us of what's really important - hope, faith, family, being strong through adversity, and love. I hope to meet her someday.

Costco, mashed potatoes, and temple recommends

Lachlan only had a fever for one day. It got up to 102, but he had no other symptoms. He woke up Tuesday with no fever. I'm wondering if it was teething-related, even though they "can't prove that teething causes fevers" for sure. I don't feel any teeth at all though.

A sicky bebbe just wanted to be cuddled all day

Lachlan loves it when I copy the sounds he makes back to him. We can carry on a conversation like that forever until he bursts out laughing.

We have a tree right outside the front door of our apartment that is blooming these pink blossoms! I love pink!

We finally have Costco memberships. I have such good memories of one opening up in Japan while we lived there. It had so many American items to buy! It was a big family outing. Our family is still small, so I don't need too many items in bulk. But I have been so excited about Costco diapers and muffins! We also got the free American Express cards. This was a big step for us because neither of us have had a credit card before. Bear is so worried about debt, but I've been nagging him because I want to build up our credit for when we buy a house someday. We've set a rule to only buy groceries with it. Bear is still freaking out though.

Slow cooker mashed potatoes. Success.

I tried something new for dinner last night. Slow cooker mashed potatoes. I used to think that the slow cooker would really only make soups, but there is so much you can make! Cheesecake, lasagna, artisan bread...but I've been wanting to try this for a while. We had a ton of Russett potatoes, so that's what I used instead of what the recipe called for. I had a 10 lb bag instead of a 5 lb bag, so I couldn't measure perfectly, but it was a little salty. 1 tablespoon of salt seems like too much anyways. Bear loved them though. If I'm going to have mashed potatoes, it has to be made from scratch with the peels left on. Potato flakes just don't cut it for me. Besides the fact that I'm a slow cutter so it took me a while to dice the potatoes, it was quite easy. You can find the recipe here.

Broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken

I also made this. My tip: don't over drench the chicken in the egg whites, or it will come out of the oven a little big soggy.

And after a huge ordeal of having to chase down people in our new stake, we finally got our temple recommends renewed. There's a little temple here in Fresno and we want to go in the morning before both of us have to work because the temple is so far away from us in Virginia. The Temple means a lot to me and it means a lot more when I get to go with Bear.  

Sick bebbe

This week, Amanda Snider came to visit and wanted to take 5 month pictures of her baby girl at the Fresno Temple. While we were there hanging out during the photo shoot, she snapped some pictures of Lachlan and I. I am quite impressed. Her blog is here. And her photography blog is here.

This is my favorite.

Cheeks.

Lachlan has so many facial expressions.

Lachlan has a low-grade fever today.

I finished the peach block!

Saturday was 109 degrees. I'm a summer-lovin' girl, but that almost killed me. Nothing can survive in heat like that! We also went and saw After Earth. Although it had bad reviews, I enjoyed it. I think it's cool that Will Smith wants to do lots of father-son movies. The plot was pretty linear and there weren't a lot of surprises, but it had a good father-son message and was still packed full of action. I think it is a good family movie, but there were bloody scenes and dead bodies.

The Kansas Twister quilt that I'm hand-piecing was designed by Judie Rothermel. The pattern itself is called "Twister". She saw an antique quilt and adapted it. I love hexagon patterns, and small piecing. The pattern calls for all Aunt Grace prints. I'm just using what vintage reproduction prints I can find. The directions for this quilt are geared toward the hand piecer, but could easily be converted to machine or strip piecing methods. The finished product should be 72" x 96". I could make it bigger, but it's already so time consuming. I will feel so accomplished when I'm done. Heck, even when the quilt top is done!

Lachlan boy has a low-grade fever today. He started fussing last night and was acting tired so we put him to bed earlier than usual and he passed out without a fight. During the night, he slept a lot better than he has been lately. But I noticed that he felt warm. I took his temperature this morning and it was 100.9. So I'm not too worried. I'm just hoping that it's a small virus thing or teething related. He is just so miserable though. He wants to get down to scoot instead of being held. Because it was such a struggle at the beginning to get him to breastfeed, especially while I was going to school, I feel pride in it. But because I was also so busy, Bear held Lachlan a lot more than I did when he was a newborn. So now Bear is better at soothing Lachlan and getting him to go to sleep. Sometimes I wish that I had that magic touch too, especially because mothers are supposed to be nurturing, but I think Bear feels pride in it too. Lachlan needs us both in different ways. So Lachlan is fine with me holding him today, until dad walks into the room. Then he lunges toward Bear, wanting to be held by daddy. Hopefully he kicks this little fever soon!