Thanksgiving

We headed to Texas for Thanksgiving, spending part of our week in Victoria and the second half in the Hill Country. We enjoyed seeing family and the warm weather. We found it humorous when people in Victoria started bundling up when the temperature dipped into the 60's. Claire did great on the plane and during the car ride due in large part to modern technology, i.e. a laptop and a rental car with a DVD player. Charles, Nana, and I all probably heard the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD one too many times, we keep on catching ourselves sing "I like fish," but it was preferable to a screaming Claire. We didn't take many pictures, but we did manage to catch one of the highlights of the trip, Aunt Joyce's donkeys. I'm warning you, there is way too much cuteness in the following photos.

Claire's First Birthday

We celebrated Claire's first birthday with family and friends on August 15th. Claire's Nana Lana, Aunt Leana, and Uncle Jake all flew in to help us celebrate. Grandma Karen hosted the party in her nice, shady backyard. It was a perfect day, even if the cupcakes were a bit of a disaster.

We learned that boxes and wrapping paper were initially much more fun than the presents that came in them.

Claire taking a ride on her "sled" compliments of Uncle Jake.

Fun with wrapping paper.

Playing with friends and Grandma Karen.

Birthday cupcakes.

Yum. Icing.

Claire & Grandpa Matt.

Claire & Uncle Neal.

It is hard to believe that Claire is a year old. Time is a funny thing. It seems to go by faster the older I get. In some ways it seems like Claire has always been a part of our lives. In other ways it seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Claire is so full of life and constantly growing that I find it hard to remember what she was like at nine months, or six months, or three months. I feel torn between watching her and enjoying every moment and taking the time to document all of the things she is doing. Lately, watching has taken precedence over documentation, but I feel like I need to find a better balance, because there are so many things she is doing that I do not want to forget. All the more reason to be better at updating the blog.

July Recap

I constantly wonder where the time goes, and when my baby became such a little person. I've been totally delinquent in keeping track of all of the fun and exciting things we have done this summer. We started July with a visit from my Aunt Sally and Cousin Emma. We all had lots of fun eating out, playing with Claire, and catching up.

Claire and Emma.

Shortly after Sally and Emma left, Charles, Claire and I were off to northern New Mexico for eight days. We spent the first couple of days in Santa Fe with my cousins, Carolyn and Amy, and Amy's husband Joey. Despite some trouble sleeping the first couple of nights, we had a blast. We ate tons of Mexican food, wandered the plaza, and had a great evening hanging out at Amy and Joey's. Before we headed to Taos, we stopped by Joey's studio to watch him blow glass. Claire had more fun chasing an empty Diet Coke bottle around the floor of the studio while we watched Joey do his thing.

Claire, Me, Charles, and Amy at the Zia Cafe.

Patterson girls.

Claire and Joey.

Claire and Carolyn.

We took the High Road from Santa Fe to Taos, where we spent the rest of our time in New Mexico. We did some site seeing around Taos in the mornings, and in the afternoons, I attended a workshop at the Taos Summer Writer's Conference while Charles and Claire napped and swam. In the evenings we sought out Mexican food and ate our fill of New Mexico red and green chile. Claire had guacamole at just about every meal and tasted her first posole.

Charles & Claire at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

Claire & Me at the Gorge Bridge.

I moved away from New Mexico twelve years ago, but I still feel like I belong there. There is something about the sky, the mountains, and the people that feels so familiar and comfortable, and I was glad to share it with Charles and Claire. I hope that as the years pass (I plan on dragging them back as often as possible) that they will come to love New Mexico as much as I do.

Thanksgiving Point with the Grandmas.

While Nana Lana was visiting, Claire and I went on a short road trip to Thanksgiving Point with the Grandmas. Thanksgiving Point is located about 30 minutes south of Salt Lake in Lehi. It is a privately owned park that includes gardens, a farm, a dinosaur museum, and restaurants. Our original plan had been to take a trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, but the weather threatened rain and we figured that Thanksgiving Point would provide us with some indoor options if it did rain. Luckily the weather cooperated, and we had a couple of perfectly sunny hours to enjoy the gardens.

Claire, Grandma Karen, and Nana Lana.

Claire, Grandma Karen, Me

Claire, Me, and Grandma Karen feeding the fish.

Claire, Me, and Nana Lana

Claire and Me in the Secret Garden.