The Great Migration (Utah to Connecticut)

The first half of this was typed as we drove across the country. Once we arrived in Connecticut, we had much to do and ended up writing the rest a week after our arrival. All the photos are included in this gallery. Only 217 of them! Mouse over for controls. Enjoy!

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS HERE!

We left Logan, UT at 7:32 am on Saturday, March 17th (St Patrick's Day - all of us sporting green temporary tattoos for the journey). We lovingly said goodbye to the only hometown that our children have known, and good bye to the majestic mountains of Logan canyon and the beautiful bit of snow on the mountain tops. My patience started to wane a few miles into the canyon (... Uh- oh... ) as the children were already needing a lot of help with the cd and tape players that were purchased from the DI to keep them occupied. Hopefully it's just a learning curve thing, and things will go more smoothly as we go... I hope.

We stopped by Martin's Cove in WY, which gave some context to the movie "17 Miracles" that we watched recently as a family. We didn't have time, unfortunately, to walk to the actual cove (3 hours walking), but we did learn a little more about some of our ancestors (Jens and Ane Petersen and their 6 children, all of whom survived the trek to Utah). We had visited the grave of Jen's and Ane a couple of weeks ago in the Logan Cemetery.

Shortly after that we stopped at Independence Rock. Despite the powerful winds, the climb to the top was a welcome break from sitting in the car. The girls loved climbing. I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid. Good times!

We filled up the tank again and ate a late lunch in Casper, WY. We had listened to a lot of music, eaten snacks, the girls have completed little maze books and are working on dot-to-dots. They watched Singin' In The Rain, did some homework, and wrote in their journals.

After Casper, there was a loooong stretch of driving. The girls got to hand in more "travel tickets" (something they got to do every half hour or so) in exchange for some prize or activity that I had been collecting for a few months. The also watched Whale Rider. After a while we came upon the monument to Crazy Horse - a work in progress - which is to be the largest monument ever to be carved out of stone. We could see the silhouette of the face, and the beginnings of what would be his arm pointing outward as he sat on his horse. It was massive and impressive. We later purchased a book about him so that the girls would understand why they would spend so many years (over 20 and counting) working on this American Indian hero.

Some time after that, we arrived at Mt. Rushmore. We hadn't planned on actually seeing it until the next morning, but luckily, it was still light outside, so we hopped out of the car, and headed up to see the four giant heads of those great presidents. Adam and I babbled out some history about the presidents, which we are sure was either permanently absorbed by our ever-attentive children, or lost in the wind as we walked up to the viewing point - one of those two things, not sure which.

All in all, we would say that day 1 of this crazy moving adventure vacation was a success! We found a cheap but clean place to sleep over looking Rapid City (Big Sky Lodge), and fell asleep exhausted. Just to keep thing interesting, little Ruby managed to get herself super sick. We couldn't figure out what caused it because we all ate the same things. She threw up pretty much every hour on the hour for eight hours during the night. Yikes and yuck! The poor kid was super pale and had nothing left in her. She was a trooper and didn't cry about it (very much). We had flashbacks about our experience in Moab, UT last year. We were also incredible grateful that we didn't have baby Sonoma with us (thank you, mom and dad!). Things could have been much worse, but I'm sure the smell in our room couldn't... *shudder*. We got a later start than we originally thought we would, and took off from Rapid City, SD the next morning at about 8 am.

  

There is not much to say about day 2 of the trip. It was a day full of driving. There was only one residual vomit incident in the car that made it into a plastic bag, whew. Our behinds began to ache from sitting all day, and road trip food began taking a toll on our bodies. Adam and I decided that there is nothing like a road trip to make you feel fat. You inevitably eat junk, your belly seems to pop out and hang over the seatbelt, your thighs are looking large against the seat of the car, and any time you actually manage to fall asleep for a few minutes, your mouth falls open to reveal a most-flattering drop-jaw and double-chin look. Ah well.

Filled up in south Sioux City, Nebraska. We decided to deviate off course about a half mile so that we could cross a bridge into NB, just so that we could say that we had been there.

We drove until nearly 8pm and made it to Oskaloosa, IA. We stayed at a Comfort Inn. Our requirements for that choice: a laundry machine for articles of clothing that fell victim to last nights vomiting (the ones we didn't already throw away, that is), and a swimming pool so that the kids could do something physical. Happily, it was a quiet place, and we all slept until we got back on the road, Nauvoo, IL bound, at 7 am.

  

Nauvoo was quiet, peaceful, with the perfect temperature, and a light breeze that brought the fragrance of the beautifully blooming magnolia trees right to us. It was as if we walked into springtime, and it was glorious! We walked around the temple, then went to the visitor’s center where the kids enjoyed walking in a statue garden dedicated to women. Then we went to the brickyard where we learned that you only need sand, clay, and water to make bricks. The girls were given a brick as a souvenir. As it turns out, the man giving the tour was an old soccer coach of Adam's. We also went to a blacksmith where we learned how wagon wheels for handcarts were made. The girls were given "prairie diamond rings" or nails that had been pounded into a circle to fit on your finger.

  

We made our way up north while watching "The Music Man" because we thought the girls would like singing the song "Gary Indiana" as we passed through Gary Indiana. It was a big hit. So much so that we got very sick of that song when the kids got loopy later that night and couldn't stop singing it! While in Gary, we thought it would be worth the 5-minute detour to see the birthplace of Michael Jackson. We listened to some classic MJ hits and went for it. The neighborhood turned out to be quite intimidating. We feared for our lives just a little bit. The house was as humble as we had heard it would be.  ... And since Gary, IN was such a cool place, we decided to take another brief detour so that we could say we had been to Lake Michigan. Luckily, the beach there was lovely with soft sand. Freezing cold water, but soft sand. Finally, we got back on the road and drove to Toledo, OH to sleep.

Our first stop the next morning was in Cleveland for breakfast and a quick look at Lake Erie. The water's edge was very rocky. Olivia likes to live on the edge, which is what she was doing when she slipped on the slimy moss and fell, just a little, into the lake. A change of clothes later and we were back on the road.

Previously mentioned travel tickets were no longer given out freely at the beginning of each day. They now had to be earned by doing acts of kindness, or by keeping your space clean - a decidedly better strategy. Also, no movies were allowed until homework had been completed. Other activities that helped the kids stay busy included weaving a hot pad (a store bought activity kit), paper dolls, stickers, flashlights, pipe cleaners, tin foil creations, tape, finger puppets, beading necklaces, reading, coloring books, dot to dots, mazes, etc., etc., etc.

We were almost to New York when we realized that we would be close to Niagara Falls!   So, naturally, we went. The GPS took us to the Canadian border where the border patrol guy correctly informed us that the falls were better experienced from the Canadian side. We told him that we didn't have our passports, just drivers’ licenses, and nothing for the kids. He didn't think that was a problem, so off we went. We quickly found a place to stay, and took off on foot. The falls were breathtaking. There was so much spray coming up from the falls that we could feel a mist on our faces even at the top. I'm baffled that anyone even went over the edge and lived to tell about it. I think they must have been lying. The falls were surprisingly grandiose, and there were so many other unexpected attractions for the children. It was like a big permanent carnival. We rode on a giant ferris wheel, went to a "fun house", which was over-priced and pathetic to Adam and I, but simply amazing to the kids. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, and went to the fudge factory for dessert. It was a full-blown binaries vacation wrapped up in one evening. The next morning Adam got up early to go for a run then I went on a walk. When it is dark, you can hear the falls and there was a lot of fog. It was beautiful and ominous. We were there during the off-season, so there weren't a lot of people around. It was wonderful.

The next stop was in Palmyra, NY. We saw the Hill Cumorah, the Sacred Grove, the temple, and the place where the Smith family lived. It was a bit hot (80 degrees), but beautiful countryside. I think all of us would say that our favorite part was the Sacred Grove. It was very peaceful.

  

We were almost there, just one more day of driving. We were worried that by the end we would be so miserable after driving for so long that we would never want to do it again (we plan on heading back west for visits, but plane tickets and car rentals are too expensive – so driving is our best option), but thankfully, we actually enjoyed the trip. Granted, we didn’t have our youngest with us, and we had the luxury of making the drive slower that we normally will, but still.

We continued on towards our new home, hoping to at least see it before dark. Eventually the major highways we were on turned into narrow windy roads that were nearly swallowed up in tunnels of trees. It was nearing darkness when we actually arrived at our new place. We could not stay there that night. The landlords (who are wonderful people, by the way) were there painting and cleaning, but had said that we could come see it and drop off a few things. The moving van would arrive two days later. My first thought was that the house was as beautiful as it looked in the video that Adam had sent me in Utah, and that it was also as big as it looked. 

We walked around the home and around the 2.5 acres that slope behind it, and we could feel that we would be happy here.

We stayed in a hotel for the next two nights. We spent the next day in NYC stopping at Time Square, visiting the M&M store as well as Toys R Us, riding a ferry by the Statue of Liberty, playing at a park, riding the subway, and finally heading to JFK to pick up my mom and our youngest daughter, Sonoma. It was a sweet reunion. We were all beaming with the joy of being together again. The next morning was move in day – the start of a new chapter in life.

I will call the rest of the story: Mark Twain in our Midst, because, he is. For anyone who doesn’t know, we are living in Mark Twain’s old carriage house. All the land around us and some of the homes were once owned by him. There is a wonderful little Mark Twain Library just down the street. It is an area rich with history, and we love it. Our sweet next-door neighbors even came by to introduce themselves, and give us a print of a painting that she had done of Mark Twain. She is the neighborhood historian as well as a successful artist, whose work can be seen at www.susandurkee.com.

The good, the bad, and the beautiful of our house:  (include photos and walk-through video)

The views are AMAZING! I LOVE looking out the window, any window of our house. We could be in the middle of a state park. I love opening my eyes in the morning and see the view from my bed. It is peace to my soul. All this, and spring hasn’t really sprung yet – but it’s started and I’m so excited! The yard is huge with wonderful trees for swings, a fire pit, and a border with 160+ acres of nature reserve complete with trails and wildlife. We have had a few deer sightings as well as wild turkeys and squirrels so far.  The kids are very entertained out there, and we love the idea that their imaginations can run wild for hours as they play here in safety. Well, relative safety. We have heard from so many people that due to the warm winter, the ticks will be crazy bad this year. They say it is just common to get Lyme’s disease, and that I should just expect it. Grrreeeeaaaaaat. We’ll look forward to that (shake head in fear). Hey, you know what?, everything is a give and take. You want the views, and the land, you take the ticks. It is what it is.

Okay, because this house used to be a carriage house, it has been added onto and worked on a few times. It’s like a patch-work house, so the layout is a little odd. It has all of the quirkiness of an old house from poor insulation to inconvenient (or no) lighting to no dishwasher – that’s right, we wash everything by hand, it’s part of our nightly routine and the girls enjoy helping (for now, but I’m not holding my breath). There is a lot of hand-done, built-in woodwork, which is beautiful, but can also make the place feel darker than it is. The main floor is basically a mother-in-law apartment which is perfect for guests (come one, come all!… call first), but we actually do most of our living upstairs. Basically, it feels like we live in a cabin in the middle of Pooh’s 100 acre wood,… because we do.

A funny story (now) is that on a cold day, our heat stopped working. We didn’t notice it until the evening because we were unpacking and such. We contacted our landlord, he came over with a neighbor and they tried, unsuccessfully, to fix it. I was nervous because I was already feeling chilly, and if you know anything about me, you know that I hate being cold. I just don’t do cold well at all. I’m a big wimp, and that’s just the way it is, so the idea of a freezing cold night was a source of anxiety for me. Our landlord brought over three space heaters and said that he’d call someone to come look at it in the morning. In the end, the oil tank – everything is heated with oil out here – was empty. They tested it for leaks, and then determined that the people who were renting before us needed to fill it back up. I’m just grateful to have it all figured out and to have heat again!

So, my mom came out to bring my daughter and to help us settle in. Let me just take this opportunity to say how INCREDIBLE she has been and what a huge help it has been to have her here! I hate to think of what it would have been like without her help! The children are more at ease with her around. She has been a wonderful distraction for them when I’ve been organizing and unpacking. She has had so many great ideas about how to do things and where to put things. She has done laundry and dishes as well. Adam got right to work after we unloaded to truck, so it has been wonderful to have another adult around to chat with. I seriously don’t want her to leave!

Olivia, our 6 yr-old, started school soon after we got here. We thought she would start sooner than she did, but sheesh, the school here is tougher than we thought to get into! We assumed she would need to show her immunization records. We did not expect to have to have a notarized copy of our lease agreement, show her original birth certificate or passport, and have a complete physical among other things, to be allowed into the school. I mean really, she is in 1^st grade, is all of that necessary? Well apparently, yes, yes it is. Anyway, she loves it! (Whew! Huge sigh of relief!) She (and therefore we) was so worried about going to a new school and making new friends. Happily, the school is wonderful, she made new friends easily, and all is well. She was happy to move from a class in UT with mostly boys in it, to a class here with mostly girls. Another bonus for her here is that she gets to ride the bus to school, a first for her. She LOVES riding the bus. The only thing is that because we live on a tiny lane, the bus can’t come up to or near our house. It is a seven-minute walk to the bus stop. At the moment, the walk is pleasant, fragrant, and beautiful. We enjoy the alone time together as we talk and walk. I do worry, however, about the infamous ice storms that are prone to appear during New England Winters and what the walks will be like then. Instead of worry about that, I’ll just choose to live in the present, because for now, it is pretty great. Anyway, she has been working on a shelter project for her school. She chose to make a house on stilts.

As with any move, we have had to make several trips to the store to get seemingly endless odds and ends and food and whatnot. One such outing was to IKEA, about an hour away. Sonoma threw up on the drive there. Maybe it was the winding roads? But really, I thinking we’ve had enough of that, eh?

We have also managed to make the 30 minute drive to the beach, or as they call it here, “the sound”. It was really nice and warmish on the first two days that we got here, but since then it has been quite cold, windy, and sometimes rainy. There was no sun bathing, but there were good times at the nearby playground and along the shore collecting shells. The next day we drove 15 minutes in the other direction to the nearest mall. It is a nice mall with a 2-story merry-go-round – obviously a huge hit with the kids. After that we went to a grocery store called Stew Leonard’s. It is not your average grocery store. It is designed for you to have to walk through every section of the store (sort of like IKEA), so there aren’t isles or anything like that. It also has little attractions for children up high (like a singing bear, singing and moving dairy products, a singing Chiquita banana, etc. The kids loved that as well.

The Mark Twain Library that I mentioned earlier really is a fantastic place.  I had been given a heads up on the free age-appropriate story times available there, so I signed up all three children for their respective story times. They are so great! I love them because the kids love them, and I get to meet other moms and kids in the area. I also joined their book club in the hopes that I will be motivated and find time to read and be involved with other adults in the area. The library also offers a range of activities throughout the year (including a lego day that we just went to) as well as free and discounted passes to museums, aquariums, and that sort of thing in the surrounding area. So cool! While Redding, CT does not have a grocery store to speak of (that’s right, we drive to the next town over), the library is wonderful.

So, that wraps up what’s been happening over the past 2 weeks. Pretty crazy, but we’re very excited to be here and look forward to everyone coming to visit! J

Us at our new digs.

Cleaning out stuff - part 1

So, we are in need of unloading some things before we move. Please have a look-see and if anything tickles your fancy (or not-so-fancy), just let us know. We are also getting rid of the brown chairs that the pillows are on. There are two of them. No need to pay for anything. Just take it off our hands and consider bringing a loaf of bread or something in exchange :)

Thai silk pillow shams

Sonoma volunteered to be our model :)

Two memory foam pillows (barely used)

Size 13 (aka enormous) basketball shoes (never used)

burner - works great

off white throw pillows

awesome real fossil from WY - considering donating this to BRCS

Slight Delay

Yeah, yeah ... it's been a few weeks since our last post. Ok, nearly a year! We're total sucks. Things have been pretty crazy. I guess we'll tell you about it. We'll start with a top 10 list...in mostly-chronological order!



1. Hurlin' in Moab 

We took a trip down to Moab earlier this year with some family and ended up having to stay at a KOA. The campground was pretty much full, but they offered us the option of staying on the far end of the playground area–which seemed great since it was further away from the other campers. Turns out they never stop offering that option once the campground is full ... they just pack more and more people into that playground area until the tents are touching!

We cooked up some canned chili and other fixins for dinner and, as usual, tried to get our kids to finish their meal. Then we went into town and treated them to ice cream. Ruby declined. That should've been the first sign of a serious problem. We didn't think much of it.

Once we returned, we noticed a few new neighbors setting up camp near us ... slightly annoying, but it was  nightfall, so we assumed they would be the last to arrive for the night. I guess we know what happens when we assume...? Yep, you have one of the worst nights of your life.

Once we FINALLY got the 3 girls in their sleeping bags ... and some of us know how hard it is to get a 1 year-old to fall sleep in a tent(!) ... we heard more people arriving and setting up tents within the 20 foot radius. Another group of "dudes" were sitting around the fire drinking and talking way too loud. It was awesome.

(Warning: not for the weak-of-stomach!)
After an insane period of trying to drown out the noise, we all fell asleep. At around 1am I half-awoke to a strange gurgling sound ... then a chewing sound. It took a few minutes to wake up and realize it was inside the tent. I grabbed my phone and turned it on to get a little light. It was a scene from a horror movie. Under a strange bluish Blair Witch style light, I saw a little girl's face covered in vomit ... still soundly asleep, but likely dreaming of eating a wonderful meal of curdled chili and cheese. The smell started to fill the tent and my mind started to explore our options. If I get up and make a big deal of this, Sonoma would wake up and it would take another 2 hours to get her back to sleep. If Ruby wakes up and comes to full consciousness, the stench and mess all over her hair, face, clothes and sleeping bag will likely make her scream and cry ... not only waking up everyone in our tent, but also everyone in the campground. I had but one choice. I had to silently clear out the vomit as best I could and let her (and us) finish the night with our new friend, Bile.

I grabbed a pack of wet wipes and scooped up handfuls of extra-chunky-and-funky chili and tossed it out of the tent door. It seemed she had eaten 19 lbs of chili without our knowledge. When I finally got it as cleaned up as best I could (and she slept through it all!), I tried to get back to sleep. The smell made it quite difficult...but after an hour or so, I finally nodded off. Within 20 mins, the hurling recommenced, and the same clean-up process followed. Then, a third. The 19 lbs of chili consumed, must've been more like 45 lbs. Her weight in chili was now scattered outside our tent door. What fun.

Holly awoke to the noise, but could do little but try and make sure the other 2 munchkins stayed asleep. By now it was 3am and just as we were about to fall asleep, another car arrived to set up camp–less than 20 feet away. They were quite possibly the world's most inconsiderate young couple in the western hemisphere. He yelled at her to bring him a drink, they threw their poles onto the ground and spoke at full volume to each other as they set up the tent, hammering stakes into the ground and all ... the tent,  I was sure would be the size of the Taj Majal based on the time required to loudly set everything up.

Wide eyed, enormously irritated and sleep-deprived, Holly and I waited until the wonderful sound of silence as they slipped into their sleeping bags and turned off their flashlight. Ahhh, MAYBE if we're lucky we can get a few hours of sleep before Sonoma wakes up. Yet, once again, we were violently yanked from our newly found slumber by a sound even more unexpected than billowing bile. The new neighbors had forgotten something. What better time and place to share the magic of sexual intimacy than at 4am at a campsite next to dozens of other tents? And if you're gonna do it, you should do it right and not refrain from releasing many loud pleasure noises. And to add a cherry on top, they had some pretty impressive endurance! UGH!!!

When all was said and done, the sun was going to rise within a few hours and we had gotten a wink ... maybe two. I grabbed Sonoma oh-so carefully and slipped into the car to sleep in the back for the final few hours. Apart from wishing I were 6 inches shorter, it was one of the most appreciated few hours of sleep in my life.

Needless to say Holly and I were zombies the next day. Ruby was too weak and ill to do much hiking or traveling, so the entire trip was pretty much a bust. We did get a few shots during a couple of very mild hikes. See the photo gallery for those. And that was our 2011 southern Utah nightmare. Let's hope it stays a 2011 thing.


2. Yellowstone

My mom's family had a Zollinger family reunion up in Yellowstone. There was no vomit or breeding neighbors, so things were a smashing success! Sonoma still didn't sleep all that well, so one morning Holly went for a very early drive to try and get her back to sleep (4am-ish). After a while, she drove up to an overlook and realized the sun was about to rise. She pulled out her camera to get a few shots from the car (it was cold outside), and suddenly realized that a black bear cub had appeared right next to the car. Sonoma was asleep and the car was off, so it didn't notice her whatsoever. No mama bear was spotted, thankfully. She snapped some great shots of it as it foraged just a few feet away from the car. It was the only sighting of bears for any of us, so it was quite the treat. It was great to see the family and good times were had, but you had to be very mosquito tolerant, because those blood-suckers couldn't have cared less if you were wearing repellant or not. They were immune to all brands, and there were millions of them!

3. Disneyland

Olivia was going to turn six in August and our 10-year anniversary falls just a few days after that. I had joked with Holly that if nothing else maybe we can at least get back to our Honeymoon location at least once every 10 years. The joke had been going on for a few years now and I realized that there is always a bit of truth and hope in every joke of that nature. I started saving for Italy and it's a good thing ... it really did take a few years to get enough dough for that, mostly because I had to figure out what to do with 3 little girls for a week! I talked to my sister, Laura, in L.A. and she agreed to take them (thank you!!!).  What a saint. It then hit me that we'd be leaving on Olivia's birthday and that we'd have to take the girls to L.A. in order to drop them off. So ... why not make it a HUGE (and expensive) month of fun? I started saving for a birthday bash at Disneyland as well. 

A few months before the trip, I took Holly and the girls to a restaurant for lunch and ice cream, then pulled out the tickets to Disneyland. They ALL freaked out and jumped and screamed. Then I pulled out the tickets to Italy and Holly's jaw slowly dropped and she sat in total silence for over a minute. She was bewildered and beyond excited. (As was I).

The day at Disneyland really was quite magical for the girls. Apart from being quite crowded (when isn't it?), it was a pretty perfect experience for them–and a 9am-10pm day at Disneyland REALLY wipes you out. Sheesh!

The next day we had a great time hanging out with Laura, Sugata and their girls, and packed up for Italy. 

4. 10-Year Anniversary in Italy!

I invited my sister, Stacy, and her husband, Ben, to come along with us on the trip. They had never been and really had been wanting to for many years. I've obviously been to Italy many times. First for the 2 years on the mission, then a few times following, including our amazing honeymoon. I was thinking that after all the times I had been there, it was mostly going to be just a fun tour-guide experience of showing them all the great sites. Fun for me, but nothing amazing like going for the first time. But I was blown away. It was just as  or more magical for me than ever before. The architecture, food, and culture is absolutely stunning and enchanting. We would love to find a way to live there later in life. It's such a different pace from the US.

Stacy and Ben clearly fell in love with it as well. We started at a villa just south of Tuscany, and from there we hit Florence, Lucca (amazing!!), Pisa, and Cinque Terre–where we swam in the Mediterranean Sea and hiked between a few of the towns. For the last few days we went to Rome. On the way down we stopped in Arezzo where we met up with some of my good friends, Chiara and Silvia, and wandered around the hilly town for a bit. It was great to see them after all this time.

Rome and the Vatican are some of Italy's most amazing places. The history, art, and architecture are mind-blowing and epic. One of the highlights was on the night before we left. We went to a classical piano concert among stunning ruins, we were on the front row. It was sublime! Next time we'll make sure we hit the Amalfi Coast and Bolzano, near the Austrian border. And there will be a next time -- hopefully much sooner than 10 years from now!

We have some amazing photos from the trip, check them out.

5. Trips Back East

Starting in July, I began taking trips out to southern Connecticut, near NYC. One of our primary clients needed me on-site for some work. While out there, I really started to love the lush green region and the idea of living in a spot that is to close to so many amazing places, like NYC, Boston, D.C. etc. We were still planning on moving to Thailand in early 2012 to open a new office for Advent. Major and severe flooding hit Bangkok about this time and our opportunities for new clients weren't working out as well as we had hoped. Our future plans were beginning to get hazy.

6. Painting

During 2011 my brother Sam got back into painting and since we visit them often, I began to learn to paint as well. I've only done a few and really need to commit or not, but at the moment it's a fun new occasional hobby. And Sam is REALLY creating some amazing stuff ... to the point of selling them through various venues. Mostly it's our sister-in-law Jen, who is selling his stuff through her interior design clients. Pretty fun ... and worth mentioning. Check out Sam's work here: http://www.samuelsmithart.com

7. Terror on the Crimson Trail

It was 6am in early October and I was feelin' ambitious. I was doing a lot of trail running, but hadn't done any of Logan Canyon's famous hikes. I decided Crimson Trail would be a fun one. Note to self: don't go on early-morning Monday runs in the canyon where you have no cell signal unless you bring along a companion. (Ever see the movie, 128 hours?)

I hadn't done the hike in years and didn't realize until I was about half way up that the loop was a VERY steep hike/run up to the trail. It was over 2 miles to get up to the top where the trial then traverses along the top of the "china wall" cliffs of the mountain side. Once I was up there I was feeling pretty awesome and was really running hard and pushing myself. Right at the halfway point of the run, I was coming down a little dip and my foot hit a rock and my ankle rolled inward while my leg snapped outward. My ankle was severely sprained and I sat in the dirty trail in agonizing pain as I stared at my no-bars-in-these-places phone. It was clear I was going to have to get down the mountain on my own. I couldn't walk on it at all without enormous pain shooting through my leg and foot. I wondered if it was broken. I tried to hop on one leg up and down the dips along the trail that runs oh-so-close to the cliff edge. I lasted only a few minutes before the reality set in that there was no way I had the endurance to do this for 2.5 miles.

At that point I did what any little sunday school kid was taught. I said a little prayer. (this is SO cliche, it's funny!) When I opened my eyes, I noticed a very interestingly shaped tree branch on the ground. I hopped over and picked it up. It came up perfectly straight to my left hip and then angled at a 45 up to my right shoulder. The point at the angle had a large knot and dip, perfect for a hand grip. This tree grew and molded this branch, then discarded it just for me at this moment! It sure seemed to be destined for me. It was the perfect crutch for getting down the mountain. It served as a replacement for my injured left leg with a structure that allowed me to use both arms to bear all my weight. It was also long enough that it helped ease my decent on the steep terrain. Pretty serendipitous! 

After a few hours of hobbling, I made it down the mountain and back home. The next day I had it X-rayed and looked over by a specialist and he said it wasn't broken, but a Grade 3 sprain, the worst you can do. There were major tears to the ligaments. He also said that my ankles look like that of a 50-60 year-old. I've beaten them up pretty well over the years. I best take it easier on them, I suppose!

8. Sold Our Casa!

Yep, after just 3 short years of having our house on the market, we FINALLY sold the thing! We lost a small chunk of dough, but it was a great learning experience. The learning curve was steep for me ... doing all the renovations without any real background, but by the end I was swingin' a hammer at least 3 times without hitting my thumb! We loved the neighborhood and ward. We loved being so close to Holly's parents. But we knew it was time to take the next step in our adventures and venture on ... see #10.

9. Holly Stay-at-Home

Apart from a very short sabbatical when Sonoma was born, Holly has been teaching at USU every semester for the past 5 years. January 2012 was the beginning of her full-time stay-at-home-ed-ness. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. She LOVED her job teaching English to international students. She loved interacting with people of so many different backgrounds. It was a very fulfilling job–and required very few hours each week. It has been very hard to leave behind.

She loves parenting and does it amazingly well. The one problem is that she cares SO much about it, and helping our kids become kind, selfless, obedient, polite, intelligent little creatures, that it becomes quite frustrating when it doesn't go quite that well ... without a fight! So the fight continues. She does an amazing job and the girls love her tremendously. But that doesn't mean they don't try her patience to the very end! :)

10. Connecticut/Bangkok ... same thing!

For quite a while we were sure we were destined to get back to Bangkok. We loved our time there, we still had a lot of connections, and there were quite a few business opportunities. However, over the past year fate had a different plan for us. My trip out last Feb to win a major contract fell through, and while I was there I had a dream that seemed quite clearly an answer to some of my questions/prayers. And as the year progressed, things along the east coast continued to improve (business-wise) and digressed in Asia. The floods hit Bangkok and really did a number on the region for a while during this same period of contemplation as well. Lastly, I began getting strong feelings that we shouldn't distance ourselves so far from family. By the end of this year, it was very clear that Thailand was no longer an option and that CT/NY was the next step for our family. A few weeks ago we finalized the plans and will be moving in mid-March. I will be going out solo in Feb to line up a home and all the other logistics. We're very excited to be out there. We have several friends in the area and the schools are some of the best in the country. We'll be some of the poorest ward members, as the area is very affluent region, but it's a great opportunity to grow Advent and help our kids experience a slightly different culture and see some amazing sights. NYC, Boston, D.C. etc are all on our list, and flights to Europe and such are also much cheaper from JFK – just 45 mins away. It'll be a very exciting new adventure ... which is just the thing Holly and I are constantly craving. Wish us luck!

We expect we'll be much more regular with our blogging once we're out there since more family than ever will be far away from us. Thanks for reading this James Mitchner length novel!!

Ruby is FOUR!

For her birthday, Ruby asked for a princess cake with cousins and presents. She also asked to go to the Fun Park (indoor playground). She is easy to please!

1. She is a very docile and easy child. She is eager to please and gets along well with others. Babysitters often comment how amazingly good she is. She is very obedient, and doesn’t often complain.

2. She is NOT like Olivia in that she is not driven by sugar. She often chooses not to eat the rest of her dinner, knowing that she is giving up her dessert, but she just doesn’t care.

3. She is a peacemaker. She will give up her toys or her turn or whatever in order to make others happy. Olivia has caught on to this and often tries to take advantage of it.

4. She loves to sing to herself (and to others). We often find her alone in a room happily playing with toys and singing to herself, or riding her tricycle, singing as she goes. She also loves to dance.

5. She is honest. She is learning to be a little bit sneaky sometimes, but for the most part, she can be trusted.

6. Ruby seems to be a very mature and well-spoken. She started preschool at a very young age, so she seems to be advanced in many social and some academic areas.

7. She still has a very small bladder. She still has to pee more than anyone we know, which makes for looong road-trips with maaany stops.

8. She is brave in that she doesn’t get scared of bugs or squeamish at blood. She loves to find ants in our kitchen (in the springtime when they are all coming inside), pick them up one by one, and take them outside.

9. She is a sensitive soul. She has a very dramatic cry, which she uses (some might say she OVER-uses) when her feelings get hurt… sometimes there is actual physical pain involved, but usually, the screaming wails that most others interpret as sure-emergency-type-of-cry, are just the result of hurt feelings.

10. She is very helpful. She loves getting diapers and wipes for her sister Sonoma. She loves to help unload the dishes, fold laundry, and do pretty much whatever she’s asked (unless Olivia complains about it first, at which point, Ruby catches on, and decides that chores are not cool).

11. She loves gymnastics right now. She also loves “Nutty Nuggets (like Grape Nuts that she calls “nuggy nuggets”)with blueberries and milk” in the morning.

Olivia is… jealous that her birthday isn’t until the end of the summer!!

1. She is so eager to please. She is so anxious to show or tell me when she’s done something good. She longs for the approval and recognition that she followed directions or remembered to follow a rule. It is very sweet.

2. Almost every day, her school work comes home with “I love you mom” doodled somewhere on it. I know that won’t last forever, but for now, aren’t I lucky!?

Sonoma turns one!

I know it is cliché to say this, but I really can’t believe that a whole year has passed by since Sonoma was born. That was such a fast year. She is a big adorable toddler now with rolls and chunky thighs to prove it. Some things about her right now…

11. She likes to make a sort of siren noise, and if you copy her, she’ll repeat it over and over with some variation. It’s really cute.

2. She can say 6 words: “dada” which means baby, “dada” (Dad), “Mama”, “Hi”, “Down”, and “Uh-oh”

3. She can sign a few words: milk, please, all gone, sleep, … but she is not terribly consistent with signing, and is not particularly fond of signing. She mostly doesn’t want you to be in charge of her hands if you try to teach or guide her signing. She likes to be in control of her hands and fingers at all times (clipping her nails is a challenge!).

4. She can take a few steps (I think her record at this point is 9 steps in a row). She still prefers to crawl or cruise along furniture.

5. She is stone-faced for strangers and often for us. This is just following in the footsteps of her older sisters. They grow out of it :)

6. She is generally a very easy baby (mild-mannered, mellow).

7. She likes to climb dangerously on chairs and anything she possibly can.

8. She loves animals. She always wants to pet and touch and poke and grab at cats and dogs.

9. She likes to sing. When we are singing or when music is playing, she often tries to chime in. She’ll also shake her head from side to side in a form of dance.

110. She is constantly rolling her ankles around. It’s not a conscious action, she just does it all the time. She used to do it with her wrists as well, but not as much anymore.

In other news, we took a trip to MOAB this last week, and had a great time, not the best time ever, but a great time. Let's just say that camping with three kids after 6 hours in the car is hard enough, but then having one of them throw up all night in a tent (the smell alone could have killed us) while not-so-considerate camping neighbors noisily set up camp a 4am and then proceed to become noisily intimate with each other, is even harder (we felt like we were in a bad movie!). Ah, the joys of "roughing it"!

Munchkins

We had the opportunity to do some fun Springy things this week such as see (and pet) baby animals at the American West Heritage Center, go on walks, and go to the park and play. If feels good to finally get some natural vitamin D in our systems. I'm glad we took advantage of that because it is forecast to rain all week. *sigh*.

So here's the update on the kiddos who are all growing up too fast.

OLIVIA: is LOVING gymnastics. She is in a class with only one other girl in it, so she gets a lot of attention. She is learning to climb a rope, do handstands, cartwheels, walk on the beam, to pull-overs on the bar, and much more. It's exciting to watch her do something that she is passionate about (as opposed to soccer... which WE love, but she didn't really take to it... yet). She is anxious to learn how to ride a two-wheeler bike all by herself, and she practices a lot. She is also anxious to learn how to swim and is quite daring in the pool. She is a really good reader when she wants to be (life can be rather distracting). She is a good friend at school, which she enjoys most of the time (but it's hard to love anything in the mornings, and morning kindergarten is sometimes a challenge for both of us). She is enjoying participating in the upcoming "green science fair" at school. Her experiment is on the effects of food coloring. Olivia is a good eater and eats a pretty good balance of vegetables and candy. She likes them both. She is, and always has been, a very independent little girl who is desperate to grow up. She loves being a big sister, and she loves to play with Ruby. She often prays that Sonoma will grow up fast - I can only assume it is so that she can play with her as well.

RUBY: surprised us all yesterday by throwing up 4 times and napping early in the day, but has been fine ever since (thank you for not being the flu!). Ruby is such a pleasant little girl. She is always singing and giving hugs to people. She is thoughtful and sweet. Perhaps her disposition also makes her a bit of a tender soul (sometimes people also refer to it as cry-baby-ish), and she is working on being brave about things. For example, she used to get scared at night until Adam told her that the elephants that are hanging on the mobile in their bedroom are strong and nice and would protect her. Now she talks about them all the time and mentions that she isn't scared because of them (genius, Adam, genius!). Ruby also loves gymnastics. She also enjoys coloring pictures for people. She has an adorable attachment to a "fluffy green pillow" and a "fluffy green blanket". She doesn't need them all the time, thank goodness, but sometimes when she is feeling tender, they are the perfect snuggle companions. She says the cutest things. Here are two quotes from this morning: 1. Ruby: "Look mom, FIRE!" Me: "No, that's the sunset. It's beautiful." Ruby: "No, it's the moonset." 2. "If we hold hands super tight with all the people in the world, we won't fall." (rather profound for a 3-yr-old).

SONOMA: is fast approaching her 1st birthday!!! Yikes, that went by fast. She is really coming into herself (what does that even mean?), and her personality is showing more and more. She is babbling all the time. It's so fun to listen to her communicate - most of the time. Lately she has been teething, and so much of her communicating has turned to loud, insistent, and rather dramatic yelling. I hope those teeth come fast. She has said her first word: dada. No, it does not mean "daddy", it means "baby". She has adorable mannerisms. She flexes her whole body in an almost-frightening way when she is really excited. She likes to click her tongue. She is always growling - about everything - something she has done for almost her whole life. She also started picking up phones and putting them up to her head. Amazing how quickly they catch on. She loves taking baths. She still has impressively large thighs, but she is moving around so much that they are thinning. She wants to walk so badly. She is such a cutie and we love her to death!

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the photos!