chillin' and grillin'

It was a bit warm for dining al fresco, but since it is not incredibly oppressive and unbearable like Phoenix, we went for it. Fired up the grill and had Italian sausages with peppers and onions and a chickpea salad. Gus opines that I use chickpeas entirely too often - going so far as to say that I use them in 95 percent of the salads I make. Overexaggeration of epic proportion. But I do really like them, they are easy and versatile, high in fiber ... I mean really what's not to like? Little Miss J liked them enough to suck on them, chew them up, and then spit them out - which I don't really understand. It's clearly not the taste or the texture that offends her, but she refuses to actually fully ingest them. The outside dinner was disturbed by the 8 million black flies swarming about, and Little Miss J has a compelling need to yell, "BUG" every time one buzzes by. As this happened about every 0.2 seconds, I spent most of my dinner shooing the flies away from the little princess. So maybe it wasn't the most relaxing dining experience, but as the mother of an energetic toddler I'm not even sure I remember what that concept actually entails ... sigh. I'm looking forward to more "outside," as Little Miss J would say, in the coming months.

Little Miss J apparently doesn't rip out the piggies
 when Miss Carmen puts them in. Traitor.

playing in the water before dinner

she's either eating or showing me where a BUG is.

the grill master

even Carl is having a good time

h2O

Being the parents of the next Dana Vollmer and all, we figured that we shouldn't let too much time pass before we found some water for Little Miss J to do some splashing. Luckily for us, there is a nice play pool just a few short blocks from our house. Suited up my little fish and strolled her down to the park. Next time I will have to remember to wear my swimsuit. Little Miss J wasn't so sure about swimming by herself, so of course like any other good mom would do - I sat right down in the water clothes and all. The pool also has a waterfall sprinkler. It took her a little while to warm up to, but once she realized how much fun it was she just ran back and forth through it like crazy.

cooling off

it's raining. it's pouring

take your mark

c'mon mom!



settling in

One weekend, approximately 100 boxes, and at least four trips to Ikea and Target each, we are finally settling in. Cable and internet were installed on Monday and we've got about 5 boxes left to unpack,which is always the hardest, right? We need to hang some pictures/artwork on the walls, and of course I'll need to do some closet organizing. But overall, it's starting to come together.

Gus and I have been at our respective jobs for a week and a half with Little Miss J at daycare. We all seem to be getting into a groove. After work, the typical routine is to play outside in the yard with Carl until Little Miss J does something naughty that lands her back in the house. Overall, I love the relaxing feeling of sitting outside while Little Miss J explores the backyard and Carl tears around rolling in the grass like he hasn't really been outside in a year and a half. Oh wait, he hasn't.
The tree-lined streets of our neighborhood remind me of South Minneapolis or maybe even Northfield. We've tried out some local restaurants nearby and there are several more on my list. I love living only a few miles from Trader Joe's and we're within walking distance of two parks.
Life is good. We're living the dream. Now if only I could get Little Miss J to stop playing the Muffin Man song.

we've been on the run driving in the sun

Looking out for number one. California here we come.

We left Arizona on Saturday morning and arrived in Sacramento late Sunday evening. We made a quick pit stop in Palm Desert to change a diaper and let Carl Rove get out of the car. Unfortunately, it was so hot that poor Carl was standing on three feet for most of the time. Saturday night we stayed in the 90120 - ha ha, couldn't resist. It was a really nice dog-friendly hotel. You could even order room service for your dog for $10/plate. Sunday morning when I was coming back from taking the dog for a walk, guess who greeted me when I got off the elevator? One Little Miss J, who had managed to open the hotel room door and wander into the hallway. I had a mini heart attack, when I saw her.

On Sunday we drove up to Fresno to see my cousin Nancy and her kids. We had a nice time visiting and Carl had fun playing in the yard with the other dogs. Nancy cooked a delicious dinner - grilled flank steak, green salad, pilaf, broccoli casserole, and homemade hummus. Nancy is my mom's niece and we just reconnected when I started coming regularly to Sacramento. It's been nice getting to know her and her kids, and fun to hear her memories of my mom. After dinner, we hopped back in the car for the last 2.5 hours to Sacramento.

We pulled into the house about 9:00 p.m. Our new landlords are the sweetest family. They cleaned up the landscaping in our backyard and even built Gus a bed because he had mentioned that he wanted to start a garden. Our backyard looks so adorable. Inside the house they had left us a housewarming plant, a baby doll for Little Miss J, and a list that included some of their favorite restaurants (complete with food recommendations), grocery stores, parks and even a babysitter (SCORE!). They even agreed to be one of our emergency contacts for daycare (a daycare that they recommended) - which was great for us since we don't know that many people yet.

Monday and Tuesday meant multiple trips to Target and Ikea, but we still managed to find some time to play outside and explore a few new restaurants, as well. Today is our first day of work and Little Miss J's second day at daycare. Boxes arrive tomorrow and cable/internet gets installed on Monday.

I love love love our new neighborhood. I feel more at home here than I did in the year and a half we lived in Phoenix. More on the 'hood later.

boats and boat jackets

Since our trip to Minnesota, Little Miss J has become obsessed with boats and boat jackets. She asks to wear a "boat jacket" every.single.day. and is quick to identify any boat she sees whether in the water, on a trailer, on TV, etc.

A few days before we left for vacation, Little Miss J's swim instructor had the kids wear life jackets at a swim lesson. At that time, Little Miss J must have thought it was some sort of torture device because she screamed her little face off, when I strapped it on her. Fortunately, Grandma Amy started conditioning her on the car ride to the cabin telling her that she had to wear her special boat jacket so that she could ride on the boat. Apparently, that did the trick. All week long she was talking about boats and boat jackets. Unfortunately, here in Arizona, we have neither a boat nor a boat jacket. Last night at dinner, she was looking at pictures of her on Papa Roger's boat and decided that she needed to be wearing a boat jacket at the dinner table. She went nuclear when I broke the news that we did not have a boat jacket for her to wear. After much cajoling, the only way to talk her off that ledge was to suggest that we go swimming. So after dinner, we took a little dip in the pool. I grew up going to the cabin and riding in boats, and I'm glad that Little Miss J gets to experience the cabin life even though we live so far away. It's also fairly amusing that she now says "boh-t" with a true Minnesotan accent.

boat driving J

happily ever after

We blew through the Windy City last weekend to celebrate Nicole's and Paul's nuptials. Just enough time for a quick stop to stuff my face at Portillo's, a walk by the Bean, and to hang out with Gus's extended family for 2 seconds before we were back at O'Hare headed to our soon to be former home.

Little Miss J watching the boats on the Chicago River.
She is obsessed with boats. No seriously. Obsessed.

I missed out on the photo opp because I was too
busy gettin' jiggy with it on the dance floor with
Little Miss J

the Chung girls. Cheese!

cuttin' a rug

and the obligatory cousin picture ... every family does it.

Congratulations to the happy couple! Thanks for inviting us to share in your special day!

lake vermilion 2012

Our next adventure lies right around the corner, but I wanted to take a moment to remember our family vacation. We spent an entire week at Lake Vermilion with Grandma Amy and Papa Roger and my brother and his family. Lazy days were spent sitting on the deck, playing cribbage, and of course ... SWIMMING! Little Miss J got to go swimming at least twice every day. As soon as she saw one of the older kids putting on their swimming suits, she would start taking off her clothes to get ready. Here's the highlight reel ...

Little Miss J sings "seri and appah banana boat"

happy birthday, papa roger!

shortly after this picture is taken, Jackson pushes Little Miss J away and yells "no more hugs!" oh Jackson, if only you knew. someday you won't be able to get enough hugs from pretty girls.

Little Miss J was the fairy princess star of Grandma Amy's 1st place parade float

my little firecracker

a cabin vacation wouldn't be complete without some rock skipping

and a bonfire on the beach

we even got to see papa ralph

we love the lake. until next summer!