Life GOes ON

Two weeks have flown past since Abner came & our lives changed dramatically. In some ways it's been easier than I anticipated, but in other ways, I find myself asking, "Was it this hard with the other kids? I don't remember it being like this." Maybe it's because I'm older. (It's easy to blame everything on that.) Slowly, slowly my body and mind are returning to some kind of normal equilibrium. 

I feel overwhelmed with all the happy things. Seriously, I find myself crying so often just because I'm happy. Can't help it. It's possible that it's hormonal...but that's ok too.

Anyway, here's a little peek at all the beautiful things happening around here lately.

Great-grandma Tiede - my sweet 85 year old grandma who has been doing all our ironing and playing light sabers for hours with Sully. I love you grandma!

Mike introducing Abner to his grandma. Abner was her dad's name. She was pretty excited. 

Beautiful Jessie. It doesn't seem like it was very long ago that we were cuddling her like this.

Noble in the garden - harvesting beets. The garden is so good for the soul. It makes me happy. (And Noble too.) I love growing things.

Mike's dad with our 4 awesome boys. This makes me smile.

The boys building their "tanks" in the driveway. They are so cool.

Lots of swimming. Having the time of their lives. Some of you may recognize this landmark.

t. & grace.

Sunset in July. Could it get ANY better than this? happy.

A Winning Baby Gift

Earlier, when we were thinking about the name Abner for the baby, one of the best reactions came from my sister-in-law, Helen. She told us she loved the name, and then mentioned that his nick-name could be AB-ABBER. A nod to this classic Homestar Runner bit. Which only added to the appeal.
Anyway, when Abner met Casey and Helen for the first time on Sunday, they gave him  this very thoughtful gift. One of Abner's favorites.

Thanks Casey & Helen. That was a good one. :)

The Day We've All Been Waiting For

Introducing... Abner William Melton. He's here. He's awesome.

Our little baby arrived Wednesday, July 6 at about 8:30 PM. Once things really got rolling it went MUCH faster than we expected. Our midwife didn't have time to get there, and her back-up barely made it. Still, they were cool about making sure Mike got to "catch" the baby. Thanks going out to Paula and all the easy-going nurses at Riverton IHC (who put up with a good bit of teasing from Mike - and occasionally dished it back). Abner weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz., tying Tillman for light-weight of the family at birth. Since he's not very big, we decided that those 5 days past the due date were needed to finish off his coiffure. Which is pretty impressive.

Dr. Mike, Medicine Man - suiting up.

Just born.

His brothers and sisters are all SO excited. They have been troopers while I was in the hospital and have welcomed Abner completely. People always talk about jealousy between siblings when one is born. Honestly, I can say none of our kids has ever been that way. Sully is probably the most demonstrative. He is STOKED.

Here he is visiting baby brother Abner for the first time. Huge smile.

Some Visitor Highlights

Bookend siblings - Jessie and Abner

Noble found a few other things to work on...

Tillman & Abner - the jury is still out on Abner's eye color, but I think these two might look the most alike.

Mike was giving my Mom a hard time (she loves it when he teases her.)

Mike's mom and dad.

My little brother Sean drove down from Logan. Thanks Sean, we love you.

Lots of company: the Bachands, Grace, my grandma & Dad.

Great-Grandma Tiede - in town from NM.

Sully handing out kisses. Time to bring Abner home.

Thanks for making us "Mom & Dad" one more time Abner. We love you!

We're adjusting to life with this new person - and having a great time. 

WE FEEL SO BLESSED. 

We'll keep you posted.

Sully makes it three

No. I haven't had the baby yet. I thought while the clock's still ticking on that - I ought to give Sully his due and make mention of his third birthday.
Sully, Sully, Sully ....oh how we love you!

His actual birthday was Wednesday. That day, first thing in the morning he made his way into our bed to snuggle (a regular - and cherished occurrence). As he cozied in I said softly, "Happy Birthday, Sully." He turned and whispered into my face, kind of drowsily, "Thanks, Mom." It was so sweet, I thought I might die right there.

Since Mike was teaching Weds. evening we had our little party last night instead. We took him to see Cars 2 - and came home for some not-too-shabby fish tacos (I'll post that recipe some time).  Both sets of "Brancas" (his word for grandparent) made it over to hang with us for gifts and cupcakes.

Trying out his new Automoblox

Sully had a good couple of days I think. I'm glad I was available to make it happen for him. He is so beloved. All the other kids wanted to contribute something for the occasion: from a homemade snail-shell necklace to this tribute - composed by Noble.

:)

My mom and dad took Noble, Grace and T. camping tonight - just up the canyon, leaving the house kind of quiet (and clean). With that kind of footloose freedom, we thought we'd take Jess and Sully out to Daybreak beach so Sully can try out his new dump truck and so Mike can measure out a run along the lake trail with his new Garmin. Should be a relaxing evening.

Any Day Now

Tillman (7 years old) took some pictures of me today. Awesome, right?  I'm not the most photogenic person in the world - pictures aren't my favorite thing. But it's good to document some things.

Angie 36 years old... and also 40 weeks pregnant. (The posing was meant to be funny.)

Noble shot some spinning top thing across the room and caught my attention. 

I've had a bit of a mental shift over the past week. Kind of a pulling inward I think. Mental preparation. Self-preservation? This whole pregnancy has gone by so fast. Almost invisible. It's hardly registered in my mind that it is really going to result in the birth of a baby. And it hasn't just been me. My mom kept inviting us to camp at 9 Mile Canyon with them last week, and again this coming weekend up Big Cottonwood. I had to remind her several times that I had something else on the calendar. A baby. :)

So...finally, something has changed. I'm not sure if other mothers have experienced the same altered state of consciousness. Suddenly, I feel like life is going on as normal around me but I'm sort of separate from it all. Insulated somewhere inside. Getting into the zone. Whatever that zone is. I think it's a useful coping strategy as labor looms ahead, not to mention the physical demands of caring for a newborn. And getting to know A WHOLE NEW PERSON.

Anyway, the time is near (my midwife assures me). I'll see you on the flip side.

A Book Review: Born to Run

So... I finished reading the book I snatched from Mike.  I have to tell you, it is one of the best reads EVER. A true pleasure to read, just like running should be. The story was absolutely incredible. McDougall is a fantastic writer - his style is so conversational. I felt like I was sitting there casually with him while he wove this amazing story, interlaced with running science, philosophy, anthropology, etc., etc. True, it was also well stocked with swears and tough-talking crassness here and there ...but oh, what a story. He was probably a little overstated from time to time; characaturing real people/cultures to fill dramatic roles (villain, hero...). Just like a good story teller would.  :)
 I felt like the take-away matched up with my own running philosophy so well. I was totally uplifted and inspired. I LOVED it!  This one is staying on my shelf.

Mike and I joked last night about giving a second middle name to our baby boy -- Caballo Blanco -- an honorable reference to the main character in the book. Don't worry Mom, we aren't serious. (Still. Caballo is rad.)

Fathers Day Weekend

We had a busy weekend with la familia. It was awesome. Mike's brother, Tim was in town for an optometry conference, and we got to spend some quality time with him. A gorgeous Saturday morning 'constitutional' hike in Neff's Canyon & a really good salmon dinner for Fathers Day with Mike's family that night. Not a bad day.

The hiking was ideal. It was a perfect morning. The seasonal stream was running fast with snow melt.

 Our be-caped super twins...hiking maniacs.

 

Rope swinging in the morning sun.

 We could have stayed a lot longer.
Sunday we had our own quiet Father's Day dinner at home: dill potatoes, a variety of salad greens from our garden, some yummy marinated/grilled chicken, a kielbasa for good measure & watermelon. I also managed to whip up some homemade vanilla bean/peach & mango ice cream with a vanilla bean I've been hoarding from our co-op basket for weeks. Oh my. It was good.

Churning away on the back deck. It went so fast I didn't get a picture of the finished ice cream. Come over some time and I'll make some more for you.

Later, the Sullivan clan came over to our house for a Father's Day dessert get-together. We also celebrated our man Zeke's 1st birthday (how cool is it that it fell on Father's Day?) In the kitchen singing to little Zeke.

As a bonus we also Skyped with Mike's brother, Jimmy and his family, who just got back from a short stint in Costa Rica. It was a good weekend.



Simple Food: The Co-op

In line at pick-up

There are a lot of food/produce co-ops around. I've never joined one until 4 or 5 months ago, even though I think they are a great idea. Usually they required a weekly commitment and other limitations that scared me off. But we finally heard about this one. You can order week by week depending on if you want it. They encourage everyone to volunteer once in a while at pick up, which scores you some perks, and it's pretty loose. We've loved the produce and bread, we've gotten to know a few new vegetables and fruits, AND it saves us some moolah.

For a while a couple of months ago their website was swamped and it was impossible to get in to order. So I wondered about continuing. Apparently demand went through the roof in a matter of weeks (especially in Utah). They rearranged the offering times and that seemed to fix the problem on their site.

Anyway, I'm not looking for more competition on basket ordering day or anything - but this has been a part of our routine here for a while - and I love the food co-op concept. So I had to share. 

One week's basket offering

The thing is, there is always room for more people - as long as some of them are willing to start up another pick up site. It's a good opportunity for community volunteerism. I should do that. 

Sk8 George and other points south

We broke away this weekend and headed south. A little easy-does-it recreation before baby arrives in a few weeks.

We hung out with Mitch-darling's parents, and his brother, Gary, drove up from Vegas to meet us. He brought his girlfriend, Valerie and we got to know her better - we like her even more now.

We visited a few historic homes & swam for a long time. Monday night we caught a show (Little Mermaid) at Tuacahn - which did not disappoint. It even kept Sully speechlessly rapt till 11:30 at night - without a problem. Probably one of our favorite shows that we've seen there. A good time for all.

Noble putting his trunks back on after an unfortunate leap into the pool.

 At Tuacahn.

Thanks to Jacque, we had great seats.

Tuesday - Mike and I took the kids out for a few little hikes up Snow Canyon. My original intention had been to do a day in Zion's. Mike persuaded me that we should come back in the fall for a few days instead. Between me - a gazillion weeks pregnant - and our 3 year old, this seemed like a reasonable compromise. So we took it easy in Snow Canyon. We love that place anyway.

I love this picture of Mike. I'm calling it: "Mike achieves nirvana" - or - "Just before the rapture"

Afterward we had lunch in town and drove out to Hurricane to pay a visit to my Aunt Denise and little cousin, AJ...and the cemetery where my grandparents Sampson are.

Hanging out with AJ on his street in Hurricane.

A really nice trip. We probably won't get out for much this summer with the baby - so I'm glad we got to take the kidz for a little R&R.

Mike goes a little bit native and C.B.S. hits 40

A few months back Mike finally gave in and went for a Dr.'s check up. His cholesterol levels came back "borderline". With that, I began to do what many a loving wife before me has done: nag him about diet and fitness. He's been doing better about eating (his primary problem in the past has been NOT eating - because he gets busy, etc. It takes time and preparation to eat well) - but not so much in the exercise department. Then, out of the blue he came home with a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and he's been INSPIRED. He comes home from his nightly runs wanting to go back out for MORE. What in the...?
He says, "That felt SO good" every time he walks back in the door. I am kind of speechless. But I'm just going to go with it. I started reading the book that he's been glued to lately, Born to Run . It's a pretty entertaining read - and I can see why it might give you a different perspective on running. I've been known to accept crazy alternative stuff before, so it makes sense to me.
When Mike mentioned his new minimalist running hobby to a guy at work who has his own running club, the guy said, "That's kind of like that telemark skiing you do. Kind of cult-ish."     Ha ha ha - awesome.  Mike's response, and over-all life philosophy is just going to be: "Free the heel, man."
Go, Mitch-darling.

The C.B.S. referred to above is not the television network, but my brother, Casey. We celebrated his 40th tonight. Here he is modeling his gift from us - one of Noble's hand printed Nachrool t-shirts.

It's hard to believe that I have a 4o year-old sibling. It puts things into perspective. I really, really think that NO ONE ever had a better big brother than me. He has always been a person without guile, or pretense. Just real...and good. I followed him around most of the first 18 years of my life, looked up to him, trying to do whatever he did. He is one of those people that EVERYONE loves. I think it's because he makes everyone feel important. We love him and his little family so much. Happy 40th, Casey! I'm right behind you.