Today we drove up to Boulder...then we parked and got on a bus
Evie wasn't sure about the backpack, but gave Boulder a thumbs up for their free transportation
Our Destination? The Boulder Creek Festival:
We joined the throngs of people...
We found exotic foods...
We walked around and looked at the booths...Evie tried to climb down
When we got home we BBQ'd with some old friends from California
The girls all loved each other
Evie found Grace especially hilarious
After all was said and done, baby Tori and I sacked out on the couch only to be photographed in the most unflattering of poses...
We have come to the conclusion that Colorado competes with Washington for perfect state status. So much so, that we could very easily move here in a second if my husband procured a job transfer. This thought was being pushed very hard today from all sides.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Where in the World is the Scott Family? (Day three)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Where in the World is the Scott Family- Day two
We drove from Billings, Montana to Superior, Colorado today.
We made a pit stop at Little Bighorn, in the middle of a torrential rain storm (notice the blurry, wet smudge in photo- I need a lens hood.)
Custer's "headstone"
We drove across the plains, through terrible weather
We saw Tatonka (Buffalo)
We saw Prong! (Antelope)- the tiny white specs are the antelope
Bryan drove happily
I sat in the back and made faces at him
I also served as the food and entertainment provider
Evie watched Videos
Then things took a turn
Are we having fun yet?
Finally, we make it Colorado!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Where in the World is the Scott Family?
We have traveled from Gig Harbor to Wenatchee, to Spokane in the last two weeks (Bryan has done this in the last 24 hours.)
Today we drove from Spokane to Missoula where we ate at Cracker Barrel for lunch.
Bryan could hardly contain himself, he was so excited. He had chicken and dumplings with mashed potatoes and gravy. As well as biscuits. Hie goal was to die of heart failure by mid-day.
Stephanie had a grilled chicken salad.
Of the two, it was Stephanie who got an upset stomach...go figure.
After lunch, we continued our journey East to Billings, Montana where we will stay for the night.
Billings is close to Little Bighorn so tomorrow will include a stop at the national historical site. Pictures will be taken, and a brief tutorial will be given to Bryan and Evie against their will from the history teacher-wife/mother. And so begins the what is assumed to become the Scott family tradition of Stephanie using vacations for educational opportunities, dragging the family to historical landmarks and the like.
We are establishing a fund for Evie's future therapy needs, now.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Welcome to the world, baby Oceanna!!!
She's Here!!!
Oceanna Elizabeth Virginia Blodgett was born at 2:00pm this afternoon.
She weighed in at a very healthy 8lbs, 10 oz and measuring 21" in length.
Sara was induced this morning and after a few hours of nasty back labor, she pushed the little girl out with no pain medicine and little complaint.
My sister, she is a rockstar.
Her daughter, she is beautiful; looks just like her momma. Big blue eyes, curly black locks, voluptuous lips and rosy red cheeks.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
In her own time.
I'm in Spokane now; home of my youth, place of my birth, bane of my existence. I hate Spokane.
But I am here because my Sister is here. My poor, pregnant sister. Her baby is reluctant to be born, in fact she is refusing to be born--she is days overdue.
And thus she is being evicted in the morning (Monday.) They are going in at 6:45am for the induction.
And so we are here, waiting.
We've been waiting in Wenatchee since Tuesday, when my sister went in to the hospital with full contractions. But they stopped, we were in Wenatchee picking up Nancy when they stopped and she was sent back home, so we stayed there for the week.
My poor pregnant sister. So pregnant. So hot.
She looks adorable, though. I would type vulgarities here, call her rude names as she looks so cute in her six days of overdue pregnantness, but I will resist. Because she is miserable. And she has had a crappy day. My nephew twisted his ankle in the wading pool today and had to go to the minor emergency clinic. He is now in a cast and not allowed to walk, until we hear back from the radiologist tomorrow.
He is two and a half; he is not interested in sitting around. But his foot hurts, and it's in a little cast, and every time he tries to touch it to the floor, he cries and whimpers in pain, the poor, sweet little guy.
Yeah, it's been a fun time for my sister and brother in-law.
So tomorrow (or today depending on when you read this) we will be taking shifts between the hospital and playing with Evie at (family friend's) Jason and Carolyn's house, (we being Nancy and I.) Evie will not be joining us at the hospital, because Evie is not the kind of gal who will enjoy hanging out in a labor and delivery waiting room all day. And I'm not the kind of gal who thinks chasing a walking, almost 11 month-old in a waiting room sounds like a fun idea.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Wagons East!
Evie and I are on our way to Spokane for the imminent arrival of my sister's baby daughter.
When she finally makes her debut and all is well, I will post pictures and stats.
Our plan is to stay in Spokane for 4-5 days and help my sister as much as possible, until we are no longer needed. (Family friends will be helping with the babysitting of Evie for some of the time.) Depending on how the week goes and the schedule works out, we may or may not return home.
We (Bryan, Evie and I) are leaving to drive to Colorado for a much-needed vacation on Friday, the 23rd. Accordingly, Evie and I might visit "Grammie Nancy" next week for a day or so, and wait for Bryan to meet us there, instead of driving back to Gig Harbor, only to turn around and drive back through on our way to CO. We are trying to limit Evie's car time as much as possible before we make the long trip South.
And so if you don't see or hear from us, know that we are okay, we're just having fun with new babies, each other and the mountains.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
About Mother's Day
Today is Mother’s day, and let me begin by wishing all the moms out there a very happy day! I hope you were all able to have a break from making decisions and catering to everyone else’s needs, at least for a moment.
This was my first mother’s day as a mother and I have to admit it was very strange. I went through the day in a bit of a fog really, trying to remain distracted as much as possible. We went to church, then to coffee with friends, as we do every Sunday. After coffee, we decided to drive up to Seattle to go to the REI anniversary sale, but on the way, we made a pit stop at some friend’s for a quick lunch.
We spent a little over an hour wandering around REI with the masses, found a few items on sale for our upcoming road trip to Colorado, and then we drove back home.
We called Bryan’s mother, we called our grandmothers. I called my sister, my aunt, my cousin and my friend in Colorado and we wished them all a very happy day, as they did me. We all spoke with joy and happiness and described brunches and flowers and taking the day off from diapers and cooking.
There was one topic that remain unmentioned, however; the one thing that made me hope the sun would go down a little quicker today. That one thing is the fact that I don’t have a mother to call, or celebrate or enjoy brunch with.
For many women who have lost their mothers, this day is bittersweet. We enjoy our families and we enjoy our children, but we remember our mothers as well and for many of us, the wounds are deep, the sadness great. As it is with any loss I am sure, it cannot be explained and it cannot be understood until it has been experienced first-hand.
And so today while I sat in church listening to poems about mothers, watching slide shows of mothers, sitting with women and their mothers and daughters, I remembered my mother, and I was sad that I could not see her with my eyes or feel her with my hands.
Thankfully, I can still see her in my mind, I can still feel her with my heart.
I can still feel the softness of her small, delicate hands, always smelling of lavender or gardenia.
I can still see her half-cocked smile, the way one eye would squint with mischief. I can hear her high, lilting laugh and see her shrug her shoulders, cocking her head to one side as she giggled.
My mother was a strong woman, full of fire and energy, she was a force to be reckoned with.
She loved people and she loved to laugh. She was never one to miss a party and when she entered the room, it was impossible to miss her.
It’s funny really, as I describe my mother I realize something that I supposed I’ve always suspected: she never really left me. She is just a new and improved version now; her name is Evelyn Virginia, she’s my daughter.
