"she's getting so big"

i've been catching myself saying this lately. i guess i've been realizing how much olive has grown.

although she'll always be my baby, it seems like she's growing a little faster than i'd like lately.

she's tall, she's running around, climbing on things, jabbering, singing, playing at the park, sitting at the table, coloring.

this is kid stuff!

when did this happen?

now, if only her hair would grow half as fast as her legs...

reunion in VEGAS!

let's talk about mishelle and jen for a minute. (i so wish i had a picture of us from 2000, but they're all in storage...boo.)

the first semester of my freshman year at college i attended a program called "quest" on vashon island, wa. we stayed on a farm/orchard on the puget sound and we took classes like we would have on campus only our professors were ferried in daily, and we had hands on advertures mixed in with class time: ie. the space needle. backpacking the olympic penninsula, mt. st. helens, victoria b.c. etc. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!

i met mishelle and jen there and have adored them ever since. although we only spent a short time together on that quirky island. i've always cherished their friendship and considered them both the type of friends worth hanging on to. i can't believe it's been 10 years since we were there.

(way to pose for the picture baby girl!)

well, spencer, olive and i took a quick trip to vegas last week and we met up with mish and jen and their families. AND, we finally got to meet each other's kids. yeah for olive (15 months), daxton (9 months) and itty bitty ezra (7 weeks).

it was my first time to sin city, and i'd heard mixed reviews about the place. it seemed like either people loved it or hated it.

i've decided it depends on where you go and what you see because we had a great time, and i would definitely go again.

the hotel was AMAZING and for a killer price (thanks mr. trump, despite your awful hair, your hotel did not disappoint). the shopping was incredible. the food was delicious. phantom of the opera was impressive. (thanks to the worlds #1 dads for babysitting!)

the bodies exhibit was fascinating. the gardens and fountains at the bellagio were a sight to see, not to mention the other hotels.

and...i found a cupcake shop that gives "happy cakes" a run for their money. delicious and worth every bit of that $3.75. aubry- add it to your vegas to do list "the cupcakery".

it was so fun to take a quick vacation, especially with good friends.

can't wait to see you all again in utah this summer!

laughing and laughing and laughing

first set of wheels

i guess we sort of like bikes in our family. understatement

spencer and i have been eyeing these "hotwalks" since olive was born. on most of our trips to the bike shop we'd push her around waiting for the day when she could touch the ground and cruise one on her own.

well, she's not quite there yet, but our niece emmy just outgrew hers, so we packed it back from denver in our extra suitcase.

check it out.

i guess it makes for a pretty amazing transition to a real bike. emmy is not quite 4 and she's already pushing pedals with no training wheels.

and some play time too.

when i wasn't working, spencer and i made sure we had time to hit up most all our favorite spots. in between the wedding and the office, the weekend looked a little like this:

panera for lunch: YOU PICK 2:bacon turkey bravo on asiago cheese foccacia bread w/ broccoli cheddar soup

family photos at the highline canal: beautiful

a king size bed: heavenly

nordstrom at park meadows: familiar faces, 1/2 a lime a cilatro chicken salad w/tomato basil soup, a chocolate thumbprint cookie from the ebar, and an hour at the rack

driving by our old apartment: bitter sweet

breakfast at panera: cinnamon crunch bagel, sliced not toasted, 20 seconds in the microwave

a temple wedding: sweet and reflective

photos in sedalia: AWESOME!

tokyo joes/garbanzos: veggie bowl for me, pita for spencer

nordstrom at cherry creek: fancy, fresh air

familiar faces at church: so fun

nate and julie's house: miss them

julie's sunday dinner: delicious!

a walk in the park: relaxing

nate's gigantic telescope, for reals he got a gigantic telescope: rad

checking out saturn and the moon: incredible

little clara suzanne: darling

late nights and late movies: still young, right?

late mornings: wonderful

familiar faces at water for people: inspirational, love this organization!

golden, colorado: quaint

anthony's pizza: tried the sicilian...should have stuck with the original

boulder: top 10 favorite places

university cycles: familiar faces, hippest bike shop ever, rapha gear

salvaggios deli: didn't make it this trip, but had to be on the list as a favorite

two spoons gelato: the perfect treat for walking along...

pearl street: tulips

urban outfitters: new pillows for my couch, yeah!

the mall in broomfield: a new naartje outfit for olive

wahoos: nachos, yum.

9:30pm flight back home: eh. although the guy wearing the "darth tater" t-shirt and doing cross stitch on the plane was semi entertaining

the sweetest baby girl asleep in her bed: nothing better

a wedding in the rockies

i just got back in town monday night from photographing a wedding in denver. friends from our ward there flew me out and it was a blast working with them!

i love that city and didn't realize how much i missed it until i went back. denver is such a great place. the shopping...sigh, the restaurants...sigh, the proximity to so many fun places...sigh.

so, i brought spencer along to help, and to keep me company when i wasn't working. my parents and tanner watched olive for us so it was a nice little getaway.

THANK YOU!

i'm just sorting though the photos now, but i'm really happy with what we got. they were a pretty creative couple so it made the shoot a lot of fun. it rained at the temple just enough to make me nervous, but it cleared up after the luncheon and the rest of the day was beautiful.

and then a roadtrip

speaking of late nights. after the reception on friday, we stayed up until 6:00am. i had planned to drive with my family to tucson, az to visit my sister for spring break on saturday morning, so i grabbed olive, brushed my teeth and walked out the door.

the 9 days that followed were... memorable.

highlights include:
cove fort
the big rock candy mountain
seeing lake powell for the first time
the peterson's
liam's 1st birthday

saguaro national forest

in-n-out burger
owen's baseball game
guitar hero and a giant diet coke
ikea

mesa temple easter pageant

the grand canyon



less than highlights include:
18 hours in the car
olive barfing all night tuesday-wednesday
tanner barfing all night tuesday
being covered in olive's barf tuesday-wednesday
3 packs of diapers and one serious rash
mom barfing for 4 hours in the ikea bathroom on thursday
booking a hotel in phoenix because she was too sick to drive back to tucson
mom barfing at the hotel in phoenix
a 911 call
5 hunky EMT's
an ambulance ride
a night in the ER in phoenix
an IV, serious pain meds and a discharge
dad getting sick on friday
an extra day sleeping in the hotel in phoenix
18 hours home with a barf bucket...on easter

the moral of the story is:
next time you go to tucson to visit alisa...

BOOK A FLIGHT!