Nana & PaPa

Well, it's official:  We have saints for parents.  My mom and dad, as well as Debby, have come to Minnesota in December and now Phoenix in July/August.  We are so blessed!

My parents spent 4 quiet days here in Phoenix with us, which was great.  We lounged in our PJ's, swam, played with Nolan and the pups, and enjoyed the coolest weather we had experienced since our move. Then Mikel, who had to work, was kind enough to let Nolan and me return to Texas with them for an additional 5 days.  It was great to spend so much time with family, though we sorely missed Rachel and her crew --- can't wait to see them in a few months.  Lauren and JT will head to Greece in September to embark on their job with Campus Crusade, so it was important to me to see them (and have them spend time with Nolan) before heading off for the next year.

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I really appreciated my parents' help with Nolan while they were here.  A lot of my time was spent running necessary errands (mostly car maintenance/repair related), which were much easier to accomplish with some babysitting help.  Thank you guys!

We did venture out for some delicious sushi.  Always a winner!  (ignore the crummy iPhone pictures... we forgot to bring the camera)

 

Want a taste??  

Some day soon, Buddy.

 Nana's happy place: a pool and a grandbaby.  

Just need a beach (and the rest of the grandbabies!) to complete it!

 Of course, Khaki joined in the swimming fun.

 So did Scarlett - though she doesn't think it's "fun"....

Commercial for Apple?

Pretty day means line-drying some towels.

 My dad snapped these, saying, "Now that's something I've never seen before." 

I'm sorry, but brushing the pups' teeth makes their breath 10X better, so it's worth it -- even if it is ridiculous.

 They love it!  

And that's a Dr. Jason Tony, North Pointe Dental, freebie toothbrush.  Think Deanna would approve??

 Nolan supervised the ordeal.

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On to Texas.  I really love it at my parents' house.  It's quiet, there is space to fit everyone comfortably, and the Texas landscape was particularly green for the middle of August.  A beautiful sight and a great 5 days.

Prepare for photo overload.  :)

Southwest Airlines offers a super slick 2hr direct flight to Austin.  Awesome!

Nana was a comfy place to take a snooze on the plane.

  

PaPa, Eliza and Nolan

Eliza is hilarious.  She is 22 months old -- exactly 1 year and 1 week older than Nolan -- but WOW what a huge difference a year makes at these ages.  It's incredible!  She runs everywhere she goes - never ever walking - and is constant smiles, chatter and happy energy.  She frequently requests to watch videos of Nolan on someone's iPhone, but when she saw him in person this trip, she was less than convinced.  I told her it's okay --- movie stars hardly ever measure up in real life.  :)

All week long, Eliza was super generous to share with Nolan: her toys, her space, her food... but she drew the line at sharing her PaPa or her daddy.  On this occasion, while posing on PaPa's lap for this pic, Eliza glanced sideways at Nolan, put her hand on his shoulder, then looked up at my dad and said, "Baby -- push, down?"

Too funny.  Their faces about say it all!

One day very soon they are going to be great friends and will have so much fun playing as cousins. Can't wait for that.

(She did come around, and was even willing to dole out a couple of kisses.  Sweet, sweet girl.)

  

My brother DJ is an awesome dad - and quite the baby whisperer.

My Granny and Aunt Mickie were kind enough to make the 6hr trek from Lubbock to see us. Mickie had not yet met Nolan; of course, it was wonderful to spend time with them. Thank you so much, Mickie and Granny, for going out of your way to coordinate your visit with ours!

Nolan really suffered at the hands of all the women folk.

  

  

While we snuggled the babe, Dad washed dishes.  

Who doesn't love a man with dishpan hands??

Love you, Dad :)

Biggest laughs of the week: Thanks to Aunt Lauren!!

Uncle JT.  What a fun uncle!

I like this photo of Nikye and my mom.  It's a lot of work to plan meals and cook for this many people, but these two ladies - plus Dad and DJ manning the grill - make a great team. Definitely didn't go unnoticed.

Nikye really goes out of her way to be sure we're all comfortable -- and I think she does it for me and Nolan most of all.  She thinks of age-appropriate toys for him and is so sweet to drag out / lend anything we might enjoy.  Bath supplies, the exersaucer, an extra high chair, food masher, rattles, puppets, dolls...  She's great.  Thank you, Nikye, for being so thoughtful!

Nikye, Eliza, Nolan and I made a trip to Sprouts - where Eliza even shared her stuffed animals AND her pretty, pink stroller.  Doesn't Nolan look thrilled??

 

Speaking of age-appropriate toys -- look who Lauren re-discovered among Eliza's toys!

Pink Baby has been through a lot. ha!

Part-way through the week, JT injured his back assembling a bed in my parents' game room.

Video games + Vicodin = Still Smiling

Everyone needs some alone time... and Eliza has a pretty awesome set-up.

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An extra sweet highlight of the trip was the opportunity to see my very dear friend Kara Ayaram and her new baby girl, Isabelle - not once, but twice!  Kara and David recently moved to Round Rock, only 20 minutes from my parents' house.  She is truly one of my best friends, and has remained so even after moving away from Rochester 2 years ago.  

Lauren joined us for the first visit - much to Kona's delight.

 

The babes were so cute, I couldn't help snapping a bunch of photos both times.
You know -- for their wedding slideshow.

Bright-eyed Izzy - 11 weeks old.

 

Giving lessons

Love you dearly, Kara.  (Thank you, Lauren, for being our photographer!)

Visit #2 -- It was awesome to spend a few more hours together.  Kara is so hospitable - she even dragged her pack&play to a dark room where Nolan could nap soundly.  I was so happy to put him down there and not have to run off just for a stinking nap!  I loved kicking back in her living room, letting our hair down, and chatting like old times.  It's so refreshingly easy to be with an old friend, isn't it?  What a blessing.

These two.  I mean, really.

Determined to snag the bow.

Thanks so much for opening your home to us, Kara and Izzy.  

Looking forward to many more visits in the future!

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When we got home from Kara's, I was struck by how pretty my parents' property looked against the blue sky.  Have to say again -- I couldn't believe how green it is for this time of year (especially after looking at crispy Phoenix). 

Tucked away behind those huge trees

  

Not a bad view, from any angle.

  

Behind the house, my mom has installed this impressive collection of bird feeders where she can watch them from her favorite chair.  My dad likes to tease her that this is a grandma thing, but truth be told -- it's mesmerizing to sit and watch the birds and squirrels.  With the river just beyond, it's quite the peaceful scene.  Don't listen to him, Mom...  he likes it (and your "date nights" filling the feeders together!).

 

Borrowed the neighbors' chairs for a little river-watching.  Plus, Nolan was getting heavy.

Beautiful place.

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Before going, I got to have a quick little date to Cianfrani Coffee Co. with my dad.  Of course, had to grab a couple pounds of beans to take home.  yummmm

 Thanks, Dad!

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FaceTime is a wonderful invention, isn't it?  Mikel had a busy call week, and we were happy to tell him "See you tomorrow!" to his face.

Our last evening in Georgetown, after I put Nolan to bed for the night, my parents were willing to keep an ear out for him while I did a little bit of clothes shopping at some nearby favorite stores.  Apparently just as I arrived at the store, he woke up (a rarity anymore!) - but instead of having me rush home, dear Nikye came to the rescue again and rocked him back to sleep.  What a great aunt (and SIL).  

While Nikye and Nolan were having their date, I had a date with one of these:

Steph Schmitt, you would have loved this!

The next morning, we squeezed everybody goodbye, including this little beauty.  Love her so much! (notice any family resemblance??)

 

And pretty soon, we were at the airport, homeward bound.  Nolan is a pro at airplane rides by now, but I'm still blessing the nonstop option up one side and down the other (no pun intended).

 Got home just in time to get Nolan down for nap --- and I could sit out under these wonderful misters my dad installed.  Ahhhhh

When it comes to family, we are filthy rich.

Thank you, everyone!  And thank you, Mom and Dad, for coming to the desert in the summertime.