Chihuly Nights

Our new neighbors were kind enough to give us tickets to the premier lighting of the Chihuly Nights exhibit at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.  She works for Lexus of Nashville, and the event was exculsively for their customers...I've never seen so many Lexus' in one place!  The exhibit was amazing!  I'm pretty sure it is the same glass sculptor who made the piece at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics.  We enjoyed strolling through the park until way past Isaac's bedtime and he was a perfect angel the entire time.  He never made a peep and then fell asleep on the way home.  What lucky parents we are.  It was so nice to get out and see part of Nashville!  Thanks Bridget!

Can You Say Upgrade?

BEFORE:



AFTER:


We traded in the tube television for a new Samsung Slim tv. We went from a 90+ lb 27" tv to a ~40 lb 47" tv. We ditched the Sony in Denver. We were glad not to move it yet again! We lucked out and found this stand w/mount at Costco. That way we don't have to worry about Isaac pushing over the tv (at least I hope not).

More Townhouse Photos

Our bedroom/office (it's much easier having the desk in our room vs. Isaac's!). It is on the second floor above the kitchen and unfortunately gets pretty dang hot. We'll enjoy the warmth in the winter though.


Our living room (I just got the red chair in the mail).  Isaac's bedroom is right above the living room.

I do accept interior design tips...this photo makes it look so cluttered!

Isaac's Room

Isaac finally has his own room and real furniture (no more Pack'n'Play!). I used my excellent craigslist skills and got the crib, rocking chair, changing table, and a cute Pottery Barn Kids rug, valences, bumper, sheets, bed skirt, and pillow set for $250. I love the little appliqued letters and animals and the colors match the quilt my mom made for Isaac, so it is now an awesome wall hanging until he's old enough to use it!

The Townhouse

This is the townhouse we are renting in Nashville. It really feels like we're living in a house instead of just an apartment because it has 2 floors...oh yes, and grass.

We even have our own private patio area and were so thrilled to have a grill that we ate exclusively grilled food for the first 2 weeks solid. We bought a tomato plant (hopefully it isn't too late in the year!) and a basil plant. Hopefully our black thumb doesn't get the best of them.


So, not the best picture of the kitchen. The door to the patio is just outside this photo on the right. Our bedroom is right above the kitchen. We have more counter space than we did at the 3 Arches in the avenues in SLC, but not by much. We were spoiled by the counter and cupboard space at our place in Denver.

Farmer's Market Surprise

Lance surprised us with his farmer's market find this week. The hospital has a farmer's market once a week and one of his co-workers highly recommended these green beans, called yardlong beans (also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean). They were pretty good. It's fun to try new things!

Visiting Daddy!

Isaac and I made our first big excursion this week. We went to playgroup at a park in downtown Nashville called the Fannie Mae Dees Park. It is also called the Dragon Park because it has a HUGE mosaic dragon in it. It was SOOOO hot. We just stood in the shade the entire time and I was dripping sweat. All of the kids that were running around were so sweaty that it looked like they had run through the sprinklers...gross. I also felt like I had bugs crawling all over me (and learned little lessons about chiggers and mold from some of the other moms). This isn't like the desert I grew up in! The park was pretty much across the street from Vanderbilt Medical Center, so we met up with Lance (a.k.a. Daddy) for lunch and enjoyed some A/C!

Feed Me!

Isaac had his first adventures with solid food today. I'm not so sure he was in love with the sweet potatoes. I have learned it's pretty hard to hit a moving target and I definitely need to use a bigger bib next time. I'm glad I anticipated the majority of the food to come back out on his first attempt, because it did just that. We'll try again tomorrow!

Roll Me Over

Going Swimming!

I've taken Isaac to our complex's pool twice now and he seems to really enjoy it (or at least he doesn't hate it). It gets really hot here, so at least mom really enjoys taking a dip to cool off. On a side note, Lance and I went on another bike ride with Isaac, and it really is lush and green here. You feel like you're in the country almost instantly from where we live (and there is surprisingly plenty of climbing...even more nearby than when we lived in Denver). We were very surprised to have to almost stop in the road to allow some wildlife to cross the road...it was a TURTLE! That was a first for both me and Lance!

So Big!

Isaac is getting so big! He is getting much better at standing up with help and is getting very close to rolling over. Next, we need to start solid foods! They grow so fast!!

Nashville 4th of July

We spent the 4th of July in downtown Nashville. There were SOOOO many people. It was ridiculous trying to get a stroller through that thick of a crowd (we all did well minus one of us...). We set up our chairs far from the middle of the main party. Trace Atkins was the headliner for the event (I guess that's a big country star), but we weren't close enough to hear. I'm not sure if you can see the sea of people on the street past the van in the picture below.

Much to our surprise, Isaac really enjoyed the firework show (even though it was unusually loud from the reverberations off the tall buildings behind us). He was happy to people watch and stay up way past his bedtime.

So Long, Tercel

So long, Tercel, Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye...(think the Sound of Music)

So we finally got rid of the Tercel. The Tercel was a generous gift to Lance from his sister Becky before we got married. It was a very classy car (minus the fact that it had no back seat as pictured below).

I had many fond memories of the Tercel...this is the car Lance picked me up in on our first date (and I still married him). I was probably glad to see he wasn't a big spender. After many years of dedicated service, it was time to let'im go. It was on its last leg anyhow. When it was gone, Lance let out a sigh of relief that he'd never have to drive the thing again. He is looking forward to a car with power steering, no wretched belt sounds, and oh yes, a back seat.

Boulder, CO

We finally made it up to Boulder after living here for almost a year. We ate lunch at a popular Tea House (which was very yummy) and had fun walking the Pearl Street Mall where there were all sorts of street purformers (musicians of ALL varieties, magic shows, jugglers, etc). The weather was perfect: just enough overcast that it wasn't too hot. Next we headed to Chatauqua Park. The mountains were beautiful and there were TONS of walking trails. If we had more time I would have hauled the jogging stroller up there and gotten a good hike in. Oh well, at least we got to see it.

My how I've grown!

This little guy just keeps getting bigger! At his four month appointment he was already over 15 lbs! He is getting really good at taking regular naps finally (thank goodness!!!) and is almost always a happy little guy. We sure love him!

4 Month Photos

If you can believe it, Isaac is already 4 months old! He is getting better at picking up toys (and putting them in his mouth), and loves to make all sorts of 'talking' noises. He is so much fun!

Thanks Grandma!

Isaac and Grandma got to spend two full days together while Lance and I flew to Nashville to find housing. We appreciated so much her willingness to watch this little guy around the clock. It sounds like they had a good time together and Isaac even cooperated and took his bottles!

Garden of the Gods

I brought my mom home with me after my trip to Utah and we made a little excursion to Colorado Springs where we visited the Garden of the Gods, a very unique city park. We tested the off-roading limits of the Chariot and got pretty sunburned (including Isaac's little hands unfortunately). We went to historic downtown Manitou, enjoyed a beautiful park there and some yummy food. I was glad I made it here before we moved!

Erica's Monster Voice

The Willis Boys

Rowan, Evan, Caylor (and Isaac)

Luckily I at least snapped a quick picture this morning when we went over to Lisa and Jim's for a Memorial Day breakfast. The food was fantastic (as always) and we enjoyed the nice weather while the kids played with their new chickens. It has been so fun to visit with family!!