A lot can happen in a year.

 

Top: Theo then and now.

Bottom: Margot then and now.

 Once when I worked at a company our team had this big meeting/presentation all about the book "The Secret." It's a mysterious sounding book and concept that basically boils down to--"If you think about something constantly and make it a main goal in your life, you will achieve it." And they applied this technique to making money, achieving career goals, and finding a front row parking spot. If you believe, you will achieve, they said. Of course, it's common sense that if you put all your positive thought and energy into something, most of the time you can achieve a lot. I thought the whole meeting was a little silly but decided to go all in on this concept, and at the time Jon was applying to dental schools. "We will live in Oregon," was my constant thought. And sure enough, it happened. And I guess it worked again because we have never stopped thinking about wanting to go back to Portland, taking jobs that would help us get back there, etc. Serendipitously and through a very round about way a job opportunity came along, Jon interviewed and we waited and waited and waited, me with too much hope and expectation and also little hope and no expectation. On the plane en route to Mexico Jon was offered the job, and I started sobbing two feet away from a flight attendant. We never expected to have two moves so close together, but we are so excited about this opportunity and could not pass it up. Jon gets to work in public health, which he loves, and we get to move back to what we consider our home. In less than a month. So a lot has to get done between now and then, but luckily we never fully unpacked. Soon we will be back in the clouds just in time for berry season, and get to reunite with friends that feel like family to me. I'm really excited to meet new friends too, although in our short time in Las Cruces we have met some really wonderful people. We will always remember New Mexico and our time here, and I will always put green chiles on my burgers and pizza for the rest of my life. (And you should too, it's delicious.)

There was far too little Mexican food involved.

She climbed up my legs rather than touch the water first, but we got there. And I am about to talk a lot about ice cream, which brings me to my #1 travel tip--buy a blousey swimsuit. Hides an impressive amount of coconut laden sins.

Arlo loooooves sand.

This is what a beach vacation with kids looks like. Cap'n Jon at his finest.

Taken by my sis Kenz

My mom made robes for all the grand kids. An idea I had earlier but laughed it off because it was so crazy. My mom is pretty awesome.

Right before we went to Mexico with my whole family I started to get nervous. There were a lot of things that could possibly go wrong--and as the person who planted the "let's have a family vacation!" seed into my parents brains, which then sprouted and grew in to a trip to Cancun with six children five and under--I was worried that I would regret suggesting it in the first place. But, if you have the right set of expectations, a vacation can go well with three babies who nap twice a day. First of all, take all relaxation expectations and just get rid of them. I love a beach vacation merely just to sit under an umbrella and listen to the waves and have no responsibilities whatsoever. I think one afternoon I had about two hours where this came true. It was awesome and unexpected, and appreciated. Mostly we tried our best to all be in the same place at the same time, letting the cousins play and just following their lead. We stayed at the resort and ordered countless non-alcoholic mojitos, and went from beach to kid pool to hotel room to nap. Theo loved it all and loved having his grandparents to swim with, and copied his cousin's every move. Margot hated the pool, ocean, and sand for the first few days but gradually swam with me willingly and touched her hands into the sand (you can't win them all). It was an all inclusive resort so the kids were able to eat whatever they wanted for five days. Margot subsisted almost exclusively on lunch meat, as she likes to pick one food group when we travel and stick to it. Theo ate...well, some days I'm not sure if he ate more then fruit loops, fries and ice cream, but I didn't care too much. The ice cream was delicious, and self serve (not to be confused with soft serve), and Margot and Theo (and I) fully enjoyed eating coconut ice cream for both lunch and dinner. And maybe because it was magical vacation time--but I loved giving it to them. Caution to the wind! Endless ice cream for all! I'm not eating much ice cream this week.

The most exciting thing we did was sail on a catamaran, a boat that is as fun to spell as it is to ride. Jon learned how to sail it and loved taking us all out on the warm ocean. Cap'n Jon now wants to buy one, but I'm pretty sure all the splashing may make it less fun in colder waters.

We had a really good time and I'm so grateful to my parents who undertook this huge event. It was good to spend time with my siblings and respectfully make fun of my brother who tried to wind surf with no prior experience. It was so entertaining. Jake, you have more courage than I!

Also entertaining--our trip home. After being delayed in the Cancun airport for two hours (which while very clean, is hot, humid, and lacks free wifi) we had to sprint through the "express" customs lane after a baggage claim jammed and held our carseat hostage, barely made our connecting flight after they closed the plane door and started retracting the walkway. (Is there a bigger, more spread out airport than Dallas? I don't think so.) We made it to El Paso at about 10:00 pm, then found that our car battery was dead. After jumping the car I realized I lost the parking ticket, and the generator we used to jump our car blew out the fuses on our head lights. And that concluded possibly one of the last times we take very young kids out of the country. Now I know why America bought Hawaii. Customs!

Costco run (also, Chipotle)

Juarez and the fence.

Last weekend we drove down to El Paso to buy a bike trailer/jogger from Costco. When you get to El Paso, the freeway does this slight bend and runs along the Mexico border, giving you a peek over a small canyon into Juarez. Every time we make the trip I'm fascinated by it--this completely different world that exists right there past the river. You know what else fascinates me? The Mormon colonies that are over there. Maybe it's growing up in Idaho, but I did not even know they existed until we moved here. A lady in the branch was talking about how her husband was born in the Mexico in the colonies and then Mitt Romney was talking about his dad, and everyone else in the southwest who has some cousin's friend who lived there and it made me wonder what they were talking about. Now after the fact it feels a little ridiculous I did not know about this little Mormon subculture. (Unless you didn't know about it--did you?) It reminded me of the time in college that I found out wolverines were real animals. My world was rocked. Also narwhals. Animals are not my forte.

We are headed to Mexico soon, obviously not Juarez or the colonies part. I am bringing a book you can physically hold and read. And a sun hat and a rash gaurd and hopefully no tan lines. Cause I love shade, ever so much.

King of the Halls

Margot's Revenge

We are still working on being gentle, and sharing. This was a lesson on how not to squeeze a baby kitten to death.

Theo is less than two months away from turning three. Something he knows and talks about often. This kid loves party hats. His personality has exploded lately. We went to a playgroup this week, and the first part he was shy, wandering around the playground by himself or reading a comic book in a corner. Then, suddenly I saw him squealing and laughing with a group of kids, mimicking all their moves. I went to check on him once and he excitedly said, "We're going to space! Go away, Mommy!" I was so happy to go away. He left the park that day so exhausted from running around with sticks and letting four year olds push him on the swings. It was everything I was hoping for him for the past eight months. And he napped. I've given up fighting the constant nap battle, instead having quiet time and hoping for the best. He rarely naps, but I feel much less stressed by letting it go.

Theo is very outgoing, but easily becomes overwhelmed in new situations or among a crowd. This week we went to the mall, which had this place with a ton of inflatable play structures. There were hardly any kids there, so I thought it would be good to try it out for the first time. It took a while for him to get adjusted to how it felt to bounce--he really didn't like it at first. After some nudging from me he started to bounce and play in the little toddler areas. I couldn't even set Margot down on the inflatable surface without her freaking out. Same thing at a rhythm/dance class at the library today--he shut down and would hardly look at me, and wouldn't even hold some rhythm sticks. There were a million kids and a lot of loud music, and Margot was pretty chill although she would quickly shut me down if I tried anything bouncy or cheesy.

Favorite things lately: "This is my favorite." Counting past ten, not in order, including "eleventeen." Starting sentences with, "Well, actually..." Yelling, "Margot Laaady!" The way he sings songs to himself all the time, sometimes in falsetto. How much he loves his daddy. The way he dances and sings to Kipper (and laughs, which is funny cause I think that show is so boring). He loves nursery, and doesn't want to leave.

Theo loves to swim, and loves to jump off the diving board. In fact, if he ever jumps off of anything he treats it like a diving board and goes full on belly flop straight for your face. It can make for a hard catch.

Kite as friend

My birthday was great. I got a chambray shirt I'm going to wear the other days I'm not wearing my other chambray shirt, went out to eat without kids, and my hair looked awesome. And Jon got me my very own socks he promised not to wear and thus destroy. In other news, it's hot/windy/slightly chilly here all at the same time, which means you have to wear sunscreen with sweatshirts and you get to fly kites. Oh, and I'm a little sad that Margot hates swings. Who hates swings?

We've been in our house a month--and a couple of weeks ago we got served (!) with a bunch of legal papers that told us our house was being foreclosed on. Big thanks to my attorney dad who can speak in legal terms and hopefully will make our property manager feel bad that she mopped our dirty-a** floors with a sponge and how dare I complain that they are filthy and dirty! I don't know why lawyers get such a bad rap, it's real estate people who keep me in a constant state of eyes-rolled. Who cares that our house is getting foreclosed on--I want justice after moving into a "professionally cleaned" house that got the once over with a dust rag.

On my job

I really dislike full-time office jobs. It's the majority of work that I've done, it was the end game of my college degree, and I've only done it mostly because I have had to. I've always planned on being a mom staying at home with my kids. That's just me. All the dreams I have ever had (even the ones that are not mom related) do not have an 8:00 am start time.

But what am I kidding? These days my work days start more around seven. If it wasn't for my angel husband, it would be six. They end around 8:00 pm. I never imagined how people worked retail on their feet all day. But I'm on my feet all freaking day. Today I carried Theo and he's rather light and thin, but he did a dead weight hang and I thought I was going to collapse. I picked up a piece of poop off the ground yesterday that had a bite mark on it. It's my birthday this week and I really haven't cared much. Usually I make it into some sort of week long holiday, where all the planets orbit around me and I make grandiose desserts that usually don't taste as good as I hope. I spend too much money on myself and pretend that we make all birthdays this important.

I realized this week that Theo might be interested in this day, as he loves birthdays. So I told him my birthday was at the end of the week. He said, "My party? My Birthday?"

Theo, if I blow out candles on my cake it will be only because I want you to enjoy it. I finally realize now that I do have a full time job. One that always doesn't give me lunch hours, but I can wear whatever I want. And I might be exhausted and frustrated at times like any job, but I never went back to my office computer in the middle of the night just to look at its beautiful sleeping face. That computer didn't teach me how I could be a better person. It just made my eyes hurt. And yes, when I am studying a wet poop nugget, trying to figure out if the bite in question came from a single or multi-toothed person (answer: multi, and it was "yucky"), I wonder if I would like to instead hire a nanny and sit next a desk and a name plate all day.

But I never would do that, ever. I love my job--especially when I get to retell gross poop stories.

Margot 10 months

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Ever cautious on the sit down.

So I was in the midst of opening a Roth IRA account, but blanked on Jon's social--so here I am. My mind has been super fried the past two days, mommy life has been a little out of control without any breaks. I am constantly switching the letters of two word phrases, my shoulders are hunched around my ears, and I find it amazing that I got dressed this afternoon and went to the store. Theo might have thrown a couple of the things I needed out of my cart, but oh well. I forgot about 12 important things anyway so I'll be back.

But Margot, miss Margot. My itsy lady fell off the chart for height and down to 3% for weight (a little over 15 pounds), so we are in operation chub mode. I hope she's getting used to the taste of coconut oil and coconut cream. I'm not too worried as I think she is just a petite treat but I'm going to err on the side of baby rolls. I find myself amazed that Margot understands certain words and phrases, even though I'm sure it's developmentally appropriate. She makes the sign for milk, the cutest thing in the world, and waves her hands around when I say "all done?" I thought she was growing out of her clingy phase, but it seems she has entered a new, even more clingy one. She will smile and laugh at anyone around her--just don't try and hold her! Margot desperately loves to play peek-a-boo. She'll pull a blanket over her eyes or (my favorite) slap a hand over one eye. She also likes to make a wa-wa noise by rubbing her fist over her lips while making noise--she copies me when I flap my lips with my fingers. She loves books with pictures of real babies. She loves her water bottle, and tends to be selective or wary of new food. I gave her hair a little trim the other day to straighten up the crazy parts, but it can hold a hair clip just barely. She sleeps well all though the night, and takes two 1.5 hour naps a day.

She did not like her first experience in a park swing, and also hates baths outside of her baby tub. 

And a couple weeks ago she got her first tooth! Left bottom, pretty sure it happened while I was on
the phone after a burst of unexplained fussiness.

Breakin

Jon has always been after his family to go to Organ Stop Pizza, and they usually ignore him. We went finally, and had I known of the bubble filled, cat puppet dancing, muppet-esque show that was to come I would have gone five years ago. But maybe not back again? Might be a one time thing.

Eggs+ swimming

The final minutes of Theo's hair before it was to be "cleaned up" and barely trimmed by a certified hair stylist. Can't wait to see what six month's growth will look like with this one.

Paige is admiring Margot's socks-over-leggings look.

Jon is a gem. I know he looked at my receipt from Sephora but didn't say a word.

donuts+pjs. Yes, that is a maple buttermilk bar. Portland just gets better and better.

I was always excited for Jon to be done with school, but things like spring break and two week Christmas breaks that come along with it can really dull the pain. I was worried that spring breaks would be no longer, but hello! paid vacation. Much better. We first drove to Arizona to spend Easter with Jon's family and the cousins, which Theo loved of course. He loved finding eggs and checking the contents of each one. Some kids would feel bad and put their eggs in his basket--I say good for him! I made a four layer carrot cake that, for once, lived up to my expectations. Theo got in a few refresher swim lessons from his grandma, who is the best swim teacher around, and loved going all out on the diving board. I always spend a good amount of time grumbling about the heat and that sun thing, but I always enjoy breaking out my saltwaters a few months earlier than I am used to. Arizona also means catching up on my Bravo reality shows I miss so much (not the housewives ones, c'mon) and eating a lot of Cheez-its. Always great. Margot got more comfortable with Grandma than she has before--so much that Jon and I went out and after a scream filled bedtime, she promptly went back to being wary of even an arm shrug in her direction.

After carb loading, we all flew from there to Portland. I was itching to feel that constant rain drizzle and sweater requiring breezes. And well, everything, because I love Portland and feels like home to me. Most importantly, I spent quality time with wonderful adults and Theo got to play with friends in some of his old favorite spots. I also spent a lot of money overhauling my make up bag with friends that are close enough to tell me when a lipstick color is going to far into the matte-90s-goth realm. And also close enough to agree that my eyebrows were crazy and needed a lot of work--then proceeded to take matters into their own hands and fix it. After my transformation to a true lady, (Jon was taking classes throughout, unfortunately) we made room for our favorite doughnuts and reggie deluxe with egg over easy at Pine State, and a few others like "live" nachos and remembering how to bus our own tables after eating. We had the most generous and gracious hosts, and little Nellie put up with Theo's antics and human-bowling-using-an-exercise-ball game the best she possibly could, as she and Margot became unintentional bowling pins several times.

We flew back and drove almost immediately to Las Cruces, maybe regretting the mega travel day we made for ourselves, but I loved it anyway. Now I'm sitting amidst a crazy load of unpacking that I will likely put off for a few days. It's not fair since Jon had to go back to work today and see 20 patients, but I killed a roach this morning and am going grocery shopping later so...

Consquentail consquences of living in Truth or Consequences

These pictures are some of the last from our Truth or Consequences period of life. The view from our backyard, our now useless slingshot, Theo's bum. This last picture is from the street where we now live in Las Cruces (not our backyard view, but close) with the Organ Mountains behind. Adobe style everything.

Well, we don't live there anymore. Turns out small towns are that way for a reason. If they were easy to live in, everyone would be, thereby negating their small town status. Jon had an opportunity for a transfer that would enable him to commute from Las Cruces, and we took it. I always knew coming into this that living in a tiny town would test me and make me grow in a variety of ways. One thing I realized was that material things and convenience--your Targets, Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups, organic produce, a place to change your oil within 20 miles--don't really matter that much. With Amazon Prime, I could pretty much order anything I wanted at anytime. And maybe it would come on a Wednesday night at 9:30 pm, but it would get there--even if it was just a doughnut cutter. But for me, a slightly strange type of person who is very extroverted yet loves to stay at home and ignore people at times, I really missed people. Sometimes I didn't. I like things to be quiet and routine, and living in the middle of nowhere gave me that. But when I lived in a big city, I could channel my inner rural heart whenever I needed a break and then see people when I chose. I really missed the support system I didn't even realize I had once it was gone. So some days were a real challenge for me. It made me appreciate the great friends that I have in my life. It made me branch out into the internet and try to make new ones. Even if it was just me making comments on some popular instagrammer's post, pretending we were friends (ok, that sounds a little pathetic). But thank you internet friends! Thanks for calling me, real people friends! I really appreciated it. And if you were one of the special few to actually haul yourself to the edge of nowhere, you probably saved me from losing my marbles (Jon may argue that point, remembering times when I went a bit crazy). I changed my philosophy a bit on friend finding. It was difficult for me to hear friends in very populous places talking about how hard it was to find friends. I was so jealous of them at times--I thought they had it so good and they didn't even know it. I've said those things myself in the past--it is hard to find friends. But I've realized it's a lot like dating--it takes effort and trial and error. And it's often not too fun. I got set up on a blind date once that seemed perfect on paper and Facebook pictures, but then we met and we had nothing in common and then he wouldn't stop talking about Blink 182 side projects. I mean, you crash and burn sometimes. But eventually if in all that trying you find one person that really gets you--it's all worth it! So don't stop trying, great friends will emerge eventually. You may have a lot of friend-dates before you find that magic friend. And maybe I'll put that phrase on a poster with a kitten riding a unicorn over a rainbow. [end of subject]

There were of course some things we will never forget and loved about living in T or C. The beautiful desert vistas of Jon's dreams and fulfilling that life long ache of his heart that I hope has been completely satisfied. The interesting people we met, the fact that Jon loves his job and it fits him so well. I really loved experiencing a culture and climate that was completely foreign and different to me, as someone who grew up and has lived most of her life in the Northwest. It's very different, and I'm still getting used to it. But liking it. Except, it's hot already! The people we met in the branch at church were amazing. Everyone had such an interesting story, as to how they ended up there and why. I'll never forget hearing stories from an older woman who had sailed around the world with her family, visiting remote islands and talking about her church experience there (talk about perspective). We came away from the branch experience stronger church members. Branches require so much more effort and participation. If you're there, you really want to be there, doing your three callings and speaking multiple times in church. This past week in our new ward, I got lost in the huge building. It seemed so grand. I hope I don't take having one calling for granted again, or complain about things I have to do. However, things like teaching, bearing your testimony and speaking are much easier when you are doing it in front of 30 people instead of 300.

We like Las Cruces so far. It's a fairly big college town, home to NMSU, and has so many new Mexican restaurants to experience. There is a frozen custard place close by, at least two parks (covered!) within walking distance, things for Theo to do, 15 Mbps internet speeds instead of .5,  and most importantly, NO RATTLESNAKES. If you talked to me for any amount of time in the past 7 months I probably mentioned them. They are a cause of great fear and anxiety for me. At one point a bit ago I broke down in tears, telling Jon I just couldn't handle the upcoming snake season. Prayers are answered, folks.

I know I sound a bit dramatic, as we only lived there for seven months. But you can learn a lot in seven months, I've found. Two things are certain. The most important thing I have is my family, and they are with me always. And in small towns, nothing will be open when you want it to be.

THE END. 

Google image totally exceeded my expectations.

Margot 9 months

Every time I look at Margot's face it makes me so happy. It's hard for me to believe that she's so close to a year old--I feel like she's going to be a baby forever. She has become so wiggly and crawls everywhere in the house. She pulls up onto her knees and gets into a sitting position that way too. She loves bread and string cheese right now. She has also mastered the straw, which is exciting for me. She waves, and claps by slapping one hand on top of another. She loves to babble, and usually has a distinct "ma-ma-ma" for when she's hungry. She hasn't had her nine month appointment yet, but she is definitely a tiny thing--I recently measured her length at 25 inches, which is small for her age. I'm pretty sure she's under the 10th percentile for height and weight, but she looks well proportioned to me (with chunky thighs to boot). She's finally started sleeping through the night more regularly, which is amazing. Still has no teeth. Still a bit clingy, but getting better. A few people held her for a while at church last week. Maybe it was just me being extra clingy? Probably. Margot loves to move her arms to music, and squawk like a bird. We call her "Lady Bird" so much that Theo usually calls her that, which is pretty cute.

The sun will come out...and burn me

Some days we are the ones happily playing in bubbles, and some days we are getting water poured in our eyeballs.

I started my day by slipping in toddler barf at 12:00 am. I guess if I was being optimistic I should point out that I did not fall while I was holding my barfing child, just skidded on my heel crazily into the bathroom. I woke up at 5:00, fed Margot and barf #2 happened (Jon caught that one). Theo luckily felt better by morning but I spent most of the day limply washing barfy sheets and playing too many kid shows even though Theo was bouncing around like nothing happened. I got some disappointing news by phone, causing me to be weepy while reading nursery rhymes. Have you ever tried reading "The Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" half crying? It's pathetic.  Don't worry about me, it's not so bad, I was being dramatic and was going on little sleep, it happens. I had no dinner plans. Then I got a call to give a talk in church on Sunday. It's my second time speaking in 6 months. No ward has ever wanted to hear this much from me, ever. I think I'm just going to try to tell a good joke, since I always, always bomb my jokes in talks. The branch is small, it's a good time to improve my set.

I don't love crappy days, but at least tomorrow has a really good chance of being better than today.

And an aside, if anyone has tips for barf removal from a flat woven rug, let me know.

This kid. This boy! Who is this?

You know you only have about 5 pictures before this happens and the toddler is begging for the camera.

Theo changes faster than I can keep track (2 years, 8 months now). I am constantly amazed by everything he can do, wants to do, refuses to do. Right now he loves stories. He could read his favorite book (Richard Scarry's Cars, Trucks, and Things That Go; also RS's Day at the Fire Station) forever. He reads after he should be napping, and reads in the dark after he should be sleeping at night. The other day I looked in the playroom and he was silently looking through books. It was one of the greatest things I've seen him do. Theo loves create his own narratives with his various toys--talking to himself and describing what they are doing. I love hearing him imagine and create, and I also love how independent he is now. Something Jon and I do on the drive home from church is tell stories--things from childhood (usually traumatic ones, like when I knocked out my front teeth), retelling favorite books, or his most requested of the moment, "Margot born?" He loves that one. Theo loves singing Jingle Bells, three blind mice, and reciting nursery rhymes. He can throw some amazing tantrums, but those usually happen most when he is overtired. He hasn't had a biggie in a while. He loves Margot, but spends most of his time gathering any toy within her reach that he doesn't want her to touch (that's just about everything). He loves playing with his cars and trains most of all--doesn't care too much about art projects unless I prod him to do it.

He still takes some solid naps, probably because he has started waking up around or before 5:00 and coming into our room, refusing to sleep anymore. We got him a timer and hooked that up to a lamp, and when the light comes on, he can get up (5:50 right now). It's only been a few days, but he has taken to the idea more than I thought he would. Which is good because when 6:00 am feels like you are majorly sleeping in, something's got to change.

Theo has also reached a stage where he can ramble on long phone conversations, and remember and repeat everything you say. I officially have to watch it. Like when I say to him, "Here's some, but these are the crappy scissors," and he repeats, "Oh, the crappy scissors." I can't handle how cute he is when he says "Truth or Consequences." He loves his dad so much--he usually cries when he leaves in the morning, and ignores me when he's around. He's also obsessed with Cadbury eggs. But who isn't?

 

mini mugs

On the way to Marfa last week, we stopped in Hatch to get the kids some passports. Turns out T or C is appointment only and everyone in the town is getting a passport this next month. Here are their little pictures.  I love them--especially Theo's, he took it without me close and was being so shy.

After looking at these two pictures side by side, I realized my joke of Margot's turning into a sweet potato is not so much of a joke anymore. Girlfriend's got a full blown case of carotenemia. Otherwise known as, sweet potato/butternut squash poisoning, which is harmless but especially devastating for the particularly fair complexioned. I thought it only happened to moms who fed their kids gallons of carrot juice, but I have created an oompa loompa. A cute oompa loompa, but one nevertheless. I am starting to cut down on her vitamin A consumption, and we'll see how recovery goes. But, I think she's going to have great eye health. Or make really good candy, either one.

Marfa

Donald Judd (or Don, as we liked to call him) art installation. Do not touch. Or take pictures, as the Judd super fan said loudly as I took this picture.

At the beginning of our guided tour, some in the group commented in general on our kids' cuteness, how fun, etc. I would have loved to get their (new) opinions after the two hour tour was over.

Candy and Dad shoulder rides. That's how you get two toddlers though a huge space where they can touch nothing.

I'm so glad Theo had a friend to play with (and fight with over cars and legos too, of course. They're toddler boys!).

Prada, Marfa. An art installation 37 miles away from Marfa.

Real shoes (right only) and bags inside. Also, bullet holes.

This past weekend we took a road trip to meet the Boam family in Marfa, Texas. A place that is as small as its name is fun to say. Marfa is a really interesting place--basically what happens when people who are talented with money decide to make a tiny (tiny) town in west Texas a home for their art. If you build it, they will come--and they are hip artists, musicians, chefs and (ahem) tourists. There aren't a ton of artists, musicians, and chefs, but they are there in more abundance than say, Valentine, Texas. Or Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (although some people here would argue that point).

It wasn't until after we got home that Jon and I realized that this was our first trip with the two kids without any type of grandparent assistance. And while I loved our trip, especially the time spent with our friends, I think we all were tired and a bit overwhelmed from juggling the naps, night times, weird meals, and restlessness of two toddlers and a baby. Theo decided that this was the weekend to develop a cold and cough, and Margot had her first fever. She also refused all that gross store bought food I brought and subsisted on breast milk and Cheerios, exclusively. Central time did work in our favor, as Theo woke up every day around 5:00 am MST, and Margot usually had about an hour between 4-5 am that she preferred to be awake. Combine all that (the Boams were lucky that their cute little Henry just started crawling out of his crib, so they got to try and introduce a whole new sleep arrangement away from home) with art installations that MUST not be touched in any way, even though they look like boxes and tunnels, and the fact that most of Marfa is not kid friendly (a town full of hip kids and hip retirees=little patience for little children that scream a lot and hate restaurants), and we came away as parents with a lot more experience under our belts. Marfa is a small town to its core, with restaurants that open and close due to a whim, pizza places that run out of everything you could put on a pizza, and a Dairy Queen (it's only chain, I think) that does not know what a crunch cone is. Finding dinner was so difficult one night that the words "Sorry, we're out of baked potatoes," almost brought one in our party to tears. We also ran into the lady who was renting her house to us a few times. (If you want to get to know her too, you can read her newly published book.)

All the things that did not go according to plan just made this trip more of an adventure. I love telling a good story, and this weekend was a favorite just based on that alone. This blog post will get too long if I talk more about how a 10 pound attack dog drove me to jump on a picnic table, the beautiful stars at the observatory in one of the darkest night skies in the country, the epic grilled cheese Jon and I chose to eat based on how it combined all the grilled cheese options on the menu into one sandwich, the tiniest NPR station, how we saw a major star (maybe C or D list!) at a pizza place (the "inconceivable!" guy from Princess Bride), the amazing burritos made by a lady in the shed behind her house, and the hand stitched fabric wall hanging illustrating a nude beach in the house bathroom. I am so glad I have a poster from a show I did not attend to remember it all by. My favorite thing of all, though, was to sit in a living room with dear friends and laugh until my stomach ached. I would drive anywhere to do that.