Nash Bash 2011, Pt. 1 -- In Which We Also See A Few Barretts

Happy Independence Day weekend, from all us weirdos...

But that's not why I'm writing today...I'm here to talk about our annual summer vacation to colorful Colorado! This was the first time in two years that my extended family (the Nashes) had all been together. Two new babies had been born since then--Aurora in January 2010, and her new cousin Caroline Nash, Ray & Adrienne's daughter (born on Christmas Eve, 2009):

As you can see, she is quite the adorable little girl, even when asleep. Caroline was very smiley & had a lot to say, but she was a little shy of the "pressing throng" of extended family. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get to snuggle with her as often as I liked; maybe next time! At any rate, she was still lots of fun to photograph.

We spent the first weekend just hanging out as a family. We all managed to fit into Grandma & Grandpa's house, and it was pretty snug. However, we ate barbecue, played lots of games and generally relaxed & joked around. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera for the first weekend, so you'll have to imagine these idyllic scenes in your mind.

 Our first big outing as a family was to the Denver Zoo; we all ate lunch together on the lawn before entering the zoo park. Here are a few of the highlights:

 Of course, Nate was willing & able to give "helicopter rides" to all the little grandkids...

Isn't my littlest daughter beautiful? She looks like a little doll in this picture!

There was a splash creek for little kids inside the Zoo, so of course Celeste had to try it out...

This is Lorelai, posing next to an eyelash viper, a snake she'd learned about in kindergarten a few months before. She was so proud for recognizing it! We really enjoyed the Tropical Discovery wing of the Zoo; it was probably Lorelai's favorite part, since she had read about many of the animals beforehand. Aah, applied learning!

Simon & Caroline (heck, everybody) loved the lizards!!

And here's the biggest of all...the Komodo dragon. I won't lie...these things scare me. I'm glad there was a bunch of Plexiglass between me and the giant lizard.

 
Our adventure had actually begun that morning. Our van wouldn't start when it was time to head to the zoo! Needless to say, this caused us some concern. We were able to jump-start it in time to go, but for days afterward our car hemmed and hawed quite a bit every time we tried to turn it on. We finally went & bought a new car battery, and that seemed to fix everything. We're grateful this mishap took place when we were already in Colorado; it was good to have family around to help!

We were also able to spend some time with the extended Barrett family while in Colorado. In fact, we even spent a morning at the Barrett family business...

Nathan's older brother Grant, and his wife Molly, own Abilene Awards, a trophy/engraving shop that's been in the family for more than 15 years. As you may have read about recently, Lorelai was on a soccer team this spring. Sadly, we missed her last two games of the season due to our vacation. However, we made up for this by providing trophies for all the players and coaches---at a very good rate, I might add. And best of all, our whole family was able to visit the trophy shop one morning and assemble the trophies ourselves!

First Nate inputted the team names into the engraving program in the computer...

Then we all started assembling the trophy pieces together.

...although I must confess, I am a bit of a fumble-fingers, so it took me a while.

Of course, the kids were goofing off with their cousins all through the shop while all this was going on.

Then we glued the plaques on each trophy, and lined them up to ship out that very day! Well, except Lorelai's...she got her trophy right away...

Well, we like our daughter better than the rest of the team...and our family is the owner of the trophy store, so...yeah, Lorelai gets the biggest trophy. We admit it. Anyway, thanks again, Grant & Molly and Abilene Awards, for your patience & help while we invaded your shop for a whole morning!

That same evening, we had a large BBQ at the Campbell's house (Nate's sister Kelli, her husband Taryn, and their 4 cute boys). The food was good, the company better, and the view was, as always, magnificent:

(That's their backyard. Yeah...the whole thing. I love visiting their house!)

Here's Nate with his wonderful dad & mom:

And here are two of Nate's brothers (that's Grant, the trophy shop owner, in the dominant position over youngest brother and former wrestler Evan), in their typical family reunion position.

 And after dinner, the girls relaxed...together...

It was wonderful to spend a relaxing evening in the beautiful Colorado mountains...thanks, Kelli & fam!

Up next: more summer vacation hijinks.

Our Family in Pictures

We're about to leave on vacation, but I just wanted to share one more quick blog post...our beautiful family portrait that was taken by our friend Margie (I mentioned her in this post). We had a lovely photo shoot in Madera Canyon (about half an hour from our neighborhood), and then had a nice picnic dinner together. We were excited to finally get a new family portrait--you know, one that actually included Aurora! Needless to say, we've proudly hung a print of this on the wall.

Here are a few more of our favorites:

Thanks so much, Margie--we are so happy with our pictures! I have to say that my family is very good-looking (and I managed to clean up okay for once :) ). Nate & I are coming up on our 10-year anniversary this December; this is a great way to see how far we've come.

Well, we're off to Colorado for our summer vacation this week...I'll hopefully post about it when we return!

Talents & Such

We haven't updated the blog in over a month, but that's because it's been springtime, when a young mom's fancy turns to HOLYCOW I AM SOO BUSY AARGH! Finally, though, school is finished and summer is here--and with it, a little more free time. Here's my proud kindergarten graduate, with her equally proud mama and kindergarten teacher:

Yes, she looks a little crazed. But happy! I can only guess at how much she'll wear me out this summer...

However, despite our busyness, we've been (mostly) enjoying ourselves. Many of the events on our calendar have been our various extracurricular activities. Nate's had a few including his work on the Town of Sahuarita's Planning Commission and his church calling as Elder's Quorum Secretary. I've had a few "extras" lately as well--I hosted a Pampered Chef party for the first time in Sahuarita, and I held the end-of-year recital for my four piano students.

Teaching piano is a little tricky with 3 young kids, but I've had a great time doing it, and I've really enjoyed working with the kids. I have definitely become a better teacher as the years have gone on, and I think in the long run, that will make me a better piano player as well. It's also made me weirdly possessive & proud of my students' accomplishments. A few weeks ago, the local intermediate school held a talent show, and my longest-tenured student performed one of her pieces. Even though my kids don't attend that school, I snuck into the audience just in time to watch my student's performance. I was so proud of her!

If I get that excited for the performance of my piano student, then you can believe I have been pretty invested in my own daughters' extracurricular activities this year. This is the first year we've really tried out any out-of-home activities for our kids (that weren't play-dates, that is). Lorelai participated in a "Kinder-Choir" in the fall & winter (see their bone-chilling Halloween song here), and this spring, she finally got her long-awaited chance to play soccer:

(ahem...yes, her shirt is a little big. Her uniform order was screwed up and so she had to wear one of the coach's shirts that day)

It has been interesting seeing Lorelai participate in sports for the first time. For a kid who loves running around as much as she does, she has a hard time keeping track of the ball and kicking it while in motion (to be fair, the same can be said for most of her team!). She really loved playing goalie, though, and she got the intense "bear stance" crouch down pat--not many goals got past her when she protected the net!

Okay, true--her team is made up of kids 6 & under, so it's not the most "organized" sport you'll see. And the first couple of games were really painful to watch (for me, anyway); their opponents scored many many goals, while Lorelai's "Team Narnia" never even made it to the other side of the field. However, it always made me smile at the end of each game when she came up to Nate & I and asked, "Did we win today?" I'm glad she's still having fun out there, even if she doesn't know the score (update: they did finally get a win, as well as a tie).

On the more feminine side of the spectrum, we have Celeste, who started her Creative Dance class in January. Long story short: she loves it, so much so that I'm probably signing her up again in the fall. It's a fun way for her to get some wiggles out, as well as sashaying, twirling, singing, and generally acting like a princess--which are all things Celeste really enjoys doing. Plus, it was all worth it for me to see her adorable costume for her spring recital, which took place over Memorial Day weekend:

Seriously...this is why all you parents put your kids in dance class, isn't it? The almost overwhelming cuteness? I just wanted to grab her & shower her with kisses when she flounced around in her little tutu!

Watching 3-year-olds do a coordinated dance is amusing, to say the least. Not too many smiles on their faces, just looks of vague concentration as they attempt (and mostly fail) to stay coordinated with their instructor and with each other. But it's all good (by which I mean cute); check out their take on "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (mine is the little spider on the left):

And then, to come full circle on this "developing our talents" theme--Lorelai asked me to start teaching her how to play the piano this summer! I know it doesn't always work out when a parent tries to teach their child something like this, but I so want to do this for her! I hope that, if we take our time, we can make beautiful music together:

I've been reminded of the many different activities in which my parents enrolled me when I was young (dance, soccer, viola, and finally piano). It will be a busy (but exciting) journey as I see my children develop their talents & abilities, and grow to reach their highest potential. I can't wait!

It's Easter, but it's still time for "Thanksgiving"

We don't have many hard-and-fast traditions associated with Easter. We don't usually have family & friends over (this year, we tried calling the in-laws, but they'd already made plans). We don't talk about the Easter Bunny at all. We don't buy many, if any, presents for the kids (I've never gotten the girls new spring dresses--it would sure be nice, but it isn't always in our budget).

We do, however, have an Easter egg hunt! Usually in the morning, when our kids are still in their PJs.

Celeste was the lucky girl who found the Tangled DVD--our only big "present" for the kids this year (well, that plus all the candy).

Aurora celebrated her first Easter egg hunt by "finding" 2 eggs (with Daddy's help), then sitting down & eating all the candy in said eggs while the older girls found all the rest. Maybe someday she'll learn that there are lots more eggs to find than just two or three; hopefully she'll get more candy that way!

We also hid a few eggs in the backyard...

Lorelai had issues finding a few. Can you see the egg in this picture? You'll probably spot it before she did... :)

Then it was time to feast on their treasures.

 There was one (icky) snag, however. Celeste was digging through her Easter bucket and told us there were "bugs" on the eggs. We looked inside, and sure enough...there were a few ants crawling around!! After frantically digging around for a few seconds, we found one plastic egg with like a dozen ants crawling on the surface. Without further ado, I opened the back door & chucked the egg out. When it hit the ground & broke open, dozens of ants sprayed out onto the patio and started crawling everywhere. GROSS!!! Moral of the story: don't hide Easter eggs outside...at least not overnight!





The rest of the day was fairly uneventful; we ate a Mediterranean-themed dinner (Crock-Pot lamb, couscous, pita bread, & raw vegetables). We like lamb at Easter; maybe because Christ was the Lamb of God? Because it's common fare for that part of the world? I'm not entirely sure.


Now, if I may wax somewhat spiritual...


We were able to get our family pictures taken on Good Friday. As is our family custom, we drove up Madera Canyon, a beautiful getaway from the usual desert landscapes. We took the pictures then had a picnic dinner...good times in a peaceful location. We'll share some of them on the blog later.

Our photographer is a wonderful, brave friend of mine with two lovely children...a friend whose husband passed away just under a year ago, after a yearlong bout with lymphoma (you can read more about it here and here). He was 30 years old; his children are now seven and four years old. It has (understandably) been a really tough year for their family.


In a similar vein, I received more bad news Sunday morning. A married couple who used to live in our ward (they were Lorelai & Celeste's nursery teachers) had a baby at the beginning of March--their first, a little girl. The baby had been diagnosed with heart problems and had open-heart surgery just days after she was born. Well, long story short, she took a turn for the worse and died pretty suddenly--early Easter Sunday morning. It was heartbreaking news; I know that I could barely stand it if any of my beautiful girls were to leave me.

Sometimes, when I see and hear of stories like this, it's normal to feel so powerless against death--and so confused as to why something like this had to happen. I'll freely admit to feeling that way many times. Then Easter comes along--and I'm reminded of why I don't need to feel powerless or confused:

It hurts so much to lose the ones you love, but that loss is not forever, thanks to Jesus Christ. It is so reassuring to know that I will see my loved ones again...and that our sorrow here is only a temporary, mortal sorrow. Christ has given me so much to be thankful for, but an eternal family is surely close to the top of that list. I can look at that family picture and project that happiness into eternity...wow, what a heartening thought!

In Primary yesterday, my photographer friend's 4-year-old son spoke to his classmates. He spoke on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and how because of it, he will be together with his daddy again. It was a beautiful moment, one that made my whole Easter.

It made me think of the things for which I am grateful: a loving, supportive husband; my three beautiful, healthy daughters; a lovely home in a lovely town; many friends far & wide who bring so many different joys; and, last but not least, my knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my compass, my rock, and my security blanket all in one. I am grateful for Easter; Christmas is really fun, and it's wonderful to acknowledge the birth of Christ, but in a way, Easter is more meaningful because it celebrates the mission  of Christ and the works of Christ. May we never forget them...and may they bring comfort and joy to everyone across the world.

Moving On Up Part 2: Adventures in "Pемонт"

"Pемонт" is a word that was on my mind a lot recently...and I'll tell you why. "Pемонт" (pronounced "ree-MONT") is a Russian word I heard a lot on my mission. Basically, the translation is "repairs" or "maintenance," but it's often used as a catch-all phrase to describe any housework. Painting a kitchen? You're doing "pемонт." Putting up curtains? Doing "pемонт." Mopping the floor? "Pемонт." Knocking out a wall to expand your living room? "Pемонт."

The week of March 26-31, 2011...was my family's Great Week O'Pемонт. We may not see its like again for some time...mostly because it left us all wiped out!!

And let me say, at the start, that we couldn't have accomplished everything without the extensive help of my mom & dad. My dad is quite the handyman, and has always been a "do-it-yourself" kind of guy. Even though he's slowed down and taken it a little easier in recent years, he still really enjoys rolling up his sleeves and throwing himself into a project. My mom helped with a lot of the pемонт, as well, but probably her biggest contribution was as a babysitter. It was very helpful (and refreshing!) to not have small children underfoot while working hard. Thanks again Mom & Dad...love you!

Now...let's take a look at the fruits of our labors!

The day after Mom & Dad arrived from Colorado, we headed up to Lowe's and bought a new kitchen sink to install. We spent the rest of the day pulling out the old sink and installing the new one. As you can imagine, lots of grunting, heavy lifting, screwing, and unscrewing were involved. Not to mention a good helping of plumber's putty and a trip or two to Ace Hardware to buy special tools.

Strictly speaking, this wasn't an essential upgrade, but it was deeply desired by both Nate & I. The old sink (not pictured because it's gathering dust in our garage) was probably the original cheapskate sink installed by the builder (or, worse yet, the bank, when this house was in foreclosure). It was way too shallow for a family of five (seriously, the thing was barely six inches deep). The one pictured here is about 8 inches deep, and it makes a huge difference. The faucet is new as well (it was installed by Nate's parents shortly before we moved in--again, the original faucet was super cheap, little more than a pipe sticking up out of the sink). So, it's not the fanciest sink ever, but it's attractive & functional, and will last us for many years (we hope!).

Next on the agenda was painting our front room. Our whole house is painted white right now; we are planning on doing the rest one room at a time. We wanted to do the front room first, since it is the room the "public" will see the most often (as you can see, it's where the piano is located, and where I hold my lessons).

First, we assembled the gear...

Then we taped the walls & baseboards...

Then, it was painting time! A good friend watched the kids, and my parents & I got it done in just over 2 hours:

We are pretty happy with the results! The tan color is actually a little lighter than what we had expected; I'm glad we went with the darkest hue available on our color swatch! It really makes the whole room look a little warmer & classier (plus, it really accentuates the colors in both the rug and the piano).

Next was a project we hadn't planned on doing...but it ended up becoming the biggest project of the week! I am referring, of course to the Great Pruning. The mesquite tree in our front yard is a pretty impressive specimen (a.k.a., a big freakin' tree). I'm happy for the shade, but have felt ever since we moved in that it was a little...ahem, out of control. It has about ten thousand branches, and they all criss-cross each other and sprawl out everywhere--up to and including our neighbor's roof!

My dad took a look at the tree and agreed with me. In fact, he said, it looked like a significant portion of those tangled branches were dead! This tree was long overdue for a pruning. Good thing he brought along his electric saw:

Oh, yeah, tree...it's on.

At first, it was just a few stray branches here & there...

But it got more & more out of hand, until we'd shorn off fully half the tree's branches. Needless to say, this took hours of sawing, climbing, stacking, and Grandma Nash worrying (that her husband would fall or that someone would be injured by a falling branch, take your pick). Nate came home from work towards the end of this obsessive task, and this was the sight that greeted him:

As you can imagine, he was a little shocked, and irritated that we hadn't consulted him before beginning to prune. Oh well, you know what they say...it's better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that. Luckily, this horrible mess didn't stick around long. It took two more days, about 10 hours more work, and an extra set of pruning shears, and LOTS of industrial-strength trash bags:

Afterwards, my arms were very sore and covered with scratches, but at least our yard was clean. And the tree...well, it's still a big freakin' tree, but at least it has a little breathing room now in its upper branches. We also turned on the front-yard irrigation, so the tree could start recovering from its extensive makeover (we'd turned it off during that big freeze back in February). I'll try & post more pictures after it's in full bloom.

In other tree-related news, we bought some all-new trees for our backyard. At first, I'd wanted to buy a citrus tree or two (I've always had a fantasy of plucking oranges & grapefruits from my own backyard for breakfast!), but cooler heads (Nate's) prevailed, and we settled for two palo verde trees--specifically, the Desert Museum hybrid breed with no thorns--yay!

Why palo verdes, you ask? Well, for one thing, we need shade in our south-facing backyard, and we need it soon! Palo verdes grow fast & they thrive in hot, dry climates like ours. Their hardiness will also come in handy since I am a confirmed "black-thumb" who can't keep plants alive very well. I figure that if I can kill a palo verde tree in Arizona, then I'm just going to have to throw my hands up and build a bunch of awnings for shade.

Luckily, there were two spaces ready-landscaped for trees. We just had to dig out the hole:

Then Nathan & my dad removed the trees from their containers & gently set them inside the holes, adding some mulch and additional soil to retain moisture in the surrounding earth:

...And voila!! They're ready to start growing! (As long as I water them regularly for the next several weeks). As of this writing, both trees had already put forth some additional leaves, and even produced the bright yellow flowers that are common to palo verdes in spring. I'll take that as progress!

There was one last major purchase:

Some bar stools for our kitchen counter! I grew up with bar stools at my parents' house, and it was a fun way to bond with my mom or dad while they worked in the kitchen--and even lend them a hand once in a while. The girls love them, and they've already had just about all their meals at the counter since we got the stools! Lorelai often does her homework at the counter now, as well. These were a little fancier than we'd intended to get, but we loved them! Luckily, our local Fry's store had a special clearance sale on the chairs; we got 4 of them for just $100!

So yeah...we're pleased. This house is starting to feel like "ours" at last! Too bad we're too tired to appreciate it sometimes...