Little Tators

My potato plants have been looking less then happy this week.  Too much water?  Too much sun?  Too much smoke from all the wildfires we've been having?  I decided to investigate with Dax.  After some unplanned digging we decided to pull them a little early for harvest this year. 

Not a bad bounty but I'm still disappointed they didn't have more time to grow.  Maybe next year I will have more time to focus on the garden.  If not I see a gigantic sandbox in Dax's future. 

4 Legs

When I think of the number 4 in design, I think of 4 legs to a chair.  They are needed to support the framework above.  To hold together the structure, and to provide a base for weight to be bared.

In our 4 years of marriage Zach and I have built this framework of support, structure, and base.  We help each other carry the load when one of us is feeling over burdened.  We find ways to have balance in life with family, work and play. We support each other to carry on with our ambitions, whether it's skiing, traveling, or gardening.  And hopefully our 4 strong legs will provide a foundation that can spill over into our son's life to help him grow and prosper.

Happy 4th Anniversary Zach! 
I can't thank you enough for being such an outstanding partner in my life.  You push me to not give up, to see things in a new light, and remind me to laugh when I get too serious.  I love you.

The Cougar

Excited for a family camping trip this weekend Nick, Jean, Kat, Zach, Dax, and I headed North to Alturas Lake.  Five dogs, three mountain bikes, boat, and camping gear in tow we felt unstoppable for the weekend activities.  The first night quickly changed our minds.

The roar started innocently enough as we felt these cries where normal in the wild.  But after the third wake-up call at midnight Zach and I started to loose our collected parenting routine and felt confused, delirious, and desperate.  We only hoped other campers thought our child's crying was a cougar and not the freaked out 15 month old boy in our tent.  Rocking, shushing, singing, sleeping in our bags, more clothes, different hat, teddy bear, and a clean diaper didn't do it.  We couldn't calm the cougar.  In tears I begged to go home.  Zach in frustration yelled to keep it together when it was clearly too late.  Our camping cool was blown.

Not until Papa Nick showed up in his down coat, beanie, head lamp, and underwear did our little cougar's calls quite.  A midnight walk to look at the moon and stars calmed him before we could feed him a bottle of warm milk back to bed.  Alas, 4am came quickly and before we knew it the cougar was up again in a fit.  This time Zach took Dax over to Nick & Jeans tent where he quickly fell asleep once he was snuggled warm.

The morning after the cougar attack.  Milk from the bottle makes sense.

I felt like a failure as a parent when I realized our cougar was cold and kept waking up, then frightened, and frustrated from lack of sleep.  Surely he would be mad when he came around the next morning.  As if nothing happened he bounded out of Papa and Jeans tent and looked happy to see his bewildered parents sucking down coffee.  He darted to his toys and carried on in the dirt like the happy little toddler we love him to be.

Luckily, that next day made up for the nights events with a great mountain bike ride and leisure time by the lake.  But the camping crew was clearly defeated and we made a unanimous decision to head back to town that night.

Happy cougar

Lesson learned:  If the cougar is happy so is everyone else.

89 And Looking Fine

My Nana turns 89 on Tuesday so we headed down to the Bay Area to celebrate with family over the weekend.  We had a great time catching up with cousins, sisters, dads, uncles, aunts, and Nana of course!

Erin and Nana

We managed a very QUICK trip to San Francisco to stop by the beach, drive thru the city to see some sights, and buy Ali a coffee after her work day.  Love that city by the Bay and only wish we could have stayed longer.

Ocean Beach, sweatshirt usually required.

At the Ferry Building with Ali

Dinner later with the family held the first of many rumpus parades for the kids that weekend.

Blonde cutie Liam.

The next day we spent at a beautiful park in Los Altos taking pictures, and playing games with all the kids.  There are 9 (soon to be 10 with the Kosach addition) great-grandkids that Nana can take credit for and every one was as cute as a button.

Nana and her brood

That night we headed to dinner at Bucca di Beppo and had all the traditional Italian treats.  My cousins Matt and Buffy put together a wonderful slide show of Nana in her early years.  I have to say at 89 she is still a knock out :)

Happy Birthday Nana!  We love you :)