Rhode Island Part I

So I have this best friend. And a year ago she decided to move to the other side of the country...that is, Rhode Island...which might as well have been a whole DIFFERENT country, because let's face it...it's farther away than both Mexico and Canada at this point. 

Yes. She's a crazy lunatic. I mean really though...who would move away from me?!

Lame joke.

Moving on.

When she did decide to take the job out there and then moved, she told me I HAD to come and visit her, which, at the time, seemed pretty much impossible because I had a young baby and no money...well, as it turns out, babies grow and money can be saved, so back in April we started scheming my trip to visit her this summer.

And...it was AMAZING.

I seriously missed that girl. And now that it's over, I'm really depressed that she's so freaking far away.

It was a short trip, Thursday morning through Sunday morning, but she made sure and jam-packed it full of things to do...we did so much sight-seeing and tourist-y things...I got a better tan there in 3 days than I have in Arizona for the past 3 months. But seriously, the weather was gorgeous, the surroundings were lovely (flowers spontaneously sprout!! And the trees...holy cow the trees are HUGE and GREEN, and they're not all EVERGREEN!) and my darling love, Danielle, was the best part. I loved every.single.thing.

On our way to Newport and over the bridges passing Jamestown...

I canNOT get over the houses there...I LOVE them. They're all HUGE, with usually 3 stories, which are then normally rented out by each level. They're wonderfully antique looking and colorful! But not like the ghetto colorful we have here--just amazing and colorful.

And then this was just funny: It looked like it was a church, but it was definitely in the middle of the street pretending like it was a normal house, haha! (And most of the churches, which are numerous, are big, stony churches with beautiful architechture...)

In Newport there is a Cliff Walk, which, obviously, is a walk on the cliffs over the ocean. I don't know what we were thinking (because it was a warm day and a long walk) but we didn't bring any water...dorks.

It was still beautiful anyway, of course...

Oh, and then opposite the ocean, there were GINORMOUS mansions.

And shrubbery cut-outs. Like this heart. I heart Danielle.

HAHAHAHA! But I really do...

Oh yes, and then we played secret garden in the shrubberies...

And then after a meal of the most amazing clams with chorizo (appetizer), fish n chips for me, and lobster mac n cheese for Danielle (all of which was SO GOOD) we headed to the beach...

Just so you know, I took 5 of these kinds of pictures and this is how they all turned out. Way to be.

This is funny because I made Danielle stop at 1:00 in the morning so I could take this picture...we were returning home from Harry Potter (SPEAKING OF WHICH, Rhode Island people are CRAZY. Not only do they SUCK at driving, but during the movie, right after the war at Hogwarts, while the camera is scanning over the wreckage, people in the theatre started SOBBING. Out loud. Not crying, or sniffling, outright s.o.b.b.i.n.g. And not just one person...multiple people. So instead of having a somber moment, we're all trying to stifle laughter...because WHO does THAT?!)

In those first 2 days Danielle took me all over Rhode Island...literally. I had been across the whole state in a matter of 2 hours, haha. We had lots of yummy food, she showed me all the cutest little places (my personal favorite being the Duck and Bunny, a cupacke cafe) and took me around to places she goes on a regular basis. It was absolutely dreamy.

Rhode Island Part II

This "Part II" is really just the last day I was there...I just took so many pictures that day I decided to make it it's own post. So there.

This is the front door to Danielle's abode...and her lovely garden (that she has never had to maintain...it just flourishes.)

She has lavendar growing in her front yard. And she didn't even know.

Oh, so I suppose you're all wanting to know what it was we did that day, that would consume a whole day...WELL FIRST of all...I slept in until 11am. And that never happens. I was shocked and pleased at the same time. AND after that we went out for breakfast at the Modern Diner and I had mascarpone-filled french toast, with homemade blueberry syrup...be jealous because it was amazing. AND THEN...we went back to the house to prepare to go...KAYAKING!!

Awww! Danielle being domestic in her apron making the bacon for our lunch!

Yes. That is a mini-cooper with 2 kayaks on top. Awesome.

I BELIEVE we went to Ninigret Pond...which is bascially the southern border of Rhode Island...

There were really shallow parts where you could see the fish and jellyfish and crabs...

Oh, and Robert decided he wanted to try out a paddleboard...he did really well!

AGAIN, Danielle! Haha!

We beached oursevles for lunch and so that we could take a look around and catch some stuff...

I'm holding a comb jellyfish...you can kind of see the shadow on my palm...

...there were hermit crabs EVERYWHERE.

Again, absolutely dreamy. I had so much fun.

4th of July

It's been a little crazy this summer, with vacations and training for work, so these pictures are actually back from our 4th of July getaway camping trip to Wood Canyon Lake...we went up for that weekend and spent Saturday night at the Taylor rodeo, per tradition, and had a blast...I didn't get any pictures of the rodeo unfortunately, but it was great.

Here's a little overview of how the weekend went:

Wyatt is ALWAYS in the kitchen, no matter where he goes...

Wyatt and Daddy riding up front...just a short trip down to the lake to go fishing!

...fishing and canoeing, that is...

Wyatt wasn't so excited to put the life jacket on...it was nap time.

 

Naptime, indeed...he fell asleep 10 minutes after we got in the canoe. It was a nice little ride anyway...probably because I didn't have to paddle!!

Group shot of the girls!! No hair or make-up done! Well...I guess that's just me.

Bright and early, eating a muffin...Wyatt's favorite pasttime. It was chocolate--can you tell?

 He and Lilly like to share:

Exploring the woods around us...with cousin Jacob. (PS, there were TONS of chipmunks around!!)

Taking a ride in the hammock...we later fell asleep together...and got sunburnt.

Another trip down the to lake and we saw 2 bald eagles! They were fishing too! And did a lot better than the boys did, haha...!

 

It was a really good trip...lots of relaxing and eating and POURING RAIN and thunder...

...a great escape...

{flyaways}

MIA much??

Yeah, that's me this past month.

Sorry...and hopefully you haven't noticed, haha ;)

So anyway, last night my family visited some old family friends, the Wilhelms...

Ladd caught a few doves (I don't know how) and brought them in to see if any of the kids wanted to let them go...

Wyatt was in love.

I promise he got a thourough washing of his hands and mouth...silly boy!

...in the act...

One day last week, I woke up to this weird "click...click...click"-ing noise.

And as I'm laying in bed, trying to wake up and process what I'm actually hearing, I notice Wyatt talking to himself...and then I hear his door shut.

I IMMEDIATELY jump out of bed, thinking he must have fell out of his crib, and wondering how I could have possibly missed his screaming cry fit...

...and as I open the door and look in, there he is--sitting in his changing table. What the...?? Yes, the stinker has learned to climb up on top and mess with the light switches (the clicking noise) and open and close the door...I don't know how he did it, so I set up the camera to catch him in the act...enjoy!!

(I just walked out of the room after trying to put him down for a nap...I love how he keeps looking at the door to make sure I'm not coming back...)

baw-berry.

What do you do with fresh strawberries, bought for an insanely good price?!

I make them into jam.

Ridiculously good jam.

Oh, and Wyatt calls them baw-berries.

another camping trip

 Memorial Day weekend is my family's annual camping trip to Canyon Point. This trip was really short due to the relentless wind that destroyed my parent's tent. It was depressing. But for the one day I was there, we tried to enjoy as much of the cold, mountain air as possible.

 The only pictures I got were from the hike we went on to see the sinkhole...on our way we stumbled across this little pond! You wouldn't have even known it was there unless you practically walked into it! It was covered on one side by a hill, and if you're looking for it from far away, it blends into the forest...

And, yes, the water was REALLY that green.

I was trying to get Lucy the puppy to come into the water...

 ...and it didn't really work out...

Here us pretty ladies are, no make-up, no hair done...

A view down into the sinkhole...

  

(Emma likes to make fun of how white I am...)

A view from inside the sinkhole, looking up. Ben is somewhere at the top there...

Sadly, even though it was a short trip, it wasn't all that much fun...the wind was so cold, and it made it impossible to enjoy anything. We couldn't play games or take a quiet nap (the tent was SO LOUD from the wind hitting it)...we were constantly have to tie something down or run to pick something up that had flown away. Sigh. Maybe next year will be better!!