In the middle of all that work busy-ness (business?) our BFFs came back to visit.  Hello Walkers!!!!



They are in the middle of another life upheaval, moving from Idaho to Oregon.  I am very sad that Colorado did not make the cut.  But it was so much fun to see them for a couple days. 

We ate out at some local favorites.  I cannot believe there is no barbeque in Pocatello!  We saw Moonrise Kingdom at my favorite theater (using VIP leather loveseats with complimentary popcorn and soda). I still love Wes Anderson, btw.   I got to play a couple rounds of trivia at our new haunt, Teller's Taproom, before bedtime. 

Miranda and I made not one, but TWO trips to Fancy Tiger.  Both trips were over two hours long.  It was heaven.  The first time I took photos of everything that I seriously considered buying.  Look how much money I saved! 


The second trip I spent $60 on luxury yarns.  I had worked long hours the day before, and long hours all week that prevented me from playing with my friends. My inner voice said "Treat yo self!" and so I did.  How I love Anzula and Madelinetosh yarn. 

Oh, and let me say thank you to 3G streaming Netflix on phones, that allow little girls to watch My Little Pony for an hour while their moms shop for crafts.


Sigh.  We really miss you guys.  I wish there were more lunches like this:

Maybe someday.  Good luck on your move!

I feel like I've been working non-stop for the last couple weeks.  My paychecks indicate that yeah, I pretty much have been working all the time.  When I'm home we scrounge up dinner, play with Jack, and complain about how hot it is.  Also, I knit a lot.  Oh, and I installed a new stereo in Ben's car, a late Father's Day gift.  Now I have bluetooth envy. 

Here's a plethora of Jack photos.  Not pictured, the snotty nose and coughs that have plagued him for the last three days.

Another busy busy day.  Today was shift 3 of 5 this week.  It was interesting because I had two apheresis treatments.  And a coworker did a third at another hospital!  We go weeks, and sometimes months without doing any, so this is very unusual.

Meanwhile, Ben captured this video.  We are so happy Jack is getting better at playing with other kids.  I took him to the Cherry Creek play place and he didn't hit a single kid the whole hour.  He even waited his turn to go up and down the slide.  Ben tells me these two did this cookie routine over and over.  Not just side-by-side playing either, I'd call this playing TOGETHER!

Amanda coordinated the whole family's calendars for a weekend in Grand Junction. It was much fun, as expected. Ben stayed home for some well-deserved bachelor time. I took Jack for his third consecutive week getting Grandparented ("spoiled").

Except for some carsickness from him on the way over, it was a great time. And now my car is fitted for such accidents should they happen again. Lots of pool and good food. I relaxed my carb counting. I paid for it in bloat afterwards, but the weight seems to be falling off as I go back to the diet. We also saw MIB III and yes, Brian, it was funny. It made the 90s feel like a long time ago. Boy, I'm getting old.

Pictures!

All packed up, right?  Here was my car-entertainment and snack set-up.

Jack in the back not feeling too hot.  Notice the outfit change. 

Made it to GJ!  Jack (now in outfit #4) feeling much better and adding a third puppy to his menagerie.  Also, this gorgeous scarf Mom knit using the yarn I spun for her Mother's Day gift.  Didn't it turn out fantastic?!


Loading up on berries for the weekend.  We had to make a second trip after he ate them all in 24 hours.  Mmm, baked brie by Amanda.  TOTALLY worth the crackers.

Playing in the backyard, including the pool!  We swam all three days that we were there.  Jack takes to the water like a fish.

Goofing off with the dogs and toddler early in the morning.

Dad makes biscuits and sausage gravy while Andy and Jenn serenade.

Main Street for shopping and to play in their splash pad.  Jack had fun, even though it was a little rough for him. 

Right in the head!


While we saw the movie Jack napped and made cookies.


More pool, this time with dogs!  Jack thought Lucy was HILARIOUS.


Bedtime with my mom, then up and at 'em the next morning.  Styrofoam coolers make super building blocks.

Love these glasses.  I regret that he's added them to his "gear," making getting out the door all the more complicated.  But they are so adorable!  Dad came out in a twin outfit.





Back home we had to go!  Jack nodded off here at the first stoplight on my way out of town.  On the right he is eating french fries, giving me surly looks.  Not happy to be in the car but abated with Finding Nemo on the Kindle hanging off the front seat and salty, crispy snacks we usually withhold.  I was just happy we didn't have to make any extra clean-up stops.

So happy to be home!  Jack whipped out Blues Clues (Boo Coo!  Or, "beaucoup" as we joked) with his two puppies.  We love visiting and can't wait to get in the pool again.

2 year visit shot quickly forgotten.

Before spinning I had to update my ravelry page.  I finished this scarf over the weekend.  The yarn was brought back from Germany by Mom, it's inspired by Van Gogh's La Cafe Terrace a Nuit.  It's hard to take photos with a big camera in one hand!

I called in to work at 8 am to see if my ICU treatment was a go.  It was not.  So I'm on day call (hellooo callback pay!).  Ben packed up Jack to Bailey.  His parents are staying in the condo so they will play with Jack while Ben does homework up there.  I'm left with a clean house and no agenda.  How nice! 

Jack's birthday was really really fun.  What wasn't pictured was all the times his grandparents took him out for walks to the park while Ben and I stayed home.  Also I went to Zumba.  It was so good.  It really feels good to exercise again.  It totally wipes me out, but not as bad as at first.  What DID wipe me out yesterday was eating a small steak salad at 11:30 for lunch, going to Zumba for an hour, then frosting Jack's cake.  Like usual I taste-tested the frosting and licked up any spills on my fingers.  I think I sent myself in a little hyperglycemic episode.  I laid down for a while and drank a lot of water.  When I felt a little better I came downstairs and Jack obliged me with cuddling and Yo Gabba Gabba. 

But I felt better by dinnertime and we had a tasty meal, followed by cake, ice cream, berries and cream.  Brian poked fun at my diet slice of cake.

One more day of Atkins to go.  Ben and I agree that although we indulged yesterday, we ate a LOT less than we normally would have.  No afternoon ice cream, no buns with our sausages, no lemonade, no doritos, no potato salad, no potato chips, and very small cake portions.  I went from an all time low (since 2007) of 155.5 pounds yesterday up to 157.5 today.  But Ben lost another pound over the same night.  And I'm the one who exercised.  Go figure.

Well, I'm gonna go set up my spinning machine and enjoy the quiet.

I think Jack must have had a splendid day.  I'm not feeling up to writing much, so here's a picture dump of a two year old's birthday.  (PS, Ben put some of his on Flickr, and you should watch the video of Jack finding presents here).