dripping with passion

it’s always kind of a fun game for us to figure out the best way to get to the usa and back when we head across the pond. we usually have a few stops around different states and want to use airline miles where we can. this time it turned out that the cheapest way home to london was through chicago – with a twelve hour layover. i haven’t spent much time in chitown, but i have this sort of strange fascination/love for that city – so i was pumped about the prospect of spending a day there! we thought we might as well check the cubs schedule to see if the world champs happened to be playing at wrigley field that day, and during the day (not the evening). we lucked out – there was a home game versus a big rival (the st. louis cardinals) at 3pm – absolutely perfect timing for us to go! once we saw that we got so excited scheming up a day of adventures in chicago en route to london. we figured we could take the train from midway airport to millennium park to hang out a bit at the bean/

it’s been my happy place my whole life – but it’s even happier when shared with my baby! we had a fantastic week at the lake this summer. my sister shawni and her family did an awesome job organizing the reunion; it was wonderful to be with beloved family members; there was sunshine, sunsets, amazing food, lots of cookies, boating and tennis and games. click through to see a buuuunch of photos of bear lake 2017! {apologies if you read my sister shawni’s blog and you’ve seen a lot of these pictures already! i also just realized that we used the same “two people fell in love” cheesy line, haha!}

i’m still wrapping my head around the fact that moses has turned one ! every once in a while, ian and i look back at pictures of our baby when he was a newborn and we kind of freak out. he was so tiny! and now he’s so big! it’s crazy how time keeps moving and he keeps growing – and we do too. there’s no way to adequately express what a gift moses is. we love and adore him more than we ever thought possible. today i wanted to share some family pictures my sisters snapped of us at bear lake, and some tidbits about moses at twelve months old. our boy is so much fun and i wish i could bottle him up just as he is right now – so i guess this is my attempt to do a little bit of that :) ********************************************************** moses has continued to be such a happy and friendly baby. he loves interacting with any other humans (but especially little ones) and is constantly charming and making friends with strangers. he’s only had a teeny tiny bit of clinginess to

one. my family has been spending chunks of summertime at bear lake since my parents honeymooned there forty eight years ago. our experiences there have definitely evolved over time as the family has grown, but every one of my parents’ children, children-in-law, and grandchildren have gathered at this pretty mountain lake every single july (with just a very few exceptions some years – mostly due to church missions). over the last couple of decades, we’ve called the time when we are all together at bear lake our eyrealm reunion , which typically lasts four and a half days. throughout the years we’ve figured out different ways to make the logistics of this large gathering work. and we all really enjoy being together at bear lake – yes, even the in-laws :) of course some people like certain aspects of the lake and of our reunion more than others, but generally we all have a pretty awesome time. i want to share a few of my favourite moments from the week i spent this month at bear lake

    9 july was a special day that marked one year with our little moses! we were lucky to celebrate with family – grandma, grandpa, uncle brig, aunt luci, and cousin sophia. it was incredibly tender to think back on the three hundred and sixty five days since moses thames arrived earthside. in private, i experienced several beautiful, teary moments of overwhelming gratitude, love and joy. and all together, we partied! to be frank, moses’s first birthday went about the same as his actual birth day one year previous – nothing quite went as planned/envisioned – haha! poor little mo – usually bursing with smiles and giggles and glee - was under the weather and just not himself. we ended up enjoying a special birthday breakfast and cake and ice cream without moses because he was grumpy and had gone to sleep. we were sad for moses that he couldn’t delight as much in things that usually bring him lots of delight. but we showered him in love and affection, and i like to think he felt our