5/6

Saturday morning Jason took me to the airport. It was my fifth vacation in just six weekends. In six Sundays, I only went to my Ward twice. I love to travel, but having 3 (2 out of state, one out of town) weddings and 2 reunions within six weeks might have made me a little bit crazy. Of course that didn't keep me from having a great time on this last one.

This weekend, it was for Erin's wedding in Lake Tahoe. I met Erin at ASU and then we worked together until I had Clara. Originally Jason and I were going to go (without Clara) and spend a few extra days up there, but we decided it wasn't going to work out. Instead, Karen and I went for just two days. I used to travel a lot for work with Karen, and that was fun. So traveling with her just for fun, no work involved, had to be fun.

We flew into Reno just before Noon, got our awesome (Chevy Aveo) rental car and headed to Tahoma, the tiny little town we were staying in (West Shore of Lake Tahoe). We knew it was going to be a fun weekend when we saw what our rental car looked like. We pretty much felt like we were in Europe.
That's about as compact as a 4-door can get without getting smooshed.
On our way, we stopped in Truckee to have lunch, take random pictures of random objects and look in the little shops. And of course we had to have treats. I wanted cookies and gelato (since I've never had it). So we had both.Then we headed to where we were staying: The Tahoma Meadows B&B. They only had one of their kitchen cottages available, but offered to still feed us breakfast at no cost. It was right across from the lake and only a few miles from the wedding. Our cottage was itty bitty and VERY old. It wasn't "nice" but I like old things, so I thought it was cool. And they left Karen a giant (nasty) stuffed fish, so she thought it was cool too. And we mustn't forget the mirror. It was a "funny" mirror. Standing in the middle, we were about 6 inches narrower. After we rested a bit and got settled in, we went to Homewood where Erin and Jason and their families were to join them at the wedding dinner. We got to visit with Erin, laugh our heads off and enjoy her dad's cooking (he's a marvelous cook). Then Karen and I just sat, visited and tried to take pictures of the pure beauty surrounding us that we enjoyed.
I couldn't help but take the picture of the flock of geese. Especially after Karen said, "Look, it's Clara."

Our last picture with the unmarried woman.
What we looked at while we ate. Last but not least, the GIANT chess board in the Villa. I want one of these (and I also wouldn't mind the Villa it was in either: big, gorgeous and on the lake).
After things wound down, we said our goodbyes and went back to our cottage. We both were exhausted so we painted our toenails and went to bed. The next morning we had a hearty breakfast. Well, I did, Karen isn't much of a breakfast person so I often feel piggish around her. Notice the contrasting amounts of food on our plates...My view during breakfast: yup, that's the lake out the window.I know, I'm not looking in this picture, but the one with me looking is worse. :)This is the office. Notice how short the door is?I think I read these buildings are from the 1920's. And you can tell. I would LOVE to restore a house like this. But really, how many houses in Arizona date back that far? Not many. Too bad, so sad.

We went back and got ready for the wedding (more to come later). After which we headed back to the airport. The groom's brother got a ride with us and I'm pretty sure he thought we were crazy. Especially when we were taking pictures of ourselves at the slot machines in the airport. I'm not exactly sure why we thought it was so funny but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that neither one of us have ever gambled. Even in the sky on the plane, we still had beautiful views.

As we started landing and I was bracing myself for it (we were almost on the runway), I noticed we were going up again. The high altitude makes me dizzy so I asked Karen and sure enough, we were headed back up into the sky. It would have been nice for the pilot to let us know what was going on, which he did about ten minutes later. Another plane almost landed on us, so we had to leave and made a GIANT circle and then land.

It was so fun seeing Clara and Jason again. It was the first time I have left Clara overnight, which I assumed would just be like me going out at night and seeing her in the morning. But when I saw her she looked SO big and I felt like it had been a week since I'd seen her. And my goodness, I'm pretty sure she got several shades cuter while I was gone as well.

I think I've sworn off traveling for at least a month. :) It will be nice to have a few weekends to get caught up on laundry, work, life and lazy days with Jason and Clara.

PS SWA rocks. Why you ask? I'll tell you... They are almost always cheaper, no extra fees, they have the shortest and quickest moving lines, their flight attendants are HILARIOUS, you can check in online (waiting in lines to board doesn't bother me) and they still serve drinks and snacks (a breakfast bar on our flight over and crackers and peanuts on the way back).

Sweet Nothings

Dear Jason,

I am hoping absence makes your heart grow fonder.
Love, Me

****************************************************************************

Dear Clara,

Try not to be too silly while I'm gone. I already miss you.
Love, Mom

****************************************************************************

Dear House,

Please begin and remain in self-clean mode until I return. Sorry to leave you such a mess, but I have hope that you will be clean upon my return.

Regards, Anna

Clean Out the Refrigerator (Brain) Night

Thoughts
[:] I get a magazine from ASU every month and I always read the ASU Alumni wedding and birth announcements. I laugh that the ones getting married graduated in 2000 and the ones having kids graduated in the 90's. We are way ahead of the game according to that!
[:] Politics are so draining. We voted on Tuesday and I was the 44th and Jason the 45th to turn in ballots and we were there at like 6:45pm. That is pathetic. I know it was just the primaries and Mesa really didn't have much on the ballot that would make a difference. But still, we need to do our part, even if that just means standing up for what we know is true. I could spend forever writing how I feel, but Kathryn already did so here. I agree with everything she's written and it's very well done, especially on the touchy topics. So why waste time making the same points if it won't sound as good anyway?
[:] I am really getting tired of excuses. The other day I heard that they are linking men cheating on their spouse to a gene. I'm sorry people, gene or no gene, it's not okay and there's no excuse.


Conversations
Jason: Hi Honey, how's your day been?
Anna: I've basically held a whiny baby all day. How's yours?
Jason: Pretty much the same.

Jason: I was thinking I might go fishing again tonight.
Anna: ...
Jason: Do you want to come?
Anna: I'm leaving for a weekend and you seriously want to go fishing instead of hang out?
Jason: That's why I want you to come.
Anna: I just heard: "I want to go fishing tonight but I know you'd get mad since you're going out of town so I decided to invite you and Clara to come."
Jason: That's not what I said.
Anna: That's what I heard.

Blessings
[:] On Tuesday I was worn out from trying to take care of Clara and kept hoping food would magically appear on my front door so I wouldn't have to fix dinner. If not that, I figured we could splurge (ha ha) and get pizza. Instead, Angela and Clint had us over for pizza. I didn't even have to invite myself over. Close enough to food magically appearing!
[:] A fun package came in the mail for Clara from a friend. I love how little things make the difference in life. It was a lovely day.
[:] Jason has been super busy at work. We miss him (Clara didn't get to see him Wednesday or Thursday) but this will help out.

Clara
[:] I had an appointment with the Doc this morning. Before I talked to Deb and she told me what her son had one time... so I looked it (herpes gingivostomatitis) up and found this description: The more severe cases have ulcers and erosions in the mouth extending from the lips, along the tongue and cheeks, to the back of the throat. The gums are usually swollen and reddened and bleed easily. These children often have a high fever (101-104 degrees Fahrenheit, 38.3 -40 degrees Celsius), intense pain in the mouth, and trouble swallowing. They are very irritable by day and restless at night. Poor appetite, headache, and foul breath are common complaints. Lymph nodes (glands) in the neck may be swollen and tender. I was certain this was what she had. So I cancelled the appointment knowing the only thing they could do really would be give her higher concentrations of pain meds. So thanks to Deb, I saved a trip to the Dr.

Clara didn't have a fever at all today (first time in a week). Her fever blisters are scabbing over, but she picks them off. She picks until they bleed then shows me her bloody fingers, very proud of her accomplishment. She is acting a little rotten, but not horrible. She still isn't eating much, but eats better if I cut the food into bite-size pieces. The best thing? She has been in bed for about two hours and still hasn't woken up once. It's the first time since she got her sores.
[:] If I think Clara wants another story or song at bedtime, I will hold up one finger and say "One more and then you're going to bed, okay?" She always nods okay. Most of the time it's okay, too. A little bit ago, she decided to beat me to it. Now when she wants one more of something, she holds up her little pointer finger. She is always thrilled when I ask, "One more?"
[:] This morning Clara kept pointing the Corn Flakes... It didn't take me long to realize she wanted them because she thought they came with the berries pictured on the outside.
[:] We had cinnamon and sugar (yum) toast for breakfast. Clara kept trying to just eat the sugar off the edges of the plate. I said "Eat your bread or I'll take the plate away." And to that my lovely little daughter picked up the bread, and dragged it through the sugar.

Pictures
CLUE: Clara with the wire whisk behind the curtain
Hmmmm
Sweaty head
I didn't help her do this
I uploaded the wrong picture and am too tired to fix it. Besides, sideways or not, Clara is still cute.
Scorpion sting? While Clara and I were saying prayers, I felt this sharp stinging on my arm. My eyes shot open and I saw Clara's little finger right by it. Little turkey pinched the inside of my arm and I totally thought it was a scorpion at first. I think sometimes she feels soft skin and the temptation is too great. We went fishing near Butcher Jones this evening with friends Trent, Lindsay and Dan. It was a little (really) hot, but there was a dock we sat on so it wasn't too bad. I got bit a bunch by mosquitoes, but that's life in my family. Mosquitoes love us. Trent and Dan both caught little blue gills. Jason caught a small bass. They were all returned to their little lake homes. It wasn't my idea of a romantic evening spent alone with Jason before I go out of town. But as I've said before, someday he'll love me like I love him.

Cute family of three. Ha ha.
My view
Clara was playing with this rubbery lure (hook free) and threw it up in the air and turned around over and over looking for it. See her hand, Where did it go? I laughed, took some pictures then took it off her shoulder and gave it back.

Clara looks happy. Her idea of a fun family evening: being forced to sit for two hours.
Goodnight moon, goodnight lake.
And goodnight tarantula that Dan saved us from on the trail back to the car.
PS Dan rode in the back of Trent's Yukon without a seatbelt... and walked first on the trail (both times) to be the rattlesnake bait. He kept saying: I will do it since I don't have a wife or kids. Ha ha.

I'll Love You Forever, I'll Like You For Always

Dear Clara,

In case you are wondering...

I still love you when you wake up every 30-60 minutes until 2am and then wake up permanently at 6:30am.

I still love you when your breath smells like rotten fish or a poopy diaper.

I still love you when you only take one hour naps because your fever breaks and you wake up drenched (and I mean drenched) in sweat.

I still love you when you whine and screech over everything.

I still love you when your bottom lip has been replaced with fever blisters and is three times its normal size. (Yes, I even still love you when you pick your blisters until they bleed and then proudly show me your red fingers).

I still love you when you lay on me half the day and occasionally doze off on my chest.

I still love you when you won't eat hardly anything. And half of what you do eat hurts your mouth so you scream in pain.

I still love you when your gums are all swollen and bleed every time I try to get the toothbrush by them (trust me, I don't wonder why your breath smells like it does).

I still love you when your whining frustrates me so much I clap so I don't have to yell.

I still love you when I lose my patience and I do yell out of frustration.

I still love you when you yell at me.

I still love you when you say "no!" in a pouty, whiny voice. All day long.

I still love you when you beg me to hold you all day long.

I still love you when you tell me you want something then cry when I give it to you.

I still love you when you are entirely too emotional.

Hopefully you get better soon my sweet little baby.

Love, Mom

(And to top it off, a few of her molars are coming in and she got a big pimple on her chin. Waaah!)

Let's Pretend the Ground is Water...

I believe it is far, far away, near where the ROUS's from Princess Bride reside, where "Creatures" originated. There are a lot of creatures, but Creatures are different. Shortly after we moved into our house, Jason and I found a few Creatures. They were rather small and had the look and movements of a scorpion, but no tail and the pinchers were very near their mouth. We described them as a cross between a spider and a scorpion.

One night, when I was out of town, Jason, Genny and Kimball found a BIG Creature in our backyard. It's dead, curled-up spider looking body was a few inches long. We had no clue what they were, so we started referring to them, ever so affectionately, as Creatures.

One night Jason was on the porch grilling and saw a huge one. I saw him out the window swinging the grill scraper violently. But they are the fastest things I've ever seen. So it got away.

Another night Jason saw one in the street (I can't figure out if he always sees them because his eyesight is so much better than mine or if it's because he HATES spiders and has a paranoid eye for them). We could never catch or kill the big ones because they are too fast.

We were explaining to Jason's friend and his girlfriend about them and she took our computer (we'd tried to find them on the Internet and couldn't), looked up a few things (she happened to know about this museum and figured it might help) and ended up here. She'd solved the mystery. Creatures are Sun Spiders (they are essentially tailless scorpions). But Creature sounds better, so we still call them that. After a little more research, we discovered they are pretty much harmless to humans and actually beneficial to have around.

Boring.

Until last night.

Genny dropped something off and we were visiting by the door. There was a small frog by the giant rocket on my doorstep (don't ask) so we had our eye on it. It turned around, so it was now facing the door and I didn't want it to think he could invite himself in like the toad had. We continued to visit, making sure the frog didn't get any closer. Then Genny said something, I think it was, "Watch out!" so looking in the direction she was pointing, I saw a Creature at my feet, facing me (in the house).

Neither of us had shoes on (not like I'd be brave enough to step on it if I did) so I did what anyone would do. I ran, Genny ahead of me, straight out the door, screaming. I didn't care if the frog jumped in the house, I just didn't want that thing near me. The only bad part about running was we didn't see where the Creature ran to. Did he (reiteration: icky things are always male, ha ha) continue on his path and leave or did he turn around and seek refuge in my house? We sat at the end of the walkway for a bit conjuring up a plan. We decided to run back in, shut the door and look around. If we couldn't find it, we'd safely assume it was outside.

We made it safely in the house without the frog (he just sat, content, at the base of the rocket). I told Genny I needed to give Jason some assurance that the Creature wasn't in the house. She said it was headed out so we agreed it probably went out. She advised me not to tell him at all when I told her he'd be up for hours with a flashlight scouring our entire house.

When Jason came home (he worked late), I told him what happened. He was instantly agitated (he really does not like spiders). I reassured him it was headed out and after all, they are nocturnal so I was sure it preferred to go into the darkness and not stay in the light. My arguments were convincing. Right? Hence my shock to hear that he was not convinced. I knew he would spend too much time searching for it so I kept trying to convince him it wasn't a big deal and even if it was inside (which I was pretty sure it wasn't) it wasn't going to hurt us. He said something about it sucking Clara's blood. And then...

Jason: It didn't go outside, it's right there (Pointing to the base of the couch, um, the one I was sitting on).
Anna: Are you kidding me?
Jason: No, I'm serious. (Note: spiders are no laughing matter to Jason... which is why he was not pleased with me taking all of these pictures)

And that is when the fun (for me) began. I climbed up on the counter and made Jason give me my camera so I could document (much to his enjoyment). Then Jason spent several minutes determining the best way to execute his worst enemy (of the day) while gathering his potential weapons (including his bat, two fly swatters and a ball).We decided the broom was our best bet and Jason decided he might hate the camera as much as he hated the Creature (see img 1). I don't know if Jason can get mad at me... Even here he looks so sweet trying to glare at his wife, sitting on the high counter telling him to smile at the camera. The first swing (see img 2) missed and we weren't sure where it went (or how he missed, check out the determination on his face!). I became the scout and when I saw it just sitting on the inside of the arm of the couch by my computer, I started screaming and ran and jumped on a chair.

That's when I felt like two little kids, playing the game where the floor is water and you can't touch it. I hopped from chair to chair to couch to watch our fun come to an end. After a little more contemplation, Jason smashed the Creature between the couch cushion and the arm then onto the floor (see img 3) and then smashed it repeatedly during the next 30 minutes.
Even after we knew two of it's legs had been severed, he still kept hitting it.

He put it in a bag... and then smashed it some more.
And then he put the bag in another plastic container. Just in case. Just in case it came alive, shoved it's guts back inside its body, attached it's two legs and ate out of the plastic bag.

A kiss for saving the day (someday, when I'm lucky, this boy will love me as much as I love him...)

Don't worry, I got a picture of it before we de-limbed it so no one would think we were exaggerating. Here is the latest Creature in all his glory (I was up on the high counter and zoomed in as far as I could because I was not about to get any closer - even looking at the picture gives me the heebee-jeebees). Now you know why I was screaming, running and jumping... and why Jason wasn't exactly thrilled to be my hero.

Oh, mercy! That thing is nasty.