We are home!!

We are home from California!  Actually, we've been home since Tuesday morning, but I am having the most difficult time adjusting.  I'm exhausted, and it's killing me just trying to get unpacked and the laundry caught up!  I'm very thankful that while we were at Clear Lake we didn't wear many clothes!  It was close to 100 degrees every single day and the nights were probably between 75 and 80 degrees.  It was wonderful!!

We have a family joke that stems from packing for our honeymoon.  I had no idea where we were going (Gus surprised me with a three week vacation after our wedding in Indonesia), but I knew it would be warm.  As Gus packed himself, it came up how many pairs of underwear he was bringing...For three weeks he probably had 6 or 7 pairs packed.  I was appalled.  Imagining my husband to be without enough underwear to make it through a romantic vacation...I insisted he pack a pair for every.single.day.  To make a long story short, he packed far too many pairs and lived in several pairs of board shorts, and I always pack about five extra pairs for every day...Needless to say, I let Gus pack himself these days, and reside comfortably with the fact that I know he's not walking around in the same pair of undies for days!

Well, with both of our vacations, we spent tons of time with Gus' side of the family.  It was so great to see everyone and let Harper get to know his extended family a little better.  There's something so comforting about seeing your son interact with his great grandparents, and seeing the love between him and his great uncles and aunts...I'm not feeling very well versed...still quite sleepy, so I'm going to let the photos do most of the talking...We had such a great time in the sunshine!

The plan was to come home this following Sunday, but we got a call from Grandpa Jack who was in the hospital in Alaska for gall bladder issues...So we rushed home to be with him!!  He's feeling much better, and is planning on scheduling a surgery to remove his gall bladder so he wont have any more attacks while at sea...Poor grandpa...

Alright, here is an incredible amount of photos of everything we've been up to since the middle of June!  As a precursor, Gus got me a new camera for my birthday, so Momma went a little picture-happy!!  Enjoy!!

Starting with our trip to Utah, with a roundabout to Portland for a 9 month well baby check up...

Harper is sleeping on his way to his doctor's appointment!  His check-up went great!  He weighed in at 22lbs, 5oz, and almost 30" long!  He's in the 75th% for both height and weight.  We got the okay to eat other foods besides just fruits and vegetables!

Here are my boys stopped at a gas station in Washington...Harper loves to drive!

We stopped in Seattle for a dear friend's bridal shower!  Hayley, a dear childhood friend, will be marrying another childhood friend of mine this late August!

From Seattle, we dipped back down into Oregon as we crossed into Idaho.  Here we are about 430am June 12, filling up with gas in Baker City.

Our third stop was in Caldwell, Idaho.  Our good friends Sam and Christy Thomas live there and they just so happened to have a mini rocking chair that Harper fell in LOVE with!!

They have two big dogs and one bunny.  His name is Sug White.  Harper wasn't so sure about the bunny!

Sam also happens to have like 4 or 5 guitars...All over the house!  Harper was in love!

My two handsome guys....Can't get enough of these men!

Sam and Christy took us on a little hike to a waterfall...This was Harper's first time in his Kelty back pack.  He loved seeing the sights from Daddy's 6 foot 4 inches!

Harper's first waterfall sighting...Jump Creek, Idaho

The first night in Idaho...Gus was exhausted from driving all night the night before, and not really napping during the day.  Harper was pretty tired from all the fun at the Thomas home.  He rolled over and reached for his daddy, just to make sure he wasn't going anywhere...Too cute.

Another guitar!!

They also have drums!  Harper thought it was a little piece of heaven!  This boy loves his music!

Playing with Christy in our pjamas before we leave for Utah!!

One last time on the rocking chair, just for fun!

Utah!  We arrived in Duchesne, UT (Great Grandma Marlynn's town) around 430am.  So we napped for a couple hours in a gas station parking lot...Here are the boys after a nice shower!

Harper learned to love Puffs during our stay.  Gus says they are Harper's catnip.  He goes crazy over them.  They are the first food he learned to feed himself!  Here he's chowing on one...Cute little lips!

Everyone is napping at the Fredette home, except for baby...which means neither is Momma!  So we are reading Harper's favorite book (for the time being!)..."Who Loves You Baby?"

Marlynn is reading Harper's other favorite book.  She sent it to him, and he learned how to make it play a song.  It's called "This Old Man", and it plays the tune.  That instantly brings a smile to his face.  We keep it in the car for melt downs.  And often hide it from him because it's loud...very loud.

These are the chipmunks that live outside of Dick and Marlynn's home.  They feed them peanuts.  They often eat right out of your hand, or out of your pocket.  One actually crawled all over Harper.  I was too busy freaking out about his dirty claws to get any photos.  Harper seemed a little nervous, but wasn't upset.

Great Grandma Marlynn singing to Harper.  He loves listening to her...

The three of us took a day trip to Moon Lake.  It was beautiful even though they had drained the lake, so the water was pretty low.

Baby and Momma at Moon Lake.

Moon Lake happens to reside in Ashley National Forest.  Funny side note: Gus has a picture of himself in front of this sign from when he was in middle school...He had a crush on me!  We can't find the photo.  I'm dying to see it!

Back on Marlynn's front porch...See the scab on his nose?  It's a rug burn...I died a little inside one afternoon in Caldwell, ID.  Harper slipped off the bed...I felt like a horrible mother.  I was three feet away.  He cried for all of two seconds.  I cried the rest of the day....

"Harper's a little tea pot, short and stout...Here is his handle, here is his spout..."

More front porch fun...

Aunt Suzanne came to visit and meet Harper for a couple hours one day!

On my birthday, the three of us drove Wolf Creek Pass from Duchesne to Park City.  Wolf Creek Pass' summit elevation is 9452 feet.  It's actually closed during the winter due to weather.  On the way we ran into two separate herds of cows that families were moving (or something??!) and we had to stop for them.  What an interesting concept...Sharing traffic time with cows!

In Park City on my birthday!!  We were blessed with the opportunity to stay in Aunt Pam and Richard's condo in Lower Deer Valley.  It was so great to have our own space, and teach Harper how to crawl!

Me and my babe boy on my 26th birthday...Makes me think of my 25th birthday six months pregnant...time sure flies...

My perfect little family...

I love this face!  He's sooo happy!  And there are milkies all over his face!  It's his favorite state!

The three of us had a picnic lunch in a park in Park City.

Before lunch, in the park!

Harper and the Puffs that he loves...This was before he learned how to feed himself.  When we could give him the entire container to play with.  That's not the case any longer!

Instead of feeding himself, Harper would jump the puffs with his index finger.  Some would fly at least 8 inches in the air.  That's what Harper and Daddy are doing here...

With our friends, we rode bicycles down the canyon between Heber and Provo, UT.  We used to do this when we lived in Heber, so we definitely wanted to do it while we were visiting.  It's beautiful.  It's warm, breezy, and there are rushing rivers throughout the ride.  The best part is dinner is always waiting at the bottom!!  Harper's first bike ride.  He had fun, but slept most of the time!

Here we are all set to go!  We rented the bike trailer (and helmet!) from a place in Park City!  Dad rode his longboard with the rest of the guys!

Bridle Veil Falls...

Back out to Duchesne for one last visit before spending the rest of our time in Park City.

And I begged Dick for one photo!

For Father's Day all Gus wanted was biscuits and gravy at his favorite diner in Heber.  So here we are...I ate before we came, and they had run out of biscuits and gravy by the time we arrived.  Gus was bummed....All the other dads in Heber must've had the same idea.

Harper playing with his new toy.  It's a wooden music maker of sorts!

We finally made our way to Salt Lake to visit Aunt Pam, Richard, and Chris.  It was so cool to see how quickly Harper took to Aunt Pam.  He fell for her instantly.  He has great taste!

Aunt Pam and Richard with Harper...

All three of them having appetizers and wine before we headed off to dinner.  This is where Harper decided he was a cheese man.  He had Boursin cheese, Brie, feta, and extra sharp cheddar.  Since then we've added goat cheese to his palate.  He loves them all!

Cute one!

Chewing on Aunt Pam's necklace

The verdict is still out on how he feels about Uncle Chris!

At dinner with everyone in Salt Lake.  This is Harper shoveling a Puff in his mouth for the first time!  It was so sweet!  Now he stuffs his mouth with as many as I give him!  We keep it to a maximum of three on his tray at a time!  Funny boy!

From here, we drove home.....Back to the rain!