St Patrick's Day with Daddy

Daddy wanted to give Miss V some extra green on St Paddy's Day, so he tied his old Timberline neck kerchief on her. Her hair reminds me of Pacha's kids from The Emperor's New Groove.

Four States in One Go

My parents invited us to travel with them to Saint George for a few days. Zak stayed home to work, so V and I packed up our stuff. Dad belongs to a couple of astronomy clubs, and planned to drive down for a star party. The forecast was cloudy all weekend, but we still went, as another purpose was to spend time with family and Trena's boyfriend, Dallas.  I got a little nervous about driving the first and last legs of the journey, just V and me, because I usually sleep when Zak drives that long. Another worry was about V being in the car that whole time. Fortunately, everyone was very understanding, and let me take extra time at several locations to feed her.





For $40 the first night and $60 the second, I was quite impressed with our deluxe hotel suite with two queen beds, full kitchen, waffle breakfast, and indoor swimming pool. We visited the Mountain Meadow Massacre memorials, although I decided to stay in the car with V for the last one. We followed Grandpa's (Dad's) club members to Mesquite for dinner one night, where I noticed some of Zak's cousins, and got to meet their parents for the first time and introduce them to V. I found out later that on the way to Mesquite, we drove through the corner of Arizona, so in one trip, V visited Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. That's a little harder to do in the west, unless you're standing at Four Corners.

Dallas's grandparents had us over for a visit. They are so welcoming and enjoyable.

Mom and I picked up some swim gear, and V went "swimming" for the first time. I'd call it more of an adorable float, but either way, I loved watching her.

On the return trip we stopped for food about an hour south of my parents house. We drove for a short while until the vehicle died. My parents are covered for that kind of thing, but with so many of us in the vehicle, the tow truck driver couldn't carry us all. Our friend, Elise, offered to turn around on her return trip from a family visit and drive V, Trena, and me while our parents rode with the tow truck driver. At that point I knew I couldn't travel from my parents' house to our house without falling asleep, as it was already midnight or so. V and I made it safely home Sunday morning before church, and I thanked Zak several minutes for always driving long distances, so we could spend time with family. He's an excellent driver. Thanks again, Zak. Nice to meet you, Dallas. Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Trena, for the invite.

Right after a minor head bonk 

Suiting up for a swim

First Swim 1 from Nicole Porter on Vimeo.

First Swim 2 from Nicole Porter on Vimeo.

First Days of Independence

Zak's first workday as a full-time web designer found us visiting family. He brought his work laptop, and worked hard, taking little breaks while V and I played upstairs with my parents, siblings, and cousin. One of the most adorable moments was my cousin's daughter asking to hold the baby.  Zak has loved working from home, doing his best to create high-end websites. He now has his going at codebeagle.com. There've been some adjustments with both of us at home, but fortunately, he's a very organized, helpful person. V and I love going into the office/baby storage room, and hearing what Daddy is working on that day.

Daddy enjoying time spent with his new boss.

Annual Battle of the Century

While visiting my parents, I noticed a Born Loser comic taped to my parents' door. The comic boy was playing catch by himself. My brother had written, "To Dad, Sincerely, Ammon." Dad finally decided it was time for their "Annual Battle of the Century." With several inches of snow (December in Utah) they decided catch wouldn't be doable, so they attempted hitting snowballs with a bat until moving on to a white flying disc-because, you know, that's easy to spot in the snow. Dad and Ammon both love to joke and tease, but seeing them play and laugh together portrayed the heart of Christmas. Their own "Cat's in the Cradle" moment.

They only hit Dad's observatory a few times.

Ammon has skills.

They don't watch dish tv from 1980. Dad uses it for radio astronomy.

Dad "nudged" Ammon into the snow.