Happy Fourth of July!

The downside of having a family full of photographers is that sometimes I don't want to bother with hauling my camera around when I know there will be better photographers around, but then I don't get copies of the pictures. I don't have pictures of hte fireworks (which Creed did not enjoy one little bit) or the BBQs, but I'm so glad that I dug my little point and shoot out of the bottom of my bag to catch these pictures at the Provo Fourth of July parade.

The Fourth is a BIG holiday for the Borups. My cousins and usually some of my siblings camp out for our parade spot and literally sleep on the street so we can have a prime spot to get the whole crowd chanting and cheering as the parade goes by. Since Larry was working, I was on my own with Creed and thought we would end up missing a lot of the parade, but he was SO GOOD! Someone was handing out little American flags and Creed spent the rest of the day waving his flag. Even though Creed is too young to really get it, I love being able to share family traditions with him. Having our own little one totally brings new importance to the traditions that I loved growing up.

What were your favorite traditions growing up and are there any that you can't wait to share with your kids?

Family Fun

It's a been a few years since Larry and I have been able to get together with all of our siblings on either side of the family, and this last week every single one of our siblings and their kids and our parents were in town. We've never had to balance family before, but we managed to fit in some fun with the Fords and the Borups.

Last Saturday we got together with Larry's family for dinner and stopped to take a family photo. And Larry with Scott and Keri. It was so nice to see him with BOTH of his siblings after missing them for so long.

Creed liked following Jack everywhere he went.

Jack even put up with Creed trying to give him slimey kisses.

Larry's mom's side of the family had a big get together at his Aunt Sheri and Uncle Rick's on the Fourth of July. Larry had to work so we made it there late, but it was worth the drive to Mapleton to see everyone. Sheri and Rick have a kids paradise. They have four wheelers, tractors, a trampoline with a bungee harness, goats, oh, and did I mention the humongous zip line? How cool is that? Even the grownups couldn't resist taking a turn.

It takes you across the yard and over their pond and then they pull you back using the four wheelers.

We loved it, but poor Creed was a little worried seeing his mom up in the air.

Watch out!

The other day, Creed came out of the bath wearing his monster towell and roaring. It made us laugh.

Lavender Days

Well, it's too late to be posting, but we finally got our internet connected today and I can't leave you thinking I'm completely miserable when you've all left such thoughtful comments. I'm just sorry I couldn't comment back to all of you because I was using a sketchy WIFI connection that I picked up in my house that kept going in and out.

Anyway, I'm doing much better. I have to admit, I still have my moments when I really need to be cheered up (like today when Creed woke up covered in dried throw-up that must have arrived sometime in the middle of the night, I found out the closets that Ikea pulled from the full-service section are the wrong size and we don't have a car big enough to bring them back, Creed threw up on me several times and I had to change his sheets more than once, the cable guy had our order completely mixed up, and then I got a call from my mom letting me know that my Grandpa Borup was diagnosed with colon cancer today. Yes, it was not a good day.)

Ok, enough complaining, the last week we really did have some good times. We have only spent a few days in our house because we spent the weekend with my family at Lavender Days in Mona and celebrating my little brother's return from his mission in Brazil. What, you haven't been to Lavender Days? OK, it was new to me, but it sounded worth the heat so we rounded the family up and headed out. It takes place at Young Living Farms and the owner is a bit eccentric so there was a medieval section with jousting and a Wild West section. We got held up by a gun slinger. We feasted on Lavender ice cream and Lavender lemonade (among a lot of other really good food)

Creed climbed in every stage coach he spotted

We shaded ourselves in the shade of my mom's huge sun hat

Had a friendly family archery competition (my dad won by far)

We took a wagon tour around the farm and then rode the old fashioned rides the employees had to actually push

Oh ya, and we saw some lavender.

Ironically, with the late winter that they had in Utah, the lavender will not be in full bloom for another week so they weren't totally purple fields, but they were still beautiful.

Next year, I might skip the festival and just go visit on another day for a photo op, but it was a great one-time experience. And I have to admit, I have missed those mountains.

But I didn't miss those drums!

The longest week of my life

I better start this with a disclaimer that I'm feeling extremely homesick and emotional right so I'm going to try to keep this brief so anyone reading this won't worry too much.
Last Wednesday some of the best girlfriend in the world showed up to pack up my kitchen. I kept biting my lip and trying to smile instead of cry because I knew I would miss each of them so much. They were incredibly fast and before I knew it, the job was done and we were snacking and reading notes from each of them that did push me to tears. It seems so unfair that I had to leave them all. Leave the place I did so much growing. Leave the place I will always call home. I didn't think to take any pictures, but Elle and Cat spent all Thursday helping us pack up and that night even more friends from the ward showed up to help us pack up the van. We had a 26' rental truck and we filled every inch of it. I don't know what we would have done without so much help. Jason & Liz and Kirk & Eva stuck around to help us pack up the left over odds and ends while my friend Greta, who truly is a saint, cleaned most of the house.

We spent Thursday night at the Erneys' but had to head back in the morning to meet the person picking up our washer and dryer and clean the kitchen floor. It took us all morning, and while I'd like to blame it on the fact that we were exhausted, but it was really because we didn't want to leave.

It makes my stomach tighten to see my home so empty and know that it belongs to someone else now.

Luckily, we had the Erneys and Hudsons to distract us for the rest of the day. I miss them so much I almost called them crying tonight when I know they would have already been in bed, but Cat lost her father this week so that would have been really selfish. Instead I'm sitting here blogging when I should be unpacking, which I guess is also a little selfish, but I needed a break.

Saturday, Larry headed out on his 32 hour drive (counting pit stops)

I felt so stressed for him because he also had a car trailer behind what is already that biggest truck that you can drive without a commercial license. He was all on his own, but he made it safely!

In the meantime, I flew Sunday afternoon with Creed. The flight did not go well, but I'd still choose it over a 30 hour drive with a one-year-old. Monday, we checked out the house we planned to rent (and got rear-ended while waiting at a red light). We signed the contract so Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. we met up with some nice fellows in our new ward and unloaded our moving van. We weren't even up for making beds after that so we spent one more night with family.

Today we were thrilled to safely return that gianormous truck this afternoon and spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking the kitchen, making beds, and grocery shopping. We were so tired that we spent a small fortune at the store and only have food for one complete meal of hot dogs and grapes. Nice! Oh well, Creed will be happy and we'll make it to the store sooner or later.

The home that we're renting is cute but tiny, so we haven't figured out where to put anything. I know we'll be getting rid of a lot of furniture including our enormous entertainment center and we need to make a serious trip to Ikea since Larry and I will be sharing a closet that's about two and a half feet wide.

I know I've said it here before, but I really don't handle change well, but I haven't cried that much until today. I guess reality has set in that this is not a vacation, and I don't get to go home soon. I don't get to drop by to see Eva printing on her letterpress. I don't get to go to the children's literature book club this Tuesday. I don't get to watch Cat work her cooking magic. I don't get to grin while watching Creed play with Audrey. I don't get to watch football games at the Rice's where Tony will explain all of the stuff that I don't get. I need to take the Restaurant Widow's blog off of my Google Reader because it is somehow making me even more homesick by reminding me that I won't be going to Comfest this weekend or the latest play opening at Shakespeare in the park.

I'm not saying all of this to imply that Salt Lake City isn't great, I'm sure it is. It just doesn't feel like home and truthfully I don't know much about the city yet.

See, I hate how incredibly sad and lost I feel right now, and the worst part was I knew that this is exactly how I would be, even though I have moved a million times, I feel this way every time and I couldn't do anything to prevent it. If anything it's worse because I lived in Columbus longer than I've ever lived anywhere else and I consider myself a C-Bus girl through and through. I can stay busy during the day, but as night rolls in, I totally lose it. I'm not exaggerating. An older lady walking by my house this evening stopped to wave to Creed and asked me where we're from, and I burst into tears even though I knew it was ridiculous to be crying as I told her that we're from Columbus. And oddly, a part of me really wanted that total stranger to lean over and hug me and tell me that it would be ok, but she didn't. I think she was as embarrassed as I was.

I really wish that we were going to the new ward this Sunday because I am in serious need of friends and things to do, but it's my little brother's homecoming so I'm going to hear him speak about his mission in my parent's ward.

I know it will get better. I know I will find my way around. I know I will make new friends. I know in six months, I'll shake my head that I ever could have been so sad here, but right now that just looks so very far away.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home . . .

Sycamore Street Press

So I consider myself seriously lucky because I happen to be friends with Kirk and Eva. I'm really going to miss our weekly dinner and movie nights. I mean, who else would always come over here so we could put Creed to bed and watch the back to the Future Trilogy or Troop Beverly Hills? When I met Eva, I knew I HAD to be friends with her, but I was secretly afraid that I was just not cool enough (she is the opposite of snobby, but she loves Japanese candy and goes to modern exhibits at the Wexner Center that I don't get and records music with Kirk and has a unique style about her. Much cooler than me, you know what I mean?) I'd only talked to her once when I invited to her witches brew party, and not only did she come, but she showed up in a beret with an owl on top and our friendship was sealed.

Well, it just so happens that Eva has a masters degree in print making (pretty much the coolest degree that I have ever heard of, and I am green with envy) and she's an amazing artist. I would kills to have her drawing skills. On their move to Ohio so Kirk could get his PHD in Russian, they picked up a vintage Vandercook Press which they set up in their dining room, and so began Eva's shop, Sycamore Street Press.

I've loved and admired her work and helped her with a few minor details here and there and in return, Eva offered to print something for me. I wavered for a while, and finally decided to do a simple alphabet print for Creed's room. After talking to Eva about it, we thought as long as we were paying all the set up fees to have the plates made (the plates for a letterpress are expensive and we had to have two plates because I wanted the print to be two colors), we might as well print several and try selling them. Thanks to Eva's suggestion, I designed them to be 11" x 14" so they can fit in standard frames. They rolled off the press two weeks ago (literally rolled, Eva has to hand-crank every single one), and I'm so very happy with how they turned out!Eva printed them twice, in gray + orange and turquoise + crimson and she took them to the craft fairs she has been in this month and people are actually buying them! It's so cool to make something that other people appreciate too.In the midst of that project, I got this idea for something else I wanted to try. I loved some wallpaper I saw a while back that was covered in sketched picture frames and then you just stick your own artwork on top or even color it in and your own artwork is displayed all over in a fun way. We'll be renting our next home so that option is out for me. Then while I was reading The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child, the text on the opening page was surrounded by a beautiful hand drawn frame, and I LOVED it. I thought about trying to draw something similar on a plain white picture frame mat, but oh yea, I can't draw without a computer so that wouldn't work. I don't know how to actually print on a mat so that wasn't an option either. Then it occurred to me, wouldn't it be even cooler if it was a letterpress printed frame silhouette on a mat? Eva could print them on big sheets of thick, white, cotton paper and then people could cut them down to fit into any frame that they wanted and just put their own photo on top of the mat.

Eva loved the idea, but she was busy getting ready for several crafts fairs and didn't have time to hand draw frames so she told me if I could design it, she would try to squeeze in printing them. Somehow, we got them all done and Eva even printed them in two different colors. Here they are. They are printed on 12.5" by 20" paper and are designed to frame your favorite 4" x 6" photos or perhaps some of Eva's beautiful cards. I designed them in a baroque style full of lots of flourishes so you would be able to see the letterpress indent. There are three different designs meant to go together or stand alone and you can mix and match them in turquoise or crimson. After the move I plan to use three of them to frame my favorite black and white photos from Candice. I think mats like that could make even the not so good photos I take look like art. There's talk of creating another set in a different style if these sell well, but for now I'm just enjoying how these have turned out.

I highly recommend checking out Eva's Etsy site to see her other marvelous products. Like these Gentleman Caller birthday cards that always make me smile (see, Eva really can draw!).

And witty cards like these designed by Be a Decent Human Being.

Can you believe that all of these paper goodies are created in Eva's dining room?

After the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this weekend she's been getting noticed on some big time design blogs like Design*Sponge , and I couldn't be happier for her. She's worked really hard and loves what she does.

Snuggling and Smuggling

Nikki, David, and Audrey came over last night to help us entertain Creed and pack. Creed was remarkably crabby after his shots yesterday, but Audrey cheered him up. He smothered her with hugs and kisses. Then he tried sneaking her into one of our boxes.

We had to break the news to them that Audrey cannot come with us. I think it broke their hearts!

Delivering

As you know I've been feeling a bit blue so last week (when I should have been packing) Creed and I found a little time to go delivering. Basically, when I find a good bargain on something fun I stock up on it and save it for a day when I need to be cheered up and then I go delivering. I just pick random friends and drive around dropping things off. Even if you don't have something stashed away to deliver, you can just stop and pick something up, some bright peonies or gerber daisies or whatever is in season, pints of ice cream on a hot day, your favorite doughnuts, anything!

Maybe I'm weird, but sometimes I feel like I need a reason to stop to visit friends and this is always the perfect excuse (which makes me realize how solitary I am in my day to day life; I do almost everything by myself, why don't I call and invite friends when I'm taking Creed to the park or heading out to look at a cute shop? I need to be better about that after the move).

Anyway, if you're bored this week, you should give it a try!

Ode to the Library

One of my friends just told me that she doesn't have a library card and I honestly thought she was joking. Here in Columbus, we have the most amazing library system in the country (literally, it is ranked number 1). I always have a zillion books from the library around the house. I was gathering them to return them and came up with the stack you see above and that's not including four I'm not quite ready to return along with some board books for Creed (I had a lot of the chapter books around because I meant to review them for the child lit book club blog, but didn't quite get there . . . )

I haven't rented a movie in years because we can always check them out from the library for free. You have to reserve new titles and sometimes there's a long waiting list, but hello, it's free! And the best part is that they have old movies that they don't keep in stock anymore at places like Blockbuster (like one summer, my little sister and I tried to watch all of Doris Day's movies and I don't think you could have found any of them at Blockbuster). Last week we watched King of Kong: A fistful of Quarters (awesome documentary about trying to set the world record in Donkey Kong). This week I have Lars and the Real Girl, which I hope that we can find time to watch, but I kind of doubt it.

I have a ridiculous amount of books and a lot of movies too, but I don't know what I would do without the library.

We lived in Washington DC for the summer and the thing I remember most was the library by our apartment. We used to be so excited to go check out Fairytale Theater Classic videos and to get stickers for the summer reading program. I can't wait until Creed's old enough to really be excited about summer reading programs!

O-H-I-O

Every time that I talk to my parents, they ask me what I've been up to, and if I say, "Nothing," they say, "Oh, come on, you guys are always up to something fun." And usually they are right. I think that I actually get the drive to explore our city from my parents. I moved a lot growing up, which I didn't love at the time, but I appreciate now. With each move, we had some many new places to explore and my parents always jumped right in and took advantage. They didn't let the fact that they had four little kids stop them from doing some pretty awesome things. We saw Dorothy's rubber slippers in the Smithsonian when we were living in DC, we visited the Grand Ole Opry while we were living in Tennessee, we camped in Goblin Valley while we were living in Utah, we swam at Sacred Falls while we were living in Hawaii. Oh I'm sure there was complaining and moaning, and I know there was usually a very tight budget, but my parents didn't lose their adventurous spirits.

Later, when I wanted to be an exchange student in Japan, they didn't hesitate to let their 16 year old go. And when I decided to study abroad in London, they encouraged me and when my mom saw that my account was getting low, she asked me if I needed her to deposit more money in my account because she didn't want me to miss out on anything. She even encouraged me to tour Europe afterwards, but I was in too much of a hurry to get home to Larry after four months away.

Now when I move, I try to follow their examples and dive right in to local life. It's funny how my friends who've grown up in Columbus often tell me that I've seen way more of the city than they have, and I think it's because I'm used to the idea that my time where ever I live is limited. Most of my life it seems, there's always been another move scheduled so I just tried to use the time I had to its fullest.

Even though I've had seven years in Columbus(by far the longest I have ever lived anywhere), I still have a list of things I'd like to do here. The past year, we've been doing our best to check things off of the list, but it just keeps growing because we keep adding new things. This week we checked off eating at the Banana Bean Cafe, eating at El Arepazo, visiting the zoo one last time.

Can you tell that Creed's shorts are on backwards? We didn't realize until halfway through the zoo.

I guess that's what happens when Dad gets you dressed fast!

We saw Sabrina at the Ohio theater because I HAD to pack in one last movie from the CAPA summer move series (thanks Nikki and David for a great double date)but I've come to accept that there are many things on the list, that we just will not get to. Instead the list has been shoved aside to try to squeeze in as much time with our family and friends here as possible. We celebrated Donny's birthday a bit late, and loved having him stay with us briefly. We saw the new Indiana Jones movie with Kirk and Eva. We've been having regular movie nights with Kirk and Eva where we take turns cooking and then put Creed to bed and watch a movie and we made if through all the Indiana Jones and Back to the Future movies with them so we had to see the new Indy movie with them, even if it wasn't the best. Lucky for us, and not so lucky for Kirk and Eva, their basement flooded in a freak storm this week and there power was knocked out so we got to have a big sleepover here.

We celebrated Father's Day early with the Erneys and Hudsons. I don't even want to think about how much we will miss them.

I guess having so much notice that we would be moving this summer was good in away because it helped us use our time wisely so we wouldn't be full of regrets of things we never had a chance to do and people we wish we'd spent more time with.

So is there anything that you've been interested in doing, but never seem to get around to it? Make a plan TODAY! You won't regret it!