Tourists

Though we were no longer in need of their offered moving assistance, mom and dad still came up to Spokane a few weekends ago to hang out with the Rolinator and me while Justin was out of town. 

My smart, thoughtful and dutifully documenting mother suggested we play tourist in Spokane, to make sure we experienced and snapped photos of the sites we’d soon leave unexplored. I’m so glad she came up with the idea; I really doubt it would have even crossed my mind until we got to Phoenix.

Not sure you know this or not, readers, but I was born in Spokane too. We lived there for just six months after my arrival.

This is Rolin and me in front of the house mom and dad called home as newlyweds. A neat fact about this house is that my dad moved the staircase. He just moved it! Before he and my mom went a courtin', he decided the staircase would be better on a different side of the house, so he did what any bachelor with power tools would do: he cut a hole in the floor and made new stairs. He told me this when I was little Christine and I remember thinking, "that is the coolest thing anyone has ever done!"

This is me where I was baptized.

We also headed down to Riverfront Park. We hit up the (huge) little red wagon, stood on the over-sized blocks, checked out the ducks and geese and then pretended to be Bloomsday runners.  

Go, dad go!

Rolin and I rode the carousel twice, once with Grandma and again with Grandpa.

Rolin loved it! He had a gaping smile on his face for the first half of both rides. He ended the last half of both rides with a slightly nauseated look on his face -- he kept it together, though. No barf from this kiddo (I don’t imagine we’ll always be this lucky).

Of course we finished the afternoon enjoying sno-cones. Though it may be hard to believe just by looking at the picture, Rolin said he preferred cherry over watermelon.

We're moving!

A couple months ago, Team Thompson entertained the idea of buying a home in Spokane. We then decided we'd be better off renting for another year before buying, and instead hit up the rental sites to see if we could find a cute house for rent or lease (something with a fenced yard, two bathrooms, all appliances included, extra bedrooms, something close to a nice neighborhood cafe...you know...the works). 

We didn't find many great options online or from our in-person visits, but one day in mid-June I decided to drive down 23rd Ave. on the South Hill and spotted a for lease sign. It was for a super cute house, with a fenced yard, two bathrooms, new appliances, extra bedrooms, it's next to The Scoop...you know...the works! I called the number on the sign and scheduled a viewing for later that afternoon. 

It was perfect! A nice kitchen with new, stainless steel appliances, three bedrooms + a loft/attic area for a guestroom/playroom/children's room, a garage, was located next to The Scoop...you know...the works. Just look at it! We filled out an application that day. We made it through the screening process and signed the lease the following week. 

We sent out invitations to Rolin's first birthday, listing our new place as the venue. We've lined people up to help move us. We've picked up boxes from random sources. We've packed up about half our townhouse. We are set to move.

To Phoenix. Arizona. Phoenix, Arizona.

So forget what's above. Apparently, someone else has other plans for our family! Just days after we signed our lease, Justin got a call from his boss about an opportunity in Phoenix.

See, a couple weeks prior to this, Justin had casually mentioned to his boss that we were house hunting. The boss was excited for us! Then, a few days later, boss called JT to ask him if he'd reconsider signing a lease because something might be coming up at some point. Maybe. He couldn't tell anything more than that. No hints, no timeline, no possible destinations, nothing.

That's ok, I get the need for secrecy.

So, we decided to go ahead and sign for the house we found. It was perfect, after all, with it's fenced yard, two bathrooms, new appliances, extra bedrooms, it's located next to The Scoop...you know...the works. I mean, just look at it!

Really, LOOK AT IT! You want to rent it too, don't you? (Well, someone needs to rent it...but I'll get to that in a minute.)

Anyway, as I said above, we signed the lease. I immediately started packing boxes and making arrangements. However, within days, we got the call about Phoenix. So, we weighed our options, we told family members, we stopped packing, we talked to friends who knew the Phoenix area, we started wondering what exactly you should do if you or your child are bitten by a desert creature, such as a scorpion.

We also waited. We waited and waited and waited and waited and WAITED for more information from the company. When the official offer finally came in, Justin accepted the position right away.

It's a good move for him professionally, as well as for our family. For starters, the district is not as spread out as his current district, so he'll be home on a more regular basis. Maybe the bags under my eyes will go away?

As you can imagine, we've had quite a few decisions to make and details to take care of over the last few weeks, so please accept this as a formal apology if you are just now being informed of our move.

Our timeline: Movers come at the end of this week.We fly away on August 11th. Ack!

Back to the lease on the other place...so we did sign it. We paid the required fees and first month's rent, yadda yadda yadda. Now we're stuck with a year-long lease for a home into which we will not be settling. It's back on the market and I've been soliciting friends and strangers (including a dude at the park) to please, pretty please, tell all acquaintances about a cute, craftsman-style house for rent on the South Hill. It has a fenced yard, two bathrooms, new appliances, extra bedrooms, it's next to The Scoop...you know...the works.

Thank you to those of you who have said prayers for us during this process, as well as other events that have come up in the last month. I know your prayers were heard because overall JT and I have felt pretty good and at ease about things. Of course we've had our outbursts, but, like I said, overall we're doing ok. Please keep it up :)

I promise to post soon about our crazy July, a month that presented a very momentous occasion for Team Thompson...Rolin's 1st birthday!

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Rolly bug and my dad on the Spokane Carousel:

Polo shirt party!

Food pics

Some of my latest creations for work. Plus, one FAIL. We had the kabobs for Father's Day - they were delicious after marinating for 24 hours! Rolin also really enjoyed the smoothie - he quickly became a straw-drinking pro. Let me know if you'd like the recipes.

Pan-Seared Peaches Topped with Honey Mascarpone and a Thyme & Lavender Balsamic Reduction

Before baking.

Fresh Peach & Mozzarella Pizza with a Lavender Balsamic Reduction

After-baking FAIL. This is one ugly baked pizza...we didn't use this pic at all. However, this pizza is delicious!

Heirloom Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Caprese Salad Drizzled with Summertime Peach Balsamic and Meyer Lemon Oil

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad with a Summertime Peach Balsamic Reduction

Grilled Pork & Nectarine Kabobs with a Summertime Peach Balsamic Marinade

Nectarine, Radish & Jalapeno Salsa (use as a dip or as a crostini topper)

Seared Chicken Salad with Green Beans, Pistachios and Fresh Bing Cherries

Nectarine-Banana-Mango Smoothie

Day at the Lake

Tara, my college roommate, and her family have some lake property north of Spokane where we joined for an afternoon over the 4th of July holiday weekend. 

I went last year during the same time -- I was almost 9 months pregnant and had a bit of trouble getting myself out of the kayak. This year we got to take Rolin!

Rolly and I have been going to swim lessons at the YMCA so I think he was more excited about playing in the water at the lake. 

The other kiddos had some sand and water toys which Rolin really enjoyed using/eating. 

Puppy ears!

It was nice Justin was able to come along this year as it allowed me some time to lounge on a floatie with the other ladies and drink some brews. Yay for some me time!

We got this sunshade, but had no idea it was this big. It was a nice surprise! It was also a huge pain to put away, but with all of our powers combined we eventually made it happen. 

"Ohhh. This redheaded lady is quite lovely," said Rolin. 

Thanks for the fun time at the lake, guys!

Spoon trial

So I thought I'd see how Rolin would do with a spoon. His skill right off the bat was very impressive.

But quickly disintegrated. 

We took a quick spoon break then tried it again. The only difference in round two was the size of the mess:

Wedding Day

Curtis and Kate's wedding day was fun for everyone. Here are a few shots from the event:

I couldn't help myself...I found this bow tie at a consignment shop...it matched the wedding colors, but it was either this blue or yellow. I went with blue. 

Maid of honor's speech

Best man's speech.

Some of the wedding party.

This was Rolin's "smile" for about a week.

Justin and Curtis were so excited to be in a picture with Rolin they couldn't keep their eyes open!

(yes, eyes closed in a picture runs in the family)

Rolly with the groom.

Rolly got a spin on the dance floor with the groom :)

All of these, as you can tell, are iPhone pics. There are great shots of the day on the photographer's blog. Check it out! 

11 months

In less than one month, this little bug will be a 1-year old. My,  my.

He is quite the mover; he'll hardly sit still anymore. If he spots his red bouncy ball across the room, he'll take off at lightning speed to go get it, and will then bat it around the house while crawling after it. His crawl is so fun to watch -- I love how he doesn't really bend his arms, making him look like one of the characters on Super Mario Brothers when they climb the fences in the star/bonus worlds to win extra flower power or mushrooms. Got a visual on that? You're still with me, right?

Sometimes he'll put his head down, shake it back and forth and growl as he charges across the room, just like a bull in the arena.

Speaking of growling, I put a paper bag on the floor the other day to see what he'd do with it:

Ha! I'd like to say I'm not sure where he learned to growl, but then someone may point out that I growl on occasion, so I'm not going to say I'm not sure where he learned to growl.

He's eating more food, still a combo of finger foods and purees, and he has a special technique reserved for pea-eating:

Though some peas are too hard to smoosh:

So then we go back to basics:

We're still avoiding dairy and eggs, which really limits what he can and can't eat, but I'm going to try eggs out soon. His latest love is flavored coconut- or almond-milk yogurt, which I'm soooo glad to have found. What I'm not so glad about is the price of one itty bitty tub of coconut- or almond-milk yogurt. It's a good thing he takes small bites. I also make a banana bread, substituting almond/rice milk for buttermilk, a ground flax seed + water combo for eggs and sometimes applesauce for veggie oil (just because). He really likes to eat that, and I really like to sprinkle the cubes with the leftover formula he has recently decided he won't finish in a sitting.

He also likes how happy spaghetti makes him feel:

Don't you wish a noodle on your tongue made you this happy?

Other things he does:

• Clicks his tongue, smacks his lips
• Grinds his teeth -- this started within minutes of his top two teeth poking through
• Goes to library lap sit on Thursdays (so fun!)
• Loves to look out the front door window
• Opens and closes cupboards, doors, drawers
• Goes to swimming lessons on Saturdays with his friend Jack
• Pulls himself up on everything
• Sits down from standing very slowly and carefully (so cute!)
• Has started to understand "no"
• Shakes his head no
• Pulls books off the shelf to flip through or drag to a parent to read
• Kisses the animals or characters in his books
• Remembers where things are in the books we read (over and over and over), like where the spider is on the No. 7 page in his Ten Little Kisses book
• Points to things and make a "dat!" sound, as if he's asking what it is
• Says "dada" to just about everything, but says "dahhdahh" when his daddy walks in the room or is spotted in a picture
• Will still not nap regularly or in his bed lying flat, but he'll fall asleep in funny places, like his highchair, in his swing while holding the ever-lusted-over Xbox remote: 

• Or the jumper...