Back... Barely

So we just got back from a ten-day vacation to North Carolina and the beach with Darrell's family. I feel like I need at least as many days to recouperate and get back into the swing of things... But of course, life doesn't exactly work like that. Because coming up in the next ten days we have a wedding, bridal shower, bachelorette party, state baseball tournament, the start of soccer season, and plenty of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Not to mention the fact that we still haven't gotten any repairs done in our basement from the flooding (which was almost two months ago), our lawn appears to be dying (guess it didn't rain at all while we were gone), and William's nursery is still painted with lovely pink accents from the previous owners. Nothing wrong with a little feminism, right? Sigh. One of these days I'll feel like I have life back under control. Maybe.

Behind the Lens

I had a very eye-opening experience happen to me earlier this week. We were up in Minneapolis for a Shriner's event, and although Darrell often does photography work for the Shrine, as of late he has been marching in the parades and is therefore unable to take pictures. My mom and sister were going to be at the parade and could help watch William, so I decided to take his camera and take a few pictures of his unit and the other units from the El Riad temple for the El Riad's monthly newsletter. Not that I am skilled in the least with Darrell's camera, but I figured something was better than nothing and he could always edit the pictures to make them better.

Fast forward to after the parade--Darrell was asking how his unit had sounded, and although my gut reaction was (and always is) to answer "You sounded great", I hesitated because I realized I couldn't actually answer the question. You see, I'd been so focused on taking pictures and trying to get good angles and lighting and everything else that I hadn't actually paid attention to what they were doing. I couldn't have even told you what song they were playing. I didn't wave and blow a kiss to Darrell, and he couldn't find me to wink at me because I was too busy running around with the camera. And it made me sad. The one part of the parade that I was most excited for--the whole reason I was at the parade--I had essentially missed because I'd been too busy behind the camera lens. Maybe if I had gotten a good picture (and/or if I was more comfortable with his camera) I'd feel differently about my time behind the lens, but in retrospect I regret having the camera with me.

When I shared my feelings with Darrell, he reaffirmed my thoughts, admitting that that very reason is why he hasn't taken as many pictures of William as people thought that he would. Sure, he has a nice camera, and sure, our son is super photogenic (don't worry, we're not biased), but experiences behind the lens pale in comparison to those that go on in front of it. Maybe someday we'll regret the pictures that we don't have, but for right now we're too busy creating memories and enjoying the experiences to care.

Swim Lessons

These pictures are actually a few months old, but I was going through my phone and realized that I hadn't shared any pictures from William's first venture into swimming lessons (at least I don't think I have... And I'm too lazy to go back and look). For the most part, he did really well with them; the first week was a little rough because he was battling a double ear infection (that was diagnosed literally eighteen hours before the first lesson), but after that he was a happy little fish--never even fussed too much going under the water. And although the water was definitely on the cold side, I think it bothered Mom and Dad more than it bothered William. 

I'm pretty sure pictures exist of me in the pool with him... But I don't have a clue where they would be. And I'm not about to look, seeing how I'm already two plus months overdue i posting this. They're pretty much the same as these, just with a chick in a burgundy suit instead of Darrell. Easy enough to visualize, right?

"I'm Not Drinking" Decoy #7

Now, before you get all worked up about this, rest assured that this decoy is NOT about me. In fact, I'm pretty sure the person that implemented this decoy isn't even pregnant, but it's too perfect of a potential decoy for me not to document it.

Here's the deal. We were at a wedding last weekend (congrats Katie and Travis!!) and my sister (quite unintentionally, I'm sure) pulled off what could be an awesome "I'm pretending to drink but not actually drinking" decoy. You see, when we arrived for cocktail hour, my sister ordered a moscato (she doesn't drink red wine. I'm not sure we're even related). In true my sister fashion, she only managed to take a few sips of it before we were seated for dinner (it's hard for her to drink when she is constantly talking and making very extreme arm gestures--okay, maybe in that vein we are a little related). Just before dinner was served, she decided that a moscato was "too sweet" to drink with dinner, so she sent her husband to get her a glass of white zinfandel (marginally more acceptable. Marginally). As was the case with her moscato, very little wine was consumed by the end of the meal. Shortly after dinner it was time for the toasts, so out came the glasses of champagne--and of course my sister wasn't going to pass up one of those (even though she easily could have toasted with either glass of wine). And then the menfolk at the table switched from wine to their after-dinner drinks (ie hard alcohol), so she decided she needed one of those as well (of course, for my sister, hard alcohol means a Malibu pineapple. A far cry from the whisky/bourbon the guys were drinking). By the time the dancing started, this is what her spot at the table looked like (more or less):

Thankfully, my sister is not one to waste ANYTHING, so I'm quite certain those drinks were finished all in due time. And while I seriously wish that my sister were implementing a drinking decoy because she is pregnant, I really don't think that is the case. At least not yet. You can bet I've been watching her like a hawk though.