Da-da-da Day

Father's Day was fun. John chose a hike as his activity for the day.

It was windy and chillier than we'd anticipated, but it was fine. We then went for a burger and came home to veg a bit.

Pow Wow

Today we went to the garden

and then to the Heber Valley Pow Wow. It was really amazing to see the dancers in their regalia.

So fun to see the dances and participate too! We sat on the lowest bench of the bleachers, and Ian cruised around on the grass, meeting new people.

He laughed at the kids exhibition, with the small kids in regalia dancing. He jumped to the dances as well. It was truly a fun family event - kids were everywhere, and cherished so often by the emcee and others.

The program said, "Americans have little league baseball and pee wee football to keep their kids active and out of trouble. Native Americans have pow-wow." Those kids put so many hours into their dances. The adults were amazing, as well. During the dinner break, they had contest dancers and some special dances. Toward the end, the emcee said "Someone told me there's a little hoop dancer out there. Is he here?" It was a ~12 year old boy that was a local and someone locally had taken time with him to teach him this particular dance. He told the story behind the dance: A tribe was feeling low, a visitor came and cheered them with this dance. After a time, the tribe morale began to sink again and they sought out the visitor. He came and performed the dance again, but taught them the dance so they could be happy when they needed to. The dance shows many different animal forms with the hoops. It's somewhat similar to this dance.  The little guy did an amazing job. We had a fun time. We were there a lot longer than we thought we'd be, and all are tired after a full day outside.

The Deck

The deck is Ian's new favorite place to be. If I'm going out there to get laundry, he'll turn away from even the dog, cat, or an open cabinet to join me. Socks don't stay on of course, and shorts are the norm, so he has roughed up knees and feet from crawling. I think there are a couple of splinters in there, too. They don't seem to bother him, though. I wonder when/if this will get old for him?

The weather has been fantastic for living on the deck. Most of the afternoon, there's a fair bit of shade, and in the evenings, it's cool and a slight breeze. Perfect!

Outside time

We got lots of outside time today. Ian really enjoys being outside. Whenever we open the door to the deck, he smiles and races toward it. We spent hours at the garden and running around our little valley here. We ran errands while Ian took his 2 hour afternoon nap (1 hour of that, I knitted in the car while John watered some of the garden). Ian loved crawling around in the grass, eating untold numbers of strange items found in the grass, and had a lovely time. Sunscreen was applied to all.

The Outdoors

We're enjoying the outdoors. Yes, it's going to snow on Tuesday night. Through Thursday. But we are loving spring.

• Last night, our local Great Horned Owl graced us with his presence and song (about midnight. Not 3am. We're thankful for that). I wonder if he's awakened Ian any in his last nights in our room. I don't think you can hear him as clearly in Ian's room.
• The after-dinner walk has been reinstated. If we get out of the house at 7:30, we can get back before bedtime if the short upper loop is clear. The lower loop is 50 minutes if we hustle, best not to attempt after 7:15. Ian loves his walks and giggles for much of them. All smiles, this boy. The only fusses come when we're not moving, for whatever reason. 
• The clothesline is up and out and functioning (have to remember to bring that in tomorrow. Snow on the way). Clothes are crunchy and smell nice.
• Holding Ian as we're getting ready to head up for bed, his hair smells like the outdoors. Not sweat or anything in particular, just that smell of a warm day. So neat.

Newsy: The high chair is boxed up and ready to go. Tonight for dinner, Ian ate a whole cube of Haycorn Squash with blueberries and a whole cube of applesauce, plus 3 tater tots and some beans and peas and cheerios and raisins. I think he's gearing up for a growth spurt - he's been nursing a lot lately and usually eating fairly well. He really seems to enjoy having his own room. We let him roam the floor in there, and he doesn't get that option in our room. So, no wonder he likes it. He slept well last night, except for a fussy bit from 1-3 or so. After that, he did fine. The diapers are fitting a little bit differently - his waistline is decreasing some. Active boy!

Thanks to John for writing up a guest post last night. It was sweet. :)

Sledding Photo Op

We got Ian in a sled finally. Really neat sled we borrowed from a neighbor!


He was watching Tango get excited that the neighbor kids were out with their dog, and that was a bit more exciting than the sledding.





Not that he really went anywhere, you know, or very fast. I think he thought we were a little strange for sitting him outside all bundled up. We do have a snowsuit but it was far too warm. Nobody wants a cranky boy that's too hot for the photo shoot! He did have a good time. He loves being outside. Our boy!