Owen's 1st Birthday

It's great having a sister who is a little more than a year ahead of us in this whole process. We have a great preview of what is to come. Yesterday was Owen's 1st birthday party and there is nothing that foreshadows the craziness which lies ahead like 12 kids hopped up on cake.

Owen cleaned up big time. If Baby Steffen ends up with 1/2 the toys of Owen, our little apartment will be busting apart at the seams. We might have a larger storage unit in our future. My favorite of all his toys had to have been the calculatah..."Ma, ma, ma, am I going to get a calculatah for my birthday?"

The highlight of the day was definitely his personal cupcake. There are two adults and one happy birthday boy that have red stained hands and faces, that I assume will take at least a week to fade. I think it was worth it for the pictures and memories.

Upper Stillwater Reservoir

Kelly and Baby Steffen had a little chat and decided that if we wanted to get one last camping trip in before the big arrival, we better do it now. For some strange reason, Baby Steffen wants to spend the last few months a little closer to home. So, we packed up the car and went for a trip.

The drive was gorgeous. We took the "scenic" route which took us through Park City, past a few reservoirs, and up and over a few mountain passes. We thought we would be sneaky and dodge traffic by ducking out of work a little early but we forgot that the retirees in their RVs would also be on the road at the same time. We finally left the RVs in the dust by taking the pictured "shortcut". I love aspen trees, so I didn't mind the extra time in the woods.

Camp was in the Ashley National Forest below the dam at Upper Stillwater Reservoir. A dam really only has one purpose in life - to hold back water, and it turns out our dam couldn't even do that. I guess it was leaking so bad that they had to drain the entire reservoir. At least, that's what we were told. The road and trails up to the top were closed (again, due to the leaking issue) so we had to take their word for it.

The creek was flowing so we could still get some fishing time in right next to our camp site. Our group also put together an adventure up to a high mountain lake, but as much as Kelly was begging me to do it (sarcasm alert) the 4WD road and the 3/4 mile scramble up at 10k+ feet elevation kept Kelly and I back at camp to prep dinner instead. Kelly did manage to pick up her first fish on a fly rod while we were waiting for the group to return home.

Kelly was quite a trouper. Even at home, I get a little grumpy if I have to use the facilities in the middle of the night - and our house is heated with a bathroom 15 feet away from our bed. But every time nature called, Kelly would get out of her sleeping bag, throw on her coat, unzip the tent, roll out of bed, hoist herself up, stumble to the other side of the campground in the pitch black, deal with the always pleasant campground bathrooms, then return. I was amazed that she had a smile on her face the whole weekend. Like I said...a trouper.

Good food. Good company. Good fun. Good trip. I can't wait to do this with Baby Steffen some day.

Baby's Room - Still Before

The world of a renter is typically comprised of half working appliances, loud neighbors, and white walls...lots of white walls. We are definitely blessed with all three in our current abode.

Now, there are some people who are willing to reach deep into their pockets and spend their own money to spruce up a rental, all in the name of style. I, on the other hand, think the rent check I send every month is more than enough payment for the pleasure of dangling a dryer vent hose out the screen door every laundry day (yes, he was quick to mention the washer and dryer hookups when we were looking at the place, but forgot to mention the lack of a dryer vent port). I don't need to increase his property's value too.

My philosophy of home improvement apathy has, unfortunately, left me with zero experience painting rooms. However, we thought Baby Steffen might appreciate a fresh coat or two so Kelly and I jumped into it with both feet. After arming Paint Guy at Home Depot with enough stories about moronic do-it-yourselfers who don't know primer from white paint to entertain Mrs. Paint Guy for many evenings, I am now knee deep in "Crushed Peony" and "Mystic Fairy" (literally, at times).

The room is coming along, slowly. I'll get some pictures of the finished product, as soon as it is a finished product, but for now here is a teaser with some paint samples. Hopefully things will be further along once we have visitors in a few weeks.