summer just seemed to fly this year. i loved it, though. and like any whirlwind romance, there were very special moments that are burned into my memory and heart that i will always remember. they include, but are not limited to:
meeting friends for picnics in the park. i should say parks, because we went to quite a few different parks for our little play dates. some were with friends who also have kids, and others were with my kidless friends, but i think were still good for marty because he got to see faces other than mine, and we got to enjoy being outside. there is just nothing better than laying on a blanket outside with my baby!
we went out to my mom's house quite a bit. she had thursdays and fridays off of work, so we'd go out at least one of those days to play with grandma. sometimes there were other family members out there, too. this particular time granny and gramps were there, and some quality bonding took place.
we went to the roy aquatic center a handful of times, and it was heavenly! i think that we only met chelsa and my mom there once, and every other time it was just me and marty. we saw some friendly faces a few times, but overall it was just the two of us. at first i thought that might be awkward, but i talk to marty as much as i talk to any adult or friend so it was just as fun (more so, probably) as going with someone else. it may have been awkward for people watching me talk my baby's ear off, but who cares about them?
richard's band played some good gigs this summer, and one of them was at south ogden days on this humongous stage. it was very loud, and very fun.
grandma and grandpa come to pretty much every event that marty will be at, and i have no complaints about that. he'll never question whether he's loved, that's for sure.
auntie rachel joined us for that gig, too. she took some video and photos for the band, but i think she mostly just wanted to hang with marty, too. he's very popular.
the summer of 2013 was also the summer of the government sequestration. this meant that richard was "furloughed" (forced to take unpaid leave) for 6 fridays in a row. it was originally supposed to be 22, then they cut it to 11, and finally 6. at first we were very upset and stressed out about it, but then furlough friday turned into our favorite day of the week because it meant some quality family time. the only trick was making sure that we didn't spend money that richard wasn't making. thanks to our local splash pads, that trick didn't turn out to be as tricky as we thought it would be.
we got to celebrate the blessing of the newest little parker, and catch up with some of our favorite friends. it's funny (and sad) how you don't really appreciate the friends you have until they move to nebraska. luckily they're back already. but we still haven't seen them since this day. we're winners, and obviously really good friends to have.
i really don't think that i've been swimming as much as i did this summer since i was in high school. it was wonderful. we even got to sneak into the ogden country club, thanks to chelsa's bf austin (whose dad is the manager there). we soaked up some sun, and then we scarfed some fries. when i say "we," i mean me.
i also got to spend a little quality time with the original man in my life when we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. we each took a day to plan a fun surprise. mine was a day at the spa, which was a surprise to no one.
and richard pulled off an actual (and fabulous) surprise when he took me to see the utah symphony at deer valley. they were playing the music of the rolling stones that night, and it was a blast!
it was so fun to do something that neither of us had ever done before. we sang, and danced, and cuddled when it got cold. and we both missed marty when we saw how many people had taken their kids with them. but it was so nice to have quality one-on-one time with the guy who still spins my head and gives me butterflies.
he's my very best friend, and he's scratching all of my itches.
another best friend came to town on her way to a wedding, and i was so happy to have marty boy meet my katie kate. the best college roomie a girl could ask for, the best email pen-pal in the world (we still write each other weekly!), and one of the best friends i've ever had in my life. hopefully one day our kids will be making sweet music videos together like we have (and will continue to do).
it was a fun surprise for the third amigo, one mrs. crayk, to join us for lunch, too! i can't believe it's been almost ten years!
i got to meet the new man in katie's life, too. i'd heard so much about kyle, and had basically made up my mind about him already, but meeting in person sealed the deal. he's a keeper.
one of richard's favorite highlights from the summer was playing paul bunyan.
one of our friends knows how to cut down trees, and he offered to help richard cut down a big tree in our neighbor's yard that was threatening our foundation and roof. he enlisted spencer, and the rest is history.
it was a busy summer full of swimming, play dates, family visits, home projects, big trips, no air-conditioning, and trying to find balance with all of the things we usually do during the summer, but learning how to do them with a baby. not all of it was easy, but i can easily say that this was one of the very best summers of my life. maybe even the best.
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