Springtime in Seattle

We spent last Christmas in 2018 with my family in Washington, but I hadn't been back home in a few months. Sunny (my mom--her grandma name is awesome) had been down to visit for about a week while she attended the nearby Gourd Festival in February, which was so fun. So of course once the end of April rolled around, it was time for Eloise and I to go visit again! Here are just a few pictures from when my mom visited Tucson in February:

First, my mom and I met up at the Gourd Festival in Casa Grande and I took a couple classes and made these gourds! The geometric one is painted, the flower one is wood burned and painted.

My mom stayed an extra week after the festival and since it was her first time in Tucson, we did a few touristy activities! We drove through downtown, went out to eat for Mexican and Sonoran dogs and visited a cool plant store. One of the first things we where we took pictures was did was go to Gates Pass for sunset.

We went to the Desert Museum, which is kind of like a mix between zoo (with all animals native to this area) and a botanical garden. We loved looking at all the cactus varieties!

We also walked around Sweetwater Natural Preserve. It was so fun to have my mom visit!

Slightly unfortunately, I was in full first trimester/morning sickness mode by the time Lou and I flew into Seattle in April, and stayed that way for the whole trip. Fortunately, I had some good days and we were able to get out and have fun! Unfortunately again, Lou caught some nasty stomach bug and spent a day puking and being sad and successfully passed it on to multiple family members. Fortunately, the stomach bug seemed to only be terrible for a day or so. All in all, a bit of a sick filled trip interspersed with some fun activities!

One of the first things we did while we were there was go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival! I was so glad I was able to come down before the tulips were done blooming. I think they only lasted about another week after we went. The trip was actually a bit of a struggle, because Lou was sooo grumpy. I thought she just had a slight cold, but as you now know, she was actually sick with something legit. But even with the grumpy girl, it was a fun little day trip with my mom and bestie Kayla and her two girls.

That night, all the sickness hit. Soon, everyone in the family (thankfully Kayla escaped it) was sick, some of them even worse than my pregnancy sickness! Lou was puking more than she ever has, and could barely keep any liquid down and she was cuddling with me. All abnormal signs. She got lots of snuggles and pedialyte and sleep over the next couple days and was soon back to her normal self. It was pretty bad for my mom and brother too, and the rest had slightly more mild symptoms. Somehow, Eloise always seems to get sick when we travel and this time she passed it on.

Thankfully, all the sickness seemed to have passed over the next few days before my old roommate Summer flew in! Kayla came over and spent the night with her girls as well. All three freshman roommates were together again! That night we ate a yummy dinner with my family and stayed up way too late chatting (like 2 or 3 am late). I haven't stayed up that late in ages.

The next day we made the trek into Seattle and did all the wonderful, touristy things! First, we hit up Pike Place and walked around the shops. We bought some kumquats and grapes from the farmer's market and some of my favorite pastries from Pirosky Pirosky. We found a nice place to sit in the sunshine overlooking the Sound and ate our snacks while Lou ran around like crazy.

Us girls also had to recreate a photo that we took when we were freshman. We laugh every time because one of us is always in leggings with no back pocket to put a hand in haha.

Then we headed over to the Nielsen bakery (a Nielson family favorite) and picked up some more pastries and cake to enjoy. On the way home, we made a quick stop at Kerry Park that has incredible views of the Seattle skyline.

That night, we had a homemade pizza night. Unfortunately, I was feeling so yucky that I didn't really enjoy the pizza until the next day. But man, my mom makes some dang good pizza! And Summer had to leave super early the next morning, so we stayed up slightly less late the second night haha. It was so fun to be able to chat with girls for hours about the most random stuff, it had been so long!

The rest of the week was fairly low key. Lou and I really enjoyed just spending time with family. We went out to eat, did some shopping, and visited my Grandma's grave. The weather stayed beautiful the entire time, which is crazy for Seattle in April! All in all, it was a wonderful visit to Washington!

Eloise at 15 Months

WEIGHT: 21 pounds
HEIGHT: 30 inches

LOVES:
 - Reading books
 - Her panda pillow pet, Mochi
 - Animals (real life, pictures, plushies, etc.)
 - Giving kisses
 - Playing at the park
 - Running around in large open spaces
 - "Stomp Like an Elephant"
 - When Dustan gets home from work
 - Fruit (especially berries and citrus)
 - Stuffed animals
 - Playing her xylophone
 - Being chased
 - Milk
 - "Ring Around the Rosie"
 - Running around with blankets over her head
 - Going hiking
 - Pools and hot tubs and baths
 - Adult water bottles
 - "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
 - "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco

DISLIKES:
 - Vegetables
 - Waking up from her second nap
 - Bananas
 - Being sick
 - Spending too much time confined (high chairs, crib, car seat, etc.)

NEW SKILLS:
 - Signs more, milk, hot, cold, cheese, book, and all done
 - Says hi, mama, dada, hot, uh oh, wow, and no
 - Can repeat about eight animal sounds when asked
 - Can locate a few body parts (nose, mouth, belly, and feet usually)
 - Blows kisses
 - Spins in circles
 - Stomps one foot
 - Walks up and down small steps
 - Does actions with some songs

RANDOM NOTES:
 - Still takes two naps each day, which I'm grateful for! Especially since both of them are under two hours and rarely longer than an hour and a half. I'm hoping that when she eventually does go down to one nap, it will at least last a little longer!
 - Hasn't popped any more teeth yet, just the same six she has had for many months!
 - Her hair is so long that is hangs down into her mouth when it isn't held back somehow, though of course she constantly pulls out most bows, clips, and ties.
 - Had the saddest double ear infection over Christmas break :(
 - Wears size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 overnight, and fits into clothes from sizes 9-12 months and 12-18 months.
 - Constantly mimics sounds and actions these days and picks up new things so quickly!
 - Throws her hands up in the air and shakes her booty when a song comes on

Current Schedule:

8:00 am - Wake up, breakfast
10:00 am - 3 oz milk/snack
10:30 am - Nap
12:30 pm - Lunch
3:00 pm - 3 oz milk/snack
3:15 pm - Nap
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:30 pm - 5 oz milk, bedtime routine, down for the night

Her ugly faces phase over Christmas break, haha

Oh man, this girl just gets more active and crazy each month! She's a pro at walking these days, and can get going pretty quick. For some reason, she seems to think that if she puts her arms out behind her when she "runs" (read "fast walk" haha), that it will make her go quicker. I just worry she'll face plant that way, haha. Lou loves to climb, but thankfully hasn't figured out how to get up on the couch or chairs yet, and I'm not going to show her how! She is just a bundle of energy and craziness.

As of right now, Lou doesn't talk a whole lot, just a handful of simple words. She understands a lot more, and seems to be more advanced physically instead. So, we've been focusing more on sign language instead, and she is getting some signing down quick!

As she gets older, Eloise is getting more a more affectionate. She'll give quick little snuggles and lots of kisses. Anything that slightly resembles a person or animal will get a kiss often, like pictures in her books, stuffed animals, mirror reflections, etc. I love it! And I love her!

A Weekend in Sedona

As soon as we moved to Arizona, we knew that Sedona was high on our bucket list of places to visit in the area. It is known is its large red rock formations and lots of hiking and mountain biking, so of course we had to go asap. Last year we skipped out annual February weekend away because Lou was so little, but not this year! So for Valentine's Day and Dustan's birthday, we drove up to Sedona for a long weekend with some friends.

Typically I try to write a blog post about our trips soon after we get back so I can remember everything, but unfortunately life got a little crazy. So here I am, writing about the trip way after the fact. Details will be a little sparse, but there will still be lots of pictures, as always :)

We drove up to Sedona, which is only a few hours from Tucson, on Valentine's afternoon. The drive was rather uneventful, though there was a lot of fog as we drove into Sedona. The fog blocked some of our views of the red rock formations. We first went to our adorable airbnb and checked in. Some storms rolled in, so we went ahead and put Lou down for a nap and ate dinner together afterwards (a very exciting grilled cheese dinner haha). By that point, it was just a sprinkling a bit, so we decided to go on a short hike near our airbnb.

The hike was beautiful! It was called the Teacup Trail. We wandered through some muddy paths among cacti and red rock. We still coudn't see a lot of the tall rock formations from clouds and fog, but what we could see was so majestic! We hiked for about two miles total. About halfway through our hike, the rain returned! It was dumping for most of the rest of our hike, which was actually really fun and wasn't too chilly. Eloise was totally happy the whole time, and stayed drier than both of us.

Our new Tucson friends, Dan and Cami, arrived that night to the airbnb. The next day the boys got up early and did some mountain biking together. They road the Hiline Loop via Slim Shady (mountain bike trail names are hilarious) and loved it! It was about 11 miles total and had a bit of everything: awesome views, techy climbing, and amazing and challenging descents.

Afterwards, we ate a yummy pancake breakfast before heading out on a hike! We hiked along Soldier Pass to Brins Mesa, a big loop that was almost seven miles. We first passed by an area called the Seven Sacred Pools, which would have looked even cooler if the pools weren't so foamy. The red rock in the background was stunning though!

The trail winded through some formations and around cacti and through lots of red dirt. We climbed up onto a plateau for some lunch and Lou loved running around and making us all nervous haha. From there, we continued on the hike back to our cars.

After cleaning up at our airbnb after the hike, we went to the Tlaquepaque Arts and Shopping Village to do some window shopping of all the fancy stuff we would never buy. Once again, Lou loved running around and being chased through all the courtyards.

Afterwards, went out to Thai food (a group favorite). Though the food was good, we were rather disappointed with the service, which was ridiculously slow. That night, we hot tubbed at our airbnb--which was so hot that we literally almost could not stand to be in it--while watching some comedy acts.

The next day was Dustan's birthday!! Dustan was very happy to start his day with another mountain bike ride with Dan. Our airbnb was in a great location and they were able to just ride to the trails. They did the Sedona Bike Park first then headed over to Adobe Jack and Grand Central. They got about 10 miles in that day and really enjoyed it for a quick morning loop, though it wasn't nearly as awesome as the other riding.

Afterwards, we attempted to go out to breakfast at a local place in town, but the wait was ridiculous, so we ended up at a yummy chain instead, which was fine. After, we headed to another famous, Sedona hike, Devil's Bridge. Overall, the hike was just under five miles. It started off on a dirt road for the first couple miles almost. It was sprinkling, but the weather was fabulous for hiking otherwise.

After hiking on the road for a while, we finally started climbing. There was a decent amount of elevation gain (about 500 feet) in only about half a mile. It was steep! Much of it was like steep stairs. Once we gained most of the elevation, we hiked along an edge before reaching the Devil's Bridge. It was very impressive, and reminded me of the many natural bridges in Moab. But it was quite wider than it looked, so after waiting in a short line, we even got a picture standing on the bridge! It was awesome.

We went out to Dustan's favorite for his birthday that night, sushi. Dan and Cami were so wonderful and paid for Dustan's dinner. We stopped by a bakery and bought some cheesecake for dessert and enjoyed it back at our airbnb while we played games.

Sunday arrived and it was about time to go home! We attempted to go to church, but apparently it was Stake Conference, so we arrived at the wrong place and at the wrong time. So instead, we decided to visit a famous church built into the mountain, the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It was a short stop, just enough to walk around the chapel and peek at the gift shop.

Then it was time to drive home! What a wonderful weekend exploring Sedona! We can't wait to go back again while we live in Tucson! Hopefully it will be soon :)