Visit with "Gampa"

Isaac's grandpa, Don, visited for a few days last week.  Don was passing through on a cross-country motorcycle trip and he was our first official visitor.

Some highlights of the trip:

Gondola ride to lunch at the Canyons Resort

Story time at the library

Dining out in Park City

Taking the bus!

 Grandpa & Isaac reading (translated by Mom & Dad):

 And of course, the sweetest thing was that Grandpa and Isaac really bonded.  After Don left, Isaac was asking for "gampa" and doing his sign/noise for motorcycle "vroom vroom."  We're very excited for their next visit, and look forward to having "Gamma" here too!

(Oh, and there are a few more photos in our September picassa album too)

Our Neighborhood

"Hi! Welcome to our neighborhood.  Here are some views I see (almost) every morning on our run."

The leaves are changing.

Ski hills.... just waiting for the snow!

Lots of rolling hills

Playing around in our neighborhood

Our neighborhood park

Wide, open spaces

Historic main street (about 2/3 mile from our home)

Dirty Dash!

What do you get when you cross a 

10K running race with

boot-camp style obstacles, 

crazy costumes and 

a whole lot of mud? 

It's called the Dirty Dash!

I participated in this fun-mud-run yesterday and it was an absolute blast! 

By far the most fun 6-mile run I've ever done...

Our friend Michelle organized a team of friends, officially called team "Dipstix". 

We dressed as '80's sports fanatics. 

Here are the before and after pictures of our team:

"Before":  All Clean and ready to run!

"After": Happily muddy

I was a little nervous about the race, because I've only been running 2-4 miles regularly, and there's a bit of altitude here in Park City (almost 7,000 feet).  But, the obstacles broke up the trail running and really, it was more about having fun than getting a 'personal record' (did they even time us?  I'm not sure!). Not to say it wasn't a great workout... I'm definitely feeling it today! 

To give you an idea of the route, here is a map from the Dirty Dash website (http://www.thedirtydash.com/).  If you love running and/or having fun, you HAVE to try one of these!  

Seriously... do it! It's so much dirty fun.

The First Week in Park City

Greetings from Park City! Here are a few photos of Isaac's first week in Park City, UT:

 

Besides settling into our new home and unpacking ALL of those boxes, we've been having fun exploring the town.  Isaac's been to the park almost every day (and sometimes 2x a day). We've also enjoyed toddler story-time at the library, the farmers market and the dog park. I am still job searching, but in the meantime I'm truly enjoying the time with Isaac! And there are so many kid-friendly activities in town that we're keeping busy and I'm not going too stir-crazy, yet.

Overall, Isaac has done great with the move. The first few nights and nap-times were a little bit rough, but now he is sleeping great at night and has transitioned to just one power-nap during the day.

We'll share some photos of our new home once we're a little more organized (there's still a bit of unpacking and organizing to do).  But in the meantime, we've started a September album for your viewing pleasure.

Photos: the epic goodbye party!

Before we left for Park City, we had one last (rather epic) BBQ at our house.  Our good friend, and very talented photographer, Ryan Carlson, came with his camera and helped us capture the afternoon.  There was no way to capture everyone who attended, but the photos sure do capture the spirit of the day!

Here is a peek at the photos:

And the full photos can be viewed here (click to go to the Picasa Page).

Reunited in Park City

After a week of being apart, we are so happy to all be together again! Eric drove to Utah a week ahead of me and Isaac to start his job and take care of things in Utah. I stayed in Seattle to finish up my work, pack and move, and get the house ready for tenants. Here is a photo of Eric and Isaac at a park near our new home:

Before we left we also got to see Oma and capture four generations. We love you, Oma!

Goodbye Seattle, Hello Park City

The last month has been a wild ride!

Eric accepted a new position at a company in Park City, Utah on August 2nd and in 28 short days we've :
- Done countless repairs on our Seattle home, placed it for rent through property management and have tenants ready to move in on Sept. 1
- Found a place to live in Park City
- Said our goodbyes to friends and family, including having one last (rather epic) BBQ at our house
- Gave our notices at our Seattle jobs
- Secured daycare for Isaac in Park City (in case i get the job I've interviewed for in Utah...I'm still waiting to hear...)
- Sold our remaining Sounders tickets, but don't worry... we'll be Sounders fans forever, and
- Filled (what seems like hundreds) of garbage & giveaway bags and hired movers to help us pack and move...

Phew! It's exhausting being this productive!  But we're so thankful for all of the help from family and professionals. Doing all of this alone, while taking care of a 17 month old, would be a true modern marvel.

And here we are, on the brink of a new adventure.  Everything has fallen into place so smoothly, and we're anxious and excited to be settled and fully moved.  So, coming soon will be pictures of our new condo, and of our new town.  In the meantime, here are some photos of the last week or so:

how many merhar men does it take to fix a door?
We were so appreciative of Don & Debi's help with house repairs last weekend!

Breakfast with G&G Merhar

Saying "see ya later" to good friends (Christina with Angela & Amanda)

A little light reading before packing up (and pointing out the CARS)

"Ready to Go, Mom!"

Stop to Smell the Hydrangeas

It's been a crazy-busy week (more on that later), but we're trying to remember to slow down, have fun and to stop and smell the roses hydrangeas.

Our local grocery store, Central Market, has this really cool tractor out front.  I assumed that when Isaac saw it and said "oooh! oooh! ooh!" that what he really meant was "I would like to go for a ride, Mother." So here he is riding the tractor:

"Now, where is first gear?"

It helps to know that one of his favorite books this week is "101 First Words: Things that Go" that has a whole page on tractors, combine harvesters, farm pick-up trucks and, his favorite, motorcycles.

And here are a couple other cute photos from the week: 

Visit with Auntie Lisa!

Isaac (Mr. Strawberry Face) and Lodi, just back from a walk

Priest Lake

We traveled to Priest Lake, ID for a Merhar family reunion. Priest Lake is in the Northern pan-handle of Idaho. To break up the long drive, we spent a night in the tricities with Grandma & Grandpa M.  Then we enjoyed 3 nights of camping at the Beaver Creek campsite on Priest Lake, enjoying the sun, family time and outdoor adventures. There were about 30 Merhar family and friends from all over the Pacific Northwest and US.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about camping with a 16-month old, but it was so much fun!  The little guy loves the outdoors and had such a fun time exploring, and pointing out everything that is HOT (which is a lot of stuff when you're camping).  We were very appreciative to Mike & Heidi (Eric's Uncle & Aunt) for planning such a fun reunion.  Here's the run-down:

On the Road Again.  Lots of driving, but we managed pretty well.

Visits with Grandma M and OG in the tricities

Fun times on Heidi & Mike's boat.  I tried wake boarding for the first time, and absolutely loved it! Eric showed off on the slalom ski and wake board. He's pretty awesome. Aunt Heidi had the magic touch with Isaac on the boat, who wasn't so sure about the confining life jacket and wind in his face (can you blame him?).

Family Time around the fire...

Isaac helping and having a grand ole' time:

16 Months (Monkey See, Monkey Do)

Our little dude is 16 months old!
What's he been up to? Lots of imitation, cognitive development and exploration.

His little mind is just exploding.  Each day, he knows a new word (saying it, signing it or just understanding it).  He amazes us with what he understands.  He's become a lot more interested in books this last week; actually bring us books to read to him.  He especially loves his "DOG" book, and looking at our family photo books.  And speaking of dogs, he either wants to be one, or he thinks he is one... he's been spotted on more than one occasion crawling around on all fours and panting.  It's pretty cute.

He loves to find the biggest rock in the garden (pick up, move, repeat); although equally as exciting is to find the smallest crumb to pick up and maneuver.  He's obsessed with buckles and latches and eye glasses... anything he can put together and pull apart.

He's discovered climbing again and can now climb up on the couch, the coffee table and chairs all by himself. In fact he loves to sit on a "big-boy chair" by himself (clapping, of course, at his accomplishment).

Sounders cheers, or anything with a lot of singing, chanting and clapping, really spark a smile too.  If we start a song and stop, he'll sign for more and we oblige.  What can we say, except that we're his little monkeys (clap Mom & Dad, clap!).

He's been sleeping through the night again (although away from home it's still a little rough).  He's still taking two naps a day (1.5 - 2 hours each). But, the naps are stretching out and he's been going to bed a little later (9pm), so I'm thinking that a one-nap day is right around the corner.

Here are some recent photos of every-day life from the last week or so:

Diaper Buns! Baby central at the bbq this week (Mack--19mths & Isaac... and Irene--9mths peeking around to say hi)

Future Doctor? (fun with Grandpa while we were out celebrating our anniversary)

Wearing Dad's Shades

Carkeek Park

Hiding from Thunder Storms

No caption needed.

Off for a morning walk (doggy-sitting the dog on the left)

He loves 'walking' too!

And we're all enjoying the summer (that finally decided to show up in Seattle!)