Dad Turns 50!

So it's a big year all around for the Harman's. With the sale of the farm, building on the river, kids scattered throughout four states, etc. etc....things have been and will continue to be busy! My parents have been looking for a gathering place in St George for a while since it is half-way point for the Arizona crew and the Utah bunch has easy access also. We have made St. George our get away since I was eight years old and it was time to get kicked out of grandma and grandpa's and get our own place. They came across something when they weren't even looking, in the midst of cleaning out my Grandma Millie's home to get ready for the open house. It is perfect! We can all fit and there are enough bathrooms for everyone! We even have our own pool that we can't get kicked out of by the Mesa's condo association :)

Well my Dad turned 50 on Sunday and as a group we have decided he is the HARDEST person to shop for (except maybe Brian-what do you get for someone that doesn't have a preference or opinion!). If Dad wants something, he will just get it. You can only give the man so many sleeves of golf balls a year! So we decided the best present we could give him would be to be together. I love my dad and think he is one of the greatest people ever! The closing on the house was Friday so we decided to head down and suprise him. He and Mom stayed at the new house while we all trickled in late on Friday and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Harman. Saturday morning we all met early for breakfast and Mom brought Dad with her cunning ways and perfect timing. He was truly suprised! We had a great time at breakfast and spending the rest of the day at the new house. He got a real present and cupcakes on Sunday but the only thing missing was my sister Katie (and Benny). In the words of my niece Alexa, "This is fun...can we do it again?"

Fun Weekend

Get away

So I've been planning for weeks to catch up with one of my old friends from BYU-Hawaii. He came over one day to visit and lets just say it was chaos. I had my brother, sister and brother-in-law, and nephew over kind of unplanned and Cole was crying. Needless to say I asked if we could get together another time! So we planned to go out to dinner on the 14th. I said I didn't care where we went as long as we could take the baby.
Brian came home and out of his own free will offered to take Cole while I hung out with Dwain. He knew that I had not had a baby break in a long time and so I took his offer. We went to Red Robin-where the Whiskey River Chicken Burger is something that just thinking about it can make me salivate! I dream about it at night it's so good. I was only gone for an hour and a half but WOW it felt great to be out in public, childless, and eating something tasty that I didn't have to cook. It's amazing how the simple things that you don't even think twice about before you have kids become the things that you really look forward to. It was great to hang out with Dwain. Sometimes I feel like I am putting my friends on the back burner lately. To all of you-I PROMISE that I will get better!

My Secret Weapon

I think every mom has their little tricks. Cole can be screaming bloody murder....I put him in the bath tub and it's INSTANT calm. I took this picture after one such occasion. The minute I take him out he freaks again. It's kind of strange but I'm willing to do whatever works! We could attribute it to the fact that I spent 3/4 of my entire pregnancy in the tub. For right now, we're rolling with it. Johnsons Bedtime Bath is great too! Too bad that I couldn't just have a portable one to pop him in when he was having a meltdown in the middle of Target today. :)

Grateful

We would like to give a shout out to those that made it possible for Brian and I to spend some time together on Sunday. We got a pair of tickets on the Plaza level to Music and the Spoken Word and the morning session of conference. Great seats!

We left Cole with Aunt Renee and he was actually pretty good until the very end. Brian and I have not had four hours with just the two of us and no interruptions in a LONG time. Even before Cole was born the State of the State, school, and a whole lot of other things were happening.
So thank you to all those who consciously and unconsciously made this happen. We had a great time!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Cole is losing his hair. We all hoped and prayed it would not happen. He's already got a bare spot in the back and he's getting scant on top. However, his balding pattern is looking like he is going to keep the really long hair by his neck. It has not thinned at all! So-my child is going to have one of the wickedest mullets ever. Not something I am particularly impressed with, but Mathis thought it was way cool!