24 hours in Sacramento

A few weeks ago one of my friends posted a picture of their new house on FB.  I made a comment asking which window is ours for when we come visit.  She commented back saying our room would be the one facing their "perfectly manicured backyard".  We had to check it out, so off we went to California!

Our Valentine's trip to Sacramento (in chronological order):

- Chatting with friends on Facebook and watching HGTV from 33,000 feet in the sky

- The railroad museum (my favorite part was the Costal Ridge cart...way to travel in style)

- A walk through Old Town Sacramento

- Walking around the Delta King ship

- Free taffy and candy at the candy shop

- Dinner at Joe's Crab shack

- A walk around California's capital building

- Lots of chatting and meeting Kelly's husband

- Watching Secretariat on the way home

-Coming home to a happy Savannah... we think she had too much fun with Grandma while we were gone and suspect that we missed her more than she missed us!

- Oh wait...and a purple toilet in their neighborhood too.  That was weird.

Over the river & thru the woods

She's all packed with her pj's on and ready to head to Grandma's for the night. 
And the night after that. 

Here's to a Valentines getaway trip to Sacramento, CA.

We miss her already.

Quiet Friday afternoon =

New sunglasses and a sparkle wand.

That's the last time we go shopping when I'm bored. 

Dang you Old Navy.

Luggage for Little People

I'm pretty sure that Savannah's first suitcase will be a trunki.  What little traveler wouldn't love waiting in the airport with a cute little suit case that has wheels that you can ride around (the strap is even long enough for parents to pull like a wagon too)  It's carry on size approved which makes it especially perfect for us standbys.

Thanks for the babble post, JF. 

What'll Ya Have?

When you go to the Varsity restaurant in Atlanta, you do it for the experience (not the meal because its overpriced and greasy. But we all pretend not to notice that).

Doesn't Savannah look captivated by this Varsity burger? Good for us - it kept her distracted from the fact that she is not wearing her little pants anymore - but my sweater tied around her waist.

Here's to keeping an extra set of clothes on hand for those leaky blow outs that we all love :)

I now carry this

Not because we have pets, but because we have a baby (toddler?  wow, that sounds weird)
With my pint sized lint roller, gone are the days when I'm down on my hands & knees picking up individual crumbs after my baby/toddler in church or out at a restaurant - a tip I recently received.


Genius.  


What didn't I think of that?


P.S.  The link to 12 month pictures is now up on Our Little One's blog.

If Savannah was school aged

I'm pretty sure I'd make her these valentines to pass out at school.

Ever used SeeHere? We used them for our Christmas cards last year.  They are offering 24 photo cards for only $2.49 shipped when you use the code 25cards. (translation: .10/card)

Please tell me that someone will do this.  Too cute!`

Thanks Crystal!

That's a lot of Grandma's!

Savannah has six (count them SIX) grandmas.  

Two grandmas and four great grandmas - all blood relatives and all living. 

All of Savannah's six grandmas have unique qualities about them.  This here below is Great Grandma Harrison, and some of the qualities we like about her are:

- At her age she still does major home improvements.  For example, she completely re-tiled and remodeled her master bathroom.  And she retiled her kitchen counter.  By *herself* with only the help of 'how to' books.

- She can sew like a pro and made Savannah's blessing dress 

- She sure can make us laugh (remember the dialogue in this post?)

-She is beautiful even without makeup (check out the picture below)

And my new favorite (even if you aren't a bachelor watcher, you can still appreciate this):

I received an email from her recently that started off.... 

"Hi Kristen - I saw the picture on your blog with Jake, the bachelor, anyway it looked like Jake."

-She knows things like who the Bachelor is!  How many great grandmas do you know that can recognize people like that?

Thanks for reading our blog, Great Grandma Harrison!

It's My Party...

Luckily only one mini -melt down
(maybe the sparkler candles weren't such a good idea). 

And yes, there are four candles (what's the fun with just one candle?)

Head over to Savannah's blog for a plethora of catch up pictures. 
Don't have access?  Let me know.

Why I Can't Stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs

A fair and impartial opinion from "a young, feminist atheist who can't bake a cupcake".

If you have a few minutes, its entertaining and worth the read here

Pros - I found a few more cool blogs mentioned in this article to add to my IE bookmark

Cons - I found a few more cool blogs mentioned in this article to add to my (already too long) IE bookmark

(Wasn't one of my NY resolutions to cut down on blog surfing time? And didn't I just mention something about this in the last post?? And don't my posts need more pictures because they are so text heavy at the moment?)

Ever find yourself blog surfing

and then happen upon really cool blogs authored by folks that aren't professional photographers (or claim to be), but still have super cool camera equipment - not to mention the know how to take rock star pictures?

I might be craving a crash course in photo right now. And a new camera.

Here's to wishing for the day when we can download knowledge like we can download music.

P.S. Blogging comeback starts next week. Stay tuned!

A lost cause?

I was recently contacted by a sponsor (actually two) who wanted to do a give away on this blog.

How can that be when I've barely posted on this blog for the past year (and a half)? Which, mostly has been due to the fact that I kind of like looking at other design/organization/cooking/funny/ personal blogs more than posting on my own blog.

Well, that - and the Facebook/ social networking movement has taken over.

.....Does anyone still read this blog?

Is there any interest for a Harrison House blogging comeback - part II (see part I here). Or is blogging now a lost cause and we should all go completely Facebook?

Let your voice be heard. Show me some love folks - 15 comments means I'm back in business (for real this time, like I used to blog) - under 15 comments means interest is lost and this blog will be archived forever. (And being archived isn't a bad thing by any means :) And no, Nancy - you can't leave all 15 comments ;)

By the way, anyone recognize this guy? I thought that maybe one day I'd run into him in the Atlanta airport - such was the case a few weeks ago on our flight to Texas.

I may have had a slightly embarassed husband after taking this picture. Maybe because it was the scary look on my face. Or how cozy this guy can be with strangers.

While we were still dating

Brant and I took a road trip from Provo, Utah to Dallas, Texas via Payson, AZ where Brant's grandparents live and to stop for the night. That same evening we went fora jog down to the local park and pond where we enjoyed the summer night weather. Who would have thought that over four years later that we would return to that pond as a family of three! Although not under ideal circumstances (Grandpa Harrison will be missed) we really enjoyed the time we spent there last week.

Look for more pictures of our Arizona trip from last week on Savannah's blog.

And what's a trip to Arizona without a visit to Cambi - and feeding the ducks?

And a nice little nature walk.

Three kids later and still just as I remember her. Until next time my friend!

Just because

this blog hasn't seen an update for almost two months... here's some Halloween pictures! Halloween was really low key this year with just the ward potato bar and trunk or treat on Saturday - but really fun to see Savannah and all of her little ward friends dressed up!

Our little wingless fairy (or ballerina with headpiece... take your pick)

Isn't she getting so big?!

And since last year we ran out of candy from snacking on it while we waited for trick or treaters, (sad that we've since become known to the neighborhood kids as the house that ran out of candy) I came up with a fool proof plan of giving out the nice hotel shampoos & lotions that Brant brings me home from all his trips! I think it's way better to be the car trunk/ house that gives out hotel lotions than the car trunk/ house that runs out of candy!

Hope you liked it trunk or treaters - because your getting it next year too! mwa-haha!

When we travel

We pack light.

It's the only way to go since we only take carry ons with us when we fly (we gate check the car seat or bring it on board if there's an extra seat in the row). And since we now travel with an infant, I pack for two- in the same carry on that I used to pack for one- and I'm always looking for ideas to pack more efficiently. Here's the top three that I've found:

(1) pack your baby's clothes by the day in ziplock bags.

This is great because not only does it keep your carry on bag neat and organized (like if you get lucky and TSA wants to search your bag) but the air can be squished out of the ziplock bag (you know what I mean) to create even more room in your carry on. I liked the idea so much that I even did it with gallon sized bags for my clothes.

(2) Roll your diapers tight. In the past, I usually packed just a few for the trip over and then bought more once we got to the place we were going. But since we recently received some diapers that were originally part of a diaper cake, I kept them rolled up and stuck them down the bag wherever there was a pocket of space. This worked great because they stay rolled tight and didn't get smashed or loose their shape at the bottom of the bag.

Which left us with feeding while on the flight. (3) And this is my favorite: the bazooka of all baby spoons, aka the Boon Squirt! Before we leave for the airport, I pour a jar of baby food into the handle of the spoon (ours is a bright pink) and wha-la! A no mess, easy handling feeding ready to go when it was time. Which also works great because the spoon never needs to leave the baby's mouth- just a continuous squirt (which is a bonus for us since Savannah gets impatient when we don't spoon fast enough for her!)

In the end, I was able to pack into one carry on (that fit under the seat in front):

• 4 days of outfits (including Sunday dresses & pajamas) for both Savannah and I


• 4 days worth of diapers & wipes


• A pair of dress shoes for me


• Shampoo/ Conditioner/ Shower gel/ make up


• My flat iron


• A church shirt for Brant (who was meeting us down in Texas after his trip)


• My bulky SLR camera


• A light weight baby blanket plus baby sleep sack


• A (small) diaper bag with toys and baby food that also doubled as a purse
  

And I had room to spare.

Time for take off!

I know there are more out there that travel with infants- what are your packing secrets as well??

P.S. Look for Texas pictures on Savannah's blog- they are all mainly of her!

Summer

....where did it go?

Or better yet, what did we do for the last half of it??

For starters, we went to the Braves game on Mormon Night.

The big Braves drum

Cousins... they really do like each other, I promise!

Wide awake till the 7th inning stretch

Home Depot's top of the inning tool race. The paintbrush won.

What a fun game- time for bed!

Up next: Texas Trip and expert plane carry-on packing for two!

Pssst....

Want to hear a secret?

You see that white stuffed bunny with the pink ears sitting in the corner of the crib? That's the one- behind the mushroom mobile.

I'm pretty sure that when I put Savannah down for a nap and then walk out of the room that it comes alive and entertains her. I haven't actually caught the bunny in its "live" form because every time I walk back into the room, it hurries and goes back to sitting in the same form that it was when in when I walked out of the room.

But I can't think of many other reasons why Savannah would be so content to just lay down awake in her crib (like she is as I type this) for long periods of time in the afternoon trying to take a nap as I hear happy baby squeels/ talking/ singing comming from her room.

Yeah, pretty sure it comes alive ;)

Baby's First 5K

One of the goals that I have for our little family (besides taking lots of pictures) is to live a really active lifestyle. I'm not really a big runner nor did I run cross country in high school or college or anything, but its the one thing that everyone can do as a family and is a low maintenance sport. Back when we were picking out our stroller before Savannah was born, we went for the one (and only) jogging stroller travel system that we could find (by the way- are you listening stroller makers? your missing the mark here - we need more options of jogging stroller travel systems please!)

Last Saturday we woke up early and headed up to North Atlanta to participate in the annual Clydes Run. This was a special 5K because it is held yearly on Clyde May's birthday - someone I've never met, but who died from complications of Prader-Willi Syndrome. If you aren't familiar with Prader-Willi Syndrome (which you most likely aren't because it's not common) go here.

Matthew, our one year old nephew (born six months before Savannah) has PWS and we all ran to show our support.


Matthew's fan club at the start line- minus a few that didn't make it in the photo (like me who was the photographer)

The course was set up to run a 5K, but was also set up with a shorter course for folks that wanted to complete the 1 mile walk. I really enjoy these kind of 5Ks because everyone is running with a purpose- or for someone. It's not a competive run and you see lots of folks along the course who are just trying to support the cause and make it to the finish line. We especially noticed the 60-something old man who was running with his dog, wheezing the whole way, but determined to finish.

I let Brant have the opportunity to be in all the pictures this time! A funny side note - at the end of the run Deahl thanked us for comming to support Matthew and Brant automaticaly replied "Yeah- no sweat!" Then he thought about it for a second and realized that was kind of a lie - there was a lot of sweat!

And this sweet litte guy is Matthew! With his dad (my brother Adam and his wife Deahl - we all wore those buttons with Matthew's picture on them.)

A group picture after the run of about half of all the participants. When we were running I noticed a girl that couldn't have been more than 6 years old (running a 5k!) with her mom. She was sweating, determined, and oh so cute with her determination (and her adorable skirt running outfit). I hope Savannah and I will be running like that one day! But in the meantime we'll look forward to pushing her in the joggling stroller and look forward to running again in it next year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

And since it fell on a Sunday this year, we got to celebrate both the Saturday before and on Sunday. It's July 5th now, but we're still celebrating at the Harrison House - Savannah is now in her third 4th of July outfit.

Plus, we're celebrating with the extra pretzel sparklers that I made to share for the Independance Day bbq's that were going on.

Not to be a downer on other holidays, but I think I heard it said perfectly at church yesterday - that Independance Day is such a great holiday because you don't worry about presents or crowded shopping malls. Just lots of food and good times with family& friends.

I won! I won!

To see what I'm talking about, go here.

Yes, it was bold of me.

Yes, you can laugh.

YES - a fair warning that it might make you blush!!

And YES - it's all worth it for what I get!!

But you better hurry before Brant sees this post and wants me to take it down.

I mean, it's already online for the world to see, so I might as well share the good news on my blog, right?!?

(And yes, I need a tan!)

UPDATE: All right, the gig's up (a few hours after I posted this Brant saw it). I took out the hyperlink above, so you'll have to leave me your email so I can send you the link individually if you want to see.

P.S. I got my free photo luggage tags in the mail and they are super cute.

If you haven't already gotten yours, there is still over 20,000 left before the promotion ends!