The Highlight of the Summer

"Am I bad if this is going to be the highlight of my summer?"

"Really, Curtis? Let's just see . . . this summer you've had a baby, moved across the entire country, fed giraffes with your bare hands, explored Washington, D.C., drove 18-plus hours to Kansas City, relived your love story, and next month we are going to the beach. It might make you bad, but I can't judge you."

So, let me give you a recap of some of the other summer activities. Which one is the guilty highlight? I'll let you be the judge.

Airport Overlook
Since we've driven so much already this summer, our rental car was due for an upgrade. The rental agency is located near the airport, so we decided to make a day of the 40-minute drive and exchange at Airport Overlook Park. This gem of a park is situated at the end of the busiest runways Charlotte Douglas Airport. We arrived at peak takeoff time in the early evening to see a long line of a variety of airliners ready to depart. The runway ran parallel to the overlook area, so we got to see and hear the acceleration in an exciting way! I had to cover poor Livia's ears, but Sebastian just adored seeing these flying cars up close. We've always known that Sebastian did not receive his mother's poor eyesight because he can spot a plane in the sky before anyone else. Whether we are out on a walk, playing in the pool, or just driving to the store, Sebastian will shout "ah-peen!" before we even notice the faint roar of the engine that's been humming in the distance. The sky might clearly showcase a small airplane, a tiny glimmering light, or a simple streak of exhaust, but Sebastian always knows. We were amazed the day he bit his pretzel into a "t" shape and called it an airplane. What imagination. So this was the perfect place to take our boy . . . until we take him to Dad's truck plant (one day)!

Cow Appreciation Day
For the last few years, Curtis and I have tried to take full advantage of the free Chick-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day. This summer was no different! Chick-fil-A offers customers a free meal during July when customers dress up as a cow (!!!). We really do love Chick-fil-A. It's clean, family friendly, real, and delicious. So how could this list of summer highlights feel complete without this?

Park Serendipity
Moving to new cities every few months doesn't give us a great chance to become experts in the area, so one of our new favorite pastimes is exploring by car. We love driving around both historic and new neighborhoods, dreaming of our future in a Southern Colonial, a natural Craftsman, a fun Mediterranean, or charming cottage style home. As we have driven around, we have found some fun parks to stop and enjoy. Even though Sebastian loves driving around, he loves climbing and jumping and running and sliding even more.

Summer Splash Pads
In addition to finding creative playgrounds to explore, Sebastian has loved the variety of splash pads around the area. We have a pool at our apartment complex, but who wants to jump into thousands of gallons of water when you can jump through a set of extreme sprinklers.

Great Wolf Lodge
Earlier this year, Curtis and I got suckered into listening to a 3-hour timeshare presentation. Free rewards for the long and painful sales pitch: an extravagant vacation to the Mexican Riviera, an exotic cruise, or a family-friendly stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. We were living in Texas at the time, not quite certain if we were soon moving to Portland or somewhere else later in the year. Oh, and we were secretly pregnant. As awesome as it would be to be take our much-deserved vacation, we just don't think this is the year to go all out. Timeshare people: The popular Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas, is very accessible, very family friendly, and very close by. Well, we're likely moving to Portland soon. No worries—another Great Wolf Lodge is located in the lush mountains of Washington. Oh, but we might be traveling for work to North Carolina. And we aren't sure when. There's another Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte!

Basically, fate made us take this vacation. And Sebastian sure is glad we did! He had a blast at their indoor water park, jumping through man-made waves, climbing up and sliding down Sebastian-sized water slides, running through falls, and wading through fountains. Livia wasn't quite sure what to think about all the spray features and splash landings, but because she's perfect, she never complained. Curtis and I took turns going down some of the grown-up slides. We invaded some families' fun to ride 4-person tubes, but we both loved the mat racer. We would totally come again—for free, that is. Guess we need to find another timeshare presentation!

Pig Pickin'
When Curtis and I were touring the East Coast together with the BYU Wind Symphony seven years ago, we were treated with a traditional Southern pig pickin'—twice. And we LOVED them. Don't ask me why. So when our ward announced that they were having their annual pig pickin' while we were still here, you can bet we were excited.

My first pig pickin', May 2007.  Excuse my chubby cheeks.

A pig pickin' usually includes roasting an entire pig, then picking—literally—the meat off its bones. Unfortunately pig was about three times more expensive this year than it was last year, so our ward budget could only afford three pork butts instead of "the whole hog." I crack myself up. The barbecue was still delicious, of course, featuring a smorgasbord of picnic sides and dessert—which was probably the best part this go around. Not the dessert. But watching Sebastian snack on the dessert. After we were finished eating, Sebastian ran off to play. At one point, I didn't see him on the playground . . . but that's because he was strategically choosing which dessert plate to devour. Grandma Dalley used to make reference to babies having periscope eyes. She's totally right. I bet Sebastian stood by that dessert table for a solid twenty minutes. Did I try to stop him? It would have been utterly futile, so, no. We rarely eat sweets at our house, so we thought the boy deserved some cake, especially since he was demonstrating such independence.

Trent, The Fashion Designer

He would cut the felt carefully into the shape that most resembled the model—a Tamagatchi, the latest trend in digital pets for kids in the late '90s. He carefully stitched the two tan pieces together with spare black thread, stuffing it with bits of cotton. I remember knowing exactly what it was when he was finished. Trent was always creating: forts with blankets and fake plants, lego masterpieces, models with detailed paint jobs. I was never that way. I could follow directions. I could copy others' good ideas. But Trent created things almost out of thin air. And he has been ever since.

Trent graduated from Brigham Young University–Idaho in business and clothing construction. On December 10, 2011, Trent's first complete line of jackets, End of Line, were featured in a BYU-I fashion show called Showcase Runway. Trent's inspiration for these jackets came from his childhood passion for Gundam robots and other anime characters, decked in sharp angles and intense lines. These jackets are immaculate. Now Trent, the lucky dog he is, also happened to meet his wife that same day—the highlight of his fashion designing career to date.

The Designer with Mammaw before the show

The Designer's designs

The Designer on stage

The Designer with his models

I just can't tell what is better looking in this picture: my husband or that jacket.

The Designer, himself

The Designer with his future wife on the day that they met.

Now you may think that it doesn't get much better than being featured in a fashion show and meeting your wife on the same day, but this week, Trent may have topped that. He is an official fashion designer for Klim, a company who designs gear for extreme sports. It's the perfect job for a guy like Trent, and we couldn't be more proud.

Moments That Matter Most

I can still see the peace that had been washed over his face. His pink eyelids were delicately closed as he breathed short, deep breaths in my arms. It was close to two o'clock in the morning. I lay there and stared at his body, so small and secure, cradled in the crook of my arm, in the dim light of the moon coming through my window. As I stroked his fluffy hair, I thought, I want to remember this moment for the rest of my life.

I often find myself wanting to remember important events, out-of-the-ordinary happenings that make my life seem more remarkable in some way or another, like hiking to the top of a glacier in the Swiss Alps or posing next to a crocodile in Cozumel. There's nothing wrong with that: These events are often very happy memories. Sometimes we get lucky with a camera, immortalizing moments that mean something to us, moments that make our lives unique.

But then there are moments that Instagram will never be worthy of. Maybe these moments can be photographed, but these moments I simply just want to enjoy. These moments are short. And sometimes we get lucky and realize what they are before these moments are gone.

These are just some of my moments:

when Livia goes completely limp as she eats.
when Sebastian clasps his hands and squeezes his eye to pray.
when I realized the crease in Sebastian's forearm was beginning to disappear.
when Livia gets all shifty-eyed as I stroke her eyebrows right before she falls asleep.
when they pout their lips and arch their back right after they wake up.
when Sebastian calls my name as I pick him up from nursery.
when they yawn and stretch their fists to the top of their heads.
when Sebastian points at the hummingbirds or the butterflies with excitement.
when Livia's eyes light up as she looks at the window.
when their gums look so deliciously gummy as they smile.
when Sebastian scrunches his nose and curls his lip, showing his small teeth, when he smells flowers.
when I wake up and realize Livia slept all night.
when Sebastian kicks his sandals forward as he runs. His legs are perfect.
when their chests rise and fall as they sleep.
when Livia smiles as Sebastian gives her cars or blankets or diapers or bread.
when Sebastian fell asleep with his hands folded on his chest like an old man.
when Livia sleeps so hard her face gets squishy.
when I decide not to yell at Sebastian.
when I decide to stare at Livia instead of stare at a screen.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf instructed us that "we would do well to slow down a little, . . . focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." I try each day to slow down and focus. And when I do, I feel a drop of heaven fall onto my heart each time.

East Coast Romance

I will never forget the moment I first caught a glimpse of Curtis Hale. He was standing at the back of the bus, chatting with a few fellow low brass players. He had a tan, young-looking face with dark, compelling eyes. But he had an air of genuineness and warmth about him. I'm still convinced rays of sunlight were radiating from his presence. You may not believe in love at first sight. I'm not so sure that I believe in it either . . . but I distinctly remember thinking, I want to be his friend. I didn't know anything about him. I had never seen him before. I didn't even know his name. All I knew was that I was drawn to him. 

It was May 8, 2007. We were both on tour with the BYU Wind Symphony. Although we both played in the same room at least twice a week for the past five months, he just never sat in my line of sight: He played the tuba, and I played the clarinet—opposite sides of the crowd. It was easy to talk to him for the first time. I feel quite lucky, actually. Everyone on tour wanted to get to know everyone else. We were airing around Appomattox Court House with a group of fellow band members, and small talk sprouted among us. I found out what his name was, where he was from, and that he had just turned 19 years old. He had recently received his mission call to Berlin, Germany. Ooh, we've struck gold, I thought. I took German 101 this year on a whim (I registered for the 8 a.m. class on the night before the first day of school), and I was in love . . . with German—at least at this point. Let's keep digging.

Standing on the steps at Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, VA

Chatting after lunch at the (my best guess) Merchant Square Mall in Williamsburg, VA

Curtis didn't know that I was the girl whose father was in the hospital. He simply saw an attentive, happy friend. When he learned of the uncertainty and fear I had been dealing with regarding my father's motorcycle accident, he never once felt sorry for me. He never judged me or tried to brush away the fact that I was hurting. He was just a true friend. We began sitting next to each other on the bus and exploring the stops together. I was falling in love; he made it very clear that he was unavailable (to my dismay). But he never abandoned me or made me feel insecure. He was a sincere, natural, unwavering, true friend.

Reviewing pictures together somewhere along the East Coast

Napping on a long travel day to Mooresville, NC

Having lunch at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

Posing in the Duke Gardens in Durham, NC

The tour eventually ended. He left the country for two years. I dated other boys. And somehow our friendship never died. We drafted hand-written letters to each other and sent them across the globe month after month, always anxiously concerned for the comfort and well-being of the other.

Now, seven years later, we are back. Curtis's job has brought us back to the place that our early friendship took roots. Last weekend, we reminisced on our first impressions of each other in one particularly enchanting location in Durham, North Carolina. We revisited the Duke Gardens, the first place we took pictures together while we were on tour. 

You can see for yourself how . . . handsome—I mean . . . I must be getting distracted by those eyes again! It turns out, we are living in one of the cities that we performed in. We drove by the Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville the other day, and we are almost certain that is where I first laid my head on his shoulder. (No, no, nothing scandalous was going on.) Curtis noticed that my eyes were quietly filling with tears. I don't remember what sparked my sadness; I had probably suppressed my grief about my father's condition for too long. He patiently pulled my off to the side and asked if I would like to get some air. He walked with me. He never left me alone. And I cried. On his shoulder. The moment was raw but, oh, so comforting. He is still my rock, my forever-constant, best friend. Even on the darkest days, he is my ray of sunlight. But I knew that the very first time I saw him.

The Perfect Day

I wake up to the sound of clanging in the kitchen. The smell of fresh pancakes is in the air. I look over. Curtis is gone. I hear Sebastian chatting away in the other room. He's already been up for thirty minutes. I climb out of bed and bring my perfect Livia into the living room. The table is set. Pancakes are hot. Fresh strawberries are cut.

After breakfast, we drive to the perfect neighborhood park and splash pad. We warm up on the racecar-themed play equipment, which happens to be Sebastian's new favorite anything. When we hear the water come on, we race over to the splash pad. I sit in the warm sun with Livia in my arms as I watch Sebastian run around. He slips and falls, but runs directly to me, his lifeline, for two seconds of love before dancing back to the fountains.

When we arrive back home, Sebastian is sound asleep in the back seat. Perfect. He has been wanting to skip his naps lately. I carefully unbuckle him and carry him up to his bed. He stays asleep. Curtis changes Livia and makes us lunch, the second meal I haven't had to prepare today. We sit back and relax. We chat and enjoy our precious quiet time until Sebastian climbs out of his bed on his own.

Sebastian, Livia, and I play on the porch under the beautiful stone archway. Curtis locks us out until he finishes doing the dishes and mopping the floor. Perfect husband. We make the spontaneous decision to spend the night on the town, strolling through the streets of downtown Charlotte.

Sebastian falls asleep early and I prepare a perfect meal of creamy peanut coconut noodles. We can't remember the last time we had dinner alone together. We curl up on the couch watching the perfect combination of action and espionage. We fall asleep in our comfortable bed, reminiscing on the day's activities.

This is my vision of the perfect day. And today it happened.

4th of July

"What color is the Target?" asked Scout.

"Gold," replied Eagle. "We better get out of here in case we are spotted," she told Watson.

Back at the safe house, Eagle and Watson waited with heavy anticipation. The Target could arrive at any moment. They had to prepare the Package for immediate detonation.

Scout was sprinting back toward the safe house, waving his arms with warning. "Keep out of sight. I'll let you know when to send out the Package," Snapshot instructed. The Target pulled up to the safe house, unaware of what was in store.

Operation Surprise generated the desired outcome: tears.

I suppose that's enough spy analogy for today. But this plot was about as close as I will probably ever come to being a spy: surprising my parents with their grandbabies for the Fourth of July.

We had been proposing ideas all year about how Mimi and Pappaw could see their new granddaughter and favorite grandson before the babies turned old and grey, but a reunion seemed unlikely since Curtis's job would be taking us across the globe for the rest of the year. At first, we planned to make every effort to come to Kansas City for the Parco Family Reunion, but Curtis wasn't able to get the time off he needed for us to make the trip. Mimi wanted to drive out to visit us in Charlotte, but they weren't going to be able to get their new van in time before we left for Germany. By the time we realized Kansas City was our only hope, flights were outrageously priced. And I'm not sure I was ever willing to fly with two babies by myself. It was a lost cause. A worthy cause, but lost.

The Friday before the Fourth, Curtis found out at the very last minute that he would be able to take off the next week if he wanted to. The project he would have had to work on was delayed until the week following the holiday. We decided we would attempt the 15-hour car ride (which, it turns out, is actually a 19-hour car ride with two babies), but we didn't tell my parents. We planned with Aunt Mischa to surprise them upon their arrival in Kansas City, and I texted my mom distracting texts throughout the week.

Uncle Will (Scout) kept watch for their gold van (the Target) driving past the park. Emily (Snapshot) looked out the window to let us (Eagle and Watson) know when to send (detonate) Sebastian (the Package) out of the (safe) house once my mom got out of the van. The rest is one of those must-see stories.

Family members gathered around their van, upbeat smiles on their faces. Gosh, we're not that big of a deal, my dad thought. Kids ran across the ramp of the van as my mom lowered it to the ground. One boy, in a blue shirt and plaid shorts stopped in front of her. She picked him up, slightly puzzled. She didn't recognize him as one of the cousins. "Is this mine? Is this mine?" she buzzed as she examined the boy's face a little closer. At that point, Curtis and I came out of house with Livia in our arms. Upon realizing what was going on, tears (of course) streamed down her face. "Surprise!" I handed her Livia for the first time.

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun, food, and faith. We shared a barbecue picnic with the neighbors for the Fourth of July and watched Uncle Will light fireworks in the cul-de-sac until Sebastian passed out. We attended the temple on Saturday morning and blessed Livia at Will and Mischa's home that afternoon. We ate lumpia, siopao, and pancit to our hearts' content that evening, and topped the weekend off with a little Magic Fish Pond.

More cookies during the car ride

Also not impressed with the car ride

Sightseeing in Independence, MO

I don't know how there could be a moment where no one wanted to hold her.

Liberty Jail

Watching fireworks

Watching fireworks but getting tired

After fireworks and officially tired

Sightseeing in St. Louis

Jumping in St. Louis

We loved the trip and loved getting to see the family. Thanks, Mischa, for hosting another successful reunion.

A 4-Day Weekend

I heard the front door open. It was only 8:15 a.m., Thursday, June 19.

"Curtis?" I called out. What on earth is he doing home? 
"The power was out today at work. I looked for someone—anyone—but no one was in sight, so I came home."

So we took advantage of the day together! The Relief Society in our ward sent out a list of fun summer activities in the area. Lazy 5 Ranch, a private animal ranch in Mooresville, caught our eye. We toured the park along this 3.5-mile path, feeding animals through your car window. We fed all kinds of animals, including ostriches, emus, zebras, camels, llamas, pot-bellied pigs, antelope, blackbuck, elk, deer, water buffalo, longhorns, giraffes (Curtis had to stand out of the car window to reach them!), and a rhino (Well, we didn't feed the rhino, but he was still pretty neat to see!). I was terrified of being eaten, but Sebastian made friends with many of the llamas.

Trying to hold still for Mr. Ostrich

I started off with Sebastian in the back seat, but you can clearly see that I'm out of my comfort zone. Curtis "let" me drive and risked his own life to let Sebastian get up close and personal with the animals. 

Sebastian posing with Mr. Llama

And here's a video so you can see how excited Sebastian really was!

Relaxing after lunch

Livia enjoying the sun

It was definitely a welcome and unexpected surprise to spend the day with Dad. If only he could skip out on work more often . . .

. . . and then Friday came.

"Coming. No power again." I got the text at 7:56 a.m. Within three hours, we were on the road bound for Washington, D.C. I wouldn't consider us the epitome of spontaneity, but whoever you are, Mr. Spontaneous, we gave you a run for your money this weekend.

It takes six hours to drive from Charlotte to Washington, D.C., but with all the stops we needed to make, it took us the rest of the day. My dear friend Emma, whom I taught English in Ukraine with, conveniently lives just outside of D.C. We had a delicious pancake dinner at her home and met her husband, Kevin, and her six-month-old daughter, Evelyn, before we retired to our hotel for the evening.

Emma and I holding our babies (June 20, 2013)

Pretty much the only thing I wanted to see in D.C. was the International Spy Museum. Ever since Curtis and I started watching "Alias" three years ago, I've wanted to be Agent Sydney Bristow. Right now, we are following Annie Walker in the new season of "Covert Affairs." We almost exclusively watch spy/action movies and TV shows. In fact, we shared our first kiss during the steamy scene in The Bourne Identity. And we've decided that, if it weren't for my abominable relationship with running, I would make the perfect spy. It turns out, Sebastian would not.

Can you find Sebastian? (International Spy Museum)

Spies don't generally smile and wave as they covertly navigate the ducts. We could easily have spent all day perusing this museum, but as luck would have it, they don't allow strollers. We got through maybe four of the seven exhibits. I was in the middle of learning about code breaking when Sebastian let us know that he was done.

Thinking Sebastian would love the big elephant and fossils, we decided to try out the National Museum of Natural History. Nope. At least there were ducts at the Spy Museum . . .

Time to move on to something more interesting: airplanes!  Sebastian actually loved the National Air and Space Museum. He pulled us to every exhibit that you could go inside: a few cockpits and a vintage airliner. Curtis had a good time too. While the boys enjoyed the planes, Livia and I enjoyed the Time and Navigation exhibit. In case you were going to ask, I think a sextant would make a fascinating birthday gift.

Lovin' the planes! (National Air and Space Museum)

By far, however, Sebastian treasured his time outside, running up and down the Mall, chasing pigeons. And he deserved it after all the driving we did the day before . . . and all the driving we would do the next.

Hooray for independence! (Washington Monument)

Our little world traveler (National Mall)

Chasing the pigeons (National Mall)

In front of the United States Capitol (National Mall)

That evening, we savored authentic D.O.C. Neapolitan pizza at 2Amys and drove through D.C. one last time in the night light. We sure got a kick out of all the cars parked in front of the "No Parking" signs along Embassy Row. Available evening parking hours or abuse of diplomatic immunity?

Curtis and I first met on the East Coast, and being in D.C. allowed us to reminisce on that time. It's hard to decide the best part of the weekend. But perhaps we don't have to decide. We can love it all. We got to do something spontaneous, do something different, do something fun, do something together, and eat pizza (I mean, come on!).