Tag: Arizona

Bits + Pieces, from Arizona (round II)

by Ashley filed under Bits + Pieces

Our original plan was to drive to AZ, spend some time with Willy’s family while our house got worked on, and return and move in. Easy Peasy. What I’ve learned, and ultimately have come to accept, is that nothing – when moving – goes as planned. After ten days in AZ we received word that our contractor took off for Mexico. It sounds more dramatic than it ended up being, but at the time we had no clue what that meant for us. We decided to come back early from AZ so we could find out more. I’ll spare y’all the details and say that it all got figured out but things were far from done so we went to stay with my parents. We were there for another week and a half and, again, things were still not done with the new house so after returning from the weekend I spent with my sister in Ojai, the kids and I took of – again – for AZ. Hence the round II.
Janet reminded me that moving is rated number 3 on the list of most stressful events, right behind divorce and death. And now, I know why. I get it. It hasn’t always been fun and we have had our fair share of curve balls (both cars breaking down at separate inopportune times, the contractor taking off for Mexico, Sarah being hit by a car… to name a few).
I digress.
The kids and I had so much fun. We went on several day adventures and my mother-and-sister-in-laws took me around to the thrifts and they always seem to serve me better than the second-hand stores here in CA. I came away with a peacock chair for our enclosed patio, tons of planters, two kilim rugs that look as though they were made for our hallway, various knick-knacks, a huge macrame that I can’t wait to hang, an old antique chair whose price tag did not reflect it’s value, a blanket, a rug for the boys’ room, and some other odds and ends.
The boys will surely miss seeing family they so

clearly love and adore; as will they miss the cows, the goats, the garden, and riding in the back of the pick-up truck down the dusty dirt road.

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Childhood Unplugged

by Ashley filed under Childhood Unplugged, Parenting, Photography

A lake, somewhere in Arizona, on an evening where the light danced and the moon – in the distance – eagerly waited it’s turn to shine.
We have been spending more and more time outdoors now that the weather is not only inviting, but practically begging for company. My back has been getting stronger as well; every so often I turn a corner and I turned a new one right around the 6 month mark.
I’ve also been making a greater effort to let the boys explore since so much of what they knew as routine and home has been otherwise flipped upside down. A bit of freedom of exploration and joy of discovering in the midst of otherwise hectic and chaotic times.
Please join me in supporting the other photographers participating in the Childhood Unplugged movement by clicking here to see all our submissions. You can also follow us on instagram (@childhoodunplugged, where we all take turns moderating) and be sure to use #childhoodunplugged for a chance to be featured on our feed.

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Bits + Pieces, from Arizona

by Ashley filed under Bits + Pieces, Travel

We arrived at Willy’s parent’s house in Arizona beaten down from the physical and emotional stress of moving and saddened after losing Sarah just a few days prior. We always brought her along on our trips to AZ, so there was that sobering reminder when we didn’t have to push her off my lap and into the back seat like we usually do.
To make matters worse, our truck broke down early on and as if luck were teasing us by slapping us one minute and then kissing us the next, we happened to be a few miles from my sister’s house where our second car sat until we returned. So we swapped cars, repacked all our stuff, switched the car seats out for the umpteenth time, and made it to Joshua Tree just in time for a family session I had booked prior. So ya know, the take home message is that it all works out. One way or another.
With no further bumps in the road, we arrived in AZ. We enjoyed warm days and cool nights, Lucky and Moocher (the new pet goats), the Renaissance festival, a wild cat that just gave birth to kittens, an Irish band that did a Bob Dylan cover that felt like it was just for me, a trip to an old gold mining ghost town, some thrifting that landed an old peacock chair in the back

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of our car and some other treasures for the new home, and enough laughter with family and friends to fill our empty tanks.

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Family

by Ashley filed under Family, Motherhood, Videos

Spring/Summer 2013 from The Stork & The Beanstalk on Vimeo.
A true family photo, Sarah included. And a video from

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our trip to Palm Springs / Arizona a few weeks back.

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Bits + Pieces, Arizona

by Ashley filed under Bits + Pieces, Family, Travel

We piggybacked out trip to Palm Springs with a drive out to Arizona to visit family. We welcomed a new member into the family and spent time soaking in that newborn smell. Though, truth-be-told, neither Willy or I miss those beginning days… or months, for that matter. What can we say? We like to sleep. In any event, I’m a first time Aunt. I’ll post some pics of her next week. She sure is a beaut.
Happy Friday!

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Arizona, On the Farm part 2

by Ashley filed under Bits + Pieces, Family, Travel

Better late than never is what they say, right? I had loads of pics to

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go through (sorry for the photo bomb). In any case, here’s the recap:

We spent the weekend hanging with family, celebrating a new addition that’s right around the corner (I’m going to be a first-time aunt), and even catching a spring training baseball game. The weather was perfect and waking up with the warm rays of sun beaming through the window felt good. The cows are a bigger and bigger hit with Hooper each time we come to visit.
We returned home with more than we anticipated. Sarah, as I mentioned before, had a horrible ear infection in both ears and Hooper contracted rotavirus (possibly unrelated, who knows). In any case, it was a lovely drive and a nice time spent with those we love.
Side note: Special congrats to Vera for winning the DiaNoche Designs giveaway.

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Arizona, from the road

by Ashley filed under Bits + Pieces, Family, Travel

I rarely turn down a road trip. One of my favorite books is On The Road by Jack Kerouac. There’s something about being on the open road that takes me back to when Janet and I drove all the way to Louisiana and back. I love driving and I love pit stops and I love the random restaurants along the way, filled with truckers, passersby, and the few patrons that call the roadside stop home interspersed in a sea of strangers. The open road has a way of making the world feel both big and small at the same time. And I love that too.
Both boys travel well. Van gets cranky only when he’s ready to eat and I think Hoop would be content staring out the window until the car ran out of gas. We took Sarah too and there’s one secret I must share that made her a trooper as well: Benadryl.
The drive from California to Arizona is about 6 hours (8 hours with kids) and somehow we made it door to door with good attitudes albeit having to juggle back to back to back conference calls for work, poop that required a change of clothes (yup, you all know how that goes), newly scabbed knees, growling stomachs, and shotty naps. Hash tag: It won’t always work out this well.
More from Arizona to come.

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An Ode to a Bed

by Ashley filed under Ashley, Travel
Dear Handsome Place to Rest my Head,
Look how lovely that Arizona sun treats you. How happy you must be to have that always beaming window right next to you. A constant reminder you are loved and cherished.
I slept in you years ago. It was our first time, remember? You were there for me to rest my head after meeting the people I now refer to as my mother and father-in-law for the first time. And you were there when that sun first cracked through that window and the man next to me, my best friend at the time and now my husband and best friend, whispered he loved me. And I whispered the same thing back, burying my giddy face into your pillow.
It was another year or so later in the middle of the night with the smell of the cows lingering and the sound of grandfather clock chiming on the hour when I felt a hiccup. Not figuratively, literally. Hooper hiccuped and the little thump thump was palpable. Lying next to me with his hand over my belly, Willy and I marveled at this little life we created.
Exhausted after a short plane flight, albeit a short flight with a baby, you invited us in for rest once again. And again, in the middle of the night in the company of the farmland and the chiming grandfather clock, I felt something else. It was not the warmth in the words “I love you”, because love already filled the room to capacity. It was not Hooper hiccuping either, as he was fast asleep curled up with the safety of his blanket and warmed by the very love we created. It was a flutter I felt. Deep in my belly. Another reminder that life is good and the blessings great. Another memory you have given me.
Until I have the privilege to rest my head again,
Ashley

Moo

by Ashley filed under Ashley, Hooper, Travel
Me: “What does the cow say?”
Hooper: “Mooooo”
Just one of many things learned over the weekend in Arizona.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona, Part Three

by Ashley filed under Ashley, Hooper, Pregnancy, Travel
The first time I went with Willy to Arizona, we had been dating for a few months and all I could concentrate on was the awful smell of cow shit. I wondered how I was going to fall asleep surrounded by what smelled like a giant porta potty.
When we arrived at my in-laws this time around, Willy took a big whiff in, looked to me and asked, “Don’t you just love that smell?”. I felt my nose curl up in disgust until I smelled something lingering beneath that porta potty stench. It’s nostalgia. Which is probably why Willy craves it under his nostrils. It’s not the smell of the cows excrement, it’s the smell of home. Of farm life, of blooming flowers, of hay, of trackers combing the fields, and the endless Arizona sun shining through the glass bringing the warmth that only a familiar home can bring.
Time spent with family is so much richer as a mother. The happiness it brings me to watch Hooper interact with those we love and who had a hand in raising us is simply not tangible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona, Part One

by Ashley filed under Ashley, Hooper, Travel
We spent this past weekend in Arizona, visiting Willy’s family. It was a beautiful weekend with warm weather, great company, and even some Goodwill and consignment shop hunting. What more could a girl ask for? Oh ya, the flight wasn’t full going or coming so Hooper was able to have his own seat. Score! He also fell asleep for most of the flight home. Double score! I have loads of pics, but here’s what I captured with my iPhone.