We remember

Sedona. The place where we spent our glorious three days of freedom together. Each year we go away for a night/few days/week to celebrate our anniversary. It is a glorious tradition, not just because that's what you do to celebrate your marriage, but because it is the one and only trip of the year that is just us. No visiting family or friends, no child. We go back to our roots and remember why it is we're together in the first place. We remembered how much we thrive on doing adventures together. Not only did we discover an incredible gem of great beauty in Arizona, we immersed ourselves in the adventures that lie throughout Red Rock Country. Hiking for hours on end over mountains, along creek beds, through meadows of bright wildflowers...
Mountain biking through rough terrain, and as always, getting in way over my head! (Here I could actually see how far we've come in our marriage because I never once yelled at Brandon for picking such a ridiculously hard trail:-)We remembered how important it is to nurture our own hearts so as to make room for each other. Each afternoon we'd collapse back into our hotel room and spend some time reading and journaling. Coincidentally, we both are reading books by Rob Bell--Love Wins and Sex God--and have both been deeply moved and challenged by his words. There is nothing like a profound book that brings me to my heart's door and encourages me to ponder, pray, and write from within. Especially on a vacation. And especially when Bran is doing the same and we can share our new understandings with each other.

We remembered what so many have told us along the way: Marriage is hard. Almost predictably, we got into a very heated and hurtful discussion the night before our trip. So interesting how that works. Needless to say, we spent the entire trip processing what had been said and attempting to rebuild our loving foundation. 7 years in, we are realizing the simple truth that marriage is hard. It's not about the romance anymore. It's so much more than just partner parenting. It is way greater than a close friendship. God designed this great love between man and woman to reflect the love He has for us, his creation. But we are human, and this divine love does not come easy. So we press on. Remembering why we began this journey of becoming one in the first place. And remembering that learning to love takes a lifetime.

Turning 30 and having a 2-year-old

I seem to have dropped off the face of the planet for the last month or so. I had forgotten how the end-of-the-school-year does that to you. Exhaustion, anxiety, complete lack of motivation, dread. I guess I can finally see that grad school is much harder than working ever was. But that’s all over now. (At least for 3 weeks.) I have officially completed one whole year of graduate school!!! So now I can celebrate by getting caught up on the rest of my life…like blogging:-)

April was a very full and fun month. I turned 30! I use an exclamation mark with caution, as it has been a little tenuous entering into the decade of 30’s. But I decided to ring in the new decade with as special a celebration as I could. So…I met my mom and sisters in Napa for a weekend of sweet indulgence…good wine, amazing food, and shopping at the best J.Crew outlet I have ever seen. And of course, sharing the company of my dearest friends was the biggest treat of all.

Four days later my baby turned 2! One friend texted me, “I don’t know which is crazier—you turning 30 or you having a 2-year-old.” I couldn’t agree more.

We decided to go low-key this year and just had a nice, relaxing weekend with Bran’s parents, aka Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Gordon. Soren had an absolute blast at this cool train park in Scottsdale. As you can see, trains are his obsession of the moment. And here’s a video of him trying out his new bike for the first time. I think it’s gonna be awhile before he’s bombing down hills like Daddy’s hoping!

We had a really special Easter this year because the Kemps came to visit! This time it wasn’t 110 degrees, so we actually got to play outside. I think 85% of our weekend was actually spent in our front yard. As always, we had lots of great food, chats, and fun watching our kids enjoy each other. Soren definitely remembers his best friends:-)

Spring fever

Ever since our return from Morocco I haven't been able to motivate myself in school. I have a vague memory of this sort of apathy/burnout thing happening to me in college after spring breaks...spring fever, was it? Blame it on the intense semester and a half I've endured, the suddenly super warm weather, and a relaxing visit from my sis and bro-in-law...because I've gotten a taste of springtime and I just wanna play!...Uncle Patrick and Aunt Yvette got Soren a super sweet train set for his birthday...
..."Whas dis?" --Soren's favorite phrase right now...
...Have I mentioned how much I love hiking out here? This is what AZ has got to offer, so we are making the most of it!

Adventure in Morocco

Everyone said we were crazy. Heck, we thought we were crazy for attempting to pack an Arabian adventure into 6 days over spring break. But we did it. And oh my goodness, was it worth it.
First of all, we were so blessed to have Brandon's brother Zac and his family as our hosts. Morocco is a country I would be intimidated to visit alone! (For example, the driving is insane!!)

The (other) Sawyer fam took us to all of their favorite places and gave us new cultural experiences every day.
We spent the first two nights in Marrakech, a more touristy place that exudes old world exotic beauty. We stayed in a gorgeous resort, which was a wonderful retreat after 30+ hours of travel! Our first adventure was driving up into the mountains above Marrakech where Bran and Zac had an awesome and scenic mountain bike ride. Hill and I played with the kids in the most amazing playground I have ever seen!

Then that night we braved the biggest adventure of the trip—exploring Marrakech’s medina in pouring rain on a crowded Friday night. I will never forget that experience of stimulation overload…snake charmers, men putting monkeys in the kids’ faces, tables of teeth, stand after stand of delectable nuts and fruits, store owners beckoning us in Arabic/French/English, mopeds flying all around us…and the beautiful, crazy scene after nightfall. It was so surreal I felt like I had been transported into a movie!

The rest of our trip we spent back at Zac and Hill’s home in Casablanca. We got to experience the Moroccan French culture with Sunday brunch at a fabulous French café…We toured the third largest mosque in the world—simply breathtaking…We visited “Mr. Sawyer” and Malakai’s school…The girls got henna done…

Hill and I had a very different but none-the-less relaxing experience at a Turkish bath (no pictures here!)…

We did more shopping at the haboos (yay for super cheap poufs!!)…and we got to eat at the luxurious gas station restaurant that Z & H have been raving about! Did I mention that the food in Morocco is amazing?? Flavorful chicken with fruits, nuts, and olives, savory breads, the creamiest yogurt you have ever tasted, and sweet mint tea as an after-meal treat! (Soren couldn’t get enough of the tea.) Oh yeah, and an international adventure isn’t complete unless you eat something that sounds disgusting…In Casablanca’s haboos, the specialty food item is camel! I promise, it actually tasted really good:-)

But of course, the highlight of our trip was getting to spend quality time with our dear family and experience their unique life in North Africa. The cousins had an absolute blast with each other, which was such a delight to watch. We love you, Zac, Hill, Malakai and Kiki, and we are so thankful for your open hearts and home!!