I'm loving this summer of Bucket List adventures!

However, everything never goes according to plans, am I right?

Here are the tales of two Summer Bucket List misadventures...

First: The Coconut Lime Sodas

On Memorial Day, we had a lovely BBQ with our best of friends at the Archuleta's home, where Ashley made some truly delicious summery fresh drinks.  Since I was standing right there in the kitchen with her while she made them, and I even assembled my own drink, I was pretty sure I'd be able to recreate them myself.  And they were delicious enough that it was important for me to add them to our Bucket List.  

I assembled all of the necessary ingredients, and put them together the way I thought I remembered.  Half a can of coconut milk with the juice of half a lime and soda water, all over ice with crushed mint leaves.  We mixed the ingredients, minus the mint and ice, in the blender because the coconut milk was separated from the cream.  We thought we had been genius.  

But the result, as delicious as it looks, was totally nasty!  I tried mixing in a little bit of sugar.  And then a LOT of sugar, and then adding in more soda water.  But nothing was helping.  It was heavy and coated my tongue with a nasty sweater and was a weird mix of bland and sour.  

It was at this point that I realized that I shouldn't have relied on my own memory to make this drink.  I texted Ashley and found out where I went wrong.  Instead of half a can of coconut milk, instead use only 2 tablespoons or so.  And shake the can before opening it to mix in the cream.  And for the love of everything good and holy, just use Trader Joes coconut milk instead of this weird Thai stuff I found at Smiths on sale.  

Nathan was a sweet husband and finished his drink.  I couldn't do it.  We will be trying this again.  Using Ashley's recipe this time...

On to our next summertime failure:  The Family Bike Ride

Nathan loves biking. And I used to love riding back when I lived in Michigan.  Even though we drove all the way back to Utah with my Cute Raleigh Venture attached to the back of my Ford Escort, I hadn't been riding since the lovely Kal-Haven trail.  

One of Nathan's contributions for our Summer Bucket List was to go on a family bike ride.  And I was excited! We pumped up our tires, dusted off our bikes that had spent the winter on our balcony, and got ready to go.  For a Father's Day present, Clementine and I got Nathan a little bike trailer to tote Clementine around in while we family-biked.  And she picked our her own helmet- she liked it best because it has zoo animals along the sides.  :)  

One rare morning when Nathan didn't have to go to work, we donned our helmets and best biking attire, strapped Miss C into her chariot, hooked the chariot to Nathan's bike, and set off.  

The morning was already getting pretty warm, and I was nervous about it getting HOT before we got done.  But we were excited to try to make it to Liberty Park.  I was also kind of nervous about the hills that surround our house, making it impossible to get home without climbing every mountain.  I've never been so great at biking hills.  

But we set off!  It was thrilling and exciting to be out doing something fun together in the morning.  I LOVE mornings.  I was having a great time biking through the city, feeling the breeze in my face and the sun on my back,  And then, a block and a half from home, right in front of the Church Office Buildings, Nathan slowed WAAAAAYY down, and pulled on to the sidewalk.  I knew something was wrong.  

His bike chain broke!  I had no idea that could happen.  I don't know if it was too old, or if our little trailer is too heavy for his dainty street bike or what happened.  But it put a fast damper on our family bike ride.  

We walked home like this.  And Nathan's bike went straight into the shop for a new chain and a full tune up.  Hopefully our next biking adventure will take us further than this one.  Safely.  Sweet Clementine was a trooper.  I don't think she realized that we were doing anything different than what we set out to do.  I'm excited to get back out there and try this one again.  

On June 16, through the wind and the rain and the sun and the heat, we spent a few super fun hours at Hogle Zoo.  Our little Clementine is a lover of animals AND dinosaurs.  Thus, the zoo right now is her ZONE!  She had such a blast.  She loved the dinosaur displays they have going on right now, and she wasn't even afraid of the life sized dinos until we got to the T-Rex.  She also loved the giraffes, monkeys and the elephants and happily ran from habitat to habitat.

I am proud of Nathan and I for making the adult decision to NOT buy Dippin' Dots.  As good as they taste, and as rarely as we get to eat them, they really just are too expensive for what they are.  Maybe making adult decisions is too boring to blog about...

The carousel was a big hit this year.  Nathan got Clementine to wave at me each time she went around, and it was the cutest thing.  I could hear her saying "wheeee!"

I love the zoo.  I'm really glad we were able to go.

More photos to come.  Because my phone is struggling to upload.  Please stand by.

This morning, Nathan called on his way home from work (7:30 am) to ask if Clementine and I would be up for going to the farmers market when he got home.  Even though we were both still in bed, of course I said yes.  I got up and quickly got ready, and we headed out the door to beat the crowds.

I love the farmers market!  I love the people-watching, and the food samples, and the fresh flowers and herbs and veggies and the buskers and the local arts and crafts for sale.  I love being out in the cool freshness of the morning and feeling awake and productive.

Even though we live pretty close, we decided to drive on over.  We took Samson and loaded the little lady up in her stroller, and even found an amazing parking spot.  We did one and a half circles around the market before settling on our spoils.  Clementine snagged a new darling dress from a local hand-made clothing vendor, Tiny Tot Threads, after trying on several color and style options.  :)  Nathan got a new leather wallet, which will be a wonderful upgrade from carrying around his loose cards and cash unprotected, as he has been doing for a while now.  And for breakfast, we both got fresh fruit danishes and the famous mint limeade.  We donated to the homeless fund, which got us a copy of the Homeless Newspaper, and I donated a dollar to an awesome little violin player saving up money to go to ISSI.  We sat in the grass and enjoyed the atmosphere, and then Clementine begged to play at the park.  Samson got many compliments for being so dang handsome, and he got to meet many friends- both human and canine- along the way.

Thanks, Farmers Market.  I'm sure we will be back again soon.  

On June 8th, we crossed the first item off of our summer bucket list.  After Nathan had worked 6 consecutive grave shifts in a row in the Labor and Delivery wing of the University of Utah hospital, we were in dire need of some daytime family fun.  We packed up the sunscreen, the swim suit, and the little lady and headed down the street to THE GATEWAY OLYMPIC FOUNTAIN.

It was a beautifully hot day and the cool water felt amazing.  Clementine was her brave little self, and ran straight toward the water.  Sadly, on her first step, she slipped on the wet concrete and landed right on her back.  After a good cry and a good cuddle, she was ready to try again, this time with her sandals on.   She had a great time jamming to the music and splashing in the water.  Nathan and I had a fun time relaxing in the sunshine.  Clementine would come find us every now and then, and snuggle up in her towel.  But then she was right back out again to dance in the water.

When we had had enough of the fountain, Nathan and I were tempted by the soda and candy shop across the way, and ended up going home with 6 different varieties of root beer and some red velvet truffles.

A great time was had by all.

Summer Bucket List

Guys, does anybody blog anymore?  Seems like all of the blogs that I used to read on the regular are dead as a door knob.

Well, mine was too.  But I'm bringing it back to life!

With the SUMMER 2015 MORRIS FAMILY BUCKET LIST!

Last time I blogged, I was drowning in a terrible work/life imbalance.  I was sinking further and further into unhappiness, despite my 2015 new years resolution to Find Happiness.  (I should blog about that too!) I was "in my dark place." (said in a scary voice like Stuey from SNL)

But since my last blog post, I have quit my job as the Sistema Director at American Preparatory Academy- woo hoo!  Best decision I've made for myself in a long time!  Now I get to spend more time reading, planting, cleaning and organizing, and most importantly to me- being a good wife and mom to my little family.  And enjoying the beautiful city in which we live.  

ENTER: SUMMER BUCKET LIST!

I made a list of all of the fun things I want to do with my family this summer- inspired by my wonderful sister-in-law, Andrea, who does this every year.  I'm jumping on board, and getting out there to do fun stuff while the sun is hot and the days are long.  And I'm so excited about it! 

I'm so excited about it that I want to blog about each item I get to cross off the list.  

Get ready guys, this is going to be more fun than you've seen around these parts in a LONG time.  

AWOL

I'm sad about the state of my poor neglected blog lately.

Maybe someday I'll get my life in order enough to take some time regularly to write about the goings on in the life of Jamilyn and such.

But as of right now, my job(s) is(are) taking over my life.  And when I'm not working, I try hard to give my little family some time, and also not let our home fall into squalor.  Therefore, my once-loved blog has moved to the back-back-back burner.  And I'm sad about it.

Basically what it all comes down to is that I like being busy.  But I also really like to have time to think and process and write and read and relax.  It might be my life's work to find the balance between those two ends of the "what my life is filled with" spectrum.  Right now, things are waaaay off balance toward the "busy" side of the teeter totter.  Something's gotta change.

I've declared 2015 the year of getting happy.  All of my New Years Resolutions revolve around that idea.  And I think part of getting happy is finding that balance.  Ok, listen.  I'm not all that UN-happy. But I think I am probably missing out on a big chunk of happy that I should be.  What right do I have to be not happy with all of the good that I have in my life?  So I'm searching for balance.  And when I find it, I will hopefully have time to blog again.

Don't give up on me, k?

On The Flip Side

When I wrote my last blog post, I was a tight little ball of all stressed out.  Here is an update on most of those things that were getting me all stressed and twisty back in July.

Nathan graduated from nursing school at Ameritech (woohoo!)  and passed the big ol' NCLEX exam (woohoo!) in time to get accepted into his Bachelors of Nursing program at Westminster (woohoo!).

He also got several nursing job offers, and accepted his favorite of all the options- working in the postpartum and labor/delivery units at Pioneer Valley Hospital (woohoo!).  He works grave shifts from 6pm til 6am, and sometimes I feel like I only see him when he's sleeping.  But other times it's awesome because he only works 3 nights a week, and we get to hang out all morning together!

I started my job as the program director of Sistema Utah at American Preparatory Academy.  It was nuts for about a month while I figured out what I was supposed to be doing, and while the teachers figured out what they were supposed to be doing, and while the students figured out what they were supposed to be doing.  I also taught two beginning violin classes a day for about a month, which is funny- especially when each of those classes had about 40 students in them.  Oh boy.  But now we are fully staffed, and the schedule is down pat, and I am getting the hang of being an administrator, and I even really like it most days!

And I am still teaching 12 private cello students.  I didn't have the heart to drop any of them, so they come one right after the other all day Saturday.  I feel like I never have a day off.  Something's gotta change there!

We bought a new car!  It's a mint green 2006 Toyota Prius, and we really like it!  Clementine HATED it for the first few weeks, and she would cry her guts out any time we even went near it. Weird, right? But she's warmed up to it now.  It's so nice having the freedom to drive somewhere when ever I need to, without elaborate plans and pickup/drop off arrangements.

And we moved to a new apartment!  It is a cute little condo downtown in the capitol hill neighborhood/marmalade district.  We are absolutely loving it!  We love being able to walk to memory grove or temple square or city creek canyon or city creek mall.  It's exciting to explore the little historical nooks and crannies of the city and find delicious little places to eat.  I love the big windows and the openness of our floor plan.  It's fun to get our stuff out of storage- to use our own furniture and dishes that we haven't seen in years.  And with a little help, Samson is getting the hang of being an apartment dog.

We also bit the bullet, joined care.com, and found a completely awesome nanny to hang out with Clementine for a few hours a night, a few nights a week, between when Nathan leaves for his work and before I get home from my work.  I feel like it was one of our best decisions yet to get her on board to help out with our little lady.  Instead of the mommy guilt that I thought I would have, I feel complete peace of mind knowing that Clementine is in good hands.  

AND last but not least, our sweet Clementine turned ONE YEAR OLD!  What?!  How did that happen?  It feels like she has been a part of our family forever, but also this past year has gone by so fast!  I love belonging to that baby girl.  It's so much fun watching her be herself. She's so smart and tease-y and kind of naughty but she wants to be good, and she really loves me.  I love that.  It might be selfish to think, but it wasn't only her birthday, but also my one year anniversary of motherhood.  Nothing in my life has changed the way I think and do things as much as it did when Clementine came into the world.  And I felt like that was worth celebrating a little bit.

And that's us on the flip side of our stressful summer.  I still get kind of stressed out when our apartment isn't all put together yet, or when Clementine's toys are endlessly all over the living room, or when I have 256 unread emails in my inbox that all need a reply or when the Clarinet teacher at my work decides to up and move to Canada without telling anyone.  And I feel kind of selfish when Nathan is sleeping all afternoon following a grave shift, and I just want to spend time with him.  But more than stress and selfishness, so many things are going great right now.  And that's what I want to focus on.

Remember when my blog used to be fun?  And when I used to write regularly?  Man, I miss that.  Thanks for reading.