On Parenthood

It seems that everyone is asking, "So what is it like to be a parent?" But the funny thing is, life doesn't really feel much different than it did before. I know that much has changed, but it is hard to quantify it. And this is just our new normal now. Perhaps this is the case because we have such a delightful baby. I know many new parents really struggle and we have had our moments, but for the most part it has been a rather natural adjustment. Cami even says he is ready for number two!

Cohen is a very pleasant little man. He is content in most situations and loves to take in everything around him. He is wide eyed and inquisitive. Cohen is learning how to "talk". He loves it when we talk to him; he holds eye contact and tries to mimic the movements of our mouths. He has taken to talking to his toys now, it is really quite fun to watch. His smile is so bright and lights up his whole face. He really is a delight to have around and it is fun to watch him learn new things. As a matter of fact, he discovered that if he kicks his legs vigorously while in his bouncy chair, the toys go wild. Well the other day he was in his car seat with a monkey dangling in front of him so naturally he began kicking his feet like crazy. Unfortunately, the monkey didn't bounce around like his other toys and Cohen was quick to tell the monkey that he was unhappy with his performance. He is so fun!!!!!

Hopefully I will be able to upload some new pictures soon.

Road Trip Update

We are currently 2/3 of the way through this summer road trip and still going strong! I was worried that we would be exhausted and tired of living in such a small space with our environment constantly changing, but that is not the case. We are all enjoying ourselves quite a lot actually.

So we started out in Arizona, Cami visited a program while I helped my good friend Rebecca prepare for her wedding. After the Father's day wedding, we went back down to Mesa for another day with the wilderness therapy program there. The program we were scheduled to see next canceled last minute, so we spent a week visiting the Grand Canyon and Zion National park.

After our time in the national parks we traveled to south-central Utah to visit another wilderness therapy program. Next we headed to northern Wyoming and visited a 40,000 acre cattle ranch for troubled boys. From there we swung by Yellowstone, drove through the Grand Tetons and are now in Idaho about an hour outside of Boise at another ranch for struggling teens.

Visiting the various programs has inspired some great conversations between Cami and I. We are learning a lot and as we hoped, seeing new ways to approach our teenagers. I really think we are going bring a lot away from this whole experience. In addition to visiting these programs, Cami is writing an article summarizing what we see. So when that is done I will forward the link to all of you.

Lily Andrea Potter

This entry is dedicated to our ever-so-special cat

Lily Andrea

Cami and I adopted Lily when she was 2 months old, shortly after we married. She is a spunky, adventurous and often mischievous little kitty. She is playful and quirky but slow to trust strangers. She loves to run around outside stalking anything that moves (and is smaller than her). Sunbathing is how she spends her afternoons and she is extremely affectionate around dinnertime. And she puts up with our antics, although it is clear they annoy her.

Needless to say, we love our cat immensely!!!!!!

So as you can imagine, we were heartbroken when she bolted from the RV last Friday night. The wilds of Yellowstone were just too much for our headstrong girl to ignore any longer............
That is right, Lily made a run for it. And when Cami tried to catch her, she just thought he was playing and ran off even further. It was late and very dark, so our cat disappeared into the darkness rather quickly (dun, Dun, DUN). I was convinced she would return, but when morning came and there was still no sight of Lily, I began to worry -- we had to checkout of our campsite by 11am.
To our surprise (and the surprise of the campsite hosts) our site was available for Saturday night as well. So Cami and I paid for another night and waited for our kitty to return.

We waited and waited and waited and waited and waited.

Although we were in an incredible national park, we spent the day in our RV, occasionally stepping out to search the acres of nearby forest for Lily. Dinnertime came and went and still no sight of Lily. Around 9:45 Cami went out on one last scouting trip, this was our last chance, we had to leave in the morning.

He searched, I prayed. He searched some more, I prayed some more.

After 30 minutes in the woods with no luck, Cami began his return to the RV. As a last ditch effort, he turned on his headlamp, looked into the forest and called for Lily. Suddenly, there was a little green pair of eyes, gleaming in the light. And they weren't afraid of him. Cami called for Lily again and this time an unsure meow responded. Stepping into the forest Cami realized that Lily was still apprehensive. Cami decided to sit on the forest floor, shine the light on himself and continue calling out for our kitty. Slowly but surely the meows grew louder and before he knew it, Lily was in his arms!!!

HE FOUND HER!!!!!!!!!