Mulberry Street

Twelve years of marriage have provided many opportunities for interesting anniversaries.  They haven’t all turned out quite like I had hoped, but they all mark another year with a man I love, even more than the year before. 2002 – On my one-year anniversary I shared my bed with my mother, while my cousin slept on the couch and my husband slept alone, over four thousand miles away.  It was far from ideal and not very romantic, to say the least, but with Eric in Zurich, Switzerland, I didn’t have much of a choice. 2003 – I assumed, that since Eric and I had spent our first anniversary apart that we’d make up for it on our second anniversary.  I assumed wrong.  Our anniversary fell on a weekday, a Thursday, if I remember correctly.  Our new friends, the Beals, were remodeling their basement and needed some help laying tile.  I was unaware of all this.  I was also unaware of the fact that Eric and I had volunteered us to help lay tile.  Eric ...

PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE - TAKE II 19. GRATITUDE I am grateful that this man is my best friend. 20. IN YOUR BAG Running essentials - socks, shoes, sunscreen.  Not so essential, but nice to have on hand - a watch, a hair brush, a towel, glasses, deodorant, a hat, and clothes.  Really, in this heat, the towel is more essential than the clothes.  Running in humidity is a hot and sweaty business. 21. REFLECTION Sunburned.  This NEVER happened to my firstborn child.  Obviously, this photo is a reflection of my current parenting skills.  What happened?!  What is it about your second or third or fourth or whatever-number-child that makes your parenting skills fall of a cliff?  I'm sorry Emory.  I'm really sorry.

I ran track in High School.  I ran the 400 Meter Dash.  I thought I was pretty good.  However, I never set any records, just held my ground against the local competition.  I trained with the sprinters, not the distance runners, because my race was just one lap around the track.  One.  Period.  I didn't go for "runs" that were longer than a mile if I didn't have to. The second time Eric and I met, I was wearing a state track t-shirt.  (The first time we met is funny because, while I remember meeting him, he doesn't remember meeting me.  SNL was on and he wasn't interested in meeting the new crop of freshman who had just moved in down the hall.)  We engaged in conversation about running and he invited me to run with him sometime.  Sure, why not?  He WAS the student body president at Idaho State University.  The year was 2000 and after accompanying Eric on a five...

I have a little time to blog , before my self-imposed bedtime.  I have so many thoughts running through my head, that I'm not sure anything I write will be at all coherent.  So, be forewarned.  Every time I go for a run, mindlessly change the laundry or do the dishes, my mind races with all the things I want to write down.  I've treated my blog as a journal, well mostly a photo journal littered with a few thoughts here or there, but a journal nonetheless.  When I go weeks without posting any pictures or thoughts, I am filled with anxiety about all the details of my silly life that I'll manage to forget.  Do you feel this way too?  I'll now attempt to remember all those details.  (Remember I warned you that this will be frantic and perhaps muddled.) Every night I say good night to Genevieve two or three times.  Each time I say "good night" she responds or rather pleads, "But...I want you."  Most nights I'm too tired, ann...

Tis the season to don costumes and parade about.  Eric and I decided to dress up as film noir actors for a costume party.  It was a lot of fun to research the look and even more fun to pull it off.  Eric even rehearsed some lines from old movies and practiced his accent.  The only thing missing were stage names.

"All the things you said to me today, changed my perspective in every way." When my older brothers celebrated their 10 year anniversaries I thought, "Wow.  Ten years is a long time."  However, now that Eric and I celebrating our own 10 year anniversary, it doesn't seem like such a long time after all (with the exception of our aging selves).  I am so grateful for Eric.  I am grateful that he is my friend, my husband, and the father of our children.  He makes life wonderful and I love him for it.  Eric, Thanks for 10 amazing years. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring. I love you. Alisha

It isn't like Eric and I had planned a weekend away for months and months, waiting with frantic anticipation.  Rather, we decided two weeks ago to take the plunge and leave our kids (in very capable hands) for a couple of nights.  It wasn't until we were enjoying our delicious meals and fabulous entertainment, without the kids, that we realized how long awaited this excursion actually was. We spent two nights at the Phoenix Park Hotel on Capitol Hill.  We ate out for every meal at diners and pubs and ethnic digs.  We gorged ourselves and told ourselves that the calories didn't count.  We saw a brilliant, breathtaking, and emotional performance by the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago .  (We learned that I would much rather blow money on tickets for a dance show, while Eric would rather spend it on an opera.)  We stayed in and watched Inception , because why not watch a movie in your pajamas?  We meandered through Union Station, Capitol Hil...

While my sister Audrey was here helping with Genevieve and Emory, we snuck out for dinner to celebrate our ninth anniversary. Yup - Nine years! We can hardly believe it ourselves but are happy about it, regardless. Between the two kids' birthdays, we'll have to make sure we don't get lost among pink and blue parties. Next year we want to get away - southern France has been calling our names for years. Here's hoping!

Email from Eric to Alisha Subject: Some important dates Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 10:18am Alisha, How about HIGH NOON in JUNE! June 16th, we're set for the Logan Temple at 12noon. The room holds 55 people (largest room Logan has), guests need to be there at 11:30, and we need to be there at 11:00. No session before the wedding (thought you'd appreciate being right one more time). Do you think noon would give us enough time for breakfast, driving, and photos? By the way...I'm excited! Another important time: Tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon, do you want to go to the airport with me to pick up my mother? As it turns out, my dad dropped her off at the Pocatello airport last week, so she doesn't have a car there. I think the plane arrives at 2:05, so we'll probably have to leave at about 1:40 or so. My dad seemed to think it was a good idea to go get her. How 'bout I woke up really early today! I was at work by 6:45 this morning, plugging away at my tasks. I've gotte...

"Dreaming My Dreams" happened to be the song playing when Eric asked me to marry him. I really like that song from the album No Need to Argue. I think the song fit us then and still fits us today.

August seemed to fly by just as fast as July. I suppose that's how all summers go from a parent's perspective. We had fun and played as much as we could. Elasha & Matt came down from Pittsburgh to visit one last time before moving back west. Genevieve had fun playing with the kids and was sad to see them go. We drove around the mall and stopped at the Lincoln and FDR memorials. Genevieve grew up a ton this month, mostly due to potty training. She just doesn't look like a baby anymore, especially when she wears an expression like this one, in a sassy skirt like this one... Eric and I managed to get in one date, well two if you count going running together while Elasha was here, for all of August. At least it was a yummy meal. We need to work harder on having dates. Genevieve spent a lot of time with friends at the pool or fountains. August was a very hot month here. Call me a sucker. I bought a Shamwow. It is a total fake. but I was sure it would work a...

Eric and I have logged a lot of miles lately, well a lot for us. Not like Nate Jenkins, RW marathon hopeful, who logs 140 miles a week regularly and up to 190 miles a week when he's pushing it. I think that is absurd. We log just enough miles to get us by (well at least I do, maybe I shouldn't speak for Eric) because that is all the time we can give to running with a toddler. Eric is training for the Marine Corps marathon and I am training for the DC Ragnar Relay. As a result, Genevieve has taken notice. She knows which drawer I keep my running clothes in and whenever I don them she asks, "Momma go running?" She also notices how sweaty I am upon my return and states, "Momma sweatty" in a semi-serious tone. Recently, we were discussing what impact our running has had on Genevieve. I pulled out a pair of shoes for her to wear since most of her sandals are getting too small. And while they are far from running shoes, she thinks they are and calls them such. Wh...

The arrangement is - Genevieve makes the mess and Bisous lays in it. Genevieve is still afraid of water fountains. Makenzie tried her best to coax Evie into the water, but in the end they both stayed clear. I should, however, give them some credit because they got pretty close this time. I took Father's Day shots of Eric and Genevieve, but Eric insisted he take a couple of me. We sure have a cute girl. A night on the town - well dinner and a walk. Eric took me to a fabulous steakhouse for our anniversary. Then we went to the mall and walked around. Seriously, can't we think of something more interesting to do with ourselves? Thanks to Jessie for watching the monster for us. I guess I lied. Genevieve does like water fountains - at least small, un-intimidating ones. Meadow Lane park has fantastic toys. The perma-scowl that lasted two full weeks. It ruined most shots but I thought it was worth preserving in at least one photo.