It may be time to change the name of our blog to: “The Reason Eden Turned Out the Way She Did” or “Chronicles of Imperfect Parents” or “That Explains a Lot” or “Reasons Elisa Would Fail as a Single Parent”. I could continue but I think my point is clear.

Eden has been learning to traverse the stairs safely. She does a pretty impressive job. I was taking care of just one last thing in our room at the top of the stairs, at my parents house, while she began her backward crawling down the stairs.

I thought to myself, “Eden could probably use some supervision. I would hate for her to fall because I wasn’t there!” It is pretty obvious that she did fall, right?

Well I walked to the top of the stairs intending to help her out. She looked up at me and perched up onto her knees. As she did she arched back too far and then there she went. Down, down down. She managed to twist into a barrel roll and then crashed on the wood landing. My words were, “Shoot! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!” As if each “No” would stop the next bump and ensure she didn’t brake an arm or snap her little neck. My exclamations didn’t stop her swift decent but she survived.

Had I NOT gone to HELP Eden, I think she would have made a nice, slow and calculated journey down the remaining 2/3rds of the staircase.

Chad, Eden, my brother Daniel and I all drove up to Anacortes on Friday. We met up with my uncle Todd who flew us over to Roche Harbor on San Juan island. It crossed my mind, “when did you ever imagine you’d be a operating a small aircraft?” A lot of people have asked us if we miss Switzerland and how we are enjoying being back in the US. We love it. I really feel like the sky is the limit with our possibilities and opportunities here.

We met up with my Aunt Linda and went over to their cabin on Henry Island. Jeff and Lauren came up a little later. It was so nice to sit out on the patio next to a fire, eating smores and just enjoy each other.

The next morning, Linda was kid enough to care for Eden while the rest of us went out to check for crabs and to see what the fishing conditions were. I love being out on the boat. I love the cold windy seat up in front.

We always eat great while we are there. We had a great time together. Todd flew us over to Anacortes the next afternoon and we drove back to my parents’ place. I crashed on the couch and Chad stayed up until 3 or so getting ready for his 10 days in NYC, training with Goldman Sachs.

I love Bear Lake. I thought I would end up bored out of my mind just hanging around for 5 days. We had a fantastic time and I cannot wait for all the Parry’s to get together there next year for the reunion.

Jordyn and Dusty came up for Saturday and Sunday. We played miniature golf, hit some tennis balls and in the Parry tradition ate far too well. Jeff, Sarah, Sophia and Jane joined us for Sunday through Thursday. We watched movies, played in the pool and enjoyed having the girls together. Sophia and Jane play so well with Eden.

I tagged along with John, Chad and Jeff for a round of 9 holes of golf. I was official score keeper and cart driver. We went again later in the week and a played 3 and a half holes. After trying to drive the ball more than 15 feet three times in a row I decided to take a break.

We went down to the lake on Wednesday afternoon and I wish we had spent the majority of our time there. The water was perfect and a beautiful light blue. The sand was great for playing. We went jet skiing and had a blast. I managed to throw myself off. Chad and I went together and I could barely stay on. We were bouncing like crazy. The spray was totally blinding us. I was laughing so hard but tried to keep my mouth closed so I would bite my tongue in half. My legs felt like jello afterward and I could barely walk or sit for the next 3 days. It was SO much fun!