wild baby

wild baby from kate johnson on Vimeo.

Call me crazy, but I'm really gonna miss this. Just me, the couch, our loud air conditioner, and a wiggly baby girl tucked safely inside of me.

Showered, twice

Once via the magic of the internet/skype and the US Postal Service and generous family:  

The Johnsons sent us cute decorations and yummy matching treats along with presents, etc. and then passed us around on a computer. It was a really hi-tech shower and almost as good as hanging out in real life. Don't mind the seams on my shirt screaming for mercy.

And the first shower, way back when sisters were in town. Brought to us by the magic of really nice friends.

All the yummy food getting set up. That cake was as delicious as it was pretty.

    

Sorry, no pictures of me holding up the million cute things we got. I guess we'll just have to wait 3 weeks! and see them in action

Matt and Mom and then Dad meet Brooklyn

We've been luckier than I ever expected we would when we moved here and had so many friends and family visit. Somehow we've seen 6 siblings and 2 parents in the last month and a half. But I think these last 2 sets of visitors will officially be our last before THE visitor makes her appearance. (At least I hope she gets here before my mom is back to help.) First up were brother Matt and my mom at the end of their long train/baseball stadium trip. (Something I need to do some time in my life.) Matt took all these great pictures and I'm stealing them to show you. Thanks, Matt.

 

They were a bit weary of their travels so we were on the same pace. Perfect for some lounging in Prospect Park on Sunday.

We started Monday morning with another rainy trip to Ellis and Liberty Islands. There is so much to see on Ellis Island, we saw completely different galleries than I did with the sisters. Is it unrealistic to want this ceiling in my own house?

  

After a traditional Shake Shack lunch with Regan in the park, we went home to rest (obviously) and blow-dry our clothes because we were all on our last pair of pants and we got soaked on the walk home (really) and headed down to Coney Island for a surprisingly pleasant/dry baseball game. Disappointing concession options (no snocones! no pizza!) but the Beach Bum dancers and the circus rings around the lights made up for that?

  

Tuesday we did some shopping (Purl Soho, you little devil) and then ate lunch at Chelsea Market. We had yummy deli sandwiches and even found mom some full-fat milk with cream settled on top. Then topped it off with "the best oatmeal raisin cookie she's ever had". Then to the highline for some wandering/sitting/people-watching. Here we made the new discovery that at 23rd street, you can see straight down to the edge of the island on both sides, pretty cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That evening we took a sunset walk across Brooklyn Bridge and the views did not disappoint. Lots of colors and sky things happening.

















And a picture with people! We ended the night with Grimaldi's (and ice cream cones from the pier while we waited in line at Grimaldi's).

And then 2 days later, my Dad came! Yes, my parents are happily married, they just couldn't coordinate their schedules perfectly on this trip. Maybe next time? I feel like we were rather boring hosts for my dad. We went to another Coney Island baseball game but this time it was a Friday night instead of a Monday night so it was a bit trashier, hotter, more crowded, etc. Still, hard to beat a minor minor league summer baseball game. The next morning, we walked through the park to the farmer's market and bought some fruit and pastries then ate them on our way home. It was too blasted hot to be outside much so we hibernated the afternoon away. We did at least manage to scrounge up a mini-project that required a drill to keep the men happy.

 

And then! We went to Brooklyn Bridge Park and found some street cart food and a table sitting on the water front with 3 chairs around it and everything was wonderful. The sun was setting, the air finally cooling, and the city was just far enough away to look really magical. I think my dad liked this, I think he was even telling someone how much he liked it on the phone right then.

 

And then we took a similar picture with even worse lighting on our walk across the bridge.

Man, I love my family.

Man, this post is long.

Summer Friday

Summer Fridays are the greatest thing ever invented. Is New York the only place that knows about them? It's a simple concept- it's Summer so sometimes we take Fridays off. Of course, they don't always actually happen and then we end up feeling jipped when Regan has to work 5 whole days. I started feeling entitled to them the second I heard they existed. Now I'm working on my mindset of just enjoying them as a bonus if they ever happen. Anyway, one time he had a real one and we slept in and went to the MoMA when it wasn't a crazy Free Friday Night so I actually really enjoyed it, especially this lady's everything and then we ate lunch in the grass in Central Park before Regan rowed us around the lake until I couldn't take the heat anymore and had to get back on land to buy a hard snowcone from the ice cream guy. It was a really good day.
Boring, shaky video:

Summer Friday from kate johnson on Vimeo.

4th of July

It turns out 11 months is about the amount of time it takes to start feeling very claustrophobic around here. We keep daydreaming about driving a car on open streets to somewhere, anywhere. The trip from Salt Lake to Vegas has even been sounding nice to us. And days like yesterday make it pretty hard to ignore the fact that we just don't live in Utah anymore. I missed all the buzz/festivity/patriotism/family/friends Utah has in July. And how close it is to Pinedale, where I've been on the 4th for the last 3 years. We don't have a yard, we don't have a pool, we can't light fireworks, we can't drive to a BBQ in an air-conditioned car. And the air is so thick and sticky and just won't leave you alone when you're outside. We spent the morning sleeping in and puttering around the house (I think we've finally figured out the optimal crib/etc. arrangement in our bedroom) and feeling a tiny bit sorry for ourselves. BUT luckily some grilling with friends (with cute babies) and watching the fireworks over the city from their rooftop was worth the sweaty walk and completely redeemed the day. Plus the fireflies have been going crazy here lately. I've gotta get a video of them. It's like walking through glitter!