our incredible journey 2012

so i know that last time we made an epic journey across the country (two years ago). i diligently reported to you from each leg of our trip.  but, as you may have noticed, i haven't been such a great blogger lately.  so, here you get our trip, in its' entirety.  all 5136 miles of it.  it was by far the most amazing family vacation we have ever had.

we started in denver, where the girls got to go to this very cool water park.

and they got some great time with their mimi and pops.

we then spent a LOT of time in the car.  i cannot even tell you how amazing the girls were in the car.  with a few minor exceptions, i would use the word angelic to describe their behavior.  for real.  (we figured by the time it was all said and done we were in there for about 80 hours.)

next we stopped in cleveland to visit my dear sister, traci and my darling nephew, john. (and of course my brother-in-law, mike, but i didn't get a picture of him.)

while i was there traci arranged a (very successful) trunk show for me at her coffee shop.  so fun!

it was so great to spend some more time with her.

and the girls love their aunt traci!

our next stop was to see good ol' apple and poppy, glenn's parents, in new jersey.

we took the girls to build-a-bear since they were so great in the car.  (this is little nora on the left.  so sweet)

hazel, nora, june, eddie, kendra

they had an awesome time with their cousins.

one highlight of apple and poppy's house is the critter-feeding area.  the girls watched the animals for hours, but we did not see the bear this time.

then we headed down to the jersey shore for a couple of days!

such a great time.

we met glenn's uncle bob for lunch in pennsylvania,

and then glenn and i had a date.

we went for a walk

and then went and saw conor oberst!

(you can see more on that show here if you'd like.)

our next stop was newport, RI.

we stayed with my dear friend molly.

i LOVE newport!

we went to the newport folk festival, which has been a dream of mine for a loooooong time.

hazel loved hanging out with molly; they have a very special bond.

 the girls had such a great time at the festival!

they each picked one band for me to take them up close for.  hazel picked first aid kit.

and she got to meet them; they were so sweet.

and they both got to meet israel from blind pilot, who is also very sweet.

june picked to go up front for the head and the heart.

she took this picture of herself,

and lots of pictures of the band.

the festival was everything i had ever hoped it would be and more.  you can read more about it here if you'd like.

we ate breakfast at the hungry monkey before leaving town.

we stopped to see all of the dear cousins again,

and apple and poppy.

thank you SOOOOO much for everything!

and then headed west.  but guess who was waiting for us in denver?  the felice brothers!

glenn and i got to see a felice brothers show on our 11th anniversary.

very wonderful.

this trip was epic and fabulous and spectacular.

i really do love what i do.

so i went through this period where i thought that only my one of a kind pieces of jewelry were what mattered, that those were what made me an "artist".  but i had something happen recently that made me reevaluate that.  i got an e-mail from woman, telling me that i had made her god-daughter's wedding rings and that her god-daughter's husband had recently died unexpectedly and could i please make one of my remembrance pansies for her.

 and so i did.

 and look what his name was.

and it made me realize that what i do for people, when i make these one-of-a-kind custom pieces for them, is huge.  i create tangible memories, keepsakes, heirlooms that are invaluable to these people and their families.

 i make wedding rings, to be worn everyday, for life.

 i make engagement rings, where so many hopes and dreams live.

 i make wedding gifts.

i've even made a divorce ring.

 i make dog tags, to make sure your special friend can be found if lost.

(i haven't told you yet about this.)

 i make family necklaces.

 this woman just sent her necklace back to me, after a few years, to add her newest child.  that is SO cool.

 and i make vacation memories too.

it was just very wonderful for me to realize that these pieces have so very much significance for the folks i am making them for.  they are just as special, just as unique, as the "art" pieces that i make.

i really, truly, sincerely love what i do.

and i am so grateful everyday.

our first trip of the summer

so this trip was rather interesting, as it involved the four of us splitting up and heading our separate ways.

first, we dropped glenn of at wolf creek pass for a 76 mile solo backpacking trip.

as he was saying good-bye to the girls, hazel said "daddy, you will always be in my heart."  june said "daddy, you will get eaten by a bear."  funnily enough, the area where glenn went was actually the last place where grizzlies were spotted in colorado, in 1979.

then i headed on to denver, where i dropped the girls (all three of them) off with my folks.  hazel and june had an amazing visit with their mimi and pops!

 and olive got a bit spoiled, of course.

 hazel lost another tooth while she was there.

 meanwhile, i was in cleveland, visiting my fabulous sister, traci, and my amazing little nephew, john.

 from cleveland, i drove to jim thorpe, PA with some friends to see...  you guessed it...  the felice brothers!

 it was the best show i have seen in a very long time.  you can read about it here if you'd like.

 the town of jim thorpe is so amazing.

one wonderful thing about the town is the absinthe house.

 we tried it and it was lovely.

this is the before picture...

 and us, in anticipation as the water drips over the sugar cube

(that's shan in the middle and cindy on the right)

and this is what it looks like after the sugar has been added and it has been "louched", which means a splash of icy cold water is added.

shan and ady, a.k.a two sisters and a show, a.k.a. sisters dissonance

we had so much fun!

 and then i headed back to cleveland to see my beloved john,

 and traci and mike of course.

 goodNESS, i adore this kid.

 and it was so very fabulous to hang out with traci.

 cleveland is a really great city.

 john pretty much never stops running.

 we went to the zoo.

 and rode the train.

 i bought john one of these little water drop toys (not really sure what you call them) he was fascinated with it, couldn't take his eyes off it.

 this giraffe's little face reminded me of olive's lips, with her underbite.

 while at a thrift store shopping for belts, john tried them all on and was very pleased with himself.

and traci took me to the incredible melt for dinner one night.  there are no words...

 john brought his "cool" as he called it.  still mesmerized...

what a great time!

thank you so much, traci, for everything

and thanks shan, ady and cindy for so much fun

and thanks mom and dad for having the girls!

p.s.  glenn did not get eaten by a bear.  we met him back home, safe and sound.