a weekend with Stephen

Is now few and far between. But, boy do we try and take advantage of every minute with that tall drink of water! (If I do say so myself...!) Saturday morning we drove out to Table Rock and walked the trail up to the view point. Wow, right?! It was a beautiful blue, clear morning and you could see for miles... The dry hills behind Boise on one side and the thousands of trees that cover the city on the other. Uriah loves being outside, so we think he enjoyed taking it all in ;) In such wonderful company, under such a beautiful sky, with such an incredible view of God's artwork, you can't help but feel overwhelmed with love and gratefulness. I thanked God profusely on the top of that hill - for one more day, for his beautiful masterpiece, for my family, for this incredible life I have been so blessed with... It was the perfect way to start our weekend!
Though Stephen didn't have to work, he always has to study. So, after our morning adventure we got coffee on our way home, put the little one down for a nap, and as I snuggled up in bed with Pinterest, Stephen got cozy with Qbank. After lunch and playtime we set off for the Hyde Park street fair. We live just a few blocks away from the little shopping/dining district and all weekend there was extra vendors on the streets selling goodies and clothes, concerts in the main square, so many people and pups, and activities going on at Camelsback Park. Uriah was tired and didn't quite know what to think of all the noise and commotion, so it was a quick trip through the park, but I loved the people watching and the snow cone we walked away with :)
On Sunday morning we walked through downtown to a new church (Again! This is the third one we've tried since moving here!), Revolution 22. And, though I've said this before, I think we found our new church home! (Unfortunately, just in time for us to leave for 14 weeks...) It's a small church, which makes it easier for the introverts in Stephen and I to get involved, and we really enjoyed the Pastor's message. We loved our church in Seattle, so we've had a hard time finding something here that compares. But, a couple of weeks ago we ran into an old acquaintance from Corvallis that had attended the same church as us while living there in college. We asked where he was going now and thought that since we both enjoyed Doxology in Corvallis, we might like this one as well. And we were right! So, thanks, Noah!
Straight out of church we walked to a coffee shop for caffeine and brunch, before walking to the zoo in the middle of Julia Daivs Park, just a couple blocks over from our church and a 20 minute walk from our house. We went to the Seattle zoo when Uriah was still just a little babe and he slept through the whole thing. This time, though we were still mostly going for my benefit, he was awake and got to enjoy some of it! He loved the monkey's we saw right when we walked in. He was "ooing" and "cooing" and staring at them in total interest! It was way cute :) They had a beautiful leopard, lions, and tiger (the big cats are always my favorite!). Uriah was ready to leave by the time we made our way back to the entrance and we wandered through town on our way home, Uriah passed out in the stroller. I'm excited to take him next spring when he can last longer and play and know some of the animals by name. I think we'll be regular attendees (If I have a say in it!)
Salmon and strawberry salad were on the menu Sunday night and after we put Uriah to bed Stephen and I enjoyed a beer on our porch as we talked, talked, talked into the evening. It was a little like we were dating again and I deeply enjoyed that alone time with him waiting for the storm to roll in.
A weekend with Stephen is a little slice of Heaven for Uriah and I. Thanks for loving us so!