Life in Prescott: An Update

We like to stick baby in the corner ... of the couch and make her practice her sitting.

Ada considers Shirley.

Welcome to Jerome!

That's Jerome, AZ, a town originally funded by copper mining and now by cute cafes and junk shops run by hippies.

Walking around Tuzigoot National Monument (Ada and I stayed in the car sleeping)

The Prescottonians!

Our friend Maria (connection, Jeffrey graduated from law school with her and her fiance Dave. My dad refers to them as "the rat people") is an official Cardinals cheerleader and the squad was in Prescott doing a little mini-practice at the YMCA.

Last weekend, Jeffrey's mom was here for a visit. Shirley visits mean lots of lasagna, often-confusing stories that somehow relate to people's deaths, and trips to fun places.

While she was here we headed to Jerome, AZ, a town that was developed around copper mining and at one point had the second-largest JC Penney in the country. Then it essentially fell down the mountainside -- as precariously perched mining towns often do when you build them over fault lines and then blast the shit out of the earth -- but was rebuilt and rejuvenated and

"includes a modicum of artists, craft people, musicians, writers, hermits, bed and breakfast owners, museum caretakers, gift shop proprietors and fallen-down-building landlords."

We also had lunch at the world famous Hog Wild Restaurant and the food was delicious -- though none of use took on the celebrated 1-pound pork chop sandwich. (I had the chicken philly -- it was amazingly good -- like, "let's go back and eat lunch at that place in Cottonwood" good).

Sunday we went to see our friend Maria do some cheering. She's a cheerleader for Arizona's NFL team, the Cardinals, and also a fellow law graduate.  We felt a little weird standing around the YMCA gym watching half-naked girls jump around ... but it was really fun to see Maria do something she loves.

This is Jeffrey's second week of work and it is going well. He often pops home for lunch which is nice, and no one at the firm has completely shunned him yet!

I'm back at work and doing my normal work stuff and Ada has been amazingly accommodating -- she basically sleeps through the whole morning half of my work day, wakes up a bit for lunch with us, then goes back to sleep. What a good baby!

Lucy and Lily are liking the house. Lily likes to try to flush out the quail from the porch (poodles ARE hunting dogs after all...) and Lucy is doing really well on the stairs.

So life is good!

The Last Six Weeks ...

So apparently it was six weeks ago that I blogged ... in that time, I've had a baby and moved to a different city. Rather than bore you with the mundane prattling normally found here, I bring you a photo scrap book of The Last Six Weeks!

Several hours before Ada was born, I demonstrate my wry wit along with my heart rate monitor.

Ada Elizabeth Gautreaux, 7-22-2011, 7:35 p.m., 7 lbs 8.6 oz, mommy had ALL the drugs.

Jeffrey holding his daughter for the first time.

Ada, showing us what she thinks of us.

Sleeping!

Ada in a duckie towel after one of her first baths.

Grandpa Rinne holding his great granddaughter.

Who's tired?

Ada, a few weeks in, giving us a typical Ada Face -- she really is sitting up in that corner of the chair all by herself.

At Zinburger with Terry -- he basically packed our whole house.

Lucy in her chair, hemmed in by all the boxes. Lucy has moved ten times in her life. She's a pro.

Ada looking bored with us ... again.

The truck is so big, it doesn't fit in the frame. It also completely obscures our Phoenix house behind it. And yes, Jeffrey drove it all by himself and no one was killed! (I won't mention the incident with the giant rock.)

The view from our deck in Prescott.

Lucy enjoying the view from one of our decks in Prescott.

Sunset at Watson Lake in Prescott.

Ada, finally not bored by us. I think she enjoys living in Prescott!

Playing with my stick

Jeffrey turned 30 on Thursday. As a life milestone, he thought he was ready to give manual transmission driving another go.

We tried this is my Honda Civic several years ago and the parking lot time went well, but on the road? Well, let's just say it's been a few years since I was willing to try this again. The little red car is a bit easier to drive, though a bit diminutive for a 6'4" human, but I thought, we can at least try.

So this morning, I had him read the CarTalk guys' guide to driving stick shift. Then he watched this video here.

Then we hit the church parking lot.

Two hours later? Cruising the Biltmore area of Phoenix.

Jeffrey and I are not the same

Jeffrey's last day of law school ended at exactly 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Did he immediately celebrate? Drinks all around at the bar? No. He went to an immigration bill forum.

Amazingly, I did get him to go out to dinner with me. He ordered the big plate of food and ate every morsel. I believe that was celebration enough.

This morning, did he sleep in, luxuriating in the fact that he had no where to be and no class to attend? No.
He woke up at 5:30 a.m. to play basketball. When that failed (furlough days, FAIL), he bought doughnuts (win!), and then came back and when I suggested he sit on the patio with me and enjoy the sun on the mountains for a minute, he seemed annoyed because he wanted to review paperwork to take to the notary. At 6:30 in the morning.

He sat with me for about five minutes, compromising to read over the papers on the patio, and then as soon as the last bite of my doughnut had been popped into my mouth, he looked at me and said, "So, can I go in and do this now?"

*sigh*

Some people just don't know how to have nothing to do.

I'm constantly amazed at his ability to work and be happy doing it. I wouldn't want it any other way. (Particularly because it turns out he AND the poodle then follow me around the house needing a little attention while I do stuff. How many years is medical school? Maybe he should enroll.)

The First Day of the Last Year

Jeffrey Gautreaux

3L at the University of Arizona James E Rogers College of Law

and Managing Editor of the Arizona Law Review

Looking excited ... OK, maybe not.

Monsoon!

Last night we had some high winds and drizzle. Tonight, the sky opened up. What's always amazing to me is how these huge storms well up throughout the day, unleash their fury in the evening, but only for about a half hour. An hour after it started, it had completely stopped rainin. An hour and a half later, there was a sunset with just the smell of Tucson rain in the air and wet pavement to signal a storm had passed.