Texas Tornado

Late last night we returned from a whirlwind Texas trip. The big event that brought us to Austin for the weekend was my good friend Amy's wedding. The wedding was special because 1) all weddings are, 2) Amy is one of my oldest and dearest friends and 3) she picked the cutest kid ever to be her ring bearer...my very own sweet Dylan.

We left the house very early Friday morning to catch our flight. Dylan is a wonderful seasoned traveler and, with help from his Harry Potter movie watching obsession, the flight went as smoothly as a flight with a 21 month old who didn't sleep a wink could go. By the time we got our luggage and were finishing the paperwork for our car rental, Dylan was 2 hours past his nap and begging to get in the car so he could nap (the first time I've ever had the kid beg us for a nap). As soon as we hit the road and sang a few songs, he was peacefully sleeping away. Unfortunately, it meant Mike would be missing our lunch date to hang out in the car with the tot.

Playing with IPad Pics on the Plane

I met the bride and groom, Amy and Brad, as well as our friend, Shaunna, for some lunch. We were all a bit frazzled for all different reasons but managed to relax a bit and have a nice casual lunch together. The plan was for the gals to continue the relaxing vibe for a pedicure, but the frazzled pace caught up with us and we ran out of time. So, I met back up with Mike and Dylan (still sleeping) and started the drive, through Austin Friday afternoon traffic, to our hotel in a town called Buda, just south of Austin.

Shaunna, Brad, Amy and Me

Once we got our luggage in the hotel room, we had to get showered and out the door at a breakneck pace to drive a bit even further south, to a town called Kyle, where the wedding rehearsal was taking place. By that point, Dylan had been sitting on a plane, in a car or in a tub literally all day long and it was time for the boy to run around! That means he got very little out of the wedding rehearsal but he had fun getting some energy out and collecting some treasures.

Trying to Explain Ring Bearer Duties

Wall Walking

Treasures - Bark, Rocks and Sticks

Showing Treasures to Mom

After the rest of the wedding party got something out of the rehearsal time, we headed to the restaurant for the dinner. By that time, after a long day and some serious play, Dylan was pooped! He managed to stay seated and have a bit of nourishment from the salad and appetizers course but then he was done. However, we were pleasantly pleased with how content he was to play at our feet, under the table, with his trains. Although his eyes were glazed with fatigue, he let us get through the main course and some time talking with some of the folks we would be spending the weekend with.

While we were getting our desserts packed to go and started collecting our things, he got a brief bit of energy and spent it flirting and playing with the adorable flower girls, Troy and Irina. They just ate him up!

And, even though Dylan really needed to head straight to bed, we had one more thing to do when we got back to the hotel. We needed to go see Mimaw and Pipaw! They arrived at the hotel while we were at the rehearsal. Luckily, their room was just next door so after a brief visit with them, we were back to our room. Once there, we all changed into our pj's and called it a day. It had been a long day but was only the start to a very busy weekend.

Foolin' Around

When this gets posted, we'll be well on our way to what is forecasted to be a very hot weekend in Austin for my good friends wedding. That heat is going to be a serious shock to our systems...especially considering just a week ago, on April Fool's Day, New England got snow!

A few days before that jokeful holiday, some friends asked us if we wanted to do some skiing over the weekend. With one of the ski resorts offering $1 lift tickets on April 1st, we decided to take off work and head up for some discount skiing. What a huge treat when we found out we were going to have some fresh powder to ski on!

We all got to the condo Thursday night and all had too late of a bed time. Thanks to Dylan, though, we got up bright and early in the morning. And, sure enough, as the weatherman said, it was snowing! It took a while to get the 5 of us bundled up and headed to the mountain and, once we got there, even more time to come up with a plan and set it into action. By around 10 that morning, Mike, Craig and Dana were heading to the ski lift and Dylan and I were heading to a trail for a little snowshoeing.

Dylan and Mike Checking out the Slopes

Quadzilla

Hammin' it up - Dana and Craig

Energetic Dad but Dylan's already lookin' a wee bit tired.

All winter I've been unhappy with my hat collection. The one I had with me that day was certainly not going to keep any snow out of my face so first off, Dylan and I ducked into the ski shop and I got a new cute hat. Dylan did a great job helping me find just the right one. Then, we trekked across the parking lot of the ski area to find one of the cross country ski trails.

Dylan and I had a great time enjoying the silence and solitude of the trail. We were the only ones making any prints in the snow. We entertained ourselves by finding good snow heavy branches to hit sending snow everywhere and singing songs.

Then, all of a sudden, Dylan stopped replying to my questions and wasn't asking for more songs. I got out the camera so I could take a picture to see what was going on behind me. He was out.

It was approaching the time I was supposed to meet up with the gang but I sent them a text to keep skiing and a shoed by myself for a while enjoying the peace and beauty of the trail.

My Prints

When I finally did get back to the parking lot, I got a lot of smiles and waves. I guess it's not every day you see a baby in a backpack sleeping on the back of a snow covered girl in snow shoes! As soon as I leaned over to take of the snow shoes, Dylan was awake! We went into the lodge, took off our wet outer layer of clothes and sat by the fire to warm up. Soon, the skiers joined us and we ate some lunch. Craig and Dana offered to watch Dylan while Mike and I had some ski time, but it quickly became apparent that the little tot that didn't get much sleep the night before was not going to be separated happily from his parents. So, Mike took him back to the condo for a good nap and I skied a couple of hours with Craig and  Dana.

The conditions of the mountain were really weird. The snow was wet and slushy making it an interesting textures to turn through. Plus, the mountain had become pretty icy before the fresh snow hit and after a day of being skied on, the fresh snow was getting pushed into mounds. The result was like this when you were skiing - ice, fluff, ice, fluff, ice, fluff. It didn't encourage speed so the 3 of us just had some fun going on some harder trails, playing in the trees and doing some jumps. I think I got off the ground about 3 inches one time. Quite the adventurer, aren't I?

We'd all well gotten our dollars worth so we headed back to our place, met up with the boys, lost the wet clothes, and showered. A new pub\restaurant opened up near our place we hadn't yet tried so we went there. It was decided we would bring dinner home and not try and sit and have a meal with the delicate condition Dylan had been in all day. So, while we waited for our food, we played foosball (Dylan enjoyed putting the ball back in play after a goal) and Dylan played with the pool balls. The rest of the night was dinner, drinks, games and an early bed time.

Saturday morning we packed up and headed home. The rest of the weekend was spent doing not very interesting, but necessary life things, like errands, cleaning and chores. Wahoo!

Stonehurst Revisited

After hitting the beach for a short amount of time the Cape and cousins Saturday, I needed to spend some time in tree cover doing a bit of hiking. We had plans to meet up with friends Tamara, Ross and baby Elsa and we wanted to try and find a spot in between our houses. Mike, who always seems to pull a good plan out of his pocket, suggested we revisit the estate where we got married, Stonehurst, and check out their hiking trails.

I don't think we've really been back since the big event except to pick up some things there the next day. 

And can ya believe it, that was a whole 4 and a half years ago! It's such a beautiful estate, house and grounds, and I'd always wanted to check out the trails. During the wedding planning craziness, there never seemed to be time to do that so it was great to finally fulfill that want.

Mostly happy kids, good weather, good friends, good time. Not much more to say than that so enjoy the pictures. 

Finding Sticks

More Sticks (and the House)

View of the Field

Fun Destroying Pine Cones

Sharing Pine Cones with Elsa (she was unimpressed)

Monkey in a Tree

Upside Down Baby

The Morrow's

The Hines's (with a not very cooperative Dylan
 - he was really on the move that day)

Walking the Wall (Don't worry Mom, I held his other arm tightly)

21 Months

If Dylan were his age times 12, he'd be having a rip roaring time tonight. However, as he's only 21 months and not 21 years tonight, he's snuggly nestled in his crib with all of his stuffed animals. A wild party night for the big guy.

On his 20 month post, I mentioned that he was starting to form some two word sentences. While still only stringing 2 words together, he's doing that a lot more often. He likes to point out "mama car" or "daddy hat" (Dada has now evolved to Daddy.) And the day we've come to fear is steadily approaching....when the little one becomes a parrot. Normally he repeats words when we ask him "can you say word" but now he's starting to just repeat new words he hears or says to him. It's not super consistent yet but I'm definitely watching the words that come out of my mouth a little closer. Mike and I have also been working on how quickly and accurately we spell words since that's what we do when we don't want little ears to understand.

While last month I reported Dylan was really into ABC's, this month the focus has most definitely been on numbers. He can show you "1" with his finger and he likes to count things "1,2,1,2" (we're still working on 3). He still likes to read alphabet books but he really loves to read counting books. Our bed time favorite the last couple of weeks is an abridged version of Dr. Seuss's 10 Apples Up On Top. And speaking of counting, a new trick that Mike and I really love to hear is Dylan's impression of Sesame Street's Count "ah-ah-ah!"

Reading with Bedhead

Books are still a big part of Dylan's day and he loves to be read to while sitting in our lap. Many times during the day, we'll hear "read, read" and we'll see Dylan handing us a book he's brought to us. I hope that love continues for a life time. I know that all parents think their child is a genius. Proof that Dylan really is - he pulled out a book the other day and said "Oppsite" and sure enough it was his book of opposites. That's a pretty big word that he only missed 1 letter of.

"Uh-oh" has almost been completely replaced with "oh-no" and his love for Harry Potter has only blossomed more. It's become part of our bedtime routine for Dylan and I to sit down and watch a few minutes of the movies before bed time which is just after dinner. Dylan very often will meet me at the door when I get home, smile really big (which warms my heart) and just when I think I'm going to get a big hug, he says "Harry" and runs into the living room to sit on the couch. Getting him to sit down with us is getting harder and harder since he's so focused on his favorite activity that comes next. He's learned many of the character's names and even knows Harry's last name. We hear this many times a day:

Anyway, the point of the "oh-no" is that surprisingly, the movies don't scare him (yet) but if something disturbing is happening (like Professor Lupin turning into a werewolf), he'll say "oh-no, oh-no,OH-NO!"

Mommy Kisses!

The 2nd nap is officially a thing of the past and his 1 nap lasts from one and a half hours. Another new thing Dylan is experimenting, which I really don't understand, is walking with his eyes closed. He finds it very amusing. For the most part, we do to. It was not so funny when he ran right into the refrigerator door with a bang then fell straight back on the floor. Who am I kidding, that was funny too (after Mike was sure he wasn't hurt, of course)! Another sense he's playing with is smell and he now likes to try and smell things, which is more of an outward nose breath. It's pretty cute.

HAPPY 21 MONTHS MY CUTE DYLAN!

Cape and Cousins

Two weekends ago (I feel like I start out most of my posts that way) we had, as usual, a chopped full weekend. We got a call the week prior about how we had "won a travel package" from a drawing that we "entered" at the home show. What really happened is that they got our name from the registry and called us to come listen to some sales pitch before they gave us anything. For some reason, Mike thought it would be fun to take a day trip to the Cape, waste a few hours and then get some "free" stuff. As much I usually hate those sort of things, for some reason I agreed to go with it this time. After breakfast, we all got ready and got loaded up in the car for the hour and a half drive to Dennisport on Cape Cod.

And well, can you guess what happened? Yup, we got suckered in! After learning about this travel club (updated time share type thing), it did end up sounding appealing to us. There are a lot of benefits to it that fit the way our family travels. Also, I've got my mountain home but Mike wanted a beach home. Well, now we own a small portion of a beach side hotel on the cape.

We had plans at home that night. Unfortunately, the trip down took much longer than anticipated since we had to agree to a deal and sign a lot of paperwork. At my complete embarrassment, Mike's cousin and his family were at our house a full half hour before we got back! They were great sports about it and made themselves at home while waiting for us. 

Once we got back and we quickly made dinner for the hungry kids, a good time was had by all. Dylan played well with his cousins Justin, 2 years, and Ryan, 13 months. Mike and I had some quality time and conversation with cousin Erik and wife Jessie. With kiddos that young, nights end a lot earlier than they used to when we used to get together with them. The adults jamified (got pj's on) the little ones in preparation for the trip home and that's about the time we finally remembered\got a chance to pull out the camera.

Justin and Dylan were having a lot of fun with twilight turtle in the tent (say that 10 times fast). Every once in a while, I would open the tent and snap a shot. I think I got some pretty amusing shots.

It had been a long day for us. After our visitors left, Dylan was put to bed and Mike and I enjoyed just a bit of relaxation time in front of the boob tube and then hit the hay ourselves. There was another day left to the weekend and we were going to need some energy for it as well.

Last Snow Hike

While we were in NH with the Kelleher's, we had to get in a last snow shoe trip, or so we thought. (We're in NH now getting some snow so we might still squeeze another one in this season!) We bundled up the kids, put them in packs, and headed out to the waterfall to see if we could actually see, well, water this time (as opposed to a few weeks prior when all we saw was snow and ice).

Dylan Getting Bundled for the Trip

Ian Getting Bundled for the Trip

The tricky part about this is that with all the snow melt, we didn't know what the state of the trail would be. We don't have extra snow shoes (and Mike hates them anyway), so I was the only one wearing them on the trip. While the snow base wasn't super deep, some parts of the trail were hard packed and slippery and the rest was deep and slushy...tough conditions for moving up hill! But, Sean and Beth were troopers and stuck with us for the trip.

Once we got to the stream crossing, we knew the waterfall viewing upstream would be cool. There was a lot of snow melt water flowing down.

We lost Dylan to dreamland not too far into the trip.

After our family photo ops, we continued down the straight path then turned right again to head up to the falls.

Dylan Catching Some ZZZ's

When we got to the falls, we were not disappointed. I think it's the heaviest water flow we've ever seen on it!

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Note - I'm standing weird to keep Dylan sleeping comfortably.
Mom of the year or what?

Possibly my record number of peeps in a self portrait.

What's that at the top of the falls?

Closer look....hi!

We headed on up the trail to take the connecting path that loops back down to the condo.

When we got back down to the packed\slick spots towards the end of our hike, Mike grabbed Dylan (now awake), sat down, and tried out the ice slide. It worked! So, Beth and I followed suit. There were 3 spots for it, the longest of which was at the very last part of the trail. Beth slid a good 20 feet to end the hike, winning for the longest ice slide this season. What a fun way to end the hike!

At that point, it was time to pack up and head home. We really love being able to share our place up there with friends and always have a fun time when we do. I'm glad the Kelleher's joined us for a fun time and I hope their able to come back during the summer to enjoy more mountain activities then.