Loon Gondola Ride and Glacial Caves

On America's birthday celebration (July 4th), the day after Dylan's birthday celebration (July 3rd), we started the day by playing with some of Dylan's new toys!

About an hour before Dylan's nap time, we started packing up. It was going to be great weather to head up to our NH get away for a couple of nights. While Dylan slept in the car, we made the 2 hour trek to our mountain condo. After unpacking, it was decided that we would try a new summer activity and head to Loon Mountain for their fun offerings.

Mike and I ski pretty often at Loon. Of the few ski resorts closest to our place, this one's our favorite. Like all mountain resorts, there are a few things that they offer to folks in the non snow season like climbing walls, zip lines, rides to the top of the mountain and cave exploration....none of which we've ever taken advantage of there.

We wanted to check out the glacial caves at the top of the mountain. Our options to get up were to hike or ride the gondola. Not shocking, we opted for the gondola. It's a bit of a different experience being in that thing in warm weather. Normally, when skiing, it's a great place to be out of the wind, warm up for a few minutes and adjust your gear. In summer, I was happy to be sitting next to the tiny window to get in all the fresh air I could...it was a bit stuffy!

Mimaw and Pipaw in the Gondola

Me, Dylan and Mike in the Gondola

Dylan Testing out His Photography Skills (A little work to do there...)

When we started our trek up, it was about 4:15. I was nervous because they stopped letting folks start the cave tour at 4:30 and it's about a 15 minute ride up. We were cutting it close! When we made it to the top, we headed straight for the caves....and we made it in the nick of time. Just as we passed the sign, a worker came to rope off the area so no other visitors could be admitted. This would be the 2nd time we cut it that close that weekend (the first being the Wild Birds of Prey show)!

I really hadn't heard anything about these caves so assumed that there wasn't much. Maybe a couple of giant rock formations to peak in and that was it. Boy was I wrong! There were tons of stairs and many caves (I think around 10) that you could climb through. It was pretty cool!

My Dad, Mike, Dylan and myself all went through the first couple. After seeing what they would be like, my Mom stayed on the boardwalks and just watched us enjoy the spelunking.

Once we got to the 3rd one or so, I opted out. That one was a tight squeeze that you couldn't get through without getting your belly and back dirty. With limited maternity clothes, I didn't want to get my outfit too filthy since I didn't have any options to change into for the rest of the day.

Mike Pulling Dylan Though the Tight Cave (I fed him through the back side.)

Dad Trying to Make it Through the Cave

My Dad went for it but couldn't make it all the way through. The space was just a little too tight for him so he had to back out and join me and my Mom. I think that might have dampened his adventurous spirit because he didn't attempt any others. Mike, Dylan and I got through most of the rest. Dylan did so awesome! He was super excited about the adventure and did a great job listening to and obeying all of our instructions. A great cave climber!

After climbing through the caves, it was time to go back up to the top of the gondola (closing time was approaching). That, of course, meant climbing back up all the stairs. Dylan attacked them with full force and we had to work to keep up with his fast pace. Then, he hiked the uneven terrain back to the top of the lift like a pro. I think we might have a little hiker on our hands! Perhaps Mike and I won't have to carry him up too many more mountains. I have a strong suspicion that he'll be ready to take on some himself soon.

Before we descended, we just had to take advantage of the wonderful scenery to have a nice photo op.

AND, Dylan had to test out the playground! How often do you get to go down a slide at the top of a mountain?!? Pretty cool!

With play, travel and our cave adventure, it had been quite the day. I think we were all pretty satisfied to go back to the condo and have a low key night. So, it was left overs and some TV. Dylan had a great time digging into the corn. It was pretty cute to watch him eat it.

After Dylan went to bed, there was a little bit of discussion on whether my parents and I would head to Waterville Valley (another close by ski resort) to watch the fireworks. Even though it would have been a great show, we were quite frankly all too pooped to seriously consider it. However, it being NH - land of legal fireworks - we didn't even have to leave the condo for the show. Upside to that - lots of neighbors (who apparently spent lots of money on fireworks) giving us a pretty great show. Downside - lots of fireworks going off literally next door. That means loud! Loud fireworks + sleeping tot = a little bit of cringing at each loud pop. By some miracle, the child that wakes up to the sound of the toilet flushing across the hall from his bedroom somehow slept through 95% of the fireworks. Unfortunately, that last 5% woke him up. 

With no chance of him going back down until the noise subsided, I went up and got him. He calmed pretty immediately when he heard my voice. I told him that he didn't need to be scared...the loud noises he was hearing were fireworks. We went to the window and I said "see, aren't the fireworks pretty?" He replied "fireworks pretty." Then I asked "would you like to see some more fireworks?" He replied "more fireworks." So, we headed downstairs and joined the rest of the gang on our deck where we watched the last bit of the show. Obviously, it wasn't ideal for Dylan to be awakened by the noise, but I was glad he got to see fireworks for the 4th.

The tricky thing about Dylan sleeping in the same room for us is that he won't fall asleep in his crib (or play pen in the case of our NH place) while we're actually in the room. It makes for not getting much sleep in travel situations because he often wakes in the middle of the night and then has to move to our bed to go back to sleep. Then we don't get much sleep because there's a wiggly tot kicking us all night. In the case of this night, though, I was exhausted and needed to get to sleep right after the fireworks too. So, Dylan and I snuggled in the upstairs bedroom while poor Mike was relegated to the couch (full size beds do not fit 2 adults and a wiggly tot). I really didn't get much sleep that night because I was so concerned that Dylan would fall off the bed without an adult on the other side of him keeping him on. Ugh! So frustrating to have such a full, lovely and tiring vacation day only to be followed by no sleep. That's one of the woes of traveling with young kids I suppose!

Harry Potter Birthday

Sunday, July 3rd, was the day of Dylan's Harry Potter birthday party. That morning, Mike, my parents and I did a lot of picking up and cleaning. While Dylan napped, we started food prep. He woke up around 2, we all showered and got ready and at 3 the guests started to arrive!

Dylan didn't have much say in his guest list. It was comprised of his grandparents, Boston area aunts\uncles\cousins and a couple of my friends that live in the neighborhood that have some kiddos. It felt  like a big group...maybe because they're all loud and fun.

First on the party agenda was cooking and eating. It's July, after all. You can't have a party without some sort of cookout.

Emily, Mike and Dylan Spreading the Harry Potter Tablecloth

Dylan and His Friend Luke Being Entertained By.....

Cousin Corwin's Antics on the Swing

Ryan

Kari, Kristina and Jim

Cooking Boys - Joe, Bumpa and Patrick

Mike Helped Run the Grill

Joe and Kristina Hamming It Up

The entire holiday weekend was forecast to have beautiful weather, except for 3-5 on Sunday afternoon....just the time frame for the party. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. 75% of the party was rain free and the part that wasn't, just in time for the burgers coming off the grill, was a light rain that didn't seem to bother those that stayed outside. Our big umbrella over the table seemed to provide just enough shelter.

After we were all fully stuffed, it was time to admire my Mom's wonderful birthday cake, sing to the birthday boy and then massacre the cake.

Ready For The Candle Lighting

The Birthday Boy Got a Little Overwhelmed
Being the Center of Attention During the Birthday Song

Since Dylan was not into performing for the crowds, his pal Luke graciously helped him blow out the candle. Well, in reality, Luke just got to it quickly. I did relight it for the birthday boy to make his wish but he just wouldn't give it a try. So, I got to blow it out the second time around.

Then The Legos Came Off The Cake

And The Boys Happily Played With Them

Dylan was actually too busy playing with his cake decorations to serve himself the cake he'd been wanting to dig into all day long! Like a good Mom, I fed him a few bites while he enjoyed playing. What a life!

Then it was time to open presents! Even though he was excited earlier in the day to open presents saying "open, open!" every time he passed the table where they were stacked, by that point he was far too happy with playing with his new lego toys to be interested. But, I finally did finagle him to start opening them (cousins and friend Luke were close by if he needed any help). Each gift was a struggle though because he was so excited for his new things that he wanted to play with them right then!

Sporting His New Shades

Tractors to Tip!!!!

His Big Present From Nana and Bumpa - A Sand and Water Table
(He wasn't too stoked while it was in the box but he absolutely loves it!
I don't know anything else, other than watching Cars or Harry Potter,
that can keep him entertained as long as his sand and water table does!)

Tractors Have Been Tipped

Smooches From the Birthday Boy

After the gifts were opened, the crowds parted quickly. It was evening by then and everyone was ready to call the party a success and get back to their lives at home. After cleaning up, Mimaw, Pipaw, Mike, Dylan and I settled in to watch a little boob tube. Dylan had had a lot of excitement that day and was doing his typical overtired act - being crazy and wallowing over everything.

He Climbed All Over Pipaw

And Even on Mimaw!

This kid was pooped! It was a fun birthday party but that boy obviously needed to head to bed. So, I took him there and he happily laid down in it.

There were moments that I was slightly bummed that he wasn't enjoying his party the way I'd hoped. For Dylan, he was acting a little sensitive and seemed to prefer watching Cars to playing with his cousins. I got over my sadness pretty quickly and realized that it's his party and he doesn't need to have fun the way I planned for him. He can do what he wants....after all, it's him we're celebrating and it's his special time!

The Hogwarts Cake

My Mom is a master cake creator. As part of her gift to her grandkids, she lends her amazing skills to create a personalized cake to help make their birthdays super special.

Due to Dylan's odd, non age appropriate obsession with Harry Potter, we decided to go with that theme for his birthday. There could not be a more interesting entry in his baby book for his 2nd year celebration, right? Naturally, the cake had to be a Hogwarts recreation. My Mom did a fantastic job with the cake and, most importantly, Dylan loved it.

This cake deserves its own post. Here is the cake in detail.

The Master at Work

Dylan in Awe of the Creation

Getting the Cake Tour

The Front

Hogwarts Express Side

From the Top

Front Detail - Ron, Hermione and Harry Himself

Voldemort and His Snake (About to Get Run Over by the Train?)

Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood

Lucius and Draco Malfoy

The Owlery (Mike's Idea to Add to the Cake)

Dylan's Favorite Character - Dobie the House Elf

The Weasley's Car in the Whomping Willow (My Idea to Add to the Cake)

Hagrid and His Hut

Scabbers (Peter Pettigrew) Hanging Close to Ron

Voldemort Close Up

As you can see, a lot of time and detail went into the cake. My Mom, myself and Mike (with the largest percentage of work done) put together the lego people\train\car additions to the cake. While Mike and I did have some tidbits of fun to add during the creation process, we mostly left the creative juices up to my Mom. And boy did they flow!

A few details on the cake. The castle building is all cake while the turrets were rice crispy treats (thoughtfully colored with food dye and cocoa powder) topped with oreo cookie ice cream cones. The green ground it's sitting on is an iced cookie sheet. Fondant and icing created walkways, roofs, doorways, other grounds details and train tracks. So, other than the lego pieces and a few toothpicks, it was all edible!

And edible it was! Dylan was itching to destroy that wonderful creation. As soon as we sang him the happy birthday song, the knife was in and it was sliced apart. What took hours to create took only moments to demo. Isn't that always the way it goes? 

Mom, thanks again! What an awesome gift you gave to Dylan for his birthday. And, he's still enjoying the legos!