Vacation Part 2

Well, I promised scenic pictures right?  Here they are!  Our biggest outdoor excursion this vacation was a trip to Maroon Bells, two mountain peaks that are part of the White River National Forest.  Part of the fun of going to Maroon Bells is walking around the little lake where the bus drops you off (you can't drive in).

The other fun part is hiking around.  We chose to take the 3.5 mile hike back down a path that "parallels" the road.  This meant that while our scenery was fantastic, all Baby B could talk about was the "bus!" that we would occasionally glimpse.  Let it be noted, for the record, that taking an 18 month old on a 3.5 mile hike without a stroller or hiking backpack was not necessarily the brightest idea.  For little bits we could travel like this...

But most of the time it looked like this...

In the end, it looked like this...

Thank goodness for strong bodies to carry my sleepy boy!!  We took the easy way to our other outdoor destination.  While some people have the strength and fortitude to bike or hike the road that carries you from the 8,000 something feet high Aspen to the 12,095 feet high Continental Divide, we simply drove.

While the heights up there somewhat terrify me, it's a spectacular view.  (Refrains of "God of Wonders" waft through my head when I think about it, "the universe declares your majesty...")  Being above the treeline, so high up that only tundra can grow, is really something.  Plus, it's windy and chilly that high, so I got to wear my new sweatshirt! 

So that's our trip, in a nutshell.  I didn't mention everything, but I think I got most of it.  Hubby T has one more week off until he returns to work.  We're going to enjoy these last couple mornings of sleeping in and lounging around while we still can!!

Vacation Part 1

And we're back!  We flew two-thirds of the way across the country and back with 10 days of glorious vacation in between.  Snowmass Village, Colorado is my little piece of heaven on earth.  I have been going there to my grandparent's house for family vacations for 20 years and I made the genius suggestion of bringing Hubby T there on our honeymoon so that I could convince him that it could be his little piece of heaven too.  That little scheme worked and so we're back this summer to celebrate our fifth anniversary.  Will we be back for our tenth?  I can only hope so, but in the meantime, I'm going to focus on being grateful for the trip I just had! 

Oh goodness, where to start?  Well, let's talk about how the 7 hour + layover went on our way out there...

"I out!!!"  Yup, walking around in the stroller to try and bring on a nap did not work.  At least they had a fun children's play area in the airport.  It may be the only redeeming bit of goodness in Chicago O'Hare.  That and the Jamba Juice...

Flying the plane in the kid's playground at the airport

Once we got there, life was brilliant again.  I mean, who wouldn't love to play in a park with scenery like this?!  Apparently there was a hang glider who landed in this field five minutes before we got there...too bad we missed it!

The highlight of any trip with my family is, of course, time with family!  Even just hanging around the house is part of the delight of visiting Colorado...

 Playing on the deck

 Reading with Gigi at breakfast

Coloring before dinner

 

Pulling Grampa in the wagon

I look at these pictures now and can't help but feel like they don't do the experience justice.  You can't get the full magnitude of the magnificent view from the deck, you can't feel the perfectly warm but not hot or humid mountain air, you can't taste the delicious food my gramma makes (where do you think I get my cooking habits from?!)  Sigh.  Okay, sorry about that.  I hope you'll forgive me for my need to brag/boast/overflow with how wonderful it is up there.  I still wish I was there!  So, if you can put up with one more post, I'll share the most beautiful and scenic pictures from our trip in the next post.  I can only put so many pictures in one blog post, so our adventures outside the house will come next...stay tuned!!

Church is hard sometimes

Most of the time I use the space on this blog to share the awesomeness of my family.  I do have a life outside my son (hard to believe, I know) and since so much has been going on in it lately, I have been feeling compelled to share...so I hope you will indulge my rambling for a little bit here.

If you haven't picked up on it yet, Hubby T and I are devoted Christians and for us, being part of a church is part of our identity as Christians.  We've been a part of our church for almost four years now.  It's the first church that we were able to join and get involved in as adults, as married adults, as parents...it's almost a second home, especially because we have formed some spectacularly wonderful friendships there.  But just because church is a wonderful place for us doesn't mean that it's easy.

Our church has encountered a perfect storm of events over the past 12-18 months.  Our head pastor left, and a new one has not been hired yet.  Several families and members of the church chose to leave because they disagreed with a doctrinal decision made by our denomination's governing body.  Our Director of Christian Education left and a new one has not been hired.  Our associate pastor left and a new one has not been hired.  Like many churches, our budget too has been hard hit by the recession.  And in the midst of all this, several close friends from our church small group have left, all for legitimate, life-changes-and-we-can't-help-it-reasons, but they are deeply missed nonetheless.  I get the feeling that many people in our church are tired, worn out, discouraged, and frustrated.  And although we're feeling pretty good overall, Hubby T and I definitely have our moments when we feel that burden.  Everyone who cares about the church is giving and volunteering in some way but we all have our limits.  We feel we have been in the darkness for awhile, and can't quite see when dawn is going to break, although we know it has to eventually! 

So do we walk away?  Should we be searching for another church?  Although I think many people have been having this conversation, Hubby T's and my answer, at least for now, is no.  We are sticking with it.  And here's why -

"Life...is about thriving in God's good world.  It's stillness, peace, and that feeling of your soul being at rest, while at the same time it's about asking things, learning things, creating things, and sharing it all with others who are finding the same kind of joy in the same good world."

Hubby T and I read that quote in Rob Bell's book Love Wins a couple weeks ago and were both incredibly struck by what a powerful description it is of the church.  As long as our church remains a place where we can continue to ask, learn, create and share the joys and hardships of the Christian journey with others who are going through the same things we are, we'll be there.  And we have hope that the dawn will break soon, because that's what God promises.  And it will be glorious when it does.

Top 5 Plays

While I haven't spent that much time watching Sports Center with Hubby T during the eight years we have been together, I do know that every Friday Sports Center puts on a segment called the Top 10 Plays of the Week highlighting the greatest moments in sports from that week.  And while great sports plays are all well and good, I think Baby B's top moments from this week put them all to shame:)

#5. I finally figured out that if I play a song on the piano that Baby B knows, he will sit and listen with me, singing his little "e-i-e-i-e-i" whenever he feels like it.  In fact, after awhile, he finds the piano bench (ahem, I mean, mommy's lap) pretty darn comfortable...go ahead, make yourself at home my son.  This song just wouldn't be the same without your legs knocking my fingers off the keys and your foot occasionally playing its own notes!

#4. Hubby T has been teaching Baby B "3-2-1, Blastoff!" for several months.  He's practiced it enough that Baby B will now say "2" and "bastoff!" on cue.  (And no, that's not a typo, that's how he says blastoff.)  Except he doesn't really say it on cue, because most of the time Baby B is sooo excited that as soon as we say "3" he immediately responds with "bastoff!"  This is especially amusing when he bursts out of a huge cardboard box with an even huger grin on his face.

#3. On Monday night, Hubby T had to go down to church for a meeting.  While he was getting ready, Baby B and I were chatting at the dinner table..

Baby B: Church!

Me: Yes, Daddy is going to church.

Baby B: Bible (points to Hubby T's bible on the shelf)

Me: Yes, Daddy is going to bring his bible to church

Baby B: Pad?

Me: Yes, Daddy is going to bring his iPad to church too.

Hubby T walks out of the house every Sunday morning with his Bible and iPad.  I am so terribly impressed that Baby B was observant enough to put all these things together, figure out how to say the right words, and then communicate them to me completely unprompted.  Keep firing away brain synapses!

#2.  This picture of silliness represents a moment this evening when Hubby T told Baby B to "go tickle mommy!"  So Baby B walked up to me with a big, tentative smile, held his hands 6 inches from me, and wiggled his fingers.  I cracked up so hard the silly boy doesn't even know he didn't tickle me.

#1.  Baby B learned how to read.  18 months old.  Enough said.  At least by me...

Saturday Afternoon Treats

 I up!

In case you're not interested in spending a rainy Saturday afternoon climbing on couches and rocking chairs like my crazy boy, here's a couple recommendations from Hubby T and I to make your day!

Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell, is one of the most interesting books I have read in a very long time.  Hubby T and I have been reading it together this summer, stopping after each chapter to discuss.  This makes for great car ride conversation.  If you are a person (Christian or not) who feels uncomfortable with the idea that believing in Jesus is the only way to get into heaven, this book will shine a new, different light on that idea.  The author has been pretty viciously attacked by some Christians for writing this book, and while I'm not sure yet if I completely agree with his conclusions, I'm still glad he wrote it and that I read it.  One of the things I most appreciated was how the author goes directly to the Bible to discuss what the specific references to heaven and hell are, and then discusses how these references relate to what we think about heaven and hell.  Not surprisingly, society/culture has had more of an influence than I had realized.  Aside from the fact that these are pretty heady things to think about, it's an easy read and very interesting.

We will be consuming this cherry chocolate dessert deliciousness tonight.  I already ate one while making them this afternoon (chef's prerogative!) and am tempted to skip our main course and just chow down straight on dessert.  Life is short right?!  And so is cherry season - take advantage while you can!

I wish I had more Saturday afternoon treats to share with you, but we've finished all the Mad Men episodes on Netflix and haven't started anything else yet.  And I don't expect you to get excited about Hubby T's new lego that he spent an hour putting together this afternoon.  So my silly family will leave you with this (Baby B is currently sitting on the couch saying "hiney!" over and over again) - if all else fails you on the next rainy Saturday of your life, remember that breakfast at McDonald's with grampa is always a great way to start your day.  Happy weekend!

18 Months

My little boy turned 18 months old last week.  He is a 23 pound, 33" tall walking talking life loving bundle of joy!  Since I haven't done an update on Baby B lately, this seemed like a good occasion.  My crazy nut can mostly be summed up in one words these days - chatty!

 Winding up to say something big, and loud 

Baby B is learning and saying new words at an amazingly quick speed.  He can name all of the people in his family, except for my parents who he calls by their first names because the "gr" sound of gramma and grampa hasn't been mastered yet.  I don't even call my parents by their first names, so it's pretty funny to hear this precocious little person do it!  He strings together "Daddy", "work", and "car" on a regular basis to which I respond, "Yes, Daddy went to work in his car."  He strings together "Baby D" and "pool" pretty frequently as well because we are in the middle of a two week swim class with Baby D and his mom.  And, perhaps most amusing, he will point to the bathroom door and say "Poop!" whenever one of us is using the facilities.  Perhaps this mental connection will help speed along his own potty training?!  (I know, I know, keep dreaming Mama P...)

Whenever Baby B is surrounded by something in his environment that he has a word for, he says it.  When he sees a picture of himself at the beach on our computer background, he points at the computer and says "Beach!"  When we see a bus in a parking lot, he yells "but!" (close enough right?) and starts waving his hands around doing the hand motions to the song, "Wheels on the Bus."  And if he doesn't have anything specific to say, he'll just talk gibberish, which invariably includes his favorite line of "e-i-e-i-e-i" from Old McDonald, just without the o at the end.

Baby B doesn't quite get the concept of miniature golf yet.  As soon as Hubby T helped him hit the ball, he ran after it screaming "ball!!"

As the above picture indicates, he is having a grand old time running at faster speeds and climbing onto almost everything.  Fortunately there has been no climbing out of the crib yet, not sure what I'm going to do with myself when that happens! This morning he climbed onto my chair at the breakfast table and got hold of the cheerio bag.  While this could have ended in cheerios all over the floor, he instead sat there with the bag in his lap chowing down on handful after handful of cheerios.  He is keeping us on our toes!

And last, one of his cutest developments of late, is Teddy.  Baby B has never shown any interest whatsoever in the mountains of stuffed animals that he received when he was born.  A couple weeks ago, however, he all of the sudden and completely out of the blue, grew fond of his Teddy.  This is a particularly special development because Baby B's teddy is an exact replica of the bear that Hubby T grew up with.  It was purchased by Hubby T's grandmother years and years ago because they feared they'd have to replace Hubby T's original teddy after so much loving.  They didn't end up needing it, so Hubby T saved it for his first child.  And now here we are...

 

Keep growing baby boy, keep growing...we can't wait to see what comes next:)

Summer days

Anyone else remember that song about the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer"?  That's what we've been experiencing this week, perhaps with a tad more lazy than crazy sometimes... 

 But when we are crazy boy do we really go.  Take this for example - our 4th of July!

And if you don't think it's slightly crazy to have a 4th of July picnic with 8 kids/babies in 95 + degree heat, well, just take my word for it.  Although this crazy was a good crazy.  I love how with a wagon, a couple balls, some bubbles, and glow sticks, kids can occupy themselves for hours.  Oh yes, animal crackers help too.

We had no expectation that Baby B would last until 9:15 when the fireworks started but he hung in there, and he loved them!!  He alternated between saying "wwwhhhoooaaa" and "boom boom boom!"  He relaxed enough to sit in my lap and cuddle for the first half of the show, which I loved.  I sang a couple patriotic songs into his ear while we rocked and oohed and gave thanks for the awesome blessings of family, friends, and freedom.

The next day we kept right on going...down to Gramma and Grampa's house for a trip to the botanical gardens!  I know, you're probably thinking, why in the world would you bring a 1 year old to botanical gardens?  Well, my parents became members recently and discovered that they have a great fountain play area for little kids.  (If that's not a great marketing scheme to bring families in I don't know what is.)  And Baby B ate it up!  Not I can't blame him, what's better on a hot summer day than running through fountains?

 

 
Okay, maybe snacking on freshly picked blackberries is a close second:)

Speaking of snacks...and water...time to go get my own snack so we can head to the pool once Baby B wakes up.   Keep enjoying those lazy, hazy, crazy days friends!