What a Trip!

We just finished a super fun double trip to visit family in both Massachusetts and Cincy. I would have blogged sooner, but we were so busy the entire trip that it took me a week to rest up from the vacation! We were go go go the entire time and enjoyed every bit of it.

We started out with the red-eye to Boston and since it was Hubby's idea he was primary parent on the plane. To his chagrin, and mine as well, Mikayla was awake and alert almost the entire flight and eager to play with Daddy! We arrived exhausted, but happy to be in Boston the next morning. Our will power was completely zapped and the good eating habits we've had a home went completely by the wayside and we indulged ourselves in the ample chocolate Granpa Bill keeps around the house!

After resting up on Friday we decided the perfect way to start the vacation was with a 5k road race.



Granpa Bill and Mikayla get ready to watch us race. We both did well, I even won $50, so I guess I'm a pro now. Email if you want an autographed picture, of what I don't know, but I'll sign anything.


It's pointless to try and explain to a 13 month old that you just ran really really fast and barely have the strength to stand much less hold a baby. Her response? "I don't care, hold me." or "WHAAAAAA" to the untrained ear.

After the race Mikayla and I went to celebrate Auntie Annie's shower with her. We can't wait for our new little nephew/cousin in October!


We had a wonderful time at the shower with everyone and watching Annie open her great gifts. This blanket was made by Aunt Joyce and even has tiger stripes on the backside!


Aunt Annie explaining to Mikayla that she won't be the smallest baby in the family soon.

We finished the day with a lovely meal at one of Bill and Ed's favorite restaurants, The Frigate. We wanted to enjoy seafood while we were in the northeast and this hit the spot.


The food was very yummy, and for those of you not familiar with Bill, that's a smile, not a frown!

Next we spent an afternoon with Aunt Cynthia and her family, unfortunately we missed Uncle Mark who was at work.


You know those shirts parents give their kids that say "My parents went to ______ and all they brought me was this lousy T-shirt"? Well, we spent an afternoon with the Aunt Cynthia and family and all I have to show for it is this lousy photo (the light, definitely not the people). Hello, close the curtains or reposition the family, do something, but this? Amateur hour at its best. We watched Mikayla play with Harrison and Jenny's toys from when they were babies. Too cute! When I asked Aunt Cynthia why she kept their toys for so long, she replied "Because I knew one day we'd have more babies here to play with them!" What devotion. Someone might want to prepare Harrison and Jenny for the slight amount of pressure they may endure to give Aunt Cynthia grandbabies one day! After college and all that good stuff of course.

Now Hubby isn't one to go on and on about his years growing up. In fact the only reason I know he must have been a little boy at one point is because I don't think anyone has made it to adult hood any other way. So when he started talking about Peaceful Meadows' ice cream, I knew we had to make a trip.


Here are Hubby and Mikayla outside of the cow painted Peaceful Meadows. The ice cream was delish and Hubby even has a hard time deciding if he likes this or Ben & Jerrys better. Now that's good ice cream!




Here's our little one enjoying the pool at Granpa's.


Granpa trying to explain that sometimes water can actually come from the sky and not just faucets. I'm not sure our Las Vegas native believed him. "Ah, Granpa always has the best stories!"

Our last night in Mass we went into Boston so we could go to a Red Sox game! We got to stay in a really nice hotel, for free, thanks to all the traveling Hubby does.


Mikayla enjoyed the view! I'm sure she's thinking "One day I'll have a condo in this city, with a room for Mommy and Daddy."


The night was absolutely perfect. We were joined by Aunt Joyce who is a diehard Sox fan and by Grammy who is a diehard.....um I forget, some team south of Boston.


Believe it or not Grammy actually got the little Red Sox outfit Mikayla is wearing, I was impressed and had to look close to make sure there weren't any hidden Yankees' logos.


Did she know I was trying to take our picture?


Just beautiful. We had a great time!


The little one did great at her first baseball game. I put her in the carrier during the 7th and she was asleep by the 8th, so she didn't get to see the Red Sox beat the Rays, but she enjoyed the game and especially the attention.

Now for those readers who are P90Xers, you may recall that during chest and back day Tony remarks, "Most workouts would be done by now, but not ours!" Well, most vacations would be done by now, but not ours! From here we headed to Cincy, keep reading, the fun didn't stop.

I don't think a trip to Cincy with kids is complete for Grama unless the zoo is involved. So we made the trip on the first day.


Grama's helping Mikayla spot animals.


We decided to make it easier for her to see animals by putting face to face (or face to bum) to with the goats and sheep.


There she gets the hang of it! Not surprisingly this was the best part of the zoo for her and probably will be for the next few years.


Nothing like a ride on Granpa after petting the animals. The goats were too wiggly to attempt this maneuver!


It was getting a little close to nap time, so Mikayla didn't get the full enjoyment of feeding the lorakeets. Notice I'm demonstrating that it is okay to dress like your Mom, even as an adult.


Grama surprised us with perfectly coordinated 4th of July outfits! Not only that, but sewn together from 500+ squares. Were we surprised? To use a quote from a family classic, Christmas Vacation, "Oh, Eddie... If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now." Thank goodness Independence Day is in July and not January, otherwise it would have been 1,000+ squares easily.


Aunt Boo and Prince Evan are actually crying quietly that they don't have matching outfits.


The highlight of Mikayla's Cincy trip? The Wyoming pool! She had a great time splashing in the baby pool and walking around to see what everyone was doing.


She was so proud of herself after going through here, and we were proud as well. The pool was such a hit we went several times and will definitely go back on our next summer visit.

We wrapped up our visit with another 5k. I didn't win any moo-la this time, so I guess my days as a pro are over.

We had great visits in both Massachusetts and Cincy, but are happy to be home and get a little rest from our vacation!