Visiting in Carlsbad

During our Easter weekend trip to southern California, we had the chance to meet up with Erin, Lindsey, and baby Ryan for breakfast before heading off to Legoland. As usual, our time together was much to short, but it was lovely to meet and dote on sweet Ryan, catch up with Erin, and watch Lindsey play with Owen, Charles, and Gianni. So fun!



Baby Ryan was sleeping off to the side in his stroller and we didn't get much cooperation from my kiddo for the group photo (as usual), but still, we captured the moment!

P.S. How great does Erin look after only 8 weeks post-partum?

Virgina 2010 Vacation

We timed our trip to Virginia perfectly this year. We went back to meet our new niece Olivia and new nephew Peyton and to give Kris' extended family a chance to meet Tucker. Luckily for us, the babies made it home from the hospital about one week before we arrived so we were able to hug and dote on them all week long.

Highlights from our trip:

• Crisp sunny fall days with beautiful fall foilage surrounding us everywhere we went
• Giant piles of leaves for the boys to play in for hours at a time
• a big family party at Great Grandma's which included a full afternoon of trampoline jumping with cousins, petting goats, looking at the beautiful horses, a ride in the back of a pick up truck, almost petting a buffalo and a cow, and yummy food and great company.
• Owen and Tucker playing with Jenkins and Onyx
• a trip to Build a Bear with Auntie Kyndal
• a trip to the toy store with Nana
• a visit with Robert & Jenny and their sweet baby Abby
• a delicious Thanksgiving feast with Robert and his pals at his Smith Mountain Lake cabin
• first park trip with Auntie Kyndal and her beautiful babies
• a family photo shoot
• lots of relaxing and watching movies in the evenings
• yummy meals at home with the family
• Aunt Jackie's AWESOME sugar cookies

can you believe this color on the maple tree?

could they be any sweeter?

Welcome to the world Oliva & Peyton!

On September 10, my sister in law Kyndal went into early labor and delivered her two twin babies, Olivia and Peyton two months before their due date. The babies were very tiny, both less than four pounds, but they were oh so cute. They spent the first seven weeks in the NICU, growing stronger and bigger, developing at impressive rates. Kyndal and her husband Tracy, were finally able to bring the babies home a week before our scheduled vacation to meet the twins and visit with family and friends.

During our Virginia trip a few weeks ago, they had a check up on November 10 which can in some ways be considered their Day 1 for milestone tracking. Peyton weighed almost the same as Tucker did at birth (1 oz heavier) and Olivia weighed almost the same as Owen at birth (2 oz lighter). It was especially sweet for me to hug and kiss my new niece and nephew and to also be reminded of how itty bitty my babies were such a short time ago. The size difference between Tucker and the twins is remarkable.

Owen treated the babies so carefully and lovingly, it was adorable. Here is a picture of the four grandkids. Kris' parents went from one grandchild to four in 1 year!!

Mini-vacation to Calistoga

Before returning to work, Kris and I overlapped our bonding leave for a few days so we could take advantage of the time together on a mini-vacation. We decided to opt for a close getaway in Calistoga, which is a small town on the north side of Napa. We just went for a couple of nights, but had the chance to stay in a nice B&B and enjoy scrumptious breakfasts and tasty food from many of the local restaurants. We visited a few different parks, tasted olive oil, explored the grounds of the incredible Castello di Amorosa, made a stop at the Culinary Institute, stopped at California's Old Faithful geyser, hiked through the Petrified Forest, and took a beautiful drive to the coast. It was fantastic.

on the castle grounds

hiking among the petrified forest

beautiful geyser in Calistoga