Pictures of our Travels

Click here to see more pictures from our time in Seattle and Idaho.

Travels

Cousins Kameron & Samuel



Well, we are home after two long weekends of travel. First trip was to Sequim, Washington, for Ben's sister, Shannon's wedding July 4th weekend. We had a great time & the Seattle Pennisula was really pretty. It was so nice to smell the damp air. It is SO dry here in Colorado this year. Samuel had a great time meeting family for the first time on both trips: cousins Kyra & Kameron, Aunt Shannon & Uncle Greg, Aunt Kiko & Uncle Matt, Grandma & Grandpa Andress, Grandma Karen, Great Grandma Wise & more!

The wedding was at The Cutting Garden which was absolutely gorgeous! Too bad the weather decided to cool off right before the wedding. Samuel was the ring bearer but because he was a little too unstable sitting on his own, Ben carried him and pulled cousin Kameron in the wagon. Too cute! After the wedding we headed to downtown Seattle for a Mariner baseball game. Samuel had a great time at his first Major League game. Unfortunately the game was tied in the 9th so it went to extra innings. We stayed until the end of the 12th & headed back to our hotel. We were glad we didn't stay seeing as the Mariner's lost.

Two days after we returned home from our Seattle trip (at 12:45am!) we left 2 days later for Ben's family reunion in Idaho Falls. It was a 10 hr drive but we split it up on the way there but braved the entire trek on the way home. Samuel did so great in the car! He slept or babbled to himself in the backseat playing with his feet. I never knew feet could be so entertaining!

For the reunion we did a day trip to Yellowstone. It was a bit on the chilly side so we had to bundled up. One of the guys from the reunion hooked us up with a college buddy of his who does tours through Yellowstone. He drove us around a bit of the park in an old bus. We stopped at a few scenic spots including some of the geysers. On the way back we even saw a few bison on the side of the road! Check out the video at the bottom... The bus was completely open on the top so you don't miss any of the view. Beautiful, but challenging when you have a bald 6 month old with you! I had a "I'm a horrible mother" freak out moment when we got out of the car after the 2 hr drive back to Idaho Falls. When I first saw Samuel, I panicked. His face was RED!!! My first thought was a sunburn but I put Aveeno baby sunscreen of 55 spf on him...twice! I was ready to call Aveeno and give them a piece of my mind. He also had his hooded sweatshirt on all day and we tried our best to keep him directly out of the sun. How in the world could he have a sunburn?!??! The only other thought was wind burn. After all it was 60 degrees outside and very windy on the bus. Thankfully the next morning he looked 100% better and we're pretty sure is was wind burn. Phew!!

We also did a day trip to Jackson Hole & shopped a bit. The scenery in Yellowstone and in Jackson was absolutely breathtaking. Idaho was especially beautiful and very green. A nice treat from dry and brown Colorado.

Although we had a great time on both trips & were thankful to see family, we are very glad to be home and back on a schedule. Samuel jumped right back into his normal sleep schedule! Yea! Samuel did GREAT! Mom & dad are exhausted, though! I came home with a bad cold but am pretty much recovered now. Traveling with a 6 month old is just a wee bit stressful. There is way TOO much to keep track of! Amazingly we did not lose anything on either trip! No major trips for us for awhile. Our next trip is not until Labor Day when we fly to St. Louis to see family & friends.

Here is the video of the bison...

Busy times

We had a pretty busy June. Some of the highlights: Colorado Renaissance Festival, Samuel's baptism, Father's Day, my birthday, etc. Click here for pictures! July will be even more busy. We leave today for Seattle for Ben's sister, Shannon's wedding. Next weekend we travel to Idaho for Ben's annual family reunion. Stay tuned for pictures & updates from all of our travels!

The biggest update is that Samuel is now eating baby food! There is nothing he does not like...yet! So far he eats EVERYTHING we give him! Yea!

1st Day of Summer!

It was a gorgeous day so we had a picnic & then went on a short hike at Palmer Park. I'm so glad Ben carried Samuel! We figured he had close to 20 lbs on his back (15 for Samuel & 5 for the gear)!

Pikes Peak!

In addition I did really well this week running. Aside from Thursday night storms, I stuck to my schedule & made up for Thursday last night! I can already tell I run longer each time and am beginning to feel more "in shape".

Giggles

I love his laugh!

Renaissance Festival

This past Saturday we went the Colorado Renaissance Festival. It was a beautiful day and Samuel did great! He really enjoyed the music and watching people.

Must exercise!

I have always been very active. I enjoy working out (most of the time). Obviously since being pregnant and having Samuel I have not had very much time to work out and I so miss it!! I did start running 6wks after I had Samuel. I went out the day after my dr said I could start running! I have not been very consistent, though. Working 30 hrs a week & getting up in the middle of the night does not equal extra energy to run. I realized I lacked motivation.


No more excuses...my church is sponsering a 5k Run for Rwanda the beginning of August and I only have 5 more lbs to lose to get to my pre-baby weight! That's enough motivation for me! So, my new exercise plan is to run at 7pm 3 - 4 times a week. Sadly I can only run about 10 minutes in a row now. A few yrs ago it was nothing for me to run 30+ minutes 3-4 times a week. I have often been discouraged when I run because I know how far I used to run. I just need to give myself some grace and remind myself that I am now over 30, have had a baby and just do what I can.


Thankfully, Samuel goes to bed consistently at 6:30pm so 7pm works out really great for me. The problem is I have been running around some of the nearby neighborhoods and they all have hills! Somedays I just want a flat path that I can run and run and feel better about how far I went! Oh well, the hills will get me in shape quicker, right?