2 Years Ago

I was getting ready to marry this man. So much has happened in two years. It makes you wonder what will happen in the next two.

Telluride

It is becoming a family tradition to go to Telluride for the Bluegrass Festival. I love it there, Joel
loves it there, and I'm pretty sure Chase loves it there.

Every year the days go by way to fast. And every year both Joel and I say how one day we will live in the mountains with Green trees and rivers. One day.

We left Tuesday night and got to Flag. Then we drove to Dolores on Wed and drove the rest of the way on Thursday. In Dolores we spent the night in a small small cabin right off of the river. It was perfect.

Below is a picture of Joel and Chase on our first stop. I thought it turned out pretty cool.

Below are pictures of the cabin we stayed at. I think I was feeding Chase here. We literally were within 10-ft of the river.

We got to the campsite around 3. So we had a lot of time to "waste" before bed time. We went on the pet walk and came upon some swings. I love this picture of Chase and I.

I was really nervous about it being to cold for Chase. So here is the getup. He had socks on his hands and the hat was a litttttle big.

Chase ended up being just fine. The boy likes it cold!

The rest of the pictures are from Telluride.

The view on Friday. It was probably the best spot we have gotten.

Aidan getting ready for the night concert. It was to cold for me. :)

I forget what day this was. But this is the typical setup. We have two tents that are shared by 6 adults and 6 kids.

Mr. Rowen saying "Cheese". I have another picture of Ainsley smiling the exact same way.

To wear out the kids, we took them for a hike. We had the chariot with us. So Joel and Court took turns pushing that sucker up the hill. The chariot can carry two kids, so this was no small feat. I also have Chase on my back.

On the way down from the hike.

The last day. :(

Chase goes biking and tackles the sippy cup

Chase and I met Joel for a bike ride after work yesterday. It was pretty fun, I packed a nice dinner for us and we had ourselves a picnic. We biked 8 or so miles. For most people this would be a piece of cake, for me...well I'm a wimp.
The setup. Joel pulled the trailer. The trailer is pretty nice, has suspension and a nice 5 point harness for Chase. Chase loves the trailer!

This is where we ate dinner.

Chase and I after dinner. We got home right around 7. I made chocolate chip cookies and Chase went to bed at 9. Which is a LATE bed time for him.

The sippy cup. I introduced the sippy cup about a month or so ago. And Chase did really good at it. Then I went out to lunch with some friends and was like, look what Chase can do. And he wanted nothing of it. So here is my proof...the kiddo can actually use the sippy cup.

This was midway through. He decided to smile and laugh at me instead of drink.

And finishing up. If you notice the sippy cup is almost the size of his head. :)

And last but not least pics of Chase sitting in his bed.

I get this expression ALOT.

More pictures from the weekend

We decided to bust out the pool. It was still a bit to cold for it...so Chase didn't last long.

After the pool sitting and admiring da da. Did I mention that Chase says Da Da? If only he knew who Da Da is....

And a family photo of sorts. Avery is peaking around the bench, my reflection is on the window, and of course my lovely boys.

Chase goes hiking

Inspired by the amount of walking I did in DC, I decided to go hiking with Chase during the week. We went to Thumb Butte on Wed. Which worked out great because, the temperature was awesome AND parking just so happens to be free on Wednesdays. I guess Wednesdays will become known as hiking day.
Here I decided to take a rest and try to get a decent picture. This is not an easy thing to do when you have to setup the camera and run over before the timer goes off all the while making sure you and your baby don't end up on the ground.

The view.

I was going to attempt another self timed picture. But a hiker asked if they could "help" me.

I have to admit, I was grateful.

The view. The trail is a loop. But the one side is all paved and pretty steep. So I choose to go up and down on the same side.

Joel gave me a day off on Saturday. I needed it! So I asked very kindly for him to take pictures of his and Chase's day. He did not do this simple task. So for now on, he can not complain about how little I use the camera. Oh, for those curious, I spent the day reading a book at wildflower. Yes, it is a very simple but luxurious gift to be able to read a book without being interrupted.

On Sunday we went to the Williamson Valley Trail. This was the first time that either of us had been on this trail. It was gorgeous! Our main problem was not bringing enough water and snacks. The over all trail was probably a medium level. Not easy like the Peavine, but Thumb Butte is definitely steeper. If the trail wasn't so narrow, you could easily bring a stroller.

I don't know if it is the unusual spring weather we have had this year, but there was an incredible amount of century plants blooming back here. I'm planning an entire post solely devoted to the century plants we saw. They are just amazing!

We woke up Chase for this picture.

Us by century plants.

Done with the hike. We took turns carrying Chase.

Chase in the ergo...again just waking up.

Chase goes to Washington

Washington DC that is! Chase and I went for about a week and visited my ever so lovely sister. Again, why does my family have to live so FAR AWAY! Hello...I have a very cute son, you would think that would be enough for them to pick up and move!

Back to the trip. The trip was my mother's day present from Joel. And it was probably the best present he could give me. I LOVED the entire time we were there and am already missing Britt. She better move back to the west. Cause I need her to be closer to me!

Chase did good on the plane. Well, I think he did good in 6 month old terms. He cried, laughed, and slept. From what I have been told the hard time to fly is when they get into the 1-2 year old range. Chase pretty much stole the show wherever we went. He had several waitresses that kept coming by just to say hi to him. :)

As for me. The trip was good. I have successfully flown across the country by myself with a 6 month old. Only a few brave women can say that.

We went to the national zoo on Friday. It was a lot of fun. I didn't bring a stroller with me. So we rented one from the zoo. As you can see, it wasn't made for a 6 month old. So I channeled my inner engineer and came up with this 5 point harness using my ergo (the baby carrier that Chase lived in during the trip).

This was really cool. They had an orangutan crossing, that let the orangutan cross over the walkways. What was so cool, was that we saw him use it!

I added this picture to show just how cool my phone is.

I think Britt is trying to eat Chase.

Not the best picture of me. But, it sums up the weekend. We had a blast Aunt Britt.

He's a Travelin' Man

Well Chase and I have been on the go the past month. We spent time at the cabin, Pahrump, Flagstaff, and DC. I'm ready to take a breather and be home for awhile. And then it all starts up again with Telluride, Elko, Flagstaff, and hopefully a visit to Jamie's.

Pahrump was a blast. It is so nice to get spoiled by your mom! And she did just that! I wish she and the rest of the family was closer. This whole see each other every 3 months is hard. :(

While in Pahrump we took Chase to the swimming pool for the first time. He didn't really like the big pool. But, my mom bought him a really small pool at Walmart that he loved.