Waiting on Daddy

Sweet Caroline loves to look out windows and doors. She has realized that if she hits the right time (very rarely) she will see Daddy come home. Even though I know she doesn't know what she's doing, I think it is awfully sweet to see. Cheers to Monday, y'all!

Heart Warming!

This is how I found Tyler and Caroline one night after her bath. My heart melted!! These two really have so much fun together and I'm thankful that they are beginning to enjoy more and more activities together. I want desperately for Caroline to love books and reading and the creativity that comes from that, and I'm so happy that Tyler is helping to foster that love, too.

Back in the Blogosphere

We have been swimming .... 

lounging ...

 laughing ...

hanging around ...

 

exercising ...

resting ...

celebrating with friends ...

 enjoying each other ...

 running through water sprinklers ... 

 trying new foods ...

 learning to play with Bella ...

 and LOVING life!! 

We hope your summer has shaped up as nicely as ours!! See you Monday with some of my favorite pictures that I decided to save to showcase on their own.

Days Thirteen - Fifteen: Denver

After Colorado Springs we went to Denver for two nights. We had the pleasure of spending Easter weekend with Tyler's aunt and uncle, Sally and Steve. This was our second time staying with Sally and Steve, as we spent a night with them on our way to Alaska.

We thoroughly enjoy spending time with them, and look forward to our next possible visit. Caroline sure did love the extra attention and the ability to be in a home for a few days. She was Sally's snuggle-bug while we were there, and I don't know who was more excited!

I did not take any pictures because we just simply enjoyed our time with them. I hate, hate I didn't bring out the camera, but oh well. I do have a video of Sally and Caroline playing on the floor. The Easter Bunny visited and left a chick that hopped when wound ... Sally would wound it and Caroline laughed and laughed. It really was a treat for everyone. (Sorry the video is a bit blurry .. thanks, iPhone?!)

Everyone awoke on Monday morning to get back to the grind. Sally and Steve went off to work, and Tyler, Caroline and I got on the road. We headed straight through Kansas as fast as we could. More on that later. 

Days Eleven - Thirteen: Colorado Springs

Although I was most excited about the Redwood Forest, Tyler was most certainly most excited about Colorado on our journey across America. We spent three nights in Colorado Springs, Tyler's birthplace. We arrived on Wednesday evening and just got dinner and headed to our hotel ... lodging on the Air Force Academy. This lodging was the nicest lodging we'd ever seen; it was a welcome home for three nights!

On Thursday we went to the Garden of the Gods and hiked around for a bit. The park was really beautiful, and it has quite a neat history. The land was given by a man who died in the early 1900s who willed the land to the city of Colorado Springs. It is to remain free to the public, clean, uninhabited and alcohol free. From what we could see, those wishes are still granted today.

After that we drove through Fort Carson, a US Army installation that is high on our wish list of places to be stationed. It was a very nice installation with many new houses, a new commissary and a large, beautiful parade ground. I wouldn't mind be stationed there because the installation looked nice and there is plenty to do in Colorado Springs. We had dinner with Tyler's god-parents that night. I had never spent time with them, so it was nice to get to know them a bit better.

On Friday we tried to go up Pike's Peak, but the winds were too strong and the train didn't go. Although we were super bummed, it was kind of nice to just tool around for the day. We hung out in Manitou Springs, a charming town at the bottom of the peak and just outside of Colorado Springs. Friday afternoon we all napped and just enjoyed some downtime after nearly two weeks of traveling. Late in the afternoon we toured the Air Force Academy, which was not at all what I expected. The Academy is small, and has very robot-y looking buildings. Aside from the chapel, which is gorgeous, the buildings are grey squares that sit on pillars with passageways underneath. It was different than the old, beautiful buildings and landscape of the Naval Academy and what I imagine West Point to be.

Saturday we awoke, checked-out and headed to Denver to spend Easter with Tyler's aunt and uncle. More on that tomorrow!

Caroline's First Visit to the Quad!!

In many respects Caroline has no choice where she will go to college ... I kid, I kid ... but really her only choice is Wake Forest. She experienced Wake in all her glory last month for graduation day. We went to North Carolina for my sister Katie's graduation from WFU. Although Caroline will not remember that day, I look forward to taking her back in years to come!!

Caroline sat in the shade (of super little trees) and played for a while. We walked, and she took everything in! 

 

Swim Lessons

Caroline had her first swim lessons this week. I know, I know, she's only seven months old, but she loves bath time and Tyler and I do not want her to fear the water, so we signed her up for swim lessons. She L.O.V.E.D. it!! I can put her tummy on my hands and she will just paddle her arms, kick her legs and laugh as loud as she can. Tyler and I are both thankful we have a water-baby and we look forward to many more fun splash days as she gets older!

 

Ready to go!

A successful first day!

Day Ten: Drive Through Colorado

From the beginning of planning this PCS, Tyler wanted to drive across Colorado. He has spent lots of time there and loves it! I was excited to see Colorado in the Spring, too.

Day Ten began with a lazy wake-up, breakfast in our room and then into the car we went.

Colorado was very pretty. It was interesting to see how the land changed as we moved east across the state. We stopped for a leisurely lunch at a cafe in Derango and then ended the day by checking-in at the Air Force Academy, which by the way is the nicest lodging we've ever stayed in. This is definitely something the Army can learn from the Air Force!! We spent three nights in Colorado Springs before moving on to Denver.

Day Nine: The Drive to Nowhere

Hello again! We are wrapping up our vacation/PCS move, and we are in our final hotel room for this trip. Let me catch you up on where we've been.

Last Tuesday we left our hotel and drove down the Vegas strip. My parents, grandparents and family friends went to Vegas annually for many years when I was little. I was so excited to see Vegas. It's a place that has changed over the years (from what my family has said), but I was excited to see a place they enjoy. Although I liked what I saw, it was not what I expected. I thought it would be more like a big city ... away from the airport, more than just one strip of hotels/casinos, but it wasn't. Las Vegas was literally a strip of hotels and casinos moments from the airport. I most certainly would return to Vegas, but it just wasn't what I'd made it out to be over the years.

After Vegas we drove south to the Hoover Dam. It was neat, but I'm glad we just drove through. We had to go through a security check-point to get in. I'm still baffled at how vulnerable America and it's assets are ... it makes me sad. Anywho ... the Hoover Dam was quite impressive. 

Then we drove. And drove. And drove.

The goal was to make it just outside of Four Corners, but after driving across Arizona without cell phone service we followed signs for hotels that said they were a few miles away. We drove closer, closer, and then they were non-existent. That's right ... the hotels weren't where the signs (multiple companies, multiple signs) said they would be. At this point it was 9:00 pm, we were all tired and it was dark with nothing in sight. So, we drove thirty minutes ahead to the next town ... Shiprock, New Mexico. Seriously one of the darkest, creepiest places I've ever been. And by the way, there are NO HOTELS HERE. So, we chose to get gas and drive to Cortez, Colorado to set us up to drive across Colorado the following day. The sky was incredibly beautiful as we traveled to Cortez, one of the bright spots of the day. We were thrilled to get out of the truck that night!!

Day Eight: Drive to Vegas

Our family had a lovely morning with the Larrabees before getting on the road to Las Vegas. There is nothing really super exciting about this day of driving. After nearly nine/ten hours in the car, we were super lame Vegas-visitors. We checked into our hotel, ordered Chinese, watched the second half of the NCAA championship then Smash and headed to bed. It was really relaxing and wonderful!

 A HUGE windmill farm in Eastern California.

 

I'm not in a car-seat!!

Day Seven: On to Monterrey

Sunday morning we awoke to sunny, but breezy skies in San Fransisco. We had breakfast with Mack and then headed down to Monterrey to see our friends Kate and Kevin Larrabee and their two boys. Kate and Kevin are affectionately known as our "first Army friends." Although our visit was a bit of a surprise to them, we were most thankful for their hospitality and excitement to see us and meet Caroline.

 Although it doesn't look like it here, Caroline does love Mack. He makes her smile, carries her around and Caroline just watches and laughs at/with him. We are so fortunate that Mack has gotten to be around her twice in her short life.

We drove down Highway-1 to Monterrey. The coast was beautiful and it was amazing to see how the coast has changed from Oregon on down to Monterrey. Although it is still vast and rough, the cliffs and shoreline changed throughout our journey.

Upon arrival in Monterrey we were greeted by warm smiles and hugs. Cullen, Kate and Kevin's oldest son, was quite nice to Caroline. He would put his arm around her, snuggle close and just play with her. After catching up briefly, Kate and Kevin took up wine tasting on Cannery Row in downtown Monterrey. We had a great time catching up further before heading home to put the babies to bed and enjoy a home-cooked meal.

I only got one picture of the Larrabee boys and Caroline, but head over to Kate's blog to see a few more!

Day Six: San Fransisco

San Fransisco was supposed to be super windy and rainy all day on Saturday. We were obviously a bit bummed, but ready to find something to do. The weathermen talked about winds of 50 mph and torrential downpours all day, but much to our happiness it only lightly rained until noon!!

We started to day by taking a trolley to the market in the old Ferry building on the water. Mack, Tyler and I had breakfast here and enjoyed looking at the local produce, cheeses, meats and wine. When we finished here, we stepped out to misty, but not rainy weather .. we were thrilled!! We decided to go to Alamo Square, a park, because the rain had let up. This is the park in the opening credits of Full House where you can see the seven Painted Sisters (painted houses standing together in the background). Unfortunately, because of the rain I did not take my camera this day. I was so bummed when the sun came out and I was camera-less. I used my iPhone for a few pictures that are still memories, but at far less quality.

 Tyler, Mack and sleeping Caroline 

After we toodled around the park, we walked down Steiner street to look at the pretty houses, view Mrs. Doubtfire's house, and head to the hotel. We all enjoyed the exercise on the way back to the hotel.

We picked up Bella and Bubba, Mack's dog, and headed to a little beach that sits just below the Golden Gate Bridge. Again, we enjoyed the sun and simply hanging out with a friend for the afternoon.

That night we went to Luna Park, a local restaurant in the Mission District. I had been there this summer, but it was the first time for Tyler and Mack. We all enjoyed a good dinner to round out a great day.