I'm Sitting here

Mike is in the kitchen getting Annabelle something to eat and I just heard her say "Bad guys can eat cream sneeze". I'm guessing she wanted a bagel.

Travel Log: Maryland

Earlier this month we were able to spend a week in Maryland with Mike's older brother Sam and his wife Kristin and my hilarious nephew Isaac. Neither Mike nor I have spent much time on the east coast and we thought it was beautiful! Almost as soon as we left the airport we seemed to be surrounded by green. The weather was perfect, cool and refreshing.

Our first Sunday in Maryland we drove to the Washington D.C. temple and met up with my Aunt DeeDee and her family.

After touring the temple grounds we all headed to a picnic in the park where a friendly passerby serenaded us in spanish while we ate. He explained that he gets bored and so he likes to play for people in the park. We were the beneficiaries. The major highlight of the outing was chatting with my Aunt and seeing my adorable cousins. I think they like snuggling with my chubby Asa.

Our Labor Day was spent discovering D.C. It felt so surreal to walk around the National Mall and actually see the great monuments in person. The kids loved riding the metro, running around the mall and playing at the Smithsonian. My favorite was the World War II Memorial, I felt a beautiful peace as I thought about the great sacrifices made by those who were being memorialized. I was impressed with how well my sister in law Kristin knew her way around. From the moment we stepped out of the metro and I was completely disoriented until we got back on it several hours later she knew right where to go and the quickest route to get there!

Another evening on our trip we went to the beach! Annabelle has never been to the ocean and she loved it! It didn't take long for her to jump right in and enjoy the warm water. Isaac and Sam showed her how to dig trenches along the beach for waves to fill up and wash away. Asa must have enjoyed the soothing sounds of the waves because he slept the ENTIRE time.

Our timing in Maryland seemed to be perfect as Gala apples and raspberries were in season. I think raspberry picking might have been my favorite part of the entire trip! I couldn't seem to stop picking. I kept reaching in the bushes to get just one more.

Before we came out to Maryland Isaac had made the request to his mom that we have a pirate party. So that is exactly what we did! Kristin made cupcakes and let the kids decorate and devour them until we thought they might get sick. Isaac made me laugh so hard as he would slap some frosting on his cupcake, bite it off, do it again and again before just eating the icing off of his knife and then once that wasn't getting into his mouth fast enough he started going for it with his fingers - all the while muttering "mmm, yumm yumm, mmm" to himself. It was hysterical!

Another day it was rainy so we ventured into Baltimore to visit the Children's Museum. As to be expected - it was a blast! Here is my favorite shot from the day:

And what would a vacation with Mike be without a nature hike? Mike loved his walks through this forest.

Here are {some} of Mike's favorite shots from the trip:

THANK YOU Sam and Kristin SOOO much for letting us come and crash with you for a week. You were wonderful hosts and tour guides. We loved visiting with you and getting to see some amazing places out east!

Travel Log: Colorado

Mike posted his favorite pictures from our trip to Colorado last month and somehow I never ended up writing about our trip. We spent a wonderful week in Colorado with family. Mike did do some photography hikes and I spend quite a few hours scrap booking with my sisters in law - thanks to my thoughtful father-in law :). We all enjoyed playing with the kids (all 5 grandkids were in the Sherwood house) and having some fun family outings as well. Highlights of the trip for me were:

A BBQ at the fire pit at the Sherwoods house with my family and our good friend's the Smiths over as well.

Good food, s'mores, friends, family, great weather and a Teepee are a recipe for a great night.

One day we took the kids to the North Pole. The North Pole is this amazing little amusement park for kids up in the mountains behind Pikes Peak. Most of the rides just go around and around but there aren't lines, Santa (the real one with a real white beard and twinkly blue eyes is there) and we had a blast.

The kids enjoyed an afternoon playing with hoses and Papa Zeke filling up his canoe to act as a swimming pool of sorts out on the driveway - somehow I didn't get any of those pictures on my computer but it was great to watch them try to drag their heavy hoses around and get tangled up with each other.

Bowling hasn't been much of a family tradition but with a rainy afternoon with all the Sherwoods together we needed an activity and had a great time knocking down some pins. The kids lasted just barely into the second game - so we did the responsible thing and let them run around while we took their turns!

Mike's mom had also arranged for us to have family portraits taken. Joyana who took our McKean pictures last year, and her friend Heather took the pictures this year. It was fun, they were so great at making us feel relaxed and making sure we got the pictures we wanted taken. I love them - so many great ones, here are just a few (I really did narrow it down):