The rest of our trip north

We were home for almost two weeks and we did a lot. The snow and the Please Touch Museum were just two things we fit into our schedule that seemed to get really busy, really fast.

Our trip got off to a pretty rocky start. It took us a total of 17 hours to get from Dallas to Philly - via air! And that includes spending a few hours at a hotel just outside the Dulles airport. That's right we couldn't make it all of the way to Philly as planned due to weather so Sam got to pick up another state while we spent 3 hours asleep in a hotel in Northern Virginia.


After a hellish flight the next day (including delays in Dulles before boarding, circling in the air, and over an hour on the ground in Philly AFTER we landed but before we got to a gate) we finally arrived!

We got spoiled by Mom-Mom and Skipper, got to hang out with Christina, Chase (after he recovered from the croup), and Andrew, have lunch with my aunt and uncle, go to music class with Chase (which Sam loved), see Auntie Ande's and Uncle Jay's brand new apartment in Hoboken, go to the zoo, get our picture taken with our future hubby. I even got to catch up with some friends, including a really fun dinner out with the girls! Overall, it was a fabulous trip home. I didn't want it to end. And apparently neither did American Airlines.

I was originally supposed to fly home in Wednesday but pushed my flight back a day with no charge since I was delayed a day coming in. Thursday at 3am I got a call from AA that my flight was cancelled and I rescheduled for the same flight on Friday. No problem, we missed KC a lot but we got the chance to hang out with the Palsky's some more and spend some more time with Mom-Mom and Skipper. Friday we were on the way to the airport and I get another call from AA - our flight is cancelled and we can't get out until the next day again! We finally got home on Saturday. Other than the crazy travels we had there and back we couldn't have asked for a better trip. I am already planning another one for April! We can't wait to go back. And this time we're hoping for warmer weather. (What can I say? I'm a Texan now. My blood's thinner.)

The toy she is riding on was mine when I was little. It's a Little Tikes toy and still in really good shape. She loves it!

We had dinner with Pop before he had to jet off to Phoenix to visit DiDi.

Giving Auntie Ande some love.

She is a shoe fanatic. These were Auntie Anj's cowboy boots. When she saw them in the front hall she HAD to have them. She wasn't to happy with we pried her away from them.

We took a trip to Auntie Ande's new apartment in Hoboken and tried pizza for the first time ever! We have had some food issues off and on since she was born so I am always hesitant to try new things. I working on it though. Back to the pizza....SHE LOVED IT!! It turned her into a monster! Once she tried it she walked around begging everyone for a bite of theirs. I haven't broken the news to her yet that pizza in Dallas is nothing like pizza in Hoboken.

This was the Mad Dog face when she ran out of pizza (before she realized what we had replaced in front of her).

We took a walk down to the water. Here's Sam's first view of the NYC skyline.

We took a drive to Maryland to have lunch with my aunt and uncle so Sam picked up 2 new states (Delaware and Maryland) and got to meet their dog Rags.

Rags is a Portuguese Water Dog and so good. He was so sweet to Sam and as with all dogs she couldn't get enough of him.

Here's a picture from the Please Touch Museum. I thought it was too cute not to include but I forgot it when I did the post.

Sam and Chase had there picture taken and then spent some time with Chase showing her the ropes. We could tell he'd spent some time behind the wheel before.

And of course, since we were at Grandma's Sam got a little spoiled. She had a fudgesicle. Can you tell by the look on her face how much she hated it?

Up, Up, Up and Away!

I promised that I would right a post about our trip to Balloon Fiesta. Here it is!

I have been trying to make it to this balloon festival for the last few years. But something always came up, out of town guests, being hugely pregnant, etc, etc. When we found out the first day of the 2008 festival was the weekend we would be driving back from Arizona we were so excited that we could see what all of the fuss was about. Let me just tell you - it was worth it. I have never been that much of a hot air balloon fan but this is something else. There are so many balloons and people. It was a blast. It takes place in these fields that are completely surrounded by the mountains around Albuquerque; so not only are the balloons pretty and the sheer volume of them unbelievable but the views are stunning. I am pretty sure Sam had more fun watching people than the balloons but it was worth it all the same.

We rolled into Albuquerque about 5 pm the day before and checked into our Hilton. Little did we know the hotel room would be the sight of one of our top five worst nights of sleep ever! After walking around a bit I started to freak out that Sam would be too cold the next morning so we headed into a Gymboree to get some gloves and an extra pair of socks. (Now Gymboree is not my first choice for these items since it cost us $21 - yes $21! but we didn't have a lot of options in the small outdoor shopping area we were in.)

The night of not-so-much sleep

We had planned on Sam sleeping in the bed with us. Port-s-cribs tend to freak me out (see the Dominican Republic story) and the pack and play she slept in while we were in Arizona was under about 2 tons of stuff we had stuffed in the trunk of our car. We had planned to leave for the dawn send off at about 5:30am. After spending most of the night tossing and turning and the hour from 3:30 to 4:30 trying to convince Sam that this was sleep time and not playtime we caved and got ready to head out the door. I am sure the people in the adjoining room appreciated our departure more than we will ever know. In the end it turned out to be a blessing that we left earlier than planned. We got a great parking spot and missed most of the traffic heading into the event. (always looking for a silver lining...)

This is what Sam thought of getting out of the nice, warm car and into the chilly morning air. Especially since she had to sit in her stroller. Oh the horror! I have to admit the thought running through my head at this point was - Quiet kid! You have been up for hours. There's no complaining now! If anyone should be crying it should be your me. Or maybe your dad since he has a 10 hour drive home ahead of him. It's the sweet maternal instinct in me. What can I say.

Can't you tell how much she loved the $14 mittens we got her?

I was so glad that we were there for the dawn patrol. It was my favorite part.

They send off 12 balloons first thing to check the wind conditions before the other gazillion balloons take off.

We rested for a bit between the dawn patrol and mass ascention. Since we haven't had any cold weather I had the poor kid so bundled up. Hat - check. Hoodie - check. Mittens - check. Long sleeve shirt - check. Undershirt - check. Jeans - check. Socks - check. Two blankets on top of all that - check.

If Sam was looking at the camera, there were no people milling around in the background, and there were more balloons in the picture this would be one of my favorites of the three of us. If, If, If...

Some of the balloons were really cool. There was one balloon of Darth Vader's head, supported by grown-ups in full costume (I have no idea what character they were dressed up as since I haven't sent he movie in about 20 years. White plastic looking costumes?) and Nemo which you can see here.

After all the excitement she was so tired she fell asleep chewing on her blanket. And the big, huge, silver lining of getting up at 3:30 in the morning? She took a four hour nap and slept from Albuquerque all the way to Amarillo - it was awesome!

I am an ardent Obama supporter but I had to take a picture in front of the McCain bus. It was parked in our hotel parking lot when we went back to check out. Apparently he made a campaign stop at the balloon festival the day after we were there. The picture of me sticking my tongue out does not need to be posted on the Internet for all to see and judge. Just know that there is one and I can show it to Sam when she is old enough to understand. This bus did prompt a long discussion between KC and I about letting our kids make up there own minds on politics and still liking them if they decided to be Republicans (ha. ha.)

Boo at the Zoo

When we were in Philly last week we went to Boo at the Zoo at the Philadelphia Zoo. We had a blast even though it rained off and on while we were there. Sam got to wear her costume for the first time. Mom-mom and Grandma made her a Love bug costume. KC has called her his love bug since we found out we were having a girl. Since it was pretty chilly out we were a love bug in a furry coat with dog ears. Hey, whatever works. It's actually the only coat we own. Something I have to rectify at some point in the next few weeks.

All dressed up right after we got out of the car. The head piece didn't last long though.

The girls

Sam got sick of the stroller so we transitioned to the carrier after a while. I love this carrier so much! And so does Sam! What you can't see in this picture are the triplets behind us - dressed up as a lion, a tiger, and a bear. So cute! And creative. We all walked by and said "Lions, Tigers, and Bears. Oh My!" You just couldn't help it!

This was our first trip to the zoo. She loved seeing all of the animals. I just had to make sure that we were looking at animals that moved. She didn't care too much for anything stationary.

Look at the bug eyes! We were at the lion "cage" and the lion came right up to the window and roared. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen at the zoo. He was touching the window. So close his breath was fogging up the window. She was mesmerized. (And no I didn't let her eat the snickers in her hand. I'm not that bad of a mother. She just really liked carrying it around since it was shiny.)

This was the lion roaring at the glass. You can see why she had the bug eyes. Some of the kids loved it and some of them ran screaming to their parents.

My little monkey

Silly, Silly Aunties

I have discovered one of her favorite things - riding a merry go round. She loves it. When we were in Arizona and she got on one for the first time. She was pretty hesitant at first and not really sure about it. This time we had no initial hesitation at all! She wrapped her hands around the pole and off we went. About half way through she started shrieking with delight. We had a blast. Our local mall has a merry go round inside so I am sure I will have to avoid that area unless I am willing to ride.

Happy Halloween!

Sam and Auntie Ande goofing off

For whatever reason Sam was fascinated by the umbrella. Possibly because she has never seen one before???

To the jerk in 8B

Karma is a bitch - especially yours after the pouty, 'woe is me' display you put on last night. When I boarded the plane with Sam BY MYSELF I was hoping she would be an angel. Maybe even sleep.

Sam is the child that you looked at with complete disgust numerous times last night. I know the seat next to the baby wasn't your first choice. I apologize for the fact that she was overtired, and wired from 5 days of fun and just couldn't wind down to sleep even thought she was completely exhausted. I didn't want to sit with a crying, fidgety baby on my lap for over three hours anymore than you wanted to sit next to one.

I'm sorry she sneezed in your direction. I try to at least put my hand over her mouth when she appears to be in the verge of sneezing or coughing but I'm not a mind reader and at times get caught off guard. The rolling of your eyes and glare were unnecessary. I felt bad enough.

The constant sighing and sifting of your weight was something else that I felt bad about at first but after an hour I wanted to tell you to GET OVER YOURSELF. I know you want to read your The Undercover Economist in peace and type your emails without a soundtrack of "yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah" Face it you're stuck on a plane with a baby and her mother. We'll get there when we get there. You making an issue out of it isn't making the plane fly any faster.

By no means did I expect you or anyone else to entertain my child. But somehow the sweet gentleman behind us found the strength to at least smile at her when she looked at him. She attempted on numerous occasions to smile and babble to you which, like everything else, you found offensive. Don't worry you are the last person I would want to engage with my child. She might come away with a permanent frown.

Feel free to upgrade next time. The chances of sitting next to a baby in first class are significantly lower. And I really hope that whatever poor girl you marry knows what an arse you are when it comes to kids.

PS - if anyone still reads this blog I apologize for the fact that my first post in 2 weeks is a rant. I'll be back to my normal cheery self by tomorrow. I promise.

How the west was won

By two crazy parents and a very patient 10 month old.

*warning - this is a pretty long post. We did a lot and had quite a few 'firsts' on our trip. Pictures are at the bottom if you don't want a blow by blow account of our trip.

At some point this summer we decided that it would be a good idea to drive from Dallas to Phoenix for vacation. At first it was on the table because plane tickets were ridiculously expensive. But as the cost of tickets went down we decided that we really, really did want to drive. KC and I have always been a big fan of road trips. We took almost three weeks to drive from Philly to Dallas when we moved here (yes, mom I know it has been 7 long years!). I have to admit in the weeks leading up to our drive I started to have second thoughts. She is so mobile at this point what if she loses her mind? What is she is still sick (a distinct possibility after weeks of illness)? There was no turning back though. We were so excited to spend a week in Arizona with Pop and Grammie Di that we decided to forge ahead with our ambitious plan. Even though 4 days before departure I came down with a stomach bug.

It is a 16 hour and 1066 mile drive according to the Internet. We left on a Friday evening about 6pm and hoped to arrive Saturday night (best case scenario) but were ok with arriving by Sunday night (worse case scenario, especially since the Eagles played on Sunday night) we had a deadline! Off we go at 6pm on Friday the 26th. Our goal for the first day was to reach Amarillo, a 6 hour drive. If anyone has ever driven in Texas you know how fun driving through small towns can be. There is no straight highway to Amarillo. You get on 287 which winds it's way through numerous towns with population signs spouting - population 396 - or 1855 - or even 5933 and of course the speed limit going from 75 to 35 in every 25 miles. Cruise control is not possible and if you haven't made the drive before (as KC had not) the complete lack of lights of any kind can make it hard. The fact that we were both sick with no appetites and clearly dehydrated did keep our stops to a minimum. At about 3am we called it quits and checked into a Hampton Inn in Tucumcari, NM. Since Kc and I had not been to New Mexico before we got to add one state to our total and Sam picked up state number 3! After a later start on day 2 (about 9:30) we headed west again. Sam really did well since she took a 3 hour nap (!!!) that morning and only woke up when she was starving. Between me in the backseat playing and feeding her, the car didn't really seem to phase her too much. After a quick break at a rest stop between Flagstaff and Phoenix we rolled into Phoenix at 7pm local time. 27 hours door to door.

We did so much that week and had so much fun I could write a novel but since this is just a blog I will touch on the high points (all 54 of them)!

First of all our resort was wonderful. 2 great playgrounds, a splash area in the pool, and some nice walking trails right across the street. Sam loved the playgrounds and the fact that we hit them with our footed jammies still on really helped the ability to slide.

If you have never been to Phoenix I would absolutely recommend it. There was tons of kid stuff. The railroad park that we went to that had a little train you can ride for $2 (kids are free) so we went one Sam's first train ride. The funniest part was when we went through the tunnel and it got dark. There was also a carousel there so we knocked that off of Sam's list of things to do. She didn't really get into the carousel until almost the end. I think the movement going up and down and around was a bit much for her in the beginning. But once she got used to it - watch out! At one point she didn't even want to hold on!

We shopped until we dropped. Everywhere from Nordstrom Rack, to Gap, to the best store ever, babystyle. Grammie Di spoiled her rotten with all kinds of cute clothes and shoes. We also found a book "Quiet Loud" that she loves. And it gives me the opportunity to makes lots of funny noises! I think that is one of the (many) benefits of being a parent - getting to do all of the dorky things you couldn't pull off before kids. KC thinks my troll voice from "The Three Billygoats Gruff" should be dialed down a bit or it will end up giving her nightmares.

We went walking with Pop and Grammie Di. Scottsdale (where we were) has this great thing called a greenway that runs for 25 miles right down the middle of the town. It has walking trails the entire length of it so it is perfect for the stroller. It runs by lakes and playgrounds. Both of which we took advantage of. Sam got her first experience with feeding the ducks. And her first time riding a dragon.

We also ate at this wonderful restaurant in Cave Creek (a town about 20 minutes north of Scottsdale), El Encanto. It is Mexican restaurant but it had a lake right in the middle of it with turtles, fish, ducks, birds, and butterfly's. I swear it was created with babies in mind. We sat along the glass wall and watched the turtles sun themselves right next to us. Sam loved the fact that there were so many things to look at.

We created a monster. She goes by Horsey Girl. Pop and Grammie Di bought her a rocking horse with a seat on it and she loves it. Grammie Di even bought her a cowboy hat to go with it. Sometimes when she is on your lap she will start rocking back and forth. We have to keep a close eye on her though. Our little daredevil likes to stand up in the 'saddle' and ride that way.

I could do without the heart attack when I look over and she is balancing like a circus act.

We left on Friday morning amidst lots of hugs and kisses and took off on our journey home. The first day we were only trying to make it to Albuquerque since we were stopping off to take in the balloon festival and she did great. But one of my worst fears did come true. We had a diaper explosion about an hour before we hit Albuquerque. I should have known we wouldn't get through the trip unscathed. And we cut tooth number 7! I was so surprised to arrive at dinner in Albuquerque and see another tooth. We are currently working hard on #8, 9, and 10.

I am pretty sure I covered almost everything (and really sure you are ready to see some pictures and stop reading). I am going to do a separate post on the balloon festival because we have so many amazing pictures from it. I took over 600 pictures on our trip!

We had an amazing time and I am sure we will be doing it again since Pop and Grammie Di will most likely be living there in the next few years. (Thank you Pop and Grammie Di for everything!)

Oh, before we get to the pictures I wanted to mention that Sam made some progress in her 25 things in 52 weeks list. Sidenote, I am pretty sure the pigtails just aren't going to happen.

Our new favorite toys: the hotel room card and a water bottle. These occupied us for almost 30 minutes. And the best part? The room card continued to occupy Sam for the rest of the week. I carried this Hampton Inn card around with me - well, it's actually still in my bag.

Stretching our legs at a rest stop about an hour north of Phoenix

Taking in the beautiful mountains (KC and I decided this is what Dallas is missing. Go ahead and say it - DUH!)

Dad and Sam at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale

Sam on her first train ride. Sitting with Pop and Grammie Di



Not so sure what to think about the tunnel (especially with the other kids yelling.) You can't tell in this picture but without the flash it was pitch black in there.

Pop and Sam at the Railroad Park

One of my all-time favorite pictures of Sam

"Look ma, no hands!" (Our first carousel ride, hanging with Grammie Di)

Seriously, this kid had no fear once she got the hang of it.

Can you feel the stickiness? We tried our first frozen fruit pop. It was all over - hands, face, legs, everywhere. We were in the tub within minutes.

She couldn't make it through dinner so she snoozed on Pop.

"I'm not really bald. It just looks that way. There's hair up here. I promise."

Our little horsey girl

She got such a kick out of it. It was so much fun to watch.

Again with the no hands thing. Shortly after this she figured out how to use the mane to pull herself to a standing position.

We even played horsey on Mom's back. Wearing our very cool, new cowboy hat.

Showing Pop why the swings are her FAVORITE thing. Just look at those little legs hanging out the bottom.

And who doesn't want to follow up breakfast with a little rubber swing?

Again, she loves to be 'in' something. As soon as Pop set her down she was off - which of course entailed him following. Yep, right through the tube.

Loving the slide. She doesn't really have the full hang of this yet. Her feet and legs get stuck pretty easily.

Riding the dragon. I swear, if we're not careful this child will end up asking for a dragon for her birthday - or, even a real horse! Yikes!

The excitement of the dragon put her right over the top. I had to wake her up so we could feed the ducks.

Sam, Pop, and Grammie Di on the morning that we all left. So sad I cried!

Family Portrait. My glasses lasted only about 15 seconds ion my head before Sam decided se has "had to have them". Darn Kids!

This was on our way home, somewhere in New Mexico, west of Albuquerque. She ended up in her jammies since we had a little, um, explosion.