Greenbriar

We spent this past weekend at The Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia.  (The PGA Tour is playing on their Old White Course next month.)  Jerrod had a plastic surgery conference so we thought we'd tag along.  We were fortunate enough to have Dick and Diane come along.  They watched the kids so we could enjoy the resort and the black tie dinners.  It was amazing and so hard to leave.  The cleaning lady would come 3 times per day.  Each time I came back to the room something new was done: my shoes were lined up, my robe hung in the bathroom and our sheets were turned down with mints by the bedside!  Incredible!  Camryn and Carson got to ride horses thanks to Grandma and Grandpa.  The kids, grandparents and I spent the entire afternoon swimming and lounging at the infinity pool on Saturday.  So pretty!  I could definitely get used to that kind of lifestyle.

Colorado

At the beginning of February we headed to Colorado for a week of catching up with friends and family. We had such a great time. Poor Camryn was so upset to have to leave her best friends! We all had a great time eating at some of our favorite restaurants, checking out our old house, playing with friends, skiing and hot-tubbing in the snow. Can't wait for our next trip!

 Blury, but worth documenting!   Carson and Ryan celebrating their 4th birthdays together!

All smiles even at the end of the ski-day!

IOWA

Wow! What a whirlwind trip. We started out Saturday morning the 25th of September for Iowa with a FULL car and an extra passenger! This was Cooper's first trip to Iowa. We made it to Maquoketa to stay with Grandpa Rich and Judy by 5:45 that night! The kids had fun riding Grandpa's 4-wheeler and discovering all of the candy corn throughout their house!

Sunday afternoon we headed to Aunt Jenny's farm where the kids enjoyed all of Alex's ride-on toys, kittens, ducks, chickens, and trampolines! We were also able to watch Olivia play a couple of volleyball games and see some of Megan's science projects. Camryn was even brave enough to take a combine ride!

Wednesday we headed to Britt for Grandma and Grandpa Keith's. The kids had fun checking out Grandpa's new golf cart and even playing 22 holes! Grandma wondered what had happened to them! Camryn filled her in on the details...

We had SOOO much fun and the weather couldn't have been better!

Weekend in the Woods

What better way to end the summer than a family camping trip! We headed to Moraine State Park on Friday afternoon and stayed until Sunday morning. Fishing, S'mores, learning how to swim (yes, Camryn learned almost as quickly as she learned to ride her bike! She was so proud of herself), Hobo dinners, UNO, Guess Who, rain, and mud!

The new tent!

Carson and Alex fishing at the minnow pond

You can't see it, but Camryn caught a Blue Gill. She was too scared to have it closer to her. It's the shiny line dangling down by her foot!


I think every little boy has a picture identical to this one!



The site

Saturday afternoon everyone was ready for a nap. Poor Coop!

Washington D.C.

At the White House



Camryn and Aunt Sue (a.k.a. "Grandma")

Camryn and Sue on the canal boat...mules on the right hand side pulling the boat

Eating at Ernie's

View of the capitol from top of Washington Monument

Jerrod had a conference in Alexandria, VA this weekend, so we decided to tag along. The kids and I met up with Aunt Sue (she lives in Arlington) both Saturday and Sunday and saw all kinds of great things in D.C. and the surrounding area. Saturday, first on our list was going to see where Barack Obama lives. After an Arabic lunch (not everyone was a fan!), we headed to the O & C Canal where we got to ride a canal boat pulled by mules similar to the ones they used in the 1870s to haul coal. We then met Jerrod for dinner at Ernie's Crab Shack...a favorite D.C. spot of Jerrod's since he was a kid! It's quite the experience. They dump a dozen whole crabs on butcher paper in front of you and arm you with a hammer and a plastic knife.

On Sunday, we were able to ride to the top of the Washington Monument. It was such a beautiful, clear day; the view was incredible!

We definitely didn't even put a dent in all of the activities we need to do in D.C. before we leave the east coast. Since it's only 4 hours away, we'll be making at least 1 more trip!

(I really do love Carson as much as Camryn, he's just too wild and never sits still for a picture! That's why you never see him in vacation pictures!)

Colorado Springs

Well, we already have our house in Pittsburgh (we found it through Craigslist, so I hope we still have it when we show up in June!) so we decided we didn't need to take that trip. Plus, our time in Colorado is getting down to the end, so we need to start squeezing in things we've been saying we want to do for the last 5 years! So, this week we took a vacation to Colorado Springs. It was so much fun! We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where the kids we able to get up close to many different animals. We fed the giraffes, held a skunk, got face to face with grizzly bears, and so much more! It was by far the best zoo we've been to! We also went to the Cave of the Winds and Garden of the Gods. Of the 3, the zoo was our favorite destination. You'll notice Carson isn't in many of the pictures. I should have probably documented how big of a "sally" he was on this trip! He was scared of all of the animals, and started freaking out right before we went into the cave. Weird!

Winter Park

We headed up the hill with the Schnurs this weekend. Camryn got to ski for the 2nd time and Carson and I went snowshoeing. Camryn's getting pretty good at her "pizza pie" and "french fry" moves. If I'm not careful, she'll soon be a better skier than I am, which wouldn't take much! It was so fun to get away from the city for the weekend and actually see snow! We came home Sunday afternoon to 65 degree weather! Can't wait to head up there again next weekend with Jerrod's family.

Camryn is the little person following Jerrod who is wearing a yellow and black ski jacket. She eventually falls down at the end!