Watkins Glen Gorge

After receiving multiple recommendations that we hike/walk the Watkins Glen Gorge Trail, we decided to give it a go on our first weekend here (not spent unpacking or getting settled in). It was stunningly beautiful and we are so glad we went! I'll try to limit the pictures to avoid an onslaught, but it is what I imagine to be a photographer's heaven - the Mr. and I both kept commenting on how Dad J could get better pictures than me with my point-and-shoot and how much he would love visiting (probably spend a couple days there).

Teething boy found something to chew on!

What a cutie!

We found a playground on the other side of the hike and tuckered Mickey out - he was SO tired on the walk back!

"On the Road Again

. . . just can't wait to get on the road again." On second thought, I most definitely can wait!

At our first stop, our little Mickey found a payphone and loved it! He talked and talked on that thing for quite some time before we finally got him pulled away to burn of some of his energy. Then he goes and tries to stick rocks up the water pump - fantastic! Following this, we traveled through Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York (not necessarily in that order). A very special thanks to all those who hosted us along the way - Rob & Whitney, the Coloradudes, the AFchemists, and the Show-Me-Ites (and mom and dad J along with Gpa and Mimi H who hosted us during our homeless period).

 A few stops and a couple days later, we were able to go to a Young's Dairy Farm with our AFchemist family/friends. What an awesome trip! The food was great (best Mickey ate on the whole drive), activities were fantastic for energy burning, and the ice cream was especially lovely. Of course, the company was wonderful too!

Our little one would not let us leave with out giving him a ride on the cow.

ATV-drawn train ride. Mickey didn't want to stay in after he saw some geese he wanted to chase.

Our little squadron. Watching the men get in and out of the barrels was hilarious!

Driving a tractor with his new friend.

Colored milk containers! Trying to get a good picture of them both was tricky.

Both so cute anyway! Even if they won't look at the same time!

Goats! Lots of goats (and many of them very pregnant). Mickey loved running up and down the fence, pausing at each goat to pet a few times before running to the next one. The video is flipped sideways (sigh), so feel free to tilt your head to watch if you wish. If not, the picture below will have to suffice.

 We also got to feed some kids (of the goat variety - not the human ones), and see cows and a pig. What a great place to visit (special thanks to the AFchemists for taking us there).

Unfortunately, we had to leave after a short visit and continue on our trip. The Mr. and I were incredibly surprised at how wonderfully Mickey traveled. He was such a trooper!

Playing with the board (his) Gpa J helped make.

Some light reading from Uncle B-jeep

And trying his hand at fishing!

It was a crazy month or so, and we are so glad to have a home to settle into for the summer now!

Summer Plans

Wow! We can't believe Winter Semester is finally over! It was definitely a beasty one - the Mr. had 19.5 credit hours (including his Independent Study class - yuck!), but he did fantastic and ended up with the best semester GPA he's had yet at college! Way to go love!!

After finals ended, we got to spend a lovely day with one of my best friends for her wedding! Isn't she a lovely bride?! That dress looks so good on her - and it's definitely her style. I absolutely loved seeing all these girls again for the bachelorette party as well as the wedding festivities!

 Post wedding festivities, we packed up all our belongings in our 1 bedroom apartment to move out. Poor Mickey had a rough few days as everything he's known since he was born suddenly got put into boxes and moved up. Talk about an uproot! He's been incredibly patient with us though and adapted quite well as we shifted his schedule around. What a blessing it was to have family nearby to help with him though - he needed it.

So now . . . we're homeless. And loving it! Temporarily anyway. We stayed for a week with the Mr.'s maternal grandparents and had a chance to visit Scheel's. Mickey loved that store! I will say that they do a wonderful job of mixing product, trial, and experience!

Fun fishies! Salt water ones - that means they're colorful!

JEEP!!! Mickey jumped on in and didn't want to stop driving!

Then we found the shooting game and Mickey didn't want to leave that either! He's got good blood in him :)

So then we went fishing and caught a shark. Anyone want to try some!?

Of course, the Mr. and Mickey then had to go hunting. Yummy elk!!

We also had an opportunity to visit the animal farm. Mickey loved all the room to run as well as seeing all the fun animals. They had goats, sheep, llamas, peacocks (including a white one!), chickens, ducks, pelicans, pigs, cows, and horses of every size. Mickey wasn't so sure about the huge horses (seriously, the top of the withers - like the top of the shoulder of the horse before the neck - was around 6'5" or so), but he loved the ponies. We ended up taking him on the pony ride twice since he loved it so much; he actually has quite a good natural riding rhythm in him. Then we rode in the horse-drawn wagon and Mickey wanted to hold the reigns at the end. I think we've discovered that our little one likes horses - he's like his mommy :)

We also had a wonderful opportunity to go with Gpa & Gma H. to the aquarium to see all the large fish. Mickey enjoyed that as well, but ran through it all in about an hour. He wasn't quite sure about all the crowds of people and excited/pushy older children. He did enjoy the penguins and otters for a short period of time as long as we didn't get too close. The shark tunnel was also enjoyable - although a bit crowded. 

Our time with Gpa & Gma H. was wonderful and we are so grateful for their hospitality and kindness. We enjoyed our time with them and are looking forward to spending the next week with the Mrs.' parents before we drive across the country for an internship (where we will have a place to live for the summer). 

Hooray for adventures!

"Nie no" (Dino)

Our family Christmas present to ourselves was a family trip to the Dinosaur Museum and we had the opportunity to cash in that present in the first month of the new year! Yay for starting the year out well! My personal favorite part was to watch the Mr. and Mickey play together - it was largely a father/son outing, with me tagging along every now and again. I loved being reminded of one of the first reasons I fell in love with the Mr. - his ability to play with children and thoroughly enjoy doing it. 

Best part = finding random things above your head to point to!

Indoor tunnel - not quite sure what to do with it . . . 

"The wheels on the bus . . ." oops, wrong song ;)

Magnetic dinosaur skeletons - the pieces were actually quite heavy!

Daddy enjoyed putting all four back together.

Naming things below the bridge - "Nie no," "water," "fish," etc.

Super fun sand table! We created streams and lakes and lots of good things!

Drying off after washing all the sand off.

A toddler area with a shape matching board . . . 

. . . and a playing mat with toy dinosaurs!

Mickey only wanted to play "nie no"s with his daddy - mom was not allowed, and Mickey kept taking the 3rd toy dinosaur from me to prove it.

Trying to touch T-Rex

Woah! Big shark! 

I was there - I promise! 

The digging pit in the last room of the museum. Mickey LOVED this!

And all the other children there thought the Mr. was a hit! They all crowded around to play with him!

We loved some of our firsts in this outing, especially Mickey saying "Nie no" (Dino) for the first time . . . and then saying it over and over again throughout the museum.

Of course the toy dinosaurs in the gift shop were expensive ($9 each), so we made our way to the local D.I. for some less expensive reminders of our family outing. At $0.50 each, I think we got the good end of the deal! Our little one still loves playing with his toy "Nie no"s, but for some reason he still prefers playing with daddy than with mommy ;)