Friday, September 7, 2012

A Summer of Firsts

Maya and Jane have been busy little travelers this summer. Most trips were quick weekenders that didn't involve seeing much other than a relative's home or the inside of a hotel, so I didn't bother teaching them about their destinations. But the trips did have a few firsts.

In July, I took the girls to Charlotte, North Carolina to surprise their grandma for her birthday. The trip was Jane's first plane ride, as well as my first trip solo with two small children. (Chris stayed home to work.) Surprisingly, it wasn't as stressful as I imagined, thanks to an iPad pre-loaded with Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba:

Maya always gets the window seat.

While in Charlotte, Jane got to meet her Aunt Lizzie for the first time:

Think they're related?

and Maya received her first chair massage:

It's hard out here for a shrimp

A few weeks later, we drove to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a wedding. Once again, the iPad came to the rescue and made for a somewhat pleasant 8-hour drive each way:

Say backpack.

While in Pittsburgh, Jane got to meet her great-grandmother for the first time:

Jane Patricia meets great-grandma Patricia.

and I got to experience my second Pittsburgh wedding cookie table:

Totally didn't share any with the kids.


We rounded out the summer with a trip to South Haven, Michigan, with my extended family. The weekend consisted of endless hours of sunshine, open fields, playgrounds, the beach and lots of small children. Maya was in heaven:

Maya and her cousin Aubree. Yes Michigan!


Aubree teaches Maya about big kid swings.

Cinda and Maya being too cute

Even cuter

The cutest
It was pretty heavenly for the rest of us, too:

She really needed to get away from it all.


Janie and her Abuelita, watching the sunset.

Same lake we always see; so much prettier on this side.
Don't you hate clothes?

We all has so much fun, we didn't even need the iPad on the way home:

Success!

As much as we'd all love to take a few months off from travel and gear up Costa Rica, we'll be on the move the next few weeks, both with and without the kids. As far as family trips go, we have some Missouri football on the horizon. Time to teach the girls about where and how mommy and daddy met, minus all the cheap booze.