Roughing It.

We took the kiddos camping to Big Basin Redwoods State Park over Memorial Day weekend.  Camping with two young boys was certainly an adventure, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the thought of turning around and going home crossed my mind after only two hours in, but it ended up to be a great trip!  One of the things that Ryan and I love the most about living in California is access to all kinds of adventures within an afternoon's drive.  We want the boys to grow up with overflowing buckets of memories about things we did and saw during their childhood.  With the mesmerizing Redwoods in our sights, we set out to add some drops to their buckets.

Dirt, leaves, trails, bugs... the boys were in heaven.

He found a cave!  With no critter inhabitants, thank goodness.

Exploring the moss covered tree trunks.

The path of most resistance is sometimes the most fun.

This way, guys!

Snug as bugs in our awesome HUGE two-room tent from REI.  Good call, Ryan.

Try to keep up with me, Mom. 

Sword?  Wand?  Just really fun to carry a stick around?

Puddle jumping.

The park rangers put on daily nature club shows for the little ones. 

Tigger acting as Ethan's marshmallow wingman.

He waited all DAY for this!

Thanks to the suuuuuper long skewers from Aunt Kelly and Uncle Troy, he could roast his own!

Marshmallows! 

Marshmallows!!!

MARSHMALLOWS!!!

Yep.  They're *that* good.

It wasn't always easy, or comfortable.  There were moments that taught us that we have to live flexibly - such as when I accidentally dumped an entire pot of macaroni noodles onto the ground when I tried to drain the water, or when we woke up to find that our firewood was soaked with the rain that was not supposed to visit us overnight.  It's nice to get little reminders that nothing is supposed to be perfect, no trip will be 100% smooth, and that most things are worth working for.  And if through these experiences we can teach our boys to roll with the punches, they'll have a lifetime of silver linings and hidden gems.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Ever since we moved to the Bay Area, Ryan has been working freelance from home. Ethan and I have been spoiled by all of the time we've been able to spend with him and the flexibility that this has created for our family. When I had to go back to work when Ethan was two months old, Ryan was able to arrange his schedule to provide most of the childcare. It was easy to plan for family vacations, as we only have one schedule to work around. Best of all, Ethan had tons of father and son time, and got to go on lots of adventures like this:







Ryan starts a new job tomorrow, which will take some getting used to around here. It's an amazing opportunity (full-time commercial/advertising photography jobs are hard to come by!), and Ethan and I are so proud! That doesn't mean we won't miss having him around, though. Call us selfish, but we really enjoy our time with him!


Especially this little guy, who absolutely adores his daddy.

Enjoying the View

Change is good, and in that spirit we decided to spice up our holiday travels this year. Instead of flying back to Washington, D.C. to visit my family for Thanksgiving, we picked a location, rented a house, and all met up there for the week. This was all Ryan's idea, and I have to publicly give him credit for devising such a brilliant plan for our holiday! Speaking of Ryan and his brilliance, he has launched a new website for Ryan Notch Photography, which is absolutely stunning. I encourage all of you to swing over and check out his work!

There really is nothing like the scenery in the American West. We did our best to take advantage of the beautiful landscapes around Sedona, and tried to get outside as much as possible. We also took advantage of having grandparents with us to babysit - a luxury we don't have back in California. Ryan and I went on a hike together on the Brins Mesa Trail one afternoon.


He took his 4 x 5 camera and I had the digital, so you're getting not only one, but TWO pictures on this blog actually taken by me! Can you believe it?


Since we were so close, we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I'd never seen it before, and was blown away by how breathtakingly gorgeous it is. Ethan had a great time barreling at a full run towards the railings, until I ruined all his fun by putting him in the stroller. Now that he knows how to walk, he's completely over the whole stroller thing. He's also mostly over the "carry me" thing, unless I happen to need my arms to complete some household task. Then, and only then, will he want to be held. But I digress.


Cashing in another babysitting chip, we dragged Mary out on a hike to the top of Bell Rock. Treacherous at times, the hike was a fun challenge for the three of us (well, for two of us at least - Ryan's a real outdoorsy type, so it was a piece of cake for him).


The view was unbeatable, and once we scaled enough of the walls to get to the top we had some time to sit and take in the calm stillness of our surroundings.


Our next adventure was a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad. Their website touts the ride as "Arizona's Longest-Running Nature Show" and after chugging along with them I'd have to say I can see why! The engine winds through the canyon at a crawl of 12 mph, which makes it easy to take in the sights and snap some photos. As the route goes through Prescott National Forest, you're surrounded by natural landscapes for the entire ride. The few exceptions to this are two houses that were grandfathered into the zoning laws and the ghost town of Perkinsville. I use "town" loosely, by the way.


Ethan was the train's unofficial ambassador, and took his title quite seriously. In order to fulfill his duties of passenger greeting, he ran up and down the cars, waving and blowing kisses to those he passed.


Considering that the train departed at two, that Ethan's nap time was supposed to begin at two, and that the ride lasted four hours, Ethan did an amazing job of holding it together on the trip! Of course, having an animal sound baby application on my phone helped keep him calm in the final stretch of our journey.


We had so much fun, and are already in talks about our next joint family vacation. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we'll see you in 2011!

Not Quite as Exciting as Black Gold or Texas Tea...

Come and listen to a story about the Notch family,
Kicked out of their house because of termites, you see,
Got a call from their landlord, who rang them to say,
"We've got to relocate you to the Extended Stay."

Hotel, that is. Small room. Big inconvenience.

Y'all can't come back now, y'hear?


Well... that's not entirely true. We were allowed to return to our pest-free abode on Saturday afternoon. It was quite an adventure, being packed into a tiny space with Max, Ethan, and all of the baby gear. After the first very trying and frustrating day, we learned that the key to surviving a hotel room with a baby is to be in it for as little time as possible. Taking advantage of the need to be out, we decided to take Ethan on his first hike.


It didn't last that long - the days seem so short now and the sunset crept up on us - but it was a nice diversion.


With all of the trails around here, it will be so much fun to repeat these hikes when he's old enough to run up the hills ahead of us. For now, at least we know he likes the change of scenery.


He's really interested in his surroundings, and we'd like to think that he appreciated the views on our little adventure!