Happy Easter :)

We did a family circuit tour for Easter. Here are some pictures of Sawyer searching for m&m eggs at my parents' house.

Welcome, Pickles.

Meet our latest family member, Pickles the fish.

Sawyer named him after The Fire Cat.

Blueberries

We've been eating fresh fruits and vegetables in the mornings for the last several months.

This morning I gave Sawyer some orange slices, carrots and a romaine leaf.

He was walking around eating them while I was making our lunches and he said, "I'm eating blueberries!"

It took me a second to remember that we didn't have any blueberries, but we do have a rabbit cage in the dining room.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

The inauguration

The plan was to meet friends at ten 'around the carousel,' which in hindsight, was insanity.

I took the metro in, followed the river of people (I really didn't have a choice where I was moving), and was deposited near the Washington Memorial.

There was camaraderie among the people I was mashed up against. We cheered at the sliver of jumbotron we could see, and laughed loudly when the announcer told us we could be seated.

After the oath, the poet laureate was the end credits, and the river shifted. I couldn't get within a half-mile of the L'Enfant Plaza station (I heard later on NPR it was a 2+ hour wait), so I walked around the elipse and saw the floats and the bands setting up.

I thought it might be best to walk home... got across the bridge (my favorite part of the day), and Becky emailed me saying it would take 5 hours the way I was headed (I was taking the road we drive to church)... My sister saved the day and told me how to get to another metro station in Virginia. Found it; no wait for a train at all. Got home before the family and curled up on the couch under a blanket!

Roommates

This may be a surprise to anyone who knows our bunny situation: Grant and Bamboo have been sharing a cage for the past few days.

When Becky was in college, she bought a bunny, Tommy, and later she bought him a friend, Grant. They were best buds for a long time until Tommy died a few years ago. Grant was lonely, so we bought him another bunny (Bamboo). Bamboo and Grant didn't get along at all. So for years we've had an upstairs and downstairs bunny (which has been problematic for many reasons).

Well, they're older (Grant is 10, Bamboo's about 5) and each has been lonely on their own, so we thought we'd try again. Neither bunny looks at ease in the cage, but there's no blood. Good sign!

New Year's in Colorado

We traveled to Colorado for the week of New Year's with my parents, my sister's family, and my brother-in-law's brother's family. Snowy weather activities ensued.

Teresa, Alan and Sawyer ready for the slopes:
Jim and I at 10k feet in Winter Park. This isn't even the top of the mountain.

Sawyer and Nana making snowmen.

Becky and Sawyer taking a break outside our cabin:

Papa trying out his new snowshoes:

One very exciting thing we did as a group was go tubing at Fraser Tubing Hill.

Here's one run where we went down in a big group. It may not seem like it, but we're going very, very fast.:


To give it some perspective:


All these pictures are from the three family cameras. I don't even remember who took them, but most weren't me.

Christmas Day (xmas part 3)

After we opened gifts at our house and each had a morning nap, we went over to Becky's parents for Christmas day.

Sawyer enjoyed re-arranging his Grandma's winter village (aka 'Nancyville').

We exchanged gifts (including plenty of loot for the boy). We also ate a lot of food. (Becky's favorite: her mom's cinnamon buns)


Sawyer's grandparents gave him a train/airport set, which kept all of us entertained for a big chunk of the day. Becky set it up in the living room (more complicated than you would expect), and each of us played with it at some point.

A fun day spending time with family :)

Christmas morning (xmas part 2)

Sawyer was wide awake Christmas morning at 2am. Mostly because he started coming down with a cold the night before, so he didn't sleep well, but I also think he sensed something was up.

We held out as long as we could for Becky to come downstairs, and then opened presents in our living room at about 4.

He was very excited and loved everything. We need to teach him how to pick up the pace... :)

We played for about an hour, and then I went back to bed!

Christmas Eve (xmas part 1)

Becky, Sawyer and I spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house (joined by my cousin James). We ate a great lasagna dinner and exchanged gifts.

Nana and Papa gave Sawyer this fantastic sled (sadly, no snow outside). Sawyer had fun dragging stuffed animals around the house in it.
He also got a tee-ball set, which was a huge hit. Sawyer couldn't wait to use it (which of course is a bad idea inside. Nana played defense to protect her dining room.)
So, even though it was cold and dark, my dad and I took him outside to practice. (He actually had a pretty good swing).
Great time with everyone :)