Airplane Schmarplane

   So I've had a pretty crazy week. Yes, I am proving to the world that 'I still got it' by not being one of those moms who falls of the face of the planet once they have a baby and only takes up hobbies such as cleaning, knitting, and pinterest. I spontaneously flew out of Cali Thursday after my father (saint of a man) offered to fly me home last minute for my mom's birthday. Some of the siblings were bemoaning not coming, but I sweetly reminded them all they had to do was push out a 9 lb baby and they too could have been airlifted to Omaha.
   I had AMAZING week. My cousin Laura's wedding was this last weekend which means a ton of extended family was in town that Theo wouldn't have otherwise met. My grandpa and his wife have been here (Theo is my grandpa's 1st great-grandchild!) and my dad's sister and brother-in-law (Uncle Mike and Aunt Julie) who live in Florida and are not in Omaha very often. So it has been super special and even though Theo's little eyes have been dilated countless times by the flash of the camera he is still a great sport!
  I write about the family fest it has been this trip because this is what I had to keep in mind while traveling with my infant child on Thursday. Since becoming a mom I seem to have developed into somewhat of a clean freak. I seriously feel lightheaded when my brother Turner cooks in our kitchen because I'm worried he will get raw meat on some part of the kitchen that I won't (secretly) disinfect once he leaves. The 1st-errr --2nd thing I ask Paul when he walks through the door is if he has washed his hands (he works at hospitals though so you can understand...) I will tell you that being a clean freak is NOT what you want to have happen when your baby child happens to have a blowout at the beginning of a 3 hour flight in which he desecrates his clothes, your pants, and nostrils of all rows within 50 feet of you. Let me just tell you that you do NOT want to be a clean freak when you are FORCED to change his little diapey in the airplane bathroom that stinks to the high heavens with his baby arms and legs flailing around due to being stripped.
  Oh my gosh, it was not fun. I balanced my baby, diaper bag, and sanity all in my lap in the TINIEST airplane bathroom (seriously! why are to sooo small?) I was probably in there a good 20 minutes since I had to strip him and wipe him down (we are talking a full-scale blowout). It took me forever to dig around in my diaper bag one handed while balancing it and Theo on my legs as I sat on the closed toilet seat. Once I was finally done I made my way back to my seat triumphantly because I knew if I could make it through that then my life was pretty much downhill from here ;)

Theo enjoying life in the air...

 

Babymoon

Our room... Paul looking for a place to eat.

I should have taken more pics... but it was a 3 course breakfast!

One view of the B&B.

In Lithia Park.

In Lithia Park.

Paul goes for a run :)

View of B&B.

Biggest salad EVER!

   So for our babymoon we ended up going to a bed and breakfast in Ashland, Oregon. It was a good choice because it was only 2 hours away (compared to San Fran which is over 3) and we got a great price on our B&B since it's the off-season.
   We pretty much walked around the town and ate delicious food the entire weekend. Ashland is known for it's theatre and Shakespeare Festival that starts up in the spring. It is very quaint and has amazing restaurants with lots of organic/natural foods. We also did go see a movie too (Contraband) which was good, but highly stressful. The drive between Redding and Ashland was gorgeous! So many mountains.
   I now feel ready for baby :) I figured out how to work our new video camera and all the baby clothes are washed and put away. The swing is assembled and his diaper bag is packed. I even washed the sheets on the guest bedroom bed so it will be ready when my mom gets here. Now it's just up to him!

Travels: On the ROAD!!!! :)

   I sit at the counter of a Starbucks in Rapid City, SD. Paul is beside me reading and I am drinking a tall, skinny, low-ice Carmel Macciato with extra carmel drizzle. I had to post a quick blog entry since we are in the throws of our adventure. :) Yesterday morning we pulled out of Omaha and drove 8ish hours to Custer State Park. We camped there last night and are spending the day 'vacationing.' We just got done visiting Mt. Rushmore and early this morning Paul forced me to go running with him.. I didn't want to go as far as he did so I faked altitude sickness (I think he is a little suspicious though seeing as I bounced back so quickly). 
   Yesterday in the car we listened to audio books. The first one was the book "The Forgotten God" by Francis Chan and the second one we are in the middle of is "God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew. We are literally hooked! It is so fun to hear all the miraculous ways the Lord provided, healed, and used Brother Andrew. He smuggled bibles into 'closed' countries in the 1950s. I highly recommend this book and it is fun to listen to on audio. 
  Emotionally, I feel torn. I am LOVING this time with Paul. We are having a blast together and the natural beauty of South Dakota is breath-taking... plus I am constantly wowed by how outdoorsie he is. He literally knows so much about camping and survival. He carries a 2 foot machete/sword thing with him whenever he is outside. I will have to post a picture because it is hilarious. He insists on sleeping with it beside our air-matress. On the other hand, I really miss our families. We spent so much time with them living in Omaha. We are sad to not get to see our precious nieces Delaney and Averey grow throughout this next year. I was already missing my mom a block away from home... But we know that we are on an amazing adventure and we're soaking it in. :)
   Tomorrow we will pack up and drive 9 hours to Yellowstone. We are planning on spending 2 nights there as well. Thanks for following our trip friends! We are grateful for you all!! 

COME HOME PAUL

   I miss Paul. I may try and put a brave front on, but I seriously cry myself to sleep everynight, I've quit eating and I have written about 20 love poems to him.. and it's only day 11! Ok-JK! but I seriously miss him.    

   He and Keith have left Alaska and are in San Francisco. He calls me two times a day and texts me all the time so at least I feel connected. It's HARD but hey at least we like each other :)

   What am I doing in the mean time?: Spending time with my momma, watching movies with the family, getting together with friends, enjoying meeting with various WAG girls, hanging out with my sis-in-law Sarah and my nieces Delaney and Aves, running, reading, and working.

   We'll keep this post short and sweet. I'll write more later- Over and OUT!

Travels, August 2010: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

     
   At the end of this past summer Paul and I took our first “real vacation” with out dear friends Nick and Angie Delaney. Let me just say that half the fun of this trip was that we enjoy Nick and Ang so much. They are the kind of friends that you can spend an entire week with and still love being together once it is over. Their friendship has truly enriched our lives and we adore them.

   Cabo was simply a ball. We got to stay at an amazing resort because Angie’s parents graciously gave us a week of their vacation time from their timeshare. We spent the week laying out at the pool, exploring downtown Cabo, eating, jet-skiing and meeting new friends.

   Nick is a VERY gifted cook and would make us amazing meals. We are incredibly spoiled by his talent. As a matter of fact, during our first year of marriage we probably would have withered away to bean poles without the Delaneys generously having us to dinner at least once a week.

   One of the most memorable points of the trip was when we purchased a time share… yes, I know… You heard right. We PURCHASED a timeshare. We really tried hard not to. We went to several time-share presentations just because they give you free stuff. However, we found a deal we couldn’t pass up and together, with the Delaneys purchased two weeks a year in Cabo and two weeks at any of their affiliate international resorts. We are happy to report that we are guaranteed Nick and Angie's friendship for the next 30 YEARS because we suckered them into buying a timeshare with us. :)