A Breath of Fresh Air

What a weekend!  We started the long weekend early to get a head start for all we had in store … but it sure did go fast. 

Our first adventure of the weekend was the trip to Scott’s family cabin.  Thursday morning we got up bright and early to pack the car – good thing Scott has an SUV – Ryan sure needs a lot of things when we’re away from home!  

Here’s Ryan all ready for the mountains – he’s watching to make sure we remember everything:

By 9:15am we were on our way!  It’s a 5 hour drive without stops, and of course we planned on quite a few for Ryan – so we just figured it taking the day so we could enjoy the trip.  Ryan isn’t much of  long drive kind of guy – he must get that from me.  But we do ok if we are comfortable, entertained, and get some good stops along the way. 

Here we are at the first stop – we found a winery literally in the middle of no where – but just right for us - both mommy and Ryan got a bottle!  (mine of course I had to save for later)

Here we are enjoying our break from driving:

Back on the road and Ryan’s getting antsy – I’m still patting myself on the back for packing some funky “toys”. 

Here’s Ryan with a toilet paper roll … I think we can be certain that buying expensive toys is just not worth it!

After 6 more hours– and 3 more stops - we were almost there making our way up the tiny tiny winding road to the small community of cabins.  It’s quite a ways “out there” but is so pretty!  

We even met some of the locals on our way up the mountain:

Finally, after 7 hours and 15 minutes we made it to the cabin!  It wasn’t the warmest evening, but we were all enjoying the wonderful fresh mountain air!

Here we are ready for the weekend ahead:

The visit to the cabin had some ups and some downs … The daytime was overall a great time – Ryan had a blast looking, touching and smelling new things.  But the weather and altitude took a big toll on our little guy.  It got very cold at night – and we had trouble keeping our room warm – so Ryan was waking up quite a bit.  And to top of that, he got an ear infection from the pressure change in the higher altitude.  Ryan’s so amazing – he really held it together during the day … here we are enjoying some of our favorite aspects of the mountain house …

Enjoying our time outdoors … it’s a bit cold, but at least that eliminated the mosquito issue!

Here’s Ryan supervising daddy while he makes our happy hour snack:

“Deck parties” are another favorite thing to do around camp.  Different cabins host happy hours and/or dinners for various occasions.

Here we are celebrating our family friend Lynne’s birthday – we’re with Auntie Di-Di, Uncle T-Bone, Grandma Nancy, Birthday Girl Lynne and her husband Dale:

Before we knew it, Sunday morning had arrived and it was time to go!  We packed up and went down the mountain.  This time the drive didn’t take quite as long since Ryan took a lengthy nap – he was exhausted!  And also since we routed ourselves home to include the Memorial Weekend LPA event. 

Grandma Cec and Grandpa John are also LPA members so they decided to meet us at the event too!  The event was at a park – and it was a very pleasant day out.  We had a nice snack and visit with each other and some of our new LPA friends. 

Here’s Ryan enjoying his spot on the grass:

The event was a “Sports Day” event so there were a lot of kids aged from about 5 years to about 14 – all were playing soccer, baseball and/or football.  It was a blast to watch – and very encouraging too.  Scott and I loved to see how the kids were just like other kids their age – lacking in height certainly doesn’t discourage these kids.  The kids make up for their lost inches with remarkable personalities and positive outlook – it’s incredible.  Ryan is already displaying these qualities and I’m so proud and excited to see him grow into the amazing person he is.

At last we get home – time to unpack, clean-up and make our call to the doctor! 

When Ryan’s homecoming didn’t resolve his fussiness we knew a call to the doctor was due.  We are very thankful that our pediatrician is available by phone and will even see us during off-hours.  The doctor checked his ear and prescribed him antibiotic for the infection we suspected.

Here’s Ryan enjoying “his world” at home ... he's definitely ready for a good night's rest!

And here we are … it’s the end of May ... my little man is 8 months old now! 

On to the next adventure …