As usual, too much time has elapsed since our last post. So much to report and capture for posterity (much of which, JJ and Alexis may wish to forget).
Canada
Mike and I took a trip to Canada late July with Samantha (see earlier post for details on the degree of difficulty preparation for the trip entailed). Mike's parents and our nanny watched JJ and Alexis so we could enjoy some semi-alone time. The flight over to Calgary was awesome as we had an extra seat next to us, and Samantha slept for the majority of the time. We stayed in a hotel by the airport that Wed night, and drove over to Jasper the next morning. The drive from Calgary to Jasper is about 6 hours, and we discovered that not only is it breathtakingly gorgeous, but satiating a 6 week old infant's snacking tendencies is possible while driving. While both of us were buckled in--my gymnastics training as a kid came in handy.
We spent Thursday night in Jasper and were very fortunate to meet up with Mike's brother David and his newly anointed fiance Tarissa. The scenery was spectacular, and the chance to get to know Tarissa better was equally enjoyable. The next day, we drove back down to Lake Louise where many of Mike's extended family were gathering to celebrate his cousin Cristina's 10 year anniversary. Mike and I were able to enjoy a canoe ride and lunch sans Samantha as David and Tarissa unwittingly agreed to babysit for us. They survived, and David learned that babies are pretty physically resiliant--but do need their heads supported most of the time. The celebration dinner was delicious and enterntaining. Samantha was still pretty fussy--and we learned that nearly everyone has a remedy for discontent babies and are certainly eager to share their insight, take the baby and work their wonder. One fellow guest actually took Samantha and immediatly stuck her finger right in her mouth. She was pretty busty as well, and I wondered if she would try nursing her next since the finger trick failed to work. Luckily, Mike's aunt Mayi and Cristina's FIL Ernie both had a special touch which allowed Mike and I (ok, mostly me) to enjoy a few hours on the dance floor. The trip was awesome, the location was amazing and we got to enjoy having "only one" baby for a few days.
Utah
As part of my materinity/virtual work arrangment, I decided to try to spend a few weeks in the Utah mountains during the month of September. I found a 3 bedroom Cabin just above the Sundance Resort via VRBO. So, right before Labor Day, my parents flew out to Houston, and we (me, my parents, Alexis, JJ and Samantha) embarked on the 1600 mile drive to Salt Lake City via our Honday Odyssey. In preparation for such a long drive, I did a lot of research on ways to occupy toddler's confined to car seats. The big winners were the aquadoodle travel sets and the thomas the train take-a-long sets. But mostly, having small "gifts" they could open every few hours that were new went a long way. And of course DVDs. The twins did really well on the drive out to Utah, probably more to do with my parents providing entertainment than any gadgets we brought along. The first day we drove from Houston to Albequreque (leaving at 8 am and getting to our hotel around 11 pm). The twins were exicted to sleep on a pull-out couch instead of their cribs--though my dad had to lay next to them until they fell asleep.
Canada
Mike and I took a trip to Canada late July with Samantha (see earlier post for details on the degree of difficulty preparation for the trip entailed). Mike's parents and our nanny watched JJ and Alexis so we could enjoy some semi-alone time. The flight over to Calgary was awesome as we had an extra seat next to us, and Samantha slept for the majority of the time. We stayed in a hotel by the airport that Wed night, and drove over to Jasper the next morning. The drive from Calgary to Jasper is about 6 hours, and we discovered that not only is it breathtakingly gorgeous, but satiating a 6 week old infant's snacking tendencies is possible while driving. While both of us were buckled in--my gymnastics training as a kid came in handy.
We spent Thursday night in Jasper and were very fortunate to meet up with Mike's brother David and his newly anointed fiance Tarissa. The scenery was spectacular, and the chance to get to know Tarissa better was equally enjoyable. The next day, we drove back down to Lake Louise where many of Mike's extended family were gathering to celebrate his cousin Cristina's 10 year anniversary. Mike and I were able to enjoy a canoe ride and lunch sans Samantha as David and Tarissa unwittingly agreed to babysit for us. They survived, and David learned that babies are pretty physically resiliant--but do need their heads supported most of the time. The celebration dinner was delicious and enterntaining. Samantha was still pretty fussy--and we learned that nearly everyone has a remedy for discontent babies and are certainly eager to share their insight, take the baby and work their wonder. One fellow guest actually took Samantha and immediatly stuck her finger right in her mouth. She was pretty busty as well, and I wondered if she would try nursing her next since the finger trick failed to work. Luckily, Mike's aunt Mayi and Cristina's FIL Ernie both had a special touch which allowed Mike and I (ok, mostly me) to enjoy a few hours on the dance floor. The trip was awesome, the location was amazing and we got to enjoy having "only one" baby for a few days.
Utah
As part of my materinity/virtual work arrangment, I decided to try to spend a few weeks in the Utah mountains during the month of September. I found a 3 bedroom Cabin just above the Sundance Resort via VRBO. So, right before Labor Day, my parents flew out to Houston, and we (me, my parents, Alexis, JJ and Samantha) embarked on the 1600 mile drive to Salt Lake City via our Honday Odyssey. In preparation for such a long drive, I did a lot of research on ways to occupy toddler's confined to car seats. The big winners were the aquadoodle travel sets and the thomas the train take-a-long sets. But mostly, having small "gifts" they could open every few hours that were new went a long way. And of course DVDs. The twins did really well on the drive out to Utah, probably more to do with my parents providing entertainment than any gadgets we brought along. The first day we drove from Houston to Albequreque (leaving at 8 am and getting to our hotel around 11 pm). The twins were exicted to sleep on a pull-out couch instead of their cribs--though my dad had to lay next to them until they fell asleep.
The next day, we drove the rest of the way to Salt Lake City, stopping for a few hours in Arches National Park. The twins loved the small hikes we took up to a few of the more accessible arches. Alexis and JJ would jump as high as they could to try to touch the top of the arch, and then say, "it's just too high" with a sigh. The stop at Arches was a diversion well worth it.
Once in Utah, we stayed at a cabin up at Sundance Resort for a little over 3 weeks. Mike joined us for the middle 10 days and our friend Colleen also made it up to stay for a weekend. We hiked, we walked, we relaxed on the deck, we made a fire (and tried roasting marshmallows), we "swam" in the big copper tub, we rode the Heber Creeper, we went to so many amazing Utah parks. It was an awesome trip. My parents were able to stay with us at the cabin the majority of the time, so we had a lot of help corralling the twins and keeping Samantha relatively happy. The cabin/house we rented had a playhouse... and actual separate house with two stories and a slide connecting the two. It was an awesome home away from home... up high enough in the mountains to feel secluded, but only 20 minutes away from Provo/Orem. While our friend Colleen was there, we had my sister RaShelle and mom babysit the twins and hiked Mt. Timpanogous. It was over 13 miles round trip and took us about 9-10 hours to finish--Samantha was a champ and slept the majority of the time while Mike and I took turns carrying her in the bjorn.
All in all it was an amazing trip that I was lucky enough to do while on Maternity leave for work. We got to see so many friends and family--many we hadn't seen since our wedding! Even though we've been back for over three weeks now, JJ and Alexis still ask to go back to Utah so they can go "hiking." We'll be back, but not until Christmas.
More about JJ/Alexis and Samantha later...
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