We had an intimate get together on Sunday with close friends and family to celebrate Will’s 1st birthday – it was a lot of fun and he made out with some good swag. Unfortunately Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle Joe weren’t able to attend but they gave him some great toys to make up for it. =) We had a wonderful time and enjoyed some delicious red velvet cupcakes and then a wicked hurricane-like storm afterward. It was crazy!
Will had his one year check up yesterday and the doc said he has a huge head but his body should catch up to it in time. He also got some shots which was NO fun, but he loved trying to eat the bandaids. =0
Hanging out with MikeWhat a lookChilling out on the counterHenry was trying to steal Claudy's phone...The party gangWill's Smash cupcake
They had been refrigerated so they didn't smash that wellYummyHenry LOVES blowing out candles so he insisted he get some on his cupcake as well...We sang "You are my Sunshine" to him...He had no use for a fork...Digging in...He loved that thing...Little Gisele got some tasty frosting
Henry barely touched his cupcake yet Will scarfed his down...Soooo good...Time to open presents!Claudy got a really cool water sprinkler for himThe classic ring toy - perfect!
He got some ADORABLE clothes!
Livin' the dream...Will loved Gisele...Playing on Claudy
My little booger turned ONE today – can’t believe how fast the time has flown and how grown up he seems already. Oma is coming down from NM to help us celebrate over the weekend. I’m excited for him to smash his cake!
He was so excited he went in and woke Henry up...Henry tried to get away...And go back to sleep...But Will was having none of it...Wake up!! It's time to Paaaaaarrrrtaaay!!Henry eventually got him out of the bedroom and closed the door...so Will just rode away..
A couple Christmases ago, Holly bought us the New England Bouldering Guide, knowing that it would entice us to get our butts up there to go climbing. We obviously wanted to climb during this trip (even though we were both injured – boo) but didn’t know how we were going to get crash pads. I got a hold of one of the owners of the rock climbing gym in Burlington and she said that she would get some pads for us to rent. This was a couple months ago. Fast forward to our trip – I hadn’t heard from her since then so when we arrived in VT, I called asking about them and the guy on the line said that they didn’t rent any out. So…I guess there was a mix up of information and we figured we wouldn’t be getting any pads. I wasn’t about to give up, so Tom and I drove up the mountain to Smugglers Notch hoping we would find some other boulderers that could help us out. After about an hour of exploring, we ran into a couple of guys, Lex and Sam, who turned out to be our salvation. After introducing ourselves and explaining our situation, they told us to come out the next day and climb with them and we could use their pads. We were thrilled…and they turned out to be the nicest guys ever! We kind of adopted Lex as our brother and we ended up hanging out with him a lot during the trip. He’s a snowboard instructor in Stowe during the winter and bouldering has become his summer sport. He invited us to come back to VT early next year for some free private snowboarding lessons! How cool is that!? So we told him that he would have to come down to Tucson during the mud season next year so we could take him to Hueco. Needless to say, we got to do some bouldering up on the Notch and it was great. My ankle did pretty well and Tommy’s finger didn’t bug him too much. We were just happy we got to get outside and meet some really cool people.
The first problem we got on - Primate V3Lots of heel hooks...on my good ankle so it was ok. =)
Group pic - Lex, Henry, me and Sam - they loved the boys =)Family picLex took us long boarding one afternoon - there was a HUGE vacant parking lot at the bottom of the ski area that we skated around in. It was sooo much fun. Tommy and I had never done it but we did pretty wellTommy tearing it up down the parking lotOne of the coolest problems we got on - Skirt Roof V3Super funTommy's turnThe top out was a lot of funMantling to the topThe boys hanging out on a pad - I forgot to mention that the girl from the climbing gym emailed me after we met Lex and Sam and told me we could rent the pads! Ha ha...what a goat rodeo. So we ended up renting them for a couple days. It was nice to have so many.Working on super cool problem - Nemesis V5The whole thing is a heel hookThis problem was crazy hard - Growler V6Really hard crossThere was nothing to grab here!We had to say goodbye to Sam earlyIt was hotter than hell, so Lex took us to a local swimming hole and made us jump off the bridge! It was awesomeShowing me where to jumpMy turn...Woooooo!Tommy's turnHilarious - Lex being a total goofballWill loving the waterHenry getting to throw rocks - he loved it
Well, we made it back alive from our big trip to VT. Incredibly, the boys were absolute ANGELS on both flights to and from and we were amazed how many people commented on how they good they were!!?? Ha! That was definitely unexpected, but we were thrilled with it none the less. The trip was awesome and we were really sad to leave. The only bad part was that the heat seemed to follow us all the way up there! The highest temperature was only about 90 but the humidity made it almost unbearable. There were a few cool days, but the hot ones outnumbered them. We were able to get away from it by going up the mountain or visiting a swimming hole, but we didn’t really get to enjoy the beautiful weather of a VT summer as the state was going through an “unusual” heat wave. Go figure!! Oh well…hopefully the next time we get up there (which we’re hoping is sometime early next year) we’ll be able to experience a crazy winter! We’ll see…
Day after we arrived...Poor little Will was poopedHolly and Scott's new porchAmazing viewHanging outWill fell in love with Scott - he'll deny it, but I think Scott fell in love with Will too. =)Getting one of many hugs from himStretching his legsHenry doing the sameCutieMy sweet boyHenry helping out Auntie and watering her plantsBig cheeserHow cool is that doggy door? Hahaha!Enjoying the humidity on 4th of July in the town of StoweThere were some festivities in the town and one of them was this balloon dude - crazy but really nice...the kids were getting pissed from the heat and the parents were even worse! Ha!Henry chose a duck - look at those moms in the background...they're thinking "This guy better hurry the *&%$ up or someone's going to die!"Finally getting it!Super cuteChecking out a beautiful horse that was being shownHenry got to sit on him for a minuteIt didn't take long for the duck's demiseThey're both eating dominoes hereTried to get a quick canoe ride in before the fireworksIt was SO HOT...Henry wanted to jump in the waterNot very happy...Waiting for the fireworksHappy 4th of July!One of Henry's favorite things to do was to find dog poop and make me pick it up...don't ask me why. I just loved watching him find it, point and yell "THERE IT IS! YUCKY!"And there was always plenty to find. Ha haChillin' with Uncle ScottWill LOVED those chips =)Enjoying our vacationThe poopsters
On the 6th of July, we took a trip out to Rhode Island to suprise our Grandma (dad’s side) with a visit. Most of this side of my family live in RI and I haven’t seen them since I was 14 years old. I wanted everyone to meet the boys and catch up after such a long time. We showed up on Friday night and had dinner with our Aunt Elena and Uncle John and then the next day they hosted a BBQ to suprise our Grandma. When she came to the house, they ushered us into the family room and then they brought her in…it was awesome and she was super suprised. We were there for a couple hours and then went back to the hotel. Then later that night, our cousin and Aunt took us out to this event called “Waterfire.” It was really interesting. Then the following morning we went over to my Uncle Bill and Aunt Lauren’s house for brunch and got to see almost everyone. It was a great visit and I’m so glad our boys got to finally meet their Great Grandma.
This was our hotel room in Providence. It was a funky loft kind of hotel. Tommy hated it but I thought it was pleasantly different.Hanging out with Uncle JohnGetting love from Aunt ElenaWill snoring in his cribHenry got a little more sleep in our bedAfter our big supriseLoving on WillThis woman is amazing. She's almost 90 and is as sharp as a tack.Loving the attention
Aunt Cathy and Uncle BobbyWrestling around with Bobby - he was so good with the kids
Henry immediately made a dash for our cousin John's girlfriend, Gillian. She was so cute and sweet and he was twitterpatedGetting ready to eatHolly and I with our cousins Bobby and JohnSo sweet!
The famThe night of Waterfire, we passed through a 911 memorial tunnel - it was beautifulOne of my favorite tilesThis was a cool chair that was by the front desk in the hotel when we were checking outWe stopped by Grandma's house before we went over for brunchMessing around at Uncle Bill's houseCatching up over brunchAuntie E and WillThe rest of the familyQuick pic before we left to go back to VT
One dissapointing aspect of the trip was that a couple months ago I totally munted my ankle on a boulder problem out in Hueco. I was on crutches for a week and I could barely walk on it even after a couple weeks, so the Tough Mudder had to be rescheduled. We transfered our registrations to the February 2013 race in AZ, but were bummed that we couldn’t run in the toughest one of them all on Mt. Snow. It would have been a welcome relief from the heat!! We met a guy down in Burlington last Monday who had just run it the previous day and said it was amazing. So if we ever get the chance, we will definitely do it. =)
The rest of the trip was pretty low key – Holly took several days off to hang out with us and we did spend a lot of that time up on the mountain… but more on that later. We went kayaking, bike riding, sight seeing and played games where at the end we wanted to kill eachother. (Hearts anyone? Die.) The boys had a lot of fun playing out in the yard, messing around with the dogs and getting tons of attention from their Auntie. It felt like a short and long trip all in one.
Walking up the drivewayTalking on the phone with momHenry posing for the camera in his cute little adarondack chairHanging out with his favorite Auntie
Geez Scott...don't look so happyGiving my stinker a smoochGoing for a kayak rideIt was beautiful out that evening
This is the lake right by Scott and Holly's houseThis was an old Mill out in the middle of nowhere - it was kind of spookyThis is a sad picture - this rock looks like a petrified ship...it has the shape and everything. We later found out that there will be a bypass road going right over it to keep trucks out of the town. =(Getting some breakfast at the Dutch Pancake House before a bike ride - the pancakes there are to die forHolly treated us to a bike ride on the recreation path. She rented the bikes and trailer for us - it was a lot of fun and she only ran one guy off the path...hahaha!! You know I love you BTrying to give Holly a pose and not kill myself...this was the resultA little watering hole we stopped at...the cold water felt SO goodTrying not to slip and bust my buttHenry just stripped off his clothes and ran in the water!! It was pretty funnyWill wasn't sure what to think about itMe, Auntie and WillWill is going for the sand...to shove in his mouth
This boy loves the water just as much as his brotherGetting ready to go - and yes we brought the spoon ( I stole it from Grandma!) and yes it worked (for those of you who know...hahaha)Some of the scenery on our 5 mile trekI was afraid some children of the corn were going to jump us...One of the several bridges we rode over...they were coolAnother thing Henry loved doing - whenever he got the chance he would "water Auntie's plants..." but really be spraying water all over the place - don't you just love the socks with those sandals?? He was clearly in the care of his Auntie here...Infront of one of her huge sunflowersHolly and Scott let us have a date night and they watched the kids...this is what they were doing - making my baby a boozerNaughty boys!Don't worry - he didn't get any...someone would have been murderedGetting into the big stash
Where did it go!?Another morning of poop patrolChillin' in the house
Auntie watering her plants with WillGoofing around
They had a lot of fun togetherAuntie took us to an aquarium down in BurlingtonFor some reason there was a climbing section!?I'm sure you're wondering what the hell this is and why did I take a picture of it? Well, it's a catamount wood sculpture in the middle of Stowe that was for sale. I just want to say it's the ugliest damn thing I think I've ever seen in my life. If there is a person alive that would buy this, they need to have a mental examination.Seriously. Look at this thing.Look how happy that boy is! Awww. this was another night that Holly and Scott watched the boys for usLooking exhausted after watching movies with them all nightA major ragamuffin after playing in the yardHenry and his favorite Auntie
Thank you guys for such a wonderful trip – we miss you heaps already. Love you!
Well, the heat has set in and I’m sick of being here already. =) Looking SO forward to our trip next Monday!! Tommy busted his butt this weekend – our drip line in the front of the house exploded and caused a river down the road…right when the heat got in the 100+ range of course!! So he fixed that this weekend and had his little helper nearby. He also put up a misting system in the back – it’s REALLY nice. We’ve been taking advantage of it the last few evenings. It’s made the heat more bearable, that’s for sure. Not sure what next weekend will hold…but we’ve already decided on our new home improvement project. HEE HEE. Stay tuned.
Bright eyed and Bushy tailed!Running to DadEarning his keep =)It was miserable out there...But he didn't complainMessing with the cat
