We are back from our semi-annual trip to Austin and once again we had too much fun. Every time we go I struggle with our decision to leave the city that we love. Ultimately it comes back to one simple fact - we need to win the lottery so we can have a house in both places!
Eliza is completely infatuated with Izzy and it really is a treat staying with them. Eliza still isn't really talking, but she does say "Sssssssss" for Izzy and when we are at the house it pretty much sounds like there's a constant air-leak somewhere because Eliza just follows Izzy around "Sssssss"ing like crazy. Anyway, here are some of my favorite shots from the trip :-)
p.s. I am going to have a two-year-old in 15 days!! WHAT???
Right after we arrived - Eliza didn't want Izzy to put her down
I think this was the highlight of the trip for Eliza - a train ride up in Cedar Park
Chandra risking the wrath of the conductor just to get out of the danged picture
Eliza's love of Izzy doesn't necessarily extend to all Basharas.... :-p
I just sent Eliza packing up to Grandma's house for the night, so I have some time to sit down and get caught up.
We just got home last weekend from a trip to Florida. Jeremy had to go to Jacksonville for work and has been wanting to get Eliza out there to meet his grandma and brother, so once again we tagged along for the ride. Sadly, in a month Eliza will be two and will no longer fly free, so this was probably her last flight for awhile.
Eliza loved the airplanes and did a fantastic job, especially considering out travel days. On the way out there, there was a blizzard in Denver and we had to fly through it. Frontier cancelled all flights, but luckily we were on United who just delayed everything. It was an incredibly long day consisting mostly of waiting around airports and sitting on planes and we arrived in Orlando with a 1 hour drive ahead of us, putting us into our hotel at 4am. Eliza was so pumped about being on an airplane that it made it all a lot easier. Her enthusiasm is contagious.
Since we were going to be in the area anyway and we all know how Jeremy feels about Legos, we decided to go out a day early and hit Legoland, which opened in Orlando a couple of years ago. It's basically like Disneyland but Lego-themed instead. Eliza was about half an inch too short for almost all of the rides and they were total sticklers so that was a bummer, but she loved the few that she could ride and got a kick out of the Lego sculptures everywhere. February is definitely the time of year to go. There were no lines at all so we could ride the carousel over and over again with no wait. Of course everything couldn't be perfect, so the weather got us by creeping the temps up over 90. It was a good reminder of why we moved out of Texas though :-p
After Legoland, we drove to Jacksonville where Jeremy worked for two days. We then headed back to the Orlando area where we stayed with Jeremy's grandma, brother and mom for a couple of days. Mostly we just visited and let Eliza get acquainted with that side of the family, it was very relaxing. Now we're home for two whole weeks, and then head off again for Austin. After a week there I think Eliza and I will be settling down here for awhile, with no trips planned in the immediate future. Jeremy is still traveling 50-75% of the time.
Eliza is doing great, growing like crazy. The girl wakes up, immediately asks for food and it feels like she just eats her way through the day. It's amazing how much food she can put down! She has a mind of her own and is very good at letting everyone around her know exactly what she wants and when she wants it. Her favorite things right now are her baby doll, dinosaurs, trucks, Grandma's chickens and her Legos. She is also starting to get into helping me out in the kitchen, which is alternately fun and grueling. We started swimming lessons again this week and will do those once a week, which she's really excited about. And now....pictures!
Just a comparison shot of E 9 months ago vs. now. She has stretched out!
Helping out in the kitchen
This cracked me up when I came to wake her up the other day
Finally fell asleep at the airport
Airplane AND tv?? Awesome!
Look at that! NO lines!
I had to, sorry
Jacksonville Beach
Running is her new thing. I love how her arms flap around!
Our last day in Albuquerque, Eliza and I hit up two more museums - the Children's Museum and the Rattlesnake Museum. I know - rattlesnakes - yuck!! But Eliza loves 'em and my only memory from visiting Albuquerque as a kid is of my dad scaring the crap out of me there so I sucked it up.
The Children's Museum was amazing and made me wish we lived in a city that had one. It's nice to go somewhere where around every corner is something that makes Eliza light up. Of course as soon as any younger kids would approach whatever station she was at, Eliza would freak out and we'd have to move on, but there was a high school field trip going on and she loved having the bigger kids to play with.
The Rattlesnake Museum was much smaller and dingier than I remembered but it definitely delivered the promised hundreds of nasty nasty snakes. One rattled at me when I leaned in to look and I swear my heart practically exploded. Every logical thought of a thick pane of glass between us flew out the window. Eliza enjoyed it though and we followed it up with a walk around Old Town.
Rattly little bastard
On our way out of town, we all stopped at the Hot Air Balloon Museum where I would have loved to linger, but there wasn't much to entertain little miss so we moved along. I would love to go to their Hot Air Balloon Festival someday though - the pictures looked amazing.
We drove to Santa Fe and stayed one night and one day before heading home. I forget how much I love that city until I get there and then I don't want to leave! I was bummed to only have one day, but we made the most of it, hitting our favorite restaurants and shops and (of course), swinging by Trader Joe's on the way out for a last grab at some TJ staples.
Walking around Old Town Santa Fe, we came across these amazing fish that Eliza fell in love with. We could have stayed for hours!
Jeremy was home for a week before three weeks in a row of travel kicked in. Blech. Looks like Eliza and I will be accompanying him to Florida at the end of the month so Eliza can meet more of Jeremy's family...I may even see LegoLand in our future!
Jeremy had to drive to New Mexico to hit a couple of clients this week, and since we all know how the Grolnars feel about New Mexican food, we decided Eliza and I would tag along and make it a bit of a vacation.
Cheetos make everything easier!
Sunday afternoon, we drove to Farmington, a larger-than-expected city just outside of Colorado. The drive was amazingly beautiful, with gorgeous cloud-filled skies and mountainous landscapes. I know we drove this way several times growing up, but it had been so long that I forgot how incredibly gorgeous southern Colorado is. The drive over Wolf Creek Pass was pretty terrifying and I made FULL use of the oh shit bar. We were both thanking our lucky stars that we decided to take the Subaru instead of the hybrid. Other than that the drive was fine, it took about 7 hours and Eliza decided to cut her normal 2-3 hour nap down to 45 minutes so she could take in the scenery scream like a crazy fool. Lol, no in all reality she did very well. Her new obsession with the movie "Up" helped, as Jeremy loaded it on the iPad. That, combined with a stash of special road-trip foods including Cheetos and Skittles made the whole thing bearable.
Our first night in Farmington was pretty miserable. We were in a tiny hotel room and Eliza does NOT like to sleep when she can see us. After two hours of screaming, both in her crib and in our bed, we finally hid out in the bathroom and voila! ten minutes later she was out like a light. Oy.
Jeremy only had a half-day in Farmington so we made the 3 hour drive to Albuquerque Monday afternoon. Eliza slept almost the whole way, I'm sure she was tuckered out from the night before. Luckily our room here is a suite and has a kitchen where we stuck the crib so Eliza can't see us. Like a charm, she has slept beautifully here (knock on wood.)
Jeremy took Tuesday off, so of course the temperatures were frigid with crazy high wind speeds. We spent the day hiding from the outside, hitting the Albuquerque Aquarium and making our first of I'm sure maaaany trips to Trader Joe's. And, of course, we dined like kings, hitting two of the top-rated New Mexican restaurants in the area. Sadie's took the gold, hands down. Any restaurant that has decided to replace the standard beans'n rice side with beans and diced fried potatoes gets my loyalty no questions asked!
Check out the size of that monster!
Today, Eliza and I spent the morning at the Museum of Natural History, which had the best dinosaur exhibit I think I've ever seen. Dinosaurs are towards the top of E's favorite things list right now so she LOVED it. I let her take the lead and we went through the very large exhibit four times, spending 2 1/2 hours with her running around growling at every dinosaur she saw. It was definitely worth the $7 entry fee (so cheap!) Now I'm back at the hotel room catching up while Eliza naps growls like a dinosaur and laughs maniacally in the kitchen.
In awe of this room
A few more days here, and then Friday we will head to Santa Fe for one day and night before heading home!
Hello friends and family! My name is Janet. You might remember me from forever-and-a-day ago when I used to actually post on a semi-regular basis. I can't believe I've let almost three months go by with nothing. Sheesh!
I find that the longer I wait to update this blog, the harder it is for me to make myself do it. If I would have stayed on top of it, I could jot out a quick couple of lines to let everyone know how we are doing, along with a few pictures and be done in ten minutes. Since my last post, however, we've been to Austin, San Francisco, had Thanksgiving and Christmas and the thought of catching up on all of that has made me avoid this webpage like the plague. I know that's not fair though, a lot of friends and family from afar have complained, I know this is the only way that some get to "keep in touch" with us.
Sooooo I'll make you a deal . . . I'm gonna go ahead and make a resolution - something I never do - to update twice a month. But here's the catch - there's no way I'm sifting through November, December and January pictures and boring you with what we've been up to....so here's a few of my faves from the past several weeks. I promise to do better :-)
SNOW!!!
Causing trouble with cousin Ashlynn
Yeah, I'm a jerk. I did it knowing full well what was going to happen. HA!
Playing dress-up
This is why you don't leave kleenex anywhere near the crib
Bundled up at Grandma's - time to feed the chickens!
Christmas cuddles with favorite cousin Iz
Big girl haircut! I can't believe what a good job she did this time :)
