Trip Cancelled. :( March 27, 2009

Ethan, my mom, and me were supposed to fly out to Denver Colorado to visit my sister and her family this afternoon but unfortunately they were having severe winter weather there today. You can click here for the news reports. We made the decision to forgo the trip for safety reasons for ourselves and my sister having to drive down and pick us up and take us back up the mountain.

I’m bummed about it but at the same time traveling with a little one is stressful and add long airport delays and snow and winter conditions on top of that and it would of been a miserable start to a vacation. Plus I would have been a nervous wreck on the entire flight knowing what we would have been flying into. I felt bad because my niece Svea was especially looking forward to us coming and had told her first grade class so much about it that they had wrote stories about us coming. She even got out of school early today to come with her mom to pick us up and was terribly upset when she found out we were not coming. Luckily though we scheduled a new flight in late April to come out and visit so the weather should be better then. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that they don’t have another crazy weather day. It just amazes me that at the end of March they are having a bunch of snow and wind and white out conditions but I guess that is what you get when you live in the mountain regions.

A plus to this is that Ethan and I get to greet Jeff when he comes home from his business trip tomorrow and the weather is decent here in Seattle. Ethan and I will have a mom and son day on Saturday while Jeff hangs out with friends as well.

Leaving on a jet plane… March 21, 2009

Packing for a trip can be a hassle but once you have kids it’s an even bigger hassle. I am tasked with this for the next couple days since Ethan and I (and also Grandma) are heading to Winter Park, Colorado later this week. This will be the first trip for just Ethan and I with dad staying at home so I am sure that it will be an adventure.

Before our trip I scoured the Internet with suggestions on what to take on the plane since our previous plane ride with Ethan was a little hectic on the way home from Mexico. We were indeed one of “those” families on the last trip but I guess that is what you get when you leave in the late afternoon on a 6 hour + flight with a kid that did not have a nap.  So yesterday I visited Target and went straight to the $1 toy section and stocked up on stickers, activity books, and non-noise toys. I also got  a great suggestion to use a pill box with separate day compartments and fill each of those with a snack. Luckily this is only a two hour flight so it should be easy squeazy. I’ll be sure to post pictures of our adventure once we return. Wish us luck.

Sun Valley, ID Trip March 15, 2009

Last weekend Jeff, Ethan, and I headed over to Sun Valley, Idaho for a five day vacation. Luckily my parents had a place to stay for us so we made the long trek over the mountain passes which equalled a eleven hour car ride. Our friends Jeff and Courtney also came along as well.

The weather was mostly sunny while we were there with temperatures in the twenty’s and teens. It didn’t feel to cold though since it is a pretty dry climate there. We went cross-country skiing a couple of times and Bindi just loved being out on the trail. We couldn’t really tell if Ethan enjoyed it since it was close to nap time and he just looked tired. He did enjoy running around the Sun Valley lodge and watching the people ice skate however. We also got to go out to dinner while Grandma and Grandpa babysat Ethan to the Ketchum Grill. What a fantastic dinner that was and we all left feeling really full. We also got to hang out in the condo hot tub and watch the snow cats grooming the mountain in the evening which was a treat. We also had a chance to visit the YMCA that they just built in Warm Springs as well and boy was that nice. It had the nicest pool I had seen for little kids to swim in. Ethan could walk into the water into a fountain and play with pulleys and spray guns. It also had a sort of river run that you could float along in as well as a water slide. Probably one of the nicest YMCA’s that I have ever been in.

On the way home we ran into snow on two of the mountains but luckily the roads were not that bad. Going over the Blue Mountain pass was a little treacherous but we managed it or I should say Jeff managed it. Plus we got to stop at Cracker Barrel in Boise for breakfast and we always love that. The Easter bunny even picked up a few things for Ethan’s Easter basket.

All in all it was a great trip and Ethan was a total trooper for both car rides. He spent most of the time singing and taking on and off his shoes. Hopefully soon we will head there one day in the summer to take advantage of all of the summer activities that Sun Valley has to offer. 

*My apologies about the limited amount of pictures. Unfortunately I left my other camera over there and won’t be getting it back for a few weeks.