MN car trip 2012 part 4

I did get a few other pics at Clarks. Like the huge colony (?) of turkey vultures, of which I only got half:

And Ray stealing apples on the way out - he should have stolen more, they were AWESOME (thanks Brian and Tiff).


Then it was back in the car for the drive home, and some Americana.

MN car trip 2012 pt.. 3?

From Lessingers we went on to Clarks so that T had someone to socialize with.

Actually, we all had lots of fun at Clarks, but most of the pics I took inside can be summed up as "blurry three and five year old". So you'll get pics of our day out in Stillwater instead.

Travel

A few shots from our last trip to Minnesota. All off of the iphone, I am hoping Jen will post her pretty shots of the weekend....

(sense a certain theme? It's hard to be short. This is, of course, Clark's pool table. E and Nick had a lot of fun, which is not photodocumented, although I think there is video of hockey here somewhere.)

If you're having a group event with a decent number of kids, I recommend a hotel with a water park. E wasn't a fan of the train noises, but he did like the water park, as did Ray. (Thanks to Ken for these shots)
The real reason behind all of this.
One of the pics I want to see Jen's version of...
Why I need a better camera. This was adorable. E loves Miss Q and keeps asking for her and the twins.
Also, these two looked quite good. Emily was gorgeous, not nearly this blurry (darn iphone). But the happy comes through even here. It was a good weekend!

The Happiest Place on Earth

(no, not Disney)
But pretty darn close for some of us.
This picture kills me. He's getting so big. (That's Ray and E on the right side of the stairs.)

Not pictured: the moose Tiff bought E, which he still loves (it was on his "hug list" at bedtime tonight, actually) and I do too, since it lives in an apron from the baby shower along with some other stuffed animals and looks super cute. Yes, that needs a visual, but E is asleep and I can't sneak into his room. Maybe later. Thank you, Tiff.

Anyway, yes, I got to hit IKEA. And I didn't quite get everything I "needed", so Ray got sent back on a long layover. His father was kind enough to model for the "is this it?" text message....
Donut says yes, thank you, it is. And he and Marco love their new cat bed. We won't tell them what it used to be.

(Denver IKEA now has blue and yellow sides and a big sign. Getting closer!)

The Games Boys Play

Clarks have a son a couple of years older than Eamon, so visiting them makes for a fun time for E as well. I'll spare you the video of the running light saber battle, and I'm sad about how poorly the camera handled this, but - for your Friday pleasure: boys having fun.
Eamon can't resist a pool table. Baby nine ball came back and he talked about cue balls all weekend. Still does, actually.
He's also still "playing hockey" with random sticks (or forks) after this. As you can see, Brian is mid-construction in the background, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few pucks are a permanent part of the entertainment center now.



'Twas but a flesh wound!

To say the least, we all had a great time.

Go, Avs!

While we were in Minnesota, we got to join Clarks for a hockey game. Eamon's third night with a babysitter (and his second that week!), so we were a little anxious, but he was a trooper and we had fun!

Of course, as happens every time Ray and I see the Avs play the Wild, one of us has a little more fun than the other. Go Avs!
Thanks to Clarks for a fantastic idea and a fun night!

Anatomy of a Photo Post

My father regularly makes cracks about Eamon's exposure to camera flashes. The trip to Estes with Clarks (and the presence of more adults and more cameras) gave me a rare chance to see this from a few feet further back. So... if you wonder what goes into keeping you amused with cute baby photos, here's Nick doing Eamon's usual job....

...and the awesome result.
(I'm eyeballing Brian's camera... too bad the skill probably isn't included.)
Wouldn't you like to come visit and get your picture with mountain scenery like that? (Okay, Steamboat Baumgartners, shush.)

Adventure in Estes

The Clarks wanted to see the Stanley Hotel.
On the way up to Estes, Ray demonstrated his love for climbing about.
Which should make this less surprising.

A walk in the woods

Things have been busy lately. Good busy, in that we're getting to see some people we love. Work busy, too, but we'll skip that. The latest visitors were the Clarks: Brian, Tiffaney, and Nick. A couple of quick days, with some cards, a run up to Estes Park, and lots of hanging out. It was a really good weekend. And it is so much fun to watch Eamon and Nick. Eamon just watches Nick, so entertained, and Nick plays really well with Eamon.

Before everybody showed up, I was moaning to Ray that we have no pictures of the Clarks. Like many of our friends, when we're at their houses we're enjoying ourselves and relaxing and don't take out the camera enough. This time, I was on a mission to remedy the situation. Now I have too many to share!

The first night we took a walk along the creek path and over to the playground.

I think these pictures alone make up for the previous lack. Nick was playing with milkweed, trying to catch the seeds as they floated out. (Some of my favorites of Jen's pictures are of the backs of little boys - I was trying for that here.)

And, of course, the playground...

Trip Report, Part 2

I realized this trip gave both us and Eamon chances to find out new things. Eamon learned how to burp from the Lessinger twins (yay!), got pants, discovered the crib aquarium at Clarks...
...(note that he's talking to it)...

..and met lots of new people. We got to have dinner with Kristen and Dan, and Eamon found someone who not only wanted to hold him but was actually willing to change his diapers.
At the same time, Eamon brought a new theme to old things, particularly once we made it up to the Lessinger's.
Pretty much the same picture, just add a couple of infants. Hee. Bob and Ray managed to save some owls (or at least that's what we think they are) and Ray even used RockBand to keep the older siblings happy.
While we were with the Lessingers, Jen took some fantastic pictures of Eamon (link to come as soon as we get the announcements out!) And I got one that I love. Quinn likes to hold her brothers, and the twin in question here seems to be trying for freedom (and Jen is keeping it all contained), but I love her expression. So serious.
The trip home was interesting - it was nice and sunny in Iowa and we made it across Nebraska before entering a land of storm warnings and zero visibility. Somehow, it was warm in Minnesota, but we came back to 16" of snow!! Eamon's first real snowstorm (I don't count dustings... although this was too deep for him to try snow angels.)
All in all, a great trip, with much thanks to our hosts, the Clarks and the Lessingers. It was great to see everyone!!