new mexico.

so finn & I left ohio for new mexico. one of my college roomates, lauren, was getting married. so, we bought tickets & called our other good friends sarah-anne & stan to make sure they were going to be in town. they were nice enough to offer their apt to us & their CAR so we could drive up into the mountains for the wedding! it was beautiful. unfortunately we missed the wedding, but had a wonderful time at the reception. i made a few wrong turns because i didn't understand the directions very well. damn, damn, damn.

here's finn on the plane. remember these crayons- or well, i have mentioned them yet? finn loves them. my friend kelly- gave them to finn at her wedding earlier this summer. he can sit there & rearrange them for hours- which makes this mama very happy on a plane. doesn't he look like a big kid in his own seat!?

so we land, sarah-anne & the boys pick us up in albuquerque :0 thanks babe! we drive back to santa fe, play for a little bit & then i shower & get ready. we start on the drive which should be about 1.5 hours. i took the scenic route & arrived a few minutes before 4 thinking i was right on time! but, alas- the wedding was at 3. i've done this one other time for our friend kace's birthday party. i'm blaming it on pregnancy brain- what i'm not allowed to do that since i'm not pregnant anymore? well that's just not fair.

the reception site was amazing. rourke works here. lucky guy- in more ways than just that!
there were plenty of children there for finn to play with. this sweet lil girl caught his attention.
told you!!!!
isn't this beautiful!!! my girl lauren's got some taste!
the guy at the drink counter took a liking to finn. or maybe he just had pity for me since finn didn't stop moving for like 2 seconds. i'm eating & he's playing with him :)
this is valles caldera national preserve. you're driving up winding roads in the mountains & then all of a sudden the road curves & it's this. just. pure. beauty. for miles & miles.
finn playing in the field.
he was a total ham the whole evening.

during the very last ceremony of their wedding. washing each other's hands. it was so beautiful & emotional. they were married by a medicine man. it sounded very cool!
lauren & i. & finn asleep in the sling!
what a beautiful celebration lauren!!!!! congratulations, i'm so happy for you & rourke & lil babe on the way!

& then we made our way back that night because a big storm was supposed to be coming in & i didn't want to be driving on those crazy roads in pitch black. the storm really hit once we got back into santa fe- i don't know that i've ever seen rain like that before. it was amazing- intense lightening, crazy loud thunder & the heaviest rain drops. i wished bryan had been there with us, because he would have been in heaven. finn slept through all of it.

the next morning we went for a little bike ride/walk.

sebastien loves his bike!
some of the time, then he wants to balance beam :) i love this photo.
& jump in puddles.
& then he started to realize that that meant he was dirty- so we jumped in one together so he'd know it was okay to be dirty.
finn trying out the skuut.
mama & sebastien.
this mama & finn. in a shirt that i made!!!!!! how cool is that. loving my sewing machine!
so. i had no idea that finn was watching sebastien & i earlier... he took that message a little too literal, but he had a blast!

dare me?!
baby steppin it.

precious lil baby foot prints.
oh yeah.
meanwhile- those three were staying clean in the field.

splash splash splash!

what mom?
check it out. dirt!
simon & sarah-anne.
going hiking.
finn being coy.
finn didn't sleep either nights. i don't know if it was the altitude or too bright or what- but he nursed through both nights. the second night- he dozed off & on- so that was something. then he'd sleep in in the morning- lil turd.
this looks way more violent than it was, but simon & finn loved this stool.
dad & sebastien saying goodbye as we head to the airport to leave!
this was a hard car ride- both boys screamed the whole way- occasionally a toy would distract them for about 5 minutes.
sarah-anne dropping us off! thanks guys. you all are awesome & we miss you already!!!
p.s. while i was there we did a portrait session, since the last time we did one sebastien was only a week old! here's the link to that!

ohio

the paris' didn't do their traditional trip down to destin florida this year. so bryan's immediate family decided we still needed to get away. we rented cabins in hocking hills, ohio -a very beautiful state park. we hiked, made some awesome meals, kayaked, swam in lakes & pools, fed hummingbirds & played with the kids.

there was no phone coverage & no wireless. kinda like my favorite place in the world, silver bay. although melissa & i did escape into "town" one afternoon to send a few emails.

it was very relaxing & fun. it was the most time the kids have gotten to spend together so far, which was really nice. it's really funny to see how different they are. finn is wild compared to them. probably compared to almost anyone really. he's so active, loud & funny. gabe & evelyn are more calm, quiet & inquisitive. by the end of the week they were sortof playing together!

we arrived a little later than hoped on sunday evening. they were just finishing dinner.

the next morning we got up & hiked our first hike together.

here's our evie.

dancing in the falls.

freezing in the falls.

the paris'. (all but our two dogs.)

sweet almost walking gabe.

:)


finn's like "comeon' it's velcro. want me to show you how to do it?" tehee.
these two LOVE reading. finn went through a week not having the attention span & now he's back to that's all he wants to do.
crazy morning hair.


grandpa ron & evelyn in a cave.


jody & gabe.

lost.

i love our picture like this- so i forced them to take one too.
finn loved feeling the breeze... our windows have been sealed shut for months!



how cool is this tree's trunks?

melissa. i loved this tree.

melissa & finn on the cool bridge.
finn & daddy wanted to race & we gave finn a little head start.
so thirsty!
the nature preserve was my favorite. we didn't get to go very far because we had finn in the stroller but it was beautiful. & peaceful. it started raining while we were in there but the trees protected us so we could only hear it.
two out of three conked out. bryan was too excited to focus but that's me feeding a HUMMINGBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it was the coolest, coolest, coolest feeling. ron got to as well. the state parks nature center has been feeding them for a few years- from 1-3 people come every day & sit there with this little tube of sugar water. if you're patient enough they'll come feed from it. i was on a high the rest of the day!

ron being patient... they're buzzing around him.
you can barely see his bird, but he's there... feeding. they're tongue flickers 3 to 4 times a second- it was so neat to see for real up close.
this, in all honestly, is why bryan probably didn't have a willing hummingbird.
so they watched turtles instead.

after feeding the hummingbirds we met up with everyone at the lake. we all regretted leaving this for the last day- if felt so nice, even the fish nipping on ya. come to think of it only ron & i felt the fish nipping. we're also the only ones cool enough to have fed a hummingbird. ron- we're just one with nature.
gabe is obsessed with grandpa ron. he prefers him to almost anyone- it's pretty cute.
my sweet, rambunctious boy.
we left pretty early on friday afternoon. bryan had a 4pm flight to catch out of dayton. he was heading to boulder, colorado for colorado cup- an ultimate tournament. finn & i went last year, but this year we were heading to santa fe, new mexico for my friend lauren's wedding & to visit with stan & sarah-anne & their two boys. bryan had a great time & sprawl won their bracket in the tournament!!! congrats guys! sorry we missed that :)

we stayed the night at neil & jody's because our flight wasn't until 6am. neil loves me for that one. here's eve & finn playing in their pool. they were doing great together until melissa yelled in for me- "finn pooped in the pool" -gross.


great week. a little warm, but lots of fun spending so much, uninterrupted time with family.