Summer 2019! - Phase 3 of 3

Road Trip

Note: This post is being written almost a year later.  It was fun looking back on photos from last year while on the road this year.

This was our first road trip with the FULL crew.  We packed our CX-5 to the gills and maximized every inch!

Cherry Season!

First stop Lubbock, TX for a quick sleep.  Thanks to Kyle Henke for hosting us and getting us back on the road early the next morning.

Next stop, Albuquerque, NM to visit Lindsay and Travis and their awesome family.  We had an awesome time here and wish we could have spent a little more.

Our third stop was Denver to visit Matt and Crisnna and their new baby Madelyn, who is nearly the same age as Parker!

The Denver contingent of the Rutstein family!

Crisnna was so loving with the girls.

Dress up time doesn't have to stop just because you are on the road.

The other reason we made it to Denver was to compete at Master's Nationals.  My team Viejo exceeded expectations and finished 5th.  We had an awesome mix of veterans and new to the game old guys that just loved playing.

Cara reunited with some of her west coast friends to play with the Golden Poppies and won the title!

Celebrating with Chelsea.  Most of the weekend I had conflicting games and couldn't see Cara play much, but I did get to watch most of the finals with the girls.  After Denver we hit the road again north to South Dakota.

Teaching Sybil the important things in life, like how to properly clean a windshield.

Destination #4: Custer State Park

Parker's first camping trip?!  We don't have a tent big enough to fit the whole family.  So Sybil and Parent X sleeps in our two person tent, while Parker, Hudson, and Parent Y sleep in our 4 person tent.

We had a beautiful site reserved with plenty of space away from our closest neighbor so we didn't feel bad if/when the girls cried out while trying to get to sleep.

Custer State Park is known for their bison herds and they didn't disappoint.

Also a few beautiful lakes

Parker adapted to camping pretty quickly.

Destination #5: Minnesota/Wisconsin to visit Fran and Leslie and Caleb and Holly, and of course for the third annual SNIT!

Sybil and Noah showing us all how to properly enjoy the SNIT weekend.

Post SNIT we hung out at Leslie and Fran's for a week to enjoy the Minneapolis summer.  This is us enjoying breakfast at our favorite restaurant in town, Birchwood Cafe.

Dress up continues at the Children's Museum.

Parker turned 10 months old on Aug. 1st.

and we celebrated Cara's birthday just a couple of days before with Fran and Leslie.

Parker had a special gift for Cara!

Hud and best friend Patsy at the Mississippi River

Final Destination: Pocahontas, AR to visit Granny Bea and Aunt Faye.

Parker continuing the tradition of riding cars around the living room.

Sybil was really loving and sweet with both Aunt Faye and Granny Bea and loved to help them take their pills.

Visiting Granny Bea and Aunt Faye was a great way to finish a fantastic trip.  We just had a few days before school started when we got back which was one reason these final two posts took us so long.  It was a bit of a hectic start to the school year, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  Looking back at these photos a year removed reminds me of how fortunate we are to have so many loving friends and family members in our lives.  Thanks and love to all of you.

Summer 2019! - Phase 2 of 3

Austin Adventures

Note: This post is being written almost a year later.  It was fun looking back on photos from last year while on the road this year.

Our time in Austin was full of hikes and hanging at home and with friends, while Cara and I both trained a bit for Ultimate (Cara - Torch and Golden Poppies, and me for Viejo).

Turkey Creek crossing, my favorite spot to take Hud for some off leash time, and an awesome spot for the girls to splash around.

Roy G., another favorite spot for off leash and river splashing.

Back at Turkey Creek

Cara took Sybil to the fairy garden at Zilker Park.

We spent some time at the YMCA swimming.  Syb met up with a friend from school, Lucas, a few times to hang out.

Hanging around the house.  Parker never shied away from Hudson, and Hud has mostly been a good sport when she pokes and sits on him.

A lot of dress up time!

Plenty of time just goofing around.

And plenty of time to hang with friends.  We spent 4th of July at Kiran and Sarah's.  Sybil stayed up late with Cara to watch the fireworks.

We are always on the go during summer, it was a a nice change of pace to spend time with friends, slow down a bit with each other, and take the time to enjoy the places we love around town.  

We were ready to escape the heat and seek some adventure outside of Austin, our road trip was next!

Summer 2019! - Phase 1 of 3

This summer unfolded in three phases.

Phase 1: The Big City and The Ozarks
Phase 2: Austin Adventures
Phase 3: Road Trip

The Big City and The Ozarks

Our summer kicked off just after school ended with a flight to New York City (Parker's first!) to visit Eileen and Hatton and for Cara to play for the Torch in a game against Gridlock.  PUL!  It was great hanging out with Hatton and Eileen and their two awesome kids, Max and Joseph.  The Torch lost a close game, but once again it was awesome being able to watch Cara play in front of a pretty good sized crowd (@ Columbia University's stadium) with the girls.  Huge thanks to Eileen and the Hatton boys for hosting us and loving us.  We love you.

Parker and Eileen, just one of a thousand smiles from the weekend

The Big City!

Family Photo from Sinatra Park in New Jersey

After returning from NYC, we had a couple days in Austin for laundry and repacking for our next adventure to join the Crouches in the Ozarks for a fishing cabin weekend where the White and Buffalo Rivers meet.  Cara and the girls drove up with Opah and NanaCC, while I drove up separately to Oklahoma City to play Regionals with Viejo, a Master's Ultimate frisbee team before meeting them on the river for 4 days of relaxing and family time.  It was beautiful up there, we'll be back!

We stayed with a Brown cousin, Dennis and Doris, on the way up in their beautiful house/ranch in Springdale, AR.  They had two horses that enamored Sybil and Parker.

Syb takes after her Mama and loves a good tree climb.  This one in Dennis's yard was the perfect height.

These are the cliffs along the White River just on the other side from our cabin.

Cara's first fish caught from the banks on our first day.  Bigger ones to come!

On the second day: Cara, NanaCC, and Uncle Hoyt rented a White River John boat to take out in the hopes of catching some rainbow or brown trout.

They did not disappoint and everyone came home having caught their maximum of rainbow trout for the day.  

Uncle Hoyt!

The next day, I was able to sneak away in the morning and go for a MTB ride in the Syllamo National Forest nearby.  I rode a 12 mile trail that wound through the mountains that took just under 2 hours.  It seemed like I had the whole forest to myself!  Solitude comes with a price, and after the ride I pulled off around 15 ticks from my legs and found one later when I was swimming back at the river that had latched on to my butt.  I hope to be back soon to the Ozarks for a future bikepacking trip.

Lounging on the side of the river

Playing with new friends!

It was great spending time with Cara's family.  Uncle Hoyt is so awesome with the girls, and we are so thankful to have them in our lives.  Thanks for the great week!