Summer Fun: Outdoor Movie

When we found out the 'movie in the park' series was playing The Lorax, we knew we had to take Owen no matter how late it was. The rain cleared just in time for the screen to be set up and we ate lots of snacks and enjoyed Owens most favorite movie.

He was absolutely blown away that he could watch this special movie in the park. It was adorable.

Our First Camping Trip!

One of the things on our bucket list for this research time was to go on a family camping trip. Jeremy did a lot of camping/backpacking in college but I have never been camping. I think because we were so inexperienced we didn't know how ridiculous it sounded to say we were going on our first camping trip with a 3 -year-old and a 11-month-old -- but the looks people gave us were quite telling. We borrowed some gear, bought sleeping bags, packed a cooler and were on our way.

We met up with Doda Kelly and her boys at Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland. It was a great half-way point for our rendezvous and  the park was so nice. Tons of activities for kids at the nature center and everything was well-maintained. It was "car camping" (similar to KOA) where you had a designated slot (flat land for tent, fire pit and hang-line) you could drive your car up to.There were nice bathrooms not a far walk from our site with hot water and showers. I know, not exactly roughing it but with kids it was the perfect first camping scenario.

My one hesitation about camping was the I am TERRIFIED of snakes. TERRIFIED. Kelly assured me that she has been camping (both with and without) the kids dozens of times and has never seen a snack. Andy (her military husband) assured me that he has slept in fields with nothing but  a pack and NEVER seen a snake. Jeremy backpacked in the wilderness of NC for two weeks, never saw a snake. So with all of this wonderful resassurance I agreed to not freak out about snakes.

Until we pulled up to our camp site and there were two rangers panning both campsites with a long mental pole with a hook on the end of it while a little kid from the next site over yelled - "There's a rattlesnake on your campsite! I saw it right there! There's a RATTLESNAKE!!"

OF COURSE THERE IS.

The snake couldn't be found but the rangers kindly left the snake hook (wow, thanks!) We set up tents as I freaked out. We told the boys (3, 3, and 5) to stay on the paths and not wander into the brush. We kept a really close eye on on them. And in the middle of the night every time I had to pee I made Jeremy wake up and walk to the bathrooms with me (well once I just peed outside the tent while freaking out about the snakes and peed on my foot).

But there were no snake sightings. We had an awesome weekend with Shabbat dinner on Friday night. Some rain forced us to an indoor bounce house place with the kids on Saturday afternoon but we still had lots of meals, roasted marshmallows/hot dogs and slept in tents. We went fishing in the (overfished) lake with night crawlers and challah as bait. We spent a good chunk of time there but the fish didn't bite. Owen didn't seem to care and still declared "Fishing with Doda Kelly" and marshmallows to be the best part of his trip. The boys had such a blast playing with each other, it was so fun to watch. Poor Gil, because he doesn't walk yet he was strapped to me for much of the trip. This was by far the hardest part. We finally gave in and moved his travel crib over by the fire so he could get down.

Overall it was a wonderful (exhausting) trip that made a huge impression on Owen.

As we drove away Jeremy said, "I'm really glad that snake wasn't around. None of our kids would have survived a Rattlesnake bite."

WHAT?!

See all of the pictures from our trip by clicking here!

Out to dinner

Tonight we went out to dinner at one of our favorite burger places. The weather was perfect so we were able to sit out on the patio and enjoy the evening.

All of us except this guy.

Because he decided to be THREE instead. #threenager

New York Trip

With Jeremy on his research block we had the flexibility to take a long weekend trip to NYC to visit the newest addition to our family, Finnick Maxwell! We all had so much fun. Here are the highlights.

Gillen was able to spend time with BOTH of his godparents!

Owen was thrilled to "swim" with his floaties on.

Spicy Indian food was bravely consumed by all.

Finn did lots of napping in lots of adorable (photo-worthy) positions.

I introduced Jeremy to the best pizza in the history of the universe to which he replied after eating, "Holy crap! I thought this would be like --- kinda good. This is the best pizza I've ever had."

YUP.

Downside? Owen threw an overtired tantrum one night and was thrashing around so bad in the travel crib that he gave himself a black eye-- that none of us noticed until morning.  First black eye? Check. 

(You can view all of the photos from our trip here)

Three months together.

Tonight marks the end of my 28-days-without-a-break parenting streak and the start of Jeremy's research block. It feels like we have waited forever for this day to come. Residency has been exhausting and harder than we imagined it would be, on all of us. We've tried to make the best of Jeremy's four days off per month and his vacation time.

But the fact of the matter is - four days off per month is not enough. It's never enough even if the days are filled with laughter and love and togetherness. Especially when those days are filled with laughter and love and togetherness. Weeks go by and sometimes Owen stops asking if Daddy will be home for dinner or bedtime. When he stops asking, my heart sinks.

Jeremy was supposed to have an 8-month research block starting today. A month or so ago there were changes within the program which threatened that time. Time we had spent three years waiting for. After things were sorted out it was determined he would get three months now (July/August/September) and three months later (April/May/June). Six months instead of eight, broken up. To say we were upset is an understatement but six months broken up is better than nothing.

For the next three months Jeremy will be doing research in a lab on his own time. No set hours, no requirements. No call. No hospital shifts. No assholes to deal with.

We need this time to reconnect. Jeremy needs this time with the kids and I need a break from having everything resting on my shoulders. We have grand plans of travel, pool, family, camping, festivals, concerts. Togetherness.

Three months of us as a family of four.

 Words cannot describe how excited our little family is for these next three months. Shabbat Shalom!