road trip: the dogs

This is the last post of our little road trip adventure, but I couldn't talk about the trip without mentioning Kyalo's newfound love for dogs.  Each of our hosts had a dog, and Kyalo truly enjoyed them.  Being a cat person myself, I'm a little dismayed to think that there may be a dog somewhere in our future...but not until Kyalo's old enough to feed it and take it for (long) walks.

First up was Tim & Ellen's black lab Ananda.  She seems bigger than he is, so I was worried he'd be really freaked out...at first he was a little timid to get too close, but she always made him giggle.  By the time we returned on the following Friday, he was totally comfortable with her, and even took her for a walk with Ellen.

perhaps the future is now?

Then we had Rico who is a Toy Poodle (I think?)  a small dog belonging to Jimmy and Angela.  Rico was actually a little jealous of all the attention Kyalo was getting and behaving just like a toddler, himself.  Hilarious.  Kyalo learned to give him treats and to shake his paw.

And lastly, there was Moose, Matt and Erica's bulldog.  I was very worried how he would feel about Moose, but he was totally enamored.  He loved getting close, petting Moose and even giving him kisses.

a boy and 'his' dog

love

Kyalo calls Moose, "Ah Boose" and for several days the ONLY thing he would say would be, "Mom? Mom? Ah Boose?"  I mean...in the middle of the night, as he fell asleep, first thing when waking up, and all the time between.  Serious affection.  Thankfully, that's tapered off a bit now, but still, we'll hear about "Ah Boose" or "Ah Nana" from time to time.  I think 'Rico' was just too hard for him to say.

So, what kind of dog would you recommend we get this boy, when (IF) the time is right? 

road trip: Baltimore

Seriously, the road trip just never ends, huh?  We're coming to the end of the road trip recap, then can move on to things like Easter, and someone's birthday in the middle of the week (perhaps I should plan something?).

So after another night back in Virginia with Jimmy, Angela, and Moriah, we headed up to Baltimore to see Tim and Ellen.  We stayed at their lovely home. Their backyard would be like a dream come true for Kyalo - rocks, sticks, dirt, etc - but it was too cold to really spend any time out there.  Next time!

When we go to their house, we pretty much headed right back out to a local dairy for some really yummy ice cream. I'm a big fan of supporting local establishments, especially ones that don't use hormones in their cows, and who produce something as yummy as ice cream.  I look forward to getting down there again when it is warmer and we can grab a blanket and sit out in their fields.

Dessert taken care of, we headed home for dinner. . .steaks on the grill!  To say we were well fed on this trip would be a major understatement! To have steaks two nights in a row was excessive and wonderful.  While we were eating dinner, Tim was telling us about the "small spread" he would put together for us for breakfast:

- bacon, pancakes, Belgian waffles, eggs Benedict, fruit, fresh squeezed juice

Um. Yeah.  It was awesome.

Not so awesome was working out to the smell of bacon cooking Saturday morning (but hey, at least I did my workout - all week!).

 Tim, the Master Chef

 Tim, looking through his mother's recipes

he has the original binder, which is so awesome; I have photocopies of some of her better known recipes

and I have her Kitchen Aid 

 Ellen, making Hollandaise sauce

asparagus, ham, avocado = perfection

Aaron, Rachel (my cousin) Ellen

"The Tims" as we call them:

Rachel, Aaron, Tim, Elisabeth, Ellen

What amazed me was how effortlessly they through this all together, and then when the meal was over, it seemed like I turned around to do something with Kyalo and turned back it was all cleaned up.  I guess they're like a well oiled machine!  We're only four hours away, so I've told them to let us know by 6 if breakfast is going on the table, and we'll be there by 10.

After breakfast there was also a ginger-infused smoothie to help wash things down, and then, because I was talking about how much I love popcorn, (and even make it to take on long road trips) Tim whipped out the Whirly Pop and we had a batch.

Yes, I was born into the right family!

And then, we were on the road again, back up to Belleville and to real life.

We have three months of classes, projects, exams, reading, stress, etc, and then NO MORE CLASSES for Dexter...just clinical work and preparing for his big licensing exam which will be in March 2014 (I think).  The next few months won't be very fun but I assume will go quickly enough.

road trip: the zoo

We're in MA now, enjoying a beautiful early Spring day, but I've still got so many stories from our spring break to share, so want to get on that, before they all become a great big blur!

While in Tenneessee, we were able to go to the local zoo - always a fun activity with toddlers. And really, who doesn't like to see interesting animals?

apparently, I liked the flamingoes

 Dexter found this sign to be especially hilarious, (I've cut some of it out, FYI), and made me take its picture.

 a family photo, finally

do you spot the monkey?

This zoo has a really great play structure with lots of slides, a net bridge (scary!) things to climb, etc. The boys had a great time running around in it.  It didn't take long though before it was time to head home for naps...

Erica was on a work call, and Matt needed to put Bo down, but didn't think the parking lot was the best choice.  He opted for the top of the car instead.

a blue-eyed beauty!

That night we ate dinner at their home and had lots of good conversations. Matt has big dreams of Dexter moving down to TN to join him and some other dental friends in a practice together.  Could be interesting!

Thursday morning, we were off again.  I asked Dexter to get a photo of me with Erica. . .

and another one of the boys. . .

Kyalo actually ate pretty well that morning (finally!): raisins and oatmeal and milk and other things.  And then 15 minutes into our journey he threw up all over himself (sorry for TMI) which meant for an emergency stop and a change of clothes.  Maybe he was feeling a little sick for the first part of the trip? I don't know.

It did mean he slept a lot, though, which was great.  Another night in Virginia, and then on Friday morning we were off to Baltimore.

road trip: the boys

So right after arriving in Franklin on Monday, we headed to a nearby playground so the boys could, well, play, and we could all stretch our legs after such a long time in the car.  Franklin seems to be made up of these little intentional communities...playground, pool, cute homes, etc.  It was just a quick little walk and we were there.

The boys traveled in style! (That's the same wagon Kyalo has up in Essex.)

Kyalo liked the slide

walking in puddles is more fun than riding*

I was pretty excited for Kyalo and Bo to have time together again after so much time (about a year) and for Kyalo to have a boy to play with.  I had visions of them playing happily together outside while Erica and I sipped coffee and chatted.  I should really stop having visions because they never come to pass!  There were a few tussles over toys, but I think over all the boys played really well together, especially by the end when they'd warmed up to each other.

action shots!  who knows what's going on here?

Erica bought them superhero t-shirts.

even super heroes need to eat

And since it was cold, and we were heading to the zoo after breakfast, Matt leant Kyalo his University of Kentucky Wildcats hat.

 is he a bat or a cat?

who can say?

but perhaps he's the newest fan!*

After the zoo (more on that later) we went out to dinner.  I really wanted to get some good BBQ and also fried chicken.  That's not too excessive, is it? There wasn't time for the fried chicken (next time!) but we did go out to eat.   Here's Matt and Erica:

Matt with a whole mess o' ribs (don't ask how much) and Erica with the largest potato I've ever seen.

Those are happy faces, though.

The pics of my food didn't come out, sadly, but I did get my shredded pork, cole slaw, and corn-on-the cob (I can never resist!).  Kyalo ate a bit of what we had, but seriously, seemed to be on a hiatus from food for most of the trip!  It was a tad frustrating/worrying. 

On Wed, Matt & Erica took the boys to a park to give us a little break (the driving was starting to tire Dexter out, so he was glad for a little down time).  

 cute little family! *

Bo's doing all the heavy lifting*

And then after the walk and some dinner, it was bath time:

 Kyalo tends to stand in the tub, which makes it hard to get a G-rated photo. *

helping out*

Then it was time to say good night...

hugs*

fathers and sons*

We crammed a lot into just a few days!  It was such a sweet time.  Dexter really enjoyed all the dental talk he got to have with Matt (puts me right to sleep), and talking with Matt who has already survived dental school was encouraging for Dexter.  We're almost done!

There's more to share here, but we're off to Massachusetts for the Easter weekend, so I better wrap this up and load up the car.

all photos with a * courtesy Erica and her iPhone :)

road trip: friends in Franklin

On Monday morning, after a hearty breakfast prepared by Angela, we were off again, this time to friends Matt & Erica (and Bo!) in Franklin, TN.  Interestingly, that we have other friends in that area.  A roommate of mine from the UAE, and a friend from my hometown, whose parents are part of my parents' best friends, and thus, I've known her my whole life.  Got that?

Apparently, Franklin is the place to be!

This was the longest leg of the trip -- 7ish hours, which we did through pouring rain (three cheers to Dexter for driving the ENTIRE trip), which meant we didn't get to see the beautiful Tennessee countryside.  Again, Kyalo did great - looking at his books, playing with his toys, sleeping, etc.  It got a little hairy at the end, but really, it wasn't too bad.  It was nice to know that once we arrived Monday night we wouldn't be going any long distances again until Thursday morning.

There's lots to share from our time there, so this may take a few posts.

On Tuesday morning, my roommate from the UAE, Rita, drove out to see us.  Thinking it would be warm, summery weather in the south, I'd packed a shorts outfit she and our friend Shiny had bought for Kyalo.  I put him in it for the photo op, and then promptly put him back in cool weather clothes.  Rita and I had a chance to go out for brunch and do a little shopping. It was nice to catch up with her after so many years.

On Wednesday we drove about five miles down the road from Matt & Erica's to see my friend Kirsten. It kind of felt like being back in Essex - small town America.  It was fun to see Kirsten and her boys, and to catch up.  I like that there's so many connections in this small (and random!) location.  Makes me wonder if we'll end up down there once school is done.  It is certainly an option on the table.

Kirsten

And it would be fun to be 'neighbors' with someone from my past again.

road trip: VA mountains

After we breezed through Williamsburg (and didn't take in any of the historic sites, mind you) we headed to the Thompsons' home in the mountains of Virginia.  I first met Jimmy & Angela and their two daughters Melissa and Moriah in the UAE.  I think they arrived six or so months after I did, and were in the same apartment complex I was in.  Jimmy is a doctor, and had come to be a part of the Oasis medical staff.  I enjoyed working with him, and getting to know their family in the time I was still in the UAE.  I think Dexter and I spent our first Thanksgiving together with them - tho some of those details are now a little fuzzy; feels like a long time ago!

As I was thinking about how to make the best use of our spring break, visiting the Thompsons in their new home in VA seemed like a good idea.  So I invited ourselves over for a couple of days, and was pleased when they accepted!  The house that they bought is the perfect place for visitors - a huge porch over looking a small pond and woods, a basement with an extra room, and THEM.  They welcomed us back in with open arms. It is hard to believe it had been over two years since we last saw them.

Kyalo took a break from eating any real meals while we were on vacation, so here he is with Angela eating some blueberries (and ONLY blueberries) for breakfast the morning we were heading out to TN.     Since this was our Spring Break trip, I had visions of sipping sweet tea out on the porch and chatting with Angela while Kyalo explored the land (so many rocks, sticks, dirt, I figured he'd be in heaven).  Instead the weather was cold and rainy and the flip flops stayed in the bag all week.

We did get outside between rain showers on Sunday and got to do a little exploring.  Kyalo especially liked their horseshoe/sand pit.  It was hard to drag him away.

There's their house! Which, let me tell you is VERY misleading by looking at it from this picture.  I should have gotten a picture of the porch.  As we stood outside watching Kyalo, Dexter kept commenting how much it felt like Kijabe to him. . .the mountains, the narrow, windy roads we had to drive to get there, the fog.  Needless to say, we both loved Virginia a lot.  After living in a place like Belleville being surrounded by so much land seems like bliss!

After a few days down in TN we drove back through to spend one more night with them, and to break up the trip.

I think it was 25* F but they thought it was warm enough - or occasion enough - to fire up the new grill for the first time.

yum

In between our visits, Angela stocked up on books from a local used bookstore for Kyalo.  Here they are reading together.

Angela, Jimmy, Kyalo

Do you see how close everyone is sitting to the fire? I'm telling you, it was cold!  Here Jimmy had been giving Dexter the finer points of the March Madness bracketing process. I'm sure Dexter will get into it next year!  

 Dr. Jimmy, off to work

Moriah and Kyalo

Angela and me

This visit was really fun and special for us.  There are already talks about heading back.  Perhaps in the summer. Is is a little further away than we'd like, but it is nice to know that we can hop in the car and get there in a day or so, so long as Kyalo remains agreeable.

In the meantime, I'm trying to convince them to come to NYC for a visit.