World Tour: Chicago

Four cities, four countries, six plane rides, four train rides, countless jaunts on four different metros, and one boat ride later, we arrived back in Denver after our two-week long "world tour". We fit so much into 14 days and I didn't want to forget a second of it, so I journaled while we were there so we could remember every little detail and observation we made. (This will be the abbreviated version, don't worry.)


Chicago

Our first stop was Chicago: we had another brand new family member to meet, Logan. Nathan's brother and sister-in-law, Ryan and Stacy, are great parents already and together, the three of them make a perfect little family!  Logan is very cuddly (and squirmy!) so we had fun "playing" with him.  Ryan and Stacy aren't going to post pictures of him, so I won't either, but you'll just have to take my word for it that he is so precious.

We took a long walk around the city with the three other Martins.  The boys had to have a pull-up contest: I'm not sure that Nathan against an Iron Man Triathlete was a fair competition :) 

 We were so excited to get to spend some time with long-time friends. I got to see Lindsay for lunch, and then we went to Nate's college friends' house, Tyler and Lisa's, for dinner.  Evan and Kristen, more friends from college, were there, so it was a mini-reunion.  Tyler and Lisa made a legit bar in their basement, so we hung out until the bar closed (or, until all the people that had to work the next day tapped out).

Being back in the Midwest was kind of like going home for me. It was fun to be a tourist in a city that I've seen so many times.  This was probably the best layover of my life :)

Babies at the Bay

I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium a few times when I was younger but I never fully appreciated it. I remember being afraid of the sharks behind the glass, sure that the glass would break and send me running for my life. (Is a fear of water normal for a life-long swimmer?) I was excited to go back when I was home for spring break with a new, more mature perspective and two fearless little ones, Nola and Drake. 

My sister Rachel and her husband invited my mom and I there for a mini-vacation. My mom and I got there a little bit later than Rachel and Duc, so we didn't get to see Nola's initial reaction to the over-stimulating world of the aquarium, but her enthusiasm was still high when we arrived. And why wouldn't it be?  With all the different types of fish to see, touch, learn about, as well as the kids' areas full of germ-infested opportunities to play, we could have spent days there.  My designated photographer (Nathan) wasn't with us, but along with Duc's help, we got some cute pictures. 

                                                                     Nola on the run! 

Drake is too little to appreciate the fish, but he did appreciate this cushiony play area.  

This looks like a nice place to rest!  She was watching little duck feet paddling above her head.

I think Nola finally figured out my relationship to her. Back at the hotel, I gave her jelly beans and cheese puffs so she would like me more. She has four aunts in California, so I have to earn points when I can :)

Meeting Baby Girl

Nate and I got to meet our newest niece, Genevieve Joy Vanier, last month during our trip to California.  Genevieve is beautiful, like her parents, and loves to "talk" and socialize.  We got to spend the day with her, and it was love at first sight.

She was named after our dad, Gene. We loved noticing the similarities between Genevieve and her Mom and Dad; old baby photos were pulled out and compared, and so far I think Genevieve looks like Sarah as a baby.

We are so excited for this new member of the family.

Nathan's 30th

Nate officially left his 20's behind on February 3rd. I was happy to have a snow day on his birthday so I could get organized for the big party. My gratefulness wore off when I realized it would be virtually impossible to get downtown, and that most sane people were not going to drive in the weather that dropped almost two feet of snow on Denver.

We waited for two hours for a cab to show but no one wanted to brave the unplowed streets of Wash Park. I am not a big fan of driving in general, let alone driving in the snow, and the birthday boy wasn't going to drive, so I was sure that we'd miss the entire party.  We called Nathan's sister Marissa and she said she'd pick us up.  A half our later, she showed up in her Jeep and we hopped in to find his mom waiting for us.  She flew in for a birthday surprise and was miraculously able to land in the heart of the storm earlier that afternoon.

It was 7:30 when we finally go to Falling Rock, and some of our guests had beaten us there.  We scrambled to decorate and get set up, which wasn't as difficult with so many extra sets of hands.

 I think Nate had a great birthday! 25 people came to celebrate with him. The night ended with mom-in-law Diane driving us through the Taco Bell drive-thru: a sign of a good night!

My Pinterest birthday craft!

Mom to Denver

My mom visited us this weekend.  We did our best to balance some downtime with things that require more energy, like eating and shopping.

Highlights: 

Sunday morning brunch at Lucile's.  We waited an hour and a half to be seated but when they brought out piles of Louisiana comfort food, we were thankful to be so hungry.

House browsing in Stapleton.  When I was little, I used to go to open houses with my mom (is that a typical mother-daughter pastime?) All three of us went on Sunday and saw brand new houses that are about the same price as our house but three times bigger.  Selling out to suburbia may not be such a bad idea after all.

Crafts with Cathy. I love my mom's craftiness!  She taught me how to make these stars out of scrapbooking paper.  She is like the MacGyver of crafts.

Mom also helped me make peanut butter dog treats for Kiowa.  Kiowa liked them at first but now I think she realizes that I swapped her meaty Milk Bones with vegan kitchen crafts.  Next time I'll add beef broth.

I was sad to drop her off at the airport today.  She is such an amazing mama!

Back on the Market

We relisted the house! The past couple of weeks have been full of cleaning, painting, trips to Ikea, teaching the dog not to jump on people when they come in during the middle of the day, etc.

The house looks better than the last time we tried to sell (over the summer) and the market is speeding up: we had four showings yesterday and we'll have two more tomorrow. An agent was supposed to come for a preview yesterday but he turned around when Kiowa greeted him. She looks scary, but she's not!

Here's the link:  http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1080-S-Washington-St_Denver_CO_80209_M22840-32600?source=web

We're praying it goes quickly, but not too quickly since we have nowhere else to live yet!

Copper Mountain and the Edith Ann Chair

We went to Copper Mountain in between Christmas and New Year's, when the snow was so thin and icy that it seemed like they sprayed the mountain with a garden hose and let it sit over night. It was my first time going to Copper, and it didn't make a good first impression.  We didn't stay long, partially because of the mental images I had of me falling down the mountain and breaking bones, but we did get a few runs in and got to take pictures (the highlight of my day) in the big red chair that reminds me of the Edith Ann skits I used to watch on Sesame Street.