August 24, 2016 by Jaclyn

Fabulous Four

Guess who turned FOUR YEARS OLD this past weekend?

I can’t believe it’s been four years since we welcomed our crazy little nut into the world (two months early, but who’s counting?). One thing I can say: it’s been an adventure.

At four years old, Peanut is still a tiny package with an oversized personality. Some things just don’t change. Other things that haven’t changed: she still loves PINK, sea lions, books, macaroni and cheese, and all things fancy.

New discoveries this year include Disney (current obsession is The Little Mermaid, but we’ve also been through jags including Frozen, Tinker Bell, and Sofia the First); mermaids in general; the Little House series (by virtue of the My First Little House picture books); and so much more.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I wrote an entire fourth birthday tribute to Peanut and didn’t mention Blackie. Blackie is the newest addition to our family – Peanut’s sweet black and white dog. Blackie loves to play tennis ball, is sooooooo soft, and periodically has puppies. Blackie sometimes needs to be reprimanded for not listening, but she is getting better.

Blackie is invisible. But don’t tell Peanut that.

Peanut at four is an amazing big sister. While she has her moments, I’m constantly impressed by how patient and gentle she is with her baby brother. He’s going through a particularly exuberant phase and his kisses are extremely toothy. Peanut puts up with getting tackled, drooled on, kissed aggressively, and having her hair pulled, and rarely loses her cool. Nugget, for his part, is madly in love with her. No surprise there! She’s the best.

Happy FOURTH birthday to the sweetest, coolest little girl in the world. Mommy and Daddy love you like WHOA!

August 19, 2016 by Jaclyn

Around

Whoops. Sorry, friends. I didn’t intentionally take almost two weeks off from writing, but it’s been beyond crazy around here. Think I’m kidding? A quick recap of the last two weeks:

Arrived in northern Virginia, babies and suitcases – and nothing else – in hand.
Made a floppity jillion trips to Target for all kinds of moving-related essentials. Discovered that hanging shower organizers are an unexpectedly contentious topic in our household.
Became overwhelmed by logistical details of arranging two separate forms of child care.
Supervised moving day when our truck finally arrived four days after we did. Maintained admirable degree of equanimity over a long day of fielding criticism from the movers about the amount of stuff we have (I know we need to purge, and I don’t need to hear it for the umpteenth time) and about our life and career choices (did you know that women should stay home until children are at least five years old?). Only snapped after fourteen hours of this, when the movers decided that they weren’t going to bring our wardrobe upstairs. Now living out of a makeshift cardboard dresser and retrieving socks from the living room.
Became a boiling cauldron of rage upon discovering that the movers disregarded my instructions all day and put almost every piece of furniture… not where I wanted it to go.
Ignored boxes and left for vacation in Virginia Beach the very next day.
Spent a blissful week at the beach with my best friend, Rebecca, and her boyfriend. On the agenda: lots of digging in sand and splashing in salty water, boat rides, looking for mermaids, eating fish tacos, and a backyard campfire on the final night. It was all perfect.
Came home and was instantly enraged by the fact that the furniture did not magically reconfigure itself into logical positions in my absence.
Celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary with a trip to REI for another child carrier backpack.
Welcomed my cousin Jocelyn for a two week visit (she’s watching the kids as part of our bridge childcare plan).
Took our first hike at Great Falls since moving back. Daydreamed about hiking Shenandoah this fall… maybe?
Started my new job! A few days in, I’m really enjoying the job itself and my great new coworkers. Can’t wait to get more involved and start taking some of the heat off of my busier colleagues.

I promise regular content resuming next week, including a return to Monday reading posts and a brief series recapping our trip to Virginia Beach. (I was planning just one big post, but I have too many pictures – sorry, folks!) I’ve missed writing here – just haven’t had the head space to plan and draft posts. But I have a lot of ideas for the next few weeks and into fall. It’s good to be back.

What have you been up to lately?

July 15, 2016 by Jaclyn

Touch-A-Truck, A.K.A. Nugget’s Personal Heaven

Well, this was a new experience. I’ve heard of Touch-A-Truck or truck petting events before, but we had never been to one – unless you count Food Trucks ‘n Fire Trucks last year, which I guess you can. A few weeks ago, when I was out of town, Steve had considered bringing Nugget to a Touch-A-Truck event in Buffalo, but the weather was nasty and he called off the outing. Fortunately, we got a do-over last weekend, and the whole family got to enjoy it together!

Touch-A-Truck is exactly what it sounds like – a free-for-all for truck-loving kids, who get to climb all over a selection of trucks, sit in the driver’s seats, honk the horns, and basically go nuts. We knew that Nugget, who loves trucks more than any baby I have ever seen, would have a ball. And that Peanut would probably tolerate it.

Less talk and more pictures. As you can see, Nugget was all about this. His little head was on a swivel and he was waving like a maniac and greeting all of the trucks.

Peanut had a pretty good time – there was a pink cement mixer that she thought was cool, and every kid loves fire trucks.

But really, this event was for Nugget. And he took every opportunity to live out his dreams.

While Peanut alternated between having a pretty good time and whimpering every time one of the trucks’ horns honked. Which was like every thirty seconds. Poor Peanut!

Nugget, weirdly, was not bothered at all by the horns. I know his hearing is fine, so he just loves trucks that much.

Waving to all of the trucks. Bye-bye trucks! Vroom!

Basically, it was the best day of his life.

Have you ever been to Touch-A-Truck?

July 6, 2016 by Jaclyn

Fourth of July 2016

Happy fourth… errrr, sixth… of July to my American friends! As longtime blog readers may know, Independence Day is second only to Christmas on the list of my favorite holidays. How can you argue with a day that is all about summer fun? (In fact, Independence Day might soon surpass Christmas as my favorite holiday – it’s certainly less pressure – although that’s probably sacrilege, so let’s pretend I didn’t say that.) And the best Independence Day is one that also involves a three-day weekend, like this year!

We started the weekend in our current favorite way – with a trip to the playground and farmers’ market at Island Park. It was just me and the kids for most of the morning, as Steve was off running errands in preparation for his dad’s retirement party, which he planned. Peanut, Nugget and I missed Dad while he was running between Wegmans and Party City, but we made the most of the morning on our own.

There was sandboxing. Island Park has the best sandbox in Williamsville – so many trucks!

Peanut baked me a strawberry cake. It tasted like sand. But you know, baking takes practice.

And Peanut also alternated between riding a horse and a train engine. She probably spent half an hour going back and forth between the two rides. (What do you call these things? It’s not a rocking horse. I don’t know.)

Eventually, Dad finished his errands and joined us at the park. We were all excited to see him, but Nugget most of all, because he got someone to hold him up on the horse without being subject to Peanut’s whims. (I could hold him up and help him ride only when she was in my immediate vicinity, but she tends to want to wander off – that’s the three-year-old attention span for you. Obviously, she can’t wander around the playground alone, so Nugget had a lot of truncated horsey rides when I had to grab him and chase after Peanut.) After the kids had their fill of the playground, we took a quick spin through the Williamsville farmers’ market, grabbed a quart of strawberries and a couple of apple cider donuts, and were on our way.

The rest of the day was low-key – lunch at home for both kids, then errands for Nugget and me while Peanut napped away the afternoon. Rest was key, because we had a big plan for Sunday morning…

Berry picking! Last year, I took the kids berry-picking at Awald’s Berry Patch and we had a blast. Steve couldn’t join us (he was out of town attending a family funeral) and I knew he would love it there, so we made a note to come back for a repeat visit. And this year, we were joined by some friends – Peanut’s friend N from school, and her lovely family!

Although we had a fabulous time with our friends, the picking itself wasn’t as successful as last year. There were two reasons for this: first, we came at kind of a weird time – strawberry season was all but over, but the blueberries were only just beginning to come into ripeness. Last year, I brought the kids to the farm later in July, so we completely missed strawberry season but had tons of blueberries to choose from. The other reason that we got more berries last year was Nugget – last year he was an adorable little lump in a stroller; this year he was a whirling dervish of energy and wanted nothing more than to run into the parking lot and greet all of the vehicles. I spent most of the morning chasing him, and as I am the power picker of the family, no one else really picked anything and we ended up with a paltry handful of blueberries.

But we still had a fantastic time! I realized early on that this was not going to be one of those days when we came home laden with fruit, and that I needed to be fine with that – any pressure to actually pick was going to lead to frustration. My goal quickly shifted to having a good time with our friends and enjoying the sunshine.

Definitely a success! Our friends took home a good load of berries (they have a six-year-old who took picking extremely seriously) and we got a big laugh out of our $0.70 worth of blueberries. I did grab a flat of raspberries from the farm store, so we didn’t go home empty-handed – and again, the only goal was to have a great morning, which we did.

After the berry-picking extravaganza that wasn’t, we headed over to my inlaws’ house for my father-in-law’s retirement party. We were a couple of hours early, so the kids set about preparing for the party by watering the deck, the fountain, and each other.

Nugget really loves this watering can. I don’t know, you guys. He still screams half the time I give him a bath, but he’ll happily splash for an hour in the watering can. Can anyone explain that? So bizarre.

These two. You guys. So silly.

After they got themselves good and soaked, it was time to change them into their party clothes and then begin the complicated dance of “no-you-may-not-play-with-the-watering-can” once they were dry and fancy.

The party was lovely. It was so much fun to see my sisters-in-law – especially Emma, who lives way too far away. (It was great to see Grace, too – it always is – but she’s at least local!) The kids are totally in love with their aunties. I wish they saw both of them more, but we make sure to maximize the time we do have together.

Bringing us to the fourth! Whew – anyone still with me? I do like to pack fun into those summer weekends. Anyway, the fourth dawned bright and sunny, just like the previous two days – love it! I have one request and only one request every fourth of July – water, please. It’s not a proper Independence Day unless it’s spent by a body of water. This year, like last year, we hit Canalside – our favorite spot in the City of Buffalo for family fun.

There was sightseeing. Bye, truck! (Nugget’s catch-phrase, and not just for trucks – he says “Bye, truck!” to any wheeled vehicle he encounters.)

We walked down to the small canals and watched the pedal-boats. I wanted to rent one, but not with my two crazy kids. Maybe another time…

The canals are so pretty… I wish we’d made it here for ice-skating last winter.

We checked out an art installation of about a dozen globes, all designed and painted in different motifs by various artists. The installation has already visited several large cities around the country, and it was such a cool thing to see. Definitely my favorite public art installation in Buffalo.

Nugget was not as interested in the baseball globe as the rest of us were. He’ll get there.

(That last one was my favorite! It’s hard to show in the picture, but not only was the theme lovely – sustainability and mindfulness – but the colors were almost iridescent. Gorgeous!)

The kids were so good during our walk – they earned a trip to the EduKids sandbox. This (huge!) sandbox recently re-opened and we were very glad when it did. We missed it!

Action shots!

There was a large boat that was added as part of the remodeling this spring. Peanut decided that it was a pirate ship, and insisted that we call her Captain. At one point – I was chasing Nugget and didn’t witness this – Steve said that a little boy on the playground was giving Peanut a hard time, and she shouted at him “Don’t make me walk the plank, or my dad will sword you into the ocean! Dad, SWORD HIM INTO THE OCEAN!” Apparently the rest of the adults on the playground were bent double over that one.

After the kids played for awhile, it was time for Mom to get her fourth of July treat – a picture of the littles in the mini Adirondack chairs! For comparison, here’s last year’s (awkward) shot…

Ha! Nugget was so tiny and so skeptical.

This year…

We got them set up in the chairs. I told Peanut it was a fashion shoot and she was totally into it.

Explaining to Nugget how this whole thing works. Just humor Mom, kid, and it’ll all be over soon.

What’s this? Two kids looking at the camera and smiling?! It’s an INDEPENDENCE DAY MIRACLE!

And then Peanut left and climbing happened. Well, I got my picture.

We headed home to another afternoon nap for Peanut, and another afternoon excursion for Nugget and me: Knox Farm! I wanted a car nap out of Nugget, so picked somewhere a bit far away – I did get my car nap, and then we had a lovely walk; success!

I let the little guy out in hopes that he would run around, but all he wanted to do was inspect the stroller. Wheels – totally obsessed!

It was a gorgeous afternoon in one of my favorite spots in WNY. After Nugget and I got a good stretch, we headed home to meet up with the rest of the family for a swim.

Such a fun weekend! Anyone still with me? Sorry to photo-dump; I just love looking back on these posts years down the road. This one will definitely go down in the books as one of our best Independence Day weekends ever (even if it was sadly lacking in Bill Pullman and Will Smith).

Happy (belated) fourth of July, friends! How did you celebrate?

June 22, 2016 by Jaclyn

50 Yard Finish 5K and a Father’s Day Hike

Another weekend, another race! I’ve been having fun with the local 5Ks this spring and summer – that’s about all I’m up for these days, what with two small kiddos to wrangle (and no time to train for a longer distance) but lucky for me, Buffalo has some great options at the 5K distance. I was particularly excited to see that the 50 Yard Finish was a 5K this year. Longtime readers may remember that I ran it in 2014, its inaugural year, when it was a half marathon. Last year, the race organizers shortened it to a 10K, which I skipped. This year the race was under new management and was run only as a 5K. Perfect for me right now!

The one negative? It was run over Father’s Day weekend. Steve is a really good sport about carting the kids around to races and entertaining them while I run, but it did seem a bit cruel to make him kid-wrangle while I ran a race on his weekend. But he was totally into the idea – perhaps because this is the race that allows spectators to wander around the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, while they wait for their runners to cross the finish line? Well, for whatever reason, my race support team was willing, so I signed up.

The start line was outside the parking area, and I lined up toward the back of the pack, since I am still figuring out the logistics of training with two small kids – I knew I wasn’t going to be setting a PR, since I was (as usual) woefully undertrained. We crossed the finish line right on time, and not fifteen feet over the line, I stumbled and rolled my ankle badly. Well, I’m off to a great start. I briefly considered staggering over to the side of the road and quitting, because it HURT. But I decided to keep running and see what happened, and by the time I’d made it a half mile I felt better, so I kept going.

No pictures from the course itself – with only a 5K to cover, we stayed on the roads near the stadium, which aren’t the prettiest. When the race was a half marathon, we ran through the very picturesque Village of Orchard Park, but this time, we didn’t have enough road to take us that far. Which was okay with me… before I knew it, we were rounding a corner back into the stadium complex.

This is when the race gets hard! You think you’re almost to the finish line, because dangit, you can see the stadium, but nope… first you have to take the long way around the field house complex. Oof. But I jogged along putting one foot in front of the other and before too long, I was entering the long tunnel into the Ralph.

And there it is – the coolest finish line in Buffalo! I’ve said before – I’m not a football fan; don’t have the patience, but even for someone who couldn’t care less about the sport, it’s pretty cool to finish a race on the 50 yard line of a major league football stadium,

My buddy was pretty interested in my medal. Steve said that it was handed to me by the Buffalo Bills’ kickoff kicker. Who knew?! Clearly I did not deserve the honor of getting my medal from a pro football player, because I had no idea. In my defense, it was hot and I was looking for water. And I’m a hockey girl. Forever.

After the race, we headed over to Chestnut Ridge Park, which is nearby. (Old friends may remember that we’ve hiked here once or twice before.) We decided to try a new hiking configuration: Nugget in the backpack (which Peanut has named “the U.S.S. Dignified”), Peanut walking on her own, and me pushing the empty stroller as backup in case of an obstreperous preschooler. Well, we made it about 100 feet before Peanut had an epic meltdown over I-don’t-know-what and insisted on riding in the stroller – okay by me. But even in the stroller, it wasn’t her day, and we ended up turning back. Guess she’s not quite ready to give up the backpack yet.

But not to worry – on Sunday we redeemed our hiking weekend with a long walk down a new-to-us trail at Sprague Brook Park. Peanut was back in the backpack, and much happier.

And Nugget was in the Ergo, which he still apparently finds quite comfortable, since he fell asleep – again. He has not yet made it through a Sprague Brook hike without nodding off. I’m thinking something about the park is very soothing for him, because he doesn’t usually do that anymore. Well, it is a very relaxing park.

Happy Father’s Day to Steve! I hope you had a great weekend – I sure did. You made it special for us, just like you make every day. We love you lots and lots. We got a good one.

How did you spend your Father’s Day weekend?

June 15, 2016 by Jaclyn

The Summer List 2016

Somehow, I got out of the habit of making seasonal to-do lists. I blame life and its constant infernal busy-ness. I know that I missed spring and winter, and can’t even remember if I did a list (or perhaps made a list and then forgot about it?) for fall. But it’s such a fun exercise, and even though I never manage to check everything off, it’s a great way to plan out a season full of fun family activities. And with a new season just upon us – one of my favorites, at that! – there’s no time like the present to get back into the habit. So here’s my summer list for 2016:

Run the 50 Yard Finish 5K.
Eat lots of summer fruit – watermelon, cantaloupe, stone fruits and berries, get in my belly!
Dive into Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels.
Get back into the habit of buying my produce from our local farmers market.
Spend a weekend (or longer?) at the beach.
Look into getting a bike trailer for the kiddos.
Resuscitate my balcony herb garden.
Read Cider with Rosie, by Laurie Lee.
Stock up on bubbles, sidewalk chalk and other fun outdoor toys and let Peanut go to town.
Take the family on a weekend visit to Ithaca and Watkins Glen.

I’m sure that I won’t get to all of those, and that some of my plans will be replaced by other (more realistic?) options. But it sure is fun to dream about a blissful summer of long hot evenings, fireflies, iced tea with mint grown on my deck, and trips to our favorite summer places.

What’s on your to-do list this summer?

June 10, 2016 by Jaclyn

Memorial Day Weekend Adventures!

Better late than never, right? We had a fabulous time visiting my parents in Albany over Memorial Day weekend this year – hurray for three day weekends! As usual, I took hundreds of pictures, and I can’t even share a tenth of them here without crashing everyone’s computers – but I can’t let such a delightful weekend go by without sharing a few highlights.

We took Friday off and drove across the state to start our fun a day early. When we told my mom that we’d be coming for a visit she planned a fun barbecue with family friends. Peanut was thrilled to see her Aunt D.

And Nugget was thrilled to discover a singing teapot. He carried it around the entire weekend and it ended up coming back in our suitcase. (Sorry, Mom. I didn’t realize until I got home.)

On Saturday, my parents planned a fun family outing to Massachusetts! For those who don’t know upstate geography, Albany is on the far eastern edge of New York State, and trips to western Massachusetts, and to Vermont for that matter, are easy and quick. We headed for Williamstown, an adorable college town not far from where I grew up. First stop, though, was the summit of Mount Greylock!

We drove up to the top of the mountain (you can hike it, but we wanted to move the day along, and we hadn’t brought our hiking gear anyway). On our way up, we paused at an overlook and took in the views of Adams, Massachusetts. Gorgeous!

Nugget, as usual, was unimpressed.

At the top of the mountain, we found a little trail leading from the parking area to the summit and its expansive views. Peanut attempted to hitch a ride…

And soon we saw this inspiring sight!

Truly spectacular. Nugget was still unimpressed.

It takes a lot to get his approval. He’s got high standards. Especially for a baby.

Summit family!

We spent a good hour, at least, on the summit – exploring, snapping pictures, picking flowers. My parents made a new friend (everywhere we go…) and Peanut was her fabulous self.

I was excited to discover a few boulders scattered around the summit area, carved with quotes from famous authors who had visited and loved Mount Greylock. Including Thoreau!

He’s the godfather of introverts. I bow to you, greatest of all hermits.

From Greylock, we headed into Williamstown proper. Steve had never been there (how had I not taken him?) and I waxed rhapsodic about Clark Art Institute and Williams College on the car ride into the town. He loved it and was impressed by the way the gorgeous, historic college town seemed to pop up out of the wilderness. That’s western Massachusetts for you! I love it there and really should spend more time exploring. Note to self.

After a tasty lunch at the Purple Pub (those fried pickle slices!) we headed back to my parents’ house. The kids napped in the car, and they were ready for some serious water play when we rolled up the driveway.

It’s not a party until you have watered your babies.

Nana set up a sprinkler for Peanut to run through, but she wasn’t into it. Saw that coming. Nugget, however, enjoyed his watering can shower.

And some beach ball time. Followed by ice cream, of course.

Nana brought a small bowl of vanilla for Nugget and a medium bowl of chocolate for Peanut. Peanut had no interest in eating – why would you want ice cream when there are so many things to pour water on? – so Nugget polished off both bowls. The kid was seriously messy and seriously sugar-high after that.

Chocolate monster face!

The next day, I escaped for a two hour long coffee and catch-up date with J, my best friend from high school. We’ve both had some major life changes since the last time we chatted and we had a lot of catching up to do. I love the way we are able to pick up the conversation as if from yesterday, no matter how many months go by without a phone call. (We both have kids and busy schedules, and while I knew we both wish we saw each other more, and talked to each other a lot more, we do the best we can. It’s good to have a friendship that you can depend on no matter how much time goes by.) After chatting for way too long – considering I had folks waiting on me – I rushed back to my parents’ house and we headed for… the LAKE!

No summertime visit to Albany is complete without a day spent on the Sacandaga. My parents have a cabin there, and it’s our favorite summer spot. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the afternoon was not cooperative. Weather gods, you need to appreciate my schedule a little better!

We hadn’t been there long before the storm clouds started to roll in.

But we still managed to get in a little outdoor play time and quite a few pictures before moving inside for the rest of the afternoon. My parents had picked my grandmother up on the way, and she was thrilled to see the kids. She hadn’t seen Nugget since last July! It had been way too long – he’s changed a lot since then. I wish we didn’t live so far away…

When the rain broke, Nugget did some SUPing. Just kidding. But he’s almost ready to get out on the lake! I’m sure we’ll be getting back there before too long. Before I know it, he’ll be zipping around in his own little kayak!

No pictures from Monday – but I managed to pack more fun into the morning before we had to head back to Buffalo. I snuck away for another coffee date – this time with the lovely Christine – and we had a delightful hour sipping coffee and chatting as hard as we could in a cute local coffeehouse she’d recently discovered. After what didn’t seem like nearly enough time, I had to break away and head back to my parents’ house to pick up my mom and Nugget for a visit with my other grandmother. Nugget thought her wheelchair was a truck and appreciatively shouted “vroom vroom!” every time we moved. It was hilarious, and also a little heartbreaking, because I wish she could see him every weekend.

And so ended a very full weekend – full of friends, full of family, full of food. I left with a fuller camera roll and lots of memories. Until the next visit!

How was your Memorial Day? Did you travel or host visitors?

May 25, 2016 by Jaclyn

Akron Falls Park

Another new trail to share! A few weeks ago (and it seems like longer, when I look at the almost-bare tree branches in these pictures) we checked out Akron Falls, a local park near our current place that boasts a pretty waterfall. The falls trail was a lot of fun – smooth and restful in parts, rocky and rugged in other parts, and almost entirely along a babbling stream.

We headed down from the parking lot into the ravine. There were some harrowing switchbacks on the way down – I inched my way along the trail and held tight to the railings (I’d forgotten my hiking poles). The slightly scary trip down was worth it, though, because soon we came upon…

Such a pretty rushing stream! I loved listening as the spring runoff made its way downstream. The mossy rocks were vibrant and the air was perfectly cool – it was such a gorgeous spring day.

See what I mean about parts of the trail being rugged? We actually turned around here and headed a different way – this was actually a little too rugged for us while wearing babies.

So instead we walked downstream, enjoying the views of the brook and watching out for recent bird arrivals.

Before too long we came to a stream crossing and picked our way over the rocks…

And then it was out of the ravine and over the road to a grassy area, where we let Peanut out of the chariot to stretch her legs.

She seemed to enjoy herself – heh. Lots of running, dancing, and picking dandelions – for a good 30 minutes – while I bounced around keeping Nugget entertained in the Ergo. And then we headed back in the direction of the waterfall…

First glimpse – breathtaking!

Loved all the little runoff falls, too. It was such a beautiful sight – I could have stood and watched the water cascading down for hours.

Reluctantly, after a few minutes of enjoying the view, it was time to head back to feed the kiddos lunch and try to negotiate some naps. We wandered up the trail, stopping briefly to admire the new spring blooms.

Akron Falls, you’re just lovely! We’ll be back soon.

Anyone else getting some good spring hiking in?

May 18, 2016 by Jaclyn

EVL Happy 5K and Mother’s Day Weekend Recap

What I really wanted for Mother’s Day this year was a fun weekend, spent mostly outdoors, with my three favorite people – and I got exactly that, starting with the Ellicottville Happy 5K on Saturday morning! Ellicottville is a beautiful town about an hour south of us, sitting right at the base of Holiday Valley, the biggest ski area in WNY. I’d been wanting to visit for some time now – ideally during ski season, but really anytime – but I’d never done more than just drive through it on my way to or from D.C. So when I heard about the EVL Happy Half Marathon and 5K, I thought a race seemed like the perfect way to see the sights. I am nowhere near half marathon ready, but I can usually count on my legs to bang out an impromptu 5K, so I signed up.

The race started with packet pickup at the ski lodge. It was a weird and surreal experience to see the slopes without (much) snow, and to walk through the lodge without dodging piles of slush.

I really need to come back here with my snowboard!

Packet pickup started at 8:30 and the 5K didn’t begin until 10:30, so we had a lot of time to kill. Nugget was less than enthused about the whole project.

Peanut had fun, though. She enjoyed throwing rocks at this little stream (which I’ll bet is absolutely beautiful in the winter!).

Finally, we were off! The half marathoners started about 30 minutes before the 5K, but we finally made it over the start line. I was a little nervous, since EVL is quite hilly – it is a mountain town, after all – but the race organizers nicely sent us down the one flat stretch of road in the area. Well played, race organizers!

Their motivational signs were also on point. (Another one I liked, although I didn’t snap a picture, said “This is a lot of work for a free banana.” Ha!)

Finally, after a very hot three miles (not a lick of shade on the entire course!) I saw this welcome sight. Don’t worry – there was a path around the bubbles.

Collected my medal, then it was out to lunch at the Ellicottville Brewing Company (I had a salmon Caesar salad and we split a sweet potato appetizer that was THE BOMB), and home for a relaxing afternoon.

The next day was Mother’s Day itself, so of course we started with brunch – although we were in line at 9:00 sharp, so it was really more like breakfast than brunch.

I love the brunch at Betty’s. We shared a blueberry pecan scone, and then Steve ordered a mess of scrambled eggs and veggies, and I had my favorite dish – the smoked salmon eggs benedict. (It was a very salmony weekend, now I’m thinking about it.)

After breakfast, we had been planning a trip to the children’s museum because the weather forecast looked a little gloomy. But with no naps the previous day, and more sun than expected, we adjusted our plans to stay closer to home and hit the hiking trails instead. To Tifft!

No matter how many times I go, I will never get tired of these beautiful wetlands.

There were other moms and babies on the trail, too.

And dads and babies!

It was such a fun morning. I was so happy to be out in the fresh air with my favorites. So grateful for my little family…

After a short hike, we headed home and everyone got comfy. Some of us got comfier than others. Nugget, as expected, only took a catnap, so he and I ran a few errands together in the afternoon, and then picked up Chipotle on our way home. Not exactly a traditional Mother’s Day dinner, but it sure tasted good. The best part of the day, of course, was spending it with my sweeties. But a close second was the gift that the kids gave me (organized by Dad)…

He had a custom paper cutout portrait made by PurplePaperPeople – can you believe it? I think this might be one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. I welled up when I saw it, and I can’t stop looking at it even two weeks later. I think the likeness is incredible, and I can’t get over the detail. Happy Mother’s Day, indeed!

I hope all of my mom friends enjoyed their days as much as I did!

March 30, 2016 by Jaclyn

Early Spring Adventures

Happy spring! The calendar says it’s spring, and that’s good enough for me. We were lucky enough to have a relatively mild winter this year, but we’re still having our customary weird March weather. Rainy and cold one day, sunny and warm the next, then snow, then warm rain, until I don’t know which end is up and I’m just, like, TEA. But we’re having a good time on the weekends, crazy weather notwithstanding, searching out the adventures to be had around the turn of the seasons.

Last weekend we went down to East Aurora and checked out a working maple farm as part of New York Maple Days. Maple Days is a statewide event in which all of the maple producers all over the state open their doors to the public, and we get the chance to see a real life sugar shack.

We visited Stony Acres Maple Farm and it was so cool to see their operation and talk with the producers.

And of course, we left with sugar. Lots of sugar. We bought a medium-sized jug of maple syrup, a box of maple candy, and a tub of maple cream. The maple cream has been my favorite of our purchases – I’d never had it before, although I did bookmark a recipe to make my own a few years ago, and I should probably dig that out and give it a try. Maple is my favorite sweetener (much to the dismay of my honey-loving BFF, but the way I see it, more honey for her and more maple for me).

I wanted to walk over to show the kids where the trees were tapped, but I was the only one interested in taking a walk at the time. So we just wandered around near the sugar shack and saw the tubing in which the sap is pumped into the boiler. It was cool and educational, and I think Peanut had a good time. We’ve been reading books about maple syrup production (Sugar Snow from the My First Little House series, and Curious George Makes Maple Syrup) to prepare for our big outing, so she was really into seeing the sugar shack at work.

Such a cool outing, and something we definitely don’t get to do every day! Maple Days is continuing into April, so local friends, let me know if you make it to a sugar shack!

The following day was the first official day of spring, so even though it was brisk, we bundled up and headed out for a hike at a new-to-us park – Tillman Road Wildlife Management Area.

We explored the boardwalk (which was relatively short) and the network of trails, and spotted some early arrivals – a few Canadian geese and one or two very intrepid Eastern Bluebirds.

Peanut has good days and bad days when it comes to the hiking backpack lately. As you can see, on this outing we caught her on a good day.

If you look closely, I think you should be able to spot a couple of geese. Can’t wait to see more feathered friends as the days get warmer and the sun shines brighter.

It was a weekend of early spring adventures, indeed! One thing that we’ve had to learn (or re-learn, I suppose) since moving here is to get outside and seek out adventures no matter the weather. Early spring is a tough time for me – and I think, for a lot of people. The novelty of snow has long worn off, but the ground is still hard and brown and the trees are still bare, and you’re just ready for the green that is weeks away yet. So it’s nice to know that even when the weather is grey and dreary, there’s still fun to be had.

Have you been out and about on any early spring adventures?

covered in flour

the adventures of a wandering reader…

Family Fun