Dad is home!

Our family waited patiently for eight months for the two bitter sweet weeks Brad could come home for a visit. Two weeks that was filled with tons of fun, two birthday celebrations, 900 miles on our brand new car,  and went by in the blink of an eye. 

We were lucky enough to have great friends to offered to watch our kids overnight so we could get away for my birthday. This is the first birthday for me in the past four years that I've been able to celebrate with Brad by my side, so I'm glad we were able to do something big. We spent our time in Annapolis, MD taking a super awesome kayaking tour which we plan to do again later in the year with all the kids. 

Best birthday view. Vibes on my feet, a ladybug hitching a ride on my toes,  and really funny tour guides with tons of useless facts (as well as interesting ones) about the city. A must do if you're planning a trip there. 

This view is much better than my toes. Brad was in charge of steering.  We only bumped another kayak a couple times. 

We spent an afternoon in Baltimore at the aquarium, which never fails to be awesome. 

We celebrated Ashton's 10th birthday a bit early. He played hooky from school, and we headed back to Baltimore to play at the Children's Science Museum. Ashton loves everything science, and even chose the museum over a night at Great Wolf Lodge. Everything was hands on, and there was something to do for all the kids...and even us parents. Ashton says his favorite part of the museum was the planetarium. We learned about constellations at the planetarium, and as soon as the light went back on Ashton was asking to go back in an hour for the next presentation about Black Holes. I truly love my science geek. 

 Syphr was hesitant about this bed of nails so he made his babies lay on it first. They survived so he decided to give it a try.

We took almost daily family walks on the trail. 

We hiked around Roosevelt island at Talan's request. 

Ashton, who deemed himself the leader of the hike, also gave himself the nickname 'awesome huge rock finder'...because you know, those huge rocks are super hard to find.

We built towers with the greatest diamond in the rough find on craigslist, a huge bucket of bottle caps

And then it was over.

The two week visit is always bitter sweet. We love the time he can be here with us, but it is also just another goodbye. The good news is in four months we won't have to say goodbye again for hopefully a long time. The countdown is on!