Road Trip to Vermont

Over President's Day weekend (February 17-22), we drove to Woodstock, Vermont (9 1/2 hours without stops) to visit our good friends, the Beckwith's.  They relocated from Seattle to Vermont the same time we relocated to Virginia.  Jed met Dave & Jen Beckwith, back in 2002, when he Dave hired Jed as a ski instructor in Lake Tahoe.  They became great friends and offered Jed a job at The Summit, just east of Seattle, when they relocated there from Tahoe the next year.  The Beckwith's have two adorable girls, Mary Lila and Lucia, and two dogs, Bodhi & Sinjin.  We got in a short afternoon of skiing at Killington, where Dave works, but the rest of our time was hanging out and relaxing with Dave, Jen, the girls, and the dogs.  It was definitely a crazy time, since we had our little guy along and our two dogs, but we had a lot of laughs and enjoyed catching up on life since our big moves cross-country.  We're thankful for the friendships we have, like the one we have with the Beckwith family.  We are able to encourage one another and walk through the craziness, messiness, and joys of life together. 
Woodstock, Vermont is a beautiful place.  We kept singing, "Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!..." from White Christmas.  Woodstock was covered in snow, full of quaint shops, and adorned with white lights. 
Below you'll find some pictures from our time with the Beckwith's. 

About to load up in the car...we're ready for the long drive...not sure Hosea is.

Is it possible?  Could Hosea be ENJOYING his car seat?!  We relocated his car seat to the window and started hanging toys from the coat hook near the window (friend's recommendation).  Let's put it this way...he doesn't love the car seat, but now he is tolerating it for like 15-20 minutes max.  This could also be a result of Hosea getting older, liking his toys more, and his ability to entertain himself.  Still, the car is a bit stressful.

Left to right: Sinjin, Caesar, and Bodhi (Caesar just celebrated his 13th birthday!!!  That's 91 in human years!)

Lila did such a good job playing with Hosea...such a great big sister!

Look at these cuties!

Hosea got to snuggle with Uncle Dave when he arrived home from work, reminiscing on Hosea's first few days of life, where Dave held him in the NICU 

Leaving the Beckwith's house, on a walk to town for some greasy-spoon breakfast

Covered bridge in Woodstock, VT...love it!

Group shot

Sweet Lucia is all smiles

Hosea is developing so fast and why shouldn't he with help from big "sisters" like Lila & Lucia, and a big "brother" like Cameron at home?

Yes, our son is in the early stages of crawling!  This is one of his favorite positions - push-up with butt in the air

Hosea loves his Auntie Jen

Fun memories!

While we were visiting Woodstock, Lila had her first ice skating lesson...so, Hosea got to go ice skating for the first time.

Family photo on the ice - shout out to our MN roots.  Hosea LOVED ice skating!

A COLD evening walk together into town to grab some dinner

This is what parents of small children do for fun - when they actually have time to hang out!  (Dave is sleeping, yet still somehow in the conversation)

Pit stop on the way home from VT - Hosea thinks he's a bigger kid than he is

Thinks he's ready to drive..."Caesar, you can ride shot-gun when I drive."

Hey!

Wait a second...

AGH!!!!

Ummm...

Ok - play on!

We made a pit stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way home - 8 pm - dark outside.  Jed was excited about his old-fashioned cake donut.  He set it down in the dark, in Hosea's car seat, while getting situated to get back on the road - you never have enough hands, as a parent, for what you are doing.  Before we got moving, and before buckling in Hosea, Jed thought it would be a good idea to let Hosea stand in his car seat and get out some ya-yas.  He remembered the donut after several seconds of jumping ya-yas.  Jed was disappointed enough that he ate all he could find with his fingers in the dark.