Apples, Adirondacks, Army football, and MISSY!

This morning, Finley found a picture of my parents on a bookshelf and walked around the house hugging it and asking for "Ata" until I finally gave in and called and woke up Dad in Arkansas so she could tell him good morning. Sometimes when she doesn't want to go to bed at night, we hear her appealing to "Gammaw" over the baby monitor. And she wants to say hi to Missy and the fish on her family gallery wall all the time now.

We've been so lucky to get to see our families as often as we have this fall, but before we had kids an empty guestroom was a much less heartbreaking proposition. It didn't make it any easier that Missy's visit was practically perfect in every way. (And so jam packed with fun that for the first time in ages, I missed a blog week. Pretty sure I didn't even do that when the kids were born!)

From one early morning race to JFK (and back in time to beat game day traffic) to a much less jubilant one a week-plus later, we enjoyed every second. True to Walters family vacation style, it was short on sleep and long on hiking, views, and "weather be damned" adventures. There was apple picking and cabin porch wine and pumpkin carving and pass the pigs. Missy made pilgrimages to our old house and the Bear Mountain Zoo, caught her first Army football game (a blowout), taught Finley to say "spooky" (which is hilarious), had a date day with each kid, found the truly amazing Wild Center, learned to use a baby bjorn, and handled toddler meltdowns with panache. We discovered- and fell in love with- the Adirondacks in the rain, and missed the rest of our siblings madly.

The trip to the Adirondacks was my first real vacation in as long as I can remember, and- not that we didn't miss Seth, who had work and another Army football game on his plate- Missy was just one of the gang, wrestling with car seats and carrying kids up mountains and speaking in whispers so Finley would fall asleep in our one room mountain cabin. I was and remain grateful. Vacationing with kids is a totally different proposition, and- although manageable- takes some getting used to. Unless you're Missy, for whom it was seamless.

I'm so glad the Walters kids are all living their dreams, but hate how far away from each other it's taken us, and am reminded that any time we get to see each other is a huge treat. (Mountain cabins and fall leaves are just bonus.) Thanks, Miss, for making the long trip.

Photos never do it justice, but we always give it the ol' college try anyway, and there are a bunch here. 

And now as fall winds down (it's been spectacular!) and we settle in for a cold and windy winter on top of Stony Lonesome, we've started the countdown to the next round of family get-togethers. Until then, sorry in advance to anyone Finley calls at odd hours. You're all missed (and she's figuring out the phone at an alarming rate.)

Grandma Jayne for Columbus Day!

Against all odds, it seems that we have survived midterms, the AOC class Seth taught, and the first round of seasonal colds. (Although, to be honest, the latter are still in progress.)

By happy coincidence, we had much-needed help over the long weekend, and likely would not have survived without it. After a horrible day of travel complicated by Hurricane Matthew flight cancellations, Grandma Jayne arrived Thursday night. The kids were so excited, I let them stay up past bedtime to see her. This was the scene in our guestroom while we waited. 

(Yes, that's Finley's Sheriff Callie Halloween costume she's wearing while jumping on the bed. We pick our battles around here.)

And, although there was a fair amount of candle-burning at both ends for those of us with dozens of pages to write, we had a bang-up weekend celebrating fall and playing tourist.

Jayne and I finally made it to the apple orchard in Warwick I had been dying to check out, and- tired toddler tantrums notwithstanding- we had a great time picking apples and checking out the farm animals. 

Finley even talked us into a pony ride, which she adored (even if we suspect she wanted to wear the helmet as much as she wanted to ride the horse.) It was basically the cutest thing ever.

Saturday night, Seth got to drop the puck at the preseason NHL game at Tate arena. It was very cool.

Finley had the time of her life, minus this terrifying interaction with the Panthers mascot.

And both kids, it turns out, love hockey games. I'm hoping this is a temporary fascination and there is still hope for swimming, since I imagine that goggles and latex caps are significantly cheaper than pads and hockey sticks. 

Sunday, we trekked into the city in the pouring rain for an awesome personal tour of FDNY Engine 10, Fire 10 by one of the 9/11 first responders Seth had met.

And a trip to the 9/11 memorial and One World Trade Center.

True to form, Finley's favorite part was the ridiculous and not-at-all scenic skycam.

She refused to leave it to look at the city view, preferring the grainy images of cars below and her ability to hop "on" them.

Ford, as per usual, was a perfect little gentleman all weekend. Jayne sent me this picture of our smiley guy when I was in school on Monday (no Columbus Day at Columbia, oddly!)

We all loved (and appreciated!) Grandma Jayne's visit, and can't wait until next time. I'm getting a regular workout taking Finley to the calendar to show her when we get to see grandparents again, and we love having something to countdown to. 

A couple favorites from the week:

A balancing act.

It's an ongoing conversation I have with girlfriends: how to "figure out the work-life balance." It's only slowly dawning on most of us, as we have more kids, more demanding jobs, ever-lengthening commutes (in order to accommodate both), more laundry, less time with our spouses, and on and on and on... that we have it figured out. That is to say, we now realize that it's a perpetual balancing act, a little bit like walking a tightrope with no discernible solid ground on either side. While carrying two kids. Who will not. sit. still. And also balancing a bottle of laundry detergent on your head. Which doesn't have a lid on it because your toddler is obsessed with lids and likely removed it and hid it under your sink. Which is, for some damn reason, leaking on the floor. Or is that spilled milk...?

... I digress. At any rate, while navigating this balancing act, you are never really even-keeled. Some weeks you get behind on work stuff and catching back up takes over. Seth had one of those weeks, as his knapsack currently includes all kinds of certifications he needs for work plus his ridiculous AOC course, neither of which he can manage to squeeze into his work day.

As a result, I had a "didn't get much schoolwork done" week. I'd call that kids winning, but we like to think the kids always win in a pinch. It may not be strictly true, but it helps us sleep at night. In the case of my week, the pendulum swung wildly in favor of CDC. (I know that's mixing metaphors in a big way, but sleep never makes the "winning" or even "breaking even" list.) I definitely didn't mind setting aside my voluminous reading to get us all back and forth a dozen times to accommodate CDC Open House. (Since it was an adorable family night culminating in the worst Mexican food I have ever had at "La Hacienda," but hey- I didn't have to cook. And hearing Finley scream "TA-cos!" was worth choking down whatever passes for tinga in Highland Falls.)

I was less thrilled about the half day of paper writing I lost due to the CDC nurse's mistaken belief that Finley was due for more shots, the fact that Seth just took her in for one she was allegedly missing two weeks ago notwithstanding. 

Finley, on the other hand, was thrilled, since she got a morning reprieve from "school" to wait around at the doctor's with Mom, a sticker for her troubles, and a DFAC breakfast date-- and didn't have to have any shots to boot.

Seth and I both had good intentions of getting caught up on a rainy weekend at home, having cancelled our trip to the Berkshires due to the forecast and the need for a no-travel/ no-company/ no-excuse not to study weekend between the Buffalo trek and a slew of upcoming houseguests (about which we're super excited! but desperately want to be able to enjoy without worrying about deadlines.) Naturally, we didn't get as much done as we wanted and I think Seth pulled an all-nighter last night as penance. 

But we had a blast hanging out at home. Finley got to go to her first birthday party, which was complete with a Tumblebus and face stickers and cake pops. (And, much to Seth's delight, Bloody Marys.) The Ryan family definitely set the birthday party gold standard.

I got in a long-ish run (a real treat these days), and even snagged a quick nap on the couch with our snuggly little guy.

Who gets his fair share of Mom & Dad naptime, actually. 

We peeled ourselves off the couch on a rain break long enough to check out the Wildlife Education Center (Finley liked the snakes. Ford snoozed.) The StoryWalk was a big hit too, although you wouldn't know it from this picture.

Although the Cornwall Park was the highlight for Finley, who learned "giddyap" this weekend (obnoxiously, she has also learned that it's funny to shout it while I'm pushing the jogging stroller uphill) and is getting big enough to make us nervous on the springy horses.

Annddd we finally finished off the garage, just in time for it to get chilly enough out to require winter wear inside it. Which made for this adorable sequence of pictures in which Finley and Ford "shared" a football toy in Dad's recliner.

Before we knew it, it was Monday morning, and we're off again. Grandma Jayne arrives for the long weekend on Thursday, and these little guys are almost as excited as Seth & I. We're planning a date night, and don't even care that we will probably spend it at the library.

Cheers to everybody else on the tightrope! I have a couple favorite photos this week, but the clear winner is this one, a glimpse into what makes double diaper duty and the circus that is twoundertwo life worth it:

Naturally, there are also plenty of these moments. ("Ford, do not touch my baby!")

And because I keep forgetting to send the following kid updates, Finley's hair is finally growing, and she's working an impressive rat tail right now. It cracks us up.

And Ford has two teeth! (This was my attempt to capture them on camera, which largely failed although if you squint at the bottom right one you may catch a glimpse.) His steak days are right around the corner.