A New Routine, and an "Under the Weather" Weekend

We've settled into the routine of a medically retiring Seth, which means meat... it's what's for dinner, and that oftentimes, instead of racing to daycare pickup at the end of a long day, I find these guys by the pond fishing. Nobody, with the possible exception of the fish, is complaining about this new rhythm. F+F love their Dad Time, and I do not miss the race to not be the last parent in the door, out of breath and apologetic, at Wonder Years.

We finally got around to making Seth's belated birthday cake, and I wish I could say F+F did all the frosting:

Another infection, hopefully this one minor, had Seth laid up for most of the weekend, though, and I'm battling my annual case of strep, so the last couple days have looked a lot like the Nyquil commercial ("Moms [and Dads] don't get days off.") That meant pizza for dinner (F+F love Mod, and come up with some crazy combinations like this pineapple-corn-ham-sausage delight Finley devoured)

gratitude for Little Gym- coordinated birthday partying,

and a low-key trip to the car wash by way of Saturday activities, which turned out to be a real hit even if my car doesn't appear to be significantly cleaner.

Sunday I finally got antibiotics, and pulled it together enough for the long-promised trip to see the "real mermaids" on tour at the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Which was an actual dream come true for both kids. Ford can't stop talking about it, and went to bed last night clutching his autographed mermaid photo, even if he was way too intimidated to take part in the official photo.

Making the most of the loonnggg drive, we also managed a warm-if-windy beach picnic,

some exploring at Fort Fisher,

and a ride on the much-anticipated Fort Fisher- Southport "car boat," site of this hilarious and terrible pose that happened when I asked Finley to say cheese.

As soon as we drove off the ferry, the backseat of the car looked like this, and stayed that way the whole way home. #nailedit

Seth and I are both still under the weather today, so I'm playing catchup and gargling saline while the kids are at school, and hoping an R&R Monday is just what the doctor ordered (since I am definitely not getting two of these.)

The photo of the week has to be this one, our typical view at about 8:45; after the kids are tucked in and post- "one more book," at least "one more Superhero story," and a couple rounds of giggling from upstairs. They always seem surprised when we catch them "sneaking" downstairs.

Lots of Travel, a Wedding, and a Birthday

I'm home on a Sunday night for what seems like the first time in ages, so travel- (and hence, laundry- and to-do-list and sleep-catchup) saturated have been the past few weeks. I've been gone a lot for work, with Seth holding down the fort and apparently pulling off the impossible: burning F+F out on pizza. 

Now Seth's snoring on the couch mid-Western and F+F crashed hard after a "Mom travel guilt"-induced trip to the Natural Sciences Museum and Pullen Park, 

and I'm enjoying a few seconds of sipping a semi-decent sauv blanc and scrolling through the list of birthdays and occasions and thank yous and ballet classes and garbage pickups we've missed, in flagrant violation of my recent plan to lose ten pounds by not drinking and get my sh*t together. 

Maybe tomorrow. 

At any rate, the most recent whirlwind included Valentine's Day, which we celebrated in "holy cow this weather is amazing" style (plus some original twists by F+F, including this completely self-prompted guitar-playing outfit and session),

and then a much-anticipated (by two out of the four of us) race for the airport

and a blissful long weekend in Colorado Springs, once we survived what was truly horrendous travel. (My commitment to Frontier Airlines may or may not have taken a hit, and long weekend ski travel can suck it.) But we eventually made it to our airbnb in the foothills, complete with saltwater hot tub

and this view:

and spent our pre-wedding downtime surprising Handsome Ford with this day of his dreams on the Royal Gorge Railroad.

He was quick to point out that this one was not robbed by "bandits," and Seth and I enjoyed the fact that it had a bar

while F+F delighted in getting to hang out with the (real) conductor.

We also got to enjoy some "our kids have already forgotten about West Point winters" snow moments,

and hit up the hilarious Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, which for no reason had this amazing kids' fake rodeo exhibit.

Plus we had enough much-needed r&r time for early morning kid performances like whatever the heck was going on here:

On Sunday, after a lovely weekend of warmth and hospitality and inclusiveness, Ranj & Jason were married at the stunning Garden of the Gods Resort, and they let Finley steal the show,

gave us a reason to get dressed up,

and threw a killer party enjoyed by all.

We were grateful for and rejuvenated by our weekend of love and laughter and panoramic views in Colorado.

And then on the way home, after an obscenely early flight, we celebrated Seth's birthday with lunch at a Charlotte biergarten and a trip to Bass Pro Shops where he- true to form- refused to let F+F win the games.

Cheers to new beginnings, old habits, and a guy who loves his family madly (obviously, having put up with long weekend travel) but has serious issues with his kids' shooting posture, even where Big Buck Hunter and plastic rifles are concerned. Happy 36th, Seth.

Germany, and Catching Up.

Guess that goes to show you what having kids does for you. I have literally tens of thousands of pictures of F+F, stored in purchased iCloud space somewhere I don't completely understand and cluttering more than one iDevice. 

And yet I spent five days in Germany, managing to drink some German beer and squeeze in a quick Bad Tolz road trip to see old friends, and I took like four. And two of them were of food. 

It was a whirlwind of awful travel and a worse conference schedule- involving daily bus transit and way too much spaetzle- but still nice to get back to a place I've loved since I was a kid. (My only other stops there since high school having been either on my way to a war or returning from one, neither being a time for much fun.) Plus Army travel routed me through Atlanta on Super Bowl weekend, making for a real "there's no place like home!" moment when I finally made it.

Luckily, Grandma Jayne came to save the day

and the kids had a blast skipping school in favor of snuggle time. If I hadn't brought home kinder eggs, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have known I was gone.

I got back just in time for ballet and a trip to the children's museum (this is Ford "stopping a bad guy," because he is almost always Dash Incredible these days),

and to make the little heathens go pick up trash with Jayne and I at the Cape Fear Trail. Which was a real sh*tshow.

Seth had been smoking meat for days upon my return (I'm not sure they ate anything else in my absence), and we threw a wild kid Super Bowl Party

at which they acted terrible with their friends and mostly eschewed pants.

Since then it's been a frenzy of work catchup, sprinkled with a birthday party or two

holiday prep (slash cleanup),

and a farewell to Grandma that involved tears (mine) and a couple summer-like days warm enough for- if not the pool- the hot tub, before she had to go back to subzero North Dakota temps.

Plus a wild night at Chuck E. Cheese (Seth & Jayne's pick)

and lots of snuggles.

All in all, I'm behind on almost everything (including this blog) but the Niemans are having a lovely, unseasonably warm, Grandma-brightened, February.

Photo of the week, since I neglected to take any of either Jayne or Germany, is this one of, you know, your everyday Sunday night with F+F's posse. They like to dress (mostly) for BBQ night.