Happy Birthday Kate!

OK, so basically all we do is celebrate birthdays...first Brooke, then my dad, then Kate's Uncle Andy, and now Kate. Hard to believe that she is two - and far and away the smartest member of our household.

Here is a little photomontage of the past two years, we love you!

Happy Birthday Dad W!

Back in early May, we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday. We downplayed the whole thing to make it look like he was getting another tie (from my sister) and a "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug (from me). The ruse was on! We ended up having his mom, dad, brother, three sisters, and a handful of friends join us for a surprise party on Friday night. The old guy didn't know what hit him - and had a great time.

The weekend didn't end there, as we went to Grant's Farm on Saturday morning and then had a nice dinner at my parents' place that night. Before I get to Grant's Farm, it is worth mentioning that my brother in law Todd can fire up a fantastic filet mignon.

Grant's Farm was a blast. By chance we were there one of the two weekends each year that Grant's house is open for tours. The guides said that they chose Mother's Day weekend because Grant and his wife (Julia Grant) only lived in the house for a couple of months, and then upgraded to Julia's parents' house (the White Haven plantation) after Julia's mother died. Yes, I know, a rather morbid reason to open the house for tours on Mother's Day weekend. I haven't ruled out that the guide was a habitual liar.

On an unrelated note, who knew that Julia Grant had crossed eyes?

Anyway, they had a nice setup around Grant's house - with some cannon and tents and teepees and other old-timey accessories. Kate was a fan of the Gatling gun and the teepees.

OK, maybe not so much the Gatling gun. But she did love the cannon. We could hear it all over the farm, and she would beam a smile and clap and ask for more each time they were fired. She does the same thing with thunder, and I have to remind her that "Daddy doesn't control the weather ... yet."

Of course, we had to feed the goats.



Then, on Sunday, we hit the town for a Mother's Day brunch. A wonderfully busy weekend!

My dad and I also had a fantastic time playing golf together the weekend before the surprise party. Highlights of the round included: the mom of one of the guys we were paired with showing up to ride along for 3-4 holes (looking a bit like a female Mick Jagger, but more worn); me hitting three houses on two shots, kudos to me for playing the angles on the 2-for-1 shot; and my dad hitting just about every fairway and playing some really consistent golf.

The best part of the entire round was when we looked at the scorecard at the end of the day and discovered that, in true father-son fashion, we'd ended with the same score.

Happy Birthday Dad.

Happy Birthday Brooke!

On Saturday night we were lucky to get to spend time with our friends Stacey, Jason and Brooke, who live way out in Manhattan, KS where Jason is studying to - as I understand things - be the Dr. House of animals. Kate was especially excited because we got to eat pizza and celebrate Brooke's First Birthday!


Also present were our friends Jen and Dave (not pictured).

Kate Spells K-A-T-E

Vail Has a Wonderful Medical Center

Back in 2007, our good friends Pete and Meredith declared that they were hosting a reunion weekend of sorts over Washington's Birthday in Vail, Colorado. We were really looking forward to the weekend, it isn't often that we get to spend time with Pete and Meredith (and their kids Petie, Caroline, and Maggie), Tim and Barrett, and Jeremy and Kira. Kate had never even met Tim, Barrett, and Kira - so she was the most excited of all.

Top of the World

We were all primed for our Friday flight and, as fate would have it, Wednesday night/Thursday morning Kate came down with the flu. Despite the horror that ended around 7AM, Kate seemed fine on Thursday so we decided to head West to Vail.

Kate, in Happier Times

After two uneventful flights, we were primed for an incident-free vacation. Jinx. Becky was clocked first, on Friday evening, and she unceremoniously passed the (porcelain) torch to me around 2AM Saturday. The combination of the flu, the altitude, and a listless Kate drove us to Vail's Medical Center on Saturday morning. We stayed at the Medical Center for most of the day (if you have the opportunity, the cafeteria has wonderful crackers and yogurt), and slept at the house for the rest. We were especially disappointed to miss the couples dinner at Larkspur that evening.

The Larkspur, We've Heard Good Things

Sunday afternoon marked a slight return to normalcy: Kate begged to go sledding; Becky regained enough energy to drag herself to the spa with the girls; I found enough in the tank to play Wii golf and sample a judicious blend of Rocky Mountain water, hops, and barley.

By Monday everything was once again right with the world. I spent the day skiing with Jeremy, Tim, Pete, and Petie (who unreservedly declared that "Nick is slower than mommy!"). Becky and Kate roamed the town and everyone met in the afternoon for a gondola ride to the summit. Unfortunately, the day's joy will be forever clouded by the haunting combination of the evening's Trivial Pursuit and 8AM Alarm Chili.

Kate Preps for a Day on the Slopes

I Asked, the Chariot Doesn't Come in an Adult Large

Tuesday came too soon, and we said goodbye to Tim and Barrett. On Wednesday we departed with Jeremy and Kira - who Kate enjoyed flirting with on the plane ride home.

All things considered, it was a fantastic time. An indeterminable amount of thanks is due to Pete and Meredith who were superlative hosts, Meredith's sister Michelle who volunteered babysitting services for the weekend, and Pete's dad who let us commandeer his house. Our regrets to Kira, who picked up the flu from us.

We're looking forward to a flu-free return engagement in 2009!