jack's first flight

the original plan was to take jack's first flight as a family for our mostly annual trip with the pullens to visit the taltons in north carolina. unfortunately ku had other plans and scheduled the opening of their new freestanding psych unit on the same weekend. so long story short, donald had to stay home. never one to pass up an adventure, i decided i was up for tackling the flight with jack solo.

we arrived at kci as prepared as we could be and hoping for the best. i was already slightly concerned about getting through the dallas airport and making our connecting flight with a pretty short layover, then our flight out of kc was delayed due to a bird strike. that was a new one for me. it ultimately ended up that everything was delayed out of dfw as well, so it all worked out in the end. on our first flight we unexpectedly ran into the parents of some college friends, which was a fun surprise. and we also completed our first in-flight airplane bathroom diaper change, so i imagine my merit badge should be arriving soon.

jack was a great little traveler and made a lot of new friends [i haven't interacted with this many strangers in an airport since i flew with the harry potter books]. our long weekend in nc was delightful as usual. lots of good conversation, london broil, low country boil, and of course more than a few games of wizard. jacob and i also kicked it old school with an impromptu audio adrenaline sing-a-long, which is now officially one of the highlights of our friendship.

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the year donald started to travel

prior to our marriage donald hadn't traveled much. a senior trip to colorado, a few vegas trips to visit his brothers and that was it. he had otherwise not been more than five hours from kansas city at any given time in his life.  i, on the other hand, start to feel kind of anxious and unsettled if more than six months have passed since i've been on a plane.  

we honeymooned in california, but after that travel took a backseat while we worked on our budget and settled into married life. for the next year and a half we stuck close to home and the only traveling we did were some weekend trips to st. louis, the lake, branson and bolivar. but that was then, and this is now.

in the span of three months, donald's travel life will be revolutionized. in july we took a big trip to new york city. it was a rather intense five days of exploring and living it up in the big apple. i was in my happy place. donald enjoyed the trip too, even though it was pretty far from his comfort zone [which is the 4'x4' area in our living room surrounding his recliner].

then last weekend we flew east again for a trip that was a little more his speed. jacob, nickie, donald and i went to north carolina to visit jenn and tyler. the pullens and i have made this an almost annual event, but it was donald's inaugural journey. traveling with friends is one of my favorite things, so this trip was bound to be a winner. and jenn is always the hostess with the mostess, planning a food menu [in advance, of course] that had both of us very excited.  

after our customary first stop at the mellow mushroom for pizza, we spent a big chunk of our long weekend at the talton's lake house. we played games, ate lots of delicious things and enjoyed all of the fun lake toys. 

now the big kicker will be in october when donald leaves the country for the very first time. we're going to mexico with my mom and a group from calvary to work with some missionary friends there. i'm excited to literally show him the world!

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creeper trail tales

when jenn talton has visitors, she doesn't mess around. she is the hostess with the mostess. there is never a dull moment in the a-jenn-da o' fun...plus the food is amazing.

jacob, nickie and i got off to a bit of a rough start, airline wise, but we finally made it to north carolina. the first order of business was some time at the lake house. always a crowd pleaser. we played cards, kayaked in the rain, water skied [i slalomed successfully for the first time!], jumped off a rock and ate low country boil. it was a splendid time.

the slalom and the boil

then we got really serious. sunday's adventure was a thirty four mile bike ride on the virginia creeper trail. and an adventure it was. here's what we were looking at going into the day: you park your car at a bike shop at the end of the trail. the bike shop shuttles you to the top [about a one hour drive] and off you go. we knew the first half would involve a lot of coasting, with the second half becoming a bit more strenuous as the trail flattens out.

the first seventeen miles were indeed delightful. since we were riding down the mountain there was a gentle slope the whole way. i think i used the pedals about five times in that first half. the scenery was beautiful and we were loving life. we even happened upon an all male a cappella group practicing in a nearby house, which was a fun surprise. at the halfway point, we found a little cafe to have lunch in and relaxed for a short bit. then back to the trail we went.

that's when the real adventure began. less than a mile into our second seventeen, the heavens opened and the rain came down. and i mean it came. down. i couldn't see due to the waterfalls coming off of my eyelashes and my shoes quickly became individual swimming pools for my feet. at one point jenn said, "i could get off my bike and go jump in the river and i would not be as wet as i am right now"...and she was right. it was hilarious. we pressed on, not knowing how long the rain would last, but knowing we had no other options since our car was at the end of the trail. the incessant rainfall ended up lasting for about the next three miles, though at the time it felt a little bit like eternity. while grateful for the clear skies, we were now pedaling one hundred percent of the time, and my muscles [which were already sore from water skiing] began to protest. but we persevered and made it out alive. all in all it was a great day of memories, and i was able to check something off my list. our end of the trail pictures don't really do justice to the wet, the sweat and the mud we encountered, but if you look closely you can spot the creeper trail tail on the back of my shirt...

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weekend o' fun

last summer i traveled to the carolinas for jenn's wedding and while i was there i met some great new friends, who just happen to live in kc too. we've had a lot of fun outings together this past year and last weekend jacob, nickie and i headed back to north carolina to visit jenn and tyler [and hershey].

there is never a dull moment when you're with jenn, which is one of the [many] reasons i like her so much! she loves playing games and is full of fun outing ideas...plus she's pretty good at planning them.

we managed to fit in some mini-golf, tubing and skiing at the lake, a fierce guys vs. girls trivial pursuit game, bumper boats, a hike in hanging rock state park, some serious games of wizard, and a jack johnson concert...which was a dream come true for me!

the trip was a blast...thanks jacob and nickie for being my travel buddies, and thanks jenn and tyler for having us!

nickie, shelly & jenn before jack

the whole gang...even hershey

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mr. & mrs. talton

after a very quick turn around from africa, i was on my way to the beach in north carolina for a great friend's wedding. we had so much fun! this was my first destination wedding and it did not disappoint. i got to hang with some really fun [and hilarious] people, lay on the beach, help with the wedding details and dance the night away! i would do it again in a heartbeat. here are some pictures of the fun...

beach day

shelly and jenn

jenn and tyler's first dance...they were groovin'

mimi and me

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