parton peaks

This past weekend we took a family trip to the Adirondacks.

We had absolutely perfect weather and enjoyed some good family time.

[1] Hm. I think this is Cranberry Lake.

[2] Cranberry Lake? Someone confirm or deny.

[3] And again.

[4] Here we come!!!

[5] Cute purple flowers/weeds ... and bee ... in Tupper Lake.

(Sidenote: these are one of my favorite parts about fall. I love how they're all over the sides of roads!)

[6] We stopped at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Probably has a more official name than that.

 [7] We had a blast exploring & watching Bo explore.

[8] The facility was beautiful, and it was a gorgeous afternoon to walk their trails.

 [9] Awesome walkways over the pond.

 [10] I can never get enough pictures of my boys having fun together.

[11] Always looking to steal a quick smooch. 

 [12] "A-Bo" - what he says when he sees his shadow.

 [13] "Fro" - what he says as he winds up to inevitably throw an object.

 [14] Laughing after pushing over a log with daddy.

 [15] Peek!

[16] Amazing underside of an upturned tree.

 [17] Favorite picture of the moment.

 [18] Driving from Tupper Lake to Keene Valley.

 [19] Early morning outside South Meadow Farm Lodge. We loved staying at this place!
The peak to the right is Cascade, which we climbed.

[20] Ready to go!

[21] Beginning of the trail.

[22] About 10 minutes in. At which point I was already wondering what I'd gotten myself into.

And realizing how sadly out of shape I am.

[23] Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to hike!

[24] A little break prompted by Bo's favorite phrase: "I pooped."

Most of the time it's a false alarm, but we're not taking any chances.

[25] Loading back up.

[26] "Close" to the summit.  

[27] Yeah, Doug really carried Bo up and down a mountain.

Sidenote: Doug goes back next weekend for "Man Trip" - they'll hike at least 3 high peaks, 

which makes my legs cramp up just thinking about it.

[28] Aaaaalmost there.

[29] This picture looks like Doug is standing on the very edge of the mountain.

But we all know if that were true, I would be passed out on the ground instead of taking a picture.

[30] We did it! Our first family high peak!

[31] "1" - first high peak.

[32] "11" - Doug's eleventh high peak.

[33] Meet "Cassie" the otter (named after the mountain, Cascade).

Bo got her as a little treat at the Wild Center, and she was a trooper on our hike...

despite being thrown to the ground during a few tantrums, she made it to the top.

[34] Mountain top Bo.

[35] Checking out the landscape.

[36] Speaking of which...

[37] Gorgeous view from Cascade. I believe that's Mirror Lake in Lake Placid.

EDIT: Not Mirror Lake. Round Lake.

[38] Beautiful. (Lots of hikers while we were there!)

[39] Oh, just a little mountaintop rock jumping.

[40] Aaand, approximately 5 minutes into our descent:

[41] Driving along 73 on our way home.

[42] Little peak in the middle is Owl's Head, which we climbed this past summer (not a high peak).

Doug: "I'm so proud that you can identify Owl's Head." 

[43] Cute old barn in Marcy Field (?)

EDIT: NOT Marcy Field. NEAR Marcy Field.

[44] I'd say we missed peak fall colors by maybe a couple weeks,

but it was still breathtakingly beautiful.

 [45] Another shot of Cascade from our lodge.

A wonderful weekend with my favorite boys!
Looking forward to our next trip already.

embrace the camera

recently i'm... [32?]

Slacking:

Oh dear. I meant to do individual posts about my brother's wedding, Bo's birthday,

his birthday party, our new kitchen colors, etc... but I'm just a slacker!

Blogging isn't much of a priority in my life these days. 

I realized that I've had a blog for 10 years now.

TEN YEARS, people. Granted, not this particular blog. My first "blog" was a Livejournal...

and my moniker was "Packt_Sardine" ... 

because I was eighteen years old and a Radiohead reference was like, the coolest thing, 

and finding obscure music was clearly the most important thing in life.

Oy.

Anyway, then I started a blog for my experience at Oxford, 

and then I started this ole blog to update western NY fam & friends on our life in Michigan,

and now I'm supposed to be doing the same for fam & friends in Michigan.

Public self-absorption for a decade. Woo-hoo!

ANYWAY.

THAT was a tangent.

Celebrating:

LOTS of big celebrations this season!

[1]

Robert & Bailey's wedding was beautiful. BEAUTIFUL.

Such a sweet couple, and the wedding reflected them in the most perfect way.

All of these pictures are stolen from various people on Facebook - thanks, friends & fam!

My brother branded the bottom of his cowboy boots, which showed when they kneeled at the altar!

I mean... just perfect, right?!

[2] 

Bo's 2nd birthday!

I started a birthday post to him and never finished it. Horrible!

The day of his birthday was beautiful & I tried to do a photoshoot with him,

but he wasn't really feeling it.

Much to my delight, Bo showed no hesitation with his birthday cake this year.

Then we had a tractor birthday party for him over the weekend.

Even though it was rainy and cold, we had a great time!

Enjoying:

Our new kitchen colors! (Here you go, Sara!)

Before:

After!

Reading:

The Meaning of Marriage, by Tim Keller. Awesome, awesome.

Loving:

Autumn in western New York. 

the bills make me wanna... shout.

This past Sunday, my dad treated my sisters & me and took us to the Bills' season opener!

Dad & I, getting pumped for the game:

This was my 2nd Bills game. 

The last game I went to, the Bills were beat the much-hated Dallas Cowboys... 10-7...

And the stadium was still called "Rich Stadium"...

... And my favorite player, Bruce Smith, was still playing. 

Soooo yeah - it had been awhile.

It was a beautiful afternoon with amazing company.

And pretty decent seats - thanks, Dad!

And although the outcome of the game made us do this:

We still had an awesome time together.

And we're foolishly cautiously optimistic about the Bills this year... 

Although other terms, such as "in denial" or "perpetually masochistic" are also applicable.