Sometimes it's hard to be a tree hugger (even when you're five minutes from a national park)

Whenever we travel, I'm conflicted on a couple of levels. On one hand, I love getting out and seeing new things, experiencing new experiences and getting a chance to introduce Park to the world and all of the places Carrie and I love. On the other hand, I'm a bit of a homebody, I hate leaving the dogs behind and I'm troubled by the environmental impact of traveling hundreds of miles from home.

However, in the end, my desire to explore always wins out—with a gentle push from Carrie. I set the dogs up with my parents where they feel completely at home and are loved, buy some carbon credits to cancel out my guilt and I'm usually good by the time the plane lands.

The last couple of trips have been different though.

During last month's trip to the Atlantis in the Bahama, I was shocked by the resort's unbridled use of plastic, especially water bottles, and the complete lack of recycling. Every lunch killed me. I tried taking my own water bottle, but there was just no way around all of the plastic that I was eventually forced to throw in the trash. When we got back home I e-mailed the resort's management to ask about their recycling policy and was told there simply wasn't a resource on the island, but they were working on figuring something out, which seemed like a logical response and completely understandable.

Then came our trip to Colorado. During the first half of the trip in Estes Park we accumulated a small pile of recyclables. Before we left, I went down to the office to find out where I could take them and was told that they too did not offer recycling, but it wasn't just the place we were staying, it was the entire city of Estes Park! Seriously. Estes Park, the "Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park" does not have a recycling program! How in the hell is that possible? How is Wichita, Kansas more progressive than anywhere in Colorado? (That is the first and probably last time I will use the words "Wichita" and "progressive" in the same sentence.)

Luckily, during the last half of our trip, our faith in Colorado was restored, thanks to the Frisco community recycling center.

Once again, Frisco can do no wrong.

I took this photo as I was walking along the beach in the Bahamas. Oddly enough, just before I took it I was looking at the crystal-clear water and thinking about what was going on in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rocky Mountain High

It's been seven years since we last visited Colorado (way too long) and about a year since we started talking about doing a trip out there with Uncle Curt, Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Hagen. Finally, just a couple weeks ago, we got that whiff of country air, saw some wildlife and took some scenic hikes to last us another year or so.

We tried to extend our trip out there as long as possible, and ended up having two different Colorado vacations during one week. Each were lots of fun and came with plenty of adventures and down time.

Colorado - Part One
For the first half of the trip, we flew out to Denver and met up with Curt, Cheryl and Hagen from Houston. We then loaded up a suburban and were off to Estes Park. In order to make the most of our time together while the kids were awake but also napping, we rented a two-story cabin that had plenty of room for "playing" Jenga (a game left by the renters), cooking dinners, grilling smores, watching meteor showers on the deck, dancing (Hagen loves Lady Gaga and Park prefers the Black Eyed Peas ... or really, any good beat), jumping in piles of pillows, running little hands against (and hovering over) the air vents, coloring and running/scooting after each other. It was an ideal set up to say the least. The property was also just half a mile from a park that provided hours of fun (for both kids and adults).



When we weren't at the cabin, we enjoyed walking around the town of Estes Park. We also checked out two of the easier hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. And we made a day-trip to Ft. Collins to see what all the talk was about. (We weren't impressed.)

Fun at the park




Fun at the cabin








Rocky Mountain National Park -- Hike around Nymph Lake and then off to Lily Pond for a picnic lunch












To be continued ...

Old friends and new faces from faraway places.

We were super lucky this summer to have several old friends visit Wichita with their little ones in tow. As hard as it is to capture one kid on the move, it's even harder with two. But here's a look at a few play dates we arranged for the kids so the adults could catch up.

The first visit was with the Scheers -- Jessica and I go way back to the pre-teen years. (Or was it earlier than that? I've lost count.) Jess, her husband Mark and their two beautiful kids with hair to die for are relocating to the states after being in Germany for several years. It's so good to have them closer! And it was great to finally meet little Rhys, who was born about a month after Park. We didn't get a picture of Fiona, but we owe her all the credit for the photo of us with the boys. (Thanks Fiona!)





Our second overseas visitor was Jay and his super sweet daughter, Bella. Jay and I go back to elementary school and Craig and him have known each other for almost as long. What a treat to finally meet Bella -- we were fortunate enough to see them several times while they were in town and even got to meet the other woman in his life, Irene. Hong Kong seems to be treating him very well.



And finally, our third visitor was Amy and her daughter with a future in dancing, Madison. While they didn't travel nearly as far as the others, Park enjoyed their visit from KC so much that he threw a fit when we made him take a bath and get ready for bed while they were downstairs. We let him stay up almost two hours past his bedtime because he was having so much fun dancing and playing with Madison. Can you blame him?

Crib Notes: Month 15

You know it's going to be a good month when you wake up looking like this on your 15th month birthday:



Just like Park's bedhead, his 15th month was simply crazy. It started by him mastering the challenge of going from laying down on his back to getting up to a sitting position. This quickly led to sitting up in his crib, which meant more play time before nap time. It's also pretty darn funny to walk in after his nap when he's just sitting there staring at the door, waiting to be rescued. Another obstacle Park conquered this month was crawling on his belly. Thanks to physical therapy and every incentive imaginable (cell phones, TV remotes ... anything he shouldn't have), he will finally wiggle on his belly to get somewhere. While it's a great step in the right direction, he still prefers to scoot on his bottom since he can get where he needs to so much faster.

As mentioned in an earlier post, little Park has become a master flirt. He also loves music, and will dance just about anywhere: in the car seat, at the doctor's office, on the changing table ... right now his moves are limited to bobbing his head and flailing his arms, but we can't wait to see what he can do when he starts walking.

Like most kids, Park can have his moments where he'll only eat bread for dinner or peas for lunch. But for the most part, we're impressed with his willingness to try new foods and eat a balanced meal on a semi-regular basis. His new obsession is red foods: cherries, tomatoes, strawberries and Goldfish crackers. (OK, so those are orange.) He has also taken a liking to blueberries and waffles. He's still picky when it comes to sweets.

Park's vocabulary is expanding but not at the pace of the words he actually understands. He gives hugs by leaning into you and putting his head on you (which the dogs really aren't sure about). And he's holding on to that second nap that I'm so, so grateful for.

I guess we were so preoccupied with Park's mobility this month that we forgot to have a camera on us. Craig did capture a spontaneous trip out to the backyard where the dogs and I introduced the little guy to bubbles. Like most things, it ended with the wand in his mouth.

Hello pretty mamas in the Bahamas

As Craig already shared in the earlier post, Park broke in his new passport when we met up with my family in the Bahamas last month. While we didn't expect the kid to be so accommodating and patient during all the flights, long layovers and late nights, we were even more unprepared when Park took his flirting to a whole new level. I guess that's what happens when you're surrounded by pre-teens. On vacation. Wearing swimsuits.

We've noticed Park's ways with the ladies when we go out to eat or even take a few laps at the mall. But this experience was completely different. If the kid ever gets shy asking a girl out in the years to come, I'll be sure to share these two highlights from the trip as a way to boost his confidence: The first was an evening out to dinner with the entire family. The setting: a diner. (Sounds innocent enough, right?) All of a sudden, Park turns his head and swings his arm around the backside of the highchair where he leaves it. Posing. He very clearly says, "hi." (Which he's done maybe twice in all of his 15 months of life.) The kid has zoned in on two girls (probably around 9 and 11) trying to have a quiet dinner with their parents. Uh uh. Not that night. For the entire meal, he makes eyes at them, smiles, plays shy and waves. Fast forward later in the week when we're wheeling Park around the property in his stroller. All of a sudden, two teen girls are heading towards us in their swimsuits. Park sees them and follows them with his eyes as they walk past us. Then he gives his right arm a good pump or two. Nice. The kid doesn't even care that all of us could see him.

Aside from the flirting, the trip had a variety of highlights and challenges that come with traveling outside the U.S. and with a toddler. Just one of the challenges was sharing bedrooms. Luckily, we had a suite so that we wouldn't have to sit in the dark at 7 p.m. when we put him down for the night. Craig and I would lay there and play dead if we heard him stirring during the night. And waking up in the morning with his crib just feet from our bed was always entertaining - we would play "find Park hiding behind the bumper" over and over and over again. It also didn't help matters that his one-year molars decided to pick this week as the week to make their appearance. (In translation, all photos have his fingers in his mouth and his shirt covered in drool.)

As for the highlights, Park kicked back in the lazy river with Craig, witnessed a turtle and shark feeding (not at the same time), spent some quality time with the family from Kansas City, bellied up to more than one buffet and discovered the ocean for the very first time. Park also enjoyed the view from our room on the 11th floor - he would just sit at the glass doors and yell out whenever a "duck" (or bird) flew by. Kind of like when a pretty girl walked by, but without the arm pump.


Grandpa John, Mimi, cousins Kailey and Maisy


Those darn molars


Here fishy, fishy


One big tank