Camping in Ithaca

Jacky graduated from Ithaca College (possibly soon to be University) this last weekend. We decided to skip the hotel costs in favor of an outdoor romp in Buttermilk Falls State Park and Campground. ($40 for a weekend instead of $80 per night...) This strategy worked for us quite well before when we attended Juliana's wedding last summer.

We packed when I got home from work on Friday (5:30 ish), hung out, watched some TV and ate dinner. Annabelle had done her best to fend of the sandman, but succumbed to a rocking chair and some warm milk, dozing off around 9pm. We quickly loaded the car (well, loaded the rest of the stuff... Cheryl had done a brilliant job of preparing the day before), made our last minute ID10T checks and plopped the baby into her car seat. The trip up was filled with enrapturing conversation, joyful rock, and a beautiful dusky set of scenery.

We arrived at the site around 11pm... at which point I pitched camp in the dark (Insert thunderous applause here). The craziest part was errecting our 3 man dome tent... friggin crazy. After 20 minutes of tent poles, flashlights, and stakes, it was time to unroll the sleeping bags and go to bed... which we did without hesitation. As we finished up and started to change for bed, I mentioned that we'de need hats to sleep. Cheryl thought that was a little weird, but we popped them on and hit the hay.

Annabelle woke up around 2am for her early morning feeding. She did her usual soft-cry-half-asleep thing then noticed something was up. Bonk her eyes popped open and she started looking around the tent...

Wow! Tents are so cool... Annabelle certainly seemed to apprecite it. :D

The weather was much cooler than the last time we went camping... instead of 80 degree days with 50 degree nights, we saw a high of 60-something and a frigid low of ~30 degrees at night. We cuddled in a set of sleeping bags we'd zippered together for a nice cozzy sleep time.

The next day, there were campfires to be built, sticks to play with, caterpillars to meet... ROCKS TO EAT... Annabelle had such a great time! ...and so did we!!

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Another Band I've Gotta See

The list of live shows I've got to get to has just doubled in size!

It's now Blue Man Group and the newcomer "The Pinker Tones"

Baby Heartbreaker?

Annabelle didn't want me to go this morning. She never wants me to leave for work, but today...

I was off in the bathroom, brushing my teeth after my nice hot shower which came after my breakfast of cocoa crispies and yogurt (typical routine), when I heard "Ohhh, daddy's getting ready for work. He's got to get going."

Annabelle said something unintelligible back, so I decided to check in. I was greeted with a squeal of delight and an arm wave, followed directly by open "Daddy, pick me up!!" arms. When I picked her up, she laid her head on my chest and hugged me. A nice, long "goooood morning daddy, I love you" hug.

I smiled at her and told her I had to get to work, then put her down where she quickly turned to Cheryl with a big smile like "Aha! See! Daddy's here!!", then I left the room to fill my water bottle and leave... but this was far from what Annabelle had in mind. She wimpered a bit from the other room, then convinced Cheryl to bring her to the living room. When Annabelle made it into the living room, she let out a quit, gasping "Dad" and watched intently as I readied my bag. My sunglasses are always the last step before I leave the house and when Annabelle saw them come out, she franticly scrambled across the floor to grab my leg in a desperate attempt to keep me from leaving.

I played for a minute or two longer, but then I really had to leave... Work needs a better schedule.