First Team Huntley Family Vacation!!

A couple weeks ago we went camping and It. Was. Awesome.  We rented a car and headed about 2.5 hours north to Copake, NY and the Taconic Mountain Range.  It was a beautiful drive and the girls haven't been in the car for almost a year, so they were angels, content to look out the window and listen to music.
We stayed in a cabin at a little family-oriented campground.  There was a pool and a playground, and every cabin had its own firepit and grill out front.  Delilah and Noelle were in HEAVEN.  We stayed from Thursday to Sunday and nobody was ready to leave.  Delilah kept saying she wanted the cabin to be her new home.  She also asked why our houses keep getting smaller. :) 
One of my favorite things about the trip was that the playground was directly across from our cabin, which meant the girls could go by themselves while Chris and I watched from our picnic table.  They loved getting to go by themselves and we loved watching the girls play together.  Delilah is so caring with Noelle, and Noelle wants to be wherever Delilah is, doing whatever Delilah is doing.  I had no idea when Noelle was born how much I would love watching my girls play together...few things warm my heart more.

Delilah and Noelle slept in bunkbeds.  Delilah LOVED her little bunk with a window.

Happy, tired girls.

A favorite pasttime was throwing pebbles in the puddles in front of our cabin

Delilah coloring at our cabin's picnic table.  She wanted to do EVERYTHING outside.

Daddy getting his girl to sleep

We went hiking at nearby Bash Bish Falls.  Please note Delilah's self-selected hiking outfit.

Happy Chris. :)

Not always a Norman Rockwell picture around here.  Delilah did have a meltdown on the trail b/c she wanted to go swimming so badly.

Noelle LOVES this backpack.

Our little woodland sprite.

We hiked into Massachussetts!

The beautiful falls

I love her sweet little face in this picture

The Huntley Girls

First S'mores!

Our tired crew resting in the cabin at night

We visited the most idyllic sheep farm.  This is Delilah picking a flower in front of the barn.

She loved the sheep

Noelle could not be troubled to see the sheep farm.

We went to a breathtaking sculpture garden.  You can see Chris & Noelle walking, and if you look closely inside the sculpture, you can see the spot of pink that is Delilah.

Delilah loved walking around the giant open fields and coming across the sculptures.  Our little artiste.

Delilah taking a break on one of her favorites.

 The last picture is of the beach at Taghkanic State Park, where we stopped to play for several hours on our way home.  I left the camera in the car, so this is just a stock photo I found on the internet.  I had to include a pic b/c it was perhaps the highlight of our trip.  The girls played for HOURS on the beach-- racing in and out of the water, playing in the sand, and just doing what little girls do. 
The whole trip was such a nice (and much-needed) break for all of us.  I love NYC, but I also love that within 30 minutes you can be back in the middle of nature.  Our first family vacation was definitely a hit, and I can't wait to go on another one!!!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day

Such a fun Father's Day this year.  We went to Central Park with some friends from the building to watch one of the dads play in his softball league.  We spread out blankets and food, let the girls run around, and had so much fun that Delilah slept until 8:30 this morning and Noelle slept until 9!

On the streets of New York

Delilah, Noelle, and Lyla in a bear hug!

Lyla and Noelle love to hold hands

How did I get so lucky?

Chris playing with the girls

Delilah was walking around with the camera, taking a million pictures and telling everyone she was a photojournalist.  This is a pic she snapped of me. :)

The girls cheering for the softball team

"Me next! Me next!"

Lyla and Delilah...best of friends

Holding hands on the cobblestones

Delilah, Lyla, and Alexa with the best seats in the house

Thank you for all you do, Chris.  It makes my heart so full to watch you be a daddy to our two precious girls.  They love you beyond words and I hope one day they realize that how blessed they are to have you for a father.  All three of us love you to pieces!!!!!

Must Remember This

Delilah and I had the most amazing conversation about 3 months ago, and I realized that I wrote about on Facebook, but I never wrote it down here. I want to remember this forever:

D: Why did Daddy call Grammy Di his mommy?
me: B/c she is his mommy.
D: Oh, then I guess Papa H is his daddy, Mimi is your mommy, and PopPop is your daddy?
me: Yes (no idea how she worked all that out in half a second). And actually, I have two mommies...Mimi is one of them.
D: Where is the other one?
me: Well, she got really sick and died and went to heaven before you were born.
D: oh....I bet you miss her and that makes you so sad. But that's why God gave you daughters...we can love you like your mommy did. I love you so much, Mommy.

Oh, my sweet precious angel.  I don't know what I did to deserve you.  I love you, Delilah.

Coney Island!!!!!

This past Saturday, we loaded up the girls and a stroller and took the 1 hr subway ride to Coney Island.  Best. Saturday. Ever.  Well, maybe not ever, but certainly the best Saturday in a long time.  We started off at the Aquarium, where we enjoyed the animals and a sea lion show.  But Delilah had seen the beach on our way in, and would not be deterred from swimming.  So after our short jaunt to the aquarium, we headed for the boardwalk.  Hot dogs, ice cream, draft beers, french fries, what's not to love?  Noelle took the world's shortest nap while Chris & Red played in the ocean.  When Noelle woke up, the girls played in a little splash pad that's right on the beach.  A giant palm tree sprays water on the sand, which was perfect for the non-swimming Ellie Bug.  We did lose Delilah for two minutes, and I have never been so scared in my life.  Ever.  The beach is huge and looking out in to that sea of people while trying to find such a tiny being just took my breath away.  Fortunately, she was actually right where we had left her, just blocked by some people who had moved in front of her. 
We played in the sand and surf all afternoon, then rinsed off, changed, and headed home.

Noelle is ready to take on the boardwalk!

In the aquarium

Playing with Daddy before the sea lion show

"I see you"

She LOVES sunglasses!!

Deciding which ice cream flavor to get

Sharing a cone



Coming in from the ocean.  Delilah could not get enough of the waves.

I adore this picture

The girls got so cold when the clouds rolled in.  Here I am trying to warm them up!

There are no words that adequately express how much I love this picture. 

Like Chris said, it felt like we were on vacation!!! We can't wait to do it again.

Sullivan Visit

For the love of Pete, where does the time go?  How am I just now blogging about a visit that was a month ago?!?!
Allison's husband, Seth, had a bachelor party in NYC, so she called to see if I would want her to come, too...YES!!!  So they left their oldest son with grandparents in Houston, and came up with their daughter, Millie.  Seth spent most of the trip with his friends, of course, but I was pleasantly surprised that we got to see him a lot more than I expected.  LOVED hanging out with Ali & Millie.  She's been to NYC a bunch, so she told me that she didn't want to do the touristy stuff; she just wanted to hang out and see what my life is like in NY.  Which was great, b/c most of the touristy stuff is hard to do with 3 kids under 4 in tow!
So I went about life as usual (ballet lessons, trips to the bookstore, park visits, etc.), but all of it was so much brighter with Ali around.  She's kind of like that in general: she always makes everything brighter and more fun.
I've already posted some pics on the Strawberry Shortcake post, and here are the rest.  I think they're pretty self explanatory.  Except maybe one of Millie with crazy hair holding a teal pancake:  let's just say she enjoyed her pancake to the fullest, she may or may not have been covered in syrup, and pancakes in our house are never beige.

I love this last picture in Central Park so very much.  Missed you the moment you left, Ali.  And thank you so much for coming to visit when you were 14 months pregnant!!!! :)

First Year: Done!

I took my last final and turned in my last paper of the year yesterday.  Which means I am officially through with my first year of seminary!!!  I am EXHAUSTED.  As in, eye twitching and stomach cramping from being so tired.  I am trying so very hard to not let my schooling take me away from my family too much, so I try to fit all my work in to naptimes and after Chris has gone to bed, but there are definitely the occasional Sat/Sun afternoons when I have to slip away for a few hours to the library.  I've also taken advantage of the babysitting at my gym: I go four days a week and I work out 3 of those days, and study the other day.
I am loving it.  I actually get a runner's high from studying and my papers are usually too long instead of too short (they were always too short in college!).  I think I'm discerning the specific path I'm supposed to take, but I don't know that I'm quite ready to write about it.
I have been exposed to so much this year.  Whites are in the minority at my seminary, with the predominant races being African-American and Asian (specifically Korean).  I absolutely love the diversity.  I love that I never know what language I will hear in the halls, and I love learning about all the different traditions that people grew up with.  I am so inspired by the obstacles that some have had to overcome to attend graduate school, and I love how much everyone truly wants to be there.
I have a few weeks off, then I will begin summer school.  I have come to cherish my classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and the idea of waiting 3 months for the fall seems ludicrous.  But I will definitely cherish my 3 week break. :)

Mother's Day: Always Bittersweet

Dear Mom,
I still miss you. Every day. My life is turning out pretty wonderfully, but there would be a lot more laughter and fun if I could still share it with you. I love you.
P.S.- Thank you for your still-present, if unseen, guidance in raising my girls. They can't be shaped by your presence, so I am doing my best to watch over the shape they take in your absence. I think they are going to be pretty incredible.