Road Trip

September has gotten away from us with lots of travel to visit family. We've finally returned to a crisp coolness in the air that means Fall is here.


Two weeks ago we took a road trip out to Lake Tahoe and NV to meet up with "Unkiss" aka. Uncle Cris and his lovely girlfriend Sara who were down from Spokane. It was a relief that Ava is now sturdy enough to handle the altitude, unlike our last visit. She did an amazing job on what ended up as a 5 hour car drive. One of her favorite pass time while locked into her car seat, stroller or shopping cart is to sing at the top of her lungs. It's usually a mix-up of tunes all piled together and she very into creating her own songs complete with imaginary words.


The hotel was a very big hit. Who can resist ordering up room service, jumping on a king size bed, watching cartoons and swimming in a pool. She would have been happy to move right in for a nice long stay.


We headed out for a day on the lake even though it was a little chilly. As Ava gets older she seems impervious to cold like most kids. But sand, water and food always make a great day so we settled down for some fun...


...which meant feeding Uncle Chris crackers, playing soccer and...


...peek-a-boo with Sara.


And of course we had to get some time in with Cousin Piper and her folks.


What a goof.


No really, she's a goof. Ava was very impressive in her pirate costume at the party Sara's very welcoming and hospitable parent's hosted. She just cracks me up in this picture, modeling her outfit. She was surprisingly quite at ease with a house full of pirate, what a brave girl.


On our drive back home we stopped in Sacramento to see Aunty Lea and Cousin Olivia. To Ava's surprise there were 2 little kittens sleeping behind the couch when she arrived. I only wish I could bottle the sheer delight she found in these kittens. I can see why parents can't resist a child who asks for a new pet. Ava melted and kept exclaiming "My first kitten!" and "Oh, itty, bitty, kitty, come here. You okay?" Of course she came home and decided that she wanted to pick up our cats and carry them around the house just like the kittens. Yeah, Ruby and Pablo aren't too happy with Ava who now has the muscles to pick them up.

Another update soon on our next adventure...