Butler Chronicles: February 2015

Reunited in Portland.

A very good friend moved to Portland and I miss her a lot! So….Beckett and I packed up and headed her way! It was a great weekend trip! It was fun to spend time in her new surroundings, love on her kids, try new foods, and have a conversation in person in the same time zone!

Here are a few pictures from our Portland adventure!

Beckett and I waiting to board our flight. He was a trooper! At 5 months…this was already his 3rd time traveling on an airplane!

First stop: Food Trucks! We had a delicious grilled cheese sandwich! It was even gloomy and rained a bit! My favorite kind of weather! (and perfect for a Portland tourist!)

(not sure Beckett was liking the cold?)

…more food! Thanks Corey for the wonderful (and a bit strange) icecream!!!

….and more food! It wouldn't be a Portland tourist trip without Voodoo Donuts. Yep. Donuts for lunch.

What do you do after donuts for lunch? Find a park to let the kids burn off energy/sugar! Look at those beautiful trees!!!!!

…how sweet is this? The kids were all so sweet to "baby Beckett"

speaking of sweet- while B and I were in Portland, Chris kept the big boys busy with a fun boys weekend. Here was a snapshot of his itinerary! What a great dad! (and yes…the house was very clean when we returned. Maybe we should travel more often….:)

Starting the trip home. We had a layover and the first flight was great. Second one….longest. flight. of. my. life.

Before. (see after)

After. (enough said)

Thank you friends…for a lovely visit! See you again soon…I hope!

After Christmas.…Happy New Year (part 4/4)

Happy New Year

We decided to ring in the new year in West Virginia surrounded by family! What a great visit we had! Already looking foward to next time!

Happy New Year!!!!

Thanks Kevin for the "field trip" to the fire station! We all loved it!

…and headed home!

After Christmas.…Penn State Proud (part 3/4)

Penn State

Since we were only a few hours away, we took the family to Penn State to see the sights (and hopefully find some snow!)

After driving late into the night, the boys were greeted (at our favorite hotel) by a giant real Christmas tree!

Early the next morning we explored the town!

Thank you, Megan, for the adorable outfit. The big boys never got to wear it (too hot in Texas) but Beckett loved it!

We took a drive to Mt. Tussey and tried to find snow. (it was more like ice, but made for a few cute pictures)

A nice family dinner at Allen Street Grill! It was a beautiful winter night!

Camden enjoyed looking out the window to see the Christmas lights.

Afterwards we checked out some of the ice sculptures…..

We went shopping for some PSU souvenirs and they picked out a "cool hat" and football. They look so old!!!!!

and when you buy new footballs…you have to go try them out!

After a relaxing morning we got back on the road to spend a few more days with the family!

(I love this. It looks like the boys were ordering room service. Ha!)

After Christmas.…More Family Time (part 2/4)

Pittsburgh

We took a little day trip to Pittsburgh where we got to see Aunt Sue, Uncle John, and Adam. It was wonderful to meet Lucas! The boys had fun having a playmate! Thanks for the great visit!

Beckett getting to know Aunt Sue!

(look at that adorable blonde hair!)

After Christmas.…to Grandmother's House we go. (part 1/4)

West Virginia

On December 26 we loaded up the family and headed North to celebrate Christmas with our extended family. It was a wonderful trip- so nice to be able to be together with everyone during the Christmas season!

Early morning flight with Grandma and Grandpa. Beckett did great on the flight!