New York, New York!

Welcome to the travelblog from our whirlwind trip to New York!

My best friend, Ashley, decided to get married in beautiful Palmyra, NY -- and the next week we got our economic stimulus package in the mail, fortuitous timing! Being savvy college educated individuals, we decided to do our patriotic duty and stimulate the economy by taking a trip to the Big Apple and all the LDS church history sites in upstate NY. So here's our trip, it's long, it's crazy, but enjoy!


Petey exhausted on the subway. We could probably do an entire post of Petey sleeping through everything we did in NY. But he was a champ and fared great on the plane ride and slept all the way to Palmyra!!


Hanging out in Central Park.


We took the Staten Island Ferry with Ashley and got a great view of the Statue of Liberty at sunset.


I love this picture of Ash and Trav laughing while on the boat.


Ashley just lives a few blocks down from the Bronx Zoo, so we spent the morning exploring the animal kingdom. We loved seeing the gorillas and the monkeys -- Petey's brothers -- but Trav decided to boycott the giraffes. Think high-mimicing Trav voice: "Look at me, I'm the tallest animal in the jungle!" Trav: "I hate those guys"! No one really knows why he doesn't like giraffes, he just doesn't.

Because they're tall, spotty, leaf-eating ladders with no rungs, that's why! - Travis



Being cheapskate college students we rented the cheapest car we could find, but by the time we got to Hertz right at closing time all the economy cars were gone. So they upgraded us to a 2008 midnight black Ford Mustang for free. Dang! I hate it when that happens. It wasn't really car seat friendly and the sound of the engine kept waking Peter, but it was worth it for the looks of jealousy and admiration from high school dropouts and 16 year olds.


Millet's roaming through the Sacred Grove. Beautiful.


I love this pic of Trav and Petey's in the Smith Frame home. I think because he looks so at home by this 19th century fireplace.


Niagara Falls! And yes, we made it into the Canadian side even though we had to convince a power-tripping Mountie we weren't trying to smuggle Peter in/out of the country because I had forgotten his birth certificate. Look at his face here, can you tell we missed nap time?


The majestic Niagara Falls.


Now we come to the real reason for the trip in the first place -- Ashley and Peter Bontorno's wedding. It was beautiful and I was so glad we could be a part of it all.


Me and the beautiful bride. Please notice the smart-looking jacket I'm wearing with my dress. I had originally had a friend help me make a beautiful cream colored jacket (same style) for my dress to cover up the spaghetti straps, but at the last minute I was worried it wouldn't look right with all the other bridesmaids. So like two nights before we left I decided to make another jacket. Not wanting to spend more money on material or spend the time to find stuff that would match, I simply cut out the dresses lining and made that into a jacket all by my lonesome! How McGuyvor is that?!

T Rex's got nothin' on me

Look closely to catch a glimpse of Petey's very first set of dinosaur teeth!

Payson Lakes

Annnndd....we're back!!

Two weekends ago we went on a family camping outing (the Lee's) up to Payson Lakes. It was so beautiful and we were able to share some good old fashioned fun outdoorsy family time. The only thing missing was Tracie.



Carter getting ready to roast those balls of fluffy goodness -- otherwise known as marshmallows. Notice that even David was able to make the trip -- dialysis free for the first night in a LONG time.


The Millet family tent. As soon as we got it set up, the kids thought we had brought a 'playground' especially for them. Trav tried to explain that it's for backpacking (thus small and light), but let's just say it was a miracle we got them out when it was time to go to bed.



Grandma showing off her skills on the horseshoe pitch. Rob kindly explained that in the official horseshoeing rulebook, yes, he read it; it states that a player can only receive two warnings for harassing the opposing team before being disqualified. There's a reason no Lee has ever made it to the American Horseshoeing Championship...


The kids (Carter, Peter, Brookie, & Cami) hanging out in the 'playhouse'. And yes, this tent did fit Trav, myself and Petey quite snugly.


Petey and Mommy enjoying the beautiful scenery.

It ended up being a long night for us however. Peter cut two bottom teeth that same day and after we went to bed, he kept waking up every hour or so and crying -- not like him at all. I thought his teeth might be bothering him so, like a good mom, I would nurse him a little each time to help him go back to sleep. Well, this went on until about 6am or so, when I snuggled up to Peter to help him calm down during his latest bout of wakefulness when I realized that the poor kid was soaked! Blankets, pjs, everything -- and it was about 30 degrees out!! Petey must have wet through his diaper and the poor kid had been freezing all night long, that's why he kept waking up! And of course, I had been feeding him more, making him have to go to the bathroom more -- not my best mommy moment. We were able to get him stripped clean (that did NOT make him happy when it was so cold out) but after we snuggled him up in dry blankets, he gave us the happiest smile and peacefully drifted off to sleep. Camping is not as easy as it looks with a baby.

.5 Years Old!

Happy half-year birthday Petey!



On the 25th of July Peter turned 6 months old (I know, I'm a little late) and he is just changing every day. At his last appointment, he weighed 14 lbs and 15 oz and was 24.5 in long. He's sitting up like a pro these days, only a few face plants here and there. We've also started him on solid foods, which he loves -- but then you know who his parents are.



He chews on everything he can get his hands on (no teeth yet though) and drools like he's trying to create his own river. My Dad says he needs to wear a raincoat whenever he's watching him.



Our little monkey is also starting to push up while on his belly -- when he gets tired of that, he'll stick his little behind in the air like an inch worm. We just have to coordinate his efforts and he'll be crawling in no time! But we're in no hurry..

Buddha Baby giggles

Peter is the happiest little baby. If someone is laughing he thinks it's pretty funny and will usually join in. I love his giggles!

Mon Pierre

This is what happens when you leave your kid with Grandpa...