Troy and Melanie (dot com)

Whenever we travel to PA for the holidays there is always the chance that we’ll get a white Christmas and every few years Mother Nature hammers us with snow… this was one of those years. The snow started falling last night near midnight and has continued all day (it’s still snowing as I type this). So far it looks like we’ll get about a foot. Luckily (or unluckily?) I’ve shoveled twice already today so when it does finally stop I won’t have the full amount to clean up.

On a positive note Cole got to experience his first snow during his first trip to PA. Pretty cool experience even though he won’t remember it. We bundled him up in a snow suit and took him outside for a bit today and he enjoyed it for a bit, we grabbed some photos, and then he went back inside to warm up. Since we were stuck in the house all day we decided to have our gift exchange with Mel’s parents. Cole’s been really fussy in the evenings so we ended up breaking up the gifts into two groups and giving him some time to eat and calm down in between. All in all it’s been a pretty good day (even if I still have to go shovel again).

Today’s photos
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Today’s high temperature: a balmy 34 degrees though the majority of the day was spent below 30 (currently it’s 29 and feels like 23). We spent the day going between the grandparents’ houses… and not much else. Bundle, carry, drive, unbundle, eat, play, bundle, carry, drive, unbundle, play, eat, bundle, carry, drive, unbundle, play… yeah, you get the idea. Cole is definitely getting the hang of this traveling thing, but he’s not yet warmed up to the idea of constantly being strapped into his car seat.

In other news we’re in the path of a nice winter storm. Predictions have us getting somewhere in the area of 10 inches of snow tomorrow. This should make for some nasty traveling, but some lovely photos.

Today’s photos
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We made it! The flight to PA went very smoothly and Cole was a champ. We nearly had a calamity as I forgot to bring Cole’s birth certificate with me (luckily we had a nice lady at the Southwest desk who used the effective date on my insurance card as proof of Cole’s birthdate… fingers crossed we have the same luck flying back). Getting through security at the Austin airport wasn’t as stressful as we thought thanks, in part, to the fact that not many people were flying today. Cole nursed on the way up and the way down with no ear popping problems, slept some in between, and was otherwise a happy little baby. His co-passengers on the plane were happy to have his cuteness around them.

One thing we did learn is that no matter how well you prepare, plan, and execute said plan things will inevitably go slower than you expect once you have kids (when traveling). Getting off the plane… slow. Getting down to get our luggage… slow. Finding a restroom to change the baby… slow. Getting the rental car and prepping it for travel… slow. Even the traffic was heavier and slower now that we have Cole in the car. We landed in Philly around 5… got the car around 6:15, but didn’t make it into Lancaster until 9 (it’s typically a 2 hour drive with a dinner stop included).

Today’s photos (Cole makes the family happy)
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I’m afraid I don’t have much to say in this post because I’m (unwisely?) taking a short break from packing to get this post up. We’re flying to PA tomorrow morning and we’re scrambling to make sure we have everything. First flight for Cole… could be interesting… I’ll share all of the details in tomorrow’s post.

Today’s photos

For those following the blog on a daily basis I am planning on continuing while we are on vacation, but the images won’t be posted in small collages like they have been due to the fact that I don’t have Photoshop on my laptop. So most days will only have 2-3 individual photos, but when I have more I’m going to use the slideshow like I did in this post.

Just to wrap up our Lancaster trip, Friday held more family time, including a Bujung-Schneider dinner at Friendly’s.  Yum!  Saturday held surprises…for me, at least.  The mommas, B and S, threw me a surprise baby shower, with the help of Troy (successfully confusing me and keeping me off track) and Aunt Jo (offering up her house for the shower).  I thought we were just going down to Aunt Jo’s for lunch with the Schneider clan, but once I walked into the house, I was greeted with a “surprise” as I entered the dining area and a room full of family and friends…and mini Winnie the Pooh and friends goodies.    It was one of those “wait, wha?” moments and I’m pretty sure I hugged 40+ people in the span of seven minutes.  It was such a nice surprise.  Furthermore, I was surprised to see some in attendance.  My Aunt Georgia was to the best of my knowledge in NY, but she had delayed leaving for that trip to come to the shower.  And, speaking of NY, my friend Fran made the trip down to l’il ole Lancaster to be at the shower.  So, that was a lovely surprise too.  The whole afternoon was full of smiles, conversation, catching up, and being wowed by the adorable and useful presents coming our way for the Peanut.  How blessed are we to have such great family and friends!  Thanks to everyone!

That evening, we had dinner at the Schneider abode and worked to pack up all of our stuff.  Then, we hung out at the Bujung abode for a few hours, finally saying goodbye…always bittersweet.  We left the Schneider house Sunday morning and drove to the Philly airport.  Luckily, we didn’t have delays on the way back to Austin like we did on the way up to PA.  We picked up our happy pup and headed home to see to unpacking, laundry, and some general vegging and reflection on the week.  It was a great week. 

So, Troy promises Lancaster posts and then doesn’t do any…tsk tsk!    Just kidding…I’m not much better.  We have been having a good week here so far, keeping busy and visiting with family and friends.  We have today and tomorrow and then we’ll be flying back to the heat (100s, 100s, 100s) of TX on Sunday.  Let’s see…here’s what we’ve done so far (some highlights):

>  Lunch down at Aunt Georgia’s last Sunday

>  Rita’s Italian Ice for a short visit with Hien Sunday afternoon

>  Father’s Day dinner out at Chili’s with both families Sunday evening

>  The Science Factory with Mom and Dad S. Monday afternoon

>  Oregon Dairy dinner with Ang Monday evening

>  Mel going to Central Market with Mom B. on Tuesday for lunch

>  Ang’s tennis match in Harrisburg on Tuesday evening

>  Mel having lunch with Alison at S. Clyde Weaver Wednesday at noon

>  Early dinner with Mom and Dad B. at Ruby Tuesday on Wednesday late afternoon

>  Troy playing tennis at McCaskey with Ang, Leigh, Brandon, and Kevin (Dad S. and I watched) on Wednesday evening

>  Photo session with The Wiebners Thursday morning (with us actually the “subjects”).  Thanks guys…looking forward to seeing them!

>  Mel seeing “The Proposal” with Mom B. and Aunt G. Thursday afternoon

>  Dinner and catching up with Ommie, Jodie, Ollie, JJ, Chrissy, Brett, Derek, Annie, and Ivy (at Ommie and Jodie’s house) Thursday evening

…which brings us to today.  Troy and Kevin went out riding Kev’s bike.  Beyond that, the day is just getting going, so not sure what it holds.  We’ll try to do a wrap up post once we’re back in TX Sunday.  On some general notes, the weather here in Lancaster has been beautiful…sunny and highs in the low 80s for the most part.  We have definitely been enjoying that!  Also, Peanut seems to be enjoying hearing the sounds of family and friends’ voices.  He’s building up a bit of a fan club already.    Okay…that’s all for now.  Toodles!

This is going to be a very short post. I just wanted to get something up before we travel to PA. This past weekend Kevin and Kelsey visited us and we had a really good time. We got to show Kelsey downtown, saw a ton of motorcycles at the ROT Rally, saw a sunset at the Oasis, and did some things around the house (moved furniture and painted). The time went by too quickly. The next time they come to visit Kevin will have a nephew (I know… that still sounds weird). Anyway, here are a few photos. Look for some upcoming blog entries from our trip to PA.

Pregnancy tour 2009 will be making it’s lone stop in Lancaster, PA from 6/20 through 6/28. Mark your calendars

It’s been awhile since we last posted… life has just gotten in the way. I shot a wedding this past Saturday (you can check out some of the photos over on my blog… when they are posted, of course), Schwab has been keeping me super busy (I worked almost 60 hours last week), and Mel’s Mom and Aunt are in town visiting this week. Yeah, you can say it’s been pretty busy around the Schneider house. We’re also beginning to nest… trying to clean the house up and get the place ready for baby. The nursery is top priority and will take a few weeks to materialize, but we took the first step by moving Melanie’s desk out into the loft so now we share an office. I will post some before and after photos while we’re working on the room so you can share in the transformation.

In the meantime here are a bunch of photos that I took on our trip to San Antonio on Wednesday. Aunt Georgia wanted to see the Alamo so while she, Mel, and Mom were learning I wandered around the grounds finding interesting photos. After the Alamo we took a ride on one of the water taxi’s on the River Walk and then stopped in Gruene on the way back home to grab some dinner at the Gristmill. Enjoy the photos and leave a comment letting me know if you like the gallery view. I’m not sure how well it will work so this may be the only time I use it.

Just wanted to post a quick note to say that we made it home safely. We got into Austin around 11pm yesterday after a pretty full day of travel. All of the flights were on time and we had a smooth trip. Look for a post or two later this week with a recap from each of us.

And here’s a photo of a very happy puppy to have her parents back