Wagons East ...

... or "How We Drove 2100 Miles to End Up in Indianapolis."

As is traditional when I'm about 6 months pregnant, we decided to take a ridiculously long road trip to visit the McCain family. This time, we drove to Vermont to visit Grandma and Grandpa Jelly Bean and their candy store. We spent a few days exploring the Green Mountains, and then headed to Meshoppen, PA to visit the Glorious Gustins. We had a blast, and Hazel seemed to realize that she was no longer a baby anymore, and now refuses to be treated like one. She wants to be a big girl and do big girl things.

Glenn and his buddy silk-screened t-shirts for everyone. The cousins model their shirts for us here.

Jacob, the only boy cousin, flexing his muscles and proving he is all boy.

Hazel discovers the joys of the Vermont Confectionery.

And they have ice cream too! Hazelnuts love ice cream.

Daddy and Hazel playing in the formal garden at Hildene, the Lincoln Family ancestral home in Manchester, Vermont.

Mommy and Hazel take a break from the hot weather and all that exploring.

Aunt Kelly has a pool that is just Hazel-sized.

Hazel insisted on joining the cousin-picnic on Pride Rock.

She managed to convince us that she is a big girl.

We spent the day on Thursday at Knoebels Family Fun Park.

Hazel was big enough to go on some of the rides with Jillian and loved every minute.

While Megan is away...

With Megan out of town at a wedding, her Reign of Terror with an Iron Fist of Doom was put on hold for the weekend (as was her strict No Fun policy) . With our new found freedom, Hazel and I spent some time at the park, at the Children's Museum, and generally enjoying our time together.

Hazel surveys the remarkably empty playground

She loves that there is stuff here just her size

Especially the slides!

And she lasted a lot longer on the merry-go-round than Daddy (who barely managed to not barf)

Hazel checking out the water table at the Museum

Here we are coloring. Interesting note: We have pictures of her proving that she is both a righty and a lefty

Hazel really enjoyed riding the carousel

In case you were wondering, Hazel loves chicken nuggets and fries

And, if you are ever at a loss at what to do on a beautiful day, go swinging

The Great Easter Egg Hunt!

This morning, Megan, Hazel, and I decided to head over to Brownsburg for the town Easter Egg Hunt. As instructed, we showed up early so as to begin promptly at 11:00. At 11:05, the natives were getting restless. However, at about 11:10, the countdown began, and eggs were hunted. They had things broken up by age group. Hazel fit it quite nicely with the 2 and unders, but, when you look at the pictures, remember that she was one of five groups going at the same time, and she was on one of the smaller hunting grounds.

Hazel shows off her hunting attire and her egg basket.

Daddy tries to pose for a picture, but Hazel has to plan out her route in the hunting grounds.

The countdown begins...

And here is our leader out of the gate! She didn't know what to do at first, but got the hang of it pretty quickly.


Eggs and candy! What a great way to spend a morning.


Well, spend a morning with a couple thousand of your neighbors. (This was just the 2 and under hunting ground - the ground was clear in about 2 minutes!)


Hazel retreats to take stock of her find.

Someone thought it was a good idea to put out Ring Pops for the little ones. Hazel thanks them.

Hazel's Big Announcement

For those of you who haven't already heard, Hazel has something to say...

We are expecting this happy event to occur in September, within a few days of Hazel's new cousin joining the family as well. Hazel thinks there's a lot to look forward to in September; a new cousin and a new sister!

Ed. Note: We don't know it's going to be a little sister, we just hope so.

Spring Break in Disney - Part 2

Hazel LOVED the huge dalmations at our resort. This was always a stop on our way to the pool.

What can I say, she was born a water baby and she will always be one. It must be in her genes.

Playing at the pool may have been one of Hazel's favorite things about Disney.

She learned so much just from watching the big kids play in the pool.

I just think her little bathing suit is so cute!

Hazel is getting ready for another day in the parks.

You may notice that we are on our way INTO the park and she is already asleep!

She woke up in time for Daddy's favorite ride, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. (We rode this one twice on this trip.)

And she stayed awake long enough to watch the Wishes fireworks show.

This was the last day of our trip, and Hazel was pretty much done riding in the stroller. She was insistent that she be allowed to walk on her own.

Standing in line for the Toy Story ride. It's actually a blessing to have a sleeping toddler when you're standing in line for 45 minutes.

We switched off holding her when our arms and backs got too tired.

Final word: Hazel might not have always liked riding in the stroller, but more than once, I wished someone would push me around in a giant-mommy-sized stroller.