On top of the world

It's a great thing when you can climb the highest mountain in the Northeast without any physical exertion! We decided on the spur of the moment yesterday to drive up the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Our church wasn't having an evening service because their Christian school was having their graduation that afternoon, so on our way home from the morning service, we started thinking about something fun we could do as a family. Jim came up with the idea of driving up Mt. Washington either that afternoon, or today (Memorial Day). Because yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, we decided to go for it then! We went home, ate a quick lunch and changed clothes, nursed Julia, and loaded everyone back into the truck. We arrived at the auto road around 4 pm, where we paid the fee and received our page of instructions, CD to listen to on the way up and down (a "tour" of the road), and certificate and bumper sticker which proclaims, "THIS CAR CLIMBED MT. WASHINGTON." I have to say I was very thankful that Jim was the one driving because it is a very winding, narrow road with just enough room for 2 cars to meet each other. There is NO way I would want to drive up there, but it didn't bother him. :) We made it to the top uneventfully; I took pictures out of my open window all the way up. This was my second time ever to reach the top of Mt. Washington, and I have never hiked it yet. Probably never will, since there are easier ways to get up there! The first time was on our first anniversary; Jim and I splurged and rode the Cog Railway to the top. Unfortunately that was a cloudy, drizzly day and we couldn't see a thing from the top. Yesterday was a perfect day. The temperature was in the high 60s and though a bit hazy, there was still awesome visability as you can tell from the pictures. This was actually a "hot" day on the mountain, as the highest temperature recorded up there is 72 degrees. The average annual temperature is 27.2.

Family picture on the mountain (unfortunately we didn't get Julia in the picture; she was in the Snugli on me, so you couldn't have seen much of her anyway!)


Sam, fussy Julia, and Mommy


Sam and Daddy in front of the Cog Railway engine (seeing the train come up and go down was, of course, the highlight of the day for Sam!)


One of the many incredible views from the top


Sam at the summit--I just love this picture!


We spent about an hour at the top. We watched the Cog come chugging up and Jim took a short video of it for Sam to enjoy at home. Then we looked around, took lots more pictures, and bought Sam a T-shirt in the gift shop. Then I headed back to the truck to change and nurse Julia while Jim and Sam did some more exploring and watched the Cog leave. We were supposed to head down the mountain at 5:45 pm. The auto road closes at the bottom at 5 pm, so leaving the top at 5:45 is great, because by that time there aren't any more cars coming up! It's a lot less scary of a trip when you're not meeting oncoming traffic. :) I alternated between taking more pictures ou the window and trying to hold the pacifier in Julia's mouth (she was fussy because I hadn't had long enough to feed her). She ended up falling asleep eventually. On the way home we stopped at a new Quizno's Sub place and got supper. We arrived home around 9 pm, tired, but having had a very fun adventure together! We will definitely have to do it again when the kids are older and can enjoy it more.

In other news . . .

I discovered on Friday that I've lost enough inches to fit into my favorite capris again! Yay!!! No more maternity clothes! Now I just need to lose the rest of the weight that I want to before I treat myself to any new clothes . . .

We think Julia may have a belly button hernia; we will be getting that checked out on Saturday when Sam has to go in for his 2 year old checkup anyway. Either she has a major "outie" or it's a hernia--we really think it's the latter. Sam had an inguinal hernia as a newborn (in the lower abdomen) and this looks and feels a lot the same, only it's her belly button that pops out. If so, it will probably mean a minor surgery to repair it. Sam had his repaired at 10 weeks old; you have to look really close to be able to see a scar now. We'll keep you posted as to what we find out about it after Saturday.

I've been trying to do a little spring cleaning, and today I hope to enlist Jim's help and tackle the ceiling fans. They are so dusty and cobwebby--it's disgusting! But since there's no way I am getting on a ladder to clean them, I have to be patient until he has time to help me. :)

Well, I think I have made this post far too long already, so I'd better go. I just wanted to let everyone know about our mountain climb. :) I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that we all remember to give thanks for those who gave their lives so that we could have freedom in America. Happy Memorial Day!

Edited to add: I did a little checking online today about umbilical hernias, and was happy to discover that they usually correct themselves within a few years. We will still get it looked at, of course, but it sounds like it likely won't require surgery, whereas the inguinal type (what Sam had) always has to be surgically corrected.

I also forgot to note that Julia slept 7.5 hours straight last night, in her pack 'n' play--hip hip, hooray!! I'm not necessarily expecting her to make a habit of it yet, but the uninterrupted sleep was wonderful! To top it off, Sam slept in this morning, till 7:45, giving us a great start to our holiday. :)