iHappy new year!

so phil got us new phones a couple weeks ago.  here’s mine:

i held out as long as i could and hung on to my free phone (which incidentally is the same one richard blais used to call his wife to tell her he was top chef- see? i’m in good company) but finally caved in with the masses of smart phone users when the thing dropped one call too many.

so i figured i’d try out this newfangled phone over new years.  by taking it on our latest trip and using it as my only camera.  *gasp*.  as both a challenge and as a way to be more present in the moment rather than constantly trying to capture them.

so here are the results.

phil took off a few extra days so we could go visit both sides of the family over the new year holiday.  we started out at my parents’ place.  it was hard to tell who was happier about the visit- the grandparents or the grandkids.

the kids couldn’t wait to feed the goats again.

but there were only small hard apples to feed them this time of year.

turns out even goats aren’t big fans of the sour apples no matter how many the kids tossed out to them (and they tossed a lot).

mikey and allie were quite comfortable with grandpa’s dog lily and loved petting her.  turns out lauren will need a few more visits to warm up to her, though.

and jonah wasn’t too sure about the old man at first, either.  until he discovered who would let him eat anything he wanted at every meal.

 then it was best friend city after that.

inseparable pals, really.

 and i found myself kicked to the curb, just like that.

there was lots of lounging around with iphones on this trip.

so i had to resort to this to get any attention around here.

worked like a charm, though.

 however briefly.

well look who decided to go and sprout two brand new teeth all at once!

checkin’ out his handsome self in daddy’s sunglasses.

before we knew it, our three-day visit was over and it was time to go.  the tears and wailing were quite dramatic as we drove away.

bust out the iphones and the tears dry up instantaneously.  it was amazing to behold.

 plus there was plenty more fun to be had at ahma’s house, too.

 with a park just two blocks away.

except jonah wasn’t a big fan of his first swing ride.  missing his nap probably had more to do with it, though.

mikey’s highlight was finding some old bikes in the garage to ride with daddy.

allie’s was getting to ride in the baby carrier on daddy’s back.

 a great time was had with both sides of the family.  just wished the time didn’t go so fast!

because we were back on the road headed for home before any of us were ready to return.

but at least it was a quiet ride…

happy 2012, friends!