Sep 07
10
First Family Vacation
A wise man once said, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Okay, so while the overall wisdom of Ringo Starr is debatable, the sentiment has never been more apropos for us.
As new parents, it is often difficult to maintain a facade of sanity. Suddenly you find yourselves thrust into a very small world in which conversations are dominated by talk of bodily elimination (admittedly, for some of us that's not too far of a stretch from normal life). Sleep becomes interrupted, schedules become delayed, and something as simple as going to the store to get food becomes a whole ordeal.
| Cole's in the belly on the left at Noah & Louise's wedding |
The insanity only compounds when your strange little world exists in isolation. You begin to question everything. Do other people have to stop their car every mile to change a juicy diaper in the wayback of their station wagon? If so, then why do I never see people looking as silly as I feel? The problem is that the mania feeds into and perpetuates itself. The grander the delusions, the less likely you become to break the cycle by venturing out of the house, minimizing your chances of someday returning to normalcy.
This is where friends come in—especially those that are similarly situated and haplessly deranged. We have had the good fortune of getting to know Neil, Caitlin and their baby, Cole. You may (but probably don't) remember them from such posts as Noah & Louise's Calistoga Wedding. Anyway, Neil & Caitlin have helped us to regain our sanity on many levels. Most obviously, they have given us the we're-going-through-the-same-thing reassurances that we've so desperately needed. More importantly, they have reminded us that we still have the ability to carry-on an adult conversation and to have friends like normal people despite having our little people along with us. But most importantly, they have egged us on to do more with Marion than we probably would have had the courage to do without them.
For instance, they had the wonderful idea to drive two hours up the coast to spend three days in a scenic cabin by the sea. We said they were crazy, but next thing you know we're packing up the dogs, several dozen diapers, a kitchen full of food, and our yoga ball and taking our three-ring circus on the road! We picnicked at the beach, at a vineyard and at a park. Sure, everywhere we went we brought along a lot of insanity, but we left a little behind too. We had so much fun on our first vacation with Marion and the Hassers, that we're already thinking about the next one—maybe camping?
So, without further ado or fanfare, here are some pictures from our first family vacation with the Hasser family…