Baby got Back

We are finally back from our first family vacation! We started off the week with a trip up to Brattleboro, Vermont for my friend David's 40th birthday party. The weather was perfect and we were lucky enough to get to town early and enjoy front row sidewalk seats at the 7th Annual Strolling of the Heifers. Nothing like cows strutting their stuff down Main Street.

After the parade we took in the milking contest at the town square and then headed off for hot dogs and hamburgs (happy ma?) at The Petrie's house. The kids loved playing with August and he, in typical August fashion, loved all the adoring eyes upon him. Whatta hambone. After lunch Dave mapped out a scenic route for us to do a little sightseeing. With Fuzzby contentedly snoozing in the backseat we headed off to tour beautiful covered bridges, babbling brooks, rolling hills of green and even saw a black and white spotted cow laying in a field of buttercups munching grass under a tree (no joke...). It was as if Vermont spiffed itself up just for us. It was absolutely beautiful.

Later we joined everyone back at the Grange (which I am told you can rent for $75) for David's delicious potluck birthday party. The weather was the hottest they'd had for awhile so there were lots of people inside and outside chatting and enjoying the 5 piece? salsa band, complete with conga drum. August was happily passed from hand to hand, smiling and drooling for his adoring fans. He was so content being passed around that most people didn't know who his parents were! I of course was like bird mama, eagle eyed and ready to swoop in if he got to be a handful for anyone.

At around 9pm Gus stopped having fun and started hollerin' so we said our goodbyes and hit the road. About an hour into our two hour drive home we hit the worst thunderstorm I have ever had the misfortune of being caught in. We rallied my sister's Jeep down to about 20 mph on the expressway and I kept my nose pressed against the windshield glass trying to see the road. Not wanting to pull off to the side for fear of getting smacked into, we sojourned on desperate for an exit. At 20 mph though they take forever. We were directly under the storm, rails of light striking right in front of us giving me white spots and scaring the hell out of my co-pilot. I put on the hazards and started making my way off when a tree fell right in front of us! I pulled around it, got off the Pike and pulled into a Dunkin' Donuts gas station. Two motorcyclists who knew there was going to be rain pulled in right after us. They were scared half to death. We all stayed there for about an hour until the storm passed then headed back out towards home. At 1am our exhausted nerve-wracked butts were finally home making a beeline for bed. All in all, it was a fantastic day.