Spring Break, Part 2, Palm Springs

Phase two of our Spring Break vacation was 4 nights in Palm Springs at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort. Toby and Steve joined us for this part of the trip (retirement suits them, and their travel!). We found a good deal on a 2 bedroom villa which gave us a living room and a large outdoor area with hot tub. Having the villa meant we could hang out at home base but not feel cooped up in a hotel room. The outdoor space was fantastic!

This trip marked Claire's first time in a swimming pool. She enjoyed lots of cuddle time with Mana & Papa and some great fresh air naps.

Claire loves bath time anyway, but this was even better because of the giant mirror!

The scenery is amazing. Matt and Steve played two rounds of golf on what they say are two of the most beautiful courses they've ever played.

Concerned look as she enters the pool. The water is not quite as warm as her baths!

A bunch of girls, age 6-8 I'd guess, were fascinated by Claire. At one point, we were surrounded by them.

After all the swimming, it was time to nap. Toby walked her around as she slept, noting that the bathing suit's hood made a great sleep mask. Perhaps we should always dress her in hoodies to block the stimuli.

I like vacation!

Ok, who put on this diaper?

Cozy after her second day of swimming

Saying her goodbyes - just 4 weeks until the next visit!

Steve's photos of the trip can be found here.

All Dressed Up and Getting Bitten

I'm not crying, the sun was just really bright
and we left our sunglasses in the car at the hotel.

Matt and I spent a wonderful long weekend in Richmond Hill, GA (just outside Savannah) to celebrate our friends' wedding. Mark and Jenn threw a fabulous party at the Ford Plantation. We ate good food, drank wonderful wine (it helps when the groom is head of US sales for a winery), played amazing* golf and swatted numerous no-see-ums. I may have left with the feeling of having chicken pox, but chicken pox was never this much fun**.



*Amazing in the sense that the course was gorgeous and we played best ball and finished 4 under. I love best ball.
** I'm not sure if I have a chicken pox memory - my pediatrician's diagnosis wasn't solid. Instead he said "if Susan never has chicken pox again, then this was it. If she does, then it wasn't." Awesome. Matt, on the other hand, definitely knew he had chicken pox. And poison ivy. At the same time. While moving from Syracuse to Shrewsbury. And he has the [adorable] scars to prove it.

Snow Days in NH

Matt and I started our East Coast Holiday vacation in New Hampshire. We made it to Springfield late Monday (12/22) night, despite a delayed flight which led us to miss the last Dartmouth Coach bus and driving up from Boston in a rental car with a misaligned wheel which caused massive vibrations. After we dropped off the rental car at the Lebanon Municipal Airport, braving the Lebanon traffic, we finally were able to enjoy the snow.


We donned snowshoes for a trek around the woods. We started down the driveway, pausing to take a snapshot of the house in its snowy beauty, then crossed the street to explore beyond the pond.

No groomed paths here.
Red cheeked and cheery!
Just beyond my breath you can just make out the blue lines crisscrossing the maple trees.

After re-crossing the street, we spotted the first evidence of moose tracks, dragging their feet through the high snow.
Just a little ways past those first tracks, and maybe 50 yards from the street, we stumbled upon 4 separate moose beds in the snow.
Heading inside to warm up and have dinner. It was approximately 10 degrees this day.

The house had massive icicles.
Tuesday night, Betsy and Evan arrived. We borrowed 2 more pairs of snow shoes so all 6 of us could go out.
Walking the "Gator Trail"

Stopping for a rest. Trudging through the snow (~20") or so is tiring, particularly for the 1st & 2nd in line. It was about 30 degrees this day, so we all heated up rather quickly.


Dad, Betsy and I plodded on to this spot - the turn off for Royal Arch - which I understand is a cave. We were officially off Lawson land, on the Daniel Webster Pass.

Birthday Weekend in LA

Matt surprised me with a birthday trip to LA and spend the weekend in Torrance at Betsy & Evan's new house. Here are the pics of some of our activities.

NH Vacation Part 3 - Family Reunion

The vacation included a Lawson family reunion of sorts to celebrate Gramps' life. Mom served dinner for the crowd at the Farm where everyone met the newest member, Lilly, caught up and shared stories.

My cousins Mercy, Julia and my second cousin Lilly

Lilly gets to know Betsy

The troops dine al fresco

Betsy & Lilly the next day

NH Vacation Part 2 - The Blueberry Chronicles

There are 6 blueberry bushes behind the house. This has meant numerous years, decades, generations (4 generations at least) of blueberry picking. For my mom, it means August blueberry extravaganzas and year round blueberry baking. For Betsy & me, it means all you can eat free(ish) blueberries during summer visits.


As my mom pointed out, picking blueberries in early August can be overwhelming and even anxiety-inducing. There are just so many to pick. How could anyone possibly pick them all? Even when you spend an hour filling up several vessels (including one's mouth), the bushes still look full of berries. You go back a day later and there are more that have grown and ripened. It's never ending. But it's ok. Blueberry everything (i.e. pie, coffee cake, salsa, sauce, butter, jam, soup, margaritas, muffins - yes, she has a cookbook devoted entirely to blueberries) is worth the stress.

Did I mention the blueberry margaritas and salsa? Yum.

NH Vacation Part 1 - Starting Vacation Mode

To start the New Hampshire vacation, Betsy and I arrived in New London Friday morning, after a short 1 night visit in Boston with Amy and Keri of the Gang. We started the visit right with an afternoon and evening at the cottages on Pleasant Lake. One cottage was vacant so we had a grilled dinner there after enjoying the sunshine on the dock.

I took the opportunity to start a good Summer book

The sun went down but that doesn't stop us from sitting here enjoying the view

The next day we forced it to be a beach day, but to get at least a little exercise before the feasts to come, we biked to Colby Point. The hills seem so insignificant by car.


We spent Sunday night at the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club. It rained but we didn't care because we sat overlooking the water from under the overhang.