Grasshoppers and Milestones.

This weekend our small group headed south to our sweet friends' ranch.  We had a maaaaahvelous time relaxing chasing our kids around, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying a few days with little-to-no cell phone service.  The ranch is beautiful and the weather was perfect.

While at the ranch, Ben officially reached the 18 month milestone! I know most moms would say, "I can't believe how fast it's gone," but mostly I just can't believe we've only had him for a year and a half. I've actually almost forgotten what life was like before he was ours.  It seems that we've loved him forever.

Our big boy at 18 months!

 Perhaps the biggest deal about the big 1.5 birthday was that Ben slept in our bed.  It's probably been a year since he has actually slept with us, and not because we haven't tried.  I can't believe I'm admitting this, but there have been several nights where Tim and I are laying in bed talking about Ben, and one of us will say, "I just miss him.  Let's go get him and bring him in here to snuggle."

Every time we bring him in our bed, regardless of how careful/gentle/quiet we are, Ben wakes up.  We will lay him in-between us (lights out) and just try to soak in that sweet little jammied bundle.  His excitement about being in our bed trumps any chance at sleep, and he lays there and giggles, pulls our noses (hair, fingers, ears), claps, talks, etc.  Inevitably, after a decent stretch of time, we are even more tired and he is even more awake and we return him to his crib so we can all sleep.

All that to say, while we were at the ranch, Ben was having some trouble in his pack-n-play so we brought him to bed with us for the night.  None of us got great sleep, but we loved the time with that snuggly boy.

Ben had a ball exploring the ranch.  The last time we were there he was only crawling, and this time he enjoyed all the space to run.

 We took advantage of the beautiful Friday and flew kites with the kids.

 Ben wore his boots at all times.  He is a very serious rancher.

We spent a decent amount of time out on the mule exploring.  I'm checking my Bible for something I might have missed regarding a plague of grasshoppers.  Central Texas is swarming with those darn things and it's no joke, y'all!  Have you ever been hit in the face by a grasshopper(s) and lived to tell about it?  I barely survived.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend.  I know he looks so tough and cool, but I could kiss those sweet little lips all day long. (As long as I'm not distracted by grasshoppers).

After being scarred by the grasshopper incident(s), I decided my time was best spent back at the house.  We lounged as much as the kids would allow, and that part was really glorious.

It's just hard to beat time spent with good friends, no matter where you are.  And the best, best, best part of that time was most certainly game night.  Hilarity and inside jokes abound. There's something about the combination of crisp nights and hot tubs that lends itself to funny, truth-or-dare type (priceless, totally embarrassing) stories.  This is the stuff of life, friends!

Kara cooking up some serious eggs for breakfast

Don't be fooled, though- it wasn't all fun and games.  I realize ranching is hard work, so I sat and took pictures while the guys filled the feeders and worked on a few other projects.

Ben's very favorite part of the weekend (and the highlight of his 18-month milestone) was time spent viewing the cows.  I've never heard someone "mmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeww" with as much intensity and passion as Benjamin. He was totally smitten.

"Mmmmeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!"  "Mmmmeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!"

He was so taken by the cows, that this was his reaction to "Bye-bye, cows!"

Then, there was this:

And this:

And this:

Which is exactly how I felt when we had to leave the ranch and return to the big city to resume our "normal" life. 

This weekend we are thankful for sweet, generous friends, time off from work, a chance to get away, cows, and a healthy, growing boy.

And shelter from grasshoppers.