Happy (Moving) Birthday to Dave!

Dave's birthday was June 20th, and we moved to Wisconsin on June 25th. So how do you celebrate someone's birthday when your life and house are in disarray and you're moving within the week? Take photos with moving boxes in the background, and go to Strong Museum! Normally Dave wouldn't request a trip to the children's museum for his birthday, but preferences change quickly when the museum is running an exhibit called Videotopia that allows visitors to play 100 different arcade video games. Dave was happy that he left the high score on a few different machines, and Natalie was happy that there was a monster-sized foot stool that enabled her to play too!

Oh, and we sold our red car (possibly the last vestige of my young, free and single days--sniff!) late in the evening on Dave's birthday. Quite a birthday present! We had to sell it before we left town, and clinching the sale made us feel like we could really complete the move. Phew!

An acquired taste?

A week or two before leaving Rochester, I saw this bumper sticker and it cracked me up. We definitely acquired a taste for Rochester during the nearly 5 years we lived there--we especially miss the terrific friends we made.

I certainly never expected to acquire a taste for one thing--Rochester's famous dish, the garbage plate. For the uninitiated, this involves 2 hamburgers (or hot dogs) covered with home fries and macaroni salad and smothered in hot sauce & onions. We heard garbage plate lore from our first days in Rochester, and we decided we couldn't leave town without sampling one for ourselves. Just before moving, we ate lunch at the home of the original garbage plate, Nick Tahou's. What a surprise to discover that we actually enjoyed them! It was like our own Green Eggs & Ham moment. Too bad we waited until our last week in town to try them out!

Here is the evidence of our bravery:



Rochesterians, please eat a garbage plate and think of us!

Taking a bite out of Wisconsin

Here we are, safe and sound in our new home! I will post pics from our road trip soon, if I can find some where I don't look like an overheated, exhausted pregnant lady! (We had a lot of fun, I promise.)

In the meantime, here's a photo of Natalie's desperate attempt to eat on move-in day. I was very late preparing lunch, and when I left the cheese unattended to grab the bread, Natalie siezed the moment. I turned back and the block of cheese had one large bite out of each end ;) It made me burst out laughing.



I'm sorry to say this was not fine Wisconsin cheddar; it was the nearest grocery store's cheapest option. Obviously it didn't faze Natalie.

Zooropa

OK, so sometimes I get a bit too creative (desperate?) with these blog post titles. According to The Hurst Review, "part of Zooropa’s message is that surfaces can be deceiving, and this song cycle is much more than meets the eye." Which is a terrific metaphor for this post. Chew on that awhile!

Natalie and I go to the zoo a lot, but this was Dave's first trip to the Seneca Park Zoo. Here's Natalie watching the sea lion go up for a breath of fresh air:


It doesn't get much better than happening upon a real-life baboon snuggle session.


A great picture of Natalie. Unfortunately I wasn't quite looking at the camera. Most likely I was distracted by the paparazzi.

Lilacs, etc

May is the month of lilacs in Rochester, so I thought I'd better post these before it becomes June! We wandered around Highland Park the week before the Lilac Festival began. Though the lilacs weren't fully in bloom yet, it was still a fun family night walk.

As you can see, Natalie is a full-contact flower sniffer. She doesn't like to do things just halfway.


Down and gimme 50!


Of course, the pregnant lady is bound to see the photo op in a tree seat. Anything for a little break!


And here's a random one I couldn't resist posting. Natalie's showing off her latest style: pioneer chic. That's right, Mason jar bangle bracelets. She's fearless that way.

Yay Dave!!

Dave graduated on Saturday the 16th at the Eastman Theatre. Our family and a couple of close friends came to celebrate with us, and we had a terrific time together.
Here's a couple shots of Dave with his hood:


The whole family (except Dave's brother Chris, our dedicated photographer):

Just the 3 of us:

Dave and his parents:

Dave and his siblings (and Natalie):

Thanks, Chris, for all the great photos you took! We'll have to make sure you're in front of the camera more frequently at your graduation in July :)

Hikers

The weather was so beautiful yesterday that we decided to go for a little hike. I was glad that Dave was up for this plan, because he had just gotten off of a red-eye flight from Tucson to Rochester via LA and Chicago. (By the way, Dave is now good friends with the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Just ask him for details!) But back to the hike. We went to Powder Mills Park in Pittsford, and took their Daffodil Trail. It was an easy, short hike, and the best part was having a snack in the field of daffodils near the end of the trail.


But if you ask Natalie, she'll probably say that her favorite part was riding "on Daddy's legs." Also known as riding in the baby backpack. She had a great view and didn't have to negotiate her way among the roots and branches on the ground.

We saw that there was a fish hatchery at the park as well, and we decided to take a look at the trout there. We paid a quarter to feed them something that looked and smelled like cat food, and I couldn't believe what a show they put on while they were eating it!

Also, we saw the craziest house at the park! Dubbed the Mushroom House, this looks like it's straight out of the Shire. We expected to see some Hobbits pop out at any moment. All in all, a fun outing on a gorgeous day!