Hayden is a jet-setter now. We finally took our first family flying vacation. We headed off to upstate NY (the Albany/Schenectady/Niskayuna/Half Moon area to be exact) for a 10-day trip to visit family. The main purpose of the trip was to be a part of a massive reunion with my birthmother, Sandy Mincher, and her immediate and very extended family and friends (all of whom know about "our story").

We left on Wed, August 3rd. We decided that it would be a good idea NOT to buy a seat for Hayden since kids can fly free as a lap-child until the age of 2. This was a bad idea, a VERY bad idea. It wasn't that Hayden was particularly bad or anything, it just spiked my stress level to new heights, thinking about how we were going to occupy and manage a squirmy boy who likes to be on the move. From Seattle to Detroit the flight was packed. We had no chance of getting a free third seat next to us. So, we just hoped for the most ideal situation in regards to our seat-mate. Murphy works in mysterious and horrible ways. The flight doors were nearly closing and on walks the biggest, burliest, hairiest, hottest man you've ever seen. Of course he made him self comfy on the aisle of our row. He was eminating heat like no tomorrow and proceeded to have a slapping fight with his 8-year-old son (who was seated in the row in front of us) for the first 30 minutes of the flight. Getting Hayden to settle down and take a nap was a joke. He was back and forth between us countless times and even after giving him Benedryl, only slept for one hour. We made it to Detroit and vowed to never be that frugal again! From Detroit to Albany the flight was pretty empty, and so we took advantage of the carseat that we had to gate-check on the other leg and had a much more enjoyable end to our first trip on the plane. We arrived late and immediately crashed. Since we got in around 11:30pm Eastern time, Hayden found it pretty easy to go to sleep (that is 8:30pm our time...a little late compared to his typical 7:30pm bedtime, but since he only had an hour of sleep the whole day, he was out like a light).

Thursday was spent setting up for the upcoming reunion festivities. They rented tents, tables and chairs to accomodate the masses. It was SO humid and hot there. We did a lot of sweating without much effort.

Friday was a family-only celebration. My dad, Kathie, Kathie's son John, and John's girlfriend Erin joined the party along with Mincher (Greg's side) and Curry (Sandy's side) relatives from far and wide. Some family members actually flew in or drove from great distances to be there, so that was nice. We had a great time meeting everyone and I was even feeling pretty confident about remembering people's names (I was even quized a few times, which actually helped them sink in)!

Saturday was a different story. I couldn't even remember people's names by the end of our introduction! How bad is that?!? But, with that said, let me interject that there were over 100 people there....probably 125+. Everyone knew about our story and we all felt very welcomed by friends and family alike. This party was full of food and fun. An eating tent, drinking tent, kiddie pool, volleyball net and a great new game called Polish Horseshoes (don't be suprised if you are asked to play at the next get-together at our house). Even though us old folks retired to bed at around 11pm, the party continued (some of it outside our window I might add - thank you Mary for the earplugs!) until around 2pm.

Sunday was a clean-up/recovery day. We spent the morning collecting "recycleables" around the yard and the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool. Did I mention that it was humid there??

On Monday, we drove to the Big Apple! Cameron had never been to the East Coast and I haven't been to NYC since I was about 12, so it was new to both of us! We cramed a lot in during our 2 day visit. We visited Greenwich Village, Soho, Times Square, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, as well as many other areas in downtown Manhattan. We indulged in NY pizza (oh how I have missed that!) and ice cream to beat the heat. We returned home late on Tuesday.

Wednesday we left Sandy and Greg's house and went to stay with my Dad and Kathie at their apartment. We had dinner with John and Erin and celebrated Hayden's birthday with a delicious cake that my dad made. Hayden slept through it all, but it was still special. We showed him his gifts the next morning. Some were more loved than others. Hayden was also spoiled by Sandy and her family before we left their place. People we didn't even know before this trip brought presents for him (and me) to the reunion party. Everyone was so generous and thoughtful.

We had the next few days planned out to hurry up and have fun (as my dad is notorious for saying). Cameron was able to go with my dad and tour the huge GE manufacturing facility where they fabricate and assemble enormous turbines. On Thursday, we went to Lake George and took a nice boat ride up the 33 mile long lake. On Friday we hit the track...the horse-racing track that is! We went to Saratoga for the flat track racing and then headed to a polo match (where Hayden even helped stomp the divets!) after letting Hayden ride the beautiful carousel in downtown Saratoga. We even got a video of it.

On Saturday, we packed up (we needed an extra box to ship home all of the wonderful gifts Hayden received for his first birthday).

The flight home went much better. We had to resort to airport games to keep Hayden awake. However, we were able to fanagle a seat for him on both legs, which was heavenly.

We had a terrific time. Cameron loved NYC and we both truly enjoyed the reunion and getting to meet all of Sandy and Greg's wonderful friends of family. Thank you to everyone who made us feel so comfortable and welcome there. We will have to do it again in the future and visit more of the sights that the right coast has to offer! -- mam