Road Trip to Meet William

The 8th Savage grandson, William Phillips Schobel was born July 25th, and we immediately booked a September roadtrip to see the Gin, Fred and their new little one.  Nathan and Alex were very excited to meet their new cousin.  To break up the trip, we stopped in NYC to visit Uncles Russ and Ed before continuing on the next morning to KoP.  Then on the return trip, we were treated to a special dinner with our friends who moved back to Connecticut recently.  It was a crazy few days, but the boys were troopers and we had so much fun!

First stop, Harlem...

Checking out the pergola!

The boys preferred method of transportation.

Checking out the view from Russ and Ed's room deck.

 

Future Columbia Class of '27 and '29!

Learning chopsticks.

Alex's turn.

Night view from the roof deck.

Excited for a ride on the subway to Central Park!

Can't go to NYC without getting a bagel :)

We were lucky to meet up with my college roommate Mary and her little one Eris for a few minutes.

 

Walking around the reservoir.

The boys followed this turtle all around the reservoir.

Ancient Playground in Central Park, amazing place!

Alex climbing with Uncle Russ.

After wearing out the boys in Central Park, we hit the road to meet William! 

William took a few minutes to warm up to Alex.

Pacifier and snugs helped :)

Nathan's turn, William looks a little... Concerned.

Reading through the Birchcrest photo album.

Nathan having fun with one of William's toys.

Alex hanging with Dory.

Such a little cutie!

Nathan discovered the fun of Monkeyshines!

Aunt Gingy showed us her local park, the boys liked the retro slide.

William's first swing.

Checking out the big boy swings.

An attempt to get all three cousins together.

We hit the road back to home, with a stop at the new Katz home in Connecticut for dinner.  Nathan was over the moon to see Ben!

The boys having fun with chalk, Ben and Nathan had a contest of who could write the best "H".

Getting crazy in the family room!

Ben shared his Halloween lego sets, and the boys had fun building a bat, ghost and pumpkin.

Alex and William had fun with legos too!

It was hard to tear the boys apart, but we know we will see them again....

Then it was back on the road, Nathan keeping me company all the way home, watching the big orange moon rising on the horizon.  Can't wait to do it again for Thanksgiving!

Birchcrest 2013

Looking through my photos as I prepared for this post, I noticed that my photos have become more and more kid-centered as the years have gone on.  Not too surprising since we have more and more kids every year at the cabin!  Next year I pledge to get more pictures of the adults, they were pretty key to an awesome week!

The weather treated us pretty well, so we got lots of time in the water and on the boats.  But a rainy day was the perfect excuse for mini-golf too!  The cousins had so much fun together, playing in the water, jumping on the trampoline, riding the boats, fishing, watching movies and just being goofy.  And they got to spend some special time with all the aunts and uncles (the aunts, uncles, Mimis and Papas squeezed in some adult time too before passing out for the night).  But we really missed Fred, Gin and the littlest cousin William, and can't wait until the gang is all together next year!!

Alex was fascinated with Brooks' name puzzle.

Cousin bath time!  Very similar to a photo of the 5 Savage siblings when we were little.

The unofficial first floor bathroom for the little cousins...

Carrie reading to Brooks and Tyler.

Rockin' with Papa.

Blowing bubbles with Papa.

Kids table!

Nathan was very excited to go fishing with Papa.

Alex checking out the fishing action.

Nathan and Christopher spent most of the week doing this circle.  Swim to shore...

Climb up on shore...

Jump off dock!

Hat!

Nathan and Christopher waving to their fans.

Enjoying lunch on the deck.

Many good naps were had.

All cousins were often found in one corner, getting crazy!

Corbin reading to Alex.

Nathan and Christopher jumping and jumping!

More special time at the kid's table.

Cheese!

Tuesday was Brooks' first birthday, Happy birthday buddy!

Reading his birthday cards.

A very special gift from Aunt Gingie.

Movie time!

With little ones, I enjoyed many a quiet early morning.

Ready for the water!

Trampoline!

Tyler, Alex and Nathan enjoying Thomas/Elmo (on heavy rotation).

Papa teaching Alex all about civil engineering.

Watching trees being taken down on the road.

Checking on the front end loader that is parked on the access road.

The trees gathered quite a crowd!

Again so many cousins in the same corner.

Andrew reading to a crowd.

A little rain meant mini golf!  Nathan fishing a ball out of water feature.

Alex dismantling the course.

An attempt to get a photo of the four younger cousins together.

Nathan and Christopher figuring out how this hole works.

Alex jumping and climbing on everything.

The whole crowd wrapping it up!

Tyler and Alex found the mud puddles at the end.

Ed snuggling with Brooks.

Christopher and Nathan discovered the legos!

We took the boys for a short hike nearby.  And discovered milk weed!

Alex picking flowers for Mommy :)

Looking for more flowers...

Nathan loves to grab my camera these days, so I get a few photos of myself :)

We finally wrestled the boys onto the boat, and they had an awesome time!

Looking goofy at the end of the ride :)

Saying goodbye until next year.  Thank you Birchcrest for another great vacation!