We're free at last...for a while

Rachel has decided to write a book on weight loss. Her secret? Have a baby who is allergic to both milk and soy. You never really think about how reliant we are on these two staples until you have to go without. Only then do you realize that your food options are pretty much limited to Special K with rice milk. At first glance you might think that we'd save money on groceries with this diet. But when you look at the $8/gallon for rice milk, and $30/can for Jackson's formula (lasts about a week) it just doesn't work out that way. Add to it the fact that he is still constantly scratching his head and it just makes you want to throw your hands in the air and scream.

And then there is Addy. Watch out for this girl. This week her waking hours were all spent either eating (16 oz. at one sitting the other night) or crying, and her sleeping hours were very limited. I think we have an insomniac on our hands. Seriously, she is the cutest little baby girl in the whole wide world when she decided to be happy, but that just hasn't happened this week. Rachel just called her a "little brat."

And Evelyn has pink eye and is a grouch. Enough said.

We love our children.

But we wanted to get away from them for a while.

That is why Rachel surprised me with an afternoon date on Saturday. We dropped the kids off at the baby-sitter's house (a very brave friend of ours) and drove to this great little ski lodge in Kirtland. There, we rented x-country skis and spent the next several hours exploring the winding trails in the Ohio woodlands. When we were through we sat by the fire at the lodge and sipped hot cider and enjoyed each other's company. It was a very nice, much needed break.

I love my wife. She is amazing.

Evelyn wants to be treated like the babies. She wants to be swaddled, drink through a bottle, use a pacifier, and sit in their car seats. Here she is trying out the jumper.

She also loves to be treated like an adult. Before she reaches that stage, however, she needs to realize that it is not acceptable to run around naked. Here she is modeling my jacket, glasses, and hat.

We had a fantastic time being "just us."