Memorial Day

Last night we got back from our Annual Peace Corps group trip, this time near Breckenridge, CO. This was the ninth year of our trip, but the first time with Dominic. He had a great time and really enjoyed all the attention from everyone (like Jemima at right). We also got to do some recreation during our short trip; Kirsten went horseback riding with the crew, Mike went flyfishing with some of the guys, we went hiking in the mountains, and we all (even Dominic) went bikeriding around Lake Dillon. Great trip, even though the weather was pretty overcast or raining most of the time.

The views were spectacular the whole time, with snowcapped peaks all around us. They were still skiing at some of the resorts, but on limited snow (and some natural flakes in the higher altitudes). The mountain pine beetle has killed off many of the pines in the area, but the aspens were leafing out and the streams were rolling high.

First Bike Ride

The weekend before Mother's Day (May 2nd) we finally got all the pieces together to take Dominic for his first bike ride. He loved it, and we got a little more used to driving carefully, too.

In The Zone with Aunt/Cousin Marsha

Aunt/Cousin Marsha uses the Dog Whisperer tactics on Dominic during Easter at the Cassinghams

El Día de la Madre

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so we took a noncommercial approach and tried to really enjoy some family time. The highlight was our first picnic at Shelley Lake here in Raleigh. It's located right on the greenway about 4-5 miles from the house, so we rode our bikes there and packed a lunch. Dommy sure seemed to like it, but slept pretty well on rides both to and fro. He's taken to "singing" some as we ride, which is pretty funny when we go over the bridge planks and his voice vibrates!

Mike also made Kirsten some family cookies from Grandma Tighe's cutout cookie recipe. It was a little tough to get the right colors in the premade icings, so we had to improvise a little. Check out Mike's cool red shoes and Dominic's lederhosen!

Glow Little Glow-worm, Glow!

Dominic seems to really like the song "Glow-worm" from 1952 by Johnny Mercer of North Carolina fame, so Dad put it on to watch him rock and roll. Too much! He really seems to be noticing the rhythms and drums lately, especially when Dad plays cowbell-heavy hits from the 1970's!