I just got back from a whirlwind of a trip to Rhode Island (and a little of Massachussetts too). I am happy to say that my sister and I not only tackled cross-country traveling with a 2 month old succesffuly, but we managed to find a house and eat our way through the little Italy's of both Providence and Boston ;).
BTW I am posting this blog from my ipad which inevitably means that the photos will be too large for the screen and aren't formatted correctly. I'm sorry!
Well the answer to the latter question is YES! Lawson was such a trooper on the plane, we couldn't believe it. 
We arrived in Boston not 100% certain where we were going to stay for the night. We didn't want to book a place in providence because we weren't sure we'd be up for the 1 hour commuter train at 10 PM EST. But, it turns out since we gained 3 hours of time, we felt fine and we decided to press on to Providence. A few shuttles later we were at the train station 
We were "welcomed" to Boston by rain, as if I had never left Seattle (which ironically was near 80 and beautiful the whole time we were gone). By the time we did reach our hotel in Seekonk, MA (just over the border from Providence...about a 10 minute drive away) we were definitely ready to STOP MOVING and get some rest. We enjoyed our free breakfast down in the lobby to go so that we could have breakfast in bed. 
Lawson enjoyed his spa-like hotel-sink-bath and we were off for a day of viewings. 
:risti has all the cute photos of him all dressed up for a day house hunting, but suffice it to say, it was a succesfuly but long day. We saw quite a few absolute "no"'s and several contenders. We also learned that we are kind of like GIANTS on the east coast- everything seems to be smaller or shorter over there. Check out the height of the basement washer/dryer
Lawson got good at sleeping on the fly in the bjorn carrier. By the time we finished day 1 we were so tired and hungry we didn't even go to a local restaurant. We ended up at PF Changs, which is good mind you, but it's nothing like local cuisine. Either way, Lawson didn't mind. I',m telling you that he must be the most forgiving (and adorable) travel companion out there. 
Then by day 3 I was in love with this other apartment but it was technically in North Providence. It was stunning with 2 beds, 1 bath, a washer dryer private to us in the basement and only one person living above us. It had ample street parking and a backyard with space for a veggie garden! The problem: It was in a neighborhood I wasn't sure about and it was a little further from work. 
When I say a little further, what i mean is, that it took me 15 minutes rush hour traffic (so imagine what it would be like at 4 AM?). But i thad nearly the same layout as the other home I liked but for $220 a month LESS! Gorgeous hardwood floors, private washer/dryer, private backyard, huge remodeled kitchen complete with granite counters and all new stainless appliance and new cupboards--the amenities kept on giving. 
The other was Siena's (I think) where we again had some amazing prawn risotto. 
By the end of dinner I knew what I had to do--I had to call the landlord and say YES to the house :). The landlord is amazing, a recent mom with a 10 month old who used to live in the place who now hads moved to a bigger hoem with her husband to accomodate their growing family. It's going to be a wonderful new home for Tom and I in our new Rhode Island adventure. 
It was too delciosu for me to snap photos of first :). Then it was time to go home, but not without a trip to Boston for more food! We were able to sneak in a visit the night before we flew out to a hole-in-the-wall place called the Daily Catch that has their own home-made black pasta. It can only seat a few folks and often has a line around the block. It was divine. 
Boston was POURING rain that afternoon, so we had to make do with some burp cloths to keep Lawson all tucked in and snuggled. 
After he fell asleep he looked a little like a limp mummy in the carrier :)
We had to make one last stop too, to Bova's bakery. It's home to my dad's favorite pastry on the planet- Lobster tails (also known as Sfagiotella if I spelled that right).
My dad was drooling just knowing that we were in the area, so of course we had to take some home with us! After a less than perfect nights sleep we were up and ready to head home with this cutie. 
We got to the airport, dropped off our checked bags and turned right back around and headed into Boston to catch a quick lunch at the bar of the Top of the Hub restaurant in the Prudential tower with incredible views of the city. 
We made it back in time to catch our flight and enjoyed yet another surprisingly peacful flight home with Lawson to Billings. 
We were exhausted from all the travel and looking at over 20 apartments in 3 days! But we kept moving because more good things were headed our way. We left Billings the morning after we arrived to head to Missoula to catch up with the whole Malikie/Bowler/Velin clan for dinner. Lawson and I were soo excited!
He only had one blow out on the way--so much for those cute Bermuda shorts :). But it was worth it. When we arrived we were able to have him meet some of the many relatives that had never been able to see him before. Aunt Vicky, also known as Oma to the Velin kiddo's litterally had her hands full. 
Dad dined on his Lobster tails...
Cody tried on the new Gibson Mansion robes...
The kids played withe the incredible bubble maker...
And mom got some much needed Nana time in:
The whole weekend really warmed my heart. It had been since my surgery rotation in Missoula that I had been home! 
The farewell was much too soon when kristi had to get back to Billings.
We took a very brief moment to celebrate, then dropped it off at the u-haul store so that Tom could get back to the library to work on his paper that he has due next week while we're in hawaii. 
That's right, despite being done with law school and his externship, Tom isn't totally done! He has to finish up the masters of finance program that is on the quarter system even though the law school at the same University is on the semester system. So, that means he won't take his last final until 6/9 after I've already started the journey to Providence with my dad...whew! For now though, we are going to have a nice graduation weekend for him (his ceremony is on Saturday 5/14) and then we're off to HAWAII on 5/15. We can't believe it. Let the party begin!
I'll try to update the blog while in Hawaii, but I'm not gonna lie, I might try to take a break from screens for a bit and just relax in the reality that is Hawaii :).
It all started last week when I flew to Billings before Kristi and I took off the next afternoon for Boston. Obviously I was thrilled to see Lawson again! Although, I will say it was hard to recognize him becuase he has grown SO MUCH since I last saw him when he was 72 hours old! We loaded up the stroller and were off and running for a trip that was a mystery---would we find a place? Would Lawson handle plane rides well?
He was consistently adorable and often didn't even make much of a peep so our seat-mates didn't even really know there was an infant on board! At one point he was totally content to just sit propped up with his arms like this... We called it's Lawson's flying pose. I'm not sure how in the world it is "comfortable" for him, but he didn't seem to want to move!
By the end of day 2 I had some serious decisions to make. There was a place I liked a lot but it was on the very steep end of our budget but it sure was pretty.
The neighborhood was incredible and I would move there in a heartbeat. The kithcen had a really weird layout and there was a washer/dryer, but I couldn't swallow the idea of how much money it was per month.
then I saw one apartment that I thought was a potential on paper, but it turned out to photograph well but really be a run down (and very small) option. The landlord was funny, he insisted on me being IN the photos I was taking and sending back to Tom. The kitchen in the place was HUGE but the rest of it was tiny--one of those deal breakers where I don't think Tom or I could have sat on the toilet without our knees touching the walls kind of situation ;).
I liked the streets but it just wasn't the neighborhood I had set my mind on before I came to Providence for the trip.
I needed some time to think, so that's when we let our guts help us decide--by eating of course! We dined in the little italy of providence at two different places. One where we had incredible home made gnocchi and some of the BEST caramel gelato I've ever had.
Once that hard decision was out of hte way we had room for more food. We had the most INCREDIBLE lobster bisque, lobster rolls, and seafood broil at a place on the river in downtown Providence called Hemenways.
I got to snuggle Lawson on a lazy saturday afternoon before we all went out to Red Bird (our favorite Missoula restaurant) for a family dinner. How does he sleep like this?
I couldn't help but give love to the other cutie of the house-- Peyton!
I'm really going to miss this cute face!
But I had one more glorious day in the Montana sunshine for Mother's Day. We joined Rob and Vicky at their house for the most red meat that I've consumed in my life I think! It was amazingly delicous beef brisket and prime rib. Look at that hunk of meet fresh out of the trager?
With a full tummy and a full heart I headed back to Seattle for two days of solid work to get the apartment all moved into the UHaul shipping container. We managed to get it all done and it feels glorious knowing that I can just BE for a bit before we have to officially move.
We weren't sure we could get it all in, but we sure did thanks to some masterful tetris-style packing :)
We rented a house in Seattle for the Glassman's and us to stay at for the weekend (so we can skip 2 nights of sleeping on an air mattress in an empty apartment) and it's gorgeous to say the least. If you want to drop by for a post-ceremony BBQ here on 5/14 feel free! It's 724 N 46th Street in Seattle :).
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