FUTURE "THRU" HIKER

Today Gilbert took on his first hike. Lucy, Gilbert and I headed to seek out the Appalachain Trail. We were very happy to find that it really is just nine miles from our door to the head of the trail! For those of you who don't know, the Appalachain Trail goes all the way from Maine to Goergia. A good section of it streteches through Pennsylvania. Some people "thru hikers" hike the whole thing in one five month stretch, while others like to take on smaller portions at a time. Well I must say that I was plesently surprised to find that those "rolling hills" in the distance actually hold some beautiful hiking trails. Throughout the PA portion there are shelters for people hiking "thru" and for those just wanting to camp out for a night. We didn't make it to a shelter today, but we did pick up a map that shows the trails through the Michaux State Forest which is about 37 miles....I think we saw about two miles of it. Michael and I would like to do a night or two along this trail with Gilbert. Maybe in the Fall. There are also about 60 miles of other trails open to mountain bikers and hikers. I'm sure this park will be a popular place to visit for the family. Gilbert enjoyed his first visit to the woods, and when he wasn't sleeping he was looking straight up at the sky and trees. He is too cute!

FAMILY IN TRAINING

Things are progressing for all of us in the Gallagher family. Michael is starting to get out on training rides in the hills on his mountain bike. I'm starting to train for upcoming races with a little help from the YMCA; its free babysitting, swimming pool, spins class, treadmill and yoga. Michael and I have discovered the joy of partner yoga. Talk about really getting your stretch on while also bonding a little. WOW! But Gilbert takes the cake with the discovery of his hands, the lifting of his head, and getting on his new bike for the first time. He is just about to roll over, but those darn arms keep getting in the way! He might not be walking by the family reunion in July, but who knows he might just head out on a few training bike rides with us. ;) Oh but don't forget Lucy....she went on a mountain bike ride with Michael on Saturday and ran so hard she almost puked. At least that slowed her down a bit for her run with me the following day. Yes we all have to suffer a little to get back to our fighting weight.

A VISIT TO OUR NATION'S CAPITAL

Despite just having our things delivered to our new house, Michael and I went to DC last weekend. My friend Ginger from Portland was going to be there for a wedding so that was just the motivation we needed to make the trip. Luckily my friends James and Keren live in DC so we had a place to stay. They were very hospitable and help point us in the direction of the Metro so we could check out they typical tourist things in DC. James lives only a Metro stop from the White House so Saturday we took it in. On Sunday we hooked up Ginger at her fancy hotel, The Mayflower, and caught up while taking in a few more sites. As busy as the weekend was, we managed to make a trip to IKEA to get a few things for the house. We were running on fumes by the time we were leaving and refuled with soda and hotdogs. Anyone who knows us, knows that we must have been desperate. ;) The weekend was fast paced, but great! DC is only under two hours from Chambersburg! How lucky are we?

MY FIRST VISITORS

Uncle Bill and Aunt Kathy were on their way down to Florida for the rest of the winter and were able to meet me for lunch! Three cheers, my first visitors. It was great to see them. We had lunch at The Big Oak Cafe connected to The Meat Market. Really this is my favorite place in town and a perfect place to meet people who are just passing through. As you can tell by the picture, I think we all know the real motivation for their stop. :)

FINALLY MOVING IN!

We finally are getting settled into our new place. We had our “stuff” delivered on Friday and we are in the middle of about 100 boxes and 100 items not in boxes. Wow! I told Michael that as soon as we get unpacked we are going to go through things. How does this happen? I swear I moved to Portland with one a trunk, one suit case and three boxes. Well, regardless we have finally arrived to a point where we can get settled into our new place and our life together. Our new house is great. Since Michael redid ALL the hardwood floors, as in all 1000 square feet, the place looks awesome! It went from stinky and questionable to live-in ready, even for a baby that will be crawling in the near future. But we do know that our place will always be a work in progress as we have titled it our learning house. Currently the kitchen is torn up, but very functional. Also the ceiling just has the drywall on it and needs to be finished, but looks a heck of a lot better than the office tiles that were there before. We also plan on redoing the bathroom, adding a half bath, and doing a lot of cosmetic fixes. All in due time, for now we are in and very happy to be here!!!

In the picture my car is parked infront of our half of the duplex. If anyone has ever been to my place in Portland, note that this place is pretty much the same except it has an extra bedroom upstairs and a full basement and attic. We actually have three sets of stairs!

A VISIT TO BUTLER, PA

Michael ended up working on Christmas which was fine with us, we had already had so much going on that trying to pull off a formal Christmas was not in our place. Plus I don’t think Gilbert minded. But he was lucky enough to have his own Christmas stocking that my mom knit for him, which was filled with small gifts for the family….from Santa of course.

After Christmas we headed up to Butler to stay a few days with Michael’s Grandparents, Grandma Pat and Grandpa Gib (Gilbert) Taggart. It was really nice to spend time with family and connect during the holidays. Grandma and Grandpa loved Gilbert and were hands-on the entire time. It was nice because it gave me a little break. Grandma Pat was amazing, I don’t know how she does it, but she would be holding Gilbert one minute and the next minute dinner would be on the table. I guess that is the kind of skill you would expect from someone who raised six kids. Lucy also had a great time and actually sulked for about two days after she returned. I think she has a special place in her heart for Grandpa Gib.

Butler is a really cute town with a lot of family history. We drove by the house Michael’s great grandparents live in on the Taggart side of the family. We also drove over the see Michael’s Aunt Kris and Uncle Scott in Mars, PA. Mars is a great town with a subtle UFO/Mars theme to it. It seems like the have a great close knit group of friends, one of the benefits of living close to where you grew up. We also took one day and spent some time with the Gallagher side of the family, getting the chance to see Michael’s other grandparents and some aunts and uncles.

I was sad to leave Butler as the opportunity to see family is one of the reasons we moved to PA. But We’re hoping to get a chance to visit again in the Spring. Plus we will be seeing everyone on the Taggart side of the family in July at the family reunion. I must admit that after meeting more people from the family, I’m looking very forward to it.

TEMPORARY HOUSING

Before I arrived in Chambersburg, Michael was fortunate enough to find a great rental only two blocks from the place we bought. So for about six weeks after I arrived we lived in a great two story furnished apartment behind the house of a very nice couple. Biggest perk is that is has a stone fireplace! But we were still only living temporarily so we didn't have our crib yet, so Gilbert stepped it up snd slept in a drawer. Luckily we moved into our permenate place just before he grew out of it.

The couple has six kids and use to be military so they know what it is like to move around a lot. They were nice enough to add us to their numbers when it came to Christmas dinner and New Years dinner. The housing set-up was perfect and allowed us time for Michael to do the hardwood floors in the new place before moving in.

Oh and yes people that is snow. Not much has fallen since, but it is snow.