Movie Monday - Transportation

The Frozen Tundra

Last weekend, we got back in the car and made our way north to see some good friends.  We have had this vacation planned for what seems like forever and we were so excited for it to finally be here!!  We had planned this around the Klondike Days that takes place about 30 minutes from where they live.  This is an outdoor winter festival that we thought Boo would enjoy (not to mention the four adults who were looking forward to it!).  And it was made that much better because they had a. ton. of snow.

On the way up, Boo was practicing his letter recognition with his "ashcards" (flashcards) from The Letter F@ctory movie series.  The following movie is a little long, but if  you watch 'til the end, you can see that our boy is very good at praising others:

On Saturday, we went to Klondike Days.  We watched ice and wood sculptures being made with chainsaws, saw a logging competition (actually pretty neat), walked around an old frontier encampment, took a sleigh ride and a dog sled ride, and Boo got to ride a pony all by himself! (although Daddy was walking beside him, just to be safe)

if you look close, you can see his tongue sticking out, concentrating

getting a lift from Jay

Sunday, we went out to play in the snow.  Took Boo sledding around the yard and I felt like I was swimming in the snow a few times, it was that deep!!  Just saying: walking up a hill, pulling a sled, in snow that went above my knees in most places...talk about a workout!  But it was fun and Boo absolutely loved it.

Now, if only I could find mittens that would stay on his hands...

this was the shallow snow

We then went snowshoeing for the first time ever, which was fun.  And easier than I thought it would be.  Kind of makes me want to move somewhere where I could buy a pair and be guaranteed to use them every year!

Jessie, me, and Boo

you might be seeing this picture again come Christmas-time!

Jessie and Boo after a day outside, watching The Letter F@ctory.

Boo had them "trained" to sing the alphabet song before we left...it only took two days!!

In Boo's words, "Very good, Jessie and Jay!"

Thanks again for an awesome weekend!

St. Croix vacation

Last summer, Chris and I decided that we needed to take a vacation, just the two of us, to someplace warm this winter.  After researching various places to go, we booked our tickets and rented a condo in sunny St. Croix!!  Thank God for credit cards that allow you to earn airline miles, because that's the main way we were able to afford this.  Our parents are splitting the time staying at our house with Boo and the dogs while we've been gone and, so far, it sounds like they've had a great time together.  We are so thankful that they were able to arrange their schedules to help us out.  I will admit, it was H-A-R-D to leave our sweet boy, especially the day after he had his tooth pulled last week!  In the 20 months since he's been home, I have only been away from him for four nights total, and two of those nights, Chris was with him.  Talk about withdrawal!!  We have been looking at our own blog almost daily to see pictures of him as well as video that's on here...jeesh...do ya think we miss him much?!?!  (So if you've had a hit on your blog from the Virgin Islands, that was me.  :) )

Anyways, back to our trip.  After spending an entire day traveling to get down here, we picked up our rental car and found our condo...with only one wrong turn to get here.  Pretty good, considering it was dark, the roads are very curvy, we're driving up and down hills, and you have to drive on the left side of the road!  We've spent a lot of time just relaxing at a few beaches and the pool at our condo complex.  We have a great view of the Caribbean from our balcony and the beach is pretty much just out our front door...amazing!! (This was one of three places we looked at on-line to rent and are so glad we chose it.  We have driven or walked past the other two and definitely made the best choice as far as location, facilities, and up-keep of the place.)  Besides soaking up the sun, we've also taken a snorkel trip to Buck Island, driven to Point Udall which is the easternmost point of the United States, done some shopping, gone on a tour of the Cruzan Rum factory (with free taste testing afterwards...yum!), and Chris got to go SCUBA diving as well.  We haven't really taken all that many pictures, but here are a few of our good ones:

the view from our balcony

Chris relaxing on our first morning

at Point Udall (it's been pretty windy the entire time we've been here)

up close of the iguanas joining us at the pool

our two iguana friends

On our way to the snorkeling area at Buck Island, a school(?) of dolphins was swimming around the boat. The lady captain stopped and asked if anyone wanted to get in and swim with them...Chris was so excited, he couldn't get his gear on fast enough!  That was fun to watch.  And the crew got some underwater video of the dolphins that they said they would email us; if they do, I'll get it put up here to watch, I promise.

a beach we stopped at briefly before going on to the other side of Buck Island

boats...Chris loves boats. period.

Chris (in the yellow) going for his first of his two-tank dive at a place called "The Wall" off of Cane Bay Beach.  This is unique because instead of having to take a boat out, they just walk out from the beach and eventually get to a point where the sea floor drops away.  He really enjoyed it and got to see a few things he's never seen before: a frogfish, garden eels, and a reef shark, among other things.

an example of what they mean when they say you're "on island time" when you're here!!

Today is our last day here and, wouldn't you know, we woke up to cloudy skies and rain.  But after going through the rum factory tour and getting lunch, the sun came out and we are now enjoying our last afternoon at the pool before packing up our belongings and spending tomorrow traveling home.  I will say, on all our other vacations, it's been pretty hard having to leave.  But this time, there is an extra-special reason for looking forward to getting home...that little boy waiting there with his Grandma and who calls us "mama" and "dada."

See you soon, Boo...but not soon enough!!

Trip to STL (Movie Monday included)

We recently went to St. Louis and stayed at a hotel near Union Station, which is an old train depot.  The hotel we stayed at has a bunch of large model trains (behind glass, thank goodness, and away from little fingers!) and we knew Boo would love to see them.  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of him when he was studying them running back and forth between all of them like some demented train-obsessed child.  I probably could have taken my book and read for the evening while he kept pointing out all seven or eight trains that were on display!

There is a large man-made pond full of fish right next to the hotel and Union Station.  While we were waiting to meet friends for dinner, we let Boo feed the fish.  They were huge!  And have obviously been fed well and by many people; they definitely knew what they wanted to happen when they saw us peering over the edge at them.

We met our friends for dinner at a seafood restaurant that had some great food!  But the best, by far, was the dessert that the three of us shared:

I figure it was good for us since it had bananas on it!!

That night, Boo could not get to sleep (hmmm, I wonder why? but I promise he didn't have that much dessert!).  He was soooo restless, rolling back and forth, from one end of the bed he was in to the other.  I got him water twice (which he gulped down), covered him up multiple times, and finally told him that if he needed something, he had to carefully get out of bed and come over to me and ask; this last was because he almost pushed himself out of bed trying to get my attention, even though we had him surrounded by pillows and blankets!  I then tried going to sleep, but my Mama mode wouldn't let me.  I was dozing on and off when I opened my eyes and there stood Boo, right by the side of the bed, whispering "HEY, MA-ma, I want water!"  After that, he dropped off to sleep quickly.  Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky.

The next day we went to the St. Louis Zoo before driving home.  We probably got to see 1/4 of it, which is about the same amount we saw last time, so we're up to having seen about half of the zoo.  :)  We saw leopards and zebras and orangutans, oh my!

Snow leopards taking a nap in the sun.

These orangutans were also trying to take naps; there is one rolled up under the  sheet on the right.

Boo had a close-up encounter with one of them:

fist bump, i.e. the rock

Playing peek-a-boo.

At the end of our time at the zoo, he took a gorilla ride with Dada's help:

We had a great time and wish we lived closer so we could take advantage of the free admission to the zoo and the many other fun things a larger city is known for.  But we're smaller city folks at heart, so I guess we'll just have to continue taking numerous mini-vacations.  I like that plan.  :)

NLCS Game 3

We were lucky enough to get tickets from a friend for the St. Louis Cardinals National League Championship Series Game 3!  We both enjoy baseball and were so excited to take Boo to his first Major League baseball game.  (Although we took him to a spring training game in March, Chris says that doesn't really count...o-kay.)  Anyway, Boo did great; we drove down that afternoon and parked on the IL side of the river in order to take the train across.  We thought he would really enjoy it and we. were. right.  He liked it so much that, when we got off and it started pulling away, he reached back across my shoulder, saying "Thomas, come back!" over and over.  And wouldn't stop saying it until we assured him that "Thomas" would come back for us after the game was over.  Can you say obsessed??

We stayed until the middle of the 8th inning and then left so that we could beat the crowds once the game finished.  And guess what time it was?...10pm.  Yep, no whining, no meltdown at all.  The peanuts we bought around the 5th inning probably helped a ton in that department, I kid you not.  We rode "Thomas" back across the river and got to our car in time to hear the fireworks telling us that our team had won!  And because we wanted to reward Boo for being such a good little guy, we decided to get small milkshakes to celebrate.  We took them back to the hotel and the three of us cuddled in bed, sipping our shakes, while watching the postgame on TV.  Chris and Boo had ordered the same flavor, so when our little sweet-tooth mooch finished his own kiddie-size shake, he turned slightly to his daddy, glanced up from under his lashes, and whispered, (whispered mind you, probably hoping that Mama wouldn't hear!) "I want some!"  We couldn't stop laughing, the kid was so stinkin' cute.  And because we were laughing, that started him giggling.  But after getting ready for bed, he konked out like a light in the other bed, no fuss, no stalling.  It was such a fun, short getaway and things like that still amaze me as far as how lucky we are to be our family of three.

We only took a few pictures at the ballfield:

I really like this one that I took of the loves of my life!

Cardinals Family Photo

If you can't tell, I was the one taking this picture; it's that awkward, head-leaned-back-so-I-can-get-in-the-picture-but-now-I've-got-a-weird-looking-neck pose.  Great picture of Chris finally, and Boo looks absolutely adorable!!

GO CARDS!!

Camping, Thomas, and Vet Med Open House

A few weeks ago, we went camping for the last time on our land for this year.  We were there just as the leaves started turning colors and it was gorgeous!!  I can't imagine what it looks like in full autumn color.

A little "visitor" to our campsite between our last two visits:

 He left a couple of very small holes in the bunk ends as a reminder of his visit.

Much more desired guests!!

We took a ride on a real steam engine about 40 minutes from our campsite.  Boo absolutely loved it!  He is still talking about riding "Thomas" and how he came back to pick us up.  Even though the engine was black and not blue, he continuously refers to this engine as "Thomas"!

Boo and Daddy in front of Thomas and the conductors.

Driving "Salty," or at least a train car that looks like Salty

"Here comes Thomas!"

What is this little boy watching so comfortably?!?!

Of course, it's...Thomas!!!

He was watching his video the first evening while Chris and I were reading at the table when I felt the camper start rocking, just very slightly.  I looked up and saw Boo standing up dancing on the bed to music that comes on between episodes.  Hil-ar-i-ous!!!  This kid continuously cracks me up.  I didn't get that first dance on video, but we played it again just to catch him dancing without knowing he was being videotaped.

And he now says this every. single. time. a song ends that he has been enjoying:

Chris' cousin, Matt, is in vet school here it town and they had an Open House last weekend.  We took Boo to the face painting booth when Matt was working and Boo chose a dog to be painted on his face.  He sat so still while Matt was working and didn't even flinch.  Although I thought he looked a little terrified, kind of that deer-in-the-headlights look, but he did great!

The finished product:

We petted a horse, a cow, 

and even a little pig!

What fun times!  And we have more coming up...let's just say...GO CARDS!!!!!

Catch-up Post #4 - Local Outings

We recently took our new canoe out to a nearby lake.  This was the first time we had Boo in a canoe; yes, people, we bought a canoe without knowing how our little guy would do once out in a body of water!  He loved being in the canoe while it was on the ground and ever since we bought it, he kept calling it "my geen (green) boat" or "my ca-new."  But we had absolutely no idea what his reaction was going to be when push came to shove and we were on the water.  We were hoping for the best, but also knew it might a very short-lived canoe trip, if we even made it away from the dock!!  Well, he did not disappoint:

"I'm ready to go!"

Safe in daddy's arms.  He was a bit skeptical about the whole thing when we first went out...

...but soon was very. comfortable. with the whole thing!  He leaned over so far he got his hair wet.  And Chris had a grip on him the whole time; it may have been our first, and last, trip if he ended up taking a dip overboard!!

He was even adventurous enough to crawl forward, away from daddy, and sit by himself.

Some pretty scenery we saw:

We also went to our local apple orchard to get some yummy apples, apple donuts, apple fritters, apple pie, apple cider...you get the picture.  They have some children's activities there as well, one of which is a bounce house obstacle course that Boo just had to go through.  Since he is too small to do it himself, Chris and I decided I would go through it with him.  Of course, once we got into the thing, he didn't want to do any of it, at all, by himself.  And it's really for bigger kids anyway, but oh well, we were in it.  (There wasn't a height requirement at the front, which there probably should be.)  So I pretty much lifted him over, carried him through, and climbed up this thing with Boo attached to me like a monkey.  You can see in the following picture that he has a death grip on me with both arms and legs!!

This was not easy!

But a very good picture at the top.

Kisses in the oversized chair.

Doesn't he look so small???

Guess what??  We're all caught up!  We took a last(?) camping trip for the season this past weekend, but that will be for another post.  Hope you enjoyed our summer...we certainly did!!

Catch-up Post #3 - Family Trips

At the end of August, we visited my grandfather, aunt, uncle, and cousin for the weekend.  Boo had a great time getting to know these extended family members a little better, and they seemed to really enjoy having him around as well!!  We had a bit of a surprise as Chris was hospitalized while we were there; it made our stay a day longer and my family spent a lot of time babysitting Boo while I was at the hospital with Chris.  We were extremely proud of our little guy that weekend for so many reasons.  He didn't fuss over us leaving; he seemed so relaxed and at home from the time we got there and was talking non-stop. His great-grandpa really enjoyed listening to him, I was told!  He also allowed my aunt to put him to sleep, both at nap time and at night.  This is pretty big for him, and for us, as the only people besides us who have put him to sleep since he's been home (15 months at that time), have been his grandmas!  She was also able to take some pictures of their activities that weekend.

Boo absolutely LOVED their cuckoo clock!  They also have a grandfather clock that would chime right before the cuckoo clock, so we knew when to look for that little birdie coming out.  We would count how many times he chirped before he went back inside to go to sleep.  Entertaining and educational!  :)

He went for a bike ride to the park.

Ice cream time with great-grandpa!!

Maybe another reason why he didn't mind having Mommy and Daddy gone?!?!

Cousins (with a once-removed in there somewhere!)

Spending time in their pool.

Labor Day weekend, we visited Chris' family and again, Boo was feeling right at home as soon as we got there.  We ate a lot of good food and saw all the boys.  I kid you not, this family is made up of pretty much all males: Chris is one of three boys, and Boo only has boy cousins.  Chris' dad only has brothers and they both only have sons as well.  And man, was I taking a lot of ribbing during the Notre Dame game that weekend because they all know I'm a die-hard fan and the Irish didn't win...but you know what?  Bring it.  :)

Chris, his brothers, nephews, and Boo

Grandma, her sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons (we were actually missing three guys from this picture)

Two boys missing from this one (I'm not sure who the other lady is in this picture, but she wanted to be in it...no problem!)

Trampoline jumping

Sunset at the lake

Tubing.  Obviously, I don't go tubing a lot; after this picture was taken, I was informed that we should probably lay down on our bellies to make it easier to hold on.  Thanks for the tip!

I am getting closer to finally being caught up with our activities.  Up next: our first outing with the new canoe and a trip to the apple orchards.