Friday, September 28, 2012

Pom Pom Explosion & Other Adventures

I left Hannah alone to play for a bit while I was cleaning the kitchen. I walked around the corner and THIS is what I found...
 My toddler is onto everything right now! My error was thinking I had the bag of pom poms up high enough. Apparently Hannah thought the living room needed "sprinkles."

 Adam and I both needed to attend a church meeting last Sunday night but didn't have anyone to watch the kids, so we took turns watching them in the church nursery. During the last 5 minutes of the all branch meeting we both went in for the wrap-up and left the kids alone to play. Minutes later we see the kids hand-in-hand walking down the sidewalk outside the church - on the opposite side of the building from the nursery! Apparently they decided to go for a walk...all the way around the church in the few minutes we left them alone! Thank goodness they stayed on the sidewalk!

Tyler's imagination is really blossoming lately! I notice how practical I often view life when he reminds me to "just pretend Mom!" Like at the park the other day when he was being a monkey on the monkey bars and said, I wish I had a banana!" I said, "Sorry we didn't bring any bananas to the park." And he said, "just pretend Mom!"

Tyler was having rest time in his room yesterday and it was quiet in his room when I went up to tell him he could come back downstairs. I opened the door and was greeted by Tyler (only wearing his underwear), sitting in his red wooden bench that he had somehow (without tipping it over) managed to place on top of his yellow wooden table. He calmly sat there and stated very confidently: "I am a lifeguard!" I was laughing too hard to remember to get a picture!

This morning I worried I would finally have to call poison control for one of my kids!! Hannah somehow found a bottle of Crayola Color Bubbles that I hid way in the back of the cabinet in the garage. I hid them because they are way messy and the deep green color can stain. Sadly Hannah thinks blowing bubbles involves sticking the bubble wand into her mouth, so when I caught on to what she was up to, she looked like a bottle of green food coloring had exploded on her face! I rushed her into the bathroom and Adam checked the bottle to see if it was toxic. It wasn't (thankfully) and the green washed off her hands and face just fine, but - I think I have more grey hair now!

After Tyler's soccer game, Hannah decided his shin guards would make awesome puppet gloves and his hat looked best backwards. Isn't she just stink'n cute!!
 Strike a pose!!

Have I mentioned that Tyler has an imaginary friend now? "Her name is Sami, she's a girl. She's nice like you Mom, but small like me," That is what Tyler told me at the park last month after giving Sami a push on the swing. Sami has ridden in the car with us - even on our trip to Michigan. She sits in-between the car seats. She eats with us, too, but mostly is a playmate for Tyler when he is bored of playing with just us!

Tyler got to take snacks to Preschool yesterday for the first time. On the way home he told me he also got to lead the prayer before they had snacks. I asked him what he said in his prayer and this is what he said: "Dear God, thank you for the trees and the coconut and the grass. Thank you for the whole World and the oceans and the whales. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray. Amen" He also said the class had to repeat after him when he prayed - that must have been a long prayer for the whole class to do, but I am glad he feels confident enough to talk in front of others and make up his own prayer at such a young age. We are very proud of him and what he is learning! Now....if he could just keep himself out of the uh-oh chair in school...!

One more Tyler story..My son is becoming quite British sounding lately. He has like Thomas the Train for a long time, so he has often said "getting a wash down" instead of "taking a bath." But now he has latched onto another favorite British cartoon that he watches on his Kindle - Kipper the Dog! Now he says words like "pond" with an accent and has fun cracking us up with his new "language." He also says things are "brilliant" instead of "great". Like, can we go outside to play, Mom? That would be brilliant!" And he tells Hannah she can "have a go" on the slide instead of "take a turn." I just laugh and think about all of my former camp staff from England and what they would think of my soccer playing, Brittish sounding, almost 4 year-old! :)

Visit to Grandma's

I recently borrowed my Mom's camera to see what pictures she had taken of the kids while they had been there to visit over the last month or so. Here are some of the gems I found.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Pufferbilly Days 2012

Pufferbilly Days in Boone - it's our town celebration of our railroad heritage. The Union Pacific Railroad was celebrating their 150th year and had several fun exhibits open. We went early Friday to beat the crowds.
 They had a really big "mini" train for us all to ride and we found friends to ride with - The Reece Family!
 
 Tyler standing outside a neat touring train that has been turned into a traveling train history museum on wheels.
They brought a really big steam engine to show off - one of the last steam engines of this size they built and it was saved for displays like this. Tyler said it looked just like the Polar Express train engine!
 Tyler wanted to climb all over it, luckily there were lots of railroad staff there to help me discourage him!
Then (as if all THAT wasn't enough train excitement)...Tyler saw this UP VIP passenger train pull up an asked to ride it. I had heard they were giving free rides but had not heard that tickets had to be bought online in advance. And...they were all sold out plus a long waiting list.
 Tyler was heartbroken we couldn't ride, but I asked anyway and they told me to come back early before the next 1:30PM trip and wait to see of someone didn't show up. Tyler is one lucky kid because one man came with an extra ticket because his wife couldn't make it, he gave us her ticket so we could ride!!!! He got our ticket punched and then they told us our luck was even greater because they had just ONE spot left in the upper level observation car!!!
 All Aboard!
 He was "jumping out of your skin" excited!!
 We sat next to a lady named Pat who knew a lot of local railroad history to tell us.

 
 
 
 One lucky boy
 And thanks to a Caillou episode, we had to go check out the train bathrooms too! :)
We have ridden on a lot of Scenic Valley trains, but this was totally different because we were on the official UP tracks, sitting way up high, big comfy seats, smooth track, and we got to see other trains wiz past us.
 Here is our train!
 One more mini train ride!
 OK - just one more (his 4th ride) but there was no line so it was hard to say no.
Saturday was a busy day! Adam ran a 5K & Tyler ran the last block with him to the finish, pancake breakfast, parade, story time, lunch downtown, then the kid's fun run, and the ISU Football Game!!!
 Hannah really got into the parade this year and danced for each marching band!
 Enjoying the cool treat the DQ float passed out! Fareway gave him a Hostess Cupcake and it was gone before the end of the parade too!
Sharing with little sister
 Tyler got tired of catching candy towards he end of the 2-hour parade but Hannah was more than willing to help take over!
 
Then we went to the Treehouse for my friend Bethany's UsBourne Books story time. Hannah played in the house. Tyler enjoyed story time!
 Tyler's first kids fun run. He did the 100 meter run here (ISU #11 with the blue hat)
 And then ran the 200 meter. He wanted to keep going, but we had to leave for the game.
 He was so PROUD of his medal!!! Fun day & hope they both sleep well tonight!

Home Bound

 One tired kid - he wrapped himself up like this on our way back home and was asleep a short time later
 Pit stop for a picnic lunch and and a chance to get out and play at the park...somewhere in Illinois
Our last stop on the way home was at Grizzly Jack's Resort & Water Park in Utica, Illinois. They have an large amusement park area that we played in first
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then we changed into our swim suits, ate some ice cream...
  And headed to the water park before crashing for the night.

 
 
 Tyler loved the lazy river, I liked the wave pool
 Hannah liked anything BUT the lazy river
 Our Grizzly Jacks Resort room
 Sleepy girl had breakfast at I-HOP and then fell asleep while we got 1/2 of our miniature golfing done
  Then she woke up to help us finish the last half - we called her the "Hannah Hazard" because it was really easy to loose our golf balls around her!
 Putting practice
 It was hot and we were ready to climb back into the car and drive the final stretch home in air conditioning!
 One last shot - notice where my daredevil son is standing?