July 12, 2009
Ready for an update?
I know I've been a little blog lazy lately, so here is an update on our summer so far. Keep scrolling down, and down, and down...
July 11, 2009
Summer Road Trip
For our family vacation this summer, we headed up to Cody, Wyoming for a family reunion. My grandparents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this September, so their kids decided that this summer would be a great time to get together and celebrate with them.
We loaded up our car on Friday the 3rd for our 8 hour drive to Cody. I thought the boys would be so restless in the car that long, but they were great! They pretty much just watched movies the whole time. (praises to the build in DVD player in the car. I worship that thing) We arrived in town just in time for dinner with the whole family.
The next morning we headed downtown for the 4th of July parade. The boys were not that entertained, but did get some candy out of the deal. We then walked around the park to visit the vendor booths and eat some lunch. That night we all drove up the hill to a great spot to watch the fireworks that night.
On the 5th, we spent most of the morning preparing for my grandparents anniversary party. My step-mom and all of my aunts had spent two days preparing tons of food for all of the guests.
The food was great, and quite a few people showed up who had known my grandparents for many years. The kids and grandkids presented them with gifts. My dad gave his father a nice gold pocket watch, and a pretty necklace to his mom. I had purchased a digital frame for my grandparents, and before the trip I loaded it up with pictures of all their kids and grandkids. They really enjoyed looking at all the photos we set up for them.
B spent quite a while playing with his cousin Jimmy. Jimmy is 16, but he was really great to let B tag along after him. He even made rafts and boats out of twigs and gave them to B to race in the canal in my grandparents back yard. B was Jimmy's little shadow that whole day, and wouldn't even leave his side to go get icecream with Ben and I. After family pictures that eavening, we turned in early for our trip home the next morning.
We spent our time in Cody at my grandparent's lake house. We enjoyed the quite down time we got there, and the boys loved throwing rocks in the water.
We decided that on our last day we would take out time and sight-see through Yellowstone. My two sisters joined us, and we made a caravan to the park. On our drive we saw buffalo close enough to reach out and touch, and a black bear climbing up the hill next to the road. Do I have pictures of any of those things? Nope. I was too busy enjoying the sights to stop and take a picture. I only caught a few things on camera:
After fishing bridge, we headed to Lake to the old Resort. This is a FABULOUS place to pull over to have lunch! Not many people come here, since there is a big store at Fishing Bridge, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Only a few other diners were there. We sat in the lodge by big windows that looked out onto Yellowstone Lake. It was quite an exciting lunch- as B and I were sitting at our table, something passed by my side and I heard a thud. I looked over to see that a baby bat had landed on our table! It flopped around and landed on the floor next to me. A diner near by grabbed a plate cover and trapped it underneath until an employee could come and get it outside. We looked up to see that there was a family of bats living in the ceiling in the huge log timbers. I thought it was cool, but it freaked B out and he went to sit at the table with his aunt Carrie. At least it didn't land in our food! That's as close to nature as your gonna get!
We spent the last leg of our trip in Idaho Falls. We didn't feel like driving all night, so we stopped for the night at the Best Western. It was a great hotel, in an awesome location. We were right across the street from the Idaho Falls Temple, and about 12 steps across the street to the falls. We ended up getting a king suite, and invited my sister Halie and her husband Scott to join us. They stayed in the back bedroom, and the boys were on the pull-out couch. They thought that was great!
We loaded up our car on Friday the 3rd for our 8 hour drive to Cody. I thought the boys would be so restless in the car that long, but they were great! They pretty much just watched movies the whole time. (praises to the build in DVD player in the car. I worship that thing) We arrived in town just in time for dinner with the whole family.
The next morning we headed downtown for the 4th of July parade. The boys were not that entertained, but did get some candy out of the deal. We then walked around the park to visit the vendor booths and eat some lunch. That night we all drove up the hill to a great spot to watch the fireworks that night.
On the 5th, we spent most of the morning preparing for my grandparents anniversary party. My step-mom and all of my aunts had spent two days preparing tons of food for all of the guests.
The food was great, and quite a few people showed up who had known my grandparents for many years. The kids and grandkids presented them with gifts. My dad gave his father a nice gold pocket watch, and a pretty necklace to his mom. I had purchased a digital frame for my grandparents, and before the trip I loaded it up with pictures of all their kids and grandkids. They really enjoyed looking at all the photos we set up for them.
B spent quite a while playing with his cousin Jimmy. Jimmy is 16, but he was really great to let B tag along after him. He even made rafts and boats out of twigs and gave them to B to race in the canal in my grandparents back yard. B was Jimmy's little shadow that whole day, and wouldn't even leave his side to go get icecream with Ben and I. After family pictures that eavening, we turned in early for our trip home the next morning.
B and Jimmy
My Dad's parents, and his 3 daughters and families.
We spent our time in Cody at my grandparent's lake house. We enjoyed the quite down time we got there, and the boys loved throwing rocks in the water.
We decided that on our last day we would take out time and sight-see through Yellowstone. My two sisters joined us, and we made a caravan to the park. On our drive we saw buffalo close enough to reach out and touch, and a black bear climbing up the hill next to the road. Do I have pictures of any of those things? Nope. I was too busy enjoying the sights to stop and take a picture. I only caught a few things on camera:
Some of us at our first stop: Fishing Bridge
After fishing bridge, we headed to Lake to the old Resort. This is a FABULOUS place to pull over to have lunch! Not many people come here, since there is a big store at Fishing Bridge, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Only a few other diners were there. We sat in the lodge by big windows that looked out onto Yellowstone Lake. It was quite an exciting lunch- as B and I were sitting at our table, something passed by my side and I heard a thud. I looked over to see that a baby bat had landed on our table! It flopped around and landed on the floor next to me. A diner near by grabbed a plate cover and trapped it underneath until an employee could come and get it outside. We looked up to see that there was a family of bats living in the ceiling in the huge log timbers. I thought it was cool, but it freaked B out and he went to sit at the table with his aunt Carrie. At least it didn't land in our food! That's as close to nature as your gonna get!
We drove around to a few more sight in the Geyser basin. B really liked the bubbling pools, but didn't like the steam that smelled like sulfur. It was really beautiful to walk around and enjoy.
Our last stop was at Old Faithful. We parked the car and walked up to it just minutes before it erupted. It was a great show, like always. Poor Christopher was so tuckered out that he slept almost the whole time. We spent a little while in the gift shops and got the boys some souvenirs. We then said goodbye to my sisters and headed off to Idaho falls.
We spent the last leg of our trip in Idaho Falls. We didn't feel like driving all night, so we stopped for the night at the Best Western. It was a great hotel, in an awesome location. We were right across the street from the Idaho Falls Temple, and about 12 steps across the street to the falls. We ended up getting a king suite, and invited my sister Halie and her husband Scott to join us. They stayed in the back bedroom, and the boys were on the pull-out couch. They thought that was great!
In the morning, we walked across the street to look at the falls. The boys chased the ducks and geese on the lawn, and threw rocks into the waterfall. It was a great way to start our morning. We packed up and headed home to enjoy some afternoon naps as a way to "recover" from our vacation. All in all, it was a great trip.
Potty Party!!
My little Christopher isn't my baby anymore. He is a "big boy" because big boys go pee pee and poo poo in the potty!
I had wanted to wait until summer was over to try potty training. I tought that all of the road trips and outings would make it harder to keep him consistent. Well, one night he woke me up at 3:00 to tell me he wanted to go in the potty. Mind you, he had never wanted to go before, and why he chose 3 am, I'm not sure. We tried, and nothing happened, but it gave me the push I needed to just do it.
Christopher was such an easy boy to train! B and I fought about it for almost a year. Christopher, on the other hand, picked it up almost immediately. The day we put underwear on him, is the day he also started to stay dry at night and at naps. He never did the sit down thing-wanted to stand up at the potty like Daddy and B. So number one he had down almost immediately. I think we only had like 2 accidents.
Number 2 was a different story. He just didn't want to do it in the potty. He would stay dry all day, and then go hide in his room to poop. Then about a week later, we were at Nanny's house, when Ben saw him outside making "the face". He scooped him up and took him into the house, and he made it! We told him when he went poo poo in the potty he could have a potty party, so that night we picked up balloons and a little cake for out party. He still needed a little more encouragement, so I told him he could have potty treats and a bubble gun if he kept his underwear clean. That did the trick! Now I have two big boys at my house!
Be was such a great helper. He kept encouraging Christopher and would clap and dance for him when he made it to the potty. He kept telling his little brother, "You need to go in the potty so we can be best potty buddies." I was so proud of him for being such a supportive brother. 
I had wanted to wait until summer was over to try potty training. I tought that all of the road trips and outings would make it harder to keep him consistent. Well, one night he woke me up at 3:00 to tell me he wanted to go in the potty. Mind you, he had never wanted to go before, and why he chose 3 am, I'm not sure. We tried, and nothing happened, but it gave me the push I needed to just do it.
Christopher was such an easy boy to train! B and I fought about it for almost a year. Christopher, on the other hand, picked it up almost immediately. The day we put underwear on him, is the day he also started to stay dry at night and at naps. He never did the sit down thing-wanted to stand up at the potty like Daddy and B. So number one he had down almost immediately. I think we only had like 2 accidents.
Number 2 was a different story. He just didn't want to do it in the potty. He would stay dry all day, and then go hide in his room to poop. Then about a week later, we were at Nanny's house, when Ben saw him outside making "the face". He scooped him up and took him into the house, and he made it! We told him when he went poo poo in the potty he could have a potty party, so that night we picked up balloons and a little cake for out party. He still needed a little more encouragement, so I told him he could have potty treats and a bubble gun if he kept his underwear clean. That did the trick! Now I have two big boys at my house!
Playing with the bubble gun.
The Potty Cake. It was a reward for mommy too.
Be was such a great helper. He kept encouraging Christopher and would clap and dance for him when he made it to the potty. He kept telling his little brother, "You need to go in the potty so we can be best potty buddies." I was so proud of him for being such a supportive brother.
Here are the "Best Potty Buddies."
Starting the Summer with Fun!
We decided to head out one day to a mini golf course with the boys. We had never taken them before, and the weather was so beautiful, we couldn't pass it up. B really liked to golf, and even let his Daddy help him learn a few pointers. Christopher could not have cared less. He was bored by the second hole, and tried to entertain himself by grabbing the ball and running away to throw it into the pond. Maybe 2 is too young to golf.... But a fun day nevertheless.
I decided that this year I would sign the boys up for swim lessons at the Aquatic Center. B was in the Preschool C class, and I did WaterBabies with Christopher. The boys loved it! B is like a little fish. He loves to hold his breath and stay under water. It scares me to death, but he always comes up with a smile on his face. Christopher is quite a bouyant child. I was worried about holding him in the big pool the whole time, but he floats really well. The only hard part was that he didn't want me to hold him. He wanted me to let him go. I kept trying to explain that he would sink to the bottom, but he was not deterred. I let him get dunked a few times, and then he would give in while I held him to practice his kicks. I literally had to drag the boys kicking and screaming out of the pool at the end of each lesson. The only bummer was that the two weeks we had our lessons were the two weeks that it rained non stop! We only had two days of sun at our lessons, and the rest of the time we swam in the rain. Indoor pool next time!
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