The boys have so much fun playing together!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Our Camping Misadventure
August 13th, 3:48 a.m.: Adam and I are hiding under the quilt and turning on my phone to look at the weather report. Rain has been dripping in our tent for quite some time from the monsoon of rain that's falling from the skys. The lightening and thunder have thankfully not woken up the boys, but we’ve both been up for some time. The weather report doesn’t look good – more rain on the way. It’s going to be a wet, cold, long night.
We were so excited for our camping adventure last weekend. We knew it was going to be a ton of work, but we were in the mindset to make it work. We prepped and planned all week, and had the truck packed to the brink Friday afternoon. The only item that didn’t make the trip was Nolan’s potty chair – we ran out of room!
We made a few stops on the way to the campground. Nolan had been asking for a haircut for the past few weeks, so our first stop was at Kids Hair. It was Kale’s first haircut – and he did so well! He kept smiling at himself in the mirror and sat as still as I’ve ever seen him sit. I’m not going to lie – I was really sad to see his little blonde curls cut off, and almost shed a tear. He looks like a little man now!
Nolan also did really well, but he was purely motivated by what happens at the end of a haircut. Yep, as soon as we pulled in to the parking lot and he knew he was getting a haircut he announced he was excited to get a sucker. There has only been one other haircut he has gotten a sucker, but he hasn’t forgotten it!
After the haircuts we made our way to Stride Rite to get shoes for both of the boys. Nolan is a size 7 and Kale a size 5 – and we have a feeling Kale is going to keep creeping up size with Nolan. Our last stop was to meet Greg and Ellen at Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. It sounded good at the time, but turned in to quite a disaster. The boys had been so good for their haircuts and shoe shopping that they were both burnt out and crabby – which made me and Adam a little crabby! We barely survived and left as quickly as I could finish my food. All Greg and Ellen could do is chuckle at the chaos they just observed! Once we got in the car they calmed down, thankfully.
We arrived at our destination after a quick 45 minute drive. As we drove in to the campground Nolan announced he was “exshited to go comping” – things were looking good! Adam got the campsite set up as I walked around with the boys in the double stroller. Kale went to bed really well, and Nolan got to stay up late to watch the movie Mega Minds on a big screen attached to the Robinson’s camper. Yes, you read that correctly. Nate brought his projector from home and set up a large screen on the side of the camper – camping has certainly gotten more high tech than I remember! Nolan stayed up for about half the movie and fell asleep as soon as I put him on his air mattress in the tent. I didn’t stay up too late, as I knew the kids would be up early. Plus, my allergies had started acting up so I didn’t feel the greatest. I slept restlessly and heard the storm rolling in. Adam was jittery and nervous, primarily because I had turned my phone off to preserve the battery and he couldn’t find it to turn it on to check the weather. Our tent held up for about 45 minutes of the storm – and then the rain started dripping on the quilt, and then on my face. There is nothing better than big, cold raindrops falling on your face in the middle of the night. That brings us to 3:48 a.m. – Adam and I huddled under our wet quilt, turning my phone on to check the weather.
Adam and I didn’t hear the boys right away Saturday morning – we had barely slept the entire night. We woke up to Nolan and Kale playing peek a boo and laughing, which was a pretty good way to wake up. A quick assessment of the tent showed a big puddle of water under the pack n play and wet blankets and air mattresses – nothing that couldn’t be dried out if the sun came out. We got up and made breakfast, and then I headed out for a walk with the boys again so Adam could take everything out of the tent and hang it out to dry.
We looked like a bunch of hobos! By this time everyone else was awake, so we set off on a walk to see the waterfalls. We seriously walked down and up the steepest hill I have ever seen. I pushed (or should I say pulled) the stroller down about half way, but realized my sandals weren’t going to hold me up very well so Adam took over. The falls were awesome – reminded me of the North Shore. I pushed the stroller up the hill about half way, but again had to have Adam take over. After we got back to our camp site we had to let the boys run around, even though it was super muddy outside. Kale is doing really well walking, but it’s a bit more difficult for him on uneven ground. He was filthy, to the point that both he and Nolan showered with Adam before nap. As Adam was doing that, I got everything put back together and back in the tent for naps. Nap time did not go well – we tried for an hour and a half to put the boys to bed, and nothing would work. Adam and I were exhausted and really needed to nap, but that wasn’t going to happen. We were super frustrated at this point, and a little crabby. Everyone else was at the beach, so we decided to join them. We were there for about a ½ hour when someone pointed out a huge storm that was coming across the lake. You could see the sheet of rain coming for us – it seemed like it came out of nowhere! We quickly packed up everything and I literally grabbed Kale and started running for the truck. For those of you who know me, I’m not much of a runner so I’m sure it looked pretty awesome. Adam was running with Nolan. We barely got the kids in the car and it started pouring. We drove the 2 miles back to our campsite, knowing full well that all of the tent windows were open and we still had stuff drying outside. I jumped out of the truck to assess the situation – and it wasn’t good. All of our bedding and mattresses were soaked. My bag was open and below one of the windows, so all my clothes were wet. All of the clothes that were outside drying were again soaking wet – Adam dumped about an inch of rain out of his tennis shoes. The double stroller that had just dried from the previous nights rain was again soaking wet. We were defeated. I told Adam there was no way we could stay – we didn’t have time to start to dry things out, it was already 4:15. I put some towels down in the stroller and took the boys for another walk while Adam and a few of our friends took everything down and packed up our truck. That was definitely the low point. We pulled out of the campground at 5:20 – and both boys immediately fell asleep and slept all the way home. Once home we had to try and feed the kids. Kale ate a little, but was so tired that we just gave him his bottle and got him to bed by 6:45. Nolan, on the other hand, was completely distraught from being woken up. He screamed and cried for about 20 minutes, finally ate a Gogurt, and we got him to bed at about 7:15. Adam and I then had to go outside and unload the truck and set up everything that was wet in our garage to dry - which was everything we had. We did take 45 minutes to enjoy a campfire in our backyard and have pizza and apple turnover pie irons. We were in bed at 9:30. Quite pathetic!
Had it not rained again Saturday afternoon we would have had a great time that night. Both boys were so tired that they would have gone to bed quickly and quietly. Our boys are at ages that are quite challenging sometimes. We sometimes forget that Nolan isn’t even 2 ½ yet and that he still requires quite a bit of attention from us. Kale just turned 11 months and is overall a great kid, but he’s teething right now. We won’t be doing any more camping adventures with the boys this year. Next year should be better, right?
Adam and I deserve some time away from the kiddos, so we are leaving them with my parent’s for the weekend so we can enjoy a cabin party with friends. I’m looking forward to sleeping in, enjoying some adult beverages and basically being selfish with my time!
We were so excited for our camping adventure last weekend. We knew it was going to be a ton of work, but we were in the mindset to make it work. We prepped and planned all week, and had the truck packed to the brink Friday afternoon. The only item that didn’t make the trip was Nolan’s potty chair – we ran out of room!
We made a few stops on the way to the campground. Nolan had been asking for a haircut for the past few weeks, so our first stop was at Kids Hair. It was Kale’s first haircut – and he did so well! He kept smiling at himself in the mirror and sat as still as I’ve ever seen him sit. I’m not going to lie – I was really sad to see his little blonde curls cut off, and almost shed a tear. He looks like a little man now!
Nolan also did really well, but he was purely motivated by what happens at the end of a haircut. Yep, as soon as we pulled in to the parking lot and he knew he was getting a haircut he announced he was excited to get a sucker. There has only been one other haircut he has gotten a sucker, but he hasn’t forgotten it!
After the haircuts we made our way to Stride Rite to get shoes for both of the boys. Nolan is a size 7 and Kale a size 5 – and we have a feeling Kale is going to keep creeping up size with Nolan. Our last stop was to meet Greg and Ellen at Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. It sounded good at the time, but turned in to quite a disaster. The boys had been so good for their haircuts and shoe shopping that they were both burnt out and crabby – which made me and Adam a little crabby! We barely survived and left as quickly as I could finish my food. All Greg and Ellen could do is chuckle at the chaos they just observed! Once we got in the car they calmed down, thankfully.
We arrived at our destination after a quick 45 minute drive. As we drove in to the campground Nolan announced he was “exshited to go comping” – things were looking good! Adam got the campsite set up as I walked around with the boys in the double stroller. Kale went to bed really well, and Nolan got to stay up late to watch the movie Mega Minds on a big screen attached to the Robinson’s camper. Yes, you read that correctly. Nate brought his projector from home and set up a large screen on the side of the camper – camping has certainly gotten more high tech than I remember! Nolan stayed up for about half the movie and fell asleep as soon as I put him on his air mattress in the tent. I didn’t stay up too late, as I knew the kids would be up early. Plus, my allergies had started acting up so I didn’t feel the greatest. I slept restlessly and heard the storm rolling in. Adam was jittery and nervous, primarily because I had turned my phone off to preserve the battery and he couldn’t find it to turn it on to check the weather. Our tent held up for about 45 minutes of the storm – and then the rain started dripping on the quilt, and then on my face. There is nothing better than big, cold raindrops falling on your face in the middle of the night. That brings us to 3:48 a.m. – Adam and I huddled under our wet quilt, turning my phone on to check the weather.
Adam and I didn’t hear the boys right away Saturday morning – we had barely slept the entire night. We woke up to Nolan and Kale playing peek a boo and laughing, which was a pretty good way to wake up. A quick assessment of the tent showed a big puddle of water under the pack n play and wet blankets and air mattresses – nothing that couldn’t be dried out if the sun came out. We got up and made breakfast, and then I headed out for a walk with the boys again so Adam could take everything out of the tent and hang it out to dry.
We looked like a bunch of hobos! By this time everyone else was awake, so we set off on a walk to see the waterfalls. We seriously walked down and up the steepest hill I have ever seen. I pushed (or should I say pulled) the stroller down about half way, but realized my sandals weren’t going to hold me up very well so Adam took over. The falls were awesome – reminded me of the North Shore. I pushed the stroller up the hill about half way, but again had to have Adam take over. After we got back to our camp site we had to let the boys run around, even though it was super muddy outside. Kale is doing really well walking, but it’s a bit more difficult for him on uneven ground. He was filthy, to the point that both he and Nolan showered with Adam before nap. As Adam was doing that, I got everything put back together and back in the tent for naps. Nap time did not go well – we tried for an hour and a half to put the boys to bed, and nothing would work. Adam and I were exhausted and really needed to nap, but that wasn’t going to happen. We were super frustrated at this point, and a little crabby. Everyone else was at the beach, so we decided to join them. We were there for about a ½ hour when someone pointed out a huge storm that was coming across the lake. You could see the sheet of rain coming for us – it seemed like it came out of nowhere! We quickly packed up everything and I literally grabbed Kale and started running for the truck. For those of you who know me, I’m not much of a runner so I’m sure it looked pretty awesome. Adam was running with Nolan. We barely got the kids in the car and it started pouring. We drove the 2 miles back to our campsite, knowing full well that all of the tent windows were open and we still had stuff drying outside. I jumped out of the truck to assess the situation – and it wasn’t good. All of our bedding and mattresses were soaked. My bag was open and below one of the windows, so all my clothes were wet. All of the clothes that were outside drying were again soaking wet – Adam dumped about an inch of rain out of his tennis shoes. The double stroller that had just dried from the previous nights rain was again soaking wet. We were defeated. I told Adam there was no way we could stay – we didn’t have time to start to dry things out, it was already 4:15. I put some towels down in the stroller and took the boys for another walk while Adam and a few of our friends took everything down and packed up our truck. That was definitely the low point. We pulled out of the campground at 5:20 – and both boys immediately fell asleep and slept all the way home. Once home we had to try and feed the kids. Kale ate a little, but was so tired that we just gave him his bottle and got him to bed by 6:45. Nolan, on the other hand, was completely distraught from being woken up. He screamed and cried for about 20 minutes, finally ate a Gogurt, and we got him to bed at about 7:15. Adam and I then had to go outside and unload the truck and set up everything that was wet in our garage to dry - which was everything we had. We did take 45 minutes to enjoy a campfire in our backyard and have pizza and apple turnover pie irons. We were in bed at 9:30. Quite pathetic!
Had it not rained again Saturday afternoon we would have had a great time that night. Both boys were so tired that they would have gone to bed quickly and quietly. Our boys are at ages that are quite challenging sometimes. We sometimes forget that Nolan isn’t even 2 ½ yet and that he still requires quite a bit of attention from us. Kale just turned 11 months and is overall a great kid, but he’s teething right now. We won’t be doing any more camping adventures with the boys this year. Next year should be better, right?
Adam and I deserve some time away from the kiddos, so we are leaving them with my parent’s for the weekend so we can enjoy a cabin party with friends. I’m looking forward to sleeping in, enjoying some adult beverages and basically being selfish with my time!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Thomas is loud
Last weekend we had the opportunity to ride on the real Thomas the Train - and Nolan was thrilled - despite the fact that "Thomas is loud":) We spent the weekend in Moose Lake and made the trek up to the Depot in Duluth on Saturday after nap. It was super busy and a little crowded, but a super cool place to visit. Nolan and Jackson were both enthralled by all the trains! The weather was a bit rainy when we boarded the train, but we sat in the open sided car right behind Thomas. Jackson and Maya both sat really well the whole train ride. Nolan and Kale, on the other hand, were very busy. Both of them wanted to stand on the bench the whole time to get a better look at the scenery as we moved along the tracks, past the Canal Park area and up to Fitgers. There were quite a few visitors along the trek that stopped to wave to us - and Nolan literally waved at them the entire train ride. A large ship was in the harbor, too, so Nolan was excited to see the "big boat". Kale just wanted to walk around, which can't be done by a small child on a moving train. Chris and Sasha got to see first hand what it's like to watch us try and hold Kale for an extended period of time - exhausting! He is always on the move now that he's walking! After riding the train we went to Grandma's to eat. There was a 30 minute wait, so we left and went to Little Angie's Cantina instead. It was hilarious watching the 8 of us at our table. The 4 adults all had a drink to help get us through it! As fun as it is to do stuff like that, it is exhausting no matter how you shake it. The good news is the kids did really well. Short of me not finishing my glass of wine, we were able to enjoy a nice but slightly hurried dinner. Nolan and Jackson didn't play together a whole lot, but when they did it was funny. Their favorite game was this: Jackson running down the hall and waiting at the end of it for Nolan to say "ready, set go". He would then run to Nolan - who was sitting on the couch - then both would giggle and they would do it all over again!
Kale seems so grown up lately. He's almost 11 months old and is getting 4 more teeth, which would put the total at 9 or 10 - I'll have to count them again to remember! He's kinda miserable throughout the day because of it, too. He's not always napping in the morning anymore, which can make for a very long set of hours leading up to lunch and nap. He's "talking" a lot more and is quite loud. A few weeks ago we transitioned him to eating what we eat, cut up really small. It's nice not having to take baby food with us, but I forgot how long it takes to cut up food that small! And finally, after months of patience, he has finally figured out the sippy cup. Jane keeps trying to put his formula in the cup to mix it up from just water, but he wants nothing to do with it. He associates the formual with his bottle, and that's that. He doesn't get mad often, but when he does look out! We still plan to cut him off the bottle after his birthday, so we best keep practicing.
Nolan is still a good brother, but Kale is really testing his patience lately. Nolan's new favorite thing to do is color - he does it every night after dinner. Kale also likes to join in the fun, which bothers Nolan to no end. We hear a lot of "No, Tale, stop it". Last night after Nolan said that he let out the biggest sigh I've ever heard from him, puncuating the fact he was irritated. We couldn't help but laugh at him. For the most part he is very tolerant of Kale, and hasn't hit him - yet! Nolan loves counting and is slowly working on his ABC's. He is still working on the potty training and will go when we take him, every hour or so on the weekends. He's all about motivation by candy - especially the pink jellybeans! He reverted back a bit and is no longer telling us when he has to go. It's to be expected, but I'm pretty sure it will take us a good year to potty train him. He'll probably be done just as we're starting with Kale! Nolan's latest request is "I need a haircut". Hopefully we can find some time on Sunday to take both the boys in. Kale is rockin' a stylish mullet that needs to be taken care of soon. I keep putting it off only because I love his blonde curls!
Last night I started on our packing list for our weekend camping adventure that starts on Friday. I still get amazed at how much stuff is required to travel with 2 small kids. The meal planning is the worst, so at least that's done and all I have to do is go grocery shopping. Hopefully we can get most of it packed up on Thursday night so we can make a beeline outta here on Friday after work. It's going to be a great weekend, but as all of our friends have said, it's going to be a lot of work with probably little sleep:)
Monday, August 1, 2011
The slide
Yesterday we attended a birthday party for the 5 year old daughter of our friends' Mark and Lisa. It was brutally hot yesterday and this party was well equipped to handle it - 2 pools and an enourmous bouncy water slide with 2 slides. Initially Nolan was a scared - "no, I don't want to". But it didn't long for him to see the other kids going down it and he wanted to join in the fun. Fun for him, lotsa work for mom and dad! The slide had 6 little foam squares that went up in a straight line to the top of the slide. It was quite slippery with the water on it, so we adults had to balance on the side of our foot on the little square, hold the rope on the side of it and the help boost our kids up to the top with one arm. My back and right arm are quite sore today! Nolan loved it - "again, Mommy, again!". Kale loved the kiddie pools and showed no fear. I should have just worn my swimsuit with the amount of sweat and pool water I had on myself! It was totally worth it, though. Nolan hurt himself once going down the slide attached to the swingset and in to the pool, and Kale faceplanted it on the cement. That didn't turn out too well - he had a mouth full of blood! He didn't cry as much as he thought he would, and I felt a lot better once we realized that he had just cut his lip pretty good. The swelling was gone today, too. Both kids, and me and Adam, were exhausted when we got home! They went to bed right away, but for some reason Nolan was up starting at 11:15 and would not go back to bed. This seems to be a trend anytime we keep him up past his bedtime. Adam tried to get him to bed but nothing was working. Finally at 11:45 I took my pillow and went and layed on his floor. He whimpered a few times and I reminded him that I was on the floor, and evetually he fell asleep. I woke up at 1:15 and decided to go back to my bed. I had to be to work early today (6:30), so the alarm going off at 4:45 wasn't very fun!
We had quite a storm roll through town today. It didn't seem bad until I left Jane's house with the boys. We turned by the elementary school and a HUGE tree was down in front of the church. As we drove closer to our house I could see streets were blocked off from all the trees and branches that were down. Our street was covered with leaves and fairly large branches. Some clean up had already been done, but our yard was a huge mess! Adam and I spent an hour outside cleaning it up. The mosquitos helped us work extra fast!
There was quite a bit of thunder with the storm today. Jane has been teaching the kids at daycare about storm and fire safety. Nolan really took it to heart today. He heard the thunder and immediately went and stood in front of the door to the safe room. Jane said he was talking a mile a minute and she couldn't really understand him. She finally opened the door and he beelined it for the rug at the end of the rooma announced "thunda I go here". He was the only kid to do it today, and Jane was especially impressed because he's not even 2 1/2 yet! He has so many traits of a first born - good and bad:)
Kale's walking has improved tremendously since he first started 2 weeks ago. He is pretty much walking full time now. The only time he crawls is when he needs to get somewhere fast - like wherever Nolan is going! He's getting more teeth - current total is 7 1/2. He's babbling and "talking" more, too, which is reassuring to me.
We discovered Nolan is also getting another one of his 2 year molars this weekend - which helps explain why he's been so crabby lately! Oh wait, that's just the 2 year old phase. He is really pushing our buttons these days. Last Wednesday he literally cried from the time we got home from daycare until the time he went to bed, including his bath that he wouldn't sit down for. He cried through the whole thing, all the while standing. He just gets to the point sometimes where there is no reasoning with him. When he gets to that point I've started sending him to his room until he's ready to calm down. I can take a lot, but constant whining and crying does get on my nerves! He was good tonight, so hopefully that means he'll stay sleeping, too.
Nolan was funny last week. He seemed to be having a little bit of a withdrawal from not seeing any of his aunts/uncles/cousins. He would randomly ask "where's Ryan? Pawette? Gina? Eric?" The answer was the same everytime - at their house. His reply was the same every time - "I want to see dem". Funny how kids remember that stuff. He talked about going swimming with grandpa Tom and riding the train, too.
Nolan is really in to coloring these days, and he likes to tell us what he's drawing. He told me he was drawing a house the other day, so I asked him who was going to live in it with him. He said "Gampa Geg (grandpa Greg)". So funny! We went out to eat last Thursday for Josh's bday. I brought the boys home so Adam could go have cake after dinner. While I was feeding Kale I asked Nolan what his favorite part of the day was. He said "Dave". The best I can figure is that he had fun playing his favorite game of peek a boo with Dave at the restaurant - and that was his favorite part of the day.
I'm not sure where the summer has gone - how did it get to be August? The weather has been truly amazing of the last few weeks. I feel like we're living in Florida instead of MN. We finally got Nolan to wear his helmet while trying to ride his trike this weekend - maybe not the best timing. He was so hot when he was done - and the giveaway is always a wet head with wavy/curly hair!
We had quite a storm roll through town today. It didn't seem bad until I left Jane's house with the boys. We turned by the elementary school and a HUGE tree was down in front of the church. As we drove closer to our house I could see streets were blocked off from all the trees and branches that were down. Our street was covered with leaves and fairly large branches. Some clean up had already been done, but our yard was a huge mess! Adam and I spent an hour outside cleaning it up. The mosquitos helped us work extra fast!
There was quite a bit of thunder with the storm today. Jane has been teaching the kids at daycare about storm and fire safety. Nolan really took it to heart today. He heard the thunder and immediately went and stood in front of the door to the safe room. Jane said he was talking a mile a minute and she couldn't really understand him. She finally opened the door and he beelined it for the rug at the end of the rooma announced "thunda I go here". He was the only kid to do it today, and Jane was especially impressed because he's not even 2 1/2 yet! He has so many traits of a first born - good and bad:)
Kale's walking has improved tremendously since he first started 2 weeks ago. He is pretty much walking full time now. The only time he crawls is when he needs to get somewhere fast - like wherever Nolan is going! He's getting more teeth - current total is 7 1/2. He's babbling and "talking" more, too, which is reassuring to me.
We discovered Nolan is also getting another one of his 2 year molars this weekend - which helps explain why he's been so crabby lately! Oh wait, that's just the 2 year old phase. He is really pushing our buttons these days. Last Wednesday he literally cried from the time we got home from daycare until the time he went to bed, including his bath that he wouldn't sit down for. He cried through the whole thing, all the while standing. He just gets to the point sometimes where there is no reasoning with him. When he gets to that point I've started sending him to his room until he's ready to calm down. I can take a lot, but constant whining and crying does get on my nerves! He was good tonight, so hopefully that means he'll stay sleeping, too.
Nolan was funny last week. He seemed to be having a little bit of a withdrawal from not seeing any of his aunts/uncles/cousins. He would randomly ask "where's Ryan? Pawette? Gina? Eric?" The answer was the same everytime - at their house. His reply was the same every time - "I want to see dem". Funny how kids remember that stuff. He talked about going swimming with grandpa Tom and riding the train, too.
Nolan is really in to coloring these days, and he likes to tell us what he's drawing. He told me he was drawing a house the other day, so I asked him who was going to live in it with him. He said "Gampa Geg (grandpa Greg)". So funny! We went out to eat last Thursday for Josh's bday. I brought the boys home so Adam could go have cake after dinner. While I was feeding Kale I asked Nolan what his favorite part of the day was. He said "Dave". The best I can figure is that he had fun playing his favorite game of peek a boo with Dave at the restaurant - and that was his favorite part of the day.
I'm not sure where the summer has gone - how did it get to be August? The weather has been truly amazing of the last few weeks. I feel like we're living in Florida instead of MN. We finally got Nolan to wear his helmet while trying to ride his trike this weekend - maybe not the best timing. He was so hot when he was done - and the giveaway is always a wet head with wavy/curly hair!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Relocation
Just as it was two years ago, we went on a "relocation" with my family for a week long vacation, this time to Wisconsin Dells. Parts of it felt like vacation, but for the most part it really was a relocation of our day to day activities. Adam looked at me at one point and said that some day we would look back on this and laugh - and I know he's right!
Saturday: the day before relocation. We took the boys to their first parade with Josh and Claire. It was hot, but a good time. Nolan's favorite part was the music floats - especially the senior citizen's steel drum band float! Kale did amazingly well, especially considering he didn't nap. I spent some time running errands in the afternoon, and we packed up most of our stuff that night.
Sunday: started our journey a little after 10 in the morning. Both boys were really good all the way to our first stop in Eau Claire. We spent almost an hour and half at the mall, eating and walking around. Nolan had his first mall ride in the play area. He was content just sitting on the bus and monster truck, without me having to put a quarter in them. The last half of the trip was a little tougher. At one point, around mile marker 130, both boys were screaming - Kale because he wouldn't relax to take a nap, and Nolan because he wanted to listen to "Elvis Pesey (Presely)". Kale fell asleep about 20 minutes outside of the Dells, which was the cat nap he needed to get to bedtime. The house we stayed at was amazing - 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom 3800 square foot rambler. There were 2 living rooms upstairs and a huge family room downstairs with a pool table, card playing table and a foosball table. In other words, lots of room for 16 of us to spread out!
Christianne came with me to Walmart to help with my grocery shopping, while Adam stayed back with the boys. Talk about an experience. I have never seen so many people dressed in the most inappropriate clothes - everything from pajamas to swimsuits! We were just about back to the house a few hours later when Christianne said "is that our bean bag toss game in the ditch?" Sure enough, dad had placed it on our truck extension when we got to the house and I hadn't realized it was back there. There were two bean bags on the extension when we got to Walmart, which seemed odd, but I didn't think too much it to it. We turned around, picked up the boards and the bags and headed home. As we stepped out of the car a big dog came running up to us. It was dark by then, so it scared me a little. What scared me even more was that it smelled like a skunk had just sprayed me! I told the dog to go home, and was literally feeling sick to my stomach from the smell. A guy came running up a few minutes later, looking for a dog. I told him I sent it home, and he said it had gotten sprayed by a skunk. Duh! By then Christianne and I smelled completely like skunk. The humid air outside didn't help the matter. It was so bad that the next day when we got in the truck and turned on the air it still smelled like skunk!
Monday: Nolan ended up in bed with us around 1:30 - luckily Kale slept through his crying. Kale took a long walk with Grandpa after breakfast. We layed low most of the day, hanging out at home and at the pool. Nolan wasn't a huge fan of the water, but Kale loved it. He kept sticking his face in the water chutes that came up from the ground. It was really, really, really hot, so we couldn't be outside for long periods of time. During afternoon nap a few of us gathered round while Eric played a great rendition of Patience by Guns n Roses on his guitar.
Tuesday: Nolan got in to bed with us again at some point, but neither of us knows how. Luckily he didn't wake up Kale. Tuesday was designated as man day. The boys golfed in the morning, went to the best pizza place ever - Moose Jaw Pizza and Pub - and then spent the afternoon downing 44 cans of beer, tubing down a river. The declared it "the best day ever!" multiple times. Good thing my dad went along to drive them home! I took a long walk with the boys and my dad in the morning, but other than that stayed close to home. It was super hot again, and I didn't have the energy to take them both to the pool. They were both really good all day, which was helpful!
The biggest news of the day was that Kale started walking! He was taking steps before - 3-4 at a time. He had worked hard on Monday to figure out his balance, and he did. Gina gave him a bit of advice, too - stabalize your hips! He's walking a lot now and trying so hard to keep up with the other kids, especially Nolan.
Wednesday: Nolan slept all night in his bed! Even though the boys get up super early, it is so fun to listen to them laugh and play in the morning. Nolan brings toys to Kale in his pack n play, gives him high fives - and they hysterically laugh at each other. Nolan's favorite thing to do is to fall backward on to his air mattress, all the while saying "watch me, brudda!" Grandpa took both the boys for a long walk again in the morning. Kale tossed his nook out of the stoller at some point, so my dad spent another 45 minutes looking for it - and found it, tossed 20 feet in to a yard they had walked by! After the walk it was time to head to the downtown Dells area to get an old time photo of the cousins. It was hilarious. All 6 of them sat in an old bathtub - the older 3 girls in dresses and the younger 3 in their diapers. They all got to hold on to guns, too. Probably not appropriate, but super funny. Adam and I decided to get one with just our family, too. Our backdrop was a saloon, so Adam and the boys were cowboys and I was in a dress. Nolan was probably the funniest, wearing the little cowboy outfit, hat and bandana, and holding a rifle - all while sitting on a saddle.
We took the boys to the pool again in the afternoon, but they only lasted about a 1/2 hour. I was just happy to have spent some time working on my tan during their nap!
Thursday: Kids slept through the night - happy parent's! My dad took both boys for another walk in the morning. Thursday was designated as girls day. We spent the morning walking around downtown. After lunch at home we convinced our dad to come with us to go tubing on the same river the boys went on. It was overcast - which was kind of a bummer - but we still had a nice and relaxing time floating, drinking a few beers, and watching the duck boats and jet boats drive by. That evening most of us went to the Tommy Bartlett water ski show. I saw it 23 years ago, so my memories of it were vague. It was awesome - and really, really cheesy! Nolan had a tough day on Thurday, and we couldn't figure out why. He was having a really hard time falling asleep, so my mom had to lay with him after we left for the show.
Friday: Kids slept through the night, again. Nolan woke up, seeming to feel a bit better. I was starting to get concerned he was getting an ear infection - he kept digging in his left ear, to the point it was bleeding. Dad took the boys for a walk after breakfast, again:) It was so nice to have a little time every morning to enjoy my coffee and have time to get ready! After the big family photo in the morning we headed off to a little kids rail station to ride a train. Nolan was so excited. He kept saying "I like trains" and "where's Thomas"? All the kids had an awesome time. The train was a 1/4 size of a real train, so it was perfect for the kids. At the end of it we were all covered with soot from the coal that went in the steam engine! I was able to lay out again that afternoon. It was hot, but not as humid so it was doable. Adam was able to get in another round of golf after helping get the kids to bed, too.
Nolan really struggled in the afternoon, all the way until bed time, which was around 6 because he was crabby. He was running a slight temp so we gave him some of his "pink stuff" - generic Tylenol. He still ended up getting up twice before I finally just put him in bed with me when I went to bed around 10. I felt so bad for him - he kept saying "I hurt", but couldn't tell me what hurt. We put Kale in the 6th bedroom to sleep, so Adam slept upstairs with him.
Saturday: Kids slept through the night and Nolan seemed to be on the mend. Dad took the kids for a walk, and when they got back we headed out with the Jones' family to Circus World in Baraboo. It was a super cool experience, almost like stepping back in time. We got there in time to stand in line for the morning Big Top show. The bad part was that we had to stand in line for 15 minutes, and then sit for a 1/2 hour before the show started. While Christianne waited in line we took the boys to look at the elephant, ponies and 150 lb python! Nolan was starting to go downhill fast, and was sobbing that he couldn't "ride the horsie". Nolan didn't even make it to the start of the big top show - I took him and went and stood in entry to the tent. We knew something was up - he kept wanting to cuddle, but was super cranky. After spending about 1/2 the show with him, I went and traded for Kale - he was getting super antsy, so I took him outside to walk around. After the show was over we grabbed a bite to eat - and realized we had forgotten to bring Kale's bottle and food with us. We were thinking of heading to Madison to take Nolan to a Minute Clinic, but thought that if we got home we could just give him more of the "pink stuff". At one point during lunch Nolan was literally drinking ketchup out of a little container - our family was falling apart! Both boys napped on the 20 minute ride back to the house. Nolan was able to sleep for 3 more hours that afternoon. Not Kale - he didn't sleep another wink until his bedtime at 5:45.
Mom and dad were kind enough to stay at the house with the little kids, so around 9 all of the older kids took off to enjoy a fun night of karaoke at the resort bar. Out plans changed when we found out there was a wedding reception there, so we drove a few miles out of town, to Bronco Billy's Saloon - a nice local bar. Great people watching, great beer, and great karaoke.
Sunday: Kids slept through the night. Dad took the boys for a walk so Adam and I could pack. Nolan again seemed to be doing better. Adam was not. He was dragging a little bit from our fun night at Bronco Billy's! All 16 of us made it out of the house before the 10 am check out time. The first half of our trip to Eau Claire was loud - both kids had melt downs at different points. We stopped at Target to buy formula, and to see if it had a Minute Clinic so we could get Nolan's ears checked. They did not, so after spending an hour eating and letting the boys walk around we got back on the road. The boys slept almost the whole way back, waking up in Minnetonka. Nolan was still acting a little off when we got home, so Adam took him to Urgent Care. No ear infection, but he does have strep throat. I had already taken the day off work so I could clean, do laundry and grocery shop. Hopefully I'll still get some of that stuff done with Nolan at home with me. I was really hoping I could have one day of my vacation for me - but I guess I'll share it!
Other highlights of the trip:
Grandma Paula's craft time every afternoon
Grandma Paula's card game, where the kids won money!
Fantastic meals every night
A little burn that has turned in to a great tan
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Long Time Gone
I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I've been out to the blog. We've been busy!
-Celebrated Adam's 34th birthday. Nolan LOVED the runny frosting recipe I made for the cake, courtesy of Grandma Ellen. He literally licked his plate clean!
-Adam and I ran in the Go Commando 5K adventure race at Green Acres in Lake Elmo. It was challenging and fun (at times:)). Our friends want to make it an annual event, but I'm not sold on doing it again (yet!)
-Spent some poolside time at Pool Party 1.0, prepping for the 4th of July weekend. Nolan had a lot of fun playing with Murphy, the dog, who is just Nolan's size. Nolan would say "Ready. Puppy.", throw the ball, and wait for Murphy to bring it back - at which point he would say "dwop, Muphy".
-Adam and I have had 2 date nights, which is unheard of these days! We went for an impromptu motorcycle ride last Tuesday. Thank goodness for our babysitter who doesn't mind our last minute phone calls for help! We also went to a concert at the MN Zoo last Thursday night with some friends. It was a very interesting evening - hotter than hot (100 degrees driving home from work that day) and not a breeze to be found. Good thing the beer was cold and the music was good!
-Nolan learned how to wash a car and saw a huge turtle make its way across our driveway and over to the neighbor's house.
-Discovered the front yard is the best place to let the kids eat watermelon!
-Celebrated the 4th of July weekend by camping poolside at Pool Party 2.0. Adam went to the Eddie Veddar concert on Saturday, so it was just me and the boys camping on Saturday night.
-Discovered that Nolan's reaction to bug bites isn't getting any better. A mosquito bit him below his left eye, and it looks like he literally got punched in the eye. The swelling is finally down, but it's pretty black and blue. Hopefully he'll outgrow this!
-We've watched Kale make huge strides in walking over the last few weeks. He is getting to be quite brave, only holding on to things with one hand. Tonight he took his first 2 steps at home, unassisted. I don't think he realized what he was doing, because once he did he fell it to me.
-Kale has discovered the joys of "so big", "patty cake" and in general just clapping his hands. We are also relieved he is talking, starting with dada on Adam's birthday, and this week mama!
-Kale is also teething really, really bad. He's not a cranky kid, but the last few days have been a bit trying. He was in his crib before 6 tonight! We can see 2 other teeth breaking through the gums, which will bring him to a total of 7 teeth.
-Nolan and Kale are playing together more and more, which is great for us. Their new favorite thing to do is for Nolan to sit on the Mickey Mouse airplane and for Kale to push him around the house. Nolan says "push, Tale" and then uses his feet to help move the airplane. Kale holds on behind it and walks - making it look like he's actually pushing the airplane. Then they laugh and giggle at eachother!
This weekend Adam is gone on a baseball trip to Chicago, so I'm heading up to my parent's new house with the boys. It will be great to spend time with them, have my dad take the boys on walks in the double stroller, and get to see my grandma. I'm most looking forward to sitting in the screen porch after the kids are in bed with a cold beverage!
-Celebrated Adam's 34th birthday. Nolan LOVED the runny frosting recipe I made for the cake, courtesy of Grandma Ellen. He literally licked his plate clean!
-Adam and I ran in the Go Commando 5K adventure race at Green Acres in Lake Elmo. It was challenging and fun (at times:)). Our friends want to make it an annual event, but I'm not sold on doing it again (yet!)
-Spent some poolside time at Pool Party 1.0, prepping for the 4th of July weekend. Nolan had a lot of fun playing with Murphy, the dog, who is just Nolan's size. Nolan would say "Ready. Puppy.", throw the ball, and wait for Murphy to bring it back - at which point he would say "dwop, Muphy".
-Adam and I have had 2 date nights, which is unheard of these days! We went for an impromptu motorcycle ride last Tuesday. Thank goodness for our babysitter who doesn't mind our last minute phone calls for help! We also went to a concert at the MN Zoo last Thursday night with some friends. It was a very interesting evening - hotter than hot (100 degrees driving home from work that day) and not a breeze to be found. Good thing the beer was cold and the music was good!
-Nolan learned how to wash a car and saw a huge turtle make its way across our driveway and over to the neighbor's house.
-Discovered the front yard is the best place to let the kids eat watermelon!
-Celebrated the 4th of July weekend by camping poolside at Pool Party 2.0. Adam went to the Eddie Veddar concert on Saturday, so it was just me and the boys camping on Saturday night.
-Discovered that Nolan's reaction to bug bites isn't getting any better. A mosquito bit him below his left eye, and it looks like he literally got punched in the eye. The swelling is finally down, but it's pretty black and blue. Hopefully he'll outgrow this!
-We've watched Kale make huge strides in walking over the last few weeks. He is getting to be quite brave, only holding on to things with one hand. Tonight he took his first 2 steps at home, unassisted. I don't think he realized what he was doing, because once he did he fell it to me.
-Kale has discovered the joys of "so big", "patty cake" and in general just clapping his hands. We are also relieved he is talking, starting with dada on Adam's birthday, and this week mama!
-Kale is also teething really, really bad. He's not a cranky kid, but the last few days have been a bit trying. He was in his crib before 6 tonight! We can see 2 other teeth breaking through the gums, which will bring him to a total of 7 teeth.
-Nolan and Kale are playing together more and more, which is great for us. Their new favorite thing to do is for Nolan to sit on the Mickey Mouse airplane and for Kale to push him around the house. Nolan says "push, Tale" and then uses his feet to help move the airplane. Kale holds on behind it and walks - making it look like he's actually pushing the airplane. Then they laugh and giggle at eachother!
This weekend Adam is gone on a baseball trip to Chicago, so I'm heading up to my parent's new house with the boys. It will be great to spend time with them, have my dad take the boys on walks in the double stroller, and get to see my grandma. I'm most looking forward to sitting in the screen porch after the kids are in bed with a cold beverage!
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