Winding up the summer

Our last vacation of the summer was spent with Umma, Li-Li, and Auntie Kim. We also had the good fortune of timing the vacation with other family members who were in town. And staying in a condo with a pool! The condo was right on the lake, too, but the kids wouldn't have anything to do with the lake!

It was a great weekend and the perfect way to wind up the summer.

Kickin' it with Li-Li

Ready, Set...

Jump!

"It's brrrr, Mama"

Thanks for letting us hangout with you, Karolyn and John! We loved it.

Someone is getting excited about something

He's getting ready! We just found out our team shirt isn't red and we had the biggest meltdown I've ever seen. (OK it might have been about Umma not unstrapping him in the car and not wanting to go into the store to buy his soccer stuff.)

Camping with Umma and Big Papa

Last weekend...or was it the weekend before last...? Anyhow, whatever weekend it was, Alexander had a busy three days of CAMPING. On Sunday afternoon, his Umma and Big Papa picked him up and they headed to the RV park to pick up the house on wheels!

From there, they drove about 11 miles (not kidding) to a state park that is tucked away in a forest and is next to a river. This state park is about 9 miles from our house (again, not kidding).
While Umma, Big Papa and Alexander set up camp, we set up for date night! Woohoo! Dinner, movie and adult time. Thanks Umma and Big Papa!


Monday afternoon, we drove to the site to join our family. The weather was pretty gross (it rained) but the company was good. Since his grandparents are snowbirds, we decided to celebrate the little man's birthday now, rather than try to fit it in with pre-celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Daddy and Umma's birthdays and other random events that occur during the winter months.

Opening the first present!

The entire box was filled with wrapped trains.

Alexander examines this one...

...and this one.

Thank you!!

We sang Happy Birthday with the traditional three candles (representing today, tomorrow and yesterday),

he made a wish, and enjoyed his cookie-cake.

The next morning, we took a day trip to visit a Flaming Geyser. It was bubbling more than flaming, as you can see.

look over his shoulder...see that little bubble in the middle of the pond...THAT'S the geyser!

Alexander loves his Big Papa!

The last evening cleared up enough for us to build a fire and sit outside. Alexander simply can't get enough of trains so here he is watching Extreme Trains. Again. And Again.

On our last morning, the sun was shining so we took a trip to the river.

Daddy and Big Papa taught Alexander how to skip rocks.

Before we left, we had to try for a family photo.

Umma and Alexander did a pretty good job of it.

As for the rest of us?

Not bad...considering none of us had showered.

I told you we were camping!!

Can't keep the kid down for long!

Not even a cold, which had Alexander knocked flat a few days ago,

can keep him from his beloved trains for long!

Daddy has the cold now (complete with fever) so we've spent a lot of time quietly playing with trains so Daddy can try to sleep.

How many train sets can you count in this picture?

I had to add this last picture, simply because it makes me laugh out loud. It looks like a "Mom-made-me-take-this" super awkward type of photo to me.
You know you have one just like it!

Anyone else see a future where I'm showing this to my futur e daughter-in-law while Alexander sits, totally mortified and asking why I let him wear these pajamas?

Alexander, if the girl is right for you, she'll see exactly what I do.

Mark my words.

A Summer Cold

What is it about summer colds?

Seems we barely recovered from the one in June and now the little man and Mommy are sick again. Makes us wonder how our health will be this fall once the little guy starts preschool.

Preschool. Yes, I'm in denial. Thoughts of Alexander, my little baby, going to preschool brings sadness and baby fever. So, before I become too emotional, the thoughts will quickly be shoved to the back burner.

Who would have thought this little face was ready for school?

So, while there won't be anything very exciting to post on the blog this week, we had a few pictures to upload from the night before Mommy went to camp (please ignore the mess that comes from packing a weeks worth of crap) to keep the readers entertained.

Thankfully, our calendar is clear for the week, leaving us to sit on the couch, watch episode after episode of Extreme Trains, drink a lot of fluids, cuddle, and try to out-cough one another.

Daddy is doing an awesome job taking care of us and it won't be long before we are back to our happy selves!

And we need to feel better because next week is camping with Umma and Big Papa and a trip to Chelan with Umma, Auntie Kimmie and Lorelli!

A Boy and A Kitty

Remember when we went to visit Jo-Jo?

Alexander found a friend.

Oscar.

They chased butterflies.


Looked at bugs.


Dug in the dirt.


And enjoyed an afternoon in the sun.

Thanks for the fun afternoon, Oscar (and Jo-Jo).