Festival Schmestival!

So on the day that we were supposed to pick Daddy up from the airport, Mommy, Grandma and Auntie Tawnda decided to drag us (me, Evie, Grandpa and Uncle Shawn) to some crazy festival (code for crap I don't want to look at) called "Land of the Loon". It was a pretty long drive (not as long as the trip to MN of course-nothing will ever be that long!). Thankfully Grandma decided to ride in our car and she sat next to me! Well she and I had some good times while Mommy was driving. Grandma can make money come out of my ear! I kid you not, she's the real deal! She pulled like 40 cents out before we even got to the festival. We finally arrived at the festival and all the grown-ups were pretty hungry. They wondered around looking at stuff--trying to figure out what they wanted to eat--me all I wanted was some ice cream! Evie looking adorable in the outfit Mommy picked out for her!
Please note the freedom from the stroller--it came but for a brief moment!

Grandpa only had to wait FOREVER to get me this delicious ice cream cone!
Mommy turned my hat all crazy like, so I wouldn't get chocolate on it.
Looking back, I wish she'd just taken it off--I look like such a dork!

Evie enjoying her ice cream--from a cup!
Where's the fun in that! Cone all the way!

Yeah I got a little messy, but that's half the fun!
Overall the festival rated a 5 out of 10 on my scale of fun!
Ice cream rates pretty high! Later!

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

It has been super hot here in Texas, since we've gotten back, and we are hoping for some rain and cooler temperatures! Until then, I will be eating lots of ice cream!!!!!

1. The last thing I ate was _bacon, eggs____ and _delicious English muffin bread__.

2. _Picture frames__ are something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it _relieves the horrible drought in TX, and allows my plants to survive!__

4. __Chris___ was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are _the best, especially those give by a certain 2 year old boy____.

6. __Having a wonderful family, who loves me for who I am, gives me___ extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, last night I _spent the evening with my hubby and sweet boy__, today my plans include _going to the Hallmark ornament premiere and the grocery store (by myself!!) and hanging with my boys_ and Sunday, I want to _hang out by the pool and grill--if it is cool enough (how weird does that sound?)__!

A "Fishin'" We Will Go! Part 2!

So back to our story of the boat ride with Grandpa!
I got lucky with my life jacket--it fit pretty well.
Evie on the other hand had to suffer with what I like to call "Turtle Syndrome".
She kind of looks like a turtle sticking her head out of the shell!
Poor girl! Anyways, more on our boat ride.

We were lucky enough to see some wildlife while on our ride.
It is hard to see in the picture, but that is a loon,
which happens to be the state bird of Minnesota.
I was kind of disappointed that I did not get to hear the loon call,
because Mommy says it is pretty cool, but I'll take what I can get!

This eagle flew right over us, and Grandpa said that it must have a nest in that tree.
Pretty cool! Not only do I get to see Minnesota's state bird,
but I also get to see the nations bird as well! Awesome!!!!

Evie and I found Grandpa's live well--which in case you don't know--holds fish!
As we weren't doing any fishing, Grandpa just filled it up with lake water and we splashed around in it! Lots of fun!

Grandpa even let me drive the boat! For some reason however, Mommy get grabbing the wheel and turning it. I had to give her the "Back off" look, as I knew where I wanted to go! The best part of the whole trip though was when Grandpa picked up speed on the boat and I hung my arms over the side and got wet. Mommy doesn't have any pictures of this, because she had to hold onto me with both hands as I was leaning as far as I could over the side. I even tried to climb over a couple of times! The water felt so good and it was so fun having it splash on my arms and face. When we finally got back to shore Evie and I were soaked from head to toe! But it was so much fun! If you want to see pics of me hanging over the side, check out my Auntie's blog--you can find the link here on Mommy's blog! Until next time!

A "Fishin'" We Will Go! Part 1

So the day finally came when Grandpa pulled out the boat!
Evie and I had been eagerly anticipating this day!
A boat ride with Grandpa!
Grandma even bought us cool shirts to wear on this momentous occasion!
Evie is modeling it for you! In case you cannot read it it says
"I'm a Keeper!" Ain't that the truth!

Here I am with the new life jacket Grandpa bought for me--pretty cool huh!
It took them awhile, but they finally removed the tags--so I didn't look like a total dork!

Here I am practicing holding up my fingers. Being two I can not only tell you how old I am, but flash the peace sign at the same time! How cool is that?!?!?!?

As we were in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" it sure didn't take us long to find one! We decided to visit Trout Lake, which is like 5 minutes from Grandpa and Grandmas house.
Before I knew it we were on the lake.
Here Grandpa and I are chilling.
I thought I better turn my hat around, so I could look as cool as Grandpa!

That didn't last too long, because I wanted to feel the wind in my hair
and breathe deeply of the fresh Minnesota air!

Now that I have you 'hooked', I'll 'reel' in some more fishin' tales tomorrow!
Ha ha! Man I crack myself up!

Educational and Fun--How can that be?

In addition to all the fun I was having visiting family and playing with cousins (Kailey and Evie), mom decided that since Grandma had taken the day off we'd venture to the Forest History Center. I know what you are thinking. A history center about the forest----boring! Well it was a lot of fun! The above picture is Evie and I sitting on a large stump. Mommy and Auntie Tawnda thought it would be cool for us to hold pieces of wood. In case you are wondering we are holding pieces of a birch tree. They do not have birch trees in Texas (maybe it is too hot for them?)! This fun photo op only lasted a sec, because soon after Mommy and Grandpa were sawing a log--and I don't mean napping. I mean they really sawed a log! It was too funny! Mommy of course did not get any pictures, but I suppose Grandma has some ( I bet they are hilarious)! Then Mommy and Grandpa used a hammer like object with a metal die on it to pound a dollar sign into the piece of wood they sawed. Apparently the better you hit the wood and leave a nice looking dollar sign, the more money you got. Believe you me, Mommy is not cut out for working at a logging camp, she barely got the dollar sign on the wood. Grandpa did much better, but said he'd stick to making paper, instead of cutting the wood.

This fellow here is the blacksmith at the camp! He and Grandpa seemed to know one another very well, though I am not sure how!?!?!? I thought he looked a lot like someone else.... Needless to say, I thought he was pretty cool, and I kept finding rocks, dirt, sticks, etc. to hand him! Then we went and saw the horses. They were cool! They had big harnesses on them and one of them went poopy. Well Grandma volunteered to pick up the poopy, so we could pet the horses! Thank you Grandma!

This is me with Grandma and Grandpa. We are standing in front of the very first car that the Forestry Department ever bought. It is VERY old, but still works. Kinda like Mommy! Ha Ha--just kidding Mommy!

Here is Auntie Tawnda and Evie standing in front of the car. Auntie's shirt is very red--red, aha, put the man from the above pictures in red---Santa!!!! I sure am glad I played with him. Maybe I won't have to sit on his lap, because he already knows me and my Grandpa!!

Me and Grandpa decided to walk ahead and check out this engine or pump, I am not too sure what it was, but it was pretty cool, and Grandpa let me touch it! Mommy very rarely lets me touch anything cool--it's always "No Touch!" or "We look with our eyes, not our hands!" All in all it was a pretty cool trip. Mommy said it was by far her funnest trip to the Forest History Center--apparently she's been there quite a few times! Good Times, Good Times!

I'm Back Baby!

Hey there folks! It has been a long time! I have lots of tales to tell.
Where to start?

Well, Mommy and I went to the airport on June 9th to pick up my Grandpa Jeff. I was so excited for Grandpa Jeff to get here I kept asking Mommy "Grandpa comin'?" Well when he finally got here (his plane was late), I acted a little shy, but that soon ended and then I was all about my Grandpa! On our way home from the airport Mommy got a call from Daddy--something about his car breaking. It didn't bother me, we got to pick Daddy up! Daddy was not a happy camper though, and that is putting it mildly. Mommy was a little agitated because we were supposed to leave for MN the next day, but we couldn't leave Daddy stranded, so she had to adjust her plans. Grandpa was tired, as he had basically left work and then hopped a plane to see us!
Me? Well, I was just excited to have my Grandpa here and
for us to start our trip to Minnesota!

The next morning we left and first had to check on Daddy's car-so it could get fixed. Then we brought Daddy to work. Then Mommy forgot her purse and camera on the kitchen table so we had to run back to the house--luckily we were still close to home! When we did finally get on the road, we drove a LONG time! We stopped and stayed overnight in a hotel. I was pretty wound up from being in the car all day and just wanted to run, but finally Mommy convinced me to lay down on the bed next to her. The next thing I knew it was morning, I was in the Pack and Play, and we were getting ready to leave again!

The next day was not as long as the first, and I did better, mainly because I was so excited to get to Minnesota to see my aunties, uncles, cousins, grandmas and grandpas. It took us 2 whole days to get to Minnesota. We stopped at my cousin Evie's house the second night and the above picture is us getting reacquainted. I had fun playing with her toys, although neither she nor I seemed to like to share. Of course I did not know how this was going to affect me at the time, but that is for another day! One cool thing is I got to sleep in her room and she had a cool sound machine, I usually listen to music, but the sound machine was pretty cool--it was like a waterfall or something. Mommy set up the Pack and Play and after a little bit of chatting we were out! The next day we drove the rest of the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house! Auntie Tawnda and Evie also came up with us! Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, that is when the fun really started! More stories to come!
Talk to you soon!

Happy 3rd of July!

1. When I heard _Xander cry for the first time_ I _knew another meaning of the word LOVE_.

2. _Laughter truly is the__ best medicine.

3. It's late, but _Xander finally went down for a nap today!____

4. _Love you forever, Like you for_ always. (My favorite Children's book)

5. My eyes have seen _a lot in their almost 33 years!____.

6. _I am like a mama bear protecting her cub and will fight you _ strongly, if you mess with my baby.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _catching up on DVR'd shows____, tomorrow my plans include _spending the 4th with my hubby and child, and if it's not too hot going outside____ and Sunday, I want to _relax____!