Fun in the Sun

Today was a fun day. We stayed at the Keatings last night because the construction in our house is getting finished. Then, today we headed to the air show in Sioux Falls. It was amazing! The Navy's Blue Angels performed which was great. The estimated crowd was over 100,000 people; that's almost the whole city. There were people everywhere. The only bad thing is that Jesse got over-heated and was in bed by 7. Hoping he feels better tomorrow =(Jesse and Maverick enjoying the show. That spec in the clouds is the Blue Angels. Actually, Maverick fell asleep about half way through the show which was crazy because it was so loud. Jesse was in heaven today looking at all the planes. He loves them. Plus, they were playing all of the music from Top Gun which made Maverick feel special!! Jennifer, I, and Maverick on the shuttle bus back to fairgrounds after the show. Whoever put the busing system together did an awesome job! We didn't have to worry about parking or walking for miles. It's still blows my mind that buses don't have seat belts. It seems so unsafe, and this is coming from a veteran bus rider...10+ years. Don't get me started or you'll have to listen to my pity party about having to ride the bus for hours a day as a child.
Maverick and Jesse.
Maverick is learning so much. He's trying to put on his shoes but doesn't quite get it yet. He'll do anything to get outside faster!

Look at these cuties!! Carlee and Cristian came and stayed last week. We went up to the farm for part of our stay. They are both so great with Maverick. I could handle having them around more often. They keep him so entertained!

Maverick is quite the gardner. He spent almost our whole 4 days at the farm in grandpa's garden. At one point, we didn't see him for 2 hours straight! He didn't come out at all!! He just had his coffee can and spoon. He and the kids had a restaurant going on in there I guess. They had a blast.

Wanting to figure out the shovel to dig up the onions and potatoes. Grandpa sent home lots of treats from his garden: potatoes, lettuce, beets, onions, carrots, yum, yum!

The first day at the farm was pretty chilly, but Maverick still made it outside. And, he found the rocks.

Taking a break and pulling on the rope of the wagon.

Of course, Maverick already walks around like he owns the farm. He goes here, there, everywhere. The farm is such a great place for him. There is dirt and rocks everywhere for him. What more could a boy want??

Oh, yeah, a brother...or sister! I know most everyone knows by now but thought I better get it on the blog for public record. Expected on or around Jan 18, 2010!!!

Catching up!

Needless to say, it's been awhile. I was doing so well there for awhile, then Jesse had to start studying more, and I rarely got the computer. Which, is really just fine with me! We have been busy these past few weeks. We made a trip to the farm, play outside all of the time, and are looking forward to Cristian & Carlee visiting. Because Jesse will be in SF all week at school and the construction of our apartment will be wrapping up, the 4 of us are heading to the farm! Here's Maverick opening a package from his Oma Carola. Each time he gets a present, he is figuring out more of what he is supposed to do. Today he had the packing tape stuck to his fingers which was pretty funny. He got a new outfit and a beach ball! Fun!
Maverick and I lounging in green. My favorite color.
Maverick's new playground is the bunk bed. He loves to climb up there and discover all of the mysteries of his future bed! We had used it for storage, so we had to do some quick cleaning. He'll be scaling the sides like a monkey in no time.

Fun days outside! It's hotter than blazes and so humid we can't hardly breath some days. We might as well play in the sprinkler. That's what summer is for! At first Maverick was a little timid, but soon enough he realized it's more fun being wet. Maverick enjoys putting rocks in the stream to make the water spray all over.

Notice the front of his shirt is sopping wet, and his back is dry.

Sprinkler drops keep falling on my head! He was just glistening with droplets of water.

More water.

Riding in the wagon at the farm. Cristian & Carlee answered his every whim. When we got to the farm, Carlee asked if Maverick could have a popsicle and I said yes. He came out with a red one. Five minutes later he came out of the garage with a blue one. Shortly after, he came out with an orange one! I asked Carlee, "What are you doing?" She said, "He likes them!!" Of course he did, and he had her wrapped around his finger. It was hilarious!

Pulling the ancient little red wagon.

The kids filled up a cooler and the wagon with water. Maverick worked for an hour moving the water back and forth. I don't think I had ever seen him concentrate so hard. Luckily it was hot because the water was CHILLY!

Maverick and his buddy Carlee.

Crevier's Unite!

Today was quite the day! The highlight was getting to see my friend Haley's new baby girl, Kali! What a sweetie. She was so content. I couldn't believe it. Maybe our next kid will be like her because I know Maverick sure wasn't!! She was happy to sit in her car seat and just coo. We didn't let Maverick get to close because he was feeling a bit under the weather. I think he has a stomach bug. I will be staying home with him tomorrow especially after his projectile vomiting ordeal in the car. I have a big day of cleaning tomorrow. However, he took it all in stride and wasn't too crabby! Here's the clan! Jeromie, Jennifer, me, Maverick, Jesse, Haley, Kali, and Kirk! For those of you who don't know (most of you don't), Jennifer, Myself, and Haley had this weird obsession with the traveling basketball wizards Tanya & Bruce Crevier. The two could spin basketballs like they were going out of style. They did weird tricks with basketballs spinning on pencils and could spin like 33 basketballs on their bodies. We could only dream!!

Earlier in the day, we got to go to my nephew Cristian's triathlon in Sioux Falls. What a feat! He swam 100 yards, biked 3.5 miles, and ran just over 1/2 mile. He did a great job finishing 6th. I know he would have blown me out of the water.

Maverick was great at cheering. This was before he was sick.

Cristian chilling after the race. I bet he was worn out!

Maverick was hanging out in his new $3 stroller. He was so good today.

Turtle Days

Today my friend Evie and I were part of the single mom's club because both of our hubbies were working all day, so we decided to load up the 4 kids and head to the metropolis of Volin for their annual Turtle Days event! I grew up in a small town so I'm used to short small-town parades, but man, this was short...a whole 20 minutes! There were probably about 10 floats, 1 tractor, 2 crop sprayers, 6 fire trucks, and 3 obnoxious lawnmowers with no mufflers. These things were awful. As most of you know, Maverick is not one to be restrained, but he had his head buried in my shoulder bc these things were so terribly loud. It seemed like they just wouldn't stop! Here are the turtles gearing up for the races. Personally, I think they're planning their escape route. As many know, I'm not a turtle fan, so I did not participate in any turtle race. Some people were holding them and touching them like crazy. Don't they know how many diseases those things carry? Not only that, but they'll bite off your toe. Seriously, they will.
This is the closest we got to racing.

Maverick and his buddy Austin. Isn't this so darn cute? It was the first time Maverick initiated a hug.

Elaine, Aden, Austin, and Maverick waiting for the parade. Needless to say, they didn't hang in their strollers for very long. Maverick is his father's son, he did a great job collecting candy. I gave his first lesson on good candy vs cheap candy! We need to do some more work. Maybe we'll practice in the yard.

Maverick's new thing is climbing up into the recliner. This time he just happened to have a book-don't let him fool you, he looked at it for about 2 seconds. At least it's a start!

This is a tribute to Jesse's grandma-you're not the only one who cuts heads off in pictures. Jesse does a really good job at it too!!

A rare picture of Maverick and me.

So, the other night before bed, I though I'd get some snapshots. Maverick has obviously figured out that he's supposed to make some kind of face when the camera comes out, but he hasn't quite figured out which one. This one is cute, but...

Can we say, "Cheesy?"

Cheesier??

When we're done, we're done!

Keating's Forest: Back to Maverick

Today we decided to head to the crazy town of Canistota and visit the Keatings and their new forest! They planted 30-some-odd number of trees around their yard. We were greeted by their dog Jasper. Maverick loved him although Jasper didn't have much interest in him. He almost got knocked over by Jasper's tail. It made him giggle! Meeting Jasper.
Maverick enjoyed sitting in his own chair by the kitchen island. He felt like a big boy.

Maverick and Jasper playing in the field. We hoped Jasper wouldn't find a snake. He's found 4 in the past couple of days.

For about 5 minutes, Maverick just giggled and giggled. We have no idea what was SO funny, but he just laughed!

I hope everyone is getting their Maverick fix! I know there haven't been pictures of him in a couple of weeks.

Still giggling!

Taking Jeromie's new Honda for a test run!
I thought this was a great picture of man and dog. It reminds me of the farmer boy picture "You been farmin' long?" Jeromie just loves his new hunting dog!

Vegas Rocked!!

So, we just returned from an awesome weekend in Vegas with Jesse's brother Seth, his wife Kari, Jesse's sister Ahna, and her boyfriend Nick. We were celebrating Ahna's 21st birthday! We had such a great time; I can't even begin to describe it. I never thought I would want to go back to Vegas after my first time, but I was proven wrong; there is just no other city in the world like Vegas. Everything is just done over the top. The buildings are huge, the shows are amazing, 4 hours of sleep or less per night, the Bellagio fountains...need I say more?
Here's the crew by the fountain outside of Paris. We were enjoying the 100 degree weather. 100 degrees in Vegas is nothing like at home. I didn't miss the humidity.

I couldn't resist putting in this picture of Ahna and Nick. What a cute couple! It's hard to believe Ahna is finally an adult in every sense! What happened to the little girl who spilled blue paint all over her white carpet? It's ok, I like her more now!

After the buffet at the Mirage, we had to take a step outside before "The Beatles, LOVE" performance. We were so full. If you ever hit Vegas, go to this buffet. It was amazing and affordable. The Dutch would approve!

We think that we are just as good or even better performers than that in the actual show; however, med school and parenting will have to come first. We truly apologize. Maybe another time. Our moves are like no other.

After walking, walking, and yes, more walking, we decided to take a rest in the Venetian. Our feet deserved it. Plus, we were thirsty. We really enjoyed the time to just relax and visit.

In the mornings, we enjoyed being poolside! We stayed at a beautiful resort called the Grandview of Las Vegas (thanks to Greg's timeshare)! It was 80 degrees by 8 AM. It was awesome. Plus, we had 3 pools and 2 hot tubs at our disposal. We would then go back to our room, have a colossal sandwich made by Ahna, then take the shuttle to the strip. We still are confused about the case of the missing sandwich. Wasn't me...

Good 'ol public transportation. Vegas actually has a great bus system. We maneuvered it quite easily. It was clean and pretty quick for the most part. Plus, it saved us many a mile on the strip. Our feet thank you, Deuce (the bus that drives the strip.) Although I was super excited to see Maverick when we returned, I was very sad the trip was over. We looked so forward to it. In the background my themesong echoed, "I hate when things are over..." Thanks for an awesome trip you guys. Happy Birthday Ahna. Love you lots.