Day 5: We came back.

All things considered, our flight home was about as good as we could have asked for. Mason and Jacob were perfect and Camryn—though busy—was quite manageable. And the poor lady sitting next to us? She got a whiskey and water on the house. That must be Southwest Airline’s way of saying “We know it totally sucks having to sit next to kids that aren’t yours…”

[Snapped a picture of my tag-team partner doing what he does best: leaving everything kid-related up to me. What I would do to be a dad for a day!]

Day 4: Water, Water, Everywhere!

On Sunday, the big boys went golfing, Camryn napped away her afternoon with my mom, and my little guys and I went to the pool. I strategically “forgot” to pack a swimsuit as I had no intentions of going in the water. Worked like a charm!

This was the day that Mason mastered his fear of water in his eyes. This trooper marched straight to the water’s edge and jumped in. A million or more times!
 
Extremely proud mom moment. This kid drowned his fear and LOVED the pool. It took me 20 minutes of “last jump, for real this time,” to get that kid out of the water—and that was AFTER the boys had logged almost three hours of swimming!

Jacob preferred to flip into the water. Scared of nothing!
Then Camryn woke up from her hours’ long snooze, so we all went to the local beach…

…Where Camryn freaked out when sand touched her hands, so she made darn sure she didn’t leave the beach blanket…

…until her mean old mom plunked her barefoot body into the middle of the beach. With nothing but sand around her, she must have thought…
 
…”What the hell, I have made it this far, might as well dip my toes in the water.”

And so goes this little lady’s first time in the ocean.

The novelty of the ocean wore off much faster this time around, as the boys were wrapped up in sweatshirts after a few waves!

See the cup Camryn is holding? It comes with history and a bit of a story…
Rewind to the day before when we hit up a local bar for lunch. I suggested the boys order “Kiddie Cocktails” (Shirley Temples, if you will) as a way to get them excited enough to leave us alone during our meal. Drinks arrived in those cups, Mason took one drink, and very nearly vomited all over the table. Perhaps I should have briefed him on what to expect… However, Jacob LOVED his drink and has added that to his memory for restaurant beverage requests. Fast forward back to the beach: Mason is filling his cup with ocean water to help make his sand castles. It was just too bad that a combination loose grip and strong wave swept the cup from his hand. Poor guy threw a fit. Big time. Jacob took it upon himself to say to Mason, “Looks like you will just have to drink another Kiddie Cocktail if you are going to get a cup to play with at the beach…” STINKER! Not what Mason was hoping to hear, which spun him even deeper into sadness over the loss of his cup. At that point, Jacob very sweetly and naively told Mason, “I bet when the beach closes and they turn off the waves for the night, someone will find your cup.” Super sweet. Too bad that ain’t gonna happen, buddies!

As a consolation to shattered dreams and lost cups, we sent the boys back to the pool to rinse off their sandy bodies. It’s amazing how fast a child’s broken heart heals when in the presence of fun!

Day 3: Flamingos and Beaches

We have gone 2-for-2 on visiting the “Flamingo Park” when we are in Florida. This tropical petting zoo features—among others—parrots, gators, and flamingos. This trip, the boys were much braver around the flamingos.

[Mason had no trouble feeding the birds. He chased after them telling them that they were hungry and needed to eat. When he wasn’t forcing food, he was trying to knock over the sleeping birds. Stinker!]

 

[Jacob had fun feeding the birds until one bit him and he cried…]

[Camryn thought she might like to feed the birds, but then decided she would just rather run toward them and scream instead.]

After the birds, we headed to the beach. It took three days, but we finally got our feet on some Florida sand. And at Siesta Key beach, the sand is like none other. It doesn’t feel like sugar. It doesn’t feel like flour. Perhaps a bit like baking soda?

The boys have both been to this beach, though last time we were there, they were much younger, Mason wouldn’t leave the beach blanket, and the air was too cold for swimming.

   

My how things have changed! So this time around, both boys dove straight in to the water in their shorts (swimsuits were on the beach blanket), Mason—my child who acts like water that touches his face is acid—was playing in the ocean just as you would expect a normal child to do, and—Brrrrr!—the water and air both registered at a chilly 65 degrees!

This is what 65 degrees looks like to me: Sweatshirts, towels over the legs, and jackets! This was Camryn’s first time to a beach. She called the very white sand “snow,” refused to let any of her body touch the sand, and clung to me like a koala anytime I tried to carry her away from the blanket.

A fun day if you ask these two sandy dudes!

Day 2: Disney!!!!!!

Disney is the most touristy Florida thing ever, so we HAD to do it! My parents live close to two hours away from Orlando which meant that we had to wake everyone up super early to get there at a decent time. Just kidding, my kids can’t sleep past 5AM, so we had no problems getting on the road! By the time we parked the car, bought our tickets, and rode the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom it was 10AM and the park was packed! Speaking of tickets, my parents had tickets left over from 1994 that our family hadn’t used, and would you believe they were accepted when we went?! First time ever it paid to be a hoarder!

[Us at the entrance of Disney. Before the boys had any idea that this was going to be the best day of their lives so far!]

  

[Camryn took several short naps throughout the day. However, she spent most of her time going on rides with the rest of us. In fact, she was height appropriate for nearly all the rides—which included the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, complete with a two-story drop. In complete darkness. I found out that steep drops make Camryn very quiet!]

 

[The boys couldn’t believe that they saw the actual castle that is at the “beginning of the movies.” ]

[Mason got spit on by a camel. We had the boys pose under Aladdin's camel, and unbeknownst to them, the camel shoots water out of its mouth. It took several “poses” before we were able to get them under the path of the water. Funnier for us than them?]

[Then it was off to the boys’ first official roller coaster. The highlight of their day, and maybe their trip, was the 2.5 minute long Thunder Mountain Railroad (known in my family as the “Runaway Train”). I am 100% certain that neither boy knew what he was in for, and was slightly freaked out in the most amazing way possible! Caleb and my dad were in the car behind us, and Caleb filmed the whole thing. What you see: Jacob holding his arms up because that is what the people ahead of him are doing, and Mason holding his arms up because I am doing that for him. What you hear: My dad screaming like a cross between Goofy and a girl the whole way. Serious thrills that will make our local carnival seem lame, no doubt!]

[The iconic Dumbo ride. This may have been the best ride in terms of waiting. You step up to a counter, grab a pager, and go play in the “circus” while you wait for your turn to ride. Disney has thought of it all!]

We crammed everything in to one day and closed the park down! Everyone was exhausted by the time we were done, but, wow, so much fun! I will be earmarking the calendar for when Camryn is 4 so that we can go back again!

Day 1: Mote Aquarium

We revisited an aquarium we had been to a few years back, and the kids had a blast! They got their hands on stingrays, looked at sharks from atop an open tank, and saw just how gross and big manatees are. Camryn loved being at the aquarium because it has fish, and she knows what fish are, can say the word “fish,” and raced around the building pointing at and yelling “FISHIES!” A toddler’s dream?

[Jacob wondered why we couldn’t see the jelly inside the jellyfish. I’m still not sure if he understands that jellyfish are not made of jelly…]

[This is the closest Camryn came to making it into a photo. Elusive.]

We left.

The boys are seasoned fliers, but this was Camryn’s first flight. Because we left at 7:30 pm, I assumed little miss would sleep the entire flight. A false assumption made only by first-time parents. And me. Luckily our flight was not full, so we were able to spread out. And by spread out, I mean that everyone wanted to sit with me, and no one wanted to sit with Caleb. But through a little coercion  sweet talk, we were able to convince Jacob to sit with Caleb so that he could keep his window seat view.

Mason LOVES airplanes, and was over the moon to be riding in Dusty Crophopper’s “tummy.” He spent a lot of time looking out the window and not-so-quietly asking when we were going to crash. TSA will be following up with us, I am sure. Camryn was busy. Busy. Busy. She was my lap child, but spent most of the time riding on Mason’s lap—much to Mason’s disappointment. And just as we were about to land, that girl finally passed out. Hard. I was able to toss her dead-weight body straight into the stroller right off the airplane and catch my second wind before we began our 90 minute car ride to my parents’ place.

But before that happened, this happened:

As we were de-planing, the pilot asked the boys if they wanted to sit in the cockpit. Yeah they do! I don’t think they realized how cool and special that experience was. But, holy smokes, that was AWESOME!

Luggage was collected, kids were in pajamas, and we were heading out of the airport. Five minutes in to our car trip we found the country radio station, 10 minutes later the kids were all asleep, and 5 minutes after that traffic stopped. All lanes of the interstate shut down. Crews were fixing power lines and no one was getting past. Exactly how you want to spend your midnight hour, said no one ever! A 15 minute standby and we were back en route. Arrival happened as expected: the boys sleep walked straight to their bed, Caleb hunkered down, and Camryn and I spent the better part of the remainder of our first night in Florida sharing a twin bed while she pointed at and said all of the body parts on my head: eyes, ears, hair, nose, mouth, cheeks. So glad she was able to get that off her chest! No bother, we were in Florida!

We left. And then we came home.

My parents have joined the ranks of snowbirds, so we took a family trip down to their condo in Florida where we jam-packed as many activities as we could in to the five days we were there. And because we traveled with our children, I refuse to call the trip we took a “vacation” because vacations are relaxing times where you leave your frustrations behind…

The digital age has really made trips overwhelming from a photograph standpoint as I uploaded more than 200 pictures from our camera. And that doesn’t include the pictures taken on our phones. Daunting! For the sake of not forgetting every painstakingly fun (HA) moment of our trip, the ol’ blog will be turning in to a trip journal for the next few days. And one day I will look back on these upcoming posts in the stark quiet of my empty house and think “it couldn’t have possibly been as loud and annoying as I remember…”

Mason’s 2014 Year in Review

 

This year you turned four and turned heads when you were riding your bike without training wheels halfway through the summer. You played soccer and tee-ball and may not have known that you were actually playing either sport. You took a gymnastics class and played the field as the only boy in the class. You became pals with Camryn and taught her one of her first words: Toot. You are constantly exercising your talent of making obscene noises at inappropriate times. You know the words to—and can be caught singing— “You are my Sunshine,” and “Drunk on a Plane.” Speaking of planes: You think you are Dusty Crophopper. You have blades, a propeller, an engine that constantly “runs,” tires that need changed, and are always looking to be topped off on fuel. You are a fidgety little guy, and sit still only when you are playing on our phones. You are a tech-junkie and have asked us to pause the TV, the movie, and the toaster. You took two trips to Iowa this year without parents and had a blast. You like armpit tickles, wearing sleeveless “gymnastics shirts,” and camping out. You do not like sharing. That makes you scream. You have taught us that kisses and bandages heal all of your wounds, except once when you scraped your face big time when you fell off your bike. In that case, cinnamon rolls and bacon was the winning combo. You can cry at the drop of a dime, but have a very real fear of water touching your face. Go figure. You swim only in the trusted hands of Joe Pa but would prefer eating a Popsicle poolside any day of the week. It takes you an hour to eat dinner, but you can scarf down a waffle in five minutes flat. Milk and potatoes make you gag. That has been noted. You logged distance on a train, a fire truck, a snowmobile, and a slip-n-slide. Tractor pulls aren’t your thing, and you prefer to sled down a hill by rolling with your body. You saw a circus under the big top, a movie at the theater, and a neighborhood house fire. You like to have videos made of you doing nothing in particular, and are capable of changing your pose with every click of a camera. You are a camera ham. Feeding a goat at the petting zoo made you laugh, and the things you say make us laugh. Your halo is held up by your devil horns—a balanced combination of who you are. Sweet. Ornery. Mason.

Snow Day

 

I used to think that snow days off of school were awesome. As a parent, I am quickly rethinking those thoughts. School is off again tomorrow, and I am running out of activities to keep us all sane. Maybe a morning field trip to the mall play gym is in order…

Two boys and a bow.

 

All playing together. Love!

Jacob’s 2014 Year in Review

 
You began your fifth year in a heap of snow: snowmobiling, sledding, building snow forts, and very questionably racking up some frostbite on your cheeks. You lost your moppy curls, two teeth, and your training wheels. You moved to a booster car seat, and to a new house. You told us that middle-of-the-night thunder and lightning scares you, and you scared others by being a creepy zombie for Halloween. You participated in gymnastics, tee-ball, soccer, and wrestling and said that you would like to fill your entire dresser with trophies—you are well on your way! You told me that when you grow up you would like to be a physical therapist because “Daddy gets to do paperwork, and I would like to do paperwork. And he gets to wear a name tag, and that’s cool.” You also told me that you want my awesome minivan when you are old enough to drive. I suspect that at least one of these “dreams” will change. You graduated from preschool, grabbed your first bus ride, and arrived at Kindergarten. You excelled in letter and sound recognition, could read several words, count past 100, and said math was your favorite subject. At school you are quiet, well-behaved, and polite. You wait your turn to talk, keep your hands to yourself, and follow instructions very well—at home you are quite the opposite. You made a ton of friends and invited them all over for your first non-family birthday party. Oy! You decided that the petting zoo is for the birds, but camping out is just about the best thing ever—next to swimming, because, according to you, you will be a famous swimmer someday. You mastered the monkey bars, tried out a slip-n-slide, and gave the tractor pull a run for its money. You ate shrimp cocktail, couldn't get enough tator tot casserole, and told us that baloney is spelled “BS.” You went on a trip to a fire station, took a spin in an actual fire truck, played with sparklers, and grabbed a front-row seat to a house fire—all unrelated.  You love whistling, hugging your sister, and putting together Legos. You took the “Elf on the Shelf” very seriously, but declared that the Easter Bunny was “just a guy who wears a costume.” Priorities? You went to the museum, a circus, and around the block on your new Green Machine bike. You are serious. You are funny. You are a perfectionist. You are a handful. You are six, and that blows my mind!

Four generations.

I think it is pretty special when you can photograph four generations in one picture.

And that we can get four generations of boys/men is all that more rare. Glad we captured this.

Christmas Day. A long time after the fact.

With all of the traveling behind us, it was time to relax at home and enjoy all of the fun toys that Santa brought, because Santa’s elves were up very, very late assembling bikes and basketball hoops so they better darn well be enjoyed!

Christmas morning got off to a very rocky start. It began at 5:55 when Jacob came crying in to our room complaining that his head hurt bad. And then it continued with him dry heaving in our bed and then in the bathroom. Twice. Total bummer because I was sleepless with anticipation of the boys’ faces when they saw all of the goodies left for them under the tree. Jacob regrouped and the boys each picked out one present to open while Camryn was still sleeping. The rest of the morning was filled with meltdowns because “I can’t get these Legos together.” And “Santa should have brought me a smaller bike because this one is toooooooo big.” Bah hum bug!
By 2:00 we got our acts together and headed outside where the boys could ride their new bikes and Camryn could take her baby for a stroller ride.

[Camryn LOVES her baby doll and stroller. She takes her baby for about 4 hours worth of stroller rides each day, and gives her baby kisses before tucking it in so it can nap. Super sweet.]  
[Turns out this bike wasn’t too big for Mason after all. It’s amazing how smart and intuitive Santa is…]

[Jacob ironically dressed all in green while taking his “Green Machine” for a spin. A fun twist on a typical bike!]
Christmas was a success, and now it’s all packed and ready to go for next year. Wow, that went fast!

Christmas with the grandparents.

Christmas started in Iowa where we had cousin overload, opened way too many presents, and saw all of the grandparents. It was great!

[This is what the hair of a certain tot looks like the morning after she bunks with her parents and sleeps wrapped around her momma’s neck like a winter scarf. The cute factor saves my kids every time!]

[Ready to open presents!]

[Cousins with Papa Jake’s parents. Camryn loves pictures!]
 
[Cousins with Grandma Joan’s mom. Camryn still loving the camera…]

[Our family with Great Grandma Max. Mom and Glow make Camryn tolerate the camera…]
Christmas continued in Illinois where we spent a few hours on Christmas Eve with my parents. Only two cousins and no extended family made this affair much lower key!

[After flat-out refusing to open presents in Iowa, Camryn decided to try it out on Christmas Eve. Turns out, it’s fun and makes her smile!]

[The traditional Christmas Eve jammies.]

[Mason, the Christmas ham!]
Jacob was there, too. Wish we could have snuck a picture or two of our big guy, but he has mastered the art of ducking from pictures. I get it.