A Perfect Weekend

I think Eamon had his ideal weekend last weekend. Ray was feeling better after a week of the flu. We got to play around the house a lot (more of that in a couple days), E got to go to a birthday party with inflatable Thomas and scooters and... (more on that, too). And then we went to the Boulder County home show. We weren't expecting much, since the Denver one was heavy on contractors and low on useful information. The Boulder one was a little more laid back, but also more kid friendly. One of the contractors had a little art project. An electrician had balloons. We followed with Noodles and Cold Stone Creamery (thanks to a gift card Heather had passed on). By that point, E looked like this.
I take it back. I think we ALL had a perfect weekend.

Well Done

A bit of a change in topic today, but I've been keeping an eye on my nephew's wrestling successes all season (mainly via his sister's facebook feed). He's done pretty darn well, and finished second in his division after the last tournament. I'm pretty impressed! He made the paper (third from the left on top).

Go Steven!

You can give a boy a harmonica, but you can't make him sing the blues

Nobody knows... the troubles I've seen...
Hey, this is fun!....Oops, yeah, troubles...
Okay, that's more like it....The troubles I've seen... 

The Happiest Place on Earth

(no, not Disney)
But pretty darn close for some of us.
This picture kills me. He's getting so big. (That's Ray and E on the right side of the stairs.)

Not pictured: the moose Tiff bought E, which he still loves (it was on his "hug list" at bedtime tonight, actually) and I do too, since it lives in an apron from the baby shower along with some other stuffed animals and looks super cute. Yes, that needs a visual, but E is asleep and I can't sneak into his room. Maybe later. Thank you, Tiff.

Anyway, yes, I got to hit IKEA. And I didn't quite get everything I "needed", so Ray got sent back on a long layover. His father was kind enough to model for the "is this it?" text message....
Donut says yes, thank you, it is. And he and Marco love their new cat bed. We won't tell them what it used to be.

(Denver IKEA now has blue and yellow sides and a big sign. Getting closer!)

More vignettes from Lessingerland

Ray and his iphone attract attention from the younger set. (See the third pic on the post here. Or the LJ Christmas video. Or...)
Ray has no idea why he was so grumpy here.
Fortunately he resolved whatever it was!

I just like this photo. Not sure why. Cute subject is definitely part of it. And she is competing with E for lashes!


The pics below amuse me. They need a caption, but I'm not sure what it is. Mouse over the next pic to see the fun (I learned some html for this one... now if I were just classy enough to center the pictures the same way...). Speaks to how the younger siblings just pop up sometimes.

This is just too sweet. I hope I'll be that patient going over drawings...

Blanket Races

Or, what you wish you were doing right now. (Or, darn I wish I hadn't left the lens in manual focus for a good chunk of this...)
Despite any appearances to the contrary, they're all laughing.
Even when it looks like they're asking for help (he's waving, actually).
Because they know this is coming. (darn manual focus and my idiocy)

Because yes, they LOVE it.

The Toddler Whisperer

A continuation of my love for the DSLR...

I've never seen a young kid who was so good with younger kids, or so willing to entertain them.
He spent quite a while constructing for their entertainment.
Including a pretty hefty train setup.
Of course, they worship all that he does. Especially Mario Kart.

Why I'm saving for a real camera: the photoessay

We also got to visit Lessingers in MN. Jen was kind enough to a) teach me a little bit about cameras and b) let me play with her old one (I'm not touching her work camera, oh no! Have you met my clutzy self?).

Lighting in their house is similar to that in my parents', which means that all of our cameras struggle and pics there look like this, which is part of why you don't see many of them. However, with a real camera...



...I can have some serious fun. And you're just seeing the dumbed-down-for web storage versions! I've got a lot to learn about DSLR-land, but now I'm drooling at the thought...

(more of these to come in the next couple weeks... thanks, Jen!)

I don't know how to explain this to him.

This has been the amusement of choice for the last two days, but there's not much to do. I'm hoping he'll be okay with a rake, as soon as I find one his size that doesn't look like a deadly weapon (really, functional pointy metal tines, Target? Really?)

(just a quick interlude of currentness... the Minnesota travelogue will return shortly)

The Games Boys Play

Clarks have a son a couple of years older than Eamon, so visiting them makes for a fun time for E as well. I'll spare you the video of the running light saber battle, and I'm sad about how poorly the camera handled this, but - for your Friday pleasure: boys having fun.
Eamon can't resist a pool table. Baby nine ball came back and he talked about cue balls all weekend. Still does, actually.
He's also still "playing hockey" with random sticks (or forks) after this. As you can see, Brian is mid-construction in the background, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few pucks are a permanent part of the entertainment center now.



'Twas but a flesh wound!

To say the least, we all had a great time.

Go, Avs!

While we were in Minnesota, we got to join Clarks for a hockey game. Eamon's third night with a babysitter (and his second that week!), so we were a little anxious, but he was a trooper and we had fun!

Of course, as happens every time Ray and I see the Avs play the Wild, one of us has a little more fun than the other. Go Avs!
Thanks to Clarks for a fantastic idea and a fun night!

Travel

We've started traveling again, and we got to make it up to see friends in Minnesota a while back - more pictures of that coming in the next few weeks, but as an introduction, may I point out that the Minnesota airport is a pretty sweet place to be a kid? Beyond the Kidports, there's still a lot to do.

First off, if it's the only time you get to play with the Touch? Awesome.
Everyone looks up to Snoopy.
Of course, he makes a great slide, too.
Then there are the fun motion-sensitive ads. And the moving sidewalks and escalators...
The people are super-nice, of course (it is Minnesota). Thus, if you're really good...

Dining Companions

Moose and Baa are soooo hilarious!
What, didn't you get the joke? What's not to love about: 
"Knock Knock" 
"Who is there?
"PEEKABOO"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Super Bowl

This picture makes me smile. Yes, he's eating nachos and drinking hot chocolate. While watching football. I'm not that into football, I admit, but I do love snacking while watching with a crowd, something my parents taught me to enjoy. I was glad to pass the tradition to my date on for the Super Bowl.