Family Picture

We have had a horrible time trying to get the four of us in one picture. Here's the best we've been able to capture!

Memorial Day Weekend at Snowshoe

We spent the long weekend at Snowshoe in WV. Angela and Joe were nice enough to lend us their Snowshoe vacation house while they were visiting family elsewhere. We've spent many weekends at their cabin, but never without them! This time we had all 3 grandparents with us which meant lots of extra hands to keep the kiddos in order. We began the weekend with a stop in Cass, WV to ride the Cass Scenic Railroad - a state park whose main attraction includes Shay engine steam locomotives originally used in the timber industry on the same tracks decades ago. The weather was perfect and Grayson loved the train! Saturday evening once we got settled in the cabin, the grandparents put the kids to bed while Steve and I enjoyed a nice dinner out at the Ember. I managed to eat entire my entire shrimp and udon noodle dish with chopsticks! This restaurant brings fresh spun cotton candy to your table with your check - very fun!
Sunday we spent the day on the mountain taking advantage of opening weekend at Snowshoe. Steve had a great mountain bike ride and Grayson had fun with other activities including the super bounce and chair lift rides down the mountain. Luke and I did a little shopping and just had fun walking around. Monday meant a drive home, but we still enjoyed the afternoon on the deck grilling chicken and dodging spotty showers in the area. All in all, a great holiday weekend!

Luke peeking over the little wooden play train.

Grayson playing peek-a-boo on the play train.

Now we're in the real train!

Luke slept the entire ride to Whittake Station, our destination.

We passed this engine on one of the switchbacks. It was basically just like ours.

There's ours up ahead, or behind in this case since it was pushing us at this point!

Relaxing with some snacks at Whittaker Station.
At Snowshoe the grandparents and Grayson boarded the chair lift to swing down the mountain while Steve crisscrossed back and forth underneath them on his bike. At the bottom of the lift there is a lake with a beach and a playground, but I don't have pics of that since Luke and I hung out on the top of the mountain.

Here we are waiting for everyone to get back...Where are they? He was so busy looking that he didn't realize I had let go of his hands and he was standing all by himself!

Here they come! Grayson in between his Dad and Poppaw WAY up in the air!

Grayson was very impressed with his Daddy!

Grayson spent half of the day in the super bounce. I think I heard "Hey, watch me" about 50 times!

After we forcefully extracted him from the super bounce he bounced right over to the stage and proceeded to entertain the audience with his dance moves. It was quite hilarious. Strangers were taking his pictures!

Back at home relaxing on the deck.

Don't worry, Dad, I'll get you another beer!

Grayson giving Mommy's feet a bath.

I filled up a container with soapy water for Luke to play in.

Grayson made "soup" and was having everyone taste.

Luke ended up too wet to even keep clothes on, so he got to spend some naked time on the deck.

We had quite a show with clouds as afternoon storms moved through the area.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Birthday Angela

Last weekend was Angela's Birthday so she and her family came to spend the weekend with us. We had a birthday dinner Saturday and Tim and Terri drove down to celebrate, too. Grayson had a great time with Jackson, Angela and I got to spend some girl time shopping - two days in a row including lunch out while the big boys babysat, and Joe and Steve got in a mountain bike ride.


Angela with Katherine.Happy Birthday!

Learning how to play Hide and Seek.

Ready or not, here I come.

Human tunnels for the trains.

Look Mom, I'll eat whatever he's eating. I actually witnessed Grayson eating broccoli for the first time ever.

"Hmmm...she's cute."

"No, we weren't doing anything bad, Mom. See - my hands are on this toy."

We sustained one big boo-boo. Jackson tripped on the driveway and got a heck of a dinger on his forehead. It was on Steve's watch and I think it took Steve longer to get over it than Jackson.

Luke trying so hard to play with the big boys.

A few random pics of my boys...

"Ride shoulders."

Double load.

Not so sure about this, Daddy!

Watching for birds at the bird feeders.

Just having a chat with Daddy.

Grayson apparently read his Daddy a naptime story.
Luke is so happy that he is finally big enough to get in on the fun!

Grayson feeding Luke.

Bathtime!

l

Grayson's 2.5 Year Pics

Grayson is now 2.5 and what a ride it has been! He's still a small fry - 28 pounds and a bit short in the legs only wearing size 18 months shorts. But what he lacks in brawn we'd like to think he makes up for in brains. He can spell his name and is working on Luke's name now. He can deliver an almost flawless rendition of the ABC song. And he counts to 20, though we usually take a detour somewhere between 13 and 17. He recognizes most letters of the alphabet. But while he knows exactly how to take his diaper off, flush, and wash hands by himself, he is not at all potty trained and has no interest - even telling me "no mommy, I not a big boy yet." (And for that matter, other than toddler poopy diapers, I'm OK with that thought.) He tells me when to stop and go in the van and is especially fond of telling me to "be careful Mommy, cars can hit you." He is a dream to put to bed. Loves his bedtime routine and even tells us when he's tired and ready for bed...usually around 7:30 or 8:00. He'll say "Come on Mommy, I tired. Go upstairs." His actual sleeping is getting better. I'm probably jinxing myself, but I think he's slept through the night (for the most part) for about 12 out of the last 14 nights. We're hoping we've turned the corner. He's just now entering the phase of laughing at things only little boys think are funny. Driving home from school the other day he started giggling non-stop and when I asked what was so funny he finally caught his breath and said, "I farted." Lovely. We struggle with good days and bad days at daycare. Some days he gets no time outs and glowing reports, other days he ends up in the office. Oh well - what can you do? He's 2...and stubborn. Wonder where he got that? He loves trains, fruit, and being outside, especially at the park. His favorite shows are Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bob the Builder, Little Einsteins, and Thomas the Train. He gets to watch one every night while Steve and I eat and he is absolutely captivated by the TV when one of his shows is on. He has been like that since he was a tiny baby and would watch Baby Einstein - one of the few things that would stop him from crying when we had colic. Which amuses me now because Luke could care less about TV and never even managed to sit through one Baby Einstein video. They're just different kids. But boy do I love them both!