Fun in Uptown Normal

The other day I took Aaron on a little mommy/son date while we waited for daddy to get off work.  I thought it would be fun to go walk around Uptown Normal.  It's a lot different since I've been in school.  Tons of new and improved things.  Those lucky ISU students.  They don't know how good they got it.  So off we went. 

First we were hipsters and went to the Coffeehouse to get some iced coffee for me and juice for Aaron.  Aaron loved sitting in the chair like a big boy, drinking his big boy juice and saying "Hi!" to the random people in there. 

Next we walked over to the Discovery Museum to let him look at toys - that was a mistake.  He kept pointing to things and saying "Have it."  Somehow I was able to coax him out of there without a toy, and without throwing a fit.

Then we walked over to the water fountain.  A jazz band was setting up to play.  Aaron loved everything about this.  Water and music - two of his favorite things. 

Finally daddy showed up.  So we headed to the pizza parlor for dinner.  Aaron loved watching "beach-ball" on the tv.  Any type of sport on a tv is "beach-ball" or "b-ball". 

After dinner, we went to watch the band play for a bit.  Then we needed ice cream.  Aaron quickly learned that "ikeens" is so cold!  I wish I weren't so full from dinner because the ice cream was so good - almond, coconut and chocolate = yummo!

It was a nice little date night with my two guys.  We're definitely enjoying those nice, summer nights.

 

Splash Park Fun!

Aaron is slowly getting braver at the splash parks around town.  It takes him a bit to warm up.  He doesn't stray too far away from me.  And he wants me to walk with him through the water a lot of the time.  But he's getting the hang of it.

First trip to the splash park -

Being shy

Scoping everything out 

Playing in the water, but far off from others

Really wanting to run through that, but not quite sure 

Second trip to splash park - 

Planning his first move

Braving it alone

Having a blast, and realizing splash parks are a lot of fun!

Vet Trip

Taking the cats to the vet is, well, traumatic.  There's lots of howling, panting, hissing, hair flying all over the place - and that's just me.  I don't even know where to begin to describe the cats' experience.

We take the cats to a vet in a small town about 15 minutes away, mainly because it's so cheap.  But for those 15 minutes I have to deal with what sounds like my cats being killed.  You would think a nice drive through the country would be so peaceful and relaxing.  Not so much with my two, diva cats.

Most of the pictures are of Bella because she was in the front seat on the way there.  I told Bryan to put the one who he thought would be the best behaved in the front seat with me.  And it just so happens that she's the worst of the two in the car.  Lucky me.

Just imagine the howls coming out of that mouth right now.   

Then she pulls big, sad eyes on me. 

Moving on to the panting segment of our trip. 

When we got to the vet it was filled with over 11 people, 5 dogs, 6 cats - I had never seen anything like that before.  It was the fourth of July week, and they were trying to fit 5 days into 4, I guess.  Here they are trying to hide from me, and all the dogs.  Lots of hissing whenever a dog sniffed their carriers. 

More ignoring from Queen Lily on the ride home.  

Well, cats, that rabies shot you just got will only help you - so you're welcome!

STL Weekend

At the beginning of June we went down to STL with my cousins and their son, Jackson.

First stop - the Zoo!!

The monkey exhibit was awesome.

Kristen and I were repulsed by all the birds, but the boys loved feeding the ducks at lunch. 

Check out the baby Joey in the pouch! 

Looking at the "puppy" - aka Jaguar

I love this picture. So happy to cool off!!

Picking out his lion. 

Such a happy boy! Until Sunday - but that's another story. 

After the zoo we went back to the hotel for a bit. We had joining rooms, and the boys loved bouncing back and forth between the two. 

The next day we went to the Magic House. That place is super cool. The adults even had a lot of fun! 

Pure joy!

HATED IT!

We wore the boys out!! 

It was a fun mini vacation. Who cares if half of us came back with a virus and don't want to go back to the house of germs anytime soon. We still had fun! No, the Magic House isn't to blame - but that's what we're blaming it on. Can't wait to plan our vacation next year. 

Sometimes...

Sometimes I dust by just blowing the dust off things and then calling that clean. I just "dusted" my whole room, and I feel pretty satisfied with this method. If someone really enjoys dusting, please come over.

Aaron loves to clean. He likes to vacuum, wash dishes, and sweep. And he sometimes gets on board the laundry train, and helps me throw the clothes into the dryer. Sometimes I count Aaron's sweeping and vacuuming as actual cleaning, and call my cleaning complete for the week day. I'm just proud I'm raising a boy who likes to clean - at least for now.