Bigfoot

We had a few errands to run on the other side of St. Louis today so we took a little detour to see Bigfoot. I have learned all kinds of neat stuff as the mother of little boys - including the fact that Bigfoot is the original Monster Truck. Aren't you better for knowing that?

Cameron's First Day of School and Danny's Future Golf Career . . .

So, I tried to take a nice picture of Cameron on his first day of preschool this year and this is what I got . . . .




Nice, huh?

While Cameron is in school, Danny is working on improving his golf game. I think he might be less of a hacker once he learns to walk . . .



I have a video but for some annoying and frustrating reason, the computer isn't letting me upload video right now!

Yes, We Are Raising Nascar Fans

Or at least Dennis is . . .


Cameron and Daddy attended their first live NASCAR race together last Saturday night at the Gateway International Speedway just outside of St. Louis. Cameron had been looking forward to it for weeks, and the experience didn’t disappoint. Upon entering the parking lot and driving by countless shirtless guys playing various tailgating games, Cameron immediately asked if he could take his shirt off. Daddy’s response was of course “no”, and when the inevitable “why” followed, the excuse was that they didn’t bring sunblock (more on this later). Cameron thoroughly enjoyed the pre-race singing of the national anthem and fly-by, and when the green flag dropped and 43 cars came roaring by at 170mph, his eyes were as big as saucers. He of course had his ear muffs on the whole time, and he alternated between watching the race and playing with his new NASCAR toy he got before the race (he even got his little brother something). He was a real trooper and insisted on staying for the whole race, which was a good thing because on the last lap, there was a 10-car crash directly in front of them. When it was all over, and the smoke from the post-race fireworks cleared, Cameron asked if his favorite driver Kyle Busch won … Daddy didn’t have the heart to tell him Kyle Busch wasn’t even in the race. All in all, it was a bit of sensory overload for Cameron, but he’s already asking when he gets to go again. A couple nights later, while brushing his teeth, Cameron stopped and told Daddy that when they go to their next race, he has to remember to put on lots of sunblock so he can take his shirt off. Git ‘er dun!

We Aren't In California Anymore . . .

So, I thought that our transition to Midwest suburbanites was complete when Dennis bought a riding mower but apparently I'm still adjusting to our new location. Today, Danny and I attempted to go for a run along a trail in our neighborhood. I didn't get 4 minutes into our run before we came upon a raccoon acting very weird. Now, I guess that I don't really know how a raccoon is supposed to act but there were some other people trying to scare it off of the trail and it refused to move. Then it started arching it's back and walking in circles. Since I had Danny with me in the jogger, I decided that it was time for us to leave. We ended up meeting a friend a for a workout and she convinced me to call animal control. Now, this is the part where I realized that I wasn't in California anymore - I was informed that I should "knock it over the head with something and dispose of it." Apparently I sounded unsure when provided with this advice because I was then told that I could ask a friend or a neighbor to do it!?!

A Couple of Videos and A Random Observation

So, for those of our friends who are military families, have any of you ever been swimming in an outdoor pool on base when the play the National Anthem? How come on Army Wives they don't show everyone jump out of the pool and stand next to it dripping wet, facing the direction of the flag (even though you can't see it), with hand over heart? It certainly makes sense but it was a bit surreal the first time that it happened to us this week. However, I must say that Cameron looked cute standing there in his swimsuit trying to figure out which hand to put over his heart! And speaking of military life, when you play store with your kids, do you first have to pretend to drive past the guard and show your ID to get on base before you can go to the pretend commissary?

So, my brother is the king of cool birthday gifts for little boys. I think it's because he's still a kid at heart! He got Cameron this hovercraft/UFO thing that flies around the house for his birthday. It's entertaining even for adults and it's perfect for rainy days.

While we were in Fresno, my brother also got this short clip of Danny's first birthday . . .

And Danny and Vince both practiced their communication skills (those years of speech therapy really paid off Vince!). . .

Summer Fun

Well, summer is officially here as of tomorrow but we have been experiencing some high temperatures lately and lots of water fun. Cameron finished two weeks of swim lessons on Thursday, and Danny has discovered that he LOVES playing in water fountains - shocking for a little boy who screamed during every bath for the first ten months of his life!

Boy I Am I Glad that May is Over!!

So apparently I took a blogging break for the entire month of May. It was an insanely hectic month for us: Danny's turned 1 (where did the time go!); my Granny, who was a very special lady, unfortunately passed away so we took a a trip to California to attend her funeral and stayed for a week to visit family and friends before attending a family wedding and returning; the boys suffered from a couple of ear infections, bronchitis and an unexplained hand injury resulting in multiple trips to the doctor and two trips to the ER (my mother-in-law warned me that I would be in the ER often with two boys); and I can't even remember what else, all I know is that I haven't checked my email or my blog in about a month!

However, we did have family pictures taken on Memorial Day weekend so here are some cute pics of our two troublemakers!!