At the Park

We went to frontier park by the bayfront campus today to play while we were waiting for Mike to get out of class. Mason was SUPER brave. He was climbing all over the big kid toys, and even went down the big slide by himself. He climbed up to it 3 times by himself before Mike got there, so then I had to document. I was pretty proud...and only a little scared of him falling off the side. Most of the time Mason has no fear, but for some reason he won't even climb up to the slide in the McDonald's toys. Maybe he liked this one because he didn't have to climb through tunnels? Whatever the reason, I was impressed.

The second video is of him swinging. If you listen close at the end you can hear him saying "woo hoo."

Sand Castle Pics

Here are the pics from our sand castle attempt...

Sand Castle

This morning we ventured out to the lake to attempt to build a sand castle. It was rainy, but it wasn't too cold and I thought the rain might help the sand stick together better anyway. I got a few videos of Mason playing in the sand. Sorry if you get bored watching them. I'm posting mostly for our moms :)

I took the last video as we were trying to leave. Mason wasn't quite done playing, so we let him run wild a little bit more before we made him get back in the car. He was storming through the big puddle swinging that stick around like a club...kind of reminded me of a viking. But, this video was the best I could get because of course he wouldn't do it anymore once I turned the camera back on.

Shopping + Zoo

This week my cousin Alexis came to visit. She is one of my oldest besties (old meaning we've always been friends even though we've always lived a million miles apart). We were also roommates for one of the years that we overlapped at BYU. She works for an airline, but unfortunately her branch will be closing soon so she's taking as many trips as she can before then to take full advantage of her awesome flight benefits. She was only here a couple of days, but we fit in as much fun stuff as we could.
We went to Grove City to hit the outlets. We got some awesome deals on new summer things for our boys (who quickly became pals. XJ is only 3 months old, but Mason loved him. Mason cried all the way home after we dropped them off at the airport.) Mason was probably the best shopper that he's EVER been. He also got to play on the toys before we came home. All in all it was a very productive day.

This morning, Mason was a pancake monster. He's getting pretty good at eating by himself, but likes to put food in his hair for some reason.

We also went to the zoo. Mason liked it much more than when we took him last year. He was actually interested in the animals, and growled at everything regardless of what kind of animal it was.

We had so much fun having Alexis visit. Our weather is awesome, so who wants to come next?

Over the Edge

Today has been one of those days. Mason has figured out how to get into pretty much anything. I've already had to rearrange my pantry twice to try and get everything to fit on shelves that he can't reach. This is no small task considering my pantry/kitchen are small to start with, and I thought it was hard to get everything to fit before I had to Mason-proof. Well, today he figured out how to get the fridge open. After the morning we'd already had, this was a little too much for me to handle. I took the baby gate off the stairs and instead blocked off the kitchen. (The last time I took the gate off the stairs he only lasted a couple of hours before he got too brave and fell down them...but that was a risk I was willing to take today) At first it seemed I had solved my problem, and then he decided to start throwing all his toys...and anything else he could...over the edge.

Luckily, Mike came home from school not too long after all this. He took over, and I got to go grocery shopping all by myself. I never knew that going out by myself...especially to the grocery store...would become such a luxury.
When I got back home Mason's trunki had been delivered.

When my mom was in the airport last week she saw a little girl on the ladybug version of this suitcase. It has a strap that you can hook to both ends so you can sling it over your shoulder, or you can unhook one side to you can pull him on it. She thought it was so cute, so she ordered one for Mason. He's in love with it, and it has made the rest of my afternoon much more pleasant. He's been scooting/pushing/pulling this thing around since we opened the package.

I can't wait to try this baby out next time we travel :)

Sunday Drive

Mike and Mason decided to take advantage of daylight savings and enjoy our extended hour of sunlight today. Earlier Mike took Mason with him in the car to take the garbage to the dumpsters (our complex is pretty big and there are only dumpsters in one place...kind of a pain). Anyway, Mason didn't really get his fill of being outside--even though he got to drive--and so Mike took him out again. They drove for a little bit, and then went to play at the little park in our complex. I snapped a few pics of Mason driving before they took off.

Happy Sunday!

Family

This last week my oldest brother, Dustin, deployed to Afghanistan for his 3rd tour. It's times like these that make me REALLY proud to be an American. It's because of willing men like him that we get to enjoy the freedoms that we do. The first time he went, I think I was a sophomore in high school. The second time I was a junior at BYU. Each time I've known it was scary, but not until now...now that I have a family of my own and a husband that I wish I got to spend more time with...have I even begun to understand what it must be like for his family. Even still, I know I don't understand at all. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have my husband a million miles away, and 4 kiddos to take care of by myself. All I know is that it takes a special kind of person to be willing to serve his country, and an even more amazing kind of person to watch him go.
Here is a pic I stole off Eleanor's blog the night Dustin left.

The next day, I met my mom in San Antonio for a surprise birthday weekend for my Aunt Peggy. Alexis, Aunt Sheri, and Mandy all came too. Peggy is the owner/coach of Stars dance and tumbling. They're a pretty big deal...check 'em out. So....after we had all arrived in San Antonio we showed up at her gym. She was definitely surprised, and had no idea we were coming. The rest of the weekend was filled with shopping, lots of food, mani/pedis, and LOTS of family. When my mom and her sisters are together, it's guaranteed to be a good time. The weather in Texas was BEAUTIFUL. A wonderful change compared to mostly dreary Erie. Mason definitely got his fill of playing outside. (So much that that's all I got pics of).

They also have a little puppy that Mason loved to play with. He didn't really like to give up the ball for her to play with. He mostly held on to it and chased her around. He also liked putting things in and out of her doggy door...and only tried a couple of times to go through it himself.

My cousin Chase had a basketball game while we were there that everyone got to go to. This last pic is Mason FINALLY getting to play on the court after the game was over.

My family is my greatest blessing, and I am so lucky to have them all :)