Time to Put Away the Skis

This is as close as Boden got to skiing this year--maybe next year!

Boden and Dad waiting for Sloan to swim back to the boat.

Boden is an excellent tuber--an ability innate to most kids

Summer is over...well, at least the boat is pulled and we are prepared for summer to be over despite the warm, warm Fall!  Boden didn't make it up on skis behind the boat (but did plenty of lawn skiing) so maybe next year he'll be ready for the real thing!  I, on the other hand, did get up on skis for the first time in my thirty plus years.  I had never tried before and assumed I would hate it, but as it turns out, I found it to be quite fun...so next year, looks like we will both be perfecting our ski skills.

Dad's Day--just smile, please

Doug, just look at me and smile.

Doug, really? Just keep smiling.  I'll click as soon as Boden looks good.



Doug!  OMG.

 Who would have thought that the hardest person to manage during the dad's day photo would be the 72 year old...not the 2 year old?!  Sheesh :)  We all had a good laugh over that!

Down on the Farm

I'm feeding the baby cows!

Boden was in hog heaven at my mom's last weekend.  Top 5 Highlights of his visit:

6. Sit on a tractor
5.  Ride a four-wheeler with daddy
4. Trample through a hen house (much to the dismay of the resident hens and roosters)
3.  Feed baby calves their milk from a bottle
2. Visit cousins and meet great-grandparents (and eat cake!)
1. And, of course, the ultimate highlight--mow Grandma's lawn on the riding lawnmower.  A weekend wouldn't be complete without a little lawn mowing.

Josh, Jake 'the graduate', Michelle, Boden

The 3 1/2 hour ride home turned into 4 hours and an on-going battle with Boden who unbuckled himself from his carseat multiple times and he fought sleep the whole way.  We were certain (our fatal mistake) that he would fall asleep on the ride home because he skipped a nap fell asleep twice in the car while we were driving around to first my nephew's graduation party then "downtown" for a little shopping.  Todd and I placed our bets on when sleep would overtake him neither of us expecting him to make it much past 45 minutes in the car before zonking.  We were soooooo wrong:


He fought sleep and proceeded down the road to Crabbyville until we were 20 minutes from home. That's when our route changed-- we ended up running into a street concert smack dab in the road and had to detour (both of us cursing our luck) so it extended our car trip.  We of course sighed with relief and settled into silence for the last bit of the ride.  Then, out of the blue, 5 minutes from home, Boden opened his eyes wide and screamed and wriggled in his seat for a minute or two.  We tried unsuccessfully to comfort him and stop the crying.  Then, like someone snapped their fingers, he immediately fell back to sleep--pretty sure it was a night terror.  Todd and I looked at each other and started laughing (quietly)...omg, get us home! 

Farmer Boden had a farm,..eieio.

Say cheese

Boden had his one year pics today.  I thought I was being smart by scheduling them in early October so we could get some nice outdoor shots...then we woke up to snow this morning--ha!  To top it off, even though Boden is generally a pleasure and full of smiles in the morning, he was a total Grumpasauraus Rex from the moment he woke up.  Of course, I hadn't planned on needing celestial intervention for everything to line up, but it was turning out to be one of those days, so I didn't know how this picture taking biz was going to work out.  I figured that even if he screamed his way through it, it would be a documented experience that I would look back and laugh (and maybe cringe) over.

Boden did manage to pull himself together for Leann, though.  Leann and I danced around, made silly noises, and made Curious George dance in an attempt to get a few smiles from the little grump.  He was also very interested in Leann's super spectacularly shiny off-limits camera and, after he warmed up to her a bit, he got bold enough to lunge for it a few times. While we couldn't get him to keep any accessories on--he kept tugging his big boy shoes off (actual hard soles, not soft like Robeez) so we didn't get outside for any pics (drats!) and he whipped his hat off almost as soon as we put it on--there were a few moments, when his whole ensemble was on, he had a smile on his face and he looked adorable.

Overall, the experience was exhausting for both of us.  Boden took a long nap shortly after Leann left...and woke up even crabbier; so I guess scheduling the pics early in the morning did work in my favor.  I'm crossing my fingers that at least one picture looks fan-flippin-tastic.