NE Fun (Part 2)

Ok... It's a month later, but Andrew has been taking tiny 30 minute naps. That leaves me with zero time to use the computer. Anyway, enough excuses! Here's some more Nebraska excitement!

Since we did spend SOOOO much time in the car, I would be remiss if I forgot to mention the wonderful times that Grandma Mary had with Andrew. She sang songs, read books, and even put on puppet shows. Thanks, Mom for being our nanny on the road!

We stayed in a fabulous hotel in Fremont, that had a very cool pool downstairs. We had some serious family fun and Grandma photographed it all!

Sadly, I never took pictures of Chris and I when we were all fancied up to go to Chris's reunion. I spent time showering, putting on makeup, and wore a dress. I didn't take a single picture to prove it. Amidst all the reunion festivities, we enjoyed the action at John C. Fremont days with candies cashews and a walk around scenic downtown Fremont. Later we squeezed in a playdate with some highschool friends of Chris and their son.. :) Again, we took no pictures. Hmmph.

We did, however, chronicle the drive back home. Oh, my goodness. Andrew may disown us. Here's what we found out when attempting the drive with an awake Andrew during the day:

1. You can see how dirty a baby is when it's light outside. Here are Andrew's H.E.B. feet when we left Fremont. To answer your question, the only placed he walked barefoot was INSIDE the hotel room. Yikes.

2. To avoid stopping unnecessarily, we tried anything... including alternative means of "cooking".3. Alternative means of "cooking" aren't very convincing.

4. Daddy gets to sleep during his turn "entertaining" Andrew. All he has to do is hold the laptop that's playing Elmo.

5. Taking a pitstop for the night in OKC with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Wayne was a GREAT idea and very much needed.

So, yay for our travels to NE and back. It was a blast!

Since then, we have had a busy time, so I will post soon... I hope.

:)

Anne

Watch out Nebraska!

Well, we did it! We drove 11 hours to and 11 hours from and spent some great, quality time in the land of the corn. Andrew did FABULOUSLY, and Chris's family and friends were really nice!

We left Wednesday night and drove ALL NIGHT. Grandma Mary (our fantastic Nanny-on-call) took the first shift in the back seat to try and lull Andrew off to "ni-ni" land. Not happening, so we did some over the seat acrobatics to switch spots, so Chris wouldn't have to pull over. Shortly thereafter, I realized that Andrew had peed through his diaper, through the pajamas, and through the car seat pad. Nice. A pit stop was necessary. After a quick freshening up, we hit the road... again.

After a massive storm in Kansas and potty breaks all around about 1:30 AM, we hit the road again. I do have to mention that the Kansas turnpike has the best rest stops and potties. They even had a front row seat for Andrew to watch Mommy go tinkle. Interestingly enough, the website says the seat holds someone up to 150 lbs. I don't want anyone that big watching me tinkle, and if someone that big does watch me tinkle, how would I lift him/her onto the seat? But, I digress.

At the crack of 6:30 AM, we arrived in beautiful Plattsmouth, NE. It was incredible. Chris's Aunt and Uncle have an amazing piece of land with breathtaking views (I can't say the best views of the aunts and uncles because I have heard Montana's pretty fantastic...)

Although my pictures don't do it justice, here are some shots from the back door. (And yes, it's supposed to look panoramic.)

Inside the house, Andrew fell in love with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Bill! Here's a slide show of the fun!

Both Bill and Cindy did us a BIG favor and let us sleep while they entertained. I am having issues uploading it (hence the long delay in posting), so I will post the video on the next round of Nebraska fun.

After a fun filled 24 hours with Bill and Cindy, we headed to the glorious town of Fremont, NE.... That will have to wait until the next post, though.

Thanks for being such wonderful hosts, Bill and Cindy!

:)
Anne

Dress to impress...

Dear Andrew,

Please take the following fashion advice to heart (although it makes me sound like an old fogie).

Don't ever wear:

1. Pegged jeans. Well, don't peg any pants for that matter. It didn't really work when I was a kid, and it sure doesn't work now.

2. Sagged pants. Your underwear should be worn under your clothes... hence the name underwear.

3. Skinny jeans. These types of pants are only meant for super cute and stylish girls. No one else should even try. Even ultra-cool boy band types can barely pull it off.

I am the first to admit that I have made some serious fashion mistakes :giant hair bows, "hot" colored everything, and biker shorts under white denim skirts- to name a few. However, being a parent means trying to make a better life for your child. So, take my advice, please.

:)

Anne

Cutest Cow Contest

Do you remember the cow costume from last year? If you don't, click here. It was a hot day in July, much like today, when I found out about Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. If you dress like a cow, you get a free meal. Sign Andrew up. Last year(and still now), he didn't eat chicken or cow, but I still dressed him up. At least now, he eats waffle fries!


Well, it's that time of year again, but this year, there is a contest! Please follow this link to the contest and vote for Andrew. (Feel free to forward it on to your friends!) You have to search for Andrew by his name. Then, click the vote button under his picture. The contest runs until the end of August, so tell your friends.

:)

Anne


PS The picture in the contest is better... :) Also, I will be emailing everyone the link, so I'm sorry for the duplicate message!

Wonderful Friends!

I am so blessed to have friends that refuse to let me fall off the face of the earth. I get caught up in mommy-dom and forget to touch base with my girlfriends. Tisk, tisk. Luckily I have people like, Kathryn, Rachel, Liz, Em, Angie, Kristin, etc., who text me and call me and remind me that I need to do the same.
As a result of one of those fabulous calls, Angie and Andrew had a play date at Chic-fil-a. We were good patrons and Angie purchased lunch first, so that we could all go for a romp in the fantastic in door playroom (it's 100 freakin' degrees outside, so indoors we shall play). Angie, the photographer extraordinaire, always has a camera, so here is some of the fun. Not pictured: Andrew's first french fries! As a parent, I never thought I would be trying to get our child to eat fries, but with this finicky eater, we will be happy with anything that doesn't end in cracker.

Andrew was double lucky in the fact that he was the only kid there, so he got to wreck shop on the big play stuff, too. Andrew says,
"Ha ha, big boy suckers, I'll slide down your slide. "
Until he thinks he hears something over there..."Maybe I'll just get down."

Thanks for a great play date, Ang!

:)
Anne

Just a mullet away...

We are super classy at the Shacks. In case you doubt our high level of class, check out my sweet baby walking the dog... in only his diaper and fake Target Crocs.

I know there is a picture of my little brother that looks strikingly similar, so hopefully I will get my hands on it soon.
Luckily, Lady came home when I called, so they never got very far. (Not pictured here: Andrew letting Lady poop in the neighbor's yard and leaving it.)

Stay classy~

:)

Anne

Swim Lessons

Well, after 10 swimming lessons, we know a few things.

1. Andrew can now go under water and hold his breath (for the most part).


2. He loves being thrown up in the air. (He likes that regardless of the setting.)


3. Nothing beats the sprinkler in the backyard.

So much for swim lessons...

:)
Anne