Florida Vacation!

We just got back from our family vacation to St. Petersburg, FL.  It was such an amazing trip.  The boys did great.  Colter is very good at flying, we weren't sure how Levi would do (he likes to do everything totally opposite from his brother) but he did great.  Colter gets on an airplane and zonks out, Levi took cat naps but didn't do much sleeping on the plane.  He was a happy baby for the most part though, whew!  We spent our time enjoying the beach (we stayed on Treasure Island Beach but our favorite was Clearwater Beach...with kids, renting a cabana was the way to go!), going to the Clearwater Aquarium (we met Winter the dolphin!), shopping (FYI, surprisingly, the shopping was not great along the coast of St. Petersburg...I love to stroll through little shops in all the different towns, but these left a lot to be desired.  Though not a quaint little shop, the Tampa mall made up for it), and the Tampa zoo was awesome (rated the #1 zoo in America by Parents Magazine).

We asked Colter what his favorite part of the trip was and he said snorkeling in the pool with his daddy, I wish I could have videoed it (I was in the pool with Levi) it was the cutest thing, he put Joey's snorkel on and Joey swam him all around the pool.  He was pretty proud he went all the way under and used the snorkel like a champ.  His second favorite part (one of my faves as well) was getting to 'pet' the sting rays.  They were so soft and squishy and odd feeling.  They loved to be petted.  They'd swim up and take their heads our of water and flap their wing looking flippers and splash everywhere, very funny.  

If Levi could talk, I'm sure he would say his favorite part was taking naps with his daddy in the shade of the cabana with the breeze blowing through and the sound of the waves crashing in the background...ahhhh sounds relaxing doesn't it?  I wouldn't know, while daddy was putting Levi to sleep, Colter and I were playing IN those crashing waves.  ;)

Here is our trip in pictures!  Caution, I took a ton of pictures (these are in no particular order, who has time for that?!)....this is what I narrowed it down to (there are still a lot!) not pictured is the cold I had the entire time we were there and the stomach bug I had for two full days.  I swear, when my body hears we're going on a trip, it decides to rebel against me. 

Now I'm off to prepare for a super hero birthday for a big 4 year old!!!!

 

 Where are your favorite places to travel?

Little Boys and the Ninja Turtles

3 year old Cameron circa 1991

Levi 9 months

Colter almost 4

What is it with little boys and the ninja turtles?  When my mom and I saw these shirts a few weeks ago, we knew the boys had to have them.  They reminded us of a little blonde haired boy 23 years ago.  Love my baby brother and my boys love their Uncle Cam. 

Colter Says the Funniest Things

I keep notes on my phone of the funny things Colter says so I can type in what he says before I have time to forget them.  Here are just a few of the more memorable things he's said in the past few months:

• Me: Colter, do you want to help me make bread today?  Colter: No, I can't today.  I'm busy.  You sad about that?
• Please Mommy, will you and Levi go get me a beard?  (he calls beer beard)
• After reading 'Pokey Little Puppy' Joey asked Colter if he is pokey and he said 'no, I'm soft.'
• Me: Colter, what are you doing?  Colter: Coughing with my nose.
• While at a restaurant in Rapid City, Colter ordered a 'Bud Life' just like Papa Larry, then when I asked him if he wanted mac and cheese he said 'let me look at the menu.'
• He loves watching the commercials, even on shows I have recorded.  He calls them commerci-mals every time.
• While watching Tangled, he said 'I tooted at the bad guy!'
• 'Don't freak out about it, Papa!'
• 'I want Great Mama Alyce to make me a real gun so I can shoot deer, elk, and cantaloupe.' (instead of antelope)
• Colter: Mommy stop singing! Me: Why? Colter: I know you like to sing, but you have to calm down and watch the road.   
• 'I'm wearing my baseball unicorn.'
• Last Halloween you said 'lick or treat' at every single door.
• You call a sandwich a sandburger. 
• You call tattoos 'too-tats'
• After tooting you say 'my butt is talking to me!'
• You say: Mommy, are you sure about this?! 

Have I mentioned I'm a total BOY MOM?!  Happy Friday!  

E-I-E-I-O

We spent a whirlwind 24 hours at my folks house this past weekend.  They are in the middle of calving season, which is a very chaotic time of year...those mommas and babies come before anything else, even if that means missing meals or eating at 9:00 at night.  It's a very tiring and thankless job and my parents and siblings Andrea and Cameron are very good at it.  I remember those days from when I was little, but can't picture living it now, having constant mud tracking through the house, endless loads of laundry from being out helping mommas have their babies, little calves taking over your laundry room because they need extra care...the list goes on and on.  

Growing up on a farm/ranch you learn about the circle of life a little differently than most people.  The little black baldy above didn't make it.  It wasn't for a lack of trying, my sister did everything she could to try to nurse that baby back to good health but it just wasn't in the cards.  It's so sad because she devoted every minute of spare time she had, even taking time off her 8-5 job to be with that baby, coaxing it to take a bottle, trying to get it up and moving, etc...A sad part of the circle of life on the farm. 

Colter couldn't wait to go out and bottle feed the little baby.  He was also very interested in going to to feed the chickens and gather eggs.  I earned brownie points for being able to catch the chicken for the picture (and immediately hand it over to my sister....)  The big red baby in the bottom picture got the last laugh, sticking his tongue out at me when I said cheese!  

Levi on the other hand, was just amazed at the sheer size of the calf bottle!  Winston isn't much of a farm dog (he likes to protect us from the cows by growling from the sliding glass door at our house), but he is good at keeping his Papa Larry's chair warm for him.

We are looking forward to going back when the mares have their foals later this spring!!