Rochester, o BOY

We have been busy, busy, busy running around in Rochester. We've filled up every day with all kinds of fun stuff for the kids (and grown ups!). When you are down by an adult away from home, I highly advise planning a LOT of activities to break up the days. We usually did something like this: breakfast, morning activity, lunch, naps, afternoon activity, dinner and evening activity. We got a LOT in that way!

On Monday we said goodbye to Daddy so he could go back and work the rest of the week. William went with Mama and Grandpa to the Rochester fireworks. Uncle Mike didn't stay for the fireworks.

On Tuesday, we went to Nana to the House of Bounce. It is an indoor inflatable play area. Very much fun - although it was a little hard to keep track of the two kids and take pictures.

Amelia loved the climbing part - although I was surprised to see her show a little fear of the bigger ladders - probably a good thing!

William scaled this climbing wall without any trouble - I was worried he would get scared so high up in the air, so I attempted to follow him. It took me several (read:at least 5) tries to get up there. When I reached the top? William was already behind me climbing up again. So much for him needing my help! William also attempted the biggest, baddest inflatable slide I've ever seen without any prompting from me. I don't have pictures, just video.

After dinner, we attempted to take the kids to yet another local park. When we got there, we found there was an All Comers Track meet going on. In short, the track meet is for anyone who shows up (I tried to find an article to link to without success). There were running races going on for kids of all ages and different field events going on as well. William REALLY wanted to run, but we just couldn't find a race for his age group. He was almost in tears every time a race started and he wasn't able to run. He was able to take a few turns at the long jump. He still wanted to run, but he was happy to have been able to play at all. While we were in line for the long jump, there was an all ages sprint - William and I could have run together*. We were on the verge of a meltdown when it was time to finally check out the park across the street (our original destination). Luckily, there was a huge sand pit with several dump truck toys to distract him away from his despair. I was hugely impressed with the concept and the number people who attended the event. The event organization was really confusing, but we would definitely try to go another evening of running!

On Wednesday, we went to a place called Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minnesota. It is perhaps one of the last family owned/operated toy stores left in the area. It was WONDERFUL. They had a lot of educational type games and toys you wouldn't find in a big chain toy store. I very much enjoyed.

Marbles anyone? I initially thought these were bouncy balls and so I didn't respond when Amelia grabbed as many as she could carry...until she banged the glass marbles against a glass display case. We had to finally leave this area because she would NOT leave the marbles alone!

They also have a hand carved carousel inside the kids got to ride on. I thought William would be interested in riding on a moving (up and down) animal, but he made a beeline for this cart pulled by the ostrich. To humor me, he walked around the carousel once, but in the end decided he wanted to be in the cart.

PS Yes, their shirts do match because I am a nerd. Also, I didn't buy the shirts to be matching. I bought William this shirt in two sizes because I thought it was cute. It just happens the big one now fits William and the smaller one fits Mia.
Amelia blows mama a kiss
They also sold pieces of heaven (fudge). This might be the best fudge I have ever eaten. It was called carmel pecan. I would call it heavenly.
Amelia enjoyed sharing her fudge with Nana (chocolate). Watch your fingers Nana!
After lunch and a nap, Jessica (my BFF from high school) and her daughter Cana came over to play. William and Cana liked to make the cars roll down the wagon handle. Interestingly, William did a great job sharing and being patient with Cana. Much more so than he would have done with Amelia. Somehow this reassures me.
Amelia decided it was time for some hugging. Cana wasn't so sure, but she played along.
More hugs.
I finally distracted both girls with stickers. The stickers were a hit.
After dinner, we played outside with some neighborhood kids. Amelia's favorite toy was this (now) empty bag from the toy store. Originally, it held her new stuffed animal. Clearly, she would have been just as happy with only a new bag from the store.
Although it was fun to peek inside of it.William got some more practice in on his bike. He was very excited when Grandpa got his bike out to ride too!

Thursday we got to spend some time with Grandpa Heidt in the morning. We read books, played and walked to a small neighborhood park together. After lunch and a nap, the kids were delighted to find this had pulled up in front of Grandma's house:

It didn't stay for long, but both kids were very VERY impressed.

Shortly after the digger drove away, Cana came over again to play in the sprinkler.

These two girls are SO cute!

We squeezed in dinner with Aunt Kaye and then more riding bikes again. No pictures of this - we were having so much fun!

On Friday, we went out to a little zoo/nature center called Oxbow Park with Grandpa Heidt. The kids really enjoyed looking at the animals and running around.

Amelia got bonus points for wearing her "I love Grandpa" shirt. The stroller is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Amelia is really only interested in riding in it if it is moving. If it stops for more than 15 seconds, she is wiggling out of the straps, standing up, and crawling out. Most of the time I don't even bother with it anymore as I usually end up having to carry Amelia AND push the stroller.Amelia and Grandpa at the zoo

Amelia and William check out the turkeys together. After the zoo, Grandpa treated us to lunch before I took the kids home for their naps.

After the naps, it was time to tire out the kiddos. William had been riding his bike and Amelia was riding on this toy when they had a better idea. This entertained them (and me) for a VERY long time.

The highlight of Friday was Daddy returning to Grandpa and Grandma's house! The kids were pretty excited to see him again. They were also excited when Aunt Megan rolled in for dinner.

A little Saturday morning yoga to wake up - notice William behind the brightly colored pants.

Saturday afternoon we ran through the sprinkler again - this time Megan joined the kids in the water! What a great Auntie!
Amelia liked the coke can better than the sprinkler.

After the sprinkler, William helped shuck the corn. I walked up to take his picture (wearing his 4th of July outfit again) and the following conversation took place:
William:Look Mama! I'm corning!
Mama: Wow! You are a great helper!
W: I am a GREAT corn-er!
Mama: (tries to hide laughter): Yes, yes you are sweetie!

Where did William go?

There he is! Our first success with hide n go seek (unprompted)

The most exciting event (and the reason we stayed for so long in Minnesota) was the arrival of my aunt/uncle from Massachusetts. We don't get to see them every year, so we always try to make it work when they are in town. We've been pretty lucky the last few years!

Amelia is much happier to see Bobby this year!
She showed him the flowersWilliam showed off his biking skills

Aunt Megan was there to make sure Amelia didn't injure herself on the huge bike she insisted on riding. ( I know you are thinking "Kelly, she is a BABY. Just tell her no or take it away." I say to you: You don't have any idea how DETERMINED this girl is. I'm already choosing my battles.)Game night Saturday night! Hurray!

Late Sunday morning we got back on the road to come home again. It was a LONG trip, but so much fun! Thanks for putting up with us for so long Grandpa and Grandma!

*Technically I am not running until my heels are better. They are not better. However, this would be an instance where I would run without thinking twice. There are just some occasions that do not get a do over in life. Running with your 3 year old? That would be one of them.

Fireworks

Here is What I did on my Summer Vacation Part III: Rochester Again

In the great summer vacation plan, John needed to go back to work. Because we came back from Fargo a day early, John didn't need to drive close to twelve hours in one day. Twelve hours isn't too bad, but when you've spent the night in a hotel without a good night's rest...well...that isn't a good idea.

John noticed this freezer case in our hotel. Really cold please.

Tip #4323: If you are eating in front of my kids, you will have to share. Even if I just fed them their body weight in oatmeal. They still have room for a little more AND will complain when their sister gets more bites. They will stand in front of you with their mouths open like little birds until you insert your food in their mouth. Plan accordingly.Tip #3453: My kids like potatoes. They fit in little hands very well and are stored at eye level and Nana's house. You just don't know where you are going to find them later.

No fireworks yet again for us on the 4th of July. My top ten "Summer ToDo List 2010" is going to be tricky to complete. Grandpa Kevin and I took William down to the Rochester fireworks (John was back in STL for work the next day). I wasn't sure how well he was going to do, so we picked an area with easy exit access. It wasn't the best viewing, but William didn't know any different and THAT is what this was all about. I didn't think he really understood what we were doing until he reminded me he saw fireworks last year at Kyle's house (our neighbors). Which was exactly right. Last year I scooped him out of bed and ran him to the neighbors house to catch the end of the fireworks when I realized he was still awake. I couldn't believe he remembered that.

William was SO excited about going. It was pretty special to be up late AND have Grandpa and Mama all to himself. While we were driving to the fireworks, William had only good things to say. He complimented the fence around a house. He told us how much he loved the van, his carseat and fireworks. Finally he sighed and said "This is my BEST favorite day ever. I am happy." And that my friends, that made me happy.
We got there early so make sure we got a good parking space. William was pretty well behaved while waiting. Out of all the stuff I brought with to entertain him, he enjoyed the people watching the most.
Sitting with Grandpa and drinking his "diet Coke" (sprite). He calls everything in a can diet coke.

Finally!!! The fireworks! The face says it all: he loved it! He talked about it nonstop during the fireworks until Grandpa nicely told him to just watch, not talk. He then proceeded to talk about it most of the way home. One moment he was talking and two seconds later he was sound asleep in his carseat. So sound asleep he didn't wake up when I unbuckled him or carried him into the house. So sound asleep he fell down on the rug when I tried to take off his shoes and coat. So sound asleep he didn't wake up after falling onto the hard ground. He just stayed sleeping curled up into a little ball. On the rug in the entryway. He finally woke up a little when I tried to get pajamas over his limp noodley body enough to tell me he "loves fireworks and wants to see them again tomorrow". I told him we'd have to talk about it tomorrow. I'll fight that battle in the morning.

Grand Forks/ Fargo Aurit Family Reunion

Oh boy, this is going to be a long one. With a LOT of pictures. We have been BUSY.

On Wednesday (6/30), we drove to Grand Forks, ND to visit my grandparents. It is a pretty special thing to have four great grandparents - so we try to get to see them whenever we can. The kids were great in the car, although I was hoping for more sleeping time than they gave me.

Grandpa and Grandma were able to come with us and Uncle Mike met us there - LOTS of family together is one of my personal favorite things.
Amelia in one of her 5 fourth of July outfits. This one is particularly fitting as the caption on the front says "Ms Independent". So true of our little miss. She was so happy to be out of the car finally.

Amelia LOVED my grandma's dog, Barney. She was fascinated with him and always made sure to look for him whenever we drove up to the house.William was THRILLED about seeing Uncle Mike again. Right away he asked when we were going to the hotel pool to swim (the last time we saw Mike was at a hotel with a pool).
Mia and her grandpa. She is totally in love with grandpa. While we were visiting this time, she started saying grandpa (Boppa). She never, ever said it in a normal voice - it was either in a high pitch squeal or yelled at the top of her lungs. Here they are playing "So Big", although Amelia doesn't wait anymore for Grandpa to ask how big she is. As soon as he picks her up, she reaches her arms up over her head and looks at him, prompting him to ask the question...because after he asks how big she is, he tickles her belly.
We are so lucky to have the great grandparents in the same town. It usually works out for us all go out together as a big group for dinner at least once. More hands=AWESOME.After dinner on Wednesday, we stopped at a park to play. The diggers were a big hit with the boys of all ages.

The big kid playsGrandpa gets in on the fun too (the biggest kid?)
Grandma and Amelia liked this car - while we were in Grand Forks, Amelia started saying Grandma (Nana). Great Grandma Nona was the first to catch on - I was sure she was talking about the bananas on the counter (nanas). However, I will admit I was proved wrong later in the day when there weren't any bananas in sight!

Let me tell you - playground equipment has come a LONG way! I am enjoying testing out all the new stuff!
This was COOL in a sciency way. Depending on how to moved your body weight, the toy would spin. It could get going pretty fast!Mike reads to William AKA Big GuyGreat Grandma Gerry put together treasure chests for the kids. Every morning when we came to visit, the treasure chest had different, child friendly items in it to play with. The kids LOVED to come in and find out what special treasure was waiting for them. This was Amelia's special chest. Another treasure chest - with stuffed animals!Amelia has developed a love for purses - consider yourself warned. She has no problem walking off with one that isn't hers.

Amelia and Nana enjoying some chips and salsa at La Capana (for the record - William at this age drank the salsa out of the cup. Amelia wasn't a huge fan.)

Mike was lucky enough to sit by William...until William wiped his hands on Mike's shirt (I admit, I laughed)

Playing SO BIG with Uncle Mike = not as good as Grandpa. She gave up on him pretty quickly.

William got a lot of truck playing in with Grandma's trains/trucksSometimes the only way to make this little girl happy is to let her sit in her high chair. She is SO clingy when she knows food is being prepared. It doesn't matter how many snacks she has had or how many distracting activities we come up with. Here she knew we were making dinner, but the booster seat wasn't even installed yet. But, she was happiest parked right here in her chair on the floor.

At some point, the kids decided to play beauty parlor. With wooden utensils (meat mallet, wooden spoons, etc). Nana was the only taker customer wise.
Uncle Mike helps Amelia with the monkey bars
Out for a family fire truck ride...(enlarge this photo to check out John, you won't be sorry...)This is a park I've been going to with my family since I was really little (my grandparents live in the same house across the street). It is so special to take my kids there and make new memories!
One of our goals on this "vacation" was to really work with William on riding his big bike. He really needed some time to develop his confidence - he is very capable, just lacks the confidence. We rode to the park every morning after breakfast to blow off some steam. As an added bonus, you have to work pretty hard to find a hill bigger than a curb. It really is the perfect place to practice.
Amelia loved playing with the diggers too...she just needed some help to make it work. She would work her way over to the toy and then scream until someone came to help her. That's my girl, right?

Stretch!
Treasure chest fun: stickers!Grandpa Tom was VERY beautiful by the time the kids were done with him - Amelia was looking pretty good too (in background)
On Saturday afternoon it was time to move on to our North Dakota Adventure Part II: Fargo. John's family had planned a reunion, so we packed our bags for another (1 hour) car trip to catch up with John's family. Saturday evening was filled with playing at a park, eating pizza with John's huge extended family and finally a swim in the hotel swimming pool! This was the first time we stayed in a hotel with two kids. Bedtime was a little tricky with getting both kids to sleep in the same space. See their happy faces eating breakfast in our hotel room the next morning?

Before the reunion started, we had lots of time. We took another dip in the pool, ran some errands and even swung by Concordia College in Moorhead, MN (2 minutes away) where I spent my freshman year of college. William joined me for a short walk through campus - although he had a hard time wrapping his brain around "Mama's school".
Place of personal importance: where I started seriously running my freshman year of college: the Olson Forum (can you use two semi colons in a sentence? I'm sure I just broke some rules). Sadly, all the doors were locked because it was a holiday and I didn't get any pictures of the inside of buildings. The reunion/picnic was held at a park in Fargo on the 4th of July. While visiting with the Des Moines Heidts over Memorial Day, my sister in law and I cooked up some patriotic T shirts for the kids to wear. All the Heidt cousins are wearing home crafted T shirts. We also made the little boys matching hats and the girls matching hair clips. You can see here William is a little jealous of all the attention the little boy in the middle was getting about his shirt being up. After he noticed, he wouldn't leave his shirt down either.
The Heidt cousins + a few extras. I wasn't able to get just one of the Heidt kids - we kept picking up extra kids :) (L-R) Alex, Elena, ?, Emerson, Audra, Logan, Ben, Amelia, Becca, ?, Mikey, William.
Amelia decides this photo session is OVER. Her shirt was the most time consuming!
Our family

The reunion was put together by John's aunt/uncle team: Bud & TerriHere is where I spent most of my time: at the playground chasing kids.
And this picture just makes me laugh. One of the kids managed to get a ball stuck up high in a tree branch. You would NOT believe the number of people and the amount of time it took to get this ball down.

We had planned on staying the night again in Fargo in order to spend more time with the family we so rarely get to see. We were looking forward to a 4th of July parade and hopefully some fireworks with the big boy. However, as the afternoon went on, many people hit the road to go home. We left the picnic to after Amelia came completely unglued so she could nap at the hotel. In the fifteen minutes it took us to get back to the hotel, we made some quick decisions and decided to hit the road as well. Even though we prepaid our room (lesson learned, not doing that again), we decided it would be better for everyone to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house a day early. We would be able to catch the fireworks with family, visit with Uncle Mike, and spread the kids out a little more for some better sleep at night. All good things. So instead of putting Amelia down for a nap, I ran around like a crazy woman and packed up our room and checked us out of the hotel in less than 12 minutes. I rock.

Lucky for us, Grandma and Grandpa were excited about our plans when we called them from the road :) Too late to turn back! Unluckily, when we were about 45 minutes out from Rochester, my mom called to let us know the Rochester fireworks were canceled due to bad weather moving into the area. Can you believe our luck? First the parade and then the fireworks! At least the fireworks had a reschedule date.