I Do Love Playdates

Especially with good friends like Tara and Lucas.  They drove to our house on Monday to make a stop on their way to their summer stay at Papa Steve's in New York.  We had a nice dinner of blender salsa, Greek pasta salad, and Tuscan chicken kabobs. I guess I was feeling multicultural while planning the meal. Of course all the while we are watching the kids play.  Lucas is still very much into trains and wanted to play down stairs. Which is fine other than we wanted to be upstairs.  We brought a basket of tracks and trains to the living room and that worked out really well for the whole visit.  The boys were in and then they were out and in again.  We tried to have an adult beverage on the deck but the call of the pool was strong.  Around 8:45 we went swimming.  It was not really very dark when we went in but the flash of on the camera made the back ground appear dark.  It was dark when we got out about 45 minutes later though.  I brought out our LED balls for some night time fun.  We have not had them in the pool since last year when Molly was over and we went for a swim.  

Lucas jumped in, climbed out and jumped in again, and over and over.  He was really good about going under the water when he jumped, much more that Baylor does  

Baylor was funny showing Tara his swimming skills.  And he took several jumps himself.  

Two happy boys!  

Lucas is a good sleeper and went to bed in the guest room while Baylor crashed on the couch with us.  Tara and I talked a while watching TV and going through a bin of size four clothes.  We stayed up much later than I usually do but it was a very nice visit.  

Tuesday morning started nice and slow.  The coffee was really good and Baylor requested cinnamon roll pancakes which Tara enjoyed.  We eventually all were dressed and ready to head out to Columbia to visit the Turkey Hill Experience. It opened a few years ago and I have always wanted to go.  When Tara suggested it I was totally game for it. 

The boys were too on the go for us to be able to read much of anything. But we made them sit long enough for photos when we could.  

The first area had an old milk delivery truck to play with. The horn worked and the pedals made noises.  One mooed!  

The two cows had gutters (as Baylor calls them now). You could milk them and water came out.  It was pretty weird because they did not just fill up right away but I supposed filled slowly rather like a real cow gutter.  

Tara took to the gutters like a milking pro.  I never did ask where she learned her technique but I will have to remember to some day.

The tea room had push and smell boxes.  The were not tall enough for strong enough to push and then smell but they did like the push part.  We came and went in here when we were thirsty because you can sample any of their teas, lemonades and drinks they offer.  I am going to make a suggestion that they get pour spouts for the pourers.  She had to select from the cooler, uncap, pour, recap, put away over and over again. And he had her right hand in a cast!  

The tea room had a little sitting nook with a movie loop on the history of tea. It was a nice place to rest while enjoying their wild berry cooler. 

I am not sure when Baylor put his hand on Lucas' mouth but it made me laugh. 

We found the ice cream tasting rather quickly.  Baylor's first choice was raspberry chocolate chip and I choose Whoopie pie.  Both were delicious.  Baylor's second choice was coconut and that proved to be his favorite.  I tried the chocolate peanut butter and Birthday cake.  Tara had coffee for one of her selections and I tried that also.  The tastes were not tiny little scoops either! 

And then they found the ball pit.  They were in there as often as we would let them. And most of the time they were the only two in there. Most parents hustled their kids out quickly to move on.  Since we had time to kill before our 'Experience" we were OK with them playing. The pit itself was to demonstrate homogenization   The pit was in the area where you can create your own ice cream flavor on a big touch screens and have it emailed to yourself.  There was a stamp and smell station that you pressed an embosser that also dabbed a scent oil on the paper.  They were flavoring oils like almond, peach, and mint.  We took turns staying with the kids so one of us could wander around.  

Baylor picked a tie dye shirt and was almost camouflaged in the pit. 

Eventually we went through the tunnel to see how milk is pasteurized and then mixed in a huge vat with paddles to make chocolate milk that does not separate.  

The blades were up in a silo like space and a turn wheel was at the base.  The fast the wheel turned, the faster the blades turned.  It was very breezy once they got going.  

One side of the silo had a tube slide which is another little boy bit of heaven.  

We found the paper hats and Baylor sported it for a time, until we went back to the ball pit at least. 

While wandering around we took some photos. 

Some more tea

Where Baylor was making the clouds rain with his fingers.  

And some more coconut ice cream. 

At 1:30 we went into the secret room for the 'Experience'. We waited in line to wash our hands before finding some seats. 

The mix in wall had a lot of choices. 

Each station had flavor oils and swirl ingredients.  

Lucas was at his limit and took a nice break watching Thomas on the phone.  

We were all given a container with some soft vanilla ice cream and the goal was to recreate the flavor you made out on the virtual screens or create a new one.  Baylor added chocolate and apple oils and I chose chocolate and coffee. 

And then we stirred them in.  Baylor was nearing his end also so most of the stirring was done my me! 

And then we went up for something to mix in.  Baylor choose sprinkles and I had toffee chips and chocolate chips.  Then we added swirl stuff.  Baylor choose strawberry and marshmallow and I did fudge. They they took the containers, with our names on them, and put them in a freezer for 10 minutes while they talked to us to kill time. 

Our hostess and ice cream guide.  Once we were given our ice cream we could leave to enjoy our creation.  

We decided we were done and made our way out.  Baylor wanted his photo take in the ice cream container.  I was taking the photo and turned to put the camera away when a woman told me she thought he was crying.  When I was taking the photo from across the room I did not notice he was holding his mouth not to be silly but because he hit his chin our mouth getting in there.  

Well that was the end of him.  I pulled him out of there and carrier him to the elevator.  There was no way I could carry him down the stairs.  We made a bathroom break and when I said he could get a stuffed cow, the tears stopped rather suddenly.  He does love his friends and finds great comfort in them.  We piled in the car and headed home, full of ice cream and good memories!  Tara and Lucas headed out as soon as the car was packed headed for NY.  I hope next year we can make it a longer visit!  

My Sonshine

Last week I found this on the back of Baylor's leg.  I am not sure how long he had it because I thought it was just a bug bite that he was scratching at.  I bought calamine lotion finally, saw it and panicked.  I put the photo of Facebook and everyone agreed I needed to have it looked at. I got an appointment in the afternoon.  Baylor was his usual happy self and chatty with the nurse, the resident and the Dr.  By the afternoon the mark was not quite as red (and he said after a bath they get more red anyway) so we showed him this picture.  He said it would be too early to test for the Lyme antibodies but since it is presenting like Lyme, we would treat it like Lyme.  He is on antibiotics for four weeks and he should not have any further issues.  

While we were waiting for the prescription to be ready we stopped at Maggie's for a frozen custard.  He picked a small chocolate cone this time.

And he made duck faces for me.  

Last weekend we stayed at home again (shocking for me who likes to run around) and after some grocery shopping Saturday morning we headed to the neighbor's for Vanessa's sixth birthday party.  Mandy had told us after her first party that we have an open invitation to her birthday because of us being there when she was born. Which is sweet but I know there will be a day when she may not want a little boy over there.  But not this year because they did the carnival theme again.  We had light rain all morning but it cleared up and the sun even made an appearance for the first time in a few days.  

My sonshine in the sunshine. 

And the birthday girl. The glasses were in the prize box and were a hit with the older kids.  With Baylor, not so much.  He picked other prizes erasers, bracelet, bouncy ball, chinese yoyo, and frisbee. 

They had the games under one tent this year (because of the chance of rain).  All the kids took a chance and then ran to pick a prize.  

Baylor did really well participating with everyone this year. He did really well in the egg race and while he dropped it a few times, most of the other kids did as well. 

Goofy face.

Kathy was a hit with the kids by playing squeeze the lemon on the slide.  She was a good lemon several times!  

The Brown's have a nice play swing set and play set and whenever there was a break in the games the kids bolted over to play.  

After a beverage break they had the gunny sack race.  

By the end Baylor had nearly jumped his way out of the sack and was waddling to switch to the next person on his team.  He was a great sport the whole time!  

The yoyo was a prize in the duck in the pond game.  All the kids loved them.  I remember getting these at the North Dakota State Fair as a kids.  They were really thick and could yoyo out about five or six feet.  They were awesome until they would eventually bend and be rendered useless. But so much fun until then. 

After all the games it was time for cupcakes and gifts.  

The sisters are very close and Vanessa wanted her sister to help her with the candles.  

She had a nice group of kids and received very nice gifts.  But as things were winding down the call of our yard was strong and Baylor wandered off.  

I made him a rope swing and it proved to be a good decision.   I found a nice safe rope at the hardware store, 25 feet for $10.00.  I twisted in on itself to make a 12.5' rope and then threw it over a sturdy branch.  I then twisted again so it was four ropes thick and easy to hold on to.  I made a nice big knot at the bottom and it only took a few swings before he had the hang of it  

We went to Maggie's for ice cream Saturday evening and sat at one of the tables in the back.  A family had their whippet with them who had a dog dish of ice cream.  Baylor declared him a really fluffy dog.  

Sunday we harvested our first beans and cucumbers.  We love cucumbers and they did not last long.  

We made fudgesicles together and they were delicious.  

And messy.  

Friday when I was picking up the rope I also picked up some sand.  We had emptied it last fall and kept forgetting to buy more.  In a Pinterest moment, I had picked up a large container of cinnamon to help keep out insects.  It may or may not work but when he plays they yard smells like a sticker noodle muffin. 

And while shopping we picked up a coconut.  Baylor has been asking if we could buy one for a long time.  He thought there would be a coconut milk inside.  We had fun cracking the coconut ourselves since we did not have any coconut crabs near by to help us out.  

While it was not the milk he was looking for he did enjoy drinking the coconut water.  

And then we bashed and hammered away. 

Eventually we cracked the coconut.  He even tasted the coconut and loved it.  

I worked for a long time to scrape out the shells.  One he broke right off and the other he said is his drum.  He really enjoyed the process and the end results! 

We had another good weekend!  

Time for a Swim Chief

Saturday Mom and Dad came back for a swim.  Mom was in the pool once last year and Dad never got in.   I had to lay some ground rules with Buddy because he can be a bit rough sometimes.  And while he pished when I told him there was no throwing Baylor, no dunking him, and at Baylor's request no squirting in the face (which was a problem two years ago in the blow up pool), Buddy followed the rules. And because of that, everyone had a good time.  Baylor did squirt Dad in the face and Dad warned him first instead of reacting.  

Mom has not been feeling well but she was called by the water and joined us.  

Baylor still takes comfort in his floaty vest and loves to jump off the ladder. 

Does that smile ever some off that beautiful face?  

After six months of waiting, they finally adopted another dog.  He is a rescue dog that was found roaming in Y.ork a few months ago.  They named him Chief Yorkie York.  Mom and I were not fond of the name but Dad and Baylor liked it so I think they are keeping it.  He was a mess when he was found: he had to be shaved down, all but two teeth were pulled, he has a dry eye that will need medicated everyday, one of his legs healed weird after a fracture so he walks funny, he is not entirely housebroken, and I am sure there are a few things I am missing.  In other words, he is perfect for my day who feels his mission is to rescue old Yorkies that need homes in their elder years.  

They are still getting to know him and he seems like a nice little dog.  I know he will get all the love and attention he could want from them.