Vacation #2: Time for a Little Texas Education

Jack - Happy to be at the Alamo...can't you tell?

The gang hanging out at the Alamo - this picture is somewhat deceiving in that we didn't tour the Alamo but thought a trip to San Antonio wouldn't be complete without pictures at this historic landmark.

Picture time on the Riverwalk. Jack loved the water and wanted to bend over and touch it. We had to keep close tabs on him because there are no railings!

We were planning one final family vacation before school started and decided it might be more fun if we invited some friends along. So, our friends Brad & Sarah and Shane & Sylvia joined us for some fun in San Antonio. We didn't do anything monumental but we did have a fun time hanging out. Makes the reality of returning to work even worse!

Vacation #1: Trip to Papaw & Nana's House

Before summer officially comes to an end, we were able to spend some quality time with Nathan's folks in Pennsylvania. Jack had such a great time.

Jack riding one of Nathan's old toys.

We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo which was actually really impressive. We went fairly early in the day so the animals were still pretty active, too. Jack loved the elephants and the aquarium.

Another fun stop was the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. I thought it might be a bit over Jack's head - but they actually had several things that he really was into such as...

a Clifford exhibit (he loves any kind of dog)...

and Mister Roger's neighborhood...

but we might have actually enjoyed that exhibit more than he did.

Someone Found My Lipstick

So, I left my purse with a tube of lipstick within reach of my son and found him like this a few minutes later. Nathan likes to wear my lipstick, too, so I guess he takes after his father.

Cooking with Jack

Jack and I made brownies the other night. As you can tell from the pictures, he had a hard time waiting until they were cooked before tasting them. But, hey, that's the best part, right? (Note: The apron he was wearing is one that I wore when I was a little girl. Found it in a box of goodies my parents brought to us when they moved. I thought it was pretty neat.)

Love My Animals

Lately Jack has really had a fondness towards his stuffed animals. It's a new thing for him. Before he really didn't pay much attention to them because they don't make noise or light up or anything exciting like that...but his imagination is starting to kick in and it's fun to watch him take care of his "babies". Recently he has been setting up a "bedroom" for them in the corner of our guestroom complete with pillows and blankets and he will spend quite a bit of time rocking them to sleep and tucking them into bed.

A few nights ago I was starting his bath water and I went to get his pajamas laid out in his room. When I went back to turn the water off, I noticed his stuffed turtle was floating in the tub. I peeked my head out in the hallway to call for Nathan to come and look and when I did Jack came barreling around the corner with his arms full of the rest of his stuffed animals. They were all headed for the bathtub! Needless to say, Nathan and I were able to keep a few of them from drowning.