Branson Vacation - Part 2

On the 4th, we took the Branson Scenic Railway tour on a REAL train. Jonathan was ecstatic! It was a 40-mile trip through the Ozark foothills and at the turn-around point we were in NW Arkansas. We went through tunnels and over trestles and had a little lunch on the train. We were able to walk through the train and each car had a different style of seating.

Hannah and Andrew checking out the scenery.

These pictures are out of order, but I'm too lazy to fix it. This was taken at the end of the ride. It was about an hour too long for Hannah and she was ready to do something else!

Andrew trying on Daddy's sunglasses to kill time.

Sorry the picture is dark, but this was our excited train boy!

Andrew wanted to take some pictures. This was right after we got on the train and before the a/c kicked in to cool us all off!

Our view of the inside of one of the two tunnels we went through.

Going over a trestle - you can see the engine as we rounded the curve.

This was the view at the turn-around point. Our tour guide said this was his favorite spot in the fall and I'm sure it is quite breath-taking when the leaves are changing colors.

Family photos with our train engine

This may or may not have been the boys' favorite part of vacation - excessive screen time.

The train station was honoring military members and veterans on the Fourth and so Keith and I received half-price tickets! Mom and Dad offered to watch the kiddos in the afternoon so Keith and I could check out the outlets. We shopped fast and hard and came home with some great bargains. We laughed that we couldn't remember the last time that we had gone shopping together without children. It was such a treat!

On Thursday, our last day in town, Grandma and Grandpa thought we needed to take in a Branson show. So we went to see Grand Country's Amazing Pets. I was not very excited about the show, but it was great for the kids, and they loved the magic show and the dog and cat tricks. Since we've been home, Andrew said he now believes in magic. We asked him why, and he said, "Magic is the only way they could've gotten those cats to do those tricks!"

In the afternoon, the boys went swimming again and Hannah and I took a LONG nap. She and I were up half the night. Poor girl started a fever and didn't sleep well. It wasn't until we got home that I figured out what was wrong with her - Hand, Foot and Mouth virus. So fun. NOT. Adam started it the same day she did and so we are assuming we picked it up at the family reunion. Jonathan started the virus a couple days later and then Keith got it a week later. Such a horrible virus. Blisters on the palms of their hands and bottoms of their feet and sores in their mouth, all of which appear after two days of high fever. Fortunately, Andrew and I didn't get it. I'm pretty sure Andrew had it when we lived in ND, and I must've had some version of it somewhere along the way.

We were still reeling from the effects of sickness over a week later, and I vowed we would never go on another vacation ever again. Check back next summer. I'm sure I will have forgotten the torture of sick children on vacation.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve party - Ayotte style
We were supposed to go to the Walker's for a New Year's Eve party, but were too sick. We thought Hannah had a tummy bug because she had been battling diarrhea for several days and she was starting to cough and wouldn't let me out of her sight. (Several days later, she got a new tooth, so that might have been the cause of her tummy troubles.) Keith caught Jonathan's awful cold/cough and felt like death, and Jonathan still wasn't better. The rest of us were healthy, but we decided it was better to keep our germs at home and not share and go to bed early!

The boys taking turns playing daddy's iPod, or game thing as they like to call it. Notice how Andrew is sitting so politely watching his brother. I wish I could say this is how they always share electronic toys!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 - love these shirts!!

This picture made me chuckle. If you look closely, you'll see Andrew restraining Jonathan from something. I'm sure it was a gentle reminder of the correct way to play!

Andrew explaining how to play all the little games he had set-up for us to play in the playroom. At one point, Grammy thought she knew the rules and was explaining them to Grandpa. Andrew gently stopped her and said, "Don't listen to Grammy. She just got a little carried away." Grammy was not offended, but did have to leave the room to laugh a little.

Another Andrewism that I did not happen to overhear, but Grammy later told me happened early in the morning with Andrew's Angry Bird. Remember the block towers he was building on Christmas Day for his Angry Bird to knock down? Apparently, in his mind, throwing the Angry Bird was not the best method. He needed a sling shot to accurately recreate the game, which I might add, he had played a total of one time. (There is a boy on the bus who plays Angry Birds on his iPod every morning on the way to school and lets Andrew watch him.)

Anyway, back to the story. One morning, Andrew was searching for supplies to build a sling shot for his Angry Bird. Grammy said to him, "If I were you, I wouldn't do that. You might get in trouble." And he answered, "Well, if I were me, which I am, I would try." How do you argue with that logic? Fortunately, he gave up on the sling shot idea after we threatened to take away his Angry Bird. However, he did not stop building towers with little plastic animals for us to try and knock down with his Angry Bird. Silly me. I thought he'd just attach this Angry Bird key chain to his backpack and be done with it. Next time we will discuss with Santa about proper stocking stuffers!

Christmas Morning!

Since Hannah had a hard time going to sleep on Christmas Eve, she wasn't interested in waking early to open presents. We made the boys wait for a little bit then let them open their stockings before their little heads exploded.

The best part about the stockings was their reaction. We had some disagreements in our house about Santa. Andrew didn't believe and Jonathan did. One night when Keith was reading a Christmas book to the boys about Santa, Andrew asked Keith if Santa was real. Keith answered, "Sure." and kept reading. The next page showed a picture of a tired Santa resting after a long night of delivering toys to all the boys and girls in the world. Andrew looked at the page for a second before looking at Keith and saying, "Are you crazy?!"

"Santa" moved and filled their stockings.
Jonathan looked at the stockings and said, "I knew he would come!"

One of the best presents Santa put in the stockings were electric toothbrushes, a Thomas one for Jonathan and Captain America for Andrew. Such a big hit. Who knew?!

Andrew was very excited about his Angry Bird key chain from Santa.

He quickly decided to build an Angry Bird tower.

After a few more minutes, we let them open their presents from Santa. Andrew was in awe when he saw there were several presents wrapped differently from all the others and marked from Santa. (His mother came up with this plan to confuse and intrigue him.) He whispered in awe, "He really is real!" To which I would've laughed, but I was suffering from severe laryngitis and couldn't make any noise.

Santa brought them little tents and a light-up moon.

When Hannah finally woke up, the unwrapping began. New matching T-shirts for the boys and a dress for Hannah.

The boys each picked out a present for each other. Jonathan picked out little Legos for Andrew, and Andrew chose a Chuggington train for Jonathan.

A Little Einstein laptop for Jonathan

An ISpy Leapster game for Andrew

A Little People house for Hannah

A Lego race game for Andrew

Keith got a new remote-control helicopter.
Hannah had started to open this present, and I quickly took it from her before Keith could see what it was. But I wasn't quick enough to avoid the watchful eyes of the boys. I had Keith open it last and the boys came running back into the room right before he opened it and asked if he had opened the helicopter yet. Surprise gift ruined. Oh, well.

the aftermath

Jonathan playing with his new GeoTrax zoo.

Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful. This was the first time in our 10 years of marriage that we had no place we had to be on Christmas day, and we just relaxed and enjoyed it. I woke up with no voice and it didn't get better as the day went on. I could literally only whisper, but otherwise I felt fine. The interesting part of not having a voice was that I sort of became invisible to my children. In their minds, if mommy can't talk, then she obviously can't hear us either and daddy will solve all our issues. This gave me more time to read a book on my new Kindle! This was literally the quietest Christmas we have ever experienced, but it was perfect!

Drama, Drama, Drama

Hannah has started a new bad habit - pouting and throwing a small fit. It's actually quite comical and completely ridiculous. She usually starts out in the A-frame position - feet and head on the floor.

This episode was especially dramatic and required her face to be hidden.

After her little fit, she flops over and lays on the floor with a little smirk. This will only be allowed for so long and then it won't be so funny for anyone anymore! But for now it's funny and I needed to catch it on film. I can't even remember what she wanted this time. I think it might have been my camera.

The beginning of a fit.

And a non-smiling girl for once. Nap time for sure!

I think Hannah may have learned some of her drama skills from her big brother:

Andrew: "I am never, ever going outside again! I'm like a bear. I'm hibernating. I can't go outside. I hate shoes! I quit socks!"

And I could go on and on with the ridiculous comments I heard when I told him to go play outside on a beautiful day. Obviously some children in my house believe that playing outside is a new form of punishment. *sigh* And after about 10 minutes of happy play, he came inside, fake sneezing and claiming he's allergic to grass.

Another snow day and a quote

This is what it looked like out our windows today. I'm not sure how many inches we got because the wind is strong and causing some drifting. Temperatures have been in the single digits with minus 10 and below wind chills. Needless to say, the kids and I did not leave the house today!

Hard to believe we were enjoying 70 degree weather on Friday and Saturday. The boys were so happy to play outside and now we are stuck inside for a little while. School is already cancelled for tomorrow. I see more games of Cars Go Fish in my future and maybe some cookie baking!

Andrew's quote for the day:
First let me set the stage. Boredom has set in and Andrew is going through my desk. I let him so I can have a few minutes at the computer. He finds my old, red film camera. He recognizes it is a camera and asks me to help him open it, but he can't quite figure it out. I open the back of the camera and try to explain where the film goes and that it doesn't open all the way. "Mommy, What is film?" Wow! Thanks for making me feel old kiddo!

I tried to explain film and negatives for a second and then gave up. Amazing to think that my children will never know about film and waiting to get your pictures developed to see what pictures turned out. Or never know about wishing you had taken more time to capture a moment because the first two tries were blurry. Maybe I'll try to buy some film so he can experience it just once.

Calvin & Hobbes

Can you see what my children are reading, or rather studying like an instruction manual? Yes, it is Calvin and Hobbes comic books. Does this frighten us? More than we can say. Is Andrew obsessed with these books? To say yes is an understatement.

The other day he was explaining to me how Scout, his stuffed dog, can talk to him, but sometimes can't hear very well. I thought maybe Andrew's hearing issues were manifesting themselves through Scout, so I asked if Scout has trouble hearing mommy and daddy. I was given The Look, which he has mastered at age 5 and which I'm sure I will see throughout his teenage years, and then he patiently explained that Scout is like Hobbes and is only alive when Andrew is around.

Keith and I are coming to the scary conclusion that we are raising Calvin. Perhaps we should hide the Calvin and Hobbes books for awhile...

UPDATE:

Today Andrew came home from preschool with this little pumpkin guy. They are learning about pumpkins this week and today his teacher dug out the "yucky stuff with her hand and a spoon" to show the kids the inside of a pumpkin. Anyway, as soon as Andrew ran out of the classroom with his papers, he told me his pumpkin guy was named...Calvin. Of course. What else would it be named?!