Zoo Clues

What a wonderful day we have had! Will headed to Ms. Cheryl's so that Max and I could attend a special class I signed him up for at the zoo. The class was called Zoo Clues and it was all about energy and food chains, which by the way is a Missouri GLE that I have to teach to my kiddos. Maybe Max can come in as a speical expert.

The teacher started out talking about how all energy comes from the sun. The kids then got to wander around and put four food chain links in the right order. Max was so determiend to get those little stickers up all by himself.

We also explored different skulls and teeth while we talked about animals that eat meat and animals eat plants. When we talked about how the bear eats both, Max was quick to remind me of our bear hunt on our vacation.

We were also able to meet several stars of the food chains we learned about - crickets, a toad, and even a snake! Max was so brave and had no qualms about touching the animals.

After a little bit we headed out to find clues to solve a food chain mystery. The kids had to record their clues in the super special little notebooks. Max was so excited when he spotted one of the signs with a clue. The answer to our mystery was an owl and the owl even came out to visit the kids. Max said he was very soft.

After class we met Nonna for lunch. By the end of the day Max was exhaused and ready for a little brotherly love, a shared bowl of Cheez Its, a cup of milk and a bit of Sesame Street. I love these boys more than they will ever possibly know!

What do we do all day?

I find myself wondering this on a daily basis. Our summer seems to be slipping by at an alarmingly quick rate and I just don't know where the time is going.

The other day I went to buy Will his first real pair of shoes. We had tried an old pair of Max's but they just didn't seem to be quite right. Will isn't too sure about his shoes yet. He likes to undo the velcro. I love this little picture of him checking out his shoes. It is just total Will - wild hair and all. I also love that his cute little belly button is hanging out.

It was crazy hot yesterday and I think the rest of the week is going to be more of the same. We took advantage of the cooler morning weather and played outside after breakfast. Will wants to do anything big brother does - which keeps mommy on her toes.

He had a great time on the glider. He needed a bit of help getting on but was able to balance all on his own and he got a huge kick out of it.

He had a great time sliding too, but he made me a nervous wreck. He kept wanting to climb up the slide. He would get about a foot up then fall back. He just giggled and giggled!

Poor Will has been battleing some type of virus and he is working on his molars. It was nice to see him smile and giggle so much this morning.

Max was in pretend mode like most days. He found a stick that he decided was a sharp knife. Then he pretended to be a cook and he served me up a delicious looking dinner of dirt and a side of leaves. Yum.

Max is all excited because on Wednesday we head to the zoo for a class. It is called zoo clues and apparently we get a little notebook and go around the zoo looking for clues to solve some type of animal mystery. I think it is based on Blue's Clues - too bad Max has no idea what that is. It should be a fun time.

Yearly Stats

I was going through some paperwork this morning and I found the sheets from the boys' yearly check ups. While this may not make very interesting reading for my few, but faithful, followers I do want to list their stats so that I have them later. Sometimes I wonder why this seems so improtant, but it does. . .

Max - 4 Year Stats

• Weight - 39 pounds 8 ounces - 80th percentile
• Height - 42 3/4 inches - above the 95th percentile

Will - 1 Year Stats

• Weight - 20 pounds 3 ounces - 15th percentile
• Height - 30 1/2 inches - 70th percentile

My little men continue to be long and lean. I was glad that Will was back on his growth curve and didn't dip down again like at nine months. I think we are over the hump and hopefully his weight will continue to creep up.

My Little Gigglebox

I'm feeling a bit sad that I didn't get more pictures of Will on our vacation. He spent a big part of the vacation in the Ergo and it isn't always the most conducive to taking pictures. Will was also feeling a bit under the weather. In fact, our first stop after dropping off Nonna Carlotta was urgent care. Will had a double ear infection. After four days of antibiotics he is back to his happy little self.

He loves the cat and has been chasing Chewy all over the house. Once he catches Chewy he just laughs and laughs. He just can't get enough kitty snuggles.

This afternoon we celebrated the beautiful weather with a trip to the park. Will is beginning to really enjoy the playground. He loved crawling through the tunnel and peeking out to giggle at me. The problem is that it is near impossible to keep an eye on both kids by myself. The boys did sit together long enough to get a picture - I swear it is impossible to get a decent picture of the boys together! Unfortunately right after this picture Will fell over and got a mouthful of dirt. It won't hurt him too much,

right?

The Great Smoky Mountain Vacation

What an amazing way to begin our summer! Last Sunday Brian and I loaded up the car, picked up Nonna Carlotta from work and hit the road for our big summer vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains. The kids were troopers in the car - although if we heard the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song one more time I'm not sure the DVD player would have survived for the return trip.

We rented a beautiful cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee right on the edge of the park. We were way up at the top of a mountain and Max loved all the sharp turns we took to reach the cabin - Nonna laid down in the back seat until we safely reached our destination. The traditional log cabin was perfect for our adventure and we made ourselves right at home.

Much of our time was spent in the National Park. Gatlinburg is crazy busy, but very quaint at the same time. The park couldn't have been more different. On our first full day we packed a lunch and headed out to hike Laural Falls. The loop was apparently 2.5 miles and we thought Max could muster it, but with a very steep edge - and a pretty narrow path - we decided to end on a high note and turn around about halfway up.

Nonna and Max explored the trees and looked at all the amazing things growing all around them. It amazes me just how much Max loves nature.

We stopped for lunch at one of the picnic areas set up in the park. Max even found a lightning bug to join us for lunch. The picnic area was right next to the stream and Max couldn't wait to play in the water, but it was chilly!

After lunch we headed back on the road in the to Cade's Cove. We joked all morning that we were going on a bear hunt in the park and sure enough as we encountered a black bear on our drive. Nonna Carlotta was the first to stop it and we couldn't believe how close the bear was to us. It walked right by the car in front of us! Thank goodness we were in the car - I felt like I could enjoy our bear sighting without fear of being attacked.

The stops along the Cade's Cove route were beautiful! We got a couple good shots while Will slept in the car.

We stopped at the old mill to check things out. Max was intrigued by the water running to the mill and was determined to find out where the water was coming from. Luckily the source of the water wasn't too far upstream. He was all excited to show Nonna how it worked. At one point he put a leaf in the water and followed it all the way to the mill. It was pretty funny.

We spent one day in Gatlinburg. There are like 20 different Ripley's exhibits along the main strip of town. While I'm not to excited to show many of them to my children, I was excited to visit the aquarium. The shark tunnel was amazing - a people mover moves you a long a tunnel while you watch the sharks. We got there just in time for the divers to enter the tank and it was pretty amazing. Max was more excited about the more interactive exhibits. If there was a button, he was pushing it. But I think his favorite part of the whole thing was that we took a bus into town and back.

We spent one day in Ashville, North Carolina visiting the Biltmore. Brian can tell you all about the Vanderbilts - they even have a link to Anderson Cooper. Nonna was just excited because she had seen their summer home in Rhode Island. Max and Will were good sports and held it together for the most part. The house really was incredible, especially when you think that it was build in the 1800's. Crazy.

We headed into Pigeon Forge one night to see what it had to offer. Not really too much. Max was all excited to ride in a go cart with daddy - that is until daddy started driving around the track. He lasted one lap and he was all done. These little trucks were much more his speed.

One more day in the park to round out our vacation. The scenery was incredible. Clingman's Dome is the highest point in the park and that was our goal. We made the drive, but didn't quite think Max could survive the steep mile hike to the top. We were high enough. The view was pretty amazing - even though the boys didn't want to cooperate with our picture taking attempts.

I'm embarrassed to admit that we ended our trip with a visit to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. I'm even more embarrassed to admit just how much I loved it! The boys were both enthralled in the show. Will stood on my lap and clapped through the whole thing. It was adorable to watch them enjoy it so much.

All in all a fabulous family vacation. I'm so fortunate that we are able to take our kiddos on fun family trips. I'm even more lucky that Nonna was able to join us.