More Pics....

The ferry ride over to the island...where he promptly announced (after I had run ragged packing, and lugging, and loading, and sweating) that he wanted to go home...um...don't think so kid!
His first dip into the lake with his new Thomas swimsuit...thanks for tip about the water shoes, Pam!
The view from the waterfront at the campsite...looks like a postcard, doesn't it?
Chilly water! My little fish wanted to swim out to the boat buoys and bring them back to shore.
Step for step with his buddy, Sam, on the way to crafts at the Nature Center...

We Made It Back Alive...

and also very hot and very sweaty! We had a great time, and Lucas got to experience camping, the way real campers do it. We swam, and did crafts, and cooked over an open flame, and I buried my nose in Harry Potter and not only read the whole thing, but got to re-read the last chapter and epilogue because I was just so sad to see the whole thing coming to an end. But we promised pictures...and here they are.
It really was this pretty...except for the mosquitoes...which, I'm not gonna lie, drove me nuts...but it's all part of the experience, isn't it? I'm sure my fellow campers are happy they no longer have to hear me harping about the mosquitoes. *wink*
A view of the sunset from the campsite...breathtaking!
Splashing with his buddy on the private beach at the campsite while the sun sets!

This last photo was actually taken in the dark, but with the night vision mode on the camera, it looks like it's the middle of the day! Lucas fell fast asleep in his camp chair, clutching his drink and his baby, of course.

Serves Me Right...

Nothing stinks worse than bragging on your kid's most excellent manners...than having him walk to up to you as soon as your done and demanding that it's time to go two minutes after we get there. Aghh...he really does have excellent manners, I get compliments on them all the time from perfect strangers. It's partly my fault because I left his beloved baby doll at home (trying to ween him off taking her out of the house) and as soon as we got to there he wanted to settle in on our friend's couch and watch some toons with his baby. Grrr...other than that, we had a great day. Finally the sun is shining here and the ground is dry...'bout time!

I Can't Stop...

reading Harry Potter. I barely came up for air today, the book just sucks me in...I am so glad we're leaving for camping on Wednesday...but I'm afraid I'm going to finish way before then, and this was supposed to be my "bring it to camp" book. Argh! There's no way I'm putting it down just to save it for camp, though. Oh well.

We're off to have lunch with a friend tomorrow, who, although she has no small children in her home at this time, has an admirable array of toys. Lucas is excited, and so am I.

Ohhhhhhh....

I can not take my nose out of my new Harry Potter book! I am so excited to finally have it in my hands. And because I am one of those people, I instantly flipped to the back of the book and read the last few pages. And no, it doesn't spoil it for me. Quite the contrary...it's how I read every book. I wish I had been smart enough to call out of work tonight. All this work is getting in the way of my reading...I am counting down the seconds to my dinner break. 12hr shifts stink.

I'm Sure I'll Have a Blast...

It's almost 1am, and I am making a list. A list of all the things that I absolutely can not forget to take with us camping. Since I am the only parent of my three year son, I feel like it's my duty to do boy things with him. Surely he can not grow to be well rounded on girly things alone, right? I don't want him to be the only boy who knows every square inch of our local mall but can't catch a ball. I need to find my inner tomboy (um. yeah.) So in an effort to embrace this, I have started instituting field trip Wednesdays. So far we've hit the local fish hatchery, we've gone fishing, we've taken a ferry boat ride, we've purchased a handful of toddler appropriate sports equipment, we gone to a baseball game, and this Wednesday...we go camping. The list of things needed to take me and my one little boy camping is several pages along. Ahem. I pay hard-earned money to sleep in my own bed. That was always my reason for not camping. But that's not really staying in the I'm-raising-a-well-rounded-boy theme of this summer, so Wednesday, we camp. How am I supposed to go three days with no HGTV or MTV or SpongeBob (all are guilty pleasures for very different reasons.) I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm sneaking his Leapster and some spare batteries onto the island. I mean, let's not get crazy with the whole nature thing...I enjoy my piece and quiet, too. Wish us luck...I'm sure a million pictures will follow!

Back to Work...

Well...my days off have flown by filled with family and fun! We had a family reunion of sorts on Friday, and excepting the rain, we had a beautiful day! One cousin of mine who had never even meet Lucas came, and Lucas wowed us all with his ability to whine non-stop for several hours in a row. Yeah. Not his best foot forward by any means. And while his dear sweet Grandma and my cousin Emily insisted that it only sounded that obnoxious to me, I know that the childless cousins in the room where probably thinking my child will never act like that! Oh well. He really did have a great time, but no-nap definitely equals whiny-toddler.

He definitely had a blast with his Great-Aunt who came to visit on Wednesday. She is leaving tomorrow and I just know Lucas is going to expect me play with him as much as she has this week. Hope he won't be too disappointed by my love of the couch!

Who Knew Cereal Was So Much Fun?

Lucas has been begging me for days to buy him cereal straws that he saw on a TV commercial. Today we made a special trip to the supermarket to find them. I have never seen a kid so happy. He rode in the Dunkin' Donuts car/shopping cart clutching his purchase to his chest. A sweet boy with Down's Syndrome was our bagger and Luke let go of his precious cereal straws long enough to shake his hand when the kid introduced himself. He talked about the cereal straws all the way home and then downed a good portion of them with a tall glass of milk once we got there. I think we have found ourselves an excellent new low-fat snack food!

A Big Kiss

So, I took Lucas and Ben to see the newest Harry Potter movie the day it opened at our favorite theater. It was a little scary but both boys seemed to love it and so did I. There were some pretty amazing special effects and a chaste, but somewhat long, kissing scene between Harry and his crush, Cho...none of which I gave a second thought. Until today, when I told my son to come over and give his Mama a kiss. To which he replied, "A kiss, or a big kiss?" Well, of course I opted for the big kiss...and did I ever get one. All head-turny and lip-smoochy! What the heck! I asked him where he learned to kiss so fancy and he blushed and said "Amma"....but apparently she got the same sort of kiss last night and he said he learned it from me! I have a sneaking suspicion he learned it from Harry Potter...kids are just like a sponge at this age...nothing gets past them...maybe that's why he was kissing on the playground equipment at the waterfront...practice!

Our Trip to the Waterfront...

He is sooooo lucky it wasn't winter the way he was kissing on that playground equipment...he might still be there now. I'm still not exactly sure what he was doing.
It didn't take long before his pants come off so he could splash in the water...

A group of little old ladies come up and told me how cute he was playing in the water and how it doesn't last long...he would grow up so fast...don't I know it!

We Are a Lazy Bunch

Lucas and I are lazy. We did a whole lotta nuthin this week except for some shopping and some play dates. It was lovely...until I pinched a nerve in my neck last night putting Lucas in his car seat. I do that every couple of months, it is literally a pain in the neck! I can't move or look to the left at all. But who needs to look left anyhow? All the cool kids are looking right.

I took Lucas down to the Waterfront on Thursday. A beautiful night to be down there. A band was playing at one of the restaurants, and we brought our new kites and had a blast. Some guy asked us if we wanted to be in a car commercial hugging a big Chevy truck...but luckily Lucas said "no, please." Thanks heavens! The last thing I need to be doing is hugging a truck covered in sweat with my hair a wreck. I second Lucas...no please!

Against my better judgement, we started a new Thomas the Train collection. I caved in and bought him a set of the big, plastic, battery operated version of the wooden trains he loves so much. They were cheap at Big Lots...and I'm glad I did...because he played with them ALL DAY today while I was conked on the couch thanks to this pinched nerve nonsense. Which needs to go away soon, thankyouverymuch...we have company coming!

Just a Couple of Pics to Get You Started...and also...My Title Bar is Back-Yippee!

Don't you just love way his double cowlicks meet in the middle?!
Enjoying a late night ice cream done at the Waterfront, sprinkles on the side.

We had the best week off....more to come...

Still no title bar...how depressing. On a brighter note, I don't have to work for the rest of the week. YES! Not even the threat of five days of rain in the forecast can bring me down, that's how excited I am at the prospect. Lucas and I will be spending our days as people of leisure. Maybe we'll get dressed, maybe we won't. Ice cream for breakfast might be just right in the pouring rain. There will definitely be marshmallow roasting, though it may happen on the BBQ grill in the back yard.

If I can remember to let all of the yucky water out of his pool...maybe the rain can fill it back up! We'll definitely be keeping our eyes peeled for that Tow Mater trike...cause that's what people of leisure do...they shop!

Have a lovely week everyone...see you all on Saturday.

Newest new haricut...very short. Very handsome. A little spikey. Everything you could ask for in a summer hairdo. This morning when he got out of the pool I added a little hair wax to the top and got a very cute mohawk. ;-) It's a total bonus that the hair wax smells amazing and a total miracle that Lucas let me put it in his hair without pitching a fit! The picture doesn't really do it justice...but here it is...red eyes and all!

Also, my blog is acting funny and won't let me type anything in the Title bar....unless it corrects itself...we've offically seen the end of titles here at the blog.

Look at that sweet face...how did I ever live a single minute without this beautiful boy?

Fresh from "wimming"....plus a little smear of cream cheese!

Happy 4th!

I am off for the rest of the week. Woohoo! We have great, fun plans for everyday that I'm Not. At. Work. Friends and birthdays and movies and fireworks and dinners. Happy 4th of July, everyone.

We Are on the Hunt...

for this trike.
It comes complete with a real working tow winch. Did I mention my boy's love of towing? He has the Disney die cast cars and poor Tow Mater gets a workout tugging his little die cast buddies around the house. They have it on Amazon for $60. A little rich for my blood, even with free shipping. I'm thinking a local big box store must have it cheaper, but I haven't come across any. If any of you see it in your travels...let me know!

Our Day at the Beach Went Swimmingly!