Thankful

We have been really busy the last ten days travelling to Kansas City, back home, then to Memphis. Whew! I have a lot to post, but just wanted to get this one up in case it is a while before I get the rest. We visited a fire museum which I am pretty sure was the highlight of Luke's life so far. It has been a FUN busy, and Luke really loves being in his carseat for hours on end, Steve and I have learned (JUST KIDDING!)

Happy Helper

I have really tried to discourage Luke from being interested in my violets. Maybe it is a little bit selfish, but I just like to have a corner of the house that is my turf. How, though, can I continue to discourage his interest when he tries to take care of them for me? I can't. I put a couple on his table and asked him to water them. Which he did with a big smile on his face. What a good, good boy.

Cache River Recreation Area

The weather was still nice and mild last weekend. Steve had an adventure planned and once we were all up, dressed and fed we loaded up and hit the road. I had no idea where we were going and no input about the plans for the day and I really enjoyed every minute of not being in charge!

The great surprise was that our adventure took us about 50 miles south and parked us at the Cache River Rec. Area. What fun! Not only was there just a ton of beauty all around us, there are miles of hiking trails, and it is all Luke and dog friendly.













We spent a couple hours there, hiked about four miles, explored railroad tracks, saw the cypress trees and a giant oak, and just loved every minute of it. Luke even enjoyed the ride there and back for the most part since there were so many cows, horses and tractors to see out the window.

He was a total hiker, too. He walked a ton on his own, but kept his energy up and didn't nap until 3! I guess he is like his mom and dad - the outdoors energizes him.

The day of fun didn't stop there, either! Steve had arranged for his mom to watch Luke overnight (it took a lot of begging - ha) and he took me on the train to Centralia for dinner at the wonderful Centralia House. Everything was so great, the atmosphere, the food, the wine, the company...and then we went to catch our train back home - DUN, DUN, DUN - three hours later we boarded and got hom safely. I must say that I knew I married the right man when he was up for sitting in the CVS and reading magazines for an hour while we waited. Lucky me ;) definitely a date to remember!

It has become rainy, wet and colder this week so I am really glad we got out on this adventure. Thank you again, Steve! It is always nice to turn off my inner control freak and just go with the flow - Love you tons!

Why hide it?

This is Luke walking all over his Christmas present. I love that we are not at an age that we have to hide gifts, etc...but it will still be exciting to put it together and surprise him on Christmas morning. By the way, it is an activity table that has a top for coloring, eating, etc...and when you take the cover off it is a train/car track. We are hopeful that he will really love it! If not, we will just put it back in the box and let him enjoy having a climbing toy for a while longer :)

Keeping an eye on you...

If you are at doggy door level, that is...Luke's current favorite post in the house.

70 degrees and sunny

It is November and we are having the loveliest weather. Friday, Luke and I enjoyed meeting at one of our favorite trails with our buddies, Trinity (mom) and Addison. We spent over two hours going around a mile loop in the woods, which means we obviously had a good time soaking up nature, sunshine and fresh wonderful air.

The dogs got to go with us which was great, too. They are used to us leaving in the morning for a few hours and are always sad so they were thrilled to be out running and digging and swimming. Luna was on fire as usual and licked about 20 pre-schoolers that were out taking a lap as well. They giggled and wanted more kisses :)



It is remarkable what a toddler encourages you to pay attention to in the world, I mean, a log is a wonderful thing. They could have sat there and played around those logs for HOURS.

Happy Hiker

Don't they look like they are planning a getaway with my car...those faces!

Just hanging out on the bridge. Neither kiddo wanted to leave this spot.
Dogs = mayhem!

Yes, these two little ones are holding hands and loving life. So fun...Trinity and I had to look hilarious running around trying to get these pictures. So worth the effort!

What do I do with myself?

Steve had a conference on Thursday near St. Louis and asked me to go up with him Wednesday night. Hey, fun time with my hubby, I am in. Gma Susan was on board to watch Luke so we were all set.

I seem to be developing a heightened sense of anxiety when I plan to leave Luke. Once I do it, I am fine, but getting to the drop off point generally creates a bit of a freak out for me.

The entire idea of being anxious to leave him is natural, but we are letting him spend time with his grandparents, for goodness sake, so you would think I could just get a grip.

The whole overnight into next day was great for everyone and I am so thrilled I got to spend time with Steve and alone with myself.

Gma Susan, if you are reading, thanks for putting up with my notes and lists and schedules. Luke is so blessed to have you and Gpa Paul in his life. He has a wonderful time with you both anytime that he sees you! My dad even noticed on Halloween that he cried when you left. Dad said he suspects Luke gets treated pretty great at your house, and Steve and I told him he was RIGHT!

So, while Luke enjoyed Gma's wonderful cooking, played the piano, visited friends and fell asleep reading...



I enjoyed lounging in a hotel room that I didn't have to clean or make the bed, etc...ate a late breakfast, read a little, took a super long bubble bath and then headed to the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis.

It was a glorious day to be there. Sunny, crisp, completely UNcrowded. I just savored the beauty, found a great secluded bench to finish my book while the sun warmed me, and admired a motorized vehicle that I just knew Luke would have been interested in.


I really like spending time alone, and the day was a real treat. I have to admit, though, it was really fun to see Steve at the end of the afternoon, and we were both SO EXCITED to pick Luke up and be in our own house (where I do have to pick up and make the beds - worth it!)

This one

Luke and I look over the paper in the morning while we share an omelet and toast. It is a pretty good time. His favorite part of the paper is the classifieds. Why? There are CARS and TRUCKS for sale and that means pictures of CARS and TRUCKS! He seems to prefer the biggest trucks that sell for at least $40,000. Yikes!

Catching Up

Last weekend, we decided to load up and go cheer on the Terrier football team as they challenged the #1 seed in the football playoffs. The game was played at Illinois State Univ. which was pretty cool and it was a beautiful day for a long drive and an afternoon game. Luke did great traveling, and we had a good time cheering, exploring under bleachers, meeting the paramedic and getting a tour of the ambulance - oh, yeah and watching a little football!. The Terriers lost, but the effort was good and they DID make the playoffs!

Obviously, Luke wore his costume for the game. It was warm and it WAS Halloween. He made at least 100 people smile! The pictures show him adventuring around the stadium. Luckily, the 'security' was very loose and we spend a lot of time right on the field by the endzone. Luke really wanted to grab the orange markers that outline the endzone and didn't understand why he needed to stay off of the actual playing field! He did like using some of ISU's practice equipment, though :)






Saturday morning, we got up and visited the zoo. It felt like our personal zoo since we got there close to opening time and there was no one else there. How fun! Luke had a good time walking around, picking up rocks, etc...oh yeah, and he liked some of the animals. The loud and showy sea lions were his favorite. The picture of him smiling with Steve is when they were watching them get fed.







One other fun thing that we did last weekend was visit with GMA SUSAN and GPA PAUL! They made it back with smiles on their faces from their big trip to Italy. We were all glad to visit with them and look at pictures. Luke was especially happy to be back in their house where he has 3 trucks that he is very protective of...they were safe and he enjoyed playing with them while Steve and I had a quick date on Friday. Fun!

As far as daylight savings goes, we couldn't have traveled on a better weekend. He took really short naps each way there and back, and fell asleep well Sat and Sun night. He slept almost 13 hours on Saturday night after all of the activities and Sunday he was nearly falling down tired at 7:00 so we laid him down, he talked to his buddies for a while and was out by 8:00, up at 7:00. So, this round of DST has worked out pretty great. He is napping earlier than normal, too, but we have been busy and outside a lot yesterday (farm visit!) and today (Kinkaid hike after grocery run and music class) so maybe the fall air just knocks him out. He is so sweet!