Weekend Excursion

Ok, so we are officially "those" parents....you know, the kind that takes their kids to things like Disney on Ice, a Scooby Do concert, or "A Day out with Thomas". Weston's infatuation with Thomas the Train hasn't faded much, so when I heard he would be appearing at Mt. Hood Railroad, I eagerly purchased tickets. But later I found out that our friends Erika and Blake had also purchased tickets for their boys too, so I didn't feel so lame. Weston's fist reaction at seeing a life size Thomas.....
....well, he didn't really know what to think, but after a few minutes he did seem to be happy about it. Before the train ride we spent most of our time at the "imagination station", where Weston played with the trains. And he was very serious about it. All the other kids were smiling and laughing, but not Weston. He was straight faced and made very precise movements around the tracks, hooking up other cars, maneuvering across bridges, etc.
We did get him to play with some bean bags....and apparently we need to enroll him in little league soon because he made it through the top hole a couple of times.
And then the big moment arrived....we got to ride on Thomas. Weston wasn't all that impressed. He sat pretty quietly for the 20 minute train trip, looking out the window at the scenery.

He was so unimpressed he didn't want his picture taken with Thomas, but rather kept asking "where's Toby" and "where's James". For all you non-parents of toddlers, Toby and James are other engines in the Thomas the Train series.
And like usual, Tyge watched it all from the stroller.
On the way home we stopped at the fish hatchery. First we had a nice picnic lunch under the trees. Weston was super thrilled and excited to see the fish. If I had only known, this "free attraction" would create such a stir with the kid, I would have forgone the whole Thomas idea and saved myself some dough.
He was impressed with the large Sturgeon, and although the plaque on the wall says his name is Herman, Weston insisted "no, no Herman, fish is Norman!"
Weston's new "see it" move....holding his hands above is eyes, searching for things. Does it all the time, and insists you do it too of course. Again, do I even have to say it....poor Tyge doesn't get out of his seat much.
We did get a couple of nice family pics! I discovered that the stroller is an excellent height for balancing a camera on top and using the 10 second timer. Also discovered that Weston thinks this is hilarious....probably has something to do with me running over and Daddy yelling "run, run, run, okay now cheeeeeeeeese!".
At last we made it home, only to be greeted by a neighbor informing us that our cows were out that morning. Luckily they didn't go far...just trampled and gobbled their way through my already pathetic garden.
Oh, and by the way.....Scooby Do will be making an appearance at the Country Music Festival (held in a field just a mile from us). You can bet on where we will be the third weekend of August!!!

Milestones

Some important things have been going on in the Meneses household this last week. I realized that last week I updated my Facebook status to reflect Tyge's crawling accomplishments, but said nothing here on this blog. So......Tyge is officially crawling. Started about a week and a half ago, and within a few days he was nearing full sprint. So fast, actually, that he went about 6 feet in what seemed to be less than two seconds and went right out the open back door, head first into the step. Unlike Weston's first major head bruise, I didn't panic and have an urge to dial 911. He did almost instantly swell up and turn black and blue, but I remained calm and collected (go mom!). Less than thirty minutes later he was getting comfy with our neighbor Lexie, watching us vaccinate cows. For the next 24 hours or so after his fall, he was slightly more cranky than usual. I assumed that maybe his head hurt. I was wrong. On Friday morning I found that his first (bottom) tooth popped out. You may have also noticed from my previous post, he is also pulling himself on everything....which leads to more crashes.

So there you have it....milestones acknowledged!

Wordless Wednesday #3

Got Milk?

There have been posts in the past of Weston frolicking around a dairy farm, but today was a a little different....we weren't in California and these were not Avo's cows. On this Father's Day, we made a trip out to Van Beek Dairy. Daddy was working at his "side business", doing some welding and installation of a neck rail. So after church we headed out there to take him some lunch.After we gobbled down our glamorous Father's Day Feast from Arby's, Weston gave me the grand tour of the place, as if he owned it. Constantly yelling, "C'mon mom!".He took me to the maternity pens, "see, baby cow", to the hay barn "falfa", and through the commodity barns "cow's eat it". We spent a lot of time watching the carousel go round "cow's are milkin' mom". This was his first time in a rotary parlor, and he was pretty amused by the cows going around in a circle. Tyge had a front row seat for it all too, and by the time we were done my shoulders and back were sore from lugging him around. It was rough convincing Weston it was time to leave, but I promised him we'd be back to see the cows again, including this one, who was peering through the side of the barn at us!

Pioneer Picnic

If you are familiar with Brownsville you know about Pioneer Picnic, the town's celebration honoring those who settled in our community many years ago. The annual event is actually Oregon's longest running celebration, now in it's 124th year. This is only our 3rd year attending, but it already seems like a tradition we've been long doing. The weekend started off on Friday with the kiddie parade, where Weston watched our neighbor Stephanie (second from last) do some cheers. After the parade she split her popsicle in half and shared it with him, much to his delight. Then we headed down to the park for some games. Weston was really interested in the bouncy houses and slide, but he wasn't brave enough to go it alone. ....pretty high up here.........help please.We finished off the afternoon by participating in a "Walk for the Cure". I was hoping to do the 3k, but the terrain was a little rough and narrow for a double stroller (yes, I broke down and purchased a double stroller), so we opted for the 1k. Weston walked (or ran) the whole route too.Then came the Grand Parade on Saturday morning. We met up with our neighbors again, who saved us a great spot downtown.
Danny, Tyge, Monica and Sky hung out in the back row.
Weston and Steph, sorting out their candy.Then it was back down to the park for a few more games....this time Daddy helped out.

Weston - 2 1/2 years, Tyge - 6 months old: the "official" portrait

Helping Daddy with some work.

Where's Weston?
There he is (and yes, he was in the first picture too). He started following Dad out to check cows and lost his way in the tall grass.Fixing up some things around the barn. Tyge is new to riding in the wagon, but he loves it. Nice cause I can buckle him in and tote him around the yard while we do things.

Busy days.

The start of summer seems to coincide with lots of things to do. This weekend was the start of what I think will be a non-stop whirlwind of weekend activities. So far we have something on the calendar for nearly every weekend from now til Labor Day. This Saturday started with Gunner's 4th Birthday Celebration down at the park. Weston was thrilled at Gunner's choice of theme and the party favors(he wanted to wear the hat to bed). We then headed over to Bill and Christy's house. Daddy was already there helping to lay sod in their backyard. Weston, Jeremiah and Tyge had fun playing in the dirt, on the new grass and with the hose.
Mom and Tyge made a side-trip to a deliver a garden basket to a friend who just purchased a new house, and then we headed home for some dinner. Corn on the cob, ribs and strawberry pie out on the patio...Summer food is so yummy!Weston then got to play with his new bubble gun, a souvenir that Jeremiah brought back for him from their Disneyland trip. Notice, hours later, Thomas the Train party hat is still within sight.
We topped of the evening finishing planting the garden. All you California people reading this are likely laughing, since you are likely in the middle of your first harvest! Don't make fun of us, we do the best we can here in Oregon! Weston was careful to put the beans in the right spot, and figured out how to cool himself down afterwards.