The last two weekends we've gone to two very important festivals.
First, Train Fest!
O loved Train Fest. We drove to Jackson, LA, about 45 minutes away, and spent the morning checking out all the neat model train layouts the Baton Rouge Model Train Society had on display.
They had every size you could think of. From Z scale, where the whole layout fit inside a suitcase, to O scale outside. We even got to see them refill the steam engine outside so O could see how it works.
We met one of O's friends there that also loves trains and had a great time!
I think this garden layout was O's favorite. It had a trolley running up above and he loved it!
That night we tried on his ghost costume to see how it fit and he wanted to wear it all night.
The next weekend we had our Ward Fall Festival.
Mike was sick and I had spent the day helping set up, so we were a little tired by the time we got there, but we all had a great time!
O was such a cute ghost! He loved going around to each of the carnival games and then thought the trunk-or-treat was awesome. He's so cute when he says, "Trunk-or-treat!" He's also getting better at putting his hands up and saying "Boo!"
I made this bean bag toss and I think it turned out alright! :)
O and I have also been feeling a little crafty.
We decided we needed some Halloween decorations, so we made some...
The third eye was O's idea and I think it was perfect!
I've been wanting to make a wreath and we had a crafting Relief Society activity the other night, so I took advantage of the time and whipped this up. I like how simple it is. :)
Now we're just getting ready to go meet our sweet new niece and see everyone over the holidays!
While we were outside playing this week O found a new friend.
He was suctioned to the side of our shed in the back, so we pulled him off and brought him in.
I got a plate and put some water on it and our friend very slowly emerged.
O loved it!
He watched him a talked to him all day!
Here he is:
He's a tiny little guy and O named him "Snail."
He would say, "Let me take your picture, Snail." "Are you scared, Snail?" "Do you like having your picture taken, Snail?" It was so cute!
We got him a couple leaves to eat and the next time I turned around O had covered him with the leaves. "He's sleepy," he said. What a sweetie.
After we showed Dad that night, he and O went out and set him free. Now we visit him by the shed sometimes.
A couple weeks ago Mom wanted me to pick out a new dress as an early birthday present. I was so excited! We found a new company that we love called Lindy Bop, you should check them out!
The only drawback was that they're in Europe, so shipping took awhile, and then conference came so I had to wait another week. I finally got to wear it to church this week and I love it! Thanks Mom, you're the best! O said, "Mama looks pretty!" He was looking pretty handsome himself! :)
For about a month now we've been meaning to get O a real bed. He's been sleeping on a twin size air mattress in his room, which has actually worked out perfect since he can't really fall off of it. Last week we got pretty serious about it though. Mike was mentioning this to his horn student's mom and she said they had just gotten her son a bigger bed and his old bed was in great condition still and we could have it if we wanted it. They even brought it to us! Such a blessing! They are such kind people!
Here's O's new bed.
He climbed right in it when we got it set up and told us he loved it.
Being the quintessential first-time parents that we are, we of course decided that he would probably fall out and get a concussion on the tile floor within the first few nights or fall into the space next to the wall and get stuck in the middle of the night. So, we stuffed his little air mattress down the space by the wall and put our queen size air mattress on the floor. It looked kind of like a bounce house in his room for about a week. After he made it that long without even almost falling out of bed we put the big air mattress away and just put blankets there now, so he'll only get a mild concussion if falls out of bed, right?
Wednesday I put him down for a nap and then heard some noises coming from his room. I waited a little while and then it went silent, so I quietly checked in on him and found an empty bed...
Where's Little Boy Blue?
On the air mattress by his toys, fast asleep. :)
Meanwhile, I've still been feeling pretty crafty, so I pulled out my necklace bag.
Back story: When I was a senior our family went on a California Trip for my senior year. We started in San Francisco and then headed up the coast and ended at Aunt Tauna and Uncle Steve's house in Palo Cedro. It was such a great trip, one of my favorites!
On the way up the coast we stopped in Trinidad and went into some shops. At one of the shops I bought some shells to make a necklace out of. They came in this bag, which has traveled everywhere with me since then. I never got around to making the necklace. A couple years ago I decided I was going to do it before we moved, so I bought some string and clasps and added them to the bag.
I finally pulled this bag out and sat down to make the necklace.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I wore it to church on Sunday, but forgot to take a picture while I was wearing it, but here's the picture from just after I finished it...
I love Fall Break at LSU, it's so nice to have Mike home for a couple days!
Thursday we mostly hung out and Mike did some homework.
Friday we went on a family day trip to a model train store in Ponchatoula, then over the causeway across Lake Ponchartrain, and had dinner in New Orleans. It was so fun to spend a day just sight-seeing as a family. O and Mike were in heaven with all the trains in the shop and I had fun wandering through the antique shops and learning about the history of the town. Then we all met Ole Hardhide, the town mascot.(Only in Louisiana would it be totally ok for you to build a little enclosure in the middle of town to house your city alligator in) The causeway is the longest in the world, which is pretty neat! Lake Ponchartrain is interesting, too, you'll have to look up some info on it! Dinner in New Orleans was great and then we headed home just in time to watch our new train movie and head to bed.
Now we're finishing up our fantastic weekend by enjoying hearing from our Prophet and leaders during General Conference!
I love having the blog all caught up so I can get back to doing my weekly posts.
Here it goes for this week:
Since we've gotten all settled in and things are back in a routine, I've been feeling like doing a project. I decided the bookcase I picked up at a garage sale would be perfect.
A couple weeks ago we went garage sale-ing and picked up some awesome finds!
My favorites were this bookcase for $2(it's real wood) and our new entertainment center for $4
Mike's favorite was his new golf bag for $5
O's favorites were his golf set for $1.50 and some bathtime boats
Pretty great day, huh?!
The bookcase had been painted red, but the paint was peeling off of the sides pretty bad and they had let their kids stick stickers all over it. (I firmly believe there are definitely things stickers are not allowed to be stuck to... including bookcases.)
I started by peeling all the stickers off while it was still hot from being outside. Then, I took some Raid to the spider sacks covering it and broomed it off. It was now allowed to come in the house, where it sat for a couple weeks. It was hard for me to find time to do it when it wasn't 100* outside, so I finally decided to just throw down a paint sheet and scrape it down inside.
Worst. Idea. Ever!
I'm still finding red paint chips stuck to everything!
That night I scraped the paint off the outside and then ran out of time. Mike said he thought it looked good like that, so I put it in it's place and left it for a couple days to decide what I thought. I liked it, so I took some sandpaper to it to rough up the edges a little more and called it good.
I love it! Easiest and cheapest project ever!
Here it is done and stocked up.
Oliver has been continuing to grow like a weed. Today he had his very first dentist appointment and was so great! He loved it and they said his teeth look great, so it was a success.
On Sunday he really wanted to wear Dad's tie to church, it was so cute!
He's been working on going to the bathroom in the potty. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details and just say he's doing so well. He loves his big boy underwear and hasn't had too many accidents. He's such a little smarty!
He still loves his room. He goes down for nap so much better now!
Here he is waking up from his nap...
I've been trying to remember to take pictures more often, and so has O.
Here are a couple of his best ones.
I didn't mention Mike much in this post, because we've hardly seen the poor man this week!
He was blessed with the opportunity to play in the pit for the production of "Sweeney Todd" by a neighboring university. It's going to be great on his resume', but has taken over our lives this week. Tomorrow is the last night, hooray! It's been a good experience and we're so grateful for it!
We can't believe O's birthday has already come and gone and he's officially 2!
His birthday went on for quite awhile this year...
It started at Nana Fisher's in Idaho. They wanted to have a special birthday party for him before we left. We thought he'd love a Mickey Mouse theme, and he did! A couple days before we left for Louisiana our friends from American Fork came down to visit us and we played games and had cupcakes with them for O's birthday. Then we all went fishing at the lake. It was so fun! O loved doing bubbles with his friends and playing Button, Button! My mom and sister are the best for totally getting everything together, it was so cute!
Somehow I totally forgot to take pictures of the games and our time at the lake and I'm so bummed!
You can see the cute balloons, table settings, and goodie bags in this picture.
The next day we got together with Oliver's great-grandparents that are in Idaho and had a birthday dinner. It was nice to have dinner together before we headed for Louisiana. O thought opening gifts was pretty fun! :)
Oliver loves riding the horse Nana Fisher made him!
He was pretty spoiled for his birthday. Nana and Papa Fisher got him his bed(which Mike and I are in charge of picking up and have failed to do so thus far, but plan on doing this week sometime...) a Chuggington coloring book for the ride here and Nana made him his very own stick horse, Great Gma and Gpa Fisher got him a new shirt and big box of crayons and a coloring book for the drive, and Great Gma and Gpa Lindsay and Aunt Sarah got him a wooden train and a new swim suit for next summer. He was so excited about all of it!
On the 4th we celebrated his birthday here.
He woke up and opened his present before Dada went to school.
We were excited to give him the Legos, and we're so happy he loves them!
Then Dad went off to school and O and I headed to the doctor for his 2-yr check-up. She said he was healthy. He didn't have to get any shots, but they did prick his finger to check his iron levels and you would have thought they cut it clean off with as much fuss as he made! He recovered after some loves and got a Cars sticker at the end. We then headed to the grocery store for his birthday balloon. He picked out a Thomas the Tank Engine balloon and was attached to it the rest of the day and every since. It's still floating in his room! Apparently balloons last a lot longer down here where the air is thicker.
While we were waiting for Dada to get home from school we went outside and blew some bubbles.
His balloon had to accompany us.
After Dada got home, we had dinner and then sang "Happy Birthday" and ate rice crispy treats.
I think it was a pretty fun birthday!
We left about 5:30am for Dalhart, TX. We were planning on O sleeping the first several hours, but he was wide awake. I, however, was exhausted from getting everything packed up the night before so I took a nap. At one point Mike could hear O in the back playing his favorite game Duck, Duck, Goose. Then he saw two little fists start to pump in the air. It was kind of like this...
He took a couple naps and was so great the whole day!
Our car was so packed! The original plan was that O and I would fly back and Mike would drive the car, which would leave a lot of room for anything we wanted to bring back. That's obviously not how it went down, so it was tricky getting everything to fit. When we got everything in it left a spot for O's carseat and a spot for someone to sit next to him. Neither spots have much foot room. Mike and my dad also figured out how to strap my new jogging stroller and the umbrella stroller to the roof of the car so we would have more space for other stuff. We looked so ridiculous, but it worked!
We got to Dalhart about 9pm and settled in to the hotel. They didn't have a pack-and-play, so they gave us a room with two queens instead of one. Mike and I figured at least one of us would get some sleep, the other would share a bed with O. O and I hardly slept at all that night.
Tuesday
We grabbed some breakfast in the morning and headed for Baton Rouge. Since O and I were so tired, we curled up in the back seat and slept most of the morning away.
We were so blessed that O was great the whole time! He colored, played with his mega block boat, ate snacks, sang, and played games. We got to Baton Rouge around 10pm. By the time we got here we were all so ready to get out of the car! Unfortunately, most of the hotels in town were full due to school starting the next week, but we eventually found one and settled down for the night. They didn't have a pack-and-play again, so this time we made a bed for O on the floor. We all slept much better!
Wednesday
We soaked in the hot tub at the hotel since O had been so excited to do it the night before but it was closed when we got in. Then, we had breakfast and headed for our new apartment. We met with the real estate agent and our new manager to sign the papers and go over the lease. Everything looked great. The only thing that was frustrating was that our manager just mentions in passing, "I had the water turned off, so you'll have to have it turned back on." The real estate agent apologized for not knowing he'd had that done and said she hoped we could get it turned on that day. We couldn't. In fact, they said they were going to come turn it on the next day, but no water person. Finally, they turned it on Friday. We've never been so happy to see water. We couldn't eat, use the bathroom, or shower in our own apartment. I couldn't even wash anything before we moved in. Yuck.
The missionaries helped us move in Wednesday evening. It was so kind of them. Some of our friends watched O while we got everything out of the storage unit. We blew up the air mattress for O and set up our bed that night and went to sleep.
Thursday
Mike had auditions, so after we had a nice breakfast of Uncrustable sandwiches from the drive out, he cleaned up as best he could with a baby wipe and headed to campus. O and I began unpacking. I have a hard time living with things in disarray, so I unpacked all Thursday and all Friday and some of Saturday until it was all organized and put away! The only thing left was one box and one tote of decorations that I got up the next week. We hit up Walmart for some groceries and things we needed and headed to bed all sweaty again.
Friday
The water man came around noon and we've never been so happy to take a shower! It was so nice!
Sunday
We went to church and Mike got a new calling. It was a nice day. Afterward we came home and collapsed into a sleep coma the rest of the day.
We were so blessed to get here safe and have the energy and patience we needed to get everything in and settled before Mike started school on Monday. We love our new apartment! It's a duplex just off campus. Mike still walks to school, we're going to order him a bike soon. O loves all the space in our new place, he just runs and runs! It's so cute! He's also very attached to his room. He loves that it's his own space with his very own bed, which he went right into as soon as we got here.
I'm still working on things, but here is a video of our new place if you're wondering what it's like...
So, this summer flew by. I can't believe it's already over and we're back to the grind!
Here are some glimpses of what we did...
We spent lots of time outside and just hanging out with family.
Linds and O are now best buddies. He asks for her all the time, I wish we could be closer!
Two of O's favorites, Linds and Tigger.
We went to the Beal Family Reunion. Some of the funnest times I remember as a kid with our cousins were at this reunion. We went almost every year and we loved it! I was so excited when I found out we would be there this year. O had so much fun!
Getting ready for the reunion at my Grandma's house.
We chose bubbles as the game we were in charge of. It didn't quite turn out how we were planning, but the kids still had fun and that's the point. :)
There's a little stream that we floated down a couple times. It was so fun, even though the water was a little chilly.
Sarah flew in Saturday morning and joined us. We were so excited to see her and her cute baby bump!
We went to Linds' T-ball games. They were so cute! O mostly liked playing in the ball diamond dirt.
Mike joined us back in Montpelier half-way through the summer, so we had to make him his favorite for his birthday: Rhubarb Pie!
We went to Bennington's Sesquicentennial Celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Fisher...
Don't they both make cute pioneers? O like Linds' bonnet.
Papa pushing O in a big boy swing for the first time!
At Montpelier's Sesquicentennial Celebration they had a train that you could ride and Oliver loved it so much that we rode it twice. First with Nana, Aunt Sarah, Linds, and Great Grandma Lindsay. Then we went back when Dad got off work so we could take him, too!
Lil' O and Linds finished the summer reading program at the Library. They each got a special certificate, some pencils, a book, a coupon for $2 in fines, and a water bottle. O carries his around all the time.
Linds and Oliver also put on a dance recital for us.
Lindsay's dance was called "The Cat" and Oliver's dance was called "The Dan."
They put up posters around the house a couple days before and everything!
My sister, mom, and I decided that since the men were working and couldn't get away, then we should take a trip with the kids. Where could be better for such a trip than Disneyland?!
So we planned it and off we went.
Tauna, Steve, Jess, Jess' friend, Clint, Michelle, and Addy all decided to join in and meet us there, which was so fun!
The kids were so great on the trip there and we made pretty great time. We stayed in San Diego for the first three nights. We went to Sea World, the beach, and the Mormon Battalion Museum.
The kids loved Sea World! O fell in love with a stuffed animal in EVERY SINGLE gift shop. It was so ridiculous, but so cute. I decided he would love the little sea animal play figures so that's what I let him get as a souvenir. His grandma is so sweet she got him the stuffed animal shark he fell in love with in the last gift shop. His Aunt Tauna got him and Linds t-shirts. It's one of his favorite t-shirts now, he always wants to wear the turtle shirt. :)
The day we planned on going to the beach it was overcast and looked like rain. We were so bummed, but it was the only day we could go so off we went. We met one of my mom's friends there and she showed us a good spot on the beach. We had so much fun! O was scared of the waves but loved the sand. He had a whole swim suit full of it by the time we got back!
Sunday morning we went for a nice walk along the beach and got some pictures, then we headed for some historical sites, the Mormon Battalion Museum, and the San Diego Temple. It was such a neat experience! We learned so much and the kids loved it! Everything at the museum is very interactive and interesting. The temple is so beautiful and has such a special spirit there, it was so nice to be able to stop and see it.
This is the perfect example of what a crazy girl Linds is. We love her so much!
Keeping up the smashed penny tradition.
At the Mormon Battalion Museum.
They got to pan for gold and then keep a couple pieces. Oliver put them in his pocket and they made it all the way out here to Louisiana.
Linds got new church shoes on our way to California and really wanted to wear them to the temple. We didn't want her feet to get too tired in them, so she wore regular shoes for most of the day, but insisted on changing into her special new shoes as soon as we got to the temple to walk around. It was so sweet, what a special girl she is!
These two pictures are the perfect example of how trying to get a picture with these two kids is. Either O isn't paying attention...
or Linds is being silly. The two crazies!
Our last day was Disneyland. We were so ready. Linds had been asking if it was Disneyland day every day since we got to California. We found a hotel in Anaheim the night before so we could be right there when the gates opened. We had our day all planned out. It was such an exhausting day, but so fun!
Linds was so excited to meet some princesses and we were nervous that the lines would be too long, but we were lucky to find the line really short as soon as we got in. She started off the day by meeting Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White. She loved it and they were so cute with her!
Waiting in line to see the princesses.
One of Sarah's friends came over the night before we left to give us tips on going to Disneyland. While he was there he found out we had been looking everywhere for an Elsa dress for Linds to wear to Disneyland. She wanted to be Elsa so bad, but they were all sold out. His mom had been sewing some for his nieces, so he asked her if we could borrow it. They not only let us borrow it, but she finished it and hemmed it just to Lindsay's size that night and dropped it off to us about 10pm so we could take it with us at 5 the next morning! We didn't tell Linds until we pulled it out that morning in the hotel. She was so excited to be Elsa all day. All the princesses called her "Your Majesty" and pretended like she was Elsa, it was so awesome. She wore it almost the entire day!
O wasn't took keen on meeting the princesses. We tried to get him to say "hi" to Tink when we met her, but he wasn't sure about that either.
We went on several rides and they loved that, too. O especially loved the Casey Jr. Train ride. He smiled the whole time! Well, except for when we took this picture apparently...
We met Minnie and Mickey. Mickey's line was deceivingly short. It took about an hour to get through! It was only made worth it when we got in there and O LOVED Mickey! Somehow I made a major mom blunder though and didn't have the camera and there wasn't a camera guy in there, so all I have is a picture on my phone that I haven't figured how to get off of my relic yet. I've got work on that... He hugged Mickey and even gave him a kiss on the cheek, it was so cute!
One of the best parts of the day happened while we were on our way to another ride. We came up on Mary Poppins and her crew singing and dancing in the square. We stopped to watch for a few minutes and Linds was singing and dancing right along. She loves Mary Poppins, we had just watched the movie the week before we left. We were just pulling Linds away so we could get in line when Mary came up to her and took her into the circle to dance right along with her! The look on Lindsay's face was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! It happens just 3 or 4 seconds into this video.
Afterward she took Linds by the arm and said, "Walk with me" and away they went. She walked and talked with Lindsay for a while and then had to go. It was so sweet! Mary is now officially one of Lindsay's very favorites and she's pretty sure she wants to be her for Halloween.
We had such a great day. I think both Lindsay and Oliver's favorite ride was "It's a Small World" they both couldn't stop smiling and laughing and pointing the whole time.
We headed toward home that night and got a good ways. We decided we wanted to try and see the Grand Canyon on the way home, so it took us a little longer than we were planning. We also got to see Route 66, which was really neat!
The Grand Canyon was incredible. I'm so glad we went to see it even though it took us so much longer to get home! I know we look horrid in the last couple pictures, but just imagine this: you drive 14 hrs in a car with a 2-yr-old and a 6-yr-old, you spend one day at Sea World, one day at the beach, one day site-seeing, then one very long day at Disneyland. You drive very late into the night, about 2am before you find a hotel and get to bed. Then you head for the Grand Canyon and home with said children. By this time the children are nap deprived and so antsy to be out of the car and home and so are you. That is how we were when we got to the Grand Canyon. So exhausted.
The trip was so fantastic though and I'm very glad we did it. It was an experience that we might never be able to do again as just the girls and Lil' O and I'll never forget it!
After Disneyland everything went by so fast. We went on a fishing outing and had a birthday party for Lil' O. I'll post pictures from that when I post about his birthday. Then the fair came and Oliver won his first ribbon for a painting he did. The summer was so busy, but a great time to spend with family!
Sorry for the long post, but I hope you enjoyed seeing what we did this summer!
