We're still kickin'!

I know it's been a long time since I've shared another blog, so this one will be LOOONG to make up for all the time I've made you all wait. We made it to Ohio with relatively little trouble. We did have to stop in Chicago, but we didn't have to get off the plane, which was MUCH nicer than spending 2 hours in an airport before catching the second flight. Landon did REALLY REALLY great. He played and talked and watched his DVD, and was just a joy for the flight attendants! Here we are on the plane:


Before we left, Mom, Landon and I took QUITE an adventure up the mountain. We were coming back from Park City, after a day of outlet shopping (adventure enough), and decided to go up the canyon by Midway since we've never been there before. We saw THE most beautiful golf course I've ever seen. I mean it was pretty enough to make me want to start golfing!! On our way back to town we passed a sign that said "Cascade Springs: 7 miles," and since I'd never been there, and it was "only 7 miles," we decided to ride up the (paved) road and find out what it was. Well, if it was 7 miles, it was the LONGEST 7 miles of my entire life. And STRAIGHT UP the mountain on an UNPAVED road that in some parts could barely be called a road at all. It was actually quite terrifying driving up, and even more terrifying thinking about having to drive back down. We did eventually make it up the mountain (after stopping the fire crew and making sure we were on the right track), and hiked a little around the springs. They really were gorgeous, and worth the treacherous trip. We took a couple of shots, but I'd love to go back and explore some more sometime.






On our way back to Provo (on the SAME adventure, believe it or not), we passed Bridal Veil Falls and Mom commented that she had always thought it was so gorgeous, if only she could get closer. So, I stopped at the park, and we hiked up there (which isn't really a hike at all, a nice paved path, if only all hikes were that easy), and let Landon play in the pool at the base of the falls. It really was gorgeous.



Being in Ohio the past couple of weeks has been so great. Landon has experienced so many firsts, so many things that I remember doing as a kid. It's been so much fun, but also a little sad, because I want so badly to be able to move back here and give him the kind of childhood I had, with lots of property to run around on, and the culture I grew up loving. It is a small consolation that we get to come back here relatively often, and seeing the joy my Mom gets from sharing these firsts with him is absolutely amazing.

His first new experience was riding a power wheel at my Mammal and Pappal's house. Some of you may know that my Pappal is a garage sale connoisseur, and spends each Thursday-Sunday scouring each home/yard/garage for diamonds in the rough that he takes home, shines up and sells again for profit. It's his retirement dream, and it's amazing the things he finds. He also feels a special kinship with Landon because he's his only great-grandchild, and Landon is his namesake (Pappal's first name, Thomas, is Landon's middle name). A few days before we got into town, Pappal found a powerwheels jeep (albeit a hot pink barbie one) at a garage sale for $40. He spent all week shining the thing up and said he wasn't selling it until after Landon went back home so that he could enjoy tooling around in it. I was super excited since we had been planning on purchasing one for him when we got back to town. Good think we got the sneak preview though, it saved us $300, since Landon wanted absolutely NO PART of driving the thing. He liked to sit in it, and LOVED to wash it, but when he pushed the pedal to make it move, it scared the heck out of him! Unless it was the hot pink Barbie intimidating him (lol). Here he is shining his wheels:




To Uncle Chucky's delight, he's also had his first taste of riding a bike. You may not know that my brother is a PHENOMENAL BMX bike rider. He was even sponsored for it a couple of years ago, he's so great. It's been his passion since we were kids, and my Mom let him build a 20 foot ramp in our yard. You should see the tricks he can do on it. Anyway, he's been wanting to get Landon a tricycle, but Pappal had 2 kids bikes he was shining up for sale at his house, and Landon couldn't wait to hop on, and be like Uncle Chucky. Then, yesterday evening, the neighbors (who have two grandchildren close to Landon's age) brought over a tricycle for him to borrow, but he wanted NOTHING to do with it, he wanted the "Big Bike," that they brought over, even though it was HOT PINK, and he couldn't reach the pedals. He wanted so badly to be like Uncle Chucky. So we let him go with it for the night, and after he fell asleep, I headed up to Wal Mart to get him a "real bike" a little more his size. He rode it today and had a BALL on it. He hasn't yet mastered the art of pushing the pedals, but his balance absolutely amazed me! I didn't hold him up on it at all, I just pushed the handlebars and he didn't fall down once (a feat he can't claim while walking on his own two feet)! It's definitely been one of the highlights of the trip so far, to see him on the bike, and to see how proud my brother is of him for it. The bond that the two of them have forged is really endearing.




He also had his first taste of REAL fair food (not the stuff that Utahns CLAIM is fair food), and although we got rained out before we could sample all of the delicacies, he did get his first elephant ear and he loved it! We also hit the hot tub today, and he can actually stand up in it now. How did my little guy get so big??



He's also learned how to feed the fish in my Mom's pond for the first time, and he LOVES it. Every night, before bed, he and my Mom take a long walk around the pond, and feed the fish, watch the frogs jump, and find the tadpoles. It's really sweet to watch them, and he gets so excited to see the fish jump, though the fish get a lot more food when he's not out there, since it's one bite of stale bread for the fish, one bite of stale bread for Landon. Mom even taught him how to handfeed the baby bluegill (of which there are HUNDREDS in there).




By far, MY favorite of his firsts has been teaching him how to roll down the hill. Such a simple pleasure, but we simply don't have the property for it at home. It's pretty hilarious to watch him roll down the hill, because he hasn't quite figured out how to keep his body straight, so he sits up after each roll and starts over. It's so funny, in fact I had to share the video with you. Don't mind my crazy hair, and Mommy voice though. I had just gotten out of the hot tub (where he and Lexi drowned me like a rat), and the Mom voice, well no excuses for that, it is what is. You also should know that my Mom didn't warn me she was videotaping, so I was having all kinds of side coversations with her.


Here's the link to the video:

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/kelleykj/?action=view¤t=July15083.flv



Well, I'm sure there's much more, but I'm all out of steam for tonight. I'll share some more when I get a chance, though. We're most excited that Jon comes into town on next Tuesday for a MUCH needed break. We can't wait to see him, and we have so many fun things planned while he's here (maybe not much of a break after all). Tomorrow is my brother's birthday, and he invited me to his birthday dinner with his girlfriend, which I thought was really great. It really touched my crazy, newly-sentimental Mom heart anyway, and we're going to his favorite restaurant, The Melt, so I'll be sure to give a review after that. Also, on Thursday night, I have the opportunity to follow my friend Michelle, who is an ER nurse at work. I'm really excited for the opportunity to evaluate the division of labor between the doctors, nurses and PA's, and hope to gain more insight on the never ending debate between nursing and medical school. Hope all is well with you all, can't wait for some more updates!