Traveling

Nicholas and I just got home last night from our first mother/son trip.  We went to Missouri to visit my family, and although I was nervous about going it alone, we had a phenomenal time!  Nicholas was an amazing kid the entire trip and absolutely adored getting to hang out with his cousins.  We spent the weekend with them in Branson and those kids played and played and played some more.  He also got to spend some real quality time with Pop, which was something I had really been wanting him to have.  He was completely captivated by his great-grandfather.  He would just sit and listen to him talk about this and that with this look of awe spread across his face.  But his favorite part was watching him add logs to the wood-burning furnace in the basement.  We promised that when he was a little older he could even help and that made him pretty happy.  In addition to seeing Uncle Jeff, Aunt April, Pop, Jake, Alli, & Kami we got to spend a few days with the wonderful Aunt Julie.  We packed in a bunch of fun activities including a trip to her mom's farm in Competition, MO.  It was a beautiful old farmhouse with portions of it that had been built in 1860.  Talk about quiet relaxation!  Nicholas got to play with Julie's nephew, Joseph, while us ladies lounged around in front of the crackling fire just talking and catching up.  It was very hard to leave such a peaceful place and head back to the real world.  On our last day, Nicholas got to hang out with his cousin Aiden, who he hadn't seen since he was a teeny baby.  The boys ran laps around Pop's house shooting each other with toy guns and just being boys.  All the way home that afternoon he kept asking to go to Aiden's house. 

It was such a wonderful week with my boy but I think we were both ready to get back home to Daddy.  And I think Daddy was ready for us to be back home with him too.  I am a very lucky woman to have all that I have.  I truly believe I am blessed with the most wonderful family in the world and there's not a day that goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars for all the love in my life!

Nicholas decided early on that every gun of Jake's he could get his hands on should be holstered in his pants.  And this is only the front....

And it didn't take long for Nicholas to discover Uncle Jeff's boat sitting in the garage.  I swear he can sniff them out like a bloodhound.

Julie's nephew, Joseph.  He's a complete doll with the most gorgeous eyes you've ever seen!

Thanks to Grandma Sharon, the boys got to eat some ice cream and red velvet cupcakes while they watched The Polar Express.  He looks a bit like the Joker, wouldn't you say?  "Why so serious?!"

And I couldn't sign off without giving a shout out to Julie's baby, Manos the kitty.  And yes, he was thumbs!