After driving one hour in each direction, we walked around the pumpkin patch at Burt's Farm for about 40 minutes. Forty might be pushing it, but we'll go with it.
We had fun on this day trip and even learned that it is perfectly acceptable to drive two hours to spend 40 minutes in a pumpkin patch if you have an adorable little boy and can steal a few sweet photos of him. Our adorable little boy was still recovering from a double ear infection when we took these photos so he wasn't 100% but he was still enjoying himself. And therefore, so were we.
I've also learned that it isn't a good idea to be in so much pain that it hurts to sleep. Dennis talked me in to joining CrossFit with him and man-oh-man am I sore. I thought that I had experienced muscle soreness before but, uh, no way. This pain is so bad that even if I'm sleeping in an uncomfortable position, it might be worth staying in that position if moving requires using my arm, shoulder, chest, back, or leg muscles. Yup, it's that bad. The crazy part is that I'm paying for this.
Lastly, and this parlay's nicely into the second lesson mentioned in this post, peach tea vodka is absolutely delish when mixed with Crystal Light Pink Lemonade. And I mean DELISH. Take that, CrossFit.
I guess you keep learning, no matter how old you get. Not that I'm old, of course, but the learning-thing seems like it should be contained in our school-attending years, yet it isn't. And Connor is here to prove it.
Connor love, love, LOVES airplanes. So, being the Mom of the Year that I am, I researched to find the nearest - and soonest - airshow. It just so happened that one was scheduled to take place at Dobbins, which is approximately 10 miles from us.
We planned our trip to accomodate for naps, eating, Echo's walk, play time, and everything else that goes on during a typical Saturday morning at the Martin household. Again, being MOTY, I wanted to make sure that we avoided the crowds in case we had a meltdown and needed to make a fast escape. So we went to a parking deck where a friend suggested we go to avoid the huge crowds. Well, let's just say that we went to the parking deck and no one was there. For good reason. Back on the road again. We followed the airplanes to a closer location.
We found a spot in a parking lot near the airshow. We pulled up and saw 100 other people had the same idea. Now I'm not one for crowds but this was a much better indication that we had chosen a good location than what we saw at the vacant parking deck 10 minutes earlier.
After unloading Connor from the car, we pointed up to the sky and showed Connor the awesome airplanes doing tricks and stunts right about us. He was amazed. Well, he was entertained. For about one minute. We were there long enough for Mom and Dad to enjoy the cold beer (in plastic cups, of course) that Mom packed for the adventure.
Our learnings about airplanes are three-fold.
One: don't take your child to an airshow unless he/she is more than 16 months of age if you want them to appreciate it.
Two: you know how I mentioned we live 10 miles from Dobbins? I should have also mentioned that we live 15 (?) miles from the Atlanta airport. And airplanes fly over our neighborhood ALL OF THE TIME. I never realized this until I was outside with Connor and he put his hands in the air, pointing to the sky, every few minutes to make sure that I saw the planes flying overhead.
And Three: airplanes and airshows are worthy of at least 10 conversations. It amazed me how many times the airshow came up in conversations the week before the event. We'd see other families walking in the neighborhood and after a few minutes of small talk, someone would bring up weekend plans.
"Doing anything fun this weekend?"
"Yeah, actually, I mean, sort-of. Did you hear about the airshow?"
AIRSHOWS ARE AWESOME WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN THAT ARE OLDER THAN 16 MONTHS. Put that in your book of important things to remember. I put it in mine.
Not only have we been busy learning about the unbelievable coolness of airshows, but we've also learned about painting. Finger painting, to be specific. All kids love it, right?
How was I supposed to know that there is probably a more age-appropriate activity for a 16 month old? Maybe I didn't have to know in advance of the activity because Connor let me know.
The easiest way to describe your lifestyle these days is to use one simple word: busy. You walk, you run, you bump your head, you keep going, you chase Echo, you babble and point, and you absolutely LOVE to be outside. Your dad and I only get a select few minutes to chat about what is on our minds from the time we pick you up from school to the time we put you into bed. Our evening walks with Echo on her leash and you in your wagon are one of those occasions.
Another favorite of yours these days is reading. If we ask you to please go get a book, you quickly (and I mean QUICKLY) run into your plaly room and grab one. The Barnyard Dance, given to you by Nana, is one of your favorites. I am pretty sure that it is a favorite of yours not only because it is a sweet book but because your parents read it to you in such a fun fashion. We bounce around, make animal noises, and dance to the words in that book. And you, I must admit, are one heck of a dancer. Unfortunately for you, I think you are taking after your parents in that department. But there's still hope. I think.
Please forgive me for the shortness of this letter but I have to run... it sounds like you are waking up from your afternoon nap just a little bit early... and after a deep breath, I am ready to go again.
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