Andra Meets Her Buddy Thomas!

When I had a little girl, I never dreamed her favorite toys would include tools, trains and definitely NOT babydolls...but come to think of it, I'm not a big fan of the whole "princess" scene, so I actually enjoy the nonconformity of it all. And you should see how this girl's face lights up at the sight of trains...especially her FAVORITE train toy: Thomas the Tank Engine. My parents got her a Thomas train table for Christmas, and I couldn't even begin to count the number of hours she's stood at that table...completely entertained, completely wrapped up in her imagination, and completely in love with Thomas and all of his engine friends.

So, when the "real" Thomas made a stop in a town not too terribly far from us, of course we had to make the trip! Andra got to meet Thomas face to face and go for a ride in a passenger car pulled by Thomas. They had about every Thomas activity you could dream up, and we sampled a little bit of everything...including the store, of course, where Andra got to pick out a couple things. Yep, we're total suckers.

Here she is clearly tickled to meet her buddy face to face!...she had to wear to Thomas engineer hat all day too!

Taking a ride on Thomas...

So sweet. Please, please don't ever grow up.

A trip to Holiday World!

On Wednesday, Andra and I took a little road trip just the two of us to Holiday World! To be completely honest, I was a bit nervous about going. About six months pregnant, I've had a few episodes of queasiness in the heat lately...and I knew we'd be spending the entire day in the heat at the amusement park. Plus, Andra and I had to make the trip on our own because Dave had to work that day. Three hours in the car with a 2 year-old and no assistance made me a little uneasy. But my desire to "live it up" with Andra this summer and capture every opportunity we can won me over...and so we made the trip! And I'm SO GLAD we did...what a fun day!!!

We also met up with my older sister (who's a nurse) and her two kids, plus my sister's friend (who also happens to be a nurse) and her three kids...so I knew even if disaster struck, we'd be in good hands! :)

Andra was an absolute angel in the car. We set up the portable DVD player, and she was quiet as a mouse the entire way there and back...you hardly even knew she was in the backseat! We got the DVD player for her for Christmas, and this was the first time we used it...it's worth its weight in gold!

We hit the rides first thing in the morning before it got too hot. One reason I decided to make the trip was because the park has a huge amount of rides for kids her age, so I knew we'd get our money's worth. Here she is on the pint-size carousel. She was so proud to go on the rides all by herself.

My nephew Garrett and niece Zayda on the carousel.

She flew an airplace too with her cousin Garrett...a blue one, of course!

June 16, 2010. 12:05pm. The moment Andra found her personal bliss. Her two favorite things combined: ice cream and the color blue! A little lick of heaven on earth for my little gal!

"What blue mustache, Mom?"

One of our greatest discoveries that day was a splash park in one of the kid areas. It was her first splash park, and she went NUTS for it! She ran and splashed and ran and splashed for nearly an hour! This girl was down right giddy.

To avoid the heat, we went to the water park after lunch when it was really starting to heat up. I was, again, impressed with everything they had for little ones her age. We hung out in a toddler pool for awhile, but the lazy river was calling my name...so off we went.

Let me tell you...the two of us trying to get ourselves arranged in the lazy river was an ugly, ugly sight. We'd beat my sister and her kids to the water park, so it was just the two of us...and perhaps when I MOST felt Dave's absence! It took me several minutes to figure out how to get my six month pregnant self into an innertube (look, I've never been able to do that gracefully even when I'm NOT pregnant, add a huge belly to the equation, and it's down right ugly)...on top of that, I had to figure out a way to get into the innertube quickly, grab Andra, get her in the inner tube with me--all while not being swept away in the current! It was embarrasing...and ugly...I'm pretty sure I saw parents hiding their childrens' eyes. :) But we eventually made it into the tube...and floating peacefully in that river just the two of us, with my little gal chatting away with me, was probably my favorite part of the day. We made 3 laps. :)

So it was a wildly successful trip. We got to spend some fun quality time with Garrett and Zayda, had a great mommy & me trip, and came back exhausted, but happy!

Zoobilation and Horses with the Girls

This is the beauty of still being in the media...but only part-time. I still get to experience some of the really cool perks, but without all the negatives that can come with a full-time job in media (also deserving credit is my awesome boss!)

This weekend, our company was treated to "the party of the year" in our city: Zoobilation! I was so excited! Dave and I have heard about the event, and always wanted to go, but balked at the ticket prices. We got to go for free! It's a black-tie event, so I got to see my handsome hubby in a tux...which is a sight I haven't seen since our wedding day. It was really fun to have a reason to get all dressed up and enjoy a night out on the town.

Posing for pictures outside my parent's house felt a bit reminscent of senior prom...mostly because I had the same date. :) How 'bout that? Except this time around, there was an additional cute blondie in the pictures, plus another baby on board!

We had a total blast. There were over 40 restaurants there--some of the fanciest in the city...all with booths with free samples of some of the best stuff on their menus. I had a little bit of EVERYTHING...it was divine! From sweets to savory...we covered all the bases. And Dave drank enough for both of us ;) ...the drinks were free too!

Here's all the ladies I work with...oh, and my boss Gerry. :) I'm so lucky to have such fun and talented coworkers. I'm not sure what Roz (my boss's wife) is whispering in Andrea's ear, but I'm guessing it had something to do with Andrea's cute new boyfriend who is taking the picture.

Before you think Dave and I got all the special treatment this weekend...Andra had a special outing too! My best girlfriend Crystal is home from California (where she's a golf pro) for a few weeks. Crystal, Shannon and I became best friends in the 8th grade and have been ever since. I can't really describe what these two girls mean to me...they're like my girl "soul mates." Since Crystal lives in California now, it's pretty special when the three of us can get together. So we arranged a morning at Crystal's house where our little girls could ride Crystal's horses. What a treat! The girls (big AND little) had a blast...you can tell by the looks on their faces.

The crew...with hubbies and kids.

Shannon and her daughter Mady getting a good laugh.

Andra going for a ride on Ginger.

I don't think she was having a very good time, do you? ;)

A special thanks to Crystal for her patience with two 2 year-olds, and my Dad who tagged along and got the great photos!