Despite the weather...

We take two weeks of vacation each September in the Outer Banks since our trek from Minnesota takes so long to/from. It truly is ridiculous to drive 26 hours each way for just 6 days so we make it worth our while and settle into beach mode for a bit longer. One week is just us four (some years friends from the DC area join us) and the second week we rent a bigger home and my extended family and parent's best friends party under one roof. This year we had a smaller group as some outside commitments kept some people from being able to join us.

Our first week, the weather was picture perfect, 80 degree weather and cloudless skies. We did a lot of "firsts" with Cole this year, climbed the Hatteras Lighthouse, went kayaking, took the car ferry over to Ocrakoke Island as well as continued our tradition of favorite activities. Driving on the beach and having stretches of it all to ourselves to swim, fish, run, wander and beachcomb and where Tucker can roam without a leash has to be one of my top five things to do in life.

Our second week unfortunately has been a wash out weather-wise. One day of sun (when this picture was snapped) followed by the past four days of rain and/or gray gloomy skies. We have snuck the kids out to the beach whenever the radar indicated a break but those have been too few and far between. The winds picked up today so strong that even walking outside near the house you get sandblasted. So we have made the most of the time indoors, baking brownies, reading books, playing with blocks and games, watching movies and running up and down the long hallways (well the kids have that is)! Cole has had some dedicated time with Gigi and Pop Pop and the past few nights at our family dinners he commented "this is fun"! Sure, it would have been nice to have our days spent beach side of course but after the rocky start medically I had to 2010, I am just grateful to be enjoying the closeness of family.

Another Denham Road Trip Adventure...

Dave and I met in Boston in 2001. Next summer, it will be a decade that we have known one another. In those 10 years, we have logged more miles on the road as a couple (I won't even attempt to add up Dave's individual miles) than anyone else I know. Two cross country moves required two cross country journeys of course. From Beantown to San Francisco via the northern tier of the U.S. Once on the left coast we traveled in our Jeep Cherokee to Lake Tahoe, Oregon, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Monterey. We then left our hearts in the City by the Bay and ventured east this time across the southern states. Once settled in our nation's capital, we took day trips to Baltimore, Virginia Beach and bi-annual trips to our favorite destination, the Outer Banks. Our lives changed with the birth of Cole and we found ourselves on our 3rd move (4th actually move since we rented first and then bought a house in DC) in 5 years, this time to the Twin Cities. Packing up Cole who was five months old, the Jeep was weighing heavy as we followed Dave and Tucker in the loaded Penske truck as we made our way to our new home with its yard, fence and suburban zip code.

Having Cole has not curbed our appetite for road trips, we realized early on that we had more control traveling in our car than flying and because we prefer to take our canine kid with us as much as possible, we continue our quest to drive here, there and everywhere.

Cole is a road tripper extraordinaire. With long drives to Pennsylvania, Montana, Kansas and our annual treks to Outer Banks, he just knows what the deal is. We stop thanks to GPS at playgrounds to let both kids stretch and play but we spend hours on end in the truck, Cole watches the big rigs go by, has his own personal movie theatre and passes the time adeptly using our Iphones (wow, the applications for kids are amazing and educational). A cooler and snack bag keeps us from having to stop too often. Just like when he was a baby, the soothing movement of the truck traveling at high speed (and Tucker snoring) makes him nod off. Sure he has his meltdowns but they truly are few and far between.

This post is being written two days after our 26 hour and 1400+ miles journey to Hatteras Island, NC. As you can see from the photo included, Cole has a smile on his face as Dave snapped this on a pitstop, what great memories we hope we are creating for him as these road trip adventures weave their way into our family fabric!

Look Mommy...

At the start of the year, I began "lunching" with Cole, just him and me every other Friday. Cole is great at restaurants as I think the fact that Dave and I have taken him out to eat quite often in his almost four years, he knows what to expect and what we expect of him when we are enjoying a meal out!

Anyway, I thought it would be a nice Mommy/Son thing to do after we run our typical Friday morning errands to lunch together. We frequent kid-friendly places of course and he 9/10 times will order Mac-N-Cheese. He is not a protein eater, never has been. Thank goodness he drinks tons of milk and eats cheese and eggs. I wonder how he has grown so tall despite continuing to eat like a bird?

So last week we hit Whole Foods and then walked (or ran since it was raining) to Noodles and Company. He likes to choose a table by the window and ask a million times when our food is going to come. So our food arrives and I stir it up and move some of his Mac-N-Cheese from the scorching bowl to his plate in an attempt to cool it off. While he waited as patiently as a 3 1/2 year old can while looking at his food, two gentleman sat down at the table next to us. They smiled and said hi, Cole got all shy and coy and turned away as usual.


After several minutes of watching the steam stream from his plate, I finally give him the go-ahead and he digs in and begins chowing, cheese dripping into his lap, on his cheek...we kept laughing because it is really hard to eat Mac-N-Cheese without making a mess.

The server delivered food to the two men who sat down besides us and Cole's eyes go big...he can barely swallow his food fast enough before he "whispers" loudly..."look, mommy, that man got mac-n-cheese like me"...I said, "he sure did"...Cole with a totally incredulous tone goes "so big people can eat mac-n-cheese too? that is soo cool" The guy eating the mac-n-cheese couldn't help but overhear him, smiled and gave Cole a wink. Cole got bashful again but beamed a big smile back!

PeeeeYewwww

Driving the 11 miles west to Cole's school we drive past some invisible wildlife crossing, well not exactly invisible since unfortunately, it is in the area of Route 394 where the speed limit goes from 55mph to 65mph. That said, sadly it is the worst place for animals to attempt to make it to the other side of the road. Gladly, Cole is typically distracted by the various construction and large Semi trucks we see and thus has yet to ask about the roadkill. However, the other morning approaching the ramp we take to exit to his school, the fresh and pungent smell of a skunk filled the car.

Cole: "Mommy what is the smell, it is icky" (as he holds his nose)

Me: "That is a skunk" (as I see it's remains off to the side)

Cole: "Well, it needs a bath, it must be really dirty" (as he continues to crinkle up his nose at the now stronger than before odor)

Me: *Laughing* (Pondering the thought of explaining the skunk was dead and then thinking better of it since some things are better off left unsaid)