Indoor fun

There are only so many ways to beat the heat and I think we're about to exhaust them all!  Yesterday afternoon the boys just hung out in Dan's room, climbing into and out of and jumping on a wooden basket (that normally holds the books by Dan's bed).  Poor Ben--that giant knot on his head isn't from a fall; he reacts that way to mosquito bites, if you can believe it.  He got bit in three spots: on his temple, by his left eye, and on his right armpit.  All three spots swelled up for about a day but he's back to normal now.

Guaranteed to make you smile!

Dan and Ben entertained each other quite well this afternoon!  Well, Dan entertained Ben and then Dan entertained Dan, so I guess Ben didn't really pull his weight.  After I finished my once-every-two-weeks vacuuming, I heard Ben laughing hysterically at the train table.  Turns out Dan was jumping up and throwing his head back at the same time, which is just hi-larious to an 11-month-old.

Then, after I uploaded the video onto the computer, Dan wanted to watch it over and over, but just the 10 seconds or so when he fell underneath the table.  Apparently, he has no problem laughing at himself.  Now that's a life lesson that I hope he'll remember in his teenage years!

Open Gym

Besides Dan's normal gymnastics class, we've also been going to a different gym for free play (well, $5 play) on Thursdays down in Wilmington.  It has a lot of the same stuff as the Jacksonville gym (balance beams, mats, rings, etc.) but this one has a tumble track with a giant foam pit at the end.  Dan absolutely loves it!  And Ben can crawl around too, with some extra supervision, of course.  It's pretty crowded--I think everyone else in coastal Carolina is tired of being cooped up, too, so there's usually 50+ kids there.  I'll try to videotape the boys this week because it's hard to get good still pictures with all the running around.

Our daily entertainment

Since it's been pretty hot and sticky here lately, we have been mostly hanging out in the house (or driving to Harris Teeter to buy one thing and sample 10 things--don't judge me!).  It's a good thing that Ben is so entertaining or else we would be pretty bored.  All Dan or I have to do is roll a ball or a truck across the room and Ben chases it.  He's not quite as good as a dog because he doesn't always bring it back, but he's way cuter and less stinky than a dog, so we'll take it!

Kansas Aviation Museum

Well, three weeks after we returned from our three-week vacation, this is my last post from our trip!  I should probably get the camera back out since I haven't taken a single picture since we've been home.  Don't worry--the boys haven't changed that much.

On our last day in Wichita, Dan and I went with my dad to the Kansas Aviation Museum.  You might not know this, but Wichita is known as the Air Capital of the World since so many aviation companies have their headquarters and manufacturing there.  Dan loved looking at all the planes outside and at all the engines and cockpits inside.  The museum is in what used to be the control tower for the old airport so it is an old building and not air-conditioned.  I was more than a little sweaty after chasing Dan around the building!  The only time he got mad was when he couldn't play with all the model airplanes on display.  And when it was time to go, of course.  I have a feeling that we'll have to stop at this museum every time we go home.

"What--these aren't toys?! What a rip-off!" 

My Grandpa Alexander's WWII aircraft

Swimming at the Babst's

On Sunday afternoon, two days before we left Kansas, we all went swimming at Layne's boyfriend's parents' house.  Clear as mud?  Dan didn't care whose pool it was, all he wanted to do was jump right in.  And swim and swim and swim.  We had a great time, splashing around with Layne and Alex and Alex's sister, brother-in-law and niece.  And when Dan spotted a cat running around the yard, his perfect afternoon was complete!  It just couldn't get any better, but then it did, because Zoe (Layne and Alex's dog) was allowed to jump in and splash around with the kids.

It's no wonder that every morning when Dan wakes up, he says, "What are we going to do today?"  He thinks every day is supposed to be filled with fun activities, but now that we're home, there are chores to do and laundry to fold and food to cook.  We were spoiled in Kansas and could just concentrate on having fun!

Fishing with Grandpa

For some reason, Dan just got it into his head that he wanted to go fishing while we were home.  (I think the original idea came from one of his Little Critter books.)  My dad works in a town called Derby and they just happened to be having a fishing derby for kids the last Saturday of our trip.  So my parents took Dan to enjoy a few hours by the lake in 100 degree heat while Ben and I stayed home in the air conditioning.  Dan had a great time and couldn't stop talking about how another boy caught a fish.  No fish for Grandpa or Dan, which is probably good because I don't think either of them would have known how to clean it!