Up

Lately, we have been working on the words, "up" and "down". Yesterday, I'm almost positive that Luke threw his hands up in the air and said the distinct word, "up". I was extremely excited to think that he might have possibly attached a word with its meaning. Although, he says, "uhhhhhh" a lot, so maybe the "p" at the end was serendipitous. I couldn't help taking a quick video for the grandparents (he doesn't say "up"in the video, but its still cute).

Grade Me!

The other day, I casually remarked to Andrew that I would be more motivated to work harder if he would grade me each night. In my pajamas after noon...D. Wandering around the grocery store for hours because I don' t know what to cook for dinner....B- (actually making it to the grocery store is an accomplishment). Taking Luke to the Zoo AND remembering sunscreen...A++. I could really be on to something here.

Although I was mostly joking at the time, when I remember how crazy I was about getting A's in college...it actually would probably be highly motivating. I wish I didn't buy into the whole grade aspect of education. I didn't realize the magnitude of how unimportant it was until I graduated and had to comprehend what the experience actually meant in my life. Which ended up being much more encompassing than grades. I digress...

Anyway, when we were talking about it, Andrew brought up this clip from The Simpson's (weird because rarely have I ever seen him watch The Simpson's).



I'm Lisa. How embarrassing.

FYI

If you haven't guessed, it was Andrew's birthday yesterday.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

[Andrew]

Today at 12:34 pm and 56 seconds the world experienced for one second its one and only complete, ascending, numeric progression of time and date in history (military time assumed for you spoilsports).

12:34.56 7/8/9

Wow. This must be a special day. Very special things must have happened on this day throughout history. Very special things indeed.

OBX

For our family trip this year, we decided to visit the Outer Banks in North Carolina. They shorten it to OBX which kind of cracks me up for some reason...it sounds like it should be in some rap song or something. I had never really heard of it but luckily Andrew knows his stuff (I'm always surprised at how little I remember about geography...I'm not even sure I ever learned the subject in school).

The Outer Banks is actually composed of a VERY LONG string of islands a few miles off the coast of North Carolina. There is a little road that connects them all and allows vehicle access (instead of taking a ferry). There are tons of vacation homes right on the beach. We didn't plan enough in advance to get a place on the island, so we stayed in a town about an hour away. But I'm highly motivated to make some plans for next year. It was beautiful. I was really craving some beach time and this was exactly what I was looking for.


We really didn't anticipate what a beach experience would be like with a baby. We totally forgot an umbrella for the fair-skinned Luke, but our makeshift umbrella worked for about 15 minutes. Admittedly, we kind of looked like the beach paupers.



I'm not sure if Luke loves the beach quite yet. He had his "outdoor face" on the whole time. I like to think he is just deep in thought. But occasionally we caught a smile.


Luke may not love the beach yet, but he sure thought it was relaxing enough to take a nap on my back.

Here is Luke in front of "The Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island. It's kind of an interesting story you can read here.

Cape Hatterus Lighthouse

On the way down, we stopped in Historic Williamsburg, VA where they have restored the colonial city and created a huge visitor's center.

Behind us is the Governor's Palace


We also stopped in Washington DC on the way there and on the way home. We got to catch up with the Haws family (my old roommate whom I dearly miss) and spent some time at The Archives.


This might be the funniest/strangest picture of myself that I've ever seen. I'm standing in front of the Bill of Rights and I thought that Andrew was taking a picture with the flash on (I've always been kind of a strict follower of rules...mostly the dumb ones that ordinary people don't pay attention to). This is me yelling out, "No Andrew, don't take a picture with the flash!" My look of horror most likely indicates that I'm afraid that the document will instantly self-combust if the flash hits the surface.

But don't worry everyone, Andrew is smarter than that. The flash wasn't on and the Bill of Rights is still safe:)

Like Father...

Generally, I tend to think that Luke looks more like a McCann than a Stacey. But today I came across this...

Andrew

Luke

They are best friends... and apparently look more and more alike everyday.

The Man Trip

Last week, Andrew and I went to Utah for separate vacations (weird, I know). Andrew went out to go camping with his brothers in Southern Utah and I decided to go at the last minute and surprise my family for the week. We weren't able to fly on the same airline, so it was my first time going solo with Luke on a plane. It turned out better than I expected but left me wondering how anyone travels with more than 1 child. More importantly, how anyone ever traveled before the invention of the ipod. Luke is still too young to benefit from such technology but I think every parent I saw with a child 18 months or older had an ipod playing Cars.

Airport security. I know I should be grateful that they are trying to provide a safe air travel experience...but the people who make these rules must not have children. At one point, I had Luke in one arm and was trying to open the stroller with the other arm and leg (it's a tricky little sucker and requires both hands and a foot to work simultaneously). I asked one of the workers if she could hold Luke for me (since she couldn't figure out the stroller) to which she responded that she wasn't allowed to hold kids. So then everyone just stood there and watched as I used every appendage available to me to hold my child and open the stroller. I'll admit, I felt like the entertainment. Later, I smartened up a bit and just put him on the dirty floor (shikata ga nai --it can't be helped).

As I continued through the process, they proceeded to throw out all my water bottles because I told them that they weren't for formula (unfortunately Luke hates formula) but that they were for Luke to drink and for me to drink so that I could nurse him. I guess they don't realize that water is required for nursing because my answer was apparently incorrect. On the return flight, I was ready to tell whatever lies I had to in order to keep my water bottles (oh the depths we will sink to for water). Interestingly enough, one of the workers came up to me as I was loading my hundred items on the conveyor belt and said, with a wink in his eye, "Hey, if they ask you what this water is for, always say it is for formula...understand?" We were totally on the same wavelength as I responded, "Of course it is (wink, wink)". Suddenly I had this warm feeling like maybe I had actually made a TSA friend and that they all might not be oblivious to the fact that some of these rules are erroneous and stupid. For a moment, we were on the same team ...and it felt good.

Like I said before, I can't complain. Luke didn't scream the entire flight or make a speedy dash down the aisle to the cockpit like I was slightly anticipating. I should probably be more grateful. By the way, I've decided that the best in-flight drink is by far a club soda. I'm usually not a fan of carbonation, but the fizz is great if you get a little motion sick and there's no sugar to zapp your energy later on. Then again, Andrew and I are generally club soda fans...its not for everyone.

It was fun to surprise my entire family (only my brother-in-law, Steve, knew my secret). I'm glad they appeased my sudden intrusion and rearranged their schedules for us. It was a great week and Luke misses them already. I don't have many pictures because Andrew took the camera with him (hopefully he will post about his trip later).


Here we are setting the stage. We left Luke on the door step, rang the doorbell, and ran. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa recognized Luke immediately and didn't call Child Protective Services.


Here is a sneak preview of Andrew's "Man Trip" as he so fondly refers to it. I'll admit, I was slightly jealous, but he definitely deserved it after all his hard work this year. As much as we enjoy hanging out together, I also realize that I'm just not one of the guys...and guys need guy time. I'm cool with that. Why don't ladies get together and go backpacking in the Narrows? I'm down if anyone else wants to go.