We made it!

We just walked in the door. I luckily found a bed sheet set in the closet, and we crawled into bed!! 

This is Lincoln up on the car while we pumped gas in Nebraska. we stopped So much! 

Lincoln had his bag of books, animals, and stickers at the side of his carseat. and I passed back the snacks. He played iPad for awhile each day. his favorite app is " first words." All you iPhone moms,,,get the free version! Ezra liked it so we tried it and Lincoln caught on really fast. It's kinda crazy. He moves the letters to form the words and then it rewards them with a noise and spin. for example, cat. He moves the tiles to spell cat , then the cat meows and spins in a circle. Anyways we finally bought the full version for the 35 hour car trip,,,  this time I feel it was more like 40 hours since we stopped so often. he also had a 90s style car DVD player. It skipped beyond belief and he only had 3 movies. The original 26 minute cat in the hat,  A very long informational DVD about animals in a zoo- national geographic style, and My all time favorite(not) treasure buddies! which has characters named Cleocatra and each golden retriever puppy has variant name of Buddy. we tried to not let him watch too much, as we might go insane listening to them.  The Best rest stop for anyone traveling around here is Little America, Wyoming. good food, very nice bathrooms, cute shop, and even a playground. All very well maintained, clean, and Lincoln's favorite part, fifty cent ice cream cones!  

 funny randomness,,, we ran into 3 different vivint guys at gas stations. everyone is done and ready to get back to school! tomorrows the day! we are glad to be in our own bed! 

its over

I can't believe this day is here. This summer is finally over.  and a little sooner than I thought. Time to close that chapter and start fresh. Kalob will be working hard getting his electrical engineering degree again. After a long hard summer of managing and manual labor, he's is more motivate than ever before. He had his most successful semester right before we left to New Jersey, so I hope he picks  it up right where he left off! 

Here we are, all loaded up and pulling out of the cherry hill towers forever. it was the tiniest bit bitter sweet because its the first  home Lincoln recognizes. He started getting a little weirded out that we were packing up his house! he unpacked many items as soon as we'd get them away. during his nap time we were able to get the most done! and when he awoke it was time for a diaper change and last load to the car! 

He waved good bye bye to his house and ran down the hall. 

Wild child

My lil baby has turned into a rambunctious wild child.  My mom tells me he wanted to start the terrible twos a little early. I think that he's just bored and as way too much energy!!! I can't wait for him to play at the park right outside our house when we get home. He's going to love it. we took him to a park here in Cherry Hill and he had a blast! 

He went down the biggest slide with terror on his face but then the hugest smile as he shot right off the slide onto his bum. He got right back up and wanted to do it again! 

he likes the swings too. 

And look at this buff dude.  He didnt last long :) 

But he tried. after the park, we went for ice cream floats. It was the sweetest thing. When Lincoln's cuppy was empty as we were driving home, he kept saying pwease, pwease more. Mmooorre pwease. Kalob about flipped the car around. Someones got daddy wrapped around his pudgy finger. that night kalob bought root beer and vanilla ice cream for at home.  

Space the final frontier

Lincoln is just like his dad. He is showing lots of interest in airplanes and spaceships. Such a boy right!? So of course kalob coerced us all to DC one more time before we head back to Utah. It was 2 weekends ago. Clint and Ty joined us.  We were able to meet up with uncle Andy and Hannah too.  We went to the National zoo, and to the Air and Space museum for the 2nd time this summer and I believe it was Kalobs 4th time. 

The zoo was really neat. It's so lush and the best part of all, it's free! we weren't able to see too many animals in the time we allotted but we saw cheetahs, warthogs, zebras, a lot of birds, elephants( we saw far too much of one in particular...his Hm hm "second trunk" was hanging near to the ground!), gazelle, frogs, turtles....a plenty good amount for Lincoln. a friendly emu was stalking me, looking me straight in the eyes. It must have sensed my fear. I was chased by an emu in my childhood, it was like Jurassic park to me. So me and zoo emu had a stare down. it got hot quickly so we decided to get lunch and move along. 

We grabbed burgers and shared an ice cream at Friendly's I think it was called. pretty yummy! 

At the Air and Space museum, we saw all the same cool stuff as before. the space shuttle is always neat to look at. To see it with your own eyes, it's been to space 39 times! Kinda amazing! 

Lincoln pointed at the planes above the whole time, he was actually content looking at them. We've ditched the stroller lately. Lincoln's growing up so fast!! 

Looking at a robot. 

we decided to take a peak into the gift shop. Kalob went a little crazy. He picked up things left and right for Lincoln. he's spoiled. Even this flap book, that is very factual and adult. I am pretty sure kalob bought it for himself:) 

This proves it, this was after he put Lincoln to bed that night, hehe. but here's Lincoln with his new space toy and book later in the week 

He loves to watch for airplanes from our big window. We battle everyday because he likes to climb the back of the couch for a better look. we have been making jokes pretending to be " one of those moms," the ones who thinks their child is the smartest baby(which he is). we've been saying' oh Lincoln wants to be an astronaut, oh Lincoln wants to be a pilot ' anytime he's shows interest in one thing. it's kinda funny, but kinda crazy to think about. the possibilities are endless and I hope he does dream big! 

 

Hershey Pennsylvania

We drove to Hershey Pennsylvania this morning. We are trying to cram as much east coast fun in as we can! chocolate world was on the list, so we woke up early and drove the 2 hours. And we are on the road back as i blog. 

Unfortunately there was an accident and we sat at a stand still on the free way for a really long time. Kalob has to get back for work so we spent only an hour at Chocolate world, and 4+ hours driving :(  but don't worry, we got treats! 

 For those interested, the "world" is very small. there is a free ride simulated factory tour which we rode. Lincoln pointed out the cows, the milk, and the candy which ran on tracks over head which he thought were trains! he would say Choo Choo! We got a mini chocolate bar at the end. He gobbled that up.

we looked at all the trinkets and then bought cupcakes! 4 giant cupcakes. best breakfast ever right?

I took a bite out of each one :) so sweet. I think most people would want a glass of milk to wash it down but not me,,, I wanted water. And a hotdog haha something salty! 

after our treat we had to leave. quick stop but fun nonetheless. 

Adventure Aquarium

The Adventure Aquarium in Camden was such a great aquarium, one of the best we've ever gone too. We'd highly recommend it. It was Super kid friendly, actually having its on floor dedicated to small kids. Here Lincoln and Kalob crawled under a fish tank and could peek into a giant viewing bubble! Lincoln was pointing at me and giggling. sadly I didn't catch any fish near them in the pictures! 

They had shark and manta ray pools. I was able to reach them, but poor Lincoln's arm was too small, and kalob was practically pulling him into the water every time one would zoom by! it was crowded too, and then we notice a small pool in the corner! It's a kiddie zone! With small rays, in a small low tank! It was So neat! No big kids allowed! 

Lincoln was all into it! 

There is a shark coming toward the glass here!  they had a giant glass tunnel where the sharks just fly over your head!

 lincoln is really picking up words, especially animals he likes. He said turtle, fish, and shark over and over! His little pointing finger was shooting everywhere! Kalob has some really great photos on his phone, I'll have to steal it! 

Sundays are a gift

Even though we have really been disappointed with our summer this year, we have had a lot of blessings too. we have been able to basically, have a family vacation every Sunday for months. We really Really love our time together creating such fun family memories. It will be sad to give them up, and go back to normal life next week. yup, a week to go. 

we are not looking forward to the 35 hour drive back home, With an 18 month old.  When he was 2 months it was, how can we do this! then with an 8 month old it was how do we do this! Then with a 14 month old it was this is insane, how will we get through this!? but we do it. and we secretly love it. Seriously, the best memories are made on road trips. 

 Lincoln's favorite song, if you remember, is gangnam style. If he is crying in the car, he stops immediately without fail, when we queue it up. Now that he is a little older, he has become quite the tyrant in the car about the music. He screams high-pitched wails til he gets his way. No talk radio, no smooth jazz, no classics, occasionally rap is ok. But Korean hip hop is the ticket! we got the Psy cd, and even though it's not in our language, it's still pretty catchy. We sing along as if we know the words, butchering the korean words and chiming in loud and clear on the English parts :) If linc could say it, he'd be saying "this is my jam." 

Today, we were able to go see what Philadelphia has to offer.  Cousin Adam was able to visit and Clint came along too.

We rode an open air double decker tour bus! It drove us to 20 site seeing stops around Philly. We saw the Ross house, the Rocky steps at the art museum, the penitentiary where Al Capone was locked up, the very first hospital in the United States, the liberty bell, china town, a bunch of statues and churches, the love park, these sweet row homes that were only 16 feet wide, and Penns Landing The architecture of that city is incredible. there is so much history, it was really neat to hear the details on the tour. We hopped off at the reading terminal market. if you've ever been to pike place in Seattle, it's just like that! we shared a Reuben and cream soda. There were so many places to eat in there, it was so hard to choose! Clint and Adam each got one of those super nom nom black and white cookies. I'm pretty sure I wrote about those in my NYC post, to die for! 

It's really difficult to get us all in one shot!

 We walked to Franklin's grave which was cool; old cemeteries always are.  People throw pennies on it, like a fountain. Then we went to Franklin Square! We had to get a cake shake; they are renowned you know, from Squareburger. Lincoln was lucky enough to ride the carrousel! since he rode one recently at six flags, he was a tiny pro. He rode that eagle, like he owned the thing.

he loved seeing me wave each time he went around. Doesn't look like it, but he was smiling and oohing!

This next picture cracked me up, yes it's blurry, but just look at those faces. What is with their expression!....

It was such a fun day! The weather was great for us, Lincoln was such a good baby( even though he's not a baby, I can still say it right?) we didn't even bring a stroller!! I hope he remembers these trips, even the slightest memory! I can't believe the summer is ending, onto new adventures. Uh hm, school! Kalob will be slinging on a backpack again in no time! 

Structure anyone?

So I'm having a hard time breaking up the hours of the day. My days seem too long! some days are just lonely and I just want to curl up and watch movies all day, but my 1 1/2 year old cutie pie doesn't enjoy that. 

He's saying hey mom! It's morning! Open your eyes or I'll pull out your eyelashes! Though he only says one word sentences, he literally does try and pull my lashes out. 

 I feel like even when I'm having an enthusiastic super mom day, I run out of ways to entertain or teach him. for example, today:

 6:30 woke up he had milk and a cereal bar. 

7 we let him watch cartoons ( still quiet time while we are zombies) he runs around and plays independently and has a baggy of goldfish or animal crackers to snack on. 

10 time to get moving, have second breakfast. Eggs almost everyday. Then get dressed. We play in the toybox until nap time. 

11:30 nap time today. he fell asleep on the couch, but he's good in the crib too on days I don't want to stay quiet 

1:15 up and ready to go for a walk. I packed him some chicken nuggets to eat in the stroller and we went to visit daddy in the office 

2:45 kalob drove us to target and then we walked home 

4:00 he has a pouch of yogurt and half a fruit bar snack. 

then we fingerpaint 

 Then we draw with markers

The we have sensory play with bowls and noodles. Then we string the noodles

5:15 we pick up our messes 

5:30 he eats an early dinner of fish fillet sticks, pineapple, and some baby food purée. (Don't want to waste it, even though he's getting older)  Then it's quiet time, til bed. He watched Hotel Transylvania. He loved it. I wrapped him in a blanket with his milk in his rocking chair and he was content. I was able to get started on Kalobs dinner. 

6:30 I offer him more food because he didnt eat much earlier. He eats 2 helpings of brown rice and some cheddar cheese cubes. 

7:15 brush teeth, pjs, diaper, read a story, in bed, asleep by 8! 

 

So that was our play by play today. I just feel like even though most of the day is planned out, he gets bored. I feel like I should be planning special things to do every day! But I'm running out of ideas! The weather is so back and forth too. By the time we get our swim stuff together, it can be raining before we get out of the elevator! Keeping him cooped up inside is not really fun for either of us. taking out the trash is even an exciting outing sometimes. if anyone else wants to share any ideas to keep a busy not yet two year old from tearing the house apart, comment please! 

Six flags and butt cheeks.

Sundays are the best! I look forward to Sunday family day all week. we had incentive work money so we took the guys to six flags! it was hot, but fun. Lincoln was a little trooper. He couldn't ride most of the rides. I think he went on four. With mommy and daddy of course. 

This was him all belted into a teacup. he wasnt sure at first, but by the time he rode the submarine, he was saying "oohh ooooh ". Kalob and I switched off riding adult sized rides. Lincoln got to try a lot of treats with dad and I took him on his first carousel ride ever!

He liked it and was making horsie noises,,, which aren't really a neigh, it's more like quick coughing :) we also went to a sea lion show. he really enjoyed that, when he saw the first one shuffle out, he pointed and clapped. 

we Really Really wanted to go on the safari adventure ride and see all the animals. we have been baiting him with it all week. " you want to see the elephants?? Eat your carrots" . To my dismay, when we got in line to ride, they closed it for the rest of the evening!!! 5 hours before the park was closing! had I known we wouldn't be able to see the animals, I probably would have staid home with Lincoln. I was so disappointed, I about cried. do you see that tiger shirt he's wearing?! for this safari! My mom even sent him a tiger hat and some small wild animal figures, to get us even more excited for our adventure,,,, and they closed it on us. 

the park actually had multiple rides close. 4 Or 5 i think. we'd waste time walking over to a ride ( since theme parks are sprawling) and find out , it just was shut down.  which in turn makes the selection fewer and fewer, and the hours of waiting even longer. Kalob and I rode 2 each and the boys rode 5.

 there was a rave dance party going on as well. We saw so many furry hats, bedazzled faces, crazy boots, and an insane amount of buttcheek. I had to ask the guys if it was just me who thought it was offensive. They agreed with me. High waisted shorts,,,pulled up so high, it gives them hungry-bum. it just looks so uncomfortable, to have a permawedgie. with your cheeks just hanging out. maybe I'm just jealous. or maybe it's gross.     And then paired with crop tops,  They might as well just wear a bikini. the worst part was seeing young girls with their parents dressed like this! we couldn't believe it. Kalob said he'd die if he saw our one-day-maybe-daughter dressed like that, let alone go out with him in public like that. Anyways.....

  Lincoln was so tired by the end of the day. I was able to snuggle him asleep and then place him in the stroller, but it started getting cold and buggy!! I hadn't expected a chill since its so hot here; I didn't bring linc a blanket. I had to get creative. I had his back up outfit in my bag, so I pulled his legs through the arm holes of the extra shirt and wrapped it around;) luckily it was dark, so no one could judge me.  

 it was a really great day. I love my family. I love that we are able to create so many great memories. Poor Lincoln probably won't remember any of his awesome childhood, but I'm taking plenty of pictures to prove to him!