Mommy's Little Helper

Landon is very into imitating people lately ... he LOVES to mimic us. I think it is pretty funny most of the time. Who knew a 15 month old could watch me pull out a pack of gum and start "chewing" with his mouth because he knows that is what is coming? Adorable, I tell you.

Yesterday I cleaned our sliding glass door. While I was busy cleaning, Landon was busy watching. When I went outside to clean he was so kind as to put both his little hands (whose prints I had just cleaned off) and his tongue on the glass :)! I had to laugh... he was just so interested in what I was doing. I didn't think much of it and went back to making dinner.

But a few minutes later I found him doing this:

He got into the washrag/towel drawer and pulled a couple out, crawled over to the glass, stood up and started washing the windows. It was so cute I could hardly stand it!

The Grand Finale

After Bloomfield we headed back to celebrate the Fourth of July in my parent's hometown - Osceola. Landon got more quality time with Grandma and got to meet Aunt Salowa and cousins Colton and KaDee. (My aunt is actually only 6 years older than me ... so Colton is my brother James' age and KaDee is 5.)

Pictures of the Fam:
Osceola knows how to celebrate the Fourth of July in style (minus the fact that the fireworks were the night before). They have a carnival that sets up in the middle of town. So many of my childhood memories surrounding the Fourth of July take place at that carnival because we used to go visit my grandparents every year at that time. It's funny to look back - I remember it being so much bigger and more glitzy ... interesting how time changes perspective.

(Even my mom got in on the action while my grandma (below) kept
Landon. See how stylish and sassy she still looks?! Told you.)

(Landon LOVED the carousel. He petted his horsey after and blew it kisses)


(With my cousin Kimmy and her son. Please note his shirt ...
it says corn fed. In Iowa they grow kids big ... and the joke is that
they are corn fed. I tried to find Landon the same t-shirt, for obvious reasons :)!)

This picture deserves a story. My brother and cousin are apparently both afraid of heights, yet desperately wanted to ride the Farris wheel. So they begged me to go with them. Naturally that meant that at the very top I had to bump into my brother and say "Don't fall" as loud as I could. They both screamed like girls. Priceless. I can't wait until they have girlfriends to share all these fantastic stories with.

Now for a little trip down memory lane ...

This is the first home my parents owned - the one they brought me home to. Then it was super cute ... you can't even imagine. My dad worked in construction and spent hours making it their little home. I haven't been in it since I was about 6 months old and obviously don't remember it for real, but I can picture the wood burning stove in the living room where my mom used to wheel my bassinet near so that I would stay nice and warm during my nap ... just from hearing the stories so many times. It's sad to see it get so run down.
And here is the house my dad grew up in. I LOVE this house and was so sad when it was time for my grandpa to sell it. My grandma made the upstairs so grandma-y. Themed rooms, nicknacks everywhere and a screened-in back porch. The basement was a wonderland to a little kid. There was a real bar where we could play restaurant (with an old fashioned telephone), a pool table and my grandma's ceramics studio. I painted many a Christmas ornament under her tutelage. Looking at them now I am certain that she helped fix them up a bit once I left them to dry. I assure you I couldn't paint something that turned out that well now, let alone then.
We didn't get a good picture of where my mom grew up. It was a farm, but no one lives there anymore and it was mainly just grass and plants. However, once upon a time my mom worked at this hotel ... now home to the Statue of Liberty (who knew?!). It was so fantastic I had to get a picture of it.
We all had so much fun! We were sad to say goodbye!

Bloomfield

Since my trip-blogging was so rudely interrupted by the battery problem, I'm going to take a step back a few days and catch you up. Friday morning we headed down to Bloomfield where my grandpa lives (my dad's dad). We had a fun time getting there...

First we stopped in this itty-bitty town called Humeston and ate at a little cafe. It is the best food we ate while there ... so delicious!! I think they thought it was so funny that we wanted our picture taken out front.
Then we stopped at a park for a while. James was pushing Landon in the swing and he thought it was SO much fun! (And I thought the pics were so cute!)
When we got to Bloomfield Landon met his great-grandpa Wuthrich for the first time. My grandpa has been married to Helen for a few years and we got to spend time with her too. She is very sweet and truly embraced our whole family.
Bloomfield is exactly what you picture when you think of a little farming community. It's tiny, quaint and everyone knows everyone else. We went to the farmer's market, ate at the local "nice" restaurant, got together with my dad's cousins and got to take a tractor ride! They didn't even have internet ... so we got to experience the quiet life for a couple of days :)!

(Landon meeting a cat at the Farmer's Market...they weren't so sure about each other)
(Playing with Great-Grandpa and his trains)

My dad has a cousin named Kenny. There probably isn't a nicer person on the planet. But when I was a young teenager he told me I looked like a Wuthrich - my dad's side of the family. I was SO offended. I thought he meant I looked like a guy. He still teases me about getting so mad that day :)!

(Hanging with Dad's cousins - this is Kenny)
(Finally a dog happy to meet Landon :)!)

Here we are riding tractors ... Landon and James even helped to plant some organic beans on my dad's cousin Kenny's farm.

When everyone was in bed I went to the basement and looked through old photo albums of my grandpa growing up and his married life to my grandma. My grandma had labeled everything. Even though she passed away when I was only 14, I still recognized her handwriting instantly.

We had so much fun, we were sad to say goodbye!!

A few Iowa-isms

We went to Bloomfield where my grandpa lives for a couple of days and didn't have internet. And then when I got back with a camera full of great pictures my battery died. DIED! And naturally I didn't bring the charger. BAH! We switched to using my mom's camera, but we don't have any way to upload the pics. So you'll have to wait for all that. In the mean time a few fun Iowa-isms for you ...

*The other night at the local Mexican join (located in the old Hardee's ... very classy) our waiter looked and sounded just like Pedro from Napolean Dynamite. Fantastic!
* At that same classy establishment a girl had her baby with her. And then she proceeded to change it's diaper at their table. Seriously.
* They did their fireworks show the night before the Fourth of July. Why? We're not really sure. But we missed them because we didn't know. Sad, because I love fireworks!
* When we were up at the carnival I pulled James onto the carousel with Landon and I ... and didn't give them tickets for him. He's a teenager on a carousel ... we weren't going to pay for him. Luckily the guy didn't even care :)!
* Landon loves horses. After the parade they had one in a trailer to take him home. His owner told us we could go pet him as much as we wanted ... Landon loved that! And then after his carousel ride he petted his horsey and blew it kisses :)!
* Everyone we run into still calls my dad "Jimmy" when they ask about him. I don't think he has gone by Jimmy since he was a kid. But old habits die hard. Besides ... we know who they are referring to :)!
* They also seem to think that James (my little brother) goes by "little Jimmy." We haven't ever called James anything but James :)! It takes them a few tries, but eventually James figures out they are talking to him and responds to little Jimmy.
* I got to meet someone who threw my mom a baby shower when she was pregnant with me. She even remembered which quilt she sewed as my gift.
* At the ice cream shop (which has an AMAZING brownie sundae ... that I might have had multiple times during our trip) a lot of people just walk in the back. I'm not sure what they were doing ... getting their food? Telling the employees they need something added to their order? Who knows ... but apparently it's acceptable.

There is something so endearing about quirky small towns, I really love it.

A Midwestern Summer Day

Today was a typical Midwestern summer day. We were invited to lunch by an old family friend. They go back so far they knew my parents before they were even married. It was fun to catch up with them. Then we went to the pool ... it was SO hot! Landon loved it ... they have a great shallow area where babies play and women sunbathe. He had a great time crawling up to them and flirting ... But then he realized I wasn't going to let him crawl his way to the really deep water (I'm a mean mom you know) ... so we finally decided to leave and have a nap.

After dinner we visited my grandma's grave (my dad's mom). I haven't been there in a long time. It was really nice to go. Landon really liked crawling around in the grass while my mom told us stories about their small town.
We finished the night off with some ice cream from a local creamery ... delicious! Landon loved it as you can see ...
After the ice cream was finished he created quite the masterpiece. We were both covered in chocolate ice cream by the end. But really, isn't that what summer is all about?
Iowa-ism:
* My mom used to babysit the guy who runs the pool. She potty-trained him and his twin brother when they were 2 ... and she only made $15 a week to do it! He let her in for $1 instead of $4.

Love at First Sight

Today Landon and my grandma met each other for the very first time in person. It was love at first sight!! (Don't mind Landon's expression ... he was snacking and had very full cheeks :)!)
I have been really excited for this day for a long time. My grandma and I have always been close. She is an amazing lady and one of my biggest examples. Her life hasn't been easy. But no matter what has come her way she has prevailed. And on top of that she raised four wonderful daughters (no easy feat in and of itself!) most importantly my own mom who is so much like her!

When I was born my grandma was there to help my parents adjust to being brand new parents. She often took the night shift so they could get some sleep (I had my days and nights mixed up), and has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders.

When I got married she took the train all the way from Iowa to Utah (she doesn't fly). That is a LONG ride. But she said she wouldn't miss it for the world. Love that.

When Landon was born she sent him adorable outfits and called regularly to see how we were doing, and to find out all about him. Her condo is filled with his pictures. She has loved him for forever ... and now she has met him in person!

Here is a picture of Landon playing with uncle James ... it's very cute how they play together!
And for your enjoyment a couple of Iowa-isms:

*As an appetizer at dinner we ate deep fat fried balls of creamed corn. They were actually delicious.
* When I told the lady at the front desk that I needed a crib in our room she said "I hate our crib" and acted very put out by the whole thing. And I had to pay $10 per day for it. Seriously. Customer service isn't a strong point.
* A large tractor is what was moving the Fourth of July carnival booths/rides into place. In the middle of town.

Travel Day

Once upon a time I was the sophisticated traveler. You know the type ... cool, collected and completely put together. I wore pencil skirts or slacks and high heels.

That was then.

Yesterday I probably looked like something the cat drug in. We woke up really early and left for the airport by 6. Landon did great on the first flight! He was fascinated by the process ... especially looking out the window. But he did a lot of climbing over all of us the entire flight :)!

We had a four hour layover (yes, you read that right!) in Dallas. This was actually SUPER lucky. One of my best friends - Yissel - lives 15 min. from the Dallas airport. She came and picked us up, we grabbed lunch and played with her kids and chatted at her house. It was a much needed break!! If you aren't familiar with Texas weather, though, it is killer! It was hot and so, so humid! It made me miss the desert!

I could tell Landon was getting really tired at this point. I held him and insisted he try to sleep. Luckily he did ... and it was a very quiet flight!! A much needed time out for all of us.

By the time we got off the plane, though, we were really hot and sweaty. We looked awesome :)! But we made it! We checked out the rental car (it's approximately the size of a peanut) and got the car seat put in (worst car seat EVER ... I'm totally anxious about Landon sitting in it), and got checked into the hotel (very nice and air conditioned!). Success!!

We miss Jeff. A lot. But if I can't have him with us, then I'm so glad I have his mini-me version along. Even if I look and feel a bit crazy on the plane :)! Heels weren't really that comfortable to travel in anyways :)!