Ride Em Cowboy!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day! So wonderful that I took 500 pictures. From about 4:15 to 9. That is absurd. But there was so much to capture!

This trip has been so fun for Wiley. He went to Antelope Flats Road to look for buffalo with BaBa; he rode a horse around the corral; and he helped lead songs and played the kazoo in the cookout band. Aunt B, the actual song leader, may have lost her job last night. Wiley was quite the entertainer! I was able to go to a beautiful church yesterday, The Church of the Transfiguration, a part of the St.John's Episcopal Church in Jackson. You announce where you are from after the passing of the peace. There were quite a few of us representing from Alabama!



Wiley riding the horse, Sugar.



Here is Wiley leading the group in Twinkle Twinkle. The man playing the guitar was supposed to sing a solo. Wiley interrupted him to say "I think we should sing Twinkle Twinkle." So they did. It was hilarious.

Now, I'm off to fly fish for the day with my dad! Wiley has an exciting day ahead with Baba! Thanks Baba!!

Hello from the Ranch!

We are just regular ole cowgirls and cowboys out here at Moose Head Ranch!

After our flight, we were met with a surprise for Wiley from Aunt B. She had new cowboy boots for him, a hat, gun and holster, and bandanna complete with a sheriff tie. After we convinced him that the big cowboys (wranglers) wear the cowboy hats, he agreed to wear it.



Watching the horses being let out at the end of the day was so much fun. And he even got to pet a couple!



We had a relaxing afternoon with picnic lunches, rest time for Wiley, and a walk with Lucy, Brooke, and Ellen to the MH entrance. The scenery here is amazing. I will get some Teton pictures today, I hope! And the cookout is also tonight, which is sure to be a lot of fun...especially since Aunt B is a song leader!

(Pictures are really slow to upload, and I got some really good ones. I'll have to camp out in the Lodge and do some major uploading, but these are a few of my favorites from day one at Moose Head!)

4th (or 10th) of July

We had a wonderful time at the lake, relaxing, swimming, skiing, reading, looking at birds, and being with family. Here are a few (or a lot) of memories from the 4th of July 2009!

this is pretty

Just in case you are looking to give me something special...haha...these are so neat. My friend's roommate (the one who "sat" on Oranguton) had the sideways cross necklace.
It is so simple but a little funky. And I'm pretty simple, and think that this might make me a little funky....

a heart



or a star



I think my favorite is the sideways cross, but I can't find a picture. I also like the initial one. I could get a "W" for my two boys. (hint, hint, Wil, if you ever read this).

But why don't you just go ahead and check this out! There is a lot more pretty stuff! And you can see the cross necklace, and the initial one, and there is an order form there too!



Check out Liz Henry Jewelry

Passy-free

We are pacifier-free now. It seemed to have gone effortlessly when we gave them to Helen a couple weeks ago. Did fine in the car. He even has handed over passys that he has found since giving away a bulk of them (we had them hidden all over the car).

But I think it is taking its toll on our sleep habits. ALWAYS a good sleeper, Wiley suddenly fights naps and bedtime. We have tried doing the routine of brushing teeth, bathroom, and reading but he is still awake after having been put down at 12:30 (it is 2 now). Today, we had to have an early nap so we'd be ready for swimming, but 30 mins earlier should not make that much difference? I think that when he had the passy to sleep it really helped him soothe and quiet down.

I am still making him rest on his bed even if he is not sleeping, but it really bothers me that he is not sleeping like normal since he has been such a solid sleeper in the past. Plus this mommy needs some quiet time herself.

Any suggestions?

riding our trike...trying to get worn out for naptime!

Fishy

Today, we explored the Georgia Aquarium! We have been here before (W. was not quite 2), but going at 3 was all the more exciting for him. Not to mention, we were so lucky to have our friend Weston with us. We saw the whale sharks (huge, massive, whoa) being fed plankton (you would think they would eat something more substantial). We laughed at the beluga whales ("if atlanta can have a beluga, birmingham can have a beluga"-larry langford) and decided they would make an excellent pixar film (copyright WWJ) in the role of a principal of a school of fish. We also saw the Titanic exhibit which was not so neat to Wiley but really cool to us. Here are some pictures of the fun we had!

And note to the Aquarium, making you walk through the gift shop on a path lined with plush, overpriced sea creatures is really unneccesary. A smart business ploy to attack tired moms and dads who might give in to a whiney child if that is what it takes to get outside on your side, but really a cruel joke to us. I felt like Nemo and Dorie going through the jelly fish hoping we wouldn't get stung by a case of the whines. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

Oranguton

So, we have a new addition that has been hanging around for a couple weeks. No, we did not get another fish, or multiple fish. Instead, Wiley invited an orangutan into our family.

An imaginary orangutan.

The affection and interest in orangutan came from Brian who says that word in a funny dialect. Wiley imitates. He also enjoys the orangutan card in his stack of animal cards.

His name is OranguaTON (pronounced or-a-nga-tawn) the orangutang (that isn’t the right spelling, but we like to pronounce it with a "g" on the end.) Oranguaton has stuck around for awhile. While he is sometimes ignored, he has a tendency to mess up my car while we are driving places. He went to the zoo with us, and Wiley carried him in the back of his tricycle that we push and he pedals. He asked when we showed him and Oranguaton the real oranguatangs (confused yet?) how we would get the baby oranguatang (reference to Oranguaton…imaginary friend) into the cage. I’m not sure if he was trying to get rid of the oranguatang or what. Either way, I hope we don’t have to call DHR to report monkey neglect.

In other news, Oranguaton also is being potty trained. I told Wiley to go potty, he said Oranguaton needed to go, proceeded to hold Oranguaton over the toilet (lid up), then Wiley stuck out his finger from his hand, toward toilet. I think that means Oranguaton the Oranguatang is a boy. Don’t all jump at the chance to put a blue ribbon on my nonexistent mailbox.

Oranguaton also showed up unexpectedly in Winston-Salem. As our new friend Ann who we had just met sat down in her chair at dinner, Wiley exclaimed "You sat on my monkey!" Ann handled it well and I hope she doesn't hold it against us that we have imaginary monkeys that follow us around.

We don't know what Oranguaton looks like but I think maybe something like this:



I'm not sure if that is cute or scary. I guess it doesn't matter since he is imaginary.