Fishing and a Picnic

On Sunday evening, we headed to Mill Creek State Park, about 20 minutes away, to do some fishing and have a picnic. It amazes me that a kid who is so afraid of flies and ladybugs can't wait to get his hands on some wiggling worms!

 

 Adam cast his line in the water and within a minute or so, Ryan hauled in his first bluegill!

 

Definitely a keeper...and the fish isn't a bad size either.

 

He caught a few more fish throughout the night and we also took a walk to explore the goose sounds he heard. Then, we headed back to the picnic tables for a nice supper! 

I decided that the best way to make a lame supper (pb&j, chips and Oreos) acceptable is to make it into a picnic!  It tastes so much better outside!

We had a great time tonight and will be back many more times this summer!

Tulip Festival Food

Now I know many of you think this annual festival is about flowers and parades, but I believe there is a small (but active) contingent that would contest it's as much about the food as anything else.  Here's a little guide of what we experienced this year with a rating from 1-5:

1=Not a good idea. Not now, not ever.
2=I'd rather eat at Hardee's.
3=Curbs the hunger but nothing to blog about (as if any of it is blog-worthy)
4=Better than your average bear
5=Amazingness on a stick

• Corn Dog from stand by Dove Book Store= 3 (Courtney) The breading was a little bland.
• Hawaiian Shaved Ice from stand by Bomgaars = 4 (Courtney) I got red raspberry and grape, and it had the perfect amount of flavoring poured on. Hit the spot on a hot day.
• Buffalo Chicken Wrap from stand by Bomgaars = 4 (Adam) Good, but there is no amazing secret sauce at work here--he saw the bottle both in this booth and in our local Fareway. 
• Foot-long Hot Dog from stand by Dove Book Store = 5 (Ryan) He.ate.the.whole.thing.
• Brat, Chips, Pop from Woudstra = 5 (Adam) Brats are good and to get this meal for $5 is a great price considering the alternatives
• Brat, Chips, Water from Woudstra = 2 (Ryan) He refused to eat the brat, even though he usually likes them, ate half the bag of chips, and backwashed most of the chips into the water bottle that I had been sharing with him.
• Chicken Strips from stand by Bomgaars= 2 (Courtney) Nothing special here-a little overdone, salty, and I regretted eating them.
• Funnel Cake from silver Streamline trailer= 5 (Courtney, Adam, Ryan) Perfect, as usual!
• Strawberry Smoothie = 2 (Adam) They need to take some lessons from the concession stands at the old Vet's Memorial Stadium.
• Fruit Snacks from Mom's purse = 5 (Ryan) This was a vital strategy in the "waiting for the parade to start" battle and paid off every time.
• Water/Ice in sippy cup from home= 5 (Ryan, Mom) Also an essential that was worth the weight of carrying it in my purse. Ryan polished it off every outing and it saved us buying bottles of water downtown. Also, after sitting through a parade and half the night show, I may or may not have been desperate enough to open it up and take a sip at around 10pm on Friday night.
• Sprite and Coca-Cola purchased during intermission of Night Show = 5 (Adam, Courtney)  We were dieing of thirst (see previous rated item) and these were super-cold, albeit illegal to have in the gym, but we were sneaky. To be honest, if these weren't available, we might have skipped finding out what happened to Eliza Doolittle.

So, there you have it! My one regret was not having a traditional pig-in-the-blanket but I have a feeling we'll have ample opportunity over the years. 

Tulip Festival Carnival Rides

The Tulip Festival features carnival rides every year and had a new vendor this year. I was interested in how Ryan would feel about rides (and not anxious to find out if he inherited my motion sickness). Adam bought a pack of tickets on Thursday after bringing Ryan to the puppet show and they tried out the carousel (which Ryan calls the Merry-go-Round). He had a great time and I went with him again after the parade. I loved how he would say in a quiet voice "yee-haw" everytime we went around and even tried "roping" while riding on his horse.

On Friday night, he wanted to try out driving the cars and absolutely loved it! The operator let the ride go for about 8 minutes--that is not an exaggeration--we timed it. I'm pretty sure I would have been puking after going in a circle that long, but it didn't seem to bother him!  He would wave each time he came around and said "Cheese" knowing I was going to take a picture. After the cars, he tried out the Puppies which, in addition to spinning, also went up and down. He didn't look as enthused about those, but I think he still had fun. He also tried out the Motorcycles, but I think he liked the cars best because he had his own steering wheel!



On Saturday, he could pick out 2 last rides to use his tickets and picked the Carousel and racecars again, so I'm pretty sure those were his favorites. I was actually pretty surprised at how well he did on the rides, going by himself and am happy to report that he shows no sign of my weak stomach. But, the real test will come when he's a bit older and tries out the Tilt-a-Whirl, a/k/a the spinning puke trap.

Tulip Festival Parades

It's our first Tulip Festival since moving back to Orange City. The tulips are long gone, but Ryan still liked playing in Windmill park (and throwing things in the canal).

Ryan saw a total of 4 parades this year. We started out with the Thursday night parade where Abbie, Wade, and Saylor joined us. This parade is not as crowded and we easily found a shaded bleacher spot. Ryan was a little antsy waiting, but had no trouble polishing off a foot-long hot dog while we waited! Saylor loved the parade, especially the marching bands. Ryan liked the bands, horsies, tractors, and a certain float that had rabbits moving around a track and a squirrel peeking out of a log. The funniest thing was watching him point and wave enthusiastically to the small tractor and wagon that followed the horses (the poop wagon). In his defense, though, at some other parades we've been to, that WAS the entry.

Friday night, Adam's parents joined us for the parade and then stayed with Ryan while Adam and I went to the Night Show, "My Fair Lady."  It was a good show, but didn't get over until 11:15 and since we'd been sitting on bleachers since 5:45, we were a ready to be done with bleachers.

On Saturday afternoon, we grabbed a spot on a curb to watch an afternoon parade so Ryan could watch the street scrubbing. He did okay, considering it we right during his normal nap time, and he was excited to see Juliana walk in the mode show with her authentic costume from "Zaan" and then stop by to sit with us. He also loved seeing my cousin Carter riding a unicycle. On Saturday, he even got to ride the 5' tall one! We went on a few rides after the parade and my fears that we missed any sort of "nap" window were eased when Ryan fell asleep about 2 blocks after getting into the pickup and took a 2 hour nap even though it was after 4:00! Watching parades (or climbing all over mom like she's a jungle gym and bonzing for fruit snack) must be tiring!


On Saturday night, I had to run to Sioux City to do some necessary shopping and Adam ended up taking Ryan to the night parade. This one featured over 100 antique tractors and Mustang cars (which Ryan loved) and the Alumni Band. He was probably the most excited person there to see so many tractors!

 All in all, he was pretty excited about the parades and already told me on Sunday morning that "maybe after I take a nap, we can go see the parade." I hate to break it to him that the parades are over for another year, but I'm kind of glad we have a day to rest up from all the activity!

Mother's Day

Having a variety of mother's/grandmother's in our lives, we celebrated multiple times this weekend. On Saturday, after a great day of running errands, planting flowers, going to the Alton pit, and working around the house, we met my parents and sister's family for Chinese food. It was great to get together where none of us had to cook!  Uncle Wade taught Ryan how to blow the wrapper off his straw at people, and he made an enormous mess of his rice, but the food was good and the company was great!



On Sunday, I opened my cards and was delighted to get a gift certificate for a massage and manicure! After a delicious breakfast of Cocoa Krispies, we went to church at my hometown church.  Ryan sat through a few songs, but then had fun playing in the nursery. It was fun to run into one of my HS friends there as well. After going to my parent's for a bit, we had lunch at my Aunt and Uncles along with other members of my extended family and Ryan had a great time playing with my cousins.  My cousin, Laura's, son Jackson was the only other great-grandchild there and the two boys loved the swing in the porch!

We finally got Ryan down for a nap in late afternoon but he was still sleeping when Adam's parents arrived. We eventually had to wake him up and it was a bit like a bear being poked awake after hibernating, but after winning about 13 Hot Wheels races in a row against Grandpa, he perked up. We grilled some chicken and had fun playing bean bags, hide-and-go-seek, and holding races.

Thank-you to my mom, mother-in-law, and grandma for being the wonderful women you are!

And thank you to this little dude who made me a mom and whom I love more than I ever knew was possible! 

Fishing

Tonight, we took a walk to a little pond behind the hospital so Ryan could try out his Superman fishing pole. He was pretty interested in the worms, but let Dad bait the hook.

Casting into the pond.

Reeling in the line a little bit.

Watching the bobber.

The bass Ryan caught!

Touching the fish.

 

Daddy trying to get Ryan to kiss the fish.

 

Ryan had a great time. When I asked if he wanted to say prayers tonight, he said, 

"Hey Jesus! Guess what! I caught a fish!"

Go Colin!

On Monday, Ryan's daycare had a sick child, so we had some last-minute backup care in the form of my cousin, Juliana, and my mom. Ryan had a super-fun day! He and Juliana played outside, ran on the track and football field, and Ryan colored a special picture for my cousin Colin. They delivered it to his car so he'd be sure to see it before his big conference meet. It must have worked because the Dutch won the conference! Way to go, Colin!

In the afternoon, Ryan got to go pick out plants at the greenhouse where "there were lots of flowers...and bees,"  and then go to Grandma's house. When I picked him up, he was catching butterflies with Aunt Abbie and Saylor and examining them with a magnifying glass.

Thanks, Mom and Juliana for coming to our rescue and giving Ryan a great day!