It's a Big Wide World

Toad has a new favorite show (and so do I). It's called Peep and the Big Wide World, a cartoon about a small chicken named Peep, a robin named Chirp, and a blue duck named Quack. Each day they learn about science in everyday life, with a lot of humor and lessons about friendship thrown in. Joan Cusack narrates. Toad absolutely loves Quack, who is quite self-absorbed. He watches while I get ready in the mornings, and sometimes we end up running late because I have to sit down to see how they solve their current problem.

It's on both TLC and Discovery Kids.

More Duluth Pics

JT emailed these from our trip last week. What a great picture of Toad with the city behind him.

Monday meant back to reality.... back to work. Getting back into our normal routine has been challenging. Today I'm off and was fortunate to have the CT family over for lunch -- they're packing up the RV and heading home early Saturday morning and with my work schedule, I probably won't get to see them again. They hope to return for Christmas. I miss them already.

This afternoon Toad is going to be a very unwilling model for the new photo studio that just opened at the Baby Store. Toad enjoys visiting Mama's work, but this could be tricky. Keep your fingers crossed for that one.

Toad's First Trip to Duluth

Toad and I had a lovely time in Duluth yesterday. Our fellow travelers included the CT Cousins, Aunts S & A and Cousin JT. We met Aunt M and msquared and spent the day visiting Canal Park, Floodwater Bay in Two Harbors, and M & M's new house in Duluth. The weather was perfect -- hot and sunny with a refreshing breeze off the lake. Toad and I napped in the van while the others burned and swam. We made a trip to the bookstore, of course, and then had dinner at one of our favorite places, Mexican Maya.

Ask Toad his favorite part of the trip and you'll receive a variety of answers: playing on the rocks, the monkey store, watching A Bug's Life in the van.

My favorite part? Being so close to the lake again. It's amazing how the sight of Lake Superior can calm and center me. I carry with me so many wonderful memories of Duluth -- from the times I visited as a kid, to the four years I spent at UMD, to all the times I've returned since to visit with family and friends and to share my love of the lake and its surroundings with Hammer Guy. And now Toad has seen it, too. I hope he will learn to love it as much as HG and I do.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo; you can come too, too, too....

Yesterday we went to the MN Zoo with Aunt S and the CT Cousins, Big T and Double E. We had a beautiful day -- warm but not humid with a cool breeze. The highlights of the day included the Butterfly Garden, a picnic lunch, visiting the Family Farm, and of course the Dolphin Show. We were all exhausted by the time we hit the road for home.

I'm enjoying a week of vacation, relaxing and working at home and spending time with the visitors from the East. I'm reading one of my all-time favorites books, Gone With the Wind. I used to read it every July (until Toad was born). I hate heat and humidity, so a book of that magnitude is the perfect escape.

Long Time No Blog

It's been several weeks since I've been able to post anything. June was a very busy month for us. We're enjoying our summer, with lots of birthday parties, swimming at Aunt J's, and family get-togethers, including a wedding at Lambeau Field for Hammer Guy and the HG side of the family. Toad's big thing these days is the movie Cars and all things related. Ask him who his favorite is and he'll say, "ALL of them!" Above is a picture of the track and cars he earned by earning stickers and following his sleep rules.