 |
| the "tree with leaves" |
we went to maryland for memorial day weekend, and we saw so many people and did so many things ... highlights over the next few days, but first, an explanation of that pillow. one of my best friends from college was kind enough to have us over monday, and she invited many of our other friends for dinner and hanging out that night. that evening, her two-year-old daughter and john were hamming it up on the couch for some photos, when john laid his head down on the pillow, looked up at me and said, "mommy, night night in the tree with leaves." as an adult, i would have described it as a very cool green designer throw pillow. but to john, a tree with leaves. so awesome how their brains work ...
* * *
saturday morning, we got up at 4:30am. we'd packed like crazy the night before, so we were able to pretty much get up and go. an hour drive to new orleans meant john got a little more snoozing in, but my husband and i were pretty bleary-eyed by the time we made it to the off-airport parking lot.
john was extremely excited to ride on a bus to the airport, and even more so when we explained that he was going on an actual airport! once we checked our bags, my husband ran to the restroom while john and i played/hung out in the seats nearby. a middle-aged man walked by, grinning at john, and muttered, "what a pleasure!" and i sure did think so, my sleepy cuddle bug climbing from chair to chair next to me.
when we got on the plane, john was terribly excited. and he patiently waited for take-off so we could go "up in the sky!" unfortunately, he was not a fan of the acceleration of the take-off process, and he burrowed in my shoulder ... where he promptly fell asleep for the first 45 minutes of the flight. when he woke up, he did GREAT on the plane - he played with his cars in my lap or at my feet, and was generally a good sport and friendly to everyone around us. he didn't like landing, either, but he gamely held on to me and waited for it to end.
as we waited to get off the plane, the same man we had seen outside the restrooms was sitting across the aisle from us and playing with john with the ballcap he had on. he kept trying to tell us to let john keep it, but we just gave it back to him and said thank you so much. but as we got off the plane, he insisted - he plonked the manchester united ballcap on john's head, and told him he was a good boy. who am i to say no to a short-term adopted grandpa? we'll wash the cap, of course, but john is excited to have a new hat ...
* * *
before we headed up to smithsburg, we stopped at a restaurant not far from the baltimore airport to meet my husband's aunt and uncle for lunch. by this time, john was not being such a good sport - he skinned his knees in the parking lot while playing, and was just a general grump. fortunately for us, my husband's uncle had the solution: ice cream for lunch! so while the rest of us chowed down on crab cake sandwiches and caught up on the extended family, john enjoyed a non-traditional vanilla ice cream lunch that did the trick.
back into the car for the hour and 15 minute drive to my dad's house in smithsburg. john (thank goodness) snoozed the whole way, and by the time we arrived he couldn't wait to go see grandpa. my cousin and her husband arrived shortly thereafter from new york, and grandpa decided we just had to go to this local farm that now has a creamery and a little animal farm for kids to check out. it was awesome - if you're in that neck of the woods and you haven't been to the creamery at misty meadows farm, drop everything and get there now. tasty local ice cream, cute farm animals to check out, and a fun wooden tractor playset for the wee ones to play on.
after john's second ice cream of the day, we decided to head into hagerstown to visit grammie at her work. she works at a liquor store - not your traditional family visit location, but i tell you what, john LOVED running up and down the wide aisles of the store. and going behind the counter to steal french fries from grammie's coworker, who was nice enough to share. john had the run of the place for a good 30 minutes while we visited with my mom and met her coworkers, who all feel like they know john already from her pictures and videos.
back to grandpa's house, where my best friend from high school and her four-year-old daughter were now hanging out with grandpa and the new york cousins. the two kiddos played together while we all caught up, and just as the kids were turning into pumpkins we shuttled john off to bed where he fell fast asleep.
my dad loves to cook (and does it well) so he "whipped up" a delicious dinner of skewered steak, shrimp, and veggies, and i took my tired (full) butt off to bed pretty early. my husband stayed up late with dad and the cousins, but i'm glad i didn't - the next day started off earlier than i ever intended. more on that later!
Comments