World Championship Cardboard Boat Races

We thought this was yet another strange Arkansas thing that we were being introduced to, but apparantly cardboard boat racing is a popular event around the country. Kimberly-Clark had two entries. Daddy got to be in the preliminary heat! He's pedaling on the yellow boat.
The boat arriving on shore.

Daddy wasn't expecting to have this great privilege, so he wasn't prepared or dressed for the event!!
My favorite part was the balloons the radio DJ kept giving me.

The beach was pretty cool too, but it was all goopy mud at the shoreline.
The Discovery Channel was filming the event. Daddy's boat came in second place, so they were interviewed. Daddy might be on TV. We'll keep y'all posted.

Fourth of July with Poppy & Grandma

The visit began with Grandma's birthday celebration!
We walked to the lake for fireworks. Check out my first glowstick.

It was cooler than the fireworks!

The BIG project of the weekend was the SANDBOX!!! I've been wanting one for years!! Ok, maybe just months!!!!
The pictures don't really do all of Daddy and Poppy's hard work justice. It was tough digging into rock!
My first trip in!!

Lovin' every second here with Poppy!

Big Meanie Mommy said it was time for bed. I was NOT happy to leave my new sandbox!!!
Poppy and I put the rest of the sand in the next day while Daddy was at work.

Poppy and I found a new toy with wheels.
The secondary project of the weekend was the kitchen faucet. Before...
After... Mommy and Daddy are trying to jazz up their boring all-white kitchen.
Don't worry, the weekend wasn't all about work.

There was plenty of time for reading.

And snuggling. Was Grandma sneaking in a nap?

Grandma brought me a chair and desk from her school. Now I have a place for arts and crafts!

I really liked Grandma's flip-flops.

Showing off my teethbrushing skills

Playing IN the toy basket
Cooling off with a cold drink
A trip to the Cold Stone Creamery...yumm-o!
One last photo the night before they left. We had a great week in Maumelle!

Nana's Family Reunion in Boise

It was a rough trip right from the start. We were stranded in the Little Rock Airport for hours.
Then we were stranded in Houston for hours.

Then we were stuck in Denver for the night, with only the clothes on our back. Luckily, the hotel had a bed for me!

This was Mommy's first time in Colorodo. See the mountains waaay back in the background?! She was pretty excited since she thinks the hills in Arkansas are mountains.

Back to the Denver airport...thankfully, all went well the next day.
We made it to Boise in time to crash the Aunt/Uncle luncheon.

The first afternoon was a pool party. The water in Idaho is NOT warm.
The next day we visited my Aunt Jackie's paint-your-own-pottery store.
I'm not sure I liked it though.
And I certainly don't like being held for pictures anymore. I'm not the photo ham I used to be. I have too many other places to go and other things to do. These are three of my twenty-something cousins.
Later that day we went to the lake. Nana looked pretty cool on the jet ski with Aunt Paula and cousin Dan.

I liked hanging out with my cousin Reagan from Seattle.

Day three was a trip to the park with fun backyard games.

And that evening was the big luau shindig at cousin Todd's house.

There was a ton of sand!

Even though I can't jump, I liked when other people bounced me on the trampoline.

Mommy, Nana and I taught everyone how to do the "Cotton-Eyed Joe" at the talent show. We brought a little of Texas out west.

Check out the giant beanbags cousin Todd has!!

I was off to bed and headed home the next day. Fortunately, it was an uneventful trip!!

Poppy & Grandma's 35th Anniversary in Solon

Chillin' with Grandma after the long trip up thereShe taught me how to play the piano.
Don't I look like a natural?I was fascinated by the vents in the floor. These basement houses are nifty!
Time for some swimming
My "Cool Dude" look
Manly bonding More manly bonding
I'm not quite big enough for Daddy's old climbing tower, but the mulch underneath sure was fun! And I'm certainly not big enough to walk Maestro!!
Time for the big anniversary celebration at Maggiano's

They let me sit at the head of the table without having to pay!!
Uncle Mike gave a great speech!

Fun with the tripod when we were back home. Everyone looked so nice, we had to take some pictures!

Hangin' with Aunt Jessica

Playing cars with Uncle Mike

More anniversary celebration that night

We watched old home videos that Uncle Mike changed into DVDs from something called VHS tapes. Not sure what those are all about. They had a special chair that was just my size. Can you tell from my face that we've partied all day long?!

Wandering around Poppy and Grandma's AWESOME backyard

It's Father's Day. Daddy got a Penn State brainwashing DVD for me to watch!
We got matching "Big Guy" and "Little Guy" shirts.
The start of a new generation on the giant family rocking horse!

I found a little touch of home!

On the rocking airplane

More piano practice

More swimming

Solving the world's problems with Uncle Dan
A final photo the day we left. We had a blast at Poppy & Grandma's!!!!!!!