Madtown Memoirs

New Year's Eve Bash

2010-09-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

12/31/09

We hosted another New Year's party. We had a few friends over for some drinks and games. We all had a good time and celebrated the New Year.

Isaac rockin out with Guitar Hero.

Nick and Gina

Jim and Angela

Carol and Mark

Zach and LeeAnn

Wendy and Oliver

Kiki, Gwen, Matt, and Jessica

Isaac cleaning up again during the middle of a party.

Oliver showing us how to play Guitar Hero.

The Flowers family

Becky and Mark

Matt given Mark a New Year Eve tongue licking.

Heather and I celebrating the New Year

Becky proud of herself for completing the puzzle.

Mark getting ready to destroy Becky's accomplishment.

Holiday Fun

2010-09-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

12/27/09

Our little Monkey.

This little Christmas tree sings "Jingle Bell Rock". Isaac must have played it continuously for twenty minutes as he danced around the tree.

Marching around the tree.

Look at that high step! UW marching band material.

Isaac getting geared up to help Daddy shovel snow. Dinosaur Boots-check, shovel-check, PJ's-check.

Christmas

2010-09-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

12/25/09

Mommy pointing out what Santa left for Isaac while he was sleeping.

Santa gifts for Isaac. His first ones..he wasn't very good the year before. Just kidding.

Opening his gifts.

Wasn't quite awake yet so he was pretty laid back about the gifts.

Isaac having some fruit in the car on the way to Heather's family Christmas.

Isaac got another vacuum cleaner. Except this one actually works. He loved it!

Yeah, another tractor to pick up dirt and cars.

Cleaning the floor during the party. The kid just loves to do household chores. I pray that he will NOT outgrow this as he gets older.

Hiding behind the couch.

Anderson family

All of the grand kids.

Christmas Eve

2010-09-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

12/24/09

We have an annual tradition were Grandpa reads "T'was the Night before Christmas" to all the grand kids.

Unfortunately, they are all at an age where getting them all to simultaneously sit still and pay attention is impossible. Kaydence takes off about three pages into the story.

Grandpa has changed venues but now Isaac is no longer interested in the story.

Ty's kids seem to be paying attention and enjoying the story. Even little Myles.

Nope, now we lost Myles.

Grandma checking out the presents under the Christmas tree.

Isaac playing with his first toy.

Kaydence flashing her pearly whites for the camera.

Kaydence is pumped up about her first gift.

Isaac chilling with Daddy and learning how to blow his train whistle. He would watch me do it and then basically spit into the whistle. Then when it didn't work he would hand it back to me so that I could do it. Awesome, a spit coated train whistle. Just what I wanted for Christmas.

Ty's family.

Us.

My parents.

On the Go

2010-09-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

12/21/09

Isaac getting ready to go on a walk with Daddy and Stanley. He wanted to wear a pair of Daddy's gloves.

This is half of a Christmas decoration. There is suppose to be a Santa Clause riding the bike but Isaac likes to take Santa off and ride the bike himself.

Isaac checking out why his feet won't go on the pedal. Why? Because Santa's legs are still attached. Kinda freaky.

Pushing the bike around the room.

Isaac was pretending that this was our family driving in the car.

Pooh is Daddy, Piglet is Isaac, and the girl is Mommy.

Trains and Candy!

2010-09-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

12/19/09

Olbrich Gardens had a Model train show along with a Gingerbread house contest. Isaac had never seen a movie model train before. He was absolutely transfixed by them. After he got over the fact they were movie on their own, his next step was wanting and trying to catch one.

I must say he looked like a little conductor in his bibs and hat.

It was quite the setup. They had four large trains going and about a dozen gingerbread houses.

This was Isaac's favorite house because it had tractors. He didn't understand why he couldn't take the tractors off the house and play with them.

This house was done by a local bakery. It was pretty cool and looked yummy.

Another very detailed house.

This one was my favorite. It was a series of gingerbread houses that they decorated to make a train. It was pretty cool and beyond my artistic talents (which are minimal).

Outside Decorations

2010-09-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

12/18/09

Isaac helping put the candy canes in the front snowbank. He would put them all in and then take them all back out.

Isaac didn't know what to think about the Santa Pooh. He decided that he didn't like it and made us turn it off. So Santa Pooh was up very little this Christmas season.

Christmas Cookies

2010-09-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

12/13/09

Isaac and Nonnie helping Daddy making Christmas cookies.

Now Mommies turn to make cookies with Isaac. Which translates into making sure Isaac doesn't eat the raw cookie dough or touch any of the hot pans.

Mommy and Daddy making cookies. But where is Isaac?

Down in the jump house with Grandpa. He loves his jump house and it is a great way to burn off energy during the cold winter months. Although it does take up half the basement.

Visit with Santa

2010-09-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

12/12/09

Isaac's first Santa picture where he could tell Santa what he wanted. He was still a little nervous and didn't really know what to expect from this big guy in red.

Isaac telling Santa what he wants. Let me guess, tractors and trains.

Mommy and Isaac helping Daddy check all the Christmas lights before he puts them on the roof.

Holy Snow!

2010-09-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

12/9/09

Just the past the first week in December and we get dumped on with snow. Isaac "helped" by racking the snow off of the pile I had just made and putting back on the driveway. I believe we got somewhere in the range of 17 inches.

Once the driveway was cleared, Isaac could finally bring his Bigwheel out. It reminded be of bumper bowling for little kids. Isaac couldn't help but stay on the driveway because there was snow almost higher than his Bigwheel everwhere else.

Here are some of the neighbors pine trees weighed down with snow. Lot of branches broke off do to the amount snow.

Here is our pine trees. Some of them were almost totally flattened to the ground. They still looked pretty sad even after I brushed off the snow.

More Tractors

2010-09-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

12/6/09

Isaac on a piece of equipment that I have no idea what it does.

On the biggest tractor on the farm. He wanted to drive it all by himself.

Another tractor, which was probably last functional sometime in the early 50's.

Isaac on the front loader ready to dig up some dirt. Did I mention that Isaac LOVES tractors?!

Isaac, Grandma, and "My Pet Monster." It was an 80's toy and one of my cousins Aaron's favorite toys when he was little.

On the Farm

2010-09-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

12/5/09

We went back to Nebraska for the extended family Christmas. Isaac loves animals and tractors so this trip was exciting for him. Here he is looking at the "BIG WHEEL!"

Isaac pretending to drive the tractor. I have a lot of good memories of playing on the farm when I was a child. I am hoping he will have that chance also.

The farm has been in the family for generations so there is old farm equipment that is long past its functionality. It didn't matter to Isaac, it was just another tractor that he wanted to drive.

My uncle Keith giving Isaac an early Christmas present.

What did he get? A brand new backhoe loader that makes sounds like a real tractor. He loved it and kept pushing the buttons all the way home...all 7 hours. At least until he feel asleep and then we hid it.

Isaac taking a closer look and trying to get it out of the box. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure (challenge) of opening a child's toy, here is a tip. Be ready to either clip or untwist about 10-12 twist ties per toy. They really anchor those toys to the boxes.

Isaac apparently was not a fan of his second cousin's piano playing ability. He kept his fingers in his ears and kept telling me to make them stop playing.

One of Isaac's favorite activities, running.

He must have run up and down the hallway about 50 times. He never seems to get tired. We were chasing and running with him in shifts. It took 4 adults to keep up with him.

Little Drummer Boy

2010-09-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

11/21/09

Our little drummer boy marching around the kitchen with his drum set.

He marched around for quite a while playing the drums.

He kinda reminded me of the energizer bunny. He just kept going, and going, and going.

Heather and I

2010-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

11/14/09

Heather and I at our friend's Cory and Julia's wedding. It was a nice night out by ourselves.

Isaac and his Nuks

2010-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

11/14/09

Isaac showing us that he is old enough to handle two Nuks at once. This was about the time we started thinking about getting rid of the Nuks.

Minnesota Football Game

2010-09-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

11/7/09

Mike and Alicia invited my Dad and I down to a Gopher football game in the Gopher's new stadium.

Mike even convinced me to wear some Gopher gear since they weren't playing the Badgers.

A picture of the stadium. It is quite an impressive building, and a hundred times better than the Metrodome (or the inflatable toilet as it is sometimes referred).

It was a packed house for the game against Illinois. The design of the building is a lot like Camp Randall (wear the Badgers play).

We were right next to the huge scoreboard. It was a close game but Illinois ended up edging out the Gophers.

2010-07-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

10/31/09

Isaac drawing on his first pumpkin.Isaac drawing on himself.

Us enjoying Isaac's first trick or treating Halloween.

Our little pirate.

Cheese!

Marching through the neighbors yard to get his first candy.

His first house, he even said "Trick Treat."

Looking at the lighted jack o lantern that daddy carved.

Us getting ready to go around the neighborhood.

Heather and I went to a few Halloween parties and even managed to get down to Freakfest on State Street. We went as Jack Skeleton and Sally from the movie "The Nightmare before Christmas." We got numerous comments on our costumes, at least from people old enough to have seen the movie.

The first party we went to had the characters from the book/movie "Where the wild things are."

Their costumes were pretty awesome. They won second prize at this party for best costume.

This lady was the Geico Money. She even had a Ipod with her playing the song. It was probably the most original costume I saw that night.

This is Heather's cousin Brian, he was a picnic and his wife Gina was an Ant.

Gender crossing Nintendo characters Peach and Mario.

Heather's friends from her bookclub.

What! When this guy walked in I had to do a double take. He IS Conan Obrian. All he had to do is change how he styled his hair. I laughed ever time I saw him that night. He won best costume.

The second party we went to was near downtown. These are the girls from Strawberry Shortcake. Lemon Meringue(), Blueberry Muffin(Carol Meyer), and Strawberry Shortcake(Becky Mehler). Carol made all these costumes. She is very talented.

Me and a drunk penguin (Mark Meyer)

The Meyers

The Stapletons

The Mehlers (he is Super Grover)

This is penguin guy with a Halo helmet on. It is hard to tell but the helmet says "Hello" on it in the picture.

Where was Isaac during this time? Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa was a pig for Halloween and Isaac loved it.

A cow driving a car?

2010-07-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

10/30/09
Isaac loves to sit in the drivers seat of my car and pretend to drive. Imagine my surprise when he grabbed my keys, put them into the ignition and actually started the car. Here he is pretending to drive in his cow costume.

One of Isaac's "special" pictures.

Heather made some pumpkin cookies for Halloween.

Here is the result of Isaac eating one of those cookies. He mostly just smeared the frosting all over his face and had a grand time doing it.

Mashed pumpkin cookie.

Look mom, I have frosting all over.

....And now I have it in my eyes and don't like it.

Zoo and Columbus Halloween

2010-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

10/25/09
Henry Vilas Zoo was having a Halloween day where you could see the animals and collect candy at the same time. We though it fitting that Isaac was a lion for the event.

The lion ready to hunt for some candy.

Mommy and her lion cub walking to the zoo.

Just like the picture because of his ear sticking out of the costume.

Isaac got to touch his first snake. He liked it. Notice that the lady lets you touch the snake and then immediately give you hand sanitizer. That is some good planning.

The animal carousel ride. Isaac went on it a couple of times.

Much to Isaac's delight they had a train that went through a portion of the zoo.

Isaac watched the train more than the animals that your suppose to be looking at during the ride.

Some friends of ours from church. Their little girl Mya.

Their older girl was Minnie Mouse for Halloween.

Another round on the carousel, this time on an ostrich.

A huge porcupine eating a pumpkin.

A red panda, looks kinda like a raccoon.

Bucky Badger showed up. Isaac loves Bucky but was a little nervous to be sitting on his lap.

Isaac took his nap on the way out to Columbus for his first round of Trick or Treating. He wasn't quite awake yet when we began to collect candy. As you can see he is less than enthusiastic about walking around in a pumpkin costume.

I carried him to the first couple of houses. Here is bunny Grace leading the way.

This house had a motorized spider in the yard. Isaac was curious and wanted to touch it.

Isaac eating some of his candy. I think he ate the candy from the first five houses before he could get to the next house. We eventually had to tell him to stop eating it all or he would get a stomach ache.

The candy collection crew. Bunny Grace, Ninja turtle Sawyer, white ninja Logan, pumpkin Isaac, and Evan in a hot air balloon. Evan got the most responses as people thought that he was either from the movie "Up" or mimicking the fake news story about a kid trapped in a weather balloon.

Isaac doing a little dance in a big pile of leaves.

Doing the "pumpkin dance."

Too cute!

Jumping in more leaves.

Daddy giving Isaac a gummie "toe."

Entertainment provided by Isaac #2

2010-07-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

During this time we had started potty training. Here are two stories from the early stages of training. The first one is from one of the first times he pooped in the potty. For some reason Isaac likes to look at his poopies after he is done. So as a reward for going on the potty he gets to see his poopies and flush them down the toilet.

Isaac looking into the toilet. "That's a big poopy....My butt hurts Daddy."

The second comes from the fact that we were trying to catch him before he pooped in his diaper so if we smelled something bad we would tell Isaac to stop running around so that we could "check" him which meant looking in his diaper to see if he had done his business yet. One afternoon as I was just about to take the dog for a walk, Stanley tooted and it smelled really bad. Heather joking stated " Isaac... Daddy smells."
Isaac responds "I'm gonna check you." Which he proceeds to try to look down the back of my pants to see if I pooped them.
Isaac- "I can't see your butt daddy."

Pumpkin Pals

2010-07-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

10/20/09
I brought our pumpkin costumes to Eva's house during one of their playdates. The pumpkin pals share a hug.

Eva didn't like wearing the hat.

How can a kid not look adorable in a pumpkin costume?

Birthday Presents

2010-07-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

10/18/09
Isaac enjoying some of his birthday gifts. Along with some early Halloween candy sent by Matt and Tyra.

Thomas the train and friends.

Oooo Garbage truck. This toy is a little creepy. It makes noise when you play with it, which in itself is fine, but Heather and I will be about to go to sleep when the truck will start going off by itself when nothing has disturbed it. Nothing like a fear to put you to sleep at night. Always starts the nightmares off on the right foot.

Isaac's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-07-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

10/11/09
A pre-party nap to gather his energies for the upcoming fun.

Sawyer with the horse costume.

Thomas the train was the theme of the party. Thomas is Isaac's favorite toy.

Grace looking cute and innocent eating her cake.

Gwen taking a snooze at the party.

Eva enjoying Isaac's tools.

"Really, I can touch the cake?"

Isaac is a little shy in this photo. What you don't see is the 20 or so people looking at him while this picture is being taken.

Present time! After he opened each gift he immediately wanted to play with the toy. This created some problems when we kept taking them away and giving him new unopened gifts. Little did we know that each toy given to a 2 year old is required to have a minimum of 27 twist ties attaching it to a piece of cardboard, at least that what it seems like. At one point we had at least four adults trying to undo twist ties to free them from the cardboard packaging.

Daddy and Mommy helping Isaac with his presents.
A Thomas the train flash light.
Cutie Eva posing for the camera.
We asked Eva to give Isaac a kiss for his birthday.

He wasn't sold on the idea of kissing a girl.

Eva is denied a kiss, but gets a hug instead.
The guys watching football.
Grandpa and Grandma with Isaac.
Matt and Tyra with Isaac.
Grandpa and Nonnie with Isaac.

Evan, Sawyer, Logan, and Grace jumping on Isaac's bouncy house.

We liked Jacob's face in the background of the picture.
Jacob doing a flip in the jump house.

Evan wearing one of the Thomas the train party hats.

Early Birthday Presents

2010-05-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Isaac getting some practice opening gift in preparation for his upcoming 2nd birthday.

Hey, a card that plays music. Cool!

Showing Mommy his new card.

His bubble gun. You pull the trigger and it makes bubbles for you.

A good shot of Isaac's epiglottis. If memory serves, I believe he was growling and trying to eat the camera.

Heather's 30th Birthday at the Nitty Gritty

2010-05-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Her pretty flower cupcake.

You get a free mini sundae if you go to the Gritty on your birthday. Isaac claimed the sundae as his own.

Hmm, you seem to have a little on your nose, face, and well pretty much everywhere.

Pretty proud of himself. Either because he got to eat dessert before the meal or because he ate it with a spoon all by himself. Probably both.

Fun with static electricity.

Good family photo. Normally one of us is making a goofy face or looking the wrong direction.

Ice cream sundae #2. It was pure bribery. By giving him another sundae to occupy him we got to eat our meal in peace. Don't judge until you have a two year old that never lets you eat.

Isaac sharing with Mommy.

Hey, this is my sundae. Don't get any ideas.

Matt and Jessica with their new baby Gwen.

Entertainment provided by Isaac

2010-05-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Isaac has been going through a phase that when he doesn't like what your doing or trying to do to him he tells you "No thank you" and hits you lightly. We teach him to say "No thank you" but the hitting is not allowed. We are working on it but he still hits when he is really upset. One night Isaac is having dinner in his high chair. He gets some food stuck in his teeth and is trying to get it out with his fingers. He accidentally bites his own fingers as he is trying to dislodge the food. So he proceeds to say "No Thank You" really loud and smack himself in the head. Heather and I lost it. We had to turn away and laugh quietly so that we didn't encourage the hitting. It still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Schuster's Farm and Pumpkin Patch

2010-05-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

We took Issac to his first pumpkin patch. This place was awesome. It had hayrides, pumpkins, caramel apples, hot chocolate, etc. We had a blast at this place and plan on going back every year.

The girl taking the tickets was in a chicken costume. Isaac was a little freaked out at first, and I can't say that I blame him. It was a little creepy to look at. He eventually warmed up and wanted to pet the chicken.

Don't worry, this chicken doesn't bite.

But Daddy does! Isaac apparently does not find it as funny as Daddy.

Looking for our pumpkins. Isaac picked this one for Daddy.

He tried to move it but with little luck. He went off in search of a pumpkin more his size.

How about that one?

"This my pumpkin Daddy?" It is now.

"Its dirty"

It took about 15 pictures to get him close enough to the sign to measure his height. He would immediately start walking away as soon as we put him next to the sign. Thank God for digital cameras.

A large wooden chair that Isaac kept jumping off of into my arms.

Now those are some big pumpkins. I think each one weighs twice what Isaac's weighs.

"Their bumpy, ouch"

The pumpkin cannon! Man can this thing shoot pumpkins. I would estimate that it shot them 300 plus yards.

They had a barn full of hay bales that they let you play on. This might have been the part that Isaac had the most fun. He loved jumping into the soft hay, digging in the hay, and running on the bales.

"Catch me Daddy"

Digging in the hay.

This is great!

Kicking the hay.

Throwing the hay and not getting in trouble for it.

The "cool bus."

Riding on the tractor. Isaac cried when we took him off of this. He really likes his tractors.

Driving around the farm.

Piglet racing area.

The piglets were fast. Of course they were motivated by food.

A really fancy looking chicken. It even had feathers on its feet.

Man, turkey's are ugly. Isaac was not a fan of this bird.

Goat petting zoo. Also motivated by food.

The goat ate all the food out of Isaac's hand and then proceeded to lick it clean. Good thing we brought plenty of baby wipes. Isaac's a boy and doesn't really care if his hands are clean but after the goat was done even he wanted a wipe for his hands.

I can't believe the goats can get their heads through the fence. But food is a strong motivator for these guys.

Corn cob cannon.

Heather and Isaac on a barrel ride.

Mommy and Isaac going down a very large slide.

Trying to get some popcorn out of his teeth.

Cowboy Time

2010-05-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Cowboy boots? Check. Horse? Check. Cowboy Hat? Check.

Getting ready to ride his horse.

Horse biting Mommy.

Horse biting Daddy.
It looks like he is posing for the camera but I just happened to catch him as he was starting to stand up.

Isaac styling mommy's hair.

That night some friends from college came into town so we decided to hit the town like we used to in our glory day. By the way, I think we made it to 1am and were all extremely proud of ourselves. Steph (Benny), Steph Charles, and Dena.

Reggie, Liz, and Erica

Drinking Bloody Mary's and Martini's at Genna's. Yum!

Whoa! Someone is excited. I think I was pumped to be up passed 1am and not cleaning the house.

Oktoberfest Parade

2010-05-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Oktoberfest parade is a 3 hour plus parade. Rain or shine everyone has a good time eating brats, drinking beverages, and watching the parade go down the street. My favorite game during the parade is horse hopscotch. Here is how you play. You pay five bucks and you get to draw a 3ft X 3ft square on the ground in chalk. You win if a horse poops in your square. Awesome!

It was a really nice day so we had to put some sun block on Isaac. He is at the stage were he wants to do everything himself. So we gave him the sunblock (that looks like a gluestick) and let him give it a whirl. Here he is putting it where it is supposed to go.

Here he is putting it in his hair. Not really needed there but probably can't hurt.

On the lips, ok. Again, not gonna hurt anything.

Yummy, sunblock gluestick. I am pretty sure I have never heard of someone burning there teeth, but Isaac does not want to take any chances.

Eyeball, really?! This is wear we had to take the sunblock away before he hurt himself.

As the bands were going by Isaac started marching and clapping to the music. He started his own little parade. I think if he would have had a band leader's stick people would have started following him.

Hands behind the back marching. Getting fancy now!

Keeping an eye on the parade to make sure he doesn't miss anything.

The Onalaska Band. My old high school. Every year a group of my friends "steal" instruments and play their old parts of the songs. It started out as a drunk thing to do but it has become such a tradition that now the guys stay relatively sober until they have participated in the cadence.

The band expects it and gladly relinquishes their instruments for a time.

You can see the their backs. They are all drummers. Which means they can make a lot of noise.

One thing to note. As they get ever further away from high school their memory and playing gets worse. It usually takes them a few tries to get it going. The problem is the rest of the band cues off the percussion section, so this can lead to some pretty entertaining sounds.

Heather, Becky and Korrin having a blast.

No idea what they are doing? But apparently they are having a good time doing it.

Everyone just chillin and enjoying their beverages.

Mike and I

Korrin and Heather

First Night of Oktoberfest

2010-05-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Me, Korrin, and Mike having our first beer.

Group photo down at the Fest grounds.

Mike, Alicia, and her sister, Melinda.

Zach (Melinda's husband), me, and Mike a few beers later.

Fishing Trip

2010-05-11T21:10:00.001-07:00

Every year a group of guys from Heather's side of the family go up north fishing for a weekend. Some years, the fishing is bad. Those are the years where there is a lot of drinking and card playing. Some years, the fishing is great. This was one of those years.

Brian, Erik, and I found a 2ft X 2ft area next to a dock that if we hit it with a minnow, we caught a 9-12 inch crappie every time. For those of you who don't know, this is very big for a crappie. We did this until we ran out of minnows.

Erik with two of the beauties we caught.

Here are some of the crappies we caught.

A picture of the lake on the morning we left. Still as glass. We wish we could have stayed a couple of more days.

Looks like a postcard advertising the Northwoods.

The fellas. Erik, me, Ronnie, Brian, and Bob.

This picture is to show that Gary was there also.

Total Fish caught that weekend by me: 4 Walleye ~ 17in, 3 Walleye <15in, 1 Small Mouth Bass ~ 16in, 1 Bullhead, 5 Large Mouth Bass ~ 12in, 5 Crappie 8-11in, 1 Northern Pike at 22.75in and 3 < 16in, 15-20 Rock Bass, 5 Bluegill, 12 Perch 9-12in and 24 Perch <9 in. By far the most fish I have ever caught in two days of fishing. We had a blast. I only wish every fishing trip was like this.

Twins

2010-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Our friend's Mike and Alicia bought Isaac a Minnesota Twins outfit before he was born. At almost two, he is now able to fit into it.

Hey, even baseball players need to brush their teeth. Not the best picture of me.

Monster Vegtables

2010-05-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Isaac with one of the monster zucchini's from our garden. It is almost as big as he is. He picked the vegetable himself and grunted the entire time he carried it to the house.

Grunting again as he is trying to lift it.

All this hard work has made me hunger. I think I will try some of this zucchini.

Playtime at a Badger Football Game

2010-05-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

Grandpa, Isaac, and Bucky Badger

I am almost as tall as Bucky, ok, not quite.

I swear to God that he is not peeing on the wall but it sure looks like it from this picture.

Making faces in the door window at Grandpa.

Ok, not something you see everyday. A boy and his Grandpa doing the bear crawl at a Badger game.

A bird's eye view of the hallway.

Isaac giving himself knuckle bumps.

Wearing sunglasses and eating a plastic slinky. Enough said.

Putting on the sunglasses and saying "Cheese" for the camera.

"Cheese" again but without the glasses.

Our little Pumpkin

2010-05-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here is our pumpkin.

We had a little pre-Halloween fashion show to see what costumes would fit Isaac and which one he liked best. I was bouncing him up and down and he was giggling up a storm.

Man, the power of a child's smile. Even looking back at these pictures, I can't help but have a huge grin on my face.

Sometimes I don't think kids can get any more cute, then you put them in costumes and it raises it to a whole new level.

Isaac loved his cow costume. When you pushed on the cow face it mooed.

He stood there for about five minutes pushing the cow face. This alone tells you how much he liked it. Standing still for five minutes for Isaac is equivalent to the average adults standing still for an hour.

Grandpa's Boy

2010-05-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

"Hey Grandpa, watcha got there?"

I include one of these pictures every now and then to show some of the "funny" pictures we get of Isaac. We call them his "special needs" photos. This is a prime example.

Isaac attacking his ice cream sundae. A boy after Grandpa Jacob's heart. I think Isaac is the only one who can get Grandpa to share his ice cream.

Catching a ride on the Wiener Mobile at a local mini golf course.

Isaac the Cheesehead

Fun with Nonnie and Grandpa

2010-02-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

Playing in the water in his PJ's.

Jumping in puddles. Didn't take more an a few minutes to soak his pants.

Wet pants, no problem. Just take them off. The freedom of a child. Just picture it, an 75 year old man gets wet pants so he takes them off. The result: either a trip to the local jail or a trip to the loony bin.

Isaac driving some sort of futuristic moon lander that also looks like a boat. Must be in case we find water on the moon.

Taking a sack ride down a slide.

Enjoying a cruise on Grandpa's boat.

Garden Apples and Snakes

2010-02-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

Isaac loves pushing his cart around the yard while we tend the garden and lawn.

Isaac also calls tomatoes "Apples" and also eats them like an apple.

Here Daddy, want a bite?

He also enjoyed the black charcoal snakes that I also loved as a child. I had bought quite a few of these for the summer, but when you go through a box a day they don't last long. By the end of the summer we had about 30 spots on the end of our driveway where we burned the snakes.

Buffalo Phil's

2010-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

We met my cousin Kenny and his daughter Samantha at the Dells for lunch and some Chuck E. Cheese style fun. The restaurant had a very large game room attached with video games and games that gave out tickets.

"Hey Mom, look what I see. Can I go touch it?" What does he see?

A dinosaur coming out of a building or is he stuck? How embarrassing to be stuck in a building when you are suppose to be extinct.

Nice hat. Isaac thought Mommy needed a hat also.

There we go, smiles from both Isaac and Mommy. Although Mommy looks to be enjoying the hat more than Isaac. I will have to get her something like that for our next Anniversary since she seems to like it so much....or maybe not.

Yes, that is a lemon in Isaac's hand. We warned him that it was sour but he insisted so...

The result! The funny part was that he actually like it. He still, to this day, likes to suck on lemon and limes even though they make him pucker.

"Here Uncle Kenny, try on my hat."

There is two styling guys ready to pick up some chicks (as in chicken strips).

Isaac taking a ride on a motorized horse.

Given the relatives a tour of the city in his bus.

Samantha rock'in out on Dance, Dance Revolutions.

Ahh, the red ball. As soon as we walked by the prize counter Isaac spotted this red ball and wanted it. We decided we would save up our tickets and try to get it for him. We probably spent between 20-30 dollars on games to get enough tickets to win him the ball. The next weekend I see the same ball at a store for 3 dollars. Oh well, at least we had fun winning the ball.

This must be Phil.

After lunch we came home and I had to mow the lawn. Isaac loves mowing so he decided to help. Disclaimer- ( The mower is not actually on in this picture).

Oliver's Celebration

2010-02-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

Our friend Oliver finally received his Phd in Biochemistry. He was a grad student in the same lab that I work. This was the celebration at the Great Dane after his defense. Oliver's plan after finally finishing a five year Phd....go back to school for business?!? His wife, pictured below, was less than pleased. But someday he will be making the big bucks running a biotech company. Good Luck Oliver, and save me a job.

Oliver and Wendy

Bryan, Jim, and Mark enjoying a beverage or two.

Heather and Carol

Mark with the ladies.

The Schueler sisters! Watch out the party has begun.

Butterflies at Olbrich Gardens

2009-11-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Once a year they have a special "Butterflies" exhibit at Olbrich Gardens. In the conservatory, they hatch and release hundreds of butterflies a day for the span of a week or two. You can walk around watching butterflies fluttering to and fro. With the backdrop of the tropical/rainforest theme it is a magical setting. Here are a few of the many pictures we took that day.

A beautiful flower, I have no idea what it is called.

The first butterfly we found, although it looks more like a moth to me. Maybe he is the black sheep of the family.

Yum, nectar.

Isn't it amazing what beauty nature can produce in the simplest of organisms.

I loved the intricate pattern on this butterfly.

A Monarch Butterfly. I used to see these all the time when I was a little kid. I see them rarely now, but they still remind me of my youth. I wish there were more butterflies in the world, the world would be a happier place if there was.

Koi fish

Mommy, Isaac, and Daddy taking a brake by the pool.

A family photo opportunity that couldn't be missed.

Isaac seeing in the benches in the garden are good for running trucks along.

Lily pads, the only thing missing in Kermit.

Look Daddy, I am riding an elephant.

These guy looks like he is hungry. I will just give him part of my cracker.

Ouch, he bit me.

I can't believe we got him to sit down. It was probably the only time that day.

I loved the reflection of the flower in the water.

Daisies, lots of daisies.

Pre Halloween Outfit

2009-11-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

Heather's parents are avid garage sale shoppers. They found this Halloween costume for Isaac.

Cheese! Gotta practice looking cute in my Halloween costume so that I can rake in the candy during Trick or Treating.

What a little gentleman.

Just thought this was the quintessential picture of a little boy all dressed up but not allowed to go outside.

Epic Picnic

2009-11-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

Isaac enjoying himself in a jump house.

Hey, whose out there?

Look at me Mom, Grandpa teaching me to ride a horse.

Wait, where is the horse?

Here it is!

Pool Dance Party

2009-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

On a nice hot day in July we were invited over to our friends Cory and Julia's pool at their apartment complex. Isaac loves water, it was hot, and a chance to drink a beer or two with friends...we were there faster than Isaac can fill a diaper!

Isaac loves to be tossed into the air. It doesn't matter if it is a pool, but Heather is less nervous if I do it in a pool.

Isaac getting some serious air.

Safe landing. Followed by "More, Daddy, More". My arms get tired before Isaac ever gets tired of flying.

On a side note, we thought it a bit weird when we were all relaxing by the pool when a DJ with full equipment came in and started playing music like we were at a club. He even started taking requests. Strange. The DJ is in the above picture. Anyway, at some point Isaac decided that it was time to turn this pool into MTV's "The Grind". For those of you who need a refresher "The Grind" was MTV's show where everyone dance by a pool wearing skimpy clothing.

All by himself, he climbed up on a picnic table and started dancing. There was about 15 people around the pool and Isaac instantly became the center of attention. This lovely lady was the first one to approach our young stud.

Isaac making full use of his arms in his dancing style.

Shake that booty!

July 4th Parade in Columbus

2009-10-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Family Picture.
Free Tip: Never wear a kids hat in a picture unless you want to look like you have a massive head.

Isaac and Grace getting their July 4th groove on!

Gracie is a rockstar!

What a cute pair!

I see you!

Isaac looking like he is ready to discuss the works of Homer. Homer of the Greek times, not the Simpsons.

Sawyer's Birthday Bash!

2009-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Isaac loves watermelon. He is not picky either, he will eat both the flesh and the rhine.

Here he is eating and driving at the same time. Luckily, no cops stopped him.

All gone? Then we get to hear his favorite word of the summer "more!"

As you can see, he has a lot of watermelon juice on his stomach. Soon to be followed by grass, dirt, and anything else that bonds to sticky toddler tummies.

The birthday boy with a bit of sun in his eyes. He looks a bit like the "old man" you see in funny greeting cards.

Grace showing off her swimsuit.

Isaac getting some sandbox time. Sand and watermelon juice is a bit like superglue once it drys. You can guess how much Isaac enjoyed getting it cleaned off later in the day.

The inflatable water slide! Man, that looks high.

This is a good height for me. Lets try this mommy.

Here we go!

The water was a bit cold. We didn't capture it in the picture but Isaac's eyes shot open the second he hit the pool of water at the bottom.

Pinata Time! Sawyer takes the first crack at it.

Logan's turn. For the older children we made it a bit harder by making it a moving target.

Evan with a solid shot.

Gracie girl's turn.

Isaac taking a massive swing at it. Ok, massive is a bit of a stretch, but he did hit it.

Some down time with Daddy.

Grace finishing off the last of her ice cream cake. Which means she was spooning up the melted ice cream. Yummy!

Back in the Saddle

2009-10-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well it has been about 4 months since my last post. No excuses other than it was summer and I was busy having fun with my family. I will catch everyone up with what has happen in the past couple of months. Be assured that Isaac will not let you down, there are plenty of cute and funny pictures.

Isaac the Director

2009-06-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Isaac got his hands the video camera. He had to have a go at it before it was taken away from him. Unfortunately, he normally only sees the lens end of the camera since we are always taping him, so he thought it best to try to look through the lens to see what was on the other side.

Now it is upside down and backwards. He didn't figure it out but I am sure it won't be long until he does. He is really quick with the electronics around the house. It won't be long before I am asking for his help with the computer.

Cows on the Concourse

2009-06-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Every year Madison hosts "Cows on the Concourse." They bring some of the cattle from the UW to the Capitol to show off to the public. Isaac loves cows so we thought this would be right up his alley.

Here is Isaac petting a month old Brown Swiss calf.

Here is a week old Holstein calf.

The black udder is where chocolate milk comes from, yummy!

A two week old Jersey calf. He was just a skinny little guy compared to the week old Holstein. Jersey cows are favored for there high buttermilk content in their milk.

Here is a close up of the little guy. Very cute... and I never thought I would say that about a cow.

The Holstein wants a high five.

Isaac is happy to oblige.

Isaac giving the cow a hug.

Yummy grilled cheese. I challenge you to find something more tasty than cheese, butter grilled on bread.

Spotty, the crime fighting cow. Remember kids, only you can take a moo out of crime. Wait, maybe he was the criminal?

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Isaac is waiting his turn for a swim in the pool with Rosie.

Working on his kicks.

Eating a duck while he waits for his turn again.

Jump! I have actually got him to jump into my arms from the edge of the pool. He loves the water and I am worried he is going to try this without someone ready to catch him.

Working on the back float. This is not one of his favorite moves. He normally tries ripping your face off to get back to vertical position. He is doing alright here because he has a toy in his ripping hand.

Good Dog!

2009-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Elle and her dog Olee. In this picture it is a bit of a forced balanced of a beer cup on his head but earlier in the night he sat perfectly still while she rested her beer on his flat head. I wasn't able to get a picture as it was my turn to hit in the softball game we were playing. Nothing like a portable table for your beer.

Mowing the Lawn in Style

2009-06-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Grandpa mowing the lawn.

Isaac was all business when he was on the riding lawnmower with Grandpa. Grandpa said that he had a "death grip" on the wheel and basically had to turn Isaac to turn the wheel.

He we go!

Making a lap around the yard.

Boating and Lawnmowers

2009-06-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

The family taking a cruise on a nice sunny day.

Isaac taking his turn driving the boat. He should be paying a little bit better attention to where he is going.

Watching the ducks swimming in the water.

Isaac is watching the birds fly around the water.

Just making a face. Don't mind me.

Mommy taking in some sun.

Ok, I need a break. Five minute time out.

Ok, all better. Time to help grandpa fish.

Look mom and dad. I am fishing all by myself.

Actually, Isaac had more fun rotating the fish pole on its stand and hitting me in the head than he did trying to fish. Having an attention span of less than ten seconds is not quite up for par for fishing.

Can I have the camera?

Please!

Oh God, Why not! You are so mean!

Here, I will try one more time.

Look Daddy, I am on a riding lawnmower.

This is how you turn the wheel. This is so much fun!

Hey wait, before we go we should check to make sure we have enough gas.

Yep, plenty of gas.

Hey, grandma has my pants. How am I suppose to go anywhere with her holding on to my pants.

Farm Boys

2009-06-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Farmer Isaac and Farmer Grandpa posing by the tractor.

Putting the tractor in the barn.
Isaac spent the afternoon going down the driveway and then back up into the barn. I am pretty sure he liked his new "farm."

Grandpa taking a rest on a milk can while Isaac takes off for another lap in the driveway.

Grandpa is happy that Isaac is a farm boy at heart.

Thanks grandpa for the new barn and farm supplies. I love them!

Chula Vista Animals

2009-06-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Resort had lots of real animals (albeit stuff) in the hallways and other main rooms. Here is a caribou.

Isaac's favorite animal was the Buffalo. This was hanging by the main restaurant over a fireplace. He loved to touch the bottom chin hair of the buffalo. He would laugh every time he got to "pet" the buffalo. Here he is on his way up for a petting. He was even able to say "buffalo" by the time we left. It sounded like buff.....o, but we knew what he meant.

Here is a picture right before we left the resort to head home. Isaac and Daddy have some matching hair. Isaac played hard and loved every minute of his vacation. We hadn't even travel a mile before he was asleep in the car.

Here he is at home after his nap. He is ready to go where as Mommy and Daddy were still tired. The amount of energy Isaac has is amazing.

Chula Vista Resort

2009-06-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

We went on a mini vacation to the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Chula Vista has a indoor water park, which was our main motivation for staying there. Isaac loves anything to do with water. Some of his favorite activities are washing his hands, bath time, swimming lessons, playing with the hose, basically anything to do with water. So we thought this would be a perfect vacation for him. Heather's parents joined us for fun in the water.

Isaac with his cool life jacket.

The family ready to go down one of the kiddy slides.

Look at that smile. He loved going down the slide.

He also enjoyed the arcade. He especially liked the race car games. He just loved sitting in the drivers seat driving and shifting through the gears. I have a feeling his first car is going to be a stick shift. He enjoyed the race game so much, that we now have to let him sit in the front of our real cars and let him pretend to drive.

I brake for no one! Probably because I can't reach the brake.

Remember the story of the little Dutch boy who blocked the leak in the dam with his finger. Here is Isaac doing his best imitation.

Ok, got this hole all plugged up but what about the other 2000 in this water park. I don't think I have enough fingers.

Isaac with a water gun. He loved to spray anyone in the pool. He was a little too short to reach the gun if it was pointed down, so he would stand by the gun and grunt until one of us came over to get it for him.

Back to racing. We were on a schedule of water park, arcade, food, nap, repeat until the vacation was over.

Here you can see Isaac shifting into four to pass Grandpa. He also like the game Big Buck hunter but Heather wasn't a big fan of him holding a gun so we focused on racing.

Emily and Pat's Wedding

2009-06-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

The church where Emily and Pat got married was gorgeous. It was a large cathedral catholic church.

The organ and choir section.

Mark and Carol walking down the isle.

Emily and her father.

Gateway to the West

2009-06-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

We had some time before we needed to get ready for the wedding so we decided to see the St. Louis Arch. Which we found out is called the "Gateway to the West" after Louis and Clark set off to explore the western United States from this area of the Missouri River.

It is quite impressive up close. It is also thinner than I expected. You can travel to the very middle of the arch.

Just a cool artistic picture.

This is the tram system for getting up to the top of the arch. It is a little pod that five people can fit in (as long as you are all medium to small in size). It is a cramped ride up to the top. When we made our way to the top we had three older people riding with Heather and I. One of the gentleman started giggling like a little school girl about halfway up. The laugh was either one of those laughs that people make when they are really nervous and don't know what else to do or one of those that a crazy person might make before killing someone. Lucky for us it was the former and not the later.

A view from the top. That is a helicopter pad in the Missouri River.

Busch Stadium where the Cardinal lose to the Brewers.

What people look like from the top of the arch. I am pretty sure my mother would never attempt to get to the top of the arch as she is afraid of heights.

Edward Jones dome where the Ram lose to the Packers.

Underneath the arch they have a large museum on Lewis and Clark and the founding of our country. It was really interesting but we didn't have much time before the wedding so had to bypass most of it. They had a wall with a carving of the main contributors for designing the arch and also the other great sites of the United States. In this picture is Mt. Rushmore, the Washington monument, and other that I can't quite make out.

The other side of the carving. The picture don't do it justice.

A Night Out In St. Louis

2009-06-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

We traveled to St. Louis for the wedding of Mark's youngest sister, Emily. We went out for a night on the town.

Mark and Carol at Mc Gruks.

Kirk and Beth, who have recently become engaged and purchased their first house.

Heather and I putting down a few cocktails since Isaac was with my parents back in Madison.

The Ladies

The Fellas

How did I do?

2009-06-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Whenever Isaac wants to go outside (which is constantly), we ask that he helps us by bringing his coat and shoes. Today, he took it a step farther and tried to put on his own hat. While it was a worthy first attempt, there is still some work to be done. Heather and I tried not to laugh when we saw him but failed.

I am ready to go.

Hmmm, something is not quite right.

Superman needs to work on putting his hat on correctly.

Maybe this is the new way to wear hats and Heather and I are just out of the loop.

American Cancer Society Run/Walk 2009

2009-06-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Team Colleen
Friends and family gather every year to honor Colleen's fight with cancer and raise money for the continued battle with cancer.
Isaac all bundled up for the walk. Logan is on the right showing his excitement for the race.

Big Wheel Time

2009-06-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite toys of mine and my brothers when we were kids was the Big Wheel. We would use the Big Wheel until we wore out the front wheel. Isaac received his first Big Wheel from my parents. I didn't know they still made them. He is a little too short to reach the peddles but he loves to zoom down the driveway and he can scoot himself around with his feet. He has that look for pure joy when he is racing down the driveway.

Here is Heather's family gathered around her sister's grave the night before the annual cancer run/walk that we do every year in her honor.

We love you Colleen and miss you in our lives. Isaac sends you his love.

Easter 2009

2009-06-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Isaac looking for his Easter basket for the first time. Do you see it in the corner of the room?

Isaac just spotted it.

Hey, whats this doing under here? He was so excited when he found it.

At first, he was just excited about the basket itself. He didn't immediately look at the items inside the basket.

Giving his Easter basket a kiss.

His glow baby that was in the basket. It lights up when you press his stomach and plays lullabies.

Giving his glow baby a hug.

A mouth full of Easter marshmallows.

Here was an action shot of his excitement. He was waving his arms up and down.

We host Easter at our house for Heather's extended family. Here are the Anderson's.

Here is Great Grandpa Jacob and Ronnie with the great grandkids.

Stapleton family Easter picture.

I love Isaac's smile in this picture.

Nonnie and Grandpa with Isaac.

Isaac lounging with Great Grandpa Jacob.

Isaac using Grandpa's cane to scratch his head.

Just a good picture of both Isaac and Grandpa.

I don't think this picture could get any better....well maybe if he didn't have that scrap on his nose. Whose fault was that anyway?

Hey, where is my carrot? I need a carrot to be a real bunny.

Ahh, here it is.

Isaac has become quite the character in front of a camera. We have to take as many pictures as possible of him smiling because someday in his teenage years I am sure we will be unable to catch him smiling.

Yummy, cake!

The Anderson family brought Isaac back some Mickey Mouse ears from Disney World.

Daddy's Fault

2009-06-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Let me set the scene. It is the day before Easter and Daddy in is charge of watching Isaac. What's the worst that could happen? How about falling down and scraping his nose so that in all the Easter pictures he has a nice red nose with a scab. In my defense, Isaac falls a fair amount everyday (like any child his age), unfortunately this time he happen to fall just perfectly where his nose scrapped on a brick that was barely above the dirt. He could fall another million times in that exact spot and never scrap his nose. So it is Daddy's fault that Isaac looks like he was in a brawl at daycare.

Our little chick with Mama Bunny.

Now Nonnie Bunny joins in on the fun.

Isaac saying "Cheese" for the camera.

Pooptaturday!

2009-06-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

It was a Saturday in late March that I officially declared Pooptaturday! I woke up to a nice spring morning and decided to get some chores done before the day got hectic. First, I cleaned the cat's litter box. Then I decided to clean all of the dog poop from the back yard that had accumulated over the winter. To finish it off, I decided to empty Isaac's diaper pail. An hour later I had our garbage can half full of feces. If someone would have told me twenty years ago that I would spend an hour filling a can with feces I would have thought I failed school at some point. I should get an honorary degree in Waste Management from the city. This was NOT on the top of my list of enjoyable activities for a nice spring day.

Bear's Outfit?!?

2009-05-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

Some of Heather's family are die hard Chicago Bear fans. They got this outfit for him, so we thought we better take a picture to prove that we did allow him to wear it. Just to be clear, he is happy because he is riding his puppy not because he is wearing a Bear's outfit.

Here let me try to take a picture.

Yeah, this is more like it. My Packer's blanket, to cover up this Bear's symbol.

Oh, the shame. I can't believe Daddy is taking pictures of me wearing this. I am never going to live this down. Or Isaac could be playing peek a boo, depends on your perspective.

Hello!

Surf Up Dude!

2009-05-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

Isaac taking the shirt off for the ladies!

Look Mom, no hands.

We were telling him to put his hands out like he was surfing, so he tried to put them as high into the air as he could.
After about twenty pictures and four different adults giving him directions, he started to display some fashion model attitude.

He is pointing at Grandpa who was trying to make him laugh.

On our way to the airport to head home. He is just enjoying his last few minutes with Grandpa and Nonnie before heading back to cold Wisconsin.

Maybe I will have a light snack before getting on the plan. My toes look like they will hit the spot.

Brevard County Zoo

2009-05-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the animals we were able to see at the Brevard Zoo. This was by far the coolest zoo I have ever visited. There was lots of close encounters with the animals, more on that later.

Roseate Spoonbills

Chilean Flamingos

This was some type of carp that was nesting. I didn't even know that fish nest, but apparently they swim in a circle until they have dug a little hole in the sand. They are very protective of their nest and will chase off other fish. Weird!

Parrot

I am watching you!

There was a part of the zoo where they had different bonsai trees with a sign under the tree telling visitors who had been shaping and taking care of the tree and for how long. Obviously, whoever has been taking care of this tree should be fired.

Rob, you need to work on your gardening skills. I don't think this tree is going to make it to its 31st year.

African Rock Python

I don't know what the name of this bird is but it is one of the ugliest birds I have ever seen.

Hello, Mr. Turtle.

White Rhinoceros

This is the star attraction of the zoo, Rifikki the giraffe. I have never seen a giraffe this close before. They are very beautiful animals. You could buy special crackers for a couple of bucks and feed the giraffes. You really only get to feed Rifikki, because he is the dominate male and won't share any of the treats with the other giraffes. There tongues are extremely long as you can see from the picture.

Guess I will just lick the pole until someone is ready to give me another treat.

I thought I would take a picture of the rest of him since you only really got to see the head. I think he was close to 18 feet tall.

Here is Isaac taking his turn feeding Rifikki. He was in absolute awe of him. He stared at him for a good 15 minutes.

Just a really good picture of his face.

His eyes were amazing. You could see the intelligence behind them. Both Heather and I were mesmerized by them. Maybe that was Rifikki's plan the entire time as we seemed to keep buying crackers to feed him.

This is a picture just after Isaac had given Rifikki a cracker. He was laughing.

People would stay far back to see how far Rifikki's tongue could reach.

They had a petting zoo full of deer and goats. Here is Isaac chasing a goat around the pen.

Golden Eagle. He was tethered to a post just outside the petting zoo. It looked like he was either guarding the animals or trying to decide which one was going to be his next meal. Isaac was not allowed to pet this one.

A very beautiful bird. Quite majestic.

Also, looks like he could kick some serious butt.

Hey, it's the turtle family.

Black Vulture

Can you tell who wore sunscreen that day and who didn't?

Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin

A Capybara taking a drink.

An American Alligator swimming in the pond.

We have a video of Isaac feeding the deer that I will hopefully get on the blog sometime in the near future.

Bald Eagle, the symbol of our country and a very good choice.

Crested Caracara

Also a really cool looking bird. He reminded me of Russian officers during the cold war with their puffy hats. This would have been a good symbol for the U.S.S.R.

Otters, I have always loved watching otters. They embody the playfulness and spirt of children. I could watch them for hours.

This one got really close to the glass to check me out. I must have been pretty boring because he didn't stay long.

Southern Cassowary, not a pretty bird! The punk rocker of the bird kingdom.

Chilean Pudu. Or the spawn of satan! Check out the eyes on this guy. I believe it was just a product of my flash, but man that makes for a scary picture. I think he would be even scarier if his name "Pudu" didn't sound like a nickname for poop.

Lorikeets. The zoo had a large aviary that you could walk into and the birds were free to fly around. These birds were accustomed to people so they let you get really close.

Here is Isaac trying to pet a Lorikeet.

Kookaburras. A funny looking bird.

Isaac was really interested in this bird. As it turns out, the bird was just as interested in Isaac. He kept hopping down the railing to get closer to Isaac. I thought he was even going to let Isaac pet him but I thought better than to let it get to the point in case the bird decided to nip at Isaac. Then Isaac would be forever afraid of birds.

This is right before I stopped the meeting of Isaac and the Kookaburra.

Dude looks tough!

Yellow-billed Hornbill. This bird reminded me of a old man.

Go-away Bird. Who decided to name this bird? Someone who doesn't like birds? As you can see Isaac almost touched this one.

Violet Plantain Eater. Well, that ends the picture from the zoo. We really enjoyed our visit and plan to go back the next time we are in the Coco Beach area.

Another Day At The Beach!

2009-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Isaac watching Daddy put a fish in his bucket.

Isaac's reaction after he touched the fish. He loved playing with the fish in his bucket. I don't think the fish enjoyed quite as much.

Isaac trying his own hand at fishing. The pole was about three times his height but he loved helping Grandpa and Daddy fish.

That is a true fisherman's pose if I have ever seen one...well, except for maybe holding mommy's hand.

After conquering fishing with a pole, Isaac decided to try using a net to catch fish. He actually had quite a good time just dragging it along the beach.

Here is a large jellyfish that washed up on the shore where we were fishing. We had to be careful that Isaac didn't try to touch them.

Gary and I fishing off the beach near their condo. We had a pretty successful day. We caught a Bluefish and some Whitening. I caught both a Bluefish and Whitening that were about 17 inches.

Here is my Bluefish. I also caught a nasty sunburn that day, not something that I wish to catch again. The worst part was on my head, damn receding hairline!

Gary found a crab in the shallows as he was wading out to cast.

Mr. Pelican after I gave it a small Whitening that I had caught.

Family picture on the beach. We had to include the net in the picture otherwise Isaac was going to throw a fit.

Isaac trying to catch Mr. Crab after we let him go.

The crab started to bury himself in the sand to avoid capture.

Mr. Crab gone!

Daddy digging up the crab so Isaac can say one last goodbye. As you can see Mr. Crab wasn't too pleased about this and was giving me the finger.

Gaylord Palms Hotel and the Return of the Isaac

2009-05-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Koi fish that I mentioned earlier. You could tell when it was feeding time because they would all gather together and look to the surface as people walked by them. Quite an odd feeling to be ogled by fish.

They looked almost fake but there were indeed real alligators in the center of the castle.

This guys was just enjoying the beach.

A pond in another part of the hotel that you could eat lunch on a boat that was sitting in the water.

The return of Isaac! Here he is trying to fit inside the storage compartment in the sofa.

Gaylord Palms Hotel, no joke!

2009-05-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Quite the name for a hotel. I figured I had to take a picture of the sign to prove that this was indeed the name of the hotel. This was Heather and my vacation within a vacation. We took a 24 hour vacation to this resort and left Isaac with the grandparents. Korrin gave us the idea of using one of the travel Internet sites to see if we could find a good deal on a really nice hotel. Jackpot!

This hotel was incredible. This is the view from our room which was on the ninth floor. We had a little patio that we could site on and enjoy the view and atmosphere. The ceiling of the hotel was a big glass dome that allowed all the sunlight in during the day.

This a picture from our patio. This hotel was enormous! There was a castle like structure in the middle of the hotel with jungle plant life in the surrounding area.

Another picture from our balcony. This is what was directly below us. It was a little grotto with a pond with Koi fish. (think extremely large goldfish)

Another picture of the castle. You could walk on the lower or upper level depending on what view you wanted of the surrounding foliage.

This was the view to the right of our balcony. The "open" sign sits atop a building that looks like a shack but contains a five star steak house. We ate dinner here that night. Not only was the food delicious but we both got to eat our meal at the same time. We haven't been able to do that since Isaac learned to run. I also tried "Lucid," which is a drink where they pour 1.25 - 1.5 oz of absinthe into a glass. They placed a sugar cube atop a flat, perforated spoon and slowly dripped 4-5 oz of ice cold water on top of the sugar cube, which slowly dissolved into the Absinthe. The cold water caused lucid to louche ("loosh") into an opalescent cloud as the herbal essences emerge from the Absinthe and perfume the room. My bartender also set the drink on fire to warm it up. This was the first time I have consumed Absinthe but I don't think it is the same stuff that people used to hallucinate on. It was good anyway.

Some baby alligators hugging.

This one wasn't in the mood, so he was just mooning everyone.

It is not often said of turtles, but the bottom turtle looks like he could kick some ass! I believe he is none to happy about the other turtle trying to catch a free ride.

A really cool tree underneath the steak house. I am pretty sure it was fake, but it was cool anyway.

The view from our balcony as the sun was setting.

The glass dome.

A couple of times each day a locale alligator show brings some of their older animals to be handled by the guests of the hotels. They are a lot heavier than they look. They are all muscle. Much like me..... yeah right!

This was a gift for purchase at one of the many stores. It was a rooster made out of beads and if I remember right it cost over a hundred dollars. Ummm, I think I will pass on this one.

Heather and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of 24 hours without Isaac. We got to sleep in and eat meals and fully digest them without doing wind sprints in between bites. It was glorious.

Back to the Beach

2009-05-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Isaac helping Grandpa with his fishing rod holder.

Look Mom and Dad, sand!