Vegas 2007

Another year and another set of great memories from Vegas. It was a vacation we had been looking forward to for months and it did not disappoint.

I'm pretty sure, even with all the mayhem that comes with 3 grandkids under the age of 4 staying in their 2 bedroom condo, that Grandma Lenny and Grandpa Jimmy had a good time, too.

The kids only took the first two days to adjust to the time-change. Ada handled it the best and did nothing to change my opinion of her as the best baby ever. As I said to Kathy on the plane ride out, "a well trained St. Bernard could babysit Ada."

Some highlights of the week included daily trips to the condo's pool. I'd say we swam 5 out of the 8 days, even though the weather was rather cool when we were there. Of course, it was in the 90s the entire week before we got to Vegas and immediately following our departure, but we've just come to accept that as our Vegas fate. Honestly, I'm not complaining, but it only rains 10 days every year in Vegas and Grandma and Grandpa rarely see clouds - they say. But everytime we go, we have at least one day of rain and this time we had multiple overcast days.

Much to our surprise, Marylin put on her swimmies and jumped right in the pool, swiming all by herself. Much to our chagrin, the floaty-vest we bought for Jimmy didn't float. Oh, well. Next year.

Grandma and Grandpa played the role of well-trained-St.-Bernard and we took Marylin and Jimmy on daily adventures. Although Vegas doesn't actively market it, there really is a great deal of things to do with your family. Highlights included the lion habitat at the MGM, the lions and dolphins at The Mirage, the M&M store on the strip, the midway at the Excaliber (which looks like Disney's Magic Kingdom to my kids, and that was good enough), the Ethel M Factory Tour, and the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.

As always, there was dining out. Our new favorite buffet is at South Point. We ate there twice. Also good was a Mexican restaurant at Mandalay Bay. Otherwise it was ham sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and pancakes back at the condo. And really, who could complain about that?

Grandma and Grandpa also happen to live right along a flight path so we're able to watch airplanes landing from sun-up to sun-down, and for a 2 1/2 year old (and even the 4 year old), this is the best show in town. Grandma and Grandpa's sun porch made the perfect plane-watching outpost.

I'm going to guess that Grandma doesn't typically build forts with all the pillows in the condo, spread toys from one end of the family room to the other, and she probably doesn't watch The Backyardigans and The Wiggles. So, I'm also going to guess that Grandma slept for two straight days after we left. But while we there, she had more than her fair share of floor exercises, games, coloring, Playdough, and children's videos. If she dared seek respite, Jimmy would go running and asking "where hama Lenny" (translation: Where's Grandma Lenny?)

And, even better, on the very last night in Vegas, yours truly was chosen to stay in with the kids while Jimmy, Lenny, and Kathy went to the casino one-last-time, and let's just say Kathy hit enough to pay for the entire trip, again. Woo hoo! Viva Las Vegas.

A Week in the Life

I'm reading a book called "No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog." As you can see from the infrequent posts, I lack for motivation some times. It suggested I take pictures of everything and anything for a week and see what inspires me. The pictures I took this week reminded me of all the little things that happen every day all around us ...and it made me wonder if we truly appreciate them all. Its like the old saying goes ...sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses.

Here are my roses.

Jimmy loves puzzles. Jimmy loves his sister - sometimes too much. He tries to treat Ada like a stuffed animal, but we know its only because he loves her SOOOOO much. He also loves his cousins. A big highlight of last week was the arrival of cousins Jeremiah and Amanda - and of course Uncle Dick and Aunt Isabel, but they weren't nearly as exciting to Jimmy and Marylin as their cousins. If you wanna see hyper kids, bring a 12 and 14 year old cousin around. Jimmy and Marylin were bouncing off the walls. Luckily I got to go to the Pistons game with them and Kathy was left with Jimmy, Marylin and Ada for bedtime. Phew!

Jimmy and Marylin love our birdfeeders. The feeders sit right outside our kitchen window, so its like they have a big screen TV to watch during every meal. Most times we can't keep them in their seats because they prefer a birds eye view (is that a pun?)! The J & M show also have given up on Mom and Dad building them forts, so they've taken matters into their own hands. To the right you'll see a pillow fort courtesy of J & M Construction.


Oh, yes. That other kid. Ada. Good gal. Lots of smiles. Sometimes I really have to lecture her about doing more blog-worthy stuff. Eating solids, holding toys, and lifting her head up ...well ...been there done that. But, for the record, this is what she's doing at 6 months: rolling across rooms, sleeping through the night, waving, trying to crawl, laughing, and reading the newspaper.

In case you can't tell from these pictures, its finally Spring and Easter is here. The neighborhood Easter Egg hunt should be featured in "An Inconvenient Truth, Part II." Ridiculous. We didn't know if the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus would show up.



Here's that other kid I keep mentioning ...Ada. At the mall with the Easter Bunny. After the mall, Kathy and the kids visited my office. Jimmy worked the phones and closed some big deals. A natural salesman. Marylin mostly daydreamed and looked out the window at the cars. We have an appointment with her guidance counselor this week. Jimmy did say he'd give her a weekly allowance as long as she was trying to find work. He's a good kid.

Jimmy and Marylin were kind enough to set the table for Easter and then do a dry run of Easter brunch. They set and blocked the entire day featuring their "buddies." The next day came off without a hitch thanks to their pre-planning efforts.

And every Easter, Marylin kinda double dips. Candy and an Easter surprise in the morning, then Birthday presents and cake that afternoon. Aunt Dana hit another homerun with an incredible Strawberry Shortcake cake. The kids ate cake and ice cream and more ice cream. A milestone was reached ...Barbies officially became a toy in our home. Things will never be the same. Uncle/Grandpa Jerry really liked the new train cars and Ada Louisa. Aunt/Grandma 'Nise was more than happy to help feed Ada. And the rest of the shots just capture another great Easter-slash-Birthday. Oh, and Uncle Dave debuted a new, longer hair-do.

I guess I kinda ended up tellin' ya what I "ate for lunch" after all. Oh, and sorry for the lack of photo compression ...I'll figure it out one of these days.

Go State!

I'm sure this will be one of many entries with memories made in East Lansing. Last Saturday, ESPN's College Gameday came'a calling to East Lansing. The MSU Ath Dept made it a family fun day and, well ...I took 3/5ths of the family.

As great as it was for the University, for Gameday, and for the students, it was even better for me, Marylin, and Jimmy. Gotta give credit to Izzo and his staff. He convinced the Spartan Brass, Sparty, cheerleaders, dance teamers, the Izzone, and 5,000 fans to make it out for breakfast and cheering on Saturday. Doors opened at 9:30a. The place was insane.

We got there 'round 11am just in time for the start of Gameday. There was poster-making area for the kids, $1 concessions (we enjoyed a $1 popcorn and a $1 Sprite), pom-poms, and temp tattoos.

I think Marylin and Jimmy thought that this was a big party thrown in their honor. I used
the one-hour car ride to go over the cheers - "Go State", "Go Green", "Go White", "Rah, Rah, Rah!" and "M Go Blow." OK, I didn't actually teach them the last one ...they spontaneously said it. What good kids, eh?

This sure beat sitting at home and refereeing them around the train table. We had a great time and had a picnic lunch before getting on the road ...we ate right in the back of the car. They also thought that was pretty darn cool.

I hope Gameday comes back ...cuz we'll go back, again.

February Follies

What do you do
when you can't
sleep? You hop
on the computer
and blog about
your family.

After all, your lack of commitment to keeping dutiful detailed memories of the best moments in life is what's keeping you up at night anyway, right?

Right.

So, here they are. Marylin, Jimmy, and Sundance. If I had any clue how to use photoshop, I'd put a goatee and a striped shirt on Ada and really bring home the gag. I swear, when I used Kathy's eyebrow pencil and painted it on, she was the spittin' image of our favorite Idol (so far).

Things are good 'round the Kowalewski household. The littlest Kowalewski looks to be on the verge of sleeping 8 hour shifts, is eating oatmeal - a 1/4 cup at a time, twice daily - rolling over, and discovering primitive forms of communications. Currently that equates to growling and giving us the rasberries. She also grabs things ...mostly and usually her sibling's hair. They don't like it.

Jimmy is a puzzle afficianado. I don't know that he can grow up and make a living building puzzles, but for the moment, he amazes us with his patience and ability. At 2 1/2, he's easily doing puzzles intended for kids 3+. 24 pieces, 36 pieces ...don't matter none ...he does them, no problem. If you are in the mood for gift giving, he's particularly fond of the Melissa & Doug giant floor puzzles. He's got his eye on the Deluxe Dinosaur 48-piece puzzle and has said he would consider his completion of that puzzle his crowning achievement.

Marylin is closing in on her 4th birthday and we can't believe it. We continue to treat her like a 3 year old in hopes that maybe she (and everyone else) will forget that she turns four and we can enjoy her as a 3 year old a little longer. What can she do? The better question is what can't she do? Among the things we marvel at is her incredible memory. She'll bring up stuff from as far back as when she was 1 1/2. I know what you're saying ...so? So? So, how do you try and mold a child who can point out the things you did wrong a year ago that lead to this current behavior you are trying to modify. For example, suppose you wanted her to do something - i.e. go to bed, go potty, or eat her entire dinner - and you said, "and if you eat your beans, we'll take you to Disneyworld when you turn 4." Harmless to say to a 2 year old, right? WRONG!!! That two year old is now pushing 4 and reminds us how "that one time I ate my peas and you said..."

Great. Luckily, as I said, we're not going to celebrate her 4th birthday, so she'll never know. And, what's more ...it was beans she had to eat, and not peas. Sorry kid!

NOTE: We will take them to Disneyworld sooner than later ...their Mom is more excited about it that the kids could ever be.

We are all ready for spring to get here and to end the indoor captivity. We miss Grandpa (K) and can't wait for him to return from his month-long Florida adventure. We miss Grandpa and Grandma (B) and can't wait for our trip out to Vegas in April.

As always, I blog mainly for me. I know I'll forget all these little things 20 years from now and I don't want to. Thanks for reading.