Oktoberfest 2010

It's now becoming a tradition I guess. A couple of weekends ago, we headed over to Alpine Village to go to Oktoberfest. Always a lot of fun, but even more so this year as they had a bunch of festival games for the kids to play. As usual, Nick took a bit of time to warm up to the whole situation, but once he did, he was all over the games, trying to get as many tickets as possible.

They have had bouncy houses in the past, but this year they had two separate houses. One geared toward bigger kids and then one that was really more for smaller kids. Nick had a blast. Seriously considering buying one for the backyard. Here he is bouncing away (while Mommy & Daddy had their steins of beer outside).


Nick earned enough tickets to get this cool light-up wand.


He had a great time with it.


Not quite sure what is all over the ground underneath him in this picture...


The stage toward the end of the evening.


And here is our little dancer. Once the music started and he saw all the kids going up on stage, he wanted to head up there (dragging Mommy along with him). He did the Chicken Dance (which we weren't fast enough to get on camera) and this one. Too funny.



Prost!!

Picture perfect!

In mid-September, we headed to the Rockies to celebrate my cousin, Tracy's wedding. She and her now-husband live in Denver & head over to Keystone quite frequently. So they decided that would be the place they'd get married. I can't say I blame them - it was beautiful!! We also lucked out with fabulous weather. It was a short trip, so we didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, but now we have good reason to go back!

On the day of the wedding, which was an evening affair, we headed over to Keystone Lodge for some brunch and then walking around. There is a big lake behind the lodge that they turn in to an ice rink in the winter. During the summer months, they stock it with fish and give flyfishing lessons. There are gumball machines filled with fish food that we, of course, had to buy *multiple* times so that Nick could feed the fishies.


Fast forward to the wedding... My Uncle Jerry and his band, the Terriors, did a short set for the happy couple.


Tracy's brother, Todd, provided his bass skills. My Uncle Jerry is the one with the guitar crooning into the microphone. It was so sweet - not a dry eye in the bunch by the end.


Then it was on to dinner. Here is my cousin Gwen & her husband, Rich.


Here is Mr. Ham. You can also see a little bit of the golf course at Keystone Ranch over his shoulder.


I love this picture except for the fact that I'm squishing his cheek a little bit.


Ready to eat!!


And to drink!!


A nice family pic...


Our table. Clockwise from the bottom left: Rich, Gwen, my cousin Todd's wife, Grace, Todd, Kevin, Nick and my other cousin, Marilyn.


Gwen chatting with Marilyn. Marilyn was also our travel buddy - so brave to agree to shacking up with a toddler!!! Thankfully, it was a huge condo, so she wasn't impacted too much.


Kevin & Rich talking about poker (well, I don't know for sure if that's what they were talking about, but I think it was!)


And finally, the beautiful bride.


It was a lovely wedding and a great reception. Can't wait to go back to the Rockies to explore more!!

Shake, shake, shake!

Nope, not a California earthquake (this time). Just Nick learning how to shake his booty. He loves watching himself in the window reflection - what a ham...



Sorta Flashdance-y, dontcha think? Jennifer Beals, watch out!!

Pee in the woods!!!

In early September the D-Tell clan headed up to Spokane, WA and Yaak, MT for a little vay-cay.

After a crazy long-delayed trip UP to Spokane (cancelled flights, long waits, etc.), we were happy to have a day to relax on Sunday and go visit River Square Park. There are a ton of things to do at the park, including going on the world's largest Radio Flyer wagon (I don't know if it's really the world's largest, but it is in MY world...)


Up the stairs in the back...


And down the slide in the front. I think Nick is a little spoiled by the curly slides he goes on at our local parks as he didn't care to go on it again.


Now, the carousel? He'd go on again and again. He got lucky as they had to stop and start the carousel a couple of times, so I think he thought that he had multiple turns. Each time he passed us, he waved while sporting a huge smile - that thing really moved. Of course, because of the speed, all pictures turned out blurry. This was the best one I was able to get.


The next day we left for Montana, which is about a three hour drive from my parent's house. We typically try to time our drives so that we go for a bit with Nick awake, stop for lunch somewhere and then hit the road. Typically Nick will fall asleep in the car. This trip was no exception - he woke up just as we were pulling into 'downtown Yaak'.


You may notice in the above picture that he has a band aid on his ear. Nick loves wearing band aids, and had said the night before his ear hurt. No other complaints nor did he have a fever (or a cold that would have caused an ear infection, etc., etc.) So on went the band aid and no complaints after that.

However, while we have no idea if it was related or not, there was a problem that was going to come to light the next day. After his nap, Nick woke up with a coughing fit. That sometimes happens to him if he's sleeping with his mouth open and gets some spit back there. Usually coughs a bit, sometimes cries and then he's fine. So while he is crying & coughing, I notice a HUGE, baseball size lump under his ear. I point it out to Kevin who calmly says "I'm going to put him in the car, find out where the nearest hospital is." So, after a panicked call to my Mom & Dad, who were thankfully still in cell range on their way to meet us in Montana, we find out that the nearest ER is in Bonner's Ferry, an hour away.

Kevin broke many speed limit laws that day and we got there in about 50 minutes. My parents met us there (you go through Bonner's Ferry to get to the house) so they were able to let the ER know we were coming. Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing serious - an infection in his lymph gland. Antibiotics for Nick and a few stiff drinks for me & Kevin once we got back to the Montana house.

Anyhow, aside from that, we had a lot of fun. Starting with exploring! Kevin showing Nick he can put a dandelion in his bag.


Nick's "Explorer Bag", aka, plastic grocery bag. He is also wearing a 49er knit cap as it was a bit cool. This was my choice to offset the Packers shirt he was wearing (unseen, heh heh) under his fleece.


Of COURSE Mommy ends up carrying the Explorer Bag (which remained mostly empty until the end of the walk) and Nick takes over the walking stick. He also dons sunglasses and changes hats as it got too warm. Dang it. At least the Packers shirt is still under wraps.


We spent nearly an hour getting rocks & sticks, dropping them off one side of the bridge and running to the other side of the bridge to see them come out (the sticks, not the rocks). Had it not been getting close to lunchtime, I think we'd have been there even longer.


Nick learning how to "pee in the woods". He got a big kick out of it. He said he was peeing in the woods just like the animals. He proceeded to ask if he could poop in the woods like the animals. This was tempting as I HATE cleaning out his potty, but we ended up saying no.


The deer eating Nick's corn. The one on the left is nick-named Two Buck Chuck.


Another decent sized buck (not Two Buck).


Those deer had a LOT of corn to eat.


Nick with a new fun toy, binoculars.


Out for a walk with Grandpa Bop.


Then with Grandpa Owice.


Fishing attempt number one, along the Yaak River. It rained on & off and we had a hard time finding a good spot where Mommy wouldn't suffer a heart attack worrying about Nick falling into the water.


You can see Nick's muddy pants - we stripped him down to his undies before we put him back in the car!!


Fishing attempt number two at Kilbrennan Lake - success!! Much better weather, clear & warm (well, in the sun, still cool in the shade). Nick didn't quite get it, but still had fun. He just wanted to turn the reel.


A nice view of our "spot".


While Daddy fished, Nick was able to run around and ask Mommy if she wanted to see his rock collection.


Why yes, I'd love to see your rock collection!


He "fished" on and off. Alas, we saw loads of fish jumping, but we didn't catch anything.


No trip to Yaak is complete without a stop at the Yaak Tavern for burgers, Moose Drool and in Nick's case a game of pool.


A wonderful trip - never long enough!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears... and Horses, oh my!!

Yes, that's what a weekend trip to San Diego will get you. Maybe not in that order, but, details, details...

This last weekend we headed down to San Diego for a double dose of adventures. A day at the races at Del Mar Racetrack and a visit to the ginormous San Diego Zoo. We went down with the Prendergast's, which Nick was thrilled about - he loves their girls, Rowan & Riley. We met up in Irvine, had lunch and headed down. We hit some miserable traffic caused by, we think, a major accident, as it had both north and southbound lanes tied up for miles.

But, we made it down eventually and it actually gave Nick a chance to get a decent nap under his belt before the excitement of the races.

Afternoons always involve a snack and this was no exception. Here is Nick VERY happy that he has a whole container of grapes & blueberries all to himself.


Even though the traffic kept us from seeing the first five races, we were able to carve out a little spot against the infield fence.


The all-important task of picking the ponies.


Rowan and Nick at the fence getting ready for the next race. Nick is standing on a cooler - thank goodness for that. Mommy held him up to see the first race and that was going to get old FAST.


They're in the gate!


And they're off!!


Christy and I showing off our hats. I bought the ginormous hat in Puerto Vallarta - I love it.


After all the races were finished, there was a concert at the stage they had in the infield. Weezer played. It was great, kids loved it and it ended early enough that Nick wasn't up too late. He promptly fell asleep in the car on the way to the hotel.

The next day we went over to the San Diego Zoo. Man, that place is huge. And I think we walked ALL OVER it. Phew. Nick & the Girls looking at flamingos. They are pretty, but they stink. The flamingos that is, not the kids. Well, they have their moments too, I guess...


The kids on a polar bear statue.


Rowan & Riley playing seal.


Big polar bears.


It was hot and I was about ready to jump in there with the bear.


Nick was excited to find a life-size helicopter, or as he calls them, "hop-ti-collars"


Checking out the instruments.


Dave and the saber tooth tiger.


It's hard to see, but there is a lion back there behind the chain link fence.


Rowan & Nick checking out the elephant.


The handler enticed her into the water using lettuce. We've tried to get Nick to do things by bribing him with lettuce. Doesn't work.


I was half-hoping the elephant would spray us with water from her trunk, but then realized it would probably be mixed with elephant snot. So probably best that she didn't.


T.J. is not a doctor, he just plays one at the Zoo.


This is a statue of a bird that is extinct. It's lifesize. I think I'm glad it's extinct, I wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alley.


We ran into this polar bear after stopping for a drink. Nick was kind enough to share his raisins with him.


Baby giraffe, born in December 2009.


We stood in line for nearly 20 minutes because Nick wanted to feed the giraffes. Of course when we got in there, he was too scared to do it. So Mommy fed them instead.


Nick face to face with a monkey.


Good thing this isn't a real gorilla. I don't think it would like to have a three year-old's fingers up its nose.


LOVE, LOVE this picture. So cute.


Yep, more statue climbing. A turtle this time.


It's hard to see because of the shadows, but this was in the kids area and the hole was on the smaller side. Nick nearly got stuck!


Nick helping the sheep get "clean". He did remarkably well in the petting area. He is very scared around animals, so seeing him walk up to them without hesitation (after a little warm-up time) was good to see.


Rowan & Nick checking out the meerkats. They're so cute. The meerkats, not the kids. Well, the kids are cute too. Most of the time.


It was a great day at the Zoo and a great trip overall. Nick didn't take a nap at all on Sunday, so we were a little worried how the end of the day would go. But there was so much to see, he had no issues. And, of course, fell asleep almost immediately upon driving away from the Zoo. Can't wait to go to Del Mar again and hope that next time, we won't have such bad traffic!!