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!!
