This year we decided that we would do Thanksgiving with just the 5 of us. No plane rides, no dog sitters, no stress of traveling. Plus, with Jess working for Macy*s we scored grandstand tickets for the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Cheesy though it is, we were real excited to take Zack to the parade...and see how long he would sit still. It seemed like a great day for a parade. It wasn't raining and it was warm (...enough to wear flops). However, we would soon come to realize how Macy*s would ruin the day. Long story short, they distributed/sold way too many tickets and mismanaged the admission process like all-stars, so we watched an hour of the parade from half an avenue away. Zack didn't care and was happy to run around and chase dogs (his lack of fear for the rot on the thick chain may not be a good thing).
The plus to all this is that we got on the road to Connecticut sooner. The dogs loved having a yard again and went nuts...and so did Zack. Zack and Sierra chased the ball while Foster staked his claim everywhere. When we made Zack come in he took to his normal roll of entertaining everyone. He's also very jealous of Gannie's wheelchair and seems to keep trying to figure out how he can borrow it. After stuffing his face with sweets all day we had a wild child with an upset stomach. He was bouncing off of walls and slept like crap.
Friday was a rainy day eliminating the temptation to do something healthy like go for a run during OES & ODS. Instead we found the local ice rink and decided to take Zack to open skate to test out his early X-mas present from Dad, size 7 Bauer ice skates (unfortunately CCM doesn't make skates so small). We knew he liked putting the skates on, and could stand on them, we just weren't sure how he would handle the ice. Would he get scurrrred? Would he freak out? Would he be able to stand? Would he prove to be a prodigy and start sprinting around the rink?
So how did it go? It was great. He doesn't seem to be a prodigy (yet), but he loved being on the ice. He was laughing and you could tell he just thought it was cool. And yes, Dad was even more excited about it than Zack. It was my proudest moment since the day he was born. 1st word? OK. Crawling? Ehhh. 1st step? Alright. 1st time kissing a chick? That was cool. 1st time skating? Awesome! After about 20 minutes on the ice, my back was killing me and we decided we should get on the road.
Today we went for a drive out to the country to go to the X-mas tree farm. Zack enjoyed walking around all the trees and of course the hay ride. He was very interested in what I was doing when I was cutting the tree down, but didn't help out. Helpful advice: cut straight so that you don't end up having to saw into the ground and bring up the roots too...or bring a chainsaw. Anyhow, our Charley Brown tree is up and has lights. Let's see how we prevent Zack and Foster from knocking it down again this year.
"Sure Mom, I'll help you make cupcakes. I'll clean this thing 1st."
"No, I haven't been sampling."
Shrek at the parade.
"Hey Lauren pass me some turkey."
If it looks like a sugar high is kicking in and Zack is turning into Baby Satan, it's because it was.
"Dessert time!"
Gannie & Pop Pop
Waiting for the Zamboni to get off the ice.
"I'm skating!"
"Weeeeeeeee!"
Family photo
Riding out to the trees with Dad.
"Whoa, look at all these trees."
"Got me a walkin' stick."
"Ooh, what's this? Candy cane?!?!"
"CANDY CANE!!!! Sugar."
"What are we looking at Dad?"
"What are you doing down there?"
"Hey, give me my hat back."
"We got us a tree."
"That was hard work...I need a drink."
The bridge near the mill in downtown Clinton, NJ-Zack and Gramma
Gramma and Grampa's house in the Poconos
SNOW!
Hope Santa brings me Handy Manny, Elmo, Trucks, Cars, and Trains...all of my favorite things!
Oooooooh, a new drill and a new tractor, with a dump cart too! Thanks Gramma and Grampa!
ELMO!!!!
New Tractor! Just like grampas!
Snow in Hoboken!
