Lake Tahoe + Cousin Colin + Spatulas = Fun!

by Evan Heemstra

Right now my Mommy and Daddy are pretty busy working on their research proposals, so I thought I would tell you about my fun vacation to Chicago and Lake Tahoe. A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Chicago, and though I did sleep most of the way it was still not very fun. But, at the end of the drive I got to hang out with my Grandpa and Grandma, so it was totally worth it.

A couple of days later, we flew to Lake Tahoe where I spent some time relaxing (day care can be sooooo stressful!)


and also visited the playground and had fun going down the slide on my own. I don't really like to eat solid foods like bread, hot dogs, or mandarin oranges, but those wood chips they have at the playground are yummy!

One of the best parts of vacation was that my cousin Colin, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Robin joined us in Tahoe for a week - they are way more fun than my dorky parents!

Our parents brought a bunch of toys, but we had much more fun playing with the spatulas (and the Corona box you see in the background).

The grown-ups had some good ideas, like taking us to the pool

and to the beach - the water was cold, but I found that the sand was almost as yummy as the wood chips from the playground.


We had one rainy day, so we all went down to Carson City to see the Childrens Museum (complete with my first time rock climbing).


And, since no visit to Carson City is complete without a photo op in front of the Governor's mansion . . .


We went hiking a lot - not a bad way to spend naptime!


But, my parents also had some not great ideas, like taking us for a bike ride in a trailer.


Despite the malfeasance of the bike trailer, I had a really great time hanging out with all of my family!

Goldfish make the world go round

Well, maybe goldfish don't make the world go round, but they do give Evan and Nicky a way to hang out. Evan has always enjoyed feeding Nicky from his high chair, and Nicky dutifully comes running when he hears the click of the high chair tray. Today John put out some goldfish for Evan to eat while we were cleaning the house, and Nicky actually got up the courage to take some fish from Evan's hand. For quite a few months after Evan was born, the two of them operated with mutual indifference, so it is fun to see them becoming good buddies.

I love ice cream!

Last weekend we flew to Chicago to see my Grandpa and Grandma Heemstra, and also to celebrate Uncle Rick's (he's my Dad's cousin, so I think that makes him my uncle . . .) wedding. I got to enjoy some of the fun things that come with summer, like splashing in the pool


and eating ice cream (yum!).


We also stopped in for a visit with my Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Heemstra, and they fed me cookes (also yum!).


Although I had fun playing outside, I also found many ways to entertain myself indoors. At home in Boston, I'm not allowed in the kitchen because I try to tip over the bikes and eat the dog food. So, it was a big treat to be able to wander around Grandma's kitchen and take things out of the cabinets to play with (yup, in that last photo I am in fact trying to drink a can of baked beans).


I also discovered the joy of climbing stairs and getting blanket rides around the family room.

What a busy weekend! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for all of the fun (and ice cream!). I can't wait to visit again!

Blocko and the waterpark

When we put down the alphabet mat in Evan's playroom, we had exactly six pieces left over, so we made a "blocko" for him to play with (I don't know why we have this odd habit of adding the letter "o" to the end of words . . . blocko, bibbo, spinacho . . . perhaps we are under the delusion that if we make it sound more fun, then Evan will like it more. Anyhow, the fact that blocko isn't a load bearing structure made for a few unfortunate events as Evan was learning to pull up on things and cruise around. But, today he discovered that blocko can be disassembled and provide fun in many forms.

The starting point.


The stages of disassembly (I especially love the first one).


And, once the destruction is complete, moving on to another toy.


After all of the heavy demolition work, we decided to cool down by taking our first trip to the spray park up the street. At first, Evan was NOT a fan because the water was too cold. But, once we found a nice little pool to sit in, he enjoyed splashing in the water and watching all of the other kids running around. We told Evan that his Grandma in Chicago has a kiddie pool, and I think he is pretty excited to splash around with his cousin next weekend!

Run, Mama, Run!

Last weekend the boys got to spend some quality time together while I competed in my first post-baby triathlon. The race was in Waterville Valley, NH and the setting was absolutely gorgeous - mountains and pine trees everywhere you look. Unfortunately, due to the cold rainy summer we've had, the water temp was 53 degrees - a bit more chilly than the average of 72 that I was expecting when I signed up. I did have a wetsuit, however said wetsuit did not have sleeves as when choosing it I had reasoned "well, I don't need a full suit because I would never want to do a tri where the water is colder than 60."


The race was fun , but by far the highlight was getting to see John and Evan at each transition. Thanks to their awesome encouragement, I even finished under my goal time! After the race, John told me that he was surprised that he was able to get a picture of me on the bike because I was going so fast . . . thanks John - that made me feel better about getting passed by a bunch of racers in pointy helmets (if you don't know what I'm talking about, google "time trial helmet").


While waiting for me to finish the run (yeah . . . that was probably a long wait) Evan was playing in the grass and decided to share his cheerios with the local wildlife. We returned to the scene of the crime later in the day to capture these photos.


Evan seemed to have a fun weekend people watching and taking in the action, but he was also a big fan of the new water bottle that mommy got for finishing the race.


Thanks John and Evan for an absolutely wonderful weekend! I love you guys!

Best buddies

With all of the fourth of July festivities, it ended up being a pretty rough weekend for Nicky (fortunately Evan was completely unfazed by all of it). Nicky spent most of his time hiding in various places around the apartment, but he discovered a new favorite one under Evan's crib. We think it's pretty cute that when Nicky gets scared, all he wants to do is go hang with his best buddy Evan.