Bug Cards and Sumemr Reading

While we were in Portland last month, Nana let us use her library card since she knew we are always checking items out of our library here. Chance and I both love the library, not only were we able to check out regular children's books we also checked out books on Chief Joseph and other subjects specific to the Oregon area that our libraries here don't have on the shelf.
The Multnoma County Library (in Portland) was also hosting their annual Summer Reading Challenge while we were there, and since Chance loves to read we signed him up. He got a sticker for each 15 minutes we read or did a reading activity like listening to an audio book or working his word puzzles. There were four prize levels and with some hard work on our last day we were able to finish them all four.


The first two prizes Chance got to pick himself from a box full of little toys, he chose some really neat bug cards with pictures of bugs on them as well as info about each bug and a clicker which we have decided is an outside toy (it makes a lot of noise). His next prize was this awesome shirt he is wearing in all these pictures and his last prize was a bookplate which we got to put his name on and place inside any book in the library. The book he chose was The Button Box which we have never read but it's the one Chance picked so here he is holding the book with his bookplate inside.


A few days after we got home here in NOLA we got a surprise in the mail, it was one of Chance's bug cards in a pop up star card from Nana and Grandpa Von. It wasn't just any bug card either, it was Chance's favorite, his Dung Beetle card. We had accidentally left it behind and since Nana and Grandpa Von knew Chance would be looking for it they sent it to us right away. He is interested in all the bugs and asks us to read them all to him but the Dung Beetle is most definitely his favorite (I think because he gets to say the word "poop"). Thanks for sending it so fast.
Here is chance showing off his Dung Beetle card (the other bug cards and his pop-up star card are on the table) and these last two pictures are Chance playing at the park in his Summer Reading shirt. Swinging all by himself.

crafty playdate

A few days ago we went to Miss Mariah and Iggy's house for a crafty playdate. First all the kids just played and had a good time then Mariah laid out crayons and pre-cut masks for everyone to color then wear around.
Chance didn't do a lot of coloring on his but he really enjoyed wearing it around for the rest of the day.

Dinosaurs

On our second day with Dan and James they gave us a list of things to check out while they were at work and the one we decided on was Dinosaur footprints.

We drove off the main road onto a dirt road then drove and drove some more till we reached a little gazebo with some signs and a boardwalk. It was pretty amazing that anyone found these footprints way out here but it's cool they did and that they are being studied and preserved for us all to enjoy.
Dan and James warned us that at first you don't see the footprints but when you do finally start to see them you realize they are everywhere. And sure enough once we figured out exactly what we were looking for we could see them all around us. They still aren't sure what type of dinosaurs made the footprints but these footprints are putting a whole spin on the dinosaur world changing where and when it was thought certain dino's lived. These prints are 167 million years old and back then this area of Wyoming was a shoreline looking out into the Ocean. The thought of it all is pretty amazing.

Visiting Dan and James and the Farm

Dan and Chance on their back porch

On the way up to Portland I posted a picture of the sunrise at our Wyoming hotel on my Facebook page, well James (third picture all the way to the right) saw it and asked where in Wyoming we were because he and our good friend Dan (sitting above with Chance) who used to live in NOLA now live in Wyoming. Turns out we were well past their house by the time he saw the picture but it worked out for the better because we were able to work extra time into the drive home to stop and see them for a couple days.
It was so great to see them, Dan was so so so helpful to me in the first year or so after Chance was born when Scott was out of town. I looked forward to him stopping by for coffee or asking me if I wanted to go for a walk to get me out of the house. One time I was very very sick and Scott was working, Dan took Chance to his apartment and watched him overnight. I honestly have no idea what I would have done if Dan had not been here that night. I had no idea how much I enjoyed Dan's friendship until he left NOLA about two years ago. Being able to work it out to see him and meet his partner James was really wonderful.

Dan Chance and Jennifer (farm owner) talking about and looking at Chickens

We arrived in Worland, WY when both Dan and James were still at work so we stopped by to see Dan and get directions to their house. We were warned that their two dogs might bark when we came in but were friendly. And that they will get along with Deedle but might show him who's in charge in the house at first. I was expecting big dogs but turns out they were the most mellow cute little things not much bigger than Deedle himself. They gave us one or two warning barks and then went on about their business. I looked through all my photos but don't have any of them, I can't believe it!
After Dan and James got home we hung out at the house enjoying the wonderful weather and the relaxing atmosphere. It is so nice there, when it is quiet it really is quiet no city noises just peace, it's lovely. When global warming starts keeping the winters above freezing there I will definitely consider a move. Anyway, I don't really know the conversation that led up to it but Chance asked Dan where milk comes from, so Dan called a friend with a little farm and in no time we were on the road to find out where milk really comes from.

Scott, Dan and James look on while Jennifer holds a Duck for Chance to pet.

When we first arrived at the farm Chance ran off to explore, he didn't need any prompting to touch the animals he is more the kind of little guy who will run right in there and you have to pull him back a little. But he listens well so when Jennifer caught a duck for him to pet he was very gentle while petting his soft feathers.

Next we went over to a pen where they had goats and a little lamb. The lamb was very cute and after Chance entered the pen the lamb followed him all around.
Next came the purpose for our visit the the farm: milking! Jennifer was so nice, she showed Chance what to do then sat him on her lap so they could milk together.

Chance did a really good job. I was actually pretty impressed that he listened so well and did exactly what she told him to do. He also wasn't grossed out or weirded out at all, he just did it, he seemed very interested in the whole process. After a while his attention span was exhausted but I was really proud of how good he did.

After milking we checked out the cows and the horses. We were able to pet one of the cows but she wasn't really into hanging out with us very long. A minute later the horses came running up as if to get their own share of the attention. Dan and Chance investigated the horses through the fence (below).

For the finishing touch to our farm visit Jennifer asked if Chance wanted to ride on a horse. Without hesitation Chance said "yes" so on he went. Chance sat on the horse as Jennifer lead and I stood by to make sure Chance was holding on tight.

We rode down the driveway up a little hill then back again, the whole time Chance was having a great time.

I want to give a big thank you to Jennifer and her husband for letting us visit their farm and to Dan for setting it up. A city kid needs lots of great experiences just like this to keep life in perspective. Thank you!

been recouping/Yellowstone

Sorry I've been out for the last week or so. I've been recuperating from the drive home and getting back into the routine here. Let's go back in time a bit and tell you a little about our drive home. First, Chance and I left Portland while Scott was still in Norfolk, VA. We spent the first night in Missoula, MT just the two of us. The next day we were supposed to pick Scott up in Billings at 3pm but his flight got delayed and rerouted so he would not be arriving until 10pm. With all this extra time I was looking for something fun to do to keep us busy till it was time to pick Scott up from the airport.

After looking at a map I discovered that we were only 1 hour from Yellowstone which would give us about 3 hours to see the sights in the park before starting off toward Billings. It would be a whirlwind trip but I couldn't pass it up. We took very pretty road from the interstate to the park then of course we had to stop at the sign. A very nice woman saw me trying to take a self portrait of myself and Chance and she got back out of her car to take the picture for us. Thanks to her for helping us get this nice picture of the two of us.

From there we paid the entrance fee and entered the park. I had been the Yellowstone before but I had forgotten how you find the animals until I saw a bunch of cars parked by the side of the road and people with cameras. We had only been in the park a few minutes when we saw our first animals. They were some kind of mountain deer. When Chance saw them he got all excited, pointing and counting them.
After this stop we went to the first visitor's center we came to in the park, which was surrounded by a herd of Elk so we had to wait in the car for a few minutes and be careful as we walked across the parking lot. Inside I told the guide we only had a few hours but I would like to see geysers and buffalo. Of course they couldn't pinpoint where the buffalo would be but they told me where they had been grazing recently and pointed us to geysers that were close by.

When we arrived at the geyser location another very helpful forest ranger helped us choose which trail to take to have the best shot at seeing a geyser erupt. I love forest rangers, a forest ranger is one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up but it isn't the easiest profession to get into so that never really panned out but I love their job, it just fascinates me, and think about it have you ever met a mean forest ranger? They love what they do and it shows.
Anyway we walked down the trail to a whole field of geysers, they had built boardwalks just inches above the ground because they whole area is thermal. We were able to see super heated pools of water and geysers shoot up 10 - 20 feet in the air. Chance liked walking on the trails, he kept asking to go swimming, he didn't quite understand how hot it was. He was really interested in the water shooting in the air and seeing the steam come out of the holes. We could also see lots of bubbles coming up from the Earth. It was really cool.

Continuing on our drive around the park Chance fell asleep and I saw some deer and some other pretty sights. I had told Chance that I would wake him up if I saw any really cool animals so when we came upon a herd of Buffalo in the road I had to wake him up. At first he wasn't interested but as soon as he saw how big and how close they were he woke right up. He was really animated pointing them out and listening to the funny noises they make. We were stuck there for a while as the buffalo moved across the street. The Buffalo in this picture was right in front of our car.

The road we took to exit the park and take us on to Billings is #212 a little mountain road that is known for it's beautiful views. It twisted, it turned, winding around mountain cliffs up to 7,000 feet above sea level. It was absolutely beautiful! As we drove along we were getting up to where we could see snow on the mountain tops around us, Chance spotted it and I told him we would stop if I saw any close enough for us to play in, not two minutes later we came around a corner to a whole pile of snow and a place to easily pull over. We got out of the car, made some snowballs and played in the snow for a bit before heading off to Billings.

We made it to the Airport just in time to pick up Scott and head to the hotel where we were all very happy to relax and get some sleep.