Lost Pines

Last month we made our annual trip to Lost Pines, near lovely Bastrop State Park, in spite of the nearby fires.We had hoped to take a photo at our favorite pavilion, but at this point we're not sure that it survived. Even though the park is closed until December, the hotel was as awesome and as family-friendly as ever.

And as dog-friendly, which is what it's really all about...right, Gretchen?

Fletcher, Dallas and the dogs went for an early morning stroll.

We went for a wagon ride, pulled by Fletcher's new friends, Julius and Caesar, the Percheron horses.

Covered wagon being pulled by ginormous horses? Very popular!

Popular enough to earn Fletcher's "Clasped Hands Seal of Great Interest".

Another thing we love about Lost Pines? You can borrow a tricycle anytime you like! And it comes complete with streamers and a bell!

There's a chocolate fountain at dinner. A chocolate fountain. Do you know what this is like for a budding Chocoholic?

It's very good, that's what it's like.

Bathing suit + backwards novelty cowboy hat = standard attire for 3 year olds at Lost Pines.

All the finest hotels have miniature donkeys nowadays...

...but only the really top-tier resorts have tame alpacas on staff.

Very, very tame alpacas.

Alpacas are both cuddly and fascinating.

Hooray for alpacas!

Fletcher was awarded a token for one free-ice cream at the "Country Store" for his polite behavior. His Mama bought one for herself as well, because she thought that she was demonstrating nice manners, too.

Fletcher invented his own rules for his first game of washers.

We spent most of our time floating in the "Crooked River Pool" (highly recommended for those great with child), but we also checked out the shallow kiddie pool and the splash pad.

The customary campfire was cancelled on account of the wildfire risk, but we discovered that s'mores components in their raw state are actually perfectly tasty.

Bathtime illuminated by glowstick...every bit as fun as it looks.

The Pumpkin Quest

This year, Fletcher had a simple request. "I want a pumpkin I can sit on." Well, okay then! We went to the Pumpkin Festival in Elgin again to see what they might have for us.

But first...donkey feeding!

 

They had a very nice selection of tractors, including one of our personal favorites, the forklift.

A tractor made of hay!

And...a tractor ride! No, let me correct that: several tractor rides. They have constantly running tractor rides to take you from one part of the farm to another. This, my friends, is living!

Can you think of anything that's made you this happy recently?

A well-meaning, but slightly passive-aggressive grandma seated next to us on one of our rides tried to send a subtle message about our parenting judgment. If you listen closely, you can hear her sing: "The mommies and the daddies say 'Please be safe, please be safe, please be safe, all through the town!'" to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus", all the while staring directly at our son.

Interestingly enough,  the broken motorboat sitting in a dry field was also big, big fun.

First attempt at the monkey bars. I think he was a little unclear on the concept. He was pretty happy to let Dallas carry him from bar to bar without actually supporting his own weight at all.

The rope climb was more his speed.

 There was also a hay maze...

...and a pony ride!

Finally, it was time for pumpkin selection.

You have to test out a surprising number of pumpkins before you find one that's really comfortable.

His daddy helped him by finding a pumpkin with a nice, flat stem, which is apparently the key to a sittable pumpkin.

San Diego, Part 3: Even More Adventures!

We stayed at a hotel right on the water (thanks, Bioware!), which allowed us to look at sailboats while consuming massive bowlfuls of mixed berries - the breakfast of champions.

 The zoo - and the mama and baby hippo in particular - were so popular that we made a second trip, this time with Sabina and Stacy.

 I'm not entirely sure what the boy is trying to accomplish here.

 How adorable are those two? And the kids are pretty cute, too.

 More hippo art.

Sabina is in Fletcher's stroller and Fletcher is in her stroller. You can't tell from this picture, but the big stroller switcheroo was the cause of great hilarity among the toddler set. I guess you had to be there.

 Fletcher on our hotel room balcony. One of his sippy cups ended up going over the edge (don't ask), which was very, very exciting and needed to be discussed for a very, very long time. Often.

 Isn't it a lovely view?

This is the part of the view that our boy liked best. Can you believe it? Our hotel was right on the water AND about a quarter mile away from the busy airport! Has there ever been a luckier pre-schooler?

 And then our luck temporarily ran out. The model train museum (Model! Train! Museum!) at Balboa Park closed much earlier than we had anticipated.  But! There was a stand selling some kind of chocolate/ice cream/whip cream frozen drinks, so the day was saved!

Crisis averted.

 Sabina (who actually didn't care all that much about the museum) felt much better, too.

 Frozen treats require concentration.

Hey, pregnant Mamas of disappointed kids need treats, too!

We checked in frequently with Copper. He likes to know what we've been up to.

On Copper's recommendation, we decided to visit the dog park.

Beloved companion White Puppy was impressed.

We also took our bus friends on a trolley ride or two.

We got into the spirit of things at ComicCon.

 

 And experimented with chopsticks.

Just because your vacation is over doesn't mean that the fun has to end. After we dropped off our rental car, we got to ride a bus to the airport!

The Gauntlet? Consider It Thrown...

Fletcher has been claiming lately that he wants to be a bear for Halloween. This is sort of mysterious to me, because standard-issue bears have never even cracked his top ten favorite animal list, and to the best of my knowledge, they don't often play guitars or drive fire trucks.

Me: Fletcher, what do you want to be for Halloween?
F: I told you already, Mama. I want to be a bear.
Me: Okay, any special kind of bear? A polar bear? A panda bear?
F: Just a bear, Mama. Just a bear...who's dressed up in a bear costume. I want to be a bear wearing a bear suit.

So there you have it.

San Diego, Part 2: At the Beach!

Our official reason to visit San Diego was for Dallas's work, but the real reason was...the beach! Dallas had a morning free, so we headed to the beach at Coronado with our friends Stacy and Sabina, who were also in town.

This is a boy who really, really loves the beach.

The water was cold (at least by our Texan standards), but that didn't slow him down.

And it didn't seem to slow Sabina down at all, either.

Can you imagine?

Fletcher had an observation about his preschool teacher:

Fletcher: Emily doesn't have a (toy) train station, Mama...but she's happy!
Me: I know! There are some people who are happy even though they don't have train stations!
Fletcher (dubiously): Yeaaah...but not a lot!