Fun Times in Mascoutah

So, our trip to Mascoutah was relaxing and wonderful -- a much needed break for both Blake and I. George and Clark still think Blake's the coolest guy they've ever met, what with the "magic" tricks he does, and William is quickly following suit. In fact, it would seem that adorable little curly-haired William likes Blake more than he likes me, the blood relative. Every time I'd try to coax him over to come play with me, he'd run away either to his mother or to Blake. Oh well -- I'm convinced it's just a phase...he'll like me more next time we visit...right?

Anyway, we arrived Friday afternoon in time to cheer Clark on at his basketball game. I'm a big fan of watching teams of 5-year-olds play any kind of sports. Every kid on his team knew of the great importance to keep their hands up in the air, but they had a difficult time remembering to dribble. Here is Clark posing for a post-game picture:


When it was suggested that we head to downtown St. Louis for the St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday morning, George pretty adamantly said he'd rather just stay home. It was actually pretty cold outside, so though we all initially didn't want to, we ended up taking his side. We spent the day instead catching up on some Scarlet Pimpernel viewing, and playing the A-Maze-ing Labyrinth board game. Clark is a wiz at that game and pretty much kicked our trashes every time. We also took a brisk walk to the library where George was able to pick up the latest from Lemony Snicket. Here's George on his favorite reading pillow pile:


Saturday was also spent playing a bit of Lego Star Wars on the X-Box. George and Clark actually played...


...and William thought was he was actually playing:


And speaking of William, isn't he adorable?

How can you not love that face? And that curly blond hair? In the three times we've been able to visit the Mascoutah branch of the family since we moved to Indiana, we've watched William go from a month-old infant to a nearly walking 9-month-old, to this strapping 20-month-old talker. He has a word for just about every necessary person or item in his world. He even learned to say "Lindsay" ("N-Dee") and "Blake" ("Bach") just for us!

Bethany happily lended me some maternity clothes, and loaded me up with some other baby items that were initially used by my brothers and then passed on to the the cousins. We got my youngest brother, Scott's, old baby swing, a few outfits and blankets that belonged to my siblings, and the accessory my mom couldn't live without, yea even the Snugli. With the exception of the tray on the swing and a few time-worn spots on the Snugli, everything looks to be in good condition, which is amazing when you think of how many children used these things. It's nice to be getting stocked up.

Though they handled our departure much better than last time, George and Clark really didn't want us to go. In fact, George kept asking if we'd be back for Easter and when we told him probably not, he stated that, well, he'd just have to come to our house then.


Thanks, Dwight, Bethany, George, Clark, and William, for a fabulous visit! Hope to see you again soon!