Summer 07 Update

It is I, the great Nathaniel Goodwin (“Nate the Great,” for short), back from my summer travels. Some of you were wondering what event could have pulled me away from my bi-monthly-turned-quarterly journals. The answer is this: the call of the open road.

Yes, after I turned 2, life got mobile. Mommy took me on a 12-day road trip up north to see Air Force friends stationed along I-35. Daddy had 3 weeks of finals, so Mommy thought it best to get out of Dodge! We spent 5 days in Edmond (just outside Oklahoma City) visiting the Toweys—Mommy and Daddy’s friends from Grand Forks. I got to play cars and jump on the trampoline with my god-sister, Remy (now 7 years old!) and play with Annie’s brand new puppies. I also went to the Oklahoma City Zoo—I saw grizzly bears swim in the water and get out to shake all the water off, I saw a Mommy gorilla feeding her new baby gorilla, a one-eyed ostrich that was trying to have a staring contest with me and, my favorite, the zoo train.

From Oklahoma, we continued north to Wichita, Kansas to visit friends from Okinawa and Grand Forks. I stayed in my own suite at Hotel Booser and every day Pam & baby Jake and Mommy and I met with Jen & Noelle Matherne to tour the Wichita toddler scene. The big event was going to the zoo on Earth Day! Hey, admission was free, but every elementary school in the southern part of Kansas was there that day. It made Mommy a little stressed to try to keep up with me in the throngs of people, but that’s my job…to keep her on her toes. I also had dinner at the Booser’s and the McGarry’s, tried new foods at good restaurants, “helped” Pam play with baby Jake and played on Noelle’s super-duper swing set.

As for the time in the car, the weather was great for driving, I was well-behaved (we borrowed a portable DVD player from a friend and bought one soon after our return—for long car trips only!) and Mommy says she couldn't have asked for better traffic flow (despite passing right by the Texas Motor Speedway on NASCAR Sunday!) I watched “Leap Frog Letter Factory” several times on the trip and could identify all my letters by the time we got back. Mommy also packed a lot of goodies in a cooler and we stopped to stretch our legs and have a picnic or a snack every few hours. Mommy says the trip went so well, she would consider another road trip in the future.

In May, my cousins Anna (3), Ashley (2), and Adam (6 mo) came to visit us in San Antonio (along with Aunt Julie and Uncle Wes, of course!) It was another non-stop whirlwind with the 3 of us toddlers and an infant. We packed in Sea World (I love watching “Shampoo” and the dolphins at the feeding station), the zoo (I was a crabby-pants that day), Children's Museum, Science Museum (with really cool robotic dinosaurs), Artworks (a whole hour to free-play with playdough, paints, stamps, glue, sawdust, markers and a spinning record player), picnics in the parks, and a lot of backyard pool time in the 9 days they were here.

June took us to Lake Limestone in east Texas a few times. Granna and Papa put a new house on their lot, so we stayed with Great-Aunt Mary Ella during the night while we painted and prepped and played during the day. Our first trip was during Daddy’s two-week summer break after his gigantic med school test, something called the Step One. I planted a pecan tree with Daddy and Papa. Now it’s “my tree.” We also got to “swim” in the lake (though I wasn’t as keen about putting my head underwater or floating in my floatie this year). We went out on the jet-skis, too. I loved going over the bumps. “Again! ‘Gin!” I’d yell. I had fun trying out my new Batman rod & reel set I got from Wendy and Charles for my birthday. I love going to the lake because I can splash in the lake, drive the jet-skis, run down the long dirt road, swing in the hammock, chase the cows at the ranch, go fishing on the dock with Daddy & Papa and eat Granna’s really good food.

In July we headed on another road trip, this time with Granna, Papa, Mommy, me, Katie and Skyler. The Navigator was packed! We ventured back to Mississippi for Camp Meeting and another 12 days of reunion/revival fun. This year was just as refreshing as last year! I swam in the swimmin’ hole and went down the 10-foot waterslide 3 times, picked blueberries with Mommy and Granna’s family, played with my tractors and cars all over the campground, tried to ride a 12” bike—next year for sure!, fed the cows with Cousin Johnny and Cousin Sandy (#68 still likes me), lifted the bucket on a backhoe loader by myself, sang in the toddler choir, ate my first ice cream cone from “the stand,” swam in the tanks after the shaving cream fight (but didn’t like getting my hands messy with shaving cream), went on the hayride, and ate almost an entire bag of Cousin Sandy’s boiled peanuts. It was another year in Little Boy’s Paradise.

On August 1st, we flew from San Antonio to Minneapolis. (Yes, that is the same day the I-35 bridge collapsed in Mpls. Yes, the same I-35 that carried us on our April road trip. We’d been safe at Grandma and Grandpa’s up North in Bemidji for several hours at the time of the collapse. None of our friends or family was directly affected by the tragedy—except for extended commute times. Thank you to everyone who inquired.) With the news of the bridge collapsing and the recall of millions of lead-painted toys behind us, the Minnesota vacation could commence. I went to the Clearwater County Fair with Sydney and Grandma—saw the goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, horses, and cows and even ate a hot dog from the concession stand. I started getting crabby before Mommy could take me on a ride at the Midway, so we went home for my nap.

On Saturday, Mommy took me to the beach on Lake Bemidji for her 15-year Class Reunion Picnic. Mommy’s friend Alyssa took me wading in the lake when I started getting antsy. I had so much fun, I decided to just sit down and go swimming—in my clothes! On Sunday, I went to TWO princess parties. My oldest Breyen-cousin, Anna, turned 4. My cousin Sydney turned 3. I also got to meet my newest cousin Sarah ( Sydney's sister). I had so much fun playing with all my cousins and new friends--not to mention getting TWO slices of birthday cake in ONE day! The rest of the trip consisted of running up and down Grandma and Grandpa’s long, dirt driveway collecting neat rocks and leaves; hiding in the shed Grandpa was building (my fort), taking a photo with all the Breyen grandkids, climbing all over the new swing set Grandma bought for us, playing in the sandbox and giving baby Adam and baby Sarah kisses .

Which brings us to September—this month got a little lost in the hubbub of catching up from our summer travels and starting the routine of the school year! We’re busy this year! On Mondays Mommy goes to the gym for yoga (I get to hang out with the toy cars and “Sesame Street” in the KidZone). Tuesdays we alternate MOPS and story time at the library. Wednesdays Mommy and I attend Bible Study Fellowship. Thursdays is our free day— usually ends up being errands. Fridays we’re back at the gym and onto a “parenting” book club. So, my typical schedule is this: up at 6:45, breakfast (favorites are Cheerios, oatmeal, waffles and yogurt with fruit and juice on the side), dressed and out the door around 8:00. We’re home in time for a little free play, followed by lunch at 11:30-ish (PBJ, chicken nuggets and cheese tortillas are my favorites), clean-up, story time and nap at 1:00. I usually wake-up around 4:00, Daddy gets home around the same time, so I pick out his after-work clothes for him to change into and we wrestle on the bed for a half-hour. This amusement is followed by free play until dinner at 6:00, bedtime routine from 7:00-8:00 (“bath time,” p.j.s, “book time,” “brush teeth time,” “prayer time” and “sleep time”—as I call them).

Oh, we did take a quick trip to the beach and state aquarium in Corpus Christi when Daddy had a Saturday off this month. I love the ocean—floating, looking for shells (so I could load them in my dump truck), driving my beach trucks all over the sand, building sandcastles with Daddy, etc. I can’t wait to go back. After Labor Day was a great time to go…we practically had the whole beach to ourselves until about 11:00. I loved looking at the sharks, jellyfish and river otters at the state aquarium. I got to touch a manta ray and a little sand shark in the petting area. But ask Mommy and Daddy what it was like to share the hotel room with a toddler at bedtime! That’s the highlights from another San Antonio summer. Would you believe it didn’t break 100 degrees here this summer?! (That’s because it was always raining!)

That’s all for now,
Nate