While Daddy's Away: Mommy and Brendan Will Play! May 17-25, 2012

While Ryan was away on his big Canadian fishing trip, I took the opportunity to get some special time with Brendan. As it won't be too long before he will have a little brother or sister to share my attention with, I thought it would be a good idea to have some one-on-one fun with my first born. With A LOT of help from Aunt Jess*, we had such a great week. We did some fun things around St. Louis. We posted most of our activities on Facebook, but I've included some pics in this blog (again, thanks to Aunt Jess and her camera). We had such a blast! It's a week that I will always remember for some truly special moments with my Sugar Bear.

Day 1 of Daddy's big fishing trip: we had an AWESOME day at the Zoo with Aunt Jess. So much fun!

Aunt Jess and Brendan enjoy one of B's favorite exhibits: the penguins.

A happy boy during our lunch break.

He was so excited that he got to see his favorite animals: penguins, giraffes and zebras. He kept hugging me and saying, "I'm so happy, Mommy." Melt your heart moments.

Brendan loved reading the Zoo map.

All Aboard! (the Zoo train): Brendan, Aunt Jess, and Mommy.

Day 2 of Daddy's big fishing trip: grocery shopping=check, lunch out=check, free evening at the Magic house with Aunt Jess and our friend, Jessica and her whole crew=check, dinner=check, and a very exhausted Mommy=check, check. Packed day 2!

Brendan & Josie have fun with water at the Magic House

Kelly

Leanna

Josie serves us up some pizzas.

Brendan: I don't think that is the purpose of this activity.

All of the kids loved this activity with magnets. Brendan & Josie tried to hang as many metal pieces as they could from the ceiling before they fell. Kelly enjoyed cleaning & organizing the items into trays. And Leanna got a kick out of messing up Leanna's organization.

 
Day 3 of Daddy's big fishing trip: movie marathon. Brendan and I watched Happy Feet 2, Footloose, Alvin and the Chipmunks. I even got a bonus movie after Brendan went to bed: The Vow.


Day 4: church in the morning and caught up on some of our favorite shows on the DVR. And had an intense game of air hockey.


Day 5: picnic lunch at the park and fun on the playground with Aunt Jess. Then dinner at NaNa and BawBaw's (my parents') so I could do laundry: our dryer was on the fritz.

Brendan enjoys a picnic lunch.

Brendan and Aunt Jess play hide-and-seek with some other kids on the playground. Here they're counting before they "go seek."

Brendan loves his Aunt Jess.

Day 6: got Brendan hooked on the XBox and Lego Harry Potter. (Didn't know it at the time, but this marks the emergence of a monster. Playing the XBox might be his favorite thing now.)


Day 7: appointment day. I had a doctor's appointment and found out that Brendan's little brother or sister is doing great--a really strong heartbeat. And so far, Mommy's weight gain is spot-on, as is my blood-pressure. Let's hope that it stays this way. Also, went to see Aunt J'me to get Brendan's (much needed) summer haircut. And we ate dinner together at Applebee's: Brendan's favorite restaurant.


Day 8: Grant's Farm with Aunt Jess (told you she was amazing) and grocery shopping.

Brendan and Mommy feed the goats (not brave enough to go inside the fence).

Brendan on the carousel. (He's the one that chose the creepy-looking bunny).

Mommy holds Brendan up as he waves at the elephants.

Aunt Jess, Brendan, & Mommy.

Brendan loves his first sno-cone.

Day 9: was an extremely hot day: one of the first 100-degree days that this summer would see (and we've seen PLENTY more since then). So we decided to stay indoors and enjoy the air conditioning. We played more Lego Harry Potter. We got our first call from Daddy and he was back in the states. Hadn't talked to him since he left.



And so, that was how our week went without Daddy. I think we kept ourselves busy enough: partly because Mommy had a week and a half off work, partly because it was a great way to kick off our summer together, and mostly so that we were too exhausted to miss Ryan too much while he was gone. But as I said before, years down the road I will think back fondly on this time that Brendan and I got to spend together: and I'm sure I'll wish that we could do it all over again.

(To hear Ryan's version of what happened that week, see the next blog entry)










*A special thanks to Aunt Jess for helping out so much this week. It truly would NOT have been possible to do all these things without you! And thank you for always having your camera with you. You have such a gift for capturing the special moments that I want to remember forever on film. You are a blessing to our lives, and we are so thankful that we have you to call our sister & aunt. Love you!!!

The Great White North (by Ryan Pelhank)

Hi Guys,

I was fortunate enough this year to go on the trip of a lifetime to White River, Ontario (Canada), the home of Lake Kabinakagami (yep, look it up) for an amazing fishing trip.  It was me, Uncle Keith (Pelhank), Cousin Scott (Pelhank), Cousin (in-law) Jordan Fleig, Jordan's dad Keith (Fleig), Jordan's brother Josh, and a couple of their friends.  After flying to Detroit, we made the ten hour drive north and took a bush-plane another 30 minutes to the lake.

I have never seen or caught so many fish on a trip.  My worst day, I probably caught 30 Walleye.  Northern Pike were everywhere, but it was tough to get a 40-incher (considered a trophy).  This was almost too cool for words.  Check out the cabins we stayed in and some pictures of Jordan from previous trips in their photo albums at http://www.kabykabins.ca/.  We were there from 5/17 - 5/25, so it was a pretty long and fulfilling trip.  Lots of wildlife, and you can check out all the pictures on my FB page at http://www.facebook.com/ryan.pelhank.  Thanks for reading!!

My biggest Walleye.  About 22 inches.

Dee Plane, dee plane!!

We called these guys 'The Billies'.  Whaddya know, some hillbillies from North Carolina with mandolins and fiddles were at the camp too!!  Ryan and Jordan were in heaven!!

My biggest pike.  About 27 inches.  Jordan's dad caught a 39 incher the first day, so we thought we were going to catch monsters all week......not exactly.

Uncle Keith's monster on the last night of fishing.  I think it was 37 inches.  Those things are like torpedoes with teeth!!  I still have the scar on my hand to prove it.  Little known fact: Northern Pike STINK!! (...like, actually smelly).

We're Expecting!

On April 18, we announced that our family of three will soon become four: we're expecting. We are so excited! Brendan already knows, and is pretty nonchalant about it. We are due on November 24, two days after Thanksgiving. What a wonderful thing to be thankful for! Here we go again.

Our 2nd child's 1st photo.

Mommy Works on a Green Thumb: April 2012

So, if you know me well, you know that I have never had any experience with gardening. And, after 4 years of living in our house, I have finally decided to try my hand at it. We took out the nasty, plastic "bricks" that line the front of the house and replaced it with actual brick landscaping. I then enlisted my friend, Jessica's, help and chose my first perennials that I planted in the front and side areas. I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The true test will be if they survive the hot St. Louis summer. Here goes nothing.....

Before: yucky fake brick

Before: close-up of said brick.

After: garden in front. The Azaleas are the pink, and day lilies are the yellow. The others should bloom early summer, then late summer/early fall. If all goes well.

Side box (before we put in the mulch): the Foxglove is in bloom in this photo.

Easter: April 8, 2012

The night before Easter we did the usual: dying Easter eggs. But this was the first time that Brendan was able to dunk, and remove, the eggs by himself. And he was so proud of his work. On Easter Sunday, we attended church with Aunt T and Uncle Danny. After which, we made our way to PaPa Pelhank's for the usual overstuffing ourselves on a huge meal. This year, the weather in St. Louis was beautiful. So the boys decided to work off some of their meal by doing some fishing. And Brendan had so much fun. He was excited when he (with a little help from Daddy) caught a fish. Amy, Tory, and I relaxed in the sun a little while the fellas fished. It was a nice change for Easter Sunday...maybe a new tradition has started.

B dyes his own Easter eggs.

The finished product.

Our handsome man in his Easter Sunday best: ready for church.

Not sure what the plan was on this: but what a good sport Aunt T is!

Brendan fishes with Uncle Danny.

"Yes!" Brendan and Daddy catch a fish.

All the guys walking along the opposite side of the lake. From left: Uncle Danny, Brendan, PaPa Pelhank, & Daddy.