Visit From my Parents!

My parents came to visit us last week. It was one of the Top 3 experiences of my life. To spend the time together was well deserved and perfect. I had a bunch of activities planned, but we enjoyed spending time together that we didn't need those "space fillers" to occupy us. Even going to the local hippie store for groceries (thanks mom!) was a lot of fun.

Maximus and my dad swam, my mother sang "goo goos" to him, the amount of hugs and kisses they got were unreal, they "schoops" (shoot hoops), rode bikes, toured Lincoln, wrestled, even ate a few bites of vanilla ice milk, walked the beautiful Lincoln trails, hit the playground, laughed, talked, sang, everything. I miss them already. Oh, and since Jesse just started racing, my dad was in heaven watching him race. My father has been a cyclist for as long as I can remember, so this sort of thing was really exciting for him. He told me after seeing the race, the bike shop and our bikes that he wants to go back and buy another! It's addicting! Do it Dad!

My parents have 10 grandchildren. All of Maximus's cousins (and the one on Jesse's side too) are incredible kids. Before my parents visited us, they had spent a week with my brother and his family in St. Louis. I hope that we can meet my sister and her family this July at Mount Rushmore along with my parents. This trip was just so...good. I cried like a baby when they left. I felt so empty and I still miss them! I'm 29, not an 8 year old girl!

Now, these photos are in totally random order. I think they depict the visit from the finish to the start, but who cares? They are awesome!

Maximus sandwich.

Some weird little game my dad and Beef were playing.

Lovers.

Madre, Stacor Mundo and Padre.

More lovers.

Googoo, Mr. Barch Tree, Mundo Runi and Handsomer.

"Hye-yawr!' (higher)

His first time on the sand without shoes.

Normally when I walk Maximus and Jackie, I have my hands full.

Mother Dearest and me. How beautiful are the Lincoln trails?!

Mechanical engineers are excellent train track makers.

Lincoln Children's Museum.

Every kid needs a hat straight from Disneyland.

Barch Trees.

More train excitement.

I love this picture. The bronze dude is funny, but my mom looks so pretty!

Picture was taken by a dude waiting for the train to go back to Ohio. How we knew? My dad just walked up and asked. One of the cool things I admire about my dad is how he says "hello" to EVERYONE. No matter what. More people should do that.

My dad climbing over trains.

Caboose.

Game of kickball in the back with Grandpa Barch.

Where Was This?!

Jesse and Maximus must have been taking pictures of themselves one evening because I would remember taking this:
Like, seriously. How can you get better than this? Total hot dude and amazingly beautiful little boy with THE BEST HAIR ON THE PLANET.

Cheese Ball

Chef Maximus in his kitchen sporting the ever present cheese ball smile.

Some Really Good Pictures

Our friends have a "farm"- it's a cabin on a massive amount of land and we've been out there a couple times to basically play in the dirt. The guys build bike ramps and trails and Maximus runs around like it's the greatest day of his life. There's a little stream, lots of hills, sticks, dogs, mud, cows and bikes. We met Alexandra Matzke and she took a bunch of pictures of Maximus. These pictures captured Maximus at his finest. Love her work! We're looking forward to some family photos with her soon. These are only a few of the dozens she took:





This last picture was when I told him it was time to go.

SPRING!

After a totally miserable winter that left me swearing at Nebraska daily, spring is SO LOVELY! Jesse isn't working a million hours a week and he's home now, so doing things as a family during the day is well deserved.

Today we went for a ride to a garden. Lincoln's bike/walk trails are something I will miss about this place. They go through the entire city, there are little parks and ponds along the way and there are always a bunch of people out. Maximus likes to say "hi" to each person we pass and likes to point at the ducks.
This is what Maximus does when you tell him to smile. (Click on the picture below so you can see what I'm talking about)

I Forgot About EASTER

What were we thinking when we only hid 10 eggs?! We had to re-hide them because he loved the search! We took Maximus to the backyard and began the hunt (they were pretty much laying in the grass, but you know what I mean) and he walked around calling for them, "ball?"

Rather than placing them into his basket, he lined them up on the grass. Of course.

The whole idea of finding "balls" in the grass, peeling the shell and consuming them wasn't something that Maximus found very cool. Jesse peeled one and told him to take a bite and looked at him like he was nuts.

Sticker Skirt

We drink protein shakes and the containers the powder comes in are gigantic. We finished a bottle and I don't know why, but I took the sticker off and Maximus took over. I wore a skirt that day and I think he wanted to be like me.

Bike Race

Last weekend Jesse raced. I love watching him do it. The races are usually held in huge parks and Maximus likes to run around, but this last race Maximus was sick and the weather sucked. We ended up watching most of the race from inside the car and got out for the finish. All the other families were doing the same thing.Water bottles. Obviously.
The view we usually have here in Nebraska. Ug.
Since we were cooped up in the car, I ended up taking a lot of pictures...

Maximus is actually pointing at Jesse in this one.
I think he came in 9th? Pretty good considering an accident caused by some teenager held his group back.
The race wore the Maximus out.
Downtown Lincoln.

I Love His Hair

A Tractor Can Make Anything Better

We finally realized why Maximus has been acting off for a couple of days. Last night Jesse took his temperature and duh! Of course Maximus is going to be a little more unreasonable when he has a temperature of 103.5!
This morning he woke up and I informed him of the tractor that was across the street (I don't know if it was a tractor because it had a scoop thing on the front, but they're all tractors to me). He was still feeling a little puney but he smiled and said, "yyyeah?" when I informed him. I turned his little couch toward the window and there he sat, watching the tractor and the guys work, for about 30 minutes.

Doesn't Everyone Read Naked?

The picture is pretty straight forward, but last night I found Maximus in his room reading naked.

Shark SHOES

Maximus' girlfriend back in Salt Lake (Lennon) sent him some SHARK Chuck Taylors for his birthday. Thankfully they are a little big because I have a feeling he'll be wearing them for a loooong time. He won't take them off. Thanks Leni!

While I was folding laundry today, I felt a little tap on my leg. Maximus was standing there looking as cute as possible and luckily the camera was right next to me. I almost feel bad for people who will have kids in the future because no one can be as cute as him.