Florida Summer 2011, Part II
July 17th. I want to say this now, but you’ll hear it more than once. Connor is, frankly, an amazing young man. He was always really cool, and a hilarious kid… but throughout this vacation he responsibly looked after his sister and cousins, particularly Nina. And that’s on top of, in general, just being good. Here he stopped Nina from trying to tame a lion with her chair, for example. See this image larger.
*I’m glad you two asked; a dual-core A5 chip, robust iOS5, and front and rear facing cameras aside, there are still a host of features that set Apple’s latest gadget apart from the other so-called tablets. With WiFi or 3G networking, you get access to a host of applications and programming that bring a new level of productivity to the iPad2. Like Sesame Street.* See this image larger.
*Torn between two Elmo’s…* See this image larger.
Fully recharged and ready for action! See this image larger.
Lifeguard Nina rescues some red and fuzzy guy, he’s a john doe until he regains consciousness. See this image larger.
The kids go to play bocci ball! I spelled that right on the first try. See this image larger.
Finally taller than Ian. See this image larger.
Hey little cutie! See this image larger.
Cousins galore! See this image larger.
Chillin’ in the grass. See this image larger.
Mommy looks pretty with Nina in front of the duck and alligator pond. Saaaay… weren’t there nine ducks a second ago? See this image larger.
Even if she’s probably filling her diaper, this is a cute shot! See this image larger.
And when it got a little later in the day, we made our way west from The Villages to Treasure Island! The Johnsons were very generous to have us along on this trip, and we can’t thank them enough! This is a view from our hotel room! See this image larger.
This is what the hotel looked like! Free breakfast every morning was a nice bonus! See this image larger.
Kaylee quickly established a favorite bed, and began some light reading… (of the local white pages!) See this image larger.
My what a cute little boy that is there! He was all smiles until he thought it would be hilarious to slowly fall off the bed headfirst — discovering he was MUCH higher off the ground than he had anticipated. See this image larger.
Nina attempts to use her business-face to get out on the balcony. See this image larger.
Everybody unpack! What did you find there Nina? Oh right, we brought Elmo. Good. See this image larger.
Let’s check out the beach! See this image larger.
It was beautiful and nice… and this is coming from a guy that doesn’t like sand. See this image larger.
This little guy, on the other hand… loves it! See this image larger.
A storm started blowing in, so it was time to get going after just a few more pics… See this image larger.
This type of shot will probably go better in another year… but it didn’t go too bad! See this image larger.
Surprised Nina kept her hat on with that wind! See this image larger.
A couple of beach bums! See this image larger.
Unless you see money, please look at the camera, Ian. See this image larger.
Yup, that was quite a storm! See this image larger.
Like this one? Sorry about the lack of kid smiles, they were hungry and this was right before dinner! See this image larger.
Like I said, Connor was a good boy, always had one eye on Nina! See this image larger.
The kids set up a fort under the table, and some of them actually slept there! See this image larger.
July 16th, and we’re on the plane! Ian doesn’t seem to remember his earlier plane rides, but I think he’ll remember this one for awhile. “Are we ready for blast off?” asked Ian, on the runway. “They call it ‘take off’ on a plane instead of ‘blast off,'” I replied. “Why?” Ian asked. “Because hopefully there’s no fire or explosions.” 
Ian said the classic line “Here we go look at all the little people! They look like bugs!” 
Ian made me take this shot, I think. 
Nina spent a whole lot of time like this. Standing around, wiggling, laying on the floor. She likes to fidget. 
Ian mostly did this. 
Nina did sleep for a little bit, though! 
Grampa Ray and Gramma Barb picked us up at the airport, and here’s two kids happy to be in a min-van! 
Although apparently Nina did like the idea of flying… “MMMNNNNNNRRRRRRRR…..” 
If Nina looks exceedingly happy, it might be because this is her first time facing forward in a vehicle! 
Ok, we made it to Gramma and Grampa’s! *ZZZZzzzzz* (To be honest, I’m not sure if this is where this picture fits into our story.) 
Kaylee and Ian wrap up the evening with a nice cup of water and some scooby! 
Grampa Ray and Grandma Barb got Nina this awesome chair! 
Nina did not seem to want to let it go! 
*Hey guys, have you seen my chair?* 
Nina tries to figure out what a laptop is… 
Alright you two, enough Scooby, time for bed! 
June 3rd, and Ian’s class ended up at our local zoo; they have a playground, apparently! I did not know that! 
Ian checks out a sculpture that used to be in the Grand River for Artprize, a competition for artists in the area. 
Posed specifically for Grandma Sue… see? Monkey shirt in front of the monkey exhibit! 
I was not on the zoo trip, unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately… right after this shot was taken some of the larger kids here hurt Ian. I probably would have embarrassed myself screaming at them. 
June 14th, in our own backyard. 
A moment of peace! 
A pathway near the river in downtown Rockford… nicely railed in. A great place to let the kids run free for a few moments. 
Go lil’ girl! 
*This is a support column.* 
June 16th, 2011, Ian’s first real dental cleaning. 
Those are some sweet shades! 
How did he do? Ridiculously awesome. 
He got so relaxed he even crossed his legs when he kicked back, like he was on a beach chair! 
Bonus prize! 
June 18th, 2011. Our sleeping beauty! 
June 24th, 2011. This was the last day of Nina’s first classroom. 
Kelly, Nina’s primary care-giver at daycare says good-bye… We also got a nice note, blanket and book from Michelle, another care-giver who grew close to Nina during her stay. 
June 30th, Nina takes her meal quietly at the corner table on her first day in the new classroom. She looks a little lonely to me. :-/ 
July 8th, 2011. If you’re a pretty good kid in Ian’s class, you get your name on the green apple instead of the yellow or red. If you go above and beyond the call of duty, you get on the purple star. That’s Ian’s name there on the purple star! 
July 11th, Mommy takes Ian to Tumble Time! 
Nina escapes from Tumble Time! 
July 12th, Daddy naps. 
July 14th, Ian attends Isaac’s birthday party! 
They played fun games like this one, where they built lego toys in an assembly line! 
April 1st, 2010. 
April 2nd, 2010; I’m pretty sure these are from a trip to Ohio that I did not partake in… Looks like the ladies had fun! 
A full year later, April 29th, 2011. Ian and Nina investigate Kaylee’s car! 
Looks like Nina has Minnie Mouse ears! 
I love this shot of Nina. She looks like she has the confidence to take that thing off-roadin’! 
Crazy cousins, and Ian’s got Nina in a choke-hold. 
This chair must be for watching Connor playing soccer! 
*Bye-bye cousins, see you again soon!* 
*I’m taking this with me though, sorry! (Just kidding!)* 
Don’t be shy, Ian, this isn’t your first pic-marathon. 
*Hi everybody, welcome to my marathon!* 
T-Rex! 
*Uh, Daddy. Pics in my underwear at age 4? Kinda weird.* 
Yep, I know. I’ll cut it out if you could wear some clothes more often. As it is I had to photoshop a toe out of this image because it didn’t look like a toe. 
If these images look a little strange it is because in this shot I took it in the complete dark, using the flash to bounce the light off of the ceiling. Effective! 
Ian and his old man. 
Such a good kid. These pics were all taken July 12th. I was a few days away from the contest deadline, and a few days prior managed to cut a nice slice into my left index finger while cutting bread… they made me wear a splint which is why I mention all of this, you can see it in the image. The injury did not make working on the contest any easier. Incidentally, if you are wondering, as of this date, august 8th, they still have not announced a winner. 
He knows how to be frustrating sometimes, but when he’s not, he’s a total angel. 
We all have our grouchy moments though, am I right? 
You might hear Ian mention a game called Casey’s Contraptions, or you might wonder about the kind of thing the kids play on the iPad. They learn all kinds of stuff via some educational games, the one pictured here is more about cause and effect. In this mode, Ian gets to design whatever he wants. In this case, the three balls will hit the three switches, opening the three trap-doors, resulting in three smashed piggy banks. 
Bathtime with Bozo hair on July 11th! 
Baby Ian or baby Nina? It is Nina, of course! We’re in the Nina-Pic-Marathon! 
Careful with the pointy end! (Although the other end poops, so whatever. 😉 ) 
Shampoo shields are up! 
Part of me wants to write “Mecca Lecca Hai Mecca Heiny Ho.” Part of me wants to write “AND IIIIIIIIIIEEEEEIIIIII WILL ALWAAAAYSS LOOOOVE YOOOOUUUUOOOOOoooOOOO!” 
Glad we got through the hat thing. 
Chewy! 
*Oh magic lever… make more water… now! Now? Now!!* 
Dry off time! 
Almost there… 
There we go, ladies! 
*Totally going to flush this and see if my diaper somehow dries out.* 
She’s big into her toothbrush for some reason… loves brushing her teeth! 
Stop me if you’ve already heard that Nina loves Elmo. Isn’t this an adorable pic? 
Elmo loves you too, Nina. 
*Elmo sorry, Nina! Dorothy means nothing to Elmo!!! Please put Elmo down!* (That’s only funny if you can think it in an Elmo voice, and know that Dorothy is his pet goldfish whom he also loves.) 
(In Elmo’s voice) *Kiss kiss! HA-HA HA-HA-HA!* 
July 10th, just look at how well she’s holding that crayon! 
She inspects the page… *Hmm, no this one won’t do.* 
*THIS is a good one. See? Has Elmo.* 
*Page approved. I will now begin coloring.* 
Have I mentioned the Nina loves Elmo? 
Ladies and Gents, I believe I mentioned some dresses just seem to be made for Nina? This is one of those. 
Look at how graceful! 
She does a little spin on the catwalk… 
*Off the shoulder? This IS an evening party, why not!* 
*Are these the right shoes, Mommy?* 
All in a day’s work to look so beautiful… 
Almost a perfect pose… 
And there’s your winner! Adorable, punkin! Probably worth a look larger -> 
See you all in part II of the Nina-Pic-Marathon!!! (Mommy, go sit in time out for sneaking into the Nina-Pic-Marathon!) 
The fourth of July! Yay! 
*Peek* 
Bruised bathing beauty! I don’t even remember which bonk that was. Like Ian at this age, she’s collecting them. 
I guess she wants more water? 
July 5th, we got out the potty seat so that Nina might get used to seeing it around, etc… Ian put the inner bucket on his head. 
This is one of those things where, as a dad… you say “Get that off your h– Wait a minute. (Get camera. Click.) Alright now get that off your head.” 
July 8th, who is that, Nina? Oh right, Elmo! 
It was “funny hair day” at daycare… 
He’s still pretty cute, isn’t he? Just wanna pinch that cheek! 