Fawn Island August 2009 Trip, Part I

THIS JUST IN: This morning, August 15th, Ian produced a #2 in the standard potty, with a potty seat for toddlers in between he and it. We’re so proud! One small squat for Ian, one giant leap for potty-training progress.

Last weekend’s trip to Fawn Island started with us packing up quickly, scooting out the door right at 5:00 and thinking we were going to make great time… but we hit traffic immediately. We ended up getting our food to go from Arby’s and eating while driving. Ian found this concept to be fairly uninteresting until Melissa offered him a vitamin with his dinner. Somehow a vitamin in the car crossed a line. As we zipped through Brighton, we spotted a hot air balloon. Ian was fascinated as it hovered on the horizon… we were even more surprised that it ended up directly above us, no more than 150 feet above our heads. For miles afterwards it was “Where’d tha balloon go, Mommy?”

Grampa Dave met us over on shore, but thousands of mosquitoes beat him to the punch; I think next time we’ll slather Ian (and ourselves) in our citronella sunscreen — we applied it as we waited, but next time we’ll remember to do it sooner. And I’ll wear pants instead of shorts. It is funny though that both times we’ve met with the onslaught of insects, we get maybe one or two bites each, tops. Perhaps we’re the wrong blood-types.

Grandma Marcia and Elmo say hello to Ian on Saturday, August 8th! See this image larger.

Found his toys! See this image larger.

Ian leads Grampa Dave on a cookie hunt… See this image larger.

Like any smart hunting party leader, Ian sends his partner ahead to deal with any traps while cautiously observing from a distance — like behind the safety of a kitchen counter, for example. See this image larger.

And then ducks into the frame just as a photo of victory is snapped! See this image larger.

Enjoying some of the evening’s cookie-hunt spoils. (Thanks Grampa Dave for the help, and Grandma Marica for the delicious cookies!) See this image larger.

Somebody’s packin’ a baby! See this image larger.

On Saturday and on into the wee hours of the night, a vicious storm rolled in. You could see on the map that it was a line crossing Michigan like a shoulder belt, from Rockford to Marine City. I’ve heard lightning hit pretty close before, so I’m aware of the kind of clap it can produce when it strikes nearby… but amongst the typical rumbles and crunches, there was one that was closer and louder than anything I’ve heard from Mother Nature. It was one single snap or crack, like from a whip, amplified 100 times. It scared me right out of bed, but Ian slept through it just fine.

Sunday morning, and we’re having fun with the doggie! See this image larger.

Me too! 🙂 See this image larger.

Ian stayed up through nap-time, and when it was finally time to go, he conked out very quickly. This is us waiting in line at the ferry to get home! See this image larger.

Since this visit Ian has been very Grampa Dave-centric. For example on Wednesday the 12th, Ian gave out these incredible hugs, the kind where little arms fully circle your neck, like a scarf, and pull in tight. He gave one to Mommy, then one to me. Then he said something about Grampa Dave… it was either “hug like Grampa Dave” or “hug for Grampa Dave.” He circled the living room to see if he could find him and then turned to me and said “YOU’RE Grampa Dave” as if to say that I could stand-in for him while he’s away. Ian gave me another huge hug and then said, very plainly “I love you, Grampa Dave.” It was hilarious, and sweet.

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