Out of their Minds Design

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.

Florida Summer 2011, Part I

Melissa and I really did need a vacation. Melissa was watching the kids a lot while I was finalizing my contest entry… and I was busy finalizing my contest entry. And the day after the contest deadline, we were at the airport, ready for a break!

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.” See this image larger.

Ian said the classic line “Here we go look at all the little people! They look like bugs!” See this image larger.

Ian made me take this shot, I think. See this image larger.

Nina spent a whole lot of time like this. Standing around, wiggling, laying on the floor. She likes to fidget. See this image larger.

Ian mostly did this. See this image larger.

Nina did sleep for a little bit, though! See this image larger.

Grampa Ray and Gramma Barb picked us up at the airport, and here’s two kids happy to be in a min-van! See this image larger.

Although apparently Nina did like the idea of flying… “MMMNNNNNNRRRRRRRR…..” See this image larger.

If Nina looks exceedingly happy, it might be because this is her first time facing forward in a vehicle! See this image larger.

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.) See this image larger.

Kaylee and Ian wrap up the evening with a nice cup of water and some scooby! See this image larger.

Grampa Ray and Grandma Barb got Nina this awesome chair! See this image larger.

Nina did not seem to want to let it go! See this image larger.

*Hey guys, have you seen my chair?* See this image larger.

Nina tries to figure out what a laptop is… See this image larger.

Alright you two, enough Scooby, time for bed! See this image larger.

Images That Time (Almost) Forgot, Part II

June 3rd, and Ian’s class ended up at our local zoo; they have a playground, apparently! I did not know that! See this image larger.

Ian checks out a sculpture that used to be in the Grand River for Artprize, a competition for artists in the area. See this image larger.

Posed specifically for Grandma Sue… see? Monkey shirt in front of the monkey exhibit! See this image larger.

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. See this image larger.

June 14th, in our own backyard. See this image larger.

A moment of peace! See this image larger.

A pathway near the river in downtown Rockford… nicely railed in. A great place to let the kids run free for a few moments. See this image larger.

Go lil’ girl! See this image larger.

*This is a support column.* See this image larger.

June 16th, 2011, Ian’s first real dental cleaning. See this image larger.

Those are some sweet shades! See this image larger.

How did he do? Ridiculously awesome. See this image larger.

He got so relaxed he even crossed his legs when he kicked back, like he was on a beach chair! See this image larger.

Bonus prize! See this image larger.

June 18th, 2011. Our sleeping beauty! See this image larger.

June 24th, 2011. This was the last day of Nina’s first classroom. See this image larger.

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. See this image larger.

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. :-/ See this image larger.

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! See this image larger.