Canadian Bacon and Pepperoni

Hello, everyone ...

Here is a recap of the week that was.

Dad gave blood Tuesday and was feeling pretty good about himself. I was curious about the "blue blacewet" on his arm and actually got a good couple of pokes in before he kindly told me leave his arm alone.

Do you like Mom's new coat? I do.

Saturday morning errands culminated in a run to Donut Hut. (Yeah!) I got a chocolate donut with sprinkles and, because it was a nice day, ate outside.

Saturday afternoon I went to Grandma Maggy's. She had lots of pictures from her trip to show me. I took a nap, we went on a picnic, found a new park, played and I spent the night. I hope she had as much fun as I did!

Mom bought me a new pair of jeans. They were sized 24 months but are too big for this 32 month old boy. Maybe they'll shrink in the wash (or I'll start growing out instead of up).

Today it was off to the mall for a few things. Mom got a new phone. Dad returned a shirt. Yada, yada, yada. (I didn't get a darn thing.)

The highlight of the day for me was making dinner. Mom, Dad and I each got to make our own pizzas! I chose canadian bacon, pepperoni and pineapple.

To close I want to share a funny line that I heard yesterday while catching up on hurricane coverage. Someone (don't remember who) called hurricane Irene the grandmother of all hurricanes. Lots of advance warning/planning but pretty gentle when it came right down to it. Huh. Yep, sounds like a grandma to me.

Peace. Out.

Catch

Look what I finally figured out!

Yeah, me!

P-man

Visits and homecomings

Howdy, y'all. It's me again ...

My week was a good one. Papa and Mom's Uncle Tim stopped by on Monday as they were coming through town. I always enjoy my time with Tim ... he's a fun guy and knows a lot about farming.
Tuesday was my turn to help get dinner ready so I worked with Mom to get the green beans in the pan.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty uneventful although I did have the last swimming session at school for the year and my weekly yoga class.

Friday Papa and Grandma Kathy came to Des Moines. I played hooky from school and we were able to spend the day together. Mom took the day off, too.

We started out with a picnic at Gray's Lake.

Then we headed off to the Science Center of Iowa. There was a lot to do even if my favorite exhibit, the crane, was out of commission. Here I am with Papa doing the tennis ball race game.

Rockets were next. This was much cooler after we learned we could re-use rockets from other people rather than make our own each time - but remember to re-use the ones that flew the farthest!

The highlight of the day was the pneumatic ball wall. Awesome! I'm so lucky ... I've never seen Grandma Kathy laugh so hard .... weird, it was at me.

Our next stop was the weather center. Here is a photo of Grandma Kathy and me playing our band instruments on the stage.

Looks like a high pressure system making its way across south eastern Iowa this evening ...

That was fun! (Who needs a nap?)

Saturday was another trip to the Iowa State Fair. Papa and Grandma took me. Mom and Dad followed behind an hour or so later. I got to climb on all of the tractors that I wanted to. Papa even got into tractors with different colors than he's used to.

Group shot! (Papa was working the camera. Mom and Dad were hoping for a holiday card shot but it wasn't to be.)

Buy this one, Papa! It's BIG!

After seeing the tractors and having lunch Dad took me on a walk to let everyone finish their meal. (Apparently I'm a distraction.) We went to the horse barn and I met this very nice Percheron. What a pretty horsey.

One of the best things about the fair is running into people you know. Everyone got to catch up with the Andersen's. Steve and Sue are big fair goers and had a full day ahead. It was nice to see them!

Later that night Mom went to see yet another Reba McEntire show with friends Kristen, Danielle and Melissa. (Dad and I stayed home and were okay with that.)

Today Grandma Maggy stopped by. I hadn't seen her in a long, long time. She got back from Hungary and the Czech Republic on Friday. While she was there she put together a picture book for me. Did you know they have garbage trucks in Europe, too?!

She brought lots of cool presents for everyone. Welcome back, Grandma!

Have a great week, all ...

Pierce

Our state fair is a great state fair ...

Well, the week was pretty weak but then I got a visit from my great friend Carol Alton, the Iowa State Fair started and Uncle Eric came to visit so things got a whole lot better.

Oh, before we get started, how do you like my new "silly face"? (Mom and I dad think I learned it at school but really, I figured it our myself. I'm very proud of me. They think I'm odd.)

Like I said, Uncle Eric came to visit and it's always great to see him. He is really, really good about playing with me and always has good ideas for what to do.

He also has an iPad so I was able to give Mom's and Dad's a rest. He seemed pleased to know that YouTube has lots of good construction equipment videos to watch. This photo was taken right before Uncle Eric, Mom and I went to the Fair. As you can see, I had my Fair outfit on.

One of our first stops was the Knapp Animal Learning Center. Mom showed me a baby pig while Uncle Eric made comments on the side like, "Pierce, that's the closest your Mom has ever been to a pig ... ever!" and "When Papa and Grandma Kathy had pigs your Mom paid me to do her chores." (I'm not sure I believe him as Mom seemed to know which end of the baby pig was which.)

Next stop? The dairy area in honor of Papa Jack, Grandpa Mike and Dad. I wonder if I like chocolate milk so much because I have dairy farmer in my blood? (No jokes about my head on a girl's body, please. Uncle Eric - paybacks are rough!)

I was disappointed with Little Hands on the Farm. Sure, I got a Pioneer hat, but they made you plant seed by hand. I'm used to a nice Kinze planter with a big Case IH tractor. I mentioned this to the teenager assigned to help with the area but they weren't very helpful. Needless to say, I had hoped to cover at least 80 acres but only got about five seeds in the ground.

This tractor only had about one uncle power. I doubt it would pull a very big wagon.

Our next stop was on Expo Hill at the MidAmerican Energy Company building. These are Dad's favorite people. I got to participate in the coloring contest but didn't submit my picture because Mom said I wasn't eligible. Oh well, Dad seemed very pleased that I participated and promised to hang it on the wall in his office.

OMG!!!! They have garbage trucks at the Fair!

Pork tent! Applesauce. Baked beans. Heaven. Oh ... wait ... huh ... I wonder where that baby pig's mommy and daddy were. Mommy? Where do pork chops come from?

Uncle Eric says that I can be a trooper when I grow up. I think that would be cool and my ears already look like this guys so I'm in good shape.

My first tattoo! The sheriff of Henry County said it was the best one he'd done all day.

Now we're talking! Finally we get to the equipment displays.

Vrrroooommmm ...

I made Mom put my seatbelt on so I was safe. (Notice the cool John Deere foam hat? I got lots of compliments!)

I don't know about you, Uncle Eric but I prefer a three blade deck on these zero turn mowers. You can really cover some ground.

Mom and Uncle Eric are famous!

So ... very ... sleepy ... ugh ...

Wow ... okay ... I fall asleep and the next thing you know the trip to the Iowa State Fair is over. It was a beautiful evening so Dad grilled out and everyone relaxed after a hard day.

Which is actually a nice seque because we ate outside at lunch today while at the park.

My neighborhood park is the best because it's really a school playground. Not only does it have fun park stuff but it also has basketball hoops and a track. I really wanted to see if I could make it all the way around and I did!

The only problem was that I was distracted during my lap because Mom kept yelling, "Run Forest. Run!"

That's it. I'm tired. It's been a busy couple of days.

Catch ya on the flipside!

Pierce

A week, much like other weeks ...

Hey, y'all ... welcome back to the blog. First, I want to apologize for missing a few photos last week. There were some good ones I should have shared but they got left out.

So, before we move into this week let's take a step back in time.

While I was in Newton with Grandma Kathy and Papa they gave me a special tractor cut out of metal. It was done by the gentleman renting their old house. He knows how nuts I am about tractors and I was thrilled with this awesome gift.

"Dad, put it here!"

Nice!

Oh, last Sunday Mom and Dad bought a new mattress and box spring for their new bed. (Weird, they seem to think their old bed was too small.) Anyway, all three of us laid on various options and after awhile I found one I liked and decided to just hang out.

So, back to this past week. I had fun at school and at home too! Mom let me pick my dinner on Tuesday and I decided on Mac and Cheese. I even got to help make it!

Wednesday night we went to Grandma Maggy's to give her a care package before her trip. Friday she left for Hungary and the Czech Republic and was very excited. (I told her everything I knew about being on a plane.)

Ever since I saw Papa do it I've been practicing getting in and out of my car, pretending it was a well tuned racing machine. No doors for me! I climb in and out just like a pro ...

.... VVVVRRRRROOOOOMMMMM ...

Some sandbox time? Yes, please! Saturday was a good sandbox day.

And finally, today I got to go to my first movie! Cars II was playing and the whole family loaded up and hit the theater. I lasted about an hour and was well behaved by all accounts. Two take-aways from the experience ... 1) theater popcorn is excellent ... 2) movies are bigger than TVs.

That's it for now. Remember, it ain't tailgating ... it's drafting!

Pierce