A journey ...

The past week was about taking journeys. It seemed like everyone in the family was moving, seeing, doing and starting new things. I started my week walking over the tressel bridge near Madrid with the Hungarian friends Grandma Maggy met on her journey last year. One of them was kind enough to let me carry his sheep.

After our walk Grandma Maggy and I took a trip around the speed bumps in the parking lot!

Wednesday started my journey at Bergman Academy. I'll take my lunch and backpack every day. This is going to be awesome!

Mom helped me get things ready even though I was only going half days week one. The cool thing is that this gave me a chance to practice with my lunchbox.

I'm ready to go!

Here I am walking in.

This is my "I'm so smart I stare off in space and think." pose.

Look what Mom made for me! There was a tree trimming truck with a shredder on my street after school and I told her I had to have one. Awesome job, Mom!

Friday, after we dropped Dad off for his journey to Portland, Mom and I headed to Denmark. It was a lot of fun to help Grandma Kathy cook. She's the best!

Uncle Eric was there too! He bought me a Lego toy and I took a journey of building discovery.  I'm not sure who had more fun - me or Uncle Eric.

Dad was on his journey to check out cool west coast advertising agencies. (I think Mom was on a journey to find peace and quiet knowing I was able to entertain Grandma Kathy, Papa and Uncle Eric for her.)

It rained a lot while we were visiting so we took several drives and explored a lots of places, like Nichtings - my favorite implement dealership.

I spent quite a bit of time playing in Papa's new combine. I can't wait to go for a ride!  (That is after I got off Papa's new Kubota RTV!)

One of the journeys we took in Denmark was to go see Tim and Jill. I really liked hanging out and playing with Allysa.  They couldn't believe how much energy I still had at 9 pm!

Grandma found a Tonka computer game so Papa, Eric and I spent a lot of time playing working on the computer.

We also visited Clayton!  I was a bit mesmerized with the tv.

And, I got a pep talk about the importance of toe nail grooming. Papa is a convincing guy because I let Mom do some trimming and I got my long-awaited treat!

I was so excited that I did a dance all over Grandma and Papa's house!

Uncle Chris and Uncle Matt hadn't heard about my accomplishment when this photo was taken but I can only imagine that this is the look of joy they would have had knowing their nephew had freshly clipped toe nails and a new fireman outfit. (These were their "joy faces" after having spent a couple days with Dad. You can tell they were ready to take him to the airport.)

Standing between me and my fireman outfit was Dad who thought he needed to be picked up at the airport. I ran up to him, told him how excited I was ...

... and then helped with with is suitcase so he would keep moving. We had places to go!

At last we got home! I dug in as soon as Mom and Dad would let me. Bunker gear? Check. Helmet? Check.

Mom had to help me some, but I tried to do as much as I could on my own. (I needed to take my own firefighter outfit journey.)

Boots? Check!

Success! The crowd roars! The journey is complete! I am firefighter Pierce!  Now let the fire calls begin!!

Have a great journey this week, gang.

Pierce



Fishy ... fishy ... fishy ...

Hey, everyone. There was lots going on this past week so I'm going to jump right in.

A few days ago I learned the hard way that an angry three year old plus a plaster wall plus a door knob add up to only one thing ... a hole in the wall. Well, I went with Dad to the hardware store, we bought what we needed and now I've repaired the hole. We also installed a thing on the door hinge that will keep it from opening so far. Between that and my understanding of how bad holes in walls are and I think we'll be fine.

Thursday Mom and I were downtown running errands so we stopped by Dad's office. Truth be told I really had to go potty and have always liked the Flynn Wright potties. Dad was on the road so I hung out in his office, made a couple of calls, etc. and we were on our way.

That night was orientation at Bergman. I got to see my room, meet a couple of kids, see my friend Anica from Boulevard and get a sense of the place.

Anica showed me where the books were ...

... and I found the flash cards.

Mom filled out some paperwork ...

... and we got to wander around a bit. I'm going to like it at my new big boy school! I start Wednesday and think it's going to be a lot of fun.

The next day was the start of family "staycation" so we decided that it would be good to go have breakfast for dinner after our time at Bergman. Drake Diner here we come!

Friday was a really fun day! We got up, packed, loaded the car and headed to Iowa City and the children's museum. It's a great place, never crowded and there is lots to do. I want one of these pedal planes at home!

There was a tractor to drive.

 

They even had a room with nothing but Legos!

Mom and I played bank. (I didn't give her any interest on her savings account ... ha, ha!)

Next up? Flying!

Music!

A ride on a merry go round!

Sleep!

Mom found us a hotel to stay in for a couple of days so I got to lounge around, watch movies, stay up late, etc. It was a blast! This hotel even had an elevator and I got to push the buttons.

Saturday was rainy so we had to change our plans. What does a family do that has a whole day to kill? Why duh ... they go hang out at Bass Pro Shops! Fishy ... fishy ... fishy ...

Papa - when you get one of these I have a couple of tricks to show you. Between the one I rode at the state fair and this one I've learned a few things.

I'm captain Pierce! Ahoy!

They have a restaurant at Bass Pro Shops (that actually had a wait for a table ... weird) and Dad got a big burger. It was a really, really big burger.

After naps back at the hotel for Dad and me (Mom drank wine and read her book) we headed off to the mall. Everyone had the same idea we did and it was way too crowded so we left after I rode the escalators and the fire truck.

One thing we did a lot of on this trip was swim. In fact, we went once Friday, twice Saturday and once Sunday. It was fun to swim with Mom and Dad and practice what I learned this summer at swimming lessons.

Sunday was the last day of our staycation but that doesn't mean our fun was ending. After breakfast and swimming we went to the Des Moines Zoo. They have a merry go round, too!

They have monkeys.

They have giraffes.

They have a petty zoo with baby calves.

They have a train!

They even have fish. Fishy ... fishy ... fishy ...

We were going to go to an I-Cubs game but Mom and Dad were just too tired. I closed my eyes for an hour or so just to make them feel better. Once I woke up the family decided that I should have a pet. (I did a really good job of convincing Mom and Dad that it was their idea.) Off to Adam's Aquatics we go!

Get the tank ready and make a nice new home for my friend.

I'd like to introduce my new friend, Firefighter Fish! He's a betta. I love him. He's going to live in my room. When he gets cold I can put a washcloth over his tank. Do fish have pillows? I can't touch him. Mom and Dad have to help me feed him. Yeah, Firefighter Fish! Fishy ... fishy ... fishy ...

Have a great week everyone.

Pierce.

The week of lasts ...

It was a sad and exciting week. There were some lasts and some firsts and some in betweens. I made my last trip to the fair in 2012 on Thursday and did spin art ...

... hung out in a cool Iowa State Patrol car ...

... drove a fire truck ...

... and took Dad down the big slide one last time before the fair closed up.

This time the tractors were unlocked (last time they weren't)! This was great because I was able to do my combining ...

... then give Mom a ride while I hauled wagons to the ethanol plant.

Dad wanted a ride back from the fields because he was too lazy to walk so I took him in the gator. (He didn't want to put his seatbelt on, but safety is important.)

Friday was a fun and sad day. It was my last day at Boulevard but the school had clowns, a carnival, cotton candy.  A friend brought birthday cake, and I brought cupcakes for my last day. (They said it wasn't a going away party, but it sure felt like one.)

Boulevard is an awesome place and I'm proud to have gone there. My teachers were so nice, the kids were good friends and they taught me a lot. Mom and Dad both got misty-eyed as we were leaving. Miss Krista gave me a hug on the way out and made me promise to come back for "Parent's Day Out" and other special days. Thanks, Boulevard! I promise, I'll make you proud.

Bye-bye classroom. It was good being a panda.

Saturday Mom and I made cookies from scratch.

I got to mix them and put them on the baking sheet. Dad and I both kept grabbing bites of raw dough. He was really happy and I had to agree with him that sometimes raw cookie dough is as good as the finished cookies.

Today Mom and I made monkey bread. It wasn't the traditional Palzkill approach as we used a cupcake tin but things turned out really really good.

Grandma Maggy stopped by after church and it was good to catch up. After a nap Dad and I golfed while Mom worked. It ended up being a great Sunday.

Have a great week, everyone!

Pierce