May is all about the boy

Despite $4.00 gas we did some driving in the month of May.  Fayetteville to St. Louis to let Jack jump around with his cousins Tyler and Carter, then on to Chicago to celebrate Kentucky Derby day with our friends, the May's.  We took a side trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo and looked for ducks and fish in the pond.  This walkway was a new addition since the last time we were there.  We liked it.



We got back from Chicago and went to the Tulsa, Oklahoma aquarium.  Jack's still a big fan of the sharks, hermit crabs (which they let you touch), starfish, and the turtle exhibit.  In the photo below you see him feeding them a shrimp, using a little pole with a clothes pin on the end.  We lost the clothes pin in the tank.  Sorry.  If Nan is reading this, Mamma says "no frog giggin".

When you're in Tulsa, you have to let Jack ride on the carousel at the mall.  The guy that runs the ride did take out a dirty carney rag to wipe down the horse before he got on.  Sorry, no photo. Jack likes this ride much better than riding on real pony or a camel. You also have to let Jacqui go to look at shoes. 

Jack had a bit of a meltdown in J-Crew while Jacqui was trying on some clothes in the fitting room. I had to ride the escaltor with him five times then play on these cars to calm him down.  Note to self: don't bother putting money in the rides because he just gets out yelling "make it shtop".

The photo below is from a side trip to Alpena, Arkansas to go to the "museum". 

I went to a bassmasters tournament talk.  That's when some of the top anglers come out to talk to the fans about their technique and their gear choices.  The top anglers make millions in prize money and millions more in endorsements (notice the shirts).  Did you know they don't usually use traditional fishing line?  They're using carbon fiber "thread", and their poles are built in three sections and made from three different materials all so they can "feel" the fish nibbling.  They took questions from the crowd and each angler picked a little kid from the audience to ask the first few questions (Do you catch a lot of fish?  Do you use a bobber?).  The crowd laughed and these guys answered the questions very professionally.

It seems the tables have turned at Jack's daycare.  After being on the receiving end of several biting incidents, we got word that he had hit one of his classmates in the face with this red car you often see in his hand.  The I let them know I'd talk with him.  They said one of the kids wanted Jack's car and continued to try to take it out of his hand. They don't tell you who, but for three days he was saying  "Roman is a slyper".  We didn't know what it meant until I asked one of his handlers what "slyper" might mean.  She said that they talk to the kids about not "swiping" or taking each other's things. Hmmm, Roman - swiper - hitting.  Got it.  I talked to Jack and he seemed adamant that Roman deserved his ass-kicking.  I agreed that it was wrong for Roman to swipe.  I suggested they might try to share next time.  We'll see how it goes.



Jack made a Mother's day card at daycare for Jacqui.

I think this is a this is supposed to be Fonzie, in Puerto Rico, wearing drunk glasses, with vampire teeth.  

Back on the road again for the first annual Chicago Tribe Trip to St. Louis.  Got to spend some quality time with the gang, had some good fun at the zoo, enjoyed some local beverages (king-dewey anyone?), sampled some of the night life, and thankfully didn't have to fill out any police paperwork when JG got mauled by one of the locals named "NayNay".

While in St. Louis we went to the Children's museum where they had a construction site for the kids to play in.  Ollie and Jack are working on this dirt pile dilligently.

There was some type of fashion show going on in the lobby of the hotel when we got back.  Nicholas was not amused but his dad thought it was awesome.

Here is a photo of Nora rehersing what it would be like to be in the Oval Office calling the Kremlin.  Please don't read too much into what is going on in the chair in the background.

In the photo below, we thought we'd get one last photo of Jack at the St. Louis zoo standing with some razorbacks.  It didn't end up being the kind of photo you'd send to grandma.

I think this was taken at the Naturals baseball game.  The kids were supposed to run around the bases.  We were in line to make that happen but Jack was loosing his mind, so we had to leave.

To close out, we took a trip down into the river valley about 2 1/2 hours to Petit Jean State Park and hiked the Cedar Falls Trail ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FiexgJLp10 )  .  It was a short but strenuous hike, though you are rewarded with the opportunity to walk under a 65ft waterfall and cool off in the swimmin' hole ( Notice the red car and rock that he's planning on bringing to school.  Watch out Roman.  

Hope you like the photos.  Next up in June: Father's day float on the Buffalo River, Jack's first camping trip, racing the J24 on Beaver Lake to defend our lead in the standings, wine tasting at the Walton Arts Center, more moonshine stories.