4th of No Fireworks!

We're back online, everybody! Our internet service has been down for about a week now, but lovely Verizon finally came out and fixed our service. It's interesting how the lack of an online connection can make you feel totally trapped. Really, I can't remember how many things I wanted to Google while the internet was down. Alas, those bits of knowledge are lost forever, since I can't even remember I wanted to acquire them in the first place.

While on our brief respite from blogging, we had a fabulous time in North Carolina. Logan loved the beach and had lots of fun with the fam. A particularly funny moment from the trip was when Sue and Steve brought out some glow sticks, Jesse turned on some electronica, and Logan did some crazy dancing, rave style. He shouted, "One, two, three!" and then started dancing and spinning around in circles, whipping the glow sticks around.

Our trip to DC wasn't nearly as kid-friendly, but it was nice to have a break from the long train rides it took to get from NC to DeKalb. We saw the monuments, the National Aquarium (a "rip-off," according to Eric and Logan), the zoo, and the Holocaust Museum. A particularly embarrassing moment from our DC trip was at the Holocaust Museum--Logan was getting antsy, so we let him out of his stroller for a bit. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep up with him so well, and he started climbing on a wooden bunk I figured was a reproduction, a display to show what the bunks looked like in the concentration camps. I said, "Eric, get him! He's climbing on a display!" But when I turned a corner, I saw the sign: "Please do not touch. Actual bunk from Auschwitz." Ever seen those Southwest commercials that show a person undergoing a completely humiliating experience and end with the tag line, "Ever want to get away?" Yeah, that was me...X 100. I would have gladly walked into the men's bathroom instead of being in that museum at that moment.

Anyway, we made it out of DC with our dignity, if not our sanity, intact, and we had a decent time on the train ride home. Traveling by train is not so bad after all--we got breakfast, lunch, and dinner free, and we were able to sit in an observation car to take in the countryside. The people were really nice--we especially liked the head man of the dining car, who was from Kingston, Jamaica. His lovely accent announced that, if we had a 6:00 reservation, we should "come to the diner to be greeted and seated." And our cute waitress was a favorite as well. I bribed Logan with a present (a wrapped Hot Wheels) for being good at meal time, so every time the woman would talk to him, he would yell, "Present!" to let her know he would be getting a present soon.

Our "room" was really more of a closet. It was two seats facing each other, a little tray that folded out from the wall, and a twin bed that folded down from the wall as well. The two seats reclined to make a twin-sized bed, and that's where Logan and I "slept" on the way to DC and back. Eric slept on the top bunk, and if you know Eric's tendency to sleep walk, you'd understand why I was especially glad to see they had these little straps installed to prevent one from rolling out of bed. Logan, however, was not so lucky. On the way back, the ride was especially bumpy. At times I feared we would derail. Of course, the ride wasn't any smoother at night. Logan, sound asleep, was wakened, understandably, by the huge bang and abrupt shift of the car on the track. "Wha's dat?" he said groggily. Next thing, I know, I heard another thud, which was the sound of Logan's head smacking the door of our "room." He had fallen out of bed. Poor kiddo. Fortunately, he bounced back (though not literally) pretty well, and even managed to fall back asleep after the episode.

We were home to celebrate the 4th of July, so we went to Hopkins Park to hear the Muny band and watch the fireworks. This was Logan's third fireworks show--he slept through his first, was awed by his second...this one, however, terrified him. As soon as the show began, he started screaming at the top of his lungs, while burying his face in our shirts. Eric really wanted to see the show, so he covered Logan's ears and tried to walk around with him to calm him down. I heard a shrill noise, which I though was a whistling firework--no, it was my terrified son. "Wanna go home!" was all he would say. So, we gave up, walked back to the car, and tried watching the show for a few minutes from the car, which dampened the sound pretty well. We asked Logan if he thought the fireworks were pretty, because at that point he was actually looking at them. "NO pretty!" he said, with a definitive shaking of his head. "No more fireworks! No like fireworks!" We're hoping for a better showing next year. That, or Grammy Renee, who is also afraid of fireworks, will have the privilege of babysitting him for the evening.

The time has been flying by since the 4th, and we're in nesting mode, trying to finish up those little projects we've been meaning to get to for a while now. The new baby should be around pretty soon, and let me tell you, those chores have become so much more enjoyable with the minor case of sciatica I've been dealing with for the past week or so. This baby had better be good-natured to make up for all those kicks and weird shifts he's putting me through now. I sometimes wonder if I'm on the set of Alien or something with this little one. Well, until baby #2 makes his debut, we'll enjoy swimming lessons (starting tomorrow), barbecuing, and sleeping through the night while we can!