Bruno Vacation - Day Three

Welcome to our final day of vacation! We started off back at the Aquarium (for free, yay!). Today we got to take in the sea lion show (very good), and take part of the 3D undersea adventure. Xander had to go back and feed the birds again, and pet the rays a bit more. Joe got to watch the Beluga whales get fed. He'd wanted to get up close with the Beluga Encounter, until he found out it cost $130!

After a quick trip back to the hotel (or museum, as Xander keeps calling it) to change, we headed for New London. Joe wanted to check out the Guitar Center there, as well as a comic book shop. While he poked around looking at comics, Xander and I walked down to the pier. We watched the Block Island Ferry pull out, and Xander put on an impressive Kung Fu Panda exhibition for me.

Before I knew it, it was time to go back into the pool. Xander's favorite place! Especially when the two little girls he'd played with before were in there. (Even though he corrected them, they still insisted on calling him Andrew.) I did a bit of swimming myself, until my eyes were cloudy with chlorine. After the pool, the three of us walked next door to Friendly's to get some dinner and ice cream take-out, which we ate back in our room while we watched tv. Should I be concerned that my son likes to watch Hannah Montana?

Tomorrow's check-out is at noon. Xander and Joe will likely hit the hot tub one last time, and we might stop to check out a few things on the ride home. I will update again on Monday, so don't forget to stop back and see how it all worked out!

Bruno Vacation - Day Two

Boy, am I tired! We did a whole lot of walking today, and I'm just about falling asleep on the keyboard at this time. Xander is already asleep (sideways on the bed, which is a bit irritating), and Joe isn't too far off from being there himself. Want to know what we did today? Let's take a look! Joe and Xander started off the day with the whirlpool tub in our bathroom. Joe was so happy to finally have a tub he could fit into, and Xander had talked of nothing else for a week or more before we left for vacation. As soon as he heard that Daddy was warming up the hot tub, he was naked and ready!

We hit Mystic Seaport with a vengeance! (Unfortunately, so did about a million school kids!) We went on whaling and fishing ships, toured through some old buildings, and Xander even sat in on some old-fashioned school! It was a gorgeous day, but the wind off the river was sooo cold, especially once we got on the steam-powered boat that took us on a brief tour. We paid ridiculous amounts of money for lunch, and listened to a lot of whining from Xander. The Seaport was really nice, though, and Joe especially enjoyed touring the old sailing ships.

This picture is for my mother, and for any of my friends who remember when I used to be terrified of birds. After a brief return to our hotel after the Seaport, we went to the Mystic Aquarium. It's a pretty decent aquarium, lot of big windowed pools so you can see Beluga Whales and penguins up close. And they validated our ticket so that we can go back for free again tomorrow. The funnest thing we did, besides petting some slimy rays, was to feed the birds in the aviary. Picture a largeish room full of parakeets and cockatiels, and a bunch of people wandering around with birdseed-laden popsicle sticks. Joe was a bird magnet, but Xander had a little more trouble attracting them. And there I am, holding a bird on a stick! Of course, Xander was the one that got pooped on!

Upon our return from the aquarium, Xander dragged me off to the pool. Luckily there were some girls in there, so I wasn't forced to go in the chilly water with him. Yes, the pool is heated, but after a chilly day at the Seaport and a chilly hotel room (turn down the AC, for goodness sake Joe!), I just couldn't face a lukewarm pool. After a quick dip, we headed across the street to the Steak Loft, 'cause I wanted me some red meat. I thought Joe's eyes would fall out of his head when he saw the prices, but heck...we're on vacation! We'd already extended our stay here at HoJo's by one more night, was a billion dollar dinner?

So day two was good. Tomorrow we'll be back at the aquarium for a while, then possibly tripping to New London and points beyond. With any luck, we'll still have some gas money to get home with! Stay with us!

Bruno Vacation - Day One

It's the official first day of our very first family vacation! After four long hours in the car, and some dubious MapQuest directions, we finally arrived in Mystic, CT. Xander picked our first activity...any guesses? Yup, we hit the HoJo's indoor pool. It was warm, but not too heated because the power was out until about 6pm.

We had dinner at Friendly's, which is right across the parking lot. Now we're just hanging out in our room, and I'm trying to convince Xander that he needs to go to sleep, even though the light and TV are both on. Joe has the air conditioner going full blast, and I'm here on the web checking my e-mail and updating this blog.

Tomorrow we're hoping ot visit the Seaport and the Aquarium. Xander saw some dinosaur place he'd like to go to, and Joe checked the phone book for comic book and guitar stores. Our next couple of days should be pretty full, and I'll do my best to keep the Bruno Family Fan Club updated. Stay tuned!

The Leviathans

These are Joe's fish. (Xander's technically, but really Joe's.) I somehow end up feeding them more often than not, and sometimes they are VERY serious about getting their little fish pellets!

The big black Oscar that's half out of the tank is Mojo. That gaping maw is not something you want aiming towards your fingers, believe me! His partner in crime is Pudge, the light colored Oscar. They take turns trying to bite the hand that feeds them. Joe calls them the Leviathans.

Me, I prefer the kitties!

Meeting the Teachers

When Xander goes to Kindergarten in the fall, he'll be attending Gilboa-Conesville Central School (Best school by a dam site! Yes, that's their lame motto.). They have a program there where the Kindergarten teachers visit the incoming students at their homes, and I think they're the only local school that does this.

I took a whole day off of work to get the house ready, make brownies, and just generally make the Brunos seem like a normal, well-adjusted family (if they only knew!). There was a snafu, though, and we missed each other when they were supposed to come yesterday. Xander cried for a half hour, he was so disappointed. Poor guy. He'd been so excited, he even cleaned his room without being asked! That's pretty serious!

So I called the school this morning and we were able to reschedule for 8:30 this am. Xander went outside to wait for them with Joe's skull and crossbone helmet on, and his little cowboy pistol in hand. As first impressions go, it was a memorable one! Both of the teachers were very nice, and they brought Xander some books and some of that homemade playdough. So he played with one teacher while I talked to the other one. We all agreed that Xander should do pretty well in school, he's so outgoing and personable. They'll just have to keep an eye out for Xander the Bully!

Next month Xander will get to ride the bus to school one day for orientation and screening. He's already looking forward to that. I still can't believe he's old enough to be starting school!! Where did the time go? Sigh.

And I'm bummed that I forgot to take a picture of Xander with the teachers. No photographic evidence...and I call myself a scrapbooker!

YeeHaw...Ride 'em Cowboy!

Look at that happy face! One of Xander's daycare compatriots had her birthday party at a local horse farm on Sunday. Even inside the arena it was extremely chilly, rainy and muddy outside...I'd have preferred to stay nice and toasty at home, but how could I deny Xander the horse experience? After the birthday girl had her ride, he was the first to volunteer. And to be perfectly honest, I love the smell of a horse barn. No, really! It brings back great childhood memories for me of vising Aunt Marge and her stables. Good times!

Xander has always been a fan of horses. Any opportunity for a ride, and he'll take it! Pony rides at the circus, an impromptu ride at the fair...he's always ready! And in case it wasn't obvious, he's wearing his "cowboy" jacket. He actually wore a raincoat to the party, and brought that one just for riding the horse. It also doubles as his Indiana Jones jacket (very versatile!).

Maybe when he's older we'll look into getting him some lessons. I know he'd love that!

It's Caturday!

Okay, so you have no idea what Caturday is, right? It's a special day for embracing the fun and wacky things our kitties do, with special kitty captions. At my scrappy website, A Cherry On Top, my pal Tracy hosts Caturday every Saturday. She posts a whole bunch of funny LOL cats, which make the rest of us laugh and occasionally wet our pants.

If you'd like to know more about this phenomenon, please check out Tracy's blog. She explains Caturday pretty well, and has some cute examples. If you'd like to try your hand at turning your own furry pets into LOL cats, you can do that at ICanHasCheezburger.

Here's one I recently did of Stuart. Happy Caturday!

I've Been Published!!

Yay!! I just got the e-mail this morning that Bella Scraps Magazine has published one of my layouts! This is the first time I've had a scrapbook page published, though I've been submitting lots of them all along. Thanks to Tracy for encouraging (bullying!) me to submit to Bella Scraps!

So, I guess you want to see which LO they took? And the winner is...

Ah...Spring!

It's finally feeling like Spring here at the Big Blue Barn. Xander and I took a walk the other day, and it was so nice seeing flowers in bloom, especially on the crabapple trees. The weather has been up and down for a while, but hopefully now it will be settling down and warming up. Xander has been eagerly waiting for our neighbor to get his pool set up for the season (me, not so much!) and I'm just looking forward to having more light in the evenings in case I want to take a walk, and being able to ditch my socks for a few months.

What are you looking forward to most this Spring/Summer?

Family Game Night

Okay, so I have to talk a bit about our recent family game night, mostly so I can post this picture of my dorky brother Eli doing a pirate face...aargh, matey! Hee hee!

The idea originated with my sister-in-law, Krissy. She thought it would be fun to start having a regular family game night, and I agreed. When I was a kid we were always playing board games and card games and dice games, and I missed that. So last Friday we packed up our BBQ and headed over to my brother's house for dinner.

Joe made some fancy Food Network burgers, and we had a nice dinner together while the kids all screamed and played in the living room/play room. Then game night started with some homemade strawberry shortcake, and Tribond. Some of those categories were hard!! But thanks to luck and a really simple category, I managed to pull out a last-minute win. Woo hoo!

The real fun didn't get started until Joe brought out the Pirate Dice. Suddenly we were all talking like pirates and laughing like loons. We played that one three times (I won two of those games, just sayin') and had a blast! I highly recommend it.

So now we're planning to do this once a month. And honestly, I can't wait for the next one! If you don't have family game night, you should start one!

Indiana Jones - Bruno Style!

Did you know that I was an Indiana Jones fan? I've always enjoyed those movies, and I'm totally psyched about the new one coming out this month. Joe has that weekend off of work, so we'll be right in line with the masses to check out the latest installment. I feel like I've been humming the theme music for weeks!

Xander has been reaping the benefits of my nostalgic fan trip. I've been getting him those totally adorable Adventure Heroes figures (except the ones with snakes, he doesn't want the snakes) and on Saturday we found authentic Indiana Jones hats at Blockbuster. I'm sure that money could have been spent on something more useful, but how seriously cute does he look wearing it?? Xander is in the Indiana Jones groove, too, even though he's only seen part of one movie.

I'm a scrapper, so new hat = photo shoot! I dressed Xander up as close to Indiana Jones as I could, and gave him Joe's whip to use as a prop. Boy, did he have fun with that! And then Joe surprised us both by coming out dressed up as a swarthy Egyptian villain! (No offense to Egyptian good guys everywhere!) A battle raged all across the yard, it was so funny!

Now, about that Goonies sequel....

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my mom (and my dorky younger brother). I think I can say, with utmost honesty, that she's been one of my best friends. She's really easy to get along with, she's way funny, and look what she can do:

• Play guitar (and write her own songs!)


• Do almost any type of home repair


• Build furniture


• Sew anything, with or without a pattern


• Pretty decent cook (my sauce is better!)


• Act in community theater


• Write poetry


• Draw


• Sing (even though she doesn't always have the right lyrics...Blossom my love!)


• Tell funny jokes in even funnier accents

Honestly, is there anything she can't do? She's worked multiple jobs at one time, she's been a substitute teacher, an account clerk, and a home construction & renovation maven. She has more talent in her pinky finger than I could ever hope to achieve in my whole life.
Just wanted to share my totally awesome Mom and wish any other visiting moms a Happy Mother's Day!

That Darn Kid!

I just have to share this conversation from yesterday. In the car on the way home from work and daycare, we were talking about McDonald's Playland (Xander has been begging to go back there) and how it's only for kids and not grownups. And so my bright boy said that there should be a grownup land. And cue conversation:

Mommy - "Maybe you can build one when you're a grownup."
Xander - "That's a worker job. I'm not going to be a worker."
Mommy - "What are you going to be?"
Xander - "Your husband!"
Mommy - "I already have a husband."
Xander - "No, I mean when Dad dies."

As, the simple logic of youth! By the way, Daddy was not happy to hear that Xander is plotting his demise already. That darn kid!

Crankenstein

Please tell me that this is just a phase!

My adorable, and generally well-mannered, four year old son has turned into Mr. Bickerson. He argues about everything, he knows everything, and he's generally driving me insane. I find myself saying things like "I'm not talking to you right now!" more and more often. Shouldn't this phase happen once my delightful boy is in school? Here is a recent exchange:

Mommy - "Remember, Mommy knows everything!"

Xander - "Did you know that hippopatumases can fly?"

Mommy - "Hippos can't fly."

Xander - "They do on Barney."

What's my comeback for this?

My new plan is to become a stay-at-home mom. Just as soon as my darling son starts school. Think of all those quiet hours I can fill with scrapbooking!

Some Assembly Required

I used some of my free time this weekend assembling some new shelves for Xander's room. Let me just say that I have inherited ZERO talent in this area from my supremely talented mother. It's sad, really.

The really hard assembly was on the cabinet from Walmart. There were a lot of illustrated instructions, but I think I'd be better off with a little DVD that shows me step by step what the heck I should be doing. I got four sides on, then had to take one off because I put it on backwards. Then I finally got everything together but the doors. And again, I had put a piece on wrong so there was no hinge hole on the bottom. You know those thin sheets they give you to hammer on the back with all those little tiny nails? I had to remove the nails from one whole side so that I could flip up that piece I had put on wrong. I had to pry those stupid little nails out with a butter knife. My index finger was raw and puffy by the time I was done.

Of course, the end results are really good. More storage space for all of Xander's toys. Next time, though, I think I'll let Joe put the shelves together!

Queen Of All Blogs

I want people to read my blog. There. I said it. I'm not proud! I guess the whole point of setting up a blog is so that people will stop by, read what you said, maybe leave a nice comment or two. With that in mind, I'm now sending you to read someone else's blog.

Say what?

Okay, what finally pushed me into starting my own blog was the hours of time I put in reading The Pioneer Woman's blog. This woman is hysterically funny, she takes beautiful pictures, she had awesome recipes, and she's married to The Marlboro Man. 'Nuff said! Seriously, though, sometimes I feel she's a member of my own family. I'll report back to Joe the new funny story on her blog, like I'm sure he really cares. Recommended reading: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, the story of how Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man got together.

So if you haven't had the Pioneer Woman experience, run - don't walk! - over to her site and check it out. Just promise to come back and read mine, too!

National Scrapbooking Day

National Scrapbooking Day is tomorrow, May 3rd. In the past I've always tried to have some time to myself on this day for some daylight hour scrapbooking, and this year will be no different. Xander will be having an overnighter at my mother-in-law's house, so I'll have some nice peaceful hours all to myself. Oldies music? Check! Unhealthy snacks? Check! Stuff to scrap? Double check!!

The only downside for me this year is that I won't have any online access this weekend, and will thus miss out on my new favorite weekend activity - the online crop. A full three days of online games, scrapbook challenges, and late night wackiness. As a Creative Team member for A Cherry On Top, I've had the pleasure of participating in two of these crops and they are more fun that you can believe! As a hostess I get to come up with fun games and challenges, and I get to give people store points. Seriously, if you've never done an online crop you have to check it out! ACOT hosts online crops about every three months and they are a blast!

Even if you don't check out any of the online NSD fun and games, this weekend would be a great time to sit down and start scrapping, or get some pages done for your scrapbooks-in-progress. Crank the music, stock the chocolate, and have a great time!