The Great Two Weeks

From Summer Visit with Thomas

I have the best son a father could ever ask for which makes living 5,000 miles from him painful at times. The moments that I am able to close this distance gap, the rest of the world fades away and life becomes magical. This occurred only a few weeks ago when Thomas and I embarked on the greatest two weeks of my life.
During this time we had tons of adventures that time will never be able to erase. Just a pass through the airport is a great time with Thomas. I am more worried about the tight schedule of arriving from and international flight, picking Thomas up, returning to an airport that is forever away from the rest of the city, and running through security that has a good 200 people already waiting in line; all which has to be done in the span of 3 hours.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

Thomas on the other hand is saying, "Hi Mac" to every truck we pass on the interstate and pointing out every plane as if it is special and unique . . . in an airport. I couldn't help but relax and just enjoy his enthusiasm for the wonderful world around him.
The time spent at my parents house was just amazing. Thomas quickly took over the living room and we set up his Thomas train which he carefully negotiated through the difficult slalom determined to keep every train and cart connected. Thomas loved to fly through the air holding on to whatever wrinkle was available on a giant bean bag. His laughter would put a smile on any face.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

From my early years I grew an appreciation for Nerf; Thomas definitely shares my enthusiasm for this great technology. He was very quick to persuade others to assist him in a game of "Get Daddy!" He loved to be chased only to turn and chase you. He always wanted to do one thing, have fun!
Later we had an opportunity to visit a farm. He loved it, from being able to see tractors up close to scaring off two cows. Well ok, he wasn't too happy that he scared off the cows he really wanted to play with them too.
If there is one town Thomas is already grateful for, it has to be Hollywood. When there is nothing new for him to play with, he loves to watch movies. Ice Age 3 was definitely his favorite as he would average watching the crazy sloth 4-6 times daily.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

Thomas has the greatest grandparents a kid could ask for. They foresaw the great fun water slide would bring to their grandkids. Thomas patiently watched as granddad and dad attempted to put together something that looked like it was a step down from a Saturn V rocket (obviously we were smart enough to not need the instructions).

From Summer Visit with Thomas

Playing in the water was something he loved and the opportunity to take aim at others with a water canon only could add to the excitement of playing in his own little water park. Eventually he was able to share in the fun with his cousins; though the word share is not one of Thomas's favorite words.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

After playing in the water, this would induce a needed nap . . . for all of us!

From Summer Visit with Thomas

One of Thomas's favorite people is his Uncle Brian. What makes this odd is he has never met Uncle Brian until these few weeks. You see, Uncle Brian never met Thomas when he was first born and then he went and served a two year mission in Argentina preventing Thomas to meet one of his new best friends. Thomas and I had the opportunity to accompany Brian on a Home Teaching visit. Lucky for Thomas, this place raises horses which Thomas adores.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

He loved the horse farm though he got upset when the local cat didn't want to play with him. I will later introduce him to the movie "Cats & Dogs" which will shed some light on really who is man's best friend.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

We were able to have tons of adventures during this fantastic time. A trip to the Kansas City Zoo was in next on the checklist. Boy, do I have a smart son! At the age of 2 1/2, he knew all the major animals being able to point out the difference between a lion and a tiger. Couldn't even fool him on a zebra; tried to convince him it was a horse he actually wouldn't let me leave till I called them zebras.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

Now even though he loved his private water park that his granddad got for him, he wanted to visit the BIG one! From dunking dad in the giant wave pool to playing on the pirate ship, you couldn't get Thomas upset. He especially loved these water hoses that would come up out of the water available to squirt at any unarmed person swimming by. We had the pleasure of having grandma come with us and enjoy in the fun.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

From the days that trains were our fast track to major cities, Union Station still stands reminding us of the days that the path to the frontier was on tracks. Now it has a few museums and exhibits that Thomas, Uncle Brian and I experienced. First was a life like exhibit of dinosaurs that moved, roared and Thomas swears that were attempting to take a nip at him for lunch, though he didn't mind if Uncle Brian would get caught in their teeth (so much for Uncle Brian being a favorite, he was expendable). Afterwards we had a great time in a kid's science museum where we got to fly helicopters, make music with trash cans and try to land a shuttle.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

Thomas loves fireworks, well he loves going to the tents and purchasing fireworks. However he does not like being around when a fuse is lit. Especially when I buy him a tractor that has a few fireworks built into and daddy decides to blow up his tractor! After multiple attempts to get him comfortable with these magnificent displays of art he got comfortable enough to watch them . . . from the safety of watching through a window in the house. He did enjoy the local firework display primarily because there was no house nearby and well, daddy wasn't the one lighting them.

From Summer Visit with Thomas

One of my favorite quotes says, "I don't want to look back - I want to keep looking ahead. I'd hate for my defining moment to be my past." Now with that in mind I am anxiously looking forward to the future. I can't imagine how things can get better than this fantastic time with my son but I know things will be greater and greater each time.