Washing the Mississippi Off of My Bologna

Gunker noted that My Bologna was like velcro - coming back from his romps covered in leaves, branches, and mud. Considering that My Bologna was in the lake and rolling around in God knows what, one of our first orders of business upon our return was to give that dog a bath. 

Dexy excitedly reported to me that, "My Bologna went monkey crazy after his bath! He was running back and forth and rolling all around on the floor!" "That's how he dries himself off," I explained.

My Bologna is now a fluffy, shiny, oatmeal-shampoo-smelling, clean to the core little guy.

Worn Out

This was the first trip we have taken where Dexter has started to ask, early and often, "are we there yet?" He was complaining, "I want to be home," and I started singing his complaints. Then, he had the idea to sing a song with me being his "helper". He sang verses about wanting to be home, riding in the car, wondering how long it would be until we got home, lamenting that it would be seven more hours until we got home, etc., etc., etc. At the end of each song, we all would clap and Dex would say, "Mommy, do you want to be my helper on another song?" At one point I suggested that Daddy could be he his helper but he refused. Eventually Dex tired of creating songs and got quiet. When I looked in the back seat, I saw Dexy and My Bologna "resting".

Grandma and Gunker sure wore out these dudes during their Mississippi vacation. I'm willing to bet that these dudes also wore out Grandma and Gunker!

Boomland Rest Stop

As usual, we stopped at Boomland to fill up on gas, let My Bologna get outside for a bit, go to the bathroom, and pick up snacks for the rest of the ride. Also, as usual, Dex wanted to "ride a ride". He chose the black horse on the carousel.

Lesson in Skipping Stones

Gunker tried to teach Dex how to skip stones.

Not sure any stones actually "skipped" but Dex did manage to chuck a few more stones into the Mississippi River.

Nature Boys on the Mississippi River Walk

Dex, Gunker, and Daddy found some trails by the Mississippi River Museum and took a long nature hike.

Dexy found and brought home a beautiful piece of driftwood. He also brought home a sycamore tree seed and did a trick for Mommy and Grandma turning the seed into fuzz by smashing it on the ground!

Gunker was impressed with the way Dex read the names of trees off the information plaques. Gunker also helped Dex identify animal tracks (and Dex left some of his own tracks to "discover" on the walk back).

Out of Control Remote Controlling

Grandma and Gunker brought out a remote controlled car for Dex to play with.

He wasn't very coordinated with the controller but he sure found it exciting!

Making Himself Comfortable

Dex liked to have his breakfast in the comfiest spot in the house - Gunker's chair.

Gunker was gracious enough to let him sit there and didn't even get upset when Dex left pop-tart crumbs behind.

Adventures on the Dam

Dexy loved running along the dam with Gunker and the dogs.

 My Bologna did lots of sniffing of interesting smells.

 Drake took a dip in the lake and...

 My Bologna (tentatively) followed suit.

 Running free.

Looking for animal tracks with Gunker.

Crazy Texas Pit Stop

We took the Arkansas route back to Mississippi, spending the night at a dump near Pine Bluff. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a Texas roadhouse off the highway, in the middle of nowhere. We had some awesome BBQ brisket and saw...

a woman taking a selfie with the Elvis impersonator who was singing Willie Nelson songs outside of the roadhouse,

 a painted long horn steer,

and a shut-down store/arcade shaped like a spaceship.

Austin Shows Love to Musicians

Because we only had one day in Austin (the day I was presenting) and because we had done so much driving to get there, Ben and I spent most of our "free" time sleeping and watching reality tv on cable. But Ben's eye lit up when he saw the musician loading zone signs all over the place.

Dexter's Adventures with Grandma and Gunker

After Ben and I had a restful night's sleep at Grandma and Gunker's, we headed off alone to Austin, TX where I had to present at a conference two days later. We stopped in Shreveport, LA for the night and then made it to Austin in time for dinner.

During our absence, Dex kept Grandma and Gunker very busy. Grandma took Dexy shopping for jammies and a cuddly toy for sleeping (Ben was in charge of packing for Dexter and somehow jammies and Quackers, Dexy's stuffed animal for sleeping, slipped his mind). Gunker took Dexy to check out the replacement boat they ordered after Sweetwater was destroyed by a fallen tree. The deck hadn't been repaired yet so they couldn't deliver the boat but Dex enjoyed making sure that it had everything that Gunker had ordered for it! They also took Dex to the Memphis Zoo where he got to ride the carousel and a real camel. Dex asked Gunker to ride the camel with him but Gunker told him that adults weren't allowed. When Dex got on the camel, they could hear him saying to the camel handler, "I don't understand this rule about no adults allowed!" Grandma and Gunker also took Dex to Chuck E Cheese and made a special Easter Egg Hunt for him with a Grumpy Birds basket and lots of goodies. Dex loved playing "egg store" afterwards, filling eggs with different treats for everyone.

We can't thank Grandma and Gunker enough for being so kind to Dex and My Bologna while we were gone. 

Drake's Buddy

Dex was so excited to play with Drake. I'm not sure how excited Drake was to have the added excitement of Dexy and My Bologna, but he was very gracious sharing treats, dog beds, and attention from Grandma and Gunker with the intruders.

Dex was very careful to take care of My Bologna, making sure he didn't go out the gate.

 Dex played catch with Drakey Boy.

My Bologna eventually got used to the doggie door (with a little help from Drake).

First Things First

Grandma knew exactly what everyone would need after a long car ride to Mississippi - treats! Dexter got chocolate ice cream.

God knows what My Bologna and Drake got but I'm sure it was yummy!

Rest Stopping

There was no rest at our favorite rest stop...

 But there was see-saw...

 ...and more see-saw

...and greeting fellow travelers while see-sawing

...and no hands on the see-saw!

Excellent Riders

Despite the 10 hour drive to Mississippi, we all found ways of passing the time and making the trip an enjoyable experience.

The two-CD mix of Dexter's favorite hits that we made for last year's trip stood the test of time. Dexy was clapping along

 and singing (in this case, the woo woo back up vocals to the Rolling Stones).

My Bologna was super chill.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

A few weeks ago when Dex and I had gone to Old Navy for their $15 jean sale, he noticed a package of green mustaches that he really wanted to buy. I agreed but told him that he'd have to wait  until St. Patrick's Day and we would wear them as a family. Last night, we broke open the package and got goofy with our silly selves!

Dexy's teachers sure were surprised to see him show up to school on St. Paddy's Day with a green mustache!

Squeaker Hunting

Sunday morning, I got Dexter settled in with Max and Ruby videos and went into my home "office" to finish my final paper for my Field Methods class. All was quiet for about 10 minutes until...I heard frantic squeaking and hysterical laughter.

Turns out, My Bologna decided to eviscerate his beaver, pulling out all the stuffing until he had retrieved the squeaker from its belly. Dexy found the whole production hilarious - it was pretty funny to see My Bologna gnawing on that squeaker surrounded by stuffing. He's still got some puppy in him!

Ancient Egyptian Adventure

Dexy's pre-K class took a week-long "trip" to Egypt. They packed their suitcases and boarded a flight where they ate airplane snacks. They explored ancient Egyptian pyramids, learned how to spell their names in hieroglyphics, and excavated in the sand for jewels. Then they created their own Egyptian costumes and tried Egyptian foods. Dexy was home sick from school for flight home but somehow he made it back :)

Here is what he packed for the trip in his "suitcase". Apparently it was important for him to be able to tell what time it was and brush his teeth!

And here he is dressed in his Egyptian costume, walking like an Egyptian. He was very excited about the jewels on his crown.

Making and Enjoying His New Favorite Snack

Dex was excited to show me that he can make his new favorite snack, peanut butter and Ritz cracker sandwiches. He asked for 4 Ritz crackers ("so I can make 2 sandwiches, Mommy"), creamy peanut butter, and a knife.

 Then he very carefully spread the peanut butter...

 Smooshed another Ritz cracker on top...

And enjoyed his tasty treat.

The Big Melt

A couple of months after we put our ice balls along our front walk and they were immediately covered with about a foot of snow, we finally saw them again when we got a 40+ degree day this week!!! 

We thought it would be the last day that Dexy would get to walk on snow mountains...but we got another half a foot of snow the next day.

Dexy and My Bologna love the snow. Mommy and Daddy are done with it. DONE!