On Monday, Elliott and I packed up a bag and headed for Gramma's house in Georgetown. We stopped on the way in Logan to see Craig and Holly and play with Emily and Jeffrey too! We spent several hours catching up and playing.
Craig even provided a few rides.
Once at Gramma's, we made ourselves right at home and Elliott snuggled up with Bubber to look at our blog book.
Tuesday morning, we all got ready and loaded up in the truck to go to Pocatello for mom to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Fun in the backseat!
Fun in the front seat for Brad too. Don't worry, I drove home after the procedure.
We dropped mom off at the clinic and then met Dewey and Liz and Ruby for lunch at McDonalds. The rest of the Cook kids were at their first day of school. We got to hang around and see Will and Joselyn and Ephraim when they came home from school. Ben stayed later at middle school. Elliott thought that the kids looked like they were having fun climbing trees, except it wasn't that comfortable when Dewey lifted him up.
Then we picked up mom and came home. We helped her rest by watching movies with her. The next morning she felt great and she and Brad and Brittany headed into work at the Oregon Trail Center in Montpelier. Elliott and I followed and took the tour. It was awesome because it is a guided tour along the Oregon Trail. They have a section of ground taken from the trail and buffalo skin and bear skin coats. There is a replica of a wagon and supplies and mercantile store with all sorts of antique artifacts. And for museum-haters, there are no plaques to read, the tour guide explains it all and answers questions. We got to sit in a hydraulic-powered wagon bed and feel the bumps and jolts of travel by wagon. Then we sat around campfires and wagons and heard more tales from the trail. It was pretty neat! And even more so since mom and Brad worked the trail!
Elliott posing with Brittany with his new slingshot.
(We had to wait a little for mom and Brad to finish a tour bus tour.)
Elliott and I with his slingshot in front of a mural.
This is Elliott's scared-of-buffalo face!
The bear might have been scarier if all the paint weren't chipping off and if Elliott weren't armed. But with his slingshot, he is fearless!
He's ready for the hunt!
Posing out front. Elliott said Brittany and mom didn't look like pioneers since their aprons made them look like bakers.
Elliott and pioneer Gramma.
We could have gone home since mom didn't need our help anymore, but Brian was in Tuscon for a business trip so Elliott and I stayed longer to play more. On Thursday we went to the little park in Georgetown. Elliott loved the merry-go-round and kept saying, "Taster bubber, taster." (Faster, but he doesn't make the "f" sound.)
Then they moved on to the teeter-totter.
And finally the swings.
Elliott kept saying, "Dwamma, push me." It will be wonderful when he can make all his sounds, but I find it so cute now!
Elliott is so lucky to have uncle Brad who loves to play with him!
Once back in the backyard, we got out the giant bubbles!
Brad is really good at making GIANT bubbles.
And Elliott loved popping them, except not above your face because then you have a face full of bubble juice!
We also got out the sidewalk chalk. I drew a maze for Elliott to walk through.
While Brad and Elliott drew faces and mountains and Spongebob.
They did well, working together to make train track tunnels through the mountain.
Gramma had been mowing the pasture and now came into the yard. She boosted Elliott up for a turn and let him do all the steering. No hands from Gramma mean Elliott is driving the tractor.
He was so happy and proud to be a big helper. Plus, it's lots of fun!
I had to laugh because he drove all over the backyard, making his own pattern.
He caught on very quickly how to put it in reverse and swatted Gramma's hand away so he could do it himself.
Luckily Gramma was patient and amused by Elliott. He drove close to this clothesline pole so he could reach out and ring the wind chimes.
But, at some point, Gramma had to take over to finish the job and this is Elliott's grumpy "I don't want to take turns" face.
After a rough night where Elliott was up with croup, we came home on Friday. Brian also flew back from Tuscon so we all got home about the same time. Elliott is feeling better today and we really enjoyed our vacation at Gramma's.
