Call It What You Want...

We made a trip to South Dakota, using air transportation for the first time (together). Clearly Tim and I have flown before.

Apologies for the brightness of the photo, but the one with the window closed didn't have the cute face on it.

The boys loved take-off, which is what I thought would make them nervous. They laughed at how fast we were going and at the tickle in their tummies... Adam and I sat together on the flight to Minneapolis; Mark and I on the flight home.

Mark excitedly announced everything he saw on the ground as we approached Minneapolis. I could hear clearly across the plane: football fields, train tracks, water, roads... He was sooooo excited.

Doggy was excited too. In this photo he is talking in some doggy-baby-talk, saying something like "Ba-ba".

The guys were impressed with the rental car, though after we were home, Mark said he likes HIS car better. We ended up with an upgrade to a Mercury Grand Marquis (a.k.a. Old Man Car)... and felt a little guilty about strapping carseats to new leather seats. But the company didn't have what we'd reserved, so...

Trains played a big part of our trip as well. Here, the boys pass some time before Michelle and Tristan's wedding (the reason our trip occurred at this time...) showing the father of the bride their trains.

Finally, we had a nice family picture taken once we got back to Grandpa and Grandma's after the wedding... mostly. See if you can spot what was a little "odd" about the photo:

Can't tell from that photo? Here, let me help:

Sigh. When will he go back to making his cute normal face for pictures again?

With a visit from the cousins and the aunt and uncle, what better to do on a free day than go to the Children's Museum? We haven't been in a while, so it was great to all go downtown Indy to one of the most fun places for kids in Indianapolis (after the Prairie, of course).

There were lots of fun things to do.

Some of them didn't surprise me much:

Andrew and Adam drive the skid steer back and forth in tiny little increments. They're only two-year-olds, after all. Also, neither managed to get run over by the pictured skid steer when it was under the controls of bigger kids, though that was mostly to the credit of the bigger kids who were keeping an eye out.

Also not surprising: Mark played in the watershed activity, making dams to block the river, driving a boat, loading the boat down and making it sink... Perhaps surprising for some readers is the evil look on his face: welcome to Mark.

Adam spent a good half an hour to 45 minutes digging, scooping, loading and dumping rubber mulch. Apparently this is how he spends his time at the park, too, but without the nice shovels or kid-sized wheelbarrow. This was super-fun.

Mark got to steer a TOWER CRANE! This was amazing. He was very excited about it.

Something I didn't expect to be as appealing as it was:

Adam loved the plastic renditions of the Chihuly Fireworks of Glass piece that provides a striking center to the museum's up/down ramp. The plastic pieces were shaped for building your own work of art, and Adam loved it. He also got very worried about a piece that might have been left on the floor if not for him...

Fun time, folks, fun times.

Today I threw a little something in the crock pot, and out came something I think I want to eat all night. Midnight snack? Check! Three a.m. snack? Yup! Breakfast? Sure!

They called it Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Loin.

I prefer to call it Candy Pork.

1 boneless pork loin 4 to 6 pounds (the fact that mine was smaller might have led to a little extra sweetness)
1 clove garlic, halved
salt and pepper (not the 80s band, as that would be salt n pepa)
1 1/3 cups brown sugar, divided
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Wash pork roast, trim excess fat, pat dry, and rub with garlic halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then prick the roast all over with a fork.

In a cup or bowl, combine 1 cup of the brown sugar, the mustard, and vinegar. Rub all over the roast.

Cover and cook in your slow cooker on LOW for 7 to 9 nours. Pour off excess juices.

Combine the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar with cinnamon; spread the mixture over the top of the roast. Cover and continue cooking on LOW for 1 hour longer.

Yum. I might make it again. Maybe tomorrow.

This morning at MOPS when I was checking Adam in to the 2's class, Mark met up with his friend Autumn, who also has a brother in the 2's room. They played together while the moms checked the little guys in, and then it was off for the trek to the 4's class. It's a rather long way to the 4's room, as they ran out of space for all the kids in the "close" classes, and Mark and Autumn held hands and skipped all the way there.

Class was fun for everyone, all went well. I picked Mark up first and we made the trip all the way to the other end of the church to get Adam. While I was getting Adam and his stuff, I saw Autumn appear, her face streaked with tears.

Apparently, it was our fault. IT SEEMS that Mark left class before she did, and she didn't get to tell him goodbye. Or give him his hug and kiss, so it seems. Hugs were exchanged, and more hugs as it took a few more minutes to get little brothers into their coats. Her tears only completely stopped when I told her that maybe sometime she could come over and play with Mark (they live in the neighborhood across the way from ours). Her face brightened, and she turned to her mom and said, "I can come to MARK'S house to play sometime!!!" She might have even been breathless.

We walked out together, Mark and Autumn holding hands again. He talked about her most of the way home (except when I forced him to tell me about the police officer who visited their class today). He talked about having her come over. (This might be the first friend he's been excited about inviting over, by the way. Except for "his Reynoldses" of course, and his cousins.)

Awwwwww.