Flying High

Today was an adventurous day in Steinbach.  I took the kids out to watch Auntie Lu and Grandpa go flying in an ultralight. It was Grandpa's first time being up that high and only held in by some seat belt straps. For Auntie Lu, it was probably pretty tame after jumping out of an airplane last year, but they both enjoyed it and would probably do it again if given the opportunity. And we had fun watching them too.

Grandpa taxiing out to the runway

Grandpa taking off

Flying!

Safe and sound on solid ground again

Auntie Lu's turn!

Way up high in the sky!

Snacking and watching

Big smiles

Clearly Matthew was taking it all in while we were there.  When we got home, he pulled out his Lego and started to build ultralights.  Lego Grandpa and Lego Matthew were even enjoying a ride together.

Matthew and his creation

 

 

on the runway, ready for take off

Bus Ride!

Matthew has developed a love for all things with wheels. Whether it is in the car or on the sidewalk, he loves to point at all the big trucks, cars and buses on the street and say "ooohhhohoho!!" He does the same for tractors on the farm. His favourite toys are his Little People school bus and a little John Deere tractor that he drives around making engine sounds and parking them along the wall.

So I thought he would love to actually go for a ride in one of these big vehicles. We phoned up our friends Jenn and Madeline and planned a day to go for a bus ride downtown to do some shopping at MEC.

Everything was going great until we got on the bus. Matthew was not as excited to be on the bus as he was to just see it go by. I kind of thought this might happen based on his reaction a few weeks ago to going for a tractor ride at the farm. It was just too big and too loud and he wasn't feeling the safety of being strapped in all snug-as-a-bug in his car seat. I thought for a moment that we might even have to get off and walk home, but we stuck it out and soon the tears faded. Then he noticed all the other cars, trucks and buses outside the bus window and soon we were hearing "ooohhhohoho!!" again as he pointed to them all.

He was much happier to get on the bus on the way home, although still a little unsure of the whole thing. His favourite place to sit was on my lap, but I didn't mind at all because it meant that I was getting some awesome cuddles which are somewhat rare with this little kid. And it also meant that I didn't have to walk all the way home from downtown because the bus was too scary. All in all, a very successful adventure. These are some pictures of our return trip...

He even ventured out to his own seat for a little while.

Big boy sitting on the bus

Looking out the window

Seeing other vehicles

Cuddles with mom

Side Benefits

We went to the forks Sunday and for the first time ever got to park in one of these awesome little "parents with kids" spots. They are totally great. Not only is it a fun little perk of the job, but also it is super handy given all the gear we need to schlep.