Day at the park

We had a fun time at the park with Cori, Leah and Laurel.

 Yep, they are cuties.

 Whoa, check out Laurel's hair!

 Penelope: "let me touch your head"

 Leah: "Hey! You think you can touch my head?!"

Oh, wait, more on Jamaica

Our trip to Jamaica consisted of many parts. You see, living in the boonies, you can't just hop on a direct flight to paradise. First, we drove 7 hours to Las Vegas. Add an 18 month old and that becomes 10 hours. The trip was pretty uneventful, other than Wayne had the privilege of meeting an officer of the law near Alamo. We finally got to Vegas and to our hotel, one that had an indoor equestrian center. As Penelope and I wandered around to stretch our legs, we walked down one long hall, I got a whiff of  a most reminiscent smell. The mix of animals, hay, and manure. It brought me back to walking into the Black Hills Stock Show every year. But as soon as I smelled it, sadly, it was gone. Wayne later told me that he overheard someone disgustingly saying the 'entire hotel smelled like manure'. Ah, I thought that was one of the perks!

We didn't need alarm clocks, because Penelope was up bright and early at 4. We got on our four-hour plane ride to Miami. I had been dreading this for weeks, but Penelope was absolutely perfect. Even the stewardesses commented on how good she did in the plane. And the lady sitting next to us said, "I am just SO glad I got to sit by you for the flight!" How sweet. This lady came to the US from Argentina several decades ago. She told me how she flew alone with her four young children on flight that was nearly 24 hours. (Planes didn't fly quite as fast back then!)

In Miami Penelope decided that she absolutely loved escalators and riding on dad's rolling suitcase. They caused quite a stir when they would walk down the terminal with Penelope riding along behind dad on the suitcase. I would walk a little further back, and listen to 'Oh! Look at that baby!' 'Look at that baby riding!' etc. Some people would stumble as they strained to look. It was hilarious to watch them causing such a stir.

We got to our cottage in Jamaica late that evening, and spent most of the next seven days relaxing at the cottage or on the beach. We ate island delicacies like jerk chicken, delicious fresh lobster, and curried goat.

During our vacation, we went to Wayne's sister, Connie's wedding. Connie and her now husband, Chris, had decided to do a destination wedding at a Sandal's Resort. Connie had sent pretty dresses for Penelope and I. The only problem was that Sandal's doesn't allow any children on their property. Connie got prior permission for Penelope to come. The wedding was very beautiful, on a pretty gazebo  surrounded by ocean. Penelope was not especially impressed with the wedding, until I took off my princess-like heels and let her wear them. Then she strutted around in the heels, trying to take the limelight away from the beautiful bride! After the ceremony and a few quick pictures, a Sandal's representative came up to me and made it known that it was time for the child to disappear! It had not been especially clear between Sandals, Connie and ourselves as to exactly how much time the child was allotted to be on the Sandals property. Since we didn't know exactly how long we were 'supposed' to be at the wedding, we had told our driver to pick us up at five. It was not even four yet, so the Sandals rep insisted on trying to locate our driver and bringing him back pronto. (They were at least kind enough not to throw us out on the street. Jamaica is nearly a third world country with quite a bit of crime, and there was nowhere really to go.) But until then, we would need to keep Penelope hidden in Chris and Connie's honeymoon suite! So Wayne went with Penelope to their room, and tried to not disturb the rose petals and champagne that had been romantically arranged! After a while, the Sandals rep reported that they were not able to locate our driver, so we would just have to keep Penelope in the room until he came back. It did seem a bit harsh, especially when anyone we came across smiled and cooed at her. But rules are rules, I guess, and Sandals did bring Wayne some tasty room service and wedding cake.

The day we flew back, we had a 10 hour layover in Miami. It took us a while to get through customs and homeland security, but once Penelope started crying, we were quickly brought to the short, special line for pilots and people with special needs. While waiting in yet another line, Penelope was happily sitting on her perch on top of a suitcase. I was approached by an officer, and told that I had to actually hold her while waiting in line. Which was a little bizaare, but what really surprised me was that he asked it in Spanish! Which is fine, I could have been a hispanic speaking only individual, but when I clarified in English,  I was disturbed when he acted like he didn't understand, and just answered 'si'.

In Miami we took the metro rail to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. It is an estate built in 1916, and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It was a very nice place to go during our layover. A lot quieter and more relaxing than the airport.

Back on the plane to Las Vegas, Penelope did fuss for probably a third of flight before she fell asleep. I was very grateful to the people sitting around us that didn't seem to mind and even thought she was cute. No one gave us dirty looks or complained. Or at least if they did I didn't notice.

We got to Vegas very late, and after 21 hours of travel we were all exhausted. Penelope thought she had enough rest at 5 AM though. Those huge hotel and casino resorts do come in handy when you need to entertain a child outside of your hotel room. We walked around and observed the many people that are still up in the early morning hours. Some old guy thought Penelope was cute, so he gave her a cough drop. A cough drop for a one year old? That is wrong on so many levels. I discreetly threw it in the closest garbage bin.

Last pictures

I know, you are sick of hearing about our trip, but here are just a few more pictures.

18 Months - One and a half

I used to fret over asking people how old their child was, and they would reply, '17 months', or '19 1/2' months. Really? I just want to know if they are one or two! Maybe one and a half. Don't make me convert months into years!

Now, I admit, it is more interesting to know if a baby is 9 months versus 14 months.

Penelope is 18 months old Sunday. Here is a list of things she can say:

Words:
more
shoes
cheese
ball
mom
dad
banana
cat
powder
uh-oh
no
cracker
bubble

Signs:
cat
more
eat
drink
milk
all done
dad/person
hot
shoes
toothbrush
hat
diaper
bath
dog
bye-bye
tissue/nose wiped

Wedding Pictures

More pictures from the wedding! Photos by Photographer Philip.

Lonely Nevada Towns

We drove to Las Vegas last week where we flew to.... Jamaica!! I took picture of some of the interesting places along the way. Wayne even stopped the car so I could take pictures without hanging my head out the window like a dog! 

Caliente, Nevada is a historic railroad town. This is their old train depot, built in 1923. Caliente is the kind of town that, on it's website, boasts "hometown activities include barbecues, softball tournaments, homecoming reunions and the Fourth of July Celebration"

I'm not kidding. It's straight from their website.

McGill, Nevada

We stopped at this Trilobite site and looked for fossils.

 Ely, Nevada, has a decent collection of murals painted on the sides of buildings:

 Wheeler Peak - near the Utah border.

Pioche, Nevada - an old mining town. It is a pretty cute little town on the side of the hill. It has an old opera house and courthouse.

 An old mill for the mine:

Lots of old mines in the area, including this one.

 Tramway for the silver ore:

 The silver was brought down the mountain in these big buckets to the mill. This tramway was operational in the 20s-30s, and gravity and a five-horse motor were the only things used to power it.

Villa Vizcaya - Florida

During our 10 hour layover in Miami, we to the metro rail to this interesting estate on the bay. It was built between 1914 and 1916, and the villa and gardens are now kept up by the county for visitors.

Penelope would have loved to run over the ledge to the water below.

Eating lunch at the cafe.

This 'barge' was built in the bay and intended for entertaining.

Part of the gardens.

The villa - beautiful inside and nicely furnished. It has an interesting mix of architecture and decor. No photos were allowed, but it had about 10 bedrooms, 2 dining areas, a courtyard, etc.

The house from the gardens.

Penelope played with this little girl for a while. She is 11 months old and is visiting with her family from Russia.