Vacation in Columbia

I have been off of work the last week on my first week of vacation and we spent part of the time in Columbia, Missouri visiting our friends Ricky, Amy, and Caden. Drew did great on the 6 hour trip there and back, mostly watching DVDs or sleeping. The first thing Drew noticed was how big Baby Caden had gotten and that he was no longer a baby, but that he was "Big Boy Caden" now. He was even taking some steps and doing some walking and Drew had a blast playing with him, at least most of the time. Drew also liked playing with his toys and still had some issues with the whole sharing thing. It didn't phase Caden though, he wanted to be a part of whatever Drew was doing at all times. The first picture below is them playing together our first night there.

The next day Katie, Drew, and I went with Amy and Caden to a pumpkin patch outside of Columbia. It was cold out there. Drew wouldn't really cooperate with the picture taking very well. Nor did he cooperate with the straw maze. There were bales of hay stacked up to make a maze, but they had a ceiling on the straw that was about 4 feet tall or so. Drew got to the first turn, saw it was pitch black after that, and refused to move. I had to go in and carry him all the way through while I was crouched down so I could fit in there. Picture below. We also fed some goats and went on a hayride. Then we got to cut our own miniature pumpkins from the patch. At about that time it became to cold to do much else and we decided to go on back home. That night we went to a local microbrewery to eat and I got a six pack sampler of some of their different beers. One of the best and most unusual was their green chili beer, although I don't think I could have handled much more than a sample of it. It was called the Flat Branch Pub and Brewery and the food was pretty excellent as well.

The city of Columbia was very nice with lots of parks and kid and family friendly programs and activities. The next day we drove around some and looked around the University of Missouri campus and visited the football field. I noticed an open gate, so Drew and I went inside and looked around for a few minutes. We really had a great time visiting and stay with the Ogles and wish we could have stayed longer. Hopefully they will make it back to Memphis sometime. On the way back home we went to Lambert's in Sikeston so that Drew could experience the throwed rolls. He was confused, but he loved it. He did a great job catching his first one. After they had come around a couple times and he had some on his plate he started saying that he didn't want to catch anymore though.

The last picture is of Drew's classic new face in which he scrunches his nose up. This is usually followed by a question such as "why" or "what'd you say," but may also be used for "prolly" or "maybe." We're not sure where he got it or who he sees do it, but we know it's adorable. In fact Drew was so sweet and well behaved our entire trip and all week really. He has really gotten quite an imagination with his toys and has been completely content playing by himself and making up stories lately. More to come on the rest of the week back in Arlington.