This trip to Disney was the best of all four (even if I was not there all the time ) mostly because of the Halloween party.
I myself loved Space Mountain’s green screen exit (you can see it in the video below). The fastest ride was Expediton Everest’s 72 foot drop total estimate.

RING RING  the bell goes I yell  ”SUMMER!” and started to dance . That weekend I played football at Mizzou stadium. After that we spent one free week at the house THEN we did our yearly trip to Maine.

The first week my Uncle Barry came and some of his friend’s kids came.  Their names are : Collin, Addison and Camden. Collin and I RULED the place.

The next week (sheesh – long trip) we  had Grandpa and Grandma Lee come  we had a lot of fun of stuff  like HUGE sailboats.  Today, I saw a  SEAL on the shore.  I could not believe my eyes. I’m going to close it up here.
P.S. More to come.

Cam ran in the St. Louis Kids’ Fun Run over the weekend – a full half mile! As you can see he was FAST at the start of the race. He had focus, he had drive… And he was SO tired by the end. But you know what? He finished!! And he earned a medal:

It was great to see him have fun with running. He’s pretty darn proud of the experience… although he wishes his medal wasn’t plastic but actual medal like the one his mom earned by running in the marathon relay. Either way, he’s been proud to show if off!

I feel terrible for not sharing Cameron’s big trip to Jefferson City until now… But here’s the scoop.
We were in town for an appointment so I figured we should stop by the State Capitol to see how state government works. Cam’s been really interested in politics since the presidential election. So he was very excited to see how things work in our state. We met up with a former student who now works for the state house communications department. He told Cam about the history of the building and let him visit the press area in the house chambers. He also took him into the senate chambers (which is smaller and doesn’t actually have a specific portion of the room exclusive to the media). Cameron was impressed and excited to see the huge building. To add to the excitement, a person I talk to on Twitter read how we were in the building… And he had a key to portions of the building you can’t easily see: the top of the dome!

He took us up to the top of the Whispering Gallery – it’s a balcony that spans the inside of the dome. When you whisper on one side, a person standing across from you can hear everything you say. Cam thought that was really cool. Then it got more exciting. We talked Cam into walking up a TON of stairs to get to the highest accessible point of the building. We got to see all of the views of Jefferson City from the very top. Cam wasn’t scared – the only thing that spooked him a bit was the last bit of stairs. He’s clearly much less afraid of heights than I am!

We almost immediately took the pictures we took to Walgreens and printed out photos to bring to school the next day. Cameron was able to bring the photos and tell everyone about his awesome experience. He now tells me he thinks Jefferson City is the coolest place in the whole world.

Cameron is about to settle back into a normal pattern of school after a very exciting two weeks of Winter vacation. Along with the chance to play outside in the warm air of Florida, swim in pools (warm and cold), play in the waves of the ocean AND play at Disney… He pushed his comfort envelope in so many ways.

I am so proud.

But the moment I keep thinking about was while we were on the beach in South Florida. We were all enjoying the beautiful Christmas day. I was sitting on the sand and making sure Jordan stayed away from the dead jellyfish that were scattered here and there while watching Cam play in the waves. Randy was relaxing on a towel while my brother was reading a book. Suddenly I looked and watched Cameron start to run down the beach. I figured he wouldn’t go far… but he did. He kept running and running and running. And I got nervous. The mommy in me was a little freaked about my not-so-great swimming son running away down the beach. He might get hit by a wave or start playing somewhere and I wouldn’t be able to get there to him fast enough. You know, the mommy mind is kind of mean once you start to worry.

Anyway. He kept running.

He looked so free. So carefree. So happy.

In a tiny corner of my mind I wanted to just let him go. I know he must have felt an incredible freedom that you can only feel on a long and warm beach.

But the mommy in me couldn’t let it continue. I ran after him as fast as I could. I screamed as loud as I could to get him to stop. And I must have looked scared because Cameron got upset once I reached him. He was sorry. He didn’t mean to.

I understand. I really do. But he has a little more growing to do before he starts running the beach on his own. But when he can, I hope he can continue to run free like that. And it made me want to do that same. I wish I could escape and just run sometimes. I’m glad Cam got to… even if it was for a short time.

The moment we got to South Florida, Cameron was a different kid — A kid who jumps into the pool (a really cold pool):

After that, it got even more interesting. He rode his bike all over my parents’ neighborhood… And then we went to Disney World.

Cam went down ALL kinds of rollercoasters. He can actually boast riding every roller coaster in the Magic Kingdom in one day. From the Goofy’s Barnstormer to Space Mountain. Pretty awesome… And it seems like he’s interested in riding many more in the future. I’m pretty excited!

Cam was extra cuddly with me today before I left to go on a big trip to China. I was telling him how much I love him when he looked at me and said: “You’re going to make me cry!”

Awwww. I just gave him the biggest hug I could. What a sweetie head.

Cam and I took the world’s fastest trip to St. Louis yesterday so I could speak at the JEA/NSPA conference for high school journalism students. Cam didn’t have school and I figured he could handle the back and forth. The bad part was getting up at 5am so we could get there in time without hitting really bad morning traffic. He tolerated it and got to watch Nim’s Island (which is a movie) on my iPhone. He barely peeped during the presentation.

We’ve been pretty silly together while I was home for a few days. Here’s proof:

We were goofing around with music and a video recorder. It’s very easy to be silly when you mix those two things together. I’m going to miss my boy while I’m away. I can’t wait to have some pure family time for a few days after the trip during Thanksgiving. Hopefully I’ll be able to power through the jetlag.

Here’s a cool moment with my Dad and Cameron during the big rock skip lesson:

We had a really fast, but very nice visit to family this weekend. Cameron really enjoyed his time away from home. He got to watch way more TV than his strict and annoying mom would have ever let him. He got to ride the heck out of his bike AND he even got to go to a really fun water park.

The whole family (you know, all four of us) got to spend time with Moma Dot and Daddy Junior. It’s really cool to see how loving the kids are to them. They’re always giving out a bunch of hugs and kisses. I took a shot of Cam with Moma Dot – I never seem to catch good moments. But I really like how she’s trying to get Cam to smile.

The kids were really happy to see each other — but they’re back at each other’s throats. Traditional sibling stuff.

We just arrived in Kentucky to spend time with family here and see the boy. He’s been here for five days with his grandparents and I really think he missed up. He and Jordan were SO happy to see each other. They played and didn’t scream much and just seemed so great to be together. They hugged, they kissed. It was great.

And he missed me.

He hugged me so tight and kept telling me how much he missed me. It made me feel so good. We butt heads so often, it’s so awesome to be back with my boy.

And another big deal:
He has REALLY short hair. He finally got the buzz cut I’ve been talking to him about because I’m tired of figuring out how to keep his hair from looking totally crazy. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.

He seriously looks two years younger with that hair. It reminds me of back in the day when he was 3 or 4. I love it!