Lazy Days of Summer!

Whew!  I was starting to wonder if we'd ever get there!  We've been going pretty fast this summer with EEE Summer Academy, Little Tiger Swim Lessons, our road trip to Colorado, and the annual 4th of July visit from the Breyens. Well, we said goodbye this morning. I was a little sad that they left on Saturday after only 2.5 days; but, on the flip side, it was nice to have a free day with nothing planned.

We lazed around in our jammies until after lunch, then got dressed to go to the library to turn in Nate's and Amelia's completed summer reading sheets for the "Dig Into Reading" summer reading program.  Amelia got a free book, "Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree."  Nate got a nice library tote bag. Thank goodness!  He can start pulling his weight by carrying his own books now. ;)

Here are pictures of the kids on the library display with their traveling gnomes--in the Colorado Rockies, at the Air Force Academy and with a new friend in Colorado Springs!  

I had to laugh...I couldn't find Nate for about 10 minutes at the library. I thought maybe he'd went upstairs to the adult area looking for Rainforest books (for a new habitat area he and Jason are making for their zoo diorama).  I found him sneaking down a quiet aisle to read "Captain Underpants" books.  He knows how I feel about that series and didn't think I'd let him check them out to bring them home!  For the record, he did bring two CU books home. And, yes, that did lead to the inevitable question, "Mom, what's a wedgie?"  Of course, I think the best way to answer that question is through a demonstration. So, I gave Nate his first wedgie. I'm pretty sure that will come back to haunt me. ;)

"Real Life"

First Stop: Library. Oops!  It's too early to turn in our summer reading lists. But we're done. It's pretty easy to log hours on a roadtrip!  Nate did find a new Jack Prelutsky book, "Stardines" with more "Scranimals" and "Umbrellephant"-like creations. We enjoy his work along those lines. 

Power yoga with Amy Pescaglia at Wilsons's Forum today (the kid's love the playscape in the Kid Center). I love her class. It's reminiscent of Melinda's style in Okinawa when I first fell in love with the practice of yoga.  Oh, and for the record, I'm rocking the fore-arm stand these days!!  A development definitely due to Amy's positive encouragement. 

Home for a play date with Elliot. Both boys were excited because Elliot rode his bike over (by himself). I suppose they're getting to be that age!  The kids found a turtle at the creek in back, jumped on the trampoline, worked on Nate's fish PowerPoint show, played piano, ate a snack, rode bike and had a bay-blade battle (all in two-and-a-half hours!)!

Nate got his first stripe on his new green belt at taekwondo. (Since we were gone all week, he just received his belt last night!)  He was happy because he was FINALLY able to surprise me since I wasn't there. For the first time, I didn't stay to watch Nate. I dropped him off and Amelia and I went grocery shopping in preparation for the Breyen's visit tomorrow.  

Oh, and Amelia fell asleep studying Ninjago. Hah!  The joys of having an older brother!  :)

  

Grrrrrrr

Grrrrrr #1:  It's always an arduous process, packing and preparing for a road trip.  We leave for Colorado tomorrow.

Grrrrr #2:  The heat and humidity are back in Mid-MO.
 

Grrrrr #3:  Slooooow dinner of chocolate chip pancakes with our poor 14-year-old griddle. We were late for the Tiger unveiling.

Grrrrr #4: Tigers on the Prowl Unveiling

Bijou is Beautiful.  "Grrrr!" she stands, proudly GUARDING THE FUTURE.  (My small contribution to Sue's piece.)

GNO and GSG

After we dropped off Nate at Summer Academy, Amelia and I made a library run to make mazes at their "amazing event" and to stock up on books, DVDs and books on CD for the road trip. Hmmm, I also saw my dentist--no cavities!!  Amelia watched Bubble Guppies in the room since none of my childcare options came through. She was great helper. On the way home she said, "Look, Mom!  I just saw the Pizza Hut owner driving his car!"  "You did?"  "Yes, it said 'Pizza Hut' on top of his car, so I think the owner is delivering a pizza to someone."  

A much-needed Girls Night Out at Flat Branch with Becca and Kate (hah! my third time there this week!!)!  It was a beautiful night on the patio with the fireflies flashing around us--and then the thunder and lightning started. The rain started seconds after we got in the car. Whew.

Poor Jason had to watch his Spurs lose to the Heat in a close Game 7 after a Game 6 that the Spurs should have won (twice).  Well, poor me, too. I had to sit next to poor Jason while he watched it. I think next time I will pre-order tranquilizers. ;)  It was a disappointing finish to their season.

But, after the game we shut off the kiddos lights...and reset all that's important in the world. 

Wacky Wednesday

We had one of "those" days today...where the schedule looked like a Tetris puzzle--each little piece firing just perfectly for the next event.

First item of the day: meet our new doctor at Univ of Missouri Family Medicine Clinic. I think Dr, Wang will be a good fit for our family. She listened to my concerns about the kids' diets.  Amelia complaining, "My tummy hurts!" daily...usually 5,6,7 times a day. And Nate's tummy troubles. She also knew about Nate's recent testing and diagnosis from reviewing his chart before the appointment (gasp!...I know!).  I'd be even more excited about finding a great doctor if I knew I was going to be here for more than a year. 

Local eggs, produce and almond milk at Natural Grocers. Razor blades for Jason...Seriously?  $23.99 for disposable blades?!

Pick Nate up from EEE and drive directly to MU Coping Skills Training--a study that God just placed in my lap.  We'll get coping skills training, free parking, free babysitting for Amelia while we're participating in the study and $10 each session for filling out our questionnaire?!  Hmmm...yes, please!

Flat Branch Brew Pub for green chili beer and to sup before Family Fun Fest. This month's theme was outdoor fun--our favorite one. There were lots of posters, information on wildlife, games, some animals and Wildheart (one of our favorite local kids bands). Amelia got a stuffed puppy when she signed up for summer Girl Scouts by mail!

Go Spurs, GO!!

It's hard to watch an NBA finals game with Jason when the Spurs are one game away from the championship.  Or maybe it's just hard to watch a game with this much DRAMA!  My goodness, my heart can't take the ups and downs.  (By the way, does anyone have a tranquilizer for Jason?)  

We are all cheering for the Spurs in this house.  In fact, Tim Duncan made an appearance here today:

Big day for Nate.  He had a field trip to Stephens Lake Park with EEE Summer Academy.  He didn't catch any fish with the Missouri Conservation Department, but he brought home a new pet snail...in his water bottle!  After dinner he had his taekwondo belt testing to earn his green belt.  His form, weapons and self-defense all looked solid.  We'll be gone Monday for test results, so we'll have to wait. 

Amelia had her last Parents As Teachers visit from Miss Jessica today.  I will miss our visits and the chance to bounce parenting challenges off an "expert."  What a great program from the state of Missouri. 

Her random quote from the back of the van today was, "when Grandma and Grandpa come back to visit, I hope he plays trap.  I like trap.  But I taught Uncle Jeff trap and he is visiting in July, so nowUncle  Jeff can play trap, too!"  

Go Spurs!  I guess we'll have another opportunity to watch you in Game 7.

😩

Monday, Monday!

Here's the meal I made tonight. No BIG deal (I try to get a meal that looks like this--i.e., a new recipe--at least once a week), but I wanted you to see the grits--parm cheese morel mushroom grits (my own creation with Dad's morels!)!  I think this is the very first time I've ever made grits...does that mean I'm now a Southern Cook?!

Also, I made French toast for the kids on Saturday (Saturday pancakes are usually J's thing, but he was on call); the kids said the french toast was really good, then Mia added, "but Grandpa's is better!"

Father's Day 2013: Cool Shoes and Cold Brews

The Sunday started of with a 6:00 wake up for Jason on his way to a case. Yes, he was on call this weekend. Not only was he on call, but he had a hellacious weekend...averaging about 3.5 hours of sleep each night.

When Jason got home, the kids were excited and ready to start the festivities, but J was ready for a nap!  I read a little "Tom Sawyer" to the kids (we're in the middle of our annual summer classics read-a-thon, and just finished "Black Beauty") and we played downstairs until lunch. 

Then, it was time--glo-bowling at Lazer Lanes (free bowling all summer at kidsbowlfree.com) and dinner at Flat Branch for a green chili beer and before burger (my absolute favorite combo in town!)!  When we got home, Jason opened a few presents ("Geek Dad" book for activities with the kids, neon running shirts, a few polos, and lots of homemade cards!).  The night ended with Butter Pecan ice cream and a BIG SPURS WIN in the 2013 NBA finals!!

A great day!  (And J even stayed awake for MOST of it!!)

Sandwich Confusion

We were briefy talking about the Boston Marathon Bomber tonight after Nate asked if the police caught the person who exploded the bomb. I told him they caught the man after an all-out search. In fact, they pretty much shut down the city of Boston. They shut down the subways, the roads, buildings; people were told not to leave their houses and to close their blinds. Nate looks up, concerned, and asks, "They shut down the Subways? Then where did the people eat?!"

Strategically Scheduled Saturday Flows Into Perfect Sunday

This weekend, while Jason was at COSM Conference in Orlando, I intentionally loaded Saturday's schedule with the intent of keeping Sunday FREE! We all needed a down day, a day to stay in our jammies until it was time for bed again (if we so desired).

We started the morning at the Daniel Boone Regional Library semi-annual Children's Book Sale. This sale is "epic" (to coin a phrase from the uh, younger? crowd). We had a mission: to search only for treasures because one of the last things we need in this house with 13 overflowing bookshelves is more books. But I went anyway (like any good bibliophile would). We found 45 books, mostly hardcover, for $21 (including four Where's Waldo, Graeme Base, Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss and some beautiful picture books). Seriously. You can't BEAT THAT! While in line we found out that Nate's EEE summer school teacher will be Mrs. Elletson--his friend Alex's mom! Fun!

We arrivd at the Woodcrest North campus prayer event just in time for a cinnamon roll, coffee and a tour before the more formal ceremonies started at 10:30. We left with cool chalkboard prayer mugs to write the names of the people whose stories we hope to see changed, "change their story...change out story...change MY STORY!" Exciting times for Woodcrest and the Northside community.

From prayer to sparring. Saturday taekwondo to make up for the class he missed Wednesday with his ear infection. He's looking strong during practice. He's getting back into his groove after the spring break...just in time for belt testing next week.

As taekwondo was ending, I called an order in to Vici at Flat Branch for the new residents luncheon. We arrived just before our food arrived. The timing was spot on. We briefly met Tiffany and her husband, Wes. They had a full schedule that weekend and had to leave shortly after we showed up. I caught up on a little of the ENT resident gossip while Nate and Jake looked for Waldo.

Home for a short stint outside on the trampoline and iPad time.

Then we left for 5:15 service. Home by 6:45. Love it.

What I loved even more was sitting outside on a BEAUTIFUL Spring Sunday morning sipping coffee in my jammies...with NO WHERE TO BE! Throughout the day I did yardwork, cleaned my paper piles in the living room, entertained the new neighbors, chatted with almost the entire cul-de-sac, bbq'd venison sausage on the grill, and, yes, stayed in my jammies until bedtime!!

Every Now and Then...

...my heart sings!

Out of the blue (well, after a particularly honest conversation about mistakes on Nate's big black chair), in the process of brushing his teeth, Nate announces, "Mom? Have I ever told you that you're the best mom in the whole wide world? In the whole GALAXY?"

Awwww, not in a long time, Nate! Not in a long time.

Another One Bites the Dust!

Nate lost his big front incisor tonight. (Maybe that means his other incisor--the one he had pulled when he was FOUR years old, the one that's been missing for 3 1/2 years, maybe THAT tooth is going to grow back soon?!)
As for these current teeth, he either doesn't notice or he has a fast process; but, again, when he left for school, all was normal. When he got off the bus, he excitedly announced, "Mom, I have a loose tooth!" Boy, was it loose! It was gone after dinner (Jason wanted to pull this one!) Here's a pic of the toothless wonder and the nice note he left for the Tooth Fairy.

Crazy Lovebirds

Happy 43rd Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I posted this picture on Facebook this morning as an Anniversary surprise. It generated A LOT of traffic and reminiscing amongst Mom's Facebook friends and family. I hope that made Mom and Dad's celebration a little more FUN!

:)