Saturday, September 10, 2011

A picnic with Mimi


One day we stopped to hook up Gramma Mimi's cable box.
Done in a snap so we invited her to our picnic.
We were headed to one of Owen's favorite destinations:  the dam.

 We'd only been there once, but since Owen had found a frog there,
it was a very memorable trip.
 It was a beautiful day, a beautiful picnic, and beautiful company!
 The pounding of the water, the blowing of the wind, the smiling of a little boy in wonder...
 Poor Gabby plugged her ears half the time...
 and didn't appreciate the water sprayed back at us.
 Mimi was wondering why it had been so long since she'd visited.
Afterall, it is just a mile or two from her home.

 It was a fun adventure and we found a way to get there quicker from our own home.
It's only a mile or two from us as well!
Owen is especially excited because he gets to go there for a field trip sometime this year!
Should be fun!

Clothes for a little lady...

It's great being a girl...until Brother offers to dress you.
It works!  :-)

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Kindergarten!

It was an early morning...I woke up to an "alarm,"
calling, "Mom! Mom! It's time to get up! It's time to get up! It's get-up time!"
I have a feeling he was jumping on the couch too.
 Owen shows his excitement so differently...he shows little emotion or...
overcompensates for what he's feeling by showing the opposite.
Granny Nanny came over to take some pictures so I washed my face, 
Owen got his clothes on,
and Gabby...put on her backpack.
My big boy...I didn't cry the first day of Kindergarten.
Maybe I was trying to sort out my own emotions.
What a day...
I'm already anticipating what it will be like when Gabby goes off to Kindergarten.
Maybe that's why I cried on Day Two of Kindergarten.  :-)
Because he woke up so early, we had two hours before we had to leave the house.
Lots of time to play...or bug Mom about what time are we leaving...
"I just want to go to school, Mom! Can we leave yet?"
When it was finally time to go...
Owen managed to take his time putting on his lace-less shoes
Take yet another picture with sister (because she was dressed this time)
And leave his backpack in the house...good thing I noticed before we got in the car!
I didn't know if I was going to be able to walk him to his classroom.
I so wanted to.
So, when I saw other parents pulling up on the grass and parking to walk their kids in, 
I did  the same.  
Somebody was eager!
I smuggled a camera in my back pocket and sneaked it out a few times.
Don't judge me.  Other parents weren't so inconspicuous!
He was a good sport...in the parking lot...
in front of the school doors...
in front of his classroom...
in the classroom...
I had to capture this moment:
Gabby hugged Big Brother good-bye.  Sweet!
So Owen was off to school, it was 9:45 in the morning, and I was not yet at school.
It feels so weird still to be part time.
But I love it!  
Gabby got to spend the day with Cami and Baby Josie because daycare is closed this week.
So fun to see Gabby start to actually play with friends!

Before I left in the morning, they were already playing dress-up and pulling out the play-do.
I had tried to warn Owen that Kindergarten might make him tired.
I told him he may be cranky.
He only had two very brief episodes
(one because dinner was not on the table when he got home...you see, last year Roger would have dinner ready for us when we got home...now Roger has his own office and gets home about the same time we do...good thing we planned something quick...and that there were bugs to be found outside!)
Bug hunt
worm hunt
grasshopper hunt
frog hunt...
you name it!


  He was digging in the garden and said he found a little guy that's as big as a dot.
He wouldn't let me see it.
He hugged it close and put it in the bucket before I could get a good look.
I have a feeling it's another one of those 5-year old Tall Tales.
I smile.
I think Gabby had to pee...
But at least she came out for the bug hunt too!
Yep...today was day two of kindergarten.
Don't worry.  I didn't take pictures of Owen climbing out of the car,
or of the principal helping with his backpack,
or of him running inside.
Literally running.  
He told me to just drop him off and that he could find his way.
I cried.
Gabby asked, "Where's Owen?"
I couldn't answer for a few seconds.
"He's at school."





Thursday, September 01, 2011

Finally...the end of the trip pictures...

I feel like this ended so long ago, but really it was just a month ago.
We finished our trip with a stop in New Mexico, Kansas (after slipping through TX & OK), 
Missouri and then "Home."
 I'll double check my "facts," but if I got any of this wrong...it's been a month!  ;-)
 The Highlight of this site was being on Route 66.
Owen got to see signs, abandoned gas stations, and "rock formations!"...
just like in CARS!
 The air was HOT, the pool was CooL, and the grill was nice to have...again.
 across the street we saw a scene right out from Lightning McQueen!
 The next day I had to get creative...and turn a blind eye...
to what was keeping the kids busy.
Paper, arms, legs, faces...it all got colored!
We "decorated" for a "party" and made pictures of the scenes we'd seen along the trip.
 We stopped and had lunch at parks...
 and Owen rode his Strider at almost every stop!
 Once again...creativity...what can we make out of a used egg carton?????
 ah ha!
 Here (below) Bear-B (that's his name) got to open his "presents" that Owen wrapped himself.
 Our final campground before arriving back at camp gramma and grampa:...
 a beautiful sunset that we take for granted living in the Midwest.
It made me wish I could see this from my house back home...
 sweet moments...
 an amazing pool!
 Refreshing and big too!
 By this time in the trip, Owen's confidence was twice as large as when we began...

 Ready to be home...
 After so many miles...
 it was nice to be back...
 We realize how much we have in life...
 sometimes we fill our lives with too much...
 It's nice to know what really matters.






 And we were glad to be all together!

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