Anniversary Party
We had the family over, to celebrate my parents' anniversary. I got to cuddle with my little niece, the boys introduced Kaylee to the joys of geotrax, and my parents were celebrated.
I did not go around taking photos. I snapped a couple with my phone. Sometimes I get so caught up in taking photos that I forget to enjoy the moment. So, yesterday was an enjoy the moment kind of day.
After we have these gatherings, I always feel so warm and fuzzy, over how lucky we are to have this family. Everyone is happy and healthy. The kids play together beautifully. The adults have nice conversation, and the food is usually decent, if I do say so myself. We are a lucky group.
Print This Post
Photowalks
Caleb was given a camera to use for one of his classes at school. He had the assignment to take photos that were framed and in focus. So, the past two nights we have taken photo walks together. He was suppose to take 15-20 by Friday. He is up to about 200 now. That is my style though. Many many photos, and a few of them will be great.
We have had fun though. Bonding. We also discovered that our cat, Harry, loves to join us on walks. He sprints down the path, jumps into the soybeans and waits. As we walk by, he jumps out and pounces on us, then sprints down the path again. Over and over. He also loved climbing on hay bales. Both Caleb and the cat enjoyed that.
Nice memories.
Print This Post
Evolution of a photo
I intended to write this two weeks ago. But, dial up causes brilliant blogging ideas to be ignored.
So, on the first day of school, not only am I trying to wake myself up, I am trying to wake up three tired boys, and motivate them for 148 days of fun filled school. I am also trying to convince them to smile for photos. Smile. Is that too much for a mom to ask?
So, the above... Caleb. This was only like the 10th photo I took. Just waiting for that smile. I tell jokes. Nothing. Finally, he pities me.
Really, I think it was me saying... "you can leave, if you smile."
Next up, Jonas. He is a difficult kid sometimes. He refuses to smile, covers his eyes like he's in pain, and just can't wait to get away.
Although, today, he was quite polite, he was EXCITED about school. He was excited about his teacher, excited about math. So, he was a smiley boy this morning.
Then Alex. My sixth grader. He was nervous to start middle school. New building. New teachers. A locker. Band. Walking across the street to art. It was a lot to take in. But, Alex can't NOT smile. It isn't in him.
Then, I wanted a group shot. For facebook. For this blog. Of course, they were a bit tired of photos at this point.
There is a little glimpse of that difficult side of Jonas. This however, is my favorite. All in their own world. All oblivious to the fact I want that perfect photo. All with food in their bellies, so I can't even motivate them with food. It turned out good though.
Then, the smiling photo. The one for the record.
Ok. You can go to school now boys.
Print This Post
Distractions
We have been playing badminton again, now that the evenings are a bit cooler, and the AC is fixed, so we can cool off after a game. The hardest part about playing is this trusting cat. He walks out in the middle of the court and just flops himself down. Everyone (except maybe Jared) would gladly miss a hit, if it means scaring the cat. Sometimes Harry moves to the post, where there is a dangling string. He bats at the string, and we all laugh and marvel at his cuteness. Except Jared, who takes advantage of the moment and serves the birdie, which I miss, because my kitty is being so gosh darn cute.
Print This Post
First day of school
Yesterday was the first day of school. That means we get up much too early, and the boys grumble as I take them outside for photos. I have every first day of school, starting with preschool. This was my favorite of the 80 some photos I took.
Print This Post
Laughter
Alex is a happy child. We were on a water ride in Hersheypark, and with each little drop, Alex would giggle. Caleb asked him why he was laughing so much, and Alex answered "I want to be a happy person!".
So, while driving, Alex saw a bumper sticker that tickled his funny bone. It was infectious laughter.
Print This Post
The Friendship Festival
While Lathrop is a bit of a small town, they do host quite the summer celebration. Bands, talent shows, food, food, more food, magic shows, food, and a carnival.
I went most years as a kid. I felt it was only right to take the boys. We were out of town for most of the festivities, but they did get some homemade root beer, and rode on lots of spinning rides.
Print This Post
Skinny people
We just got home from our vacation yesterday. I will write about it in detail soon. What I want to address now, is skinny people.
We went to two different amusement parks. Neither of them were designed for "pooh sized" people. I could barely fit on some of the rides. This was ambit of a wake up call for me.
So, we are changing eating habits. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. No canned foods, no processed foods, no corn syrup, ect ect. Now, when we go to people's houses, I won't fret. I will just eat. But food at the house, will be fresh.
The kids are not terribly excited, but I don't think it will be as bad as they think. Today was the first day, and they are happy so far.
Print This Post
Train
The boys (mainly Caleb) have been fascinated with trains from a very early age. Fascinated. When they were little, we went to a train store every Saturday. They watched the model trains, they played with the toy trains. We stayed there for hours. The men there knew the boys by name. I remember one wife, was excited, after I had Jonas, and brought him in, so she could meet the newest train enthusiast. There was a store in the mall with toy trains. We went there at least once a week. Again, we were known by name. Caleb would play for hours with the trains. We were sad when they went out of business. A toy store opened in town, and had weekly train club days. They would dump tons of train accessories on the ground, and all of the kids would start building. When were out driving, and would see a train coming, we would drive to the crossing, to get a better view.
Oh we loved trains.
To this day, we still point out the trains. We drive over three tracks on the way to Manhattan. Several times, we have gotten to stop. Last weekend, we watched a car speed over the tracks, after the crossing bar things went down. We got to tell the boys NEVER do that! We had a front row seat for this train though.
Print This Post
Rare Visions
One of the first apps I got for my iPhone was "The Best Road Trip Ever". It is created in conjunction with the PBS show Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations. We love that show, and we love this app! We already went and saw these kinds of things, now we will go see MORE!
So, on Sunday, we visited several iconic pieces of American history. The above photo is the Davis Memorial. In a nutshell, a man who was very wealthy and did not get along with his wife's family, created an insanely eccentric memorial to her. It was built for $200,000 during the depression. It was very interesting.
We also saw a backwards headstone. The family poured the headstone themselves, and when they pulled it out of the mold, the letters were backwards.
We saw the world's largest Russian egg. The boys were not terribly impressed with this one. We searched and searched for the world's largest hatchet. It is no longer there. We had a photo of it, and found the buildings in the photo, and the hatchet is gone. A bit of a let down.
We found a fire hydrant garden. It was private property, so I didn't want to get out and take a photo. It was done by a family whose dogs tore up their flowers, so they planted fire hydrants instead. We had the warning, that the dogs are not friendly.
We went by Bobo's drive in, which is suppose to be great road food, and has been featured on tv, but it was closed. It did look like they had some good food. We may have to go back.
Our final visit was to Grier Garden in Hiawatha, KS. This photo does not do it justice. It too, was private property, but we got out. It was built by a man, in honor of his mom, because he loved her so much. It had a pond, a gazebo, and plants plants and more plants. All tastefully done. It was very nice.
We are looking at our route we'll take this summer. We'll be able to see the world's largest coffee pot, one of the crash sites of Lindburg, and much, MUCH more. I am so excited!
Print This Post