Back to Reality . . .

Chris and I just got back yesterday after an amazingly wonderful week together in Kauai, Hawaii. The trip started off shaky ... I haven't set my alarm clock since we got out of school in May and I set it for 5:30 pm instead of am. I guess someone was looking after us because I awoke 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave!!! We had 15 minutes to get ourselves together and out the door. We forgot the laptop, but we had our tickets and our swimsuits so we were good to go! The return trip home pretty much stunk too. We took the red eye out of Hawaii at 10:50pm Hawaii time and were sitting on the exit aisle which you would think was great, but right next to the bathrooms which made for a lot of noise. No sleep for me. We connected in Phoenix and ended up landing in Oklahoma City because our plane didn't have enough fuel to circle the airport with the storms. We sat on the runway in OKC for about 4 hours. An hour and 1/2 of it with no air conditioning. Can you even imagine?? People were passing out and others very much on the verge of getting sick not to mention angry and spouting off. Fun times. What made it all worth it was the smiles and running hugs the kids gave us when we saw them again - all of us were excited to be reunited! Chris purchased a new camera before we left and he took over 750 pictures - too many to share all, but I will chronicle the trip later when I have had more sleep :)

Two Things

For those of you that don't know this little tidbit I am deathly afraid of two things: 1) Bridges 2) Snakes. I encountered the second one today and was very proud of myself for not freaking out!! I took the kids and Grace's friend Cami to my parents house to swim. After about twenty minutes the kids get out of the pool screaming. "There's a snake in the pool." At this point I am freaking out on the inside but staying calm on the outside. It was just me and the three kids so I had no choice, but I really wanted to just go inside and go home!! So against my better judgement I went down by the diving board where the snake was. I was expecting to see a humongous creature, but it was just a little baby snake. So I got the net and a bucket and tried to scoop it up and into the bucket. It kept falling off the net and I kept screaming on the inside every time it wiggled. The kids were safely on the patio standing on the chairs trying to see what was going on, but not getting anywhere near the snake. I finally got it on the net and put it in the bucket. I put the net over the top of the bucket just to make sure that it couldn't get out. I called my dad (he's in Chicago right now) and told him that he had a snake in his pool. He found it a lot more funny than I did. My second call was to Chris to come and take care of the snake. He took it and let it go at a creek near my parent's home. The things we do for our children - become superhuman when you didn't think it was possible :) What a day!!

Hiney Dance

This is a quick video of Caden doing his famous "hiney dance" while Thomas Michael Riley is playing. Enjoy!!

Down at the Ranch

We left for Ann's house on the 25th of June. The two year anniversary of losing Phil was the 29th. It's a hard week for Ann and I and I think that Phil would be smiling down on us that we decide to spend it together doing a lot of fun activities :)

For those of you that don't know- the Ranch is in Junction, Texas. It takes us about 5 hours to drive there. The kids have it clocked by about 3 and 1/2 movies. We got there on Monday in time for the kids to take the mule out and feed the deer. The mule is a 4 wheel drive golf cart type vehicle. Both kids learned how to drive it this trip. Grace could even do the pedals by herself which put her one step ahead in Caden's mind who could only do the steering wheel.

The kids also found the biggest grasshopper that I have ever seen. I'll attach a picture of it. Ann has all of the cool bug catching and watching tools that I try to stay away from. Grace was dying to go to the river to swim. She talked about it non stop until we got there. The weather overall during the week was cloudy and rainy so we decided to fit it in when we could. We went to the Library for the last week of the summer reading program that Ann is in charge of on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday we went to the river. We actually had a lot of fun. The water is really high from all of the rain and the kids were able to use the tubes for some little rapids. I have to find the disc that Ann took of those pictures and post them later.

Friday we went to the Torre di Pietra winery in Fredericksburg. Ann's friend Thomas Michael Riley was playing at the winery that day. It was a perfect day for us to hang out, drink some wine, and listen to some great music. We were the first people there and the only table that stayed the whole time. Some visitors to the winery came and went, I guess we were the only ones not working on a Friday at 2pm :)

It's always hard to leave the ranch. The kids have so much fun in the country looking at the REAL deer. This trip we also saw a bunch of turkey hens with about 30 of their babies. The kids are ready to go back!!

A Caden Story

Caden is constantly saying things that just make you want to laugh out loud!! He's the most curious little boy asking a million questions about any little thing. For example, my parents have a raccoon in their attic that has eaten a whole through a soffet in their roof. We showed the hole to Caden last Sunday when we went over to their house for father's day. "How did it do that?" "Where is it now?" "What does it do at night?" and on and on for a good five minutes . . . This is how he is about EVERYTHING and it's pretty darn cute - most of the time :)

Caden has been pretty curious lately about his "part". "Why do only boys have a penis?" "Can I give mine to you (with a smile on his face) then you can be a boy too?" A couple of days ago he was sitting on a stool in my bathroom completely naked waiting his turn to get into the shower. He played with himself the whole entire time pulling the skin out, pushing it back in, etc. Total fascination - Well this morning he wakes up ( with his little erection) and says to me. "Look at my big penis mommy." "It growed" "Sometimes it does that." Instead of laughing out loud, I decided to write it down so that I can show it to him some day :)

Dance Recital

Grace had her dance recital on Memorial Day weekend. It was the last big "scheduled" event we had before summer could officially begin. I was a backstage mom which means that I was the mom in the room with the girls until they performed. It was at the Eisemann center in Richardson on a HUGE stage. The girls waited backstage in the actual room that real performers use with all the mirrors and the lights. During each of Grace's two dances I was able to stand in the wings and watch her do her ballet and tap routines. This is her third year taking dance with Sarasue's and it has been fun to watch the progression of her abilities. I always immediately choke up the minute the lights come on and the music starts. I am so proud of her and it makes me realize that my little girl is growing so quickly!

The Duluth Harbor Expedition!!

All of us had a great time going to the harbor to see the big boat! Duluth posts the times that the boats are expected to arrive and a lot of tourists like us head out there and watch the boats come in. It was a fun time!