Quick Note on Thanksgiving

We just had a really fun Thanksgiving vacation in OK with the fam. For the most part, the cousins got along great. The boys had to work a few things out (like, who the boss is) but in the end they played well together.

Ready For A Chilly Day

(Hats made by Grandma T.)

Final Phase of Playground Installation!!

This Friday, September 30th we will build and install the final phase of the Garner playground project. On Saturday, October 1st we will spread the rock and mulch around the equipment. I am looking for volunteers to help any amount of time both of these days. We will start at 8:00 both days and work until dusk on Friday and work as long as we need to on Saturday but it will hopefully not be the entire day! 

Helpful tools: 3/8" rachets, shovels, and rakes (for rock/mulch), wheelbarrows (heavy duty for cement, rock, and mulch)

Please wear construction appropriate clothing - closed toe shoes, gloves are useful during the rock/mulch spreading

We have two bobcats to use for the rock and mulch on Saturday; I currently have one operator and need another. If you can help out or know of someone who would like to help, please let me know!

Happy Golden Birthday, Luke!

Happy Bear

In case you have been wondering how Happy Bear is coping with being left at home, you'll be happy to know Audrey is still taking care of him and he is doing just fine.

First Day

This morning was full of all kinds of emotions! Luke was totally ready for school when he woke up (showered last night and was dressed for today), I don't think he was nervous at all. Audrey took a nap last night from 6-9 on the living room floor and we thought she would stay asleep when Ben put her in bed, but no. She woke up and stayed up with me watching House Hunters and House Hunters International (two of her favorite shows) until 10:15. Luckily she woke up this morning in a good mood. A co-worker of Ben's offered to work for him a few hours this morning so that he could take the kids to school with me, so he made us breakfast and we all ate together. Audrey commented how it was just like dinner. She then took a bath and got dressed, I even put a braid in her hair. Most mornings we don't have time for hair, but hopefully we can start a new routine. Only once, while she was in the tub, did she say she didn't want to go to school, but she didn't protest when it was time to leave.

We got to school right before 8:00 (school starts at 8:25) and it was already getting hectic. She clung to us right away and did not want us to leave. Luke tried to sooth her and get her to color a picture with him, but no dice. The BASP (before and after school program) counselor, Tenee, was so very helpful and was hugging Audrey as we left, while Audrey was crying. But on to the good stuff, the pictures before the sadness started!

Remember, you can click on the photos for a full-size version. Will post again later to let you know how their day went!

Back to School Night

This was the start of our back to school night - bouncy houses and a caterpillar. Audrey crawled in through the chest and exited, well, where you exit. :-) The inflatables were the kids' reward from their fundraiser last year and man were they huge! We then went in to find out who Audrey's teacher and classmates would be and we are so excited because her great friend and next-door neighbor, Finn, is in her class!! We're really surprised he is the only one that she knows, because there are quite a few kids from her PreK class going to our school plus another friend who lives across the street. Here are some pictures from her classroom.

Her area at the table.

She will sit at the "red" table.

Did not want her picture taken.

Her teacher had some things that she still needs for the class so I volunteered to make valances for the windows and dress-up clothes, like vests. I'm sure I will be asking for help (Mom) with the dress-ups; the curtains I can handle.

We then headed to the other side of the school for Luke's 3/4 combined classroom. He is so excited he gets a locker! And Audrey is excited she fits it in. :-)

Overall, they are excited to go to school. I am thrilled to have one stop in the morning instead of two before I head to work. Audrey is very eager to learn but Luke is not eager for nightly math homework. I can't believe Audrey is old enough for school but so excited for her at the same time. My hope is that Luke is a supportive big brother while they are in the before and after school program until Audrey gets comfortable. We are so lucky to have two kids who love to learn and I hope that continues!

Some Summer Photos

We have been so busy this summer, I can't believe I have hardly posted anything! I haven't even written about Audrey's birthday! I don't even know where to begin so I'm just going to start posting some photos...

Camping in June

Fun at Kent Park

Fireworks in NL at the Blues & BBQ festival.

It's Not A Tumor...

...and luckily not broken. This morning Audrey woke up crying and sitting next to her bed and told me she couldn't stand up; her leg hurt. Last night before bed she said the same thing but she wasn't crying and I carried  her to bed. I put her on the couch at 7:00 this morning and she was there until noon. Not normal. Ben was working so I called him around 11:30 telling him I didn't know what to do, that at 10:00 I realized she hadn't gone to the bathroom even though she had two cups of juice; I was pretty sure she hadn't gone since the night before. She also wouldn't let me pick her up. I did move her once, from laying down to sitting up because we thought we would go to Target. Just moving to a sitting position made her scream and cry big tears. She off and on would cry and say it hurt. I could rub her leg and it didn't hurt but she did not want to move it, so I was thinking there could be a fracture. I asked her if she had fallen and she said she did fall in the play yard at preschool on Friday. I asked if she remembers when it first hurt and she said the night before when she was picking up her toys before bed. She said she was walking on her heals with her toes up and she had put a stretchy headband on her right foot and was pulling up. So then I was thinking something might be torn.

Ben came home and we knew we should take her to see someone, we just didn't know if we should go to the near-by Quick Care or the ER. Ben called the neighbor who is a nurse and her husband is a doctor and she called and asked his advice. He was actually working it the ER today and said we should come to the ER; he was concerned with her lethargy, as were we. Only she had a lot of energy when she screamed and cried.

We got in a room right away and Kevin, our neighbor, found us right away. The first thing he examined was her belly because one of the symptoms of appendicitis is a sore right leg. Luckily her tummy was fine. And he said sometimes pain can be caused by a tumor, which would show on an x-ray. All of her vitals were normal, so no infection. Kevin wasn't our official doctor so then a Physicians Assistant came and examined her and ordered x-rays. She did well with those (they actually brought the machine in to her examination room) but screamed every time the technician had to switch the plates under her legs. Thankfully the x-rays came back just fine. A pediatrician came and saw her, too and they think she has a deep tissue bruise possibly from falling. She had to stand and bear weight before they would let us leave and that took about 5 minutes to get her to do that, and even then I just had to take her out of the bed and put her feet on the floor. She stood but we could tell it wasn't comfortable. They said it's normal for there not to be pain until a day or two after a fall and also for no bruise to show on the outside. We are to give her Tylenol or Ibuprofen every 6 hours and put heat or ice on it. They also said she needs to walk on it today otherwise it will feel worse tomorrow. She is yet to walk. :( She wants to go to Target with me, though, so we'll see how that  goes.

Last Day!

Luke is now a 3rd grader! He passed 2nd grade with flying colors.  :-D

Fossil Gorge

B had to work on Memorial Day so I knew I had to do something fun with the kids and get out of the house. The weather was gorgeous so we headed to the Fossil Gorge in the morning. We saw some new things there, but they weren't fossils! Because of all the rain we have had there were quite a few pools of water so we saw tadpoles, a frog, and TWO SNAKES! We had a great time and I even thought to use the timer on my camera to snap a picture of me with the kids. After tromping around the gorge we walked the Veterans Memorial trail (very fitting) and watched some birds on the feeders at the bird blind. The gnats were horrible but it was still fun to watch the woodpeckers, some squirrels, and another bird I have yet to identify. Luke declared that when we got home we were to have a lazy afternoon, which we did. :-)

Checking out the tadpoles.

T-Ball

If anyone is interested, Audrey has a t-ball game tonight at 5:30 on field 4 of Penn Meadows. After tonight she only has 3 more games - June 7, 14, and 21.

She had a fantastic birthday and was so exhausted from the long weekend last night that she fell asleep on the couch around 5:30 and woke up at 6:45 this morning! (Ben moved her to her bed around 8:00). More on her birthday in another post.

Shirts!

We have given both of the kids new shirts this week and man, are they excited about them. I recently found a pile of summer shirts for Audrey that I bought at the end of summer last year and instead of just putting them in her drawer, I decided I would wrap them and give one to her every morning this week before her birthday. Luke was just in need of a few new t-shirts so I picked some up at Target over the weekend. He absolutely loves this one and thinks it's hilarious:

If you can't tell, it's Darth Vader with bunny ears.

And because I took his picture, Audrey wanted her's taken as well. Here she is in one of her new tanks:

I added the tiara when I edited the photo at Picnik.com. :-) Besides new shirts this week, we are gearing up for Audrey's pirate birthday party this weekend. We have fun things planned including a treasure hunt and Pin the Parrot on the Pirate! And yes, I came up with that game all on my own. We're (I say we're but I mean Ben) is going to draw a kid-size pirate on the sliding door and I will print off a parrot and see if the kids can stick it to the pirate's shoulder! I think it sounds like tons of fun and I hope the kids think so, too!

Meeting the Baby

See how happy he is?

We were able to make a trip to WI and meet baby Bryce this weekend! We just couldn't wait to see him and see Joe and Becky as parents. They really look like they know what they're doing and he's not even a week old. ;-) Audrey is totally in love with him, although she didn't want me to tell anyone that. Shhhh! He is a very content baby and while he slept most of the time, he had a long period today when he was awake. Audrey was a good helper when I changed his diaper a couple of times and she even picked out a onesie for him to wear. But most of all she just liked looking at him and touching his soft skin. Luke on the other hand wouldn't hold him, although he did say, "Awwww" a few times.

Love you Baby Bryce!

Preschool Graduation

Audrey's preschool had a graduation ceremony this week complete with tassels and diplomas. It was a lot of fun but it is so hard to believe she is going to start kindergarten in a few months. She has learned so much this past year, we are very grateful for all that her teacher does.

Oh Happy Day!

We are so happy to welcome our new nephew/cousin Bryce into the world! We were out mushroom hunting while he was born. :-)

Here's a little frog we found.

Your Aunt Katie found the first shroom!

Uncle Ben found this one, which we named Bryce after we heard from your Daddy that you were born. My camera says it was taken at 6:37, just a few minutes before your arrival!

This is the sunset on your birthday!

Luke and Audrey are so excited you are here and so are we. Can't wait to meet you and hold you!