walking and talking

Bee and I took a walk on the trail that runs behind our house this morning. I took this picture at a park nearby, the yellow flowers made me feel happy.

We went a little over a mile. She was a great walking partner and I hope it's the first of many.

If I lure her into a routine now, perhaps it will continue into her teen years. I'm hoping she will be so used to walking and talking, she will continue to do so even after it's not cool to hang around your mom any more.


Devious? Maybe. Fingers crossed that it just might work.


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It's silly, how proud I am when I get to harvest a vegetable I've grown in my garden. I'd be a terribly arrogant farmer. With acres and acres of crops, my pride would really get out of hand.

Being able to cut up a cucumber that tastes so delicious and put it into some dressing for lunch the next day. The taste of a tomato fresh from the garden cannot be compared to anything you can get in the store.

I enjoying weeding, watering, checking it for signs of problems.

It is small, our garden. The amount of happiness it brings us through the summer is well worth the work.

 We've got squash, tomatoes, basil, jalapenos and cucumbers. We've also started a strawberry patch (fingers crossed) that we'll be able to harvest in two years.

 Bee and her grandmother outfitted her fairy garden, which turned out to be such fun. We water those happy plants too and make sure that everything stays in good shape.

It really is one of the best parts of summer. I love my garden.

blurry but good

June is gone. It was a blur of activities, all fun, but a bit exhausting. Baseball, softball, swim lessons, library trips, splash park, swim pond, playground, free school lunch, a grown ups only trip to St. Louis, a few nights of 4th of July fun.

I'm trying not to be one of those moms who is forever complaining about all of the stuff we are doing when we're the ones who made the choice to do it all! Instead we find joy in each day and sleep really well at night.

It is a really fun phase we are in right now. The kids enjoy most everything we do and are so much more portable. I think we are in the magical period of time between the exhaustion of having toddlers and whatever having teenagers will be like. I had read once that it is a very contented period of time to be in as a parent.


I plan to savor every second.

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This is the view from our deck. Over our fence, over the walking path, over a semi-busy road...there is this field. I absolutely love this view. The darker green is an alfalfa field that has just been harvested. It will grow back, be mowed again, and baled. It's fun to see the process, which we've watched three times over the year that we've been here. The lighter green is pasture, where cows roam and eat and moo. We watch storms come over the horizon and firelies dance at night. It makes me happy.

We've got such a different life here. The kids are currently out front with the neighbor kids, caring for a painted turtle that their dad found fishing. There's a freedom in their lives that is new and fantastic. I know that part of it comes with the independence of older kids, it's a great feeling to know that your kids are happy.

 We've had picnics. Fireworks shows. They ride their scooters up and down the block. There are kids everywhere.

They've had their first boat rides. Summer day camps. Art and music classes. Nature hikes.

And lots of down time. It's been such a change of pace here and I LOVE IT.

August 1st will mark one year since we left Omaha. Yes, saying good-bye was hard, but there have been no regrets. Kearney is home.

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A Peek Outside

Early in spring, I planted some herbs and watched them sprout by my kitchen sink. Teensy seedlings, I wondered if I'd ever really see them to harvest. I was not confident. The good thing is that by doing it this way, the kids were able to help out with planting and enjoy watching the growth. We've actually got one little patch of chives that have made it...and...

Real, live basil. Growing outside in my garden. I did that!



The rabbits may have eaten my peas and lettuce (you are welcome, rabbits). But my tomatoes, radishes, and carrots are looking promising! The tomatoes I bought as actual plants, but the radishes and carrots are seeds that the kids planted. (Gardening 101, I know, but we are rocking it!). I've managed to weed these small garden beds and keep them watered. We will have tomatoes very soon!

If you look a little closer...looky there! Green tomatoes, soon to be salsa and tomato sauce and also eaten like an apple.
Yummmmmmm.

I'm 0 for 3 on gardening experiences in the past ten years. This is the closest I've come to actual success. I read that basil is great to plant by tomatoes, so that's what we've done. Now if I can stick with it in coming weeks, and not let my attention span get me yet again. We may have actual veggies to eat from our yard!

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Peonies

pe·o·ny  [pee-uh-nee] –noun, plural -nies.

any of various plants or shrubs of the genus Paeonia, having large, showy flowers, as the widely cultivated species P. lactiflora: the state flower of Indiana.

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Peonies are one of my favorite flowers. Growing up, we had lots of them all over the acres we lived on (and where my parents still live). They make me feel nostalgic and happy and hopeful. That's a lot to ask for in a flower!

Imagine my joy when I found a long row of them on the south side of the house we purchased last summer. I've had such a good time watching them grow this spring. Now that they are blooming, I just like to sit out there and look at them. The smell is so flowery, the blooms so pretty.

It's one of my favorite parts of our yard.

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Memorial Day

On Memorial Day - we honor those Americans who have fought bravely for our freedom. My own children boast three great-grandfathers who are WWII veterans. One of whom is still with us, class of '38 (blows my mind!).

Those people, those amazing members of our military, have enabled me to have the all-American weekend.

Including, but not limited to:

• pitching a tent in the yard, watching the kids play "camping" all day on Saturday
• strawberry rhubarb pie ala mode (with rhubarb grown and delivered by a sweet neighbor!)
• a fire in the pit, used to roast hot dogs and marshmallows (s'mores, yes please)
• a movie in an air-conditioned theater, with bottomless buttered popcorn and sodas
• planning and dreaming of a family trip to K.C. this summer
• an endless supply of popsicles in the freezer
• church on Sunday and a bucket o' chicken for lunch
• rootbeer floats
• washing cars in the driveway with daddy
• watering, weeding, and growing lettuce, radishes, onions, spinach, and carrots
• a movie at home (with more pie, popsicles, etc) as a family

It's officially summer and we are happy. The kids are obsessed with campers and want to OWN an RV. Talks are in progress about renting one next year and taking a big family road trip.

It's the freedom we have that lets us dream big and enjoy this life. Thank you to each and every person who has given their own time, or their life, for the freedom that allows us all of this.

We will never take this for granted.

THANK YOU.

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About Face - Forward March!

On June 28th I had grand plans to do all sorts of fun things with what we've got left of summer!

What has happened since then is that we have agreed to rent the home that we will buy when our home here sells and are looking at a move date of AUGUST FIRST! Wow.

So now it's a total change in thinking. What we can do for free (because hey, moving costs a LOT, did you know that?!) and how much can I get packed? So July is looking much different and we're going to have to do the fun day trips on our visits back because there's no way that it's going to happen this month.

The good? We are so excited about our new home. It has a ton of great features that will be perfect for our family. We love our new soon-to-be-hometown and are happy to think about all of the great things that come with this move.

The not-so-good? Still waiting for our home here to sell. Still hoping it will sell before school starts. Waiting and hoping, hoping and waiting.

More soon...I will not have internet in August for a while, so I've got to enjoy it while it lasts!

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What Happened to June?

Summer for us?

* Two trips to my parents' and a hotel stay in our soon-to-be-hometown
* concert/night out with my J
* trips to the school library
* picnics and playground time
* keeping the house TIDY for showings and open houses
* trying to sell our home, planning to move

It's a strange summer, but all good. My kids are energetic, happy, and healthy. I need nothing more!

Still on my list: Durham Western Heritage Museum, Bob the Bridge, SAC Museum, more trips to the pool, water park in Grand Island, Coco Key, a day trip to Lincoln and we've got to get to the zoo - we haven't been on Skyfari yet! The zoo trip will have to wait until after the College World Series.

It's a great summer - and we've still got eight weeks till school starts!

Summer Break: Day 1

We are two days in and it's my favorite summer break yet. I've probably felt that way every year.

What makes this year particularly special is the career to do list that has gone silent. At this point each year I am usually already on to the next. Planning, plotting, scheduling, stewing. Now? Nothing.

Yesterday we walked to the playground nearest our house, still over a half mile walk, and my head was full of super-deep thoughts. About how big my kids have gotten. About how much I love the trees at that park. About how different being a mom is now than it was four years ago.

It's a great time to sit back and savor this life. The blessings are everywhere, I don't even have to turn my head. My heart is full and I feel at peace. Thankful for this moment in time. It's one that I know I'm going to look back on with a smile.

Don't run too fast, mama wants to stay close...

Hitting the Pavement

We've had some good fun with chalk here as our summer break comes to an end. Two highlights were the day we completed a solar system on the driveway, complete with two rockets for the kids to ride in (why is it that I can't seem to draw a rocket that doesn't look like a sea creature?). They had fun traveling from planet to planet, even visiting the sun. B and I took turns labeling everything and pointing out a few characteristics of the planets. It wasn't drawn to scale and we definitely didn't have it all in the right order, but it was tons of fun.





Another day, we drew a road system on the sidewalk and the kids decided to bring out some small toys to live in the squares we pretended were houses. Also good fun. I'd like to think this is how I always parent, present and tuned in, playing with my kids. I honestly tend to leave them to their own devices during playtime, but this was a lot of fun and reminded me of how I liked to play when I was little. We had a big chalkboard and more than once my brother and I laid it on the floor and drew a matchbox car town. He's an artist, which made for a fantastic city sketch. I enjoyed this with my own kids and it was also a great way to talk shapes with our little man. B had fun expanding on it, forever drawn into her own imagination. We had dinosaurs, a small goat, a digi-penguin, and care bears all sharing the same community. Quite the diverse population!

There goes the neighborhood! The goat is rooming with a pet rock!

Summer Vacation '09

If you click on the collage, you can take a closer look. We really did have a fun trip to South Dakota.

We drove through the Badlands, visited Wall Drug, explored Custer State Park on the wildlife loop, drove the Needles Highway, visited Dinosaur Park and Storybook Island in Rapid City, Reptile Gardens, Hill City, rode the 1880 train to Keystone, a ride on the President's alpine slide after riding the tram up, as well as a beautiful drive home through Southwest S.D. and the Sandhills of Nebraska. Hubs even took a helicopter ride with his brother-in-law around the Mt. Rushmore area. There's a ton to do and it really is a great family vacation!

The kids had a great time sightseeing and also spending extra time with cousins in the house we rented. I think their games of hide-and-seek were some of their favorite moments.

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The One Time Mama Said a Swear Word on Vacation

We rounded a sharp corner and came to this. Before I knew it, the S-word had slipped out. The family we traveled with are in that white van ahead of us. I radioed them to inform them, "Uh oh. Mama just said a swear word!". And it was my idea to take the Needles Highway. Sheesh.

More pictures and stories to come. This drive was one of my favorites. Absolutely beautiful.

JUNE

Could tomorrow really be the last day of June?!

For us, it marks a half-way point of sorts. The kids head back to daycare and I back to work at the beginning of August. One month of summer down, one to go.

June went so fast!

• The Hubs and I celebrated eight great years of marriage.
• Our B spent mornings for three weeks in a summer Spanish class held at an elementary school in our district.
• We spent last week going to Bible School each night.
• We made it downtown to the Omaha Children's Museum.
• We also made three Monday morning trips to her own school's open library. (We've been on a non-fiction kick this summer, reading up on South Dakota, reptiles, amphibians, knights, rockets, and anything with wheels.)
• We've logged many hours on various local playgrounds.
• We have enjoyed summer services at our church on Sunday mornings.
• We've been happy to watch B play baseball this summer for the first time, spending two hours a week going to one practice and one game each.
• We also had fun going to swim lessons at the Y each Sunday afternoon.
• We celebrated the parents-in-law' 40th wedding anniversary with the Hubs' family.
  

It's been a whirring, blurry ride. I can't wait for July!

The Black Hills

Soon we'll be heading out to South Dakota. We're planning a trip with another family. There will be four adults and five kids, ages 5 and under. It's sure to be interesting, keeping them all entertained and also of equal importance, well-rested.

We're planning to see the major sites of the area:

*Badlands

*Wall Drug

*Reptile Gardens

*Mt. Rushmore

*Crazy Horse

*1880 Train

*Custer State Park

*Hill City

*Keystone

I'd love to hear from anyone who's also been there. Anything that we've just got to do? Anything we might be forgetting?

Let me know. I'm so excited to go, I just don't want to miss anything!

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A Day for Dads

Happy Father's Day, J!

We love you so. The kids and I are so lucky to be a part of your family.

And to my own dad. I.Love.You.

Dad & me ~ September 1978

And to my dad's dad. My dear grandfather. What a joy to be part of a family that includes a long line of fantastic fathers. Dads and dads and dads who took care of their families, taught their children to succeed and came home every night to the families who have loved them.

Happy Father's Day!
And thank you for being who you are. Each a unique individual. Each a man worthy of our honor.

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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."(1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, NIV)


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A Camera-Free Weekend

We were on our way to the circus. Our kids' FIRST trip to the circus. And Ah! I didn't have my camera. We were already too far from home to turn back, so I had to get over it. The upside was that I decided to be brave and didn't take anything in with me. Hubs had keys and his wallet. For once in my life, I had no purse, no bag, nothing. It was a strange feeling that I could definitely get used to! I realized that my bag is a bit like a security blanket. But I digress...

When we got there, the kids were just so excited to be downtown among the tall buildings. They ran into the Qwest Center, every sight exciting them more. We went to see the animals before going up to the arena. The kids got to walk around and see the elephants, zebras, horses, and tigers. Very cool.

Then we went down to the main floor where the show would be. There was an interactive pre-show where the clowns were putting on little sideshows. The kids also got to try on costumes (a camera would've been nice at that point!) which was one of their favorite parts.

By the time the show started, we hadn't been in our seats for more than ten minutes. That part was really nice, no waiting. The show was really great, lots of music, stunts, and sights. The kids stayed entertained the entire time, aside from our littly guy's obsession with us not buying him a light. We opted for sno cones in an elephant since we have quite a collection of twirling lights. This did not sit well with him! We made it through though and it was a really great night. I'd say our B was the perfect age. She was young enough to be really amazed with all of the illusions, but old enough to pay attention to what was going on.

B's favorite part was when one of the "mean" clowns got cut in half. I liked when two girls got shot from a double cannon. M liked the cannons too and also trying on the Ring Master's coat before the show. Hubs liked the elephants best. There was something for everyone!

Summer In Omaha

Today is my kids' last day at their daycare until August. I'm picking them up at noon. I've spent this week wrapping up my school year and preparing myself for the summer ahead. I was to get my haircut this morning, one last errand on my own. Unfortunately, my stylist's child is sick, so that's not happening. The nice part is the 5 hours I've got now all on my own.


I told Hubs this morning I feel like all I do is LAUNDRY. I want so much for this summer to be about more than that. Now that our little guy is three and house broken, I feel more confident to take them out and do more.


I made a calendar similar to what I use at school for the program I coordinate. I put all of our plans on it and also put in outings that I want to take. I picked a day and we will hopefully stick to them. I added in days that I want to do a science experiment or craft also. Not every day is planned out, but I want to make sure that we take advantage of all that the city has to offer. And it offers a lot!


I'm a big believer in unstructured time for kids and just letting their minds wander. There will be plenty of that. I just want to mix in some other activities as well. It's balance that I seek.


Last year, we spent a lot more time at home. Our little guy was just two and I was recovering from the most challenging year I had ever had. We clocked a lot of couch time during all of the rainy days and when the sun did shine, we ventured only as far as our back yard. That was fine at the time, but I'm ready for more now!


Here's what I have so far that we are definitely going to go and do this summer:

• Lauritzen Gardens
• Zing Zang Zoom (the circus!) tomorrow
• A trip downtown to Hollywood Candy and the Children's Museum
• Gondola Rides downtown with a view of the fountain
• Henry Dorley Zoo (a favorite, we go there lots with our annual pass)
• Omaha Farmer's Market
• Strategic Air & Space Museum
• Wildlife Safari
• The water park at Mahoney State Park
• Omaha Royals baseball game

Throw in B's first year of baseball every Saturday, B's summer Spanish class, swimming lessons on Sundays for both kids, Vacation Bible School the last week in June, and a trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota over the 4th of July weekend, and we've got a jam packed summer of fun!

I realize that as the kids get older, their own activities and friends will fill their time. I want to take advantage of the fact that they are all mine this summer and that we can spend it discovering new places together. Our break ends up being 8 weeks when all is said and done and this year each week will hold a new adventure.

What do you have planned for the summer?

Summertime Antipasto for Kids

We've enjoyed being able to eat right outside during the day this summer. I fill a tray with various things my kids will like and bring it out for them to eat with their hands. It works well since it's fast and convenient. I can run inside and have it together in five minutes or less. They drink water with it, happily thirsty from their active play. We usually finish it off with a popsicle. Since they're outside, there's no mess. No fuss.

It's a great way to do summer lunch!

The 4th

We spent the 3rd of July lighting a few "kid friendly" [ha, still involving sparks and fire, so not really] fireworks on the street in front of our house. We let each kid attempt a smoke bomb, and then lit the rest while they watched. It was a fun 10 minutes. They liked the snaps that you throw on the ground to hear pop. They liked the orange popsicles even better.

[Hubs was hovering behind, grabbing the punk as soon as she finished. Success! A five second smoke show and no burns. Hooray!]


Then on the 4th, we went to my folks' house, a two hour drive away, in a rural area of central Nebraska. The kids love being there, where there is a huge sandbox, outdoor play kitchen, kiddie pool, and numerous gardens to explore. The men shoot of a big fireworks show after dark, which our little man slept through. My B sat happily in her grandfather's lap, chatting through the entire show. She thought the whole day was fantastic. Cousins and plenty of time to play, what could be better?

[There's nothing like a little freedom in the country. Not to mention, living in a country that's free.]