Hello blog readers!
From now on, I'm going to be posting our family journal/blog on a different site. This is due to a few different reasons, one of which is that there is some software I hope to use in the future, and it is not compatible with this Vox site.
Soooo.... if you'd like to continue to keep up with us, just send me an email and I will give you the new address.
(email: franklyfun98 @ yahoo .com)
Or, you can also get the address from my Facebook page, if that's easier for you.
Thanks for being patient with me in this transition.... and I hope to "see" you on the new site!
Amy
If only I was always this funny. This is why I like hanging around the baby crowd.
Yesterday was Miles' 3 month birthday, so I whipped out the camera to take what has become my goofy traditional 3-month shots of the boys. They all have worn the same outfit (given to Strider by Aunt Katie and Uncle Dan, back when they were students and shopped at the Nike Outlet in Grove City! Thanks, Kate and Dan -- it's been a long-lasting gift, as you will see below) They also all have the same silly toy bat in the picture --and is anyone else, besides ME, impressed with myself that I have been able to find that same toy for each photo shoot? Usually this house is a black hole for toys and other items -- things disappear, never to be seen again when I actually want them!
Anyway, see if you can match up the right boy with each picture (answers below):
I'd venture to say they look like brothers!
And, thankfully, they have a sweet sister that they can take care of -- and who can take care of them! It's a big task for her, but she says she can handle it.
[Answers to the picture quiz: 1.) Colsen, 2.) Strider, 3.) Strider, 4.) Miles, 5.) Miles, 6.) Colsen ]
Once again I will shamelessly brag about him, "for Pete's sake." :)
Today was Wingate's graduation, and Pete was surprised during the ceremony when they called his name for a big award -- for Teaching Excellence!! The description of the award says is it is presented to a faculty member "who has served with distinction in the classroom" and is selected by nomination from students, faculty, administration and alumni. So he got this fancy plaque -- and a nice check!!
The kids and I were at Strider's baseball game this morning, so we missed the whole thing :( but when Pete came home and showed me, I started crying. This is because: A.) Ever since I became a mom, I cry about everything and B.) Since I am not in a position to win awards these days, I live vicariously through him!
But, apparently, he himself did NOT cry during the ceremony. I'm sure winning it, though, helped make the sitting-in-heavy-black-robes-on-a-sunny-85+degree-day-for-hours thing a bit more bearable.
Yay Peter!
Last weekend my dad took Strider camping, along with 80% of the Dreschers. Then, on Saturday, my mom brought Rayna up for the day, too. Needless to say, both kids LOVED it. I've been hearing stories about it all week. And just like I used to, Strider gets most excited about the food when camping. (When dads are in charge, we all know what kind of "meals" are made) My favorite quote from Strider, though, was "Then for breakfast, Uncle J. made pancakes, and then he drownded mine with 2% maple syrup"
"2% maple syrup? What's that?" I asked.
He said, "That's what it said on the bottle! The other 98% is all chemicals."
So there you go.
Here are a few pictures of them loving the outdoors this past weekend...
P.S....
Cole is 2.5 today... at the peak of his 2-year old days. And if we didn't know that by the calendar, the sheer volume of the tantrums would be a big clue... at least we're hoping this is the peak as far as that is concerned.
Besides being Mr. Intensity in whatever he is doing (including rebelling), he is also Mr. Imaginative these days. I love to watch him play, even when he thinks no one is watching him. He takes his pretending very seriously... for examples:
- When I picked him up to take him somewhere while he was in the middle of pretending a chair was his lawn-mower, he freaked out until I let him down so he could go back and "turn it off."
- He started doing somersaults with Rayna one morning, but then came running over to me to hand me (invisible) keys and wallet so they wouldn't bother him while in his pocket.
- Every time we go for a walk, he insists on bringing his tools with him: either his weed-wacker, his leaf-blower, his rototiller or his lawn-mower (all of which are old golf clubs in actuality. I always tell him he can only bring one tool).
He still is not too into toys, but give him any object that is either a straight line, or something that can be pushed on the floor, and he is instantly happy. Objects like that become airplanes, tractors, trains, tools, or work-related items.
And anything small becomes convenient pocket-items, like iPods, cell phones, wallets, etc. Here he is showing me what's "in his pocket" -- his cell phone and "a dollar."
He remains the Dennis the Menace of our household!
So happy half-birthday, Colsen! Your future looks very bright and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for you...
ALSO -- Today is cousin Nate's birthday (HB Nate!), and Strider announced this morning that he is 8 and 11/12 today.
AND -- It's also cousin Andrew's 18.5 birthday, Aunt Katie's 26.5 birthday, Granpda's 72.25 birthday, and cousin Eden's 7 5/6 birthday..... we could just go on and on!
On Saturday, Pete, Miles, Colsen and I traveled to Saluda, NC to spend some time at a couple cabins with a bunch of my old friends. There are about a dozen of my Spencerport classmates (plus spouses and kids) that still get together annually -- and this time, conveniently for us -- the gathering was close by. I'm so thankful for these friendships -- several of us have even known each other since we were 6 or 7 years old. It's been so strange, and wonderful, watching everyone grow up over the years (on the outside anyway!) and choose various life paths. Still, we always say it's like no time has gone by since we were in school together, learning what a noun was and how to do long division. We've been on sports teams together, on Odyssey of the Mind teams together, in student government together, etc. And now 25 or 30 years later, we're still friends. (And no one has aged a bit -- that's what we keep telling each other anyway!)
So the 19 of us had fun together this past weekend -- doing a lot of sitting around and talking, and even riding a zip line that was next to the cabins. Some of the group went mountain biking and some went shopping and hiking, but I just enjoyed the time to catch up. Pete likes these friends as well -- I guess he's known a lot of them for about 14 years now -- and he also enjoyed having the chance to sample the product of a friends' new business venture: mead!
What does 1 big goose-egg on the forehead + 5 face wounds + 1 scraped up forearm + 4 skinned knees + 7 cuts on feet equal?
In kid math, it equals... Souvenirs from a fantastic weekend!
Half of the kids went camping, and the rest of us went to the mountains for a day -- great adventures for everyone! Only Miles returned home unscathed. More pictures and details to follow later....
We love this special day. Do something anonymously for your neighbor this weekend!
