Lucy's Three

After 5 or 6 costume changes, some frog kissing, digging for jewels, eating a castle and singing her heart out.......Lucy turned 3 years old. Her three closest friends from church came over and we had a great little party. They were very pretty little princesses.

So it begins.......

We tried to hold off Santa Claus and gift requests as long as possible and apparently it is 3 years. Now we have to talk about Santa and what Lucy wants for Christmas as soon as the first set of lights go up in town until who knows when. I am sure many are saying 'welcome to the club' but I was pretty optimistic about thinking that she wouldn't care that much this year since last year she couldn't get far enough from him.
These pictures are from a breakfast with Santa that we went to at the mall and both kids actually enjoyed it. Lucy talked to him like she knew what she was doing...'I would like My Little Ponies, Barbies, Movies and lots of candies'. It couldn't have been clearer. At least Santa might be able to pull these off this year. If Owen could talk, I would imagine him saying 'I'll have what she's getting'.

Winter Wonderland

We had our first, and probably only, snow of the year. It is still a flurry outside as I am writing this.

As Lucy and Kevin were outside playing, a local news channel stopped and interviewed them and just taped Lucy playing. They asked her where she had seen snow before and she answered "Princess Jasmine". Duh. She was watching Aladdin just before going outside.

This was Owen's first snow but he is getting over some sickies so he didn't get to play for very long.

We're in trouble!

While we were in Oregon for Dawn's wedding I had the opportunity to look into the future. Lucy likes to party. She was the first one on the dance floor at the reception and the last one to leave. She officially has a crush on Dylan Hackett and all the kids were like a little clique the whole night. The grown ups are already outsiders. They wouldn't let us in on what was going on and I started to feel like I was losing my grip on her. She is growing up and she hasn't even reached three yet. At least Owen can make me feel like I still have purpose.

It was a great visit. It wasn't always good times. My cousin was in an accident the night before we arrived and so we balanced some pretty big emotions, constantly going back and forth between wedding and funeral planning. Even though it was for a sad reason, it was good to have some extra time with family coming together. I could blog about at least 20 different things that happened on this trip but I don't know if that will ever get around to that. Hopefully I will be able to do more before Christmas.

I Heart Fall - Even in Texas

These are the cute ones at the Cedar Creek Pumpkin Patch. Even Abilene has a pumpkin patch (although she had to import many of the pumpkins). We had a great time of pumpkin bag toss, swinging, wagon rides and watching Lucy show us up at wiffle ball. It was like a little oasis in this flat, dusty town. We are about to do lots of grandparent-seeing soon so keep us in thoughts and prayers for safety and that Lucy and Owen aren't ruined by the amount of spoiling that will take place.

Mushy food makes me sleepy!

Here is the latest photo of our young man. Within about a week's time he started crawling and pulling himself up. Now he likes to disappear and walk along the furniture. Look out Harry Potter. Lucy is getting ready for American Idol tryouts. She sings about 13 hours a day. (She sleeps 11 hours so you get my point). When she isn't doing that she is making sure that Owen doesn't do anything. She personally blocks him from crawling anywhere and not-so-kindly pulls him down when he stands up. It's hard to tell where the good intentions are sometimes but I am sure they are there.

It's nice to be back in the blogger world.

What's your glitch, man?

Well, I have been trying to post some pictures on my page for about 2 weeks now. I am not sure what the problem is, but everytime it kicks me off the internet completely. So, for those of you so excited to hear me brag about my children and see many pictures that prove how they are the cutest, you'll have to wait. For everyone else, I may have to resort to rant-blogging starting with "Why do nurses smoke outside pediatrician's offices?" or "Why are kids being allowed to graduate from high school without knowing who James Taylor is?" or "Why rainy days and Mondays don't get me down?" You get the idea.

FairTime is FunTime

So this is us watching Kenny Loggins. That's right - we officially cut Footloose and entered the Danger Zone last week. The Douglas County Fair can really get some good acts but the best show is always the crowd. On this night we were treated with L.A. Gear man. He literally cut Footloose with some original moves from the movie that could have put Kevin Bacon to shame. WOW. We will never dance the same again. I have many memories of the fair dancers or just festival dancers that have made it very important to go with the right people so we all share the same memories. Lucy really enjoyed the fair and even had some good moves herself. She rode several rides that she liked and one that she will be forever traumatized by. The baby pigs and cows were a hit and of course the gigantic pile of garlic fries that Auntie Dawn shared with her. I love my memories of the fair growing up and even since I've been a grown up. I used to think that our fair in Oregon was kind of hoakie but now I think it is wonderful and shockingly puts the Abilene fair to shame. It was funny though - while we were getting ready to leave, we watched the square dancers boogie down to a song about Abilene.

Here is a short, random list of some of my favorite fair memories: The zipper (only when I was a teenager), having Daddy Erwin ask a stranger where the pig races were so he could enter Dawn and me when I was about 9 or 10, watching the races with Sheila after an entire day of unlimited rides, looking at the RVs with dad, watching a very large and agile man dance at the Three Dog Night concert with the Redelsperger boys, watching dad sing the fair's jingle out the bus window at me and Darcy, Fried bread and pretty much all fair food, and riding what is looking like my last fair ride (because I am now a chicken) with Kevin after we got back from camp six years ago and knowing that I would likely go to more fairs with him in the future.

I am sure that there are many more to come.

Snakes on a Plane

So I am not sure about snakes on a plane but we do, apparently, have snakes in our toilet. Lucy is on strike from going #2 because she thinks that a snake came out of her bottom and hurt her. She is still in her rookie season of potty training so we'll have to see how this one ends up. But it did cause me to remember a fear that I at times have had. It has crossed my mind that there could be snakes or rats in a toilet. Not because it is likely but because it happened to somebody. And because it happens to 1 in 1 bajillion people it could happen to me. So, what I am saying is - there's a chance. (If you don't get that please do yourself a favor and watch Dumb and Dumber). I was talking to my brother about water skiing and remembering that feeling of when I fell and just sitting there in the lake waiting for the boat to circle back around. It does me no good to watch movies about gigantic crocodiles or piranhas. I just think of the "what ifs" too much. I am a great big chicken, which is pretty obvious at this point. But I am wondering if I am the only one. You cannot leave comments unless they include your own chicken stories.

On Turning 30

I (Jenny) turned 30 last Saturday. We celebrated by going to San Antonio. I wanted to do something excited and embrace that I am in another decade of life. Well, we did have an exciting day along with thousands of other people that were also dumb enough to spend the day at SeaWorld in 100 degree weather. Even though I was having a great time at the park my two most memorable moments of the day happened on the drive home. The first was the man, I mean men, in this picture. They were the entertainment at Andy's Steakhouse in Fredricksburg, TX. It's times like these that make me want to stay in Texas forever. I love it. Words cannot explain how funny this was or how good the chicken fried steak tasted. It was our own special present.
The second best (but first in importance) moment came when I got in between the two carseats to ease Owen's getting-a-tooth-pain. While he was holding my finger with his little hand, Lucy started rubbing my arm until she fell asleep. At that moment I realized that my life was really exciting every day. Each day has something that makes me feel so much more special than celebrating a birthday ever could. Enjoy all those little moments.

SeaWorld

We lathered up in sunscreen. We played really hard. We got really wet. We payed way too much for a drink. We watched our kids have a once in a lifetime experience. It was great! Now we are too tired to talk about it.

LensCrafters Supermodel

Lucy found my old fake glasses at our garage sale this weekend. She also found about 10 other things that we were trying to get rid of and just calmly made her pile like it was more of a scavenger hunt than a betrayal. Oh well. She was so cute in these glasses that I let her keep whatever she found.

Wedding Bells

After over a year of dating, one of my dearest friends is getting married. We have been friends for 27 years. We have shared clothes, shoes, a boyfriend, sad times, very sad times, good times, really good times, lip gloss, busses to camp, a table and phone at Fat Harvey's and millions of memories. I am so excited for her. She has found a really great guy that has gotten her to dance - literally and figuratively.

When we were younger I remember sitting on my waterbed (that should tell you how long ago) and listening to the dedications on FM 105. We were uncontrollably excited to hear "Alone" by Heart. I dedicate that song to her now.
"Til now I always got by on my own. I never really cared until I met you." There are not many out there that can rock it like Heart.

In too deep

I will save you the gory details by not taking or showing a picture.

I think that I have become addicted to blogging. Mr. Owen still likes to be held while sleeping. So, since we don't have cable right now and I can't type efficiently with one hand, I look at blogs. I try to find friends and love seeing what people are up to. BUT - When I don't even realize that Miss Lucy is running around holding (I repeat holding) a poopy diaper that she once wore coming straight at me I have gone too deep in the underworld of blogging. She said "Mom, I wanna change Biper" and my response was "Sure, you can take it off, you can do it yourself" (It sounds like encouragement of independence but was really "yeah, yeah, I am in the middle of a story here") So my point is, as all of us are starting this obsession let's remember that when used the right way blogging can be fun but becoming a blog-aholic can be poopy.

Where does it go?

This cute little girl has a new bad (but cute) habit. She likes to put diapers in the trash but anything else goes in the refrigerator whether it came from there or not. Today it was her bowl of cereal and approximately .05 ounces of yogurt that was worth saving.

She does some really funny things right now that crack us up. This is a good thing for her because it helps balance out the being a stinker part so we don't end up getting crazy on her.
If your kids do or have done anything like this then leave a comment about them so everyone can appreciate all the fun stories about refrigerators.

Happy Father's Day

I just wanted to take this moment to say that Lucy, Owen and I really appreciate Kevin. We have been through a lot during our five years together and he has always made sure he could provide for us and take care of us. He has been great with Lucy. She loves playing "I gotchyoudaddy" and when he gives her a bath. Owen is laughing at him as I am typing this because he is on the floor playing with him. Not all dads do that and so I know that we have something special. He always puts us first and is simply a good dad. We love you very much.

Summertime

Our first pool of the summer. As soon as Lucy got in it, I realized it was a one girl pool. But, it was the only one we could fit in our trunk.

Kevin and I have different memories of summer fun in the water. He grew up in Florida with a "real pool" (Dad,this is where you could use air quotes -ha) in the back yard and not far from the beach. I grew up with a number of pools and sprinklers and, of course, the high dive at the Myrtle Creek public pool. I had the one-ring pool and several that were like a liner with hard, but flexible sides. My best pool memory was with one of those pools. My dad built me a platform on top of our hill in the back yard so it would be flat and sturdy. As soon as I got in, the side collapsed and I went flying down the hill of mulch and flowers in a wave of water. I stuck with a sprinkler after that for a while. Though I probably thought about how I wanted an in-ground pool when I was little (like I do now), that is not what I remember about my summers. I think I had the same amount of fun.

I (Kevin speaking) remember our Florida pool for a few things. First, it was a popular hang out for youth group devotionals and birthday parties. Usually, the birthday individual got heaved into the water unexpectantly. Shoes and all. Second, it was a popular location for wrestling with my brother. I, a stick for a body at the time, was frequently body slammed by him, an offensive lineman of the high school football team. Third, my little sister, along with her preschool friends, practically learned how to swim at our home. I had to jump in a few times to rescue a few wanderers. Last, my dog. That stinkin' cocker spaniel knew how to roll in the mud and jump in the water. He did over and over and over again. Of course, I usually had pool cleaning responsibilities.

Noelani's Graduation

We ended our long trip with Noelani's graduation. We are very proud of her. She not only graduated from High School but did it with style. She received many awards and scholarships along the way. She will be following family tradition and going to Harding this fall. Maybe she will marry one of the Tri City kids there and we'll all move to Oregon.Ha.



I love this picture of the kids. We celebrated Noelani's graduation at a Steak n Shake. Kevin's family has spent many times there, especially in Indiana. I have to say that I am a fan. The south may not have Mt. Hood and the Oregon Coast but they do have really good food.

As Time Goes By

Some of my earliest pictures in Nashville are with Papaw (my grandfather), who often held close his grandchildren. Those memories are timeless, and his presence is still felt today; even after passing away 4 years ago. 25 years later, here in his house, his son Larry (my father) holds my son Owen. What can I say? I'm a happy man.


My cousins and I used to play with Memaw's (my grandmother) dolls and toys. On the left, my daughter Lucy is pictured with Aubrey, my older brother's daughter. As a parent, you always want your kids to have a great childhood. My brother Dave and I still joke about road trips to Nashville and how much we miss those days.

2 brothers and a couch. Looking at nephews Jacob and Zach, I recall sleeping in the den and sharing a sleeper sofa with my brother. We fondly remember the quirks of that old den: the bed's steel rod that put a crick in your back and Memaw's collection of clocks that occasionally awoke our slumber. Jacob and Zach, find a couch to share.

If Lucy Fell

These pictures probably don't do the injuries justice since most of them were to the mind. Lucy had her first big fall. While we were in Nashville Lucy fell down a flight of stairs from the top. When she looked up at us, my nightmare looked as if it were coming to life. Her mouth was full of blood and her nose didn't look great either. I thought for sure that she knocked her teeth out and broke her nose. If other children weren't around I would have been crying as hard as she was. After a couple of rough hours we realized that all was fine and she was dancing around like nothing happened. She had a decent fat lip and a pretty bruised nose but all is well physically.

Emotionally, though, I think she will be traumatized for life. She has retold the story approximately 10 times each day for the past week. She has the cutest way of telling it that I wish I could get on video. Her cousin Aubrey also fell down a couple of the stairs and at one point they were each telling me the stories at the same time using a lot of hand movements. It was very cute how concerned they were for each other, themselves and, of course, the right hand movements.

As I look at these pictures I realize that you may not even believe my story, but they were the best I could get.