What's going on? A list of thoughts and happenings

She who has made the most stressful year ever my happiest year ever.
(Sara about 2 months ago at age 9 months.)

My thoughts right now are jumbled.  A mess, really.  But if I put them in a list, they will automatically seem organized!  Right...?

1. Sara is almost 11 months old.  I fully expected her first year to be recorded in excruciating detail here on my blog.  But it's not.  Alas.
2. David and Mary are very happy here in Ohio.  Greg and I are not.
3. My computer slowly died this past fall.  It was sad.  I really liked that computer.  We'd been through a lot together.  But its time had come.  So I reluctantly got a new computer.  This turned out to be a big debacle because Windows 8 and I don't get along very well.  Finally I special ordered (and paid a premium for) a computer with Windows 7 on it.  No more tears.  But the whole thing left me computer-less and digitally disorganized for more than a month.  (In defense of Windows 8, Greg got the new Surface and it's really slick.  I get Windows 8 now.  It just doesn't work for a regular laptop--even if it comes with a touch screen--and regular non-tablet type computing stuff.)
4. Greg is deploying January 3.  He is going to Qatar.  From there he will be traveling around to different bases in Kuwait, the UEA, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and who knows where else.  He will be gone 7 months.
5. Modern life is very complicated.  I think back to Greg's first deployment.  We lived in an apartment in Dover, Delaware.  I had a scratch piece of paper tacked to the wall with a list of the things I needed to take care while he was gone.  This time around I have a binder, its contents growing bigger every day.  I am not very good at house things and technology things.  So Greg and I are desperately trying to find time together so he can show me everything.  Everything.  Like: which light bulbs go in which fixtures, all of our usernames/passwords, how to upload audiobooks to ipods, who to call if the heat pump/garage door/toilet/fuse box breaks, how to reset the wireless router, where he put the batteries.  And so on.  In ten years we went from a quiet 2 bedroom apartment and an old laptop with a dial-up Internet connection ... to... our life now.  It is a good life.  But with cell phones and multiple computers and three printers and five million Internet accounts and a yard and a mortgage and two cars on different maintenance schedules and all sorts of electronic entertainment devices that invariably wig out occasionally and so many more bills (so many!) and hectic schedules ... sometimes I think living on a farm a hundred years ago and doing exactly the same thing every day your whole life is preferable.
6. We have been working on the house, cranking through our to-do list before Greg leaves.  So far we (by "we" I mean Greg or, in some cases, someone Greg hired):  deep cleaned, cleaned the carpets, installed shelving in the laundry room, painted Mary's room, gave the living room a fresh coat of paint, replaced the blinds on every window, painted the master bedroom, painted the second bathroom, painted the master bathroom, replaced the front door, painted the front door, got a new refrigerator, did some plumbing repairs, installed a new water softener, cleaned out the vertical dryer vent, installed a bathroom fan, improved ventilation in the attic, replaced light switch covers, replaced two ceiling fans, touched up floor board paint, replaced all the locks, installed motion sensor lights on the exterior, fixed the banister, removed a medicine cabinet and a weird recessed toilet paper holder and repaired the wall, and fixed the light fixture in the laundry room.  This list does not include unpacking or organizing--and there has been a lot of that too.  Almost every box is unpacked and picture hung.  It's been exhausting.  But it is nice to feel moved in and like the house is ours.  
7. We still have some big ticket house projects, but they are not the fun kind.  Next fall we have to have all the concrete replaced--the driveway, front walk, and front stairs.  It's all sinking into the ground.  We also have a leak in the heat pump--fingers crossed we make it through this winter.
8. Usually when I move I have 2 things that help me:  a sense of adventure and a sense of humor.  This time I have neither.  (Maybe I have mentioned this before?) 
9. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  Maybe that's why I haven't blogged much lately.  Frustratingly, I am rather negative right now.
10. Despite it all, this is where we are supposed to be.  I'm not blind to all the good things about living here.  I just prefer to be cranky, I guess.
11. Blogging. I need to decide what to do about blogging.  First of all, I need to get organized.  You cannot imagine the mess my pictures files have been.  Some on this hard drive, some on that hard drive, some on Dropbox, some on Carbonite, some on this memory card, some on that memory card.  It's crazy.  I enjoy blogging, and it's easy...if I'm organized.  Okay, so once I've established some level of organization, I have to re-evaluate this whole blogging thing.  Is it for me?  You?  My kids?  Greg?  What's out of bounds to talk about now that my kids are older?  Does this question no longer matter in this day and age?  Should I focus on the positive?  What if I let it get too saccharine?  But, then again, what if I let it get too negative?  Also, it helps me organizationally to start a new blog when we move, so do I do that again?  Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the blog is now for my kids.  Turns out they love it.  How does that affect what I write?
12. I am very tired.  I think Greg is more tired.  He has a lot going on right now, and a deadline.  January 3.  I guess that whole having a baby/selling a house/finishing a dissertation was good practice...for how stressful life is for him now.  Ha ha--and we thought life was overwhelming then.  Good thing he is a strong man.  (His deployment will probably feel like a vacation!  For him.  Not me.)
13. Sara is so sweet.  She makes me so happy. (She makes everyone happy.)   She is like this bright shining ball of joy and happiness in my life.  
14. So, I am going to start posting all kinds of random stuff.  Stuff from the summer.  Stuff from last week.  Chronological order is going out the window.  A picture here, a picture there.  A link to this video, a link to that video.  Sara now, Sara then.  It will be a mess.  But what fun.  Maybe.

More May

Believe it or not, life happens while I'm not blogging.

***

For example, soccer happened.  It all started on or around our anniversary, and it finished up in May.  Greg graciously coached again.

At first, the season was basketball all over again.  Painful.  What happened to all the progress David made in the fall?  And what happened to all the fun?  Then, one day, David was back to himself--the fun-loving, enthusiastic, wonderfully mediocre soccer player that he is.  He even scored a goal in the second to last game.  (Or so I heard--I was in the port-a-potty with Mary.  Painful.)

I finally brought my camera--to the last game.  Mary immediately grabbed it from my hands and took this very important picture.

(I added the text.  It was at the end of the soccer season last fall that I discovered the beauty of store bought cupcakes.  I may never go back.)

Mary also got this action shot of David.

Once I wrangled the camera from her, I took a few pictures too.

Key players here:

A girl from Mary's class at school happened to be on David's team.  Evalyn was one of the stars of the season.  There she is out front, as usual.  She was a joy to watch because of the big smile that always plastered across her face.  Evalyn is one of the kindergarten age students in Mary's class, and she has been a mentor to Mary this year. Mary and I loved to come cheer on Evalyn (and David, of course!).

David's team played his best friend's team in the final game.  David and Bailey are adorable together. Anytime they are near each other on the field, they start cracking up, just as best friends should.  I believe they even passed the ball to each other a few times.  (Again, I was in the port-a-potty with Mary. Again, painful.)  Aah, I love kindergarten soccer.

Then, of course, there is my favorite player of all, good old #5.

And here he is again, in action.

I like that picture.  Something about it captures the chaotic, joyful essence of kindergarten soccer.


It was a good season.

Who's ready for soccer camp?

***

Now, if those soccer pictures weren't enough, now I'm really going to blow you away with our family's athleticism.  (I assume you can sense a bit of sarcasm.  These are the children who lie down on the sidewalk when forced to walk more than two city blocks.)

David and Mary ran their first race!  The Montessori Mile!

Even though it was for Mary's school, David was a super good sport about it.

The runners, waiting for the race to start. (I was volunteering at the finish line.)

Thank you to our sponsors.

Soon they were off.

Here comes Mary!  Behind her is a guy in an orange shirt.  After that, you can just barely make out Greg in red and David in blue.

Mary sprints across the finish line!  Woo-hoo!

I had to include this picture of Mary and David goofing around with Evalyn (of soccer team fame) after the run.

So it may be a few years yet until David and Mary are running like their dad.  But this was a good start!

***

I'm thinking about ending this post now...because if I don't blog about this one last thing then it didn't really happen right?

This here is a picture of David and his Primary teacher, my dear friend Skye.

Skye's little girls, Kaelyn and Kylie, are some of our very favorite play mates.  They like to come clean my house.

Skye and her family moved to Seattle a couple of weeks ago.  Those bums!  Don't they know that we're the family who moves?  I'm not quite sure what to do with myself being the friend left behind.

David sure misses his Primary teacher.  She definitely won him over.  One afternoon Skye was with me when I picked David up at school, and he proudly introduced her to his friend as his teacher at church.  When he found out she was moving, he was heartbroken.  "But, Mom, I loved ALL of her lessons!!"

Mary loves to have Kaelyn and Kylie over to play.  I owe so much to those girls.  They have expansive imaginations and will play for hours on end without stopping.  They literally taught Mary how to play.  They dug out toys that hadn't been touched in years, inspiring my kids to find joy in the stuff they already have.  Once Kaelyn turned 5, she became "cool" in David's eyes, and I could see that David appreciated her imagination and sense of adventure.  Oh, how we miss them.

Skye is loving, down-to-earth, patient, friendly, competent, and fun.  Most of all, she is faithful.  This next step in their lives is quite a leap of faith.  But you can see the peace Skye and Jon feel in following their hearts, in following the Lord.  What a wonderful family!  We miss them and wish them the best!

(By the way, Skye was my visiting teaching companion.  That's how we met.  I love visiting teaching!  There are so many friendships I owe to that program.)

So on that bittersweet note, I'll conclude this post.

We're off for a quick trip to Chicago.  Greg and I couldn't shake the feeling we ought to visit the temple.  Life has felt hectic lately.  I think we both need to chance to regroup and refocus on what's most important.

Have a good weekend!

P.S.  I still might sneak in another post about May.  Tio and Tia were here after all!

If I didn't blog it...

did it really happen?

Here are some things that possibly didn't happen since I didn't blog about them.  Though, now that I finally am blogging about them, their existence is no longer questionable.  (Hmmm.  So if I blog about how I ran the Madison Marathon barefoot on Sunday, does that mean I really did?  Even if I didn't?  Oh!  And if I never, ever blog about yelling at my kids or feeding them marshmallows for lunch--wow, what a wonderful mother that would make me.)

Anyway, here are a few happenings (really real ones) from the last few weeks.

FLOWERS!

Finally, finally, finally, after an agonizingly long wait, we got blooms in our yard. 

This is our first spring in this house, so it was a surprise to see what would appear.  Each day after school we would climb out of the car, inspect the tight tulip buds, and speculate on their color.

This is what appeared one day.  We shouted for joy!  It was a long winter.

Mary took the above picture for me.

Then, she was so excited about the flowers (weren't we all?), that she wanted to pose with them.

Oh, how the tulips brightened our hearts!  We thought we might actually see spring after all.

Speaking of bright hearts, this little girl is my sunshine.

CAMP OUT!

Greg took David on a camp out with our church.  Even though it was called a "father-sons" camp out, Greg and I both thought Mary should get to go too.  Except that would have required upgrading from our small 2-person backpacking tent.  And I was feeling cheap.  And I was not looking forward to driving the two and half hours to the campsite at 11 pm to pick up Mary should she change her mind about the whole camping thing.  And it was raining.  (Mary is not a fan of uncomfortable weather.)  So Greg and David went camping.  There is not much to tell.  They slept, it rained, they came home.  Mary and I stayed home and painted our toenails.


MONTESSORI MARY!

We got to visit Mary's school again one evening.  She showed us a few of her favorite lessons.

Her absolute fave these days is carrot cutting.  Look at her go!

Peeling.

Chopping.

Eating.

Washing.

Then everything is put back in its place.

  

Beautiful!


Among other lessons, she also demonstrated paper punching.  Here she works on South America by first tracing it and then punching tiny holes along the outline. Finally--not pictured--she gently tears out the continent and glues it on another paper.  Great fine motor skill practice!

Mary loves to count, and here she works with the number rods.  This is a good old Montessori original.  The idea is that children learn numbers have different sizes.  (Nowadays in edu-speak I think this is called "number sense.")  The rod with ten sections in a whole lot bigger than the rod with one section.

Mary planned for days which lessons she would show us.  She beams with pride in her classroom.  We loved sharing a special night in her classroom.  We are so proud of Mary!  (David was a good sport about playing in the other room so we could focus on Mary--we're proud of David too.)


So.  Flower, camping, and cutting carrots.  I blogged it; therefore, it happened.

I have a few more May happenings to share yet.  Let the blogging continue...

Thirteen on Thursday

What can I say?

Well, I'm not speechless.  In fact, I have thirteen things to say.


#1---Gender Preference

David and I were looking at his baby book this week.  After I explained to him how he was born, he exclaimed, "I'm glad I'm a boy!"




#2---Happy Anniversary

Our ninth anniversary was on Monday.  This is how Greg celebrated:

Yup, he's doing it  again, coaching kindergarten soccer.  What a good man.

(Last year we were in Honduras on our anniversary.)


#3---Soccer Star

David kicked the ball during soccer practice.  I have proof.

Or at least he kicked.  Whether or not he kicked the ball, I cannot recall.



#4---Movie Night

Just in case watching him coach soccer wasn't enough, Greg treated me to tulips on our anniversary.  He also took me to see Jane Eyre at the fancy pants movie theatre in town.  It was very good.  (Greg thought so too.)  Go see it.  Then you don't have to read the book.  (Unless you want to, of course.)




#5---Silliness

When asked how she got so silly, Mary responded, "Daddy!"  I doubted her, and pointed out that Daddy is the least silly one in the family.  She explained that she took all of Daddy's silliness.  Ah, that explains so much.




#6---Cheep!  Cheep!

The chicks are hatching!  The chick are hatching!  David's classroom has chicken eggs in an incubator, and yesterday they started to hatch.  We are all very excited!  Really, I cannot explain how much happiness this has brought to David--and said happiness is very infectious.




#7---Majorly Awesome

Are you still with me?  I hope so, because I have super exciting news to share!  Greg was selected to be promoted to major!  Hooray!  The actual promotion won't take place for a few hundred years, but it's nice to know it's coming.  Also, he was in the top ten percent of all those selected for promotion!  (Which may or may not affect our moving right back to Ohio upon graduation.)



#9---Mean Spring

It snowed this week.

Twice.

I think I hate spring.  Give me mid-January any day--at least I know what to expect.



#10---Hunger Strike


Greg has gone to Utah to commission his baby brother as an officer in the Air Force.  Mary is not pleased, so she is refusing to eat.  At least there are fewer dishes and crumbs while he is gone.



#11---Pitter-pat


My heart skips a beat whenever David holds my hand.  (How much longer will he even want to hold my hand?  I treasure every moment when his hand is in mine.  I know the days are numbered.)  He is such a sweet boy.



#12---Primary Prayer


Mary gave her first prayer in Primary on Sunday.  She buried her head in her arms and you couldn't understand a word except "Amen."  But it was very sweet.  And she was very proud of herself.

#13---Hair stylist

I know I mentioned it once, but I think it warrants another mention:  Mary gave my mom a hair cut.  I'm sure it will get a third mention when I post about my mom's visit.  (Soon!)

That's it.  

Next up, Fourteen on Friday.  Just kidding!  

Stack of stuff

I've begun to resort to stacking things up as a way of "cleaning" my house. Sigh. That's never a good sign.

But in honor of the stacks on my kitchen counter, the computer desk, and the chair in the corner of the dining room, as well as the stacks in my closet, the basement, and the laundry room, here is a metaphorical stack of stuff all squashed together in one precariously balanced tower for the blogosphere.

I will number the items in this stack, lest you become lost in the clutter.

1. LOST TOOTH. David lost his second tooth! And this time he didn't lose his lost tooth. It fell out yesterday afternoon during Lego Club. Another volunteer happened to have a little plastic baggie, so the tooth was safe until bedtime. Incidentally, David was grossed out about putting a nasty bloody tooth under his pillow, even though it was in a plastic baggie. He insisted on leaving the tooth on the other side of the room. To be honest, I can't blame him. Fortunately, the tooth fairy found the tooth in its less than traditional keeping place.

2. PARTY. A few weeks ago we drove to Milwaukee for a party. My kids are always game for a party! We were there to visit Leah, a very dear friend from my mission in the Dominican Republic, and to celebrate her son Ian's third birthday.

This is David, Ian, Noah, Mary, Cole, and Benson.

A good time was had by all. Best of all, I finally got to meet his beautiful baby girl, Sage.

You can see more pictures of the festivities here. I highly recommend you check out the cool pinata Ian's dad made. But then come right back because I have more stuff for you here.

3. CAREER PLANS. Mary announced, unprompted, that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Oh, it warmed my heart. She also told Daddy that he should be a doctor when he grows up.

4. COUSINS. Back in November, just in the nick of time for Thanksgiving dinner, we discovered real, live cousins here in Madison! This past Saturday I got to go to Deserae's baby shower, then on Sunday she and her husband Mikhael came to dinner AND Deserae's mom was in town too. So we got to visit with Aunt Rula as well!

Here we are with Deserae, Baby Elim, and Rula. Mikhael kindly took the photo.

Baby Elim was a pretty busy that evening. At one point, Deserae let David put his hand on her belly--and Elim gave him a big kick! You should have seen David's face. It was like he'd just seen Santa Claus. Later on, he bragged to Mary about how he'd felt the baby kick. The next morning he was still thinking about it because he asked me if he had ever kicked me when he was inside. When I said that he had--a lot--he wondered why. His theory was that I had poked him with long needles, prompting him to give me a big kick. I assured him that wasn't the case. We look forward to meeting Elim face to face next month. And maybe some more baby kicks.

5. BASKETBALL. Right now would be as good of place as any to post pictures of David playing on his kindergarten basketball team. Except that I haven't taken any. Which is okay because I think this is one of those things we'd all rather forget. (Help!! What do you do when your kid is terrible at something???) I have to give David credit for going faithfully and happily to every game. But he definitely doesn't come home happy. He comes home every time broken-hearted because he knows he's the worst player. The problem is that he won't not go! He never says no to something that could potentially be fun. But we're running out of potential. Quitters never win, but quitters also don't get their confidence flushed down the toilet by a bunch of double-dribbling, traveling, fouling five-year-olds. How I wish my son would say, "I quit!" Do you think it's wrong to conveniently not tell him about the last game? Is that lying? Is lying to your kid in a situation like this wrong? I just don't think his self-esteem can take another game--and I know my heart can't.

6. VALENTINE COOKIES. On Monday night, my good friend Skye offered to watch our kids so Greg and I could go out to dinner . . . ALONE. Aaaah, it was so nice. In our absence, the kids all had a blast together, but they didn't get around to decorating the valentines cookies. So we all got to go back to Skye's house together the next day for a big heart cookie decorating extravaganza.

Fun, fun!

And yummy!

Though, as you can see from this little friend, decorating cookies can be a bit tiring.

Skye is also David's fabulous Primary teacher at church. (David is learning so much this year!) What a sweet woman to happily hang out with David three days in a row!

7. WEATHER. I am going to complain just for a moment about the weather. (Deal with it.) Everyone else in the state is walking on clouds of joy because we've been experiencing some balmy 40-degree days. But it's making me grouchy. First of all, I think I'm colder than ever. That's because it feels so dang warm that I don't bother to wear a coat or blow dry my hair. This winter is messing with my brain. Secondly, it feels like spring, but it's not really spring. I don't like Mother Nature lying to me. The world is dreary and soggy and muddy and brown and goopy-green and covered with a patchwork of dirty snow. Dirty snow! I hate dirty snow. I can find nothing aesthetically pleasing about dirty snow. All this warm weather has brought to us is ugliness. And in a few days the temperature will drop, and the ugliness will be FROZEN IN PLACE. We'll be stuck with it, and the feeling of hope will be gone. (Can you tell I am having a glass half empty week?)

8. PROTEST DAY. School was cancelled today. No, it was not because we're drowning in an ocean of MUCK (see item #7). In case you haven't heard, the teachers--and a lot of other folks--are down at the capitol today. We heard an audio clip of the protests on the radio this morning, and David proudly declared, "I think I hear Mrs. Q!" (Since then, I've been careful to avoid audio and visual news accounts today--there is a lot of protesting going on these days and it can be confusing for a little kid to understand the difference between what's happening in Bahrain and what's happening down the road.) I suppose today proves that, as much as I love living here, I am not a true Madisonian: Instead of taking my kids to the capitol for an educational experience in democracy, we stayed home for play dates. And to stack stuff up....

Which brings me to the end of this stack of stuff.

Hold the mayo

Time for some serious ketchup on this blog!

Besides unpacking, putting nail holes in our walls, and trying to shake off our clingy children, we've squeezed in a few other things since we moved here six weeks ago.

Like a trip (or two) to the zoo. Where my favorite animal was this little bear.

Isn't she cute? (She's a Mary-Beary.)

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on a train. (Why is that?) Our kids are the orphans in the picture. Greg and I are mean and made our kids ride on the train by themselves. As COZY and COMFORTABLE as those other parents look, Greg and I were too cheap to buy ourselves tickets.

***

We also had some time for a home improvement project. Actually, we didn't have time for it, but we did it anyway. (Correction: GREG did it.)

I believe we have been fully initiated into home ownership, as most of the month of August was spent at Home Depot. My children have spent HOURS on these riding lawn mowers.

When I think of our first month in Wisconsin, it is the above image that comes into my mind.

Here is another lovely picture from Home Depot.

Is that an awesome picture, or what? My daughter in a soccer jersey, a tutu, Princess underpants, purple Crocs, with two pink purses, and sitting on a giant riding lawn mower. So very Mary!

(The underpants are a big deal, as we also re-potty-trained Mary while trying to unpack. A summer of traveling equals a summer of Pull-Ups. So some retraining was in order...especially as we had Mary's first day of school looming large in the future. Nothing like a deadline to get me off my derriere to get my kid's derriere out of diapers.)

***

We also spent plenty of time in August rediscovering year-long forgotten treasures. (The joys of unpacking--especially when much of your things have been in storage for a year. It was Christmas in August!)

***

Our month was shaping up to be really boring for the kids, so in an effort to find something for David to do, I signed him up for swimming lessons at the community natatorium.

Yippee!!

He had a great time.

They turned out to be great lessons! David ended the summer as quite a strong swimmer. Much of that is due to the many evenings Greg took the kids swimming at the Jewish community center while I unpacked ever more boxes.

***

One day we took a quick jaunt to suburban Chicago to check out three important things: The temple, the Ikea, and the Legoland Discovery Center. I think we will be making this two-and-a-half hour drive rather regularly during our tenure here in Wisconsin. (We also hope to occasionally venture all the way into the city center--we have great memories of Chicago!)

Mary and the temple.

David and the temple.

***

We (barely, it felt) managed to get ready for the BIG DAY. The first day of school! I cheated a little, and earlier I posted a picture that was actually taken on kindergarten orientation day, which was the day before the first full day. So this is the real picture of my boy on his first day of kindergarten.

I love this kid.

It was also the BIG DAY for Greg. It was his first day of school too! So this is Greg's official first day of school picture.

(As you can see, he was going for a run before heading up to campus. You can also see how Mary spends her time--begging her dad to carry her around.)

***

On a lovely September Saturday afternoon we drove to Greg's fancy (expensive!) parking spot, which is close to the fun spots in downtown Madison (good for our family outings) but not very close to the engineering building (not so good for Student Greg).

We walked over to the Memorial Union on campus.

Once inside we treated ourselves to some super fresh ice cream (yummy!) and headed out back to enjoy it on the lake.

Greg fulfilled his fatherly duty of eating all the quickly melting ice cream that the kids and I couldn't consume fast enough. (By the way, super fresh ice cream melts much faster than Culver's frozen custard, to which we are of late more accustomed.)

David was inspired to dance with the waves of Lake Mendota.

And Mary adeptly climbed up and down the railing sporting her new flip-flops (which are her most recent obsession).

After the ice cream, David and Daddy walked out onto the lake, while Mary hung back with me.

Beautiful!

We concluded our outing with a little walk up State Street. This is a picture of Greg pushing the stroller up State Street towards the Capitol, and he is about to get run over by a bicyclist. Very Madison.

***

My birthday happened somewhere in there. Mary enjoyed making (eating) the frosting.

And I enjoyed my cake. I was informed it was a Hello Kitty slash Lego Hero Factory cake. We have big imaginations in this family.

On my birthday (coincidentally) David and Mary were finally inducted into to world of Webkinz. (Thank you, Eliza, Luke, and Evan!...I think.) It was very exciting.

I have one more picture that was taken on my birthday that has nothing to do with my birthday.

Yes, that is Mary eating a granola bar and trapped in the chair while David's Webkinz chews her bum. Just what you always wanted to see. Next year I will try to take pictures of BIRTHDAY things on my birthday.

***

This is a weekly sight in our life again.

Greg hasn't mowed a lawn since Ohio.

He has a little helper again. But this time it's Mary.

***

One week after the FIRST first-day-of-school in this family, Mary had HER first day of school! Yay, Mary! (We are so proud of her for rising to the occasion with potty-training! And for WOWing her teacher with her brilliance!)

Mary chose very carefully where she wanted her first day of school picture taken. (She's standing in front of--and blocking-- pictures of her responsibilities, of which she is quite proud.)

***

Just a few weeks ago we were treated with a visit from Grandma Evie! Hooray! She spent a lot of time on the floor playing with the kids. Because of a home football game (Go, Badgers!) and pre-race Ironman events, we didn't do the usual Madison sightseeing downtown. (She'll have to come back for that. Hint, hint.) But we did drive through the lovely rural countryside to the House on the Rock. (I cannot explain the House on the Rock. It is too weird for words and too weird for camera. I refer you to the Internet. But I did take a few pictures.)

***

My mom was here the weekend of the Ironman. The biking portion goes right by our house. Literally. This is the view out of my bedroom window.

I am in awe of people who run marathons. These people swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and THEN run a marathon. I was in physical pain just THINKING about it.

Credit for this picture goes to Mary!

After church and after naps we headed outside to cheer on the racers and ring our cow bell.

Mary enjoyed riding her bike beside the race route.

Yes, we're startin' her early--she'll be an Ironwoman in no time!

***

Phew! Is that enough ketchup for you? It is for me!

Let's hope for a little less catch up and a little more regular blogging.

Good night.