Friends with Boats

We’ve been really fortunate to be invited to go out on Beaver Lake with friends twice this summer.  The first time was with my friend Kerrie and her family.  This past Saturday (7/16), we went out with the Adlers.  We’ve known Josh and Stephanie since college and recently reconnected with them through Rudy’s fraternity reunions.  They have a son who is Caleb’s age, another who is a little older and a brand new baby.  We had a great time on Saturday, boating, watching the kids ride the tube and kneeboard and swimming in the lake.  Nola particularly liked floating in her life jacket and eating animal crackers on the boat.  She is such a water baby!  After we boated, we went back to their house for dinner on their deck, overlooking the lake.  It was enough to give Rudy boat fever and get him talking about “someday” when we can go out there with our own boat.  I say, why have a boat when you have friends with boats???

Post Vacation Post

We came home from St. Louis on Wednesday (7/6).  On Thursday, Nola and I started going to Gymboree.  Caleb and I went when he was a toddler and I really wanted a chance for Nola and I to have that time together too.  She seems to really like it.  She’s definitely a mover and shaker.  I am worn out by the time it’s finished.  She is on the move the whole time we’re there – climbing and crawling and throwing balls all over the place. 

On Friday morning, Rudy and I went to a funeral.  We managed a last minute babysitter so that we could go pay our respects to Janet and her family.  That evening, we made our first ever trip to Beaver Lake.  My friend and colleague, Kerrie and her family had us over for BBQ and boating.  Caleb LOVED getting to ride on the tube with Kerrie’s son, Luke.  He and Rudy also rode the waverunner.  Nola really enjoys being in the water.  She’s pretty fearless.  After we boated, everyone (except for me) swam for a while and then we went inside for dessert and the boys played Rock Band.  It was a great night with a wonderful family!

Saturday (7/9), I got to spend the evening and night scrapbooking with my dear friend Stacy.  We love to go to the late night crops at Signed Sealed Delivered.  It’s such a productive moms’ night out!  We’re going back at the end of the month to a pajama party crop. 

Sunday (7/10) was the first day of U of A Jr High Music Camp.  Rudy was asked to conduct a band this year, so his time commitment wasn’t quite as much as previous years.  He still had to be there Sunday, though.  It was so crazy hot that the only thing I could do with the kids was put them in water.  I filled up the kiddie pool, turned on the sprinkler and turned them loose.  They had a great time splashing and playing and I got a little sun while we were out there. 

St. Louis 2011 ~ Sunday-Tuesday

After our late night at the Arch on Saturday, we had a lazy morning on Sunday.  Jerry and Sherry had offered to watch the kids while Rudy and I went out, so we decided to take them up on it.  (They might have disowned us if we hadn’t!)  We were going to go to dinner and a movie, but I suggested that we go to Six Flags.  We used to have season passes before Caleb was born and I hadn’t been since then.  After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed for Eureka.  We got a few minutes from the house and I realized that if we bought our tickets online we would save about $20, so we turned around and went back.  As I got on the computer to buy the tickets, Rudy was watching TV and saw a weather advisory for St. Louis County.  There were ugly storms brewing in the Eureka area, but he watched for a little while and determined that they would be gone by the time we got there.  I hit “purchase,” spent $100 and off we went.  The closer we got to Eureka, the darker the sky got.  We did a memory lane drive through Fenton to kill some time while the storm passed over.  When we got to Eureka, it was raining, but not pouring, so we went on in the park.  Those $100 tickets were nonrefundable after all.  It rained…and rained…and rained some more.  There was thunder and lightning and all of the rides were shut down.  We did manage to ride the carousel 3 times…because it was covered and out of the rain.  After a while, it became blatantly obvious that this storm was not going to pass over, clear up or plain ol’ quit.  We finally decided to tuck our tails, cut our losses and go out to dinner.  So…after 3 rides on the carousel at approximately $15 per person per ride, we left Six Flags.  Not our best adventure…

We went to dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Lazy River Grill.  Yum.  Deelicious!  We enjoyed being in familiar surroundings, visiting with each other (without wiping children’s mouths, taking anyone to the bathroom or reminding anyone to please be careful and lean over their plate).  After dinner, we decided to head on back to Florissant, pick up anyone interested and go get frozen custard.  That’s just what we did…and Fritz’s  was wonderful.

Monday was actually the 4th of July!  Rudy and I took the kids to the Mills (mall) for a while.  Both kids LOVED the aquarium at Cabela’s. 

Caleb tried out a bat at an electronic batting cage and then on this crazy trampoline thing…

We got both of the kids some new Crocs and had a late lunch at Chevy’s, which was supposed to be quick and just a snack, but it took them 45 minutes to bring our food.  Nola was exhausted, so Rudy ended up taking her out in the mall to walk and then I switched places with him. 

By the time we got back to Jerry and Sherry’s it was almost time to eat dinner.  The boys squeezed in a little fireless fireworks time in the driveway…

  

…and Little Miss Firecracker walked the runway for a few pictures.

After dinner, we went to the Florissant fireworks.  It was a great show! 

 

Caleb acting silly…

Our whole crew…

 

Jerry and Nola watching (and laughing at) fireworks…

Tuesday was our zoo day!  The temperatures dropped a little and we were able to enjoy a great day at the St. Louis Zoo!  The kids loved seeing the animals and our friend Jenny joined us to catch up on each others’ lives.

Click here to see Caleb grow up taking pictures with the frog statues at the children’s zoo:

Petting animals at the children’s zoo:

Caleb up close and personal with an elephant and a zebra:

Nola up close and personal with a chimp:

Jenny and Caleb petting stingrays:

Jenny and the kiddos:

After the zoo, we went back to the house to give Nola a chance to take a nap and everyone a chance to freshen up.  We had dinner at our all-time favorite restaurant, Cunetto House of Pasta.  Nola was a grump, so it was a little stressful.  Sherry graciously volunteered to take her outside to walk around so that Rudy and I could finish our meals in peace.  (Maybe next year we shouldn’t try to do the zoo and a nice dinner on the same day.)  Afterward, we spent some time outside of Cunetto, letting our dinners settle and playing with the kids. 

Sherry, Jerry, Rebecca & Jared with Nola and Caleb:

It was a great ending to yet another great trip!

Grand Slam Birthday Party!

Before we went to Caleb’s birthday party, Mom, Mr. L., Jan and Bill came to the house to give him their gifts.  (We asked for no gifts at the party.)  Caleb was thrilled to get a new “big boy” bike from LaLa and Pops.  He also loved the bow/arrow set, water gun and bug vacuum that he got from Grandma and Bill.  (Yes, he usually has to wear a helmet on the bike!)

We hosted Caleb’s 5th birthday party at the NWA Naturals Game on Friday, May 6th.  We invited 3 friends and his cousin, Gabe to join us.  We let Caleb choose his guests and he chose 2 boys from his class and his t-ball team (Michael and Conner) as well as his daycare teacher and her son (Kaleb).  We weren’t about to try to take all of those boys without an adult, so we paid for a parent to come with them.  The kids got a ticket to the game, a wristband for the kids’ zone, a hot dog/chips combo and an ice cream.  We were even able to use the ice cream as the birthday dessert and didn’t have to mess with a cake or cupcakes.  At the end of the night, the boys got to be on the scoreboard screen, which they loved.  The kids had a fabulous time and the adults were completely worn out when it was over.  I’m not sure any of us actually saw any of the game, but the entertainment was the 5 little boys running like banshees all over the place, having the times of their lives!  Here are a few pictures from the party.  (The rest are on Shutterfly…)

Kaleb, Conner, Michael, Caleb & Gabe

Playing in the kids’ zone:

Hanging out with Strike!

On the big screen:

My birthday boy and me!

Stuff We Did in April

April 1 ~ Nola suddenly started walking!  Of course, that deserves its own post.  More on that later.

April 4 ~ The daycare called me because Caleb had a suspicious rash that they thought was chicken pox.  I picked him up, took him straight to the doctor, got a diagnosis of post-viral rash and took him straight back to daycare.  While I was there, they told me that Nola had been having diarrhea.  I chalked it up to the antibiotic that she was on for her ears.  Later that night, I booked a trip for just Rudy and I in Florida this summer!  Yeah!!!

April 5 ~ Nola got sent home from daycare with fever and more diarrhea.  Turns out she had rotavirus.  Yuck.  My mom came to the rescue and drove up to stay with us since Nola couldn’t go to daycare.

That night was also Caleb’s first t-ball practice.  That also deserves its own post.  Again…more on that later.

April 7 ~ Mom left after packing and taking 365 pieces of Nola’s outgrown clothes to consignment. 

April 8 ~ My friend Sheila and I took our preschoolers (Caleb and Ansley) to see Seussical the Musical at Bentonville High School.  It was so cute and the kids loved it – even though they were totally exhausted by the time it was over.

April 9 ~ Caleb’s 1st t-ball game.  Awesome.

April 11th ~ Ugh.  Benchmark testing week.  Ugh.

April 12th ~ Crazy Hair Day for Caleb at daycare.

April 15th ~ Stacy and I drove to Frisco, TX after school for our girls’ weekend.

April 16th ~ We started our day with a trip to Sam Moon and Cheesecake Factory and ended it with a 7 hour concert at Cowboys Stadium.  We saw Uncle Kracker, Billy Currington, Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney.

April 19th ~ Caleb’s kindergarten screening at Reagan.

April 22nd ~ Tornado sirens sent us to the laundry room wearing bike helmets.  The tornado passed just a few miles from our house.  While we were in there (trying to keep the mood light to keep the kids from being scared), Caleb asked if we could pray about it…so we did.

That was the beginning of a very long week of nothing but rain, rain, rain. 

April 23rd ~ We went to the church Easter egg hunt.  Caleb and I dyed eggs and made our Easter cake.  It wasn’t pretty, but it tasted pretty good.

April 24th ~ Easter Sunday – a rainy day, but we celebrated anyway!  A separate Easter post to come…
April 25th ~ Nola ran a fever at school, so Rudy left to take her home.  The rain caused lots of roads in Northwest Arkansas to flood.  It was a difficult drive home from school for Caleb and me.  By the time we went to bed, Caleb was running a fever too. 

April 26th ~ Rudy stayed home with both kids.  We watched the TV closely again for tornado warnings.  It was a horrible week with lots of severe weather.

April 27th ~ Mom came up to take care of the kids again so that Rudy could go back to work.  Caleb had been on the couch with fever for a day and a half.  When she got here, he perked up like magic.  He told me that night that LaLa made him feel better.  I agree.

April 28th ~ Mom and I took the kids to Gravette for a photo session with Kim Durham of KD Photography.  I’m still waiting for the final result, but the sneak preview that I got looks wonderful!

Stuff We Did in March

Holy Moly – It’s worse than I thought.  I haven’t updated what we’ve been doing since the first of March.  Here goes nothing (thanks to backtracking through my Facebook posts)…

March 13th ~ Caleb went to LaLa & Pops’ house for the week because we had so much on our evening calendars that it seemed like a good time for him to go for a visit. 

March 15th ~ Nola started running a fever at daycare and I had to go get her.  She ended up having a respiratory infection and an ear infection.  I took her to the ENT to get her ears suctioned…again.

March 16th ~ Caleb’s fish, Ronnie died.  We went through the classic 80’s sitcom dilemma of whether or not to replace him with a look-alike and decided against it.  When I told him, he was fine.  After a day or two, though, it because a major issue.  He wouldn’t sleep in his bed because he missed Ronnie.  He sobbed one night because he didn’t get to say goodbye to Ronnie.  He told me that he had prayed that Ronnie would come back to life and he didn’t understand why it didn’t happen.  Ronnie was soon replaced with a goldfish named Swimmy.  All is well in the tank again.

March 17th ~ Caleb and my parents went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Hot Springs.  These showed up on my phone via text: 

 

March 19th ~ I met my parents to bring Caleb home.  We sang Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” about 25 times between Waldron and Rogers. 

March 19th ~ Rudy and I cringed when we found out that Caleb was playing on the Cubs t-ball team.  I nearly killed our Cardinals fan hearts.

March 20-27 ~ SPRING BREAK!!!

March 20 ~ I spent hours sorting through the kids’ outgrown stuff to sell/consign/give away.  We have a lot of outgrown stuff!  We spent some time in the afternoon walking the trail at Compton Gardens.

March 21 ~ I spent the day in Branson with my friend Stacy.  We shopped ‘til we dropped and then some. 

March 22 ~ One of Caleb’s friends came over for the day.  I decided for absolutely sure that 2 kids is plenty for me.

March 23 ~ We all packed up and went to Hot Springs for the rest of the week.  Yay!!!

March 24 ~ Rudy and I had a date day while the kids stayed with my mom.  We went to Oaklawn & out for a fabulous dinner.

March 25 ~ Rudy went to deer camp to help out with some work & stayed for the rest of the weekend.

March 26 ~ Aunt Harolyn had us all over for a family dinner.  It was fun to see the Caleb and Maddox playing together & we enjoyed catching up with our whole family!

March 27 ~ Came home to get ready to go back to school.  The end of spring break is always sad. 

March 29 ~ Caleb:  “Thunder is good.  It scares away the lightning.”  I love the logic of a 4 year old.

March 31 ~ Caleb at bedtime:  “My heart beats happy.”  I admit that I got a little choked up at that one.