Kid Train!

Yay! Just when I was feeling bad about not taking any pictures at our bbq this past weekend, low and behold I found these 3 on my camera! Thanks, Dave!

I don't know why, but for one reason or another we haven't barbecued much this summer. Clearly we'll have to remedy that because the kids had a ball and did such a good job playing TOGETHER. And the whole time while I was sitting and visiting with my friends, I was thinking about how different it was last summer. Last summer we had a BABY--one who was still getting used to her walking legs. (Can you believe that our budding gymnast/kamikazee stunt woman didn't walk 'til she was 16 months old?!)




A year changes them SO much at this age!

Yes, last summer we were constantly chasing our girl--saving her from impending danger and fishing rocks and wood chips out of her mouth. This year we...SIT! And visit with friends! (And look over once in awhile to make sure that she hasn't managed to reach the top of the rope ladder...) It's kind of a mixed bag, isn't it? I love that my kids are becoming so independent, but I sure do miss those chubby cheeks and unsteady legs!

Which hurts worse?

A.) Being a 5-year-old who has to get 4 shots in his arm? -or- B.) Being the mom of a 5-year-old who has to get 4 shots in his arm?


The answer is B. I figured that out a little over 5 years ago when I held a brand new little being in my arms, and for the first time in my life my heart hurt. Hurt because I loved him so much. A kind of love that just swells up inside and sometimes you don't know how to wrap your mind around it. It's a different kind of love. I guess that's why sometimes as parents we question whether or not to add to our families because it's hard to fathom that you could actually feel that kind of love to the same extent for other children without your heart literally bursting open. But thank goodness, we are given the capacity to love in such a way whether it be 1, 2, or 10 kids. So for over 5 years now my heart has been hurting...in a good way.


But it kind of hurt in a bad way yesterday as I was preparing to send Grayson off to the doctor's office. It hurt so bad that I couldn't even be the one to take him. Daddy had to. True, I've learned how to deal with skinned knees, bloody lips, crushed spirits, wheezing, and vomit from head to toe (on me!), but to watch a stranger jab 4 needles into my son's arms--the thought of that was a little too hurtful to bare.


So I waited at home. And waited. And imagined just how awful it was in the exam room right at that minute. The screams, the crying, the tears, and the look that he gets in his eyes when someone has let him down. I might as well have been there because I was just certain that I had accurately imagined the scene to a "T".


No, I wasn't there, but I prepared for it to be just as bad when Grayson walked thru the door at home. I knew he'd probably walk in with a brave face, one that he had tried to keep plastered on his face the whole drive home. You know those looks? Those ones you have to work so hard at that they actually make your face hurt? But then I had a feeling that the second he saw me he'd break down. Mamas seem to have that effect. He'd crumble into my arms, and the tears would start flowing. The kind of tears that you can't stop, and the ones that stain cheeks and dampen your shoulder. I would be the only person who could make his pain go away even though my heart, at that minute, would be aching terribly.


Huh. What fantasyland do I live in? Thinking that I would be saver of my son's universe, the hero, the rescuer...

G: "Mom! What's my surprise?!?" (as he came bursting thru the door, definitely no evidence of hurting or sorrow in his eyes or a face that was sore from a plastered look of bravery)
Me: "Oh honey, are you okay? (running over to my post, arms outstretched and ready to catch him)
G: "Yep." (running past me to see if a "surprise" was anywhere in sight)
Me: "Did you get the shots?"
G: "Yep. I didn't cry."
Me: "Did you a little?"
G: "Nope."
Me: "Did you get the special cream to make it hurt not as bad?"
G: "Nope. That would have taken too long."
Me: "So you're okay?"
G: "Yep. Now what's my surprise, Mom?"

Alrightythen, now that's not much of a story to tell, is it? Apparently Grayson does not have the same flare for dramatics as his mother!!!

Page 244

In case you're wondering, that's what page I'm on in the book I'm reading (Where the Heart Is). So what do you think of that, friends?! Huh? Huh? Yesterday at the party I was on Chapter 4, and now I'm up to Chapter 25! But I don't know how you girls do it without totally ignoring your children?!? Admittedly I was so immersed in the drama of my book that I didn't care that Molly was wiping her sticky, peach juice covered hands all over the couch, I pretended not to notice that Grayson was climbing over the back of the furniture, and I ignored the fact that it was almost 10 o'clock and both kids were still up. It was only thanks to Dave that a wet diaper got changed, jammies went on, teeth got brushed, and 2 darlings got tucked in and kissed goodnight. Hmm, I can imagine that my uninvolvedness won't fly too many nights in a row. Guess I better finish this book FAST!

And the Webkinz were nestled all snug in their beds...

...while visions of camping danced in their heads.

First of all, I must begin with 2 'thank yous'. Thank you, Sarri, for posting pictures of your family's backyard campout on your blog so that my child could see them and then beg repeatedly for the opportunity to do the same. Thank you. (Hopefully you do not sense any sarcasm in my words. Ha! Ha!) But then I must also thank my dear, sweet husband who did not make me participate in said campout!!! I mean I partook in the smores, of course, but the actual sleeping in the tent part--no, no, no. Besides, with all those Webkinz, where would I have slept? Now really. A little father-son bonding time is what it was...along with a pug, a panda, a kangaroo, a poodle, a chihuahua, a gecko, and a leopard lizard. Me and Molly? We had some girl-BED bonding time (after dessert, of course)!

Crazy Kid

Well there you go. We were wondering how and when Grayson would be able to use those goggles and snorkel that he got from Grandma Pearl months ago!

(The sprinkler is on if you can't tell.)

Now just to find a use for the inflatable boat...

Rebound Beach

Rebound Beach (continued)

Can I just say that the Pacific Ocean where it meets the Oregon coastline is COLD! In fact, if I was one who cursed, I would use an expletive before the word cold! But I knew this. My intellect told me such. Yet somehow I managed to idealize Oregon beaches, thinking that maybe, just maybe the temperature of the icy cold water had risen since our last visit. It has not. But we wanted so badly for it to feel like the waters off the shores of San Diego! So that's why I termed the beach at Lincoln City our 'rebound' beach. We needed (okay, wanted) it to fill the void we've felt since returning home from the white sandy beaches of sunny California (being over-dramatic here for literary purposes). And we almost felt fulfilled. Okay, no, that's a lie. Our Oregon beaches will NEVER compare to those down south! Was it sunny? Yes. Was the sand white? Yes. Was it warm? NO! It's amazing how 68 degrees can feel like 48 degrees when that stinkin' wind blows!

But 2 kids I know had a grand time. The adults in the group? Perhaps not so much.

Also this past Saturday we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. That, I must say, was much more enjoyable. By the way, Dave's mom, Pearl, and his brother, Craig, have been visiting us the last several days. The next few pictures are ones that I know my Ryan readers will enjoy. I kept everyone busy! (But dare I say that not everyone was a fan of my tour guide/"event" planning prowess!) No doubt I would have been fired by paying customers. But you know me--planner, planner, planner! Besides, who wants to waste these lazy days of summers actually being lazy?!! :) We hit the local Farmer's Market, had a picnic at the park, spent an evening at the Downtown Festival (formerly known as TurkeyRama), and then of course enjoyed a day over on the coast.
















Check out the look on Miss Molly's face! So funny. But rest assured, both kids are big fans of their Uncle Craig!

**Edited to add--Man, this post could be full of expletives. Photobucket thus far is NOT my friend! If you only knew how long I tried to get that blankety-blank slideshow to work! Obviously I wasn't entirely successful because I had to create 2 posts. Ggrrr!