Ahoy, Mateys!

We went outside of the box for Cainan’s birthday this year, but only just a little bit. Every year so far he has had a pool party at Granny’s house for his birthday but this year he wanted to have a pirate party so I thought that the beach was a more appropriate setting. We met everyone at the beach at Lake Carlyle where we grilled hot dogs, swam, and hunted for buried treasure. It was a really fun day.
Granny and Grandad got Cainan a treasure chest full of all the latest accessories for the stylish pirate and he sported his new look for the remainder of that day and the next, including Ryker’s ball game that night where the concessionaire said, “One piece of gum for the pirate!” He was so cute and he had an absolutely fabulous time playing pirates with all of his cousins. Success!!

Cainan on Seasons

Hey, Mommy? What comes after summer? (Fall) Oh good. That's my favorite one! (Why?) Because that's when I get to ride on the combine with Grandad.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!

Kinley turned one on July 24th. We celebrated jointly with Cainan at the beach at the lake over the weekend, but on her actual birthday we gave her her very own special little birthday cake. At first she wouldn’t touch it, she would just lean down and try to lick or bite off pieces of the icing. After she realized how delicious it was she really started to dig into it and by the end she had thoroughly smeared herself with icing.

She got quite a few clothes and some new toys, but as far as we can tell her two favorite presents have been her shopping cart and her yellow CareBear. She is such a girly girl (thank goodness). She loves to drive around her shopping cart then take the bear out and give him a kiss and put him back in and continue on her way.

It is hard to believe that my baby is one year old already. It seems like just yesterday that she was born (in an un-air conditioned hospital with no anesthesia and no doctor after only 17mins. of labor). This first year has been unbelievably fun with her and we all enjoy having a little girl around sooooo much.

I'm Baaaaack!

Wow, I didn't realize that it has been almot 2 months since I have posted anything. August was a really busy month and September has just kind of been slipping away from me. I promise details and pictures on our vacation and the kid's birthday parties soon. Sorry to all of you who have been checking here and finding nothing new for the past two months.

1957?

Last Monday was a normal day in most ways. Ryker and Brian went to school and Cainan, Kinley and I played a little, cleaned house a little, and napped a little. Then Brian brought Ryker home and went back in to teach one of his night classes. That is when things got strange. An hour later I was busy cooking supper. I had a pot roast with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot and homemade yeast rolls in the oven. Kinley was toddling around the kitchen and living room playing quietly and babbling to herself. The boys were in the backyard sword fighting with sticks with the neighbor kids and the sun was setting behind the trees. It was like we were suddenly transported back in time 50 years. I was even wearing an apron, for heaven’s sake. (No pearls or heels though.) It struck me that everything was so perfect and simple. Soon my hardworking husband would walk though the door with his briefcase (I had my doubts that the dog would bring him his slippers, but you never know) and we would all sit down to a lovely meal together and talk about our day. But have no fear, ten minutes later it was clear that it was all just a fantasy. After 4 or 5 times of removing Kinley from the DVD player where she was pushing buttons, the boys running upstairs to get lightsabers and Jedi robes to use in their fights, and answering 3 telemarketer calls it was pretty obvious we were rooted securely in the 21st century. But for just a moment I knew what it must have felt like for my Grandmas to look out their windows on a late summer afternoon a long time ago.

If You Give a Baby a Patty

We have a set of 4 round cork coasters that sit on our end tables in the living room. We occasionally use them for their designated purpose but more often than not they are missing because the boys are using them. The coasters are usually playing the vital role of Crabby Patties. The boys love to get spatulas out of the kitchen, use the ottoman as a grill, and cook their patties. They flip them and serve them up while quoting lines from their favorite SpongeBob episodes. Recently I realized that Kinley is getting in on the act too. I was busy in the office when I heard Cainan yelling, “She’s got the patties, she’s got the patties.” I ran in to the living room to find Kinley taking a big bite (literally) out of the cork coaster and smiling like she had just cured cancer. He did cook it and serve it to her so what did he expect?

Sculptorades

This summer the kids got the game Cranium Kadoo and they just love it. It is a really fun kid version of the original Cranium. One of their favorite parts of the game is using the modeling clay to make objects that the other person must guess. The last time we played Cainan drew the Sculptorades card and I read the clue aloud to him, “baseball”. (Ok, I admit it actually said “baseball cap” but I didn’t think he could make that.) So we started the timer and I whispered to Cainan that he should roll the clay into a ball. The problem was that the clay was so hard (it was a hand-me-down game) that he could barely mold it. Finally he got it into a ball and held it out to show Ryker. Of course there are any number of things that can be represented by a slightly irregular sphere of hard purple modeling clay so Ryker didn’t even come close to guessing that it was a baseball. I told Cainan he would have to act out what you do with a baseball to give Ryker an extra clue. From approx. 20 inches away he rares back and throws the “baseball” as hard as he can. It hits Ryker right between the eyes and he falls back onto the floor. I was too busy laughing to make sure that he was OK, but he soon sat back up and rubbing his head made his guess, “Goliath?”

What's In a Name?

Everything!!

Tonight Cainan asked Brian to read "Walk, Rabbit, Walk" to him for his bedtime story. He loves that one because it was one of Brian's favorites when he was a little boy. Cainan then reminded Brian that he was a little boy a long time ago. Brian agreed and Cainan turned to me. He said, "You were a little boy just a short time ago." "Actually I was a little girl a very short time ago," I replied. He then asked, "What did we name you when you were a little girl?" I reminded him that Grandad and Granny named me 'Crystal'. As he gave me my good night hug he said, "They named you Crystal but now your name is Mommy."

The Wedding

Brian and I have been attending First Christian Church in Greenville since 1995, but we just went to our first wedding there. When we moved there all of the friends we made were already married so we weren’t really ever invited to any weddings. Now though, Brian’s students and kids that we have watched grow up are starting to get married so we are getting invited to a few. We enjoyed the wedding and are very happy for Corey and Alaina. During the ceremony Cainan turned to me and said, “Do you think you’ll ever get married, Mommy?” I explained that I had gotten married a long time ago before he was born. That satisfied him and he went back to playing in the pew.

But that really isn’t the story I’m telling today. You see we have had a very hectic time recently and I did not have a gift for the happy couple. I sent Brian out to Value City between the wedding and reception to pick up something. We usually get all newlyweds a set of lawn chairs…I don’t know why, they’re just useful. Anyway, Brian comes back and tells me that Value City didn’t have any lawn chairs so he got them a lamp. Yes, you read correctly…a lamp. He then goes on to describe it as “silver with 3 white globes coming out of the top”. By this point it was too late to worry about it so I just let it go. Then he tells me that he bought some wrapping paper for it because they didn’t have any gift bags big enough. We were already in the reception and I was on my way to Saturday night service to run the power point so I found some tape and scissors for him and he went out to the car to wrap it. (FYI: Brian is a horrible wrapper.) I pretty much forgot about it after that until a few hours later when I was unloading the car and found the roll of wrapping paper. This is a small sample:
He claims it was in the ‘wedding section’. So Corey and Alaina, this is my apology to you. Sorry that we got you some sort of crazy lamp wrapped in poodle paper by a science nerd. Please take it back!!!!

Ryker, on age

One day as he was trying to change the batteries in one of his toys Ryker said, “Do you think I’m old enough to use a screwdriver now?” When I replied affirmatively he said, “Wow, seven is a great age…even though it is an odd number. On my birthday I’ll be eight and you know what that means don’t you? NO MORE CARSEAT!!”