Gramie & Bapa visit Macon

It has been wonderful to have Mom and Dad around. Dad left on Tuesday and Mom stayed until this morning. I know they will be terribly behind in their work when they return to reality, but we loved every minute of having them here. Thanks, guys -- so much. Picture slide show - click here.

Evan and Alex are getting quite spoiled (no surprise!) between having Nana and Gramps' visit last week, and Gramie and Bapa this week! Plus, Aunt Emmy and Uncle Chris arrived this morning as Gramie left! I'm getting spoiled, too. What a treat to have everyone here to help in Will's absence. I love having extra company around the house. It makes me so happy.

(Will gets home tomorrow night; YAY! We all miss him so much.)

Cooling off in the new pool! Thanks, Gramie!

Enjoying a cone

Playing Candyland

Happy Father's Day!

The movie theater

This morning, Mom/Gramie, the boys and I went to the movies to see Ice Age! (One of the theaters in town offers a G or PG movie every Wednesday of the summer. For $2 each, you see a movie, get a personal-sized popcorn, and a little drink. Why haven't we tried this sooner?) I think the movie had more adult humor than kid, but the boys really enjoyed the whole experience. It was such fun, I created a slide show of just movie-theater pictures: click here.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy/Will! We miss you!
Happy Father's Day to Gramps, Bapa, and Great Grampa, too!

Love you guys.

xoxox

Friendship

Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.

-- Aristotle

Sportz Quest

We met Grace and Ellen at Sportz Quest this morning, followed by pizza for lunch. The kids had a great time playing and eating together.

Alex couldn't get enough hanging/swinging, and I couldn't stop laughing. What a monkey.

TEN!

Earlier this morning, the boys and I were catching up on the blogs of my friends; yes, we have been awake for some time already! We came across this video of my Godson, Duncan Scott, feeding turtles at a restaurant in Austin, TX. Alex squealed, "turtle! turtle!" Then, he counted all the way to eight, skipped nine, and said ten! This was the first time he successfully moved past two without help.

Good job, Alex!

Ice Cream Buddies

We visited Savannah and Baby Vince yesterday afternoon. We especially enjoyed running in the sprinkler and eating ice cream cones on the front steps! Thanks for a fun play-date, Stewarts!

Catching up

Before I delve into a vacation recap, I want to tell family and friends in Iowa, especially in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, that we are thinking about them. The flood pictures on the news are unbelievable. Everyone, be safe. Grampa, please be careful on your short outings for subway sandwiches! :) News link re: Cedar River -- another link
_ _ _ _
We had eight fantastic days in Daytona Beach. (The town is tacky, but the beach is fabulous!) Will probably set a new AP-Grading record, grading over 1400 exams! While he was slaving away, we enjoyed time at the beach, pools, and vacationing with Dan and Susan (Will's folks), who joined us starting on Thursday. All six of us returned to Macon late on Sunday, and Will left for two weeks in Princeton at 9:00 on Monday morning. Dan and Susan returned to Colorado yesterday, and the boys and I are currently flying solo. So far, so good.

Thanks for all your help in Daytona and Macon, Nana and Gramps! We miss you already! Will/Daddy, we hope your conference is going well. We really miss you, too!

Daytona Beach slide show, click here.

home

home again home again, jiggidy jig. Many vacation pictures and stories to follow.

Will leaves for two weeks in Princeton tomorrow at 9:00 am.

Never a dull moment.

Checking in from Daytona Beach

We are having a great vacation. Will is nearly cross-eyed from reading AP exams, but at 4:15 every day, he runs for the beach to meet the boys and me. Yesterday, the four of us jumped waves for 45 minutes. It was so much fun! I was reminded of the 13 (?) summers we spent in Newport, RI as a family years ago. Every day, Emmy (my sis) and I would ride waves on our Styrofoam surf boards until the board "rubbies" on our legs were too raw for more....

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to dig a hole until you reach water; how sticky your skin feels from the salt-water and sand; how your eyes burn when a wave splashes over your head; how fun it is to collect tiny sea shells. I'm loving every minute. The best part? Seeing huge smiles on two little faces.

As they say, "priceless."


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Of course, we've learned that Evan has developed an allergy to sunscreen (!), it is tricky to sleep 4 in a single hotel room (we are attempting to all go to bed starting at 7:30 pm), and naps are tricky, too... but none of that matters. Time together at the beach and pool negate all of this other nonsense!

Plus, Nana and Gramps arrived today. The week will only get better! yay!

First Ice Cream Cone

Ah, the joy of one's first ice cream cone. Alex didn't believe that he could actually eat the cone. Once he caught on, he wanted "more more more i-me!" (translation: more ice-cream, please, Mommy; I love it.) Evan's technique was to bite off the bottom of the cone first. What a mess, but what fun!

(pictures taken before we left for FL)

Advanced Placement Exams

Will is on day two (of seven) of grading AP exams. Below is the question to which he has been assigned. Yesterday included training on the rubric. Today he begins the tedious work of reading the same answers again and again -- in fact, he will grade about 1200 exams by the end of the week.

Evan, Alex and I appreciate that he does this for two reasons: 1) it pays a little bit, and more importantly, 2) the kids and I (and soon Dan and Susan) enjoy spending time at the beach and pools while on Daytona Beach. When Will completes his grading each afternoon, we hope to hit the water with him, too!

Thanks, Honey.

1. Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted,
politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
(b) Define congressional redistricting.
(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
(d) Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting.

ps - if you are dying to know the other three questions, let me know! I have copies of all four.

Reading to Pooh

SportzQuest

Earlier in the year, several of Evan's friends held birthday parties at Sportz Quest. Evan LOVED the gymnasium. Fast-forward to this week:

Thanks to early birthday presents from Gramie and Bapa, Evan and Alex just started five weeks of "camp:" Evan for 45 min on Tuesdays, Alex for 30 minutes on Thursdays. Contrary to my prediction, Alex had a rough first day of class. I think he was overwhelmed by the gym, the zillions of other kids, and the plethora of "BALLS!" Alex wondered, why jump on a trampoline when you can hoard little plastic balls and whine? I wondered, how many more minutes until we can escape?

On Fridays from 10-12, the gym offers a "Gym Scavenger Hunt." Both boys found lots of numbers hidden around the gym on various equipment. Alex got to see Evan in action, and he even ventured onto the trampoline after his brother. Thankfully, very few kids took advantage of this gym time; we practically had the place to ourselves! Lets hope the next few classes are better than the first!

(I should add that Evan had a GREAT first class!)

Camping Update -- From Will

We made it through the night! The tent was too hot when we started (because I set it up too early and it baked for an hour or so in the late-afternoon sun), but after waiting inside the house for a while we gave it another go around 8:30. Evan never complained about the heat, but I was happy to be able to lie still without suffering from flop sweat.

Once we settled back in, we read a book, played with the flashlight (though it was light enough to read, Evan was convinced he couldn't see without the flashlight; I kept asking him how many fingers I was holding up, and he "somehow" managed to keep getting it right), and sipped our water. As it became darker, we watched the fireflies, marveled how folks were walking down our street "in the middle of the night," and tried to identify the sounds we were hearing. I did OK with most of the sounds, but got stuck on "BINK." I suggested that it might be a cricket, but was assured that crickets went "CREEEK" not "BINK." I never heard the "BINK," other than Evan saying it about fifty times.

It was not yet fully dark when Evan realized that the stars (or maybe rocket ships) were becoming visible. In one of my favorite moments of the night, we stretched out perpendicular to our sleeping bags and looked up and out the window at the emerging stars. Evan thought that someday he would go to the stars and I told him that he would make a wonderful astronaut.

Evan kept fiddling with his flashlight, but never complained about the gathering darkness. In fact, there was never any discussion all night about giving up. As our conversation finally wound down and we said our "good nights" Evan suggested that we could hold hands. We did, and were both asleep within ten minutes. I don't think Evan woke up at all during the night, and he only rolled over a couple of times (I know this because I was awake and rolling over every half hour or so; I figure I'll be able to walk upright without pain by Saturday).

Evan was surprised that it was light when he woke up (around 7am). I congratulated him on his successful first night camping, we rolled up our sleeping bags, and made our triumphant return to the house. Ani had been wrestling with Alex since 5:30, so all things considered Evan and I made out pretty well in the tent.

We both had a really great time and I think he would gladly do it again. We'll have to keep our eyes open for a cool night (or maybe get really ambitious and head for the north Georgia mountains).

Camping

As I type this message, Evan and Will are camping in our backyard! Although toasting marshmallows over the gas grill isn't picture perfect, it will have to do. I wont let Will build a fire pit in our yard. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Julia!

Happy First Birthday, sweet Julia.

We had a great time at your party on Sunday!

Here are some of our favorite pictures.

Mercer Pool amenities?

You know your kid has been to a hotel recently when....

he tries to throw your beach towels into a large dumpster, thinking it is towel service!

PreSchool Humor

On the preschool circut, nothing is funnier than ten non-stop minutes of fake sneezes. Here is a "taste" of our dinner tonight. (note: the kids dont like the camera rolling, so I hide it. That is why this video features a plate and bowl, with Alex in the background! Sorry...)

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie

Swimsuit shopping. I hate it, and thus the reason I've had the same two suits since before Will and I were married. There was a stint in there with a maternity suit -- and a summer when I wore a women's plus size -- but for the most part, I've been in the same spandex for over 6 years. The linings are torn and the butts are fuzzy from sitting pool- side.

I decided that today was d-day: time to shop.

Am I the only person in the world who still wants to wear a 1-piece suit? More accurately, am I the only one who wants a one-piece that isn't covered in old-lady flowers? I gathered up about 7 two-piece tankinis and headed to the Kohl's dressing room.

(pause.) Did I mention that Evan was with me? It has been so long since I've shopped for clothes, he didn't know about dressing rooms. He is 3-1/2 years old! He said, "Wow! What is this? I thought it was a big bathroom for ladies!" I digress...

As I tried one unflattering suit after another, the tears started to well up in my eyes. As I tried the last suit, Evan looked up and said, "Hubba Hubba Mommy!" It was the worst suit of all, and I did not buy it (or any others), but I'll never forget that not-so-itsy-bitsy pink polka dot tankini! Thanks, Evan. You gave me a huge smile on an otherwise demoralizing day.

addendum: I've discovered the problem while window-shopping online. Cute one-piece suits can be found at "real" department stores, but they cost a fortune! $130 for a swimsuit? Please! Looks like another summer of fuzzy-bottomed swimsuits for me!

Mercer Pool

We made our first trip to Mercer's outdoor pool. Alex drank about 1/2 the pool and both kids enjoyed bouncing in the water with Daddy. My favorite part of going to any pool is relaxing in the chairs. I tried to convince the kids that chair-sitting and people-watching is fun, but they weren't buying it.

Twenty-One

Where is the time going, little peanut?

You are 21 months old today!

Water Toys

We had a fun afternoon & dinner with the Byrons today. Here are some of my favorite shots. (Unfortunately, I'm too tired to make them into a pretty photoshop collage.)

Thanks to Aunt Emmy and Uncle Chris for the inflatable-water-thing! We love it! More pictures here.

Happy Birthday, Grampa / Great Bapa!

Happy Birthday, Grampa! We sure wish we could be in Waterloo with you and the family today. We've been thinking about you guys all day!!! Here is a little video for you. Enjoy!

SOS for GOP

There have been many signs that 2008 is going to be a very rough year for the Republican Party. Today, Evan received what can only be described as a desperate cry for help. If this is indicative of McCain's campaign strategy, get used to saying, "President Obama."

He can't even vote for 15 more years! How "urgent" can it be?

Mosaics

I didn't really need another way to spend time on pictures, BUT my cousin Sarah introduced me to this very cool free software that makes mosaics. Using a selection of pictures of your choice, the program builds an image like the one below. I used our Disney vacation pictures for this image, and the Minnie face template is from a picture we took at the park! So cool. Thanks, Sar!

cinderella's castle at night

Okay - I couldnt resist. I just completed a mosaic of flowers w/ Maui vacation pictures, too.

Mother Nature on Mother's Day

( picture from www.macon.com )

Mother Nature started Mother's Day in Macon with a bang. We woke the kids at 5:30 a.m. and spent about 20 minutes in the closet, listening to the tornado sirens wail. Two tornadic cells passed over Macon. The first passed directly over our house; thankfully, it was not on the ground. The second passed through West and South Macon and cut a path across town. A state of emergency was declared, a curfew imposed, and the Governor visited. Damaged shops on the South side of town were looted, and the pictures of the devastation are enough to give you chills - and bring tears to your eyes.

Fortunately, there were no deaths in Macon, although it is a miracle. We saw some of the damage first-hand today. After 3 days of clean-up efforts, it is still unbelievable. Some folks in town are still without electricity. In all, we were very lucky. Our temporary power/cable loss and water pressure problems seem quite minor in hindsight.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Extra special hugs and kisses to our moms! We love you!

Here are two songs from Evan. He didn't like the camera rolling, so I had to pretend it wasn't!

Orlando

We are home from a fabulous vacation!

I've loaded a 200-picture slide show (narrowed down from about 700!). Unless you are featured in the pictures, I doubt you'll want to see them all... but there are some great shots of the kiddos: click here!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Emmy!

We can't wait to see you in June!

Craters

There is an empty lot across the street from the Stewart's. Sometime soon, a house will be built there, but in the meantime, there is dry earth and a huge pile of sand. Evan and Savannah loved exploring, as Evan called them, the "craters."

Everyone enjoyed playing in the sand. We were joined by another family, The Gunns, who live in Laura's neighborhood, too. In all, 7 kids were present, although two were too young to participate. It was great fun. Now to do something about the sand all over my kitchen floor! I forget that it gets in pant-cuffs, only to escape once kids are in the house!

1er mai

Happy May Day!

It is custom in France to give and receive Lilly of the Valley stems as a sign of good luck on le 1er mai. There are vendors on every street corner in Paris selling the flowers! Ah, to be in Paris today...