Caleb's boo-boo 2008

Summer is in full swing and so begins the injuries. Fortunately this year hasn't required a trip to the ER, yet. Caleb kissed the pavement Saturday morning on a walk to the mailbox (the main mailbox at the end of the block). Caleb's explanation "I was running, so fast and I falled down." As you can see, his forehead was pretty scraped up and he got a scrape down the side of his nose too. Poor thing just didn't get his hands down first and I was a few yards away with Sadie so I couldn't grab him. But we got it cleaned up and after several boo-boo kisses the tears were gone and we were ready to play again.





Sadie also had to get in on the action though and for awhile was coming up to us asking for boo-boo kisses even though she hadn't gotten hurt.

That's all for now!

Finger Lakes, NY

Our first family vacation of Summer '08. We went up to the Finger Lakes area just outside of Rochester, NY for a long weekend. We stayed in a house on the lake with Granpapap and Grammie, and Sean, Emily and Claire. It was a nice big house with lots of space for the kids to run around in, which was a good thing- it ended up raining a good bit of the time there.

We drove up Thursday evening. The kids made the 5 hour trip well. We packed plenty of library books and that seemed to keep them busy. Sadie wasn't quite able to get at them herself and liked to flip through them quickly and then toss them on the floor so by the end of the drive we were almost constantly hearing her little voice yell "Book! Book!"

Friday morning, we got up and took a trip into Rochester to visit the Strong Museum
This is the National Museum of Play and it was great. The kids had a blast running around there and I don't think we even saw half of it. There was a huge Sesame Street area complete with games and puppets and all kinds of activities. There were areas with train tables and rice play and craft tables. There was a Clifford room that seemed to be the most entertaining for the kids. Then there was a whole other area for reading adventures. It was something else.

The kids were ready to crash after that so we came home for nap time.

Later in the evening we were able to convince Caleb to put on his life vest and go for a ride with Grammie and Grandpapap in the paddle boat. He's still very resistant to trying new things but is starting to understand the whole "if you do this, then you can do that" way of approaching things. He tolerated that vest and loved the boat ride.

Saturday was spent hanging out more at the house, skipping stones in the lake and going for boat rides. We couldn't get Caleb to wear water shoes so that left swimming out but he was happy to throw stones in the lake. Later in the afternoon, the grandparents managed to take all 3 grandkids out on the paddle boat. Caleb loved it. Sadie, not so much. She tolerated it but still looked pretty scared sitting in the back seat.

Grandpapap and Uncle Sean did some fly fishing and Grandpapap caught one and let Caleb help him reel it in. The kids were all excited to see the fish.

Then the kids got to feed the ducks. There happened to be two mama ducks with babies sticking around our part of the lake, so we got out some bread and the kids got to throw bread to the ducks after dinner. Caleb and Claire kept squealing and laughing watching the ducks devour the bread. Sadie couldn't understand why you would want to throw perfectly good bread away to the ducks- she preferred to eat it herself.

Sunday morning we had to pack up and leave pretty quickly. We did have time to play in the boats a little more and to get a quick family picture on the dock.

It was a fun weekend!

Busy, busy, busy

So it's been awhile since I last posted, as Aunt Judy reminded me yesterday :-) and a lot has been going on, which is why it's been awhile. Since the last post we've celebrated, Grandma Susie and Pa-pa Joe's 25th wedding anniversary (my mom and stepdad), spent a long weekend on a lake in the Finger Lakes area of NY, and most recently had a Rogers' family reunion up at Waldameer Park in Erie, PA.

In the midst of all of that we've begun "Adventures in Potty-training"- more on that in a later post.

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Now for the anniversary, that was something else.

And this is my recording of the events for those who couldn't attend and just to mark that day for those who were there.

It all started approx. 25 years, 1 month and 18 days ago when my mom and my step-dad, Joe, dropped my brother and me off at Grandma Rogers house so that they could elope. They didn't even get to be in a church with a preacher, just went to the magistrate's office and signed the papers. Later on, in the summer, there was a big reception/family reunion at the Bushes house in Derry. I only have a few memories of those times. I remember my brother Jason trying to go out the door with them, as a joke and at the party, I remember meeting all these new relatives and feeling awkward but still having a lot of fun with my cousins. It was a special having everyone together and because it was one of the last times we would have Grandpa Rogers with us.

I feel very lucky to have such a functional "dysfunctional" family. Any more you rarely hear about people staying committed to each other. I've seen enough Dr.Phil episodes to know that the statistics on remarriages after divorce are not very encouraging. And as Andy and approach our 8th year of marriage it's gotten me thinking about our parents' relationships. Once I used to think about my parent's being divorced a lot and I think I kind of let that define me. Now as I think about it, yes, my mother and father aren't together anymore but my mother and stepfather and father and stepmother have all been raising me together practically my entire life. I consider myself very lucky to have had not just 2 loving parents but 4 loving parents. To me, that's something very special.

So as I thought over all of this, it became very important to me to do something to celebrate this family mom and Joe have created. Fortunately, Jackie was all for it as well, not to mention Aunt Judy and Aunt Janet and all the rest of our family and friends who not only came out to celebrate but also continued to ask, "what can we bring?" and "how can we help?"

Jackie and I knew we wanted to have it be a surprise and to have it be some kind of a picnic. We had a lot of trouble figuring the details out beyond that. It continually fluctuated between a huge extravaganza to something a little more manageable (Jackie is still a college student and I have 2 toddlers running me ragged). I really wondered if this was really going to happen.

Then we got the idea to ask Aunt Janet if she would be willing (and able) to stand up for them so that they might be able to renew their wedding vows. (she will be taking over pastoral duties in July at her church up in Corry, PA) She was thrilled with the idea and slowly things began falling into place. Jackie thought it would be nice to have the ceremony out at Keystone State Park and then have a reception/party back at the house in Derry. We put together a list and sent out invitations. Then we started getting responses. It was so exciting to hear from all the family that wished us well and were happy to come. We couldn't have put this all together without all this help.

The remaining problem we had was how to get mom and Joe out of the house so that we could set things up. Jason helped by getting Joe involved working on a garage for his in-laws. That left mom. The only thing we could come up with was to take her shopping, so I had her take me out to JoAnns to get some fabric for a project for Sadie while the kids napped. Jackie and I kept in touch with our cell phones and mom was a little suspicious but had no idea what her daughters were really planning. Things went well and then I realized that I had to figure out some way to get her out to Keystone and to also get her fixed up (she had expected to spend the day playing with her grandkids and not going to a wedding so she wasn't what you might consider all dolled up :-) ) Fortunately, we were at a shopping center, of course, where anything and everything is available. I talked her into checking out a store that had clothes on sale. Then I talked her into buying a new top and me a pair of pants (I was actually getting them for her). The we had to stop into Walmart to pick up some party things and I couldn't help it. I had to give her some clue so I handed her the clothes and said, you need to change, you're going to a party. She was surprised and curious about what Jackie and I were concocting. After she changed I found out that we needed to kill some more time so I convinced her to get her hair done (Walmart happened to have a hair salon in store) then picked up a little make-up and she was ready to go.

We finished just in time and made the drive to Keystone, followed the red balloons to the ceremony area and as we drove by mom's first response was "There's Uncle Lynn?!!" Jackie got there right after us and we walked mom down near the lake. As we got closer, Jackie stopped mom and handed her the bouquet (every bride needs a bouquet) and slowly it started to set in what was happening. Family and friends were gathered around. Aunt Janet stood with a Bible under a white arch decorated with tulle and ivy and Joe was right there waiting for her. Of course, we all started crying, Mom, me, Jackie, Judy, Janet...basically every woman there was a little misty. Joe even got a little teary as it set in that he and Mom were actually getting re-married then and there.

Aunt Janet did a wonderful job leading the service even giving us a moment to respond to how mom and Joe as a couple affected our lives. We were all there as a testimony to how special they are to us and to each other.

After the ceremony, we shared stories of the surprise and took some pictures before revealing the final surprise - that there was a party going on at their house - and it was back to the house for more fun.

We ate good food, continued to share bits of the story of the day and swam in the pool as the sun went down. I think it turned out to be a very special day for mom and Joe and I continue to be amazed at how things came together. Thank you again to all of you who helped with this.

We love you Mom and Joe- happy 25th anniversary and we hope there are many, many more!

the zoo

We've had a busy week and it's only Wed. Monday was our first playground date with our Mops groups- Caleb's second time at the Children's Institute playground. they both loved it. the playground is handicapped accessible which means there are a lot of ramps to get places instead of steps. the kids had a blast. Sadie gave me a scare and yet again, demonstrated her fearless spirit by climbing up a metal, curved ladder that was almost as tall as i was. they both enjoyed following their friend, Simon around and racing down the slide.

Yesterday we took a trip to the zoo, again with Simon and another friend from our small group. this was my first excursion to the zoo with the kids on my own. it was a little crazy and it helped that i had friends with me to help keep track of my two. Caleb was so excited when i told him we were going to the zoo- he happily squealed "we're going to the zoo to see the animamals" (that's not a typo- that's how the boy says animals). then it was "we're going to see the monkeys and Alice the Camel" (as in the song). Actually, we learned at the zoo that the camel's real name is Molly but i'm getting off track. the kids really enjoyed being able to get in and out of the stroller. they'd get out to look at the animals and then climb back in to ride to the next group. Caleb was very good at staying with me and riding in the stroller when areas got too crowded. his favorite spot was the monkey house. i think he would have been happy to sit on the ground and watch them climb and jump and swing- squealing and giggling the entire time. he also liked the polar bears. they were really active, swimming and walking around. Sadie's favorite part was the tube slide. they have a little picnic area with a playground that has a rope climb up to a tube slide. Caleb liked climbing up the incline on all fours and then walking down the stairs. Sadie, however, preferred to power her way up, standing and not holding onto anything and then would slide down the tube slide. she loved looking through the tube to see me at the bottom and saying "hi mommy."

we also had the surprise of seeing cousin Claire with Aunt Emily. they had just got to the zoo and we were working on finding our way out so we didn't get to visit much but we'll see them next weekend.

this morning, we were at the Toy Lending Library (i had to volunteer) and again the kids really enjoyed playing.

tomorrow it's off to the doctors for a check of their ears (make sure the ear infections have cleared up). Sadie's been out of sorts so i'm wondering if she's teething or if her ears are still bothering her. we'll see.

that's all for now