As usual...

I am way behind on just about everything including blogging. So let's see if I can catch up a little.

We had a great visit with Dad and Cheryl when they were here last weekend for Grandparent's Day at Bryn's school. One of the highlights was Bryn riding the mechanical bull at a restaurant where we ate. It was nice and slow and Bryn thought it was great. We also all got hooked up on Skype when they are here so we are able to video chat. Kind of strange to talk via video, but pretty cool. And it will be tons of fun for the kids to be able to see Grandpa and Nana and vice versa.

We are working on painting Bryn's room a nice bright shade of yellow. Unfortunately one coat isn't going to do it and I didn't buy enough paint. So off to Lowe's to get some more ASAP. In the meantime Bryn is sleeping in our room while hers is torn apart.

Speaking of torn apart, much of the house is currently a disaster as I have begun to "organize" and can't seem to find the time to finish. Too much to do, too little time. The mountain of laundry is not getting any smaller, either.

Grant is 18 months old today. He is talking more each day. Actually he is making more animal sounds each day and babbling a lot. We did get "Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!" added to his repertoire for "what does a pirate say" in honor of talk like a pirate day last week. And he now also makes a fish face for "what does a fish say". Yet while he vocalizes lot, he is obviously going to crawl while he does it as he still shows little to no interest in walking.

Next weekend is race weekend and Mom and John will be here. We are looking forward to their visit and will no doubt have a crazy weekend filled with all kinds of activities. We may skip the apple picking this year, though - I don't know if Mom and I can handle a million hours (OK, maybe it was only 5 or 6 hours) of apple peeling and slicing. I still have apple pies in the freezer from last year.

I looked at the calendar today and realized we don't have a single free Saturday until December. Lots of those activities will be lots of fun (like finally getting to see "Wicked" and Bryn and I heading to Chicago, for instance) but it still means there will be many busy weekends ahead. Hopefully we will be able to find some downtime in there somewhere.

All kinds of stuff

We have had a lot going on since I posted last. I have actually taken some pictures, too!

First, some pictures of goofy Grant...

In the dog bed...



Helping with the laundry...


Helping to "clean" the bathroom...


and of Bryn and Grant


Before...


After...


Bryn and Dad creating fish stories...


Bryn is back at school and loving second grade and her teacher, Mrs. Link. Here is a first day of school picture...


Aunt Nicole and cousin Bonnie came for a visit. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and relaxing a bit.


Over Labor Day weekend we met grammy and Pops in Branson. The guys did some golfing while the girls and Grant packed in lots of activities. A trip to the Kirby Van Burch with some backstage passes to see the tigers and other cats was definitely the highlight of the trip for Bryn. She has been watching "Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed" for a couple of months now so a trip to a magic show was perfect for her! She didn't know how most of the tricks we saw worked, but she loved it anyway! We also took a trip on Ride the Ducks (Bryn got to drive the boat for a little while) and went to the waterpark. And then all of us checked out the dinosaur mini-golf course:


As far as other news goes, we are still trying to figure out what to do about Grant's tongue tie. I think we have decided to just wait and see since Aaron and I are just not comfortable with the general anesthesia idea. We will be sorry later if it affects his speech or causes other problems, but since it will likely never cause any problems at all we just can't get comfortable with doing it right now.

We have been having some big keyboard problems with our new computer. After sending it back for repair and spending hours on the phone with technical support, we seem to have solved the problem ourselves by switching from Internet Explorer to another browser. Such an easy fix after such major headaches. Gotta love it.

We are back into the routine of the school year. Between Friends of the Library, Library Board and mission committee meetings I am making sure Aaron gets to spend lots of quality time with the kids while I am at meetings. Bryn is going to do Girl Scouts and a couple of short drama classes this fall. It doesn't seem like much, but with the Wednesday night programs at church, it all keeps us running.

Aaron is still teaching and trapping. His most current happiness comes from college football, a big TV and surround sound, though!

Grant is still not walking but is really starting to vocalize a lot. A lot of his words seem to be in "Grant language" although he will say "daddy" and "sissy" and "duck" and "hi" pretty clearly. He won't say "mommy", though, he just looks at me and smiles and says "baba" when I try to get him to say it...the life of a mother is so thankless! He will make lots of animal sounds - I have a feeling he is going to be an animal lover like his sister.

Bryn has decided she is part dog since she likes to pant and walk on all fours and she feels like she has a tail that should wag when she is happy. As grouchy and pouty and contrary as she has been for the past few months, I would love to see a wagging tail! It seems she is coming out of this phase a little (knock on wood) - I am sure we have something just as lovely to look forward to!

Our cable isn't working today so I haven't been able to watch any of the 9/11 anniversary coverage. It is hard to believe it has been 8 years since that awful day - I always think of the families and friends of all of the victims and of the military families and hope they have been able to find some peace and happiness.

The 3 day walk in pictures (with a little commentary, of course!)

On our way

We saw LOTS of blue over the course of 3 days...and just so you know, port-a-potties get really hot in 90+ degree temps!

Are we there yet?

Sea of pink

We walked in the rain...


And shine

Boy, the city still looks awfully far away...(or, we have how far left to go?!?!)

We made it!

60 miles down...I need a nap!

Getting ready for school...and other stuff

I am busy working on getting my online classes ready, there is a school supply list on the counter and the pool is now only open on the weekends. It looks like summer is over!

The past few months have flown by and I am definitely ready to get back into a routine and settle in to the school year. Bryn is looking forward to second grade and Grant is going to go to Mother's Day Out...it will be very strange to be alone (well, with the pets of course!) in the house one day a week. I am excited about having a little bit of time to finally get some stuff organized, clean out a few closets and sneak in some good naps!

I am LOVING the new cabinets and countertops in the kitchen. It feels so much bigger and more counterspace and more cabinets are never a bad thing. I also do not regret for a minute taking out the Corian and replacing in with laminate. I think the finish on it and the beveled edge make it look better than the Corian did (which always looked like it needed to be polished) and it is a big bonus that is was a lot cheaper!

I made an appointment with a pediatric ENT to get a second opinion on Grant's tongue. We will see her in September. We also had Grant's hearing checked today (which is perfectly fine) and we will see the pediatrician in a couple of weeks. We will see what she has to say about his speech development but I am pretty convinced there is not a problem. He makes tons of animal sounds and can point to many of the animals in his books so I know his little brain is processing info. He may just be a man of few words like his Dad.

Looking forward to a nice weekend with absolutely nothing on the calendar...that hasn't happened in a while! I am sure we will fill it with all kinds of really stimulating activities (like school supply shopping and a trip to Sam's club) but it is great to not have anything scheduled.

Off to work on class some more - getting them ready is never fun but the minimal maintenance during the semester sure is great!

It's always something...

I took Grant to the ENT doc yesterday to check his tongue tie and the ENT is recommending having the tongue clip surgery now. Of course this freaks me out a bit - who likes the thought of putting their 16 month old under general anesthesia for an elective procedure? Additionally, the doctor is thoroughly convinced that Grant has a speech delay since he is only saying a handful of words. We are going in for a hearing test tomorrow and he wants to refer us to infant/toddler services for language screening. I am not really sure how you can possibly screen a 16 month old for speech and figure out what is normal but I guess I will get to find out. Grant "talks" constantly...he just doesn't say very may recognizable words. Mommy intuition tells m it will come soon and that he is on track but what does a mom know, right!?!?! It kind of feels like Bryn all over again when they freaked out about her size and made us jump through all kinds of hoops to prove we were feeding her correctly. I know the doctors are just doing their job but I fee like this doctor that has seen Grant one time and is not taking the time to look at the individual case. Ah well, at least life is never dull!

Hard to believe

that I finished the walk - nearly 60 miles in three days. My teammates weren't sure that I could do it, I am sure there were moments that my family and friends didn't think I could do it and I certainly had my moments of doubt about whether or not I could do it. But by the time I took my first step onto the route, I knew the only way I was getting off of the path was if someone dragged me off of it. I trained hard and learned my body. I knew how sore my feet would be after walking too many miles, I knew how dehydrated and hot I could get when the temperatures soared to 90+ degrees and I knew that if I kept a slow and steady pace I could go farther than if I sprinted out of the gate. Am I ever going to break any land speed records? No. But I crossed the same finish line that everyone else crossed - and I walked every step of the way.

Am I proud of myself? Damn straight, I am! But I am most proud of the fact that I was part of raising over $5 million to help fight breast cancer. I was humbled and inspired by the men and women who walked. One woman pushed her mother (a survivor) for miles after the batteries on her motorized wheelchair gave out. Three men walked with their mom (also a survivor). Three friends walked for a best friend that they lost last November after a 12 year battle with breast cancer. Men walked in honor of and in memory of wives and mothers and sisters and daughters. Women walked for lost fathers, sons and brothers. There were 1800 walkers, each one walking for their one personal reasons, but we all walked for one common goal - that someday no one will need to walk because there will be no more loved ones lost too soon to a disease that can strike any one of us at any time.

There were also 500 amazing crew members that raised money and worked unbelievably hard. They got up before the walkers did and went to bed after the walkers did. They emptied trash, served food, mixed Gatorade, tended to blisters, help us get across busy intersections and cheered us on. They were amazing.

I have swollen and blistered feet, I have a suitcase full of extremely ripe smelling clothes and 2 pairs of tennis shoes that I don't ever want to lace up again. But I also have the memories of a truly life changing experience and a new understanding of the fact that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. The only one who can stop me is myself - and that won't be happening anymore.

Hanging in there

Bryn is no longer sick and no one else has caught whatever she had (knock on wood). Especially good news since Aaron and the kids are headed to Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa for a family reunion later this week.

I have been getting my stuff together for the walk and am going to pack it all up tomorrow since we are leaving early Wednesday morning. The forecast at this point is for rain and hot temps but I am hoping for the best and figuring that since the weather forecast is rarely correct here there is no telling what it will really be like in Chicago over the weekend.

I am starting to get nervous about the walk and as a result my mind is working overtime and keeping me from sleeping very well at night. I am worried that I have been taking it too easy and not training enough for the past couple of weeks. I am hoping that the prior months have prepared me well enough and that my recent laziness won't take a major toll on my stamina. On the bright side, the time off has been great for my aches and pains - when I took a short 4 mile walk on Saturday I had no knee, foot or ankle pain and felt much better than I have in months. I am worried about walking in the rain (wet feet = more blisters which I already battle in a major way), worried about keeping my fluid balanced if it is really hot (I can produce some impressively disgusting amounts of sweat and have a really hard time staying hydrated properly) and I am worried about walking 60 miles. Despite all of the walking I have done over the last several months (400 miles give or take), 60 miles in three days still seems like a lot of walking! I know it will be a great challenge and a great experience and in the end I feel lucky to be able to be a part of it - I will just feel better when I get there and get started!

I am really enjoying my new kitchen... the additional counter space and extra cabinets have made a huge difference in how much room I feel like I have to work in while I am in there. And I am perfectly happy with the laminate countertops. As long as they hold up I will never miss the Corian!

Grant is changing every day and has finally decided that standing up has its advantages. He rarely sits down anymore and although he has yet to do too much cruising around the furniture or from place to place, I have a feeling it won't be too much longer before he lets go and takes off. He LOVES to read books and will sit on his own and flip pages for 30 minutes at a time. He would rather be read to, though, so he spends lots of time dragging books around trying to get someone to read to him. I think he would let us read to him all day - with the exception of the breaks he has to take to try to climb something, find something with wheels to roll around the house or knock over anything that isn't nailed down.

So all is well here...just hanging in there and enjoying every crazy and chaotic moment!