The Luikens
Laugh Out Loud
Trip to the Turnip Shop…January 7th, 2009
oh, I started this blogging thing off about 2 yrs. ago and would do it every night, then weekly, I hate that I can’t keep it up. Here is another sweep off the ‘to blog about list’ from the fridge… Thanks to my friend, Keturah’s blog, I am guilted into seeing the last time I posted. I check her blog to see when/if my friends update their blogs…then I see ‘Luikens…last updated 1 month ago” Geesh! Get on this Momma Luiken! Sorry again, for the randomness…
Before Thanksgiving, I went through the kids’ closets/drawers to see what they would be needing and what we could get rid of or what I need to pack away. I’m just not mentally prepared to get rid of their clothes. I’m too attached still. I do however enjoy giving the clothes that had very little wear (or none at all) to Goodwill. This year I decided to ‘keep it in Eldora’ and take things to the Kiwanis Turnabout Shop. They sell things for very little and the store benefits people who cannot get out of town. So. I packed up a couple of garbage bags full of clothes/blankets and told the kids I was going to drop them off while DD was at school. DD begged, “please don’t do it until I’m done with school today…I really want to see what they do in the ‘Turnip shop!’ I’m glad I waited, we were able to have a good conversation about being thankful and not ‘wanting.’
Drue had her first playdate without me the week before Thanksgiving. She went to her best friend Campbell’s. They are 6 weeks different in age and just have a blast together. I figured DD would probably get to missing me so much by the end of the day that she’d cry and have Pam call me. When I arrived to pick her up, she indeed was crying…because I WAS THERE! She wanted to spend the night, thought I came too soon, etc… So, I’d say we’re safe on the playdate invites.
At the Luiken Thanksgiving, DD was so excited for pumpkin pie! After our meal she kept asking, “is it pumpkin pie time yet?” After games and visiting we cut the pies. DD scarfed hers down before everyone else was even served. She held out her plate for a second piece. I hesitated, but thought, heck, it’s Thanksgiving, sure. She ate that one. Then put her plate out again…I said, “I don’t think you need any more pumpkin pie.” She replied, “I don’t want pumpkin, I want to try the chocolate pie.” So she ate 3 pieces of pie that night.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, Lane went to Sunday School all by himself! I only went with him one time. He knew he could do it. I am the Sunday School Superintendent and I am just down the hall from his classroom. He knew I’d be close if he needed me. He loved it. He made a necklace craft and a worksheet. He can’t write his name yet, but put an “L” on his page. I was so proud…so was he. He sat in church just staring at his lesson. Like… “wow, I can’t believe I just did that, I’m so grown up!”
DD’s favorite teacher at Preschool is Miss Peggy. Every Monday Drue says, “Mom! Today is my favorite day of school…it’s Miss Piggy day!!” I crack up everytime.
I have caught Lane several times saying outloud…but to himself…” PBS kids dot org” That too cracks me up. He’ll say it while he’s coloring, while he’s going potty, anytime. He loves public television! We especially love ‘Sid the Science Kid’ and ‘Word World.’ GREAT programs in my ‘teacher opinion.’
While singing Christmas carols, I over heard Lane sing…”Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to ride in a one DOOR open sleigh!” Ha! I love it! I mean, really, what 3 year old has ever heard of a one horse open sleigh, let alone seen one… Door makes much more sense, but I suppose he worries someone will fall out!
One of our favorite cereals is Frosted Flakes. Our kids do not like cereal with milk poured on it. “It gets soggy,” etc… So, often times cereal is not a breakfast option, but rather a snack or something to eat at church. Lane asked me for “Frosted SNOW Flakes” for his snack…this weather is gettin’ to him!
The kids were both in the Sunday School’s Christmas program. They are young enough that they don’t have parts to memorize, but get to stand up front and sing cute songs. They were in the same group and were so cute. They didn’t seem nervous at all and did such a great job sitting through the service in the very front row with just their Sunday School teachers. One of the songs was to the tune of “Mary had a Little Lamb”…the second verse went like this, “He was born in Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Bethlehem, He was born in Bethlehem, He is our Savior King!” Dig sings “He was born in BEFF-EFF Hem, Beff-eff hem, Beff-eff hem, He is our Savior KING!” Precious!
We started a great tradition ( I hope) this year, thanks to the suggestion of a friend. “PuddinHead” visited! He is one of Santa’s Elf helpers. He comes on before Santa on Christmas Eve. He brings new pajamas to girls and boys, he rings the door bell and runs away as not to be caught or seen. He drops off the new pajamas on the front step and when the kids get them they know Santa is on his way and it is time to get those jammies on and get to bed! Wow does it work! We were at my Mom & Dad’s and it was getting late…really late, like 1 a.m.-ish. Uncle Shawn took the kids up to his room to see DD’s light up shirt in the dark. The doorbell rang and two bats came flying out of you know where…They were speedy! DD practically shoved Dig out of the way to get to the door. Dang. PuddinHead was already gone! But there were 2 packages on the step. They were ripped open faster than I can explain and soon there were 2 naked kids running around saying, “we HAVE to get to BED! We HAVE to go home and pour Santa’s MILK! We need to go home right NOW!” I have never had an easier time getting those children to bed…ever!
Christmas was wonderful. The kids were appreciative and thankful. We are very blessed. We enjoyed a lot of great family time with the Balvanzes, the Luikens and the Larsons. We had some tricky travel conditions a few times, but all in all it was a wonderful holiday. It was bittersweet, however. On Sunday, December 14, after the kids’ Sunday school program, Dad called me and said that they were at the nursing home and Grandpa Harold was not well. He told me the nurses told him that Grandpa probably wouldn’t live very long and that if I wanted to come, I could. This was a little before 10 pm. I told the kids the truth, where I was going, what was wrong, etc… I of course, was crying and DD said, “Momma, I should be there.” I stayed until 2 am. I didn’t think Grandpa’s breathing was changing too much and decided I needed to get some sleep so I could parent the next day. Mom called me at 7:11 and told me that Grandpa had passed away. The week was very hard. Everyone was busy and sad. My brother, Steve, was able to come home which was so nice. He got to stay an entire week and it was so comforting knowing my whole family was together to remember Grandpa and to be with my Dad. I just couldn’t stop touching Grandpa. I went to the nursing home before the funeral home removed his body. He looked about the same as he did the night before, just not struggling for breath anymore. He looked good at the funeral home. Pretty much like I remember him looking the last 20 years of my life, just skinnier. I couldn’t stop touching him. I didn’t want to say the final good-byes but I knew that he was in Heaven. No more Parkinsons, no more hearing-aids, no more wheel-chair, no more nursing home. He was celebrating Christmas with Christ himself! I miss Cow Grandpa so much. I feel bad for not visiting him more. I should have. I’m so thankful to my Mom who would, out of the blue, take the kids to the nursing home to show Grandpa how they colored, or watch Charlie Brown or show him how they play ball…she knew what we all didn’t want to admit. That Grandpa wouldn’t be here much longer and we needed to spend more time with him and let him know we loved him. He knows. DD asked the morning she learned he had died, crying, “does this mean I’m going to forget him?!?” They were precious during the visitation and funeral and cemetary. We’ll always remember “Cow Grandpa/ Grandpa Hare” I loved him so.
DD is ADDICTED to TV. Plain and simple. I’m feeling terrible about this. She loves “the Suite Life of Zack & Cody”…I mean loves, like she LOOOVES them! Especially Zack, when he has longer hair. She’ll sneak the remote then hide it so no one can turn channels. It’s pathetic, and we’ve started limiting tv time/# of shows she can watch etc…But she says, “I just don’t know what to do in the winter, you can’t be outside”…I think she’s heard that before….maybe, Nanny??? :) She may have a partner in crime because I shut the tv off and she freaked. Crying, she grabbed the phone and said, “I’m callin’ Nan!” I assume she thinks that Nan will let her watch tv…DD’s no dumby. During one ‘incident’ I told Drue that she needed to shut the tv off, she’d watched enough that day…DD looked at me, ALMOST crying and said, “what Mom? Do you want me to cry before Christmas!?!?!” Thank goodness she doesn’t have a tv in her room, or I’d never see her! She does deserve to watch some though. She’s a hard working preschooler!
DD started back to school and dance this week. It was exhausting. We’re anxious for coffee tomorrow. We haven’t been since my birthday. Speaking of bdays..Drue will be FIVE in less than a month! Amazing. Seems like we just brought her home from the hospital.
Currently, the kids have the couch cushions off and are playing “Alligator.” I taught them. My brothers and I used to do it a lot. You jump from cushion to cushion, but don’t fall into the alligator invested water or you will get a bite! They’re a little wound-up. Better slow them down a notch. Thanks for reading!
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Random Thoughts…November 7th, 2008
I’m so not good at this blogging thing anymore! I can only imagine how crazy our lives will be when Drue and Lane are in school, extracurricular activities, church night, friends over…etc.. I’ve mentioned the on-going list I have on the fridge entitled “Blog About…” so it’s about time I clean it up, let you know what’s on it and start again…Here goes! Some of this is OLD news and may have already been told, I’ll never know.
Dig went to the dentist the first time in July…had a few cavities filled. Nothing compared to his sister’s first visit! He did very well, was nervous but held my hand and his blankie.
Did I tell you we went fishing! Oh that was fun. It got cold on us though and we didn’t stay too long. Drue caught 3 little fish, Lane wasn’t so lucky, but he didn’t mind. But I kept saying, “can you guys believe you got 3 fish!!” Lane would reply, “I DIDN’T! DD got the fish”
The kids had their first “real” babysitter in August…Family friend, Sierra Higgason watched them while I went to the dentist. They had such a great time. Lane cried bad before I left and was holding on to my neck so tight! He’s never been away from me unless at a grandparents. I told him if he needed to he could call Pa or Uncle Shawn and they’d come get him, but he had a bunch of fun with Sierra and they’ve begged me since to “go away so Sierra can come over!” Lane didn’t feel well that week and was taking “messy-in” (medicine)
Drue took swimming lessons and after the week of instructions (her teachers were Hunter and Griffin Dye…I babysat them from the time they were months old! Now I feel ancient!) Drue was told she passed the class and received a paper Red Cross pass…she told everyone…”I got a pass!” She was very excited to move up! Lane wasn’t interested this year, but I’m making him next year.
Lane Ryan loves to play with DD in her doll house. He doesn’t have dolls, though. So he treats his favorite balls like babies. “Oh cute little baby red ball, you sleep in here. Football is going potty.” Silly man. Sis lets him play with the people but he really likes balls!
Tuesdays are “Rainbow” days for us, we eat with Pa and Shawn at the Rainbow, if DD wants a hamburger she always tells the waitress…”I want a ham-booger with ketchup…NO must-up!”
Dig is ADDICTED to coloring! He will color for hours if we let him! He is picky, too! He stays up late to color, and is just in love with his box of 64! He does such great work, too! Infact, that was his birthday party theme…Crayons!
Oh my…this is funny! But some of you will blush…The kids were quiet in my bathroom one afternoon and I was curious as to what must be going on…Lane came out to the living room and pulled down his pants “look mom, I have my periods in my undies!” So proud! He had put a panty liner on! Then that evening before a bath, Drue was undressing and said, “Oh, I forgot, I put period in there!” Well, they’ve understood part of it I guess.
Dig and DD love to pester Uncle Shawn. He loves to pester back. The kids know just what to do or say to him to make him giggle or tickle. Him and DD have a very special bond but one night she told me…”Shawn is meaner, better than everyone!” How do you take that? She always sticks her tongue out at him and calls him naughty.
Both kids are learning more and more all the time… it’s actually scary. We have the Area Education Agency coming to work with Drue twice a month. She is not behind in any age requirements, but I just wanted a headstart before kindergarten. So right now she’s working on the ch- sounds. Improvements everyday! She loves when the lady comes to our house. Both she and Lane think she’s just coming to play games!
This kills me…I crank up…I mean LOUD the song “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock…The kids love it too…probably need to start censoring some around here! But Dig says, “mom, lets see if we can find ‘feet home anda banda’ on the radio!” Say it…’feet home anda banda—->Sweet home Alabama. I’ve also heard him sing, “drinkin my whisky out of a bottle” he thinks it’s something a baby drinks! Too funny.
Ryan left this morning for southern Iowa. He’ll be home Sunday. He is hunting deer and it should be pretty good because of our weather! It snowed for the first time today. Nothing accumulating, but enough for the kids to be excited. After we were already for school we went outside and played for awhile. Dig scooped what he could off the front deck and ate it. Then threw a couple snowballs at me that he claims he just ‘found.’ The kids went grocery shopping with my mom and now I better go feed the dog and head over for supper. I apologize for the scattered thoughts, but I felt I better update the blog, even if there’s nothing really to update!
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Call Me Betty CrockerSeptember 26th, 2008
ok…So, tonight was our TTT society’s annual Chicken & Biscuit dinner…each member is responsible for bringing a nice cake or dessert…I decided to make a “better than sex” cake…you know the kind…a German chocolate cake mix, poke holes, pour sweetened condensed milk and caramel over the top, cover with coolwhip and top with crunched Heath bars…Here’s how my day went…feel free to laugh and think I’m a dork!
9:00 drop DD off at preschool
Go to Fareway and pick up Cool-Whip and caramel sauce that I forgot to get with the rest of the groceries yesterday
10:00 Start making cake, realize I don’t have eggs. (figures) Drive over to Mom’s and steal 3 eggs
10:03 get home and try cracking the 1st egg…realize they are HARD BOILED!
10:05 go steal 3 MORE eggs from Mom’s fridge, as we pull in the driveway, one egg rolls off front seat and cracks, but doesn’t break when hits the door…salvageable.
Bake cake , do dishes and chalk on the driveway with Dig
11:00 take cake out of oven, poke holes in top and pour sweetened condensed milk over…no WAIT…that’s not what I bought…it was evaporated milk…way different! Say, “screw it!” decide to start over and make another cake
11:15 run back to Fareway, get a new cake mix and my OWN eggs and SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
11:30 Pick DD up from school
Eat lunch
Try cake thing again…Ok, everything worked fine. Hurry up and get it in the fridge to chill
Give Drue and Ryan a piece of screwed up, unfinished cake, ugly cake
3:30 take money bag, (I’m treasurer) and cake pan to the high school. Drop cake off at ‘cutting table’ for other women to cut and put on plates. “Here’s my cake” I say proudly…”Looks like the one you are cutting is about the same recipe as mine,”…but isn’t near as pretty I think to myself…walk away without taking lid off my pan…
5:30 Ry and the kids come eat, I sit and have dinner with them…go to dessert table and scan the goodies, “hmm….that one looks kind of like mine..just without the caramel…and the cool-whip…and the Heath bars…” I think nothing…
We had a very successful dinner…Jean Dunn comments that all the chocolate cakes are gone, “they went fast” she says. I ask her if they’ve brought mine out, I explain it to her, ”I haven’t seen it, but maybe I wasn’t paying attention” I told her.
8:00 I go to pick up my 9×13, after it was washed. I see the lid, but not the pan I brought. “I always leave with a different pan!” I tell the girls. “I have one like this, but I didn’t use this one today, Oh well. a pan’s a pan.” I then load up the pan with a few pieces of leftover cakes for the kids and Ryan.
8:15 Home. I sit in the recliner and snuggle the munchkins. Ryan goes to kitchen to snatch a piece of mystery cake I brought home. Says, “what? didn’t they have to use your cake?” “NO! I brought some leftovers, goob!” Nothing.
8:30 I go to kitchen to give Dig his allergy medicine…notice someone has mysteriously put cool whip on the screwed up cake…why? Who? oh well, that was nice of them…I decide to open it to check it out…I TOOK THE WRONG CAKE! I about cried. I am soooo embarrassed! Ry says…”now do you see what I was asking?” Yes, Ryan…I SEE!
SO…whoever cut the cake, didn’t seem to mind the huge chunk taken out…Mind you, this was not done neatly, I knew it was screwed up, I just cut DD a piece and left the pan messy, I even just grabbed a slab with my fingers..ughh! I’m getting sick thinking about it! Then, didn’t they realize it looked really unfinished? Wasn’t it soggy? Oh my! ughhghhg! At least there wasn’t any left over…unless someone threw it away. I made a point to put my name on the ‘real’ cake’s pan…I don’t think my name was on the screwed up one…let’s hope not! :) Oh….I can’t stop thinking about this! I’m definitely going to make sure I explain myself when we have our next meeting, which happens to be at our home in 2 weeks. Whoever put it on plates was very polite and didn’t want to hurt my feelings…but I just want people to know I DID make a very pretty cake…I’ll have to tell you how it tastes…tomorrow. ughhghghhhhh!
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Lane Ryan #23September 21st, 2008
I was able to post pictures to our photo gallery, just click on the tab at the top of the page and see some new pictures of our soccer player! I didn’t put them in an ‘album,’ so they are just individual pictures, you’ll have to scroll through previously posted pics to find the new ones, but our kids are pretty cute…it won’t hurt you!
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September 16th, 2008
Here is a picture of my little man in his 3 year session, what a stud! You’ll have to wait until I figure out the album for more…
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pictures…September 16th, 2008
Ok, I totally forget how to add photos to my album…Erin, save me!
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Happy Birtday, Lane Ryan!September 16th, 2008
Lane is THREE! I’ve been asking him all week “can you believe you’re 3?” His reply…”ALREADY!?!” like, “I totally missed it!” Then after we dropped Sissy off at school he told me,” Momma, probably all my birthday cake party guys will be home when we get there!” Poor kid…he just didn’t understand why if it’s his birthday, there wasn’t a party that day! It’s going to be a long wait until Saturday for his party. He’s already received several gifts, including an ISU jersey! Daddy didn’t even make him sleep in the dog kennel when he wore it, (he’d warned!!) Dig thinks Uncle Shawn is pretty cool and since he likes the Cyclones, Dig decided he could too! We did make cupcakes yesterday and he got a big Dora balloon from Nanny & Pa so that really got him in the birthday mood! Can’t believe he’s already three. I’m having a hard time with that! My baby is getting so big. He still lets me kiss on him though! He’s promised me I ALWAYS can…”even when I’m big!” :)
I’ve a big list of ‘blog’ news on the fridge that I need to post, funny things…one for example, when we were driving to the Iowa State Fair, we were almost there and the kids were getting a little antsy…I tried to distract them by saying, “wow, that’s a big church!” as we drove by a huge one with a large steaple, on the interstate, DD looked then said, “and it’s a sharp church!” Too funny! I’ll have to write more later, as right now I’m trying to convince 2 little people that it really is time for bed and it’s time to start slowing down, not winding up! I am hoping to add photos to the photo album link, so check it out and see if I got it to work! :) I’ll try and post more after this weekend’s party! Ubba Digga Dean!!! I see the moon, the moon sees Dig, God bless the moon and God bless Dig!
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??August 24th, 2008
That’s so not what I was trying to do…I’ll get back to ya!
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School girl!August 24th, 2008
It is official…I have a school-aged child! yikes! Drue went to her first day at Good Shepherd Preschool on Monday the 18th. DD was brave. She was excited to take her Tinkerbell backpack filled with supplies. She got all dressed up and decided how she wanted Mommy to do her hair. She hesitated when I dropped her off, I could see in her eyes she was nervous, but she did just fine as I left. Lane and I went to Deer Park. He said it was “boring without DD because she is nice and she is fun”…wonder what that meant about me?!? He really misses his “sissy” as he’s been calling her lately. Drue was gone 9:00 until 11:30. Then we ate lunch at Mom and Dad’s, like we do everyday, (except Tuesdays, that’s when we go out to eat with Shawn and Pa!) Drue talked about school but then started to express her concerns and worries. “I just don’t know what to play or who to play with…I just don’t know how to do preschool!!” She communicates so well. She talked to me about everything and hopefully, she knows she always can. She cries when we even talk about school, she says her tummy hurts and she just wishes I could stay there…”then I’d be ok” like come on Mom…that’s all it would take! She also told me after Weds. class…”I just wish I could have stayed a kid longer…I wish you could still be my mom.” I explained, she is still a kid and I’ll ALWAYS be her mom…no gettin’ rid of me! Hopefully, she’ll meet a friend or two and will be more excited to go. It sure makes my heart hurt to know what she’s going through. She’s talking to me about it so at least that is a good thing. She gets to take snacks to school tomorrow and chose to take her favorite, banana bread and orange juice. So…I made 3 loaves of bread, asked Ryan if he could please take out the 3rd loaf, and just put it on the cooling rack..emphasizing LEAVE IT IN THE PAN…the kids and I went on a little walk around our neighborhood and as we turn around, I see Daddy…hmmm. He looked at me and said, “well, you can hit me now or you can hit me later…but I tried to dump the bread on the rack and it exploded.” This is 8:30…I had no more bananas. I handled myself quite well, I have to admit. Daddy just got to give baths and I ran to get more bananas. So, that’s what I’m doing now. Waiting for the timer to go off.
I’ll post more about what we’ve been up to this summer…time flew. It’s been 2 months since I’ve posted and there is lots to share…or at least document for this momma to always have…you can read it or not! :) I’ll get on that! I’m also going to post some pics now…so easy with the new computer!!
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Ever slept in an airport??June 26th, 2008
Yeahhhhhh. My mom and I ventured the airs with Drue and Lane the first part of June. My cousin, Lindsay graduated from high school. It was my first time back since living with my aunt Aimee and Uncle Mike 8 years ago. It is still hot! We had a really nice time and the kids were so great. We went to Des Moines after supper on the 5th to stay in a hotel since our flight left early the next morning. That way we could also leave the car at the hotel for free. We were just getting settled and it started it rain. Shortly after I heard the tornado sirens go off. I called the front desk, she assured me they’d set off alarms if we needed to go downstairs, but mom and I were both nervous about possibly having to run out in the middle of the night so we both slept with our clothes on and trying to stay aware of our surroundings. The next morning, we were at the airport about 4:30am. The kids were troopers and very excited to fly. Lane purchased 2 golf balls to occupy him and DD got a little purse for her gum. Our flight was delayed because of the rain storms in DM and a MN. We were to take off at 6:30 but were set back to 8:30. Around 8:15 Mom and I got curious about why there were so few people at our gate. We re-checked our gate number and realized we had been changed and ran to the next gate, simply walking on the plane. That was a close one! And boy did we laugh! Once on the plane, Lane yelled, “Fly…up in the sky!” over and over. Take off was fine. The kids kind of oooed and awed when they felt their bellies float up. Lane was concerned before leaving that the plane might spin around in circles and do tricks. I assured him we wouldn’t but as the plane banked to turn, Lane looked out the window and said, “see Mom!! I told you we would flip over!” Goofy boy! Drue gets car sick often and I was hoping she wouldn’t have any troubles on the flight. She made it until the last 10 minutes, then complained of a tummy ache and got really pale and cried. Once we were off the plane in Denver she was fine and we were able to get something to eat. The flight to Denver was uneventful, DD got sick at the end again, so I decided to get her Dramamine for the trip home. In Dallas, we were just going to take our Embassy Suites van to the hotel. It just so happened that since we were delayed, Grandpa and Grandma Larson’s flight got in just moments before ours did. So we got to see them and Mike before we left. At the hotel, we took a quick jump in the pool then got ready to go to Mike and Aimee’s for steaks. Saturday morning was Linds’ graduation. She graduated with 497 other kids…needless to say, her ceremony was quite different than mine with 51! We ate at the country club near their home then went to the hotel to relax, Lane colored the entire time! I forgot to mention that when we arrived in our suite, there was a big gift basket that Aimee had made for us full of snacks, colors, a big coloring book, a Speed Racer book, magazines for me and mom, juice boxes, waters…all sorts of snacks…even cotton candy! That evening we went to Lindsay’s reception at her home, we had catered Mexican…yum! Even a margarita machine! Even nicer…Randy and Cindy and Scott were just a few doors down at the hotel so they drove and Mom and I could enjoy those Mexican beverages! :) While we were on the back patio, I stepped on a mound of fire ants. They didn’t bite me until I noticed them and they felt me trying to get them the heck off of me! Then, like their name suggests, FIRE! It really burned, but I was lucky and got some medicine on them quick and it never bothered me after that night. Sunday we went to church, the sermon really touched our family. The message hit home for us right now. Dig was a card. He laughed and giggled like someone was tickling him. He’s done that at home, also. He must be sleepy and punchy! After church we went to Dick’s Last Resort for lunch. As we were walking to the place, Grandma Ilene saw 3 big owls in the yard and thought they were so cute…it was “Hooters!” We had a good laugh. At Big Dick’s I had catfish, yum! It was a funny restaurant…the waiter yelled at you, kind of rude, etc…I got into it and yelled, “Hey…we need more ketchup over here!” My Grandpa thought that was my kind of joint! :) The kids were a little set back at first, then realized it was all ‘pretend’ yelling. Then, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium just a few blocks away. The kids loved the turtles, alligator, the octopus, manatees and the shark tunnel. They were traumatized by 2 people dressed in native American garb. Other than that, they LOVED it! Great Grandma and Grandpa bought them each a stuffed sea turtle and shark cups. We went back Mike and Aimee’s for a broil of shrimp , sausage, corn on the cob& potatoes. Lindsay’s boyfriend, Jordan’s parents joined us also. I drove Linds’ Jeep and Monday morning met Mike and Grandpa and Grandma for a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. What a beautiful zoo! Nothing felt caged in. I especially liked the monkeys and gorilla, the kids loved the elephant and the baby giraffe. It was a beautiful day to go and was a highlight for the kids! We then had Mike drop us off at the airport and prepared for our trip home…we weren’t prepared for what was ahead of us! Our flight out of Dallas was delayed because we had heavy (welcomed) rain. Once on the plane we had mechanical problems and sat for over an hour before the GPS was fixed. By the time we took off, we knew we’d miss our flight from Denver. Mom tried to take care of it, since we had mechanical problems, the air company gave us each vouchers towards other flights and a little food money,and switched our flight to the earliest they could…6am the next morning, by now it was after midnight… they offered to put us in a hotel, but since we’d have to drive 40 minutes and then be back at the airport around 4:30, we thought it was silly. The kids were already asleep and Mom and I thought it would be one less time moving them, we just slept in the airport. The floors are hard! I felt smooshed and crunched after sleeping a few hours. The kids didn’t even know any differently. The only thing is that we had to switch flights one more time because they took us through from Denver to Chicago then on to Des Moines. So, we left a day before Grandma and Grandpa and got home after they did! We pulled in to our driveway about 4:30 pm. Tired, but full of great memories. Definitely a good story for the kids’ babybooks and their first time in an airplane! The entire trip the kids were so good. Not crabby or grumpy or naughty and considering how some of the trip went…that’s pretty amazing!
After getting home, I asked Lane what his favorite part of flying was, he said, “ALL of it!” DD’s reply…”NONE of it!” But the medicine did help and she wasn’t sick during the trip home at all…which was good considering the challenges we had!
I had so many compliments about how great of kids they were during meals, graduation, church, flights…We already knew it, but I was reminded that we sure have wonderful, intelligent, loving, well behaved little monkeys…emphasis on monkeys!
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Cottage Cheese Pancakes
3 hours ago
