Phillips 66 Meet

Yesterday, we drove to Bartlesville to watch Kate compete in her first gymnastics meet ever.  She's taken gymnastics since she was two, but only recently joined an official gymnastics team and begun taking it kind of seriously and to the next level.  Had no idea the time commitment required for gymnasts!  This summer, she spent nine hours a week in the gym conditioning and practicing.  This fall, her level is required to do 6 hours a week.  Those girls do conditioning exercises that would make me cry...or at least cry for mercy!  I began watching her closely to make sure she was actually enjoying it as she always had, now that the demands on her time and body were so much more. She had always just taken a one hour class each week for fun.  This was totally different!   I just knew I would pull in the parking lot one afternoon after practice to pick her up and hear her say....this is not fun anymore.  This is work and I'm exhausted.  Don't like it.   

Not so.  Not even close.  She gets in the car happy, high energy, and loving all of it.  I don't know why I'm still surprised.  But, okay - gymnastics it is!  So we are moving forward.   This weekend was really big for her.  She's been working toward this since last May.  She was nervous but excited.  I told her, "Just get through this one.  Don't focus on your scores, what you walk away with in the way of ribbons....I know you want to do well and see those results, but just do the very best you can and HAVE FUN!"  "This one is about learning what a real meet feels like".

Well, she did it and she enjoyed it so much.   All that hard work paid off!  She had fun and even placed third in her age group.  Thank you for rolling out to see her, Grandpa!  And I know her Mississippi grandparents would have loved to have been there - so here are a few pictures!  But I have a feeling you will have many years ahead to see her compete.  She's got the bug now for sure!  They wouldn't allow flash photography - so these aren't great - but you'll get a peek! 

Heading back to warm up with Abby

 

 

Floor routine





Floor routine

Floor routine



beam

 

 



Has it been FOUR MONTHS? Then it's high time you met Wilson!

I cannot tell you where the last four months have gone.  I could feel them slipping by - or rushing past.  The pace of summer picked up around July and and then fall came in like a lion this year.  More activities, more homework, MIDDLE SCHOOL, more strong-willed Will, plus a puppy who is also strong willed and a new kitten.  It all makes for a pace I could have kept up with much easier back in my twenties or thirties.  I am not sure how I used to fit in time to blog, but I did and I will again. 

I have missed several important blog-worthy events.  I'm going to play catch up - bear with me. 

In the meantime, here's one more cutie we added to the family.  Meet Wilson!  Claire wanted a cat for her 9th birthday this year.  No.  Absolutely not!  We cannot take care of one more animal.  No.  Silly to even ask.  Pap is allergic.  I'll never hear the end of it and he may not be able to BREATHE at our house again.  No.  No cat.  And what about Blue?  He will eat the cat, won't he?  No.  No cat. 

Weeks go by.  "Kitten" is still on her birthday list, right at the top.  No is still our answer.  I mean, really NO! 

Then, for whatever reason, about three days before her birthday, I am lying in bed watching TV, zoning completely out as I often do after about 9:30 p.m. every night, when I say to Bill (who is locked in on fantasy baseball)...."I think we should get Claire that kitten".  He says, "Me too".  And that was that.  Was it the smartest idea?  Probably not.  But, my husband managed to find the sweetest cat who ever lived I do believe.  Claire named him Wilson.  I am quite smitten with this cat. 

And - Pap just came for a four day visit and I do believe he did not wheeze once.  Wilson did pack his bags and head for the vet for his stay, but still - I was happy that we hadn't totally ruined all chances to have Pap ever come back.  Pap does rank over Wilson....but look at those big blue eyes!

 

So, maybe not this dirty

Previously, I posted that I was so happy to see Kate digging in the dirt.  So happy that she is outside, breathing the air, spending time with her little brother instead of watching TV, texting her friends without coming up for air (on her Ipod, not a phone...I haven't totally bought into all this!), or shut behind her bedroom door.  I just don't know if I was ready for this.  But it happened so fast, I had no choice but to get the camera.  Enjoy.  This will be about the last time you ever see my children covered THIS deep in mud...if I can possibly help it.  I will say that I do believe they are still shocked that I let this go on.  I think that's what made it even more fun!

 

Go ahead, get dirty....please!

There was once a time, actually not long ago, that looking out into the yard and seeing mud from head to toe on one of my children would have rattled me - to the core.  Yes, I am that kind of mom.  Not proud to admit it, but I am a tad high strung, a bit of a fun hater, usually tense during art sessions in my kitchen - you know the type.   The kids just plain banned me from participating in (okay, overseeing) the last gingerbread house decorating event.  I cannot help it.  I know that it's not conducive to fun family times, but it is just my nature to follow them around with a paper towel when they are eating popsicles!  Nightmare for them, I'm sure and ME for that matter.  In my defense, two of my children (who will remain nameless) have got to be two of the messiest, let's get up to our eyeballs in dirt, kinds of kids.  I could write a short story on those two and the things they have done when I looked away for .5 seconds!  Kindred spirits in that regard.   

However, lucky for them, I have had a change of heart.  As I watch them growing up, Kate especially, I have almost done a complete turn around in light of the pre-teen/teenage years beginning to stare me in the face from time to time.  Kate's only ten, but occasionally I catch glimpses of what's to come.  It's not awful, but it's different.  I feel a sense of pride watching her mature, but a touch of sadness because I will miss the little girl.  This is no new phenomenon.  All parents must feel this, but it's new to me.  And boy, do I feel it. 

So now, when she gets ink/marker all over her desk because she was coloring pictures with her sister, or gets completely filthy because she is playing in the dirt pile with her little brother, there is no angst.  No anxiety over the mess.  The mess doesn't even register anymore.  It is just gone and all I see is a little girl and all I feel is thankful that she still enjoys those things and isn't glued to a TV, Iphone, Ipad, string of texts from her friends, or other things that I know are coming whether I like it or not.

Here's what I saw outside my window today and I loved it.  What a nice mother's day present for me.  Dirty?  Yes!  Going to track that dirt inside?  Without a doubt!  Do I care?  Absolutely not. 

Happy Mother's Day everyone! 



 

 



          

And where was Claire? 

 

 

 

One guess who the Messy Marvins are?! 

 

Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!

This is still one of my favorite events - the father/daughter sock hop hosted by the 2nd grade girl scout troop at Monte Cassino.  Little girl scouts, from Kindergarten through 4th grade, dress up in their best 50's attire and head out for a night of root beer floats, pizza, bubble gum blowing and hula hoop contests, not to mention lots of dancing with their daddies!  This was the year Claire's troop hosted the evening (2nd grade).  It was also Kate's final year to attend (4th grade).  Bittersweet.

Here are my 50's girls and their dad, headed out for the sock hop!



   

Will's birthday, part 2

Instead of a big party this year, we decided it would be fun to let Will experience Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.  I'm not always a huge fan of this place.  It can be crowded, the food isn't great, and there are probably germs galore this time of year, but what three year old doesn't think Chuck E. Cheese is about the greatest place on earth?!  And, as it turns out, the two nine year olds, the eight year old, and the six year old still think so too! 

We met up with one of our favorite families of all time, the Smiths and "Gant Gane" (he can actually say Aunt Jane now, but we all still prefer Gant Gane) the Tuesday after Will's birthday for some Chuck E. Cheese fun!

I have one of these for each of the kids around this age....gotta love the mouse! 

I love this one!  Gant Gane looks like they just won the lottery! 
She's the best - so fun!

GJ and Will in the tunnels

 

Big kids

 

 

Score!

They look like they are doing some serious scheming

Now, what to buy...what to buy?

Negotiations....

Happy boy and his dad

 

 

Happy Birthday to Will!

March 3, 2013, Will turned three.  Three!  At three, the most descrpitive thing I can say about him is that he is on the GO!  He is fast and I do believe his mind works even faster than his little body can move.  He loves being outside, playing with Blue, carrying our new cat, Wally, around everywhere, trying to keep up with Kate and Claire, playing chase or hide and seek with anyone who will participate, and scooting around the kitchen island on his little tractors at speeds meant for outside.  He is a physical guy - doesn't sit and play with small things for long.  He wants to MOVE...and fast.  I'm positive this is good for me because when he runs from inside to outside, to down by the pond, to over by the barn, to up on Dad's tractor, to back upstairs, to inside the garage (for something important he knows he needs in there), to back on the front porch...I must also go with him.  Tired is what I feel at 8:00 p.m. every night and still amazed at the difference between little boys and little girls.   

The weeks leading up to his birthday, I had been asking him what kind of birthday cake he wanted.  He loves sweets and I knew this would be a huge part of his day.  His answer each time was, "I want a cake just like George's".  At first, I was confused.  George who?  Pretty soon, he grabbed one of his favorite books, a collection of Curious George short stories, and showed me .  One of the stories is about George's birthday and the cake that the man with the yellow hat makes for George.  He pointed to it and said..."just like that".  I smiled and said "Okay" and figured I'd ask him again.  Surely he wanted a Thomas the Train cake or Jake and the Neverland Pirates or something?  I continued to ask about his cake occasionally and each time the answer was the same....just like George's.  The last time I asked, he definitely answered me in a tone that let me know this was the last time he was interested in answering that question.  I have been known to hound people - especially if I don't understand their answer/choice.  He was done with the hounding.

So, on March 3rd, we had dinner with G'ma and G'pa, opened presents and enjoyed a cake just like George's!  (Thank you, Reasors!)  The girls helped me decorate the house during his nap and were excited to go get him when he woke up.  My favorite part of this day was seeing his face when he saw that cake.  Happy Birthday, Will!  Thank you for all the smiles and laughter to bring to our days!