Here are my 50's girls and their dad, headed out for the sock hop!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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!
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!
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!
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| I have one of these for each of the kids around this age....gotta love the mouse! |
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| I love this one! Gant Gane looks like they just won the lottery! She's the best - so fun! |
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| 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!
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!
Rose Hill
A few weeks ago, Kate's 4th grade class took a field trip to Rose Hill school in Perry, OK. Bill was able to take off part of the day and take care of Will and Claire so that I could go with her. What a fun experience. The kids all dressed in authentic clothing, appropriate for that time period and were required to bring lunches in pails or baskets, packaged only in materials available during 1910...parchment paper/butcher paper and string, etc. They were also asked to pack lunches similar to what kids would have eaten back then....biscuits, cold chicken, fruit, beef jerky...in other words, no goldfish, Lunchables, or fruit roll ups!
They spent the day having lessons with the Rose Hill school marm who required yes mam's and no mam's out of all of the kids every time they answered questions and I do mean every single time. Loved that. They practiced handwriting on slates, learned to use a pen and nib, had recitation lessons and participated in a spelling bee. When lunchtime arrived, they all took turns washing up at the basin in the "cloakroom". It was such a great experience for those kids. There were many memories made that day, the ones that really stick with you.
The parents who attended were required to sit quietly in the back of the room. I had lots of time to think. As I watched the day unfold, I was reminded of how labor intensive and difficult some things were back then, yet also how unbelievably simple. The days did not race forward at warp speed. The main agenda items were the basics - work, providing/preparing food, education (if you were lucky), worship, and housekeeping. Those were the things most families focused on each day and they were done together, as a family. The busyness of today is something I could easily turn my back on and never miss. I have often tried to figure out how to do just that and get back to the basics. I still don't have the answer. I still race to and from Tulsa to get the kids from school, to and from basketball practices (4 nights a week), to and from gymnastics (2 nights/week), to and from different school functions, church functions, girl scout meetings, birthday parties, etc. And, oh yeah, we still have the basics of food, education, and housekeeping! It's a busy life for most families in 2013. Some call it "full" and thrive in the rat race. Not me. I will die trying to simplify things.
Now, I am thankful that I didn't have to walk 4 miles each way in the snow to and from school, kill my own dinner, or live through the Great Depression, but in the midst of all of the hard times and hard labor, there was something really nice about those days - the sheer simplicity of it. Not to mention, the kids looked pretty cute! Here are some pics of our day spent traveling back to 1910 at Rose Hill.
They spent the day having lessons with the Rose Hill school marm who required yes mam's and no mam's out of all of the kids every time they answered questions and I do mean every single time. Loved that. They practiced handwriting on slates, learned to use a pen and nib, had recitation lessons and participated in a spelling bee. When lunchtime arrived, they all took turns washing up at the basin in the "cloakroom". It was such a great experience for those kids. There were many memories made that day, the ones that really stick with you.
The parents who attended were required to sit quietly in the back of the room. I had lots of time to think. As I watched the day unfold, I was reminded of how labor intensive and difficult some things were back then, yet also how unbelievably simple. The days did not race forward at warp speed. The main agenda items were the basics - work, providing/preparing food, education (if you were lucky), worship, and housekeeping. Those were the things most families focused on each day and they were done together, as a family. The busyness of today is something I could easily turn my back on and never miss. I have often tried to figure out how to do just that and get back to the basics. I still don't have the answer. I still race to and from Tulsa to get the kids from school, to and from basketball practices (4 nights a week), to and from gymnastics (2 nights/week), to and from different school functions, church functions, girl scout meetings, birthday parties, etc. And, oh yeah, we still have the basics of food, education, and housekeeping! It's a busy life for most families in 2013. Some call it "full" and thrive in the rat race. Not me. I will die trying to simplify things.
Now, I am thankful that I didn't have to walk 4 miles each way in the snow to and from school, kill my own dinner, or live through the Great Depression, but in the midst of all of the hard times and hard labor, there was something really nice about those days - the sheer simplicity of it. Not to mention, the kids looked pretty cute! Here are some pics of our day spent traveling back to 1910 at Rose Hill.
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