YeLLoWSToNe: family vacation 2009

Vacation! Oh what a delightful word. The thought of it can excite one for weeks in advance, the memories can last a lifetime. In fact, I've read that workers who take vacation make better employees than those who work year round, and that vacationers are "happier" than people who spend their extra money on "stuff" (nicer cars, homes, clothes, etc.). Regardless of whether those studies hold any merit, we like to vacation. :) Last year Brian and I vacated without the kids, taking a much needed break and having a wonderful time with our besties. The year before, Brian and I spent a weekend in Kansas City.

A couple of months ago Brian told me he thought we should all go to Yellowstone. Okay... I was hesitant. We've talked about it for a few years; neither of us has ever been there, and isn't that the destination of the all-american-family-vacation? So what was my problem? Well, it's a long drive. LONG. And I don't like long drives. Especially with kids. I don't like having bags upon bags at my feet, digging for a different book or a snack, or stopping again to change a diaper or go potty, or stretch my legs, etc. Not to be a complainer. :) It's just not my favorite thing. Anyway, driving to Yellowstone takes a long time. Flying is faster. Flights got cheap, my dear hubby noticed, pounced, and before I knew it he was excitedly planning our very own all-american-family-vacation.

The kids' excitement built. Brian did a fabulous job prepping them. He borrowed a few books from the library, we watched videos online, and we talked a lot about what we might see and do while on vacation. Xander's enthusiasm for wolves and bears grew, and Libby was looking forward to geysers. I was a little worried that they might get bored with trees and mountains. Don't get me wrong, I love trees and mountains. But a 4 and almost-2-year old? Dunno.

Fear not and praise the Lord! Kids do love trees and mountains, but even more, they love elk, deer, sheep, wolves, bears, buffalo, moose, geysers, waterfalls, steam, swimming pools, hotel rooms... The Lord provided vacation blessings in abundance! Needless to say, we had a really wonderful time. It was such a gift to have 5 consecutive days with just the 4 of us. Brian hasn't been able to spend that much time with the kids since Xander was born, and the benefit of his presence was evident. Wouldn't it be fun to have him home with us all the time!

I took a lot of photos, those below are some of my favorites. :)

The time? 4:00 a.m. The kids? Awake for about 15 minutes and very excited that it's finally time for YELLOWSTONE!

Libby was practically giddy with excitement. I couldn't help but grab my camera and snap a picture of her beaming smile. Xander sat next to her a little bit droopy eyed, sucking his thumb. Acting a bit more appropriately for the hour of the day, especially considering that the night before, neither of the kids went to sleep easily. Poor Libby was so excited that she couldn't sleep and was still awake when we checked on her at 11:00 p.m. Anyway, after taking a picture of Libby, I decided to hold the camera over my head and take one of Xander, who was sitting directly behind me. You know, to document my sleepy headed babe.

wait?! what!? silly kid. he saw the camera and gave one of the cutest and wakeful camera smiles he's ever flashed at his photographing mama.

two hours later, we're in flight. xander's first. libby's... well, i've lost count. something like 34th. she used to be a bit of a frequent flier, though she hasn't flown since she was 18 months, so she was just as excited as xander to board the plane.

almost immediately, the Lord provided beautiful scenery, to our delight. what a gorgeous sunrise.

Lamentations 3:22,23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

libby tried to rest. she was admittedly tired. of course, her attempt didn't last very long. there were cartoons to watch in the seatbacks. . .

we arrived in denver, laid over for a couple of hours, and daddy noticed that the truck outside the window near our gate was one pictured in the book we'd been reading. the kids thought that was pretty cool. already, vacation was proving to be extraordinary. by this point, libby has mentioned more than once that she loves vacation.

this was us. thankful for the big double stroller that served to tote the kids...and everything else.

smiles on my sleepy kiddos' sweet faces

boarding our flight to bozeman. this is really NOT what you want to see as you climb the stairs to get on your little prop plane. . . maintenance? ugh.

bozeman! we arrived and would you believe we saw a bear almost immediately?! xander was a bit hesitant, he didn't want to sit up with libby, but he was a sport and posed with a big grin. he got a bit more into the "game" when he noticed there were several middle-aged ladies cooing over him on a bench nearby. :)

after getting to bozeman, we rented a car and headed down to the park. before we even got to the north gate, we saw our first wildlife. at the time, we called them antelope. we later realized they were pronghorn sheep. :) either way, we were excited.

libby was thrilled to see the baby

the North Gate! we'd seen it pictured in books, but it was even more impressive in person
by now, i was fascinated with montana sky. it is striking. "big sky" couldn't be a better term. you'll probably notice a theme in the photos i took throughout the week. sky. magnificent. (and kids. cute. :)

in the park. heading to mammoth hot springs we spot more pronghorn sheep. libby is able to use the binos daddy bought for her to use on the trip (purple, no less). she'd been practicing at home before we left and was ready to put her focusing skills to good use. (sorry, neighbors.)

now we've arrived at mammoth hot springs and boom, elk. wow. the kids are loving this. and so are the parents. there's a lot of bang at yellowstone! we've only been in the park 30 minutes!

libby was really excited to pose with the elk, until daddy read the sign out loud. you can probably see the hesitation on her little face.

maybe it was these guys, maybe it was the bull elk we saw later, but somewhere along the line, xander developed an affinity for elk. at the mention of Yellowstone, he's sure to pipe in, "elk!" followed by, "wolf, bear, deer, bullofe (buffalo), wa-fall, team (steam) yuck!,...."

here's a hot spring, at dusk. the springs smell like sulfur, which is why any and every time we saw steam rising from the ground over the next 4 days, xander would say, "team, yuck!"

heading back to town after leaving the hot springs, more pronghorn sheep

from xander's seat he couldn't really see them perched on the mountain. instead, he checked out the view of the river.

by this point, libby had discovered the delight of checking animals off the checklist provided at the gate as we entered the park. at least every 2 minutes she would ask, "if you see any animals, will you tell me so I can see them and check them off my list?" "the list" became her new purpose. after she asked that about 10 times, i replied that i'd already seen bears, wolves, elk, yellow-bellied marmots, etc... She didn't appreciate my humor, and gave me the look you see above. :)

i can't imagine a better way to end a day than eating a big burger at Helen's Corral Drive-In. A part of daddy's vacation research was great little finds when it came time to eat, and on night one, daddy was right on. Helen didn't bother to indicate on her dry-erase menu that the cheeseburger basket included a burger that must have been at least 1/2 pound of beef. Nor did she mention that it would be as delicious as it turned out to be. Every last bite of it. No, not really. But I did the best I could and ate till I was stuffed. So did everyone else.

We returned to our hotel, and daddy took Libby swimming. I put Xander to bed around 9 (Libby was still at the pool) and that concluded our day that began before 4:00 a.m. What a day!

Day 2

here we are in front of "the sign" within the north gate entrance

our first adventure of day 2 was a 1/2 mile hike to Wraith Falls.

when we came around the last bend, it was pretty steep and daddy gave everyone permission, "we'll just take this slow." Libby's response, "I can RUN!" and she could. *sigh*

at the overlook

headed back down

Xander had his first personal "spot." He found a caterpillar. It's that little black fuzzy thing just to the right of center. (click on the pic to make it larger - if you're looking on the blog. facebookers, you're out of luck, unless you go to the blog and click.)

Psalm 36:7

How precious is your steadfast love O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundnce of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

this was the little spot we found for our picnic lunch

water feeding into the upper falls

score! we got to approach a bull elk. we joined a crowd with hushed voices and snuck around him to get the best pics we could. then the park ranger started yelling at people who were blockin off the big guy's means of escape, should he decide to escape, and we realized he couldn't care less if we were there. no need to be quiet, just don't fence him in!

one of the things i found so amusing about the kids was that they were just as fascinated by the grasses, or sticks, or bugs as they were the wildlife that brought us out of the vehicle. they quickly began entertaining one another as the elk grazed in the background.

xander has a fuzzy ended grass in his hand. i don't know my grasses.

he really wanted it in daddy's ear

kids play, elk grazes.... ah yellowstone

well now we were really en fuego. back in the car for about 5 minutes and there's a buffalo in the road. back out of the car. wise? maybe not. but we were young.

okay, believe it or not, we pulled into the lower falls parking lot and who is there? bull elk. same one we just saw from around the corner. libby gets another chance to practice with her binos.

xander kinda got in her way...

this picture kinda makes me smile. a really sweet lady offered to take one of all 4 of us. always a kind offer. after it was taken we looked at it and realized, it could have been anywhere. she kind of missed getting the waterfall in the background, but bless her heart, she was a bit shorter than we are. :)

someone else shorter than we are LOVED to take pics of us whenever we were stopped.

upper falls

libby peers over at the river below (this pic might make grandma anna sick)

see? see? see river? naturally, little brother is next.

as we're driving away through the valley. this buffalo had a friend who stepped right into the river and headed across. we got a video of it. it was pretty impressive how he walked/swam across, but makes for a boring video.

Driving by the Tetons that evening...

Psalm 19: 1-4a

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

picnicking for dinner. Tetons in the background. it was a perfectly beautiful evening.

the name of the place was, "the chuckwagon." we intended to keep on driving and have dinner in Jackson. But, about 20 minutes out we really needed to make a stop, and as Libby and I headed to the ladies room, we walked past this wagon, and smelled the delicousness brewing behind Libby in the picture. . . After a moment of investigating we decided this was the perfect place for dinner. The ribs and beef stew, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad bar, dessert, etc buffet was prepped over a wood burning stove and eaten outside in the beauty.

anyone who has been to jackson (hole) has a pic like this

that night we had a cabin at togwotee mountain resort. xander slept in a big boy bed for the first time, and again, he was so wiped out that he wasn't too tempted by his new freedom. the kids were so sweet sleeping together. x loooved having libby with him, and libby was so mature, "xander, could you please lay on your own pillow. i am trying to go to sleep."

Day 3

the next morning daddy took the kids for a stroll. i got an extra 45 minutes of sleep. later, daddy informed me that it was below freezing when they were out and about. boo.

Psalm 96:11-13

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

xander dropped his blankie along the route and daddy had to go back for it. the 3 of them did not have a bear encounter on this walk, which was good or bad, depending upon who you ask.

there's our lovely little cabin. when we stayed here, as where we stayed every other night, libby declared excitedly that this place was better than the last, and yes, she wanted to live here! she LOVED walking into our hotel room/cabin every night and checking it out, amazed with the big tv at the foot of the bed and interested in making pretend calls on the weird phone. she asked us one night, "do you think we could lay in bed and watch cartoons tomorrow when we wake up?" well libby, that's JUST the sort of special treat we can oblige while on vacation. seriously, that next morning the kids were so excited about sitting on the beds and watching cartoons while we got ready for the day. :)

okay, so we're back inside the park and stopped for a photo op in front of the tetons. they are breathtaking.

then on, and on, and on, and on, to... Old Faithful!

I don't want to be a stick in the mud, but I didn't think it was all that great. Am I alone? At least it wasn't stinky. (insert Xander: team, yuck!)

out through the west gate and into the little town of West Yellowstone. a lovely little place! xander and i took a little nap while daddy and libby went swimming and playing at a local park. i might have slept longer, but xander cuddle up on my arm and i woke to numbness and tingling and couldn't resist taking a picture of his sweet little self.

we concluded the day with a delish dinner at a pizza place brian had read about. i so apprecited all his work prepping and planning for this trip!

Day 4

ho hum, another bison (we called them buffalo, but we are wrong, they're bison)

elk? i can't recall nor tell from the pic. libby disappears from the pics after this one. i think it's because she was wearing flip-flops and got a splinter in her foot. fear not! mom came with tweezers!

more shots of xander playing with deer, i think they're deer, in the background.

on to some steampots (non stinky ones, for those who are keeping score. though yes, we are still gagging when we see steam, just for nostalgia sake.)

sitting aside grand prismatic

okay, so we didn't decide on our day's plan quite early enough. at this point we headed back out of the park, back to west yellowstone, so we could go to the bear and wolf observatory. if we hadn't gone back for that, the kids wouldn't have gotten a chance to see a bear, nor a wolf (well, xander anyway) and it was the last day so we had to make it happen. :) even if it meant more driving.

yep, that's a bear. yep, the observatory is a lot like a zoo.

and a wolf. mission complete. xander simply could not wait to see a wolf, for weeks before we left it was wofe, wofe, wofe. since we've returned it's been elk, elk, elk. i agree xand, elk. and moose.

yes! moose! props to daddy for spotting him in the river. we were back in the park, making our way CLEAR around the whole park to the beartooth highway, and we got to see a moose. this was really one of the highlights for me. :)

then, a little while later, we drove along and something jumped out in front of us. brian exclaimed "WOLF!" and sure enough, we saw a white one dart across the road right in front of us, narrowly escaping his death, and up and over the rolling hills outside libby's window. what an afternoon of thrills! we were still glad, however, that we went to the observatory, because the darting wolf was too quick in the opposite direction for xander's little eye.

we spent the rest of the day in the van (as in, it's now about noon and we were in the van until about 1 a.m.). we made a long drive to beartooth highway, which was made longer due to a *key* road being closed for the season (on day 2). however, the drive was made shortder due to a DVD player and 3 carefully chosen movies prior to our departure. this is the other reality of our vacation and needed to be noted. the kids watched videos. and we praised the Lord for that because let's face it, there are a lot of trees and mountains to see... but for a not quite 2-year old? and Libby did well appreciating the blessing of God's creation, but even she lost interest after a while. :)

FINALLY! beartooth highway. touted as the most scenic drive in America, we just couldn't miss it. and gorgeous views the highway did boast. particularly at sunset...

Psalm 36:5, 6

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgements are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O Lord.

meet my little friend. it's now pitch black and we have a five hour drive ahead of us to get back around and through the park to our hotel in west yellowstone. and would you believe, there's a lot of wildlife in Yellowstone? this big guy was right outside my window, i quick snapped a picture as soon as i saw him. my aim wasn't the best because, well, it was dark out, but you get the idea. he's big. and close. and that was nothing.

i would have filmed more, but i kind of panicked and turned the camera off. :) but just so you know, big boy continued walking toward us, and then right by brian's window, taking his sweet time, and snorting and growling the whole way. we were very aware of our vulnerability at that moment!

in additon to herds of bison in the road, brian and i saw deer (thankfully they didn't prance out in front of us, but stayed grazing on the side of the road where they belonged), a yellow-bellied marmot (or beaver), 2 foxes, bats, and a LOT of field mice. thankfully, we had no accidents, due in part to brian's diligent and slow driving. but we made it back to the hotel having seen the most beautiful stretch of road around, and the kingdom of the night of yellowstone. :)

Day 5

no pictures. we got up and made a gorgeous drive back north to bozeman, boarded a plane to denver, another to omaha, and were greeted at the airport by grandma, aunt em, and barns. it was great to be home after a really fabulous vacation!

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his hosts!

Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

Praise him, you highest heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord!

For he commanded and they were created.

And he established them forever and ever;

he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all deeps,

fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!

Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars!

Beasts and all livestock,

creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all ulers of the earth!

Young men and maidents together,

old men and children!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty is above earth and heaven.

He has raised up a horn for his people,

paise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are near to him.

Praise the Lord!

I'm So Glad I Tried It

This is a story about a girl who wanted to get her ears pierced. It's a story about a mom who realized she was scared. This is a story about a dad who believed his daughter was making an informed decision. This is a story about a brother, kinda. It's a story that was lived out and photographed by an Aunt. This is a story about a girl who is so glad she tried it.

It came up, again, around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. Libby wants to get her ears pierced. She first mentioned it two or three months ago. After a family outing we headed home and out of the clear blue sky a voice pops up from the back seat. "I think I want to get my ears pierced." Daddy and I looked at each other, surprised. We'd never mentioned piercing ears, we'd never discussed it in front of her, never asked her if she was interested...never discussed it, period. So where was this coming from? That's a question we don't have an answer to, and it's a moot point anyway. The girl was interested. Well, I started in, why?

Libby wanted earrings like mama. Oh how sweet and flattering. Perhaps this was incited by the big beautiful pearls daddy bought mama for our anniversary. :) So, daddy and I began discussing ear piercings with our first born. It hurts, I told her. Point blank. It hurts bad. Not forever, not even for a long time, but for a little while it hurts really bad. Worse than taking off a bandaid? Yes, worse than that. hmmmmm. More discussion of pain, then discussion on beauty. What makes us beautiful? Certainly not earrings, but instead, we're beautiful because we're created by the Lord, in His image. And even more important is inner beauty, when we're not in sin, when we have a good attitude, when we're loving one another, serving the Lord, glorifying Him.

Though it is okay to have earrings, and mama really likes to wear hers. :) More pain talk. Then, decidedly, "I don't think I'm ever going to get my ears pierced." Daddy responded by letting Libby know that it's fine if she never does, but she just might find that she changes her mind in a few years.

One week later. . .

There has been no mention of ears, or piercings. A forgotten topic. Until it's 3:00, snack time in our household, and I am slicing cheese for the kids. "mom, can I have a piece of cheese? and I'd like to get my ears pierced." It's back. Okay, well mama and daddy will have to talk about that, we'll see, etc. Mentionings of ear piercings would come and go, about once a week, for the next couple of months. I would usually tell her we're considering it and she'd be satisfied. Meanwhile

we had no real plan for when we would or would not let Libby get her ears pierced. We have nothing against it, but we did want it to be her decision. Then again, she's only 4, so how well can she make that decision? And yet, have you ever met an adult who got their ear pierced young and they say, "Oh how I regret that. I sure wish I'd waited until I was 8 and I knew what I was doing." Or more, a woman who wishes she had never pierced her ears at all? I haven't. If you're that woman, don't tell me. :)

The thought lingers, one day we'll do it. When? We don't know. Then Libby's little friend Maren got her ears pierced. Ah ha. Encouragement. Though I didn't know that, yet.

Finally we're back, it's yesterday. And as we get ready for quiet time, Libby pipes in. "Mom, can I get my ears pierced tonight after dinner?" I respond, stalling... empty words about decisions. You see, my big fear was that it would hurt worse than she expected, and she'd have future fear of pain. She wouldn't trust me to inform her and prepare her for pain. That she'd go in for Kindergarten shots and be a panicking wreck because she remembered the pain of her ear piercing. That I'd try to remove a bandaid and she'd writhe more than usual, because I'd failed to protect her from earring pain in the past. Oh, I don't want my little girl to be in pain. "Well, mom, if MAREN can get her ears pierced and not even cry, then I think I can do it." I was quick with this response, "oh she cried. It hurts." Libby was not deterred. "Oh. Well, still, she's even littler than me and she can do it, so I think I can do it. I can do it mom. We can do it after dinner, after daddy gets home. That way he can take care of Xander and you can take care of me."

ah me. ah my. Now I'm sweating. She can do it. I know she can. I know she can bear the pain. I had a reminder earlier that very morning. She got knocked in the mouth with a swing, and came into the house totally under control, blood on her hands and coming from her lip, looked at me and said, "uh... mom?" We cleaned her up and she sat on my lap with ice on her lip for about 10 minutes and complained once or twice that it was cold on her fingers. She can bear pain. And now she's making an argument. Defending her proposal. When did my baby get so grown up?

So, I told her I would look into it. I would talk about it with daddy and we'd make a decision. And I stuck to my word. Kids in their beds I hit the world wide web. Who should pierce a kid's ears? How bad does it hurt?! (I seem to recall real pain. My first piercing was when I was 5.) I made some calls, three pediatricians and a couple of salons. Informed my dear hubby of what was going down in this house, then got back to him after I'd looked further into this.

Libby got up from her quiet time and I whisked her and Xander off for swimming with friends. No mention of earrings. On the way home, she inquired again. Persistent little lady today. Well, I told her, daddy and I are thinking about it. And that was truth. "Can I have big white ball earrings like yours?" (oh, how sweet.) The door was open, it was time to hit her with the hard truths of ear piercing. Let her know what to expect, what not to expect.

I don't know what kind of earrings you will have, Libby, but in the end that will be a decision for mama and daddy. And the earrings that we choose are going to be the ones that you wear for a long time, several weeks. You won't be able to change them or wear anything different for quite a while. And it's going to hurt. (she can't hear that enough, can she?) But then we'll put a special water on them that cleans them and feels cold and good, and it will stop hurting. We'll have to do that every single day, three times a day. We'll have to work to keep them clean and you won't be allowed to touch them. Then after a few weeks we can change your earrings, but you will still have to wear earrings every day and every night for a long time. Like, a year.

I can do it, mom. If Maren can do it, I can do it. She's even littler than me.

Oh, my baby. She was so calm and confident. She was informed. And the last thing I wanted to do, after cheering for Maren after she got her earrings, was imply to my sweet Libby that I had doubts about her. So I assured her that I knew she could do it. That I knew she would be great and she would love her new earrings, they would look fabulous - but - far more important than beautiful earrings is inner beauty. Of course Libby totally agreed, and gave me examples of ways that she could be beautiful, by showing love, kindness, generosity, obedience.

Maybe you and daddy can talk about it. Can you call him? Okay... I called daddy and told him that Libby had asked that I would give him a call. He knew to what this discussion was referring. She interceded, "Can I talk to him?" Then she sweetly took the phone and told daddy she was thinking that maybe tonight after dinner we could go get her ears pierced. She and daddy discussed it for a minute longer, and he told her we'd decide when he got home. He was on his way.

Ultimately, it was decided. Daddy pointed out that she was confident, she was excited, and those two emotions would go a long way in helping her deal with pain, keeping her from backing out mid-piercing, etc. So, we rolled with it.

More phone calls and it was discovered that there was one place in town that would allow Libby to get both lobes pierced at the same time tonight. The catch? Mama would have to be the second gun. oh my. Meantime, Libby, totally calm and unemotional, tells daddy, "I'm really excited to get my ears pierced daddy. If I don't get them pierced, I'll be a little sad." She seemed

SO mature. There was no whining, no manipulating, no begging. She was simply telling him how she was feeling. He agreed with her, told her we would do our best because we do love to give her good things. She smiled. Oh I love her.

Discussion. Okay, I'll do it. I'll pierce her ear!!! We picked up Aunt Brett for an extra set of hands, help with Xander, the camera, support for the little lady-to-be and headed across town.

Libby had no regrets, no concerns. She was so excited to tell Aunt Brett what was happening as we drove to Sweet & Sassy.

And when we arrived no one was nervous but me. No one felt a little sick to their stomach but me. I got my formal training, it lasted about 2 minutes. I practiced on a cardboard ear, we took lots of pictures and cheered for our brave little girl. Then, it was time!

Here we are. What a fun place. Libby takes her spot on the throne, we've already picked the earrings she will be wearing. They're flowers. They're just what she wanted, as soon as she saw them. Good news for her, they met our approval. :)

She's excited. Oh my girl.

She's really excited. She really was. It was so fun to watch her!

Okay, time to get serious. Cleaning her ears to prep for marking.

Lindsay studied and marked Libby's little lobes. She told Libby to look right at her nose. Libby's eyes did not wander. She was marked, and checked, and double checked. Approved by mama, daddy and aunt Brett... it seemed it was time.

okay, now one with mama. so you have a picture to remind you of how in love we were before the day i let you endure the pain of ear piercing. :)

getting everything lined up. aunt brett holds her hands. libby is getting a serious look on her face. i realize we need to do this quikly, before she becomes afraid.

libby watches me as i say, "one, two, three, go."

Lindsay put me in charge. Apparently, the worst thing that could happen is Lindsay could give the "go" command, and the mom could chicken out, then one ear is pierced and little lady is left wondering why mom didn't do it, and then we have to pierce a second time. Not really the worst thing in the world, but not as ideal, it would seem, as if mom doesn't chicken out, and what's done is done. Lindsay claims that she's good with the trigger (she is the general manager, after all. i'm sure she had extensive ear piercing training. like me.) When I'm ready, I call it and she'll be right there with me. okie dokie.

Go! we pulled the triggers. I have no memory of this, I'm not kidding. This was slightly traumatic for me. I had a pounding headache the rest of the night. :) Libby's hands escape Brett's, she looks a bit frightened --- but then, within a moment..... !

she's beaming! oh she's so beautiful. even with her wounded lip. :)

by this time, and this is what's truly remarkable to me, she said it didn't hurt. this was literally one minute after piercing. so, i don't know where my big fear came from (I have seven piercings after all), but i just worried that she'd be in pain the rest of the evening. nope. doesn't hurt at all, she claims, and she sure looks to be telling the truth.

just as an added bonus, to make her experience even sweeter, Lindsay put some glittery stars on Libby's cheek. Libby informed me that usually, girls only get one glittery star, but since she was SO brave, Lindsay gave her two. And then, as an added bonus (as if the lollipop and certificate and glittery stars weren't enough) she got to spray her hair with cupcake smelling goodness.

this is the lollipop she chose. it was late, but we hadn't eaten dinner yet, so she had to wait until a little later to indulge. she proudly held that flower just so for the next 30 minutes or so.

and here's her certificate. proof that she went through with it!

everything went so well that when xander climbed onto the throne, we decided to get his ears pierced too.

okay, that's not true. but he's so cute, isn't he?

but wait! that's not all! there are fountains (fou-bans!) outside!

so we take the obligatory family shots and enjoy the beauty

the kids thought they were cool, and libby still has that lollipop... at the ready

i love that beautiful smile.

throughout the rest of the night, libby declared her excitement for her earrings, several times. one of my favorite things she repeated was, "I'm so glad I tried it." It seems to be a theme for this summer, trying it. She wasn't so glad she tried dance class, that was a flop. But she was so glad she tried swimming lessons, and now ear piercing, and hopefully soon -- preschool. Oh my!

I love you my Libby lou. You're beautiful. You were beautiful without your ears pierced and you're beautiful today. And you encourage me and bless me with your love, trust, resilience, courage, joy, and dependence. You're SUCH a blessing! *smooches*

elisabeth adelaide. what a gift.

Night at the Museum

There are a few museums in town, and a couple that we've never been to. Tuesday evening this one was open to us as a courtesy to the firm, so we took advantage. Aunt Brett joined us, and while we probably won't be buying an annual membership, we were glad we went and we think it's a once-a-year kinda place. :)

examining money. it's a good idea.

alright libby, now the foreman says you need to pick up that continer and get it to the barge on the other side of the bay. xander, pay attention. you're on the job before you know it.

not bad, you're a quick study!

the kids stand at "home" on the big map of the city

libby waves to daddy. he's at work. she's back at home.

the kids pose perfectly for a photo with aunt brett. nice, kids. nice.

checking out model trains

oooh, you know what would be cute? how about we sit in one of the passenger cars and get a real fun family photo as we peer out the window. okay!

xander, yooohooo....

uh, xand. and sorry daddy...glare on your face.

still having trouble with the boys. sorry daddy again. xander, that's better.

this time i'm weird looking, but it has to be posted because both kids are squishing their faces into the glass. perfecto. sorry to the cleaning crew.

dinner at the soda fountain. shouldn't pics taken at the soda fountain be in b&w?

Bowling!

Thursday we joined friends for a morning of bowling. It was the first time my kiddos had bowled, and it was a lot of fun (mainly because of the gutter guards). Libby had a great time, and did a great job. Xander didn't really love it. I realized after a couple times helping him roll the 7 pound ball toward the pins, that he didn't appreciate the sport. Every time we sent his ball upstream, he expressed his concern. He wanted to play with the ball, not send it rolling away. Libby ended up bowling both of their games, and Xander entertained himself by socializing with friends, and playing with the balls that came back up onto the rack after they'd been bowled away. What's that machine called? I dunno. Anyway, Libby caught some air in this picture, jumping and cheering for her great shot. And check out her shoes! I've never been to a bowling ally with better bowling shoes. They were like new and super cute.

Headed Downtown

Someday, maybe I'll get it together. In the meantime, here's a pic of our favorite sight when headed downtown, usually to visit daddy. This is on the side of a building, a big building, kind of a mini skyscraper. :) Anyway, the kids look forward to seeing it every time we're down that way. Xander also has a couple of other favorite signs, including a cowboy, Petco, and King Kong Burgers (King Kong Burgers has a huge gorilla on their signage, in case you're wondering... and Petco, the doggie.) Anyway, if someday I get it together, I'll snap some pics of those and reblog a nice neat entry with highlights of our drives to daddy's.

*** SuMMeRTiME ***

Hello, hello again! It's been a while, so again I begin my post with apologies for the lag. Not that you don't all have plenty to do to fill your days, I'm sure you find ways to spend your time even without a recent blog update to read. :) Still, I always hope to do better, not only for you, but because this blog is kind of my online scrapbook for the kids. I'm even worse at printing and saving hard copies of all these great pics of my great kids. So anyway, here's our latest update.

it's sUmMeRTiMe! Oh what a great summer we've had, and it's just so hard to believe it's beginning to wind down. We've been so busy, filing our weeks with fun and fun and fun and trying to squeeze in chores when we can. We have to have our priorities. This season will pass and we'll soon enough lose our freedom to pile into the car and head to the pool, or the zoo, or a friend's house, or simply sneak out the back door for a picnic or play with our ne

ighbors or quick swing and slide before dinner. In the meantime, we're enjoying!

Starting with most recent...

Daddy's firm had a family picnic planned for Saturday, BUT it was supposed to be 99 and so the fun day in the sun was a little bit canceled. Though not entirely. Instead of sweltering outside, we took the kids to the office where the balloon lady and face painter were at the ready, hula hoops and jump ropes and kids music filled the lobby, and the kids were able to have a great time. As I recall, Libby's words as we were leaving were something like, "face painting?! balloon flower?! water gun and a boomerang?! i LOVE this place!"

dinosaurs are xander's latest craze. well, along with trucks and doggies. oh, and motorcycles. but first and foremost, it's "didosaurs." so, it seemed appropriate that he be painted into one, and his big sister gets to wear a purple butterfly on her sweet little face. xander's balloon is elmo, libby's is a flower, and the two of them were thrilled with their personal creations.

x still has some learning to do...

libb works on her hula hooping