Everyday Stuff

We have been thinking about and worrying over where to live once our lease here is up, after much disappointment, we found a place to live. We signed the lease last week and we get the keys July 1st. I have to say that I have pretty much already forgotten what it looks like on the inside, but the things that matter most are 3 bedrooms, fenced in yard, attached garage, and washer/dryer hook-ups. We have to buy a washer/dryer so once we move in the search for that will start. Still we are excited.

Luke took a liking to his left thumb early on, but he was unsuccessful at finding it on his own or keeping it in his mouth once it was found. Then he began to discover it on his own, but only when he slept. Now he is starting to find it all the time. Once it is in his mouth he just keeps on sucking- hard, almost as if he is afraid he will lose it and not be able to find it again. It is pretty cute. He has also picked a blankie. We had two that we were going back and forth with, but now he has let his preference be known. When he sucks his thumb he also has part of the blankie in his hand and holds it right next to his face, this has happened on a regular enough basis that it doesn't appear to be coincidence. I will have to take a picture of this because it is super cute. So thank you Julisa for Luke's blankie.

Luke also likes to do baby squats. This is where you have him facing you on your lap, you are holding his hands, and he stands up and then sits down-repeat all day if you like. He is one strong baby. All you other babies better watch out!

Jack loves to make up games with Pete, and they have one game called- Crazy Balls. I am not real sure what this game is, but the word crazy seems appropriate. They take plastic golf clubs and balls and hit them as hard as they can down the hall. The 'scoring' system seems more baseball related: single, double, home run. There is also throwing involved and Jack has one crazy arm so you can't really say where the ball is going to end up. I feel like I need a helmet on when I am in the living room. Jack sits at the end of the hall while Pete hits or throws the ball(quite hard) in his direction. I just know one day Jack is going to get hit in the head--sigh. Jack loves it.

Jack and I have been checking out this website-Dino Train. They have fun facts and correct pronunciations of many dinosaurs plus videos on muppet type dinosaurs learning about other dinosaurs. It is cute--Thanks Carrie for telling us about it. We also watch some of the videos on you tube. I have been too lazy to figure out when the show actually comes on tv.

A little while a go we were in Morehead (for some holiday) and these cards were pulled out as conversation starters. One question was- If you could go to any concert what would it be? Well, I said Jack Johnson because I do love Jack Johnson, his music makes me happy, I always listen to it in the spring right when the weather changes, I listen to it when I clean the house, and on and on. It is sort of my go to music, you know the music that just makes you happy. Last night I was straightening up my EW magazines and getting ready to pitch some in the recycling, but first I wanted to thumb through them one last time and make a list of any music, books, or shows that caught my interest. What did I find? Oh, I think you know-an ad for Jack Johnson's concert this summer. I immediately turn to Pete--remind him of the the conversation starter question and my answer then make what I hope was a cute puppy dog face and not some scary pit bull face. He laughs and tells me if they are playing at the Verizon Center we can go. Jack Johnson here we come! We haven't bought our tickets yet, so don't all of you go and buy all the seats-- I might cry.

Last night we played Trivial Pursuit with easy, medium, and hard questions. I completely forgot we had this game. We've had it for over a year and we have played it once. How fun to discover a game you forgot you had. To answer the question I know you are all asking-Pete won. I know many of you thought I might have a chance since there are easy questions, but remember if I get easy questions so does Pete-- it is determined by what number you roll- 1 = easiest and 6= hardest. Still I held my own quite well and was only missing one pie before he won it all. :)

Here is a picture of the boys together. Luke loves to look at Jack, and Jack loves to smell Luke. Yes, you read that right. Jack loves the smell of spit-up.

Morehead: track, graduation, and old friends

We are now back from our KY travels. We had a nice time, but as Jack said - I missed my home.

We drove to Morehead one night and the next morning headed out for Louisville. I met my friend Carrie and her daughter Rebecca for a trip to the Louisville Zoo. In the zoo there is a splash park, a carousel, and currently there is a dinosaur exhibit, we ended up spending almost all of our time enjoying these side activities and not visiting the animals. I think this worked out well for our 3-year-old companions. Below are just a couple pictures of our zoo visit.



Then we wanted to eat some BoomBozz pizza (our favorite Louisville pizza). We drove to our favorite location on Frankfort Ave, but it was closed because they are moving just down the street. We didn't know what to do! We thought about going to another location but didn't think they had dine in and the one we knew had dine in was too far from our next event of the night. Finally, we decided to just order it for carry-out and eat it in the car. When we pulled up we saw that BoomBozz had greatly expanded and was now a full restaurant and tap house; not just a little pickup pizza place. We still ate it in the car. Next we went to the KY 2A state track meet to watch Danny run the 800. We we were all so excited to watch Danny run like a pony. He got a PR and came in 5th, overall it was a successful race. Then we drove back to Morehead.

We spent the next day just relaxing outside. Jack was able to persuade Uncle Randy to wash the lawnmowers. After hosing down the lawnmowers it was time to jump in the pool. In 90 degree weather there is nothing better than swimming in the pool.

The next day was Danny's graduation. Danny gave the closing remarks and the IN Weigel crew were extremely pleased with his lack of Lady Gaga singing and his maturity in noticing that high school does not define you.

That afternoon Pete was able to drive back to Louisville to spend time with many of his 'old' friends from college. As I wasn't there -I didn't get to take any pictures. I am glad he was able to see them. It is always a good time to spend an evening with friends and it is great that there are some friends you don't have to see all the time in order to maintain a bond.

We spent the rest of the weekend doing random things but all involved friends and family we don't see very often. I have decided to just post a few pictures to give you a general idea of what we did.

graduation, fountains, strawberries, and fishing- oh my

We've been having a ton of fun in Henderson. We came in for Will's graduation and have been partying it up ever since. It is always a fun experience to view the various types of people in Henderson and graduation is the best place to do this- man with a close buzz until it turns into a wonderfully curly mullet down his neck, woman who has been over tanning for way too many years wearing a belly shirt and short shorts to watch a family member graduate, the teenage girl with a short short dress and way way too much make-up, and the woman wearing a nice sundress while her body is covered in tattoos, but I digress.

We celebrated Will's graduation with lunch at the Acropolis. I believe we ate more in the way of appetizers than anything else, but it was good, and we had a fun time hanging out with each other.

We took the kiddos down to the fountain park. There were a ton of kids using the big fountains so we walked down to the little fountains. To help Jack feel comfortable around so many new kids we had him show Khloe how to play in them. It worked out pretty well. Jack loved stepping on the fountains and Khloe liked getting her feet wet.

Mary told us about the strawberry patch being open, so off we went to pick strawberries. (Aunt Jamie watched Luke for us). Jack didn't pick too many, but he did eat a few while we were out there. His main job was to kill all the dragons that were flying around trying to eat us. He did a very good job protecting Pete and I while we picked strawberries. After we finished we ordered fresh strawberry milkshakes- they were delicious and Jack ended up having two. I tried to make freezer jam,but I think it is too liquidy--hmm.



My Uncle Doran wanted to take Jack fishing down at my Aunt Mary's place so we headed out there yesterday for some fishing fun. There are a lot of bluegill in the pond, and Uncle Doran has the magic touch because he was reeling them after just seconds of being out there. That made it so much better for Jack because we all know that 3-yr-olds don't have the best attention spans. He really enjoyed it and probably would have stayed out there for awhile, but it was hot and he was tired so he sort of broke down after 10-15 minutes. It was still a great experience, and I am glad Uncle Doran thought of such a fun activity for Jack. They even got me out there. Well, all I had to do was reel it in when they told me to, and I even messed that up by dragging the fish in along reeds. Oh well, Jack and I both "caught" fish. :)




Interspersed between these activities have been things like blowing bubbles, playing frisbee golf, fighting dragons, playing Uno, and playing with Khloe. We have had a fun time and will be sad to leave tomorrow, but we are excited that we get to come back soon!

Covert Roller

Over the past week Luke has gone from a child who needed to be held, hated to sleep in his play pen, and had to eat every 2 hours on the dot to a child who loves his play mat, will sleep 10 hours at night in his play pen, and just seems all around happier. It all started with a hit on the head. Not sure if it was causation or correlation, but life around here has gotten easier.

About this hit on the head - I put him down on our bed , and about an hour later I hear a frantic cry like I haven't heard before. I run into the bedroom and there is Luke on the floor. I figured he had rolled right off our bed. This was confirmed when his Granny saw him roll while we were at Wicked. Then during his nap he began crying a bit earlier than I expected, I walk in and there he is on his back looking like a flipped over turtle; his arms and legs flailing about. The same thing happened during the night; it isn't as cute at 1am. I have tried putting him on his stomach during the day, but he refuses to show off this new skill. So for now he remains my covert roller.

Happy

It has been pretty dreary around here today, so I thought that I would think of things that have made me happy in the last week.

- I got pictures of my boys taken. Jessica took these pictures for us, and if you visit her website you can see more.

-We bought tickets to see Wicked in Louisville! Shortly after we lost Owen we went to NYC, and wanted to see Wicked ( that was in 2006) but for whatever reason it didn't work out. We saw Phantom instead, which was great, but ever since then we have been dying to see Wicked. Now we get to!!! It will be an anniversary present to each other- a couple months early.

-In related news we have decided to eat dinner at the Bristol. We thought about this long and hard. We debated a nicer more upscale restaurant, but then we decided on a local favorite. Going to the Bristol and KCA in the same night will be very reminiscent of the first time we both realized there might be something between us. Prior to this evening we were bantering partners at lunch and nothing more, that night we both let down our walls and things haven't been the same since. The Bristol is also were my cousin hosted my bridal luncheon, where my friends and I went to eat as part of my bachelorette party, and it reminds me of all my good friends with whom I have shared a meal.

- We went to the Farmer's Market. It is still a little too early in the year to get much, but I enjoy going. We bought bread and granola, both are very good. I am actually eating the granola right now.

-For Mother's Day Pete made eggs, I got lilies and sandals, we spent the morning playing war and go fish with Jack, and then naps were had by all. That afternoon we got energy( Jack calls drinks/smoothies his energy). I got a polar pop, something I have given up in an effort to lose weight, and then we got a smoothie for everyone to share. Our smoothie had gogi berry, kiwi, and mango-- Jack loves fruit with silly names. Smoothie in hand we walked to campus, Jack and Pete slayed so many dragons, and then we stopped by the 'math' fountain. It was a very relaxing day.

-I have been enjoying Riesling. I am naturally a Cabernet drinker. I love Cabernet and drink it all the time no matter the food choice. ( I know it is not something a connoisseur does, but I like what I like). Still, I have been wanting something a bit lighter and fruitier to drink so we brought home a Riesling and drank the whole bottle that night. ( Please note the we and not I in that sentence). A couple weeks later we bought another and it was just as good. I am happy to have a light wine to drink during these sunny spring days.

- Tuesdays. Frankly nothing more should have to be said about this. I know many of you know why this is the best day of the week. We have made it our date night. Pete makes sure to have all studying out of the way, the kids are asleep, the popcorn is made, drinks are out, and the tv turned on. It is the best night of the week. On Mondays we always have a moment where we look at each other and say- Do you know what tomorrow is? On Tuesdays I often look at Pete and say- You will study during the day right? You know what tonight is?

It is the little things-- the breathing in and out and in and out (counting crows)

Hollerin'

I used to yell across the aisles at Wal-Mart when looking for someone. It never really seemed odd to me because I wasn't the only one doing it. I used to say ya'll all the time, and in trying to not sound like I am from Kentucky I changed it to you all. I say you all often, but in reality who says you all? I may as well say ya'll because why be pretentious with a phrase that people don't use. Then there is hollerin'. In the past week I have rediscovered this word and told Jack to- Quit your hollerin'. I believe Pete is slightly horrified at his Kentuckian wife who occasionally forgets that she is educated and now if not northern, at least mid-western. At least I stopped hollerin in Wal-Mart.

We went to Kentucky last weekend to celebrate Derby by watching it all day on tv, This is not something you can do in Indiana. I miss it. I would say I miss going to Derby, but I have never been. I have attended a few Derby parties, which is what many Louisvillians do instead injecting alcohol into fruit or making vodka ice cubes, but never Derby. I figure we will go one of these days because how can you be from Kentucky and never experience Derby first hand? I did honor it and my past Derby parties with a Makers and coke. I also called Super Saver and Icebox. Just so you know.

While visiting we encountered a flood. The creek across the road was rushing and broke the bank. Roads, bridges, and even Wal-Mart closed. Pete was studying while all the rain was pouring and his journey back is quite a tale. I don't remember all the things he did but I know he was stopped from coming the normal way, tried to go an alternate way, and was again unsuccessful He ended up leaving town and coming in through a different town. This was somewhat more successful, but he couldn't get to the roads he needed. He tried going on the mountain but the road no longer existed and instead he was met with a gate on someone's property. He knocked on someone's door to see if they knew of any way to get home, and they ended up asking their neighbor if he could drive through their field. Crazy I know. The whole time he was gone I was so mad, and worried, but mad is easier to deal with, and just as I was about to tell him what I thought, he told me this crazy story so I couldn't be too mad. Though I don't agree with the part where he said he should win husband of the year. Wouldn't the husband of the year know better than to go study when there is flooding going on?

So here are a couple pictures of us out the in rain before the flooding got too bad.

In this week's news

We wait until the absolute last shred of clothing is gone ( for at least one person in the house) before we do laundry. If you take a look at the swim trunks, dog shirt, and boots you will see Jack ran out of clothes first this week. He wore that outfit to the laundry mat. Can we say--AWESOME! In the other pictures he got dressed and informed us he was daddy and was now going to school to study some math.

In other Jack news-- he has a major crush on the girl from- How to Train Your Dragon. It is a full on, gets really embarrassed, has to look at pictures of her crush. Keep in mind she is animated, but she isn't a car!

Mr. Luke is next on our list of people to talk about. He had a bit of a cold this week, and I totally flipped out, called the doctor, went in, and the whole bit just to have her tell me -um he has a cold you can't do anything for that. Which of course I know, but for some reason when a child is teeny tiny you can easily take the smallest thing and run with it. I mean Jack had the same cold and all I said to him was -quit licking your snot.

Luke went in for his two month check and is doing quite well. His height is in the 25th percentile while his weight is in the 75th percentile. The kid loves to eat. Apparently he is eating way more than he should be and thus all the spit-up. However, he is like a clock and every two hours he starts screaming and crying for food. I guess his is just a glutton.

While he loves to eat the one thing he does not enjoy -- sleep. They say some sort of nap or sleep schedule should be starting to emerge around now, and I should see some method to the madness. I don't. There is one time during the afternoon when, if you are lucky, you can get him to sleep for two hours, but you have to be lucky. He prefers to be awake and held. Sit him down and he cries. The only way he will sort of sleep is if he falls asleep while you are holding him and you keep him in your arms! He got his shots today and is currently knocked out-- so this is a welcome change because I am not holding him. Maybe it will be the start of something new.

Pete and Becky news: We are still looking for a place to live. We have an appointment tomorrow. It is in the same townhouse complex as the one we liked earlier, but this one is owned by different people. They said they take dogs.- we will have to wait and see if large dogs count as dogs.

I have been going to aerobics about 3 times a week and have been trying to eat less. I will say that while I do get hungry I am thinner. I am currently wearing pants that are some of the smallest in my closet.

Pete is still plugging away at school. He is on a grant this summer so no teaching again-- yay!! He is still playing WOW- in case anyone was wondering. Plus, he is indoctrinating our son with the news according to Jon Stewart. Jack is a big fan now- really.