The Heat is On!!!

Mother Nature has been very kind to us Northern-ers lately--thankfully just in time for Memorial Day Weekend! The gorgeous (& HOT!) weather was the perfect accompanionment to going up north to the "Kin-Lew" family cabin. Kin-Lew was built by ribB's great grandfather and has housed generations of family gatherings full of swimming, campfires, hunting parties and silly 4th of July shennanigans. It is a blessing to bring our family to this special destination and favorite "get-away".

Our weekend was full of fun, starting with a great day at home for me with little B on Friday (his daycare was closed). We were able to leave "early" on Friday, after Kdee was done with school and her phy ed "Olympic Day" (which garnered her many "blue" awards, especially for kicking her shoe off the farthest!). We then began the always-exciting road trip north, which went well with 2 awake & energetic kids. Speaking of excitement, we were all looking forward to spending time with our awesome Uncle B/Aunt D & their family during the weekend. We met up with Uncle B for Friday Night Fish Fry at a favorite restaurant near Kin-Lew (complete with ribB telling Kdee to ask our British waitress where "the blokes are" and Kdee successfully stuffing her pockets with candy (thanks Uncle B for the quarters!). After unpacking and getting everything situated, we enjoyed a weekend full of swimming (somewhat unheard of in May up north), tubing/waterskiing (Kdee gave it another shot! ribB got in his first ski of the season before June!), garage sale-ing (love it!), playing outside and lots of board games (for the record: Aunt D & AndiR are the top cribbage players). We also created a new favorite summer drink, the Cabana T'z (no, I won't share the recipe--you'll have to visit to taste it). Our cousins, A&C, were kind enough to babysit for us on Saturday night so that we could have a very fun dinner out with Uncle B & Aunt D (no distractions! no tantrums!). As always, we shared many laughs with them and really enjoyed our evening together. Overall, we had a blast this weekend and didn't want to leave--so much so that we stayed later than usual on Monday under the disguise of doing yard work :-). Of course, packing up with children is always exhausting, but we evntually got on the road and trekked back to our regular lives at home.

One sidenote: Ben had his regular check-up today and was once again deemed a "big boy" by our Dr. (who's amazing). He is currently 35" long and 28.5 lbs. Wow!

Enjoy some photos from our weekend: 1) Uncle B & ribB tossing Kdee in the water; 2) sunrise at Kin-Lew; 3) Kdee with a turtle friend; 4) cousins A & C; 4) little B enjoying the water & tube.

Batter, Batter Swing!!!!

Wednesday night was a very exciting night in the RibClan household, as Kdee officially entered into the world of competitive sports...aka T-ball! She did awesome in her first game, especially since we found out only 1.5 hrs before that she even had a game (long story, coach didn't call us). Getting ready for the game was a bit of a whirlwind, and all of the energy was NOT lost of Kdee. Example? During our drive to the ball field we had to tell her to be quiet and relax since she was banging a balloon on her head and singing her school song at the top of her lungs. Yes, we had reason to wonder if she'd be a focused player! Luckily, #12 instantly got into player mode once she hit the field and did a great job of paying attention and following the rules. She has lots of classmates on her team, which makes it even more fun for her and us. I have to think that this is the beginning of a long career of nights at game events, which is exciting for both ribB and myself. (But I do look forward to spending more time along the sidelines than in the truck with Ben, who wanted to go after the balls too much...ah, the life of a 15 month old!) Kdee has another game tonight and she's so excited that she got ready for it...at 5:45am. Hopefully she won't be too tired!

Opps!

Here's the photos that stubbornly didn't make it on the first posting. Enjoy!

Technically, Hello!

Welcome to my first entry on the brand-new Rib Clan blog, "In It Together". Some may say it's cliche' to do a blog nowadays, but from my experience (thanks, Jac!), blogs are such an easy way to keep connected. I hope to update this blog a couple of times a week (at least), so be sure to check back frequently for riveting, exciting and jaw dropping tales of our family's adventures. Ok, the stories might be a bit more tame than my grand hopes...but, as someone who's obsessed with pop culture, I can always hope to entertain you!


To kick-off this first entry, how about a little catch-up? Family life here continues to keep us busy, even on the most basic of days. I'm impressed by families larger than ours, and wonder how the parents can ever keep up! As for us, ribB and I are getting more and more used to our balance of kids and work. Since December, I have been back to work full-time for a local marketing/advertising agency. We are quite busy at work, so there has been little time to realize what a life change this has been for me. As many of you know, I worked from home part-time for 5 1/2 years. I do miss my time with the kids (especially littleB, it seems different with Kdee of school age) and it's been an adjustment to get housework done in limited timeframes. All in all, though, it's been a very positive growth opportunity for me, in a great job with great co-workers. I am blessed.


ribB is still doing amazing social work for our County and has so many great co-workers. He's thrilled that waterski/boating/cabin season is upon us and we're looking forward to many fun times out on the water and up north. He's also been enjoying more golf this year, which I hope to also join in on. ribB is also loving the opportunity to teach Kdee how to use a bow, and bought her a very nice model that she can grow with. Yes, at almost 6 years old she can shoot a bow and arrow better than her adult mom (and gave me pointers when I tried my hand at it).

Speaking of Kdee, she is almost done with school! It is hard to believe that Kindergarten is almost done--where does the time go? She's becoming such a capable young gal (I love this age!). Tonight she read a whole book to me--Maisy Makes Lemonade--which was a thrill for both of us. Her personality continues to crack us up--both in her one-liners and moments of drama, she's a very special girl. Check out the photos of her trying out her new bow and holding our cat, Chantal.


LittleB is also growing like a weed and is a real HAM. He is a constant joker with a huge smile. He is all boy--loves throwing things (which makes me nervous when he looks at rocks!), banging on stuff, deer and balls. He's a bit of a dare-devil, so I'm guessing we will have our hands full once he's fully walking (what can I say, he's a mellow-big-guy who's taking his time...he's basically there, just not100%).On Sunday, he received his first hair cut from Grandma Honey (see before photo)and did pretty well as long as he got to suck water from the spray bottle (AndiR holding him, ribB distracting him with water). By the end, he got a great cut and we made it through the juggling act of keeping him still (Grandma Honey was even nice enough to trim my hair as well, which as you can tell needed it!) He is our little miracle, a joy in every way.


We still have 2 furry children, too--Chantal and Louise, our very domestic cats. As some of you know, our sweet Kenya passed away almost 3 years ago. Worried that Chantal would be lonely without a partner, I found the very charming Louise and brought her home (while ribB was away hunting...ah, timing!). Ever since, C&L haven't excactly gotten along, somewhat due to Chantal's diva ways.We hear hissing and loud meows on a regular basis, as well as Louise's very loud "talking" voice--we sometimes have to listen if it's her or the kids, she mimics them that well. They do keep us entertained.


That's it for now. I look forward to sharing the little in's and out's of our everyday life with you on our humble blog. Besides keeping our blog address in mind, also remember that first big holiday weekend of the year is quickly approaching...yippee!