A cabin and a Queen

Whew! Another fun and busy weekend was had by the ribclan. We traveled north for some fun at the family cabin, before the busy summer season kicks in. Little B was spastic about going to the cabin, and began asking "We go to the cabin?" on the Monday prior to our departure. When we arrived, he promptly woke up and was literally shaking with excitement when he went into the cabin...it was a late night for him as he couldn't quite calm down! (And it was just too cute for mom/dad to put him to bed--yes, we're suckers.) Since returning, he asks everyday if we're going that day. Of course, ribB is thrilled that another ribclan child is as big of a fan of the cabin as he is (we are!).

While at the cabin, we did a lot of relaxing and playing outside. The kids enjoyed the large beach of sand by the lake (normally there isn't much of a beach, but the low water levels have created a new playground), shooting bow (little B even got to touch it; kdee increased her accuracy and shooting distance from 10 yds to 20 yds), doing a deer drive (we saw over 100 deer in a half hour, a record by our books) and even some swimming (Kdee in her annual, inaugural dip of the season...brrr!). We also did some handiwork, like putting in the dock, boat and fixing the wash machine (discovered the hard way with water everywhere!). Little B also decided to come down with allergies or teething issues in the middle of the night Saturday, so I spent a fair amount of the night up with him. When he woke up--wide eyed and ready to go--at 5:20am, we went outside to listen to the loons. i love those moments with the kids. Overall, it was a very fun (but tiring!) trip to the cabin. I (we) are so grateful to have such a special place to visit.

On our way home, we stopped to see "Great Grandma Loney" and took her out for dinner. It had been way too long since our last visit, and it was so nice to have some time with her.

On a non-related note, today is the DVD release date for the movie "The Queen"...I've already purchased my copy (oh, I'm quite fascinated with the Royal family). It's an awesome movie, rightly up for many awards. Should you want to see it, just come on over...I'd love to have you!

Photos: Talk about a cold headache--Kdee upon dipping her head underwater; little B playing on the beach; the kids with ribB during target practice; cute brother and sister hanging out...and then sister begins to bother her little brother (and yelling ensues...). (**please note: the American Idol "iPod" that Kdee received in her McD's happy meal (and is in the "happy" photo) was quite a hit for the kids, but made us parents crazy. If you have kids, BEWARE! The toy only plays one "song"...and it will get played over and over and over....)

Clues to the puzzle....

I had dinner last night with my good friend, Ang. It was great to spend some time with her and catch up. In the course of our dinner together, we had a good chuckle over Kdee's bike riding experience that I shared in the last blog. As we talked about it, I realized I should clarify a couple of things:

1) Kdee riding into the school building: This was not a dramatic event...rather, it was as slow as molasses. ribB and I, who were standing at a distance away, watched as the scene unfolded..."no....no....oh! Um, yes...yes, she is going to hit the school." It was in very slow motion (funny she couldn't turn the bike away from the impending wall!) and she wasn't hurt (but still gave a delayed and dramatic yelp as she slowly teetered off of her bike). It was all so ridiculous, it was funny.

2) Kdee's sprawled fall off of the bike (or, the picture that looks way worse than it really was): Kdee was tired. She didn't realize how much mental and physical effort it took to ride a bike, so even though she thought she could keep going, she was way tired. With that said, she wanted to ride a couple more times before we went in for dinner. So, I took the pics of her with ribB and then we steadied her for a last ride. Um, yeah, she basically wobbled off of the bike and softly landed on our lawn. Again, slow as molasses. She was going to do another dramatic yelp, but then turned to see me taking the picture and started to laugh.
Silly!

We've been enjoying some Nancy Drew books lately. For Valentine's Day, she received her first ND book, which we quickly read that week. The Easter Bunny suprised her with another book and that's been our regular reading now as well. I loved ND when I was growing up--it's a blast to read them with her now! Kdee claims she's going to be ND for Halloween, but we'll see...that's a long way off with plenty of time to change her mind!

Enjoy the fabulous sunshine this weekend...spring is truly here!

Would you like some catch-up?

Let's bring up the mood a bit with the interesting things our children have been saying lately:
Kdee: "I want to retire from school" (this, from a sleepy first grader early in the morning)
Little B: "I'm a cute boy!", "I love poop.", "Me...me...me...me...and my friend Mitchell...Mitchell are going to play outside" (hard to get those sentences out when your brain is working faster than your mouth! By the way, I have no idea who Mitchell is!)

As you might suspect, the kids have been entertaining us quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. Sometimes good, sometimes hilarious and then sometimes it's along the lines of pulling out our hair. If you have kids or have spent time watching kids, you get the picture!

There have been some important firsts lately, with the biggest one being that Kdee is now able to ride her bike like a big girl! We took her to the elementary school playground (aka big open lot and lots of big, open green spaces) to finish her official training. ribB was an awesome coach and finally, we saw her take "flight". The proud smile on her face was one of those "never forget" moments--it was huge and so thrilled. She didn't even have a big fall, like I remember during my first ride, but...she did drive (slowly) into the school wall. When it was obvious she was getting tired (although she wanted to keep going), we made our way home for PHOTOS (I forgot the camera earlier, darn)! The above photo that shows her sprawled is indeed a real fall--although it wasn't nearly as bad as it looks (which is why it was kind of funny to take the picture...Kdee got a good laugh out of it!)

Another first, maybe not as huge but a really nice first, is that little B went to sleep without his nuk this past weekend. He told me, "no nuk tonight, mommy" and I about fell over in shock. This was a bigger letting go process for Kdee, so I almost jumped up and down right there when he said "no". Wow!

Yet another first, the smallest one on the scale of firsts, was my first time cutting little B's hair. It went really well, and I'm glad to say that the results actually look good for someone who's not a trained stylist! Fortunately, anything would be an improvement on his previously shaggy look, so my best cutting & blending of hair looked alright. He seemed pleased with it, too, and has received some compliments--yippee!

Life has felt more hectic than ever lately, so the delay in blog entries means there's been a lot going on. Now, I tend to be a wordy writer, so to save you all the pain of reading really long descriptions of news that's almost 3 weeks old, here's a quick recap of some of our adventures:

--A hectic Saturday 3/31! The ribclan went to the school's "Kid Karnival", where Kdee won lots of candy and prizes...she was hyperly ecstatic! Afterward, we left on a 3.5 hr trip to southern WI for a family baby shower for Rusty & Teri (ribB's cousin/wife who live in ID). It was great to see them and the many other members of our family, whom we haven't seen in some time. Believe it or not, we decided to drive back home that night...and arrived back at 1:45am. Note to self: don't do that again! (Kids still wake up early, no matter what time they went to bed...well, at least my kids do!)

--a Palm Sunday dinner with Mom and Paul, who were good sports about our dazed family (and cranky kids).

--a weeknight date out, such fun after a busy couple of days. ribB and I enjoyed an evening of dinner and shopping (ok, more like browsing!) while our fave babysitter, Ann, hung out with the kids. No make-up stories this time, just clumsy little B running into a door and tripping on some steps with her. Kdee told her not to worry about! As for ribB and myself, we really enjoyed a few hours to talk without interruption and just relax.

--Easter in La Crosse with ribB's family. Kdee didn't have school or karate that day (thanks, ribB for staying home!), so we headed to LAX after I was done with work. We had a really great dinner at the "Whistle Stop Cafe", where we enjoyed watching the trains go by. It was a hoot, and the fish fry rocked. We got a bit of time with ribB's parents that night and the next morning before we headed to ribB's Aunt/Uncle's for taxes and catching up with them--very enjoyable! After dinner with Barb/Tim, we headed back to LAX to a hotel, since ribB's parents were watching our nieces and nephew overnight. It was interesting playing the Easter Bunny at a hotel...good thing it had a big bathroom for organizing baskets! On Easter Sunday, our family enjoyed a church service at ribB's old church--where little B decided to chant "OH MY GOD" over and over. Yikes. Despite his impromtu outburst, we thoroughly enjoyed the service. We went back to the hotel where Grandpa brought over our nieces/nephew for a swim. Afterward, we went back to their house for Easter dinner and a very fun Easter Egg hunt. By the time we got home at 9:30pm, our family was exhausted!

--On Mondy we remembered my dad with dinner & dessert at the local DQ, and some fun playtime outside at home. We were in stitches laughing as we played with the "Skip-it". Adult coordination is not nearly as pretty as a childs when it comes to this toy. (For evidence, I will post pictures of ribB and Kdee.) I'm sure my dad got a good chuckle as he watched us...

--This past weekend was a lot of fun, as my good friend Linnea (or Milly Euteneuer) came to visit. She got snowed out on Oscar weekend, so we made sure to make up for lost time with lots of shopping and great meals on Sat & Sun. We even enjoyed some live music on Saturday night...along with the Outlaws bike gang from Milwaukee. (There was a motorcycle rally in town.) I definitely enjoyed lots of laughter and good talks with her--there's never enough time together!
ribB was a good sport and did lots of kid duty (and even cleaned the floors, too!). ribB also got out, though, to his archery league banquet. I think he envisioned lots of wild game as his dinner, but instead enjoyed pizza and beverages. He had a great time doing the league and is planning on doing it again after softball. Ann, the babysitter extraordinary, watched the kids as ribB and I got out for our fun evenings. I think we confused her as we left separately!

Whew! More adventures to come...

It will feel better when it quits hurting

That's what my Dad used to say when I was little and crying over something. At the time, it drove me nuts! Now, as a parent, I find it to be a very gratifying thing to say when my kids (ok, Kdee mostly) complain about every little scratch they get. I smile every time I say it, and think he must be getting a good laugh, too.

I can't believe it's been 6 years since he passed away, and now his words ring true in an entirely different way. I miss him...a lot, every day. However, I know that since he's in a better place. Selfishly, I want him here for many reasons--especially to see him with the kids. I've learned over the years that it never gets 'easier', as many well-meaning folks awkwardly say to someone who's lost a loved one, but rather it becomes a new normal where good memories sustain your hurt heart. I'm always surprised, though, when grief will sneak up on me...like the time I saw someone at Menard's that looked a lot like my dad (I willed not to cry in Menard's!!!) or the way I see a man walk that's similar, or a grandpa with a grandchild.

Tonight, all of us are going to DQ for a treat in his memory (we usually also go to a park to play, but it's just too cold!). I also have a tradition of buying a music CD or a movie DVD (as he loved music and movies)--so, this year's pick was the new Jeremy Camp CD (excellent!)

A new update with photos will be coming in the next couple of days, including new goofy statements and experiences with the kids...surely, Grandpa Gordy would have been proud!

Love you, Dad....

***************************
The Dragonfly


Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads,
there lived a little water beetle in a community of water
beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond
with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of
their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and
would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their
friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge
to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would
not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what
he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the
surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so
warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body
changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful
blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body
designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole
new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never
known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking
by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and
explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been
before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could
not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he
understood that their time would come, when they, too, would
know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off
into his joyous new life!


~Author Unknown~