Field Trip to the Children's Museum

One of the perks of being a Stay-at-Home Mom is getting to be involved in my kid's school.  I was able to chaperone Nolan's 4K trip to the Eagle River Children's Museum this week and it was fun to spend some time playing with him and his classmates in this fun place.  Aside from playing in the many exhibits, the 4K-ers also got to do a dinosaur dig - where they donned their "sun hats", "canteen" and followed the camel through the desert to gently brush away the sand from the buried dinosaur bones.  It was so fun to see their imagination at work!  They are so cute!

Nolan's teacher, Mrs. Powell, and teacher's assistant, Ms. Yeager, are such sweet and nurturing ladies and Nolan really loved being in their classroom this year.  I love their calm and gentle demeanor, especially when dealing with seventeen rowdy 4 and 5 year olds!

While we were there, I recognized one of the other chaperones as one of the wonderful delivery room nurses that helped me and advocated for me during Nolan's intense birth.  I never got a chance to thank her after that traumatic ordeal, so I decided to go say hello.  She said she recognized my face right away, but couldn't place me.  I mentioned a few details of the birth, and she remembered right away - down to which other nurse was in the room.  It was a scary and memorable experience for everyone!  She said it meant so much to know that Nolan had turned out ok - once the baby leaves the floor, they never know how things end up, and with his traumatic and prolonged ordeal, there was a distinct  possibility of injury to him and me.  Seeing a big, strong, smart, and healthy 5 year old almost brought her to tears.  We are so grateful things turned out the way they did!

Before we knew it,  it was time to head back to the bus.  I can tell it means so much to Nolan when I get to come along on his trips.  I know he won't always feel that way, so I'm trying to soak it up now, while it lasts!  It was a fun day for the kiddos and adults alike, and was a perfect last week of school activity! Summer's coming soon!

Memorial Day Weekend

This year's Memorial Day weekend boasted record highs - well into the 90s - so we spent the majority of the weekend on or in the water.  We spent the majority of the day on Saturday playing outside with the sprinkler, kiddie pools, and water balloons.  Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia came to join us for the weekend, which added to the fun.  Everybody had a blast!  

On Sunday, we headed to Tom's for the first boat ride of the year and the inaugural float of our new friend...….Poopy Frankenstein. (The kids named him.)  Patti found this ridiculous giant sized peacock at Sam's Club and thought we would have a blast on it this summer.  She was right - and we all enjoyed the sunshine and water while aboard our noble bird.  

We headed on a lengthy pontoon ride up the Wisconsin River and made our way to Backwaters Restaurant, where we got a bite to eat.  We saw several critters on our pontoon ride, including a few bald eagles, several muskrats, a blue heron, a deer, a loon, and even a clam!  The Northwoods sure is beautiful in the summer!  I found myself in such a wonderful state of relaxation and contentment as I watched the beautiful clouds float by and felt so grateful to be spending my day this way.  

By Monday, Eric was back in town and he joined us for some more time on the water.  The day was much hotter, so we didn't go as far and we were all ready to get into the air conditioning by the mid-afternoon.  It was a wonderful weekend spent in a beautiful place with all my favorites close-by - it doesn't get much better than that!

Week 21: I'm strong because...

I'm strong because...I have this amazing group of people to stand behind me, love me unconditionally, and support me through good and challenging times.

Nolan's Spring Concert

Nolan's spring concert was on Thursday morning at the High School.  He's been practicing his songs at home for weeks - the ABC sounds song, Five Green and Speckled Frogs, and Mr Golden Sun.  Little buddy was a little nervous the morning of the performance, but he decided to be brave and told me he was 5 scared but 10 brave.  He gave it his all and did all of his actions perfectly and knew every word.  I'm very proud of my sweet and musical boy!

Spring Pictures

For the last several years I've been wanting to take some pictures at Nicolet College when their trees were in bloom.  We finally made it down there this year, but when we got there we realized the trees were absolutely buzzing with bees.  The sound was deafening!  We kept our distance, but were still able to get some cute pictures of the kids.

Breakfast in Bed

Eric left for his second week of business trips this month on Sunday. In order to be my "helper," Nolan has been waking me up with breakfast in bed the past few mornings - a carefully constructed PB & J. This morning, our little sandwich artist decided to branch out and made a butter and almond sandwich, which if you're not sure what that is, it's literally butter and whole roasted almonds on white bread. Fortunately, he was super excited to try it so I was able to dodge that bullet while he gobbled that sucker down in record time. 

artwork

Lately Nolan has been taking an interest in "art."  With Nolan turning into such a good reader and speller, it was only a matter of time before the potty words started to be spelled...And he's been writing them everywhere.  I even found the word 'poop' written in the dirt on my car door yesterday.  The picture above is a picture of me that he drew when he was mad at me, basically like an assassin crossing out his victim.  I'm a little scared...

This super awesome anatomically accurate drawing was at Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia's house.  It is having a bowel movement.  We're so proud.

Goodbye, Grandpa

My Grandpa Ralph passed away this morning. He was a man of few words, a quick wit, and unending love for his family. He was gentle and fairly quiet, but always had a twinkle in his eye because at his core he was a prankster.  Nothing harmful, of course, but he loved playing practical jokes, saying silly puns, and had quite the collection of Norwegian gadgets.  One of his favorites was a wooden cube with a slider on the top.  When you slid the box open, a toy mouse popped out on your hand.  I also remember his Norwegian "Quarter Pounder" -  which was a board with a quarter glued to it and a tiny wooden hammer triggered to pound the quarter - a quarter pounder!  He loved when someone new came to visit and he could get them scratching their head and laughing with his shelf of tricks.  

Grandpa was a dairy farmer, like his father before him.  He worked hard his whole life, but found joy in his work.  His favorite place to be was on the tractor - preferably a John Deere - and managed to keep raking hay until last fall at the age of 87.   He also loved playing cards and continued playing with friends and family many times a week, even while home on hospice care.  

I've been rather spoiled, because for the 33 years of my life, all four of my grandparents have been guideposts, cheerleaders, and supporters as I have gone through the many chapters and stages of my life.  From birthdays to piano recitals, to Sacraments to graduations, they have been there through it all with me.  As I contemplate this loss and go through the grieving process, I think about how different it will be now.  There will be an empty seat at those special events and one of my biggest cheerleaders is no longer on earth where I can see his smile and that familiar twinkle in his eye.  That will be very difficult to get used to.  The reassuring part is that I know Grandpa is looking down at the beautiful family he created with so much love and pride, and that I know that one day we will all be together again.  One of the last times I visited him, he was gazing at the grandchildren quilt that hangs in their bedroom. It is filled with the handprints of his 24 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren. He said, "Can you believe we started all that?!" He was a humble man, who was deeply proud of his family.

We laid Grandpa to rest with so much love at his home church in Lima.  It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day and the trees were all blooming with their beautiful spring blossoms.  The church was packed with well over 300 people.  We processed in with our whole family - all 100 of us - and it was such a powerful visual of the legacy my grandparents created.  When Mass was over, and the bells chimed, we followed Grandpa out of the church to his final resting place in the Lima cemetery.  We gathered around for the military honors and taps, said our final goodbyes, and sang his favorite song, "Sweet Violets," for him one last time.  The funeral director gave each of us a flower from his casket spray as one final gift from Grandpa.  

Grandpa, I am proud to be your granddaughter.  Rest in peace. Love you more.