It's Halloween!

This might be the last year I can choose the costumes the boys wear for Halloween.  Every time Soren sees this picture, he still says, "I hate that costume"

But I so love it! Trick or Treat!

Camping With a Side of Mud

In June Will and I went to Cub Scout Camp. 

Yes, Cub Scout Camp. 

Yes, in June. 

Yes, this past June when it rained torrentially every day. 

Yes.

But we managed to do all the fun camp things. I was fairly amazed by how all the camp activities were conducted rain or shine... mostly rain.

Will earned his Webelos Sportsman pin by learning how to shoot BB guns

and shoot a bow and arrow.

He also played volley ball

and collected bugs

and fished and fished and fished.

I enjoyed some quiet afternoons reading in a canvas tent with a nice colony of daddy longlegs.

One afternoon the sun came out

The most amazing aspect of Cub Scout Camp (to me) was the fact that my french manicure survived five long days. There should be a merit badge for that. 

  

Will's Big Debut

Will has been taking ballet and tap at Balletmet for several years now.  Always in the past, when the year ends, parents are invited to the last class to watch a little here's-what-we've-learned performance.  This year Will was advanced enough in ballet to participate in the Spring Performance- a three performance production put on at the Capitol Theatre to showcase all the levels of dance instruction that go on throughout the year.  And because Will is one of the rare male ballet students, he performed in all three shows in a dance number that included all the boys at Balletmet from Ballet I on up.  

It was really and truly amazing to see Will up on the stage dancing with the other boys.  I got goosebumps, tears came to my eyes, and I clapped and cheered like a maniac when the curtain fell. 

But it wan't just me- everyone in the audience whistled and yelled. The boys' dance was definitely a highlight of the show.  I overheard people talking about it at intermission and before and after each of the shows while my heart swelled with pride.

Best of all- Will loved it! I think he mostly liked hanging out with his buddies down in the dressing rooms when they weren't on stage.  After the Friday night show he couldn't wait to go back for the two shows on Saturday.  Seeing him have such an awesome experience was a memory I hope to hang onto for a while.

A dressing room selfie before the first show 

(mom's weren't technically allowed in the dressing rooms but you know us stage moms)

Will after the second show

Photography was not allowed during the performances, but Soren drew a pretty realistic representation on the iPad

He Did It!

Soren graduated from Pre-School.

With pomp and circumstance he donned his cap and gown

Lined up with his classmates

Crossed the stage

And officially became a Kindergartener.

Rick and I both made him promise to stay small so I guess it's okay for now that his mustache is a juice mustache.

Goosebump Alert

A few months ago, Soren and I were spending a quiet Saturday morning building with Legos together and we had the following conversation:

Soren-  "Do you remember when I died?"

Me (trying to sound nonchalant)-  "No, I don't remember that. What happened?"

Soren-  "Remember? I fell out of a tree. And you put up a stone sign near where we lived."

After a little while he said, "It took me a long time to find you and get back into your tummy."

Blogger Catch Up- Trick or Treat

Oh Halloween Night!

Trick or treating with our dear friends, the Robinsons, is always the best.

When you ride home with a bag of Sour Patch Kids as a pillow, you can pretty much call that a successful night.

Throwback Pinewood Derby

The Scout Master of Pack 456 seized upon the idea of making this year's Pinewood Derby a Throwback Derby- in honor of the first Pinewood Derby in 1953.  That meant that all cars had to be cut in the same design as the first Boy Scout-approved 1953 design and all the cars had to be weighted with pennies instead of the fancy tungsten weights they sell at the Boy Scout Store these days.  There were some fans of this plan and some haters, but in the end everyone got a medal because everyone did their best and that's all that matters, right?

It turns out that 1953 was also the first year of the Corvette, so Will selected a '53 Corvette design for his paint job.  Mom committed to the theme by creating classic white-wall tires for Will's car.

Soren had a bit more leeway because he didn't have to comply with the throwback rules. He picked an Angry Birds theme. Rick was against attaching feathers to the car because they would create drag, but how can you have an Angry Bird car without feathers? 

And he did end up winning the Pack Award for best car design.

Yay for Team Smiley!

Yes, Virginia

There has been some idle chatter around our house recently about Santa not being real (gasp).

Santa's elves must have reported to him because he paid us a surprise visit!

He did the typical Santa things like asking the boys if they had been naughty or nice, finding out what toys were on their Christmas lists and reminding them to be good for mom and dad.  

He also read them 'Twas The Night Before Christmas', told some jokes and asked them to remember that Christmas is also the birth of Our Lord.

I think we managed to prolong the belief a little while longer in the Magic and Wonder.

Thank You, Santa!
(It was priceless to hear Soren shouting, "It's Santa! Santa Claus is here!") 

Pedals, Pipes and Scary Music

Will has always been fascinated by pipe organs.  In October, he got the opportunity to attend a program at a local church where he learned all about pipe organs and even got to play one!  

What a thrill!

Now he is sure we need one.  

In our house.  

He has already scoped out the front hall as a place for the big pipes.  

Keep dreamin', kiddo.

How Can It Be?

First Day of Preschool 2009

First Day of Preschool 2013

Christmas in July

Christmas in July has become a destination event.  

I'm a big fan of parties where you can show up, turn kids loose to have fun, and let someone else serve refreshments and clean up.  

This year it was Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that initially sounded to me like a recipe for arm casts and trips to the emergency dental clinic, but in reality turned out to be a pretty fun place where kids jumped 

and jumped 

and jumped.

And refueled with pizza and red & green cupcakes and.. 

candy! 

(oh well, maybe that is a recipe for a trip to the emergency dental clinic after all, but you're only 7 1/2 once)

Right to Read Week

This year's Right to Read Week was a little bittersweet, knowing that the Diocese had eliminated the librarian position for the upcoming year and this would be one of our last opportunities to enjoy the boundless enthusiasm of the amazing school librarian, Mrs. Ruefle.  

I was also a little nervous about this year's theme: 

The Civil War.  

How on earth would they get elementary school students interested in the Civil War?  How would they explain some of the complex and very mature issues?  

Because I spent many of my formative years living in the south and because we vacation frequently in Charleston (the very place where the Civil War began) I tried to interest Will in the historical places he had been and seen.  

"Will, remember Fort Sumter?" 

"Will, remember the Hunley? The first submarine to sink an enemy war ship?" 

"Will, remember Fort Moultrie?"  

Will just wanted to know who the good guys were.  I tried to explain that both sides wanted different things.  I tried to explain about states' rights.  Will just wanted to know which side wanted slavery.  I gotta give him that- that's pretty much a deal breaker.  Despite my best efforts to muddy the waters, the school did a great job of making the Civil War exciting to kids.

The festivities kicked off with a field trip to a Confederate cemetery right here in Columbus (yes, really!).  Camp Chase was a prisoner of war camp on the west side of Columbus and the cemetery survives.  There are 2260 Confederate soldiers buried there.  It was nice to see the soldiers from so long ago being honored in a beautiful, peaceful place.  All the trees in the small cemetery are native to the south and every year, reenactors hold a ceremony where they sprinkle a little dirt that has been brought from somewhere in the south on each grave so the soldiers can rest in southern soil. So interesting! 

The next event was the family cake decorating contest.  I found a book about a cat who was the garrison cat at Fort Sumter during the war.  We won First Place.  

Score one for the South. 

We put together a drummer boy costume for 'Dress as a Civil War Person' Day.  Note that Will chose to wear Union colors.  

Score one for the North.

At the end of the week was the Reading Festival.  The Drum and Fife Corp from Camp Chase provided amazing music.  Will sampled hard tack and johnny cakes.  An Abraham Lincoln impersonator delivered the Gettysburg Address.  At a model field hospital some kids from the upper grades pretended to perform limb amputations without the benefit of anesthesia, which was interesting to me.  

Score a million for Right to Read Week and Mrs. Ruefle and the teachers at St. Mary School. 

Disney Moments

End of 2012/Beginning of 2013 Catch Up!

We waved goodbye to our friends, shoved our coats into the bottom of the suitcases and headed to Florida for a Mickey Mouse fix and to check item #1 off the Bucket List: Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Some of our more memorable Disney Moments:

1. A Moment of Thanksgiving

I made the reservations for this trip right after Rick's MRI appointment in December, still high on the good news that cancer was behaving itself.  The Disney travel agent asked if we were celebrating anything special on this trip and I started blubbering like a baby telling this perfect stranger about Rick's scan.  

When we got to the registration desk at the hotel, Rick was presented with a button declaring that he was celebrating Life!  I said many little prayers of thanksgiving during this trip for my wonderful husband and the blessings we have been given as a family.

2. A Super Mom Moment

I didn't realize until we got back to our hotel room after the first day at WDW that Soren had walked like a trooper all over the park... 

with his shoes on the wrong feet

3. A Random Act of Kindness Moment

Because our Disney trip was tacked on to the end of our Asheville trip, by the time we got the Florida we were already going on a good, solid week of irregular bedtimes and calling cotton candy a meal.  So it wasn't too surprising that on Day 2 of WDW, everyone's behavior started to deteriorate.  Soren was throwing a particularly stellar temper tantrum right in the middle of Tomorrow Land- screaming, crying, going limp, the whole nine yards.  I'm sure most people in the immediate vicinity (including myself) wanted to turn and walk quickly in the other direction.  

A young woman came over, held out three trading pins and told Soren that these were her favorite pins, but she could tell he was having hard time and he could pick one to have if he wanted.  Tantrum instantly forgotten, he picked a Mickey Mouse pin.  We put it on his shirt and for the rest of the day I couldn't get him to look at the camera for any pictures because he was gazing at his special pin.

4. Celebrity Moment

For the first day at Universal Studios, we donned full Harry Potter regalia.  

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing.  

In every way.  

I'm sure we were walking around with our mouths hanging open.  And every so often we were stopped by fellow visitors who asked if they could be photographed with Soren Potter and Will Malfoy.  It felt a smidge like a bad idea to let my children be photographed by strangers, but I really couldn't think of reason not to, so in another Super Mom Moment, I let them.

5. Magical Moment

One of the must-do's was visiting Olivander's Wand Shop where Olivander himself recommended a birch or holly wand for Soren Potter and an elder wand for Will Malfoy.  In the end, though, we know that the wand chooses the wizard.

6. Malaprop Moment

 It turns out there are other exciting thing to see at Universal Studios.  One of them was a really fun ride based on the Despicable Me movie.  Soren became really fascinated with Gru's minions.  Hysterically, he kept calling them his cousins.  I shushed WIll every time he started to correct Soren and now we all call them cousins!

7. Whew! Glad To Be Home Moment

Get Rowdy!

End of 2012/Beginning of 2013 Catch Up

Will played basketball on the St. Mary Little Lambs Future Rams Team 

and got to hang out with the mascot Ruckus

I used to think that watching little kids play soccer was my favorite thing, now I'm pretty sure it's watching little kids play basketball. Hilarious!