grayson's first tooth -- gone!!

Grayson came home from school beaming today... with a big, toothless grin! He lost his first tooth -- on the way to lunch -- at school, and he was sooooo excited. I think he is one of the last kids his age to lose one.

So, what's the going rate for the tooth fairy? ;)

what have we been up to?

i have some pics to share from Grayson's field trip today, but thought maybe a "what have we been up to" brain-dump post might be better. sorry if it's boring... most of this is so i can reminisce later over what happened in September 2011.

maybe we should organize by kid:

Grayson: has had a rough start to his school year. going from half-days to full-days has been quite the transition (lots of tears). his 5 little best buds are ALL in the other class, which doesn't help. he does have the sweetest teacher, and he really likes her. he is reading books like crazy and actually likes having homework. (when will that change?) he has been playing soccer in a more competitive league this fall and that is his favorite time of the week. he has scored at least one goal at every game except the last one. he got in trouble the other day for taking matters into his own hands and spanking carter. (oh my!)

Carter: has had a FABULOUS last several weeks, with accomplishing several "big-boy" feats. he is now sleeping in his big-boy bed and not getting out. he is potty trained!! (hallelujah!) he is riding a regular bike with training wheels. and he is only 2 1/2. he wants to do everything that grayson does. he wants to pick grayson up from school when he's only been gone an hour or two. :( he has a little cold/cough/allergy thing going right now, but otherwise is a hoot. he enjoys his kids' day out program (once a week) and a little girl (reese) kissed him as he was leaving the other day. he is related to his daddy, i think!

Jerry: is getting ready to run a full MARATHON next weekend and we will all be there to cheer him own. he is officially skin, bones, and muscle... weighing in at less than what he weighed at our wedding. i'm totally jealous -- in a good way. he's the man.

Julie: i'm just keeping busy with the boys' activities, driving to and from soccer, piano, school, and the grocery store, and attempting to feed our family dinners at home at least 4-5x per week. my monday morning Bible study has started back up, along with our mom's group at eastminster, and then i'm still working as much as they need me on thurs/fridays. we are blessed.

box turtles

On Sunday afternoon, Jerry decided to go "run" Zoe... meaning he took her out in the country to let her start picking up bird scents in prep for pheasant season coming up (sigh). Zoe can find birds with the best of them, but also... somewhere in her dog-bred hunting lines... she ended up with a turtle scent. She loves loves loves to find box turtles and bring them back to Jerry. She picks them up in her mouth and looks so proud. :)

Grayson has been dying for a turtle, and it's been soooo dry around here, that they haven't been around. But, Zoe came through on Sunday!!

 Carter checking out the turtle from a distance... Grayson fed it some carrots, flowers, and a cricket.

 the turtle with a flower petal in its mouth

Not sure why the bike helmet is on in the pics other than... Safety First!!

shabby fall wreath

I started feeling a little crafty the other day, and decided to make a little fall wreath. I picked up a few goodies from Hobby Lobby and started crafting!

 I bought a medium sized styrofoam wreath, one yard of burlap, corsage pins, and a mixture of fall-colored fabric squares. I also got out my trusty hot glue gun.

 I cut the burlap into 2-3" strips and wrapped the wreath completely. I hot glued every place that I started and stopped with the burlap.

 I then cut the fabric into small strips, and loosely gathered them and pinned them into the wreath.

 At the top, I made a small hanger with the material, some glue, and several pins. I hung it on my laundry room door for awhile, but then decided the wreath looked better on my little repurposed chair!

Happy Crafting!

where were you? {when the world stopped turning}

It's hard to believe that this is the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.

So much has changed.

People fly flags more regularly.

Airports are totally different. No more waiting for your friends and family at the gate. Or walking your friends and family to the gate. No more liquids in your carry-on. Lots of full body scanners.

I've read several amazing books telling about that harrowing day and the life that has followed... "Let's Roll" by Lisa Beamer and "Love, Greg and Lauren" by Greg Manning. I just finished (today) "Where You Left Me" by Jennifer Gardner Trulson, which I highly recommend to add to your reading list.

Back to the actual day...
On September 11th, 2001, I was driving to one of my clinical rotations, just about to finish OT school. I was listening to my favorite radio station, B-98, and they said a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. What??

I arrived, got out of the car, and turned the radio on inside, where I shared an office with another OT student. We sat at our desks, in shock, as we listened to what continued to happen in New York, Washington DC, and in Pennsylvania. We couldn't believe it.

Jerry and I had planned to fly to his sister's house on 9/16/01, not even a week after everything had happened. Our plane tickets were still good, so we went ahead with the trip. But, it was beyond creepy to be on a plane that was 75% empty. Weird. So many planes had been grounded... this was just the start of resuming air travel. I've flown a decent amount in my life, but this ranks up there as one of the most unsettling. Airports and airplanes were empty... I've never seen them like that before.

Fast forward to 9/11/04... I was pregnant with Grayson, and my parents as well as Jerry and I were boarding a cruise ship in Boston. We were taking our last trip before the baby... headed for a week-long trip to Maine and Canada. We hadn't been on the ship more than an hour or two when the ship's captain came over the loudspeaker. He spoke of the significance of 9/11, the fact that we would never forget, and that he wanted to honor those who had died on that terrible day. He asked that all the passengers on the ship stop for a few minutes of silence, and honor those who had lost their lives. He then stopped talking and played "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" by Alan Jackson throughout the Jewel of the Seas. The ship was quiet except for the song playing. I'll never forget it.

God Bless America...

love me some dirt!

Jerry had 15 TONS of dirt delivered yesterday... rather, the dirt was dumped smack dab in the middle of our driveway. Jerry is moving it, one wheelbarrow load at a time, to our back yard, so it drains more effectively. Does it matter that is hasn't rained in months? Nah...

Anyway, Grayson and Carter thought it was Christmas. A huge pile of dirt, several shovels, and they could play as long as they like in their PJs... sounds great!

the wedding {in Sonoma}

Aaron and Vanessa were married at the Viansa Winery in Sonoma. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding and we all loved taking lots of pictures!! David and Brett were both groomsmen...

 Now husband and wife!! Love the red rose petals...

 Brett and David standing up front

 the views were gorgeous in Sonoma... after the wedding, we all walked up to the terrace for wine and hors'doerves

 Brett, Claire, Dave, Kristen, Mom, Dad, me, Jerry

 Vanessa and Aaron entering the huge tent where the reception, dinner, and dance were held

 Looking out from the tent... into the wine country... I found these two trouble-makers. I mean, my brothers. Makes me think Will Ferrell should pop up behind them or something. ;)

 Jerry got crazy... really crazy... on the dance floor. Here he is showing his stuff. He obviously doesn't get out in a suit very often.

It was a fun evening with family and friends! Best wishes to the newlyweds!!

wine tasting in napa

On Saturday morning, we met up with David, Kristen, Brett, Claire, Dan, Marianne, and Mark to head to Napa for some wine tasting. We also scored an official tour at the Cakebread Cellars Winery.

 See the grapes? They even let us taste them.

 Cheers!

 Brett and Claire

 Mom and I

 Our guide, Todd, did a great job! Dave also wanted to get in the pic... :)

 The whole group in the wine barrel area

 Dan, Claire, Brett

 all the girls in front of Mrs. Cakebread's vegetable garden

 Brett, Dad, David

Each area of grapes was labeled with which wine they were for. So cool!

san fran streetcars

 You can't go to San Francisco and not ride a streetcar, right?? So we did!

 While waiting our turn, we were across from these beautiful row houses... just down from Lombard Street.

 I'll take that one, please.

 Jerry and Terry in Ghirardelli Square -- they gave us free samples of the chocolate, and it was so yummy!

 Paula and Mom on the streetcar

 Terry and Dad were the special "two" that got to stand outside with the driver... riding on the back. I think it was on both of their bucket lists! ;)

 Steep hills!!