Yet Another Conversation With Brayden

Ever get the feeling my kid talks too much? Yeah, we do too....

We have started batting around ideas for Halloween Costumes, and Brayden seems to have some big ideas (as usual). He would like to do some sort of theme with his brother, and tossed out some ideas including the following:

B: "I wanna be Wall E"
Me: "Wall E, huh? Are we going to make that out of a box?"
B: "No, you can buy the costume, I saw it"
(Note: For those not familiar with Wall E, it is the latest Disney Pixar movie. Wall E is a trash collecting robot)
Me: "So, if you want to be Wall E, what is Bubby going to be?

A bit of a pause.....

B: "Duh, Mom--- He can be my trash cube!!!!!"

I think I may be sensing the beginning of the sibling rivalry.......
And I don't think that anyone needs to start looking forward to me dressing my precious, little baby as a heap of garbage.

End Of Summer Fun

I have really been making an effort to get the boys out to various local parks over the past week or so, to enjoy the little bit of summer weather we have left. They have been having a great time playing, splashing, eating picnic lunches, and running around with friends.

These first three pictures are from a sprinkler play area in town:

Rhylan and his buddy, Garren, splashing in the puddles

Brayden running through the sprinklers.

Brayden drinking from the seal's snout.

Rhylan and Garren swinging

Attentive Big Brother- or though it would seem. What is really happening here is that Brayden found a friend to play Star Wars with, and was instructing his baby brother as to how to fulfill the role of R2D2.

Walking across a bridge

A group of us Mommy's with our littlest ones swinging (the siblings were either at school, or elsewhere on the playground climbing, running, and playing).

I am not ready for summer to end......... and I don't think the boys are either.

Girl's Getaway

Just a few shots from my wonderful weekend away. A group of 13 girlfriends loaded up, leaving 29 children behind, and headed to a beautiful house on the shores of Lake Michigan. It was a much needed weekend with friends, fun, down time, and laughter. Thank you ladies-- looking forward to next year.

The boardwalk to the beach

Sunset View from our top balcony- that is the Chicago skyline (we were all the way on the border of Michigan/Indiana), just amazing

View of the rest of our resort from the hilltop, where our house was, at dusk.

Another Conversation With Brayden

Brayden is "grounded" from TV today, due to some undesirable behaviors (i.e. a very ugly temper tantrum, presumably escalated by his exhaustion).

A few minutes ago......
B: "Life is boring without TV"
Me: "Well, find something to do. You know, they didn't even have TV during most people's lives? And they found ways to have fun."
B: "They didn't have TV? Like who?"
Me: "Well Grandma Tata and Grandpa Bob didn't have TV until they were bigger kids, and Grammy Olson, Joe, and Grandma Maxine probably didn't have a TV until they were adults"
B: "Did you have TV when you were a kid, Momma?"
Me: "Yes, but not like you have now. We didn't have cable or anything."
B: "Oh, so you sat there and watched it go 'chhhhhh' (fuzz noise)?"
Me: "No, we had 4 channels"
B: "4 Channels? What were the kid channels?"
Me: "We didn't have kid channels, like Nickelodeon until I was a teenager"
B: "How many years ago was that?"
And before I could answer: "Like A Thousand?"

Thanks kiddo, way to make Mommy's day get off to a great start.......

OMG!!

It has recently been brought to my attention that I neglected to post Brayden's 5th Birthday Portraits. I can't believe I let that slip, and am really embarrassed!

My friend, D, was supposed to photograph a surprise vow renewal ceremony and reception for my parent's anniversary, which we had to cancel the event due to Mom still being in the hospital. Instead, we kept her busy with taking fabulous pictures of Brayden for his 5th birthday. As usual, her work is nothing short of fab-u-lous.

Thank you D for spending such a fun and relaxing afternoon with us, and for (once again) doing such a wonderful job. I really had a great time, and I think Brayden did too based on how happy he looks in all of the pictures.

All photos can be seen HERE, and are courtesy of Donita Jacobson Photography

Rhylan Having Fun

Rhylan was finally introduced to the "fun" of the infamous Mall Play Area today. (I will use the term "fun" very loosely- as I have never personally found it too enjoyable to try to contain my child(ren) in an area over run with other kids that are clearly too big/old to be playing there, and with money sucking ride type toys right outside of the huge opening that is the entrance/exit to this area. But, I digress....)

He seemed to enjoy himself thoroughly, even throwing a tantrum upon being told it was time to leave. (Another thing I am not a huge fan of- a 13 month old having an opinion about things, trying to voice it with flailing and screaming, and thinking that it matters.) Oh well, he took an excessively long nap after being completely worn out- can't complain too much about that.

And, a picture I snagged off of a friend's blog of 4 buddies hanging out at the pool celebrating C's first birthday. Happy Birthday Big Guy- we are sorry we missed your party at Grandma and Grandpa's, hope you had a great one.

As Promised....

...... A bit more uplifting post

Ok, on to the rest of Brayden's ongoing Birthday Week!!

My long time close friend so generously offered to not only watch the boys for part of the time while we were dealing with everything, but keep them overnight! I have always questioned her sanity, (who wouldn't??? I mean she has been my friend for over 20 years-- that says a lot right there!) but this was insane- she already has 5 children of her own! The boys had a blast playing with the kids, and doing all sorts of fun things, including yet another little birthday celebration, complete with baking and decorating Birthday Brownies.

Rhylan showing off some "wrestling moves" with Alayna.

Moving on to more thoughtful activities with the twins, Anthony and Dominick

Brayden taking a break from running in the sprinkler to play a few holes.

And while all the "little boys" slept, the rest of the kids made the Birthday Brownies (Rhylan was awake in time to join in the eating...... what a surprise!)

Thank you so much "S" for taking on my kids for a couple of days. I appreciate it more than words can say, and they had a wonderful time.

We picked the boys up from their overnight just in time to move on to a birthday dinner for Brayden and Auntie Boo (Bethany's birthday is the day after his). The two of them jointly decided on where we were going to go, and I wasn't surprised with the decision: "The Fire Restaurant", as Brayden calls it. This is by far our favorite Japanese Restaurant, so we were not disappointed in this choice.

(I just love how the above picture turned out!)

Happy Birthday to my 2 favorite "B"s. I love you both so much, and am happy we got a chance to celebrate together!

What a Week

We pulled in our driveway about 9 o'clock tonight, and I am beat- physically, mentally, and emotionally. I think that the more I get things in order with my Grandma's affairs (cleaning out the house, getting it on the market, finalizing the estate sale, etc.), the more I am letting myself "feel" all that is going on in my life. These past 4+ months have been a whirlwind, where I have been surviving only to make sure that everyone else is surviving.

Today, we pulled out of my Grandma's driveway, after a week of endless work, late nights, and stress, and Jason turned to me and said "So, babe... Does it feel good to have things pretty well cleared out, and see that 'For Sale' sign in the yard?". My response.... silence, followed by tears streaming down my cheeks, and choking up a quiet: "It is bittersweet".

Yes, it is nice to know that this is one step closer to being off my plate, not that it won't be plenty full with other ongoing matters (Grandma, Joe, my mom's continued dilemma, etc.), but it is also really hard- that house is full of so many of my memories. As we drove out of that driveway, I hoped to feel a sense of accomplishment for all of our hard work over the past week, instead I finally "felt" a lot of other things. This chapter in my life is closing. My Grandma has always been more like another mom to me, and she has always thought of me as a daughter. So, seeing her decline is hard in and of itself, but she is my direct link to my dad- who I miss so very terribly (my best friend)- all that I have left of him. I think about him daily, but this past week even more so. I learned family history and stories that I have never known, found numerous family heirlooms, pictures, forgotten treasures, etc. Part of me felt like he was right there with us, another part longing and wishing that he were- sharing the joy, laughter, frustration, and tears.

This side of my family has a tendency to have coincidental dates for things like births, deaths, marriages, burials, and even names- another story for another time. And as we pulled past my Grandma's house, presumably for the last time that I see it as "her house", and those tears seemed to roll faster; the more I tried to not let them show, Jason proceeded to grab my hand and say: "I know it has to be hard, especially with what Monday is....". I have been thinking it all week, but didn't say a word, as we carried out our work. August 18th would have been my Grandpa's birthday, and it was the day I lost my Dad, in my arms, 8 years ago. Again- coincidental timing.

My Dad- John Olson: May 9, 1947- August 18, 2000. I miss you!!

Anyway, just a little post- some insight as to where we have been for the past week or so, mentally and physically. I promise a more uplifting post tomorrow, complete with Brayden's continuing 5th Birthday fun.

Waves of Fun

We are in my hometown for the week to deal with family affairs. We took a day away from our obligations to have a little fun, and celebrate our little man turning 5 today!!!!!
We decided to take him to a huge water park, and to say that he had fun would be an understatement. I only wish I had thought to take more pictures of the park itself, but it is kind of hard to tote a camera around with you when you are spending the day in the water! This place has an enormous wave pool, several big tube slides, 3 (5 story tall) body slides, a water "roller coaster", awesome lazy river, and the coolest kids play area that I have ever seen (complete with a 1000 gallon water bucket that dumps over the area every so often).

The weather was perfect, unseasonably comfortable- and the crowds were light. It was a perfect day, and the perfect way to celebrate a monumental birthday with Brayden!!!

Here he is running into the waves as they started up.

This was inside the kids area. It looks muddy in the picture, but that is the look I think they are going for- it is actually concrete, just not painted traditional pool blue. This area had climbing ropes, bridges, water toys, places to float, the large dumping bucket I mentioned, and smaller versions of water slides. (Not that Brayden needed the kiddy versions- our little daredevil went right to the huge body slides as his first activity choice!)

Relaxing before lunch (and breaking the sun chair with his rear end- notice the missing straps?)

And what day would be complete without an unexpected visit with Ronald McDonald?!!? Yeah, I don't know why he was there, it was rather random, to say the least, but Brayden was excited---- and when you are the birthday boy, that is all that matters!

Blast Off to Being Five!!!

5,4,3,2,1

Blast Off!!!

Brayden celebrated his 5th birthday today, with some friends, at the local college planetarium. All went well, and the kids had a good time. Brayden insisted that he wanted a "space party" this year, as his interests are all things space- planets, rockets, weather, Star Wars, Wall E, and so on. He has even insisted that his room be redecorated in a space theme (pictures to follow).

The cake turned out better than we could have imagined. (A big thank you to Mandi's Cakes!)

Couldn't get all of the kids in one shot, so here they are going down the line:

Following (cup)Cake(s), presents, and a little fun time, we all made our way into the "dome" for the big show. The kids learned a little bit about the positions of the moon and stars, saw some planets up close and personal, and how to recognize some constellations. All followed up by a light show that ended with Brayden's picture on the top of the planetarium dome:

(This is the picture that I did for the invitations, and Brayden was so excited by "being in the astronaut suit" that he chose to use this for his picture during the show.)

After the party, Brayden decided to continue on with the space theme, and have dinner at a local restaurant named after the largest planet. We had a good time eating pizza and playing some games- Brayden even earned enough tickets to get two decent prizes!

Upon returning home, we let Brayden stay up late, and open some of his new gifts. I am not sure who enjoyed them more, Brayden or his Daddy!?!? (Note, I didn't actually include pictures of Daddy playing Planet Heroes, putting together Legos, or other such things...... By HimSelf!!!)

Thank you to everyone that helped to make this such a wonderful day, for a (what we think is, anyway) wonderful almost 5 year old. We were told many times tonight that we are the best "parent's ever", and this was "the best day ever".

(Note: he hasn't seen the water park he is getting to going to on his actual birthday..... )