Kalyn!

Kathy and Kalyn came over on Friday. We all had fun. I love talking to Kathy! And it is so nice to see Luci and Kalyn becoming friends. I loved, loved hearing Kalyn running around, calling, "Lus! Where are you?" She sounded much older than 2 1/2.

Luci learned that she's not supposed to lock the door on a friend (hmm, big brothers, where did she learn that trick?!) and Kalyn and Luci both showed us how they can jump and squeal. [Ha! Greg (Kalyn's daddy), if you want to stop it, you have to be here to do it in person! We had a ball watching them.]



Kathy, here's that cute outfit. Luci wore it to town today. Thank you!

Water Girl

Luci chasing me with the hose last week. (sorry two of the photos are blurry--she's a fast one!) She's a little stinker. She had way too much fun trying to soak me!

The Square Root of 2,304

That's how old I am today. Need more clues? When Bryan has his birthday in 12 days, I'll be 3 times older than him; when JT has his birthday in 11 days, I'll be 4 times older than him. I am now 16 times older than Luci. (Can you tell I was raised by an engineer/math teacher?)

John totally floored me with my birthday present. He's been working overtime and used that to get this--a laptop computer! Wow! I was totally shocked. I can use this at the table while the kids work on schoolwork (blogging and studying--they do go hand in hand, don't they?), and use it for looking up things we need to study online. So handy! Thank you, John!!

Idaho Highlights

Cousin Katie Luci and JT loved this piano! If there were a way to sneak it out of Nana and Papa's house and tie it onto the roof of the van (or drag it behind), I think JT and Luci would have figured out a way to bring it home.

Bryan used every spare minute to play his video games.
We had to get the oil changed before the trip home. JT thinks he looks cool in this car on the show floor at the dealership.
Luci at the car dealership. They had a pretty neat play area. Janet and I went out on Sunday afternoon, for some girl time. (Luci came along, too.) We went to Cheesecake Factory--it is gorgeous in there! Luci took some pics of Janet and me, but they all turned out blurry.

Tetherball was a big hit!
Guess who won this game?! Luci!
Helping Dad fill the squirrel feeder. Wait--I may have put this on the blog before. I can't believe Mom and Dad actually encourage the squirrels to come around! This still makes me laugh. At our old house, we couldn't get rid of the smart, hairy beasts. They even figured out a way to get into our attic and make nests. Yuck!
This is about as close as Luci would let Papa get. I'm sorry, Dad!

Tori and Caleb

Tori and Caleb came to town Monday. Tori is my brother Charlie's daughter, and Caleb is her husband. They are down here from Idaho, on a grand cross-country trip. We were their first stop. John and I tried our best to convince them that after seeing north-west Alabama that the rest of the country is anti-climactic and they might as well go home, but they didn't believe us. They are still going to visit Boston and Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone and everything in-between.

We took them to Helen Keller's birthplace and then to Trowbridge's Ice Cream Parlor. It was so nice to see Tori all grown up and to get to know Caleb, too.

In this picture, Caleb was looking back at the sign but it looks like he is adoring Tori...I thought it looked so sweet. Luci showed us how to finger-spell her name...at the very same water pump that Helen Keller first learned to finger-spell "water." I think this is the best part of Helen's museum...wow, this is the real place where it happened, and the original pump! And they let you get near it. Caleb videoed Luci spelling her name, which automatically made me like him more--you treat my kids well or like they're special, and that earns you a place in my heart. (Luci's shoes are on the wrong feet!)
If the docent had seen Luci pumping away on this old pump, I'm sure she would have had a fit! I pulled Luci off of it right away.
On Helen's staircase with Bryan.
Tori and Luci. We made sure that Tori and Caleb had a good introduction to hot, steamy weather before they left for their next destination!
At Trowbridge's. This is a Florence institution. (Trowbridge's is mentioned about halfway down the page in that article.) The kids all sat at their own table, and John and I had a little time by ourselves (but it was not quiet time! that joint is always jumpin'!). This is one of the places John took me when we dated, and Mom and Dad took Bryan and me there when Bryan was just 2 weeks old.

Indiana Jones.

Hello, this is Bryan posting, not my mom.

I made a short little preview for a movie I'm going to make, its starring my dad. I don't really need to tell you anymore, you'll figure out what its about by watching the preview. Tell me what you think about it.



Did you like it?

What Is It About Potties??

Yes, we are still working on potty-training. No rush, and it was nice to not have to worry about accidents on the trip to Idaho. But what is it about potties??

Luci's been content to just go whenever the mood struck her, in her pull-up. Which is fine with me, I learned with the boys that it is not worth the headaches and aggravation to push things along. There will be a day, soon most likely, when Luci will have it down pat.

As in on the road to Idaho. After a year of not caring, all of a sudden she cares! "Screech! I gotta potty NOW!!" So we find the first potty available. We rush in, because, "It's coming out NOW!" as everyone at the Quick Stop Gas Mart can attest. Finally, we make it to the potty, and Luci is putting on the brakes. She very nicely says, "No, I not use that potty. I just use my pull-yup." She does not like gas station bathrooms.

Or McDonald's bathrooms. (The McD's in Hayti, MO had a wet floor...and it wasn't from mopping. She did use her "pull-yup" and it leaked. So watch your step in Hayti.)

Or rest stop bathrooms. (The one at Ft. Steele in WY comes to mind. After exiting that restroom, a strong wind gust--is there any other kind in Wyoming?--catapulted Luci into a woman making her own way to the icky potty.)

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Here's another thing: You know that unwritten rule that says a woman can't go to the restroom in a public place by herself? Women always go in pairs at restaurants, the theater, etc. You know that. But do you know at what age this tradition starts? For Luci and four other little girls at church, it starts in preschool! I'm surprised the ushers didn't come in to stop the party this morning. There were four 3-year-olds and one 4-year-old whooping it up while they did their business (apparently churchy potties are ok). And yes, the mommies did try to hush the girls up. Which only caused more squealing.

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Aren't you glad there are no pictures with this post?

Welcome Home!

We left for Idaho after John left for his Army trip. (I've got to say I love having our good neighbors and our alarm system!) John would get home before us, so the boys and I made some "love notes" for him to find when he got back (Luci was already in bed when we did this, so she didn't make any). We stashed them all over the place, where he'd be sure to find them. Some good places: On the bathroom mirror, on the cabinet next to the computer, and on the coffee maker. Guaranteed to make a daddy and husband feel special. John had 12 messages in all to find!

Learning to Toss a Frisbee

Luci has her own special way of tossing the frisbee. She even made it go the direction she originally was aiming. This was in Uncle Charlie's backyard.

The Two Vivians

Audrey Vivian with Luci Vivian

Doin' Stuff with Papa

JT talked about helping Papa with his grandfather clock even before we got to Idaho. For some reason, this is a really big deal to the kids. Maybe because they aren't allowed to touch it at any other time. Luci got in on the act, too.
Another fun job was loading the squirrel feeder. After our trials and tribulations with squirrels at our house in Alabama, I find it pretty funny that Mom and Dad encourage the little beasts. (The squirrels, I mean. They also keep feeding the grandchildren, and they keep showing up, too.)

Luci wanted to help but ran off before the job was finished. JT loved this chore, too.

Card Tricks with Nana

Luci showed Nana her card trick. The boys have learned several "magic" tricks and Luci picked this one up. She also picked up other little tricks of theirs, but I didn't film Luci asking Uncle Charlie to pull her finger. Big brothers teach lots of good things; however, some items are perfectly useless.

My mother's middle name is Vivian, which is also Luci's second name. We're big on family names at our house.

Laura's Sweet 16 Birthday

Laura had her 16th birthday while we were in Idaho. She (well, really her parents!) had everyone over for a cookout. The weather was cold and windy and rainy--can you believe it even snowed a bit on her birthday?!-- so it turned into a cook-in! It was lots of fun, and the food was so good!

Laura had the kids decorate her cakes, and that was fun to watch. Except for Luci taking over one of the cakes, and she didn't want to share. Charlie taught my boys about Hertz Donuts (see the kids' blog for that one!). Thanks, Charlie. Humph.

Laura got some nice presents, including a Claddagh ring from her parents and a new car!! Okay, so it was a Hot Wheels car from Bryan.

Here are a couple of favorite pics from the special day.

Papa and Laura, the Birthday Girl

Papa and Cousin Tori

Aunt Janet (my sister) and Uncle Marty, parents of the birthday girl

John Had the House to Himself

for a few days while we were gone....His Army trip was over before our "Wild West" trip ended. He says this is true for him!

We're Home!

Even though the blog kept updating itself, the kids and I were on a long car trip to Idaho (more on that in future posts) while John was on his Army trip. Here are Luci and John re-uniting after 3 weeks apart! We met John at Cracker Barrel (my all-time favorite restaurant, I'm so glad they are in our town!), had a good supper and then on to home. Such a wonderful time at Mom and Dad's but so nice to be home, too. Mississippi River, June 15. On I-155 in Tennessee. It is way too full and is so brown. It looks scary. It was over its banks here near Dyersburg, TN. Pray for those folks in Iowa and other parts north who are in harm's way. This looked too scary. I can't imagine the damage and destruction. Double click on the photos to see more of the view that we saw. I was kind of afraid driving over these bridges.
Mississippi River, same bridge.
Missouri River, June 14. Also over its banks. This was from I-70 in the middle of the state of Missouri. The water is half-way up the trees. There is a tug boat in the water on the right side of the river.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to some pretty special Dads!

These men know how to make things FUN for their kids.

There never is a dull moment when Dad's around.

Thanks to our Fathers for teaching us so well.

Happy Father's Day!

.

.

Olen, John's DadCharles, my DadJohnHeath

Thom

Flag Day

June 14, 1777— Continental Congress adopts the following: Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.

My Favorite Soldier

Flag Rules and Regulations click here

Timeline of U.S. Flags click here

Flag Trivia click here

You can't appreciate home till you've left it, money till it's spent, your wife until she's joined a woman's club, nor Old Glory till you see it hanging on a broomstick on a shanty of a consul in a foreign town.

~ O. Henry (1862-1919)

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day that my child might have peace.

~Thomas Paine 1780