Time for School

This post is for Pappy, who wanted to see the little guys all dressed and ready for school with their backpacks on. They were eager to leave this morning, so we were about 10 minutes earlier than usual to car pool!



As usual, Xander wants to be first.



The flash was too bright for Sawyer, so he's squinting at me.



And there they go, getting ready to climb into Mommy's truck in the garage.

I'd love to get a shot of them going into or coming out of school, but with about 15 other parents in car pool, you just don't want to hold up the line for something like that. And it's a hard shot to get, with all of the other cars and things blocking the view. So this will have to do for now.

Our happy school boys. Always ready to go. And always ready to come home, too!

Just For Fun

This is why you shouldn't leave tasty treats (in this case, cherry turnovers for breakfast) out on the counter unsupervised. Sawyer tends to just help himself, usually by moving a dining room table chair over to get up on top of the cabinet. I found him after he'd eaten nearly two.

Small World

Today turned out rainy and cold, which meant Connor and I were looking at a long afternoon inside while brothers were at school and an even longer evening inside after we picked them up. Neither one of us thought much of that idea, so we decided to make today one of our Mommy & Connor days out.

Our first stop was Wal-Mart (isn't it always?). The double-jogging stroller tires have been low for a while, but Daddy's air compressor has been on a job site for weeks and that didn't help us at all. With Connor looking to get a big-boy bike for his birthday next month, and us already having several inflatable balls and toys in need of some air, it seemed like a good time to invest in a universal hand pump. If nothing else, Connor's already had a good time helping me "pump up" the tires on the stroller! He also enjoyed a little more "practice" riding the bikes at the store!

On our way out the door this morning, I grabbed the parent list from Connor's preschool. One of the other mothers and I had been talking about getting the boys together for a playdate or maybe meeting up for lunch one day at the boys favorite restaurant - Chick-fil-a - also home of the indoor playland. With the rain, I thought I'd give her a call and see if they had any plans for the afternoon.

Connor was excited as he heard me talking, but unfortunately, I was only leaving a message. They weren't at home. We tried them on their cell phone and found out they were out running errands too, but didn't think they could make lunch. Connor was very disappointed, and even went so far as to suggest maybe we should just stop by their house on the way home to play instead! I explained drop-in visits usually aren't very nice, as people sometimes have other plans or don't like to be interrupted at home. He didn't think much of that response, but nodded.

On our way to the restaurant, his friend's mom called back. They finished their errands early and his friend had requested Chick-fil-a. They were all headed our way if we were still there. So we enjoyed lunch with his friend, his friend's mom, little brother and grandmother. The boys ate and played together, and I had a chance to visit with his mother and grandmother.

Turns out she grew up in the same area that I did, and that she and her husband both went to school with and actually graduated with my older brother. I knew (of) her husband, and even remembered where they lived because my brother had been there on several occasions.

What a small world it is sometimes. This makes the second year that Connor and his friend have been in the same class, and we're just now figuring this out. We've always been friendly in the hallways during drop off and pick up, but we've never had much of a chance to talk before.

Despite the rain, it turned out to be a really nice day. Connor got to play with one of his favorite classmates, and I got a chance to get to know another mom friend.

All About Boats

Poor kid, he's already going into summer withdrawal.

Connor and I had some time after his school ended at noon before we had to pick his brothers up at their school. We made two stops, one at the local library to exchange a few books he'd already read for some new ones and also to pick up a hold item that had come in for me.

We still had some time, and Connor thought the park by the lake (which we drove past on our way to the library) sounded like a good idea. It was on our way back to his brothers' school, and we still had about forty minutes, so I said why not.

He immediately went for the pirate ship, his favorite part of the park.



Periscope down.



And then it was time to go see the ducks (which really means let's go walk the foot bridge over the water). And maybe complain about how the paddle boats are all locked up for the season. And then decide we have to potty, right now! Good thing there are restrooms behind the paddle boat area, and that they were unlocked today (they're not always).



But then what does he see? A few paddle boats have been left out on the grass, where he could climb on them. We did go potty first, much to his displeasure. But then we climbed over and under and inside the boats.



He wanted to see how the pedals worked, what it did to the propeller underneath and how the steering well worked. He was very curious, and I'm seeing a trip out on the lake next summer in his future, I suppose.



Happy driver. For all of five minutes, until I told him it was time to go pick up brothers from school.

There are no boats there, so how much fun could that be?

Picture Perfect Day

A beautiful fall day, a long stroller walk to our favorite field to play, and a few photos that may just end up as the new "portraits" on our wall.