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Only one day this summer did I feel like I was ready to send my boys back to school.  We had gotten back from vacation, and celebrated Caleb's birthday and were left wondering what to do.  I kept telling the boys to "go play" and I think I even locked them out of the house once in the backyard in a desperate attempt to make dinner.  They all three stood there and sulked at the door until I let them in.  It was a pathetic day!

The next day I woke up and decided we would NOT spend another summer day like that again.  So we packed up and headed to Fort Worth, just me and the boys.

Our first stop was to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  One of only two in the country – one in D.C. and one in Fort Worth.  It was highly secure – no cameras allowed.  But very fun – we took the tour and saw actual money being printed right there.  The boys enjoyed it.  Plus, it was free!

Then we grabbed lunch on the go and headed to the Fort Worth Zoo.  And enjoyed every minute.  It had rained earlier in the week and was atypically cool (lower 90s)…very pleasant.  The animals were out and we got to see every exhibit in the four hours we had before it closed. 

I love this picture of me and the boys that I got a stranger to take.  And the one below of Jacob and the gorilla looking at each other through the glass - priceless!  I also love the expression on Samuel's face as he's trying to feed the bird.

Then we headed to Costa Vida in Colleyville for dinner - it's the only one that I know of in the DFW area, so with the help of my trusty IPhone we found it. 

Derek and I had our wedding reception at the Colleyville Community Center, so we swung by to grab a picture of it on the way home.  Those big back windows made for a beautiful backdrop to our party!

It was a great day – we wore ourselves out!

It's been a long day.

Caleb asked me to read him a story tonight.  For the record, I read him some stories after school from the Friend magazine, so I feel like I had met my story-reading quota for the day.  And I was spent.  So I told him I would tell him a story instead.  It went something like this…

Once upon a time there were three little boys.

And they had a really nice mommy.

One day she woke up early to make a nice breakfast.

And took them to school.

And stayed for a PTA function.

Then went to Walmart to buy things for the little boys.

Then fed her baby.

Then put him to bed.

Then woke him up.

Then picked up the school boys and had homemade cookies for them straight out of the oven.

Then she talked to them and read stories to them and helped them with their piano.

Plus, she listened to the littlest boy scream all afternoon and everytime she put him in time-out he would apologize by saying "yes, sir" to her (and when I corrected him and told him to say "yes, ma'm" he would say "yes, man").

She even helped a little lost boy find his way home to his neglectful parents (true story).

Then she made a homemade dinner of chili and cornbread.

And said goodbye to the father and oldest son as they rode their bikes to soccer practice.

Then she took her little boys to the pool.

And got them ready for bed.

And was so tired that she didn't have the energy to read them any stories.

THE END.

Here I sit.  Not quite sure what to do with myself – although I can think of a million things that need to be done.  Samuel's watching a cartoon.  Derek's at work.  And Jacob and Caleb are off at their first day of 4th grade and 1st grade, respectively.  The first day is always tender for me…a milestone among many.  The end of a great summer.  Seeing my kiddos walk into the unknown…a little scared and fearful, but brave nonetheless. 

We all woke up early.  I had spent time last night packing lunches and preparing a special breakfast.  Turns out the boys aren't big fans of my German Apple Pancakes.  They were gracious about it - Jacob ate one out of obligation.  Caleb refused politely.  I guess I need to pick a different "special" breakfast.

There were some tears.  Caleb left the room after sulking about the pancake (did I say they were gracious about it?) and came back with a red face and swollen eyes.  When Caleb is upset he goes mute.  No words will escape his tongue.  He just rubs his eyes incessantly and stifles the inevitable tears.  He plopped down next to me at the table and cried.  Nerves, I decided.  I poured on some extra TLC just for him.  And Jacob did too.  Poor guy.  He didn't talk the rest of the morning…just reached for my hand and held it tight all the way until he walked in his classroom.

Jacob was up before his alarm.  Dressed and ready to go.  Bubbly with excitement saying things like "I can't believe I'm in fourth grade" and "Boy, summer sure went fast."  Cute boy.

And I fought back a few tears myself – like when we all looked at Samuel furiously stuffing his mouth with vanilla yogurt and apple pancake (he liked it!) and realized he had no idea that his world was about to get very quiet and a little lonely.  He has followed "Jabub" and "Cabub" everywhere this summer.  And when we kneeled in family prayer and asked for the protection and blessings of heaven to be with them as they ventured in to their new adventures.  Or when Caleb laid his head on my shoulder or reached for my arm while getting ready.  I love these boys.  I miss them when they're gone. 

But these are the things of life.  And they have great teachers this year.  Mrs. Pompey and Mrs. Olson.  And routine is good.  Learning is good. 

They are good.

My aunt Lisa sent me an e-mail today with these pictures of my Dad with his brother Robin.  We were amazed at the resemblance between my Dad and Samuel.  I don't know if it's the big head, the cute hair cut, the smile or the eyes, but it's definitely there!  So fun.  I also see myself!  I looked just like my dad as a toddler.

Looks like these two have more in common than we thought…

…have we been busy!  No time to even stop and blog about it!  Geez! 

We're sucking summer dry.

We're enjoying every minute.

We went to the lake with friends yesterday.

We were back at a different lake today with more friends.

We're sun-kissed and fun-hugged.

We're tired.

Plus, we're working hard on getting ready for school next week.  Which for me means making buttons for PTA, organizing the membership drive and attending meetings.  Derek and I are also busy on trek stuff for a meeting tomorrow. 

So much to do – so little time to blog about.

When I'm back to blogging (which might not be for awhile!) I hope to remember to blog about…

our zoo and money printing trip (that we did all the way back in July!)

our visit to the Nasher Sculpture Center with my mom

our annual lake trip yesterday

our fun day at the lake today

the crazy project I'm doing for PTA

and the boys lemonade stand

Back to the fun…

ETA:  Caleb came bounding on to our bed this morning with a very proud look on his face.  "It's a girl" he nodded.  "What's a girl?" we groggily asked.  "LUKE IS A GIRL!"  Based on some very scientific pictures from our leopard gecko books and a very scientific 7-year old eye, he is now convinced that LUKE is now LIZZY.  :) 

I never thought I would see the day.

And yet, I had a sinking feeling that it was inevitable.

A reptile is living in my house.  By invitation.

And I have worms in my spare refrigerator that look a lot like big maggots, but I try to ignore that altogether.

Thankfully he is EASY to have around.  And requires very little (if anything) of me.

And Caleb is so proud to be a pet owner!  And very responsible about his care.

Meet Luke the Leopard Gecko (named after Luke Skywalker):

While I've been busy chronicling our adventures around the world, Mr. Caleb had a birthday!  Although I haven't posted about it until now, it certainly did not go unnoticed around here.  Big C turned 7 years old. 

On the 22nd, his actual b'day, I took him to lunch at Double Dip for his favorite frito chili pie and a shake.  Love that place!  I got my favorite – the chicken salad on croissant with a limeade, because afterall I gave birth to that big ol' cute head 7 years ago and deserve a little celebrating of my own!  I have come to believe, despite Disney World's claim otherwise, that Double Dip (our local frozen custard, privately owned, cute as a button shop) might just be the "happiest place on earth". 

Then that night I made his favorite dinner…chicken parmesan with strawberry soup for dessert.  And that's when he got his new PET…yes, PET.  I can hardly believe it myself.  More on that in the next post.

 

Later in the week, on Saturday night, we had a big family Star Wars party…Caleb has a minor obsession with Star Wars.  Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents…what a way to celebrate!  He loved all of the attention and celebrating.  Thank you to those who came!

Derek did it again – wowing everyone with his mad cake (i.e. brownie) skills…this time in the form of Chewbacca.

In the spirit of counting blessings, here are 7 things that I love about Caleb:

1.  He's a peacemaker…he's sensitive to other people's needs and quick to help and assist when he sees a need.

2.  He's a friend to everyone – easy to get along with, pleasant and friendly.

3.  He's so darn witty – this kid cracks me up with the smart and funny things that come out of his mouth.  And his timing is impeccable.

4.  He still loves to cuddle (we call it 'snuggle' around here) and gives the best hugs (a tight squeeze).  He loves for me to lay with him at night and scratch his back.  And he's still quick to reach for my hand when we're walking somewhere.

5.  He's complimentary.  He will always notice my clothes or my hair or when I cook a nice dish and compliment it.  Such a charmer.

6.  His laugh – so contagious and fun.

7.  His overall easy nature.  He was a tough baby – his acid reflux made the first year tough!  But as a toddler, and even now, he was just so easy to parent and have around.  I'm grateful for that.  Is he as stubborn as an ox?  YES!  But there's something fun about that too.

We love you, Caleb!

Is it just me or did the turning of the calendar from July to August make time fly at a faster pace. 

All of the sudden I feel like summer is dwindling and I want to squeeze as much out of it that I can.

All of the sudden I feel like my boys have one foot out the door and on their way to school again.

All of the sudden I have deadlines looming and PTA stuff I have to do and projects staring me in the face.

All of a sudden there's not enough time in the day to get it all done.  But last week we were twiddling our thumbs trying to think of things to do.

I was so enjoying the lazy daisy pace of July. 

Slow down August!  I'm not ready for you yet.

If you know Derek you know that he is a great husband and father…and creative too.  For our trip he did 3 fun and clever things for us as a family:

1.  Before departing he gathered us in the living room for a slideshow that he had put together of our Smith Family "Road Rules":

2.  He got the idea from someone at work to do "dirt jars".  He gave each of the boys a jam jar and at each place we went they would go off and collect some dirt for their jars.  We filled the jars with all of our destinations – and each layer is a different color or texture and each a reminder of our trip.  Here they are adding a layer in Colorado.

3.  For our anniversaries, Derek and I aren't big gift givers.  We usually prefer to travel or go out but don't usually buy each other gifts very often.  Although Derek will always look up the "traditional" gift for that year and get something funny or small that is related.  I.e. paper, tin, silver, etc.  This year's was steel which was a little harder, but he gave me a magnet for each state that we visited (all 9 of them) as a reminder of our trip.

That Derek is so clever!  We're glad to claim him as ours.

On Sunday, 7/19 we left Sioux Falls (gratefully – this was NOT one of my favorite hotels) and headed for Omaha, NE.  Our purposes their were two-fold.  The first was to visit a Church historical site.  This is where the early pioneers of our church made their home in the winters of 1846 and 1847.  After having to leave Nauvoo, IL because of persecution they decided to make their way to Salt Lake City.  But many were not prepared and it was late in the season, so they built a small city to stay for the winter…they called it Winter Quarters (now known as Omaha, NE).  The Church has a Mormon Trail Center – a museum with missionaries as guides.  The Pioneer Cemetery where the dead were buried during those years still exists and is on the grounds.  And the Church has in the last decade built a temple adjacent to the cemetery.  The boys loved the visitor's center – there was another family with children going through with us and it was a nice casual experience.  We had a picnic lunch there on the grounds.  My favorite part was the cemetery.  Half of the dead who are buried there are under the age of 3.  I felt a strong spirit there and felt that it was hallowed.  Temples, for us, are all about the opportunity for families to be bound for eternity through covenants.  I couldn't help but wonder at the juxtaposition of the cemetery and the temple.  It was a neat experience for me, and a good teaching opportunity for the boys.

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The other purpose for our trip was to visit the town of Bellevue, NE and go see where Steve (my mom's husband) grew up, where his mom lived 50+ years before moving here to TX, and where my mom spent 5 of her teenage years (this is where she and Steve originally met).  We also visited with some of Kay's old neighbors and dearest friends, who welcomed us so graciously.  We loved getting to meet them and see where those we love spent memorable years.

Barbara and Grant Brollier

It was a lovely stop for us and we were glad to make this leg of the trip!  After leaving Omaha we headed to Wichita, KS for our last night of the Road Trip.  We were thrilled when we arrived to a brand new, beautiful Homewood Suites.  The next morning we had a yummy breakfast and swim before leaving. 

And then we headed home!  But not before stopping one more time in Oklahoma City where we stopped for lunch and went to see the Murrah Federal Building Memorial.  So moving and well done.  It brought back all of those memories of that tragic day and was neat to see.

 
 
Each of the chairs represent the people who lost their lives that day.

And one last funny (or not so) sidenote:  The last three days of the trip were hard.  23 hours of driving is never fun, even with all of the side trips and stops.  Our 2-year old and 9-year old seemed to feel it the worst.  Samuel was screaming when we hit the OK/TX border, and Jacob was growling at him to stop (he's sensitive to loud noises).  So I headed to the very back seat to try to hold Sam and read to him to calm him down.  This worked for awhile, but when I offered to put him back in his seat and give him a snack, he threw his head forward, then reared back and knocked me square in the nose with his head.  I instantly felt blood and had to hold my nose with one hand and his head with another to keep him still.  At that point Jacob is fuming and now mad at his brother for hurting me.  Thankfully it was not broken (although still sore a week later) and we all lived to get home safe and sound.