FOUR

It is official, my baby is four years old!!  He's so excited.  Last night he asked if he would be four when he wakes up. Too cute.  I went to check on him last night before I went to bed and his eyes were open.  He saw me, smiled and whispered "I'm four" before rolling over.  Love it!

My understanding is that he wore this crown all day.  And I mean from 7:15am this morning until 7:30pm this evening.  He is VERY excited to be four.

Tyler and I woke Ryan up this morning by singing happy birthday in his room.  I think we're going to have to do that every day because he got up without complaint and ran right to Tyler for a hug.  

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Picture Day

Supposedly the best time to take pictures is really early or just before the sun goes down.  Do you know what the chances of getting the family ready to take pictures really early are?  And, the chances that we'll still look decent an hour before the sun goes down??  Yeah... not so good.

So, we took pictures at noon.

Not perfect, but pretty good... as long as you ignore the hair sticking up in the back.

I'm not sure I like them enough to skip professional pictures this year.

We'll see.  There might not be time for professional pictures this year.

I might have better luck getting us all ready for pictures at 8am.

Those eyes... trouble!

And then I started to lose them...

I wouldn't get this picture from a professional.

Or, this one!

Squint.

Washed out.

Blurry.

Monkeys.

At this point I decided to just join them in the madness!

Fall Fun!

Today we had a fabulous fall day at Brown's Berry Patch.  This place gets better every year and this year we experienced it with friends.  The boys had a blast and we made some great memories.

 The cloudy day was a good backdrop for this cut-out.

Boo!

We had fun doing all sorts of fall-themed activities.  Here we are on the way to pick apples.  These two are going to be trouble in a few years.

These two already are trouble!!  Luckily we didn't get too lost in the corn maze.

Doesn't this look like fun?

We've seen cow trains before, but this one was so much better...

I think Tyler was in a frog?

Ryan grabbed the cow at the front of the train.

I got a lot of these pictures today...

 There was fun everywhere we turned.

The big slide is always a big hit.

At least one kid was willing to pose for me.

We're already looking forward to our trip to the patch next year!

Happy fall!

Two Years

September 7, 2010 was the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Most would say that is my cancerversary, but it just doesn't feel right to me.  I'm not sure exactly which day I should use to track the passage of time... I would pick April13, 2011 since that was my last day of radiation because I thought was the end of active treatment until my oncologist told me recently that she still considers me in active treatment since I still take daily medication... so does that mean I shouldn't start tracking my time until April 13, 2016, the day I hope to stop the daily pill?  The first day of school also resonates with me as the day it became real... Or, maybe I should pick September 1, the day the radiologist didn't want to cause "undue anxiety."

Who knows.  In the end it doesn't matter which day I use as long as all my days are happy and healthy.  And, that I am.  Stick it cancer!

Looking back I can remember being told that this was a life changing experience and that scared me... I didn't want my life to change.  Now I know that it isn't life changing as much as it is life altering.  Overall, life today is what it always was.  I still have a wonderful husband, two happy boys, a great job and so much more that I was afraid of losing.  But, I have gained relationships with extended family, found out what a strong networks of friends I have, appreciate hair and got a pool!

I won't say that there haven't been any negative consequences, because there have been and will continue to be, but I don't dwell there and they don't impact me day to day.

It all reminds me how lucky I am to be here today and for my many, many days to come.  Here is to many more cancerversaries... whatever day that might be!

Second Grade

Today was Tyler's first day as a second grader!!  He tells me that loves his teacher and is going to make more friends this year. 

Here he is getting ready to board the bus.  I was so proud... there was a little girl there on her way to kindergarten and she was upset.  Ty took her by the hand, sat next to her on the bus and made sure she got to her room.  He sure is a good kid.  

Before we left the house we snapped a few pictures of our big boy.

Daddy and his boys.

All was well until 1 hour and 22 minutes after school dismissal when I received a call from his after-school program and found out that Tyler didn't get off the bus with the other kids from his school.  What??  And, there were a couple of other kids dropped off at home instead of the after-care location.  Aaaahhhh!!  Can you say freak-out?  I tried to keep myself calm, but I was not successful despite the fact that I was fairly certain that he was still on a bus.

From my experience this morning I knew that there were two buses that picked up and went to the school so my assumption that there would be two buses that dropped off.  There is also a deadline of 8/1 to send in the alternate drop-off/pick-up form and if you missed the deadline you child would be picked up/dropped off at home until mid-September so that is probably why those kids were dropped off at home.  And, it was raining which hasn't happened in a while so I knew the roads were going to be a mess.  Plus it was the first day so the bus drivers were getting used to the route.

But still... what if that wasn't the situation?  What if he was lost and scared?  What if he had been dropped off at home and nobody was there?  Yes, I had myself in a bit of a frenzy.  It takes me about 30 minutes to get home on a good day and I've never felt so far away.  I called Dan so he could share in my stress (but he stayed calm, cool and collected, of course!) after calling a friend who rushed right over to our house in the rain to search for my baby.  We both knew that they wouldn't drop him off without an adult there to meet him, but she did it anyway and I'm so thankful.  After about 20 minutes of hell, I received a call telling me that Tyler had just been dropped off.  Phew!

When I walked in the door Dan assured me that Tyler was fine and had fallen asleep on the bus so he was completely clueless that anything out of the ordinary had happened.  I now understand why kids have cell phones.

Then I found out that he lost a tooth at school!!  How much can a mom be expected to handle in one day??

I sure hope tomorrow is less eventful!

Earrings by Ty

Tyler fancies himself a jewelry designer and this week was my lucky week!!  He came home on Wednesday very excited to present me with his gift... double hung butterfly earrings!!  Now, those that know me are aware that I've been wearing the same earrings for over 10 years.  So, wearing these for 3 days was quite an accomplishment for me.  But, his smile at seeing them was well worth it.  I'm sure I'll put them on again this week just to see that smile.  Check out his work...

Hopefully this will be Daddies week... or maybe a Grandma or two!!

Scouthaven

This past Thursday morning Dan and Tyler took off for 4 days of camping... in a tent... in the rain!  And, they had a great time!!

And, lucky for me, some of my picture taking obsession rubbed off.  Dan provided a camera full of great shots!  He made sure I didn't miss anything.  Love him!

The boys had all sorts of activities to participate in.  This one was a relay race with knot tying.

Sunday was family day so Ryan and I got a peak into the camp.  Ryan was very excited about "our tent."

Tyler has discovered that he enjoys archery.  

Nice form!

While the boys missed each other, I think it was good for each of them to have some alone time.   Next year I may take some time off work and take Ryan somewhere... just the two of us.

Families got to participate in the fun on Sunday.

This took quite a bit of coordination... more than I possess.  It was fun to watch.

The ropes course.

They let my boy use a knife!!  He loves whittling.

And, here is something every mom wants to see!  Turns out he's a pretty good shot... he got all the balloons and shot through the index card when there was nothing left to aim for.

Overall, my impression is that they both had a fabulous time, despite two days of rain.  I think I can count on another 4 days alone next summer.

Fantasy Island

This past Friday, the 13th, we decided to test our luck at Fantasy Island.  Ty's summer camp hosted family day which is really nice as we have friends to enjoy the day with.  Everything is more fun with friends!

This was an exciting year because Ryan is exactly 42 inches which allowed him on more rides and Tyler is exactly 48 inches... so he can go on everything!!

But, they all still enjoy the kiddie area.

I was really hoping to avoid the tilt-a-whirl... and I got excited because the older boys could go on by themselves... but Ryan could not. It wasn't as bad this year as it was last year.  Ryan let me get away with not trying to get the car to spin.  Wish me luck next year.

The bumper cars were a big hit.

Literally... that is Tyler that is getting slammed! As you may be able to see through the blur, Ryan loved it.

Peer pressure got Tyler on this slide.

And, this roller coaster.  This pic is from the Ferris Wheel. Fun stuff!

Toward the end of the day I asked Ryan if he wanted to go on a ride that would shoot him in the air really fast.  And, he said yes!  Doesn't he look really little here??

I'm not so sure that this was a good idea.

But, he loved it.  Phew!  That could have gone the other way really easily.

It was a fun day for both boys.  The day was beautiful and nobody freaked out.  Success.

Cheese!  I love that Ryan has his own friends now.