gingers and quotes

Grady (4), Tess (14m), Cadyn (21m), Finn (almost 3), Bryce (21m)

A few cute quotes to share from our trip... Last week, the kids were playing at Aunt Judy and Aunt Mary Frances's with my cousins' kids, above. Finn and Grady are about a year apart so they were playing trucks and I heard this from the other room:

"FINN. My name is Finn Barber."

"Finn Barber." That was Grady.

"Phinneas James Barber."

Then a few moments later, I heard Grady say, "Move out of the way, Barber!"

(They were like little teenagers!) BTW the photo above is but one of many cute ones of the crew, and I should clarify that Grady is not about to hit Tess, nor was Cadyn very upset. The photo session was near the end of the morning and they were all getting a little tired but they still got along so well.

Anyway, a few days later, we were at my friend Karen's, who said to Tess in passing, "What are you doing down there, missy?"

"It's Tess," Finn said.

"What was that?" Karen said.

"That kid's name is Tess."

This morning we were walking down the stairs and Finn said, "Let's pretend that I'm the boss for a while." I said ok, but as soon as we got downstairs he said, "No, Mama - you're the real boss." Yesss! At least he understands this, (even if he doesn't always listen to the boss(es)).

last day of school

Clearly I'm still playing catch-up here and posting from a few weeks back while organizing our vacation photos. Anyway, here's a quick before and after celebrating the end of Finn's first year at school:

First day of school, Fall 2010

Checking everything out.

Walking with confidence on his last day in June

What a guy.

We love Montessori! See you next year!

two grandfathers

We spent Fathers Day in Wood River with Papa and Granddad. Although we were sad that the timing of our trip had to coincide with Father's Day away from Andrew, it was really special to be able to be with grandfathers from both sides, meeting up at the Wagoner farm.

This is at the beginning of our trip so there are many more photos and descriptions of our uhm, adventures to follow.

En Route

We're back in the quad cities on our way back, with lots of photos to share about the days in between. Who did we see? Well, who *didnt* we see?!

Yes, that is a bandaid on Finn's forehead. Thankfully the pediatric urgent care in Omaha can't be beat! He bumped his head last night, ended up with 3 stitches and hasn't complained about it since.

machine shed

We have a few vacation days to catch up on ... it's been a whirlwind trip and we've seen so many people that we love. On the 2nd day of our drive out, though, we stopped in Davenport, Iowa for lunch at the Machine Shed restaurant. The kids were both getting pretty antsy so a restaurant featuring old farming equipment was just the ticket. It didn't really even matter by that point that Finn had a giant bowl of ice cream for his meal. Another huge score was the large family seated nearby whose kids were so loud and miserable that they received all of the scornful glances that we might have otherwise. If we make this trip again, we'll include this in our itinerary.

Finn enjoyed this old tractor muy mucho.

Tess thought the Machine Shed was wonderful.

It has senior citizens. It has bread. It has ceramic kittens in the gift shop.

I love this photo. It's like she's saying, "This here is my Papa."

(And he's driving us all the way to Nebraska!)

11:39 am

Crossing the Mississippi.

Day 2

Someone isn't in a very good mood and doesn't want his picture taken.

It's ok though. We're just outside of Chicago heading west on 80, making good time. Lucky us, we get to drive across Illinois and Iowa this morning!! :)

Indiana (almost)

7 hours of driving down, 11 to go. It's really amazing to me how pleasant a road trip can be when one has the following:
- A father-in-law who has done all of the driving so far
- A mother-in-law who loves to entertain kids
- A happy almost-3 year old who loves nothing more than slowing down for road work (trucks)
- A sleeping baby, who for some reason smells like sourdough bread but in a good way.
- Honda Odyssey.

Will update you all as we near Illinois.

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Day 1

... And we're off! To the Midwest we go.

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pools rule

It's in the high FIFTIES here today so Finn's end-of-the-year picnic was postponed. I actually thought about turning the heat on but we just threw on some socks instead! Anyway, it's hard to believe that only a few days ago it was warm enough to swim in his pool (as seen below), and tomorrow it's supposed to be back in the 80s.

We are departing for a long road trip to Nebraska with Mimi and Papa on Friday morning, as they are eager to christen their gorgeous new Honda Odyssey with graham cracker crumbs and fisher price cd's. Crazy? Possibly. Fun? Undoubtedly. I'll be blogging early and often from the 17th on, so stay tuned.

Not only is his expression hilarious here but you can also see the little deck in the background that Papa built for their playhouse, and the little adirondack chairs Mimi found for the "front porch." Tess loves the playhouse - whenever she sees it she says, "PLAY! PLAY!"

Loves the water!

Out with Baby

She's holding "Baby" - the baby's version of an American Girl doll which looks just like her! I've posted many stroller pics but loved her hair, eyes, smile in this one today.

Fairy God-Auntie

My very dear and awesome friend Karen visited us all the way from Omaha last week. We had the BEST time and the kids - knowing a good person when they meet one, and not only because she gave them presents every single day - loved her from the start! (It has been a year since we've all seen each other.) Thanks again, "Fairy God-Auntie" Karen and please come back soon!

Tess was hamming it up at breakfast.

That smile - ha!!

Finn had the best time showing her the sights.

And teaching her about trucks.

We went up to Seneca Lake on Sunday to visit wineries and eat delicious food.

Thankfully by Tuesday my hangover was gone (ha!)

Memorial Day

We spent last Monday with the family in Waverly, where Andrew's dad was the MC for the annual parade and celebration. It was hot, but really fun!

Of course Finn loves a parade.

T's hair looks exceptionally red here. It was her first full day with a bow!

They didn't instantly recognize Papa in his dress blues.

Tired baby takes a break with Mimi.

Finn and his Great Aunt Shirley have a moment.

We are so lucky to have these memories!

Triangular snack crackers FAIL

This note was in Finn's snack bag when I picked him up. His triangular pop corners were untouched.

havana glen

Last weekend - the one BEFORE Memorial Day, that is - that's how behind we are! - we went for a drive up to Montour Falls because I read about this really nice park called Havana Glen, which by one person's account is the best hiking for kids in the area. Turns out that because although it is indeed located in the middle of Upstate New York and therefore the opposite of Cuba, Havana Glen is a really cool spot that we will likely return to again and again, perhaps even one day with the pop-up trailer of Andrew's dreams. But until then...

First we stopped in Montour Falls to see said falls.

What I love most here is Finn's tiny-ness in the background.

Havana Glen has those really great old-school swings

that all parks used to have before they got all lame and safe.

There's also a humongous wooden truck that someone likes.

We love it here!