Wally Web Iowa

We love you Scouty Babe!

2012-01-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

Scouty Babe went to be with Jesus today. She fell asleep and awoke with a new healthy body in a new place (with no stinky dogs). We miss her terribly, but will always remember her spunk and her cuddles.

I have found a few pictures, and they are somewhat out of order. Scout loved her "cat nap" Wally made for her. She spent a lot of time in it while she was sick.
This is the earliest picture I could find of Scout (she was born before the days of digital cameras). These were perhaps her favorite days when we lived in grad housing (without stinky dogs).

OK, now the pictures go backwards through time. Once Wally was born, the pictures of Scout were greatly reduced and hard to find. Up to the end, she loved sleeping with Wally.

Though Wally was never able to carry Scout as she was always a bit wild and was comfortable using her "death razors," Wally loved her.

Scout was the first member of our family and she saw it grow and change a lot. Though she didn't appreciate the moves or the addition of Moose, Oly, or Daisy, she loved Wally and always like to be on our laps when we cuddled Wally.

A favorite place for Scout in our Bozeman house was at the top of the stairs in the sun.

Right from the get go, Scout was the boss. She is probably the reason Moose is so timid of other animals.

Scout taught the dogs to like bananas. We think she might have picked up this taste when we first got her. She was tiny and sick and the medicine we had to give her was banana flavored.

No matter where we lived, Scout always liked to be with us when we worked on the computer.

Scout was a cat like no other and we miss her terribly. Maybe she just didn't want to have to deal with 2 more little kids. Good night Scouty Babe, love you!

Christmas in Broadus

2012-01-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year, we headed to Broadus. We stopped by the Reder ranch on the drive, only to get snowed in. We planned on heading to Broadus in the morning, but the roads were bad, so we played at Grandma and Papa's for a bit and then caravaned around lunch with them to Broadus (Grandma and Papa were heading to Bozeman). It was a cold morning, but it was beautiful due to the fresh snow. Snow always makes it feel a bit more like Christmas.

Poor Grandma Mary had a cast on her arm because she went ice skating by herself on her pond and fell and broke her wrist. Personally, I think it is pretty cool that my mom broke her arm ice skating...hopefully she learns to not be so crazy in the future.

Wally had a great time playing with Jason's old constructs. OK, so did I. I made a ship once Wally went to bed just to show him some things you can do with constructs. When he woke up, he asked me if I made it when I was a little girl...well, honey, your mom has never grown up and doesn't plan on it.

Wally asked Grandma Mary and Papa Randy for wood. Wally has been wanting to build stuff with wood and nails and screws. Who would have guessed a box of wood scraps would make a kid so happy. This would have been a great picture, had Wally's hand not been in front of Grandma's face!

Wally brought his Lego Star Wars advent calendar to Broadus. On the 23rd, he was to build a Christmas tree. He was so focused on Star Wars that he couldn't figure out what it was. He guessed it was something for Princess Leia because of the star.

Daddy, Great Gramma, and Gramma Kathy...what beautiful eyes! And, they are all pretty swell people too!

Wally has always loved Gavin, and this visit was no exception. Playing Legos with his big cousins was quite a treat.

Keegan (and Chandler) are also growing up to be such great young men...when did that happen? (The growing up part, not the being great part!)

Who says that the economy is in a slump? And, I don't think this includes everything or the gifts from Santa!

So many cousins having a great time together at Gramma's house. But who is missing?

Ah, there he is checking out Aunt Amy's computer!

When you have 8 cousins together at Christmas, what better thing to do than to put together a Christmas pageant?!! The kids worked on the story deciding what lines to say and they chose songs to sing between scenes. Then they worked on costumes.

Aunt Amy was the master mind behind the pageant as she is incredibly talented in the singing/acting/creative arena (I stapled paper plates together to make angel wings).

Wally was too tired to participate in the pageant on Christmas Eve, so he let Great Gramma wear his crown...I think both ladies should have crowns!

Chandler was able to convince Wally to sit on his lap at the end of the show for pictures. What fun it was! And, a great way for the kids to remember that Christmas is not about getting presents wrapped in wrapping paper.

Gramma Kathy gave Wally Minotaurus, a Lego game. We have had so much fun playing it as a family.

Wally was so tired come Christmas Eve, that he fell asleep in my arms during the second song of the Christmas Eve service (at 5:00!). He snored his way through the rest of the service, even the candle light part. Then, while we were all opening presents, Wally asked me if he could save his presents for later and go to bed. You know a kid is tired or overwhelmed when he wants to go to bed rather than open a pile of presents. We did manage to get a note written to Santa and a plate of cookies and a cup of water by the fire place.

Wally was quite excited to awake to a plate of crumbs on Christmas morning.

Opening presents from Santa. Check out Jenna and Molly's PJs - too cute! Check out Papa Steve - um, too cute?Aunt Katie gave Wally a whoopie cushion...enough said. He loved it.

Yeah, Aunt Katie gave me a shirt too.

Wally really wanted Pixie dust, and Santa pulled through (see videos at end). I was very pleased to see how very excited Wally was to get Pixie dust.

Gavin gave Wally a Star Wars puzzle. What is better than that? Putting it together with your cousins of course!

Aunt Katie gave Joel a shirt too. He wears his to work...I don't.

Eric and Bruce...think they're related?

Joel and Wally helped me pick out some fabric for a blanket for Great Gramma, we think she likes it.

OK, time to try out the Pixie dust. Everyone got a handful of Pixie dust...

Everyone threw it up in the air...

The girls laughed and smiled...and Wally cried, "Why am I not flying? Why didn't it work?" Poor kid. I thought he knew it wouldn't really make him fly. He was pretty crushed...Mom felt bad. But, he got over it. He now loves using Pixie dust for art projects.

We got the kids out of the house and went to the windmill that Joel played at so often as a kid. After being married to the guy for over 8 years, I finally got to romp through the hills around Broadus. We even made it to the turtle pond.

It didn't look or feel much like Christmas, but it was beautiful. Looking SE towards Broadus.

A boy and his daddy.

Wally and I went to the top of the tallest hill (Sheep herders monument). It was beautiful. We scared away a hawk and were going to head to another hill to see where the bald eagles always hang out, when the fun stopped. My son, managed to fall with both hands straight into a giant prickly pear cactus patch on the very top of the tallest hill...screams ensued. I tried to pull the thorns out of his little palms, but soon realized there was no way to get them all out on top of the hill, so I picked him up and started running down the hill. Joel heard the screams (as did most of SE Montana) and came running for the hand-off. He was a brave boy as several of us worked on pulling the thorns out. Now, on Jan 17, he still has some bumps on his wrists from the thorns and a few keep working their way out. Well, now we have a story every time we look at the hill.

Hmm...is Steve annoyed with Eric or me? Probably me!

All the cousins love their Aunts! Jenna, Mary, and Molly.

So, I may not wear my shirt to work, but I did wear it all Christmas day...turns out it made me into some sort of super star...maybe it was my gold star.

It was great to be able to see Kourtney and Wayne.

Even Papa Steve wanted a picture with me!

Ah, Linda. You wear Hawkeye gear so well! We love you!

Aunts, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, friends...whatever we are we have a great time together!

Reading with Great Gramma. With everything going on, Wally had a hard time finding his special time to spend with Great Gramma. He managed to find some time at the very end of our trip to read to her. What a special memory.

Wally had plenty to keep him busy on the drive home. He loves his Star Wars Lego sticker book from Gramma Kathy. He has now finished all the "good guy" pages, but is a bit slower to finish the "bad guy" pages.

OK, so here are the videos. I don't want to risk having them get deleted while I try moving them, so they are all stuck here at the end.

Wally's reaction to getting Pixie dust in his stocking, Part I.

Pixie dust, Part II.

I guess Wally had a party in his head. The cousins were all sitting quietly playing with hexbugs. I guess Wally had too much joy to sit still.

Again, a bit too much Christmas spirit to hold in while making a puzzel.

Reading with Great Gramma.

Christmas is always a wonderful time of year. Being able to spend it with family makes it just that much more wonderful. Thank you to everyone!

Pre-Christmas Fun

2012-01-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

We started off our "pre-Christmas celebrations with opening Wally's Lego Star Wars advent calendar. I'm not sure how Lego Star Wars fits into the Christmas theme, but if advent is about learning to wait, this calendar was a pretty good lesson. It was hard for Wally to wait until after dinner each day to open a new door.It's impossible to get a "normal" picture of Wally. But look at that eye!

Wally and I made paper snowflakes after reading a book in which the animals made them. I had forgotten how much fun it is to make them. I learned at Gramma Kathy's bank that using coffee filters is great because they are so thin and easy to cut. There's always next year, assuming I remember the trick.

The wrapping of Daddy's presents...Wally was no slacker when it came to decorations.

Wally made sick Scout a "cat nap" out of a box lid, the little quilt I made him, and a little pillow from VBS. I felt bad because I figured she would never use it. Man was I wrong. She loves the thing where ever it is! Good work Wally!

This year, Wally was a sheppard for our church's Christmas pageant that is held outside. He looked pretty sharp wearing his Yoda costume!

Worshipping Baby Jesus.

As we had done in previous years when we weren't going to be home for Christmas, we let Wally open a present every-once-in-a-while prior to our trip. I love this method because then he has time to enjoy each present rather than being totally over-whelmed. Here, Wally and Joel are building a scoop truck using nuts and bolts. I think if the pieces would have been a bit bigger, it would have been more of a hit. As it was, it was hard for Joel and I to put together.

Ah, building Star Wars Legos in a Star Wars Legos t-shirt. Life is good.

A visit with Santa. Wally totally clammed up when he went to see Santa, which has been unusual for him. However, later that night he came down with a fever that lasted several days. I'm guessing he was just feeling crumby. I feel bad for all the kids that visited Santa after Wally did...sorry kids.

I love that Wally was just as excited to watch other people open presents as he was about opening presents himself.

In October we went to a chili supper for the Kiwanis club. They had a silent auction and Wally fell in love with a "kid-sized violin." During dinner he kept wandering over to gaze at it. After dinner we walked around the tables looking at the items. We let him bid on a package for dogs. After that he knew how it worked, and he kept wandering over to the "violin," picking up the pen, gazing longingly at the paper, and putting the pen down again and join us. He wanted to sign up so badly. Finally, before we left, we let him sign up. Well, we ended up buying a ukulele without Wally knowing it, so it was a fun surprise when he opened the present.

Gramma Kathy gave Wally an Elmo doll that does the chicken dance when he was a baby. Wally has been terrified of it. Once a year or so, I bring it out to see what he thinks. Every year he is terrified. Last year, he wouldn't even let me put it back in his closet. It had to be hidden in Brother and Sister's room. Well, this year he knows what the chicken dance is and he loves Elmo. It only took 5 years!

I would love it Wally actually learned to play. I think having Joel play his guitar and Wally play his ukulele would be about the coolest thing ever...maybe in 5 years.

After Aunt Tammy taught me how to edit pictures on Picasa, I played around with my favorite wedding picture - one my parents took. I liked it so much that I gave it to Joel for Christmas.

Hmm...more Star Wars Legos. I'm sensing a theme. Wally was equally excited every time he got a new set (Thanks to Reder and Ruby for this one!)

In true Wally fashion, he had to make all sorts of "good guy ships" before he could actually build the set.

I think the pouty face was due to me taking pictures, not due to the Legos.

Our church has a Christmas music program each year. The kids get to dress in costume (Wally chose to be an angel) and sing a couple songs on risers. Wally put himself in the top row and while they were getting other kids situated a boom echos throughout the sanctuary and the congregation gasps...Wally is no longer on the top riser. A man jumps behind the risers and soon yells, "He's ok!" Wally reappears and the man remains behind the risers until the kids are done singing. I ask Wally what happened and was ready to lecture him on being careful when he responds, "I didn't fall. I jumped. I wanted to see what was back there!" My lecture then changed. He makes a cute angel though.

For some reason, I can't move the videos to put them in order, so here are some random ones.

Wally found an old Christmas CD of Joel's that has songs by various artists from the mid- to late-90s. Wally fell in love with a rap version of Santa Baby and would bust out dancing. Not sure where he learned those moves. I might have a better video that will show up in a later blog.

Wally momentarily stumps Santa when he asks for Pixie dust.

An explanation of what is going on with Wally's Star Wars Legos. If you don't get it, watch Episode 1.

This is the second song later in the Christmas program. Notice they ladies put Wally in the front. However, as soon as I stopped taking this video, Wally and his buddy next to him start wrestling and wrestle through the end of "Go Now in Peace." I was such as proud mom after that program...

What a magical time of year. Through all the gifts and chaos, I think Wally still managed to remember what Christmas is truly about.

A boy and his dogs

2012-01-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Wally and I had a great idea for a Christmas present for Joel, so one day after school, we had a photo shoot with Moose and Daisy.

Believe me, this was no small feat.

I'm pretty sure Joel liked his present.

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-11T07:20:00.000-08:00

I figured I should include the year in this post considering I'm a bit behind and on the wrong holidays, etc.

My parents made the long drive to join us for a week around Thanksgiving. What a blessing to have them with us. We spent some time running between home improvement stores and ranch supply stores. Wally needed his picture taken with Baby Lord Jesus.
Luckily, the weather was beautiful while my parents were here, so we were able to work on our projects. Our sliding glass door was not working well, so the boys took it apart and fixed it.

Then, my favorite home improvement project yet (well, its up there with the mounted microwave and the skylights). Dad installed a new storm door with a doggy door on the porch. Now, all we have to do it let the dogs out the sliding glass doors and they can let themselves out the rest of the way. This will be wonderful tomorrow with a high of 19! Oddly, Moose caught on to the door much faster than Daisy. Granted, it took him running into the main door head first right beside the doggy door to figure it out, but the fact that he caught on faster than Daisy is kind of scary.

My mom helped my with the full Thanksgiving meal. I had never cooked a full turkey before, so it was fun to learn. After Thanksgiving, she taught me how to make a yummy yummy soup with the carcass and the left overs. Thanks Mom!

Wally and Papa decorated the porch for Thanksgiving.

We are thankful to live in a place where we can eat our Thanksgiving meal on the porch! What a beautiful day. And so much to be thankful for.

To burn off a couple of calories, we took a hike after our meal at Hickory Hill. Again, we are blessed to be able to go hiking in a beautiful place, even if there are no mountains.

After about 5 silly pictures of my parents (yes, they have a tendency to goof off) I got a pretty good one. Papa had a hard time keeping up on the hike because he was busy picking up walnuts, acorns, etc. I guess that is where Wally gets that trait.

We were thinking of using this as our Christmas picture, but it just didn't seem very Christmasy.

Wally knows Grandma Mary loves puzzles, so he made one by cutting up a completely blank piece of pink paper. Now, that was a hard puzzle, but they make a good team.

I bought Wally his first pair of tie shoes right before Thanksgiving break. He worked really hard at learning how to tie with Grandma and Papa's help. After about a week and a half, he became a pro. Now, I just need to try to cut back on his creativity as he works really hard at making knots with 3 loops or knots that look like Christmas wreaths, etc. The problem with them is that they take a long time to tie (and we don't have the time before school) and they are true knots! He's proud that he can tie his shoes though, and so am I.

The weekend after Thanksgiving we too my parents Christmas tree cutting Iowa style. It was pouring rain and we wandered through rows of perfect trees and finally pointed at one that was promptly cut down for us.

Ta-da! The perfect tree!

The men did have to work hard to carry the tree to the tree shaking station.

They had to carry it rather than drag it so that it wouldn't be a big ball of mud!

A lovely tree and a lovely boy.

Wally got to open his presents from Grandma and Papa early. He was a little excited as you'll see in the video below.

Ah, he really loves his presents.

He really REALLY loves his presents!

Building Legos = chapped lips.

I loved that Wally actually helped decorate the tree this year. The ornaments weren't necessarily nicely spaced around the tree, but it was perfect.

Reading a "silly poem" book with Grandma Mary.

Just what I wanted! Not to take away from Grandma and Papa's present, but Wally was this excited about every gift he received this year, so thank you to everyone!

We had a great Thanksgiving and really we have so much to be thankful for, I feel guilty. Thanks so much for the visit Grandma and Papa. We love you!

Mall of America!!!

2011-12-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were blessed with the chance to get together with family to do nothing but have fun (and boy did we!). We met Kathy, Ryan, Amy, Jenna, and Molly in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon at a hotel. After unloading, we all piled into minivans and headed to the biggest mall in America - and it was big! We had to stop for a photo shoot in the mall by a stuffed dog. And then we were off to the Sea Life aquarium. What an amazing place! There were so many neat displays with so many things to look at. We were all in awe at times.

Wally loved the touch pools were he could touch star fish and sea urchins. The kid didn't hesitate. We need to get him to the ocean some day.

I love this picture of Molly, if only she was smiling in it.

We loved the jelly fish...somehow Wally knew all about jellyfish. He said he learned it from watching the Nemo movie, but I don't remember jellyfish in it. Maybe he has a better memory than me.

One of our favorite parts was walking through underwater tunnels. There were sharks and all sorts of huge fish and sea turtles swimming around us. A little interpretive dancing under the sea...

On the way out of the mall, we had to get a picture by the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen.

We topped off the day with dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. Wally loved eating calamari. I'm not sure he ever quite figured out what it was he was eating though.

Saturday was the big day. We started it out at the American Girl store. To celebrate Jenna's birthday, the kids and Gramma had a tea party, dolls (and teddy bears) included.

Wally is probably about the only 5-year-old boy who would be totally excited for a tea party. He made jewelry to wear to the party for him and Heart Bear (a bear that used to be my grandma's). Because Heart Bear was a bit smaller than the dolls, he had to engineer a booster seat for him, but all worked out.
Aw, what a cute boy hanging out in the girliest store I've ever seen. We did actually leave for a little while during the party - Joel took me shopping at a tall girl store and got me a girly, super-warm coat for Christmas.

Look at all the fancy foods and hot chocolate! Wally's never been to a party like this before!

Wally was obviously having a blast with the art project (notice the face and shirt covered in hot chocolate - his eating/drinking skills aren't quite up to the normal standards for tea parties).

A very happy boy!

One of these is not quite like the others, can you find the one? Jenna was joined by some Minneapolis friends for the party - the perfect size for tea.

After the tea party, we went to the much awaited for Lego Store. The Millennium Falcon! Can you see the drool dripping from his chin?

Gramma Kathy bought Wally a Star Wars Advent Calendar, he was (and still is) a little excited about that! Thanks Gramma (and Reder and Ruby who also had the great idea)! Team Graff at the Lego Store.

After the Lego store, Joel and Ryan went to a bar to watch the Cat-Griz game with Tammy and Cheryl. Us girls and Wally were going to join them, but it had started to snow and the roads were very slippery, so we played at the mall. The best part of the Lego store, I thought, were the giant Lego statues that were above it. You had to go up a level or two or three to see them well.

One of my favorites was the saber-tooth tiger. Wally like the really big robot because "It was really big."

In the middle of the mall, there is a full-fledged amusement park. Wally was enthralled by it and really wanted to ride the roller coasters...so we did.

But first, Jenna and Amy (and the Olly twins) had to do a little dancing.

Wally: "I'm so excited to ride the roller coasters I can barley hold myself together!"

Jenna: "Yea! Let's do it!"

Molly: "I'm bored." Ready for our first roller coaster.

Though you wouldn't guess it from the picture, the Log Chute was Wally's favorite. Wally and I managed to get soaking wet, so logically, we rode the swings that go way up in the air and spin around like a merry-go-round. This dried us off quite nicely. The last big roller coaster we went on was crazy, not only did you go fast up and down and around, but the cars actually spun around too. Wally was laughing then saying, "I want to get off!" Once it stopped, he immediately said, "Let's do it again!" That's my boy! Molly also looked terrified in the video, but she wanted to do it again afterwards too!

Wally looked a little dazed, but was totally wanting more. For lunch, we ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. Wally had to hug the tree frog out front.

Joel, Ryan, Tammy, and Cheryl then joined us back at the mall. We let the kids ride a few more rides. I just love the expressions these three are making!

Joel didn't miss out on the action, he got to ride the Big Rig!

Wally learned a fun game...kick Uncle Ryan! We were all exhausted after a good 8-10 hours at the mall. We headed back to the hotel for some soaking in the hot tub and pizza. The kids were easy to put to bed that night! The next morning, we enjoyed the pool. It is amazing what a little peer pressure can do for a kid. Before swimming with Jenna and Molly, Wally would only do a little hop into the pool,but after watching his cousins, he was doing cannon balls, or at least a Wally version of a cannon ball. He was also seeing how long he could hold his breath under water.
Cannon ball!!!!

The cousins had a great time together. The day after we got home, Wally got really sad and said, "I feel left out. I miss Jenna and Molly." I said, "We'll get to see them in 1 month at Christmas." He says, "How about 1 day!"

Wally was exhausted and slept much of the way home. If you look closely, you can see that his nose is smashed up like a piggy nose on his coat. I took some pictures and then unzipped his coat as he just snored away.

Slime, Shapes, and Beauty Shop?

2011-11-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

Wally came up stairs one day and started getting out a bowl and sugar and water. I asked him what he was doing, and he simply said, "making slime." Obviously. I questioned him more about it and found out he learned how to make slime while watching Sid the Science kid on PBS Kids. His recipe didn't seem right to me, so we got on line and found the episode where they made slime (1 part water and 1 part corn starch, plus food coloring). It was pretty messy, but fun. I love how he takes what he learns (yes, on TV or the Internet) and then tries to repeat it himself. Lately, he's been into doing "experiments." At Wally's parent/teacher conference, we were given some shape blocks for Wally. It has been fun working on those with him. Notice his tongue...that is why his lips are always chapped.

Look at our pattern!

Wally has been into making his own art projects or designing art projects for us to do. We were all outside, Daddy was pruning and I was hanging Christmas lights, and Wally was, well, being Wally. He disappeared and we found him in the house. He had collected a bunch of red leaves and was making flowers with them using pipe cleaners and construction paper.

He then left flowers on all 3 of our pillows. What a sweet kid! Scouty liked the flowers too.

One night, I'm not sure how it happened, but Wally decided he wanted to style my hair for me. Maybe I was having a particularly bad hair day, and he worked hard to make me "beautiful."

Here I am...beautiful. Thanks Wally!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween season...is it really a season? I don't know, but with a kindergartner, it sure seemed like it. Wally and I made Halloween cut-out cookies. This was the first time that he actually helped me make cut-out cookies every step of the way without losing interest at some point. His decorating skills haven't changed much, but we had fun. And he was sure proud of them!

We also got in the Halloween spirit by reading "spooky" books.

On Wally's "early out" day (Wally is done with school at 2:00 on Thursdays), we went to HyVee to pick out a pumpkin. Wally looked very carefully to find the biggest pumpkin there. I told him to wait by the pumpkin while I got a cart. As I pushed the cart back, I saw Wally pick up the pumpkin and immediately topple over sideways rolling right over the thing. It was very hilarious to all who witnessed. Wally drew a face on the pumpkin for me to carve. Can you tell who it looks like?

Pumpkin guts! I think he remembered this part from last year. He was so excited to grab the goo (and save the pumpkin seeds that he wouldn't eat - Joel and I liked them though).

Look at the tough boy (with a tiny little scratch on his forehead from a few days earlier that he just noticed) and his pumpkin...twins!

"White Orange" was allowed to come out for the festivities and was joined by the Jedi Wally Jack-o-lantern...notice the pumpkin has a stick (aka lightsaber) sticking out the top...the kid is obsessed.

I was given the task of coming up with a craft and a game for Wally's Halloween party at school. I made a Pin-the-Grin on the Jack-o-lantern game and found a simple Ghost Windsock craft on-line.

Ready for the parade through school, Wally was dressed as Yoda (of course).After the parade, Mrs. Smith instructed the kids on how to make the windsock...cutting, gluing, no problem! During snack time, 1 table at a time joined me for the game. It was great fun getting to interact with all 25 of Wally's new best friends.

The following day, our church had a Halloween party. Can you spy Wally?

The next day, we went trick-or-treating at the mall (never doing that again - talk about a crowd!). And then, finally it was Halloween. I got Wally a glow wand and removed the star from the end, so he had a green, glowing lightsaber for trick-or-treating. I have to say, it was the perfect touch for his costume. Though he may have looked like Yoda, he was still Wally...after trick-or-treating for a while, Wally just sat down and said, "My feet hurt. I'm tired. I'm ready to go home," even though his friend wanted to keep going. Candy just doesn't mean anything to him. Where did he get that messed-up trait?

Yoda is still making near-daily appearances at our house...the costume was a great investment for this kid!

Randomness of our life...

2011-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Since we are trying to sell the dog house, we moved it from its home in the back yard. I decided to turn the rather ugly area it was, into a flower bed. I'm quite excited because it is oddly one of the sunnier places around out house. I bought some landscaping bricks and built a little wall. I think it looks really nice. Now I need to get some dirt to fill it in. I'm excited to plan some awesome flowers there next spring.

While I built, Moose found a nice place to lay..."its like a beach!"

We "celebrated" our 2-year anniversary of working to bring Brother and Sister home on Oct 12, 2011. We just had chili, but we made injera to eat with it.

Some day, the other chairs will be filled with kids too.

I made Ethiopian honey rosemary bread for dessert. Yummy!

Wally likes to make stuff from Star Wars. His latest creation is Anikin Skywalker's pod racer.

Wally likes to model his various Star Wars stuff...pod racer, picture of light sabers, a Star Wars necklace, and a light saber. We have been enjoying taking weekend walks at Hickory Hill. It is so beautiful. If we get lost, we won't be hugging this tree...see those 4 inch spikes?

Wally loves parades. I wonder if he gets tennis elbow from waving the whole time. This parade was the U of I homecoming parade down town.

When Joel got home from church last week, he found quite a site...water was spraying up from from under our mailbox. The city was soon there (our neighbors had already called) to fix the broken water main. Oddly, our mailbox had been backed over a week earlier, but they didn't think it was related. What did our mailbox do to get such bad karma? Anyway, they dug it out, fixed the pipe and filled it in in about 1.5 hours. Wally and I only caught the very end of it. It was pretty exciting for Wally though.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-10-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Wally decorated Joel's birthday cake. These days, he works so hard on his projects. Go figure, Wally make X-wing fighters, a death star, and tie-fighters out of butterscotch chips. He also figured we had to use every candle we had in the house...Daddy is really old!

Wally planned Joel's birthday dinner...apparently the theme was orange...sloppy joes, candy carrots, and Cheetos. All that strayed from the theme was me and Wally's purple milk and Joel's blue milk. With that many candles, Daddy needed all the help he could get!
"I love you Daddy!"

"Seriously, underwear?"

"Sweet! I'll look like Murr!"

Joel did get Star Wars Episodes I-III. We have really enjoyed Wally's Star Wars obsession. Not because it is Star Wars, but because Wally loves learning about Star Wars everything and lives and breathes it.

Fall Fun in Iowa

2011-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Wally is still absolutely obsessed with Star Wars. We finally finished watching the last movie (well, the last original movie). At the end the good guys have a party to celebrate defeating the bad guys. So, Wally decided we needed to have a fiesta. He made decorations (see the round thing on the house) and we ate cake outside and sang and danced. I love watching Wally's mind with this Star Wars kick. One morning, Wally decided Scout needed some stuffed animals. He made quiet a wall around her so that the dogs couldn't see her. He is always thinking of others' happiness.

The other week was the high school's homecoming parade. All of the feeder elementary schools get to march in the parade. Of course, Wally had to do that. Here he is ready to go!

We only made it about a block before Wally was out of candy to hand out. He did have a great time though!

After about a half-mile, we stopped marching in the parade and watched the rest of the parade go by. Wally and his friend Sam never stopped waving.

That weekend, we went to "the farm." Moose was born to live at a place like this.

Maybe Wally too.

Wally needed his camera so he could take pictures of wild animals, like these geese.

We went on a nature hike, and had to climb over the fallen tree rather than walk around it. That's my boy!

We found a 2-headed dandelion. It is hard to see in the picture, but there were 2 perfect flowers that came off the same stem. I love nature! I was so afraid he was going to fall in, but the kid has peeing skills!

We found a huge tree that had recently been chopped down by beavers. They had to work hard on that one!

He can balance!

And he jumps!!!!

Fall is a beautiful time in Iowa. I'm so glad we've had the chance to enjoy it and are blessed with being able to go to this farm.

Wally's 5th Birthday

2011-09-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Wally's birthday was a few weeks ago, but here is a blog about it. Before I get to the birthday celebrations, I wanted to include a picture of our garden, and specifically our sunflowers. Wally wanted to plant mammoth sunflowers, so we did. They weren't kidding when they said that they grow to be 12 feet tall. The top of the sunflower by Wally is actually cut off in the picture. I feel like I am in "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" when I'm in my garden. I love it! To start off Wally's birthday celebration, he and I made cup cakes for him to bring to Kinderfarm. I figure it might be his only chance to celebrate his birthday at school. Since he wanted a Star Wars theme, we made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting (think black space) and yellow stars. The red hots were the stars eyes (??). And, well, sprinkles are just cool.
On the morning of his birthday, we measured him. He is just over 47.5 inches. Quite the huge kid! And, check out those abs!

At Kinderfarm, the birthday kid gets to wear a birthday crown all day and then take it home. Wally of course had to pose with Pearl the Pig. Notice his new Star Wars t-shirt.
And with the horses. It was very exciting one day as a new horse, Cashmere, arrived.

Cashmere is a very friendly horse. but Wally was not too happy when he ate the top off of his crown. Luckily, it didn't taste very good so Cashmere spit it out and I was able to grab it and tape in on when we got home. Whew!

That night, Wally got to open presents. He loves his harp from Reder and Ruby. He can actually play recognizable songs on it now that it is somewhat in tune.

Wally was maybe a little bit wired about his birthday.

When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he said, "Steak!" We weren't about to argue with that. How he has grown up. He used to hate meat, especially beef. Finally, he would eat chicken nuggets, so we would get him to eat beef and pork by calling them "special chicken dippers."

We had left-over cup cakes for his birthday desert.

Wally wanted a pinata for his birthday party, but they are crazy expensive! So, Wally and I made a giant paper mache "Death Star" pinata, that he painted like a rainbow. And, I just realized that we don't have a picture of the final product. He was proud and it worked well. If you don't count man-hours, it was a whole lot cheaper than buying one.

Wally wanted an X-wing fighter cake. I designed it so that the wings would be in the X position...

But, the graham crackers got soggy and the "shooters" were too heavy for my engineering, so the X-wing's wings were not spread. Wally still enjoyed it though.

For Wally's party, we set up a Jedi Training Center. We had the Jedis play in the sprinkler and then I would call them to the training center for a training exercise like "Leia, Leia, Luke" and "Yoda Says."

Their training was complete just in time as Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers showed up in the back yard (print-outs taped to trees, etc). The Jedis had to use water balloons to get the "bad guys" wet.

After Jedi training and the battle were complete, all of the kids (7 4&5 year-olds plus younger siblings) earned their light sabers in a small ceremony. Afterwards, the Jedis could color their light sabers. Then we had pizza and Galaxy Balls (aka melon salad) for dinner. The weather couldn't have been nicer, so we were able to eat on the porch.

Sadly, this is the best picture of Wally and his cake we have. It just was too chaotic to get all the pictures we wanted during the party. I guess that means we were all having a great time.

Back at the Jedi Training Center, Wally got to open his presents. The kid is spoiled. Luckily, he realizes how spoiled/blessed he is.

After presents, we concluded the Jedi training by destroying the Death Star. With 3 kids left, the rope tore through the pinata (good thing Joel had reinforced it). I volunteered Joel to hold it while the last 3 kids got a whack at it (thanks Honey!). Then it was candy, stickers, and silly bands for all.

We concluded Wally's birthday party with what turned out to be a blast...picking cherry tomatoes. The kids loved climbing through the tomato plants picking tomatoes and filling baggies to take home. This is why I have a garden, to be able to enjoy it with others.

I can't believe my baby is 5. He is turning out to be quite a big kid. Why have I been so blessed? I will never know, but I am.

Colorado blogs posted in July...

2011-08-31T13:58:00.001-07:00

I just posted a couple Colorado blogs, but they are under the kindergarten blogs as I started the blogs in July...you will have to search. Sorry.

Kindergarten Survived!

2011-08-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Wally survived his first day of kindergarten with flying colors. He was a happy boy going in this morning and was a happy boy coming out this afternoon.

One of the first things he told me was that he got a golden apple because while everyone else was making noise and saying, "me me me," while the teacher's friend was talking, he had his mouth zipped shut (he did the hand motion). This made him proud (and me too). He is super excited to go back tomorrow. However, he is currently out cold on his bed. The boy was so tired while reading a Star Wars Lego book that he could barely keep his eyes open. He was out a couple minutes after laying down. I think we will have an exhausted kid for a few weeks as he gets settled. At least he currently seems to be a super happy boy (which makes for super happy parents).

Kindergarten!!!!

2011-08-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

Our baby started kindergarten today (August 18, 2011). He was so excited as you will see. We met his teacher, Mrs. Smith, Tuesday night and got to see his classroom. He was given some homework that he worked very hard on. Below is a picture of it (I'm not smart enough to figure out how to rotate it, sorry). He was to fill the star with things about him. In the middle we put a picture of our family. He then proceeded to draw Brother and Sister so that they could be in the picture with us. Amazingly, Brother and Sister are never far from his thoughts.

Wally's first day of school...a little excited.

Oh, I should mention that he doesn't have glasses on because he needed a new perscription and our insurance wouldn't cover new frames. He'll have them back in a week or two.

Proud Mama...

And a proud Daddy... the walk that usually takes us 15-20 minutes took only 9 minutes today.

Though Wally hadn't started kindergarten yet, he already knew a song about kindergarten.

(video to come shortly...)

While everyone was waiting out front to meet their teachers, I snuck around a took a picture of Wally's class room. He will be sitting at the table closest to where I took the picture from. Luckily, he will be flanked by his buddies Althea and Sam - two wonderful kids. And, I also took a video (I was being a true kindergarten mom, but I didn't cry!)

Waiting in line in front of school with his buddy Althea and a new friend Dawson.

Some of his class mates. I'm pretty sure Wally was the most excited of all of them. That made it easy for me though.

One last shot of the kids as they marched in. You can see Wally's swirl right by Mrs. Smith's elbow.

Now, I just need to find something to do with myself. I'm actually going to lunch today with 2 other moms who just dropped their only kids off at kindergarten today too. Should be a good time. How did Wally grow up so fast?

Colorado Trip: Part II

2011-07-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Wally, Grandma Mary and I got to make the short drive to Boulder to visit our good friend Missie. Missie has been a special part of my life since middle school (though my parents and her have been friends since Pennsylvania before Jason and I were born). She had never gotten to meet Wally, so it was great. Wally often is shy of new people, but he walked right into Missie's house and gave her a big hug. He is a good judge of character. Missie gave Wally a squirrel that Wally promptly named Acorn.
Wally took this picture of the three of us. I wish we could get together more often.

My uncle Dave and aunt Sandy let us stay with them at their house during our stay in Colorado. Wally had a great time feeding Uncle Dave's Koi.

We all went up to the cabin for a picnic. Papa and Dave got to ride motorcyles together and the rest of us just enjoyed hiking around the cabin.

Long's Peak, and especially this view of Long's Peak, has always been special to me. It was so rejuvinating to be able to breath that air and look at that view.

Growing up, Mom, Dad, Jason and I spent a lot of time in the mountains climbing on rocks. It was special for me to get to do the same with Wally. Once we got the cabin, Pot Hole Rock became our favorite climbing rock.A little Wally original ditty about Pot Hole Rock...OK, so we got a slower internet service to save money. We don't really notice that it is slower, but apparently it is too slow to upload videos...I guess you will just have to come visit if you want to see Wally in action.

Wally didn't seem like a flat-lander on the rocks, which I loved to see. Admittedly, I did have to turn away a few times because I would get nervous that he would hurt himself. He didn't though.

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dave.

Grandma Mary and Papa Randy...what are they giggling about?

Another fun thing at the cabin is playing the ring-hook game. There is a hook in the tree trunk and a string with a ring hanging from the branch sticking out. You have to stand where Wally is and swing the ring to hook it. Wally thought that was great fun, but had more fun just throwing the ring than actually trying to get it hooked.

Chocolate chip cookies in the mountains...life is good!

Wally disappeared during lunch and I found him sitting on the potty with no toilet paper. I had to run and get my camera because really, how cute is that! He'll likely disagree in a few years though.

Wally helped Papa straighten out the potty.

Papa of course couldn't visit the cabin without digging up a few aspen and cedar trees to bring home to the Reder Ranch. It was fun hiking through the forest with my daddy looking for the perfect tree to bring home.

A stroll down Aspen Avenue as I did so many times as a kid.

Wally's imagination is great fun to watch. Here, he was on his space ship flying to an alien planet.

This pot hole on Pot Hole Rock has always been a favorite of mine because it fits me perfectly as a recliner. However, in shorts and a tank-top with a 45 lb kid on you decreases the comfort, as does the pine tree that continues to grow.

Ah, Bear Poop!

After the cabin, we drove through Estes Park to my cousin Chris's house. It just happened to be Sage's 5th birthday that day, so we got to have a little party with them. Last time I had seen Greta, she was still in Abby's tummy. What a cutie!

I don't think an outsider would have guessed that these kids didn't really know each other before that afternoon. They had a great time together and needed no time to warm-up. I just wish we lived closer together so that we could all get together more often.

Long's Peak from Longmont. A view etched in my memory for ever.

Colorado Trip Part I: Jacq's Wedding

2011-07-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

I realize that I am very VERY far behind in blogging. You would think that with Wally in kindergarten now I would have a lot of time for blogging. I guess I've been keeping busy with things that don't require sitting at the computer. Anyway, a few months ago I up loaded pictures for a couple blogs on our Colorado trip, but have not managed to write anything...so I will do that now.

At the beginning of June, Wally and I road tripped to Colorado by ourselves. We made the fun 14 hour drive to Longmont all in one day. The kid is a champion traveller. We stopped by McDonald's in Sterling, CO. It had the coolest play area with instruments that would play music when the kids climbed on them.
The main reason for our trip to Colorado was for my friend Jacquelynn's wedding. While I got to hang out with my buddies in Fort Collins and Loveland, Wally stayed with my parents and my aunt and uncle. Wally got to do all sorts of fun things like visiting Bob Barkers Wild Animal Sanctuary, meeting some family friends, seeing the house I grew up in, seeing where I went to kindergarten and much more. Basically, the kid was spoiled with my parents and my aunt and uncle...what is better than being the only kid with 2 sets of grandmas and papas??

OK, on to the wedding. Jacquelynn and Randy got married at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch outside of Loveland. What a beautiful place. I am just so blessed to have such great friendships that have lasted for...20+ years! How did I get so lucky? Here, Jacq is opening her gift from Randy as we were getting ready for the wedding.

Jacq's littlest sister Averri did Jacq's hair and her other sister Andrea performed the ceremony. That family is full of talent!

I got to get ready for the wedding with my buddies Katie (friends since kindergarten) and Shaundra (friends since 7th grade). Jacq and I have been friends since 6th grade.

Jacq's dress was beautiful and fit her perfectly. It was an old-fashioned lace dress. Perfect!

A beautiful bride!

Being an artist, everything Jacq had for her wedding was beautiful. I loved how simple her bouquets were.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, though maybe a bit hot if you were pregnant (Shaundra popped 4 days later).

Posing for pictures by Jacq's dad's old truck. Again, perfect.

A setting for a wedding couldn't get much better than this (accept maybe for me and Joel's reception, but I might be biased!). The happy couple, Jacquelynn and Randy.

Could this really be little Averri? I still picture her as a 4 year-old running through the stands during our basketball games.

Shaundra and Rob, almost parents!

Katie and Ryan. All four of us have been blessed with wonderful husbands!

Grandma and Papa brought Wally up for the wedding and stayed in the hotel with us the night of the wedding. Wally thought that was great!

The next morning, Grandma, Papa, Wally, and I spent some time enjoying the mountains and the ranch. Wally seemed to make a noose with a rope. Maybe it was too tight...hence the face. Or maybe Wally is just silly.

Pretty much a fun vacation with Grandma Mary and Papa Randy!

The ranch had awesome swings hanging from huge cotton wood trees. Me and my boy. I wish my big boy could have been there too. Wally found a fun tree house in the middle of a huge willow tree.

Did Papa really take Wally over that stream on that little one-log bridge?

My life would be complete if I had a swing like this. Papa seemed to enjoy it a bit too.

Wally and I went for a ride. It felt like we were flying as the ropes were so long.

After this, we said our good byes and headed back to Longmont. It was a great wedding and we wish Jacq and Randy a life filled with love. I miss my friends terribly, but am happy knowing they are all doing well and are happy.

SD/MT Roadtrip Part IV

2011-07-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Before we headed to Townsend, Wally needed us to take this picture with Cubby (I think it is Cubby). Joel hadn't told his Aunt Patty or cousins that we were coming up, so it was a great surprise. Wally had fallen asleep in the car on the drive up, and kept sleeping after we parked, so I stayed in the car (until Gramma Kathy came to sit with Wally). I guess Aunt Patty hadn't cried all day, but when she saw Joel show up, she lost it. That makes the whole 2600 mile drive totally worth it! The weather was beautiful, so we got to enjoy their patio with Great-Gramma.

Cory the graduate with "big" sister Alaina and "little" sister Hannah. I can't believe how much they have all grown up since the last time we saw them. Cory is quite the man now, Hannah is nearly as tall as me and beautiful, and Tyler is definitely no little kid any more. What a wonderful family!

Gramma Kathy got Wally the world's largest piece of chocolate cake that was about 50% frosting.

A happy pirate!

Joel, Parker (Alaina's son who is only a couple months younger than Wally), Wally, Gramma Kathy and I took a walk to work off some of the delicious food from the party.

Then next day, Monday, was our only day without travelling for our 8-day trip. We got to hang out in Bozeman. Wally, Joel, and I got to see Reder's preschool, and then visited the lab. It was strange to be back, but was great to see so many great friends. I just wish we could have had more time to spend with everyone and see those who we missed.

Jason has gotten into bee keeping, so I got to wear the totally attractive suit and "help" him look for the queens in his 2 hives. We didn't find either.

But is was so fun holding about a billion bees. I didn't mind the bees that would land right on my face mask, but when they buzzed that loudly in my ears, it was kinda unsettling. Maybe next time we are up we can get some Daughenbaugh honey.

After naps, we went up Hyalite for a little hike along the road. Man, was it nice to be in the mountains again and breathing that air. How spoiled we were when we lived there.

The kids had a blast throwing rocks into the culverts and watching them come shooting out the other end.

Much to Katie's horror (ha ha ha) I taught the kids how to dam-up the water running down the side of the roads (don't worry, I also helped them break the dams so that the water would not ruin the roads). Kids and mud are such a perfect combination.

Team Graff

What a view! It was strange seeing snow and ice (and eating snow - only the white stuff), as we were used to summer in Iowa. I definitely don't miss the long Montana winters. Breaking the dams.

Our good buddy Aaron came over for dinner. What a treat to get to spend time with our best buddies!

On Tuesday we drove to the Reder Ranch, though it took us longer than planned as the interstate and hwy 212 were closed due to flooding (did I mention it dumped buckets the entire time we travelled on that trip?), so we had to go up through Miles City. We stopped in Broadus to get Bubu (as we had left Wally's favorite stuffed animal at Gramma's house). We also picked up all of Joel's old legos. Wally has done nothing but legos since he got them. Here, he and Papa were working on building an airplane.

Ta-da!

We drove the rest of the way home the next day. What a super fun trip! It was a lot of driving. Over 2600 miles and I think it was like 48 hours of actual drive time...I have to say Wally is an amazing kid. Not sure too many other kids could do it!

SD/MT Road Trip Part III

2011-07-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

After the Kourtney's wedding reception in Miles City (May 21), we drove to Bozeman. Wally slept much of the way, but we woke him up at Columbus for dinner and so he could see the mountains. As we got near the Crazy Mountains, I was pointing them out, but Wally couldn't see them. I think he hasn't seen mountains like that enough to be able to register what they are. That is just plain wrong! We have to get him around more mountains. A little further, the sun starting setting. Wally asked what all the colors in the sky were. It dawned on us that Wally didn't know what a sunset was. In Iowa, there are too many trees to see any distance and too much haze for much of a sunset most of the time anyway. What are we doing to this child? Iowa is a great place, but apparently it really is missing a few things!

On the way to church with the Jason, Katie, Reder, and Ruby, we drove by our house and I made Joel take pictures of it like we were stalkers. We were both very happy to see that the people who liver there now are taking good care of it.

It was nice to be back at BUMC, but Dave wasn't there, so that was a big-time bummer. We did get to see quite a few friends again though. It actually didn't rain that day, so the weather was beautiful and the kids got to play outside after church. Wally immediately tried to play chuck-it with Cubby and Skippy. And, of course, Ruby followed Wally.

Did I mention that May 22 is Ruby's birthday? What luck that we were able to be there for when Ruby turned 3! I can't believe it!

Katie and Grandma Janet made a yummy hot dog lunch for the party. Apparently, Wally is doing something pretty gross.

See, Reder can be silly too!

Ruby got a strider bike with no pedals for her birthday. I think Reder kinda likes it too though.

I guess Ruby was more into dancing.

I love this picture. A big pink bow and a curious (and patient) big brother.

The banner Wally made for Ruby got hung after I had to re-write it. Some how, during our driving in nothing but massive rain storms, the banner got wet and the marker ran. Wally was still proud though.

For some reason, little girls have a tendency to stare and giggle at Wally. Jason and Katie made quite the princess birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Ruby! (This is why all of Katie's pictures had a blurry Wally.)

Silly cousins.

After cake, we went outside to the picnic pavilion for a dinosaur pinata. All the kids got several whacks at the poor dino. Gotta love the boots!

After the candy was out, the kids finished off the dino. It kinda reminded me of a gang beating...

It was great to see Grandma Janet and Papa Rob again. Sadly, this was the only picture I got of them.

What is a birthday party without finger pens that, when pulled, make farting noises? Lovely Katie!

It was so special to be able to be there for Ruby's party. We had a great time. After the party, we headed to Townsend for Joel's cousin Cory's high school graduation. That will come in Part IV.

Your Hair Looks Kinda Silly...

2011-06-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

...You look kinda like a boy. Man, Wally is going to make some girl very happy some day saying things like that.

Yesterday, Wally and I decided my hair was long enough that someone else could have it. He was very excited to go to a REAL barber shop (aka Cost Cutters). Now I have really BIG hair.
Well, at least it won't give me a headache wadded up on the back of my head now AND we will save money on shampoo.

SD/MT Road Trip Part II: Kourtney's Wedding Reception

2011-06-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

After the parade, we headed to the Senior Drop-in Center for Kourtney and Wayne's wedding reception. Wally put himself to work with the ribbon to decorate the candles for the tables. Wally's creations were definitely creative with tape, staples, and dog hair. Me and my sisters Linda and Mary.

Wally is always drawn to his cousin Gavin. Eric, Sara, Gavin, Autumn, and Kailin (bummer no Chandler or Keegan) drove down from Billings. It was great to see all of them.

Isn't Papa Steve a cutie?!?!!

Wayne and Kourtney did the traditional smashing of the cake into each other's faces. It was a fun party!

Me and my buddy.

Am I really putting this one in the blog???

The first dance.

Joel played the proud big brother very well. When Joel was in high school, he would pick Kourtney up for school. On the way, they would listen to Bob Marley's "No woman No cry," but Joel would sing "No Kourtney No cry." For the longest time Kourtney thought that those were the actual words. For their wedding, Joel gave Kourtney and Wayne a Bob Marley CD with that song, so Joel and Kourtney got to dance to their song. This was my personal favorite moment of the wedding.

Wally doesn't know if he should believe Papa or not.

Joel and I with Kourtney and our new brother-on-law Wayne.

The proud parents of the bride.

The Graff family.

The whole Graff family (minus Chandler, Keegan, Ryan, Amy, Jenna, and Molly). Wally was a couple days over-due for a nap at this point.

The lovely Graff Ladies.

A tired boy after a fun party. We got Wally dressed in PJs and headed to Bozeman after the wedding. I think he managed to sleep for about 2 hours before we woke him for dinner around 8:00. The kid is a great traveller.

Moving Up in the World...or Not

2011-06-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we moved up in the world. For the first time in our married lives, Joel and I have a headboard for our bed. We picked it up on a street corner under a sign that said "free." So, it is perfect!However, at the same time, we became the proud owners of a big plastic pumpkin/ghost! Wally is thrilled though, so maybe it makes it worth having to look at the thing and store the thing...

SD/MT Road Trip Part I

2011-06-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

OK, so this was over a month ago now, but I finally found time. So, here goes the road trip to beat all road trips (over 2600 miles in 1 week).

As a last thought as we were heading out the door, I saw some pipe cleaners and grabbed them for Wally. He spent a lot of time in the car playing with them. Cheap "toys" seem the best for Wally's entertainment. Since we were heading to Bozeman for Ruby's birthday, Wally spent time in the car (and then at Grandma Mary and Papa Randy's house) working on a birthday banner for Ruby. He engineered quite a hanger for it with pipe cleaners.

The theme of our trip was rain. It started raining as we got about halfway through SD, and I don't think it stopped until we returned to Iowa. More rain pictures to come...

On our second day, Wally fed Papa's cows treats in the rain.

Bill (the actual owner of the cows) came over and let Wally help feed a calf who's momma didn't have enough milk for it. Wally thought that was awful special as he loves animals.

Grandma Mary made me a table runner as she is becoming quite the quilter. My Grandma, I'm sure, is proud of her. Wally suddenly decided he could use the table runner as a prop for singing "Swing low, Sweet chariot."

We drove up to Broadus for lunch, and then headed to the bank. Wally loves visiting Gramma Kathy's bank. This trip, he brought all of his money from his piggy banks to put in Gramma's bank. Here, he is watching it all get sorted in the coin sorter. He seemed satisfied that he gave the bank all of his money and they gave him a lollipop.

We had Great-Gramma over for dinner and Wally enjoyed showing her his Daddy's ipod. Every trip, Wally seems to find a way to get Great-Gramma to himself and do an activity with her. They both seem to truly enjoy their time together.

On day 3, we drove to Miles City for Kourtney and Wayne's wedding reception. On the drive up, we saw an amazing amount of water in places were Joel can't remember ever seeing water before. Apparently, while we were in Montana, they got about 6.5 inches of rain. Mind you, they usually only get about 10 inches each year.

But, the Bucking Horse Sale parade went on. Lucky for me (I didn't have a hat, hood, or anything waterproof), we didn't make it to the parade until it was nearly over. Wally got to see some steam-engine tractors, hug a person in a dog suit, and pick up soggy candy floating down the gutters, so he was happy.

I love watching Wally when he is excited!

Coming "soon" SD/MT Road Trip Part II.

You know it is a good summer when...

2011-06-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

you look like this everyday! We've been having a great summer and have been crazy busy. I am slowly making my way through our pictures of our SD/MT trip and our CO trip. If I ever have a break from editing and don't feel like being outside (or cleaning bathrooms), I will get some posts about them up.

Legos

2011-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Legos, Legos, Legos...that is all that has been going on in our house since we got home from our trip. On the way home, we picked up all of Joel's Legos from when he was a kid. Wally is obsessed! Luckily the weather has cooperated and we've spent hours on the porch.

First thing when he wakes up (even before he comes to find us, he is out there playing Legos). During thunderstorns he is playing Legos. He has his "brave shirt" on just like Moose. There was a really close strike and Wally decided he was scared like Moose, so I fixed that with is scarf.

Playing in underwear after rest time.

Wally even sings songs about Legos. He was marching and singing, but of course stopped as soon as he saw the camera.

This morning, Wally was trying to hook up the motor to his castle so that it would open and close the draw bridge. With a little help from Mom, he got it to work! Those Lego guys better be quick!

Preschool Graduation

2011-05-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't posted on our trip to SD and MT yet, but I wanted to get these up as they won't take as long.

Our baby has graduated preschool. I can't believe it! Wally worked very hard on some cards for his teachers. He cut out hearts on the fronts and then put glitter in the inside so that the hearts were sparkly. Then he told me what to write to his teachers. He wrote their names and his name. He also picked flowers for his teachers, the administrator, and the cook.Since Wally missed his last 3 days of school for our road trip to SD and MT, he had to make his hat and tassels before he left. All the kids that are going to kindergarten next year made hats out of paper bowls and a sheet of paper. The tassels were the color of the rooms they were in. The graduation consisted of each kid being called by name, marching to the front, receiving their "diploma," shaking hands with the head teacher, smiling for Moms and Dads, and marching back to the blankets. I guess the kids had practiced this while Wally was gone. He was quite the pro though.

We were, of course, very proud! While the herds of parents, grandparents, and kids waited in line for pizza, we went to see the animals of course. Pearl the Pig is by far Wally's favorite animal. Can you sense the mutual love? Wally would always manage to find some old corncobs or dandelions to feed Pearl during and after school each and every day.

Though Pearl is the favorite, Wally loves all the animals, including Rex the pony and Rondo the horse. I guess Wally had a very rough day when Daisy the cow went "to live on a different farm with other cows." The teachers told me he cried and cried because he would miss Daisy...maybe we will see her again some day.

Wally's Purple room teacher Mrs. McGivern.

Wally's Green room teacher Mrs. Loan.

Wally had such a great time in preschool that none of us was ready for him to leave. Therefore, right after graduation, I signed him up to go a little during the summer as a "big kid," not a preschooler. I also figure it might help him out in kindergarten as he will be about the youngest kid there, but basically, we love the teachers and the animals.

Mother's Day

2011-05-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day weekend. It started out with a trip to the dump. We borrowed a friend's pickup and took a load of big junk that we've been wanting to get rid of for a long time. Then, we loaded up the pickup with compost. The landfill makes compost from all of the yard waste they pick up. The compost is black and wonderful and cheap! We used the compost mostly to fill in random holes in the yard, raise parts of the flowerbed in front, and to put a layer on top of the area in the back around the patio that was originally bark. Only a little bit of compost made it into the garden. You can see my raised beds in the garden below. There is only a little compost on the bed on the right. I can't wait for my garden this year.
After church on Sunday, Wally took a nap and I planted grass seed and put some seeds in the garden. After the nap, we picked up some KFC and headed to "the farm." We met Dr. Donelson on the way in, which is always nice. Once they headed out, we had the whole pond to ourselves again. The dogs had a great time. Wally was so excited to throw sticks into the pond for Moose to get. Here, Wally was getting a "stick" for Moose.

Daisy won't swim. Looking at her, it seems like she would, but she won't go in deeper than she can touch. Being the wonderful person I am, I decided that when she came out onto the dock with me, I would push her in. Strong little mutt managed to get away from me before I got her in. Maybe next time...

Moose, loves the water and knows he's safe from Daisy there. Can you see all the gray around his muzzle? Old dog.

There is a canoe at the pond, so we paddled around. Moose did some swimming after us and Daisy ran along the shore. All was great, until we saw another dog! Ah! We paddled to the shore and I jumped out and grabbed the dogs. Luckily, the dog went away before any of the dogs saw each other.

It is hard to see, but Moose is following Wally and I. Moose didn't move much the next 2 days.

Who's kid is that?

Daddy and his little girl.

Again, who's kid is that?

Wally was so excited to find palm trees!

Joel brought some glass jars from home to fill with pond water so that Wally could see all the little things swimming in it.

All my boys like to learn. Well, maybe Moose was just looking for sparkles.

Wally had to get the good stuff.

We had to let the stuff settle before we could see the creepy crawlies. Waiting without bumping was hard to do, especially when Wally saw something and got excited.

A Mother's Day picnic with KFC. Can't get much better than that!

Since it was Mother's Day, I spent some time taking pictures of flowers.

And Wally spent some time in the mud.

Wally loves dandelions and loves picking them for everyone, so how could I not take a picture of one? They are actually rather pretty.

Quite the photogenic dog.
Wally and Joel went canoeing and saw 9 turtles sunning themselves on a log. When they got close, Joel said they would all disappear, but Wally said they would stay. All but one jumped in. Wally said, "told you Dad!" I guess he was right.
More flowers!
Wally loved seeing Papa Steve's cows and still talks about them a lot. So, we had to take a picture of some of them on the way out of the farm.
The weather was beautiful and I got to be outside almost the entire weekend. Life can't get much better than that! Thanks for a great Mother's Day Daddy and Wally. I love you both!

Our big (and strong) boy

2011-05-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how big our baby is getting. Last Thursday he went to Kindergarten Round-up. There he got to meet the teachers and some new friends (and several old friends), see his class rooms, and get a taste of kindergarten. The parents were in the cafeteria getting the run-down from the principal while the kids were playing (aka- being closely observed by the teachers to determine class assignments, etc). This is a picture of Wally and I walking to kindergarten. Wally had to pick dandelions for his teacher. Only one teacher got a dandelion because he found friends to give them too first. This is a demonstration of Wally's engineering skills and his muscles. I'm not sure which I'm more impressed with.
I like how Wally states that he can do it without any help, and then at the end of the video he asks me for help. He does still need his mommy!

Easter

2011-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Easter is a magical time. Obviously, it is the time that we celebrate Christ's dieing for us and his resurrection. But, with a kid, there are so many fun things to do as well.

A tradition that Joel's family always did was an Easter tree. On Palm Sunday, you cut a branch from a flowering tree, like a crab apple, you put the branch in water in the house, and on Easter, it blossoms. Wally and I cut a couple branches from a crab apple tree and the pear tree mid-Holy week, and decorated it with Easter eggs. Wally is very much into making silly faces for pictures.
Wally and I also decorated Easter eggs. Wally started out being very careful and watching the eggs to make sure they were the right brightness...
Then I mentioned to him that he could put the eggs in multiple colors to make fancy eggs and new colors. Next thing I knew, he had nearly 2 dozen eggs in his dye cups at the same time...that Wally!

Wally worked very hard on every egg, and was very proud of his work. This year, rather than breaking the large majority of eggs, only 2 of 24 were cracked at the end!
The Easter bunny showed up at Hy-vee the day before Easter and hid eggs in the parking lot. When Wally saw the Easter Bunny, he ran right up to him and gave him a huge hug and kiss. I was too slow with the camera of course. Wally is not shy about sharing love with giant animals. After Wally found a few eggs in the parking lot, he began searching for trash. He learned about Earth Day in preschool the day before, and is taking it very seriously. He was much more into picking up trash than eggs...he continues to do so today. Because it looked like it wasn't supposed to be very nice weather for Easter, we decided to let Wally have his Easter present a day early. We got him a bicycle a couple weeks ago and hid it in the blue Blazer. A week before Easter, we were at a baseball game and decided to let Wally ride home in the Blazer with Dad while I picked up pizza in the van. After it was too late, Joel remembered that Wally's bike was in the back. Wally crawled into the Blazer and looked right into the back because he was looking for a toy, but he didn't seem to notice the bike...maybe he was too focused on finding the toy. On the way home he yelled out the window to pedestrians, "Happy Easter!" Later that week, Wally made a paper Easter egg with a drawing of a bicycle in it. We asked him why he drew a bike (figuring it was because he saw his new one) and he responded that he thought it would be silly because chickens come from eggs, not bikes! We were thinking...did he really not see the bike? I decided to get his response to the bike on camera, so I waited outside for Joel and Wally to come out. As you see, he was happy, but not really surprised. Later that day, Wally said to Joel, "That is the bike that was in the blue truck." When Joel asked why he didn't mention that he knew it was back there, Wally responded, "Because it was supposed to be a surprise!" Did he really see the bike, decide it was a surprise, and decide not to respond at all to it? I guess we will never really know.

Wally knew exactly what to do with it the first time he got on.

Within minutes, he was cruising around our loop. He has made many many laps since then. He would make the loops faster, except that he must stop and pick up all trash and dandelions. The Easter bunny left Wally a Zhu-zhu pet and a chocolate Easter egg with a duck (basically a Peep) inside. I thought Wally would get a kick out of it, but as you can see in the video, he didn't really care that much...but I tried hard!

Aw, a cute little ducky (that he gave to me to eat - he wouldn't touch the thing, and can't keep anything for himself - except for chocolate).

Notice the chunk of chocolate shell stuck between his glasses and nose. I guess glasses can be handy!

Last year, we thought that it would be nice this year for Wally to have a little competition with the egg hunting from Brother and Sister (ha ha ha...maybe next year). The Easter bunny definitely hid the eggs in harder places this year though. We were talking to our neighbors when the Easter bunny hid the eggs (or so Wally thinks). After we were done talking to them, Wally jumped back on his bike. When he got in front of our house, he saw an egg and jumped off his bike. We told him he couldn't leave his bike in the road like that, so he ran to his bike, picked the thing up (I'm sure not an easy task when the bike is a big as he is), and waddled with it to the curb so he could hunt for the eggs. I wish I had gotten that on camera because it doesn't sound nearly as cute as it was. Being the only kid looking for the eggs, he made out pretty well.

Despite all of the "stuff" that goes with Easter, Wally still managed to remember what Easter means. I was told that on Palm Sunday the youth director asked Wally how he was, and he responded, "You should be sad because Jesus is going to die soon." Then on Easter during the children's sermon, the kids were asked what they are celebrating on Easter. Wally immediately piped in "Jesus is coming back to life!" But, since he has a hard time with his "L" sounds, it sounded like Jesus was coming back to his wife. That got a few giggles from the congregation.

How did the Easter bunny know Wally loves jelly beans?

If anyone is still unsure, Wally is full of love and is not shy about sharing it. At times during church, Wally gets over-powered by the need to kiss and just attacks Joel or I with a billion kisses. This batch that Joel got was nothing. Note that Joel is asking for a napkin because Wally had just finished eating some of his Easter candy and was wearing it all over his face.

A big holiday meal isn't the same when it is just the 3 of us, but I still try. This year, we had ham, cheesy peas, cheesy potatoes, marshmallow fruit salad, and fresh bread. Not so healthy, but delicious! The Easter tree bloomed perfectly! During the Easter egg hunt, we found 4 real eggs in one of the trees in our back yard. We figured out that these were cardinal eggs.

About a week later, we found that 3 of the eggs had hatched really ugly birds! It was fun to see since we've been watching the eagles. Too bad the momma had built the nest right at nose level for the dogs. The next day, we found the nest tipped and no birds or eggs to be found. "Maybe the mommy bird carried the babies to a new nest away from Moose and Daisy." Maybe, Wally, maybe.

Random Pre-Easter Stuff

2011-05-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Wally wanted to paint the other day. I was busy cooking, he knows where his painting supplies are, and I was busy cooking, so I just told him to go ahead and get his stuff. He got it all and then sat down to paint. Next thing I knew, this is what I found...
He decided he wanted to "hand paint" and was sticking his fingers as far as they could go into the paint bottles and slopping it onto the paper. To mix colors, he would just rub his hands together. I guess he needed a bigger pallet and used the backs of his hands, wrists... Oh Wally! (I find myself saying that a lot!)

Wally and I had our friends "Friend Joel" (to differentiate between him and "Daddy Joel) and his mom Suzanne over. We decided to stop letting the rain run our lives and take a walk in the rain. It was in the low 40s, so we bundled up.

Wally's new rain coat had a lovely cone head.

Those two boys have a great time together and are hard to tell apart from behind.

Though the weather is getting nicer, I'm going to try to get an Easter blog up soon. I'm off to pick up Wally from school now. I can't believe he has less than a month left before he has preschool graduation! What happened to my baby?!?!?!!

Go Cousin Drew!

2011-04-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Joel's cousin Drew Leininger pitches for the University of Indiana Hoosiers. Two years ago when Indiana was playing the Hawkeyes, we went to the games, but, as a freshman, Drew didn't get to pitch during that series. It was fun seeing him anyway.

Fast forward to this past weekend and it was deja vu all over again. Unfortunately, Indiana's starting pitching had an easy time keeping the Hawkeye's at bay. The weather was crummy on Friday night, so the game was canceled. We tracked Drew down at the mall that night and got to chit chat a bit. The rain went away but only Joel ventured to the ballpark since the high temperature only made it into the low 40s. Sunday was "nicer" although winter coats were still necessary. Here is a picture of Wally putting the finishing touches on a sign for Drew. He worked very hard on it and used up a good portion of two crayons to give it some color.

Drew warmed up in the bullpen toward the end of both games of Sunday's double-header, but alas the Hawkeyes neglected to mount any rallies, so the Hoosier relievers didn't get much playing time. In order to get a workout, Drew threw a side session after the final game.

Wally had an opportunity to give Drew the sign in the end. If you can't tell, he was a little proud to give a sign to a real ball player.

Random: Wally and Sander dancing to some music.

To make Montanans feel better...

2011-04-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well, summer arrived in Iowa. We've had a few days in the 80s, several in the 70s, and many in the 60s. We've been enjoying being able to play outside. I have some seeds in the garden and will plant the rest in a week or two. Wally loves climbing the tree in the loop, but it still terrifies Mom.

Wally loves the Chick-fil-A cow at the mall. I missed getting a picture of Wally hugging and kissing the cow. We were at the mall last night to see Joel's cousin Drew who is in town to play baseball for Indiana against the Hawkeyes. We didn't have much time to spend with him as he had to get back to the hotel to do homework, but it was nice just the same.

Mmmm pancakes!

Well, this is what we have this morning. I guess it is better to have had summer and lost it than never to have had summer at all!

Hawkeye Baseball Season has Begun!

2011-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was beautiful weather and the Hawkeye baseball team had a home game, so we put on our Hawkeye gear, and off we went. Wally was excited to cheer "Go Cubs" (We corrected him that he should cheer Go Hawkeyes). He wasn't really into the game, but he was a great kid just the same.

He did get a bit bored, so Joel pulled out the ipod. Maybe next game, Wally will be more into it. Hopefully he will be, as Joel's cousin Drew will be pitching for Indiana next week. I love how Katie often includes pictures from the past, so I dug through the archives, and found our first Hawkeye game when Drew came to town with Indiana in 2009.

He still looks like Wally, but our baby is definitely growing up.

Speaking of, I'm going to be late to picking him up from school! Gotta go!

Thundershirt

2011-04-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Moose is terrified of thunder. Moose is terrified of rain. Moose is terrified of cloudy days. Poor Moose gets so worked up that it seems like he is having a seizure. If we pet Moose, talk to him, or even just look at him, it makes it much worse. Moose also gets even dumber than normal during these times. Last April at least 3 police vehicles were out looking for Moose when he ran away during a storm. I took the dogs to the vet yesterday for routine shots and mentioned that Moose was even more nervous at the time because it was cloudy. The vet immediately said, "Thundershirt." Um, excuse me? What did you say? She proceeded to tell me about her big wussy dog that is also terrified of thunder. They tried everything, even drugs, but then they learned about Thundershirts. They work like swaddling a baby. The pressure on their chest is supposed to make them less anxious (even with non-thunder issues). With the rain starting to come down and thunderstorms predicted (well, face it, we live in Iowa), Wally, Moose, Daisy and I rushed to a pet store and picked up a Thundershirt for Moose. He really did seem calmer during the drive home. Maybe he is just an old dog and he was worn out from the exciting afternoon. There hasn't been any thunder since we got the shirt last night, but he started shaking this afternoon, so I put it on him. I'll up-date everyone to see how he does this weekend. Poor Moose. Hopefully his "Brave shirt" will help.

Spring time randomness...

2011-04-03T10:34:00.001-07:00

Spring is here! Wally and I started our garden (now about 3 weeks ago). I think Wally loves dirt like I do. I local bank has baby animals in its basement every spring. We went a couple years ago, and I can't for the life of me find those pictures. Wally, as always, loved the animals. His favorite this year were the baby ducks.

Though he didn't get to hold the baby chicks this year (last time they pooped in his hand), he though petting them was fun. He really liked comparing the chicks and the ducks.

Then we went to Lowes with Stacy, Sander, and Levi to build a "fortune telling box." I only got my finger smashed once, so I consider it a success!

Later that day, Stacy and family came over and the boys decorated Easter Egg cookies. Wally must be my son and he seemed to think the point of decorating cookies is to get as much frosting as possible on to each cookie.

I think Wally was wondering if he could just pour the frosting right on.

We love our swing on the porch, but it is rather hard. I found some seat cushions that fit it perfectly, so I sewed 2 together. Wally loves playing with the cushion, so it isn't on the swing often.

Wally made a hide-out in the house (notice the swing cushion), but Moose quickly took it over.

We've had pretty good luck since we moved to Iowa City. First Free Happy Meals for a year, and now we just won a family membership to the Children's Museum. Pretty awesome! Since we can go now when it isn't horribly busy, Wally got to try the flight simulator with Daddy. Wally's favorite part was bouncing along on the ground taking out as many houses and trees as he could. Maybe he isn't ready for a ride in the Nighthawk!

Last Sunday was Youth Sunday at church. All of the kiddos got to go to the front and sing "This Little Light of Mine." Unlike at Christmas time, Wally was not shy.

Yes, I was the typical overly-proud mom who videoed and photographed throughout the song.

He's pretty cute though, right?

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Wally and I decided to go visit all of his Grandmas and Papas for spring break. Joel is trying to save up time-off for the adoption, so he was unable to join us. That was a big-time bummer. It just wasn't right doing the trip without him. We missed him a bunch, but we still managed to have some fun. Wally is an amazing traveller and the two of us made the 13 hour drive all by ourselves. Wally listened to books on CD, colored, played I-spy with me, and of course, played on Daddy's ipod. We didn't have any rough spells during the whole drive. I am definitely spoiled to have Wally as my kid! The first full-day at the Reder Ranch we went to Grandma Mary and Papa Randy's church. Then in the afternoon, Wally got to help Grandma empty blue bird houses to get them ready for the spring. Good thing, because we saw several blue birds looking for homes! The we were going to hike up to the hangar to see Papa's plane, but got distracted by the mud. Wally ended up with boots full of water and gloves that were soaking, but it was so much.

Grandma even had to play in the mud some!

After Wally was soaking, he built a bridge so that we didn't have to get wet.

A tradition in our family is to have waffles (my favorite) or pancakes on Saturday mornings. Since we wouldn't be there on a Saturday morning, we had waffles on Monday! Yum!

Grandma had found a big box of my old dolls for me to take home for Sister. It was fun going through those memories and then seeing Wally play with them. I never thought as a kid that my kids would play with them some day.

We also found the box of our old Halloween costumes that my mom had made. Wally loved the lion costume. Maybe he will get to wear it some day when he is a little bigger.

Wally loved Jason's wizard costume as we have been reading the Magic Tree House books about Merlin the magician. I think Wally was bummed that he couldn't take it home.

We then drove up on Monday afternoon to Broadus to first visit Papa Steve and Grandma Cindy. When we got there Papa was just getting ready to go check on his calves as it is calving season. Wally and I excitedly hopped into Papa's new truck and headed to the ranch. Wally even go to ride in the front seat!

The sun was getting low in the sky and was just beautiful shining on the Wolfe Mountains. Papa's ranch is quite beautiful.

We got to see 3 baby calves that had just been born. Papa hadn't even seen them yet! Papa had black calves and white calves. My favorite were the white ones (especially after they were clean, dry, and fluffy), but Wally loved the black ones.

We even got to help Papa heard some cows from one pasture to a coral. Wally is still talking about how the cows thought the people from Iowa were crazy!

We had a lovely dinner with the whole family, though again, it wasn't right without Joel (and Kourtney). Thanks!

Both Linda and Mary are very musically talented. They sound like angels when they sing. Here, Mary played a song that she had written herself. I only managed to catch the last part on video. What a gift!

Then we were off to visit Grandma Kathy and Gator. Wally and Gator had a blast together as they have pretty much the same amount of energy.

What would Wally do with a puppy?!?!!!

Gramma Kathy took us on a walk to the ice cream parlor (The Cooper Moon). Wally was so excited to be getting a milk shake.

When he got it, he seriously only came up for air once or twice before it was gone. I think he had a bit of a brain freeze when he was done!

On the walk back to Gramma's house, we played in the mud again. Nothing is better than Grammas and mud!

We brought Great-Gramma Camilla over for the evening and Wally had to show her his piano that he bought with Christmas money from her. Wally's best song is Jingle Bells. Maybe he will take after Linda and Mary!

Though our trip to Broadus was short, it was great to see everyone. Wally was sure excited to get a marble bag from Gramma Kathy that Bubu (the gorilla) could even fit in!

When we got back to the Reder Ranch, it was just before lunchtime and the weather was nice, so we thought we would get a picnic together and head to Sylvan Lake as Wally had never been there. On the way to Hill City, Wally threw-up. Luckily, I apparently got my puke-catching skills from my mom as she cupped her hands and caught almost all of it! Thanks Grandma! When we got to Sylvan Lake, Wally seemed a bit out of it. We parked and were going to get out for our picnic and Wally said, "I'm too tired to have a picnic." We tipped his chair back and he was out. Guess the boy knows when he is tired!

So, Grandma, Papa, and I ate in the car and then we drove through the hills. Sylvan Lake was beautiful (like always), but looked especially neat as the lake was frozen and covered with snow.

Wally woke up just as we rounded a corner to find the buffalo in Custer State Park.

Our luck continued as we came over a hill and found the "wild" donkeys. These donkeys are not shy at all. Good thing Wally has no fear of animals!

Wally wasn't afraid of the giant teeth chomping at him.

Ah, what a cute donkey. They had the car surrounded! It is perfectly normal to have 2 giant donkey heads leaning in your window trying to eat out of your lap.

Ah, a baby donkey! They were so soft!

Hmm...Grandma Mary says the donkeys were licking the salt off the car, but I have proof suggesting otherwise!

The sun came out and the weather was beautiful, so we stopped at a playground in Custer State Park and enjoyed some swinging.

On the drive home, Wally saw some boulders on Boulder Hill Road that he just needed to climb on. I guess there aren't many of those in Iowa.

The turkeys came out one morning for Wally to feed. The turkeys were more afraid of Wally than of Peni the dog though!

Wally climbed the oak tree by Papa's pond. He decided that it needs a magic tree house in it. There's another project for you Papa and Grandma! Wally and I had a fun ride on the ATV.

Though we were just there in November, a lot has changed at the Reder Ranch. The big old barn is gone and the pond has grown (as have the piles of dirt). I can't wait to see the pond this summer.

One the drive home, I was pooped. I'm sure Wally could have done the whole drive in one day again, but I was just too tired and didn't want to risk it. So, we stopped in Sioux Falls and stayed at a hotel with a big water slide. Wally (and I) loved going down it. I had to make sure to be at the bottom to fetch him out of the water when he came shooting out. Sometimes he would want me to go up with him and I would go first so I could catch him. Other times he would go up by himself, wait in line, and go down - he is getting so grown up!

Wally and I put on about 28 hours of actual driving time (not total travel time) and over 1800 miles. That didn't include the time we spent in cars with our Grandmas and Papas.

It was a great trip and the only thing that would have made it better would have been having Joel with us. I was definitely homesick towards the end, and not for my house.

Wally's Jobs

2011-03-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Wally loves being part of "Team Graff." He started with a few easy "jobs" after dinner...putting hot pads and dips away. Then he started taking all of his dishes to the counter and throwing away his napkins (yes, he still needs several napkins at each meal). Then he added putting the napkins on the table before we eat (though I have to often remind him to do it often). With the raining muddy weather and the dumb dog Moose who insists on being on beds when he comes in from weather like that, Wally got a "morning job" of making his bed, so at least Moose doesn't wallow on his sheets.

Anyway, to get to the pictures. Last week, Wally helped Joel take the trash out in the morning and then got to wait with him at the bus stop. When the bus came, Wally just ran home. This week, Wally was all about taking the trash out for me during the week, and come trash day, he was dressed and ready to go. He helped me get all the trash ready, then hauled the big trash can and the recycling bin to the street. Then off to the bus stop.

When Wally came home, he told me that that taking the trash out is his new job. I have been blessed in so many ways!

What Little We've Been Up To...

2011-03-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago, I had to edit, so Joel took Wally and the dogs out to the farm SW of Iowa City for a hike. On the way, they saw a horse and buggy. How cool is that!?!? Wally had a great time in the snow.

Speed wasn't his thing though...

The dogs appeared to have a blast! Poor Moose always gets nipped by Daisy. Why does his little sister have to pick on him so?

It looks like Daisy was up for more, but Moose is an old dog.The joy of dogs!

Wally found a worm.
He loved the worm...He even learned with the worm...here he made the letter "A" out of the worm... I guess maybe when you start making letters out of worms, you are ready for kindergarten!

The Lake MacBride Raptor Center

2011-02-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we got to have Wally's friend Joel for the afternoon. Since it was sunny, we took advantage of the weather and went to the MacBride Raptor Center. We had never been there though we go to the lake all the time. The Raptor Center cares for injured raptors and tries to re-introduce them to the wild. I don't think they had any that they were rehabilitating at the time, just several owls, hawks, eagles, etc that could never be returned to the wild.

Our favorite owl that made clicking sounds. Neither of us can remember what kind he is though.

A great horned owl.

Though Wally might be huge for a 4 year old, he is pretty puny compared to a bald eagle!

I don't remember what this little guy was, but he is incredibly cute!

We saw this lovely turkey vulture eating a rat. The boys didn't seem to want a dead rat for dinner though!?

The boys had a great time running the trails and climbing the rails. It was a beautiful day!

Who is who? The boys were dressed the same and are nearly the same height, so it was hard to tell who was who!

Bald eagles are just amazing!

This is a blurry video (not sure why that happened), but I loved hearing the eagle "talk."

We had a great time at the Raptor Center and will be out again soon. We've been enjoying watching bald eagles at: www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/

Totally random change of subject...

Wally bought this extension cord winder with his birthday money in August at the church rummage sale. Every-once-in-a-while he brings it out and comes up with some creative thing to do with it. The other day he used it to "launch" balls for the dogs - the balls went about 3 feet. Last night he built a Ferris wheel for his little stuffed animals. I suggested the pipe cleaner, but he did the rest. Engineer! Engineer! Engineer! (That is me cheering him on).

I like how Wally starts humming a tune for the Ferris wheel. I'll have to find one to take him on some day.

A "Quick" Trip to Wyoming

2011-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

On the weekend of the 12th, Joel made a "quick" trip to Wyoming to attend his friend Todd's wedding. I say "quick" because he left Friday morning and returned Sunday night, but it was a 14+ hour drive both ways! The drive was worth it though as he got to spend a lot of time with Todd and a bunch of his high school buddies.Joel also got to spend time with Gramma Kathy and her friends/Joel's friends' moms.
Wally and I missed Daddy, but are glad he got to see his friends and "Daddy's Mommy."

Dancing - For anyone needing a smile today.

2011-02-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

Wally has suddenly started dancing. He likes to turn on classical music in our bedroom and dance away. This morning, we got out the keyboard and he went to town dancing. I like how he changes his dancing based on the type of music.

Youth Strike 2011

2011-02-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to chaperone a group of 6 wonderful youth on a trip to Des Moines for Youth Strike for Christ 2011.We listened to several bands. The kids even went to the front during the concerts, until they decided the bands were "lame."
We used our creativity to enjoy fellowship with other youth and to build a really tall tower with our lunch boxes.
We packaged meals for Meals from the Heartland. These rice and soy-based meals will be sent to Haiti and other areas of the world (including the USA) where people are starving. Between all the youth at the conference, over 46,000 meals were packaged.
All of the kids enjoyed themselves at the dance...they even got me to do the chicken dance!
Though I had to sleep through the Super Bowl, I had a great time. These kids are wonderful and make me feel much better about the future of our world!

The Most Wonderful Sound in the World!

2011-02-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

Wally has been really enjoying playing computer games. It all started with Reader Rabbit from Papa Randy. He's now played games from the Library and recently he's played games on PBSkids.org. I was riding my bike this morning while Wally was playing games on PBSkids. I heard the most wonderful sound. I figured since I knew the camera was handy, I took my chance and got a video.

Mountains of Fun

2011-02-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, our loop finally got plowed. They did a great job making piles of snow for the kids. Whether they had this in mind, or we just got lucky, I don't know. Right across from our driveway is a huge pile, probably twice my height easily. Notice Wally almost to the top standing upright.
But, that isn't all. If you go behind the huge pile, there are just more and more piles. And, the piles go all the way around the loop making a super-fun mountain range to hike around.

This is Wally's climbing tree. His head is probably about at the height of me and Joel's when we are standing on the ground. Wally said, "When you take pictures of me climbing the tree, I fall down." And, he promptly fell out of the tree for this picture. Luckily, he only had about 6 inches to fall, rather than 6 feet.

This is a view of our house from on top of the tallest pile. Actually, I don't think I was even all the way to the top.

Wally and I made a slide down the backside of the big pile. When he stops at the end of the video, he isn't even to the bottom of the pile yet.

I am so thankful I have a kid so I have an excuse to play on the snow piles. I had so much fun! I know some of the neighbor kids were out digging caves after Wally and I went inside. I'm heading to Des Moines this weekend with our youth group, and am rather bummed that I will miss playing in the snow. Since it isn't supposed to get above freezing anytime soon, I'll probably have plenty of chances to play in the snow.

February 2011 Blizzard

2011-02-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

We survived what the news stations were calling the "monster storm" or the biggest storm in 10+ years (I've heard 50+ even). We were, as far as we can tell about 5-10 miles west of the center as it moved through the Midwest. It started snowing yesterday shortly after noon and didn't stop until sometime during the night. It also had consistent wind speeds of 30-40 mph. And, to Moose's dismay, there was even thunder! We all went out to start shoveling at about 7:30 this morning. When I stepped into the garage, this is what I saw... It is hard to say how much snow we actually got because it had drifted so much. We think it was 14-18 inches. But, since it had drifted it was hard and heavy. Joel worked on the sidewalks while I worked on half of the driveway. Wally had a great time playing in the snow and "hiding" in the holes that the wind made around the trees.

We helped one neighbor get unstuck from the road and back into their driveway and saw several other cars attempt to leave, only to get stuck feet into the road. I was hoping the snow plow would come by, as was Wally...

It is now 8:30 pm and no snowplow has made it into our loop. To kinda sum up the storm, we didn't get any mail today. Joel made it to work this afternoon as the buses started up after noon running on only the Saturday schedule. Joel said it was amazing seeing the amount of snow out there in piles around town. Last night I heard that the National Guard was called into Iowa City to help with snow removal and rescuing stranded cars. Here is one of the piles from only half of the driveway. It is about this tall all the way to the road.

There is a beautiful drift outside our bedroom window on the roof between our room and the porch. This picture was actually taken from outside underneath it.

Our house looked like it had been pelted with snow. I guess it was. Our bushes certainly weren't very happy. This was also the first time that I've seen any moisture under our porch and I think there are two inches of snow or so down there.

The dogs didn't know what to think of the snow. They seemed to think it was pretty fun, but then realized that it was pretty cold. They haven't been out much today.

After nap today, Wally and I went outside again. The neighbor kids had come over this morning to play in our snow piles. They made a cave that then collapsed (it was empty at the time). There was still a small tunnel for Wally though. As I dug it out a little so he could crawl through it, I found some of the original cave. Needless to say, it made my job easier. Between Joel and I, I think we put in roughly 4 hours of shovelling today, and still don't have the entire driveway cleared.

Wally has such a great imagination these days. This was his "Jewel cave" that was full of sparkling jewels. He also had to put snowballs into the cave as this is what Max from "Where the Wild Things Are" did in the movie (that he has been watching).

Joel and I hurt. There was so much heavy snow. We were jealous of our neighbors that have snow blowers, but appreciated the fact that we don't have a corner lot! Once the weather warms up, this snow should be a ton of fun!

A Random Slow January

2011-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

This January has been slow. The weather has been cold, so we haven't done much outside and we just haven't gone anywhere. We pretty much read a lot. Wally has really gotten into the Magic Tree House book series. Joel tried reading the first book to Wally in the beginning on January on his Kindle. I thought he was crazy trying because Wally has a hard time sitting still and there are not many pictures in chapter book. I was wrong! Boy was I wrong. Since that first book, we have read through book 13 and are headed to the library for more. Luckily, there are over 40 books in the series and the librarian recommended another series for when we are done. Our baby is growing up!

Speaking of babies...here is our original baby. Scouty Babe is over 8 years old now! And, in her old age, she is getting braver...other people have actually sighted her when they visit! Wally loves to make "chocolate fudge cake" (aka any chocolate cake type thing). He is getting to be a really good helper and is learning about fractions with the measuring cups.

He does still cook like Wally though, resulting in a lot of clean-up and laundry!

Maybe I am biased (OK, I know I am), but the kid is a genius! He is always building things with his toys and mixing his different toys together to build new things. A couple weeks ago, he called me over to show me what he built. Using tinker toys, Legos, and marbles, he rigged up a thing that he could put marbles on one side of the "wall" in middle and then use a "hammer" made of tinker toys to hit another marble into the opposite side of the wall to make the first marbles go flying. I tried to get a video, but of course it didn't work out...Engineering, here comes Wally!

For something different, we actually went out to dinner one night last week. None of us had ever been to an IHOP that we could remember, so we tried it out. Wally got a huge pancake that he could decorate like a face with fruit and yogurt. It was a lot of fun, but awfully expensive for pancakes! Notice his sweater. How cute can you get? Some friends from church gave it to Wally as they didn't need it anymore.

Drum roll....My first quilt! I know you all have been excited to see the wonderful creation that is my first quilt. Being Grandma Wynja's favorite granddaughter should come with a certain set of skills, right? Well, I'm pretty sure they got passed to Katie through some weird case of lateral transfer, but any how, I made a quilt! Since Wally and I made fleece tie blankets for Brother, Sister, and Wally, he's been wanting to make a quilt out of the 4-inch squares that we cut from the corners of the blankets. Last weekend, I finally tried. I got better and figured out a few tricks, but really, how good can a quilt be that starts with very-much-not-square squares made out of fleece? I kind of like it because it is made up of parts of the blankets for all 3 of my kids. After I was all done and the sewing machine was put away, Wally pointed out that I forgot the pocket in the middle. (A pocket??!?!??) So, out came everything and I sewed a big Cubs pocket in the middle from fabric left over from Joel and Wally's scarves. Well, Firedog is happy with his quilt (as is Wally). Maybe someday, like 20 some years from now, I will get into quilting in my spare time!

Wally has played with shaving cream a couple times at school recently and has been begging me to get some so that he could play at home. This past week, I swear the kid has grown up a lot. I used to hate taking him shopping because he would wander away and ask constantly for things and throw fits if I didn't give in (though in reality, I think he has always been pretty good). But, last week, it was actually fun and helpful having him there. He helped me find stuff and would ask if something was on sale before asking me if we could get it. If I said no, he would say, "Maybe it will be on sale next time." There were some other examples of him being a big kid too, but I can't think of it. Anyway, I bought him the shaving cream and he's had a lot of fun with it. So has Dad...

Today we were trying to figure out what to do, and Joel said, "Well, it is as warm as it is going to get for a while (aka about 32 degrees), so lets go for a walk in the park. We went to Hickory Hill and took the dogs...stressful because there were other people who dared to bring their dogs to the park when we did! It was nice to get outside though.

A rare picture of Joel and I. Wally is getting good with the camera!

After hiking, we played Play-doh. Wally had a great imagination. The last thing he worked on was building a bear cave and grizzly bears. He then wrote a song about grizzly bears...

Here is me and Wally doing the Grizzly bear dance.

Tonight, Wally told me that he loves me more than God loves me. Wow! That makes a mom feel good!

Steve's Kid

2011-01-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

So many reasons to be proud of Joel...

Maybe facial hair isn't one of those things.

Home on the Range

2011-01-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Wally loves dressing up in his cowboy clothes. Last night, he put on his vest and jacket from Papa Steve and started singing his version of Home on the Range. He wouldn't stop and let us go over the words with him, so this is not quite the traditional version. This first video is Wally "singing pretty" for Mommy and Daddy.

We got Wally to sing the "pretty" version only by promising that we would video his "silly" version next.

Katie told me that Reder said that Wally is one of his favorite things because he does silly things that Reder doesn't do. I think this would qualify. I'm pretty sure I've heard his other cousins say similar things about Wally.

Ethiopian Christmas

2011-01-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

January 7th is the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas. To celebrate, we made Ethiopian food (Doro wat, injera, honey bread, and sweet potato green beans). I'm getting better at making doro wat as it was actually mild enough for me to enjoy it this time (I suppose that means it was less authentic though). I was apparently too excited to eat and I forgot about taking a picture.

What makes a holiday special is being able to celebrate with friends. It just so happened that Jen Isaacs (Papa Murr's daughter) had surgery on her hand in Cincinnati the day before and Iowa City is a perfect half-way point for the drive home. It was great to see Jen and Robert again and get to spend some time with them. Moose is growing up. He used to be scared of strangers, especially men, but man, did he love Jen and especially Robert! Jen and Robert were sitting on the couch, and Moose decided that he could fit so he could be with his new BFF.