VBS

Gerrit was not too excited to go Backstage with the Bible this week at VBS. I was soo excited because the church a block away was doing Go Fish's curriculum and I have wanted Gerrit to be part of it. We even skipped swimming lessons this year so he could attend.

Monday morning came and he wasn't going to go. I pulled out the Go Fish t-shirt I had been saving until it fit him (still too big) and that helped a little. He refers to it as his "Jamie t-shirt" as well as all the music is "Jamie music" because he knows him. Anyways, Gerrit kept asking if he could take the pencils home after vacation Bible school - I think he was hung up on the word 'school' which reminded me of a backpack I had gotten free when I bought some books. So, I pulled that out and then he was ready and willing to go! (by 8:30 and it didn't start till 9)

I thought I'd do the mom thing and take a picture of him ready to go - like the first day of school:

That didn't go over too well, so I snuck one in while he couldn't see me. He wanted to ride his bike the first day which was fine, it was only a block up the street:

Needless to say, his excitement wore off by the time we got to the door of the school/church. He did not want me to leave him. We waited for his friend Abby and he even saw a former playmate from daycare that would be in his class. Still, he wasn't going to let me leave. But I did anyways, as he was screaming I bolted for the door. I did stick around long enough to make sure he stopped (I didn't want to leave the teachers with a screaming kid for 2+ hours!).

It was a great experience and he loved every minute of it. What I loved was the teachers are the preschool teachers for the school and they did such a great job of making him feel welcome and get his mind off of me leaving and joining in with the other kids. (He'll go to this preschool next year.) It only took 3 days for him to go through the whole crying bit as I left. Thursday and Friday were a breeze! He asked if he could line up with the other kids and everything! Made me so proud!!

Today they had a little program where they talked about what they learned each day and sang a few songs. Here are Abby (in the coral skirt, blond hair) and Gerrit waiting for the program to start - in their t-shirts they made this week:

Love the zoom lens and cheesy smile! (he's ready for school pictures)

Wait! Where's Gerrit? Oh ya, as the program began and the little kids sang their first song, Gerrit bolted for the pew and sat by me!

Look! He's back...ran back up front and sat down and even joined in a whole group song!

Missing again, we sat too close to the front - made it too easy for Gerrit to go back and forth!

And he reunites with the group again! He never did sing with his age group - just the large group:

And some times refused to join in and do the motions:

Sometimes he felt the spirit and joined the group with the motions, usually a little delayed. Lucky for him, he knew most of the songs as he listens to the CDs every night as he falls asleep. My favorite is the B-O-B-O-E (also knows to others as the BIBLE!) its so cute the way he says it!

And after a week going backstage with the BIBLE:

It was a Matter of Time

before Gerrit realized how easy it was just to start the night out in Mom/Dad's bed rather than his bed!

He always asks to sleep in our bed and we tell him, no he has a great bed of his own. So he goes to sleep in his bed but usually joins us early morning sometime.

The other night I went up to bed and this is what I found. The night light was on and everything! He decided our bed was better than his.

When we asked him the next day about it, he said our bed was bigger - he had more room.

I love how he brought Buzz and "Moody" - Woody to the common folk with him to bed!

Track Meet

Every Tuesday night in Rochester they have a kids track meet. We've forgotten all summer and finally remembered! We rushed out the door and met up with our friends the Rockne's only to get there and Gerrit wanting nothing to do with the whole event! I quickly got him in line for the 50 m dash and when it was time to run, he wouldn't so I held his hand and ran with him only to have him start crying! Yep, he cried the whole time - thank goodness it was only a 50!

We tried getting him to get in line to do the long jump but again, he wanted nothing to do with it. So we said we'd leave (after all the work getting there on time!) but he wanted to stay and watch. He finally wanted to run with dad - on the grass:

He then warmed up to the idea of running on the track - of course, opposite of the events where no one was around:

Finally he was ready to give it a try and run...unfortunately the 3 yr olds had already run the 100m! I told Adam to just get him in line, who cares if he missed his age group - the kid wants to run! So Adam goes to the starting line with him:

Can you guess what age they were up to when Gerrit ran (in the above picture)? 6 yr olds!

Here he is, happy as a lark running the 100 m dash:

The gang taking a break between races:

Gerrit wanted to race again so we waited for the 200 m dash. This time he did run with his age group.

Dad is in the lead....Gerrit checking out the competition and Dad counting how many kids he's passed (who's competetive?).

Getting a smily face at the finish line

Taking a much needed drink after that long 200 m dash

Gerrit finally wanted to do the long jump and luckily the line was much shorter than the 1st time we tried to get him to get in line. Check out that air! His furthest jump (all of 2 jumps) was 2'6"

We decided it was time to head home (even though I think Gerrit would've ran the 400 if we let him). As we were walking to the car we passed a ball diamond so the kids had to run the bases (Matt's idea)

Gerrit was safe at home, thanks to great umping by Matt and Abby

The big ribbon Gerrit received for partcipating in the track meet.

I think we'll go next year, just not on the last meet of the summer as it was pretty busy. We decided that in order for Gerrit to warm up to soccer camp (which we paid for), I'll have to brin him early enough to see what is going on and give him a chance to get use to the whole idea. Once he tries things, he loves it and has a great time, its just getting the kid to get started that is the challenge!

My Little Music Machine

The trumpeter

the audience

live show

totally entertained

audience participation:

Guard Dog

While I was hanging laundry on the line, Emmit was chillin in his bumbo seat. Mrs. Putney heard Gerrit and came over to check out what the kids were doing. She loved that Emmit was at her level and gave him lots of kisses (which Emmit wasn't too sure about).

Mrs. Putney decided to lay next to him and keep an eye on him. (I got Gerrit to join them for this photo.) She is such a sweet dog and loves it when the boys are outside. We hope her joints feel better and she lives a long time!

The Lazy Way

Yesterday we went to the Red Wing water park with Rockne's and Dahlen's (I should say, Nikki and I took all the kids to the water park). It was hot and the kids had a blast! I wanted to get some good pictures (for all my scrapbooking I am able to do - HA!) but Emmit wasn't cooperating and didn't want to take his nap. Once I finally got him to sleep, I was too lazy to get out of my chair to take pictures...so these pictures were taken from my lawn chair in the shade with my super zoom lens :) (except for the top and bottom left and bottom right picture). Not bad for taking them sitting down! I love how the water is captured midair. I don't think my normal lens does as nice of a job getting the water to stand still (I'll have to remember that!)

Following a long afternoon at the water park, we met the guys for dinner after they rode to the restaurant.

Splish Splash

Tuesday we went over to Lake Pepin for swimming and a birthday party. Gerrit of course hung out at the steps or along the edge of the pool. Paul took it upon himself to pry Gerrit away from his comfort zone and enter the middle of the pool. Not to anyone's surprise, Gerrit liked it! After dinner, Gerrit wanted Paul to go swimming again so he could go into the middle of the pool. Here are a few shots:

My favorite is the large photo.

Next week Gerrit goes to Bible School up the street. I'm working on getting him excited as my fear is that I too will be going to Bible school next week! I think like most things with him, if he is forced to try it, he will like it, it's getting him to try it that is the kicker!

Foody Thursday

The radio station I listen to has a 'foody Thursday' segment and seeing this is a food entry and it is Thursday, I thought I'd title it the same...

Seeing we are just entering the life of solid foods now with Emmit, I was curious how the 2 boys compared in their 'first feeding' pictures...

What Did I Expect?

when:

1.) 3 yr old takes too long of a nap

2.) 3 yr old is still up at 9:30 when you go up to read before bed

3.) you don't lock the 3 yr old in his room

{Yes, I locked the 3 yr old in his room before I took this photo!}

what's missing from this photo is the green soap that is on the wall and light switch!

At least the bathroom smells apply fresh!

Not Quite Sure...

if I have what it takes to be the mom of boys...

Today I had to play army men which I can say I've never played before. I think I fooled Gerrit enough, especially with my voice gestures...

Next: me 'shooting' Gerrit while he rode his hobby horse up and down the hallway (while I was changing Emmit's diaper)

Finally: I had to build Gerrit a train track. He received 1/2 of Max's Brio set last week and doesn't quite know how to build a track, so I had to step in and help. [I must say, Aunt Erika can build steller tracks and towns, maybe I should take lessons from her.]

I can only hope the humidity breaks so we can head back outside and play sports - much more my style!

Vacation Continued...

The 4th of July we had fun at the parade, hanging out with Aunt Cara, Bill, Aunt Coral, and Scott, hobo pies, and smore's...

Miscellaneous times throughout the week...

And of course golfing! A vacation wouldn't be complete without a few trips to the greens...

(Golf photos are compliments of Bill)

As you can see we had a very busy and fun time in Michigan. We are happy to be home and have more space than a trailer can offer.

Where Have We Been All Week?

We headed to MI (as most of you know because you saw us!) for the 4th. You'll notice a few pictures have 2 more boys in them than normal. We took our friends Luke and Paul with us as they have been wanting to experience Sandy Pines - and they did that and then some! Here are a few pictures from our vacation:

Playing in the water as it was very hot and humid most days....

Played with our cousins at their house and cottage...

Emmit's favorite part of the vacation: eating, sleeping on Oma's lap, standing, and the attention from the ladies:

Hanging out with the Birr side of the family...