San Antonio, here we come!

This next Sunday we are leaving to go to San Antonio for a week – assuming I find paper route substitutes in the meantime!  Greg has a business trip there so he will be in class all day Monday – Friday, but the kids and I are going along for the ride.  I’m sure we will have no trouble finding things to do to entertain ourselves during the days.  If nothing else, sitting around in the hotel room sounds nice.  No housework looming over me.  I could read and do puzzle books … ahhh, I’m relaxing already!  J  Oh, and there will probably be a swimming pool.  That will make the girls very, very happy!  The hotels they book for these business trips are usually pretty fancy ones.  Not the Super 8 where we normally stay!  We’ve gone to San Antonio at least once before, and I think it was the Holiday Inn Express, which was really nice.  When we went to St. Louis several years ago, we stayed in a place that was just unbelievable.  It had an indoor stream with a waterfall, running right through the lobby.  And there was a red carpeted staircase that wound down through the middle of it.  Oh, and glass elevators.  It was first class!

I am thinking I may take the kids to the San Antonio zoo one day by myself.  I can put Greyson in the stroller or on his monkey leash, and it’ll be fun.  On Saturday before we head home on Sunday, we are planning to go to SeaWorld.  Hopefully one day will be enough to spend there.  I just need to get online and plan out our day to make sure we know where to be when.

One of the main things I am looking forward to is getting to eat out every day.  That probably sounds silly, but eating out is something I really enjoy, even if it’s just Taco Bell.  Or actually, especially if it is Taco Bell.  And it’s not because I’m getting out of cooking.  My husband is the real cook in our house, anyway.  And he likes doing it.  Go figure!  Didn’t I get lucky?  J

Happy Tuesday!

Videos Added ...

In case you are interested, I went back and added a couple of videos to Greyson's birthday post. One of Greyson blowing out birthday candles and one of Makaley doing the same. You'll have to go back to the Older Posts page to find them, though.

Annaliese Coker

I had to add just one more thing before I go to bed ...

Many of you know about my friend Kelly (and her husband Kenneth) who waited for what seemed like forever before they finally got to adopt a second baby girl this last February. I thought I'd post a picture of her since I talk about them so much. Anna was born February 18th. Hard to believe it's been a whole three months!! Anna is a beautiful little girl and a very content baby. I am amazed at how attentive she is. She really takes in the world! These pictures were taken last Tuesday.

Susannah's Talent Show Performance, May 20

Storms!

Today we had an adventure. We were just hanging out around the house when a friend of mine called and asked if we'd been watching the weather. Of course, we hadn't, so I was grateful that she called. Turns out there was a tornado heading right for us! It was about 2:50, and it was expected to hit Waukomis at 3:02. So we rounded up the older dogs and cats and put them in the bathroom. We stuck the baby kitties in a Rubbermaid tub with air holes in the lid we once used for a mouse cage and ran with them and the kids across the street to our neighbor's house. As we filed down into their shelter all soaking wet, I couldn't help but think about how nice it will be in our new house to have our own storm shelter in the garage!

We stayed in there for quite a while. Greyson probably didn't understand exactly what was going on, but he kept looking up towards the cellar door and asking, "Is it coming? Is the storm coming?" The tornado never did make it to Waukomis, thankfully. There were several funnels touching down in different directions all around us that the news followed all afternoon and evening. But we were fine. A pig farm not too far away was hit, but amazingly, the pigs all survived!

The rest of this day went along uneventfully. Susannah, I'm afraid, seems to have come down with a fever. Funny how our kids always seem to get sick on weekends. We very seldom have to miss work due to illnesses, but one of us is always missing Sunday church services to stay home with a sick child!

And now that it is about bedtime, of course, I have finally gotten some energy. I felt pretty blah most of this day and struggled to be productive, so it's tempting to stay up and make use of it. But I'd regret that decision tomorrow. You know how that goes!

Kitty Update

Well, our baby kitties had their first vet appointment a week ago Friday. They are doing well, except for a pretty severe case of ear mites. The doctor said they probably got those as soon as their ears opened, as bad as it was in both of them. And of course, those are incredibly contagious so our other four pets had to be treated as well. Not a big deal, I guess. We did get some surprising news, however. Turns out Patches really is a girl! :) We thought she was a girl, and then we thought she was a boy. Guess we were right the first time. Who knew?!

I'm attaching a new picture of them. They are just best buds, and I'm so glad we got both of them so they will always have each other. They are still really friendly with us, although that may change if Greyson does not start being more careful with them. He wants to hold one of them constantly, but then he swings them around and tosses them. He also squeezes their tummies and pulls them by the neck. Ornery, ornery!

Child #3

And now for #3. Greyson Jay was a little bit of a surprise. I wanted a third baby, we'd always talked about having three kids. But Greg was thinking of backing out on me. I was trying to change his mind but had been unsuccessful so far when I found out I was pregnant! (Greg was happy once it happened, of course.) I so expected this one to be another girl, too. What a shock when we found out it was a boy! At 17 weeks, the doctor said it was early but if he were to guess, he'd say boy. Well, I thought about that and then decided, "Nah, it's a girl." Then we had the big ultrasound at the hospital, and because of his position, I guess, the technician couldn't see much of anything she was looking for -- not the heart, the lungs, nothing. She said we'd probably have to reschedule, but by the way, she was pretty sure it was a boy. Well, I really scoffed at that. I mean, she hadn't been able to see anything else! By our next appointment, however, I had begun to think maybe it could be slightly possible, but I was still unconvinced. But not for long. That ultrasound left no mistake. And so it was, we got ourselves a boy on April 21, 2005.

And quite the boy he is! Greyson is one busy guy, but for all his running around, he has an amazing attention span. He loves to write and draw. His magnadoodle is his favorite toy, although he calls it his markerboard. His other passion is Blue's Clues. He's been into that for an entire year now, and it is a very educational show! The other day Greyson asked me to hand him something, which he called by name but I just couldn't understand what he was saying. Finally I realized he was wanting an empty toilet paper roll that was sitting on the counter, but he was calling it a telescope! A little later, we were watching a Blue's Clues episode, and sure enough, they were using a telescope. I should have known! :)

Greyson also loves music and dancing. After church every Sunday, he heads up to the front of the auditorium to find the cordless microphone they always leave laying on the front pew. And then he's up on the "stage" performing. I need to remember to stick the camera in the bag one of these days.

Greyson is good at his job as the little brother. He picks on Makaley constantly, it seems. They have a good relationship, but he does enjoy making her scream. He and Susannah don't bicker too much, as she tends to mother him quite a bit. But Susannah and Makaley now, they argue. In fact, if the last 3 days are any indication of what's in store, this is going to be a LONNNNGGG summer. :)

Child #2

Makaley Beth is our second baby, the middle child. Born April 6, 2003, she just recently turned five years old. She is very outgoing and a bit headstrong. I used to worry about how we were going to handle her, but she has turned out to be pretty balanced. At least at this moment in time, she knows what she wants but she can be swayed to see the light when necessary. J Makaley doesn't seem to worry about much; her demeanor is more carefree. She enjoys doing a lot of different things and just takes life as it comes.

Makaley has just finished up Pre-K and will be moving into to all-day Kindergarten next year. She is excited about this. I am curious to see how she will do; it was a difficult transition for Susannah. Makaley also does well in school and has made a lot of friends.

Her interests also include soccer and gymnastics. She really got after that soccer ball this year! She is a surprisingly aggressive player, but we shouldn't have been surprised considering she had watched Susannah's team play for so long. She knew what to do and was ready to do it! This summer, Makaley is really looking forward to taking swimming lessons.

Child #1

I thought it would be fun to write a little about each of my kids, so here's my first entry:

Susannah Grace is the oldest of our three kiddos. Born December 7, 2000, she is almost 7 ½ years old. She seems to fit the descriptions you find in birth order books to a large degree. She's definitely a pleaser. She wants everyone to be happy and she tries hard to make that happen. She's also pretty sensitive, however, and gets her feelings hurt occasionally. I don't think I would say she wears her heart on her sleeve, but she does take things personally sometimes. She is also a worrier, but that's probably a learned behavior she got from her daddy. J

Susannah really does well in school and enjoys it, too. I can't believe she will be in 2^nd grade next year! Her teacher says she is a leader in the classroom. She is the most reserved of our three children, so I am relieved to know that – at least so far – she doesn't seem to be as shy as I always was.

Her interests include soccer and gymnastics. She talks a lot about cheerleading, so maybe that is in her future as well. I was almost surprised when she came home recently and said she had signed up to enter the school talent show! There was nothing that could have made me do that when I was her age, but she was excited. This was another encouraging moment assuring me that she will fare well socially in the world. She decided to perform with her skipper, and was very happy the morning after the tryouts to see that she made the list. The talent show was this past week and she did wonderfully. We were very proud!

Nothin' new on my side of the fence!

Well, gee, how did a whole week go by without my even noticing?! Guess that is what happens when you are too busy to see straight. Life has actually been pretty uneventful around here lately, which is unusual but nice for a change. Greg's dad came up on Thursday for a visit. He likes to go the the annual Steam Engine show in Pawnee, OK, which is about an hour away, so he did that on Friday. The girls were out of school on Friday so they spent the whole morning playing outside with their neighborhood friends. The only negatives I have come up with so far about moving to our new house is that the kids won't have anywhere to ride their bikes and they won't have friends close by to play with at a moment's notice. But I guess those things can be worked around. Playdates and bike rides can both be planned.

We've been to the soccer field a few extra times this week and will be back there this afternoon as well. Susannah's head coach signed their team up for a tournament next weekend. We've never done that before, but it should be fun. I may have to find a sitter for Greyson, though. Chasing him around out there is a full-time job! It's a huge space of back to back fields with big hills (dikes) around the edges. Sometimes he is well entertained rolling down the dikes over and over, but most days, I really have to watch him. This year at least he knows to stay off the fields and usually does, thank goodness, but he doesn't like to stay close. After our game was over a few weeks ago, I told him he could play on the field, which is our normal routine. (After keeping him off for an hour or more, he is finally allowed to kick a goal!) Well, I thought Greg was with him and Greg thought I still had him, and by the time we discovered he was gone, he was all the way back in the parking lot -- a good five minute walk away! Fortunately, some of our friends came across him as they were leaving. So needless to say, I keep much closer tabs on him now. Oh, the joys of being a soccer mom ...

Today we are also going to an asssisted living center in Enid to deliver goody bags for Join Hands Day. This particular project is sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America, which is a fraternal organization that we got involved in when we purchased life insurance policies for our kids. They sell insurance, that's their main thing, but then there are activities monthly for the children to attend and several other "perks," if you will. I actually head up a Modern Woodmen youth service club, which is the group going to the nursing home today. MWA is just one of many organizations doing this sort of thing today, however.

Okay, well, consider yourself caught up on my life. Now let me know what's going on in yours! Have a great weekend!