Closer...
C'mon, a little closer...
I’m disappointed in myself for letting my blog go dark for so long. There’s a lot to share but I have a limit to how much I’ll write at once so here’s the quick and dirty ~
We’re reading the 2nd How to Train Your Dragon and in it is a one-eyed Saber-Toothed Driver Dragon that Greyson seems to appreciate more than Hiccup, the hero of the story. A few nights ago, in an effort to stall his bedtime, he starts making connections that go something like this:
The one-eyed dragon is like One-Eyed Willie. One-Eyed Willie has one eye because he’s called One-Eyed Willie. The dragon would like him because he’s a pirate and dragons and pirates are both really cool!
From there, he tells me that he wants to go to heaven to see Hayden (did I mention that our beloved cat of 12 years died this summer?) in 20 days, because that’s a long, long, long time. This after he asked if Hayden was in a container like Grandma. I wish I could say he went to bed after this, but the conversation went in yet another direction while I pondered how to be better prepared next time for my death, heaven and God responses since I’m consistently tongue-tied as I try to preserve my dead grandmother’s memory.
We do miss Hayden. Grey said the first thing he’ll do (in 20 days, remember) is give him a BIG hug! I still find little reminders of him, like the towel in the corner of my closet covered in his black hair, the eye goop on the bottom of the bathroom door, a brown dot on the carpet where he sneezed. He used to drive us crazy with his snorting and sneezing and goopy eyes but he had the best personality and at the end even the veterinary staff commented on what a sweetheart he was.
GREY*isms*
* Dear Lord, forgive me for lying to my child, but for your home’s sake, why can’t a girl put her hair up after a LONG day that still isn’t over for fear of the argument she’ll get in with said child who is at that moment more than 1500 miles away?
I’ll sign off tonight with a pretty photo that I took after a round of golf at the Golf Club @ Newcastle. A beautiful course on a beautiful day.
It feels like ages ago that we got to enjoy 10 beautiful August days in Wisconsin. Mike’s mom likes this pic so much it might end up on their Christmas card…I figure we can photoshop Jake into the picture. He’s not in it because he’s driving the boat.
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I think I mentioned that school started last week. It’s a preschool program for 4 year olds at the same school we had him in last year (remember, the one we pulled him out of in December because he had such a hard time?)
I’ll keep you posted. The missing day was not for illness although the screaming crying fit thrown in the school parking lot was pretty sick. Today was a good day. No tears. His teacher is awesome. She’s going to be the reason he makes it through.
GREY*isms*
(after putting a pile of hot peas onto his dinner plate)
Both boys have colds right now but they’re powering through.
Graham is somehow going to be 11 months old next week. I’m not sure how that happened. We’re just going to pretend that his 1st birthday is next year. He still has only 1 tooth and isn’t walking or talking so I think he can pass as a toddler for a while. If you hear him say ‘hi’, ‘dada’, ‘mama’ or ‘all done’, it’s a figment of your imagination. He might look like he can stand for long periods of time but that’s because he has a low center of gravity. Any signs of dexterity is just luck or brilliance. Not age. Not maturity. So be quiet. He’s just a baby.
I’m starting this blog with little idea of where it might go and I’ll warn you now that I’m A) crabby B) tired and C) missing my boys because Hurricane Earl couldn’t get his fat ass off the coast before my plane landed. We did enough circles above JFK to get us back to Ireland. I watched 3 full length movies, read a book, took a nap and still had time to spare. I wish I could say it’s over, but I still have to get to Seattle from NYC. A mere 8 hours more and I’ll be home.
I stayed at the Dylan hotel and loved it. Dublin is a wonderful city with friendly and accommodating people who are truly interested in getting to know you. I found myself complaining about the talkativeness of my cab driver and then stopped. A friendly cab driver who proactively describes the neighborhoods, traffic patterns, places to eat, drink, or “get a cup of coffee and sit on the canal”? Refreshing, not annoying. The only thing that would have made it better would have been my sweet Graham sitting next to me clapping his little hands and Greyson asking to take the LUAS up and down the island.
…the 2 paragraphs above were written on Friday, September 3rd. Today is Labor Day and I’m sorry to say that I’m on a plane again. This time back to Canada for a round of golf and some meetings. I get home on Thursday and I plan to stay there for the foreseeable future (aside from a quick trip to Wisconsin in 2 weeks). Rather than start my blog over I decided to keep the original material to prove to all of you that I really do think about blogging often enough to keep you interested. The trouble is actually putting pen to paper and publishing it.
Here’s a few snippets from the past few weeks:
Happy Labor Day.
OK, 2 days later and I’m planning on actually publishing this post. Greyson starts school today. I called him last night and he’s so excited. I’m sorry that I won’t be there to see him off. He’s not giving kisses anymore unless it’s just the two of us. If someone else is in the room and I ask for a kiss, he makes everyone else close their eyes. He started wiping them off a long time ago. He thinks it’s funny. I try to laugh about it too but deep down, I’m wondering how this is happening so soon.
Pictures will be posted this weekend, I promise.
Coming to you live from the shores of Lake Tomahawk…pictures will post later this week when I find the sync cord for my Nikon.
We’re on day 5 of our 11 day Wisconsin vacation. Days 1-3 consisted of a highly anticipated annual golf outing for Mike with his college fraternity brothers. (He had ZERO fun) The kids and I spent an awesome weekend with my family on Silver Lake where Greyson entertained by pouring a cup of milk over his head at dinner and Graham ate sweet corn off of his highchair tray with no hands.
GREY*isms*
So, a few hours later, while putting his jammies on, he tooted. I said,“What do you say?” to which he replied “Remember, I lost my manners? I told you that already!”
I turned 36 a few weeks ago. 4 more years before Mike throws me a decade party. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to outdo himself from my 30th (insert the winking smiley face here). We were reminded of how great that party was when looking at old pictures; especially Patrick Blessing’s homage, written and performed by him, accompanied by his big brother on guitar. It was the highlight of the party (parts of it made our families blush).
Graham’s 1st tooth came in a few days after my birthday and since then, he’s climbed the stairs on his own and is pulling himself up on everything and starting to cruise around. We give him 1 month before walking begins. His best new move right now though is waving hello with his left hand. Say hi to him and you’ll get a wave, guaranteed. It’s awesome.
GREY*isms*
We had our first order of fried cheese curds today. It’s not possible to come to Wisconsin and NOT order the fried cheese curds. At some point this week I’ll go for a run, but not tomorrow.
To those of you we’ve seen this week, thank you for contributing to an already memorable summer vacation. To those of you we have yet to see, we’re looking forward to additional fun in the sun.
GREY*isms*
Happy August!
On Thursday, July 22nd, Greyson said:
We lost our friend Patrick Blessing. The world lost a son, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a philanthropist, a comedian, a soon-to-be-dad. Last week we mourned his death and celebrated his life. We miss him.
My comfort comes in knowing that God enveloped Patrick in His arms. Heaven’s laughter is louder since he arrived. Patrick sang, he danced, he loved. He didn’t watch life, he lived it. He was Superman. Peter Pan. He was loved.
Patrick beat leukemia over 15 years ago and this condition prevented him from qualifying for life insurance. Mike and I are joining forces with Patrick’s friends and family to make sure that his beautiful wife and unborn daughter are taken care of. Click Here to view the Memorial Facebook page or Email us directly for more information.
“To die will be an awfully big adventure” James M Barrie, Peter Pan
GREY*isms*
(putting on his “magic” Wobble-Goggles)
I believe he could.
Northwest Trek animal park is a very cool adventure for kids and adults that’s about an hour South of us. It’s an opportunity to see native animals in their own habitats. It’s like a zoo without the cages and glass and faux rocks and depressing looks on the faces of animals in captivity. Don’t get me wrong, we take our kids to the zoo too, but it was a refreshing change; the least of which was the landscape.
So you can walk through the forest at your own pace and view cougars, lynx, bobcats, owls, eagles, brown and grizzly bears and wolves. Take an hour long tram ride and you’ll see bison, buffalo, moose, caribou, black-tailed deer and other herbivores. Greyson was like himself in a candy store. A key-lime lollipop unnecessarily added to his natural high.
The climax of the day was a view of Mt. Rainier. We’ve been out here for 2 years and this never gets old. It still takes my breath away every time I see it.
I can’t believe we’re over halfway through the summer already! We’ve got an action packed rest of July and August and before we know it, Labor Day will be here and in Greyson’s mind, everything starts after that. “First Halloween, then Thanksgiving and THEN Christmas, and then my birthday.”
GREY*isms*
Ireland was a fantastic whirlwind. I met a guy from Delafield on the Guinness tour. It was a great trip, but even better to be home again.
A view of Ireland from the Guinness Factory
What’s Ireland without a leprechaun?
What’s Ireland without a Guinness (or two)?
Johnsons, Goehlers and Sibleys…can’t wait to see all of you in Colorado. 10 days and counting. Cheers!
There is not a prettier place in the United States then Seattle right now. The locals say (INCESSANTLY) that summer doesn’t start until July 5th. We landed at Sea-Tac airport at 2:45pm on July 5th after a gorgeous and relaxing but far too short weekend in Minocqua with Mike’s family and we were welcomed by sunshine, no humidity and a beautiful view of the mountains. We heard that it rained over the weekend but on that day, you couldn’t tell.
Our faces continue to be warmed by the sun. The mountains, all of them, have been “out” in all their splendor. With temps in the “no humid 90’s”, we’ve enjoyed hours outside and a wonderful visit with Carrie Roca-Dawson and Payton Blessing who are in town for a wedding this weekend. They’re attending the rehearsal dinner now so I’m finding some time to blog a bit before life, once again, gets crazy. Mike will be in the Tri-Cities tomorrow and I’m on a plane to Dublin, Ireland for the week. We’ll hit Breckenridge, Colorado for a long weekend with college friends and our kids at the end of the month before going back to Toronto for a week in early August for work and then a much-needed week’s vacation back to Wisconsin before school starts.
Here’s Payton, 13 going on 30 (taken this afternoon) with the Seattle skyline behind her. It was a beautiful day for a visit to Alki beach, where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.
Payton’s uncle Patrick, a dear friend to us and hundreds of others across the world, needs prayer, good ju-ju, lots of thoughts and just all around love coming to him and his family as he fights for his life after suffering a major heart attack. Visit the Care pages website that his wife Christy updates when she can: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Pblessing. They need all of the support they can get.
Enjoy the latest of our boys. Greyson continues to blurt out *isms* but I’m failing miserably at remembering to write them down. He did ask me why I don’t feed Graham from my boobs. Geez, even my 4 years lays a guilt trip on me for selfishly depriving my youngest of his mother’s milk.
Happy Summer, friends and family. Lack of blogging means we’re spending every free minute with each other and when the kids are sleeping, so are we. Love to you all.
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