Tooth #3

Another friendly reminder of gross things that happen to kids. Say goodbye to tooth #3, Laura! Not to mention, an impeccable timing on losing a FRONT one the week of Christmas. 

To Quote Ryan, "All I want for Christmas is my toothbrush teeth." 

Say "thistle," I dare you!

*NOTE* - If you are reading this...and Laura shows you her new toothless smile...act very, very surprised!!!  She wants to surprise you with this information if she is going to be seeing you in the next week or so.

Some Things About Ryan

Well, we have now waited long enough to write updates that we can have Laura do them for us. Today she typed a spontaneous essay about her brother, and we decided it does a good job of summing things up about Ryan right now...with some bonus information about Laura!

Ryan  is my brother. he likes trucks and  cars. he also  likes supohers.   he is   in   dacare   his  frends   are   brock   and  broockly    and  hadle .     his   favrit    color   is   blue.  He   go  on   nacher   wocks.    He   also  go  to   the   librare.    His   brstone  is   n   emrld.   His    sister    is   laura   his   mom  is  Christie   and    his   dad  is  mike  laura  is  the   big  sister!  She   has   a  wiggle   thoth.  My   brother   loves  puzzles!                                                                          By    Laura

"supohers" = superheroes

"nacher wocks" = nature walks

"brstone is n emrld" = birthstone is an emerald (Laura is super into rocks and minerals right now, and thinks birthstones are of great importance!)

"wiggle thoth" = wiggly tooth (Currently on loose tooth #3 and it was of great concern today)

Also, some holiday "Ryanisms" for you:

"Dirt in your sock" = coal in your stocking
ex: "Ryan, what does Santa put in your stocking if you aren't nice?" "Dirt in your sock!!"

"All I want for Christmas is my toothbrush teeth!" (two front teeth)

Here's Ry enjoying a hot chocolate on a special outing from our Advent calendar.

I want that!

And so it begins... The wanting, needing, and begging for things that friends have.

"Dad, So-in-so has a TV in her room, and So-in-so has a laptop in his room. Why can't I have one?"

Or hearing "I want that!" at every commercial break.

Now, I cannot stand on a pedestal and be annoyed with Laura when I remember vividly doing the exact same thing, except my attempt was for a $4,000 snowmobile. Like her, I used the same whiny voice stating that "all my friends have one." And like me, her attempts will fall short.

Now Laura is a crafty young lady and shines with creativity. When I told her "No TV in your room," she responded by designing two TVs and placing them on her closet door. One dedicated to a Science show and the other to a Dolphin show. Bless her heart!

Two TVs - left is a Science show and on the right is a Dolphin show.

After reading, she needs a few minutes to watch a show.

First Day of First Grade

Laura's first day of first grade at JP! Excitement. Nerves. Excitement. Fear. Excitement. That sums up her roller coaster of emotions that past two days. But this morning there was no hiding her 100% excitement and eagerness to get on the bus!

With Zoe, Kaylee and Owen in other classrooms, Laura feared she wouldn't know anyone in her class. Fortunately, we dropped off supplies last week and recognized a few names from her kindergarten class and one who used to live in our house [and currently rides her bus]. So that helped ease some of her anxiety.

In addition, similar to the first day of kindergarten, Mom once again presented Laura with a gift called Schultute that contained school-related gifts such as a journal, dolphin stickers, dolphin sandwich cutter, new Laker colored headband, and a 1st gr. reading activity toy. This is a Czech/German ritual to help with first day jitters. Kudos to Mom for showing off her creativity to help Laura start the school year in a positive, encouraging way.

Schultute
[When children in Germany and Czech Republic set off for their first day in school upon entering first grade, their parents and/or grandparents present them with a big cardboard cone, prettily decorated and filled with toys, chocolate, candies, school supplies, and various other goodies. It is given to children to make this anxiously awaited first day of school a little bit sweeter.]

The Schultute

New Shoes!

First Grade

The Walk

Fishing Trip 2015

View of Redwing Lodge in Morson, Ontario

This year's fishing trip brought us to a new resort/lodging on the east side of the Lake of the Woods. Redwing Lodge just outside of Morson, Ontario.

We wanted to try out a new part of the lake as we have been on Oak Island for the past 8 years. It's tough to leave the honeyholes that we have become accustomed to.

Due to our unfamiliarity with this area, fishing numbers and size were down a bit. Although, I somehow outfished Dave's entire boat 92 to 88. Lucky I guess.

Likes: Something new, shorter drive to the resort, better docks, gas grills
Dislikes: More open water/less islands, smaller cabins, cost more

This might have been the 23" walleye.

Max, myself, and Jeremy showcasing today's catch

Getting ready for dinner in our cabin

Added a new feature to this year's mix - grilling meat

Max casting for muskie on the dock at sunset

Pulling up on an island for shore lunch

This year's trip I outfished Dave's entire boat - 92 walleye vs 88!

Disney World

Laura, Mom and Dad did a quick four day, three night getaway to Orlando, Florida, for Laura to experience what Disney World has to offer. We began to notice that she was slowly becoming less interested in princesses therefore it was the appropriate time for her to meet her fictional idols before her interests moved on to something else.

This was Laura's first plane ride and she couldn't have been more thrilled. Unfortunately, before and during the trip, all three of us caught the flu bug. Even though our appetite wasn't there, we persevered and made it to all of our planned destinations (Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios).

The days were long and Mom planned out each ride, attraction, parade, and play perfectly. Laura was a trooper, never complained, and appreciated the whole experience. I take that back, she was a little fussy about meeting the princesses but did a great when they talked to her.

We learned a few things from this trip. Laura does well on trips. She enjoys plane rides and long days walking around. Who knew that she would like roller coasters (Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) and a scary ride (Haunted Mansion).

Here are a few pictures of our Disney trip

Excited to board the plane!

Of course Laura would site with Mom

Easy on the coffee, Anna

Laura ran up at the last second for this picture with Belle

Cindy

Queen Elsa

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom as we race for the bus

Ice Cream... Yes please!

Mickey-shaped pretzel as large as her head

Our hotel resort (who is hiding in the zero)

Mom and Laura at the Magic Kingdom

Family pic - darn that construction

Magic Kingdom Parade

Rapunzel

Rapunzel's Tower

I think we forced Laura to ride with me on Aladdin's Magic Carpet

Dumbo!

Teacups - Mom was shouting, "Slow down!"

It's A Small World

Ryan Thinks He Is Baby Jesus

This Christmas as usual, we took out our Nativity toys for the kids.  Ryan hadn't shown a lot of interest in them in the past, but this year he really liked setting them up and playing with them, especially "Baby Jesus."

As Christmas arrived, Ryan really liked the whole scenario and wanted to "play" this with our family. He assigned roles - "I am Baby Jesus, Mama is Mary, Daddy is Jofis (Joseph), Wowa (Laura) is the angel." I was ok with this pretend game because mostly I just had to hold Ryan or wrap him up in a blanket.

He's continued to like the Baby Jesus game, and a couple of days ago we were hanging out in his room.  He walked over to his bed and patted it and told me, "I am Baby Jesus.  This is my hay."  Ha! Dad and I suggested that he sleep on his hay just like Jesus when nighttime rolls around.  He's made some rather annoying changes in his sleep habits lately and we are suffering.  More on that another time.

New Entertainment Center

Boring Wall.

In the third-level of our house, "downstairs," is a room that Mom and I have ignored designing from day one of move in. We haven't been pleased with its 'boring' appearance but at the same time we haven't been inspired to change it - due to the fact that we're not good at designing rooms.

To make matters worse, neither of us have the same taste in design/layout, etc. Which is the main reason that room has not changed in four years. I take it back, we did hang a small clock (off-centered on the wall) via screw that the previous owner left behind.

Last fall, I had a vision to finally tackle the downstairs room. I had planned to buy furniture and a television, paint, and put up bookshelves. Instead, we went off course and bought a piano.

In June, the itch was back and motivated to start the project. Both Mom and I scoured the internet for types of bookshelves and entertainment centers. She looked at Pinterest and I looked at both prebuilt and cabinet manufacturer's examples. It was a challenge to find something in our price range that would fill this sizable wall. After some discussion, we both agreed that a simple bookshelf and large tv wasn't the right approach. We had to go the custom-design route.

I then contacted four local cabinet manufacturers. Four companies came out to our house but only one responded with a bid and design. Isn't that crazy?!? Unfortunately, the only company to respond was booked until October. I suppose that was a good thing because it took us a couple of months to decide on the type of wood, stain, and final design.

Last week I was notified that the entertainment center was finished and ready for installation. Today, two guys installed it in about 5 hours. So, here it is, our brand new, custom-built entertainment center. We love it!

All that remains are two cabinet doors, television, pictures and books!

The next phase of the project is to redesign the fireplace to match the entertainment center, apply a fresh coat of paint to the walls, and conclude with new furniture.

Laura Loses Her First Tooth

Laura lost her first tooth at dinner. I must say that we were all ready for it to fall out. This tooth has been on center stage at both school and home for at least a week.

At conferences, Laura's teacher had mentioned that her classmates have been jockeying for position for who will walk with her to the nurses office if it should fall out during school. At home, Laura has been constantly rocking it back and forth in our faces - reminding us that it's close to coming out. Neither Mom or I want any part of the extraction process. Just the thought of pulling it gets me weak in the knees.

Like I had mentioned, the tooth fell out at dinner via caramel apple. The grossest part was hearing the sound of it clinking onto the table. Uffda! Laura's initial reaction... like many "first times" in her young life, was immediate shocked/scared but quickly came to be excited/happy!

Can you tell what's missing?

Tooth Fairy

Cue up the Benny Hill theme song. This ordeal did not go according to plan.

Laura placed her tooth, wrapped in Kleenex, under her pillow. At midnight, I watched "The Tooth Fairy" get on her hands and knees to make the switch. She turned around and said it's not there. So, I went in, moved blankets, removed pillows and searched with a flashlight. 

Suddenly, Laura woke up and I froze. She opened her eyes and said, "Dad, what are you doing?" I said that I was placing the the tooth toward the edge of the bed so the tooth fairy could find it easily." She fell back asleep. 

The tooth was gone! We assumed that Laura probably had played or looked at it in the dark and it dropped somewhere by her bed. The next morning, she ran into our room and was excited to see the present. Both Mom and I took turns to go into her room and look for it. Still not there. 

Pretty Smile

Fast forward five days. Laura was playing in her room and I walked in to see what she was doing - because it was awfully quiet. I sat next to her on the floor in the middle of her room. There it was! Embedded into the carpet, right behind from where she was sitting. In haste, I quietly grabbed it and showed it to Mom. We don't know if Laura hid it or it was sitting there the whole time. Nevertheless, the whole ordeal and mystery was finally solved.

King Kong Castle Playset

Never saw this day coming but we now have a gigantic playset in our backyard. We are the owners of a Rainbow King Kong Castle, a twelve-year old hand-me-down from our neighbors.

Getting this big piece of equipment was not easy or simple. I'll try to summarize the twists and turns of (a) convincing us to buy it, (b) actually buying it, and (c) dismantling/moving/and erecting it in our yard.

Here it is. King Kong.

Last year, the Pribbles sent subtle hints that they were ready to unload the playset. At that time, I didn't want it and showed no interest.

This spring, they approached me and suggested that "King Kong" would look good in our empty backyard. I replied with a laugh and a "maybe." A few days later, I brought Laura over to see if she had interest... and of course, she immediately LOVED it, wanted it, and begged for me to buy it.

The next time I saw the Pribbles, I asked how much $? He shrugged his shoulders and gave me the runaround. I thought, "Oh no, the roles have reversed. I now want this darn thing and he is no longer selling."

Two weeks later, more determined than ever, I coincidentally bumped into him on a walk, asked again, and he replied that they were now offering it to a family member. For several weeks, I stewed in bitterness that I didn't act faster.

Fast forward to late July, about two months from the initial discussion, I decided to go to their house with cash in hand and tell them I'll buy it. And just like that...SOLD.

Now was the issue of getting that thing into our yard. I asked a buddy to assist and we gave it a go for about 10 minutes. It was apparent that this task was way too big for us novice handymen. I leveraged the online directory of Craigslist and found a guy who used to work for Rainbow and does installation on the side. I paid him $200 bucks and he dismantled, moved, and installed it in less than 4 hours. Money well spent.

That's the story in a nutshell. The end result is what matters most - Ryan and Laura absolutely love it and play on it daily! That's the point, right?

Ryan's favorite thing to do is the swing and slide, whereas Laura digs the monkey bars, trapeze and rings, and swing. In fact, we have had a couple of picnics and a number of snacks on it. Fun times.

Late in the fall, I put in a sandbox for Ryan. I would say that he enjoys playing in the sandbox but has more fun throwing sand out of the sandbox...stinker!

Typical evening - hanging out on the playset

"Underdog, Dad"

Laura loves the monkey bars. "Catch Me!"

Ryan fell through a few times but determined to climb again

Coming at ya!

Ryan wants Dad to trap him on the slide

The playset is complete with sandbox and all