Christmas Joy

The picture at the bottom right says it all. Christmas Joy

Merry Christmas

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
As Quinn said today, "I guess what I wish for really does happen on Christmas... Magic!"
Hope all your wishes came true today.

Pet Adventures

The boys have a Saturday morning ritual these days, it is call Pet Adventures. They start asking on Monday if it is Saturday yet so they can play. The picture above shows their special pets that they have slept with all their lives and these 2 are the leaders of pet adventures. There is no telling where the pets and their other stuffed croneys will end up going on any given Saturday but they are always ready for adventure. Pets have been to Gnome, AK and dealt with the Malaria outbreak, the center of the earth, India, Medieval times to be knights and they have even been to space to repair the Hubbell Space Telescope.  I love this ritual for so many reasons. It is the one thing they have created together that they both love, it is one of the few times they act like the best friends they claim to be and it is a window into their imagination that is precious.

Corduroy Comes Home

At Nolan 's preschool they have a Corduroy bear that goes home with each child once each year. The children take Corduroy on "adventures", write about it in a book, draw a picture of their time with the bear and return him to school. Nolan's turn came on Friday and he was SO excited. Here is the "Adventures with Corduroy" that Nolan wrote about his time with the little brown bear this weekend.

"Corduroywent to my Grandma and Grandpa's farm with me. Me and Corduroy and Daddy watched the BB gun range. QUinn shot thee BB gun at the target. Then we went inside and watched "Before the Dinosaurs" and we played LEGOs , knights and army men. My Grandma read all the books in the bag to me and Corduroy. We even got to listen to a Star Wars tape. I am going to sleep with my pet and Corduroy and Corduroy is going to Advent time and light 2 candles. I fell in love with Corduroy and I am sad I have to take him back to school."

How sweet is that? 

A Thanksgiving in Texas

We made our annual pilgramage to my home town this week. Arlington, Texas is a place I could never live again but I love to visit and get that homey feeling every once in awhile, but never in August. In just a few short days I had the chance to catch up with an old friend , spend lots of time with my dad and test my metroplex driving skills. We went to the Ft. Worth Zoo, played football on Thanksgiving, watched football on Thanksgiving, went fishing, ate our catch and finished it up with a great trip to Six Flags.

The pictures tell the whole story, it was fabulous... and tiring. :)

 

The Force is Strong with These Padawan

 

What a fabulous day we had!  It was 70 and sunny which is so rare for November in Iowa. We set up the party outside and it was perfect. Quinn was thrilled to have all his friends there and had so much fun. All the boys seemed to love it. The obstacle course seemed to be the best part. I love throwing a borthday party and if we do say so... we threw a mean Jedi party today.

The pictures above are of our Jedi obstacle course- 1) Escape from Endor, 2)The Rebel Alliance Headquarters, 3)Gungin City, 4)Down the Garbage chute in the Death Star, 5) Somersault past the Storm Trooper, 6) Climb into the Death Star and blow it up from the inside 7)Escape down the hatch 8) receive your lightsaber.

 

Here you can see some of the other activities, defeating Vader, making pizza in the Jedi Council, and breaking apart the Death Star pinata.

Lastly, here are a few pics of the prep and the friends. The fare of the day was Jabba the Pizza Hutts, Yoda Soda, FruitSabers, and Wookie Cookies to top it off. I love the smile on Quinn in these last ones, it is one of pure happiness. Just the way it should be on your birthday.

Quinn turns 7

7 years ago today we enlarged our family from 2 to 3 with the addition of Quinn. We love celebrating birthdays in our house and today was no exception. Quinn picked everything, right down to the Star Wars shirt he was wearing.  He loves the excuse to be the center of attention too. We took him to Chipotle for dinner and came home to eat Halloween candy and open presents from family. He is so fun to buy for. To him, each gift is the best one ever.  My favorite moment of the night is when Quinn opened the gift from Nolan and raved and raved over it and Nolan being so happy Quinn liked it. The bottom collage is dedicated solely to this moment. Precious. I love seeing the boy Quinn is becoming but I am starting to miss the little person it seems he just was. Happy birthday Quinn!

Halloween Fun!

What could be more fun than seeing Batman and ObiWan Kenobi run around the neighborhood telling ridiculous jokes in exchange for candy? Doing it on a night with a perfect Halloween moon. I love Halloween.  The jokes make the night for me every year. Quinn's joke this year was "What do you call a Jedi who uses meat instead of a lightsaber? Obi Wan Bologne." and Nolan's was "What do you call a dog who gets a sunburn? A hot dog!"  always followed by "Get it!?".  What's not to love about that? Happy Halloween everyone. 

Rain or Shine, Fun Will Be Had

This past weekend we hosted the 5th annual Lynch family pumpkin party at Jim's parent's acreage. Throughout last week we had nothing but rain which made the prospects of having a great leaf pile, bonfire and hay rack ride seem highly unlikely.  We woke up to beautiful sunny and somewhat warm Saturday morning which gave us some hope that we could actually pull off the beloved fall festivities. When our guests arrived late afternoon the weather was great. We carved our pumpkins, rode the horses (or at least those horses that cooperated), bobbed for apples and even jumped in the giant leaf mountain Jim raked for us before it started to sprinkle. We quickly sprinted to the hay rack in hopes of getting a ride before the hay got too wet.  As usual, Jim's dad gave a mean tractor ride and we got back just in time to have a great meal. The adults braved it under the tree for protection from the rain and the kids ran to the garage to stay dry. The rain washed out our bonfire and marshmallow roasting but it turns out that 4 out of 5 people think you can make a smore with any type of marshmallow.

This is one our favorite family traditions and we would put this show on rain, shine, snow or sleet and gratefully our friends think it is fun enough to brave the weather too.

These Boots Are Made For Hiking

These boots have hiked over 100 recorded miles of Oregon and Washington trail since I have had them. 7 years ago, when we moved to Iowa and had chidren, they got shoved to the back of the closet to collect dust and mourn the distance between them and the Pacific Northwest. I was sure they would not reemerge for active duty again. I may have been wrong. Thanks to scouts these boots have seen some pretty wonderful hiking right here in the flat midwest in the last month. I have also seen that our love of hiking and nature is starting to rub off on the kids. These boots may very well be 2 miles into their next hundred, but this time with little hikers following right behind which makes me very very happy.

Back At Work...

As I was looking ahead to this school year with both boys in school everyday, I knew I would be working a lot more than I had since Quinn was born but I didn't know what e.xactly I would be working at. Subbing made the most sense but it is not a job I love (or even like for that matter). Two weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in teaching 3 year old preschool for the duration of the year to which I said "Sure! Why not!". So, on Monday I started teaching this adorable group of 3 year olds. I am surprised at how much fun I am having and how happy they seem with their new teacher. The hours are great and it involves a steady paycheck and lots of hugs. Who wouldn't love a job like this.

Hello BB gun!

Today was the much anticipated scout camp day. Quinn and I drove through the beautiful fall Iowa countryside straight to Boy Scout day camp which oozes so much testosterone it can be detected miles away (no, I have no actual proof of this but I am sure of it none the less). The highlight of the day for Quinn was the 2nd of 6 stops today, the BB gun shooting. He was able to control his excitement long enough to listen carefully to all the safety instructions and then the long awaited moment arrived, he pulled the trigger. As you can see, he hit the paper holding the target and could not be more proud. To commemorate the event he will get his 1st belt loop (equivalent to a patch for a girl scout) for BB shooting.

We got to make a bird feeder out of pine cones and leave it in the woods for the birds, just in time for winter. There was a fort that we pummeled with tennis balls launched out of catapults and the last stop was the fishing pond where we caught a large mouth bass.

The highlight of the day for me was being immersed in all things boy and seeing my son love all of it. It isn't often we are able to spend the day on his turf with few rules and no reason to reign him in. I am glad to see my son be a part of this organization that understands boys like I do not and look forward to more days like this in the future.

PS- if you look closely at the fishing picture you will notice I am holding the fishing pole with a much improved left hand! Hurray!

Return of the Starbucks Whore

As many of you know, I have had a slight problem with drinking Starbucks in the past. I really thought I had curbed my addiction but this latest escapade shows that I still have a ways to go.

I was in the Dallas airport flying back home and really wanted a cupa of joe to take with me. There she was at Gate D5, the shining green siren beconing me in to have a peppermint mocha to go. My flight was leaving out of D10, not that far away, so it seemed written in the stars, I should definately splurge, but only a tall. This ended up being a rookie mistake for someone with the use of only one arm who is toting a purse, backpack and wheeley suitcase. How exactly did I think I was going to get all my luggage AND my sinfully delicious treat the 5 gates to my plane. After much contemplation about which people might be going my way and be willing to tote my coffee for me I opted for plan B. I would MAKE my hand carry this coffee. It resisted with the full weight of the yumminess but after sipping at D5 until about half was gone the hand relented and actually carried the cup all the way to D10 where I savored the rest of the cup and praised my left hand. The Starbucks whore definately strikes again. I am including my physical therapist in the distribution for this post so he knows how to properly motivate me in the future.

Our little cub scout

Quinn has never been one to think that extracurricular activities sound like a good idea, until now. When he heard that there was an activity where he could use a bow and arrow as well as a BB gun he was all over it.

After the introductory meeting he begged us to stay in scouts through the 5th grade so that he could be old enough to use the BB guns. Imagine his delight when he found out that he could be shooting with the BB guns in just a few weeks when the scouts have their first out of town camping trip.

While we are not thrilled with his obsession with the weapons, it is nice to see his enthusiasm for scouting. Thanks to some legwork by our friend Jeanie he looks adorable in the uniform ... don't you think?

The Beginning of a Long Road

Here are some before and after pictures of Karen's post op visit to the surgeon from today. Karen got her cast off and got a Hawkeye themed removable splint (although the boys think it is really Storm Trooper armor).

We were anxious to hear if all the bone bits were healing properly and staying where they were supposed to be.

The first order of business was removing the cast that they put on after the surgery. It was shocking to see how bruised, swollen, and lifeless Karen's arm looked when the cast finally came off. Karen thought she hated the cast until it came off, and then she was not sure she liked having the still damaged arm so exposed. Karen cried when the tech tried to get her to lift her arm out of the cast by herself, but eventually she did it. Apparently the crying was too much for Todd the tech, so he got Cathy to replace him and things went much smoother after that. We were told that crying is not uncommon, and that they have had several people pass out when their casts came off.

Once the cast came off they were able to take some X-rays, which came back great and Dr. Q gave them an A+. While this is great news, there is a long rode of physical therapy ahead before the arm will be close to being back to normal.

We will keep you updated on all the arms latest accomplishments.

Posted by Jim

Happy Birthday Jim!

This is 1 handed b-day post for the best husband in the land. Birthdays are a big deal in our house and I have been very worried that Jim would have no cake, no fun things, and no great gifts due to the arm. We have been so fortunate to have my mom and wonderful friends helping us with food and thanks to one of them, the birthday was complete wuth a cake that was even safe for the boys. Thanks Jill for taking the wheel when I couldn't. It is great! Jim is all the things I could wish for in a spouse and father of my children and I am so glad we are the ones he chooses to be with. Happy Birthday Jim! We love you.

For the morbidly curious...

Here are some pictures to give an idea of what is going on with Karen's wrist.


Here is someone else's normal wrist:














Here is Karen's wrist after the accident, showing a majorly displaced hand and crushed radius bone:











Here is Karen's wrist post surgery. A three inch metal plate and 10 screws have been used to peice the wrist back together. The dark spot in the middle is where they used some "bone cement" to fill in a pretty big gap in the bone.











The kids love Karen's new bionic arm.

by
Jim

Happy Birthday to Poppa!

Happy Birthday to the best Poppa we know!!

12 Years and Still Counting

As of yesterday, we have been married for 12 years. We celebrated with some time alone with no one interrupting our conversation or asking for anything. It was delightful. We think that it seems like there is no way these last 12 years could have gone by so quickly. We laugh a lot, cry some, and hug even more. The laughing keeps us sane, the crying gets us by and makes us stronger and the hugging keeps us close. What a wonderful gift to be married to your best friend.

A Lot of Catching Up

This weekend, my cousin Shannon came to visit from Texas. It has been a LONG time since we have had a chance to spend time together and we had a lot of catching up to do. We drove up to Mall of America and shopped for the day, spent a morning at the zoo, hung out at our house a lot and topped the trip off with paddle boating at Gray's Lake. I even got a chance to have her to my self one evening. It was great. The boys LOVED having Shannon here and spent all their time competing for who could hold her hand. It was so nice to see that they feel a connection with her, even though we live so far apart.

Notice anything missing?

Look close... no training wheels & very proud smiles on those 2 faces! We decided that today we would see how the kids did with no training wheels. Nolan cried and cried that we threw his training wheels away (they were actually broken) but once he got over that he gave it a good try and discovered that he could ride with no training wheels!! Below is the proof. They are very proud of themselves and should be. They did great!

Happy 4th of July

Despite the cool and rainy weather we had a great 4th! We went to Jim's parents acreage, ate hot dogs, watermelon, super yummy partriotic cupcake (made by chef Quinn) and lit small fireworks. As you can see from the pictures, Quinn made us all celebratory hats to wear, some with fireworks launching out the top and others with a flag with birthday candles on top. Very chic. :) There is a picture of Jim's mom holding a sparkler. She told me it was the 1st one she had ever held and she turned 75 this week. We love living close to family so we can experience little moments like this all the time. Happy 4th everyone!!!

Dinos in the Garden

Today we took a little field trip with Grammy to a botanical garden that was featuring life sized replicas of many dinosaurs. This particular garden also has a butterfly habitat. Surprisingly, I think we all may have liked the "mariposas" the most but it was such a fun morning all the way around. Thanks to Grammy we have some great pics to share. I dropped and completely shattered our camera yesterday while getting pics of swim lessons and not only did my mom run to her house to save the day returning promptly with her camera, she spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for a new one for us. It was a precious gift and I get to share it with all of you.

Look, Mom! I Can Swim!

The boys finished their 2 weeks of swimming today and here are pictures and video to mark the event. Quinn somehow taught himself to swim over the winter and when I took him to the pool the day before swim lessons were to start to get him "used to the water again" he just took off and has not looked back. He is now learning the "finesse" of swimming. Nolan on the other hand has always been comfortable with the water but never with floating or actually paddling. As you can see, things have changed. I love summer!

Happy Father's Day!

I have to split my time in this post dedicated to 2 of my favorite men. ps- this background is for you Jim.

Dad- I love you for so many reasons. I love that you lead by example, you don't talk about what's right... you just do it. I love that you try to live your life with integrity. This has been a great example for me and I often think of how glad I am that I have someone like you to follow. I love that you offer advice only when asked and it is always honest advice. I love that we like to listen to the same music. I love that you are a great Poppa and are teaching my boys to fish. I love that you think it is cool that your daughter loves football. I just love you for all that you are to me... the only dad I have. Wish I could give you a hug today.

Jim- You are the best father I know. You are always thinking of ways that you can be a better dad. You are always doing things to build a relationship with our boys which is so important now and will be even more important later. You are the laid back side of our parenting equation, and frankly, the boys need that! You are constantly accepting the boys for what they are while lovingly encouraging them to always do their best. Thank you for all that you do for our beautiful children. I am so happy that you are their dad.
Here is a Father's Day message from them to you in NY....

The Clone Rangers... a story by Quinn & review by Nolan

Quinn wrote his own version of the Lone Ranger story we told him this weekend. To hear the whole book + the review start with the top video and work your way down.

Meet Our Funny Man

Nolan has always been the funny man in our family. When he was about 6 weeks old he realized that he could make faces that would make us laugh. He has been making us laugh ever since. This week there were several incidents that made us laugh out loud and we thought you might like a little laugh courtesy of Nolan this weekend as well.  

LOL #1 We were driving the other day and from the back seat I hear "Mommy, people with golden hair are the most beautiful." to which I replied "Do you have golden hair?" thinking he was sure his type of hair was the "most beautiful".  He said "No..." then after a pause he continued "but I could get some at the drugstore!" 

LOL #2 Jim was talking to the boys in bed yesterday and Quinn said "I am really smart" and Jim said "Yes, I think you are and Nolan is too, you both know a lot of facts". Quinn agreed and said "I'm a genius and daddy you are a genius and Nolan you are a genius too!".  Nolan remarked "Oh yeah your right! I am a genie!"  For those of you who know Nolan, this is classic!  He does know a lot of facts but rarely pays attention. 

LOL #3 Today I was driving and we were getting on the interstate. I was accelerating on the on ramp when Nolan pipes up from the back "Mommy, are you mad about something?" 

"No, Nolan. Why?" 

"Because Mommy, you only drive really fast like that when you are mad!"

I LOL and then hung my head in shame that... well... he's right.

And Just Like That...

It's over. I am sure it was just yesterday that took him for his 1st "drop off" and wept all the way home.

Does he look bigger? smarter? cuter? No, not really.

He does look equally as happy and that says a lot to me.

Here are 5 things Quinn learned in kindergarten,in his own words.

1. 6 simple words (trust,caring,respect,responsibility,fairness,good-citizenship)

2. Writing is fun!

3. Coloring and drawing are fun.

4. I love books.

5. Math helps your brain.

I am sure he learned much much more in the last 9 months but 1001 things I learned in kindergarten would just take up too much room.

A little catching up to do

I have been neglecting the blogs lately and I think about getting back to them often but... well... you have to have extra time to do that. With school out I am hoping to be more diligent.

Here are some recent pictures from the boys end of the year activities.

Nolan and I rode the school bus to the zoo (his favorite place) with all his preschool friends. You can see that he has the girls wrapped around his finger.

Quinn had field day at school last week which was total madness and the kids loved every minute of it and an end of the year party with most of the kids at his school.

The Best Birthday Gift Ever!!!!

Ok, as birthday's go... only children generally have it made. The entire family waits all year for your birthday and usually goes all out. My birthday has been a huge celebration for as long as I can remember but as the years have progressed the emphasis on the day has generally regressed, not by my choice but just becuase that's what happens when you get older and have your own kids. Honestly, I have been a little melancholy about the lack of empasis on my birthday in the recent past and have reduced my expectations dramatically. This year, I expected a small gathering at my mom's with cake and a few presents but no big deal. Well, that is what was on MY calendar but a few other people had much bigger plans.

After delivering food to people in the pouring rain and looking like a wet dog I came home to house all decked out for a party and lots of chairs around a couple of tables. I was especially curious to see the portable baby booster as one of the seats around the table. My curiousity lead me down and path of pondering... WHO might Jim have invited to my birthday that has a BABY!? I could only think of one person but the possibilities of that person arriving at my house were near impossible since she lives many hours away and has 4 children. As I redid my hair and make up from the drenching they had been through I kept peeking out the window to see who might be arriving at my house. Finally, I peek out to see Jim driving up the driveway with my dearest friend Katie in the front seat of the car waving with her super happy smile and 2 of her 4 beautiful babies in the back. I instantly turned into a pile of mush with tears flowing from my eyes at the happiness I felt. What better gift could I have asked for than for one of the most special people to have ever come into my life to arrive at my doorstep for my birthday. Katie was only able to stay about 18 hours which is far too short but I will cherish every minute spent laughing with her face to face and seeing our children play like old friends for the rest of my life. 34 is not a big birthday but it will be one I remember and cherish always. Thank you, my precious friend, for this gift.

This is Ava, Katie's 4 yr old. Nolan cried harder than any of us when his new pal Ava left.

The Magic of Macaroni- hosted by Nolan

Today, Nolan came home from preschool with an adorable craft. It is the lifecycle of a butterfly depicted with macaroni. We will let Nolan tell the rest. Enjoy!

How many 5 dollar foot longs are you?

This morning as we were getting ready for our day Quinn said "Nolan, you are as big as 2 five dollar foot longs!!!". We all had a good laugh and tried to decide how many 5 dollar foot longs it might take to be my size! The answer is 5 and a half, in case you were curious. :)