Boots

Boots

Who would've thought I would raise a boot wearing daughter!    Oh my goodness those pink boots are infamous for Clara.    I thought the pink boots were her first pair of boots.   But now that Facebook reminds you of your old photos I am finding Clara's first pair of boots were another pair from Grandma.

Now, if you see pictures of Clara, you probably know the boots are not worn because she loves the country or all things outdoors.   In fact, she is quite the opposite as she hates hiking and bugs.   She even debates if Girl Scouts is a good choice as she is very worried about having to go on a hike with the group.  However, Clara believes she is a great fashionista.   And as such, boots are a very important accessory to her glamorous outfits.

The most adored pink boots (and the earlier red and brown boots) came from Grandma Pat.   Grandma Pat hoped I would grow up a cowgirl (sorry mom).  She is still hoping one of her grandchildren get bit by the horse bug - her best bet may be in Grace.  Clara though, has been the most appreciative of the boots given to her by Grandma.

I don't think there has been a more complimented piece of clothing the girls have worn over the pink boots.

Grandma Pat originally gave them to Grace but they mainly remained in the closet.  Clara gladly took them over when they probably were still too big.  She wore them any chance we let her.
At first, we tried to keep her from wearing them at daycare and school - as they could definitely hurt someone if used as a weapon.   Hopefully though all her classmates have avoided her strong heals - I know each of us in the family have felt them come down on our toes at least once!



Now in Kindergarten, we have given up.   She wears the pink boots any day it isn't PE.   She probably has been wearing those boots for two years, I really don't know how they still fit her feet.   So when it came time for Grace to get a pair of boots for horseback riding lessons, Clara asked for a new pair too.    How can I deny when she has worn the other pair so religiously!


Clara's boots on the left, Grace's on the right

So now we have two girls wearing their new boots proudly on any day there is not gym at school.   I am not sure if these new pairs will last as long as the old pink pair.   Their mom dreams Grace's boots could be handed down to Clara to improve the return on investment.  However, we will live in the moment with the new boots and just appreciate sturdy footwear that can keep their feet dry.  
And the girls will appreciate their own unique styles are captured in their footwear.

 

 
 
 
 

Camping in Missouri

The girls have been begging to go camping.   I am not sure when or why they decided this was going to be the most awesome activity but they did.   So we promised them in the spring we would go.   It is now spring, and we made good on our promise.

The day before we were supposed to go the world started working against us.    Forecast for all weekend - rain.    Clara had a fever (we took her to urgent care and she was diagnosed with strep.  The doctor was overly happy by this fact as it was something treatable and not a virus, he had no issue with us going camping as long as her meds could stay in a cooler).  Jason's Durango was getting work done on it at the shop and he had a rental for the week.  The large Dodge was not going to be completed in time to take camping so we had to downsize what we took to fit in a Nissan Ultima instead.

Despite all this - we (mainly Jason) stood firm on we should go.   The girls were still super excited and really wanted to go also.  So we went to Hawn State Park.   Hawn State Park is about an hour south of where we live and was absoluetly gorgeous.   We were able to get a walk-in site which had more trees and was further away from the big campers.   As the name states it was walk-in and thus we did have to haul our stuff a bit to get to the campsite (maybe it was a good thing we downgraded from the Durango!).   Behind the campsite though was Pickle Creek and a sandy area for the girls to play in the shallow water - very private and very fun!

Now the desire to go camping and actually enjoying camping are two different things.    Grace took to being in nature instantly.   She had her shoes off pretty much the whole time in the campground and constantly was searching out bugs, rocks and anything interesting.  Clara on the other hand screamed when she would see an ant (or any bug really), did not like the feel of sand getting in her sandals so wore tennis shoes often at the campsite and of course did not want to wear anything but a skirt the whole weekend.  (I did convince her to wear jeans for hiking as you will see.)

We set up camp in between a rain storm and even ate supper (hot dogs) that night without getting wet.  The first rain came around 8pm so a logical bedtime for all.   Unfortunately the rain was on and off for the next day.   It never was dangerous storms, I think I heard thunder twice the whole weekend, just very very wet.   Our orignal plan was to spend lots of time on hiking trails, this plan was revised.  

Hawn State Park is near Ste. Genivieve the oldest town west of the Mississippi.   And very proud of its old buildings - not necessarily the most interesting for small kids; but a time waster and dry for the adults.    To orientate us we went to the Welcome Center and they were kind enough to lend us an umbrella as we walked around town.  

 We went to a small museum and then a beautiful Catholic church.    The girls pretended they were getting married in the church.

After the town, we drove around the country as it was an area with many vineyards and wineries.  There was also a brewery which is where we ended up stopping - Crown Valley Brewery and Distillery.  This was a great stop for food, drinks and views as original plan for a picnic lunch was foiled (by rain!).  

Finally it stopped raining enough to go on a hike.  Pickle Creek area is just beautiful.  Grace did great on the hike appreciating the wildlife and discussing what each vitamin will do for your body.  Clara on the other hand did not enjoy the time as much and wanted picked up the majority of the walk.  Maybe next year she will do better.  

After debating on going or staying another night in the rain we decided to stay.  The few neighbors we had chose to leave so we had complete privacy in the tent areas.  Complete privacy that included raccoons!   I then remembered my least favorite part of camping is to keep the stuff away from raccoons and I made a midnight trash run to persuade them to leave.  

Morning came and we packed up and left the rain.  Although the weather wasn't ideal the trip was still great!  

The Steal Game

Grace & Clara and I (dad) created a game we play at home called the Steal Game. It evolved from horseback rides and other "climb on dad" games we play at home. The premise of the game is this; I steal one of the girls and the other girl chases after us around the main level of the house trying to catch me and save the stolen girl from the robber. Seems like a simple game, right? How it has gone from being just another chase game to an opportunity for me to identify each child's unique personalities is what makes it fun for me.

Take for example, Grace's technique. Once I steal Clara from Grace and start running around the house, Grace will attempt to chase after me immediately. She plays the game like a glorified version of tag. She relentlessly runs after me and laughs the whole time she does it. Grace will oftentimes get close enough to touch/tag me but will let me get away just to continue the game. For Grace, the fun is in the running around.

Clara, on the other hand, treats it more like a hunt. She will often run in the opposite direction in an attempt to cut me off from a different angle. One technique she employs is to stop moving entirely just so she can listen to my footsteps and attempt to determine what direction I am going in so she can cut me off. There have been many times we've played the game where I have turned a corner only to see Clara waiting for me.

Someday they will be too big to play this game both physically and emotionally. But for now, I know what to do when I hear one of them say, "daddy, steal me".

Now that Clara is 4 – she is all grown up!

It’s funny how much a number means to a little girl when her birthday is approaching.   For Clara so many things were going to happen when she turned four.   She would be able to do so many more big girl things and be so much taller and bigger.   We have been hearing about this birthday for the past month at least and have been told she wants everything any commercial on TV happens to peddle to children.    Most of all, she wanted a rainbow watch – not even sure if this was on the commercial or she came up with this one on her own.

 

This year for Clara’s birthday and our anniversary we celebrated in Yankton, South Dakota.   For those not familiar with the area Yankton is about a ½ hour from my hometown.  Next to Yankton is a very large dam built on the Missouri River making it more touristy than other towns in the area.  I had a lot of fun going around the area seeing different sites that I hadn’t seen in 20+ years and even searching out new ones to explore like Devil’s Nest (abandoned ski resort which my Urbex/Rurex loving husband found out was near and became one of the must stops on our trip). 

Devil's Nest Ski Resort

Devil's Nest with Missouri River in background

 

It’s always fun doing tourist things in times when they are quieter – although we did run into plenty of attractions that closed beginning of October.   The Visitors Center that overlooked Gavins Point Dam was completely empty to run around in and enjoy.  The fish hatchery gave us a huge bucket of fish feed to take out to the rainbow trout in their ponds and feed.   The trout were in some cases over a foot long and really made you want to catch one as close up as they would come.   The golf courses overlooking the dam were also empty and picturesque.  

Fishing with Grandma



    

Feeding trout at the fish hatchery

 

But enough about the overall trip we need to talk about the birthday girl and what she enjoyed most about the trip.   Basically there were three things that made her birthday memorable:  kitties, presents and balloons.

We stayed in a cabin across from Lewis & Clark State Park and the office at the site had baby kittens – Clara would beg anyone and everyone to go see the baby kitties with her.   Luckily Grandpa Brodersen has a soft spot for baby kitties also so he was suckered more than anyone to trek up to the office and check out the kittens with Clara (and also sometimes Grace).   We constantly heard about how cute they were and how they were SO Adorable!!!!

 

 

Birthday girl and her favorite meal - breakfast!

The aforementioned watch was also a big deal.    I had gotten both her and Abby her cousin the same watch – and although I had hers wrapped – Abby’s was not.    When she found Abby’s she was sure she found her birthday present and was not happy to hear Abby was getting her watch (btw Katie if you read this – the watch will be in the mail soon).   So Clara’s first fit of being 4 was over her cousin getting the rainbow watch she had been asking for for sooo long.   Her mind was taken off her misfortune by Grace and Jason setting up a treasure hunt for her to find her birthday presents and looking throughout the house playing hot & cold to find them.    In the very last present was a rainbow watch!!!!!   It has been on her wrist ever since (except for baths).
 

Finally balloons.   Not much explaining to do with this one as what kid does not love balloons.    I think we started with five balloons in the pack – only one was pink though so that was the first of the problems.   Then they started popping and I gave a couple away to a friend’s daughter.   By the end of the trip – Clara was saying goodbye to just one Mr. Balloony – thank goodness we convinced her to leave it here and not have it travel back to Missouri with us.

So all in all it was a good time.   One more highlight of the trip (besides the beautiful fall weather) was walking the old Yankton Bridge from South Dakota over to Nebraska.   This bridge used to be how we drove to Yankton but it has since been replaced and now is used for pedestrians.   It was over a mile walk to one side and back and both the lower and the upper portions of the bridge are open for pedestrians.   The girls did great walking the entire bridge – with the incentive of an ice cream cone if they made it across and back.

 

 

 

The ice cream thumbs up!

Survey Time! What do you think of Mom?

The long awaited Part II of surveying Grace and Clara about their parents -

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Grace -  I love you

Clara – I don’t know

2. What makes mom happy?
Clara – when I clean up the room

Grace – listening to mom the first time she asks something

3. What makes mom sad?
Clara – not cleaning up the room

Grace – not listening to mom

 

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Grace – Tickling me

Clara – doing funny jokes

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Clara – watched cartoons and videos

Grace – I don’t really know but I am guessing it is like this – you liked hanging out with your mom and dad.

6. How old is your mom?
Grace – seven eighty teen

Clara – I am tired of playing this

7. How tall is your mom?
Clara – a lot

Grace – like 70  lbs

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Grace – talking to daddy

Clara – doing the computer

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Grace – work

Clara - work


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Grace – because she wears fancy clothes (but you really don’t wear fancy clothes)

Clara – because she would wear a dress

11. What is your mom really good at?

Grace – doing projects
Clara - painting

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Grace – doing gym
Clara – the computer

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Grace – she makes animal food
Clara – she makes dog and cat food

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Clara – Bacon!  And Eggs
Grace - Asparagus

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Grace – she never takes off her ring
Clara – using your imagination

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Grace – She would be a news character
Clara – Elsa (or Ana)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Clara – Do projects
Grace – we hang out with each other

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Grace – we both eat asparagus
Clara – we both like projects

19. How are you and your mom different?
Clara – We don’t play frisbee
Grace – We have different colored hair and eyes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Clara – gives me kisses and hugs
Grace - - because she cares about me

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Grace – go into the sunroom
Clara – to the ice cream place

Survey Time! What do you think of Dad?

This may seem like an easy exercise - but for a three year old it was occassionally quite difficult to get a few of these answers.   But it is really fun to see their perspectives.

1. What is something dad always says to you?
Grace -  I love you

Clara –  I love you

2. What makes dad happy?
Clara – giving him a hug

Grace – good listening

3. What makes dad sad?
Clara – not cleaning up our room
Grace – not having someone come upstairs to help clean up their bedroom

4. How does your dad make you laugh?
Grace – tell him funny jokes
Clara – um, I don’t know

5. What was your dad like as a child?
Clara – he liked baseball
Grace – he liked football players

6. How old is your dad?
Grace – 18 years old
Clara – 17 with 16

7. How tall is your dad?
Clara – 3

Grace – like 80  lbs

8. What is his favorite thing to do?
Grace – play with us and have fun with us
Clara – doing the computer

9. What does your dad do when you're not around?

Grace – work
Clara – I don’t know

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
Grace – having children
Clara – I don’t know

11. What is your dad really good at?

Grace – playing sports
Clara – I don’t know (me:clara are you always going to say I don’t know?  Clara:  eh!)

12. What is your dad not very good at?
Grace – playing the wii
Clara – fishing

13. What does your dad do for his job?
Grace – he makes the yogurt stuff
Clara – he works

14. What is your dad's favorite food?
Clara – Lucky Charms with Marshmallows in it
Grace - Guacamole

15. What makes you proud of your dad?
Grace – he likes to go golf and running

Clara – riding bikes

16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Grace – A knight from any far away castle
Clara – Christoph

17. What do you and your dad do together?
Clara – Play hide and seek
Grace – we go out for ice cream

18. How are you and your dad the same?
Grace – we both like soccer
Clara – we like baseball (Me: do you like baseball? Clara: Yeah sometimes I do)

19. How are you and your dad different?
Clara – I like popsicles
Grace – I don’t like juice

20. How do you know your dad loves you?
Clara – gives me kisses hugs and backrubs
Grace - - I have a really good one – from caring about me

21. Where is your dad's favorite place to go?
Grace – golfing
Clara – to the ice cream shop

Grace's First Day of Kindergarten

First Day assignment

                We hit a milestone at our house. Grace had her first day of Kindergarten at Oakbrook Elementary today. We have heard nothing but positive comments about Parkway school district and in particular the elementary school Grace is attending so it reinforces why we moved all the way out into the ‘burbs if the district lives up to its reputation. So far so good.



                
                School activities began early in the summer when Oakbrook sponsored Literacy Night at the school.    This was a chance for the kids to come and get accustomed to the classroom while the parents got a chance to learn a little more about the routines and ask questions to the administration.  Next came Popsicle night a few weeks ago where the kids played on the playground for a bit while parents chatted.   The week before classes started had bus safety with Buster the Talking Bus.   This was actually very cute – a fun little interactive time for the kids to learn about bus safety.   After learning the rules they took the kids out for a bus ride on the big bus.

                The most stressful pre-kindergarten activity was school shopping.   By chance we picked tax free weekend to do our shopping.  (This is an annual event each year for school supplies and clothes to be tax free for a weekend prior to classes starting.)   The department store was packed with other parents and kids working through their school lists.  The school lists are much different than Jason and I remember.   The lists are very very specific – like red & blue plastic folders no brads, pipe cleaners and Expo markers – Broad Chisel tip.     All I remembered of school supplies was getting crayons, paper, pencils a trapper keeper and the box of Kleenex (yes, kids still need to take a box of Kleenex to school at the beginning of the year – I like thatJ).

Grace and her friend Evan

The official first day photograph

                Finally the big day arrived.  Grace wanted to go to bed early for the big day.   It didn’t quite happen.   But no worries – she still woke up in time and in a good mood.  Grace was so excited for the arrival of the bus and hoped she wasn’t going to be late for the bus stop – she wasn’t.   The next door neighbors also had two of their boys getting on the same bus so it was not scary at all for Grace and she barely had time to pose for a picture outside the bus before leaving.   

                There were no tears from any and we even got a nice note from her teacher saying she thought Grace had a nice first day.   At the end of the day we assumed we would get a download of the day right after school – but nope Grace was too busy going over to the neighbors and playing with the other kids.   A new phase of our lives is beginning and it is the ditch parents phase.   I am totally fine with this growth.  
 

Clara photobombing on Grace's big day

                An interesting side effect to the first day of Kindergarten was Clara’s attitude.   She was super-duper excited about the day too.   She enjoyed waiting for the bus with all of us and kept singing over and over “Go America Go!” (Not sure why this was the chant for the day other than she was checking out a flag in our yard).   She agreed to walk to school with Jason instead of driving and she was a chatty Kathy after school when Grace was at the neighbors.   I think Clara is enjoying not sharing her parent time with a sister.