A Visit From Grandma

This weekend my mom came up for a visit. It's not often we get Grandma or Grandpa without the other, but it's kind of fun to get some one-on-one time. Mom and I got to go shopping by ourselves on Friday afternoon, but from 5PM on out it was all about Grandma and Lucy. A tour of her school, Daddy's yummy eggrolls, carving pumpkins, and watching The Sound of Music on Friday night; basketball, shopping, dance class, lunch, crafts, games, and baking on Saturday; church on Sunday and then we had to say goodbye to Grandma. It was the kind of weekend that memories are made of.

They worked on a pumpkin together.

Cheese!

Grandma taught Lucy how to use two spoons
to scoop the batter in the muffin pan.

Pre-Halloween Festivities

One of our favorite places, Westwood Hills Nature Center, had a Halloween party this weekend. It was a whole buy-tickets-and-ride-a-bus-to-the-site kind of thing, and Lucy was very excited. Her best friend N and his mom joined us too. The kids had a blast and it was a very fun, non-scary activity for little ones. Face painting, balloon animals, lots of games and prizes, and a trail with people dressed up as all kinds of forest animals. Most of it was outside, so we got to enjoy the crisp fall air. We'll go again next year!

Studio Lucy: Colorful Creations

This one is from school last month. One of the first times we've seen "cheeks," and I love all the color, including distinguishing different body parts with color. And of course the bandages!

They color a lot of random things at school during free play...so sometimes we get Easter eggs in October!
Her writing is really coming along, and she's starting to show a lot more control with her coloring.

Fall Visit

This weekend Lucy and I went to visit Mom and Dad in Storm Lake. We had seen them a fair amount over the summer, but hadn't been to SL since Easter, so it was about time for a trip.

We got in around 7PM Friday night, and Lucy promptly claimed Grandpa for playtime downstairs. I caught up with Mom, and then later stayed up too late catching up with Dad...some much needed conversation with my parents!

Saturday was a busy day once we got going. Later in the morning, we headed over to Justin's because he has kittens! He recently rescued a stray cat and a couple days later, realized she was pregnant. Now he's got two cute, stripey kitties he's going to have to give away (he swears he'll be able to do it...he already has 3 cats and a dog). We all enjoyed seeing them, and Lucy got to hold one with Grandma's help.

After Justin's house, we headed to my aunt and uncle's apple orchard near Akron, SD (three states in three days, WHEW!) I had never been there before, and it was high time for a visit. It was a little chilly, but we had a good time picking and tasting apples, having a hayride, and seeing the whole operation. They've got a great little spot!

After the orchard, we made a slight detour to my brother Jason's house to visit. We got to eat supper with them and the kids played in the backyard. Lucy really enjoyed the 4-wheeler ride from her cousin D. He was feeling pretty studly himself, I think!

Sunday we went to church and got to have Mom's lasagna for Justin's birthday lunch (or is it dinner? - inside joke). Lucy was convinced she did not like the "bazagna," but after explaining it is pasta, sauce, meat, and cheese, she discovered it was OK after all. She's eaten it before, but is just going through a picky phase, I guess. Anything that isn't a peanut butter sandwich is subject to suspicion these days.

Lucy fell asleep within 15 minutes of getting in the car to head home, and I had a nice quiet couple of hours driving before she woke up and we sang our hearts out to "Popular" from the Wicked soundtrack over and over again. The whole weekend was a much-needed break from everyday rigors, and Lucy got some great one-on-one time with her grandparents (and me with my parents). Quality time with two of my brothers was the cherry on top. Always a treat to go "home."

Past and Present Collide (en Espanol)

In May of 1996 while attending Simpson College, I went on a Mayterm trip to Spain. It was the first (and only time since) that I have been overseas, and it was a great time. Ten college-age girls and one short male Puerto Rican professor of Spanish...we most certainly gave Rueben a run for his money. For three weeks we toured around Spain - Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Granada, Costa del Sol...and a day trip to Morocco. An unbelievable experience for which I am incredibly grateful.

One of the days spent in Madrid, we happened upon a little drugstore type establishment with a variety of miscellaneous goods (for those of you who grew up in Storm Lake, IA - think of a slightly larger Ressler's Drug. Remember Ressler's?) At this establishment, I happened to buy a book of fairytales, in Spanish of course. It is a book that has been through many moves and today, resides on a bookshelf in our house, though until recently I hadn't opened it for years.

Lately Lucy has been expressing wonderment at words in different languages. A couple of weeks ago I started throwing some words around in Spanish, and she thought I was about the coolest person on Earth. I remembered this book, and offered to read her a bedroom story all in Spanish. Although my Spanish is rusty, I knew I could at least get the gist of the story since I knew the plot, no matter the language. So we grabbed it off the shelf and snuggled up in Lucy's bed for storytime.

I read in Spanish, and stopped every so often to explain in English. After giving me her undivided, completely enraptured attention through Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood) and Los Tres Cerditos (Three Little Pigs), midway through Cenicienta (Cinderella) she finally stopped me and in a very quiet voice said, "Mama...I don't understand what you're saying." "Do you want me to stop?" I asked. "NO," she assured, and listened to the rest of the story with wide, amazed eyes.

I put the book away after she fell asleep, but the next morning she pulled it out again. She carried it into my bedroom and climbed up on the bed to read. While I was getting ready in the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of her in the mirror, laying tummy-down on the bed with the book open before her, tracing words left to right with her finger, and saying, "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco..." Because those are the only Spanish words she knows...for now, at least!

I'm pretty sure the 19-year-old me did not fathom when I bought that book, that it would be in the hands of a child of mine one day. That friends, is a near perfect collision of past and present.