true boy tales: Short and Sweet

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Short and Sweet

My best friend, Candy, and her daughter Ava flew in for a short but very sweet visit last week. I would give just about anything to live in the same town as they do but we'll take what we can get. Candy is one of the kindest people I know and is so encouraging to my soul. Somehow, although we only see each other once a year, she's managed to be there for me over the years more than anybody. I can't say enough how much I love this girl.

Bennett and Ava 2007:

And 2010:

I'm kinda hoping it'll be like the Swan Princess story. Remember that one? We'll just get them together once a year and eventually they'll fall in love and get married (and hopefully skip the part where she's cursed and turned into a swan).
Jon had just filled up the pool the day before this so it was freezing. But kids seem immune to freezing temps.

Big Poppy had been in Africa for 6 weeks so we all went over there to greet him when he arrived home. I love how Ava is so comfortable being one of the grandkids in this shot :)

Ava had a true Midwestern experience this time--making deer jerky (She's more of an Iowan than I ever wanna be!):

We went downtown to the sculpture garden and to splash in the fountains (my favorite place to take the kids in Des Moines in the summer). Jon meant to have Bennett hold the "B" but I pointed out later, I love how it says "B-O-Y" with his face as the "O":

Judie had the boys and Ava all day on Friday so Candy and I enjoyed some shopping and lunch in the East Village and then Jon joined us for dinner at Americana that night (so good! And thanks to a certain hostess, we scored some free "birthday" dessert.)

Candy and I spent some of our time on Friday at TJ Maxx and wanted to get each other's kiddos a fun little present. I had been wanting to do something with Bennett for a while that I had read about in FamilyFun magazine so we took the idea and ran with it. We threw a "pretend birthday party" for Bennett and Ava since they both have summer birthdays and never get to go to each others' parties. It was basically a way to teach your kids how to be grateful gift receivers. You just turn it into a game by wrapping up silly stuff from around the house and then taking turns opening up the "presents" and the goal is to say thank-you and say something positive about each gift, no matter what it is (rather than the typical response from a kid: opening each gift and tossing it aside, quickly searching for the next one which my boys always do). Jon and Candy and I all went first, opening a silly gift and saying thank-you and something nice about it. Then we let each kid open a fake gift to practice and then they each got a couple of small real gifts too.

We even made a birthday cake. It was so much fun and took hardly any effort (Trader Joe's cake mix I had in the pantry already and homemade frosting):

We ended the weekend with a hike in the woods near our house on Saturday evening. We've managed to find lots of great hiking trails close by to do with little kids. They just love it. I, unfortunately, managed to pick up something poisonous on this hike and ended up with my right ear swollen about three times its normal size and itchy for days. I get stuff like that so easily. I should just start wearing a bee keeper suit when I hike.

We miss these two already. Until next year, my friend.

2 comments:

Nana JudieMay 31, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Absolutely precious post. I just love the B-O-Y pic. Ava is a sweet girl and she can be one of our "grands" anytime!
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i'm B.June 1, 2012 at 11:21 AM
so sweet! the birthday party was such a fun idea!
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.