Crossing Bridges (and dams!)

I realize that my last post was somewhat vague and provided little information about what exactly we as a family have been dealing with over the last week. Without getting into specifics, (because we still don't know many of them) I will just say that there may be some changes in the location of Pete's job...

For now, we are trying to stay present and focus on the fact that we are together and once again able to enjoy doing things as a family.

Yesterday we did just that and made our way across and back over the Lake Murray Dam. Pete and I roller bladed while we took turns pushing Jules in the stroller and Nate rode his bike. Over and back we accomplished the 3.2 miles of pathway...



(no one we know, just a decent photo of the Dam's walking path)

I was especially proud of Nate who, about halfway back across started losing wind. The poor little guy was really close to leaving his bike behind and slowly walking the rest of the way. While Pete and Jules went ahead, I grabbed one of Nate's hands and helped pull him along a bit! That in addition to the promise of a trip later in the day to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream, certainly helped to motivate him in finishing the ride!

Week in Review

This week we were fortunate enough to have "traveling Pete" (a.k.a. Daddy, and my great husband) back at home with us after nine long tumultuous months of him having to travel an insane amount of time for work. We had a few days of feeling joyful at the prospect of once again heading in the direction of establishing some sort of normalcy now that it looked like he was back home for a long, long while...

But now, we're not sure. Life has surprised us with some new curves and some new opportunities. We have some serious things to consider in the coming weeks....But such is life, always full of surprises around here!

Nate spent the week enjoying Kindercamp at the Riverbanks Zoo, here in Columbia and had a blast! He got to feed the giraffes, pet the penguins, plant flower pots at the botanical gardens, learn about the seasons and how the animals prepare for and survive them. He learned so much!

Jules and I managed to sneak in a few mornings exploring more of downtown and relishing in all of the wonderful museums and endless activities we could find! We also had a great visit with Maggie this past weekend, thanks so much for being here Mom!

Highlights for the week include, a visit to the butterfly exhibit, the "pretend" grocery store at the local children's museum, Edventure, early morning walks at the Riverfront park, success with potty training, pirate play, library time, and a picnic at the park spent with Pete and the kids this afternoon...not too bad, eh?


This week was infused with jolts of discovery, joy, disappointment, sorrow, anticipation, learning and appreciation...however, it's all part of the process, isn't it? I can't say I have too many complaints right now...

Enjoy your weekend everyone...

Today's Memories

-Going to the Butterfly exhibit with Jules this morning at Edventure, the children's museum in Columbia, and having her match the butterflies we saw to the ones on the informational sheet given to us!

-Finding Nate fast asleep minutes after I had brought him back to bed after he came to tell me that it is too hard to fall asleep!

Monday: July 13, 2009

Today's Memories:

-Bringing Nate into the Riverbanks Zoo for his first day of Kindercamp. When he joined the rest of the kids in his group, he turned to me and said, "okay mom, you can go now!" I walked out of the zoo, holding little Juliana's hand, sad that my little boy is growing up so fast, yet joyful at how strong, bright and mature he is becoming!

-Going for a family walk and having the kids pick up things to bring back to our Nature Table- without being prompted to do so!

Building Things

Today we found ourselves at the local Home Depot taking part in a Mom's Club activity! We got right to work at building a really neat tool box or as they called it, a picnic caddy...


Juliana was so proud of herself for learning how to hammer for the first time!

Nate was an old pro at hammering and got the job done with very little help from me. I was so impressed!

It was such a cool experience and helped us to meet more neat moms and other kids in town!

And...after getting it home and painting it, here is Nate's finished product!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety jig...

After spending 9 great days with "traveling Pete" in Missouri (a.k.a. daddy, or husband) we are back home again and getting back into our routine here in South Carolina. We (I) spent the day unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning, and organizing a very messy and chaotic house...the week before we left was very, very busy!


All in all, our "vacation" was great! Obviously it was wonderful to get to spend so much family time with Pete. We really took advantage of all of the cool things going on in both Columbia and Saint Louis Missouri while there. Below is a photo of the view from our hotel room at night...








Friday we spent the day visiting the Saint Louis Zoo, which happens to be FREE and amazing! Nate was so interested in all of the animals but especially in the Bird House Garden, he had all kinds of questions to ask the guide, which I thought was really cool!






The structure dates back to the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair...It was really neat.



We also saw a pair of mama and baby elephants! They were playing in the water and giving us many oh so sweet photo shots!

Friday night we went to Fair Saint Louis, down at the Arch, on the Mississippi River. We saw the Counting Crows (for FREE)! Nate and Jules ran around on the grass with other kids and had blast...it was an awesome night.

On Saturday, we visited the Anhueser Busch Factory (yes, at first I felt a little funny taking the kids there...) there was actually a lot to see and do for all of us! We toured the whole factory, the Clydesdale's Horse's stables, packaging plant and more.









Nate was super excited, as you can tell... or maybe he was just really cold (it was a chilly 40 degrees in this particular building!).





Oh, and we got this great shot of a Dalmatian pup sleeping near the Clydesdale's...



Saturday night gave us Train (Drops of Jupiter) live in concert at Fair Saint Louis (again for free). Train is one of my all time favorite bands, so it was a pretty awesome experience to see them there.

We also saw some amazing fireworks, which unfortunately, Juliana didn't like so much....

Sunday found us at the City Museum, an incredible museum for children and adults alike. It too, was an awesome experience! It appears that artists from all over came together to put together this amazing museum complied from recycled items (steel, metal, old airplanes, buses, art supplies, etc...)


Check out the legs on this mama! Okay, just kidding, now really, check out the little boy who is crawling on the thin beam below Jules and I! How awesome is that?! (We were up about 4 stories off of the ground!). Nate showed some massive courage this day!

Sunday afternoon we stuffed our bellies at Pappy's Smokehouse, one of the best BBQ smokehouses we have EVER been to...it was truely a yummy experience.


Wow, we really had an awesome time in Columbia and Saint Louis Missouri !!

It's good to be back home again though...We're looking forward to Pete's arrival home on Thursday...

Creativity Blooming

Despite being away from home all week and our having to stay in a hotel, I have really worked hard to maintain my motivation to keep the kids involved in daily creativity and learning.

We picked up some paint brushes and washable watercolor paints and went to work!

Nate painted a "deep diver" diving into the pool, and Juliana painted pictures of fairies, princesses, ballerinas and castles (but of course!).

It was a great way to spend some time yesterday...