sometimes its nice to be...

...where not a soul knows your name...when you get caught running in the rain...
...and your stroller rolls down a hill while your son is screaming behind you because he is wet...
...then the stroller crashes into a trash can and falls over...spilling everything you own into the street...
...and your phone falls in a puddle...when a stranger helps you pick up everything...
...and you put your soaking wet, screaming child in the stroller...still holding his umbrella...
...then you *literally* run home in the downpour...and get home to realize that you don't have a key...
...then your husband has to leave work so you can get inside your house...and you later realize that the key wasn't the only thing lost in the shuffle...lightning mcqueen and the king are gone too...
...when you wait for the rain to stop and then go back to the scene of the crime to look for the key and the cars...and when you can't find them...you spend three hours searching on amazon and ebay to replace them...only to realize that 'the king' is now a collector's item...and you spend $11 for a used toy car...you realize that sometimes it is nice to be where nobody knows your name...:)

105

My Grandmother Millie turned 105 on Saturday...pretty amazing in itself until you get to know the woman behind the number...she is inspiring.   She is the reason I love politics and K-State and the reason I attended the same church for almost thirty years.  She is a mother of four, grandmother of twelve, great-grandmother of fourteen, and great-great grandmother of two and a half (my cousin is pregnant)...I think I counted right...:)

I have grown up listening to Grandmother's stories.  I love hearing about getting the first car in town, or deciding to go to college to get her teaching degree, or making my Grandaddy wait four years to get married so that she could actually use her degree (back then you couldn't teach if you were a married woman).  She would also tell me about living in DC while Grandaddy was in the service and working for the Democratic party.  She is a staunch democrat and we have had our share of 'lively' discussions (my entire family has some pretty strong opinions and we all get a little 'lively' after a glass or two of wine:).  

Grandmother also loves sports...it was not unusual to walk into her house and see three different devices (tv, radio, etc) playing three different sports.  She never misses a Royals, K-State or WSU game, and loves golf and tennis...my mom and dad still take tv listings (channel, time) to the nursing home.  Her love of sports spilled into a value of fitness.  She played tennis in college and later built a tennis court on their property next to their house.  Once she couldn't play anymore, she started walking laps on the court.  I can still remember her walking around her tennis court singing hymns from her notecard (she knew she was done when she finished all of them) well into her 90's.  Singing on the court was just practice for church...she sang in the choir until she was  in her 90's too.

Grandmother has inspired me...to speak my mind, stand by my beliefs, cheer for my team and do my best.  More than anything, she has taught me the importance of family.  Happy birthday Grandmother!

Munich

We are so blessed to have been able to go to Munich with Brady's parents.  Munich is a wonderful city and we had a great time!  Lots of German Beer, sausage, sauerkraut and sightseeing!  Unfortunately, Parker was sick the entire time we were gone (fever every day, puke-at-breakfast, pee-on-mommy kind of sick).   After looking back at my pictures, I realize that I was so focused on him that I didn't take a ton of great ones...shoot.

Anyway, here are a few pictures...Munich is definitely worth the trip if you get a chance!

Bavarian meatloaf at the Hofbrahaus...it looks and tastes like a giant piece of bologna.

Happy Birthday Papa Marvin! 

He perked up for dark chocolate ice cream:)

I have no idea why, but people take turns touching her um, boob...we are such dorks and couldn't resist...

yep, we are awesome parents!

Parker playing a little with Corbin, Brady's cousin Whit's son.

Whit, Alison and Corbin live a few hours away so they drove down to meet us!  We were so excited to see them!

The boys were worn out!

Dachau...it wasn't the most pleasant trip, but I'm so glad we went.

poor little man!

Grammy and Papa Marvin

We are so excited to have them here!! We've had a great couple of days in Norwich and are now on our way to Munich! Can't wait!

parkerisms

We are at that stage when P's personality is becoming more and more unique every day.  Brady calls him a 'weird' kid, but let's face it, I am his mother and he probably doesn't have much hope.  He is always making us laugh...here are a few of my latest favorite moments...

While we were on vacation a little boy came up to Parker and started speaking to him very excitedly in Italian (I think)...after looking at him for a minute Parker started to answer him in Parker Italian (aka speak gibberish super fast) and nodding his head in excitement...it was funnier in person...

Also on vacation...Brady told Parker he could pee in the ocean (assuming he would wade into waist deep water first, as if that makes it ok)...well, Parker and I were standing in ankle-deep water when I noticed a woman staring at P with her mouth wide open in shock...I look down and P had pulled 'willy' out and was creating his very own fountain...

Parker was using his 'get out of bed free' card to use the toilet one last time...he was trying to stall bedtime and sat down on the toilet with his underwear still on...Brady and I both yell, "Parker, no!  You're going to get potty on your underwear!"  Parker smiles at us, stands up and just starts cracking up...he was just trying to get a reaction...turkey.

Naptime is always a hotbed of  'random parker' moments.  We always read three books and then he usually gets one story after his light is turned out...this time he wanted to hear the story of when Parker decided to go camping (I have an entire arsenal of these 'when parker decided' stories)...in the middle of the story he says, "mom, you can't feed french fries to the swans...it's not good for them."  He talked about the swans for a minute and how they prefer bread and then stands up on his bed and pretends to whistle, "Gram Gram, G-Dawg...I'm just whistling for Gram Gram and G-Dawg...(whistle) Grammy, Papa Marvin..."   Oh and it didn't end there when he finally lay down, I heard him sing to himself for a bit and then clearly heard, "and I wonder if I ever cross your mind?  It happens all the time...it's a alkdjfalskdjf  after one..."  I guess he's a Lady A fan too...

We were at TK Maxx the other day when he wanted to get out of the stroller...I told him to wait a minute when he looked at me and said, "mommy, I'm starting to get serious, you'd better let me out..."  It was complete with his 'serious' face and everything...oh geez...

Parker has been using 'remember' a lot for the last couple of months...as in, "don't you remember mommy?  Daddy said I could wear my jersey."  or "remember I told you I have to ride my bike first?"  or "remember yesterday you said I could go to the library."  Seriously, Brady and I have had to watch ourselves because he remembers everything but his sense of time isn't totally accurate yet so sometimes what we say comes back to bite us!

Not so brave...

I have to admit, I think I got a little more excited than Parker every time a Brave preview advertised.  I was so excited to take Parker to see it that I didn't really do quite enough research before buying a ticket (like the fact that it is rated PG and not G).  Luckily, I wasn't alone...my friend Mandy brought her girls too.  We made it through about 45 minutes when we decided that having one 4yo crying, one 8yo covering her eyes, and two 2yo taking constant potty breaks just to leave the theatre,  was enough to make us walk out.  I love Disney Pixar movies, but I have to admit that there were not enough light moments to make up for the scary ones in this movie...which just gives proof to the theory that I should have done more research first...don't get me wrong, I will still probably rent it when it comes out on dvd and watch it by myself.  

On the bright side, we decided to go to the arcade next door and let the older girls play for a while to perk their moods.  Parker spent all of his time on the cars and DDR...I embarrassed myself through six songs on this thing just so he could dance beside me.  Nothing like watching a little 2yo dance to Cotton-eyed Joe (is that the name?) to make you smile.  I should have taken a video but we all know how good I am about doing that...

today

today I watched P 'chase' my parents with his animals while my parents ran around their house with the iPad...I love technology...:)

today was the second out of four that Brady will be in Geneva...I hate when he's gone...

today I snuck a brownie while walking in the city centre...and got caught...by Parker...I think I have a problem...

today I just sat and listened to little man play...I love that he loves books and stories so much and acts out everything with his toys...

today Parker put on his shirt by himself and when it got stuck on his head (again) he said, "hmmm, I sure do have a big head!"  Poor kid.

today I took P swimming for the first time in a long time (I really hate the changing room...I'm a baby, I know), and he finally walked away from the steps on his own (he has been able to touch for a while).  This sounds silly, but P is terrified in the pool unless you are holding on to him (super tight) or he is sitting on the steps, so this was a HUGE deal.

today I realized that the season pass I bought to the Dinosaur Park was a fantastic idea...until I failed my driving test...if only we could get there...shoot...

today I almost drove anyway when Parker asked to go to the zoo...what can I say, Brady left the car here and the temptation grows every day...

today I deleted facebook from my phone...hopefully I'll check my phone less often...

today I realized that I think I am avoiding planning P's birthday because it is so hard to think of celebrating without our friends and family...I've decided I need to get over it:)

today I was once again reminded of just how blessed we are...so, so blessed...

Ahoy Sailors!!

Brady always makes fun of me for going to sailing camp when I was younger (I have never denied what a big dork I was am)...so when Brady and I saw a sailing trip on the auction list at the Cricket Ball a couple of months ago, we couldn't wait to bid on it (I'm pretty sure we were actually bidding against each other, but that's another story).  We finally we able to go this last saturday.  Our host, Andrew, helped us navigate the broads on his boat.  We had a great time and learned a lot.  However, I have to admit that sailing may not be the best activity for a 2 year-old.  It was a pretty confined space and of course P wasn't supposed to touch anything so he was a little bored (though he did love yelling, "ahoy sailors" as we passed other boats).  He was not afraid to tell us either...when we asked if he liked sailing he said no...shoot.

Olympic Marathon

We had a spectacular day in London yesterday.  We left on one of the first trains out of Norwich so that we could stake out a place to watch the marathon.  Even better?  Our friends, Kat and Tom, who had just moved to London, came to watch with us.  We had so much fun.  We started with the marathon, went to the Natural History Museum and then finished with lunch and Covent Garden.  It was the perfect end to a great weekend!

We had to make sure there was a bathroom nearby...hence our spot near McDonalds...

In true Parker form, he talked about Tom and Kat the entire trip to
London and then acted shy when we finally saw them.

Thirty minutes!

The front runners...

U-S-A!

U-S-A!!

Parker got pretty excited every time they ran by.

We actually watched around mile 7, but we forgot to take a picture until I saw the 15 mile marker.

Natural History Museum. This was our first time and it was awesome!

DINOSAURS!!!  P was so excited!

I have no pictures of P with T-Rex because he was pretty scared.

Yeah...we're cool.

Parker loved imitating the elephant noises.

This looked as freaky in person as it does in the picture.

The best Mexican food we've had since we've moved here...to say we overate would be an understatement.