Fair Time

In other news...it's fair week back home and I was able to take the boys to the parade and to visit the fair.

There is so much to do at the fair- rides, games, booths, barns, tractors.... and I really thought the boys would love walking through the cow and horse barns. Wrong. Henry thought it was pretty cool and made animal noises at the different animals. Charlie said, "Mom this is disgusting. There is horse stinky everywhere," and he proceeded to tiptoe through the manure.

We quickly got out of the barns so Charlie would quit grumbling about it and went and got some donuts and cider. While we were sitting there Charlie accidentally banged his leg against the stroller tire- which had manure on it.

He was NOT PLEASED. Can you tell?

Another Trip

We are at Mayo Clinic again which, really, has become the story of our life. Chad was in the hospital over the weekend and we flew out here yesterday. In the first 4-5 hours we were here he was seen by 3 doctors and a team of surgeons. It's refreshing to know he's being checked out so extensively.

I thought I'd take pictures of the flight over here. We are thankful to be flying with Wings of Mercy because driving for 10 hours was completely out of the question.

1. My dad and the boys seeing us off. The little brown house is the airport!

2. My view from the back of the plane- it's little!

3. This is why I get a little nervous flying over Lake Michigan- the sky and the water look exactly the same.

4. I'm pretty much sitting on the wing.

5. The Mississippi River.

First Day of School

**Edited because when I checked sitemeter this morning someone found this site by a google search for something inappropriate. I changed some words and hopefully that'll fix it. Darn, that upsets me.**

Oh, the tears. And they weren't Charlie's. Last night we were laying out his clothes, packing his backpack and filling out papers for the teacher. Charlie was jumping and leaping and talking very loudly with excitement and my eyes filled with tears.

"Charlie I can't believe how big you are."

He puffed out his chest and stood on his tiptoes, "I am a BIG brother and I'm going to kindergarten!"

"Well I think I'll cry about that," I told him. And I proceeded to cry- and I mean SOB.

Here is what he said to me:

"Mom I will love you forever and ever and even when I'm gone you can look at pictures of me."

I tried to explain it wasn't that I would miss him it was that he's so big now that he won't need me anymore.

Horrified by my statement he said, "MOM! But who will be there to swat me? I need you to swat me when I'm naughty! And give me ice cream when I'm good!" Because if there's one thing I'm good for apparently it's discipline.

And here he is on his first day...

We walked to school together (it's just behind those trees in the background- I can see it after the leaves fall) and he held my hand the whole way. He opened his locker by himself, hung up his backpack, grabbed his supplies and marched into class. I asked for a good bye kiss and he said, "No, Mom. That's not cool."

So I held in my tears until I got home. I'm pretty sure a crying mother isn't cool, either.