Princess or Tomboy?

Maggie's frequent phrase is "that doesn't make me pretty!" and then she only wears the clothes that do make her pretty. Yet her typical behavior brings her right into the role of playing hard! This particular day she was playing with dirt, rocks and her wheelbarrow, and she was climbing through the brush to retrieve her treasures - all while dressed in her fanciest clothes. She loves princesses ... and playing soccer. She is beautiful in both roles ... it will be fascinating to see what emerges!

Have you met my son ... Benny Rodriguez?

Connor has worn baseball uniforms on a regular basis for the past couple of years. It's not atypical to see him in full Red Sox uniform at school, at the grocery store ... or wherever we are when he feels the need to be a baseball player. He also tends to assume personalities as they suit him. For awhile this year he was Anakin Skywalker, then Luke Skywalker ... then Uncle Ted! He signs his name, and dresses as best he can, as his hero. I just love that.

This fall he watched "Sandlot" for the second (or third?) time. Benny Rodriguez is the hero of the movie. He ends up playing #3 for the LA Dodgers. This fall Connor decided he would be Benny Rodriguez. He signed all of his school papers as "Benny." He stared wearing the jeans and baseball jersey combination. Then for Christmas he asked for a "real Dodgers jersey with Benny's name and number." MLB websites did not allow names and numbers that did not match reality, so Santa had his work cut out for him ... but he came through with iron-on letters and numbers on a real Dodgers shirt. So, Connor has a Rodriguez #3 shirt. Then Connor became fascinated with "PF Flyers" ... the shoes that Benny wore ... they were the shoes that made everyone faster. Connor took his own pair of shoes and we pasted "PF" labels on them. That was enough for awhile. Then Connor wanted real PF Flyers shoes and a 3/4 length green baseball jersey to wear under the Dodgers uniform jersey ... then the jeans had to be rolled up (just like Benny's). Between the Easter Bunny and Mom and Dad's generosity, Connor now has the complete Benny Rodriguez uniform, which he wears proudly on a regular basis!

Oh my goodness do I love this child!

Four Wheelering!

No matter how many times we say "Four Wheeling," Brady talks excitedly about "Four Wheelering!" In September we rented ATVs and rode around the sand dunes in St. Anthony, ID. We just took the boys (Gary was here and stayed with Maggie). Brady absolutely loved the experience and has talked about it all year. When we asked him what adventure he wanted to do for his birthday, without hesitation he said, "I want to go four wheelering again!"

Today was the day. The boys had the day off from school, and Maggie was able to spend the afternoon with Gabby. After 4 days of snow, we woke up to clear blue skies and sunshine. It was even somewhat warm in St. Anthony. We rented two ATVs for two hours. It was perfect. Corb and Brady were on one and Connor and I were on the other. We found a couple of spots where we let Brady drive alone where we could watch him. Then, Connor asked to have a chance to try it on his own, and we agreed. I was filled what I'd imagine is the typical motherly mix of emotions -- fear and nervousness watching my boys do something rather dangerous, joy in their pure excitement and pride and happiness, and pride in watching them learn and take on something new. I loved watching all three :-) of my boys have fun today, four-wheeling in the sand dunes. But I will say that Corbin and I were both so happy that we only rented for two hours ... just as the boys got what we'd call "too much" confidence, time was up!

Mangy Moose Stools

When our kitchen remodel is complete, Corbin will do a blog post on the process, but I just had to put this short one in.

Quite a few years ago, we went to the Mangy Moose - the restaurant and bar at the base of Teton Village (Jackson Hole ski area) - and Corbin was absolutely taken by the ax-handle bar stools. They had octagonal seats made of reclaimed wood, with ax-handle legs. He just loved them. Two summers ago, Corbin noticed the same stools in a carpenter's showroom in Victor. We went in and met the carpenter, Steve Kitto. We were impressed by his work, and got along with him nicely. It turned out that he was, in fact, the man who made the Mangy Moose stools. I, of course, had very little memory of the Mangy Moose stools but fell in love with the ones in Steve's shop!

This fall Maggie and Steve's daughter, Josie, ended up in the same preschool class. We also had Steve build us three sets of bookshelves, made of reclaimed wood from the old Cheese Factory in Victor. We've developed a nice friendship with Steve and now that we are remodeling our kitchen, we were ready to ask Steve to build us some stools designed after those at the Mangy Moose. Yesterday Steve delivered them and we are so thrilled. For us they have a story with meaning ... and they were built by a friend.

The Shirt is Holding Up!

Connor has had two games so far. The first was rainy and freezing and when they called the game after 45 minutes, Connor was disappointed ... he might have been the only kid on the field wanting it to continue! Yesterday his second game was SNOWED out ... he protested saying they could still play. Tonight they had the makeup game, and he was thrilled.

Today he told me that at the first game one of the boys had a shirt that was too small for him. The boy's mother came up to Connor and said, "I notice your shirt is a little big for you, and I see that it's an extra large. My son's shirt is too small. Would you be interested in switching shirts?" Connor's answer was, "Well, my Mom cut this down so it would fit me, so I'm fine." He said to me today, "Plus Mom, I like that I get to keep #46, Jacoby Ellsbury's number!"

Thank goodness ... I don't know what I'd have done if he traded that shirt :-) !!

4H Horse Club

We just signed Brady up for 4H Horse Club! Our good friends, Heather and Harley, are leading the club and are very welcoming. Heather ran the 100 miler in Vegas (then found out she's pregnant!). Harley is her wonderfully amazing and supportive husband. He's also quite a cowboy. His specialty is roping, and he's taught his 3 daughters well. Their oldest, 17 year old Ashley is a champion roper herself.

Harley was very kind to Brady today and made him feel welcome, even as a beginning rider. Brady will learn western riding and horse care. He was, at first, very excited, then later pretty overwhelmed. We'll take this slowly. Brady's love of animals will likely prevail! Official lessons begin in late May or early June.

We arranged to borrow a horse from Harley, so Brady will have the chance to show at the County Fair in August if he wants ... we'll see how this all plays out ... but it's a fun new adventure!

Um ... just call me Olivia Walton ... :-)

Yesterday was "field day" for baseball, a meet and greet with coaches and families. Kids got uniforms; first games are tomorrow (Mon, 5/3). When we went up to the head coach, he said to Connor, "We have a hat for you, but not a shirt ... because of the late registration." Connor's response was, "Oh, OK, so how will I get my shirt before the first game?" The look on the coaches' faces was very telling - there would not be a shirt, ever. As I tried to smooth it over for Connor, the coaches started saying things like, "Well we have an extra coach's shirt, but it's an Adult XL." I quickly jumped on the opportunity and said something like, "I'm sure we could do something with that." Hmmm .... what did I say?! But there was no way Connor was going to play this whole season without a team shirt (or something close). Plus, Connor's faith in me was absolute ... "Oh, yeah, Mom - you can just cut it down to my size and fix it up ... great!"

So my weekend has been spent tailoring an Adult XL t-shirt into a Youth Small t-shirt ... mostly by hand! Have there been mistakes? Yes - in fact at one point I realized I'd sewn a sleeve on inside out ... oops! Is it of Olivia Walton standard? Not even close - there are places where the white thread (only thing I had) shows through, the hem is uneven, even though I cut off 3-4 inches the shoulders are still a little too big ... etc etc. Will it work? Yes - and Connor has enjoyed following my progress all weekend and he loves the shirt.

I do not sew. I can't remember the last time I used a sewing machine, and the only thing I've done by hand is patch up some stuffed animals here and there. So, I just relied on common sense and whatever was left over from the days of learning how to use Mom's sewing machine as a young girl ... perhaps I even earned a sewing badge in Girl Scouts way back when!! I cut the shirt apart and cut it down, then sewed it back together. Then Connor and I made our own stencils for the numbers, which are glued on with fabric glue. Finally, I borrowed a sewing machine from a friend (already set up with dark thread) and stitched the hem as best I could.

The best part (well, other than Connor's enthusiasm and complete support!!) was sitting and sewing while watching "The Waltons" with the kids on Saturday night.

Now, let's see how my creation holds up to 2 games a week for 6 weeks ... and the washing that will require!!