which was on July 10. He turned 13. I am now the mother of a teenager. And believe you me, I am well aware.
Here are some shots of the family party, held at Grandma's after a fine day of theater camp for Jacob, Haley, and Megan.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
More All-American Stuff: Baseball This TIme
What gets the Von Feldts out to a Royals baseball game in Kansas City on a hot Saturday afternoon?
BUCK NIGHT!
It was a beautiful evening at the K, at least after the sun went behind the bleachers.
The Royals' diamond:
We love the Royals. At least some of us. Others are rather disinterested, no offense intended.
One fan and one of the disinterested parties:
Hollerin' for the Royals:
Cotton Candy! Not part of buck night, but it's hard to resist the plaintiveness of a three-year-old. It is very sunny and hot!
This is a spectacular shot of Meredith's freckles. I adore them. It is funner to take shots of them than watch a baseball game. Doug says that at least watching baseball is better than watching golf.
Those disinterested among us bring a good book. Sophia is hoping to finish Harry Potter 4 before seeing the movie of Harry Potter 5.
It actually turned out to be an unusually fabulous game, with all of us standing and whooping by the end. The Royals won it by a point in the bottom of the ninth!
BUCK NIGHT!
It was a beautiful evening at the K, at least after the sun went behind the bleachers.
The Royals' diamond:
We love the Royals. At least some of us. Others are rather disinterested, no offense intended.
One fan and one of the disinterested parties:
Hollerin' for the Royals:
Cotton Candy! Not part of buck night, but it's hard to resist the plaintiveness of a three-year-old. It is very sunny and hot!
This is a spectacular shot of Meredith's freckles. I adore them. It is funner to take shots of them than watch a baseball game. Doug says that at least watching baseball is better than watching golf.
Those disinterested among us bring a good book. Sophia is hoping to finish Harry Potter 4 before seeing the movie of Harry Potter 5.
It actually turned out to be an unusually fabulous game, with all of us standing and whooping by the end. The Royals won it by a point in the bottom of the ninth!
A Lawrence Fourth
Funny, but last year for the Fourth of July we were also homeless, as we had just sold our country house in Lawrence and were awaiting the close date on our Lamar house. We were welcomed last year at GR's party, and that's where we headed again this year. In the meantime GR and Joe have both gotten their professional pyrotechnic licenses. It was one well-organized, beautiful evening. And let me tell you what, the fireworks and the company could not be beat! We spent a lot of time catching up with old friends from Wakarusa Valley Ward and Second Ward. I'm glad the congregations are still so close, even though it has been three years since they were split. Then we enjoyed the spectacular show! And guess what: those professional-grade fireworks are LOUD!
Here, Sophia, Meredith, and Aidan have donned their flag baseball caps in a display of patriotism:
Jacob is really growing up, don't you think?
Jacob loves to lavish his little brother with affection and play. He helped Aidan admire and catch the parachutes that Joe set off early in the evening!
Now, those of you who know Jacob know that he is destined for his own professional pyrotechnic license someday: he LOVES fireworks. In the days leading up to the fourth, his grandpa took him along to help out at the Knights of Columbus fireworks tent. Jacob enjoyed tagging, organizing, and perusing the fireworks each day. He also bought quite a few of them! So on the third of July, our family had our own event to shoot off our favorites at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Click to play:
(I have switched templates again because that green template was just buggin' me. I really like the way photos look against black. I'm sorry that I'm am using the same template as good friend Kristy, but I hope she won't mind too much.)
Here, Sophia, Meredith, and Aidan have donned their flag baseball caps in a display of patriotism:
Jacob is really growing up, don't you think?
Jacob loves to lavish his little brother with affection and play. He helped Aidan admire and catch the parachutes that Joe set off early in the evening!
Now, those of you who know Jacob know that he is destined for his own professional pyrotechnic license someday: he LOVES fireworks. In the days leading up to the fourth, his grandpa took him along to help out at the Knights of Columbus fireworks tent. Jacob enjoyed tagging, organizing, and perusing the fireworks each day. He also bought quite a few of them! So on the third of July, our family had our own event to shoot off our favorites at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Click to play:
(I have switched templates again because that green template was just buggin' me. I really like the way photos look against black. I'm sorry that I'm am using the same template as good friend Kristy, but I hope she won't mind too much.)
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Play House
Thank you to our realtor, Janet, for not only helping us find a new home, but also a temporary one. She has put us up in one of her townhomes which was vacant while awaiting the return of a graduate student and his family in August.
Sophia, Meredith, Jacob and I moved in and melted into it. I felt so good to have our own space at last! Generous friends and family have lent us linens and cookware. Grandma sent over a tv. We went to the video store and stocked up on movies, hit the grocery store for hamburger helper and laundry detergent. A three-bedroom condo never felt like such a palace to me!
To Sophia and Meredith, it seems like an enormous playhouse! They like to pretend that they are the adult tenants here, so they do a lot of dish washing and laundry-folding just because that's what grown-ups do when they live in a house. They especially enjoy putting the groceries away. And I am NOT COMPLAINING!! I let them decide where everything goes. So they just tell me how I can help.
With the least possible delay we invited some of the girls' friends over. Here we had returned to Lawrence and all their old friends, and we had hardly had the opportunity to see them! Rachel and Renae came over for some water balloon games at the park, a late night watching movies, and some dancing in the living room the next day:
Sophia, Meredith, Jacob and I moved in and melted into it. I felt so good to have our own space at last! Generous friends and family have lent us linens and cookware. Grandma sent over a tv. We went to the video store and stocked up on movies, hit the grocery store for hamburger helper and laundry detergent. A three-bedroom condo never felt like such a palace to me!
To Sophia and Meredith, it seems like an enormous playhouse! They like to pretend that they are the adult tenants here, so they do a lot of dish washing and laundry-folding just because that's what grown-ups do when they live in a house. They especially enjoy putting the groceries away. And I am NOT COMPLAINING!! I let them decide where everything goes. So they just tell me how I can help.
With the least possible delay we invited some of the girls' friends over. Here we had returned to Lawrence and all their old friends, and we had hardly had the opportunity to see them! Rachel and Renae came over for some water balloon games at the park, a late night watching movies, and some dancing in the living room the next day:
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Aidan is 3
(This is a revision of an earlier post.)
In the middle of the house hunting portion of our summer, Aidan turned three (on June 20). Who can believe it? We celebrated at Grandma's house in Topeka (you'll remember that that's Doug and Jacob's home base for the summer).
When Aidan went to blow out his candles, someone suggested that he make a wish. So he shouted vigorously and sincerely, "I wish . . . to fight bad guys!" And with that blew out his candles with gusto.
Yesterday was Jacob's 13th birthday (that post will follow later), and Aidan picked up a few more goodies that weren't ready in time for his actual birthday. Aidan also enjoyed cheesecake and raspberry sauce again since that was Jacob's choice for a birthday cake as well. Our family had gathered once again for this celebration in Topeka with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and also cousins Haley and Megan.
Aidan said another funny thing at Jacob's party. At first, the only one to notice what he said was Jacob, who was sitting next to him. Jacob asked him, incredulously, to repeat what he had just said. And then again, just to be sure, Jake had him repeat his exclamation one more time. By now, we all heard clearly what he said, though none of us could believe it. Do you know what Aidan said, rather matter-of-factly? Here is what he said: "Damnit." He explained that his "strawberries" (actually raspberries) had fallen off his spoon, so he said, "damnit." After we all whooped and hollered with laughter, the most obvious question was, Where had this three-year-old learned this word? Doug and I certainly don't say it! Grandma also vigorously denied responsibility! So did Jacob! When queried, Aidan responded earnestly that he had made up the word himself. I don't think so.
He repeated the word again today when he dropped a ball he was playing with. The girls and I explained to him that this is a bad word, but he insisted innocently that it is a good word. I guess he finds it to be a very useful way of expressing his internal state in the face of certain minor mishaps.
We will continue to make efforts to reprogram this habit. We hope we have success by the time preschool starts next month.
Here's some shots of Aidan's second haul:
In the middle of the house hunting portion of our summer, Aidan turned three (on June 20). Who can believe it? We celebrated at Grandma's house in Topeka (you'll remember that that's Doug and Jacob's home base for the summer).
When Aidan went to blow out his candles, someone suggested that he make a wish. So he shouted vigorously and sincerely, "I wish . . . to fight bad guys!" And with that blew out his candles with gusto.
Yesterday was Jacob's 13th birthday (that post will follow later), and Aidan picked up a few more goodies that weren't ready in time for his actual birthday. Aidan also enjoyed cheesecake and raspberry sauce again since that was Jacob's choice for a birthday cake as well. Our family had gathered once again for this celebration in Topeka with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and also cousins Haley and Megan.
Aidan said another funny thing at Jacob's party. At first, the only one to notice what he said was Jacob, who was sitting next to him. Jacob asked him, incredulously, to repeat what he had just said. And then again, just to be sure, Jake had him repeat his exclamation one more time. By now, we all heard clearly what he said, though none of us could believe it. Do you know what Aidan said, rather matter-of-factly? Here is what he said: "Damnit." He explained that his "strawberries" (actually raspberries) had fallen off his spoon, so he said, "damnit." After we all whooped and hollered with laughter, the most obvious question was, Where had this three-year-old learned this word? Doug and I certainly don't say it! Grandma also vigorously denied responsibility! So did Jacob! When queried, Aidan responded earnestly that he had made up the word himself. I don't think so.
He repeated the word again today when he dropped a ball he was playing with. The girls and I explained to him that this is a bad word, but he insisted innocently that it is a good word. I guess he finds it to be a very useful way of expressing his internal state in the face of certain minor mishaps.
We will continue to make efforts to reprogram this habit. We hope we have success by the time preschool starts next month.
Here's some shots of Aidan's second haul:
Monday, July 09, 2007
House Hunt
After our marvelous Key Largo vacation, Doug and I went our separate ways--me back to Richmond, and Doug to Topeka to start his new job. He's loving it and very excited for the challenge!
The kids and I visited with Aunt Annie, Uncle Jeff, and Ashtyn for a couple more days and then drove back to Kansas to begin househunting--here are some grassy shots taken in a mall parking lot, of all places. Kids can have fun anywhere!
Back in Kansas, we landed at Shannon W.'s as our home base while I began scouting out the Lawrence home market. Our spectacular realtor, Janet G., who sold our home last summer, took me in hand. I think we saw every home on the market in Lawrence two or three times! She was a total trooper! There are no pictures to show of that process, and that is because I was utterly focused on the mission at hand, which was to get my family into a house before school starts. Luckily, Janet was focused on the same mission, "like a bull terrier grabbing a hold of something and refusing to let go," as she put it. Three weeks into the search, still without a house we all felt great about and my panic level rising--Janet scoped out a home new to the market that she thought was perfect. The phone calls flew and we had snapped it up by the end of the day! Yay! We are so happy with it and grateful to the owners for making arrangements to be out quickly so we could be in well before school! I will be there for the inspection tomorrow and can hardly wait. We close on July 27th. Pictures will follow soon!
The kids and I visited with Aunt Annie, Uncle Jeff, and Ashtyn for a couple more days and then drove back to Kansas to begin househunting--here are some grassy shots taken in a mall parking lot, of all places. Kids can have fun anywhere!
Back in Kansas, we landed at Shannon W.'s as our home base while I began scouting out the Lawrence home market. Our spectacular realtor, Janet G., who sold our home last summer, took me in hand. I think we saw every home on the market in Lawrence two or three times! She was a total trooper! There are no pictures to show of that process, and that is because I was utterly focused on the mission at hand, which was to get my family into a house before school starts. Luckily, Janet was focused on the same mission, "like a bull terrier grabbing a hold of something and refusing to let go," as she put it. Three weeks into the search, still without a house we all felt great about and my panic level rising--Janet scoped out a home new to the market that she thought was perfect. The phone calls flew and we had snapped it up by the end of the day! Yay! We are so happy with it and grateful to the owners for making arrangements to be out quickly so we could be in well before school! I will be there for the inspection tomorrow and can hardly wait. We close on July 27th. Pictures will follow soon!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Return to Kansas, but first: Key Largo
Oh my blog-reading friends! How patiently you have waited for my return to blogland. The good news is that we have also returned to Kansas, found a home, and even found a temporary home to stay at while we wait for our closing date.
But many things have happened in between, and I would like to update you and show you some of the sites along the way. I'm sure it will take a few posts to bring things up-to-date.
I believe I last posted about the trip to Virginia Beach that we took while the younger kids and I were visiting my sister and her family in Richmond, Virginia.
While we were there, Aunt Annie gamely agreed to watch my kids for four days while I took a vacation. Meanwhile, back in Kansas, Grandma and Grandpa were willing to keep an eye on big brother Jacob so Doug could meet me. This made it possible for us to celebrate our 15th anniversary--a few months late.
We met in Miami and, after a quick stop at a Cuban restaurant--one of Doug's favorite cuisines--we drove to Key Largo. We had booked a room at a small resort that got great online reviews, and boy, did it turn out to be spectacular! The owners of Kona Kai Resort and Gallery have created a spectacular but cozy oasis, personally choosing all of the magnificent plantings on the grounds and creating a beach-like feel on the Florida Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. They were also incredibly helpful in suggesting restaurants and activities.
We read and relaxed, ate, kayaked, snorkled, ate, read some more, relaxed some more, enjoyed a eco-tour to explore the mandrake keys and to spot ocean creatures, enjoyed the inn's gallery and orchid gardens, then read and relaxed some more. It was just what we needed and we can't wait to go back!
Doug and I ate fish caught locally for every meal (except for breakfast, of course). Doug's favorite, mahi-mahi, is abundant in local waters, but so is grouper and yellowtail snapper. We also had Conch Chowder, a local specialty, and of course Key Lime Pie. My favorite dish of the trip was jerked yellowtail, which I followed with some more Key Lime Pie.
The trip was just what we needed. I'm sure we'll find our way back to the Florida Keys again soon.
Enjoy the pics--just click on the arrow to begin a slideshow of our trip. You can pause the slideshow, too, or advance and reverse at your own pace. Or, double-click and you will be taken to a larger version of the photos.
But many things have happened in between, and I would like to update you and show you some of the sites along the way. I'm sure it will take a few posts to bring things up-to-date.
I believe I last posted about the trip to Virginia Beach that we took while the younger kids and I were visiting my sister and her family in Richmond, Virginia.
While we were there, Aunt Annie gamely agreed to watch my kids for four days while I took a vacation. Meanwhile, back in Kansas, Grandma and Grandpa were willing to keep an eye on big brother Jacob so Doug could meet me. This made it possible for us to celebrate our 15th anniversary--a few months late.
We met in Miami and, after a quick stop at a Cuban restaurant--one of Doug's favorite cuisines--we drove to Key Largo. We had booked a room at a small resort that got great online reviews, and boy, did it turn out to be spectacular! The owners of Kona Kai Resort and Gallery have created a spectacular but cozy oasis, personally choosing all of the magnificent plantings on the grounds and creating a beach-like feel on the Florida Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. They were also incredibly helpful in suggesting restaurants and activities.
We read and relaxed, ate, kayaked, snorkled, ate, read some more, relaxed some more, enjoyed a eco-tour to explore the mandrake keys and to spot ocean creatures, enjoyed the inn's gallery and orchid gardens, then read and relaxed some more. It was just what we needed and we can't wait to go back!
Doug and I ate fish caught locally for every meal (except for breakfast, of course). Doug's favorite, mahi-mahi, is abundant in local waters, but so is grouper and yellowtail snapper. We also had Conch Chowder, a local specialty, and of course Key Lime Pie. My favorite dish of the trip was jerked yellowtail, which I followed with some more Key Lime Pie.
The trip was just what we needed. I'm sure we'll find our way back to the Florida Keys again soon.
Enjoy the pics--just click on the arrow to begin a slideshow of our trip. You can pause the slideshow, too, or advance and reverse at your own pace. Or, double-click and you will be taken to a larger version of the photos.
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