Ramsey's First Fish

On Saturday, while I was working on my DIY planter project, Ramsey and Eric played outside on the play set.    While Ramsey was swinging, he asked Eric if they could go fishing later.  

I do believe that Eric was quite pleased that his littlest was requesting this type of play time!  He does love his toy fishing rod and magnetic fish for the bath tub, so apparently he's been thinking about "the real thing"!  (Er, how about "the REEL thing".  Bad pun!)

We tried jigging a bit in the afternoon, but nothing bit.  Knowing that the evening bite would be more fruitful, we packed it up for the time being.    

Back in the house, Eric pulled out the R2 D2 fishing pole that he had given Ramsey for Valentine's Day.   When Ramsey saw it, his eyes got big and he said "WOW!  That is cool!"   Eric rigged it up with a bobber and I took a drive to buy some worms.  

Staying up past his bedtime, Ramsey put on his life jacket and we went fishing.  

 Eric threw Ramsey's bobber line out and then started jigging himself.   Ramsey wasn't enthralled with watching his bobber just sit in the water, but he was patient and sat on my lap very nicely.   Then, his bobber went under!  I reeled up some line, set the hook, and then Ramsey reeled in his very first fish!

 He caught a nice little bullhead.  He was so excited!   Daddy gently put the bullhead back in the water and threw Ramsey's bobber line out for another go at it.

Ramsey no longer wanted to be still and just watch the bobber; he wanted to jig and reel (even had some nice jigging motions and everything!).   He did a good job; he went slow, for the most part.   While reeling, Ramsey actually hooked another fish, but it got away just as we were about to bring it out of the water.  Dad thought it felt more like a small walleye.  

Tonight will be another fishing night, if the wind can stay at bay.    It may be premature to state, but we do seem to have another little family fisherman.  :-)

Project Planter

Leave it to Pinterest to give me more crazy ideas.....

So, I had this old spare 5-drawer file cabinet.  I had two of them, but only needed one in my office, so one sat idly in our garage for... months (Eric was thrilled).

Knowing I wouldn't get much for it at the salvage yard, I pondered what I could do with it.  I turned to my good buddy, Pinterest.  

There, I found a fun planter box made out of a smaller file cabinet, then searched some more and found a larger one just like mine that had been transformed.  I did have a need for a planter box and, since I am no carpenter and not able to make my own, my new project idea had been born.

Mine was rather beat-up.  I sanded it, gave it a paint job, drilled a ton of holes for drainage, and affixed some castors (just happened to have a set!) to the bottom, to ensure mobility.

Mom gave me an enormous bag of bubble wrap.  I filled the planter 2/3 full with the bubble wrap, plus empty milk jugs.  Those non-biodegradable items were perfect not only for drainage, but to ensure the planter wouldn't weight 2000 lbs by the time I got done filling it with dirt.

I used just over 2 bags of dirt (4 cubic feet).  Then, I filled it up with asparagus fern, perennial decorative grasses, geraniums, and petunias.  Voila.  Repurposed planter!

I still may do some decorative toll-painting or stenciling on it.  But, for now, I'm done with it and am itching to move on to my next project; Project Basement Bathroom.  :-)

Tennis Fetch

We haven't had too many nice days this month, but when the wind died down for a bit on Wednesday, Connor took Riggs out to play.   Connor came up with a new game, melded between one of his favorite summer activities and one of Riggs'; tennis and fetching from the dock.

Riggs gets his much-needed exercise and Connor gets a few extra back swings in (plus quality time with his doggy).  :-)

 

First Summer Campfire

Ok, so it was more like a burning (of the dead branches) party.   We didn't roast any hot dogs or make S'mores.  But, we did enjoy some time outside together.

The weather up until Sunday evening had been windy, rainy, and darn chilly!  Finally, we got a break and it was in the high 50s/low 60s.   It was time to get some branches burned.

While the "big boys" got things started, Ramsey was busy playing on his play set.

 Some of the branches were still a bit green, so Connor had to break out the ol' manual saw.  He claims this was the first time he'd ever used one.   Being a ranch kid, inside I secretly shrieked in disbelief at that notion!   But, better late than never.

Connor had a very eager fella next to him waiting to help.

He also had another eager helper.  Riggs LOVES to tear up tree branches.  It just so happens that he is very good at it too!  He got some of the wetter, more recently cut branches pulled apart.  It saved Connor a bit of sawing.

And it was relatively entertaining.  He took Connor for a tree branch ride here:

And playing Tug O' War here:

Of course, as I walked around the yard, I kept finding more potential burn projects.  We have so many trees and shrubs that should come down.   It's never-ending!  :-)     At least Riggsy will be happy about that.

And.... We Have a Sophomore!

As of 12:01 PM last Friday, May 19th, we officially have a high school Sophomore!  What??!!?  Yup.  SO HARD to believe!

You're growing into a fine young man, Connor.  :-)

Last Day of Preschool

Today was Ramsey's last day of preschool.  Aww!  The recurring theme of this blog: "Time Flies"!

The class had a "Summer Jam" party, where kids were to wear their favorite tank tops, shorts, flip-flops, shades, etc.  Ironically, the weather was windy, rainy, and in the 50's.  BRR!!   Um, Momma still sent him to preschool in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt (with a thick comfy jacket!) - the classroom is usually warm.  :-)

His wonderful teacher and aids sent home presents for him; a new pair of funky black Minecraft-esque pixel shades, a "Sunny Day" book, and this picture.  He's been lucky to have such wonderful educators!

Ramsey likes school and the social aspect of it is terrific towards his interactive development.  That said, he'll get to attend a special month of summer classes that start right after Memorial Day.

Bubble Boy

Ramsey's always loved bubbles.  Most kids do, right?   The kid's stash is loaded to the gills with tons of special bubble wands, character containers/wands, and stockpiles of bubble solution (he simply can't get enough).  

Ramsey doesn't quite have "the touch" to blow his own bubbles yet (he still blows too hard - or not hard enough).   I bought some bubble guns recently at the local superstore, so, with the pull of a trigger, he can finally produce his own airy iridescent orbs of fun.   Sidenote: Riggs loves bubbles to.  ...likes to chase them try to catch them with his chompers.

On Sunday evening, while I was whipping something up for supper, Eric noticed that Ramsey had imagined a new way to make mega bubbles:

His giant bubble clusters popped of course, but some of them got quite large before imploding!

I think he was quite proud of himself for his new mastered technique.  :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all the special mommas in our lives!
I received my gifts a few days early this year.  Two dozen roses appeared on my door step on Thursday.  So pretty!!   A fun novelty T-shirt and card were gifts also.

On Sunday, I spent the day with two of my three favorite boys (and Riggsy too - sorry, Riggs).  While Connor was with his momma for the weekend, I enjoyed the day with Eric and Ramsey.

We started off by going to church, ran a quick errand to the store, then enjoyed pizza for lunch.  Admittedly, I didn't take the day off to bum around 100% (always stuff to do), but it was a beautiful day and much of it was spent outside, playing with Ramsey on his play set, kicking the soccer ball, and playing chase with the dog.     ...so grateful for my family.  Love my boys!

Ramsey's First School Program

How can it be?   It's hard for us to believe that Ramsey is old enough to take part in his first school program!

Ramsey and his classmates have been practicing songs and dance moves for the Spring program during the last few months.    Ramsey hums and sings around the house, but we weren't very sure as to what the songs for the program would be.   Needless to say, we had been anticipating this little event for quite some time.

Nana Karen and I drove in and met Eric in the classroom.  All of the kids were sitting nicely on their individual squares.  One of the teacher's helpers said that "sitting nicely is the hardest part!"  Some kids were excited and fidgety, some were being very shy, and some just hung out and were quite carefree.

One of Ramsey's teachers gave him a book to look at while he waited.    Then, it was time for the show to begin!

They sang six songs: "The Hello Song", "Hello How Are You", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Shake & Shake & Shake & Stop", "See You Later Alligator", and "Goodbye Song".

It looks like Ramsey is doing "Jazz Hands" here!   Really, the kids were SO ADORABLE.. we couldn't help but smile (or laugh) non-stop.

Here are the videos of their songs (sorry if you hear any snickering in the background!!):

Ramsey was quite a ham!

After the kids sang, we watched a slideshow from the past school year.  The pictures were from their field trips (pumpkin patch, fire station, dental office, etc), a visit from Santa, and play time at various times.   Of course, Ramsey didn't start until the end of January, so he missed out on some fun things from earlier months.

Then, Miss Mariah gave each of the children an award.  Ramsey received the "Song Bird Award" because "The moment a song comes on, Ramsey is singing, dancing, and smiling.  He is happy, smart, funny, and so excited for school.  He loves to greet his friends and see them happy!"

Ramsey was the first student to receive an award, so he sat on Daddy's lap while the rest of the children got their special recognition also.

 It was so sweet to be able to see all of the children, especially to put the faces with the names.  Ramsey comes home and talks of his friends and now we know who he is talking about!  His favorite friends that he speaks of most are Olivia and Alex.

When we came home, Ramsey seemed quite proud of himself.  We took a couple of extra pictures of course.

Posing for me with his Song Bird award:

 And, it wouldn't be like Ramsey if he didn't make some silly faces too.

A Visit from Grandpa Orin and Judi

It's been quite some time since we'd seen Dad and Judi.   This last year, they'd made the big move from living in Oklahoma to Ohio, so they've sure been busy.

They had made the long haul to our neck of the woods last week and we made plans to spend time together on Friday.  Ramsey was excited for them to arrive.   When he heard Riggs barking (the sure sign someone new was nearby), he ran to the window to look out and see them.   Then, he ran to the door to greet them.

We had some nice quality time together and enjoyed the evening.

Ramsey was quite taken with Grandpa's beard.

 And, as usual, he was quite full of energy, goofing around much of the time (guess you could say he was "showing off" for them!).   At other times, he sat on Grandpa's lap or put puzzles together (Judi clapped for him once and then every time thereafter when he put his puzzle together, it was a necessity that everyone had to clap!).

We're already looking forward to seeing them again.   Miss you guys!