What a Dump!

Today, we had the first sunny day we'd had in a week!  It was the perfect day for a FIELD TRIP!

Ramsey's preschool class had been scheduled for their very first class field trip this year.  Location: the landfill.   I had offered to  to help herd children to and fro and chaperone at "the dump".  I wasn't sure what to think, but Ramsey's teacher had previously assured me it would be a FUN time!   I was slightly dubious, but very curious.

Our "tour guide" was a gentleman named Mike who managed the landfill.   He was one of Ramsey's classmate's grandfather.   We got the grand tour, starting with some of the heavy equipment.   They had a lot of earth-movers and dozers!

 On the way, the kids steered towards a large pile of dirt.  At least, I hope it was just dirt (my [rather-naughty-today-orange-hoodie-wearing] little boy thought he needed to climb the "dirt" pile).

 Then, off to climb the ginormous hill.  On the hill top of the hill reads "WELCOME", spelled out in white-painted tires that can be seen for a few miles before you get to the landfill.

 Everywhere we looked, there were surprising fun things to see.  Some of the kids found the cement deer on the top of the hill to pose with.

Ramsey found an old punching bag to climb on.

 When we got to the top, Mike and his colleagues had some fun things planned out for the kids; tire bowling!

 Ramsey thought this was rather fun and let his tire go!

A couple of kids' tires collided and Ramsey was none too pleased about that!

 We sat the tires back up and rolled down again.   Many of them hit the refrigerators below, one jumped into an open door on one of the trailer houses.  Mike rolled a huge tractor tire down the hill.  It smashed a golf cart that was sitting at the bottom of the hill.   It made Ramsey sad to see it get crushed.

 Then, we hopped on a trolley and got the full tour of the rest of the landfill.  Some of it was what I was expecting.   Some of it was even more interesting than I'd imagined!.

Mike had one of his workers get out "the crusher" and smash up a boat.

 While most of the kids clapped and cheered, Ramsey started to cry!  He shouted out, "NO, NOT THE BOAT!!!"   I told that maybe once they smashed it, they could recycle it into something new.  That helped... a little.

 Mike stopped the trolley at the new ravine that they'd been working on since May of this year.  He said they'd moved over 600,000 yards of dirt to create this area which will start holding garbage as early as next week.

 At the end of the tour, the kids took a picture with all of the kid-sized motorized vehicles that they have set up by the gate.   I asked him if there was anything wrong with them (thinking what a shame it was that they were all there).  He said that most of them really just needed batteries.   From personal experience (buying a battery for Ramsey's yellow Hummer), they're about $75.00.   Still though....

 I'm not sure what their next adventure will be, but we'll be looking forward to it.  Ramsey and his class had such a good time!

Blue Vs. Blue

Saturday morning, we ventured to town to meet up with Troy to watch one of Isaac's football games.  Our town's blue & gold 7th grade teams were matched up against their town's blue & white.

We rooted for #15.  Go Isaac!

 Their team beat our local team by two touchdowns, right in the very last quarter.

 We gave Isaac hugs and gave him Kudos for being an awesome hustler on the field!

I can't believe how grown up these boys are getting.  Unbelievable!

Homecoming Fun

Last week was Homecoming at Connor's high school.   Though Eric, Ramsey, and I did not attend the football game last Friday night, Connor and his girlfriend Emily attended and showed their school spirit.

Before the game, they spray-painted their hair blue and gold.

...couple of cuties!

Our Boys....

I had to snap a picture of these two sweet boys before they headed off to school on Tuesday.  Connor looked so handsome (and rather James Dean-like in his nearly-all-black attire - watch out ladies!!) and Ramsey was cute as a button with his red vest and Thomas the Train hat.

Ramsey wore his Thomas hat to school (but not IN school), as part of his first Show & Share.  The hat, given to him by Bridger, is now known as his "lucky fishing hat" after last weekend's boating experience.

A New Fisherman

Ramsey has gotten better about being in the boat.  With all of his "energy", he's been a little unsettled in the past, but he's starting to be quite the little sea-faring lad.

Last Saturday was an extraordinarily beautiful day for September.   Eric, Ramsey, and I went on the boat to take a ride, all the while pulling cranks (our only option, as we need a new battery for our trolling motor).   We'd heard that the perch had been biting like mad!

 Ramsey was curious to check out the depth finder and to see if he could spot any fish.  He was also good at steering the boat.

We hung out, enjoying the beautiful sunny day.  Ramsey happily played with his stick and grabbed some of Daddy's ice cubes, for his own little science experiment.

 On our first pass, we had a fish on the line.   Ramsey was eager to reel it in.

He had some help from Dad for a little bit, but then reeled it in on his own.

 Fish #1 was a very nice-sized perch.   Ramsey lovingly named it "Unskinny Bop" and Daddy threw it in the live well.

 Eric had the notion that if we had a fish in the tank, that alone would keep Ramsey occupied for a long period of time.  He wasn't wrong!

The act of adding water to the live well with a bucket was fun in and of itself!  Ramsey purposely put his head in the way of the stream of water so he could get wet.

 He kept doing it over and over.  When Eric had enough water in the well, Ramsey thought he'd be a comedian and stick his head in the water.   Picture "Goony Goo Goo" (Eddy Murphy fans will know what this means), bobbing for perch!

 Then, he had to try to catch the fish.  He was a good little hand-catcher, as he caught that fish at least 30 times (no lie - that poor fish must've wondered why he deserved that kind of punishment!).

 Each time Ramsey caught the fish, he'd say, "Look Mom, take my picture!"  So, I bet I have about a hundred pictures of him and Unskinny Bop.

 Literally.

 Over and over, he caught that poor fish, and dropped him back into the live well.

 Sometimes he would kiss it.  Sometimes he would just laugh and jump up and down, so proud of himself.

 The one person we thought would have the least amount of fun and be bored was having the time of his life!

 We wound up catching another perch (Ramsey proudly named it "Tinny").  And, when Eric was reeling his last line up, he had a keeper walleye on. 

 When we got into the house, it was a bit late, so Ramsey's bed time was extended.  Ramsey was so proud of the fish he'd caught!   We watched Daddy clean them, then it was time for bed.

Sunday morning, I overheard Ramsey on the monitor talking to himself (or maybe he was talking to Riggs, who sleeps on his bed with every night), saying that Unskinny Bop and Tinny were dead.  :-(   I figured he might have an issue with "knowing" the fish and then not want to eat them.
But, when I fried them up for supper on Sunday night, he didn't have any problems gobbling them up!   It was important to us for Ramsey to see the full circle of "lake to table".

The only thing that could have made the weekend better is if Connor could have been with us.

Ramsey's Rubber Plant

Just a post here for me when I'm back reminiscing years from now, reading our family blog book...

When I was in the hospital having Ramsey, Eric and Connor gave me a teeny tiny green plant, potted in a small ceramic airplane.  It was no more than 4" tall, much like the little geranium pictured below that Ramsey and I found growing rogue in our rock garden.  After a little research, I found that it was a common rubber plant (I don't have a green thumb and am not well-versed in household horticulture).

The other day, Ramsey and I had to repot the rubber plant (again), as it was overflowing the 8" pot it inhabited.   It's now in a ginormous pot, where I hope it will remain for a few years, before I have to move it to a new home again.

For being the gal who could kill an air fern, the houseplants we have are doing pretty darn well (they're all blessed with a big East picture window for the perfect amount of sunlight).

Here's my little helper, waiting for me on the deck, ready to bring the plants back in.   Goofball!   He takes after his Daddy.  ;-)

Ramsey's First Day of Sunday School

At church a few weeks ago, the Youth Ministry leaders gave each of the newest additions to their program a new children's [SPARK] bible.   Ramsey was thrilled!   He tried carrying it, but it's very heavy, so Mom and Dad bore the brunt when we went into the church for service.

This last Sunday, we went to his first day of Sunday School.  Parents were asked to join the children.    Eric wasn't feeling the best, so Connor and I accompanied Ramsey. 

It wound up being more of an orientation and "family fun hour" than anything.  As a large group (all of the Sunday School kids and families) met together in the church for an overview of the curricula and the church's mission, then moved into the recreation room to sing songs and dance.   Thereafter, we split off and went to some fun activities they offered in other rooms (sidewalk chalk, bubble-blowing, crafts, and learning stations, all with a good Christian message/theme).   It was super fun!  If it would have been appropriate, I would have taken loads of pictures. But, it's church, sooo....

While there, we also looked up the classroom number Ramsey will be in for the remainder of the year.   He's in a group of about 10 preschoolers (of the numerous PreK classes they have) and we know two of the children he'll be there learning with (one is one of Eric's colleague's daughter, born just two days after Ramsey)! 

So this next Sunday will truly be his first actual day of using his new Spark bible in a Sunday school environment.   He's looking forward to it!

I kind of wished I'd known he didn't need the bible that day.  It got AWFULLY heavy, dragging it around in my ginormous purse all morning!  :-)

Fall Firecamping and Freeing "Adorable"

It's official.  Fall is here.  The evenings are chilly, the leaves are changing color, and the nights for firecamping are limited before the snow flies.  I personally love this time of year.

On Saturday, Connor's girlfriend Emily came to hang out.   The kids played (Connor and Em were so good to Ramsey - so grateful!), visited, and we had a nice supper together.  Then, in the evening, Connor and Emily started a campfire.

There was another task that had been on our "master list" for a few months; digging up "Adorable" (a coniferous tree, growing in the rip rap, that Ramsey had previously given the sweet nomenclature), potting her (it?), and bringing her indoors.

She was nestled in the rocks very curiously and it was a challenging extraction.  Her roots grew between the rocks; some pointing down, some to the side - odd!

Daddy did a good job setting her free.   Perhaps she liked her home, but she would have been yanked from the rocks eventually (and, mind you, most likely not given the opportunity to enjoy a long full tree life).  But, since Ramsey had a cute connection to her, we decided to save her [now] and watch her grow.

 The plan is to replant her (somewhere in our yard) next year.   She can be "Ramsey's Tree".  We're not sure just yet what type of evergreen she is (hopefully something aesthetically pleasing!).

 ...More good times around a campfire with some pretty special people.... 

and an adopted tree.