BIG FISH!

He was a beauty! Owen's first true fishing adventure began yesterday morning. His Auntie Pam , who has been alternating weekends to have some one-on-one time with Owen and Maya each week, saw the Fishing Derby advertised and knew this was just the thing.

Owen was out the door at 7:45 with Auntie Pam and Grammie. They went to Miller Park in Bloomington and met up with our neighbors the Merrills.

The fishing was apparently frustrating at first. The rod we'd bought Owen to replace the beginner rod Pam had bought him suffered the same fate, a broken reel. Chris Merrill stepped in, though, lending Owen one of his rods and helping him get started.

Like all good fishing stories, Owen's adventure also included One That Got Away. From Kelli Merrill's report, the catfish Owen had hooked at one point was easily close to two feet long, a big fellow who put up quite a fight. Indeed, the reason they didn't land him in the long run was that nobody had a net large enough to bring him to shore.

Still, his actual catch did bring a lot of joy, as you'll see in the pictures below.



Here's Owen (below) with the fish and Chris.


And here he is at home.

FYI, we did release the fish into the creek behind our house later. This proved to be quite the ordeal. After Grammie and Auntie Pam left, we took some time to visit with Owen to see what he wanted to do with the fish. Chris had offered to clean it along with their catch, which was very generous. Truth be, though, we mostly eat a vegetarian diet and, after discussing it with Owen, we all agreed we would feel more comfortable releasing the fish.

Problem was when we went to grab the bucket, the fish had stopped moving. The gills were flapping every now and then and his head twitched less frequently. So we ran it to the creek, hoping the running water would make a difference.

For five minutes, the fish flapped listlessly in the water, floating mostly on its side and back. The Merrills came over during that time to see what we were doing. When it looked like all was lost, we filled the pail up again with water and fish and handed it off to them for cleaning.

Not 20 minutes later, while I was preparing lunch, Owen ran back from some playing with Philip and his sisters. "The fish isn't dead! We just released it." Rising like the Phoenix, our little catfish decided all wasn't lost and, having been discovered alive at the Merrill household, was returned to the creek.

Owen, Amy, Maya, and Philip ventured down the creek today to see if they could find him. Owen was pretty sure he saw a big tail flipping out of the water. Wherever he is, I hope our fish is enjoying his new day of swimming about. Maybe we'll catch you again some day ...

Last Day of School!

Kindergarten is over! Let the summer begin!

Owen had his last day of kindergarten today. Although it really wasn't so much a "day" as it was "a last hour." I dropped him off at school at 8:15, drove Maya to Scribbles, went to work for a few minutes, then went right back to get him. He got his report card (all good marks), and headded right off to his new summer adventure, the School Age program at Scribbles, where he'll join many of his old friends in a summer filled with field trips, swimming, crafts, and other activities.

Day one done, he was exhausted!

The final week of school had a prelude in last Friday's Kindergarten Celebration. The program in Owen's classroom lasted a little more than an hour and featured the kids counting, showing off their letter skills, and singing the many songs they've learned over the course of the year.

Owen had a wonderful time. Grammie, Grampy, and Owen's aunties Meg and Pam joined us for the fun.

My favorite part was the big dance number at the end ...

And, of course, we enjoyed getting photos with Owen and his teachers ...

Mrs McCoy

And Miss Legner.

Nice job, ladies. Owen had a great year!

SIX!

Owen had a wonderful sixth birthday on May 8. Our sweet little boy woke up to balloons, donuts (gluten free, of course), and a string of presents that kept coming all day.

It was wonderful to celebrate his birthday again on Mother's Day, the first time his birthday and the holiday have coincided since his birth. Each of the kids had decorated a flower pot for their mom. We also made cards, bought cards, and had a mix of miscellaneous crafts ready for her.

But the real focus of the day was Owen. After a first breakfast at home (with a few presents) ...

... we headed over to the Ives for second breakfasts (and many more presents).

Owen had lots of fun, then got some energy out on his new scooter outside.

Then it was party time!

We met up with Owen's friends at Gymnastics, Etc., a local gym that hosts birthday parties featuring a mix of activities on their gymnastics equipment.

The kids had a great time, and so did we, balancing, jumping on the trampoline, and playing in the PIT OF FOAM!!! (punctuation and emphasis mine).




The image of the day might be that of Grandpa (below), who I think could have stayed in that spot all day, tossing foam cubes at all the little kids.
We then went to the party room for cake and presents.


Happy birthday, my little friend! We love you!

Maya also had a wonderful weekend, enjoying the fun as much as her big brother. There were the stray sprinkles from the donuts ...

A lot of catching up to do

I have to admit, it took some thought. By the time this project came home from school with Owen, the grass was turning green and memories of our February blizzard were slowly slipping away into the farthest recesses.

But when I really took the time to look at the bottom drawing, my heart melted like the winter snow. Owen's favorite February day ... yeah ... I had something to do with that.

Anyway, lots has happened since the last blog post on April 3. I turned 41. Strangely, not a single photo exists of me from my birthday, but this one of Maya enjoying my birthday balloons captures some of the joy of what was a very happy day.
Following the birthday, we moved right into our April routine. Work was very busy for both Amy and me. Amy moved into a new position at work, I pressed on with the work preparing the BCPA's 2011-12 season announcement, and Owen began what has become a long, frustrating, and difficult month dealing with nightmares.


But we keep pressing on, hoping that despite the work, despite the confusing fears, and the pace of keeping going that there are many wonderful little details in life we need to stop to admire and enjoy.

Case in point ...


Easter also provided a happy diversion. There was candy necklace beading.

Egg dying. (A special thank you to our favorite green-fingered Auntie Pam.)
Egg seeking.
And rides in the Easter carriage.
And during it all I trained for my 38th marathon, which I ran in Champaign on April 30, completing it in 3:10.11 and coming in 93rd out of some 2000 marathoners
As if seeing dad in his running togs wasn't enough of a harbinger that spring had arrived, the ice cream truck made its first pass of the year through the neighborhood earlier this week.



It was good, messy fun.

But no, kids. That ice cream isn't getting within 10 feet of my new car.

Fresh air!

The biking continued over the weekend. Grandpa came for a second birthday weekend, this time to get a jump on my 41st birthday this coming Tuesday.

One of the highlights was that Grandpa got to see Owen ride his bike first hand, a skill he continues to improve upon by the minute. Grandpa and I positioned ourselves 7-8 houses apart and watched Owen go back and forth, helping him Owen get turned around at each end. It was a perfect setup, as the Running After Him plan (see videos) is unsustainable over the long haul. The next job is for us to find Owen a slightly smaller bike with pedal brakes, which we agree will help him get started and stopped, as this one is a little too tall, the perfect bike to grow into.

Let me tell you, though, once he can get going on his own: WATCH OUT!

We spent lots of additional time outdoors over the weekend. Grandpa and I took the kids to clean our section of the trail on Saturday. Today we enjoyed the warm temps and did our best to ignore the high winds, enjoying lots of play time outside. It was good to get on the slide again, feel the hair blowing in your face (if you're Maya), play in the sand, and take a few shots on goal.