dianegclark

I have lived in Manhattan for 41 years and had never been to the Wamego fireworks. I’ve been invited to go with the Homestead group every year and have missed out. I agreed to go last night even though I dreaded the heat and crowds.

It was all worth it.

We met at Deb’s and had burgers and brats. It was the two current Homestead girls (I got to know one better and she is a lot of fun), our current intern (also got to know her a bit), Deb, Erica (current House Manager) and I.

We left for the parade at about 5:15. We parked in a fun neighborhood with cute older houses to look at as we strolled to find a spot to watch the parade. We found the perfect, shaded spot with a terraced wall to sit on.

After the parade, we walked more through the neighborhoods to main street and the city park and fair. On the way, we grabbed a photo with the Oz crew.

The parade was very fun. Tractors and big construction equipment, police and fire trucks, old cars, motorcycles, horses, candy, fun fun fun.

City park was very crowded. We played a little in the splash park and checked out the new water park and looked for a short line for a funnel cake to share, unsuccessfully. Walked back to the van and to Deb’s for a bathroom break and then back out to the crowds.

We parked at the football stadium and shuttled to the soccer field to watch fireworks. We grabbed a perfect spot with no one in front of us. A shortish wait and the fireworks started.

I haven’t seen many firework displays lately, none in the last 10 years. Before that, it was mostly at Lake Wabaunsee. I do remember some good ones in my home town, at Fort Leavenworth over the lake on post, some in Gardner KS where my Mom’s friends lived, some here in Manhattan when the kids were babies.

This one was everything that it was made out to be. I laid on my back with the whole display in front of me and over my head, filling the entire sky. It was choreographed, tons happening all at once, lots of movement and color and shape and sounds. My eyes and ears, all of my senses where fully engaged trying to take it all in. There wasn’t even time for the oo’s and aww’s you normally hear, more like gasps and “I can’t believe it’s.” Ashes fell all over us. I tried to take a few pics and vidoes and gave up. It was too beautiful to capture. Just as I began to feel overwhelmed, it crescendoed and ended.

There were a few hiccups in the day, my bra malfunction that I fixed with laffy taffy (yes I did) and thinking we lost the keys to the van for about half an hour, and the two hour lines to get home, but it all added to the day without taking anything away. It wasn’t hot at all in the shade. I actually appreciated the crowd since it signaled the stupid pandemic ended.

This topped off a great weekend with a much needed and enjoyed Friday night date night, and a peaceful family day at the Lake on Saturday.

Independence Day 2021 is in the books.

Kayaking and floating in the lake with Hilary. So much fun.

Watching the grandkids. So. Much Fun.

Highlites: Henry picked out some earrings he decided I had to have, little sparkly lady bugs. Eleanor letting me comfort her, people pile on Grandma, Henry telling me, “This is my penis where pee comes out,” and out for ice cream.

Horseback riding.

Also a birthday party for Dave and Fred, Natalie living with us, a surprise party for Olivia.

Natalie and i have started writing her story.

Mr. Wilson completed First grade. He’s a rock star at Mutt School. We showed off a behavior chain, sit, down, stand, spin right and left for the class. He shakes now! He has entered fully into adolescence so he’s a complete jackass at home but this is expected. We do love him very much.

So. Much. Fun.

It’s been three years since I had a birthday bash. Overdue.

Dave and Mel and Kayla, Lonnon and DJ came early while I was still getting set up. DJ played with Wilson so happily. Mama arrived with Scott.

Then Fred came. I missed my Fred buddy.

Then it got wild (its all relative) and loud. Olivia and Dylan, Jamie and Ben, Jon and Brogan, Fred and Kathy, then Kailee came. We ate.

Moved outside on the patio. Olivia and Dylan getting to know Jon and Brogan, being entertained by little Emerson. And Wilson. People leaving. Then Summer and Linc came. Pam. We all sat and talked a long time. Summer and Linc stayed the longest.

I loved every minute of it. Three desserts. Lovely weather. Great friends. Hugs and laughter.

Henry popping out of the approaching stroller supposed to be hiding, “Here I am!”

Little hugs hello.

Eleanor looking at me with curiosity then smiling her little toothless grin.

Squirt “guns” as presents, to be referred to as “squirters” pronounced as “scwirtews”.

Little naughty boys who couldn’t help themselves, had to squirt Gwamma in the face with a little naughty grin. Both of them. And squirting Eleanor. Eleanor not minding at all.

The boys watering the plants and Henry announcing it is to make them grow. When I squirted him to make him grow, he insisted, “No, I’m just a boy”. Then he carefully squirted each of my flower tattoos to make them grow.

Emmet’s non stop chattering, a running dialogue with the world about everything he was doing and every thought in his head. Later I told him, “Emmet, you have a lot to say.” He agreed.

Emmet thanking me every ten minutes or so. “Thank you for coming to play with us.” “Thank you for eating lunch with us, Grandma.” “I’m so glad you came to see us today.” “Thank you for coming to look at our new playground, Grandma.” It’s quite possible that he’s the sweetest boy on the planet.

Henry not giving hugs but then piling his sweet little body onto mine on the couch.

Henry asked me, “Gwamma, where are your fweinds?” I said, “What friends?” “Papa and Joel.”

The little dark rings around the huge irises of Eleanor’s eyes. Her sweet baby rolls that look like muscles on her arms. Their little thighs and arms.

Henry’s swimsuit sagging and his little crack showing. I squirted him with the squirt “gun” then he came over and said, “I’m gonna squirt your butt.” Great.

Eleanor slurping up spaghetti noodles.

Emmet’s attention span for activities that is at least three times as long as mine. “Let’s play something else, Emmet.” “I’m not done playing this, Grandma.”

Eleanor squealing.

Eleanor looking more like a little girl than a baby riding in the stroller with her sun hat.

Henry’s big blue eyes and silly smile.

Emmet’s haircut and handsome face and eyes.

Henry running around naked pulling on his little willie hiding and refusing to put on his pants.

Last weekend Scott and I decided to do something a little adventurous, a little out of our comfort zones. It was a huge success.

We contacted 360 Kayaks in JC and reserved two open kayaks for the day. We wanted to go on the river but it was running too high and fast so we settled for Gerry County Fishing Lake. Only it didn’t turn out to be settling. It was perfect.

We met the guy and he outfitted us and secured our belongings and pushed us out into the water in our kayaks. I have more experience with actual kayaks and Scott has more experience with water. It was wonderful.

It was a coolish day, overcast, not windy, maybe a really light breeze. We decided to go upstream first to check out the marsh area. We spotted a heron and tried to get close enough to take a picture then went behind the tall reeds to explore the area. It was peaceful and lovely. We went back out and photographed the heron some more and then slowly made our way down the south bank toward the dam. We figured out how to bank the kayaks and get out (not without getting our feet wet). We scaled the dam and made our way on the trails to the waterfall.

What a delight. I knew the falls existed and had seen pics but with the lake high, it was beautiful. We took pictures of each other and explored the creek and woods some then made our way back to the kayaks.

Next we looked at the biggest cove toward the north and the littler coves along it. The flint between the rocks was spectacular. I then ditched Scott to take off for the south bank again on my own, seeing how hard I could pull and how fast I could go. Then I settled in for a short nap while waiting for Scott to catch up. We hooked onto a tree and just floated and chatted awhile before heading back to the trailer and loading up. We were hungry and tired and satisfied with our adventure. Of course, we made plans for more trips alone and with friends.

I needed an amazing day. Our appliances have all decided to stop working so we are hand washing dishes, using a different microwave and have put all of our food in coolers. On top of that, ants have invaded our kitchen. First world problems.

When I got the invite to go horseback riding I dove on it. Karen Carr at Broken Wing Ranch Ministries takes three of the Homestead girls on a lovely trail ride each Saturday in the spring, summer and fall. When there are slots open, volunteers get to ride.

The drive out is beautiful. I drove and when I do, the tradition is, to listen to Midwest Meets Manhattan on the way out and back. It gets us in the mood.

I got to ride a different horse! Poor old Bullseye has a bum knee. The old guy and I didn’t ever really hit it off. He turned his head away when he saw me coming every time and he liked to be naughty to keep me anxious. Plus, he had a tendency to stumble, especially on declines.

Yesterday I got to ride Lucky. He let me rub his nose and sweet talk him before I got up there. He liked walking fast but only tried trotting when I didn’t ask him to, once. He liked being in the lead which I embraced and enjoyed very much, the wide open trail out in front of me. My muscles didn’t get as sore as I felt compfortable enough to stretch them a bit in the saddle.

We rode for about an hour and a half then brushed down our horses. Lucky really liked that and let me rub and kiss his nose and love on him.

After a quick run to the grocery and a nap and some food prep, Wilson and I went out to Mutt school to officially start 1st grade. I was so flipping proud of him! He was a rock star!

There were four other dogs and there owners there and Dawn, Wilson’s private trainer, taught the class. Wilson sat before going into each door on the way in and then sat down next to me on command. We worked on getting comfortable with others approaching, then brushing, then letting others brush the dogs. Wilson did great. Then we traded dogs to work on separation anxiety. Wilson only barked and pulled when I got all the way back around but when corrected, he waited patiently. We worked on “move out of the way” which he did really really well at, then we walked around with the dogs on the leash within a few feet of the other dogs to work on distractions. Wilson did great at that too! The last thing we worked on was “place”. Wilson had to be coaxed to get onto the mat but he obviously has worked on that in day training and knew what to do. Dawn said that Wilson knows a lot of skills that he will get to show me during 1st grade. I was super pleased and impressed. That and the fabulous report that he is right on track to being a therapy dog and is demonstrating the right temperament is such a relief.

The day didn’t end there! Scott and I and Dave and Mel were invited over to our friends’ Kathy and Fred’s house for a birthday dinner for Scott. They have a lovely home and back yard and the temperature was just right. We drank cocktails and ate amazing smoked pork and sausage medallions, toured their house and sat out on the patio in the perfect breeze. We topped that off with yummy fancy cake.

What a wonderful day. It’s been over a year since Leah and her family were here at our house.

They all got here around noon. Joel too. Henry barely remembered our house. Eleanor has never been here. We had Wilson stay with a friend today as the dogs make the boys nervous.

We played here, legos, magnet building blocks, train tracks. We ate lunch then loaded the kids up in the wagon and Eleanor in the umbrella stroller and walked down to show them the practice and cofffee shop. So hard to believe they hadn’t been there! Joel had since he stayed with us during quarantine.

We then walked to the park and the kids flew a kite that Scott bought. They loved it! Emmet ran all over the park yelling while Henry kept saying, “I can’t catch it,” and wore my sunglasses. I laid in the grass with Eleanor.

Eleanor is almost 8 months and is in the stage of “stranger danger”. She gave me lots of smiles but also cried worriedly when Leah wasn’t close. I did get some quality time with her.

All of the kids did great considering they haven’t been very many places in the last year. Henry forgot to use the potty so we had to make a target run to get him some more underwear after a couple of accidents.

We had two meals, lunch, then barbecued brats and ate outside. It was such a beautiful day. The boys loved trying to play ping pong. I laughed so hard. Henry whacked the ball hard and Emmet whiffed it a bunch. Emmet did a great job with corn hole and Henry throws a mean frisbee. They also made Joel have a tea party with tiny dishes.

I adore my family and I loved having them today.

My heart is full. What a wonderful day from start to finish. Yesterday we celebrated Henry’s 3rd birthday at Leah’s house with Teri and Greg, Joel , and us. Mom came along and did great!

Mom met Eleanor for the first time. Leaving the house is a big deal for her and a long day like this is hard but she was a trooper! She painted the cutest yellow airplane for Henry that both Leah and Henry loved. It was so special having her along.

Henry and Emmet loved all the gifts. Their reactions opening them were absolutely adorable. Henry kept saying, “For me? A present for me? Another one?” Emmet said, “I’ve always wanted this.” While riding his new balance bike around he said, “Grandma, it is amazing that you got us these!”

The party was a perfect size. I feel like I got quality time with each grandkid and kid (maybe not so much Leah cause she was busy busy), Mom, and Teri and Greg whom we don’t get to see that often. Crystal and Aaron (Gaedderts) also stopped by and we got time to chat. Because it was beautiful out, we were out front, inside, and out back.

Eleanor’s little personality is starting to come alive. I loved watching her watch everything going on around her. She watches and is delighted with Emmet mostly. In all the chaos out back, she heard birds and tracked them flying by in the air above the house. She is such an easy baby, only fussing once when she wasn’t expecting me to pick her up after her nap and again when she got overwhelmed. Other than that, she was perfectly happy to be held or to sit on the floor. While we ate dinner out back, she laid and entertained herself on the cardboard box that the sandbox came in.

Henry and Emmet loved every gift, from the little dinosaurs and Uno cards in their Easter basket, the little tractors and trucks from Aaron, the walk-in talkie’s Joel got them, the bikes and the amazing sand box the Gaedderts got them which was built and played in on the spot.

The 4 layer yellow cake was impressive and delicious, the decorations on point as usual and the scaled down birthday version worked well. These kids are so very loved.

Henry was happy to share his day and not be the sole star of the day. He handed his gifts to Emmet to help him unwrap. He still amazes me that he is just turning three as he’s been talking for so long. He said, “It’s just a little wobbly” while trying to figure out his new balance bike. I love when he puts his little arms in the air to declare things, usually starting with, “Hey guys!”

Emmet was exhausted and overwhelmed and had a couple of meltdowns. At dinner, he cried and then pulled himself together and said through his wet eyelashes, “I’m sorry I cried, guys.” Of course we assured him it’s always ok to cry. Broke my Grandma heart but he is growing up.

When we got ready to say goodbye, Emmet and I talked about how sad he and I both get when we have to leave. He said, “It’s ok, I have my walkie talkies to make me happy and I will dream of you guys tonight.” It helped me too! And I did dream of him!

Oh Wilson. Wilson is so loving. A bull in a china closet. A giant, fluffy puppy.

Today while talking on the phone, Wilson presented me with the bedroom curtains that he had torn from the window and dragged to me, rod and all. Yesterday, Wilson went upstairs to the upstairs bathroom and I heard slurping, obviously from the toilet. He brought me the entire roll of toilet paper.

Wilson weighs 47 pounds at last weigh in and he is officially bigger than Diego. He is 20 weeks old last Friday.

Wilson is perfect at the coffee shop. He greets everyone at every table without jumping. They love him. Not so much at the practice. I had him there for one 45 minute session. He ate two giant leaves off my plant and shredded an entire box of Kleenex and spread it all over the floor. He won’t be going back for awhile.

Wilson will sit and lay down on command and can string sit, lay and stand together. He will stay for about 30 seconds when I move about 6 feet away. He is getting better about heeling when walking but he learches at people and barks at dogs. He tries to put his paws on the counter but will sit when we tell him to. He will “drop it” when I tell him to. He comes when called from far in the house or outside but we have to work on this to remind him often.

Wilson has been knocking over his water dish regularly. Today we got a dish that is supposed to keep his beard from getting wet. First he drank from it and kissed me all over my face with a very wet beard and then he knocked over the dish. Twice. Dish fail.

When Wilson decides he wants to be loving, he overwhelms us with his love. He comes running, his hair blowing back as he gallumps into the room at top speed, his entire back side waving with his tail, and he throws himself at us. He rubs his head on us, then starts kissing, covering my entire face with slobber and then kisses and nibbles my ears lobes. He still jumps up on laps without a lot of warning and flops down at my feet.

Wilson now has his own TikTok channel. We are sharing his adorable ness with the world.

Woke up at the usual time. So grateful that Scott gets up with Wilson now so I can sleep a bit longer. Wandered out to get my already prepared coffee (yay!) and added So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Creamer and grabbed a couple of protein balls made with Kajava and went to my quiet time spot in the livingroom. It won’t be long now til I can do my morning quiet time outside.

Started with gratitude as always, then my habit tracker, then journaled a little and read a bit of my current devotional, The Infinite Way. Wilson was goofy as always and was distracting, this morning slurping out of the toilet upstairs and wanting in and out to play with Diego.

Got dressed and headed out as it turns out too early for my hair appointment. Stopped by Brothers to get my stylist a coffee and get a hug from Dave, discovered I was too early for my haircut so switched the order of my day and went for a tan. Chatted with my friend Melinda at Sun Tan City about the medical emergency at the gym last night then napped through my tan time. So relaxing.

Stopped by Walgreens and found the hair color that’s been sold out everywhere and bought 4 boxes! Yahoo! Had to call Mom to tell her.

Back down for my haircut with my long time friend Virginia at J’s Salon in Aggieville and also chatted with Belinda and J for a bit. Feels so good to get my hairs trimmed up.

Got done with that early and the sun was peeking out for the first time in days so popped by home to sit on the deck and eat leftover pizza. Got focussed on my phone and didn’t realize Wilson had snuck the second piece off the middle of the table, the stinker.

Back in the car and jaunted down to Queens Nails and did a new thing, blue and yellow nails. Then returned home for a nap. Self care can be exhausting don’t ya know.

Now I’m writing, will finish some notes for work then go work out at 9 rounds and bathe before date night. We have exciting plans—I think we will go to the grocery store and maybe if we are feeling super adventurous we will go to the coffee shop and play cards or read for the evening before coming home to watch Netflix.

Its a mellow day but one I’m grateful for because it isn’t the push and grind of full time work. Looking forward to a visit and weekend with my peeps tomorrow.