More Than Just a Visit

This was the weekend of "visits." Saturday, we went to Splashtown...it was mine, Gabriel's and Christina's first time to go...ever. Had a ball, and nobody got sunburned. No pictures of our fun because I didn't want to mess with the camera at a water park. Gabriel loved it...but he was a total wimp. He wouldn't go down any of the little slides, willingly that is...I sat him on my lap and tried 3 times...he would have NONE of it...and screamed his head off. So I gave up, and he just played in the little kiddie area (Crocodile Isle). Everyone was pretty beat by the end of the day,and we all went to bed early...even the grownups ;-).

Sunday, we had Gabriel's godmother Kristine visit for a few hours. Kristine recently left the Sisters of Life...a hard decision no doubt, but God is calling her in a different direction. She will start classes at the John Paul II Institute in Washington D.C. this fall. We are very happy for her, and thrilled she could spend some time with Gabriel.

Last time Kristine came into town, Gabriel went right to her, and he did the same thing today...it was amazing. Our little boy isn't overly shy, but usually doesn't let just anyone pick him up. But he went right to his godmother, posed for pictures (and he's camera shy too), and brought books over for Kristine to read to him. Kristine said sometimes people sense that you're praying for them. That must be so true :-). It was so sweet to see them together...here are some pictures I took.

Kristine said Gabriel looked just the same to her...only bigger. And she told our sweet angel boy she was always praying for him...I know she really is. She was able to stay for lunch, and then had to head back to Georgetown, where she currently lives. She said it was a blessing to see us, but truly...it was a blessing for us to have her. Even Gabriel gave her one last hug and kiss while we said goodbye. I hope she'll be able to visit again soon!

Our last visit was to the new Co-Cathedral for Mass...but there's so much to tell! I'm going to put together a separate post about it later...and if it all comes together, it might include a couple of pics from a photographer from the Texas Catholic Herald :-). Stay tuned!

Going to the Dogs

We went to Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows today. Rebecca had artwork on display there for the student art contest. When her drawing was entered, we got three free passes to the show. Kids ages 12 and under were free. All we had to pay was $8 for parking!

We talked to the kids ahead of time about "dog show etiquette" (yes, there is such a thing) after David found this page on the show's website. For example, only pet a dog after asking for permission, be careful not to step on paws or tails, and don't distract a dog while it's performing.

Once we got into the exhibits, it felt a bit ironic. Here we are...at a dog show....looking at dog products, toys, treats...with dogs everywhere you look...and we don't have a dog.

We may not have a dog, but Gabriel was wearing his toddler harness (which I've mentioned in a previous post). It's shaped like a dog, which people said was very cute.

I did tell the kids it was not possible to get a dog at the show; you could however look at dogs available for adoption. Honestly, I am not ready for a dog. We had dogs growing up (David only had cats), but 4 kids is enough right now. I've told David we'll get a dog when Gabriel starts kindergarten so I will still have a baby at home, lol.

We made our way over to the student art display, and found Rebecca's picture. It was all the way at the top, so David had to put Rebecca on his shoulders for this picture. Her entry is the one in the black frame, top right corner.

In one area, you could meet and pet different breeds of dogs. The kids loved this...Gabriel was absolutely enthralled. The first dogs he petted were these HUGE Malamutes. These dogs were so big, I am surprised Gabriel wasn't scared; they were bigger than miniature horses. I wish had had gotten a picture, but I didn't :-(.

Later, we watched some dogs in action, doing tricks, catching frisbees, and "dancing."

One dog's handler threw autographed frisbees into the crowd, and Joshua caught one. Gabriel claimed it, "mine!" and wouldn't let go of it under we got home.

Some Great Danes waiting to be judged...these guys are big too...REALLY big.

And then we have the teeny tiny dogs...the ones that will fit into a teacup...David likes to call them, "little yip dogs."

This one had a long tongue...but the cutest face!

Of course, we saw at least 4 dozen different breeds of dogs...probably more. Whew...after a couple of hours, we called it quits, and headed home. Gabriel kept saying, "Dog!" all the way home :-).

Anyway, we had a great time, the kids loved it...and we have no plans to get a dog.

Kids...

DOGPILE!

Words

Gabriel has been using quite a few words lately. This might be small beans to other moms, but to me, it's quite exciting, since all of our kids have been slow to talk. Once they finally start talking...I feel like I can breath a sigh of relief.

When we had Joshua, we were clueless when it came to how much kids were supposed to be talking by a certain age. But when he still wasn't even saying "Daddy" at 30 months, we knew something was up. He was later diagnosed with a moderate speech delay and an auditory processing disorder, which required 5 years of speech therapy to straighten out. Since then, we've been rather vigilante about our other kids. So our angel has been in speech therapy since he was two.

Our goal for Gabriel is to simply get him using more single words. I made sure to teach him some sign language when he was very young (around 11 months). This has made communicating easier, but we still have tantrums because Gabriel is frustrated and not able to make his wants/needs known. He can sign or say things like "milk," "help," "more," "please," "thank you"...etc, which helps, but ultimately, he has to increase his single word vocabulary.

I am really happy to see an increase in his vocabulary base. Just in the past 2 weeks, he is using words like "walk," "dog," "book," "mine," "hot," "out," "eat," "go," "ball," "down,""night-night," and "up." All of us are working to have Gabriel "use his words." Even Rebecca will ask him to say the appropriate word before giving him something; a toy, drink, snack, etc. I am certain Gabriel has a temper tantrum on some occasions, simply because 3 people are telling him to say some word before fulfilling his request. If I were a 2-year-old, I think I would scream too!

But all this hopefully means Gabriel will not need speech therapy in the long run. Words don't seem so important, but to me...there's a real blessing in hearing your child say, "Mommy" instead of "Ma-Ma." (Gabriel did say "Daddy," first, so I cannot say I got dibs on that one ;-).

I am thankful my prayers were answered and heard...because using words is a major milestone for us..."music to our ears," and a "sweet, sweet sound."

Reunions x 2

Yesterday, we were in Bryan/College Station all day. David had a little reunion with former housemates at St. Joseph's Vineyard, and we also had my family reunion--my paternal grandmother's side, the McKenzie Clan. Since both reunions were on the same day, we were not able to attend either reunion's entire events, but we had a good time nonetheless :-).

First, we went to the "new" St. Joseph's Vineyard. We were unfortunately just about the only people there...it seems many people (especially those who still live in the area) were at at wedding, and would not be around until Saturday evening. But we were fed, the hosts were gracious, and the conversation was pleasant; plus the newest "grapes" were house-sitting a dog, much to the delight of our kids, who petted and played with Luke nonstop.

We headed over to my great aunt and great uncle's house mid-afternoon. This year's reunion was also on the small side, but I enjoyed catching up with my two cousins closest in age to me, Jan and Rhonda. Every one's an Aggie too...our kids are really showing their loyalty now; even Christina says, "Aggies Rule!"

People laugh when I say I have redneck family in Bryan...but it's really true. The Baldwin McKenzie Business College was started several generations ago--at one point, it was run by my great grandfather (Daddy Mac) , and my great grandmother (Mom Mac) taught typing and shorthand as well. Our family's root run quite deep here in Texas.

One of my older cousins Haverly had brought a large folder full of old family pictures. She, along with My Great Uncle Warren, and David spent some time looking at them, spread out over the dining room table.

Since David dabbles in genealogy (he can explain my family tree better than I can), he was pretty interested in the pictures and stories that went along with them.

Haverly also brought a footlocker full of old looped rugs made by Mom Mac, and she told me to take one...which I was thrilled about. The one I picked out is currently in my master closet...it's a bit too fragile to be walked on every day. I may try to hang in somewhere in the house later on.

The girls found the water slide that my Great Aunt Catherine had set up in the back yard and got nice and wet along with Jan's little boy Ethan.

All the kids (big and small) played UNO,

gave each other "rides,"

roughhoused on the guest bed (until I told them to stop for fear of the bed collapsing)...

and talked about when the next family album would be done. Every 5 years or so, everyone sends in their update and family picture to be complied into an album; this time Jan has volunteered to put it all together.

Later on, we had pizza, salad, cookies, and cheesecake. Right before we hit the road to drive home, I took a shot of everyone in the front yard of Aunt Catherine's house.

The McKenzie Clan is actually MUCH bigger than this...but as I said earlier, this year's reunion was on the small side.

The kids were tired that night...we got home, put everyone to bed, and then went straight to bed ourselves...slept like logs too!

Hopefully the next reunion will be bigger. I am thankful our kids get to see this side of the family...if they hang around them long enough, maybe they'll develop a Texas twang ;-).

Family, Fun, and Fireworks

WARNING...Long post!

We went up to Dallas over the 4th of July weekend for a much anticipated visit with David's brother Peter, his wife Stephanie, and their 4 kiddos, Mary, Nick, Daniel, and John. The kids have been looking forward to seeing their cousins for weeks :-).

We had lots of fun planned for the weekend. The kids stayed up way too late Thursday night talking in the dark, but we were up bright and early Friday morning so we could go blueberry picking in Canton.

I was particularly eager to get my hands on fresh blueberries (at half the price of the grocery store), and have plans for blueberry muffins and blueberry cobbler this week...yum! So it was hot, sweaty work, but we did get 2 gallons after 2 1/2 hours of picking.

Thank goodness we started around 9AM...the kids were done for by 10:30. If you can't take the heat, blueberry picking is not for you...trust me.

Here's the farm we went to....The Berry Bush. The staff were very nice, and they had a restroom and free ice water.

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch on the way back to Allen. The hostess took one look at our party (4 adults and 8 kids ages 10 and under), and seated us in the back of the restaurant, which was quite separate from the rest of the place. We had the nicest waitress on earth...she brought us pitchers of water, plenty of salsa and chips, and answered every request with, "No problem honey...I'll be right back!" It is so great to have a waitress who is not intimidated or resentful of a large party with hungry kids.

After we got back to Allen and everyone had baths/showers, snacks, and naps, we had (what else?) blueberry pancakes for dinner, and headed over to downtown Plano for a free patriotic concert by the Plano Community Band. It was a great concert, the kids got free flags, and we left right before the mosquitoes started biting.

At one point, Gabriel was content to sit on his Uncle Peter's lap and munch on raisins. Darn kid...he'll only sit still long enough to eat!

Mary and Rebecca

Saturday morning...Peter, David, and the 6 oldest kids went bowling. The two youngest, John and Gabriel stayed home while Stephanie and I made 4th of July cupcakes. I got to use her fancy Wilton decorating tip for the frosting :-).

After bowling and lunch, Stephanie and I went out to a couple of furniture stores to look for a new couch and love seat for her living room. It's always fun hanging out with Stephanie for some uninterrupted girl time...in this case, shopping time.

I had to take pics of the kids too of course...in their 4th of July t-shirts.

We got back just in time to get things together and go to Grandma Reisinger's house for swimming and dinner. David's parents have a great pool, which they had completely redone last year, complete with a diving board, and slide...the kids' favorite.

Gabriel went down the slide once, and wanted to do it again...so I thought. But he freaked out and wouldn't go down again willingly...even though I sat him in front of me and we went down a second time. Later on, we put him towards the bottom of the slide, and Peter would catch him...he much preferred this. I think he was scared because the ladder is pretty high, especially from a 2-year-old perspective.

Grandma and Grandpa fed everyone hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, watermelon, and cupcakes, and then we went out to a local church that hosts fireworks every year. We got settled on our blankets, Stephanie broke out the glow-sticks, and the kids ran around and played until 9:30 when the fireworks started. David was tired (he was getting over strep), so he took Gabriel back to the house and I stayed with everyone else.

Left to right: Nick, Joshua, Daniel, John, Rebecca, Mary, and Christina.

Christina kept complaining the fireworks were too loud, but she was smiling after the grand finale.

Poor girl, we didn't get home until after 10PM, and she feel asleep in the van on the way home.

Mass on Sunday morning was at 10AM. We had lunch...

one last tickle fight...

then we packed up stuff and headed home.

Now all I have to do is wash, sort, and freeze 2 gallons of blueberries (I'm halfway done as of this afternoon), run 6 loads of laundry, and restock the fridge...we are out of everything (except blueberries of course!).

Hope your holiday weekend was a BLAST...ours sure was!