After the last post in March, I received news that my Grandma Runner was not doing well and was going in to the doctor, a few days later, we learned that she had a fast growing aggressive tumor on her brain stem, and was not expected to live much longer. This came as very shocking news. About two days after hearing this, she passed away peacefully. We are all very sad, but thankful that it was so peaceful. My supervisor was very understanding and gave me a few days off to fly back to Oregon for the funeral. It was good to see a friends and family, considering the circumstances.
April was pretty low key for the most part, rainy, kinda cold, and we were quite ready for the warmer weather, so not much happened, except for some bouts of sickness. There are different things to be allergic to here, so we all suffered as the trees bloomed and various plants blossomed. At the end of the month though, we had a some very fun visitors...Nana and Baba! We had lots of fun showing them around and playing and going to Eli's Kindergarten day at his new school, Espy Elementary. Also, two very special occasions occurred, Eli's and Evan's birthdays! I can't believe they are now 5 and 3! We had lots of cake that week and family and, of course, the welcoming into our home of the Wii. Eli has become an accomplished Wii-player, and Evan is getting their, much to Eli's frustration at times.
Dying Easter Eggs
The library at Eli's school, Espy Elementary, where he will be starting Kindergarten in the fall
School playground
Taking a bus ride around the block
Eli's 5th Birthday, along with the traditional cake of choice, strawberry cake, which is the same as Aunty Holly's birthday cake
The item that he said he wanted for his birthday over and over...a Wii
We thought it might be fun to take Nana and Baba to Branson and see some stuff. We thought since it was Evan's birthday and he likes dinosaurs, there is a museum in Branson. We got there and were slightly surprised at the...quality, if you will, as 80% of the exhibit was Styrofoam. Still, the boys could care less and ran around looking at all the dinosaurs, and Evan still asks to go back.
The Spring program at Morning Star Preschool and Daycare
Eli graduating to Kindergarten
Evan's 3rd Birthday...and his traditional cake, which is the same as mine, Cockeyed cake!
May brought lots of up and down weather. Some nice days, some cold days, which really screwed up my sinuses, but again, that's spring. We also experienced some Mid-West storms that are quite exciting, but quite terrifying at the same time. We had some tornadoes touch down pretty close to here and could hear the sirens, so we were a bit on edge at times when the thunderstorm warnings would come in. One morning when everyone got to work, we had only been in the office for about five minutes when they instructed everyone in the building to go down to the main level for a tornado warning. Everyone in the entire building was crammed into the 1st floor hallways for about 20 minutes while the storm wailed outside. There was some damage in the surrounding area, but once again, we were all fine!
Lots of rain, have to eat Popsicles inside
June finally has brought the nice warm weather. However, it seems to have gotten really hot really fast! Fortunately, the pool is right outside and has been great! I haven't gotten many pictures of us in the pool yet, but hopefully will get some soon. The boys are experiencing a June-event for the first time that I find quite fascinating, which is lightning bugs. They are neat to watch and we have lots of fun going out when it starts to get dark. We have been able to even catch some in a jar so we can get a good look, but we always let them go. Eli enjoyed 4 weeks of summer school, sort of a bridge to Kindergarten, at his new school with his classmates and new teacher. He had a blast and I know he is going to do great in the fall! Evan is officially potty trained, whoo hoo, and got to move up to the three-year old class, and loves his new teacher and class. It is a lot more structured than the one he was in before, and his sponge-like mind is taking everything in! John is in full swing of the summer semester of school and is pretty much slammed with work. Lots of info in a short amount of time, but he has really been enjoying the clinical part as he has been getting to work with patients more. I have been plugging away at work. I enjoy the people I work with. It can be stressful and irritating at times, but it has been pretty good for the most part. One of the doctors I work for thinks I need to relax, so maybe that's my problem! June also brought our 11th wedding anniversary. We had a very nice meal at the same restaurant that we ate at for Valentine's Day because we had been craving it ever since. We then drove around the Branson area and Tablerock Lake to see the sights. On our way back, the phone rang, and we had learned that Evan had taken a bit of a topple and had possibly broken his arm. We drove a bit faster and got home and raced to the ER. They got us right in and got x-rays and sure enough, he had broken both the radius and the ulna bones in his forearm. The orthopedic surgeon that was on-call called ahead to the OR to schedule us for Monday morning first thing as he did not want to set the bones right then. Evan was quite a trooper and won over everyone who came in our room with his his big smile and winking. He usually is a horrible patient and cries when he gets his temperature taken, but he sat just as still as he could be for the x-rays and when they put an IV post in his hand. It was very weird actually and we asked him "who are you and where is Evan?" to which he replied "I am Evan." He did really well for his procedure as well to reset the bones. He will be getting the hard cast in a few days. Hopefully it will not become a weapon. This is all a new experience as this is the first time one of kids has broken something, but I had pegged Evan to be the first.
Aunty Holly and Uncle Joe took the kids to "Sucker Days," an event honoring the sucker fish. I think Evan was slightly disappointed in the fact that there were not suckers everywhere. None the less, they had fun. I had to stay home due to strep throat.
Aunty Holly's Birthday
One project that John has enjoyed, is getting his grandpa's boat all fixed up and taking it out fishing. We have taken it out a few times, not so much lately as school has been quite demanding. Both the boys have been out with just daddy and love fishing, especially Evan. When John is done with school after the summer session, we are hoping to get out on the lake more. This picture John actually took by himself of a bass that he caught in Lake Springfield.
Eli in the pool
Evan with a broken arm in the pool
Classic car show, every Saturday night. The essence of coolness.
It was also blistering hot that day. It was about 7:30 pm when we got to the show and it was probably still about 90%
A new favorite pasttime, catching lightning bugs in our pajamas. The boys have gotten such a kick out of hunting lightning bugs! Evan has even mastered the art of one-handed firefly catching, though most do not survie the return to the wild as he packs a lot of force behind his snag.
I thought this was a neat picture because you can see the firefly between Eli's hands!
For the Fourth of July, also Grandma's birthday, we went to Aunt Terri's house and played with cousins, ate lots of food, and enjoyed a great fireworks display courtesy of John's cousin, David. Most of the main firwork shows in the area were canceled this year due to budget cutbacks, so we bought some fireworks and had our own little show on the farm. The kids loved it!
Mommy's 30th birthday! Traditional cockeyed cake....yum! I also recieved a Wii accessory...the Wii Fit. It is a lot of fun for both me and the boys!
Grandma's birthday! We got her a case of Oregon chai
Aunt Terri and Uncle Paul's farm
The cousins
Evan and a slightly mauled frog that he caught. The boys were catching and naming frogs. The poor frogs were nearly exhausted to death.
David lgithing the red rocket that Evan picked out
Fireworks are great, aren't they? It was especially fun this year, because every year up until now, Evan has been scared of them, but he was into it this year from picking out fireworks to sparklers to watching and cheering!
A curious on-looker
The storm blowing in. It was quite a show between the fireoworks, fireflies, and the distant lightening and thunder
Evan enjoyed making large circles with the sparklers. I was a little concerned that he was going to light his hair on fire a few times.
Going for a ride on Aunt Terri's scooter
