Slowest Driver EVER!

Adrianne sent me a text that they would be right up to our house (15-20 min drive).  Since she was bringing a van load of kids, we thought it was appropriate to hide down the lane so we could jump out and surprise them.  Well, she took a few detours.  We played frisbee, looked at bugs, sang songs, changed hiding spots 4 times, and ran and hid everytime a car was approaching.  Finally after about 100 false alarms and an hour and a half had gone by, I told Ryker we needed to go back to the house because Kya needed to take a nap and Adrianne might have changed her mind and wasn't coming.  He was not about aborting the mission so I talked him into walking back to the house so I could get my phone and call her at least and he could get his bike.  I also grabbed my camera since it had turned into such an ordeal I figured I'd document it.   She said she'd be there in 10 minutes so back to our hiding spot we went.  Our neighbors already know I am goofy, but we got quite a few weird looks from the other randoms that drove down our lane that don't know us.  Is it really that strange to hide behind a big cedar stump with a giant stuffed bear, a baby, a dog, and a two year old? 

Sheesh, where are they?! 

They finally showed up and were surprised and entertained enough that it was worth a half a day hiding out.  Ryker still tells people about it and it was a month ago.  He also tells people that Adrianne has a slow van and is the slowest driver ever! 

All Dogs Go to Heaven

It's been over a month now that I've been hiding a little secret because I didn't want to talk about it with anyone.  It took me over a week to tell Seth.  Chacon got hit on the road and is no longer with us.  If you remember the post a while back when Chacon was lost about how it should be me making the decisions if our dogs ever needed a major surgery because if it was up to Seth, he'd spend all the money we had, helping them.  I retract everything I said in that post because when I drove up to that dog, the only thing going through my head was, 'if he's alive, I'm putting him in the front seat of my car and taking him to the vet no matter what it costs.'  He wasn't alive.  We drove home, got the truck and went back to pick him up.  Ryker had a million questions and I tried to explain it to him, but he couldn't understand.  Even when I was trying to load him into the back of the truck, he was in the front yelling "why won't Chacon load up?"  "What's taking so long?"  He couldn't see what I was doing, thank goodness, because he was facing forward in his car seat.  When we got home, I parked the truck and we all got back in the car.  Ryker figured I wasn't letting him out of the truck because he would run off again.  He wanted to put his food in the back of the truck with him and some water.  As we rolled out of the driveway, I saw Cosmos go up and over the tailgate.  If you know Cosmos, he's mighty capable, but it takes quite a bit to make him take that leap.  Thank goodness I have good neighbors because two of them had him buried by the time we got home.  As I thought about how to explain this to Ryker all day at work, I realized that there was a reason my Dad always told me my cats ran away.  I tried all the way to work to explain it and he just couldn't understand.  I decided to just see what happened on the way home and forget about explaining the reality of the situation.  We got home and when Chacon wasn't in the back of the pickup, he thought he ran away again.  I went with it.  He called and whistled for him and watched for him when we were driving for a few weeks.  I've finally gotten him to understand that he's not coming back, like the rabbit at our CSA farm and Hazel the pig (it's been a rough summer for us) and that he needs to stop putting food out for him because Cosmos is eating it and he's going to get fat.  He hugs Cosmos all the time and thanks him for not running off and asks him if he misses his friend.  We've had numerous conversations about it over the last month and if you ask him right now, he'll tell you he's in heaven.  I know he doesn't understand it, but at least he has an answer. 

We'll miss your constant drool, your howl whenever a siren sounded, your giant block head that made people not believe you were a full lab, how you turned red in the summer until we combed your undercoat out, your never tiring water retrieves, your white goatie, your giant head hanging over the side of the truck, you're happy go lucky attitude toward all other dogs until they messed with your boy Cos and you had to step in, how you drug Cosmos along on runs (literally, they were tied together to give Chacon a better workout and make Cosmos keep up) and the constant love and companionship you gave all of us. Ryker misses you greatly but is happy that on our daily races back from the mailbox that he always wins now and he told me that now that he has a peddle bike that he could have beaten you. Cosmos and I both know that you would still smoke him.



Rest in Peace good buddy. 6/1/2005-7/22/11

Bump N Run

After the parade we had a few hours to kill before we headed to the fairgrounds for the Bump and Run. Yep, no more crash up derby for this town. We have moved on to the Bump and Run.

Of course, Ryker was a huge fan of the water truck.

I wish I would have taken a pic of the hill where all the crashes happen, but I wasn't thinking at the time.

And they are off......

One of his favorite stories to tell for weeks after was about all the different flags Cory waved to signal the drivers. Funny thing is, I didn't explain them to him so someone else had to have at some point.

Ben, Ryker, Grace, and Megan playing in the beer booth.

Justin, Zach, and Autumn

Ryker's favorite place to watch the races.

He liked to pick a car then cheer for that color.  On the last race he was cheering every time a car came by us, loved it at the end when the drivers would wave at the crowd on their last lap, and freaked out about the size of the trophy that the winner got.   Yee haw!

Kya on the other hand, had a long day and finally passed out when Grandma took her to sit in the shade at the food booth.

When we got home, Ryker played "Bump and Run" with his cars for weeks.  It always involved a lot of crashing, rolling over, and screaming. 

What a catch!

You'll notice that the fish background is back, due to the fact that Seth is the World's Best Fisherman!  Yes, I may even get him a trophy or a shirt that says so.  Oh wait, there is already a plaque...hee hee.  He is awesome!  As much as we would like him home, we get very excited when he is kicking ass like he is this summer!  He had his first deckload on the Robert Magnus last opening, which is about 3 times as much as you could put on the Viking Spirit.  I only wish I could have been there to see it.  Ryker thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of his deckload and I think understood why I was so excited.  His only question after we jumped around in a circle holding hands and chanting, "Go Dad, Dad is awesome, caught some fish, Dad is awesome, go Dad, Dad is awesome",

"Has Dad ever caught a laughing salmon?"  

Huh?

There are good fishermen and there are bad fishermen and Seth is one hardworking Superstar!!!  He makes the most of his time away from home and we love him for it!

Ryker and I are attributing his success in recent days to his lucky silly socks that he recently received in the mail made especially for him by one very talented 2 year old.

Here they are before we put them in the mail.  Ryker patiently awaited the picture of his Dad wearing these babies for weeks.  When it finally came last weekend, he was pumped!

Working on his own pair after we shipped Dad's off.

He wears his quite a bit.  He's really excited for Seth to get home so they can wear them together.  I have to say, I'm pretty excited for that too:)

Built for Speed.....

Okay, so he's not really built for speed, but he is one fast 2 year old. He's much more coordinated than kids his age and faster.

Stretching out for his first track meet of the year

Wrestling with Aidan.  Much more fun than any real event.

Kya, ready to cheer him on.  You'll notice that she also looks built for speed.  Don't worry Kya, you may not be fast, but you are bound to be athletic.

Go Ryker!  We need to get her some pom poms.

Water break in the bleachers

Check this out.  That is one fast shoe on that ribbon.  I was a little annoyed that everyone gets ribbons at these things, but I did notice this year that they start giving ribbons corresponding with the place they got when they get to the older divisions.  I'm not into this not keeping score crap.  Everyone is good at something and they'll find it eventually, but there's bound to be a little pain and rejection along the way.  Or maybe you'll love doing something so much that the fact that your horrible at it doesn't matter to you.  Or maybe you'll work your butt off to get better.  It's better they figure that out and learn some coping skills as kids than adults.  I know it is all for fun and all I will ever ask of him is that he does his best, but if his best is not 1st place, I want him to know that.

Ryker and Alexis

Aidan and his buddy

Second track meet:  A little colder = less competition

The first track meet, Ryker took off running and was smoking all the other kids.  He got about 5 feet from the end noticed all the parents waiting for their kids and turned around to come back to me. Most kids have a parent at both ends.  We talked about how he needed to run all the way to the people that handed out the ribbons at the end and I would be right down to get him.   The second race, he did exactly that.  He got used to going to Lauren a specific ribbon hander outer so the next track meet he was in the far lane away from her.  He was scanning the crowd as he neared the finish line so he crossed every single lane about 20 ft out to get to her.  Luckily he was far enough ahead that he did not take out any kids.  So now we had to discuss the lanes and why he should stay in his.  In the next hurdle race he said to me while we were lining up, "Mama, run as fast as I can to ribbon lady, but stay in the lines, right?"  I said, yes, perfect Ryker.  He beat all the kids by 30 feet, but didn't jump one hurdle.  He just ran through them all.  The next meet, I gave even more specific instructions.  I should just let him run.  He'll figure it out.  It is entertaining though.

Softball toss

Long jump:  I can't help you here buddy.  You'll need to train with your Uncle Cam.

#1

Bleacher Creatures

Third meet: Rain or shine, this kid is ready!

Waiting on pins and needles for the measurement of his first toss.....

This guy was so serious about helping Ryker with his shot putt form.  Ryker loves it when the "coaches" help him.  I had no idea what he was talking about when we were driving home from one of the track meets one night.  He kept talking about "that coach" at the long jump.  I thought he saw one of our friends or something that is actually a coach at the school.  Nope, it was the guy measuring that gave him a few pointers on how to get a jump that was longer than 4 inches.

Yep, you win little man. No other 2 year olds came out to shot putt a golf ball on a drizzly Wednesday evening.  I'm sure you would have won anyway though:)

Great season, buddy!  We have a pile of ribbons taped all over our house.