Nana took us to the (NEW since I've graduated twenty years ago) high school auditorium to see a performance of Kids from Wisconsin. This high energy two hour show was FANTASTIC!!!!!
Showed the boys a picture in the hallway of our cross country team where I, their mommy, stood in the back row, amoung the boys.
Silas reported that he really liked the saxophone.
Sydney liked the costumes!
Songs by Carole King. Songs by Chicago. Songs by Journey.
It was FANTASTIC!!!!
Silas STOOD for the first hour, in absolute AWE! At one point, he stopped watching the show to investigate all of the spotlights in the theatre, reminding me of the Curious George story in the movie theatre.
Silas proudly took Nana's money at intermission to proudly buy buttons from one of the performers.
At the end of the show, the people in front of us were surprised to discover little people sitting behind them. The boys enjoyed the show immensely and did a great job watching.
Two local kids performed for their second year on tour. Fun to see!
Two little Iowa natives might be thankful that they are NOW residents of WI so that someday, THEY can have a chance to be in the show!
Friday, July 10, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Fireworks!
We waited until we could hear the booms. Donned in pajamas, the boys threw on their sandals and we ran down the street together to view fireworks from the nearby railroad depot at the end of the street.
THIS is the place where our family used to watch fireworks.
Ooohh! Ahhhh! OH!
Brown's Lake and the city were BOTH shooting fireworks off simultaneously. (The city fireworks were better, for the record.)
Unfortunately, they (city) no longer shoot them over Echo Lake. Now, they are shot over the nearby ChocolateFest grounds.
Still, it was OUR favorite part of the day to watch the fireworks together. Making memories.... Being together... The little boys and I! (Daddy stayed home, at Nana's house.)
THIS is the place where our family used to watch fireworks.
Ooohh! Ahhhh! OH!
Brown's Lake and the city were BOTH shooting fireworks off simultaneously. (The city fireworks were better, for the record.)
Unfortunately, they (city) no longer shoot them over Echo Lake. Now, they are shot over the nearby ChocolateFest grounds.
Still, it was OUR favorite part of the day to watch the fireworks together. Making memories.... Being together... The little boys and I! (Daddy stayed home, at Nana's house.)
Friday, July 3, 2015
Scared. Life lesson after dark.
While eating dinner on the deck, our neighbor walked over with her niece. They were looking for kids to play with, but we weren't available until after dinner. (Both homes were planning to enjoy the air show and fireworks; this being our LAST.)
As the night grew darker, the little girl had asked the boys to go next door to do sparklers. I told the boys that they should stay at OUR HOUSE. The boys watched from the window and aid that it looked like she was throwing them in the air and catching them, which made us rest assured that they were MUCH SAFER at our house,
At one point, Silas and Grandpa went out with the bug jar in search of fireflies/lightening bugs. Sydney was still watching the girl from our stairway window.
All of sudden, he went outside.
I followed. Looked next door. No Sydney. Looked in our yard. No Sydney. Stood in the front yard... glancing down the street, saw him running away from our house, toward an adult and child in hand. Then, I saw him stop in his tracks, turn around and race back home. (He likely made it all the way to Lisa's rental. EEK!!!)
It was dark outside. There were A LOT of extra cars and people around.
He thought it was Grandpa and Silas. It was a complete stranger.
When he got back to our yard, I warned him how very dangerous that was and how badly that could have turned out. (We still talk about the two little girls... cousins... that were out riding their bikes and never came home.)
He begged me to lock our gate on our yard. He became nervous being outside. He wanted NOTHING to do with watching fireworks. He insisted he wanted to be by his mom. He became hysterical, despite me holding and hugging him. He wailed and cried, unable to calm himself down because it upset him to "just think about it" he reported.
We are thankful that this life lesson sank into his six year old head. We are thankful that he is more aware of his surroundings and staying in OUR YARD. We are glad he is safe.
We have watched awareness videos together of a man with a puppy convincing children to leave a playground with the stranger without asking their mom - to see his other puppies. We have talked stranger danger! We have discussed that a big person should NEVER ask a little person for help. (An attempted abduction from a local school during the school year was addressed in class at Sydney's school, but NOT at preschool for Silas, but became dinner time conversation.) We want to keep our kids safe!
For the record, he sat on my lap. I did talk him into the fireworks viewing, reminding him how much I love to watch fireworks and knowing that this was our LAST ONE in Dubuque. We also discussed that we will have to ask SIRI how fireworks were invented, wondering if it was an accidental mistake. We talked about the infrequency of BLUE fireworks. His brain geared out of fight or flight mode and back into scientific adventurer mode again.
Our house is on the market. Someone else will get to enjoy the annual air show and fireworks next year. (Hopefully, we will sell sooner rather than later!)
As the night grew darker, the little girl had asked the boys to go next door to do sparklers. I told the boys that they should stay at OUR HOUSE. The boys watched from the window and aid that it looked like she was throwing them in the air and catching them, which made us rest assured that they were MUCH SAFER at our house,
At one point, Silas and Grandpa went out with the bug jar in search of fireflies/lightening bugs. Sydney was still watching the girl from our stairway window.
All of sudden, he went outside.
I followed. Looked next door. No Sydney. Looked in our yard. No Sydney. Stood in the front yard... glancing down the street, saw him running away from our house, toward an adult and child in hand. Then, I saw him stop in his tracks, turn around and race back home. (He likely made it all the way to Lisa's rental. EEK!!!)
It was dark outside. There were A LOT of extra cars and people around.
He thought it was Grandpa and Silas. It was a complete stranger.
When he got back to our yard, I warned him how very dangerous that was and how badly that could have turned out. (We still talk about the two little girls... cousins... that were out riding their bikes and never came home.)
He begged me to lock our gate on our yard. He became nervous being outside. He wanted NOTHING to do with watching fireworks. He insisted he wanted to be by his mom. He became hysterical, despite me holding and hugging him. He wailed and cried, unable to calm himself down because it upset him to "just think about it" he reported.
We are thankful that this life lesson sank into his six year old head. We are thankful that he is more aware of his surroundings and staying in OUR YARD. We are glad he is safe.
We have watched awareness videos together of a man with a puppy convincing children to leave a playground with the stranger without asking their mom - to see his other puppies. We have talked stranger danger! We have discussed that a big person should NEVER ask a little person for help. (An attempted abduction from a local school during the school year was addressed in class at Sydney's school, but NOT at preschool for Silas, but became dinner time conversation.) We want to keep our kids safe!
For the record, he sat on my lap. I did talk him into the fireworks viewing, reminding him how much I love to watch fireworks and knowing that this was our LAST ONE in Dubuque. We also discussed that we will have to ask SIRI how fireworks were invented, wondering if it was an accidental mistake. We talked about the infrequency of BLUE fireworks. His brain geared out of fight or flight mode and back into scientific adventurer mode again.
Our house is on the market. Someone else will get to enjoy the annual air show and fireworks next year. (Hopefully, we will sell sooner rather than later!)
Week in this new life
MONDAY - Play date with SIX little boys!
WEDNESDAY - Spontaneous play date with cousins!
THURSDAY - Free family outing to watch Aquaducks waterski show.
FRIDAY - packing,,,, all socks and underwear for Silas.
Discovery of mamelons on Sydney's new teeth. Normal. Perfectly normal.
Resume writing and job hunting.
WEDNESDAY - Spontaneous play date with cousins!
THURSDAY - Free family outing to watch Aquaducks waterski show.
FRIDAY - packing,,,, all socks and underwear for Silas.
Discovery of mamelons on Sydney's new teeth. Normal. Perfectly normal.
Resume writing and job hunting.
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