Look out World!

We just signed this little gal up for preschool. She'll be going two mornings per week this fall.

In the van, on the way to register:
We going to the library, Mommy?
No, we're gonna go visit the preschool.
Like Anna and Luke?
No, this is a different school. This is the school you'll go to when you turn three.
I'm five now? (third child response)
No, Caroline, you're two.
Oh, I'm three.
No, you're two. When you're three, you'll get to go to preschool.
We're going to preschool now.
Yes, we're going to VISIT the preschool for just a little while. When you're three you'll get to go a lot.
Oh. They have animals at the preschool?
Yes, they have two birds.
Oh, they have two birds. We're going to PRESCHOOL!
On the way home from a 30 second preschool visit where we walked in, picked up a registration packet, walked out, and watched all the little kids having fun on the playground. (A visit that included neither birds nor toys.)
Mommy, I want that playground.
Well, that's just for the big three year olds. You'll get to play when you're three.
Mommy, I want that playground!!!
Not today. Next time, you'll get to play on the playground.
Mommy I don't want to leave that playground!
(This last phrase preceded lots of crying. LOTS of crying, all the way home until she fell asleep crying.)

Look out world!

She's headed your way!

Now that's a lot of candles!

Better late than never! I hope you had a great birthday Siena!!

Luckily the light from the candles impedes the viewer's ability to count them!

Just in case!


Love you all!

Resolution

See a rooster on a leash below.
OK, for all three of you who read this blog, I apologize for beginning this post with an apology, but here goes. I'm sorry I'm negligent with my blogging. Truth be told, I haven't felt like it. Plus, and this is the main reason for my neglect, the wireless services we mooched off an unsuspecting neighbor disappeared last fall and I was left to brave the roads with my chillin' and go to the library to do all of my Internet business. Naturally, that's no fun so it's now been since September and I'm way behind.
However, a new day has dawned on the Bader household. I say a NEW DAY has dawned and please brace yourselves for this one . . . we now have our own "mifi" (which is probably not even how you spell it, but I don't care enough to inquire of the spelling because I proved my spelling genius when I was young and still have the trophies to prove it.) The point is I can now access the Internet legally from my own home. I think we're only about 10 years behind everyone else in America, but hey, better late than never.
So there. Because we are cool and have mifi, I've made the resolution to blog more.
Here goes with a "brief" summary of the last few months.

Luke walked a rooster on a leash because we're just cool people and do things like that. We're also teaching him to have dominion over all God's creatures, or maybe we're taking advantage of his love for animals, whichever floats your boat.

Luke is a Tae Kwon Do master. Oh wait, let's rephrase that because our unfortunate last name just doesn't quite convey what I'm meaning.

Anna's beautiful.

Caroline is a better cook than I am.

Ryan & I got to see U2 in Atlanta for a 10th anniversary / birthday gift from his dad. Seeing U2 live now ranks up there with my wedding day, the birth of my children, my baptism, and my first taste of roasted red pepper hummus.

We went on a hike in Erwin. We tried to lose our kids, but dang it if they don't have a sense of direction after all.

We trotted like turkeys.

We celebrated Christ's birth AFTER I pulled my hair out trying to get a family Christmas picture that made us at least APPEAR to be a happy family.

We played in some snow.

Our favorite part of fall - the fire pit.

Harry Potter, a farmer, and a clown. (Anna would die if she knew this was online.)

I got schooled in chess many a time by my wizard of a son.

I taught some jokers how to dance.

Whew! For those of you who are still reading this, thank you for staying the course. For your reward, a reminder of why I just can't help but share our lives with you.

Beautiful Morning

There are some things about the morning that are beautiful - birds singing, a colorful sunrise, the quiet stillness. Some things are just full of beauty.
Then there are other morning things that have a hidden beauty.
This is what we call "I can get up on the potty all by myself, Mommy. And when I can't figure out how to turn around, I'll just glare at you like it's all your fault." There is hidden beauty there. Really. There is.

This is what we call "bed head." Again, the beauty is hidden.

Don't you see it?

A Cliff's Notes Version on July & August

For those of you who depend on this site to keep up with what's up with the Baders, I offer you my apologies for this overdue post. Sitting in front of the computer has turned my stomach sour lately, so I've neglected my blogging duties. Here's a brief log of the past couple months.

Caroline painted for the first time. It started tame . . .

and ended wild.

Anna and Luke spent many a summer day pretending to be one thing or another.

Caroline turned two.


Luke spent a lot of time with his BFF, Colton.

We spent a few days with my parents in Sweetwater.
Anna caught a fish.

Ryan and I celebrated 10 years wed at my uncle's cabin. We hiked to this cool waterfall, played tennis, ate out, went to a baseball game, & saw some lovely fireworks.

We went to Six Flags and a Braves game with Ryan's little league team.

Anna and Luke started school.


Anna turned eight.


And now it's nearly September!
Our lives are busy with work. (Ryan is still the youth minister at Grandview, and I'm still teaching ballet part time, and babysitting one day per week.)
The kids are involved in their activities. Anna does ballet and choir at the arts center. She also takes piano and plays soccer. Luke does tae kwon do and basketball. Caroline just poops on the floor. She's too busy for any other activities.

A Taste of June

Oh, the places we go! June has been one awesome, busy month. I'm working on separate posts for all that's been going on, but here's a little taste:

We spent the first week of June at Camp ACC. We tried to get muddy as often as possible. I really do so love doing muddy laundry. I love how it affects the following three loads of laundry and was just tickled pink to have some.


Anna and I participated in a ballet program. It was entitled "Genesis" and was about creation. I was a tree (think "ent" Tolkien fans) and Anna represented a season. Can you guess which one?

We headed from the stage to the beach. Hilton Head with my sister, brother in law, and mom was a lovely get-away.


We'll just skip over the part about someone turning 31.

One day's rest, or maybe I just packed all day, then off to Washington DC.

We headed from there to Puebla,Mexico where we met some awesome Mexican folks and worked ourselves sore.



And now for a sneak peek of our next adventure!

First Place

Well, the season's not over yet, but Ryan's baseball team is currently in first place in the American League. We've really enjoyed some nail biters lately. Go Lightning!!

And now . . . for the winner of the "Cutest Fan" Award:



And the "Sweetest Fan"

And "The Joker"

Boy, Caroline sure did get a lot more press than the other two. Why's that? you ask. Three words: cheeks, curls, chub

My camera just can't control itself.