Friend's Birthday Party

Collin spent the night last night at Mimi's house.  We did not plan this but he wanted to spend the night after we met her and the family for dinner on their side of town.  That was fine with us because he did not have plans in the morning or have to be anywhere with him.

After Mimi dropped him off after lunch, we went to a friend's birthday party at an indoor game place.  They bowled first.  A bunch of 5 - 8 year olds trying to bowl can be entertaining.  They did use bumpers so the scoring was higher because there were no gutter balls.  Collin threw the ball harder than the girls but slower than most of the boys.  He was almost one of the smallest so this did not help.  This did not matter though.  He did end up bowling really well and was close to the top for his lane. 

Waiting for his turn to bowl

Here he is throwing the bowling ball during his turn:

Next, they took a break to have pizza and cake before playing video games.  They were each given a card loaded with $5 which was about 4 games.  Collin and I played air hockey first.  He then walked around to see what games were available before selecting basketball.  I was surprised that he did get most of the balls in the hoop the first time.  The next time, he got about half in.

Here are the birthday boy and Collin riding motor cycles together.  Collin got 2nd and Foard got 10th.  Collin stayed on the road the whole time and drove really well.  Maybe the games on the phone really are teaching him something....naw!!!

He is not a very good shot.  He missed all but 3 targets the entire game.  I am fine with this.  :)

He did run out of money fast and wanted more.  I did give him $3 more and then we left because we needed to stop by Grandma H's house to pick up a few things for her (she is still in the hospital) before going home to rest.  We were all tired from the very busy week.

Not Mommy Anymore

Collin has started referring to us as Dad and Mom now instead of Mommy and Daddy.  We asked him why he started doing this and he said that, "Babies say Daddy and Mommy.  I am not a baby so I am going to call you Mom and Dad now". 

Sniff, sniff, by baby continues to grow up.  When he says Mom now, it takes me a minute to realize that he is talking to me.  Because I don't answer right away, he says Mom again and gets mad at me.  I told him I would have to get used to him calling me Mom and that I did not like it.  Yep, he still calls me Mom anyway.

Robot Museum Camp

Based on the things he brought home to show us and how much he talked about it, I think Collin really enjoyed Roving Robots camp at the museum this week.  They learned:

• Learned what electricity does
• The parts of an electric motor
• Visited the Planetarium
• Created a flashlight
• Created a magnetic toy
• Parts of a robot
• Walked like a robot - He walked like this that night showing us that his arms and legs cannot bend
• Design a t-shirt to wear Friday during the parent demonstration
• Create a robot mask
• Build a robot base
• Build a robot with moving legs

Here he is explaining the flashlight he built:

Here is the invitation we received Tuesday to let us know that we needed to be at camp at 2:30pm Friday to see the robot demonstration.  Every day after that, he would remind us about Friday and wanted to know if we could still make it.  We both made sure to arrange our day so that we could make the demonstration. I would not miss it!

Finally, the day arrived.  We arrived early so we would not miss it.  Collin saw us and had a huge smile on his face.  Yeah, we got points for being there.  When it was time, we walked over to his station and listened to him demonstrate the robots he built.  One of them was supposed to help people somehow.  So, he built a "People Mover" to take people to places they wanted to go to.

He is working on the robot with moving legs and wings

He is showing us how the electronic robot works

His People Mover is behind his arm.  The water bottle holds the people.  I guess they jump out when they arrive where they want to go.  He did not explain that part.  :)

Scouting out Rehab Places

Grandma H is doing better after the three procedures she had this week for her blood clots.  She does not have trouble breathing like she did and she is able to stand without too much pain.  Therefore, the nurse said that we need to look at rehab facilities because that is where the doctor will send her next.  She will need to work to get her strength back.

After leaving the hospital, we toured four places.  Collin judge them and gave us feedback based on the amount of animals they had.  He really liked the one place that had a large fish aquarium.  He liked this one because he could wipe down the inside of the tank with a magnetic brush.  This place also had birds in a floor-to-ceiling bird cage.

One facility had the dining room out in the open and in the front of the building.  We could see it when we walked in.  After touring one hall and then walking back to the front, Collin said that he liked this place and thought Grandma H would because there were lots of people there for her to make new friends.  That was very thoughtful of him and I said that we would keep that in mind.  We did like the place also.  It was currently #2 on our list. 

Collin did great for touring four facilities in 3 hours.  Thank goodness for games on the phone which kept him occupied while we waited at each facility for someone to show us around.

The next step is to call the hospital with our list of facilities we like and then wait for the doctor to discharge her.  We expect that she will get out mid-week unless something else happens.

Spring Baseball

Tonight, the Rebels had their third baseball game.  They lost 8-10 but it was a really close game.  The boys did much better out in the field.  However, the other team had better hitters.  The game had a delayed start because of the rain so this might have had something to do with Collin being more tired and seemingly disinterested.  This did not affect his first "at bat".  He waited to select the right pitch and hit it to center field.  He got another RBI for the team which is his usual. 

He is letting me know where he is in the batting order.  He was 11 tonight.

The tallest and the shortest player.  Guess which one is Collin?

First at bat

After the first pitch.  There he goes!!!

Here is a video of him running from 2nd to 3rd.  See how the 3rd base Coach is running with him to home to push him.  This is his Head Coach from the Lugnuts so he knows what Collin can do and could tell that he was not focused tonight.

He struck out at his next at bat which was 40 minutes later.  He did get to play in the field more this time.  He played Right Field the first time (no action for him) and then Left Field the next two times.  Otherwise, he was in the dugout.  The times he was in Left Field, he had to field three balls.  He let one pass him but he hustled to get it and had a good throw to 2nd base.  The next two times, he did stop the ball but acted disinterested when he got it and took his time to decide where to throw it.  He later said it was because he did not know what to do with the ball.  Coach and Daddy were telling him what to do.  I think he was just tired.

He looks so old!

We have another game tomorrow night.  So, we came home to have dinner, shower and then Collin went to bed.  He was mad we made him go to bed but he was asleep within 5 minutes.  Guess he really was tired.

Annual Family Reunion

We missed the reunion last year because we are in Utah spending the week at the mountain house.  What a great vacation that was. We still talk about it and cannot wait to go back.

Collin and I loaded up early in the morning so we could spend most of the day at the reunion.  It takes 2 hours to get there so we needed to stay at least 5 hours.  That's the rule I have had for a long time.  I like to stay at least 30 minutes to an hour longer than the total drive time.

We arrived at 9am while the family that spent the night at Mema's house was still eating breakfast.  Collin wanted to know where the kids were.  Only Sam was there because she lives there.  Instead of playing with Sam, he was fascinated with the new fish tank.  He really liked one of the fish that swam from plant to plant.  The fish would stop and hide, then swim to the other fish really fast.  Because the way the fish was acting and swimming really fast, we called him "Collin".  Then, we started to name the other fish.  Next, he and Sam played with the cats before other people started to arrive.  Collin and I made up a game of guessing how many kids each car had in it as the car pulled up.  He would guess based on how big or small the car was...and did really good.  He stopped playing with Sam when Evan arrived.  Then, more boy cousins arrived.  Collin was having a great time playing with all of his cousins. 

The kids got hot, so then went swimming for two hours before it was time for lunch.  Because of how much he was playing and swimming, I knew Collin would be hungry.  He ate 6 slices of ham and two pieces of bread which is a lot for him.

Evan "photo bombing" behind Colling

Annual picture....smallest group in a long time

After lunch, the kids and some of the younger adults participated in the annual water balloon fight. Collin was right there in the middle throwing balloons at the kids.  Last time, he got run over by the older kids.  This time, he did great and lasted until the end.  Since the kids were wet from the fight, they got back in the pool for another hour. 

 

Most of the day, the adults sat around outside on the porch catching up and trying to keep cool.  Here are some pictures after lunch.

Stephen.  He does not like his picture taken so I had to sneak up on him.

Joeen, Gary, Diana, Marjorie and Les

Bree's boyfriend and Bree signing for us after lunch

Amy on the table, Mark, Gary, Wayne and Darlene

Mema and Jason, Mitzi's husband

Lynn (in the back), Diana, Gary and Joeen

As we were packing up and saying our good-byes, someone decided it would be fun to pour ice cold water from the ice chests over someone's head.  Jared volunteered first and sat there like it was warm water.  Then, we waited for another volunteer.  Collin said he wanted to do it.  I just knew he would change his mind but he didn't.  He sat there and took it just like Jared did.  I was really proud of him.  He selected another cousin to do it but he was not as willing.  Brycen jumped up as soon as the first pour of cold water landed on his head.  Another two people did it and then Collin wanted to do it again. 

 

We needed to get going because we still had a two hour drive home...and I was hungry.  Being a vegetarian at a family reunion does not work well.  I had chips and salsa and salad.  That was not enough and I needed to eat something more substantial soon.  I also wanted to get home before it was dark and spend some time with Daddy.

Catching Up

It's been a little crazy for the past few weeks.  I have managed to keep up with a few posts but I thought I would fill in some of the missing pieces of why we have been busy:

• Daddy sold the business.  He did the for several reasons but it turns out to be great timing for the family.  He can also spend more time with us and pursue some of the other business ideas he has had in the last few years.

• I am still recovering from the last, and final, breast cancer related surgery.  I have another week or two of recovery before I can start working out again.  At first, I could not sit still and missed working out.  However, I have been so tired and sleeping 11-12 hours a night that I don't know when I would find the time to work out.  I did go back to work a month ago and which has adding to being busy and tired at the same time.  This is the start of the busiest time of year.  I am still working 32 hours a week and it's a good thing.  I can barely make it for those hours which does tell me that I am not ready yet to go back to full time.  There are other reason below why I am not pushing to work full time.

• Collin started Spring baseball this week.  There are not practices, games twice a week for 6 weeks.  What's great about this is that he does get exposure to fast-pitch AND playing with older boys.  Most of the kids are going to 2nd grade.  Only 5 of the boys, including Collin, will be going to 1st grade.  These boys played on the Lugnuts so at least he knows a few of the guys.  However, instead of him being one of the stars on the team, he is now at the bottom of the batting order and plays in the outfield if the coach even puts him in.  He is not bothered by this because he is generally tired from camp that day.  But, we want him to get out and play with the older boys.  So far, he has not only hit the ball but has got on base and hit a runner in.  He is good in the field, too, when he plays.  The coach is really good and patient with the boys.  Collin and Daddy have learned a lot in the past week and Collin has shown improvement with his throws.

• Collin has enjoyed going to camp every week.  It seems like he enjoys the next camp better than the camp before.  So far, he has talked about the zoo camp the most other than the camp he is attending this week at Crème de la Crème.  They have field trips, play outside on the playground and their own waterpark.  They have electronic and board games to play with and reading time.  I was not sure he was going to like it because we did not know anyone else that signed up for it and I had not heard much about it.  He has enjoyed it so much that I signed him up for another week later this month .

• Collin was sent home from camp Wednesday because he had lice.  Are you kidding me?!?!?!  When and were did he get it?  We have been lucky so far escaping it multiple times starting when he was two and attended Montessori School...so, I guess it was our turn.  I really did not have the 4 hours extra that it took Wednesday night to comb out our hair, put on treatment, and then clean the house which included bagging things that could not be washed and washing 8 loads of laundry which was mainly sheets, covers and clothes we had worn in the last few days.  Since then, I have not seen any bugs or eggs in our hair...but I have to keep looking for 8 more days to be sure that we got it all.  Just add that to the list.

• The biggest news is that Grandma H was diagnosed with bile duct cancer about 6 weeks ago.  Since then, she has been in and out of the hospital over 5 times for blood clots, dehydration and her kidneys not functioning properly.  She did have a port installed Tuesday and was supposed to have chemo this week.  However, she is back in the hospital again for dehydration.  Daddy, Collin and I have been visiting her regularly at her house to help her out or at the hospital.  We are not sure what's next other than she needs to get better to get out of the hospital to start chemo.

• I am an Aunt again as you saw from the recent post.  Baby Tyson is a really good baby.  He is very active and already doing things that one and two month olds do.  Smart kid!  He did have jaundice when he got home so Lisa is having to watch this and bring him back to the doctor every other day to get him checked.  His numbers they are watching continue to drop which is a good thing.

In addition, it's hard to believe that Collin will be 7 next month.  He did start the countdown last month asking "How many more days until my birthday?"  He now regularly asks.  He did want to have a game truck for his party.  This is where an A/C trailer full of electronic games is parked outside the house.  The kids play in the trailer for an hour before coming out for cake and refreshments.  He did this for a party about 4 months ago and said he wanted to do this for his birthday.  This was until he attended the sleepover party last month.  "That's what I want to do for MY party".  Ok, that's MUCH easier really to manage and plan for.  However, I think he changed his mind again but I have not asked lately.

Last Day of Zoo Camp From Collin's Eyes

I am just now getting a chance to look through Collin's camera he took to zoo camp.  First, let me point out that his camera made it back EVERY day of zoo camp this week.  I was leery about sending his camera with him but thought I would try it and see if it came back.  After the first day of praise that it came back, I kept sending it.  He brought it every day but did not always take pictures.  When he did, we had fun looking through them.  Most of them were really blurry and I could not tell what he was taking a picture of.  He insisted he could see the picture and would describe it to me.  Because he is in the "story" phase of his life, it was hard to believe that he really did remember each picture and what was in it. 

Here are selected pictures from the last day.  He took 71 of them with the majority of them blurry.  I could tell he was walking fast when taking a lot of them.

A girafe at a 6 year old's eye level

Good picture of a lion in it's habitat

Foard

Tiger

The seal habitat....with no sight of the seals

Meet Tyson Pierce

We finally got to see baby Harris yesterday.  He decided to arrive at 11:30pm on July 3rd.  Labor was quick for momma.  She arrived at the hospital, gave 3 pushes and he was born less than 30 minutes later.  He weighed much more than his siblings at 8lbs, 1oz.  He is also longer at 21 inches long. 

His family had a good time hanging out in the large recovery suite.  Lisa just laid there (well, she really could not do much of anything else) while the rest of us took turns holding Baby Tyson.  Collin was nervous to hold him at first but then held him much longer than we expected him too.  He was really loving with him rubbing on his head and how he looked at him.  Leah and Timmy held him too, but they were more interested in playing with the "sibling toys" we brought them.   Leah got a My Little Pony she could put stickers on and Timmy got a large Captain America action figure than shot his shield.  Mimi, Papi and Rosemarie were there too. 

Paul bought pizza and wings for everyone to eat which was a great idea.  We were all getting hungry but did not want to leave the baby, Lisa and family.  It got REALLY quiet when everyone was eating.  Even the kids were sitting and being quiet.  Ahhhh......

Tyson is a smart little guy.  He already turns his head toward people's voices and when they are talking to him.  He especially did this when Mimi was talking to him.  When he was awake, he was very alert.  He is also very good at sleeping with a bunch of noise and talking all around him.  I hope for Lisa's sake that he continues to be this way.

Collin, me and Tyson

He did a lot of this while we were there

More sleeping.  Love the emblem on his hat for July 4th.

Look who's waking up!

There he is.  He is looking into his Mimi's eyes.

Tyson and Cousin Collin

His crazy, loving family

Siblings Tyson, Timmy and Leah

Grandma's

The happy parents

Precious picture of Mimi looking at Tyson while Leah is watching

Zoo Camp

This week, Collin is at zoo camp and is signed up with the Hunt is On! group.  The kids must be learning about animals and how they hunt for food.  The zoo encourages the kids to bring a camera to take pictures throughout the day.  I sent Collin's camera with him today and was VERY pleased to see that he brought it home tonight. I could not wait to see what he took pictures of.  The majority of the pictures were blurry because I think he moves the camera when he pushes the button.  Here are a few of the pictures that did turn out well:

Side view of a skull he said is in his classroom

Selfie of Collin. 

A friend he met at camp.  He does not know his name which is his homework for tomorrow.

Tigers in his classroom

A hawk?  Not sure.

No, this is not fro zoo camp.  This is at home.  Looks like Collin is like his Daddy because he takes "butt shots" too. 

I tried asking him about what they learned today but I did not get much out of him.  He did show me a bat he made but could not tell me what he learned about it.  I'll try again tomorrow.....