Hiking day

We hiked in the Gans Creek Wild Area of Rock Bridge State Park last Sunday, spending a couple of hours trekking through the forest, exploring, eating Jimmy John's, finding a big broken turtle shell, finding a human tooth. That kind of stuff.

'Nastics

Hmmm. Been awhile. Let's get back into this thing.

After months of "nastics" practice at The Little Gym, Ayla and her classmates put on a show during the last class. Grammy, Grandpa, Beckett and I were on hand. Amber, sadly, was out of town on work.

The full set of pictures can be found on Flickr.

"Let's do what we did when I was three and four"

That was the breakfast request Beckett placed last night.

During the winter of 2007-2008 Beckett tended to get up at 7am. I would put some hot cereal on the stove and while it was cooking he and I would cover up on the couch and make up stories about Busy Squirrel and Lazy Squirrel, the actual squirrel couple that lived (lives?) in the tree outside our living room window. It was pretty much the most fun ever, and then we got to eat hot cereal before I went to work.

Now I have to get up and leave earlier - the 45 minute commute to Jefferson City will do that. But when Beckett asked for breakfast "like we did when I was three and four," I caved, obviously.

And so this morning I woke him up at 6:45 a.m. with hot cereal we shared in his bed.

A Visit to Disney World

The Hensley and Rowson clans descended upon Disney World last week with four kids, six adults and a to-do list a mile long. We were determined to see just about every damned ride and attraction old Walt and Co. had ever cooked up. We got close, too. All it took was three 14-hour days, no naps and lots and lots of Coke and candy. Here's the evidence:


We started off at the Magic Kingdom theme park on a drizzly, cold and cloudy Thursday morning. We made early stops at the castle and opened the rides with a twirl on the spinning teacups. Good times. Beckett especially liked the Buzz Lightyear ride that morning (we would ride it three more times that night after the crowds died down).

After more rides and lunch we hit the line for "It's a Small World." 30 minutes later we hopped on board...Beckett and Ayla dug it. Ayla especially (video).

We took strollers, but the kids needed to get a better view from time to time. That's where Papa, and his trusty eye-socket handle come into play.

We decided to splurge for the late night tickets as well that night. That gets you unimpeded access to the rides, a Christmas parade and a pretty nifty fireworks display.

Ayla was a huge fan of the parade...

Beckett was more interested in swordfighting (video).

We had to be pretty patient waiting for the fireworks, but quality time with Brenden and Mema helped pass the time. The show, by the way, was well worth it. And then, at 10:30 p.m., we caught Beckett performing showtunes. Good stuff.

The following day we hit Disney's Hollywood Studios, their attempt to cut into nearby Universal Studio's action. Ayla, not surprisingly, was not the least bit cowed by giant critters - like this one, from Disney's "Balloon Boy," I mean "Up." Beckett wouldn't so much as shake Spongebob's hand. Go figure.

Camera's, on the other hand, are another matter. "No pictures please!"

Friday night found us at Epcot, where we enjoyed a few rides, some shockingly good Chinese food and then their laser light show. I felt like we got to see about 10% of Epcot but hey, there are only so many hours in the day.

Day three was all about Universal Studios, which, we all agreed, was way better than the Disney knockoff from the day before. We rode Jaws, E.T., Men in Black and a number of other rides. Beckett's favorite, however, was the 20-second Woody Woodpecker junior roller coaster.

Halloween madness

Beckett reprised his role as (a rather pretty) Captain Jack Sparrow for Halloween this year. Ayla did him one better, recycling the Minnie Mouse outfit Amber wore thirty years ago. This is very sad. Like, sell some platelets and buy the kids a new costume. To share.

After trick or treating Beckett and Ayla convened on the stairs at the neighbors house to compare their loot.

Beckett's first day of school

Beckett requested a full breakfast for his first day of school. Not unlike a prisoner's last meal, but I digress. Bacon, hashbrowns, omelet, buttered toast.

Then we all walked up to the bus stop. Things got a little misty when Ayla decided she didn't want him to leave. Except Beckett, we were all pretty sad.

So sad that Dad almost completely botched the obligatory getting-on-the-bus shot. Whew.

Ayla turns two

Ayla celebrated her second birthday August 8. Fun ensued.

In addition to family we had neighbors and good buddies over for make-your-own pizzas.

Pre-K Graduation

Mimi and Grammy were on hand to witness Beckett's graduation from Countryside Nursery School. So was Isabel Kulik, with whom Beckett had hit it off from the first day and been inseparable ever since.

Later in the summer, say two months since he'd last seen her at graduation, he named his Build-A-Bear tiger "Isabel." Plans were hastily arranged to get the two together again.

Dad was okay throughout the production, with the exception of the procession in. We're lucky we have this photo at all.

T-ball Time

This summer brought Beckett's first organized t-ball action.

For some reason I always took my glove out to the field while coaching, like I was going to snag a flare in short center or something. What an idiot.

Beckett doing his best Darryl Strawberry impersonation...let's hope he keeps the mimicry to the baseball diamond though.

Ayla likes to wear her sunglasses upside down. We don't know why, but buddy Logan doesn't mind.

Not taking Beckett's sh%t

Ayla does not suffer fools, folks. She'll come at you like a spider monkey if you look at her wrong - it's awesome. And then she's back to her sweet self...quite a package.