Friday, October 7, 2016

Losing a Tooth - In More Ways than One

While Dan and Chris were out of town, working a car race, I stayed with Kelsey and the kids. It was a fun weekend.

We ate out, at Olive Garden, on Saturday evening. Robert had a very loose front tooth - his FIRST ever - and kept accidentally bumping it with his fork, which hurt. But he suffered through dinner, and then enjoyed working off some energy at a nearby park.



Clara is growing up so fast!



By the time we got home, it was nearly time for showers and bed.

Sunday morning arrived, and Robert came down to breakfast, wiggling his tooth. Kelsey checked it and found it was REALLY loose, and bleeding a little bit. She declared it "ready to come out," but neither Kelsey nor I wanted to be the tooth-puller. So Robert decided he could do it himself. Kelsey gave him a little piece of paper towel, which he folded over the tooth and PRESTO! He pulled it out in one try. Losing one's first tooth is definitely a right of passage.


So, he set the tooth down on the table, on top of a scrap of paper towel. A few minutes later, Kelsey came along to pick up the breakfast dishes. After Robert brushed his teeth (which was a little difficult for him, considering the new tender spot on his gums), he came back downstairs. "Where's my tooth?" he hollered. Kelsey looked a little confused, then realized what she had done. In picking up the breakfast things, she had inadvertently tossed out that teensy tooth, along with the napkins, paper towels and leftover oatmeal. 

It was Sunday morning, so we were all trying to get ready for church, but everything came to a screeching halt while Kelsey and I dug through the trash and methodically smushed through the clumps of oatmeal. I have to agree with Kelsey, who commented on how much a teensy little tooth looks like pieces of cooked oats! Amazingly, Kelsey found that tiny tooth, glued to the side of the trash bag with oatmeal. She carefully washed it and put it into a snack-sized zip-lock baggie for safe-keeping.

The rest of Sunday was very nice. Robert got to show off his missing tooth to all of his Bible class friends and teachers. Clara and I started a little photography "contest." We are both taking pictures of circles - anything that is in a circle shape.


We're going to share our circle pictures with each other the next time we're together. Clara seems to be winning this contest, so far, as she is taking pictures of EVERYTHING shaped like a circle. I told her I was going to be a bit selective about what circles I chose. But being selective isn't going to win, I fear. Here are a few circles that I've shot, so far.






That afternoon Dan came home from the race. Chris had to stay longer, so, at dinner time, we all met up at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Of course, Robert could hardly wait to show his Daddy what had transpired while he was away.

Dan drove on home after dinner, but I spent one more night there. I always enjoy being there when the kids are getting ready for bed on a school night - all the rituals and rules, which include Kelsey reading out of a chapter book to the kids. This time she was reading from The Little Prince


After story time the kids were off to bed. But it wasn't an ordinary school night for Robert. After all, he'd lost his very first tooth, and he was excited about the night time visit of the Tooth Fairy.  Kelsey, not wanting him to have expectations that were too high, asked him how much he thought the Tooth Fairy would bring. "Maybe a quarter," he answered, so Kelsey thought the Tooth Fairy was safe with the EIGHT quarters she was planning to bring him. 

Morning came. Kelsey went in to wake Robert up for school. When he opened his eyes, Kelsey said, "I wonder if the Tooth Fairy came?" Robert, still groggy from sleep, surprised her with his answer: "Yes. She came. I already looked." "Really?!" responded Kelsey, somewhat skeptically, since he doesn't normally wake during the night. "Yes. She left me $25 . . . two $10s, two $2s, and one $1." Obviously, he'd had a very detailed - and mathematically complex - dream. Then he looked in the tooth-hiding place, and found the eight quarters . . . and broke into tears. "Someone took my money! There was $25 there . . . two $10s, two $2s, and one $1!" It took quite a while for Kelsey to convince him that this bonanza he had "seen" had only been a dream. But in the end, he was happy with his eight quarters, and got on with getting ready for school.






Thursday, September 22, 2016

First Day of Fall

According to the Internet, Fall began two minutes ago (from time of posting). As I'm sure I've mentioned over and over in my blog, Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year. So yesterday I thought I'd go for a walk. I'd never been to Yetti Polk Park, in Belton, which is one of three parks that sit along the bank of Nolan Creek. I took my camera in hopes of finding some fall colors.

Nope.

Fall may arrive today on the calendars, but it was still summer yesterday, in the park. The temperature was 94 degrees, and people were enjoying the cooling waters of the creek.





But there were lots of giant shade trees, which helped with the heat. 

The Bell County Courthouse is clearly visible from Yetti Polk Park.







I enjoyed walking the trail, but by the time I finished my one-mile walk, I was pretty hot and sweaty - maybe even turning a bit red from the sun. Took this SELFIE (below) just before I got back to the parking lot. :-)



Saturday, September 17, 2016

Temple Symphony Concert

It was the first concert of the season for Temple Symphony. We really enjoy taking in these wonderful programs. We always seem to strike up interesting conversations with the people on either side of us, before the concert begins and during intermission. Tonight we visited with the people on both sides of us. The couple on my side - a doctor and a retired music teacher - suggested we take each other's pictures after the concert. So here we are all smiles after a terrific concert.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Summer Update

GRANDKIDS
We haven't seen them in a while! But they have both started the new school year - Clara in 5th grade, and Robert in 1st. I'm going to swipe a couple of Kelsey's first-day-of-school pictures from her blog. We're proud of both of them.






D.A.R. APPLICATION RESEARCH
I have three ancestor patriots, from the Revolutionary War, on my family tree. One of them looks hard to prove. The other two LOOKED easy. But on each of those branches I have ONE person giving me fits when it comes to proving their parentage. The one that seems most workable is patriot Jeremiah Vose, my 5th great grandfather. But I've just about run up against the proverbial brick wall when it comes to a D.A.R.-acceptable proof for the parentage of his grandson, Isaac Vose. All indications are he is the son of Reuben and Anna Bartlett Vose, but I can't find primary documentation for that. The local D.A.R. registrar has been working with me, and she continues to invite me to the meetings as a "prospective member," but we haven't quite sealed the deal yet.

MINATARE, NEBRASKA, BOOK
I offered to help my new Nebraska friend, Wanda, and her book committee with typing up and formatting their book of the history of the early founders of Minatare, Nebraska, including my Clark ancestors. It's turning into a rather time-consuming project, but I'm happy to help them along in any way I can.

OFF TO THE RACES
Toward the end of August Dan drove to Oklahoma to work as a tech in a classic car race. Chris works these races all the time, and found a slot for Dan to work, checking out the cars for safety before they hit the track for the races. He loved it, and even took some pictures (at my urging).  On the last weekend of this month, he's scheduled to work another one, this time in Austin.





OUT OF TOWN COMPANY
Dan and Charlyn were friends of ours in college, and they got married the same summer we did. We drove down to Mission, TX, to attend their wedding back in 1969. I haven't seen them since that year. We really haven't kept in contact, although we all kept in contact with the same mutual friends. But now we are back in touch. Dan stayed with us while Charlyn had some surgery at Scott & White last week. And then, Tuesday evening, they were back in town for a post-surgery check-up, and we had dinner together. Nice to renew old acquaintances.

ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW
Last weekend I went to the Fall Arts & Crafts Show at the Bell County Expo Center. It was fun, and I bought a few little doodads - nothing major. It did inspire me to get started on my Christmas shopping.

ART CLASS ON HOLD
Our art class never meets in August. It is our instructor's time to take a vacation. This year she went to Alaska. I put together a "Don't miss it" list for her. She was really lucky, because she had good weather for the entire trip. That's not something you can really count on when sailing the Inside Passage, as she did. Sadly, though, after she got home she had an accident. She was on a ladder, pruning a tree with a chain saw, and she fell out of the tree. She pulled muscles/tendons in her side, got a concussion, and put a gash in her scalp, which required stitches. So we have had no classes yet in September, while she continues to recover from that bad fall.

COMING UP
Besides the Austin race, for Dan, we also intend to go to the first concert of the season for the Temple Symphony, this coming Saturday.