the first call I got from school

My phone rang about a half hour after Brett got home from school today.  The lady introduced herself as Brett's gym teacher. Oh boy. 

She said she wanted to let me know that "Brett stands out in her Kindergarten class."  Yikes.

She went on to say that Brett is such a good friend and kind to his classmates, and that today he came and told her when another kid needed help.

It was my favorite moment of my day, maybe even my week.  If there is anything I want my kids to be known for, it is for being kind and helping someone who needs it!

No doubt, this is something I already know about Brett.  I'm just happy he's already feeling comfortable enough at school to be himself, and appreciate this teacher's initiative in making the call to tell me about it!

anniversary trip (part 3)

Just to give some perspective, we spent about four hours seeing the sites in Boston, and about eight hours at Fenway Park.  Boston is a great city with loads of history and art, also beautiful, but we came to see Fenway Park.  We took the subway, and had hoped to get there in enough time to go on a tour.  It was sold out when we got there, so we spent some time just taking in the atmosphere.

 The 101-year-old stadium has maintained it's look over the years.

 Street entertainers set up shop outside the main gate of the stadium.

We walked around the perimeter of the stadium almost twice, bought souvenirs, and got some delicious margarita pizza across the street from the stadium.

Once we were able to enter the stadium, we appreciated that we could walk freely throughout-many stadiums only allow you access to your level or section.

 We were even allowed to go in the lower level to see batting practice and get a better view of the field.

The whole stadium was kept in good repair with some newer elements (like the mega screens, additional seating) but had the feel of a hundred-year-old stadium.  Even the concessions seemed old school.

 Here is the view from our seats.  We were at the highest level along the first base line.

By the way the usher greeted the fans and the way the fans engaged with each other, we could tell many of them were season ticket holders.  It almost felt like we had crashed a party where we didn't know anyone, but everyone else knew each other!  The concessions were good, notably the free refills souvenir pop and the ice cream in a souvenir helmet.  I liked that they posted the score and other stats on the old score board, with a person behind the board putting up the numbers.  The between-inning entertainment had some unique elements, but no racing sausages or shooting t-shirts up into the stands!

 There was a nice deck behind our seats with views of the city.

(I took this picture for my aunt.)

All in all, it was a great day at the ballpark, even if the Yankees smoked the Red Sox.

Saturday was a travel day.  We splurged and took a water taxi to the airport to get a different view of the harbor.

That makes eight modes of transportation (car, taxi, airplane, bus, subway, train, boat, and don't forget walking!) and six states (Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts) in four days!  It was no all-inclusive beach vacation, but it was packed full of things we love to do together.

five things my five-year-old learned at school

My son has made his way through the first five days of Kindergarten.

Here are five things he has learned:

1. Use two squirts of soap and two paper towels.

2. Get off the bus at the first stop.  If you don't, your bus driver will kindly bring you back at the end of the route. (Probably not-so-kindly after the first week.)

3. The principal is a Packer's fan.

4. The most important numbers of his school career - his lunch number.  Which he learned at home by punching it into my phone over and over and over again.

5.  It's okay to cover your ears during a fire drill, but stay away from the windows. (?)

I'd say he's about ready for first grade.

anniversary trip (part 2)

It was almost 9pm on Thursday by the time we checked into our room in Boston.  Again, we paid with reward points and again we played the "anniversary" card and got an upgraded room.  I forgot to take a picture of the bathroom and the view, which were both great!

Even though it was late for people like us who are always home by 7pm to get the kids to bed, we hadn't eaten, and this was the night we had planned to eat somewhere nice.  Bryan wanted lobster.  I've never been a fan of seafood, and it turns out I'm still not.  But we were dressed up and the city along the harbor was beautiful.

Our hotel from the harbor

The restaurant had live entertainment, far better than the food!

 We have never been to Boston, so Friday morning we spent taking in some history.  We did a walking tour of the Freedom Trail.

 Next, we toured the Museum of African American History and African Meeting House.

 We walked around the beautiful Public Garden.

Across from the Public Garden was "Cheers".

It had good burgers.

Next stop...Fenway Park...

I'm gonna build a blue house next to yours, Mom

In a random moment, Brett made this declaration last week.

Lydia quickly chimed in that she was going to live in "Woodbury" and Reggie said he was going to live "far, far away".

And last Wednesday when I took Brett to the open house at his school and we left the rest of the family at home, he gripped my hand tightly.  And I wondered how long it would be before he thinks he is too old to hold his momma's hand.

He has waves of independence.  The last time we went to get his hair cut and Ms Donna called him over, he turned to me and said, "Don't go with me."

Letting go.  It's so hard to do.

This morning when I was sure he would make a scene at the bus stop and refuse to get on, he was all smiles and bounced up the steps.  I stood there awkwardly.  Do I wait for the bus to leave?  Do I turn away?  Is he really going to be okay?  Doesn't my son need me?

In an instant it hit me that my black son had just gotten on a bus full of mostly white kids, and here we have his white momma desperately trying not to melt into a puddle at the bus stop.  Kids can be so cruel, and if not cruel, at least curious, so I turned and walked away.

Letting go.  It's so hard to do.

I guess when your child is five, it's knowing when to hold on tight and when to turn and walk away.

I'm so proud of my son today, but I still hope he builds a blue house next to mine.

Brett's first day of Kindergarten

anniversary trip (part 1)

On June 9, 2001 Bryan and I went on our first date.  Bryan is a sports nut, and I've always been a fan of baseball.  So, we went to a Twins game at the Metrodome - which will soon be torn down.  We sat in the lower level along the third base line.  I don't remember anything else about the game, I just know that Bryan hit it out of the park, and we spent many more summer nights eating hot dogs under the romantic glow of the stadium lights in the cheap seats.  At our wedding, we entered our reception to the tune of "Take Me out to the Ballgame" and served root beer and crackerjacks.  And somewhere along the line, we decided to put one thing on our bucket list: we will go to a baseball game together in every major league stadium.  Since, we've gone to Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers), Target Field (Twin's new stadium), US Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox), and Coors Field (Colorado Rockies).  We've been to others but either not together (Cardinals) or not to a game (Wrigley Field).

For our 10th anniversary, we decided to knock two more off the list: Yankee Stadium (NYC) and the much anticipated Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox).  

We started our trip early on Wednesday morning.  We drove to Bryan's office and took a taxi from there to the airport.  From the airport, we took separate flights (because we used frequent flier miles) to Newark, NJ.  From there, we took a bus into Manhattan.  We grabbed some lunch and hung out at Grand Central Station until we could check into our hotel.  It was right in Manhattan.  Paid for with reward points, we were upgraded to a suite when we told them we were celebrating our anniversary.  Bryan says in all his stays in New York, he has never had a room so spacious or with a view.  We were amused that every time we left the room, the "housekeeping fairy" would come by to clean and restock towels, soaps, and k-cups!

Two-room suite in Manhattan

View from room

During our stay, they were filming the movie, "Squirrels to the Nuts", and we ran into Owen Wilson in the lobby.  We headed out to Yankee Stadium around 5pm.  We took the subway, which was insanely crowded at that time of day.  The subway stop was right at the stadium but we walked around the neighborhood a little before we went in.  

The stadium is only about four years old and was nice, but nothing really stood out about it.  Still it was entertaining to be at a game surrounded by New Yorkers.  The concessions were standard and the between-inning entertainment was unimpressive (no sausage races like at the Miller Park).  But the beer guy in our section was a hoot!

View from our seats

On Thursday morning, we got up and walked around Manhattan.  We saw the Trump Towers seen in The Apprentice and Rockefeller Center.  Then we walked around Central Park.

It was really odd to be in this tranquil place in the middle of the city.  But even on a Thursday morning, there were a few street entertainers, and we happened upon a photo shoot, so it was impossible to escape the city.

We grabbed some lunch and hopped on the subway to Penn Station for the next leg of our trip.  Our Amtrak train to Boston was delayed about two hours.  But the trip up through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts was scenic and enjoyable.

This picture was taken from the train as we were leaving NYC.

Stay tuned for part two...

 

Happy 4th Birthday, Reggie!

August 4, 2013 - Reggie's Mickey Mouse Party