Tiger cub

Tiger cub! That's the nickname Auntie Beesie has given Miles since he started golf lessons. Get it?! Golf...Tiger... She's so clever :) Sometimes I think Tanner's golf habits are like those of a pro golfer, so maybe we should call Miles "Tanner cub" instead. Certainly more appropriate on many levels.

Miles is intrigued by Tanner's passion for golf and, likewise, Tanner is intrigued by the chance to instill this passion in the boys. The first day of lessons went well. Miles recognized two of the girls in the class and was eager to get to know the other kids and coaches. It was hot, so that meant the kids were all given a bottle of water (just your standard bottle of Dasani - nothing fancy). None of the other parents stuck around for the lessons and I sort of felt out of place....I know absolutely nothing about golf and if I find myself anywhere other than the dining area or pool at the OCC, I feel awkward. Like I'm naked or something. Plus I could tell my presence was distracting Miles because he kept waving the bottle of water at me. Anyway, here's a picture of the crew:

Unfortunately I did not get a close-up shot of Miles afterward. His cheeks were bright red and he was a sweaty mess. And there was grass in his hair. Here's an overview of our conversation as I drove him back to school:

Mama: So what was the best part of golf lessons today, Miles?
Miles: Drinking water from the water bottle. Oh, and rolling down hills!
Mama: Rolling down hills? Was that part of a particular game or lesson, like when you were practicing hitting balls?
Miles: No, I just rolled down hills.
Mama: Did any other kids roll down the hills with you?
Miles: Yes! It was super fun, mama! We rolled down a bunch of times and I got super sweaty because I was working so hard. And the coaches didn't even tell us to stop!
Mama: But did you at least pay attention to your coaches when they were talking to you? And did you follow their instructions when they were teaching you how to golf?
Miles: Yep. I was a good listener. Guess what else, mama? Sophie was running behind a boy and he wasn't looking and he swinged [yes, "swinged"] his club in the air and hit her right in the head. She screamed really loud and then there was blood all around on her face [imagine Miles rubbing his hands all over his face to add some visual effect]. She even got to go to the doctor to see if she needed stitches! It was not good.

Oh, poor Sophie. She's just a pretty little thing who probably didn't stand a chance against that golf club. We hope she's back to class tomorrow so we can help her feel better!

So there you have it. A water bottle, some hill rolling, and someone's baby girl getting smacked in the head by a club. Some day he'll come home cheering about getting a hole in one and we'll reflect on his first day of golf lessons. But I hope Sophie gets a hole in one first :)

S'more, please.

On a warm summer day it takes some polite and persistent begging and pleading (and maybe a long overdue poop worth celebrating) to talk a group of adults into one of these:

Miles succeeded (in both categories). It might have been close to 90 degrees today, but that didn't stop us from enjoying a snack of S'mores. Mother Nature took care of melting the chocolate squares before they even landed on the graham crackers. But these two boys did a fine job of roasting the marshmallows.

Grandma provided help with the assembling process, which as you probably know is rather tricky. Especially when a 4 year old has wobbly control over the hot roasting stick. Yikes. Brave grandma!

It wasn't a very big fire and therefore didn't last very long. As the excitement wore off, Miles took to practicing his photography skills. Not bad, 'eh?

Where was Westy? Napping! That's why the fire stayed contained to the pit.

Grandma Jill and Grandpappy: Miles plans to have a discussion with you about getting a fire pit in your backyard. Consider yourself warned!

ROARRRRRR!!!

Maybe it's more like roar!

Cupcakes and noses

Mama bear spent most of Sunday engaged in wedding shower festivities for Uncle Will and soon-to-be-Auntie Anne. It was a lot of fun and, selfishly, I loved the "quiet" time with them and Grandpa Dave and Grandma Doreen in the car (although Gpa D and Will would probably argue against my definition of quiet... Anything sans children is quiet to me. Gma D and the Annes easily kept the conversations rolling without any assistance from a certain 4 year old. Or 1 year old.). The baby bears spent the day with their Papa bear and I'm pretty sure they had a great time ruling the den! They washed the car, went to Lowes, goofed around at the golf course, and probably ate way more animal crackers and Cheez-Its than I care to know.

In addition to the usual benefits that come from a little time away from mommy (absence makes the heart grow fonder!), the boys also scored leftover cupcakes from the shower. They were made with extra love (and frosting) by Tanner's cousin Asha. She's a fabulous cake baker and specializes in the mini variety - perfect for the boys.

We're heading to Worthington this weekend to celebrate Great Grandma Helen's 90th birthday (where does she hide all those years? She's got more pep in her step than we do!). Fortunately Asha will be supplying cupcakes for that big event, too. We're already drooling.

(he'll eat crumbs off of anything)

On a totally unrelated note, we went for a bike ride tonight. Actually, it's sort of related because the purpose of our bike ride was to go to Walgreens to pick up some pictures that we printed for GGma Helen. Anyway, we cut through the Steele County fairgrounds on the way home and came across a bunch of dogs taking turns running through an obstacle course. Their owners were there (with treats of course) and they all seemed to appreciate the small crowd that had gathered to watch. Next to us were two women in electric wheelchair scooter thing-a-ma-jigs. One had two tiny (yet obese) dogs tucked by her feet. It was actually a very strange situation. So awkward that Miles didn't even comment. She had all sorts of other stuff on the scooter too - maybe a radio, some grocery bags, her smokes, a beverage, and I think her kitchen sink. The woman in the other scooter might have been her mother. She was using oxygen and had her tank tucked under her feet. No dogs. Miles was not as fascinated by the ladies as I expected - he must have been too distracted by the dogs on the obstacle course. We enjoyed the show for a while and then headed home. About 10 minutes later Miles asked, "Mama, why was that lady in the chair with wheels -- the one who had the wires holding her nose up -- watching the dogs play?"

Note that he didn't seem phased by her scooter. Or her nose being held up by wires. He simply wanted to know why she was watching the dogs. I told him she probably likes puppies just as much as he does, and was watching for the same reason we were - because it was fun. Then I couldn't help myself...I clarified that the wires were not actually holding up her nose, but rather helping her breathe. Sigh. I love that kid.