Happy Father's Day...

to the world's best dad! If all dad's were as patient, loving, and involved in their childrens' lives, this world would be a much better place!Mike spent father's day tearing down a metal swing to make room for Owen's swing set that we just ordered. Then, we went out to lunch and afterwards Mike spent about 3 hours doing this....

Owen and I got him a hammock stand for father's day. We had a hammock, but no stand and he really wanted one. It's very relaxing! Mike fell asleep and while he was sleeping, my dad and Uncle Boo came over and fixed our lawn mower. What a nice surprise!

This evening we went over to Papa and Kimmie's house for dinner. Here's a picture of Owen, Daddy, Bob (Papa) and Mel (Mall).


Here are some old pics of Owen with daddy. I never got to put them on the blog because I started the blog after the fact. They are precious.

A Day Out with Thomas

Today we took Owen to the Strasburg Railroad for "A Day Out with Thomas". Thomas only comes a few times a year so it is a big event! Owen has never seen a "real" train so this was a major experience for him. As you can see from the pictures, he was mesmerized by Thomas and would not even look at the camera for a picture. He had so much fun he did not want to leave and kept saying, "More Ta". We got him a hat and he would not take it off. He even wore it while we had lunch at Olive Garden.

Ella's Birthday Party

Owen had a great time at Ella's birthday party. We were a little concerned because he has been weird about birthday parties lately, but he did well. All the kids were born within three months of each other. Poor Owen, he was the only boy. In fifteen years though he would be considered "Lucky Owen".
Ella is such a cutie! She and Owen get along so well and love to play with each other. They sat next to each other to eat dinner and shared each other's food. It was adorable. We think they kind of look alike too, even though they are second cousins.

Busy Weekend

On Saturday we had my cousin's bridal brunch. It was nice because Owen could play outside on the playground. He loved the castle swing set!Here is Owen with Aunt Beth and Aunt Maddie.
Before the bruch, Ella and Aunt Paige came over for a quick visit.

Meet Tony....

Full name: Anthony Fredrick. I'll explain the Fredrick part another time. It is a very meaningful name. After $17 at PetSmart, Tony has a nice home and some food to eat. Let's hope he lives more than a week. We are keeping him on the counter. Originally we wanted to put him in our breakfast nook, but then Owen was spotted putting his hand in Tony's bowl so we moved it. I think I'm starting to like the little guy.

A New Pet

Last night Mike and I went to my cousin's pre-reception party. We got to see pictures of their beautiful wedding in Italy. Tonight is the reception!

While I was getting ready, Owen decided to try on my shoes and walk around a bit. Check out the picture. It was hilarious! I can just picture the photos up on a large screen one day (maybe at a sports banquet? or his wedding?).
Nana "Way" watched Owen while we were gone. That was quite the task because he was off-the-wall hyper when we left the house. She took him to the festival and they had a great time! Owen won a fish, a little football, and some bubbles. I guess we are off to the pet store today to get a home and some food for his new fish. I can't wait to see what he decides to name it! Nana J said that Owen wanted to hold the fish in the bag and the poor fish had quite the ride. Owen kept swinging, squishing, and bumping the bag all around. She had to keep reminding him to be gentle.

Here's a funny picture of Owen I just had to add. This was taken this week at Papa and Kimmie's house. This is another good one to use in the future!

PS- Owen named his fish "Tony". I have no idea where that name came from, but that's his name!

Cute Cup

Nana J (aka Nana Way to Owen) stopped by to drop off this cute sippy cup for Owen. She got it at the giftshop in Mt. Gretna. That was very kind of her considering Owen was not on his best behavior this afternoon when we were in at her office. He really likes his new cup!

Owen Playing Ball

Here's a short video of Owen's first hit. I did not realize I could not rotate a video so you have to watch it sideways or rotate your computer.

Our Weekend

Saturday was a busy day. I had an eye doctor apt, Cheech got shaved, I ran tons of errands, and then we went to Tyler's birthday party. Owen was very excited for Tyler's party and had been talking about it all week. He had a John Deere birthday party theme and his daddy gave hay rides behind his tractor. It was so cute. Unfortunately, Owen decided he was scared of the tractor and did not want to go on the hayride so I was not able to get any pictures. He was being a tad of a party pooper, but that's ok.

Owen wore a cute outfit to the party. I got him the white polo, Kimmie got him the shorts, and Lala got him the cute shoes.

Here's a couple pictures of Cheech's new haircut. When Mike was putting him in the cat carrier Cheech was crying really loudly and Owen had never heard him that upset. He said, "Cheech cry. Cheech take Ta." He felt so badly for Cheech that he wanted to let him take Thomas along. How cute. Then, when Cheech got home and Owen saw him he kept staring at his behind because it looks A LOT different than it did when he had hair. Owen was very curious and concerned about Cheech's hiney. He kept looking at it and pointing and saying, "Uh oh Cheech, uh oh Cheech." We told him Cheech was fine and that is where he goes potty.
Tonight we had dinner with Bob, Kim, and Mel and afterwards Owen enjoyed playing in the yard. Here he is playing baseball. Yesterday he hit two balls in a row. It was the first time I had ever seen him play baseball and was amazed. For a second, I thought he had some sort of baseball gift, but he has not done it since. If you listen closely to the video I think my mom thought the same thing. You'll notice in many pictures that Owen usually is missing his shirt, shorts, or both. He prefers to be in just a diaper and it is hard to keep him in clothing when he is at home. We had icecream sandwiches for dessert and Owen took so long to eat his that it was melting all over himself and our deck. Papa had the good idea to have him sit in his empty pool while he ate it.

Last Day of School

Today was our last day of school (with kids). We still have to go next week for meetings. Last year at this time I was so ready for the year to end and could not wait to say good-bye to my class of 5th graders. They were, and probably always will be, the most challenging students I have ever taught. I was so proud of myself for making it through the year and not giving up (or ending up in a mental institution).

This year was a different story. I moved to third grade (my favorite grade to teach) and I had a great class this year. This was my seventh year of teaching and this class was probably my favorite. I had some great classes during my 5 years in my previous school district and many of those students I won't forget. After Owen was born, I did not want to drive 35 minutes everyday to and from work. I decided to take a job in a school much closer to my house (only 10 minutes away) and the hours in this district are less too! I do miss my old school a lot.
The students in this district are so different than where I began teaching. Many of them live with only one parent or grandparent and have very little. They were so appreciative of every little thing I did for them. I know I probably won't have a group quite as special as these students again (at least for a while). Over Christmas break I had an awful dream that I went to school and discovered it was the last day of school and I had to say good-bye to my kids and send them on to 4th grade. I was not ready to let them go. I told my class about my dream and today one of my boys said, "Mrs. Reager, remember that bad dream you told us you had about us going to 4th grade? Well, it's here."

Now that school is out and I am not spending every evening grading paper and doing plans I don't quite know what to do with myself. It will be so nice not to have to spend a few hours every weekend in my classroom. I spend all year waiting for the day to come where I don't have hours of work to do outside of school and when it is finally here it takes a bit to get used to. Don't get me wrong... I love it... I am just such a routine oriented person that it throws me off and takes a little getting used to. I have also had a LOT more time on my hands now that my reality shows are over (American Idol, and Dancing With the Stars). I am hooked on the Bachelorette now, but that is only on Monday nights.

This summer will be the first summer that Mike has not taught summer school. I will be subbing for summer school, but that is all. Owen will be going to Linda's two days a week because last summer we did not send him and it was very traumatic (on all of us!) when he had to go back in the fall. It will be very hard to send him to daycare while I am at home. I will feel so guilty, but I know it is best that he stays familiar with the people, children, and routines at Linda's house. We plan on staining the deck, completing a ton of small projects around the house that we have been putting off, going to the pool, the boat, the beach, the zoo, Thomas the Train, Dutch Wonderland, Sesame Place, and Baltimore.

I do love this time of year!