The True Judge

Well, I was so fortunate to be chosen to do my duty this month of October... JURY DUTY!! Yay! Actually, I've only been called in a few times, and no trials yet. They seem to settle while we wait or get rescheduled due to new evidence or various reasons. It's been more of an inconvenience making arrangements for the day for Ryan and then changing it all when I get to leave than it has been an interesting learning experience. But, the the first day as I'm taking him to someone's home...
"Mom, what's jury duty?"
Well, try to explain that in four-year-old terms. I did my best and said some things like it's where we help decide if someone(big people, usually) did somthing wrong and what their punishment should be.

"But, Mom, only God can punish big people... He's in charge." Oh, how true. Yes, we can do our best here for a better world, but God has the final say. I hope Ryan and we, too, will live each day by the True Judge's rules!

Posting Mania again...

When it rains, it pours. Below are more posts to get you up to date on our life the past few months... at least the moments in pictures that spur my memory! They are in chronological order going backwards :)! Maybe now going forward I can post more regularly! Enjoy...

1st Day-Preschool Year 2

Thursday, September 6th. Ryan would have started back in July...but the day did finally come. He was very excited to go back and see the same teachers, some of the same friends and some new ones. This year he will be one of the older kids... but I think that is going to be a good thing for him. We've been told already that he is doing SO well this year. Well then... how bad does that mean last year was? :) Serioiusly though, he has matured so much and does much better at following through with projects and listening. We're proud of our Preschooler!

The classic first day pose...

Posing by the "mailboxes"...we pick up our day's goodies here each afternoon.

Off to explore. There was no hesitation for Mom to leave this year, and sadly there wasn't much of that last year, either.
It's hard to believe that this time next year, we will have a Kindergartner!

Young at Heart

We headed, as I've mentioned in previous posts, to Grand Rapids over the Labor Day weekend. We helped some with Donna's condo and the other good excuse for that weekend was a "mini-reunion" at Pete and Cathy's with many of Steve's brothers, cousins and aunts.

My man...ready to ride :)! I think this was his nephew's helmet... and given Steve's big head (no hidden messages here) it left a large dent in his forehead for a day!

I am speed(or not)! Just ask Cathy... the pro :)! It helps if you can work the clutch before you get going, right?

Many of the gang camped out in the yard for the weekend. We, however, took our camping as far as it goes for us and stayed at Jim's plush campground... aka his home! Thanks Jim. Here's a look at the tent city and the "big boys" taking a break from the trails.

And Ryan's special friend for the day was "Buster" the caterpillar! He was very attached. Mom forgot to get him some water and the next morning he was rather dried up and not moving :(! We laugh, but it was a heartbreaking moment for our Ry-guy. It was just added emotions to the day as we were working at Grandma's where he was very upset to be without her. Missing Buster was just icing on the cake :(!

Water Boy

One weekend in August, when PaPaw Choo Choo was on his way home, we headed to the Cities to use a waterpark package we had bought at an auction. He was able to hang out with us there for the two nights before he travelled the rest of the way home. It was indoors and had a night time feel all day long. It was a good time...

The room had a special "cubby hole" room with bunk beds where the oldest and youngest in our family slept :)... Mom and Dad got the king size bed in the main area of the room.
Here he comes... Ryan made countless trips up and down this slide. He always seems to make friends easily too!

AAAAAAHHH... get a look in that mouth. That voice box gets lots of use these days :)! He usually doesn't stop talking unless asked to be quiet!

Here's our Venetian evening... right in Minneapolis!

Visitors

We were thankful to have family come to visit in August. It started with PaPaw Choo Choo (Steve's dad), then Uncle Matt and Aunt Erin (Anne's bro and sis-in-law) and our summer music missionary returned for a few days from Mexico. A good time was had with each of them. However, it seems the camera only came out for Grandpa's visit... I was slacking or something with the others :)!

Generations...this was a good shot of the 3 Wood guys watching an antique car parade.

And here are two peas in a pod... or maybe in playground equipment. We had to show Grandpa the new and impressive local park.

How fun... swinging... a sport for ages 70+ and under :)....
A little healthy competition with PaPaw...Tic Tac Toe anyone?

The telescope at grandpa's house has been a hit over the last few visits. So what does he show up with here? The telescope... we just have to keep explaining to our neighbors that we really aren't peeping Toms! Each morning while PaPaw was here, they had to "focus in" on some new object.
Great times. Great memories.

Penguin Party

In August, we were reminded of how much of a planner our little guy is. He and one of his friends like to plan their birthday parties months in advance. The latest idea was to have a Penguin Party, all because Steve told Ryan that he always wanted a penguin when he was little. So, we decided on Monday to have a Penguin Party on Tuesday night with our friends. It's amazing how much fun a last minute "party" can be. Steve even came up with some creative activities and a fancy invitation for our special friends :)!

Pin the bow tie on the penguin...

and Penguin cookies made from oreos, candy corn and M&M's... complete with a "Happy Feet" cake from Cub Foods! (Gotta love Ryan's PINK crown, huh?... compliments of his friend :)!!)