Pop-Pop's Tractor

On our way to Charlottesville, all Gunnar could talk about was how excited he was to ride Pop-Pop's tractor.  However, he has recently become more fearful of loud things, which was fed by several unplanned fire drills at school right before he left.  So, Levi did most of the tractor riding this time while Gunnar watched safely from the car.

August and September in a (Pea)nutshell!

It's time to get this blog going in realtime.  So to recap the events of the past 2 months (in chronological order)...

Erik was off to Houston then Minden.
Aunt Sue paid us a wonderful surprise visit and left some good luck behind.
We got an offer on the house!!
Aunt Crazy came to town to play!
We accepted an offer on the house!
I put my 2 weeks notice in to TRD.  They were surprised but I think quietly happy they were getting the women's restroom back up for grabs.
Erik went to Boston.
Gunnar and I spent 3 hours in the doctor's office for the Great Peanut Challenge (after receiving promising news from his recent blood test), which he passed with flying colors.  No more peanut allergy!!
Erik took off for Australia.
I took the boys to Winston to celebrate Tiff's birthday and visit at the golf tournament.  Lindsay, Ryan, and Vanessa met up with us for an all-too-brief visit.  We got some awesome play time in with Keegan and the whole Spach family.  Started to realize (sniff, sniff) that this was the beginning of our goodbyes to North Carolina.
Took Levi to the ENT to get his ear tubes checked.  All was well.  While we were there, Dr. D explained to Gunnar why he should never put Rice Krispies in his ear again.
I said my bittersweet goodbyes to the folks at Windshear and TRD.  Suddenly, I was jobless, carless, almost homeless... and very excited for our new adventures!
Erik returned from Australia!
Patty and Rooty came to visit.  Erik and I took off for Minden to househunt.  My first trip EVER without the boys.
Put an offer in on Erik's former boss' house.  Offer accepted!!
Back to NC - time to purge our house and get ready for the big move!  Continued to make the rounds to say our see-ya-laters to our friends and neighbors.
Erik went to Chicago.
Erik came home!
Grammy and Pop-Pop came to visit.  Loaded them up with a trailer full to take back to Virginia.
Braced for the movers.  Lucked out with an awesome crew.  Hooray for Frank, Mark, and Charma!  See you in Nevada!
Walked out of 2691 Jameson Dr. for the last time.  Had to stop to swing on the playset on the way out.  And picked the watermelon from the garden.
Said a tearful goodbye to all of our friends at Primrose.  What an amazing school!
Arrived in Richmond to begin our Virginia tour.
Erik began his 15 hour flight to India.
Entertained the boys in Richmond with Patty and Rooty, visiting the library, fire station, playground, and the Pierce family.
Aunt Crazy and Aunt Sue came to visit.
Levi had his first night terror.  The only thing that calmed him down was when Patty offered him a banana.
Erik came back from India!
We all took off to Charlottesville for fun with Grammy and Pop-Pop.  Picked apples, played farmer, rode the tractor, had a blast with balloons.
Levi took a frightening tumble down the stairs but emerged with just a few bruises.
Picture time with Mary on The Lawn!  Preview pics here.
I got a night out with Steph!
Off to Baltimore for Mary Frances' baptism.  Wonderful visit with Anne, Dennis, and our precious goddaughter.  Love them!
Fun visit with our college friends and kiddos - Melissa, Jason, Joanna, and 5 little ones.
Now we are back in Richmond, finalizing things for the big move!!!

And there you have it, folks.  I think we're all caught up!  Phew!  I need a drink.

Gina

Meet Gina, the dove. (named by Gunnar)  She built her nest right outside Gunnar's bedroom window, in the gutter.  Her story pretty much sums up our lives recently.

She built her nest.  It was a very fine nest, and we were excited that she put it in a perfect location for us to watch as her family grew.

She layed 2 eggs and very patiently sat on them to keep them warm every day.

Her eggs hatched, and her babies quickly grew.

Before we knew it, it was time for the family to move on, and the nest was empty.

Godspeed, Gina!

Sandbridge 2011

The entire Rheutan family congregated at Sandbridge in late July for the second year in a row - all 4 generations!  1 Livesay, 2 Rheutans, 4 Davis', 5 Hamiltons, and 4 Lindhjems = 1 week of sun, fun, sand, and a few stomach bugs that got some of us down but not out.  Here's a slideshow recap of our fun.

Gunnar's birthday, continued...

Gunnar's actual birthday fell on a Thursday, and Grammy and Pop-pop continued their tradition of spending that special day with their grandson.  Gunnar got to play hookie from school, and since Levi was not feeling well, Gunnar got the grandparents all to himself as they spent the morning at Discovery Place Kids.  Gunnar's birthday was officially complete when he opened his gift from them - a John Deere tractor and trailer.

And Grammy made matching boxers for all the boys, though Levi was the only one who was willing to model.

Such handsome boys!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Gunnar!

I planned this party months in advance for 2 reasons:
1. I figured it was our last chance to host a big get-together before we head west.
2. I HAD to book Mr. Music, who is Gunnar's preschool music teacher. Mondays are Gunnar's favorite day of the week because it is Mr. Music day.
So, I pretty much had everything figured out, and with the help of Erik, Patty, Rooty and Aunt Lizzie, we had the drum cake decorated, the cupcake microphones ready to go (minus the ones that took a dive on the floor), the maracas ready to be colored, and the party CD's ready to hand out. Everything looked awesome... but you'll have to take my word for it. I forgot about the camera! Fortunately, Erik grabbed it just as the cake was coming out. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to pick less than ideal moments to experiment with the camera settings. So, this is the best picture we have of Gunnar blowing out his candles...

Here is the cake (it's supposed to be a drum).

From Gunnar's 3rd birthday

And the crowd...

From Gunnar's 3rd birthday

From Gunnar's 3rd birthday

Gunnar's friends who came to celebrate: Kathryn, Lauren & Jack Tumlin, Noel & Aubrey Griffin, Thomas & Gregory Wenning, Luke, the Hamiltons, Braden Gore, Evan Albrecht, Nick & Miranda Huffman, Alexis Hall, Keegan Spach, Noah & Julia Meyers, the Sacks Family.
Here's Gunnar eating his microphone (in an Aunt Lizzie special shirt!).

From Gunnar's 3rd birthday

And we actually do have a bunch of video of the party (shout out to Spach 1!), however it is currently in my backlogged to-be-processed department. Anyway, we all had a blast, and hopefully Gunnar will hold on to at least a faint memory of our dance party. Thanks for 3 smiling years, buddy. I love you!

Laurel Park Triathlon

For the past 2 years, our neighborhood has put on an awesome triathlon for kids and adults. This year, it worked out perfectly that the Hamiltons were visiting the weekend of the event, and so Gunnar, Andrew, and Grace all participated in the kids' tri while Erik, Elizabeth, and myself all did the adult one. Gunnar was the youngest participant of all the kids, and while I was a little nervous that I was pushing him into doing it, he was excited to "get sweaty" like Mommy and Daddy.

Andrew was a stud, looking like an old pro. Gracee never stopped smiling through the entire race. Gunnar's excitement that he had shown in the days leading up the event had almost disappeared by the start, and later that night we realized that perhaps his 104 degree fever had something to do with it!! Yes, I felt like a terrible mom. Fortunately, he still showed a glimmers of enjoyment as he rode "really fast" on his tricycle but complained of not getting sweaty. He also got the biggest cheers as he brought up the rear. Aunt Lizzie gets a gold star for fearlessly taking on her first tri on an unfamiliar bike. Perhaps she would have enjoyed that leg more had the tires actually been inflated. Fortunately we were able to end with a strong run and managed to beat a few folks. Congrats to the new triathletes!