Summertime

Summer scenes for the Rutledge crew.

We kicked it off with a farewell to Peace Montessori on the boys' last day of preschool. The end of an era.



There was a lot of soccer, with Owen "Tiger Claws" as the goalie and Gus ensuring that his #11 could still be seen with his jersey tucked on. John Wall created a monster.



We were treated to a visit from the Crumpton gang as Tess learned that there are children to hang out with other than grubby big brothers.

"Corinne, you just gotta try the cupcake like this. Oh man, that's good. "



It was the first time we had seen Big Sam since he went mobile....and mobile he is. He defines what it is to be a little boy. I wanted to roll around the dirt with him just to relive it.



Aunt Mel, Uncle Dude, Amy & I may run the show for now.....but not for long if these guys have anything to say about it.



Our lone road trip of the summer was up to Philadelphia to spend a weekend with our friends the Learys, where buddy Mike surprised me with Victory Hop Devil on tap in his basement bar and our kids were surprised with quite possibly the coolest kid park ever built. It's fair to say that both Dad and kids had to be picked up off the ground before they could believe either was real.




Young Andrew & Miss Tess did the playground boogie.


After our road trip we have enjoyed the rest of the summer at home, spending time with friends, neighbors, and here with family as GJ & Pappy made their way down for the now annual Fourth of July visit. Nothing beats 100 degrees like driveway popsicles.



Home.....where you can hang out in a bucket of water with your sibling on a hot summer day....



....or set personal records at Mario Kart on the Wii.



By the end of July, it was time to start a new phase. Owen and Gus are separated in kindergarten for really the first time in their lives. Owen was not at all happy with the thought of being away from his brother, protesting on Meet the Teacher day by threatening to rip the "Owen" coconut off the wall...and all the other students with it.

But he rebounded, getting on the bus the first morning with his brother, and responding to two nervous parents' question of "How'd the first day of school go?" question with a "It. Was. Awesome."

Phew. Now if we can just get Tess to walk through that preschool door here in a few weeks....

Cheers!

First Day of School

The boys made it on the bus. Amy only shed a few tears. Look out kindergarten -- they're coming....

Memorial Day fun

The Rutledge crew spent Memorial Day weekend at home this year. We rolled out a badminton net, set up a poor man's bocce court, invited some neighbors over to share in the fun and sun, and tried to relax as much as possible.

Saturday night ended up being one of the funnest nights we have had since we moved to Apex 4 years ago. There were 45+ people here with kids of all ages. The rain forecasted all day long held off, and once the sun went down and the lightning bugs came out the kids broke into a game of flashlight tag which took me back to the days on Kelly Drive playing that game with all the neighborhood kids. It was a great night.

Sunday was recuperation and re-hydration day. We tried to take the kids out for pizza last night and were quickly reminded that we have 3 small children. Tess, ever curious to see our destination's bathroom as she is potty training, had Amy up four times because "she had to go." Of course the one time you don't take her is the one time she's not crying wolf, so we take the bait every time. Meanwhile Owen decided he was all of a sudden not a fan of pepperoni pizza, so he moaned and groaned the whole meal. Amy & I were very happy to put kids to bed and call it a night.

Memorial Day was a pool day for our crew. The boys are bound & determined to learn to swim this summer, and it's time. Owen surprisingly has more courage in the water than Gus does. We'll see if we can get the two water bugs to be self-sufficient in the pool by summer's end.

Hope everyone's Memorial Day weekend was a relaxing one. We remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy fun-in-the-sun weekends like this.

Cheers!


Finding a dozen 2x4's in the workshop from the previous owner of our house yielded the perfect poor man's bocce court.


Even the bees enjoyed the neighborhood get together as this poor fella was stuck to a bowl of melted ice cream when we went out to clean up the next morning. Looks like Owen isn't the only one who can't resist chocolate.
Tessa Lou was in prime form at the pool....
...while the boys try to get their sea legs back as quick as possible getting comfortable in the water.

Reunited, and It Feels So Good

Holy cow. The blog. Where do I begin? It has been such a neglected part of the Rutledge life, frankly for the last six months.

Life got busy. Really busy. And it remains really busy. Kiddos and sports, two working parents, a new demanding job, trying to serve in a leadership role at Covenant, and doing our best to find time for ourselves and each other, it can be pretty difficult to find a few minutes here and there for anything.

Then there was that contrived one-night stand with Facebook. Oh Facebook -- where do I begin with you? In reality Facebook is fun. It's voyeuristic and visceral. But it can also be laboring and pointless. I mean, I do enjoy getting a friend invite from someone that I forgot that I went to middle school with. But frankly I don't care what their high score is on Farmville.

So it's good to be back. For however long this lasts. Maybe just today, but I'll try to throw up some pictures every now and then. I think our readership dwindled down to single digits. We'll build it back up eventually.

Cheers everyone!



This photo was taken to show that I do have a daughter, despite the fact that she wipes off my kisses and cries by the minute for "Mama!" Tessa Lou is a mama's girl for sure. (She'll come around.) ;-)


The boys play soccer now. They are in a 5-6 year-old league where it's very low key with no pressure for winning -- or positions really. The kids all rotate from defense to offense, and in Owen's case "gazelle" as he hops and prances all over the field. When he's the goalie, Owen stands there with his hands up in front of his body ready to pounce as his coach once told him to get his tiger paws up. Obviously that stuck. He even had a game where ran after some poor little girl on the other team growling at her.

Gus is a little more competitive but still is learning the game. Today he was the most aggressive he has been, and we're hoping he gets a goal before the season is up in a couple of weeks. He still doesn't like his picture taken though.

Amy's annual Mother's Day picture where she begs the kids to sit still for 3 milliseconds so I can snap a picture without a finger in the nose or an elbow to a sibling's head. Note the contrast to Tess's happiness from the picture above! (Her dating age just got moved from 23 to 28.)

Paducah Invasion

Many have asked about Derek. Bless his cotton socks, he has been a busy man. He took a new job several months ago (still with IBM) which has had him working many nights and weekends. The rest of his time has been consumed with three kiddos, shoveling mulch, fixing sinks and training to be on Dancing with the Stars.

I had the pleasure of going to Paducah with the kids a few weeks ago. Thanks to my mom for flying out and driving with me. We had a fun drive and a great visit!

Amy

Fresh milk, fake chimneys and funny songs

Christmas is here at the Rutl Farm. Gus, Owen and Tess boast an excitement level that is through the roof. Christmas cookies have been baked, iced and left out for Santa Claus. Kiddos are snug in their beds with visions of sugarplums, rockets, Batman and a robot.

Gus & Owen were particularly interested in pondering the specifics of Santa tonight. They wanted to ensure that the milk that Amy & I are supposed to leave out for St. Nick is fresh milk, not spoiled milk. When you're 4 and your list is specific, you have to get the little details right.

Next, they needed some clarification on the whole chimney thing. If a house has kids in it and has a chimney, but it's not a real chimney that Santa could fit down (aka, our house), how does Santa get inside to leave the toys? I explained that Santa "just knows" and perhaps he gets in through a window or a door. When the natural follow-up question emerged asking if I had to leave a door or window unlocked, I just explained that Santa Claus has mojo with a crafty resourcefulness that allows him to do things we can't. That confused them enough to convince them that they needed to get to bed so he truly would show up at our house tonight.

I can totally see the boys reasoning their way to a conclusion that I don't hope they reach for several years. Until then, here's hoping Santa doesn't get stuck in your chimneys tonight.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas!

When Santa got stuck in the chimney
He began to shout
You girls and boys
Won't get any toys
If you don't pull me out

My beard is black
I have soot on my sack
My nose is ticklish too

When Santa got stuck in the chimney
"Achoo, achoo, achoo!!"

Dear Santa

Our crew is geared up for Christmas. The energy level is high as the countdown to the big day takes place every morning at the Advent calendar.

Owen & Gus are just now starting to grasp the concept that if they're good they can ask Santa Claus for what they want in terms of gifts. To that end, two different approaches were employed this week as four year-old boys composed their Christmas letters.

Owen wrote his himself and emphasized his goodness.

"Owen had a dog. We have been good. I would like a cat please."

--Owen

On the other hand Gus dictated his letter to Santa to Amy as she transcribed. Note the shotgun approach to validating his wholesomeness -- cookies, sympathy, and so wholesome that his goodness rubbed off on his stuffed animal.

Dear Santa,
I am nice. We are going to bake cookies with icing. Icing is my favorite with cookies.

My dad is really crazy and we have played tennis before. I have a stuffed animal dog named Polka Dot. And I have a bear that is 1,000,000,000 years old.

I would like a toy rocket and a robot. My stuffed animal dog, Polka Dot, is very nice.

--Gus

Cheers everyone.