We Are Pioneers

I would say that Spring Break came right on time this year, bringing with it needed brakes breaks for both our vehicles all of us. It makes me sad that Ryley is a mere seven weeks from finishing 2nd grade, which means she will soon be a 3rd grader, which means that we are only a year away from her being a 4th grader! She seems so much smarter and wittier and put-together than I ever felt at that age.

Last week she spent one day with me at my office, and she sat across the desk from me, typing a story on my laptop. That’s her new thing…typing a story about a princess and begging me to edit it and then saying, “Ok! Let’s publish it!” (Like it’s that easy….I wish!! :-))

So anyway, suddenly she groaned and complained that the capital R wasn’t working anymore.

“And I plan to have so many capital R’s throughout my story!” she moaned.

I told her I would look at it when I finished the project I was working on. In the meantime, however, she became impatient and started trying different things to try and fix it on her own.

“Oh, ok….Mom, look,” she began, turning the laptop to face me. “You’re just going to have to remember this. Whenever you want a capital letter, you just push the key by itself. But if you want it lowercase, you have to push SHIFT with the key. So it’s opposite of normal.”

I could have eaten her cheek right then. Ryley has never taken a typing course, so of course, CAPS LOCK is a foreign idea. She was so relieved when I pointed it out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Ryan had his day off, so Ryley stayed home with Daddy while I worked. I was in the middle of something when I missed a call from “home” on my cell phone. I called back the first second I got.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie. Did Daddy call me?”

“No, I did. Daddy’s in the shower.”

“Oh, ok. Did you need something? Is everything ok?”

“I have a question for you. Do you think there could be a piano that could have Braille on the keys so that blind people know which keys they’re playing?”

“Oh, Ryley, that’s a good idea! But I think most blind people can tell where they’re at on the piano by feeling for the black keys…you know what I mean?”

“Ohhhhhhh, yeah.”

“But it’s a good idea, and it’s very sweet of you to think of it!”

“But…how do they read music?” She was very concerned.

“Well, they can’t. They have to play by ear.”

I love that she called me at work just to talk about blind people and the piano.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took several days off during Spring Break, one of which was Ryan’s birthday! We had a wonderful family day together. Ryan would prefer cookies to cake any day, so Ryley and I baked up a huge, delicious chocolate chip cookie. Well, we just took that cookie and a jug of milk down to our coffee table and ate off of it all afternoon while we watched Goonies and Pirates of the Caribbean. Bliss!

It was so relaxing, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate my amazing husband’s birth!!

Ryley is such a daddy’s girl. :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of, Ryley and Ryan had a reading competition with each other over Spring Break. She buzzed through at least 20 chapter books and “won.” :-) We went to the library three times, and for one thing, she discovered Nancy Drew. She is reading faster than I do. She’s gone through many of my favorite series, and it’s hard for me because I kind of want to hold some favorites back for later. I don’t want to show her all my cards when she’s only seven! I am so glad that she likes to read, though. :-) I always considered myself a bookworm, but Ryley takes the term to a whole new level.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The highlight of our week was Ryley’s and my trip to visit Honey, my grandma in Nebraska! Honey took us on a tour of her childhood, which was definitely a treat!

We explored the one-room schoolhouse where my grandpa and mom both attended:

 

My mom’s desk was in the back left corner of this room, according to her memory. Crazy! It’s very Little House on the Prairie! I love it!

We heard stories about church picnics, outhouses, etc.

Then we came upon this treasure of a house where Honey lived as a five-year-old, more than 75 years ago!!!

 

Of course we had to go inside.

That heater thingie replaces the wood stove that was there when Honey was a little girl (because there was no electricity or running water), and Honey remembers that Santa left her a baby buggy behind that wood stove one Christmas!

The house has been updated, but honestly, it probably hasn’t been lived in for decades. And Honey hadn’t been there since she moved out!

Looking back, I realize we could have come across anything in that house….raccoons, a dead body, a homeless person. We could have fallen through the stairs…because of course we had to explore the upstairs!

This was the room Honey shared with her two brothers….Her bed was in the corner to the right. The mattress there on the floor had thousands of mouse poopies all over it.

The living room….

It was amazing to imagine my great-grandparents raising their little family in that house…working the land, sending their kids to the one-room schoolhouse, surviving harsh Nebraska summers and winters…. And to think that Honey had memories there! Very, very cool. :-)

We went on to take Ryley by the Oregon Trail, which greatly interested her….

Chimney Rock…

Ryley Ingalls

Scottsbluff Monument:

We also watched Gone with the Wind with Honey, which was so much fun! Honey hadn’t seen it since she was on a date with my Grandpa when she was 16!!!

And we did pedicures. :-)

The entire trip was SO much fun!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here are a few more pics of March….swimming lessons and Ryley’s trip to the Denver Zoo with Aunt Coleen and Uncle Paul:

And that’s all she wrote. For tonight anyway. :-)