Category Archives: Wee one

back to school, Imaginative one, photograph, Wee one

8th and 10th

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How can it be? My boys are in 8th and 10th grade now. They both allowed me to take their photos in the morning. In the afternoon, it was touch and go with the Youngest.

Before I left the house, I got a few photos of the Youngest. I was lucky he was willing to go outside with me. This was taken at almost 7 am.

After yelling at the Oldest to get moving because car drop off was going to be busy because it was the first day of school, I was able to get a photo of him in front of our tree. I took a few other photos in the car during drop off.

A tradition is to take photos on the first day or close to the first day of school in front of our tree in our yard. I do a photo session. Some years, the photos are great. Other years, well they are quite interesting. This year was a combination.

For some reason, Youngest decided we needed to include Dobby, our 15-year-old dog, in the photos. As you can see, Dobby was not impressed.

Next one to get his photos was Oldest.

Then I asked the boys to take photos together. They decided to be silly about the whole experience.

Next the red nose and Davy Crockett hat came out and the silly photos were taken.

Finally I asked the Youngest to take photos without Dobby. This is what I got.

I guess the photo session was done at that point. There wasn’t going to be anymore cooperating with me.

Have a magical day,
Traci

menu plan monday, Menu planning, Wee one

Mom, What’s For Dinner? – Week of August 11, 2019

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Jump to Dinner Menu

All of the sudden, the Wee One has gotten so much taller. I think he’s grown 3 to 4 inches in the last few months. He is almost as tall as me.

So I now call him him Youngest because it makes him upset when I call him the Wee One.

Anyway on Saturday, he kept saying “Mother, Where’s the Food?” Mind you it was 4 pm and not time for dinner. He found him some food to hold him over.

This is the theme of our household right now. Having 2 teenage boys – 14 and 16, they are constantly hungry. One or both of them are going through growth spurts all of the time. Argh!

I’ve been meal planning off and on throughout their childhood. Last year, it fell apart. We have been doing better with it. So when he comes up to me, I can reply this is what we are eating at such and such at ___ o’clock.

Of course, that does not mean their ALWAYS hungry bellies can wait until the scheduled time for dinner. They may still get food to eat. I just have to remind them they need to still eat dinner when I put it on the table. The Youngest is usually pretty good about still eating what I have cooked.

Sunday – Buttermilk chicken, Roasted potatoes, Sweet Corn Salad or Corn
Monday – Honey Garlic Chicken, Rice, Stir Fry Veggies
Tuesday – Mini Meatloaf Muffins, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes, Chips, Raw Veggies
Friday – Lime Cashew Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Saturday – Chicken Dinner at the Sweet Corn Festival (Yum!)
Veggie Egg Scramble in the Microwave
Toast
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli with Quinoa
Yogurt Cups with Granola
Mini Salad

Cinnamon Apples with Almond Butter
Trail Mix – I get mine from Trader Joe’s but you can certainly make your own.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Niagara Falls, photograph, photographs, Photography, travel, Wee one, Writing Workshop

Into the Mist

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A few weeks ago, the Youngest and I embarked on his 14-year-old trip and my EPIC trip with my friend. I made the decision for us to all ride the Maid of the Mist.

The Maid of the Mist is in the New York side of Niagara Falls. We were staying on the Canadian side of the Falls. We were left with 2 choices: drive to the Maid of the Mist which on my GPS unit said was 10 minutes or walk which was about an half hour.

The GPS saying that it would take 10 minutes did not take in account of us probably getting turned around, going through border patrol, and trying not to hit all of the tourists. So it could have taken us about the same amount of time as walking.

So we walked over to there. The Youngest took a point off the experience of going to the Maid of the Mist because of the walking.

I’ll save my story of going through border patrol for another time.

We got to the Maid of the Mist as they were getting ready to depart. We were told to HURRY and get on the boat so we didn’t have to wait for the next boat.

Trying to get the poncho on, take a few photos of my friend, and then put my DSLR camera in ziploc bags inside my backpack under my poncho was a feat.

Luckily my phone is water resistant so I was able to get photos and videos until we were under the Falls. Once the water was coming down us in buckets, my phone was put into another Ziploc bag and put into my pocket under my poncho until it was safe to bring it out again.

The Youngest stood at the very front of the boat for the majority of the trip. He enjoyed getting wet and the whole experience.

When it was time to depart, he was ready at the gate. As he was standing there trying to wipe of the water from the gate in front of him, one of the workers was also doing the same thing as him. I don’t know if the Youngest noticed but I did. I thought it was cool.

After we got done with the Maid of the Mist, my friend and the Youngest got rid of their ponchos. I still have mine.

Oh and the Youngest gave the Maid of the Mist a score of 9 out of 10. The only point off was for the walk to and from the attraction.

Have a magical day,
Traci

photographs, travel, Wee one, Writing Workshop

A Little Kindness Helps

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I’m currently on a 14-year-old trip with the Youngest. HE turned 14 on Saturday. When his brother turned 14 two years ago, he went on a trip to Hershey Park.

Back in March, I asked the Youngest where do you want to go? He had 3 criteria – a foreign country, a beach, and Disney. We almost had a beach and Disney but those plans fell through.

So we decided we were going to road trip to Canada. He has a youth passport that allows him to travel to Mexico or Canada by land or Bahamas by sea.

He then decided he wanted to see Niagara Falls again so we are going to meet up with a friend at the Falls.

On Friday, we are traveling to Erie, Pennsylvania for his beach visit.

We found a Disney Store in London, Ontario so he did get his Disney fix. He doesn’t ride the rides so just having some of the magic helps.

Onto my story:

When planning out our trip, I noticed we could go through either Detroit via the bridge or tunnel or travel north for about an hour or so to Port Huron. There is a beach there so we would be able to fulfill his wish.

I pulled up to the gate and noticed that it would cost me $20 to use the beach because I was from out of state. We were only planning to be there for such a short time. It was basically a rest stop on our trip.

I explained to the young lady that we were on our way to Canada and that we were only going to stop there for a little bit. We had never been to Lake Huron and hadn’t had a real get out and walk stop since the Michigan Welcome Center. She allowed us to go on in without the payment.

I thanked her and let her know we were only going to be there about half an hour which we adhered to that promise.

Sometimes kindness goes a long way.

If I didn’t have that time, I wouldn’t have gotten this shot of my Youngest. We are going to print it out and frame it.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Hubby, Imaginative one, photograph, photographs, Photography, Wee one, zoo bucket list

Zoo Atlanta | August 2013 – Super Trip Day #10

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As I was organizing my posts from this site, I realized I never finished writing about our Super Trip in 2013. The Super Trip took place almost 6 years ago when the boys were 8 and 10. Now they are almost 14 and 16. Oops!

When I left off, I got as far as Georgia Aquarium but not Zoo Atlanta and Huntsville, Alabama.

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Ark Encounter, Hubby, Imaginative one, travel, Wee one

Ark Encounter – Part 2 – The First Floor

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Part 1 – The Drive Down

In December, my church made a trip down to the Ark Encounter in Williamsport, KY. Join me on Saturdays as we explore this majestic building.

After you pull up to the Ark Encounter, you usually have to park your car and then ride a bus to the actual ark. We just stayed on the bus. It’s a surprise when you actually pull up to ark. You see how massive it truly is.


The Oldest thought it was funny to put his feet on the grass just because it said keep off the grass.

These topiaries that were lit up after dark.

Some of the decorations on the first floor

Some of the storage areas on the Ark

Noah’s prayer

More storage

Some of the animals that could have been on the Ark.

Looking Up – The boys thought it was funny to go up to the second floor and say high to me. This was right before the Youngest decided to throw his hat down to me.

This was right before you went up to the second floor. There was a model of the Ark and information about how truly big it was when Noah spent 100 years building it.

Join me next week for the tour of the second floor. You’ll get to see the door that was used to get in and out of the Ark and a llama.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Family, Imaginative one, photograph, Wee one

Beginning of the School Year Photos (7th and 9th grade)

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Every year, I love to take photos of the boys on or near the first day of school.  I took some before they headed out on their first day.  Then 2 days later, we took the official photos.  I love seeing how much they have grown in a year.   Continue reading Beginning of the School Year Photos (7th and 9th grade) →

Imaginative one, photograph, Wee one, Writing Workshop

TBT – Signs of Spring

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Spring Has Sprung or Has It?

This year, we had snow falling on the first full day of spring.  Almost 300 schools, churches, and even the Air Force base were cancelled or delayed because of the snow.

Even though snow has fallen, we have had some signs of spring.  My one and only deciduous tree, the autumn glory maple, has red buds on the branches which means there should be leaves growing soon.

During the snow fall, I still heard the birds singing their spring songs.

A Look Back at a Past Spring

I went back in my Google photos to find photos of spring in my neighborhood.  I finally found photos from 2012 when the boys were 6 and 8 years old.

Some of the photos that were taken during the spring of 2012 are some of my favorite photos that I have ever taken.

spring 2012 collage 1
Spring Sunset

spring 2012 collage 2
Spring Animals

The Boys of Spring

 

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The Boys and their Godfather

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collage11

spring 2012 collage 3 - Copy
The Wee One lost his first tooth.

spring 2012 collage 5 - Copy

spring 2012 collage 6 - Copy
Easter 2012

spring 2012 collage 7 - Copy
Easter 2012

Flowers and More Flowers

spring 2012 collage 4

collage10

collage12

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Beautiful Scenery

collage13
Supermoon (Not in my neighborhood.  It’s just a cool photo.)

 

I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory with this Throwback Thursday post.  I can’t wait to see more signs of spring than what we have been seeing so far.

Have a magical day!

Traci