Courage in Multiple Forms

Well, it's been a bit since my last post... and an interesting past 5 days to say the very least. The topic of this post is "courage".... at least I think that's where I'm headed with it. First I need to brag on Asher. He spent the first 3 weeks he was here being "afraid" of the pool even though last summer he would leap into it with total abandon. However, on his last day here before he went to Michigan for a visit, he "remembered" how to swim in his magic coat! He's back from Michigan for another week here, and now we only have to worry about him turning into a little prune in the pool. He paddles around happily humming to himself and feeling very proud. That is true courage on his part... and we're so happy he "remembered" his love for water.

Asher happily bobs about in the pool.

That brings us to the other form of "courage". I went to see the foot doc on July 18 about pain I'd been having in my right foot. Turns out, my joint in my big toe was slowing wearing away and if I had waited much longer, I'd have been looking at joint replacement. (Not a fun thought nor a perfected technique at this point. So I scheduled the necessary surgery as soon as I could get it. That happened on July 24th and I have spent the next 4 days pretty much flat on my back with it elevated. The surgery itself was cake... I didn't feel a thing. The aftermath was about as bad as I expected.... pretty darn painful! However, today I went in to have it checked and re-wrapped, and I "graduated" to a boot - a.k.a. a "walking cast"- which I will have to drag about with me wherever I go until August 8th. I was fairly bummed by this news. The pool, as you can see, is looking lovely and it's warm, and now it's off limits for at least another 10 days! Plus, I will be on limited activity until I'm back at school. Okay, I am done whining now... for awhile. I am grateful to have saved the joint, grateful for a good surgery, and grateful that I can at least laugh about it. So here's to courage - both great and small.... and the lessons it is teaching us about what we are truly capable of doing. Huzzah!

My boot... yes, there's a foot in there somewhere!

Musically Inclined? Maybe!

In the Staude clan it is never too early to begin fostering a love for music. So when 6 month old Sydney came to play today, it was time to see what she thought about keyboard music. She began by shyly touching one key.... and ended up a rather excited and bouncing new "musician". What fun!

Can't I play some more? Do I have to take a nap???

Summer Fun with my Buddies

As most of you can probably tell, I am living in something akin to "Grandma Heaven" right now. All my grandchildren are here in St. Charles and three out of four are living right here at my house! It's perfect! So I just had to post a couple of cute shots taken just today. I've been sewing a few things for Rhylah... and today's project was this sweet pink gingham outfit with matching bloomers. What fun to make things for GIRLS! Yay!

This next shot is of Asher, whom I call "my little buddy". Today was a landmark day... Ash remembered that he liked swimming all on his own without anyone holding him. So it was a really wonderful thing to see him literally paddle away from all his water fears and just swim all over the pool in his "magic coat" (flotation vest). We all cheered and he swam for almost an entire hour all on his own. Suffice it to say this is one little guy who will sleep soundly tonight!
More fun in future posts!

The Tale of the Cupcakes

This is our photo story about cupcakes....

One Saturday afternoon, Grandma decided it would be fun to make cupcakes with Asher and Gabe. After all, she used to bake with Kindergarteners all the time, and besides, the boys needed something fun to do. We chose chocolate because we like it and it's good and messy!
Asher got to help first, he put the mix into the bowl... and on the counter, and on himself.. just a little!
Then we poured in water and oil, and Gabe got to put in the eggs. Then Asher got the first turn on the beaters on SLOW - he had to keep one hand behind his back to keep it safe!

This is what Momma was doing while her boys were cooking... she and Rhylah were snuggling on the sofa!

Next, Gabe had a turn at the mixer! He got to run it on medium high for TWO whole minutes. Asher got a little bored with waiting at this point.


Once Gabe finished with the mixer, suddenly no one cared very much about cupcakes! All they wanted to do was lick the beaters. (All health conscious people turn away at this point... yes, we know about the dangers of eating cupcake dough... but special angels watch over little boys who do it only occasionally!)

Meanwhile, Momma and Rhylah had fallen asleep on the sofa just around the corner from where we were cooking! So we couldn't have been too terribly noisy!


Gabriel finished his beater first, and went to work putting the dough into the little paper cups.
It was tricky, the dough was thick and he really had to concentrate!

Grandma decided it might be a good time to clean up Asher! And then we popped the pan into the oven.

Asher put the sprinkles on while Gabe did most of the frosting, and here is the result!!! (Ta-DAH!) We made 21 cupcakes... and within only 24 hrs. we have only 11 left. We think there might be a "cupcake troll" sneaking in and eating them when we're not looking cos' everyone says they've only had one or two when we take a census!
Then Grandma thought it might be a good time for a nap!

Happy Birthday USA! - July 4th Fun

Asher and Gabriel wait for Parade to come by!

The St. Charles West Marching Band!

It was a fantastic July 4th! The rains that had been forecast stayed away and we had a picture perfect day! We started by going to the parade... and St. Charles knows how to do a 4th of July Parade like almost no other town does! Enough candy is tossed to kids on the sidelines to rival a Halloween size haul! People come from all over to watch the one and a half hour spectacle!
After the parade, we went home to enjoy the pool and eat, eat, eat. (See Gret's blog link for details on that fun!) and then about 8:30 we took the kids down to the river to see the fireworks. Three sets of little eyes were about as big as saucers as they watched the sky... oohing and ahhing! It was almost more fun to watch the grandkids' reactions than the fireworks themselves. All in all, it was a PERFECT celebration of America's 232nd year!

Katie and Dad!

Nathan and Rhylah

Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty even showed up!

Rhylah tries her first lolly while wearing her parade beads!

Kate and Rhylah

Indiana Jones and the Taters of the Lost Ark

Our grandsons are staying with us while in the process of moving from Wisconsin to Michigan. This is giving us all kinds of new opportunities... not only to enjoy them 24/7 but also to learn the finer points of superheroes! Today we went to Target and came home with their current favorite... Indiana Jones!!! We have two versions now... the 6 yr old version, complete with interchangeable hands, extra pistols and a crystal skull (Grandma and Papa are totally behind the times and haven't even seen the latest film!)
And we have the 2 yr. old version... also with interchangeable hands, a golden 'potato skull', and a HAT that plays the Indiana theme music! How cool is that?! So there we went, rocking through the local Target singing Indiana Jones music at the top of our lungs. (So maybe that's why Papa walked ahead of us by just a slight distance??? hmmm....) In any case.... it's such fun to learn new things from our grandsons!

Ancient Theaters, Beautiful Beaches, and Volcanoes: Sicily!

Today's post is about the days we spent on the island of Sicily! What a beautiful place! Our ferry landed in the port city of Messina. From there we drove to Naxos by the sea, a beautiful resort town at the foot of Mt. Etna on the Northeast coast of Sicily.

We stayed at the Hotel Sporting Baia, very nice and RIGHT on the beach! From here we went on excursions to Taormina, an ancient Greek city with some of the oldest ruins in Sicily, and also to Mt. Etna, a VERY much still active volcano - which managed to erupt rather impressively again just 7 days after our visit. Lava was flowing and the mountain was steaming while we were there on the island. It is remarkable to me how calmly the people of the region deal with living at the foot of one of the largest active volcanoes in that part of the world! They say the mountain erupts every year, but only in a "big" way every 3-4 years! Looked pretty "big" to me... even with just a little lava oozing out!

Taormina is about 5 miles from Naxos and higher up so it afforded some great views back across the bay toward our hotel. Sicily is definitely a place I hope to return to someday. It's beautiful and the people are very friendly!

A view of Naxos from the city of Taormina. Our hotel is marked in the photo... double click
on the photo to see greater detail!

The view from my hotel window... the beach! Beautiful!

Just one of many gorgeous walkways in the the town of Taormina.

The ancient Greek theater of Taormina. At it's height this theater could seat 9000 spectators, and as you can see it's still in use today! They hold a major film festival here that rivals the one at Cannes in France!

My students climbing one of Mt. Etna's ash cones from the 2001 eruption. They are at the 6,500 ft.

level on a 11.500 ft. volcano.

Mt. Etna by day... steaming both from its cone and from a lava flow some 1/3rd of the way down the
left side of the mountain.

The lava flow glows eerily by night! This is slow moving, oozing sort of lava.. nothing to be concerned about according to the locals. However, 6 days later, Etna erupted again!

Time Out for Swimming!

Rhylah enjoys her first time in the big pool!

Gabriel is our "fish" - give this guy a noodle and a pair of goggles and off he goes!

Taking a break from my recent travelogues to swim with the grandkids. Kate and the kids are here this week while between houses in their move to Michigan. This means that I have 3 wonderful munchkins keeping things lively around here for awhile, and I LOVE it! Add in some prime cousin interaction with Sydney at poolside and it's been tons of fun. The little people LOVE the water... well, all of them except Asher. He can't remember how much he liked it last summer and is being rather typically 2yr old cautious this summer. Anyway, it's been such fun that I had to share some of the photos!

Sydney wins the prize for best swim hat and bikini... mmmm ... tastes good too!

Asher came off the steps to float with his mommy!

Everybody (except Gabe the fish..) is all tuckered out after a busy swimtime!

The Isle of Capri (KAH'-pree)

I provided the pronunciation for today's photo stop because the Italians get a little bit riled if you pronounce this gorgeous island like we here in the States pronounce knee length shorts! They politely tell you that the accent is on the FIRST syllable (thank you very much) and then talk for as long as you let them about the beauty of the place.

The "Arch of Love"- if you kiss (or think about) the one you love while passing under it,
you will stay in love forever. Nifty!

One of the many gorgeous vistas to be seen from the top of the island.

Check out the aquamarine blue of the water!

It's breezy and beautiful up here!

The public beach in the harbor of Capri... again, lovely, clear, and gorgeously blue!

I won't argue that point one bit. Capri was THE most beautiful place we saw in the 15 day trip. It is also inhabited by some of the world's wealthiest (and beautiful) people! We visited the shoreline town of Capri and then rode up the funnicular railway to the town at the top, Annacapri, which literally means "above Capri". I want to teach school HERE someday! Wow! Gorgeous views! We also took a boat ride excursion around the north end of the island and saw the majestic rocks that rise right out of the sea. The guides and locals have named many of the rock formations after various animals that they "see" in the shapes. All in all, a place I would LOVE to return to someday!

When in Pisa.... you gotta Push!

Its' cheesy but it's true! You can't go to Pisa and see the tower without taking at least ONE tower pushing picture! The fun is watching everyone else taking theirs! Thankfully the tower is supposedly stabilized in its new position for the next 300 years or so. (give or take an earthquake or two...) So we went to the tower and had a great time. We also visited the cathedral that goes with the tower... beautiful!

As an experienced tower pusher, I can hold it up with one finger...

while it takes Hanna both hands and a LOT of extra effort!

Okay... I'll post one shot without the silly stuff. See! It's NOT as exciting!

Me and my gang - tired after a busy day exploring but still smiling!