Tonsillectomy--finally!

We have had a tonsillectomy scheduled three times for Luke and were finally able to go through with it Wednesday. (The first was prevented by a blood disorder misdiagnosis, the second was by him running into a steel pole on his bike and making his front two permanent teeth a little loose) Although his parents were really nervous, Luke handled it like a champ.

Checking into the hospital. It was pretty cool to have the surgery done where Michael works.

We brought him some puzzle books and garfield comic books (his favorite) to keep him busy while he waited and told him he could bring something too. He picked his marbles in this little carrying case. He organized by how much he liked them. #1 green, #2 orange and black (tie) and #3 yellow. I just thought he looked cute carrying them in.

Perfect timing: right before getting ready he got an email from Cousin TJ on a mission. Very cool!

All set and ready for the silly juice. He actually didn't get silly, but very sleepy. We were kind of looking forward to silly stuff he might say since he is pretty silly just normally. He was super brave and didn't have any troubles. Even post surgery he was a trooper. He was really sick to his stomach but once they gave him some anti-nausea meds he perked right up. On the way home from the hospital he was asking for hard boiled eggs and noodles to eat. The next morning he ninja kicked his way out of his room and the hardest part so far has been keeping him down and inactive.

Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day. While putting my kids to bed tonight I thought about my own father. I thought about how great of a man he is. I have learned so much from him. Thanks to him (and my mom) I have a knowledge of Jesus Christ. He taught me a lot through his example. My dad taught me how to work. The guy is a relentless worker. I saw that from him every day growing up. I never heard my dad complain about working, or a particular job at hand. Never. Whether he had to work late into the night in the cold & rain, or whether he had late church meetings the guy just never complained.

In college my dad was trained in forestry. I think he knows every plant out there. Honestly. You go on a hike with him and he'll be pointing out plants you've never heard of, "Oh there's the Brazilian Blue Bonnet wildflower." So, then you start quizzing him. I still can't recall ever stumping the guy.

He raised 4 boys, and consequently was Scout Master for what probably seemed like 100 years. But, he loved it. Much like plants, I think he knows every knot there is...and not just the one where the bunny goes around the tree and down the hole and up again...or however that one goes. He's done everything there is in Scouting, and is basically a Jedi Knight (or maybe it's a Silver Beaver) when it comes to the Boy Scouts of America.

My dad has the uncanny ability to build things out of nothing. Seriously, give my dad some random pieces of wood, nails, some other odds and ends (that others would just get rid of), and he can make something useful. I've seen it. Actually in the picture above he and I did just that. Together we built my kids a play structure out of basically nothing, thanks to him. He also definitely "has a green thumb." At our old house he grew beautiful roses, gardens full of vegetables, countless berries, several fruit trees, etc. Much like Gregor Mendel of old, he even did some grafting with some of his apple trees, I believe. I mean the guy even makes his own apples! Who does that?

Some other highlights I'll bring up are his love for his country and its freedoms, his Boston sports, and the beauty of this earth God created for us. Most of all I know my dad loves me and my family. Family is extremely important to him. I always knew my dad loved me. Due to his work he couldn't always be at my sporting events, but when he was there I knew it...he can cheer/yell with the best of them. I would say my dad is more of teacher by example than by word, but I do remember him explaining the importance of the Melanson family name and the duty we held in not tarnishing it. I hope to always do that for you dad. Thank you for all you have done, for all you do, and all you will do for our family. We are blessed to have you as our patriarch. Happy Father's Day.

Let Summer Begin!!!

Yea! Today was the last day of school. Our neighborhood is so fun that they have a party in the park with lots of parents and kids right after school is out. Picture 75 or so kids running around the park--it was great! The coolest thing though, is that we aren't moving! We've spent the last three summers moving and this summer we are staying put! We are all excited about the endless possibilities for play and projects-instead of packing and unpacking boxes. It seems like the best dream ever that we get to spend TWO years in one school and have a real summer vacation. Wow-let the fun begin!

Garden

While it seems like people I know in CA are already harvesting their gardens, we're just getting started here in Portland. Since we've spent the last 3 summers moving, we're celebrating this summer of not moving by planting a garden. Our neighbor made us this little box and the kids and I planted this week. I let Allie and Luke help decided what we were going to plant. They were super excited about planting corn even though I don't think it will do well. We still need to plant some rosemary--Luke REALLY wanted rosemary for some reason.

Luke learned all about worms in school so he and Allie collected quite a few worm for the garden as well. And Kate did a pretty good job of keeping most of the dirt in the box!

Working

The other day, this is what Kate was doing. I tried to ask her something, and she said, "Not right now, I'm busy! I'm working!"

A New Do

Allie has been growing her hair long and decided to donate it Locks of Love--a company that makes wigs for children with cancer. She finally couldn't stand it any longer so we went after school and got her hair cut. Her new short cut looks really cute and is much easier to take care of.

Father Sons Campout

The boys went camping last weekend. This is the only picture I have of the campers--they were having too much fun to take pictures. When Luke saw that Mike was wearing his Boston cap, he ran upstairs to get his too. So cute!

Per tradition, once the boys left town the girls went out to dinner. We walked over to McMenamins for their amazing tater tots and and a great salad. Then we built Legos for a bit before we put Kate to bed and stayed up late watching Harry Potter.

Individual

One thing I love about Luke is that he likes to do things his own way. Whenever he brings home a project from school, instead of telling me what the project was, he tells me how he did it differently from everyone else. He is so funny! This was the tablecloth at a volunteer-thank-you event at the school. I didn't even have to look at the names to know which rock was Luke's.

Get out of Jail Free

My grandma always give the kids savings bonds for their birthdays which is pretty cool. The kids love them and think saving money is awesome. A friend was over and asked Allie what the savings bond was and I overheard her tell her, "Well, it's worth some money now, but later it will be worth more money. So I can use it to get out of jail or something like that when I'm older."

What??!??