The Tetz Invasion

Hey y'all - 

The last of our company leaves today, and boy has it been a busy week. First, your great-grandpa Ron arrived from Colorado. Then your great aunt Nancy flew in from Northern California. Then your dad's cousin Amanda drove in from Minnesota with her three kids: Ally, Jake and Kya. When you think of great vacation destinations, you should apparently add "Thor and Brooke's backyard" right between The Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, because the place was one big packed party house.

We went for walks in the local parks, we took the kids to the carousel, and we battled our way through the farmer's market. We drove down to the river and played in the mud until it threatened to rain. We all went to watch your dad play softball (the team is now 4-1, and probably headed to the playoffs). We all ate and played in the yard every night, and because it's Missoula, the kids all got to go to the brewery.

The Tetz clan is surprisingly low-maintenance. They demand very little in the way of entertainment and accommodations. They'd bring a bottle of wine and a sleeping bag and be perfectly happy to hang out in the yard. They clean your house when you're not looking. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from their visit:

Ally and Kya on the carousel

Amanda, laughing

Sue and Grandpa Ron and Nancy at the softball game, cheering for Thor

Hagen's first canoe ride

Hagen's first carousel ride

Backyard rides in the wagon. Laney navigating. 

Kya on the beach

Kya and the popsicle

River mud

Loving Aunt Nancy

Kisses from Aunt Nancy

Nancy and Laney, biking home from the park

Aunt Nancy finds her happy place

Looking at life through an oven door

Popcorn buddies

Popsicle cousins

Aunt Nancy and her dad.

Doing what she does best

Hot tubbing with Grandpa Ron

Laney and Ron

Tilt-A-Dad

Wheeee

Yee HAW!

Can they spend the night?

Great grandpa tickles

Hiding from the girls

Walk On the Wild Side

Dear Laney,

Aunt Nancy (Grandma Sue's sister) is here for a visit. You adore Nancy, because she's a Head Start teacher/administrator and knows every game, story and song ever loved by a preschooler. You toss out a subject, and she's got a song about it. Last time she was here, she gifted you with a set of face paint pencils. I hid them away somewhere for a future date when you might be more responsible, or I might be more patient, or... I don't know. But this move has unearthed all kinds of fun things, including the face paint set. And the program from my high school honors banquet. And six hairbrushes.

Right after we moved into the new house, you disappeared into your room and were quiet for longer than usual. Then, you came out and presented us with this:

There's something about that picture that's so sweet and touching and heartbreaking to me. You have this expression on your face like you've gone off on a limb and done something you're proud of, and you're waiting to see what I'm going to say, or if I'm going to be mad. Well, I thought it was kind of awesome, but I also said that maybe we should have it done by a professional one time, just to see if we could pick up some tips and improve our technique.

So last Sunday, we snuck away - just us girls - to the Caras Park Market, and had you turned into a butterfly princess:

Keep going out on those limbs, girl. 

Love,

Mom

P.S. Next to the face painting was an "Animal Wonders" exhibit where a local exotic animal rescue was showing off some of its critters:

There were talking birds and "Lollipop" the baby skunk, and a scorpion mama with 30+ "scorplings" on her back that gave me the heebie-jeebies to the nth degree. You didn't seem at all impressed, but that's probably because the wildest animal of all is the one that lives in your backyard:

But Wait - There's More!

Dear Laney,

In addition to your nightly ballerina shows, you've added some additional acts this week. First, you staged a series of porch concerts with the help of a socket wrench microphone.

Then, almost an hour past your bedtime last night, out of nowhere, you said, "I think I should put on a puppet show." Sometimes as a parent, you find yourself torn - sure, you want to maintain rules and order, but on the other hand, sometimes you just want to see how stuff plays out. So I agreed to the late-night show. Your dad said, "She's definitely your daughter, because I HATE puppet shows. Always have." I gave him a little lecture on the importance of being a patron of the arts, and reminded him that I had talked at great length at lunch about how super-duper-fun! MATH can be, all without rolling my eyes once.

So your dad relented and put up a bench and a spotlight for you to stage your show:

For the first part of the show, this little red guy was a mom, but halfway through was suddenly revealed to be an uncle. Shakespeare made a whole career out of such gender-related surprises - I'm not a boy, I'm a girl - let's get married! - and everyone thinks he's a genius.

There was a dramatic Act II beat when this pig lost his daddy, but the little red mom/uncle told him it was all going to be okay.

And then the pig got a soliloquy. SPOILER ALERT: He later finds his daddy, offstage.

An impressive performance overall...twenty minutes of drama, comedy and pathos played without intermission. 

Hagen started the show as Pig Understudy,

...but was quickly promoted to lighting tech/stage manager. This is a wise career move, because those are the only people in the theatre who ever make any money. 

Bravo! Bravo! Standing ovation and all that jazz.

Love,
Mom

Shows Nightly At 6 and 8.

Every night on our deck, you can catch Laney's Variety Hour. It's got a little sparkle - expect some sequins and tutus. It's got some interpretive dance - lots of twirls and hops. It's got stunts - watch her lay down a row of plastic plates and jump over them! There's also an original musical number or two, when Laney sings one of her latest compositions, like "I'm a mermaid! And I have a turtle named 'Rose'! AND WE LOOK OUT FOR BAD GUYS!!!" (jazz hands, big finish). Sometimes, the show takes brief intermissions so its star can have a snack or a trip to the potty. 

To be a good audience member, you must sit where the star tells you, and you must NOT clap until she's done her final bow. Premature clapping will earn you an eye roll and a stern, "THE SHOW IS NOT OVER."

If you're a grandparent reading this, and you have a webcam, we invite you to participate in the nightly show. Thor and I could use some help with the "ooh"s and "aah"s.

Love,
Brooke

Record Numbers

Hey y'all -

It hit 100 degrees at our house yesterday, and I don't mean in the oven. Like many (most?) houses in Missoula, our house doesn't have air conditioning, because 359 days a year you don't need it. But yesterday was rough. I don't know who hates the heat the most: my furry husband, my sled dog, or my mother-in-law. Grandma Sue has basically let it be known that we won't be seeing her between the hours of 10am and 7pm until September.

Yesterday was also Hagen's 18-month check-up. We love Dr. Hoover, so much that we wish we could adopt her into our family. But we loved her a little less yesterday when she chuckled her way through telling us that Hagen is in the 99th percentile for head size, 76th percentile for weight, and 3rd percentile for height. "Did you say thirtieth?" I asked. "Nope! Third! As in 1-2-3, third! (giggle, giggle)." She said  she'd be more concerned, had she not seen very similar numbers on Laney's chart. "I definitely recognize that body," she said, pointing. What she was basically saying is that he's a very very handsome, charming, fun and personable human bobble head doll.

Hagen, you're ahead of the curve on your gross and fine motor skills, and you're doing well on your communication skills, too, having added "bubbles" and "pop! pop! pop!" and "please" and "Got you!" to your vocabulary this past week.

...and yesterday, I watched you eat three peaches in one sitting. You pronounce both "peach" and "please" like "pease," so it's possible you kept asking politely "Pease, pease," for something else, and I kept shoving peaches at you. Sorry.

Love,
Mom