Life with the Magic Number: June

Rudy played on his first t-ball team this spring/summer, Apartment Mart - would have been more appropriately called the Misfits. We had a team of first-time kids, none of which knew each other, and a first-time coach. The transformation from start to end was pretty impressive, though! They all had a good time and that's what matters!

"Can I go on the field, please?"

"No, Rudy. It's all wet and muddy. You are playing in the grass tonight."

"But I just really want to check it out. Please!"

How could I refuse...

Rudy had a great time playing! Even though it was tough on us getting him to practice and games all the time and that he wasn't technically old enough, it was worth it all! Rudy was in his element and so happy.

We celebrated Dad's birthday with a morning round of miniature golf...

And dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Cicci's. Rudy picked out the pinata (aka pin-yan-a) at the party store when we were shopping for balloons. Rudy and Avery were SO excited to surprise Dad with the special treat!

"Happy birthday, to you!"

Avery, making us laugh -

"Mom, see me. I sitting at this desk, working on my puter"

"Dad, come find me. I hiding under the trampoline!"

You know the saying, "choose your battles"?

This is how Avery went to the grocery store one morning...

"Mom you want to take us picture? We look so nice today."

"Uhh, ok... sure"

The evening before our family photos that were happening first thing the next morning... at our house...never a dull moment and nothing is EVER easy!...

But no harm done :)

The Derby winner, American Pharoah, ran the final race of the Triple Crown and since John had to work, we anxiously watched at home... it was an exciting race and he WON!! I'm so happy/proud/excited to have watched a Triple Crown winner in my lifetime!.. and that all three kids did too!

Rain, rain, go away...

June 2015 was one of the wettest months in Springfield history. Flash Flood Watches like this one were popping up weekly, if not more...

watching the rain fall...

And so naturally, we would have our first "family vacation" planned for June - a family vacation that was primarily to be spent outdoors...Tuesday afternoon Cardinals game and Wednesday morning at the zoo..

But we gave it our best shot, anyway!

Let the fun begin...

The kids have never stayed in a hotel (Rudy did once when he was just 1, but he has no recollection of it) so we thought it would be fun to plan a one-night excursion that included a night in a hotel room - kids love hotels, right? - pizza party, pool, sleeping in the same room...

We arrived at the hotel before check-in in order to get to the baseball game in time... Rudy was already impressed, just from the lobby!

We walked in the rain (off and on and just sprinkles, so no big deal!) to Ballpark Village to have lunch and later find our seats...

It was SO crowded and it took us too long to find a table that wasn't a bar-height table, but we did it.

Our table was outside, uncovered, so at one point we had to break out our umbrellas while we waited for our food...

Cheeseburgers and soft pretzels = happy kids!

We got to our seats a little early, hoping to catch batting practice and Fred Bird - which we did :)

But after about 10 minutes, this guy wanted down and really, really wanted to crawl and climb (gross)...and he was not too thrilled about being hot and not in his bed at naptime.

After fidgeting with him for awhile, I decided to take him to the air conditioned first aid room (at the suggestion of a very nice worker) that was just behind us to feed him his bottle and (hopefully) get him to fall asleep. Plan worked perfectly... except that while I was feeding him and watching the game on the TV (top of the first inning), I saw the tarps being carried out over the field. Someone opened the door to check on the weather and it was like a monsoon had hit! The walkways were PACKED - hot, loud, sticky - and I had no idea where John and the other two kids were... NOT FUN! We eventually all found each other but were basically stuck.. it still wasn't late enough to check-in, so what else could we do but stick it out and watch more baseball? We bribed the kids with ice cream and soda and made it through until the third inning before we hit the road and walked back to the hotel...

What were we thinking taking all three to a baseball game, in the rain, at naptime?! Maybe we will try that again in a couple/three years!

We got back to the hotel and when it was apparent that no one was going to settle down for a nap, we decided to suit up for the pool (that was reported on their website as having!)..

Phone call to reception:
Me: "Hi - Where is the pool located?"
Reception: "Umm it's not really a pool..."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Reception: "It's more of a large hot tub..."

So off we go to swim in a hot tub!

Since it was only three feet and had a ledge all around, the kids actually had a great time because they could stand and swim around pretty easily. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long because, well, it was hot.

We get back to the room and it's only nearly 5:00. I went ahead and got baths going while John ordered pizza. After the hassle of finding a place to order from, figure out our order, get the entire order made, they told us they didn't deliver. SO John and Rudy headed out on foot to find the pizza place a couple blocks away. Meanwhile, I'm stuck in a hotel room with 2 hungry, tired kids. When John and Rudy didn't return for almost an hour I was a bit concerned... unfortunately John had called the order into a different location so no food was ready and they had to wait while the restaurant started our order from scratch!... and walk back to the hotel in the rain... what an adventure!!

The next morning we were up bright and SUPER early. We all got ready and were walking to Starbucks for breakfast by 7 am. The forecast still looked like rain all day, so we were trying to come up with alternate plans. Most places didn't open until closer to 9 or 10 so we made a stop at the mall to play on the play equipment indoors and make our game plan. Luckily, it looked like there was going to be a break in the rain for a couple hours so we hurried to the zoo. We (finally!) got so lucky! The animals were almost all out and active and it wasn't crowded at all! We had a great time!

We promised a stop at the Build a Bear on the way out, just as it started to rain again (perfect timing).

Before we headed home, we stopped in Panera for lunch and were lucky enough to get to have Uncle Burch the Great join us!

What a trip! There were several times we could have thrown in the towel, but we made the most of it!... and made some good memories at that!

Quiet time is like a constant battle for us. We will go through waves of everyone being good and the process going relatively smooth, to complete frustration that no one listens or stays put or sleeps. We were in the throws of one of those phases when John text me this picture, "Avery thinks she is hiding from naptime." In case you can't tell, she had snuck into the guest bedroom and slid under the bed with her ipad. ANYTHING to not stay in their own beds!

Just a quick little photoshoot of the happy Benners

Haven't thrown in a bathtime picture in awhile :)

Father's Day Weekend
A few of the wives and I planned a fun, surprise day for our favorite dads. We managed to surprise John and seven of his friends with a game of golf in the afternoon, followed by a pizza party at our house with all their families.
The kids worked hard on their presents... one being decorated golf balls.. Dad was sure to keep track of those!!

We all had a great day celebrating very deserving Dads :)

The next morning John headed off to work and things turned not-so-fun quite quickly.
The culprit...

The morning of Father's Day, about 8:00 am, Avery was backwards standing on the chair, with her hands on the back when the whole thing fell forward. Her ankle slipped into that small space between the seat and the horizontal bar and caused some serious pain. She cried at home for a good hour and when she attempted to walk, after settling down and (hopefully) forgetting about any pain, her knee buckled and she collapsed in pain. My dad had come over for breakfast so he sat with Rudy and Ben while I ran Avery to prompt care. She perked right up as soon as we got there - isn't that how it usually goes?? At least in our family it does. She even said, "That car ride made me feel allll better!" (of course I didn't bother with shoes because I figured I'd be holding her the whole time, which I was) They still took x-rays, but they came back clear, so off we went. She was in good spirits at home, but still wouldn't walk. I could tell she was really struggling, and not just baby-ing it. Around 11:30 I text John I thought something was wrong and that I was thinking I'd call Prompt Care when the kids settled down for quiet time. At noon Prompt Care called and a radiologist had looked at the x-rays and saw a fracture in her tibula. They were sending them over to St. John's Hospital ER and we should get there asap. Great. My poor girl. Dad came back over (even though he'd been up all night working and had very little sleep - Mom was in Chicago visiting family and Ray and LeeAnn were in Iowa... isn't that also how it always works, too? Most days we have more help than we could ever need, until I really need it..).

Poor Avery...I felt so bad for her that I couldn't keep some tears from falling. She looked up at me, wiped her face, and said, "Mom, the water from your eyes is making me wet!"

But SUCH a brave girl!

"Look, Dad. See."

John was working at the downtown station so he was able to come to the hospital with the truck (the two other firemen on the truck with him were nice enough to hang around so John could be there - and that's another "isn't that how it always happens?" Other firefighter wives and I are always saying how everything happens on shift day).

Luckily, she didn't seem to be in much pain. When she didn't have pressure on her foot, she was in good spirits.

Her entire leg had to be cast because she broke the bone between two joints, both of which needed to be kept immobile for the bone to heal. And her baby that she brought along also got the same cast (what a great ER doc!).

Off we go... 5 hours later... with a full leg cast and some daunting instructions... can't get it wet and try and keep her as immobile as possible...

Poor girl was exhausted.

The first night was the hardest, by far. I was alone with all three and so overwhelmed. How was I going to keep her still? Summer just started and no water?! I already had one baby that couldn't walk, now I had two to carry everywhere. And it's so hot out... how uncomfortable must that cast be?? After a pep talk from John, I managed the night just fine, sponge bath and all. It broke my heart when she kept asking to take it off now.. that it hurt... she didn't like this "sand castle"...

But the days kept getting better and we adjusted just fine...

with a lot of help from some very thoughtful people that sent her treats, brought over fun activities, or just came to visit and distract us...

I remember taking this thinking, "Look, she's playing!" For the first night/day, she wouldn't even sit on the ground. She'd sort of panic that she was left there.

And her first nap ... "She's asleep... by herself.. in her room!" She was so attached to me for awhile, understandably so as she didn't think she could move or get anywhere without me.

And then she started getting brave...

And before we knew it, that cast didn't hold her back!

Coloring together

Isn't playdoh the best?!

Stickers and activity books, galore!

One morning my mom offered to take Avery for a couple hours - do some shopping and go out for lunch. I needed to spend some time giving Rudy extra attention and Avery needed some time out of the house. It was quite a success!

Chef Rudy and Chef Mom, as we referred to each other, cooked up 11 casseroles to freeze for the month!