Big Brother, Little Brother

Tyler and Connor have really started to grow closer in the past couple of months. They play together constantly (matchbox cars are still their favorite pasttime) and want to be together all the time. Though they still have their "moments," their relationship is definitely evolving. :)

One of their favorite things to do together is what they call "The Running Game," which involves them starting off against the wall in our bedroom until Connor says, "Mark. Set. Go!" Then they tear off down the hallway to the other end of the house at top speed and giggle when they arrive at the "finish line." Oh, and Dave is usually a participant in this game, too!

Connor loves being with his big bro.

Ready to race!

Graduation Barbeque

We hosted a BBQ in our backyard today for our families and Tyler's close buddies from preschool. The weather, again, was perfect and everyone had a great time. The boys get along so great--I'm really glad that we planned this!

The boys enjoying a yummy lunch in our backyard.

Dave and his dad.

Thanks to our neighbors, Dave and Laurie, for letting us borrow their Bonzai Falls Waterslide. The boys had an absolute blast on it!

Connor decided just to observe the water slide action from the sidelines. He had fun hanging out with Papa Scott and Mama Neanie instead!

My mom & Scott; Dave's parents

Ava and Connor testing out the water at the bottom of the slide.

I was actually able to get these four to sit still for a quick photo before they made their descent!

Another terrific cake by Mama Carol and Papa Dave. The boys loved it!

The boys requested that I cut their names out of the cake--I'm thinking that was just a sneaky way to get a bigger piece of cake!

I found these cute (and cheap!) party favors at Party City. The boys thought the sunglasses were really cool!

As you can see here. :)

Our nutty fam; John with Ross & Nancy; Landon with Deanna.

Goodies from Mama Jeanie/Aunt Kay-Kay and a special diploma from Mama Carol & Papa Dave.

Tyler enjoys hanging out with Kayleigh; and you'll have to excuse Connor's expression in the bottom photo--I think he was eating an M&M when I snapped it!

A fun, but obviously exhausting day!

Tyler's Preschool Graduation

Today was a bittersweet day. Our "baby" graduated from preschool and in a few short months will be entering the "real world" of big-kid school: Kindergarten. While we're excited about Tyler starting school, we're also sad because we're nearing the end of an almost 5-year-long chapter that has been filled with more good times and fun than we thought possible.

Things that we'll miss: being able to drop off/pick up the boys together (one of the benefits of carpooling); hearing Connor's excited chatter all the way down the steps from his room as we make our way to Tyler's room (he LOVES going to pick up Tyler everyday). The car rides home will be quite different without Tyler's constant questions and comments about things, which we love listening to (most of the time!). As one of the moms who has attended nearly every holiday/birthday party for the past 5 years, as well as most of Tyler's class field trips the past two summers, I've had the chance to really get to know a few of the other moms, as well as all of Tyler's classmates, most of whom have been on this 5-year journey with him. This year has, by far, been the most fun. One of my favorite parts about being involved with Tyler's class is the feeling that I get when I walk into his room and find myself immediately surrounded by his classmates, some wanting hugs, and ALL of them chattering excitedly about anything and everything.

Things that Tyler will miss: sharing miss Jen's (the assistant director) breakfast with her, secretly getting to choose a piece of candy from the director's jar at drop-off time, and helping Jen unload food and supplies from the delivery truck once a week--this is Tyler's fave chore. Being the first to arrive at daycare does have its benefits, I guess. :) I know that what he'll miss most of all is being with his three best buddies: John, Lucas, and Landon. They've been inseparable since they all moved into the Elephant Room (4 year-olds) together. The moms and I are trying to plan times to get together so that the boys don't lose touch; it won't be as often as we'd like, but we'll do our best to keep those friendships going for as long as we can. Tyler will definitely miss the fun that he's had with his other classmates as well. He's the only child in his class who lives in Illinois, so he'll be "starting from scratch," so to speak, in the school friends department. I'm confident that he'll make fast buddies in school--he's very sociable, outgoing, and fun, so building new friendships shouldn't be a challenge for him. :)

Despite an issue here and there (who doesn't have them?), we've been VERY happy with the care that Tyler has received at MBCC. The teachers there are truly wonderful people and treat our children like their own. They've guided Tyler, with love and patience, through every developmental stage since the age of 9 months and have also been a great resource for us as parents, especially with some of the major milestones (like potty training!). And the great thing is that Connor has had and will continue to have all of the same teachers that Tyler has had (most of them have been there 10+ years). That is a HUGE benefit, not to mention a rarity--I don't know of any childcare centers that have as low of an employee turnover rate as MBCC. And in a setting where continuity of care and a set, predictable routine are vital, it's certainly a comfort to know that our kids are seeing the same faces in the classrooms and hallways every single day.

The weather for Graduation was perfect and we all had a great time celebrating this important milestone in our children's lives. We also enjoyed getting to know some of the parents that we've never met and catching up with some that we only occasionally get to see/talk to. After the cute--and BRIEF--ceremony, the kids played on the park playground while hamburgers and hotdogs were being grilled in the pavilion by the assistant director (the food was great, Jen!). It was a fun evening for everyone, especially the kids, and we're so grateful to MBCC for planning this and allowing all of us to celebrate this huge milestone together. In my opinion, every preschool should participate in this tradition!

Such a big girl!

Cool banner, yummy cupcakes, and "gifts" that each child gave to his/her parent at the ceremony.

Miss Ava had fun hanging out at the park with Mommy and Mama Jeanie.

Dave loves to give Jen (assistant director AND master griller) a hard time about practically everything. She dishes it out as well as she takes it. :)

The Zebra class walking out to greet the parents; Tyler accepting his "diploma" from Mrs. Niki; and one very excited 5-year-old.

The Missouri Baptist Childcare Class of 2009!

Proud parents and grandparents with the graduate.

Getting a family photo with Connor NOT picking his nose was futile.

These four have been inseparable for the past 18 months.
L-R: Lucas, Tyler, Landon, & John

The boys with their wonderful teachers! Tyler was proud of the apple that we picked up and had his entire class autograph for Mrs. Niki.

Happy Memorial Day!

It was a very rainy, dreary day, but despite the weather, we had a lot of fun with our friends, The Johnson's, who came over for lunch. We grilled, chatted, and the kids had a lot of fun together. Tyler and Spencer are about the same age and like to do some of the same things. Connor and Abby are both two, and are really cute together. And little Chase, who doesn't have a Lunning counterpart (yet), is a real cutie.

Putting Anakin's Starfighter together (again) with Spencer and Coach Dave.

Yes, when it rains, my husband is not above grilling on the front porch!

Abby & Connor; Tyler & Spence; Baby Chase

Tyler and Spence playing a Clone Wars game with Dave.

Molly and me.

We went over to Dave's parents' for dinner and they had a special "Welcome Back" gift waiting for Tyler. He ended up choosing two planes for himself and gave the other two to Connor (after some persuasion, of course). Thanks, Mama and Papa!

Heading Home

Aunt Kimmie dropped us off at DIA about 90 minutes before our plane was scheduled to take off. I figured we'd have plenty of time to get checked in, go through security, get down to our gate, and maybe have some extra time to run into one of the giftshops and stop for one last potty break. WRONG! The lines for check-in were horrendous (even though we used the automated machine to get our boarding passes), and there were a gazillion people trying to get through security, although it did move faster than I thought it would based on the lines. When we approached the "podium" in Security, I gave my license and our boarding tickets to the very nice, but very serious-looking lady standing behind it. She looked at me and back at my license three times (honestly, I've hardly changed AT ALL since high school!) and smiled as she handed everything back to me--except for Tyler's boarding pass. She took off her school teacher-ish spectacles, looked down at him with a small smile, and said, "How are you today, young man?" He said, "Good," while looking around and shuffling his feet, showing his rarely existent shy side. She asked him to look at her, so he did, and the following exchange occurred:

What is your name, son? "Tyler Craig Lunning"
How old are you? "Five."
Where are you going today? "Home." At this point, she looks over at me and kind of smiles.
And where do you live? "St. Louis."
He must have passed the test. And I was obviously ruled out as a possible kidnapper based on their little conversation, because she handed Tyler his boarding pass, thanked him, and told us to enjoy our flight. It felt kind of strange to me at first, but I'm actually glad she did it. With everything happening in the world today, you never know what people might try to get away with. Our next obstacle was getting through security, which went pretty smoothly. Tyler had his shoes off before we even made it up to the conveyor belt (he's a pro at this!) and he was huge help as I emptied out backpacks, computer bags, and camera cases. We had our own little assembly line going; as I put an item into a bin, he pushed it through the "little curtain," as he called it. After he walked through "the tunnel," the gentleman saluted him and gave him a sticker. Then, we got all of our stuff packed up and headed for the subway. Got down to our gate to find it empty--we were officially the last people to board a FULL flight and left the gate with two minutes to spare. Whew!

When we deboarded at Lambert, the pilot stopped us at the exit and asked Tyler (who was the only child on the flight) if he would like a picture of the plane we were on. He of course said "Yes," and the pilot gave him a baseball card-size photo of our United aircraft. Then (and I was not expecting this), he looked at Tyler and said, "How would you like to drive my airplane?" Tyler's eyes got big as he looked at me as if to ask if it would be okay. I told him to go ahead and he giggled as he climbed into the pilot's chair in the cockpit. He was smiling ear-to-ear the whole time. The pilot asked if I "happened" to have a camera handy. I chuckled because anyone who's known me for 5 minutes knows that I never go anywhere without it. :) The flight attendant offered to hold our carry on bags while I dug it out and started snapping. The co-pilot let Tyler push a few of the buttons and showed him some of the other cool features. This was definitely the highlight of the trip home for him and it melted my heart to see him so excited.

Today, the boys (U. Rayme, Blake, and Tyler) enjoyed a fun morning/afternoon of fishing while A. Kim, Blair, and I went to a graduation party for one of Blair's cousins on Kim's side of the family. We beat the boys home, and when they arrived, we headed over to Taylor's (Blair's boyfriend) graduation party, which was held at his dad, Grayden's, house. Tyler and I didn't know any of the guests, but everyone was super nice and the women, of course, loved Tyler. :) We ate lots of snacks and spent quite a bit of time in the entertainment room in the basement, which was equipped with a pool table, bubble hockey, a foosball table, and a full-size Pac-Man arcade game (where I spent lots of time battling those pesky ghosts as Ms. Pac-Man1). It was definitely a fun gathering. :) After the party, my Aunt Mandy and her boyfriend, Dennis, came over for a visit.

Tyler baited a hook with a worm for the first time and also caught/reeled in his very first fish!

The proud fisherman. Check this out, Dad!

Fun in the entertainment room. I'm pretty sure that Tyler could live down here!

Standing on one of the deck's of Grayden's house.

Someone was upset that he didn't get to be in one of the above photos. :(

Aunt Kim, me, Aunt Mandy, and Dennis.

Today was kind of a relaxing, do-nothing kind of day. Tyler watched cartoons in the morning, then he and I went on a walk/scooter ride. Then I took him to Target because I told him that I'd buy a small Star Wars lego set for him since he was being such a great kid. :) I told him beforehand that he had to pick one out that was $20 or less, and we totally lucked out. The set that he wanted (Anakin's Starfighter from The Clone Wars) was on sale for $17 and was the only inexpensive set they had. Whew! He was chomping at the bit by the time Blake got home from school. The two of them sat down and had it assembled in less than 30 minutes.

Blake has a big collection of Star Wars Lego sets that he assembles and displays in his room. Whenever we're there for a visit, Tyler spends a lot of time in Blake's room, in awe as he checks out the various ships and fighters that Blake has put together over the years. He has now decided that HE needs a place to display his S.W. Lego sets. Not sure how we're going to do it, but we'll think of something. :)

Graduation Day!

Today was Blair's graduation from Highlands Ranch High School, which was held at The Red Rocks Amphitheatre. What an awesome venue! It was a long (and high) hike from the parking lot, but was totally worth the view. The weather was kind of "iffy" (overcast and cool), but it really only sprinkled on us once during commencement, which was good. Afterward, we headed back to Kim & Raymond's house for Blair's graduation party. It was a lot of fun!

Me and Tyler-Bug; Blake with my Uncle Raymond; and Tyler with his fave 2nd cousins.

Congrats, Blair Blair!

Top photo: view of the orchestra and choir from our seats
Bottom photo: view of the audience from down below

Top photo: We have to walk WHERE??? I made sure my inhaler was handy before we started the hike up. :)
Bottom photo: The journey back down--our car is down there somewhere!

The Dickerson Family and Blair with her boyfriend, Taylor.

Tyler didn't let go of Blair's hand the whole way down to the car. He had fun sitting in the "way back" (of the Tahoe) with Blake.

My Aunt Mandy & cousin Mackenzie; Rayme, Blair, & Kim; me with my Great-Aunt Kack; Blair, Taylor, and Ryan (one of her good friends from childhood).

Tyler was a real hit with Blair's friends. He had them playing Hide-and-Seek, shooting Nerf guns with styrofoam bullets, and giving him piggyback rides. At one point during the party, he ran into the kitchen and very excitedly said, "Mom, I'm having so much fun with those white guys!" In case I need to explain, they're all wearing WHITE t-shirts........

I'm pretty sure Uncle Rayme would have had a conniption, had he seen this.

My Aunt Kim with her mom and sisters (her brother left the party before I could snag him); Great-Aunt Kack with Uncle Rayme; Aunt Mandy, Great-Aunt Kack, and Blair; Aunt Kim, Colleen (they've been friends for 20+ years) and me.

Hanging out after the party.

Group photo: All of us are, or have been, a Dickerson.