the education of henry

We Interrupt This Broadcast for a Special Bulletin

2011-10-23

Welcome back, everyone!

Rather than doing several posts to catch up, I'm just going to do one big one. The really big news is that since I last blogged I am definitely babbling "da da" and "ma ma" and I can crawl.

Anyway: Are you ready? Here we go...

Mommy worked really hard all week getting ready for a garage sale on 30 September and 01 October. She labeled and priced and organized and arranged and filled up the garage, and when the sale started, the driveway...and some of the lawn. It was all good: people showed up early and bought stuff - one lady even said it was the best garage sale ever! Mommy and Auntie Kara had music on and served coffee and Mommy made oatmeal creme pies to give away if people bought things. It was a big success.

Daddy missed all but the first few minutes, though. He left to work for Uncle Bob for a few weeks, but more about that later.

Mommy working the garage sale.

Mommy and Auntie Kara.

On Saturday, Emily and Tasha came over during the sale. They read me some stories.

Reading with Tasha and Emily.

Emily is reading me "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

After the garage sale was over, we hit the road.

We spent a few days with Grandma Wynne and Grandpa Al. And I met Grandma Wynne's friend Carol.

Me with Carol.

Grandma's watch is not nearly as interesting as Uncle Josh's watch.

Me and Mommy at Carol's house.

Mommy and I went out for lunch with Anne.

Me and Anne.

We went to visit Grandma Wynne at work.

Grandma Wynne is showing me off.

Me with Shelia, who works with Grandma.

Then Mommy and I went to stay with Auntie Kara. Uncle Josh was gone working just like Daddy. Only Uncle Josh went to Malaysia, Thailand, and China. Daddy just went to the opposite corner of the state.

Out to eat with Mommy and Auntie Kara.

We stayed at Auntie Kara's for almost a whole week.

This is me doing my impression of Bex and Lucy, Auntie Kara and Uncle Josh's dogs. They always run to the window like this. They bark, though. I can't bark yet. I just say "da da" and "ma ma." And occasionally "Hi, there."

Out shopping with Auntie Kara.

Having a snack while out shopping with Auntie Kara.

Hey! A guitar! Uncle Neil never lets me play with his, and since Uncle Josh is away...

That's the whammy bar - and it's going to be loud! Waitaminute - who's stealing my axe?!

Buuuurrrrppppp!

No pictures, please!

Me with Kim, wearing some fancy socks Auntie Kara bought me.

Me with Auntie Kara, still wearing the socks. My pants seem to be missing now.

Me and Mommy. Mommy is demonstrating why Daddy will never leave me alone with her again.

While we were visiting Auntie Kara we went to a place Mommy used to work to meet some new people.

Me with Sue.

Me with Jan.

Just me.

Me with Auntie Kara at some crazy restaurant where the chef cooks the food at your table after he juggles knives and spatulas and makes a giant fireball.

Mommy demonstrating how to use chopsticks...

...and how not to use chopsticks.

Me and Auntie Kara.

Playing on Auntie Kara's couch.

Taking a bath in Auntie Kara's sink.

After we left Auntie Kara's, we went to stay with Great-grandma Muriel, Great-grandpa Les, and Grandma Gail. We also went to visit Great-grandma Joan and Great-grandpa Eldon (but those pictures turned out fuzzy - sorry, we'll do better next time).

Some new threads for yours truly.

Me and Great-grandma Muriel.

Out on the town in my fancy clothes.

Waiter! Bring a neat scotch. And put it on this lady's tab.

Me with Alice, who worked with Grandma Gail.

Reading "Llama llama Mad At Mama" with Grandma Gail.

Taking a nap at Great-grandma Joan and Great-grandpa Eldon's house.

Playing with Great-grandpa Les.

Me with Great-grandpa Les and Great-grandma Muriel.

After visiting the Great-grandparents and Grandma Gail, Mommy and I came home. Daddy was supposed to come home on Sunday, but Uncle Bob wanted him to stay a few more days. Daddy went to help with the sugar beet harvest, but things didn't go as planned. The weather was too warm for a week, so the harvest started late. Daddy changed his return day to a Wednesday and then totally surprised Mommy by showing up on a Tuesday!

Daddy is home!

Playing on the floor as life gets back to whatever normal is.

In my new shirt and overalls, waiting for food. The service here isn't always quick.

On Saturday, Grandpa Al, Grandma Wynne, and Great-grandma Dorothy came over for a visit. Daddy and Grandpa worked outside in the yard. I stayed in to play.

Me and Grandpa Al.

Grandpa Al and Grandma Wynne brought my singing chair!

Are you sure about this Grandpa? I think the chair will slip away.... Just ask Great-grandma Dorothy.

And that's about it for me. I did a lot of other things, but I figured it was best to hit the highlights and get back on schedule with the blog.

For those of you interested, here are some pictures of what Daddy was doing while he was away:

This is the truck Daddy was driving.

This is the scale house.

This is a shorter line of trucks waiting to unload at the piler. Sometimes Daddy had to wait hours to unload.

Trucks unloading at the piler.

The view from the rear window of the truck while unloading.

Trucks unloading and the pile - to give some idea of its size.

So there you have it, my longest blog post to date. We'll get back to our regular programming next week.

Take care, everyone.