The E-Ranch Extension

I was the first to leave the E-Ranch nest, heading west to the big, big state of Texas. I'm a little closer now, but this summer another E-Rancher joined the extension. The month of June found Carlye, Steve and their three littles just south of me as Steve completes his residency years in ER medicine. This means that they are a mere two and a half hours from me and I couldn't be more thrilled about that.

Sorry, Durham/Chapel Hill peeps. The good Lord knew I needed her a little closer.

With Steve immersed in tending to other's various and sundry medical emergencies, Carlye and the kids headed north for some Chattanooga fun. I think we struck the perfect balance of kid-friendly, inexpensive, in the heat, out of the heat activities. First up, the Chattanooga Zoo!

Sweet Elle. Punk rocker Elle, but sweet.

Just monkeying around. Ha!

Have you ever tried to get three small children to look at the camera? Nigh unto impossible.

Heaven is holding this little one's hand.

Driving the choo choo, a little boy's dream.

Hmmm, what's up there?

Oh my!

I'm not sure who won this staring contest, Moses or the deer.

This shouldn't need explaining, but the front of that shirt reads, "Carolina girls...". Duh.

Classic Dash.

The goats! 

"Hey, Mama! This one has a beard like Daddy!"

Why, yes. Yes, he does.

Dash goes for a more comfortable vantage point. Goats are a little unpredictable, after all.

But the goats decided they too liked his choice of perch!

Cooling off...

And now, I give you... attempting a Lulu and kiddo shot...

Almost...

I adore Dash's expression in this one. Love that little man.

Elle was pretty much done with us by this point.

There we go!

I love watching my friends be moms. It makes my heart happy.

These macaws were LOUD.

After the zoo, it was on to Good Dog for a scrumptious hot dog lunch. Come visit the Petrees and you're guaranteed a meal there!

A hot summer day isn't complete without a visit to Sweet Cece's, of course. After lunch and some sugar, what better way to burn off kiddo steam than the water park?

Moses very specifically asked for me to take his picture on this horse. I was more than happy to oblige.

Miss Elle demanded a seat as well.

Not to be outdone, Dash took a ride on the back of a most pleasant turtle.

It was an amazing visit. More than amazing. After being so very far away from my bestest friends, it did my heart a serious amount of good to laugh and talk with one who knows me best. Chasing after her little ones was pretty great too, if you must know. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, but I'd much prefer to have my friends close by...

A Talker

I've been lucky enough that almost every year I've taught there's usually been one or two little girls with whom I really click and have been able to maintain a friendship with over the years. I had so many women that invested in my life that I count it a privilege I would get to do the same. Even better has been to watch those girls grow into amazing young women. Alana, Grace B., Hadley, Sarah, Grace F., Jenna...creative, funny, talented young women.

Another bonus? Their moms are super cool and have become dear friends along the way as well. Teaching definitely has had some unexpected rewards.

This afternoon, I had the chance to hang out with a little girl who was in my class last year. I knew from pretty much day one that Abigail was a kindred spirit. The telling sign? She never stopped talking. Never. But it was never mindless chatter. Homegirl has good stuff to say. She's spirited, confident, thoughtful and seriously funny. Her mom? Another fave. Sassy and witty, I've been grateful to see her during the school day as she's worked as a kindergarten assistant.

Abigail and I headed to Sweet Cece's {duh} and I finally got to hear all about all the going ons of her life from the last month or so. I give you, Abigail's musings...

- On her grandparent's stamina, "My grandpa had worked the day before so I stayed up until 12:30 but he was just worn slap out!"

- On deciding what sport to pursue, "See, I really want to be a tennis star and a cross-country star so I think I'm just going to keep doing both."

- On frozen yogurt, "Oh my word, this stuff is just so good, I think it must be ice-cream disguised as yogurt!"

- On the challenges of fourth grade, "Oh my gosh, everything goes so fast! I was still on the first paragraph when Mrs. W said, 'Ok, turn to the next page...' and I was like {insert eyes as big as saucers here}."

- On Knox {she went with me to take Knox to run around at the high school field}, "Knox, you're just being a lazy butt, aren't you?"

Love that girl. I can't wait to watch her become a tennis star, a cross-country star and an award winning meteorologist. Oh yes, she's going to do it all.

Back when cursive was cool and so was dotting your i’s with hearts.

When I was eight years old, my Aunt Joann drew my name for our family Christmas gift exchange. Her choice of gift was, to this day, one of the most perfect gifts I have ever been given. Knowing my deep and abiding love for Nancy Drew mysteries, I opened the beautifully wrapped package from her only to discover eight brand new hardback Nancy Drews that I had yet to read.

My response?

I screamed for a solid thirty seconds.

And don’t lie, you totally wish you had those glasses when you were growing up.

I have held on to my Nancy Drew mysteries through the years and gleefully placed them on the library shelves of my classrooms. Several of my girls have gotten a hold of them this year and are loving them as much as I did. I have one little girl that comes up to my desk every time she finishes a chapter to tell me what Nancy is up to and who she suspects is the villain.

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

Yesterday during a break, one of the girls brought over one of my Nancy Drew books, held open the cover and looked up at me with a smug little grin on her face. There, on the front panel of the book in my eight year old handwriting, “I {heart} Jeremy Tilley.”

Ah, yes. Jeremy Tilley. The heartthrob that never gave me the time of day but whose deep brown eyes and fluffy brown hair captured my little third grade heart. “Yes,” I told the students who were starting to gather around with much giggling, “I had a huge crush on Jeremy Tilley.”

I wish you could have seen how big their eyes were. I don’t know what rocked their world more- thinking of me as an eight year old or the idea of their teacher having a crush on a boy. Ew, a boy!

I then proceeded to tell them one of my childhood embarrassing moments in the hopes that someday, when it inevitably happens to them, they wouldn’t feel so bad. One morning, during our “big group” classroom meeting time, I sat on the floor directly in front of Jeremy and his friends. I was painfully aware of his presence behind me and overwhelmed by his wonderfulness. I guess the stress of it all must have gotten to me because….I….ahem…passed gas. And not quietly. Jeremy and his friends, as most mature eight year olds would, began laughing and waving their hands in front of their face. They then scooted back creating an arc of space behind me.

I’ve only recently gotten over the trauma. It’s amazing what a good therapist can do.

My students, of course, thought this was hysterical and a solid five minutes of laughter ensued. My humiliation shared to lessen theirs? I’m pretty sure that they don’t teach that kind of mentoring strategy in grad school.

Honestly, I think we may just call him John Boy.

Of the many Cruise girl cousins, the one and only Sarah Jo has experienced what only one other brave cousin has- the joys (and trials) of living with me. She was my last roommate before my husband and that year with her was rich in thought, prayer and more laughter than I ever thought possible. I was thrilled when she married John, a man who is as thoughtful and faithful as she.

On February 22nd, their family of two became a family of three when John Alexander Harris, Junior arrived right on time. We all appreciated his promptness. Already, he takes after his mother.

I can’t even tell you what it does to my heart to watch Sarah Jo mother this sweet little baby. It’s surreal and yet the most natural thing I’ve ever seen.

My Aunt Melba and Uncle Randall picked their grandparent’s names when Audrey (Sarah Jo’s sister) had her son, Jacob. Melba decided she wanted to be called “Sweetie”. And oh my word, if you’ve ever met her you would know just how well this fits.

Randall chose the name “Mush”.  I know it sounds unusual but the story behind it is so precious. You see, Randall’s granddaddy was known as “Mush” because that was what Randall called his mustache when he was young. Randall has his own signature mustache (which has never gone out of style, I don’t know how the man does it) and decided to carry on the tradition. It’s perfection.

As new parents, they have perfected the art of the Baby Burrito.

He is delightful and beautiful and altogether kissable.

And while Sarah Jo knows to whom she is referring when she says “John”, the rest of us don’t. So for now, we’ve been referring to the wee little man as Baby John. Otherwise it just feels awkward to congratulate her husband on working out that stinky diaper.

In any case, I’m counting the days until I get to snuggle up to that sweet little face again…

Welcome to the Cruise Family, sweet boy.