Go Big Red!

Yes, another college football season is in the tank. But I couldn't wait until fall to put this jacket on Reagan. My mom recently discovered this litle piece of memorabilia as she was sorting through some bins in her garage.



I wore the jacket when I was a young Husker fan. Hopefully young Reagan will follow in his mother's footsteps and cheer for Nebraska, too.

Leaves, leaves everywhere and not a rake in sight

Anyone who has seen our yard would agree raking is a futile activity. And now I can't even locate the rake.




Too many leaves. Too much "yard," if you can even call it that. I prefer to think of it as indefinite forest.


It makes a nice backdrop, too.

Tunes

I recently took up the piano because a) I can no longer play the violin and terribly miss making music and b) Reagan's great-grandmother surprised us with a piano this fall.

The best (or worst) part of all is that I'm teaching myself to play. Tracy's mom recently took pity on my plight and hooked me up with a stack of piano books. The kind with big notes and large print designed for the kindergarten crowd. Tracy and his siblings worked their way through them eons ago. Right now I'm playing pieces my husband and in-laws played back in '89. That means I'm only 20 years behind.

OK. Time to fess up. The real reason I'm playing "Crunchy Flakes" and "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore" multiple times until I get them right? So my little boy gets to grow up with music in the house.

It sounds a little cheesy, but music is such a gift.

Goodbye, summer!

Tracy and I thought we would wrap up the official last week of summer by taking Reagan out on the water one last time ... before cooler fall temperatures set in. Chilly Labor Day weekend weather beat us to the punch, so we settled for a bike ride. Reagan loves riding in his Chariot, so he didn't mind the change of plans, as evidenced by that big grin.

Welcome, fall!

Reagan goes for a swim

Uncle Matt outfitted Reagan with a snazzy new Hyperlite life jacket from Scheel's, so we thought it was time for the little guy to test the waters a bit.

Four generations

Reagan met his great-grandmother last weekend. Grandma Harrelson lives in Omaha and can no longer travel, so Dad, Mom, Reagan and I made the trip to see her. We took a four-generation photo to show Reagan when he's older.

This was the little guy's longest car ride, but he was such a trooper. And my parents loved spending time with their grandson. (Nana insisted on riding in the backseat the whole way there and back.)

Reagan's weekend on the water

Reagan went out on the boat for the first time last weekend. He wasn't quite ready for wakeboarding, but he sure dressed the part.

Cool shades? Check. Rashguard? Check. Board shorts? Check. Frontside 360? Maybe we'll save that for next summer.