Thanksgiving in OK

Last week we drove about 1400 miles. And some of us are weary and feeling old.



We left Tuesday after school. I intended to sign Luke out early from school and hit the road. Lamar and I packed the care and wheeled into the school parking lot about 2:15. Luke came to me with tears in his eyes asking to stay for the Jingle Bell Walk Pep Rally. So we did and I got to enjoy my first pep rally in about . . . oh . . . 16 years or so. They're just as obnoxious as I remembered. Luke enjoyed the visiting high school cheerleaders performance. He wasn't bothered by ALL the screaming, but covered his ears for the teacher relay race that involved popping a balloon. Go figure.



So we got a later start than intended, but still arrived at our hotel in northern Arkansas at a reasonable hour. Luke fell asleep in the car (I'm now a big fan of driving in the evening!). When Lamar carried him in, Luke woke up long enough to learn our room number and then zonked out for the night.



We drove about 7 more hours on Wednesday and arrived at Erik and Jeanie's house late Wednesday afternoon. And the playing began.





They played.






They sang with the Wii. And sang. And sang.

They ventured outside in the cold for a few minutes.

And were pretty much the best of friends for 3 days. This was the first time they've really played together. It just filled my heart seeing them loving each other.

We had a great time and a great meal thanks to my sister-in-law. We went to see Tangled Thursday evening. I think a Thanksgiving movie should be a new family tradition. This was Luke's second ever movie in a theater. He did great, but was very emotional when it seemed the ending would be less than happy. He asked to leave but I convinced him to stay (and prayed Disney didn't fail me.) We all loved the movie.

The kids were troopers for a little shopping on Friday. Oklahoma is a refreshing, pleasant place. We should visit more often.

Maggie cried when we left. Luke was fine for the 12 hour drive home on Saturday. But watching Elf that evening he burst into tears when Buddy left the North Pole and said, "I want to go back to Oklahoma."

And back to the grind on Monday. These weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are absolutely packed. It seems like nearly every day Luke has something "special" going on at school. He's super excited about Christmas. Funny since this year I really felt at peace about having a child that doesn't love Christmas. Of course!

Happy Holidays!

thanksgiving lunch

I made a visit to school on Friday because I heard some kindergartners might be wearing some costumes to lunch.

Luke was line leader this week. He told me last Sunday night he thought he'd be the line leader this week. On Monday morning I whispered to Mrs. W that he had this idea in his head, and she might want tell him privately if he was mistaken. She confirmed that he'd figured out her order and he was indeed next.

Unfortunately Luke had a cold Thursday and missed one day in his position of leadership.


Luke leading the line and holding Mrs. W's hand (undoubtedly his favorite part of the job). He selected his Native American name you see there, "Sunset of the Warrior."

The "Thanksgiving lunch" was pizza. Apparently the turkey and dressing school lunches of my childhood are a thing of the past. Christopher Columbus was Italian, right? It all connects.




Done with lunch and ready to lead his class to the playground.

He agreed to pose with the headband before running onto the playground.

Recently Mrs. W asked each child "How do you cook a turkey?" She displayed each and answer, along with the cute handprints, in the hall. Here is Luke's:

Says a lot about how much cooking goes on around here. He has no idea people actually prepare turkeys in their homes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

first show

Last week was a blur of school, work, meetings, appointments, a birthday party, some other things I'm forgetting.

I guess one of our most important events of the week was our annual IEP meeting, our first "big school" IEP. It went well. Reading is big strength. He's reading at least a grade level ahead. Producing neat work is a weakness. His pictures and coloring are very scribbly and his cutting a mess, but he's always the first one finished at his table. Priorities.

And then on Friday a friend shut the door on Luke's hand. The school nurse patched him up and sent him back to class, but he continued to cry about it. I'm sure it hurt terribly. His fingers are bruised and swollen. But now he does have an solid excuse for his messy writing and drawing, at least for a few days.

Sunday afternoon we took Luke to his first ever live show, Mickey's Rockin Road Show. Just a year or so ago, I wouldn't have imagined Luke could tolerate the noise of a live show. But we saw a commercial for this show (The one and only time I saw it advertised. Notice all the empty seats.) and Luke asked to go. They advertised tickets available for $12. Maybe if you sat in the parking lot.

Luke didn't ask for any of the overpriced souvenirs but really wanted some Dippin Dots. $5 for that little cup Lamar's holding.




Our seats were not the best, but I didn't know if he could handle being too close. I didn't count on the fact that we wouldn't be able to fully see the screen behind the curtain, that at times was kind of important to the storyline. He never complained though.



Checking out the $11 program we offered to buy him during intermission. He completed all the activities in it today.

So the main reason we've never attempted a live show, or the movie theater until recently, is sensory overload. Until recently just applause in church was overwhelming for him. He's made great strides handling noise recently. But another concern was his attention span and ability to sit still. His behavior at the show was just about perfect. He was older than a lot the kids there (tons of 2 and 3 year olds) but he never moved from his seat, taking it all in. The other kids were EVERYWHERE, and so were there parents. Maybe my expectations are just a tad high sometimes.

After the show we walked down by the stage to check out the confetti they released during the grand finale.

He was so sad when the show was over and we headed home. He didn't meltdown though. He was just very quiet on the way home and asked when we could go to another show. And then he fell asleep in the car. Sweet day.