The Bucklein Bunch: Naperville Trip Part One

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Naperville Trip Part One

For the first time in 18 yrs, I went back to Naperville. Ok, I lied. I went back one other time but it was only for a few days. This time I got to see more people but it just went by way too fast! Here we are all loaded up and ready to go. We took Brian's mom with us to help entertain Marshall.

Here's a better view of Nate in the back...

Before we left, we gave Nathan a little surprise....

After much coaxing, someone FINALLY convinced me to teach their cihldren piano. In exchange for piano lessons, they bought Nate a brand new Nintendo DS, a carrying case, and 2 games. He was SHOCKED!!!

Needless to say, we never heard a peep out of that boy the WHOLE trip!! He was happy as could be. :) He's always been such an easy going kid anyway.

It was a very long drive but we finally made it to our destination... Naperville, Illinois. I was so happy to finally be HOME. I've lived in Utah longer than I lived in Naperville but it still felt like finally I was home.

We had a whirlwind of a visit. We got in late Thursday night and stayed with a very generous family. Our children formed a lasting bond during that week and they can't wait to see each other again.

Friday we went to The Museum of Science and Industry. I'm sure Nate could spend DAYS there exploring and learning...it's right up his alley. Marshall seemed to enjoy it but I think it was way too overstimulating to him. He kept running away and just couldn't stay focused on anything for more than a second or two. He loved the Idea Factory section of the museum. It had lots of water to play with. That's right up his alley. He seemed to have a great time there.

Saturday, Brian and Nate spent the day at Great America while I went to a rehearsal. The guys had a great time and Nate even rode ALL the thrilling rollercoasters and LOVED them!! He also tried a new food... footlong chili cheese dog. Way to go Nate!!

Here are a few pictures from the rehearsal I went to. The reason I went to Naperville in the first place was because my Mother started a children's choir 25 yrs ago and they were having an alumni choir at the 25th anniversary concert and wanted a Grubbs family member to be there. Brian thought it was important enough for me to go so I went. Here are a few pictures..

Top: Jacque Hilton Clermont, Me, and Jayne (I forgot her name! I sang in choir with Jacque and this is her older sister.)

Me and Judy Herring. What a great lady she is! She accompanied and helped direct Young Naperville Singers (My mom's choir) for many years. She also taught music at my Elementary School. I really missed her!

Sunday, we drove around and showed the kids where I used to live and go to school. This was our first home in Naperville. It was on Lilac Lane. I'm pretty sure we have a picture of us kids standing by that tree. I remember there being a birch tree too but I didn't see that anywhere. Here is us by the tree in 1978 and the picture below was taken on Sunday.

Our second house was on Pawnee Lane. Most of my childhood memories are there. We moved to this house when I was in 2nd grade.

The people who lived next door to me happened to be home so I stopped and said hello. Here are Mr. and Mrs. Nolle.

That is all I can get done tonight. Look for part 2 hopefully tomorrow.

3 comments:

Bill Grubbs said...: Judy Herring looks the same, but I would have never recognized the Noles.; May 7, 2009 at 11:33 PM
Rhonda said...: What a wonderful trip down memory lane! Looks like a great time. ANd yahhhh for the quiet kiddo who got to play video games the whole drive. GENUIS!; May 10, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Mom G said...: Great to see you and your family. It is great to be able to relive the good old days, isn't it! Glad you made it back safely.; May 11, 2009 at 7:45 AM

Kids Say The Darndest Things...

For FHE tonight, we were looking at pictures of some of the things President Monson does. There was a picture of President Monson and some children at a temple dedication. Marshall asked if President Monson was DECORATING the temple. HAHAHA! He seriously makes me laugh so much.
Today while we were driving to Idaho Falls, we saw some black rainclouds, and some white ones too. We told Marshall that the black clouds have rain in them. A few minutes later, Grandma, who was in the car with us, was saying something about styrofoam. Marshall said, "Oh! I know! The black clouds are made of rain, and the white clouds are made of styrofoam. That's why you can walk right through them!
There was an Asian Lady Beetle on our kitchen windowsill today, and Marshall was really upset about it! He yelled, "OH NO! There's an OTTINGER BUG IN OUR HOUSE!!"
Marshall:"I can still write the Bucklein kind in German." (I have no idea why he said that. This is part of the fun of having a child with Autism.)
Marshall: "My other favorite word is forest." Ok..that one came out of nowhere.
Brian was trying to teach Marshall about the sounds vowels make. This time he was talking to him about why our last name sounds the way it does. We have always taught him that when 2 vowels go walking, the first one does the talking. Well, Brian told him that in German (our last name is German), when 2 vowels go walking, the 2nd one does the talking. Marshall asked, "They can't say their L's?"
Marshall: "Dad, what's your favorite word? Love? Mom? Wanna know probably the biggest word I know? Probably the 'docious word'. (Translation: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious)
What is the biggest word you know? Marshall: "Fight".
Marshall: "The thing I hate most terribly in my life is singing."
Marshall (with his arms wrapped around my neck): "Mom, I care for you." Ohhh...how sweet.
Marshall: "Dad, you are handsome.:
When we were hiking Squaw Peak, Marshall said, "HI DUDE!" to everyone he saw. Then, he decided to say, "See ya later Alligator." He thought that was funny, but then he saw a woman, so instead of saying, "See ya later Alligator", he decided to say, "See ya later Alli-Woman!"
We asked Marshall if he learned about Jesus on Easter Sunday. Nate asked if they showed him a picture of Jesus on the cross, the thing that has two boards going together like this (he made the shape of a cross). Marshall said, "It was a T that smushes him together. They (the bad guys) took his (Jesus') shoes and socks off so it would hurt more. So he was bare feet and they put nails in his feet. Isn't that ouch?" I asked what happened after that and he said, "Jesus said I"ll be alive in 3 days and he woke up and came alive and now he can never die!"
Brian was telling Marshall that Nathan is getting so big! He said, "Nathan is ten! In two more years he will be twelve and hold the Priesthood!" Marshall said, "He only needs two more grown ups to hold it!"
Marshall told me he has a lotter pirates than Nathan. A lotter? That means more than a lot.
Marshall always lays on the floor next to the bathroom door whenever Nathan goes in there. We try to get him to leave Nathan alone but he just won't. One day Nathan went into the bathroom and Marshall said, "Nathan, are you almost done?" Nathan said yes. Marshall then asked, "One more poop, then you're done?" Nathan gets so embarrassed by Marshall.
Nathan went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Marshall knocked on the door and said, "Nathan, if you need help, I'll be right here."
Tonight when we were doing sparklers, Marshall asked if he could do another sprinkler.
Today Marshall told me that if anyone is mean to his brother he will smash them with a panyo (piano) and they will be flat like a turkey sandwich. He loves his brother!!
While we were in the car taking Brian to school, Marshall and I had the following conversation: Marshall- "I don't have any points." ME- "When will you get points?" Marshall: "In 20 years when I am nine. When I am nine I will have numbers. Then we will have to go to the gag shop to get more numbers."
We had a Family Home Evening Lesson on The Plan of Salvation. Things were going well as we showed Marshall the cut outs we had for each of the 3 Kingdoms which we will end up in after the Judgement Day. He looked it over and pointed to the Telestial World and said "I will go there." "NO," I exclaimed. That is the bad one. He said "I will go to the bad one." Then it hit me. He was picking this one because it was a star. "Are you saying that because it's a star shape and Twinkle Little Star is your favorite song," I asked? "Yup. I want to go to the star one." For the closing song he wanted to sing Twinkle Little Star that is Bad.
We were talking about thieves and how they can go to jail if they get caught. Nathan said "I won't thief." I wondered what he was talking about so I asked him. He said "Thieving is wrong, Mom." OHHHH...you meant STEALING!!
Marshall woke up with a really stuffy nose and said "My nose can't breathe."
Marshall went with me to Wal-Mart today so Brian could work on his research. I bribed my little one by telling him if he went with me, I would buy him a toy. He wanted a Thomas train so badly but I convinced him to settle with a Mickey Mouse figure that comes with a scooter. He got very frustrated with the toy because he couldn't put Mickey on the "screwdriver". It took me a while to figure out that he meant scooter. Haha...so cute.
Today Marshall went to the doctor for his 3 yr old checkup. When the nurse asked "How are you Marshall?" he said "I have to get 2 shots." As we were leaving, he saw the same nurse again and said with a grumpy look on his face "I do NOT like shots!" She laughed so hard.
Marshall: "I'm a warewolf AWOOO!!"
When Nathan was probably 5, I got him new pajamas..the kind with a "fly" in them. He stuck his hand through it and said "Look Mom! I have a new pocket!!"
Marshall and I were playing Cranium Cariboo when he suddenly stopped and said "Can I please have a slice of water." At least he was polite! :)