Halloween!

We had a very nice Halloween.  Our son had two projects to work on over the weekend, so he spent most of Saturday and a good part of Sunday getting those done.  His baseball game (the last one of the fall season) was cancelled because the other team wasn't able to get enough kids together to play.  Hopefully they'll be able to reschedule it, but it did make the day easier overall.  Our older daughter went home with a friend after mass, so they had a fun time carving pumpkins and playing together.  Our little one spent a long time playing outside since it was an absolutely gorgeous day.  A few of the neighbor kids came out, too, so they all ran around in the driveway and in and out of each other's houses for a long time.

After picking our daughter up, I fed the kids and they got into their costumes.  The Saints and Giants were both playing, so Mike stayed home to keep the candy bowl filled (he put it out on the porch instead of answering the door) and I took the kids and the dog out trick-or-treating.  Our neighborhood was a madhouse (as usual), but the kids had a good time and brought home tons of candy.  The girls stayed up long enough to hand out the last of the candy and then they all went to bed.

They claimed it was the best Halloween ever - although they do tend to say that every year.

Pictures from our little one's Halloween party at school:

First Days of School

As of last week, everyone is finally back in school.  The older two are absolutely loving their classes this year.  Our son keeps saying that he really wishes there weren't weekends because they're so boring and he'd rather be in school with his friends.  Our older daughter is being challenged from the get-go - finally! - and is thrilled by it.  They're both busy with their sports and our son joined the band this year to learn to play the trumpet, like his dad.  Our little one is in school three afternoons this year and while she complains about going every day, she actually loves being there and is the little princess ringleader of a couple of other girls.  She also enjoys her own activities outside of school, trying to keep up with her big brother and sister.

It's busy, but it's fun and it's been really great to see them progress and develop in the things they've chosen to do.  It keeps us motivated to keep up with them and make it all happen.

I'm Impressed! and the Tail (Tale) of the Rat

For a couple of days we had a really foul smell in the garage. I was pretty sure it was from something dead, but didn't know what or where. I did notice that my car still smelled even when we were out and about, which definitely wasn't a good sign. Last night, I finally took to sniffing around the garage to see if I could figure out where the smell was coming from. Sure enough, it was from my car, the front passenger side. I wasn't willing to try to find the source at night, so I left it until today.

I had to take our youngest to gymnastics this morning, so I didn't bother with it until I got home. I parked outside of the garage over the outside drain, thinking (hoping) I might be able to wash whatever it was out of the car. Then I looked underneath and saw...

a tail. A long, gray, hairless tail, hanging almost to the ground, coming out from right behind my front wheel. I ran inside, squealing and hopping around like a lunatic, with a serious case of the willies! EW EW EW EW EW! I've seen dead things before, but for some reason, this just seriously grossed me out. Maybe it was knowing that I was going to have to somehow get it out from under my car that made it so nasty.

I left the car sitting outside for a while, trying to steel myself for dealing with a dead rat. The kids, of course, had to know all the details of what was going on and had to go check it out for themselves, and none of them seemed as freaked out about it as I was. As I procrastinated longer and longer, our older daughter started to offer to pull the rat out for me - seriously?! That was an offer I couldn't refuse. She insisted that I give her a pair of gloves and she'd take care of it for me.

So, of course, I did. She put on my dish gloves (pink with yellow flowers around the cuffs, very fashionable), lay down under the car, reached right in and pulled out - the tail. Yes, just the tail, detached from the rest of the rat. EW EW EW EW EW! She picked it up and calmly put it into the trash bag that I was holding at arm's length, and asked, "Do you want me to crawl under there and try to get the rest of it?" Uh, no. But I was beyond impressed with how she handled the whole thing. Her brother wouldn't even come outside. Her sister just kept saying, "It's okay, Mommy, it's already dead." She then took off the gloves and went on her merry way.

That still left me with a tailless dead rat under my car and needing to find a way to get it out from it's hiding place. At which point one of our neighbors came down the driveway to witness the whole spectacle and the girls glommed onto her to find out every detail of what she was doing (gathering lavender for Christmas gifts apparently) and tell her the entire rat story in great detail. Poor woman thought she'd be able to calmly walk down the driveway to gather her flowers - HA!

I looked under the car again and finally figured out exactly where the rat was laying (saw it's little dead face staring back at me - EW!). It was going to require something long to reach under there and scoop it out. I got one of the kids' shovels from the sandbox (the one with the longest handle!) and managed to push it out onto the driveway, but it was so floppy that I couldn't easily scoop it up. Figures. I had to slide it up against the tire to get the shovel underneath it and finally pick the darn thing up. I scooped it into a trash bag and put an end to the whole rat saga. I did spend some time hosing out the area where it was laying, and the driveway, and the shovel, and the gloves...

Now the car doesn't stink, the garage doesn't stink, and I have a new respect for my daughter. And no, I don't have pictures to share from this adventure!

Round-To-It Recommends: Walden West

Our older kids just finished a week of camp at Walden West Science Center in Saratoga, CA.  It was an incredible experience for both of them and they both said they'd love to go back next year.

Their main camps are day camps (they do offer backpacking trips for kids 12-16), the summer camp for kids ages 7-12 and the Wild Things camp for kids ages 5-7.  Both are held at the Walden West facility in the Saratoga hills, with buses taking the kids from a local elementary school and returning them in the afternoon.  The older kids have the option of camping out on Thursday night, if they choose.

The focus of the camps at both levels is environmental awareness and providing an outdoor experience.  So many kids today spend the vast majority of their time indoors and these camps hope to counteract that by showing kids the beauty and excitement of the natural areas that are so accessable to us.  Most of the activities are traditional camp activities: hiking, gardening, swimming, arts and crafts, games, songs, climbing wall, and ropes course.  The camp songs are a bit different from most of those that I've heard since they focus on things like the importance of worms, banana slugs, and scat, but the silly actions and enthusiasm of the counselors and campers are exactly what you'd expect!  There is a good balance between planned group activities, like hikes, and individual choice, where the kids have a number of options for how to use their time.  Our kids spent a good amount of time in the pool, but also tried archery, crafts, and group games that they had never played before. 

The older campers all chose nature names for the week, to go along with the nature names of all of the counselors.  Our son was "Python" and his counselor was "Big Brown Bat".  Our daughter's counsleors were "Clam Chowder", "Aurora",  and "Poppy", to name a few.  According to a friend, whose sixteen-year-old daughter has been going to Walden West since she was nine, the kids often keep their nature names from year to year.  Her daughter has been "Blue Jay" for the last seven years.

The two big events for our son this week were the climbing wall and the campout.  He had never done either, but wasn't particularly nervous about them.  His group did the wall on Wednesday afternoon, spending the whole afternoon giving the kids the chance to try climbing multiple times.  His only disappointment was that there was no way to actually climb on top of the wall when he got there - apparently there wasn't any place to put his hands or feet when he tried.  The campout was the first time he had spent a night away from home - not for any partcular reason, he's just never had the opportunity.  It was also the first time he'd slept out under the stars, which he didn't speak so highly of.  It was pretty darn chilly last night (maybe 50 degrees) and really damp, so everything was pretty wet during the night.  They woke up to ground fog, making the morning "freaky", in his words.  He did enjoy being away for the night, though, eating with the group of kids in the lodge, and just generally being responsible for himself.

Our daughter's week was less dramatic, but she loved the experience and true to her nature, got to know absolutely everyone in the program.  She also liked the fact that they got to choose their afternoon activities and often tried multiple things in one afternoon.  This afternoon when we asked her how her day was, she replied, "It was okay."  That was a luke-warm response compared to the lengthy explanations we had been getting, so we questioned her about why it was only "okay".  She said, "It was only okay because it was the last day and I won't get to see my friends any more."  Testimony enough for us that it was a great experience for her, too.

I went up for the evening program on Thursday night and it was very clear that there were many families whose kids had been attending the camps there for years.  That spoke volumes to me about the quality and draw of their programs and I definitely see us being in those ranks as all of our kids make their way through the programs.  For them, it's less the importance of getting time outside since we do spend a good amount of time doing outdoor activities.  It's really more the traditional camp experience of goofy counselors, meeting new kids, and experiencing a good amount of independence that make it a really worthwhile week.

Our Son Is 9!

I can't believe it was nine years ago that we had our very first little bundle of joy!  It was all so surreal and so new and overwhelming.  Now it's nine years and two additional kids later and he's incredibly far away from being that little baby.  He's tall and skinny, with red hair, crazy teeth, and freckles.  He's gone from an obsession with waterfalls as a toddler (made our trip to Kauai when he was two a lot of fun!) to obsessions with airplanes and baseball.  He spends his free time building baseball stadiums in his room; reading about the history of the San Francisco Giants; drawing detailed pictures of baseball stadiums; reading about the history, design, and engineering of aircraft, especially the 747; drawing detailed pictures of aircraft and aircraft carriers; and playing baseball.  One of his most recent passions has been learning to pitch, so he got a book at the library and memorized the different grips, which pitches they produce, and how they are supposed to be thrown and has been practicing them. He has absolutely no control over them yet - they're as likely to go three feet wide as they are they to go over the plate - but he's determined to figure out how to make them work.

So happy birthday, kiddo!  We hope it's been a good one, we wish you much love as you head into your next year, and we look forward to the new adventures you'll bring to our lives as you head into fourth grade.

The Second One Is Out

Our older daughter lost her first tooth while we were camping about 3 weeks ago.  The tooth next to it was getting loose, too, but we thought it would be a while before it finally came out.  Wrong!  She woke me up at 4:15 this morning with her loud whisper (she's incapable of speaking quietly, no matter what the circumstances), "Mom, I lost my tooth!"

It took me a bit to process that information - it's not what you typically hear from your child in the middle of the night.  Apparently, she woke up and was wiggling it with her tongue and it just fell out.  We weren't able to find it in her bed at that point, but she wasn't bothered by that. She went back to sleep and shared the excitement with everyone else in the morning.  She and her brother searched for the tooth again in the morning, and they did manage to find it tucked down next to her mattress.

So the tooth fairy will be paying a visit again tonight.  Luckily, she doesn't have any others loose, or it'd be pretty tough for her to eat! And the tooth fairy would be needing to take out a loan to keep up with her.

The Last Day of Baseball

Today was an amazing day! But before I get into that, let me catch you up a bit since I've been such a slacker keeping up this blog this spring.

Our last few months have been full of baseball (our son), gymnastics (all 3), swimming (all 3), and soccer (our older daughter). We had no idea when our son asked to play ball this year that it would involve such a huge time commitment! It was 2 practices and a game (at least) each week. Luckily, Mike was able to be there for most of the practices and all of the games, so I was able to deal with the girls while they did the baseball thing. Our son's team did very well this season and he learned and progressed so much!

At the end of the season, the coaches pick several players from each time to play in the Farm League All-Star game. Our son's coach was the head coach for the Blue Team and he chose 5 kids from their team to play in the All-Star game. Our son got chosen - not an easy thing since it was his first season playing. The had a week of practices and the game was today, after the closing ceremonies.

It turned out to be the hottest day we've seen this year - about 90 degrees and windy - so it was pretty tough for the kids out on the field. They were playing under minor league rules, which are a bit different from what they were used to - all kid-pitch, 6 innings, 3 outs, no bunting or stealing bases. The two coaches were huge rivals and the kids on both teams REALLY wanted to win. The level of play was much higher than what they had seen during the regular season, so the expectations were really high for all of the kids.

Things weren't going well to start off. Our son struck out swinging on his first up, but he did okay out in left field and at short stop. By the bottom of the 5th inning, they were down 1-3, there were 2 outs, the bases were loaded, and he came up to bat again. I'll be honest, I was seriously worried he would strike out again. The count got to 2 balls and 2 strikes and it was looking like he would end the inning for them. Next pitch, he whacked that ball into the outfield! He brought 2 runners home and tied the game, 3-3. He was beyond excited and the crowd was going crazy! The pitcher walked the next batter, bringing one more runner home and making the score 4-3, which was how the inning ended.

Our pitcher took over at the top of the 6th and struck out 2 batters in a row. The third batter hit a pop fly and the pitcher caught it, ending the game. It was pandemonium after that! The parents and coaches were all high-fiving each other and the kids were jumping around screaming. I've never experienced anything like that and I'm likely to be hoarse for the next few days from the cheering and screaming.

After the teams congratulated each other, the coaches took the kids aside and awarded 3 game balls to the stand-out players for the game. The final pitcher got one, the kid who caught the whole game - wearing all of that equipment in the miserable heat and playing incredibly well - and our son! He was so excited and the caches were incredibly proud of how he came through for the team right when they needed it most. They even awarded him All-Star MVP!

All-in-all, it's been a really great spring. The coaches were so dedicated and patient with the kids, the families were terrific, and the kids were a fun bunch of goofballs. Our son is already talking about playing fall ball, so he's all baseball, all the time now. We can only hope he gets on teams in the future that are close to what he's had this season.

Play Ball!

Today was our son's first baseball game of the season. He's playing Little League for the first time, on a farm team, and really enjoying it. It's been a great learning experience so far and we've already seen a lot of growth in his skills. He and his team mates seem like such a band of goofballs at practice, but at their practice game yesterday and the real game tonight, they played like they'd been doing it forever. I'm not much of a baseball fan, but I have to say, it's pretty fun to watch your kid make a great catch and then throw it where it needs to go or hit a good one when he's up at bat. The other thing we're finding is that by the time the games are over and Mike and our son get home, his sisters are in bed, so it's a really nice chance for the three of us to sit down and have dinner together and chat. That's definitely a gift, considering how busy our days usually are, and it's time that means a lot to me.

Spring Has Sprung

We had our monthly Leonberger get-together at the beach this past weekend. We lucked out with an absolutely stellar day - sunny, blue skies, and warm - and we were all ready for some outside time after all of the cold, gray days we've had this winter. The kids can't resist the chance to get in the water, even when it's in the 50s, and Sunday was no different. They were running in and out of the water, jumping off of the big rock, playing in the sand, and just generally being the beach kids they are.

Zatarain had a fabulous time, as well. He swam and swam and swam, chasing his ball in and out of the water, for about 3 hours. At one point, he lost sight of both me and his ball and ended up swimming around for probably close to 10 minutes while I kept directing him from the shore. He did eventually find his ball, after coming in to shore and then chasing a rock that Mike threw out towards the ball. Silly dog. Bella and Goulash joined him playing on the beach and we ended up with 3 very tired pups.

After our time on the beach, we headed over to the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for a late lunch with our friends, Mike and Mandy and their girls, Allanna and Daniela, who own Bella, and with Ian and Mo, who own Goulash. Ian joined us for lunch last month and the experience didn't scare him off, so that says a lot about his constitution! We took over about half of the back patio, the kids spread out and played and colored, and we had a really lovely lunch. Fun conversation and good food and tired dogs. It was a great end to a really fun day.

First Day of Preschool

Our youngest started preschool this week. She was SO excited to finally get to go to school like her brother and sister. On her first day, I walked her to the classroom to meet her teachers and she went right in and made herself at home immediately. She barely looked up when I told her good-bye since she was already busy cutting and coloring what I later learned was a birthday card for me. When I picked her up, her teachers said she fit right into the class and it was as if she'd always been there.

So now she'll be heading off to school two afternoons each week and I'll have a couple of hours to myself. It will be nice to be able to work out without the time limits of the child care center at the Y, but it's very strange not having my little shadow with me. It's the beginning of her separation from me, the start of her growing up and entering into the world on her own terms. It's an amazing process to witness, but it's also the clearest sign so far that she's no longer my baby. And I'll miss that.

From the Infirmary

Our older daughter has been home sick for the last 4 days. It's just a cold, but now she has an ear infection starting and a fever to go with it, so she'll be home for at least one more day. Her little sister is happy to have her around to play with and they've come up with some pretty elaborate games.

It rained all day yesterday, so along with being stuck at home, the girls were stuck inside. They went out in the yard for a bit this afternoon and when I realized where they were, I went outside to check on them.


They're standing in the sand toy bucket, which has about 3 inches of water in the bottom after the storm. You can't see it, but they are actually wearing boots, so they did think before starting this game. If there's water, my kids will find it and be in it.

The girls did play apart for a while, too. I was doing laundry today, so the baskets were sitting out downstairs. Our little one commandeered one of them to be her "crib" and this is where I found her.

She had a grand time looking at books and playing with little toys while sitting in the basket. Their creativity never ceases to amaze me.

Coming Up For Air

It's been a crazy few weeks here. The kids started school and we immediately started looking for someplace new for them. Within a few days, I had contacted a new school and talked to the principal. It turned out that he was someone we knew from years ago when we were doing water rescue training with our first Leonberger, Audubon. I took that as a good sign.

After meeting with teachers, observing classes, and having the kids shadow for a morning, we made the decision to move them right away. Or more accurately, the kids made the decision to move. That happened on a Friday and by Monday, I was turning in the withdrawal forms at their old school and the registration forms at the new school. After getting immunization records and new uniforms, they started at their new school on Thursday.

Their first day was a bit crazy - they had an all-school mass, where the priest introduced them to the rest of the school, and then school pictures. The up side is that they get to be in their class pictures, but it was a wild way to start off at a new school. They both canme out smiling at the end of the day, though, and were excited to go back on Monday morning (they had Friday off).

Last week was their first full week, so they've had a chance to get a feel for what it's really like. Our daughter is in kindergarten and her new class is less demanding than what she had before. To make up for that, her teacher is working with her and another little boy using the second grade reading program and she will be working with the resource teacher on more challenging reading, writing, and comprehension and potentially math as well. At this point, she's just having fun meeting new kids and finding out about the different programs this school has.

After observing classes, we decided to move our son up to third grade instead of keeping himin second grade. It seemed to be a better match for him academically and socially, and so far, he's really liking it. The personal responsibility and homework demands are much greater than what he's had in the past, but he's stepped up to the challenge and has even taken a couple tests already. It should get easier for him as time goes on, since he'll have had the chance to learn the material with the rest of the class instead of having to pick it up quickly at the end of a unit. He was telling me today how much more he's learning in his new class than he did at his old school, so it seems like it was a good move all around.

And that's where we are. I'm trying to get a feel for the volunteer system at this school and adjusting to the new schedule (they start 30 minues earlier now and get out 15 minutes earlier). We've had the chance to meet parents from both kids' classes at the parent socials and our daughter got her first birthday party invitation. Our son even went on his first field trip (Monterey Bay Aquarium, where he apparently was able to answer all the questions and lead the tour around the facility). Life rolls on and we're going along with it.

Birthday Bash

Our son's birthday party was this weekend. Because he has a summer birthday, he chooses to have his party outside each year. This year, like last year, he asked to have it at the beach. We all love spending a day at the beach, so we're more than happy to plan a party there. It's really one of the easiest parties to put together - just bring food and the entertainment is provided by the location.

This year, Mike grilled Fred's steak to make steak sandwiches. It was fantastic and every bite was eaten right away. We also had hot dogs for the kids, fruit, vegetables, brownies (our son doesn't like cake) and we made ice cream there. We used an Ice Cream Ball last year and it was so much fun, that we bought a second one to be able to make more at the same time this year. It's a great way to have ice cream at a picnic.

I got down to the beach at 8:15 that morning to get a covered picnic area. By the time I got there, all of the pavilions were taken and we were only able to get 2 picnic tables and a grill. Luckily, we had a sandy area right next to us, so we were able to spread out there. Mike stopped at Target on his way down (he brought the kids a bit later) and got 2 shade tents and a tarp and we created our own pavilion. It worked out fine, even if it wasn't exactly what we had planned.

The kids played baseball in the sand, did some boogie boarding, built sand castles, and just generally played for the day. There were dolphins just offshore all day, feeding and playing, so we had an impromptu show for everyone as well. Our guests came and left at various times, until it was just us and one other family. Our kids were all playing in the sand and we were talking until one of us looked at a watch and realized it was 6;45 and we really needed to do something about dinner. Mike noticed that one of the nearby grills was still hot, so he added more charcoal, got it cranked up, and we pulled out the leftover hot dogs, fruit, and brownies and made dinner for us and the kids. We finally left the beach at 8:15 when the rangers came through and told us we had to go.

It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun. Check out the pictures below to see what we did.

Our Little Fish

Our youngest loves the water, and is a good swimmer for a 2 1/2-year-old. Her brother and sister were much the same at this age, but most people didn't get the chance to see them doing these kinds of things when they were little. The kids swam for about 4 hours the other day, so not only do they love it, but they have amazing endurance!

I shot some videos while we were at the pool and created my first movie so you can see what our little one does in the water. I need to work on the whole editing thing, but it was fun to give this a try.

Pictures from the Week

My poor bruised toes. They've been a lovely shade of purple for about a week now.

The kids had a fun time at the park on Thursday. Lots of time on the swings, running around playing tag, going down the slides, and playing in the sand. It was a gorgeous day, so it was great to be outside enjoying it.

I have a small cooler with a pump that circulates ice water through a pad on my food. It's much easier than constantly switching out ice packs. Zatarain discovered he could flip the lid open on the cooler and have his own bowl of ice water right there in the family room.

The girls came downstairs thie evening dressed in their finest. When our older daughter, who loves to help Mike with the grill, found out that we were grilling for dinner, she asked, "Can we be your flower grill fairies?"

We have a very small backyard. This picture actually makes it look bigger than it is, but that doesn't stop Mike and our son from practicing baseball while the ribs are cooking. Our daughter was the cheerleader in the background.

The Week in Review

It's been an interesting week, in spite of the fact that I still have to take it easy on my foot. I went back to the doctor on Monday and got the bandage changed. He gave me a boot cast to wear when I'm out and about, which makes it easier to walk, but is really heavy, hot, and uncomfortable. Needless to say, I only wear it when I have to and stick with the very attractive shoe the rest of the time. On the down side, I do end up yelling, "Don't step on my foot!" an awful lot.

No one was in camp this week, so it was me and the three kids entertaining ourselves since Mike went back to work on Monday afternoon. They got a bit stir crazy and watched more TV than they normally do, but we survived. Our son did an evaluation for a pre-competitive swim team on Tuesday and will be able to start swimming with them in September. He was very excited to watch the huge number of kids in the pool (there were probably 20 lanes swimming at the same time between 2 pools) and can't wait to join in. I don't know how thrilled either of us will be when he's swimming in the dark in November, but we'll give it a try for the fall and see how it goes.

Everyone had swim lessons on Wednesday morning. I couldn't go in because of my foot, so I paid a friend's daughter, who is in high school and is a swimmer and a lifeguard, to take our little one in instead. It was fun to sit back and watch all 3 of them for once. I also found out that she will be old enough to take lessons on her own starting this fall, so it's the last session of lessons that I will have to be in the water. It's the end of an era - I think I've been in the water with one kid or another for the better part of 7 years!

Our son has done tae kwon do at school for the past 3 years, but they dropped the program at the end of the year, so we need to find a new studio for him. His old teacher recommended 2 places, so we checked one out on Wednesday evening. The class they had us sit in on was their basic class, where they work on discipline, basic skills, and their core values. It was not at all what our son expected and he absolutely hated it. I'm hoping I can get him to check out their forms and sparring classes to give it a fair shot, but he wants nothing to do with it right now. We may go see the other studio and see if he like it any better. I'd hate to see him give it up because he's actually quite good at a lot of the skills and he's worked hard at it for a long time now.

Thursday we went grocery shopping. Under the best conditions, it's no fun to take all 3 kids to the store and with my foot in the boot, I really wasn't thrilled with the prospect. I decided to take them to the park first to burn some energy, with the understanding that I was going to be sitting down the whole time. They managed to find a little girl to play tag with them and had a great time running around. Shopping went well after that and our son got to play Safeway Scavenger Hunt while we were there. I send him out to find things from my grocery list, and he has to hunt them down and bring them back to the cart. He's gotten pretty good at it, but we do seem to end up with more bags of chips than I sent him out to get.

The older kids went to Great America with friends on Friday. I didn't tell them about it until Friday morning, and my son's reaction was, "Are you serious?" Being the smart ass I am, I of course responded, "No, I'm kidding." He looked very confused, so I reassured him that it was true and that he needed to get his stuff together for the day. I kept our youngest and our friends' 17-month-old for the day, which our little one loved.

I took the girls to the Y for my Pilates class, my first exercise since having my foot done. It was so good to do something besides sit around! I had to modify some things, but found I could actually do a lot more than I had expected. I'm dying to do some kind of aerobic workout, but this will have to hold me at least until the stitches come out on Tuesday.

Today we just stayed at home. Mike cleaned out the garage, I cleaned up the garden and the dog run, and the kids and dog ran around like the lunatics they are. We had dinner together - ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, garlic cheese bread - and watched the Giants game (they won!). The night ended with fireworks from Great America.

So it's been a good and busy week. Next week, our older daughter is doing a gymnastics camp and that will be the last camp of the summer. Our son's 8th birthday is Monday and he and his sister are beside themselves excited about it. It should be another fun week!

Hula Hoop

My older daughter learned to hula hoop for the preschool circus this year. She took her job as head hula-hooper very seriously and worked and worked at learning how to keep that hoop going. I finally got her a hula hoop for here at home and she was showing us her skills the other day. This video cracks me up every time I see it.

Waterworld

I took the kids to their first water park today. We have one that is about 20 minutes from our house, but it's in a questionable neighborhood, so I head to the one that's about an hour and a half away when i feel like a day of waterslides. Aside from the bother of driving that far, it's a fun way to spend a hot day.

Our little one was not at all impressed. As soon as I put sunscreen on her, she wiped it in her eyes and spent the whole rest of the day with running, red eyes and a very bad attitude. The only time she was really happy was during lunch and when she finally fell asleep in the parking lot as we headed home. My normally insanely water-loving child wanted nothing to do with the water or the slides, so she spent the day standing in the water in the kiddie areas or sitting in the stroller.

The other two had a great time, though. Our daughter loved the kid areas, with the smaller slides and even got over her disappointment of having to wear a life jacket in the wave pool (anyone under 48 inches tall has to wear one, no matter how well they swim) once she realized how much fun it was to bounce around in the waves. Our son was happy to try out some of the bigger slides on his own. He ended up in the wrong line at one point and went down his first speed slide. He didn't like it - he said it was scary and really hurt - but I was seriously impressed he even tried it. He did love the regular body slides, though, and did then several times.

So even though our little one didn't enjoy herself, it was a good day. The older kids said they definitely wanted to go back again, so we'll have to make another trip up there in the future.

Sick Day

I managed to catch a cold that my husband brought home from a trip to visit his sister and her family. Fever, headache, post-nasal drip, just lovely. The kids, God bless them, let me sleep in this morning and then we just hung out at home for the day. They watched insane amounts of TV and managed to occupy the day without killing each other. The little one took a 4-hour nap and I managed to get through a week's worth of newspapers while drinking copious amount of tea. I did take them to the pool after she woke up, and the sun (it was HOT today) and chlorine seemed to help my head.

Our son has pulled his Sky Coaster set out for the last couple of days and this is his latest creation. It was slightly modified by his little sister when she stepped on it and released his loop to form a corkscrew. He thought it was much better that way and thanked her for her help.

New Friend

On Wednesday, I was filling the bird feeder and as I walked back out of the rosemary bushes, this little grasshopper jumped onto my arm. I carefully carried it back to the kids and my older daughter was instantly in love. She handled this little guy very gently, catching him and scooping him back up several times when he jumped away. She even named him Jumpy. She finally let him go in the plants nearby so he could go on with his day.