Goodbye, Summer!

Enjoying Pop-tarts on the balcony at the beach


I asked the kiddos last night about their favorite summer memory. Both of them said that "the beach" was their favorite. I think it may have been the Pop-tarts every morning for breakfast that sealed the deal since those only show up in our pantry on occasion. Rush also said that he liked going to the McWane Center the same as the beach. We are saying goodbye to summer today because I am returning to work tomorrow. Summer has gone by rather quickly, but I can say without hesitation that we have really enjoyed ourselves this year.

This year has been a BIG ONE at the pool because both kids have learned to swim without the help of any kind of float. We started the summer firmly in their Puddle Jumpers. Now, they don't really need those at all. I had enough confidence to let them both take off their floats at the same time today when we were there. They did such a great job! I am proud of them.

We have had lots of fun times with family and friends, and I am glad that I have the opportunity to be at home with them for a few months every year. I am going to really miss our early morning snuggle time and days that were free to be planned as we pleased... or not planned at all.


And guess what else they started doing this week? Sleeping late...

Just in time for me to have to start WAKING them at 6:20 every morning. :-)

If it's Captain Hook? Forget it.

Frannie had a really bad dream the other night, and she is having some trouble moving on from it. There was a dancing snail beside her bed. Mar (her favorite doll) turned blue. There was a scary hot dog. You get the drift. This was on Monday night, and she talked about it all day on Tuesday. It may have been her first "scary" dream that she can remember because she has never really mentioned dreams before. She mentioned for the next couple of nights that she was scared.

Rush was so sweet to her. I am going to try to type it in his four year old speech so you can "hear" how cute he sounded saying it. He still doesn't say his "r's" or "l's", but we are all used it and can usually understand him.

SF: I am going to be scared when I go to sleep tonight. I will have another bad dream. That snail was dancing by my bed, but it was not a nice snail. I will be scared. I will be scared. Mama, I will be scared and I don't want to be scared. It will be dark and I will be scared. (Insert more ongoing dramatic "I'm scared" speech here...)

Rush: Teeta, you do not need to be scared. If you get scared, I will come into your woom (room). I will get you and you can come into my woom wif me. You can sweep (sleep) in my woom wif me. So you will not be scared.

I was thinking to myself... Awwwwwww!!!! That is the sweetest thing ever. I told Rush he was a good and sweet brother to her. We talked about how sweet and brave that is of him to want to protect her. Then, I reassured Fran that she would be fine. Think happy thoughts before you go to sleep to help you have good dreams, etc.

Then, Phil went in to say goodnight to them both. They were each in their own rooms at this point. Rush then told Phil the exact same thing from above. With only a slight addition. Apparently, he had been thinking about being such a great brother and all the bravery that required on his part. He told Phil that he would take care of her if she got scared and that she could come into his room if she was scared.

Then, he stuck his little finger into the air and said, "Unwess she dweams about Captain Hook. Den, I can not help her. I am afwaid of him, too."

(Unless she dreams about Captain Hook. Then, I can not help her. I am afraid of him, too.... Just in case you don't do preschool-speak.)

We laughed. I had to write this one down. I didn't want to forget it.

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Beach Trip 2012

We just got back from a fantastic beach trip!! It was full of sun, fun, sand, and good food. Oh and sand... did I mention sand? I am a girl who loves the beach. I would sit out there from sunrise to sunset and then a little beyond if I could. But my 37 year old skin begs me to do otherwise.

The kids really enjoyed the beach this time. They both loved the water and played in the waves. Phil bought a boat/float and took the kids out into the ocean in that. I was glad we brought their floats because a wave knocked them both out of the boat at one point. The waves were pretty rough on the first day. So rough that the plug came out of the end of the float. Phil walked back across the street and explained that the float didn't even survive the day. They (somewhat begrudgingly) gave him another one. We needed one for day 2!

About to head out for a boat trip with their Daddy

Did I go out for these little excursions in the boat float? I tried. Twice. The seaweed was at high level while were there. Like the big, weedy, scruffy kind... It made it difficult for me to enjoy myself in the water. It might have been seaweed brushing against my leg, but it could also have been a shark. So that was that.

We built some sandcastles and played, but the most fun we had in the sand was one cloudy afternoon after everyone deserted the beach. Some teenagers next to us spent most of the day digging a HUGE hole on the beach. It also had a "door" that you could crawl through to enter the hole. Rush thought it was the coolest thing! He spent quite a bit of time playing in it while Phil and Frannie searched for shells.

We also got to eat lots of good seafood, and I got to spend my birthday at the beach. I got to eat one of my top all time favorite dishes on that night. Grits a Ya Ya at Great Southern in Seaside!! It is hard to top!

This was the first time a beach trip was "easy" (so to speak). It is still a lot of work to have two little people at the beach, but the kids are easier because they don't need special beds, cups, swim diapers, etc. Now, keeping the condo sand free? That was a futile effort. I feel like we were all sandy pretty much the whole time were there. It took some getting used to, but I finally decided to let it go and just embrace the "beachiness".

Enjoy the picture overload...

Art Class

The kids spent the last week taking an art class every morning. I think they enjoyed it. Although you wouldn't be able to tell that from the pictures that I took. I forgot my camera that morning (grrrr... had it all charged and ready). So, the alternative was to use the camera on my phone..not great. It didn't matter, though, the kids would barely look at me and no one cracked a smile. On the last day of the class, parents were invited to attend the "art show" to see what they had done during the week. Their art teacher is also known locally for painting kids' faces in a very creative way. I was pretty sure that Frannie would refuse to have hers painted, but Rush came out with a bare face as well. You can imagine my surprise when my two walked out with the group, and they were the only kids without their faces painted. Oh well! Fran finally unloaded the truth later in the day. She said she knew I would have to wash her face like I do when she has sunscreen on it, and to quote her, "I hate that!" Ok then. That's some deep thinking about face paint, kid. I think she kinda convinced Rush he shouldn't get his painted either because he could never give me a reason he didn't want it painted. When I told Phil they were the only two without their faces painted, he died laughing. He then said they probably get that trait from him. He wouldn't have wanted his painted either. :-)

Despite their smileless and paintless art show, I honestly do think they enjoyed the week. They both talked about it every day and made some new friends. I got a few pictures when we got home of some of their art work. In addition to the handprints and butterflies, they also made clay snakes, tissue paper and water color flowers, and bugs made out of their names. Enjoy the fake smiles.

We are heading to the beach soon, so hopefully that will generate some smiles that are a bit more genuine. :-)

McWane Science Center

Mama, the kids, and I drove up to see Ivy, Tony, and Kate for a few days this week. I had been wanting to take my two to the McWane Science Center for a while, and we decided to do that on this trip. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, although I think it would be perfect for a nine or ten year old. There were things that were very appropriate for young children, but in my opinion, to really take in everything, they need to be able to read pretty well. It was also difficult for Ivy and me to move past the fact that this place is basically like one giant doctor's office full of PUBLIC TOYS. If you are a long time reader, you know that I don't enjoy public places that are intended for children to share toys. I know... I chose to go to a children's museum. Obviously, there would be other children there. I think I just expected it to be a little cleaner. It was kinda dirty. And when we went to eat lunch? We basically had to scrub down a dirty table with baby wipes just to be able to avoid someone else's stickiness. We all thought they should have used some of their volunteers to help keep the place spruced up a little. I just kept feeling like I wanted to wipe the kids hands off with an antibacterial wipe. Thankfully, they had hand sanitizer dispensers here and there, so we were able to do a little disinfecting along the way. Yes, I am a little nutty.

There was one little section that was just for little ones. It had a "Burger King play area" type place. The kids loved that. There was also a large water table. Rush liked Water World the best. There were all kinds of fish, turtles, and even a shark. He had an opportunity to touch the shark, but I couldn't ever convince him to try it. He thought about it several times, but finally decided against it. Maybe next time. There was also a big Dora and Diego exhibit. I never really understood what it had to do with science, but there were some fun things there for the kids to do. They did GREAT!!

Get ready... I took lots of pictures!

This picture is the perfect one to show how Rush felt about having his picture taken on this excursion. There was WAY too much to look at in every direction. He wasn't interested in looking at the camera at all. So, he is basically indulging me in every picture before he runs off to the next thing.

Rush driving a rocket

In a tunnel

Fran in the driver's seat

Kate's turn to drive

Kate LOVED the water table. What is it about water, buckets, and kids that just seems to be such a great fit?

I tried to make a giant bubble around our little group, but it was low on bubbles and a little hard to get it going.

Standing by one of the many aquariums in Water World

Ivy and I have laughed at this picture. We were trying to get different combinations of kids in each picture. Ivy had zoomed in to get my two kids with me in a picture, but Kate didn't realize that. She was sitting off to the side with her cute little self.. just smiling and saying "CHEESE"!! We had to get one of her in there, too. She is such a cutie!

Playing on the giant piano

Remember Lite Brite? This was a giant one.

Fourth of July

We had a low key Fourth of July yesterday, and it was really nice! Phil and I took the kids to the neighborhood pool in the afternoon. Then, we had a great dinner at home with Uncle Chris. After that, we headed to our town's fireworks show. It was a fun day!

Fun at the Pond

Last week, we went with my friend Amy and her sweet daughter, Rachel, to the pond that is at the industrial park across from our house. Sounds like a weird place for a pond, I know, but it is actually a really nice pond with a sidewalk trail all the way around the edge. There is a dock you can walk out on and use to see lots of pond life. It is FULL of turtles, ducks, and fish!! We saw a GIANT catfish! GIANT! Kind of scary looking, in fact. He made all of the ducks swim away. We had a great time with only a coule of minor mishaps. I had been saving old bread to take with us to feed the ducks and fish. Let me just say that the ducks that live at this pond rely heavily on the crumbs that come from visitors. As soon as we arrived, they started walking/swimming our way. Word spread around the pond quickly. If you haven't ever fed a tame duck, you should know that they expect you to get those crumbs out there ASAP. If you don't, they will take it right out of your hand. Rush and Frannie learned this really quickly. There was a freak out when the ducks' bills were touching their hands, but we recovered... for the most part. Rachel was very comfortable with the ducks because she had been there before. She was a good example for the twins. Both kids got pecked at by the ducks.

After feeding all of the animals, we went over to the sidewalk trail and found a shady spot to ride bikes, tricycles, etc. Amy brought along another little riding toy that you have to move with your feet and legs. It swerves back and forth as you move it. It is a little hard to explain. It reminded me of these turtle things we used to use at the skate center when we were little. While both of my kiddos tried it out, they weren't strong enough or don't yet have the motor skills necessary to make it work. Frannie was the last to try it out. I thought she was done with it and was just sitting there. I turned my back to help Rush on the tricycle. All of a sudden, I hear Amy yell from down the sidewalk a little... "WATERRRRRR!!!!!" We both took off running as we watched Frantastic sail down a hill toward the pond. I think she was so stunned, she couldn't even think to put down her feet to stop herself. She just whizzed right on down. We got there just as she slipped into the edge. Her whole bottom half was wet, but we saved her before she went all the way in. What a mess! We laughed... Frannie not so much. She kept saying, "But I didn't want to go in that water! Why did I go in? I didn't want to!" You should have heard the dramatic retelling for her Daddy at dinner that night. Oh, she is quite the actress.

There are no pictures as evidence because it was 140 degrees outside, and all of the kids were saying they were itching. It was time to go home. I forgot I had my camera in my pocket. I am a little sad about that now.

All in all, it was fun, and I think the kids must have enjoyed it, too, because they have been asking to go back again. Maybe when it cools down to 98 degrees, we can go back. :-)