The vocabulary word of the day is...

...slingshot. Because when Matthew came home from cub camp today with a slingshot (and about ten pounds of dirt) Malia recognized it but had no idea what to call it and dubbed it an "angry birds slapper."

Family Fun On the Cheap

There have been some perks to Kev working at Adobe. One of those perks is that they have purchased passes to the aquarium and Thanksgiving Point. Employees just need to reserve them and then they can get their families into both places at no charge. It is actually pretty darn cool. Kev took this week off and so he reserved both passes and we spent a couple of days playing. We went to the aquarium yesterday and for those of you who haven’t been since they moved to their fancy new building, it is vastly improved. There are a lot more exhibits, the habitats are bigger, and they’ve brought in some new animals. They have tropical birds, otters, and penguins (there is even baby penguins this year). The shark tank is pretty impressive although walking through the underwater tunnel always freaks my eyes out. And it usually costs $90 to get our family in so walking in free of charge pretty much rocked.

Today was Thanksgiving Point. We started at the dinosaur museum. We’ve been there a number of times, but not recently enough that Malia remembers. And Matthew has been introducing her to Dinosaur Train. And she asked me today what can eat a “dinosaur rex.” So it was pretty exciting for her. Another $80 saved. Ka-ching.

(How my kids behave for other people)

(How my kids behave for me)

After lunch we headed to the Museum of Natural Curiosity. I’d never been to this particular museum before so I was pretty excited. Kev and the kids have been because his sister and her hubby work for the architectural firm that designed the place and they had a preview day last year before it opened. They all had a great time but not all the exhibits were finished then so they were pretty excited too. So here’s the scoop: it’s like a super rockin’ children’s museum. It has more stuff than the children’s museum downtown. And it is fun for a larger variety of age groups. So to accommodate all our different kids, we sent Daniel and Nathan to explore on their own, Kevin took Matthew and I shadowed Malia.

Daniel and Nathan spent a good 45 minutes in the section that explores optical illusions.

 Malia loved the part that was like a little city. She was particularly fond of the theater. She spent a good 25 minutes in there. She dressed up, turned on some music and did a little dance for me. Then she added some pieces to her costume and danced again. Of course her dance skills are pretty lacking, but she had fun. (I’ll have to find her some dance lessons once we’re finished paying for preschool.)

Matthew loved the ginormous jungle gym section. I think it is about three stories high. He was crawling in and out of places like a little monkey and ended up climbed all the way to the top.

I think all the kids could have spent more time there than we did. We will definitely make our way back. And if we’re lucky we’ll be able to save another $80. Bonus.

Two day outing total cost: Zero. Zilch. Nada. Gain measured in family time and fun: Loads.

Day Off For the Holiday

We like the 4th of July around here. There are just so many fun things to do that include red, white and blue. This year our holiday was a bit different than usual. We were invited to a shindig my Kevin’s manager so instead of our own evening festivities we partook of food and fun elsewhere. As a result, some of our patriotic traditions were set aside. We didn’t do the tri-colored beverages (which Nathan missed), the red, white and blue dessert (which I was actually okay with as I’ve been feeling pretty crazed of late), and our own little fireworks show with sparklers and poppers (which I actually missed but not until it was too late to do anything about it). We did have a patriotic breakfast and we made some fun flag inspired shirts.

In spite of some of simplifying our day, we still had fun. And I’m already thinking about what kind of shirts to do with the kids next year…

June and July is also parade season which has come to mean marching band season for Daniel. He has marched in six parades in the past month, the last of which was this morning. I think it’s great that he has found something that he enjoys so much.

“Hiking’s not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty.” ― Sonja Yoerg

Kev and I aren’t really big fans of hiking, mainly because I have a tendency to feel crappy in the heat. As a result, our kids don’t have a lot of experience with stuff like that. So when Nathan’s scout troop planned a campout where they had to hike up to the camping spot and pack all their gear in, he really had no idea what he was getting in to. Nevertheless, we helped him gather up everything he would need and sent him on his way yesterday afternoon. When he arrived home around lunch time today, he told us that it didn’t go so well. His troop leader had never hiked that particular location before and while the hike was not long (only about a mile and a half), it was steep. Really steep. Which made things much, much harder. And with his inexperience, it was even harder for Nathan. It took him longer than the other boys to complete the hike and once he got to the top he spent the evening throwing up from heat and exertion. So definitely not his most enjoyable campout.

To his credit, once he got showered, ate something and started to feel better, he was able to laugh about it. I think being able to chuckle at his own crazy life is an awesome skill. And to be able to laugh so soon afterward is pretty amazing. (It always takes me way longer…I’m still not to the point where I can laugh about having the cops show up at our house after Matthew’s birthday party.) I think that it was a valuable experience for him. It allowed him to do something he has never done before, prove to himself that he can complete something hard (in spite of the unpleasant after effects), and learn that even tough things can be managed with laughter. In my opinion, that made it a successful trip for him…and because he was out in the wild no one had to clean up the vomit.

Wet and Wild

After last summer’s water play improvisations, I decided I’d better pick up a kiddie pool for the kiddies. I chose a small one that would fit on our patio since our grass is struggling enough as it is and doesn’t need a pool sitting on it killing it even more. Malia was super excited to fill it up, requested cups and bath toys and jumped right in. Matthew was also pleased with the addition to the yard. When he got home from school and saw Malia basking in the water, he didn’t even bother to come in the house, change his clothes or take off his shoes before he took the plunge. He did take his shoes off eventually, but they were already completely soaked. He and Malia are both happy.

Just Plane Fun

Four years ago Kevin took the boys to see one of only a handful of B-17’s that are still flying. One of those few remaining planes was in our area again this year and they were not about to miss a chance to see it again. Daniel had a parade this morning, so after he was done Kevin took all the kids to see the plane. You might think that Malia would be happier doing something else, but you would be wrong. She is just as into airplanes as the boys. (When the blackhawks from the nearby base fly over our house, she can identify them by the sound.) Really the only difference between her zeal and that of the boys is that they are not inclined to cry when it is time to get out of the airplane. Malia, on the other hand, shed real tears when it was time to climb down.

As for me, I spent a quiet afternoon at home. I went to an airshow once and it was one of only a handful of times that I’ve gotten sunburned. Add to that the rockin’ migraine that accompanies the heat and I’m much happier in my air conditioned abode. And the extra bonus is that it was quiet…which really doesn’t happen all that often.

One Last Round of Birthday Cheer

Because Nathan’s birthday fell in between two of our every other week family dinners, we didn’t celebrate his birthday with my family until today. He opted to stick with the music theme and his cake was the first three notes of the Moonlight Sonata. I probably would have just picked some random notes, but he wanted it to be an actual song. He picked up the piping bag again to do the dots around the bottom of the cake after I did the top at his request. Once again, an easy decorating job. And only two colors of frosting. And only one of those needed to be tinted. And (most importantly) Nathan loved the way it turned out.

He’s Officially a Young Man

Today Nathan was ordained to be a deacon. I'm so proud of him for the good choices he makes. But when did he get old enough for this? When Daniel turned twelve I don't remember looking at him and being surprised by how old he had gotten. But I looked up at Nathan today and I was honestly caught off guard by the fact that he is twelve. The time is passing far too fast.