Little House, next generation

We have season tickets to Starlight, which is so great for the whole family. This is our 3rd year of having tickets in one form or another. I was excited about the first show of the season, Little House on the Prairie: The Musical, because I am such a huge fan of the TV show and I knew the kids would love it.

We really lucked out because they had some special cultural education activities prior to the show for kids to get a glimpse of prairie life. They had square dancers and crafts and fun games, and we were a little early so we got to enjoy it all. I took some pictures with  my phone-- not great, quality-wise, but you can see that they were having a great time. They enjoyed the show too (though I thought it was strange to watch Laura (Melissa Gilbert) play Ma).

Kate loved washing the towels. She wanted to wait and do it again, but I assured her I had plenty of laundry for her to try at home.

We waited in line to have Kate's hair braided like a prairie girl. I could have done this at home, but she'd never sit long enough for me to do it! Looked cute though! And she's showing off her corn-husk doll, which I subsequently lost. Bad mom.

Sam and Stuart learned how to play a game with sticks and a hoop called "Graces." They didn't know why it was called that, but my guess is so that they could play it during Sunday School.

Drama

One more thing about yesterday...

Bill and Janet and I were sitting at Chik-fil-a (off-site Wednesday dinner spot for NRBC), when Kate came up to us and stood at the edge of the table. She said, rather breathlessly, "Guys! I've got to tell you something. Something bad has happened. Very bad." If you could see her hands waiving and explaining the severity of the situation-- well, you'd probably be safe to picture me saying it and that would be about the same.

I looked around and noticed no dangling limbs, nor crying, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. "What?" we all responded.

"Blood. Lots of it!" said Kate with big blue eyes communicating the seriousness (or serious ickyness) of the situation.

"Where?" Again, nothing seemed to be terribly wrong, as signaled by my need to ask what exactly was bleeding (or who).

"Right here." She points to her pinky toe, which had a cut previously that has broken open and also seems to have a teeny tiny split toenail. If I could explain how small her toenails were, especially that one, I would try, but there is really nothing small enough to compare it to. Maybe a single sequin? Is sequin even the right singular form of sequins? Who knows.

We got her seated, and I went out to the car to get my handy-dandy first aid kit. We applied the band-aid and she survived until this morning, so I think we're in the clear.

Love

I picked up the kids from musical practice last night, having had a full hour to myself to decompress from our sick day. As I was buckling Kate into her seat, I said, "Yes, you can watch  movies, but first you have to take off your headphones because I have something very important to tell you."

"Yeah, Mom. We already know. You love us." Sam said and rolled his eyes. I don't know what hurt more, that he was right about what I wanted to say (which is a little funny, really), or that he so callously rejected my expression of love. Ugh. Attitude.

Summer of (less) fun, week 4

Wednesday is a big day at our house. It's Summer of Fun day, of course. Up we were at dark-thirty, ready to head to swimming, when out comes Kate all feverish. Darn. Then Sam's in tears because we're going to miss Summer of Fun. "Let's wait and see how we are after swim team," was my response.

In the car. On the way to swim team, Sam says, "My ear hurts, Mom." Okay, we'll just take the whole family to urgent care hours after swim team.

Back in the car. Leaving the pediatrician's office (newly remodeled. Oooh.) Sam has the start of swimmer's ear. Kate has an ear infection. Off to Target for meds. Only they're out of Sam's Rx. Big run on swimmer's ear Tuesday. Two trips to Target for me.

We were all in need of a lazy day at home, though, so that was good for everyone. And it was one of our few no-RSVP Summer activities, so no harm, no foul. We made it out for dinner and church musical rehearsal last night, and are back on our feet today. Whew.

BMB: Clueless and Loving It

For those who don't know me, I am a little bit competitive. Okay, maybe more than a little. When Sam first started sports, I watch with intensity, waiting for the day when I can teach him to trash talk (in a good, Christian way). Sam, it seems, did not inherit this trait. In fact, he really doesn't like to compete against anyone, because he considers everyone a friend. Nice, but not very competitive.

To top that off, his sport of skill seems to be swimming. He's fine with racing against the clock instead of racing against other kids. He loves it.

Fortunately for him, and for me, he's selected a sport I know little-to-nothing about. Yes, I took my first camera to a swim meet for its maiden voyage. Yes, I knew kids on the swim team, and even wanted to be on the swim team at one point in high school. But really, I know nothing about it. Everything is new. The timing of the meets (early), the pace of the events (fast), the requirements for team pictures (the uniform-- you would have thought I'd have grasped that one). So, though I want him to do well, and I want him to win, I really have no idea how to help him do it. I don't know any tricks or tips for swimming. When he bats, I can tell him to watch the ball or swing level. When he dribbles, I can tell him to think about a string tying his hand to the ball like a yo-yo. But with swimming, I've got nothing. Hold your breath? Reach? At least hit the wall.

My desire for him to succeed is no less, but my need to interfere is eliminated by my lack of knowledge. And really, that's good for both of us, because my intensity doesn't drive him from something he genuinely likes to do.

Don't worry about me. I'm a fast learner. By the time Kate starts swim team, I'll be full of suggestions.

Oops. Sunburns.

I took the kids to Oceans of Fun Friday. We have passes and often meet friends there, but this was the first time I'd taken them this year. First, Sam had his first Mock Swim Meet, so we sunscreened up at about 6 am and headed out. First mistake.

So, we had a great time at OOF. Sam survived the baby pool and then we ventured out to the Bucket and the wave pool. Kate didn't want to get too far from me in the waves, but otherwise was fearless. We stopped for lunch and re-application, though I did a quick spray of the sunscreen and Sam headed back in. Mistake two. We really protected his eyes, and that worked out fine. We just played and played and had so much fun. It's so great having two "big kids."

While we were in Coconut Cove, I noticed Sam was getting pink. Time to go home. He said, "It's my fault mom. I should have told you when I was getting burned." Yes, that would have been good, but I reassured him that Mommy was the one to blame.

They were pretty sore on Saturday, so we stayed in and nursed the wounds. I assured Sam that he would not scar, or blister, just be sore for a couple of days. By Sunday night, they were playing in the pool like a couple of crazies, never a complaint, at least until we got home.

I'll have to do better. I really thought they were faring well this year, because Sam hadn't come home from his day camp burned yet. Dad's in charge of this week's trip, so we'll see if he fares better. (They'll probably stop hourly for reapplication. Fun.

ISF Summer Classic: Crown Center

When I started planning this year's Summer of Fun calendar, I nearly eliminated the tour of Chip's Chocolate Factory. For one thing, we've done it every year since we started. Plus, it's downtown, and not everyone likes to drive down there. Alas, I mentioned to Sam that it was going to be left off, and he staged a major protest. Thus, back to the Chocolate Factory we go.

Thank goodness they've added to the size of Fritz's train restaurant, because it's a lot easier for us to get in, and we had a LOT of friends this time around. We had 20 reservations for the chocolate tour, and that's kids only. We were a big group-- nearly 30. The kids had a great time, and Sam even showed signs of remembering the jokes (many not so funny) from last year. When we got there, he declared that he "had his lick-er license," which has been referenced during the presentation every year. Some things never change...

Afterwards, we went to the free Clifford exhibit and the kids had a great time playing there too. I think mostly the mommies were tired at the end of the day!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

Took a little trip with the kids to visit some friends of ours that live overseas most of the time. They are back in the States for a few months, so we went down for a quick, one-day visit to Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Wow, a lot of orange down there.)

Our friends, Jeremy and Kathy, have 3 boys and a girl (we hope) on the way next month. They were gracious enough to let us crash with them overnight, and the kids had a great time playing. Both of the big boys bonded over their love for Jump Start World, an online learning game. Kate held her own as the only girl. They played in a sprinkler outside, and we all went to Eskimo Joe's (where else?) for dinner. Sam declared it his best burger ever. We left early the next morning for our trip back to KC, but it was well worth the 10 or so hours on the road for the kids to get to meet for the first time. Sam and J are already planning to email about game strategy in the future. Watch for their JSW for Kindergarteners blog (excuse me, first graders) to come out any day now.

I only took two pictures (bad mom!). Yes, they are still and in the same place, but no, they aren't paying any attention to me at all. Here they are watching Veggie Tales (and hopefully winding down for bed).

The Summer of Fun has begun!

Wow, are we busy this summer. I don't start out with those intentions, but we sure are experiencing some great and fun things this summer! Sam's doing swim team for the first time, plus baseball (please end soon, June!), plus the church musical (if we can ever get to practice), plus the INCREDIBLE SUMMER of FUN!!!

So far, we've done two official ISF events-- last week we went to the zoo and this week we went to Coco Key. We had a perfect day at the zoo. It rained in the morning, but cleared off before we went, so it was at least cool before noon. We saw lots of busy animals, some doing things I really shouldn't mention here, but let's just say that we learned a lot from the monkeys this year. Coco Key was also fun. It's hard to stay together too much there, but it wasn't too crowded and the kids (even the scared ones) had a great time. Picture time!

ZOO 2010

Kate rides the carousel

The girls

The Whole Crew Waiting for the Tram

Note the mac-daddy move Sam's putting on his friend...

Have you ever seen more adoration?

Our first camel ride. Bumpy, they report.

Coco Key Water Resort

Water slides!

Sam and friends experiment with water (you can imagine what they think this looks like...)

Kate showing off her back float: Look, dad! I've got it!