Sister's Artwork

Sister's recent artwork. She's gotten so good!!!

Hey Papa! Recognize yourself? I think the Hawaiian shirt is a sweet touch. Yes, Papa wears them often. (=

Over 50% of her classmate chose their moms, but Sister picked Papa.

Once again, Mom is completely left out of one of Sister's God Time assignments. Somehow, taking her to mass each week and holy days, praying with her every night and at meals, and teaching at VBS every year does not make me a religious influence on my child at all. Last year I failed to make her four religious influences; they were Daddy, her first grade teacher, the Bible, and television...yes, I lost to television. This year Papa wins. Someday she'll appreciate me, right? (= No, this fabulously realistic artwork will not grace my refrigerator door. Still, I'm impressed by her wonderful artistic ability.
Here is a self portrait of Sister thinking about home. How sweet that she thinks of the boys and I there. At least I finally made one of her school assignments. (=

Apple Festival Time!

On Saturday we all headed down the road
to the local cider mill to enjoy apple fritters and fresh apple cider.

I remember visiting this cider mill with my grandma when I was little. Since Sister was a baby, we've made sure we've never missed an Apple Festival and my annual "apple" photo of each of the kids.
This year there was a really bad event that took place at this place. We debated whether or not we should still go, but decided not to let it ruin our tradition. The dedicated employees made sure that everything was up and running the same as it always was for this last weekend in September.

Fortunately, the kids were completely unaware of what had happened. There were some new activities to enjoy and old favorites.

It was Baby Bear's first time to walk around the barn
visiting all the different animals. They have a pig, ducks, turkeys, cows, chickens, peacocks, and lots and lots of goats.

The kids were thrilled to run through the fence maze (which is the "new" thing because it doesn't hold germs like hay does and isn't easily ruined like a corn one).

They loved pumping the water to race their rubber ducks, though it made me happy to have real plumbing. My dh was in heaven with his apple fritters and fresh hot cider.

After a fun time at the cider mill, we went swimming at the Y. Sister and I had a few swimming races, Brother loved jumping in "To infinity and beyond" and Baby Bear enjoyed splashing and dunking in the warm water. What a wonderful, blessed, and exhausting day of family fun!!!

Cooking Fun With Brother Bear

Big Boy and I made up some pumpkin muffins on Friday afternoon while Baby Bear was napping and before we picked Sister up from school. I'm not normally very good about letting the kids help me cook since I don't really enjoy it and they tend to make a big mess. It surprised me how mature Brother has gotten. He was so calm, and listened really well. Maybe cooking with just one kid at a time is the ticket to success. He did almost everything himself and was so proud of his muffins. When we picked Sister up from school he told her he made muffins with Mommy and she could have one when we got home. What a sweetheart!!!

He has been doing very well at preschool. Surprisingly, he is not one of the louder boys, but he does share at circle time and loves to play with the other kids. His projects are so cute and he's getting much better at writing his name. His preschool teaches them D'Nealian and they write their names with the correct case so it's a bit different than we'd been doing at home (print and all in upper case). Brother isn't big on taking the time to write, but he'll do it for his teacher and seems to be more willing to work on it now at home as well. I've been trying to have a little "homework" time for him when Sister is doing her's each evening. He lasts about 5 minutes of writing practice and then he's done.

An Adventure With My Little Man

On Friday Baby Bear and I went with my moms' group to McLane Creek Nature Walk. I've lived here all my life and I never knew this beautiful place was right off Delphi Road.

The woman who lead our walk even made little booklets up for each of the kids. As we walked through this reserve, we searched for frogs, beaver dams, slugs, and more. The trail went over bridges and down to a little creek. It was certainly a fun time for all the little ones!

It was lovely to spend time just the two of us as Brother and Sister were both in school. Typically, my Little Man spends our field trips in a stroller as Momma is busy trying to chase Brother around. This time I left the stroller in the van and let BB walk around as much as he wanted. I did carry him most of it, but he enjoyed exploring to his heart's content.

These are just a few of the photos from our adventure. He is getting so big!

Aunt Carrianne's Triathlon

The kids and I left bright and early Sunday morning to drive up to Kirkland to cheer Aunt Carrianne on in her first triathlon. This required us to attend mass Saturday evening instead of our typical Sunday morning mass. Fortunately, my dh offered to come along, as the kids are never as easy at evening mass. Actually, I bribed him a bit with dinner at Ruby Tuesday's afterwards. I was reminded why I prefer the morning mass (sorry Papa).

We are so proud of Carrianne! It took a three mile walk to get to the finish line, but the kids were so excited to see her, they didn't complain, too much. Sister made a really neat poster for her. The picture is of Carrianne and her friend after finishing. After, we went back to Don and Donna's house in Ballard for lunch and a lovely time at the beach. Summer sure went out with a BANG of sunshine!

The drive home wasn't too bad. It made me very thankful for HOV lanes and cruise control. The boys both fell asleep before we'd even left Seattle. My dh made us a wonderful dinner. Daddy makes a mean chicken-fried steak!!!

If you're ever going to attend a triathlon with kids, here are a few tips:
1. If you don't get an answer you like, ask a different police officer. They don't seem to all be on the same page and you may luck out and get an answer you like better (such as, "Yes, you can drive both ways on this road." Rather than, "This is as far as you can drive on this road. You'll have to drive all the way around which will take you an hour or you can park here and walk three miles.")

2. Bring a stroller in case you pick the option of walking three miles and remember three miles downhill are three miles uphill on the way back.
3. Even though they are wearing those special bright vests, the event volunteers really don't know what is going one. They all will give you different answers to the same questions.

4. Kids love to watch people running whether they know who they are or not.

5. Food will keep kids happy. Make sure you pack lots of granola bars, gold fish crackers, and apple crisps.
6. Bring a stroller in case you pick the option of walking three miles and remember three miles downhill are three miles uphill on the way back.

Busy Little Bees

Today was a full day. It was Brother's first "real" day of preschool. As expected, he did wonderfully.Baby Bear loves "helping" me clean. He found the broom in the kitchen today and spent hours sweeping my floors. When he'd leave it on the floor and move on to other toys I'd try to put it away, but he'd immediately screech and run for the pantry to get it again.Sister was thrilled that Daddy brought home the final book in the Unfortunate Events series by Limony Snicket. She couldn't put it down all evening and will probably have it completed tomorrow. Hopefully it has a satisfying conclusion since she's been so eager to read it.

Our fence post rotted out for some reason. Actually it is our neighbor's fence, but she's a sweet single lady who is a nurse and basically never home, so my dh offered to fix it as we benefit from it too since it encloses the side of our yard. Brother Bear had so much fun "helping" Daddy. ""If you give a boy a hammer, the world becomes his nail."

My husband is such a romantic. He carved this sweet message in the fence post cap before replacing it. What a darling man!

Sister Loves Science and Spelling

Sister just adores science and spelling in the second grade. Today she brought home meal worms. When she first told me about them last week I feared they might be coming home. Now, I have them in my house. Taunting me. Bugs don't belong in my home.

I used to be a tomboyish kid. I loved dirt, rocks, and sticks. I played for hours climbing trees and splashing through the crick that bordered our property. Somehow, since getting bigger, and more capable of killing bugs, I've acquired a fear of bugs. For the most part I just dislike them. Some, like spiders create heart palpitations and the immediate need to flee. While living in Arizona I came across a cockroach the size of a small rat. I had nightmares for months that they were under my bed and I was in my twenties at the time.

So, you'd think I could handle these ugly little worms. The thing is, they turn into beetles. Beetles are a lot like roaches. Why in the name of all things sweet and lovely would a teacher encourage children to raise these creatures? What happened to raising caterpillars and letting them fly away after they come out of their cocoons? Why do we have to breed and tend beetles? Ugh.

Today Sister said that we have to let them out of their little container to "exercise" each day.I said, "What?" She told me (without kidding), "They have to stretch their little legs Mommy." Seriously? Do they even have legs?

Her class also has a tarantula. Sister's second grade teacher better not think that thing is coming home with each student. This is where I draw the line.

On a more pleasant, but embarrassing note, my second grade daughter has surpassed me in spelling. While most of her class are spelling words like: bake, cake, sale, made, etc. She and another girl had this as her spelling list (mind you they had a short week so she only had three days to learn them...and she did it without a problem):

alphabet
although
alligator
abbreviate
actually
abdomen
academy
astronaut
aquarium
coastline
coachmen
civilization
characteristics
characterize
chemical
dictionary
element
fatal
spelling
wrapper

I actually had to check a few of them in the dictionary to make sure she was spelling them correctly. Yes, I majored in English, but I lived by the dictionary, thesaurus (for when my spelling was so off that I couldn't find it in the dictionary), and the spell check.

Brother Bear Started School

Brother Bear started preschool on Wednesday. Well, at least Wednesday was his first "official" day, but it was really a day for mom and/or Dad to come with their child and walk him/her through all the daily activities. It was also a great chance for the Mommarazzi to get her photos without intruding during classtime. When my dh asked him how his first day went he said, "It was The Bomb." I think Daddy says that too often. (=

Brother Bear is a bit nervous about going without Mom. I know that he'll do great, but he isn't as confident as Sister Bear was back in the day. On her first day she kept telling me, "This is supposed to be my class. Why are you still here?" Instead, Brother kept saying, "Why can't you come with me everyday? I like it when you're here." My sweet boy!

Unfortunately, Friday is is first day to go alone and it is a day off from school for Sister. Brother declared today, "You're going to watch movies and play outside without me. I should stay home." Poor Brother. I'm trying to convince him that it is extra cool that Sister will be able to wish him luck and say goodbye to him at his classroom door just like he does to her every school day. He's not so sure. I'm sure he'll be great though. Miss DeeDee can handle anything!

He was so excited to wear his backpack to class. The night before he checked to make sure it was ready about ten times. Every student MUST have a backpack according to Brother Bear. I learned with Sister Bear, even in preschool a backpack is a useful item since LOTS and LOTS of projects come home every day.

Brother Bear makes his own car for the classroom "train". No color pattern or careful color choices for him. Just get it filled so he can get back to the real trains and play. He did insist on using different colors. The little girl next to him had a design on her wheels and everything.Saying the Pledge of Allegiance (Brother looks so official!)Singing, "In my bible book, God tells me..." during circle time with Miss DeeDee. Miss Dee Dee reads, "The Kissing Hand". It's a sweet story about a little racoon who is scared to leave his mom and go to school. She gives him a kiss in his hand to keep with him all day so that if he misses her he will have it with him. It is so sweet. I hope my little racoon has fun at preschool without me.

Playing Around with Baby Bear

So, Baby Bear is truly mobile. He's even decided walking is a great way to get around, except when Mommy has an annoying camera (photo or video) out. The down side to this new skill is that he can get into a lot more trouble on two feet than on four limbs. He can actually transport things through the house easily, rather than just dragging them and getting tired of it. Thus, no two shoes are ever in the same place, everything on the bottom three shelves of my pantry can often be found in lower cupboards or the living room, and Brother's hanging clothes are fun to pull off their hangers and toss around the bedroom. Yippee for walking!

Please also note that the "toys" you'll see him playing with are not the nice expensive ones we have. Not the colorful, plastic stacking cups, but the cheap plastic party cups from the pantry. Not the wonderful toys with movable legs and fun music, but his shoes. Not the fun play tents that are in the shape of a train and firetruck, but the dog kennel. (Yes, I have had to institute a rule against locking Baby Bear into the kennel as both Sister and Brother think that would be fun.) Maybe Daddy is right and we should give the kids duct tape and cardboard boxes for Christmas.