They're a lot bigger than they used to be

Happy Father's Day. Drop off a kid!

 

The time had come to drop Liam off for his week at summer camp. We arrived a little too early for check in, so we visited the neighboring park to kill some time before the inevitable trip to the candy store and registration. 

 

Warning: Just because there is a Newfie in the immediate vacinity, DO NOT ASSUME said Newfie is a lifeguard. This one in particular would gladly knock you into the nearest body of water and not necessarily drag you back out.

 

 

Showing off natural monkey skills:

 

Where do you go when a Newfie weighing more than you is tied to you?

 

Wherever the Newfie wants to go!

 

After running off some energy, purchasing candy (credit cards accepted on tabs larger than $10- nooo problem), and checking in, Thing Two was ready to get wet and wild!

 

Still one of my very favoritest places on Earth.

Spring Break 2010

I packed the kids up for Spring Break & headed for my parents' house. We left Tuesday the 6th and stopped at Nana & Pap Pap's on the way there. We met up with uncle Andrew, who helped take off their storm windows, and had Wendy's for lunch =D It was great to visit, and of course the kids helped themselves to the next door neighbors' swingset and sandbox. Good thing they're so much fun! I hope it's not as long between this visit and the next one.

Andrew (Hinrew) came with us to Grandmama & PaPa's house and we all went out to eat. It was kids' night at Ponderosa so there were balloons everywhere, along with someone who was twisting balloon shapes and face painting. Carrie got a Batman logo across her forehead, nose, and cheeks. I do have a picture of that, but it's on my phone... both kids got balloon swords, of course. One yellow, one blue.

We got to my parents' house and set up a playdate with Lisa and her girls, Ivy and Emma. They came over and we big girls had tea while the smaller kids played with all the plastic kitchen toys Grandmama keeps for us. And the Blue's Clues set. And the bazillions of books. Once Emma figured out that her mommy wasn't going anywhere, she was content to watch Liam especially, and played with lots of things. Ivy was a little less social this time, but no less of a joy to spend time with. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures *kicks self*...

We checked out the playground at Alameda park. It was our first time there, and I think it's going to have to become a staple of trips to Grandmama & PaPa's. Again, I didn't take pictures, but it is two separate, huge play structures with a row of picnic tables in between them. The kids got there and kind of froze in their tracks at the size of it. You could see the wheels turning: where do I start? I want to try everything! Bonzai! And off they went to tackle as much as they could at once. We stayed two solid hours and never did get our library trip in. Guess we'll save that for another time!

We had dinner at Eat N Park with uncle Rob & aunt Jana. Rob was sweet and DID take pictures of us pregnant ladies together. Joe got to come goof off with us at the restaurant too... the kids are going to think he's a regular there! It was so much fun to see so many people in only 4 days!

We left to come back home on Friday the 9th, and on the way out we stopped at Mar & Jim's house. They've just put their house on the market, so they were in the middle of the whole cleaning/painting/organizing deal, but they dropped everything to let the kids play the Wii and brandish Alyssa's light saber and feed Blue the Duck his frozen peas. Liam called to Jim, "hey big guy!" and added his request... I forget what it was, but it sure cracked all of us up. The kids didn't want to leave, as usual. Good luck with the house selling, guys!

Dada and Triskal were glad to see us home safe & sound. We had a fantastic time with pretty decent weather and lots of hugs & love. Great Spring Break!

Mishmash

Today was kinda overcast and it turned out to be a great day for playgroup. We went to a playground, (pictures below) and the kids got to run around all morning and not end up overheated. It was a nice change. I think the pictures came out better too. You can decide for yourself.

PaPa got out our Wienermobile placemats while he was here. Tonight Carrie asked if people slept in there and I gave Dino's standard answer: it's not a Wienie-bago. She says, "it's not a wiggy bagel?" So Dino, wherever you are, I tried. I really, really tried. I wish you were here to talk about it with her. She then informed me, "we have one, downstairs. It's squishy!" And she's right. She's talking about the Beanie Baby Weinermobile, also from Dino, that we have in the basement. Wish I knew where I put my Weinerwhistles. And darn it, is it i-e or e-i in weiner? They both look funny! =/

It gets better. PaPa has also taught her that eating crusts give you curly hair. That leads to a lot of musings about Grandmama's squiggly hair, as you can imagine. Tonight while tucking her in, some of my hair escaped from my ponytail and curled around by my ears. She starts to smile and says, " you have a twisty!" I give her a few seconds and sure enough, "you must be eating your crusts!" I said that I sure am. A few more seconds of smiles goes by and she laughs & says, "you're going to look just like Grandmama!" We had a good laugh about that one. I told her how smart she is and that she's probably right...

And Grandmama gets to come play with us tomorrow! We're very excited. I also promised Carrie a haircut in a real haircutting place. She keeps begging me to cut her hair like I buzz Liam and Dada's. So here's hoping that whoever does her can figure out a cute, supershort cut for Care Bear! I'll try to remember to get before and after shots.

Enjoy the pictures and have a great rest of the week!