2011 Week 21

I love that the kids have lots of friends in the neighborhood, most of which feel free to stop by any time they want (the stopping by all the time part is a blessing and a curse). They spend lots of time riding bikes and scooters, playing basketball or baseball, or drawing with sidewalk chalk. But sometimes even though I insist the gang stays outside they find a way around me and end up doing something like this. (sitting on the sidewalk all playing their own DS/handheld video games) I had to laugh a little at their ingenuity. Then I had to grab the camera and snap a pic through the window so I didn't disturb them.

Most noteworthy event this week - our 12th Anniversary!

(the photo is bleck - I wanted a cute one but the timing was wrong as we were in a rush to get out the door and Ty wasn't doing what he was told and Kaitlyn, our photographer kept snapping the photo before we were ready. Maybe next time)

And it was a good one, though I have to say that it was painfully obvious that neither Sam or I cared to put much into it this year. We told each other no gifts (who needs them when we've got all this new stuff for the house and Sam with his motorcycle and...) and didn't get around to buying cards either. We didn't even get a babysitter and go out on a date (partially because we're still not quite familiar enough with anyone to impose our kids on them on a Sunday). But Kaitlyn, our sweet Kaitlyn who loves to celebrate things, woke up that morning and quietly made this picture for us before we even knew she was awake and brought it in to us (as we were still in bed) with a happy smile and a big hug. Great way to start the morning. Sam ran to the store for donuts for breakfast.

Kaitlyn really wanted to go to a park this weekend so we took the kids down to the base and found one we hadn't tried yet. It had this really pretty little lake and multiple little playgrounds, plus the big playground with some really unique things like a music section with all sizes of drums and xylophone-type stuff. The kids thought it was great that the geese left the lake and almost walked right up to us.

But the day was hot hot hot so we were happy to hop back in the car after a shorter than usual time at the park and go to an early lunch at Olive Garden. We had warned/threatened/cajoled the kids beforehand that no matter where we ate for lunch they had to not complain and if they didn't want anything it served then we would feed them something else later. We also told them that they were sitting together so Sam and I could sit next to each other for a change. And surprise, surprise - it worked! Not only were the kids well behaved, but they split an order of spaghetti (with the sauce on the side for Kate) and gobbled it up. Kaitlyn said we could now add it to her list of places she likes to eat because she hadn't realized the bread sticks there were so good :) So we were pretty happy about that whole experience.

We did some quick shopping then finished up our outing with ice cream from Cold Stone.

Ok so if our house wasn't the "fun" house of the neighborhood before (though I kinda think it might be as we get plenty of visitors), it is now. The kids were outside yesterday and caught a frog under our deck. They excitedly showed it to me, then after I convinced them that the poor thing needed to just sit down somewhere and not have them holding and bouncing it around, they set to work to build a "frog obstacle course" in the sandbox. Kaitlyn drew up plans and everything. They had a blast and really worked well together. I even overheard one of them say she was going to have her mom build her a sandbox at her house because it was so much fun. It entertained them for pretty much the entire evening.
When it was time to clean up and send everyone home, they did dump the frog into the trenches they had dug to see what he would do. And I was happy to see he obliged the kids and actually did hop down most of the track and back again without hopping out of the sandbox. I thought I had them convinced that we were letting him go after that but before I knew it the neighbor boy took off with him so I shook my head and figured it was his mom's problem now :)

Kaitlyn is supposed to make sure she gets her bug box back though - that thing comes in handy more often than you'd think. Like if she actually convinces to find a hermit crab at the beach, as she's been convinced she will do next time we go. She's talked about it nearly every day this week. They've been studying the ocean, fish, etc at school and she loves everything about it. She even sent me to the library with a list so I would be sure to find her enough books about crabs and the ocean so she could learn more.

Funny, it seems there's a lot about Kate this time around. In reality Tyler is more visible and spends much more time with me (how could he not with Kate in school and Sam at work?). Maybe the photos will show it next week.

Have I mentioned that's it's been HOT? That deserves to be noted, as having a full week of temps in the mid 90s (97 at 4 PM on Wed - eek!) as early as this in the year is really something we're not used to. I think they had a snowstorm in Utah last week. So it seems pretty strange to us, though not unusual for the area. I'm wondering how we're going to manage it when it gets REALLY nasty with the heat and humidity in July and August. Run screaming back to Utah maybe...? (actually we will, though not screaming as we go. We bought our airplane tickets this week for a nice long visit home this summer. They also broke ground for the neighborhood pool this week - wooohooo!)