Out of the Mouths of Babes--August

8/1--The kids have instituted a new rule for Andrew and me when we are driving in the car with them:  NO dancing in intersections.  I can't believe how hard it is for me to keep that rule!  But I don't blame them for being embarrassed of our dancing.  

8/11--Caroline's random comment at the dinner table tonight, "The castle was allergic to toilets."

8/13--Maybe Brandon has a future in television production.  This month he came up with ideas for two TV shows.  First, we have The Biggest Loser game for the Wii and he was watching me workout one morning and said, "They should make a show called The Biggest Gainer for people who are skinny and want to gain wait.  They could sit around and watch TV and eat potato chips all day."  I told him that would be a great idea for anorexic girls who need to gain wait.

Andrew and I watched Masterchef this summer and would talk about parts of it to the kids.  Brandon came up with the idea for "Cooking with the Stars."  He said they could throw a bunch of celebrities in a room with random ingredients and see what they could come up with.  Fun!

8/16--Brandon was misbehaving and had to spend some time in his room.  He composed "Essay on this stupid day:"  I sit in a dentist chair and get my tooth drilled out and chew on 5 playdough gobs.  Then I make a joke and have to write another essay on it.  Today has really stunk.

8/26--We introduced our children to the music of Weird Al on this summer's road trip CD.  Today, Andrew let them watch the video of "I'm Fat."  The kids LOVED it.  And reenacted it.  Over and over again.

"Who's fat?"

8/30--While I was working out this morning, I was explaining to Caroline the benefits of exercise:
Me:  Did you know that when you work out, you help your body get healthy?
Caroline:  AND stinky!
She's a smart girl.

Random photos for the month:

Caroline licking things

B jumping off things

W jumping off things

C painting things

Look who Whitney ran into at the mall!

First day of school

It was bound to happen eventually.  Summer break has officially ended.  Brandon and Whitney donned their new backpacks and headed off to start another school year.

They were up at the crack of dawn,

got themselves all ready to go,

and were twiddling their thumbs waiting for us.

It was awesome.

We took a big step this year.

Or at least it felt big for me.

We are letting B ride his bike to school.

Thus the helmet in the above photo.

The first day went great!

Brandon started fifth grade.

His last year of elementary school.

He's handsome, even with helmet hair.

Here's what he had to say about his first day:

Best part:  Biking.  Because I love biking.

Worst part:  How suckish the rest of the class is at kick ball.

What he thinks of Ms. Morris:  She's really awesome because she's nicer than my last teacher.

Who he sat with at lunch:  Peyton, Trey, Bryce, Alexander

One thing he hopes will happen in 5th grade:  Do some fun science experiments.

Miss Whitney started second grade.

Her thoughts:

Best part:  Reading for about an hour.  I read five or six books.  But I can't remember their names.

Worst part:  How hot it was outside during recess.

What she thinks of Ms. Boyd:  She's really, really nice.  She let's us talk when we're waiting for the buses.

Who she sat by at lunch:  McKenzie and Amaya

Hope for second grade:  I hope that we do a really, really cool science experiment.

Other random thought:  There are a lot of people that I know at school and  a lot of people that I don't know.

Caroline was a little confused about why she didn't get to start school yet.  She has another week before it's her turn.  It didn't take her long to decide she liked having me to herself, though. 

We read books together, played the piano,

 built cool block towers,

met Andrew for lunch,

and practiced taking pictures of each other.

 She insisted that her toes be included in my photo shoot.

After the smooth start, I'm hopeful that this will be a good year for the kids.  And I'm trying not to be too wistful about the end of a fabulous summer.

Oh, What Do We Do in the Summertime?

It feels like we had two different summers this year.  The first one was spent gallivanting across the country.  And the second half was spent right here at home.  We didn't leave town once.  And we all loved it.  I think the van was happy to get a rest in the garage for a while, too.

But that doesn't mean we didn't have fun.  Oh, no.  We had plenty of that.  Here's how we kept busy.

TENNIS

Nicolle and I played in a doubles league again this summer.

Loved it.

We went 1-5.

But had fun!

And ate lots of consolation gelato after our losses.

PLAYING IN THE BACKYARD

One of the kid's favorite activities:

 having Andrew give them crazy rides in the little tikes car.

It's a risky sport.

Care Bear is a good little bike rider!

FRIENDS

GRASSHOPPERS GAME

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
We had missed the first couple of chances to attend
these free downtown concerts.
Made the August one a priority and it lived up to our expectations.

So fun and relaxing.

BMX'ing

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

FREE STUFF FOR KIDS

 Mr. Nigel concert

A free concert ..in a toy store..with hands on participation?
Sweet!

Shadow Puppet show.
Involved a meatball luchador.
Cracked us up.

Melville Dewey, International Library Hip Hop Superstar
Also hilarious.

 Crafts at the African and Middle Eastern Bazaar

CHUCK E CHEESE'S

SWIMMING
I loving hanging out at the pool more than my kids.
What is wrong with them?
They were stuck going with me several times, though.
Thanks, kids!

B loved the diving boards at Bur-Mil pool.


Weee!

When the Wet n Wild passes went on sale at the end of the season,
I jumped on it.  So I could drag the kids to more the pool more often!
[cue evil laugh]

 Brandon and Whit jumping.

I figured out a trick:
go with friends.
When we run into the kids' friends
(or bring them with us)
they have a blast.

Cora and Whit on a steep slide.

They didn't even scream!

Brave girls.

On days that I don't force them to go to the pool,

they ask to swim in the hot tub.

Crazies.

GARDENING

The one and only zucchini we got.

It made delicious stir fry.

And left us wishing for more.

We got lots of grape tomatoes and just a couple of

these big beauties.  Mmmmm....garden fresh deliciousness.

And now we just have a few days left before school starts!  I will miss the freedom and carefree schedule.  But I suppose I should finish up that Child Development class one of these days.  And it isn't going to happen at the pool.