This Just In...

I was sitting in the library and looked out the window to Cyril sitting on the fence, wearing a life jacket, and holding a rope. Not being able to imagine what he was up to I ran out to ask. He explained the life jacket was connected to the rope so he could slide down it. I thought maybe he wanted to try "fence climbing" and was debating whether or not I should let him try or make him climb down. I figured he's a boy and needs some creatinve outlets for his energy so I told him go a head. But he had to wait until I got the camera. Here he was getting into position and I realized he wanted it to be like those long cables you whiz down. I can't remember what its called but you know that thing you do on the obstacle course in 6th grade camp.
Unfortunately, the rope was a little slack and after awkwardly climbing to the ground he ended up walking across the yard to the big tree where he had tied the other end.
Luckily, we have a bit of slope at that end of the yard so he could finally hang from the rope. He lay there ginnning and calling

"Audrey, come see me. I'm flying."
I guess it was not quite the success he was hoping for because he told me it would work better in the woods. I told him to wait until Papa gets home and they could talk about it.

Our Week-end

We had some very nice weather thur and fri so we took advantage of school still being in session, and had some relaxing trips to the beach. Its hard to chase Pippin, chasing birds, in crowds of people and then we don't have so much competition for the crabs, although, the four kids had competition enough amongst themselves and somebody always came up a crab short. So at least they had something to fight over. Pippin engaged in one of his favorite pasttimes of throwing rocks. Speaking of which, this is a clip on the subject. Boys! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-fB3lsBDx0

Kateri and Pippin did not care about riding home in wet clothes. I took them off before we drove home and their shoes dried in time for our trip back the next day.
Pippins other favorite activit- chasing birds. He's very fast and hard to keep up with on the rocks. The bird was too quick for him and after three sprints he settled for yelling at it.

"BIIIRDIEEE! GO HOME BIRDIE!"

I was surprised that after such a day they still did not settle down for bed until 10:00. Amazingly, Pippin is taking a nap right now, which he doesn't normally do but I am so grateful for. He was pretty much begging for one when he got up. At least his whining was. Poor boy. He is coming down with the lovely summer cold the girls and I are suffering through. I love having a head cold when its sunny and 80 degrees out. Today is cloudy so its ok now. We'll just have a relaxed, Benadryl kind of day. And maybe some tea.

Guess Who Likes Photography?

Yes, Kateri does. I was downloading pictures and it said I had 52 of them. I was surprised until I started looking at them. I thought the pink dress gave it away and she readily admitted to climbing on the cupboard to get the camera. I guess I'll have to hide it in a new spot. Apparently Pippin was not shy about being her model. She did take some fun ones and then some of the wall. the clock. a bucket. Even her nose. the first three are compliments of Kateri.



I took this one. Last week we had some sun and Tirzah and the boys came over. Everyone played well and a lot and Pippin started to fall asleep at the table so I quickly ran him a bath in the kitchen sink. He ate an entire plate of noodles and a chicken leg while he bathed. Then wehn I took him out he spied Kateri's abandoned dinner and nabbed her chicken too. I asked if he was done and he screamed , "Noooooo". He finished it. And later he went to bed in bed and slept well.


Cyril found the earphones to the ipod and Audrey figured out a way to share it. Each of the boys took an earphone and listened to "Frog and Toad" stories while she played game. I was impressed and it worked well until Pippin pulled on his and ripped the wire. I knew it was too good to last.
Yesterday they were much more themselves and fought over who ws going to pull which weed. The weather was not great but I really wanted to start working on the yard. I got them each a little plastic claw to help and of course two of them were already lost so we got to argue about those too. Finally the weeding was so no fun or productive I made them all go up to watch Scooby Doo while I worked out. Which was a first. Usually Shane is prodding me to exercise but I did not know what else to do with my grumpy self. It worked for as long as the show lasted but I'm not sure I wanted to do more anyway. Have you tried prison push-ups? But it helped and got some endorphins going and the only mis-hap after that was when I took the flashlight from Cyril- who was sleeping on the floor next to our bed -while I was trying to get Pippin to hold still and listen to my rendetion of The Three Pigs. I had no place to put it so I dropped it off the side of the bed and it came apart. OK I dropped it sort of forcefully- as they had been chattering and poking eachother for the las 20 min and it was disturbing Pippin who really was tired and just needed to hold still and not be distracted for 3 min and I was a little frustrated. I guess the work out wasn't long enough. It wasn't broken but the kids were shocked nonetheless.
This morning I heard Pippin sobbing upstairs. I ran to see what happened and he cried "Tiri won't let me have the dress"
apparently they were going to play dress up and he wanted the dress she was going to wear. It has a white skirt and a fushia bow and I could see why he wanted it. I finally convinced him to try the lion costume and he was placated until they decided to draw pictures instead.

Dr visit with Papa

Kateri had her appt to get fitted for a hearing aid- she'll actually get in on the 28th-and Shane offered to take her to Children's for her visit. He called on the way home and suggested I bring the kids and meet him at the mall for lunch. So we packed up and waited outside the Nordstrom's Bistro for awhile. Finally, they came up the escalator carrying shopping bags. Shane can't help buying her outifits. She looks so cute in anything, it is very satisfying to dress her up. This time he got her a little brown top and two pair of leggins, a pretty pink dress, and a pair of shoes- not pictured. i haven't washed them yet but of course she wanted to show them all off. I think I should take him shopping for me. I tend to have trouble getting anything for myself.

Bones, Bones, We Dig For Bones.......

Cyril has decided he wants to turn his room into a museum. This was after he bought a t-rex skeleton. He currently has that, lots of shark teeth, some rocks, and some little fossils in his collection. He and Audrey are sure there are dinosaur bones in the woods and convinced Shane to take them on an expedtition to search for them. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, but scientists have to get dirty and Cyril pakced some crackers in his back pack and off they went. It was ver brave of Shane to take them all, especially since he knew it would be muddy and slippery and he would end up carrying at least two of them. Which he did. Cyril was very well preapared and when they came to a steep part had a rope in his pack to tie to a tree so one by one Shane could take them down.
They all came back soaking we but had had a really good time.
Cyril was especially thrilled with the trek. He was soaking from head to foot and smeared with mud and even though they did not find any raptor claws this time, he was sure they were getting closer. He asked if I could call some palentologists to come and help them dig. I said if they found one we could call a museum and see what they would suggest. He was pretty excited about that prospect.
On a much sunnier day, Kateri and Pippin, had their own dig under a fallen tree. I gave them little brushes to sweep the dirt with so as to not damage the bones. Kateri is showing her "dinosaur bone" to Pippin. I should also mention this is the outifit she picked for Liturgy that morning. She likes the sound of the white shoes when she walks but could only find one. And it was too cold to wear just a dress so she Layered it with pants that are too short and a shirt. She got lots of smiles as she walked in. I'm ok wiht letting my kids express themsleves with their clothing. And besides it saves me time.
Audrey explains it was just a peice of rotten wood and Kateri insists its a bone. We'll not be adding it to the "Museum of Natural History" as Cyril had me label his room.

Its been a great outdoor activity for all the kids and I enjoy all their "findings" and they pour over Cyril's dinosaur books so as to be able to recognize the things they find.

Kateri Is Going To Be A Great Mom

So, later today Kateri was feeling down so I reminded her we had some dishes to do. She perked up and helped load them all in. She put soap in the dispenser, closed the door, and turned the dishwasher on. Then she turned around and said,

"WEll, what should we make for dinner?"

I mentioned hashbrowns in the lineup and she went to into the pantry then popped her head out and asked,

"Should we do one, or two potatoes?"

She hauled out two about the size of Idaho, went and got the peeler, which she handed off to me because her arms get tired, and went off to procure the grater and a spatula.

I can't wait until she is 5. Then she can drive, and she can do the Costco shopping.

Kateri Doesn't Take No...

YOu can pretty much insert any word or phrase you want there...for an answer, prisoners, Period, etc. They would all be true.

This morning, as I was cleaning up the kitchen, Kateri asked if she could do the dishes. I had to remind her she is not tall enough- and maybe never will be at the rate she "grows". She asked if she could load them so I rinsed and she loaded. When I started stacking up plates for her on the cupboard she got excited and giggle "thanks". When we were done she wanted to make sure she was not missing anything and insisted I show her the empty sink. I told her there would be more after lunch and she was satisfied.

Then she found the vacuum cleaner at the top of the stairs and declared,

"There are still some dirties on the stairs. Can I vacuum, mom?"

I told her in a minute as I was on the phone and it might be loud so she decided to run a test and turned it on. It wasn't too loud if I went in the other room so she happily vacuumed for 20 min then asked if I could help her carry it down stairs so she could get the rest of the carpets.

I brought it down and she finished the rugs and then asked for the hose so she could get the hardwood floors. It was pretty cute watching her assembling the different hoses and attachments and if she got too far from the outlet she'd stop, un-plug it, and use a closer outlet. she did this several times before she decided she was tired and had had enough for now. I honestly thought she'd never quit. She definitely has sticktoitiveness. Which can be really frustrating if its about which seat she gets to sit in but when it comes to cleaning it can be quite helpful. Luckily she is old enough that it's not just playing with the sink or vacuum cleaner. She actually gets things cleaner.

I took a few deep breaths and decided not to go to the mall today. I did have a valid reason to go back as I need to exchange something but thought it might be better to have a day at home. The weather in nice- meaning its not currently raining- so I told the kids we'd ride bikes out front for awhile. And I think the errand trips are catching up and I feel tired and homey today so here we are. Besides we have dental appts tomorrow morning and next week Kateri is getting fitted for a hearing aid so I thought we should save our resources. We didn't get kicked out of anywhere this week so it seemed a good time to take a break and end on a good note,