I hate getting behind on the blog because I know I forget so many little details of what we do... The biggest problem lately has been losing our camera. Though I had one to borrow, it just wasn't the same (or very good). I'm happy to say we now have a new camera and I am excited to actually use it. And yes. We once again got the kind that can be dropped, submerged, coated in dirt, etc. No other camera can stand up to our family.
And now to recap.... Last Wednesday was our big trip with the Burns family to Seattle for the Wiggles concert. It was an evening concert, so we headed over after naps to dink around by Pike Place and Westlake. The ferry ride was fairly uneventful except for the 12 trips to the bathroom and the giant mess we made from juice and granola bars.
These kids (except Kenzie who got to ride in the stroller) walked all the way to Paramount Theatre (with stops on the way) with very minimal whining. That's a long way. And a lot of hills. Thoroughly impressed with our kiddos.
We made stops at a mini donut food truck (chocolate sauce and sprinkles!!!), Starbucks to clean up and for my caffeine fix, and Westlake food court for some dinner. The only panicky moment was when Ethan insisted on going into the SB bathroom by himself and could not get the door unlocked to get out. The line was getting longer by the minutes - increasingly impatient people waiting to get in, and he's yellling "I can't do it!" When I realized he was just turning it the wrong direction, we did get him out, but we certainly made a spectacle in the meantime.
Remembering that I was still using a cruddy camera that could not take inside pictures well at all, I have none that truly capture the excitement of the concert.... It was really well done and even fun for those of us not in the toddler age group...
There was lots of clapping and singing along - and the kids were truly transfixed.
Lucas, of course, spent the first 20 minutes just watching and then decided to join in the fun. Though I could not figure out how this dance move was connected to what the song was saying to do. But in his mind it did, cause he just kept doing it.
However, Lucas' favorite part of the whole entire adventure was taking the "
City Bus!!!!!" All throughout the day he was obsessed and when the time finally came, he was thrilled. We bussed all the way back to the ferry. It was easy except when the bus driver insisted that we get off one stop before where we thought because it would be "better for us". It was not. It was just one block away - the next stop was right there.... Not sure if we were just driving him nuts or what.
The kids were all really tired on the ferry ride home. Luckily we met up with Brian and utilized his computer to watch a movie. We were all tired.
The next day we just had T-Ball, which I figured we could handle, though Ethan was still pretty tired. I dropped him off, headed to Zumba, and then came back at the end. He was hiding in a corner, refusing to come or to talk to any of the teachers. I asked if he had been in trouble and the teacher's quote was,
"It was a rough day for everybody." I finally went in and he still wouldn't talk. I brought him out and found a quiet place to talk and all I could get out of him was that the teachers thought he did something that he didn't do. He was ticked. So I had him go through what happened (just too much rough-housing I think) and he talked about how these other kids (it's always the other kids.....) were poking and pushing and THEN....
"THEY TOLD ME TO SEPARATE!!!" After explaining that this was just to keep him from getting in trouble I realized he really didn't understand what that meant. His synonym of choice
to split had a lot of other connotations that were making him feel like big trouble....
So me being the genius that I am (not)... I promise him that we can go school supply shopping after dinner. Brian happened to be home early, so it would work out. Funny thing was, he did fine. Lucas was a terror. He kept throwing random things into the cart and screamed the entire way through self-checkout. We were that family.
And then there was Saturday.... After a morning of cleaning out the boys' rooms/clothes and organizing what we could, we headed out to the Poulsbo Street Dance to meet up with Nadia and fam. The afternoon was filled with family fun - the hit for these kids being the balloon animals. All three interacted with a clown in order to get them - that's big!
Of course the boys have never been more thrilled. Swords and belts!
Which of course led to to sword fights.
Next stop was eating some pizza on the waterfront. Hard to do when you're decked out for battle, it's true.
The kids were all invited up in the gazebo for some dancin' fun with a live band (and cheerleaders!). Ethan and Nadia jumped right in. Lucas took his time, but by the end was dancin' right along. I loved the progression - he just couldn't help himself. He stood completely stilll, but after awhile the music overtook his body - feet, hands, head, hips.... cracked me up.
This led to a conga line through the center of town to the other stage that was set up for the later bands. Too cool! While we waited for the next performance, we headed for ice cream at Mora. This is where Nadia instructed us that to get rid of an ice cream headache, you pinch your lip. This is also where she informed us that
"Daddies don't know anything."
And then? More dancing. This time Ethan took the spotlight - he was totally grooving to the music. I have never seen him let loose quite like this and so wish I had some pictures right now. I kept meaning to steal some from my mom, but it didn't happen and I've put off posting for too long. There is a youtube video that includes his dancing. Cracked me up. He was a star. I think the crazy thing was he really does have rhythm and a sense of dynamic and tempo that he was showing in his moves. He also has a sense of humor and has probably watched too much zumba! I'm not sure I have laughed that hard in a very long time.
This week was back to work (just for meetings for a committee I'm a part of) for me while the boys went to VBS with their babysitter. Who they liked more than me. As evidenced by Lucas' disappointment in my homecoming each day.
Tuesday night was a pool party for church at my old neighborhood pool! It was surreal being back at the place I spent most of my summers. The boys loved the pool but were freezing cold before too long. I could not get them to stop shivering. There's just no meat on those bones. Lucas thouroughly enjoyed the
beatmalls (meatballs) and Ethan ate an entire fried chicken breast.
As for all our regular weekly happenings... Ethan's done great in swimming (though Upa was the one to take him this week, so I'm just going on his reports) and t-ball was much better. Ice skating was awesome last night - he was really trying to glide and turn as opposed to the march step that he has held vehemently to. Lucas has done awesome in his swim class - even though there is a new teacher. I think he likes her more... He even let her take him under water to swim across the bottom with her. He loved it. Apparently cutesy songs are not as important to Lucas as they are to me.
If you've made it this long through this post, you deserve some type of award - so here is Ethan's story from the car yesterday. He was pretending to type it on his little computer....
Hello girl.
I like you.
Will you go with me?
We could get married.
I hope you don't die.
I love you.
The end.
And now I catch up on the rest of life. Or try to anyway. I'm past the point of thinking that it is actually possible, but I'm all for trying.
Your brother had a hard time not being the center of it all, but he did step back and let you be the star. He's very proud of you too. You've become his favorite playmate.
I know how you love to customize things, and how you love all different kinds of cereal (you are always throwing random boxes into the cart at the store), so we made individualized cereal boxes, mixing some of your favorite kinds together.
The boxes turned out great - lots of Thomas stickers and markers.
Your friend Nadia was so excited because "My Mommy never lets me eat these!"
Once done, you all enjoyed snacking on your cereal and were very proud of your creations.
You were finally old enough to really understand the whole presents thing and to deal with everyone watching you. You were a pro at unwrapping and your thank yous were precious. You are a very grateful little boy. I love that about you.
You had a bit of help from Ethan and Nadia. They weren't sure you knew what to do - were ready to step up and help, but you did just fine.
You looked straight into my eyes while we sang to you - as if you couldn't believe this was all just for you. The smile was huge and completely melted. me. You even blew out your candle all by yourself.
You got to ride the trains twice. Oh how you love those trains.
You loved sharing your favorite adventure with your friends.
I'm not sure the day could have been any more perfect for you, my big 3 year old!
I love you Lucas Scott Sprague!
