Oh, to be Young Again

Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday Dear me,

Happy Birthday to me.


I wish I were a little bit younger,
as in 30 or 28 years younger,
or even 4 years younger and celebrating at Myrtle Beach again,
but not 22 years younger.
I can do without repeating those awkward years.

EC 2011: The Car Seat Shuffle? Just Dance!

July 20, 2011

As a parent, I've learned that something as simple as leaving the house to run an errand is a bit more complicated with children. Even on the best of days, there's never such a thing as just running out the door. When you are traveling out-of-state, using other people's cars, shuffling carseats in the 110 degree heat only to realize you only brought one of two locking clips to properly secure said carseats into the 1980s vehicle. . . Well, you begin to wonder if it's even worth trying to leave the house that day.

On Wednesday, we had the chance to spend some time with Jess' baby nephew Zach. He is adorable, and my girls loved having a smaller child to pay attention to. However, having three children in our possession required three backseat spaces in the car, and Jess' only had two. So we figured we'd do a car swap. Simple enough, right? After I unsuccessfully tried to shuffle and re-secure carseats for an hour, Jess' sister Tammy came to our rescue and signed on as our second chauffeur for the day. Problem solved!

We first stopped off at Foster's Market to pick up some yummy sandwiches for lunch. Then we drove over to Grandma Nancy's work (Jess' mom's) and invaded their staff room. I'm glad we got to spend a little more time with her-- and help show off her new grandson too. While at her office, my girls provided the entertainment. Ally danced around and told stories. Cora asked to go to the potty, and proceeded to sing and chat while she pooped. I'm sure the people in the waiting room could hear everything, and they were probably rolling on the floor with laughter on the other side of the door.

After lunch, Tammy graciously volunteered to be our babysitter so Jess and I could do a little shopping. We dropped her and the three children off at Jess' and ran out the door. And, sans children, we were able to leave quickly and without any complications. Imagine that!

Jess accompanied us to Taunja's for dinner that night. We had shrimp, and also pasta with cream sauce and bacon. Yummy! T has always known how to treat me right. You can never go wrong with those ingredients. It was fun to catch up some, but we didn't have enough time for all the in-depth conversations we could've had.


We spent part of the time chatting, and part of the time discovering the joys of "Just Dance" on the Wii. Taunja turned it on, handed Ally a remote, and the fierce competition began. T won in a landslide, although Ally says it was the other way around since she spent the whole event believing their status bars were switched. Somewhere in the middle of the dancing Brittany came home, so we got to visit with her, too. We cooled down with some Italian water ice, T got a head massage, we quickly perused a book about smashed fairies, and then it was time to leave my beloved T again. Don't worry Taunja, we promise to be back. Ally's been practicing her moves for a rematch. . .

I Should Have Seen the Writing on the Wall

We've known for awhile that Cora is a budding artist and, therefore, we have a rule that she is not to be left unsupervised with pens, pencils, crayons and other writing implements. Last month Cora left this masterpiece at the top of our stairs when I wasn't paying attention to her. I wasn't happy, but she's not even two, and it could've been a lot worse.

Five days ago Chris went to a conference and brought home some cool pens, the kind where you push a button and they magically transforms into something bigger. Thinking of them as a "new toy" --and forgetting there real purpose-- we handed them off to Ally and Cora, who happily ran away to play. Later that evening I found myself spending 40 minutes scrubbing scribbles out of the butterfly sheets and the name ALLY off her green gymboree shirt. (As always, Cora's belly was tattooed with pen marks, but she washes clean with little effort.) Last night I finally noticed that Ally had also written everyone's name on their respective bedroom door "so we'd all know where we are supposed to sleep".

Until this episode, Ally was never tempted to write on anything but paper (never even tried to write in a book) and would freak out if she accidentally made even the slightest mark on the table. I've been rather lucky thus far with the natural non-destructiveness of my children. I love Ally's blossoming enthusiasm for writing and spelling, but I hope she's done labeling things in the house with pen. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser shouldn't be my best friend.

Here Come the Brides

Two of Chris' coworkers got married on Saturday, and not to each other. The girls were invited to come with us to both events, so we had a very busy day of wedding-hopping.

One of my tasks that morning was to perform a marriage in our living room. Ally put on her wedding gown and then helped Cora dress for her part as the unwitting groom. Daddy didn't like my impromptu rendition of "Pomp and Circumstance" (I know, wrong event), so he quickly found the more-appropriate "Here Comes the Bride" on the computer. The two lovebirds were married in a short ceremony, honeymooned in the kitchen, and then were on their way. . .

The first real ceremony (Lynn and Ralph) was in front of the Clover Island Lighthouse; it lasted 6 minutes. We went to the hotel for appetizers at their reception before driving into town for the second wedding. That service (Laura and Grant) was at the catholic church. Cora was getting too chatty and forgetting how to whisper, so I took her out just after the bride walked down the aisle. I almost got her to sleep in those 45 minutes; she woke up when she heard everyone cheer at the end of the ceremony. Then we loaded into the car and raced back to Clover Island. (Cora had a seven minute nap in her carseat.) We made it to the original reception just in time to scrape together a few Hawaiian dinner plates from the buffet chaffing dishes. Then the girls danced and danced and danced. We let them eat cake, too. Ally was in heaven, and Cora was following right along with her.

At one point, Ally told Lynn (bride #1) she was pretending it was HER wedding day. I wonder if that's why I caught her kissing the groom's grandson Bubba during a slow dance. . .

August Adventures, Part III

Ally got her third haircut ever, and this was the first one that wasn't just a trim. As Ally explained when she asked me to take her, "I need my hair to be cut so it won't keep getting in the way when I wipe my butt." I couldn't really argue with that statement, so her hair is now 3 inches shorter and lacking some curl. Cora still hasn't had a haircut yet, but she wanted her picture taken too.

We rode the bus out to the county fair at the end of the month. Cora was very apprehensive about being around so many animals. The first animal building we explored was filled with guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, geese, and turkeys. She didn't want to walk down the aisles of cages at first, but she eventually gained enough courage to pet four bunny rabbits. That proved to be her most favorite part.

The other barns seemed to be too noisy and overwhelming for Cora with all the larger animals and their Moos, Baaas, and La-La-Las. For one brief second though, Cora forgot her fears and reached out to pet a cow. She quickly regretted that decision.

Ally told me she knew which pigs were boys and which were girls. Thinking she had seen an anatomical difference in the animals similar to humans, I asked how she figured out their respective genders. I was expecting a response like the little boy on Kindergarten Cop who said, "Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina." What I got was: "The boy pigs only have one earring, but the girls have two." Well, I guess that works for a 4-year-old, although the logic isn't so accurate.
Ally loved seeing the animals and walking through the other exhibits. She got a temporary tattoo, learned about seeds, collected stickers, picked up her traditional KGH punch balloon, looked at photographs, critiqued the home-grow veggies, and listened to a 4-H presentation on show-horse abuse entitled "The Price of Beauty".

We had a hard time deciding what to eat for dinner. We must not crave greasy, fatty, batter-dipped, fair foods like we used to, or at least we're better at controlling ourselves. We finally settled on a lemonade and an elephant ear for a snack. I'm glad we only ordered one ear, 'cause the four of us were barely able to finish it together. We ended our fair excursion with a private bus ride back to Richland and then dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

August Adventures, Part II

We went camping again this year at Teancum Timbers as a church activity. We got to the site and set up our tent just as the potluck dinner was starting. I brought an experimental recipe I found on Allrecipes.com: rice, cool whip, and canned mixed fruit. Everyone ate it-- and Cora loved it-- but I still think it was a flop.

Ally and Cora had fun dancing and playing with the other children while Chris and I sat around, chatted with other adults, and enjoyed watching our offspring be silly. Here's Ally doing the Macarena and shaking her hips.

After marshmallows and s'mores, the kids jump-roped until their respective parents forced them to bed. Our girls didn't have much of a problem falling asleep, but Cora was awake by 5:00 am. I tried my best to keep her quiet and occupied until we could feasibly venture outside without waking up the entire camp. Cora and I spent 2+ hours brushing teeth, taking pictures inside the tent, and practicing the art of whispering. Ally slept like a log until after 8:30 am when breakfast was already being devoured.


After breakfast, the children returned to playing in the field and jumping rope while the adults cleaned and packed up. In two days time Ally made quite a bit of progress, although she does need to work on jumping straight up to stay in place. No one could've guessed that jump rope would be the weekend's hottest commodity. Even Cora gave it a try when she wasn't busy scarfing down Red Vines.


The following weekend we escaped to Idaho for a visit to our closest amusement park, Silverwood. The girls and I went on the carousel a few times while Daddy stashed our stuff in the waterpark. Cora was petrified of the Garfield and Odie costumed characters that were stationed right outside the ride's entrance. Even as we turned around and around and around, she kept a watchful eye on the big dog to make sure he wasn't coming for her. "That doggy leave Cora alone. That doggy not get Cora."
Next we took a lame, hour-long train ride on which we were "robbed". We didn't remember it being so cheesy and bad a few years ago. After that ordeal, we made our way over to the kiddie rides. Ally says here favorite were the helicopters; she also enjoyed the airplanes and the mini-ferris wheel, as did Cora. They are good riding buddies. Ally almost rode the Tiny Toot, a kid's roller coaster, but changed her mind at the last moment. (She made it to sitting in the seat, so that's an accomplishment for her.) Contrast that with Cora, who rode next to me with her hands and arms held high in the air as the train made its way up and down the track. Afterward Ally would ask Cora if she was a "tiny little toot."

Ally and Daddy drove the antique cars and then conquered the Thunder Canyon rapids while Cora took a nap in the shade. Once the rapids completely soaked their clothes, we changed into swimsuits and splashed around the Boulder Beach waterpark for a little bit. We ended our amusement the way it began, with a few more spins around on the carousel. (And Cora was still on the lookout for that terrifying dog and the fat cat.)

Instead of driving home, we spent the night at my Aunt Kathy's house in Spokane. (We arrived after disappointingly not being able to eat dinner at a Jimmy Johns that wasn't quite open for business.) My cousin Christina and her daughter Delaney were visiting from Virginia, so we hung out with them on Saturday before heading off to the Grand Coulee-- which I already blogged a few posts back.

I threw in a picture of Ally with my cousin Rob's son Ethan here; it was taken on a different trip, but they are so cute together and I can't resist.

August Adventures, Part I

We attended Richland's Night Out Against Crime at the beginning of the month. It was held in one of the local parks on a fairly hot night. (Thus the rosy-colored cheeks.) We skipped the free hotdogs, but took advantage of the bounce houses, the face painting, and the public service vehicles.
Ally seemed right at home in the back of the patrol car, but Cora preferred to be the one driving it.

We saw a water rescue boat, an ambulance, two fire trucks, a mobile command unit, and a SWAT tank.

After talking to the paramedic and impersonating the firemen and the SWAT guy, Ally stood in line to control the bomb-diffusing robot for a few seconds.


That next weekend, we ventured out to Fort Walla Walla for the day. We had heard there was a lot of interesting stuff on the site, but we were left wondering where they stashed it all. Maybe we should've saved our trip for an interpretation weekend when people walk around all dressed up nice and fancy in clothes from the late 1800s/early 1900s. I learned that "old" and "interesting" really are relative terms. When we walked into the old schoolhouse, Chris made the comment "I've lived in houses older than this building." I was expecting an actual fort, or a recreation thereof, or at least a plaque describing the fort/outpost as it had been. Instead, they had an eclectic collection of "old" buildings from various decades that were relocated to a grassy area. I guess we are just a family of east coast history snobs.

I am not saying it was a wasted trip. We did find a few interesting and/or amusing things to keep us smiling as we wandered through the buildings and museum.

Inside the train depot I learned how to defend myself against tough hoboes. I am now prepared if I ever encounter one.


Inside the schoolhouse we found a picture of Walla Walla High's male cheerleaders from 1926. Such hunks!


Inside the museum Chris discovered that this flag, which flew over the fort at the turn of the century, was given to the newspaper boy when it was retired.

I learned that Washington State license plates have always been made by the convicts. I thought that was just a story about the "big house". Speaking of which . . . When Cora and I got sent to the slammer, she diligently tried to chew us out. Then when Ally ended up in jail with me, Cora attempted to eat through those bars too.

Cora enjoyed peering in the doorway of the playhouse that was built in 1900. She also liked picking the crab apples off the ground and swinging on the playset at the end of the day. She did not appreciate all the life-sized animal replicas that were found around every corner in the farming section. I'm sure this 33-mule harvesting set-up was her worst nightmare.

We also saw a covered wagon, antique cars, old farm equipment, a teepee, dresses from the 1920s, military uniforms, beaded cloth made by the local tribes, and a flytrap that could hold gallons of flies. Think about that one. Yuck!

I learned that, when Clark once traded a sword for a horse, 5 translators and 9 different languages (or something ridiculous like that) were required to make the statements understood.

Ever wonder what some of those weird Pacific Northwest names mean? Here's a little translation lesson while you look at my kids hitching a ride to nowhere.