Day 20.

WhooHOO! Bunny made it through Little Guards! (And so did I and the boys, haha!)


The last day was a special day. It was the Little Guard/Parent "Big Swim" Out. Paul's dad was in town, so he also came to the beach, along with Paul in a separate car, as Paul had a call to take which made him a little late. Not too late for the Big Swim, though!

The swimming parents and kids walked up to the wharf, walked to a platform on the far side which is the same distance out as the lifeguard HQ (see the taller building shown on the wharf in the above photo? that's HQ). Then they jumped off the platform and swam to shore! Bunny and most of the 6 yr olds chose to use a boogie board to kick much of the way, since it is just about a 100 yd swim (with the current, at least).

There was also a pot luck lunch--Bunny chose a nicely balanced meal of cookies, potato chips, and half a bagel--and games for everyone to play. Grandpa Russ played dodge ball! He made it a while before someone got him in the back with the ball. :)


We also got in some nice beach time. Carter had Grandpa busy running back and forth for buckets of water to... well mostly dump right out into the thirsty sand which refused to make a puddle, haha! And he 'wore' Cole some, which they both seemed to enjoy.


Here's some dodge ball. I'm not sure why people were lying down... but they appeared to be 'in play'.


Um... what???


Ah, yes, that looks more like my older boy. He's been wanting to mess with these cones for weeks.


Kind of a typical Bunny-in-motion shot... she's going to be 'sooo bored' without 3 hours of rigorous physical exertion the next few weeks. Hoooo boy...


After LGs was over, Paul and Bunny played in the surf. He also swam all the way out to the finger buoy you see in the distance in this photo. He said it was harder getting back than out there (it's about 250 yards total).


Carter spent some time walking on all fours, claiming to be a puma. Yes, a puma. :)


He also roared loudly at every and anyone. His 'prey' mostly looked on amusedly. A few of Bun's friends simply looked confused by him. :)


Bunny loves to find seaweed to decorate her castles.


They set to work building one masterpiece before it was time to pack up and get some dinner.


I really like drip castles. They're so easy, yet so much prettier than the molded kind (usually) are, and they are sturdy, too.


Bunny is becoming quite the castle architect. Depite her brother's attempts to become a proficient demolitions master. He pushed over these spires over and over, but she doggedly rebuilt.

As it became evening, it was time to get a celebratory dinner. We went to the Ideal to sit ourside by the beach, and Cole was SO well behaved. At first it seemed dicey, since he is too small for a restaurant high chair, but once he settled into Paul's lap, he was happy and calm the entire meal. He even ate his dinner sitting in Daddy's lap. :)


Then came the thing Carter has been wanting since Day 1 of Little Guards. A ride on Bulgy the Whale at the Boardwalk!

When we wheeled up to Bulgy, he yelled out, "I ride whay-uws!" He's not one to act wildly happy when he's doing something new, even if he's enjoying the HECK outta it. This content look is bliss to Carter when trying something new.


He also rode the Pepsi truck convoy ride. Another case of his excitement not being apparent, but oh BOY did he jabber about it afterwards.


Bunny and I rode the Cyclone together. It's pretty much impossible to get a clear photo with a snap and shoot, but we're the green and pink blurs in the left side. :) Bunny and I also rode the 'ski lift' ride across the boardwalk, and then finished up with the Pirate Ship before we all packed it in and went home for the night. All in all, it was a VERY tiring and enjoyable day. A perfect end to FOUR LONG WEEKS of daily trips to the beach.

Oh, and Bunny and Carter want to go to the beach one day next week. Sheesh! ;)

Guess What?

2008-07-13 058, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Carter is picking up language so quickly now, making up for some lost time where he was more into something else... or just not feeling like he had much to say. :) His sentences are becoming more complex and he's making all kinds of mistakes with tenses and whatnot, but it's all what you'd expect.

One of his new favorite things is to say, "Guess what?" He's picked up that one from Bunny. she's a typical 6 yr old in that she seems to think "Guess what?!?" is how you begin nearly every statement... kind of drives me loopy, and I have tried to explain it's not a good way to start most conversations. I'm not making much headway on it, though. So Carter has picked up on it. However, he doesn't quite understadn what it means.

"Guess what?"
"What?"
"What you doing?"

Guess what?
What?
Where Bunny go?

And so forth. So I have it coming from both the speaking kids now. Yaaaaay.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

So very, very exhausted! Only 3 more days of Little Guards. It's been fun, but I am beyond tired of this routine where I basically run around like a headless chicken from 6-11:30 a.m., drive to the beach, get home at 5 or so, make dinner, put the kids in bed, then do 1.5 - 2.5 hours of homework/studying.

Next week is earmarked for something that I am not exactly relishing: time to potty train Carter! I'll be buying about a million pairs of size 2T underoos and cleaning up a lot of icky messes. Yay. Hmm. Maybe this going to the beach everyday is not so bad after all, since it delays potty training. ;)

First Time...

2008-07-13 002, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

...eating a Biter Biscuit. Cole has been eating rice cereal and avocados for a while, but this was his first time with something more substantial, which he also could feed himself. He has his two bottom teeth to gnaw with, and it was hysterical watching him paw at the biscuit trying to work on the old hand-eye coordination (still sucks!). But, Cole was busy with this thing for 15 mins while I did the dishes--and picked up said biscuit about 12 times when he pushed it off the highchair tray. :)

First Time...

2008-07-13 015, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

...in a swing! You can see a combo of glee and terror in his eyes. Cole wanted to love it, but also at times--generally the 'back' part of the swinging motion, when I was not as close--he'd look on the verge of being upset. All in all, a good time for him and me. Carter, in the swing next to him, just out of shot, wished I was pushing only Carter, and much more often.

Rambo Running Bunny

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Rambo-Bunny

*See next post for the video -- I am having technical difficulties with getting the video and the words I want in the same post.*

I have to go through the photos and see what came out, but here is a video of Bunny running the "Rambo" course at the Little Guards Competition yesterday. There is a lot of yelling from me and Paul here, I'll warn ya. ;) We were so excited to cheer her on.

This was the second, 'final' heat of this competition, and I tell you what--it's a GNARLY course. Under a bunch of surfboards then down under a water filled pit, then up a very steep wall (where the video starts from our perspective), over a few mogul-like bumps, up two HUGE sand hills, then over more moguls, then finally a maze of boogie and surfboards. The first kid on Bunny's team was a monster! I tell you, this kid is amazing, and a lot of us parents were in awe of his speed and strength. The teams switched boy-girl-boy-girl, and Bunny ran the anchor leg for girls--because she's strong and fast, too. She and the boy after her ran her team to blue ribbons! She also got her name on the board in two other events, placing 8th in the run-swim-run and 7th in 'toots' (which is the thing with balls in the ocean I described before). She would have made it further the other even she was in (flags), but a child knocked her in the face and grabbed her baton, thus eliminating Bunny. Oh well, whatddaya gonna do someone decides to be a poor sport? We're talking 6 yr olds here, I'm not going to make a federal case out of it, haha!

Mostly we really are proud of how hard she worked. Though, I admit it: it's really fun to cheer a child onto victory. We were proud of her all around, as we are everyday.

A Cow Says Moo...

2008-07-07 028, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Yesterday when driving home Bunny and I were amusing us all in the car with a game of 'what does ____ say?" with Carter. He got most right, and we were throwing in some fun stumpers, like I asked him what a giraffe says. Answer? Nothing!

Then Bun asked, "What does a fox say?"
Carter, quick as a wink, responded, "Oh, Man!" and tried to snap.
I laughed for a good 5 seconds on that one.

Yes, good ole Swiper the Fox from Dora does indeed say, "Oh, Man!"

Caution!

2008-07-07 012, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Baby in photo will bite! But he's teething, so it's understandable.

Cole cut his first tooth today! He was irritable all weekend, and I had been suspecting he was teething for about a week, but of course you can't know how long it will take. Anyway, today Bunny apparently had her finger stuck in his mouth in the car on the way home from Little Guards and she kept saying his mouth was sharp and she thought he had a tooth. I said, no, he was working on it, though. She then said she could see something white.

K: No, that's his gum (it has a little white area in the dead middle of the lower gum).
B: No... it's got a serrated edge.
K: Wow, that's a pretty good word there, Bun!
B: What's serrated mean?

LOL! I then went on to explain how, say a shark's tooth is serrated, or some knives are, how an edge like that cuts cleanly. And plumb forgot about Cole's mouth totally.

Until later today when I was holding Cole in the pool and I felt the edge of his tooth. Yep, he cut his tooth on the beach today. No wonder he didn't want to be put down. He's really much tougher than the other two kids as far as pain tolerance if this is any indication. They both made like it was killing them, and you just do NOT WANT TO KNOW what a pain his big sister is being about a loose tooth and her most recent batch of molars budding.

But anyway! Cole has teeth. Tada!

Belated July 4 Recap

Was too busy yesterday, um... relaxing by the pool and not doing much more than the *bare* minimum to really write about out 4th of July. It was a nice relaxing Saturday and we all were pretty tired from the day before, so all I did was make some NY Strip steaks with broccoli slaw and rice, and I read my textbook for about an hour, but there was mostly just pool time for us all.

July 4
We went to a potluck party at Mel's house. Ah, gotta love the magic of the potluck. You make one or two things that in no way would constitute a balanced meal--in my case, baked beans, and a cake--and then it becomes part of a crazy big meal that you would never make on your own.


Bunny and I made and decorated the cake together. It was just a very simple yellow cake with vanilla buttercream, but it was pretty and I hear it was yummy. I never got around to having a piece, nor did anyone in the family! We had brownie sundaes. :)




As they have a cul de sac, the last few houses on her street were blocked off and the kids rode bikes, skated, and played with electric cars. Bunny and Paul skated and Carter once again found the little cop-motor-trike he loves so much. It's hilarious to watch him on it because it moves at a rate of just under one mile per day. But, from his expression, you'd think he was cruising the open road, wind in his hair.


Cole and I looked on. Or rather, I looked on, holding Cole, who looked at his feet a lot. He really likes his feet, what can I say?


After skating Bun changed into her swimsuit and 'hung' with her girls in the pool. She was pretty much running around with the girls all evening, while Carter, being still so small stuck close. He also ate a real dinner, whereas Bun ate wedges of orange, a sundae, and, at 10:30 had nachos with cheese and a (caffeine free) Coke. Healthy, no... but she had fun. Me, I wolfed down two hot dogs, and a whole lotta sides, and Paul found the assortment of meat to be his cup of tea. He was skating around eating a big hunk of beef--it was funny.


After dark, it was time for some good old American blowing up stuff. Bunny and Carter enjoyed the sparklers, but Bun had a hard time remembering not to point the shooting fire at people, and Carter basically stood there holding it with a look of disbelief. I am pretty sure he felt this was an unwise way to have fun. He was right, or course! What's wise about handing kids flaming sticks of TNT? ;)

Then the fireworks. Mike, our host, had gone to a reservation in NV to purchase the after dark entertainment. I never realized what crazy stuff they sell at a res, along with their tax free cigarettes and casinos. But these were good fireworks. They didn't go up as high as the kind you get in a municipal show, but they flew up pretty high and we enjoyed it. Cole *really* loved it. I put him on his back on a blanket so he could see up without having to 'track' the missles, and every time one blew, he could laugh and kick. It was hysterical to watch his reactions... our happy, happy baby was even more happy than normal that evening.

Cheesy Flag Cake!

Cheesy Flag Cake!, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Been thinking for years about making one... finally did for a potluck party yesterday. :)

I didn't get around to having a slice before it was gone, but the batter sure was yummy. (Just ordinary yellow cake and vanilla butter cream.)

Happy Independence Day!

4th of July fireworks 2, originally uploaded by notnA.

Ah, a 3 day weekend never was more welcome... :)
Happy Birthday America.

Day 8

2008-07-02 031, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

It was warm enough to play in the water today. I was only up to my knees, with Cole on my back, but Carter got soaked.

And made a discovery. Salty water!! The ocean is salty!

Gretchen and her kids came to the beach also, and we had fun digging up crabs and torturing them in buckets of sandy water before finally setting the poor things free. By 'we', I mean the kids. I did dig some, but only a new hole for Carter's truck to drive in and out of. ;)

Bunny swam to the buoy on her own today, and, while she says she is still afraid, something else won out. Pure unadulterated greed. I admit it: promised her a new Barbie toy if she'd just start to swim all the way out there without being dragged by the lifeguards. Hey, we all are 'reward motivated' at times. Why do adults work? Well, yes ideally there is the reward of a job well done. Of helping others, perhaps. But at the end of the day, it's the paycheck that motivates us. So patooey on anyone who wants to gimme grief. I bribed, I admit it. ;)

Apparently I am an adventurous, materialistic, thrifty, responsible married person.

What Your Fridge Says About You

You like to be surrounded by things you love. You aren't exactly greedy, but you can be materialistic at times. You are a very thrifty person. You don't like to waste money... or food. You are a very adventurous person. You love to try new things, and you get bored very easily. You are responsible, together, and mature. You act like an adult, even when you don't feel like it. You are likely to be married - and very busy.

What Do the Contents of Your Refrigerator Say About You?

Day 7

2008-07-01 014, originally uploaded by Kristianna.

Not too much to report today. Bunny remains unexcited to enter the water deeper than her feet can touch and mentions quitting. I'm not sure if she really wants to quit, though. We're going to finish out this (4 day) week and Paul and I are talking about going (ugh) to the beach Sunday to work on getting in the water with her to see if we can up her comfort level.

In some ways, I suspect the lifeguards/counselors just don't know what to do with her to make her do what is needed. Bunny can be *very* hard to deal with at times, and not too rational if she's scared. She *knows* with her brain there is a 1:5 ratio of certified LIFEGUARDS to kids in the water. She knows with her brain that she has zero chance of actually being in any danger. But she's 6 and scared. So the Fear is winning right now.

It's frustrating, because no one there has had the opportunity to see what a swimmer this kid is! That's the crazy thing. She's competent, and capable to do this! She can swim hundred of yards with barely a break. But not if she won't go in deeper than her chest.

Today is another day.

Day 6, Carter Corps of Engineers

Yesterday Carter embarked on a big project over the course of the afternoon. He (meaning he and I) dug a big hole for his dump truck!


First it was just a hole that he/we made. But you can see how much he wanted the truck to drive into it.


This is not quite right here... needs something!


Time for more digging.


And a little running around in the surf with some 'big' boys who were near us on the beach (they were maybe 4 and 6).


And then more digging...


Now this is looking more like it! Hole has road! ;) I prefer to call it a quarry. :)


Today he didn't want to go home when it was time, he had so much fun. Great thing about a sand quarry, is you can always redo it day after day.


I was lucky that this guy chilled out a lot and let me help Carter with his hole. Bun and the LGs went to the far-far end of the beach under the wharf, so I didn't see her much of the day. No photos of kids in red suits today!