My Monkey--Part 4

she's now officially signed up for gymnastics...

phew

weekend on wheels...

is she an astronaut? or a a biker girl? space shuttle or ducati?

or, does her momma realize this monkey needs a helmet just for a normal day of play?

or has she just stolen runner boy's helmet?

okay, she's got runner boy's helmet.

runner boy is a great dad and dedicated husband. so much so, that he hasn't had a hobby in years. why? because he's gone to grad school, worked really hard, adopted a wonderful girl, followed by the arrival of little dude, fixed up an old house, bought a new one, and been a wonderful partner.

so, this year he's taken the opportunity to play again a little. he is resurrecting his motorcycle, is having a great time listening to the oldies and tinkering.

it's back running and awaiting a new paint job. kate thinks it should be pink and gold with sparklies.


then there's Sam. he is very safety minded. works on his vehicles with his helmet on just in case. he's been observing runner boy work on the motorcycle, so he felt like he needed to tweek the bike he stole from his sister.

kate and sam have been watching the tour*de*france for the past 3 weeks so maybe he's dreaming of riding the tour. he'll have to get rid of the training wheels if he has hopes of keeping up with the peloton. he will also have to get his own bike--there's no way kate will let him have her bike for the 3 weeks of the tour.

Quote of the day...

there are several blogs that I read on a regular basis.

one of my favorites is written by Kristin Armstrong, former wife of Lance Armstrong. she is introspective, insightful and down to earth. today's post can be found here.

this is my favorite line of her post:


"Yes, we should learn to let go of the things that tie us down and hold us back, but we don't have to let go of the things that set us free."


it's worth a read...

Stats

We did a few measurements of Kate and Sam today:

Kate, the big sister:

H: 40 inches
W: 33 1/2 lbs.

conclusion: destined to be constrained in a car seat until age 12.

Sam, the little brother:

H: 39 1/4 inches
W: 34 1/2 lbs.

conclusion: destined be bigger than his sister within months.

happy birthday!

our little dude is growing up...

he did not want to blow his candles out...

he decided he liked the cake once the billowing flames were out...

this is the look on his face when he saw his present...

he's been begging for a scooter...

why a scooter? so he could ride like the wind with his sissy...

let's just say the sidewalks in our neighborhood just got a little more crazy!!!

Faces

global warming?

An open letter to the global warming people from kate & sam:

Dear globAL WarmIng PeoPle and Mr. Albrrt*Gore:

We R wondering ware globaL waaaarming is? Sammy & I R cold. We want 2 camp Outside. We have 2 griLL ouR foOd inside in July. Can U xplane this to Us.


Frankly, this is not xceptable to US. Daddy was Mad when WE lit the gril in 'da family room. He told us that if We buRN our house down, with Our tent in it, wE wood be hoMeless. And the FIRe would inCrease our carbon footprint.

can U explane this cooling Trend to US? has ELnino blown Global warming aWAY? Our swimming Pool had ICE on it this morning. Xplain that Mr. Gore.

we R hoping SUmmer comes back. We R tired of Making s'mOREs in 'da microwave.

Pleeze looK in 2 this cooling TRrend,

Sinserily,

Kate and SAM

More July 4th Memories

one of our july 4th traditions is going to our local parade.

even though we've moved to a new community, i couldn't bear to change our tradition...

we've been watching the all American kazoo band for years. the beauty of this band is that you don't have to have any talent and there are really no rehearsals necessary...



runner boy loves these guys...

then there are the dancing grannies. apparently these ladies do rehearse...i think most of them are retired, so maybe they have more time than the kazoo people...

the kids loved watching the parade.

sam was all about the music and firetrucks.

kate loved the tootsie rolls that were thrown off the floats.

mars and venus would both agree it was great fun

Bad Dog

This is big news...

We were all shocked to hear about this...

Apparently the driver of the Weiner Mobile couldn't cut the mustard.

In fact, I bet the driver is really gonna get grilled when her boss gets a hold of her. She won't relish that interaction. Clearly she was thinking outside the bun.

my girl-4th of July memory

My Monkey--Part 3

It was all going so well today...vacation Bible school, then a lunch date with Grandma, then playing outside with Sam. He got a new scooter for his birthday (pics to follow) and they were racing around and having a great time.

Then Kate became separated from her scooter and high speeds...we got a hold of these people:


(we use these people alot for our little household mishaps)

Anyway, I raced to the scene of the accident and found a tearful little girl with trauma to the right knee...


Since trauma is my job, I got down to business...mopping up tears, a brief irrigation and debridement of the tissue, "feel good oinment" and a *Nas*car* bandaid.

I take Kate's insurance, so no referral was necessary.

My Monkey...part 2

Okay, so I didn't get her signed up for gymnastics today...which was a mistake. She took her creativity to the playground today.

We rode our bikes and scooters down to the playground and Kate headed for the monkey bars. She can cross them with ease, but she's not tall enough to reach them. So, my job is to lift her up...constantly, so that she can traverse the bars.

While I was keeping an eye on little dude, the light in Kate's head went off. She rode her bike under the monkey bars, proceeded to stand on the seat to grab the bars, then swung her feet until she had enough momentum to shove the bike out of the way.

After a little practice, she was able to go to one end, turn around then make her way back.

What's the number of that gymnastics place?

My Monkey...

I've recently been decorating Kate's room. When we moved into our house in November, it was painted "builder beige" and completely boring. Therefore, I've spent a considerable amount of time painting in there.

She's been enjoying watching me paint and chatting. Talking with your 4 1/2 year old can be revealing. At one paint she said, "Watch 'dis Momma" as she spun around the post of her canopy bed. ...hmmm...

Next came, "I play hopscotch on my bed during 'nappy time'...look at this!"

Her final revelation came yesterday:

"Hey Mom, this pillow on my bed is my balance beam. I love doing back flips on this!"

...this girl needs to go back to gymnastics...soon...like tomorrow.

Momma!!!

I was busy cleaning the house today when Kate burst into tears while she was in the playroom.

"Momma, help...come here! come here!" she begged.

I wandered into the room and asked her what was the matter.

"Dare's a bug in dere!" she sniffled. "On da bucket...go look! go loooook!"

I peeked at the bucket to see this:



Have I ever mentioned that I hate bugs?

So, I got out a lethal paper towel and killed him:



Kate breathed a huge sigh of relief.

She then asked, "Was that a lobster, Momma?"

"No, Kate," I replied.

"Was it a crab?" she inquired.

"No, Kate."

"What was it?" she persisted.

"A bug, Kate."

She was satisfied.

I must say, those things are creepy.