Ten on Tuesday (completely unrelated edition)

1. Why, oh why, must Lego decide to release new sets (particularly new STAR WARS sets) between Asher and Micah's birthdays?! Don't they know that I've already shopped for both boys at the same time but now must figure out what to do about the fact that Micah's list has changed? Argh. Note to self. Remember this for next year, as I seem to remember now that the same thing happened last year. Guess I should have made a note then. Poo. Someone remind me next summer, okay? ;)

2. The boys would dearly love more THREE player games. Sure, many out there say 2-4 players, but we'd love to see some that are actually dedicated to three players. (Specifically, they're tired of trying to figure out the math to share their allotted time on the Wii when playing Lego Star Wars, a two player game, lol.)

3. Hey, Lego. If you're paying attention, my boys would like to request that you start a Mythbusters line. Imagine all the different myth sets you could come up with...

4. Is there a legitimate reason behind all the baking recipes that tell me to mix the flour and such in a separate bowl before adding it to the larger bowl? If I'm going to be mixing them all together anyhow, why do I have to dirty that other bowl? Can't I just mix the flour and other dry ingredients directly into the bigger bowl?

5. Does anyone have any experience with using hula hoops or jump ropes for exercise? I've been looking at this and this and wondering about trying to add those to my routine. Thoughts? Would love any pointers!

6. Are you watching the Women's World Cup? We've been following it and spent a portion of our weekend just watching the quarterfinals. Micah has declared (after a rather intense US v. Brazil game that went into extra time and then came down to a penalty kick shoot out) that he now likes Hope Solo (the US goalie) better than Han Solo. Obviously, this is high praise from Micah. ;)

7. All three boys, btw, will be needing further instruction on not yelling threats and insults at referees. While many (including the commentators and us) agree that some of the calls were questionable or down-right wrong, we still need to respect the referee's decision. Right? (This, btw, also carries over to the conversations yesterday about respecting the lifeguard's decisions to clear the pool due to thunder, lol. Apparently, it's really tough both to think that rules aren't being followed and to feel that the rules aren't appropriate.)

8. Don't laugh but I broke down and bought these last night. Hoping they work as well as they look. If so, we'll have three very happy boys. :)

9. As a bit of an addendum to my travel thoughts, we've found that the souvenir penny presses are fabulous for satisfying the boys' desire to have *something* from each place we go without breaking the travel budget. Ours each almost have a full penny passport and love being able to choose the design that he likes best. 

10. Just so you know, I've been in a purging mood of late. I get that way a few times a year. ;) This time around, it's because I'm gearing up to buy homeschool materials for the coming year and feel more justified in buying new things when I'm getting rid of other things. I'm still debating what to do with all the purged items. Some have already found their way to Goodwill, some found new homes elsewhere, and some are sitting in various boxes around my house. :) 

Okay. That was ten. How's your Tuesday going? 

Quote #28.

As the summer keeps flying by...here's this week's quote:

Our greatest need is to teach people how to think. Not what but HOW. –Thomas Edison

As I’m pinning down my curriculum plans for the coming year, this quote may become my mantra for the year. As we’ve worked the past year or so on establishing a routine and covering specific material, I feel that I’m neglecting some more important aspects of the boys’ education. I need to do a better job of helping them learn how to find the answers they need…how to communicate with others…how to identify their own strengths. Whether or not I make sure they know the dates of World War I or the difference between an acid and a base pales in comparison.

Yup, I think I need to go make myself a sign with this quote to keep me on track this coming year. :)

The Fourth and Swim Meet #2 (for us).

Catching up a wee bit...

Having just gotten back in the swing of things after our road trip, we opted for a nice low-key Fourth this year. Just your average all-out water fight in the front yard:

(Don't you just love Micah's "fierce" look? You can click on any of these pictures to make them larger.) Yes, I joined in after I tucked the camera safely back indoors. :) We all ended up soaked and, somehow, covered in grass. Odd. 

Anyhow. After getting dry and fed and all, we journeyed to the Loveland city fireworks show:

No. Those aren't our sparklers but I just thought it made a fun picture...that was about 20 feet from where we were sitting. :) It was a great show and we went home happy (and with boys talking about wanting to go on a field trip to learn how fireworks are made, lol).

Yesterday morning (the 6th), Noah had his second swim meet of the summer (we missed one while we were on our road trip). Noah competed in the same events as last time but this time, for the medley relay, he ended up doing both the breast stroke and the freestyle legs of the relay. His teammate did the backstroke and butterfly legs. Apparently there had been another boy who was going to do two legs but he was missing when it came time to race, so Noah and Aaron split up the legs between themselves. They managed to come in second and did fabulously. :)

 
When the kids arrive at the meets, the coaches write the numbers of the events that each kid is participating in on his/her arm. I think it's funny...brilliant, but funny. :) The second picture (clockwise) is Noah winning his heat of the 50 yard backstroke. Yay! Next, he was diving in for his 50 yard breast stroke heat (he took second). That last one is me catching him just before he turned around to finish out the breast stroke. ;) 

Okey-dokey. I think I'm caught up now on pictures here. :) Hope your July is going well!

Random driving thoughts.

Just some things that crossed my mind during the four full days of driving recently...

Construction zones. I get the point behind lower speed limits when construction is going on. I do. But. When it's the middle of the night and no one is doing any actual road work and the road is totally fine, is it *really* necessary to go 35 in a normally 75 area? Really?

Driving gloves. I'm envisioning something like long ballroom gloves but made from a wicking, spf sort of fabric. I think these could really sell. ;) Okay, maybe not. But I definitely could have used some during the drive. I'm pretty sure my hands and arms got a good bit more tanned just from the drive. Nathan asked if I'd market them to truckers. I think skin colored gloves with tattoos would be a hit, don't you?

Elmer's Fountain. Driving east on I-90, just after Wallace, ID is Elmer's Fountain. We actually noticed it on our way west but didn't stop, as it was on the other side of the freeway. We made a mental note to stop on our way back but then completely forgot. If you happen to be driving that way, stop by and tell is what it's like, okay?

Snack bags. For those wondering if we have any tips on traveling long distances with kids, one of the best ones I have is to make up individual snack bags at the start of the trip. I label three gallon size ziplock bags and fill them each with various goodies...some that are actually good snacks and some that I rarely let the boys have. I usually throw in at least one special treat like a candy bar, though I try to avoid things that will melt. :) This time around, I loaded them for two days and explained to each boy that his bag had to last *both* days. (I repeated this whole procedure on the way home.) Beyond that, they were free to eat from the bag whenever they wanted. (Each boy was responsible for keeping his bag next to his seat.) This eliminates boys whining about being hungry and means we only have to stop for bathroom breaks and actual meals, not to get things out of coolers or boxes and hand them around. It also prevents arguments over who got the last bag of fruit snacks. :)

Trash bags. In conjunction with the snack bags, make sure you have at least a couple trash bags throughout the car and empty them whenever you stop for gas. Further, make it a policy that trash belongs in the bags. ;) (We had one that Nathan, Noah and I could reach and one that Micah and Asher could reach.)

Washington drivers. I know this is a gross generalization. But. Might I please remind Washington state drivers that passing a car need not take all day? Seriously folks. Even when we weren't in WA, the WA drivers we encountered had a great tendency to pull out of the right lane to pass the car in front of them. At this point, where others would simply zip past that slower car and get back into the right lane, they would creep along at roughly the exact same speed as the car they were intending to pass. For minutes on end. And then, maybe, they'd finally get past and then a few minutes beyond that they might remember to move over so that the fuming, crazy Colorado driver behind them could get past them both. ;) Thankyouverymuch.

Wyoming Adopt a Highway signs. Might I also please request that Wyoming change their Adopt a Highway signs so that they do not look just like the big blue signs that signal that a rest area is coming up? Pretty please? It's just cruel to get one's hopes up like that.

Starbucks iphone app. Thank you to the Starbucks iphone app for enabling Nathan to find the nearest Starbucks along our entire route. ;) I think there may have been a day or two that we didn't stop at a Starbucks, but I know there were at least some where we stopped more than once. The boys found the number of Starbucks in Seattle to be crazy. Nathan thought it was wonderful. :)

Okay. I think that was all for now. ;) Thanks for letting me share/vent. ;)

Road trip!

So. As I mentioned, we recently took a bit of a road trip. All told, we drove about 2980 miles, took about 1500 pictures and were gone nine days. The primary purpose of our trip was my baby brother's wedding. Here's what went down...

JUNE 20: Packing always, always takes me longer than I think it will. Bleh. ;) Stayed up late the night before packing but managed to get on the road by 9:45 am. Our route was pretty straight-forward...north on I-25 through Wyoming and then west on I-90 through Montana, Idaho and Washington. We stopped in Casper, WY for our picnic lunch and in Billings, MT for a quick dinner. Made it to Butte, MT around 10:45 and nabbed a hotel room...yes, that's 13 hours on the road. Fortunately, the boys are excellent travelers. Yes, it would have been considerably quicker to fly. Suffice it to say, driving is cheaper and worked better for us. More on my thoughts about driving and road trips later... ;)

JUNE 21: More driving. Stopped at the 50,000 Silver Dollar bar/store/diner for our picnic lunch. Were making good time (and had forgotten about the time zone change so gained an hour) so stopped in Spokane, WA to stretch. We walked across the river and took the gondola ride over the falls. Back in the car and made it to Yakima, WA just after 6 pm (PST). Spent a nice evening with Nathan's parents and best friend's family...so nice to be out of the van.

JUNE 22: After getting in a morning run, we headed from Yakima to Prosser (about 50 minutes away) to visit with my mom, grandma and sister's family. Us girls headed for pedicures and a wee bit of shopping and met up with the boys for ice cream. We then all headed to my 6 year old nephews' tee ball game and then back out to my mom's house for a lovely dinner. My boys and their cousins (well, four of their cousins) had a blast playing in the yard. My guys taught the others how to play everlasting tag and I think there was some hide and seek as well:

We then called it a night and drove back to Yakima to crash.

JUNE 23: Another morning run and then visiting with Nathan's relatives through the morning. We had lunch and a small birthday celebration (for the many summer birthdays--primarily, though, for Asher and Micah who both have July birthdays) then had to get back on the road for Seattle. Made it to Issaquah (where my youngest sister and her husband live) about 2.5 hours later where we met up with all my siblings, their families and my mom and grandma (21 of us squeezed into my sis' home, lol). From there, we caravanned to dinner at a Chinese buffet to celebrate my grandma's upcoming 90th birthday. 

Here's me, gram, my mom and all my siblings (and one of my nephews that we didn't realize was lurking back there, lol). The buffet was gram's choice, and Asher thought it was absolutely awesome. (Of course, he was mostly delighted by the never-ending desserts, LOL!)

After dinner, we headed over to my brother's new place to help get things ready for the wedding (folding programs and such) for a bit before driving into downtown Seattle to check in to our hotel.

JUNE 24: Up early and got everyone out the door. We walked to the Seattle Monorail (about 4 blocks away) and got on one of the first trips of the morning. The boys were able to snag the very front seats and the driver even let Asher honk the horn. 

Upon arriving at the Seattle Center, we made a quick stop for Nathan's Starbucks fix and then proceeded to the Space Needle:

After seeing the sights and such, we walked to the nearby Pacific Science Center and spent the rest of the morning wandering the many exhibits there. (We did bypass the dinosaur room, though, as apparently that freaked Micah out and he ran through it to the space room, lol.) Not easy to get great shots indoors but I had to take this one:

Yes, that's a display explaining how toilets work. Yes, Micah has on a "this is how I roll" shirt. He picked it out himself and loves it. Because, you know, that really is how he rolls. ;) (And, yes, he posed himself by the toilet, laughing hilariously, and asked me to take this picture. Weirdo.)

Just before lunch, we made our way to the IMAX theater there to watch "Hubble 3D." We'd actually seen this particular one before in Denver, but not in 3D, and the boys (including Nathan) still loved it. :) After that, we left the Pacific Science Center briefly for lunch across the way and then went back for more exhibits and fun. Around three, though, we had to drag the boys back to the monorail and then the hotel so we could get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. 

The rehearsal and dinner went dandy (dandily?). We then headed back into Seattle, waited for dark, walked back to the monorail, took it back to the Space Needle and went up to see the night lights of Seattle. It was cool:

Also, for the record, when you enter the Space Needle, they take these portraits of your group. You can then pick a background and email them to yourself when you're up on top. *Most* people probably stand there and smile. Here's what ours looked like (after I tweaked it a bit at home because the colors were simply too bright, lol):

Lovely. ;) We then hopped on the last (possibly second to last) run of the monorail that night and made it back to the hotel to sleep.

JUNE 25: Wedding day! The weather decided to cooperate for a gorgeous wedding day for my baby brother, Joe, and his new bride, Bridget. They were radiant! It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. I have many, many pictures. :) Here are a few of my favorites:

(My mom with all of her grandkids at the reception.)

(My gram with Joe & Bridget. Isn't my gram cute? She dyes her own hair and will be 90 later this month.)

(And, finally, us with Joe & Bridget. Yay!)

In any case, we saw Joe & Bridget off (so sweet...Bridget's feet were hurting from the heels so Joe carried her across the parking lot to where the car was waiting):

We grabbed some dinner on the way back to the hotel and then crashed...meanwhile the boys were delighted to finally be allowed to open the Lego kits their grandparents had given them in Yakima. ;)

JUNE 26: (Almost done. Promise.) We met up with Cassy & Charlie (my baby sister and newish brother in law) at the Museum of Flight the next morning. The boys (all five of them) walked around in awe talking about all sorts of airplane things. Cassy and I chatted and followed. ;)

(Incidentally, this was one of the last pictures we managed that day, as we'd used up both camera batteries at the wedding and had forgotten to charge them that night, lol.)

Did lunch there while the boys all watched planes take off and land. After that, Cas & Charlie needed to leave to shuttle my brother's family (not the one who just got married) to the airport. We ended up spending a bit more time at the museum before heading into a very busy downtown to do a quick jaunt through the Seattle Aquarium and then getting on an hour long harbor tour. The tour, itself, was quite informative and cool (loved all the little facts) but I always forget that I have a great tendency to get seasick, lol. 

Met up with my mom, two nieces and a nephew, and Cassy & Charlie for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Said our goodbyes to Cassy & Charlie and then walked back to the hotel. (By this point, my mom, nieces and nephew were staying at the same hotel.) Did some more visiting and then got to the task of packing...

JUNE 27: Managed to say our goodbyes, load up and get out of Seattle by 9 am. We stopped at Ritzville, WA for a picnic lunch (had stopped in North Bend for groceries), in Coeur d'Alene, ID for a snack, and in Missoula, MT for dinner. We finally made it to Butte, MT for the night around 10:30.

JUNE 28: On the road by about 8:30...picnic lunch in Billings, Starbucks in Casper, and dinner in Cheyenne. Pulled into our own garage around 9:30 and managed to get everything (except clothes) unpacked by 10:30. (Needed to have things put away since Nathan and Noah had to wake up early the next morning for swim team pictures at 7:30 and would need things like toothbrushes, lol.)

Whew. So. We're home now. I'm starting to feel caught up-ish and am very much looking forward to a more slow-paced July and August. ;) How's your summer going?