Santa Catalina Carnival

Okay.

So.

One of the big events that we'd been looking for since deciding to send our kids to their fabulous school this year was the Spring Carnival.  As incoming students were invited last year, but obviously we were still down in San Diego.  Matt actually did intend to make a special Daddy and daughter trip up with A.J. to attend last year.  We were supposed to have had out stuff boxed up on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the week before the Carnival, while it was going to be loaded the following Monday.  Peter had baseball so we were going to let A.J. skip dance for a change and get out of the boxed up mayhem to visit with her Dad.

Except then the mover cut the pack-up days back and showed up really late and worked way, way late into Friday so that Matt couldn't actually leave with her on Friday in time to get up for the event.  Instead he took her the movies or something.  

But so now they were all still wondering all about the big, exciting carnival that they'd heard so much about for another year.

When Carnival weekend came up on us again, they were THRILLED. 

To begin with, it was a free dress day at school.  This school is super stingy with free dress (and I love it.)  They got Halloween dress in costumes, and Free Dress in Compas House colors for the 3 pep rallies and this day for the Carnival and that is literally all for the entire year.  Did I mention I love it?  The wonderful ease of dressing themselves in the exact same uniform every day makes my mornings so much less stressful.  

Although to be fair, they can afford to be so stingy with the free dress days because they award them out as a reward for participation in fundraising efforts and community service projects.  Man was I so happy when Peter's class never won.  Ha.

Anyway, so in the carnival ran something like 11 am to 4 pm.  Peter had his track meet that morning which I went to for a short time before I had to go leave and volunteer at booth from 11-noon.   Peter's track meet finished up about 12:30 so we all headed over to the school right about 1:00.  I also had a teen from the dance center meet us there to help with the kids.  She was fundraising for her summer dance programs, so I thought having her help me out with the kids that afternoon for a few hours would be a nice way for her to earn some money for her dance (without me looking like I was playing favorites and contributing to her and not others) and also allow us to enjoy the carnival better without the stress of us chasing all the kids.  

We grabbed lunch and then set the kids off to have fun.

The petting zoo was an absolute favorite.

It was honestly a bit hard to keep track of them.  Peter was running wildly and she had the girls so we just kind of went back and forth checking in on them.

There is a lot to do.  There's a cake walk, 3 or 4 game booths, a couple bouncy houses, this wipe out style inflatable where you jump across the big red bouncy balls, water balloon wars, the petting zoo, a photo booth, face painting, some jumpy trampoline things and probably more.... but the main attraction running all the way across the fields over everybody's head is the zipline.

A.J. who is generally the more hesitant one is also apparently a thrill seeker and wanted to do the zip-line and she wanted to go with me.  

Peter who generally is fearless, probably because he doesn't think things over too clearly, has had a few goes on a roller coaster and made it to the top of a zipline staircase before wanted no part (until the very end when it was too late anyway.)  He's fearless but not a thrill seeker.  I don't think he appreciates heights all that much.

So I went with A.J., wondering all the while we waited in the line if she would chicken out.

I should really know better.

Funny thing is, the staircase got longer and higher as we climbed.  I'm in no way afraid of heights, but it was kind of a spiral stair and it just kept going longer than I expected.  I guess I only noticed it because I was wondering about A.J.

She was fine.

We got to the top.  The guy hooked our harnesses to the line.  I guess I expected him to say something but he didn't.  Probably didn't enjoy working the rich kid's private school carnival and thought we were all snobby brats or something.  In any case once he clipped us on, he just opened the doors.  And then, silly me I expected him to count down or A.J. need some convincing or something but NO.

Before I even really noticed the doors were open she'd already jumped out.

So then I just jumped out after her.

She was smiling and laughing.

And I am of course, a lot heavier and so while she kind of glided delicately to the bottom I came down with a lot bouncing on the wire and went zooming past her and all the way to the end, bouncing waaaaay into the brake pad at the end and then back again as she came and kind of nudged the break  area and spun in a circle.

She was giggling and smiling and so so happy.  A bit crazy actually.  Like one of those full on belly gut laughs with her head flying back and her face turning pink like she needed more air than she was getting.

The guys came and unhooked us.

So that happened.

Never underestimate that child is all.

I don't know why I don't actually know any better yet.

Peter had stood still exactly long enough to watch me and A.J. zipline.  Lucy was with the sitter in the petting zoo and Peter kept disappearing over near the middle school kids on the dunking booth and the water balloon cannon wars.  I'm so thankful for the caliber of children at this school.  Even the middle school kids were kindly putting up with the crazy excited first grader who never had the partner he was supposed to have and who kept trying to take more than the 3 balloons her was allotted per turn.  

Face painting before water balloons may have been a silly choice.

A.J. has a go on the trampolines even though she wasn't really big enough to take advantage of the harnesses bungees to flip.

Lucy and the sitter really did keep winding up in the petting zoo.  They weren't the only ones.  It's hard t argue with baby bunnies and goats, chickens and a pot bellied pig.

Peter was all over the place.  Literally.  A few of his friends asked me where he was but I didn't know what to tell them.  I think he was more interested in doing what HE wanted to do then doing anything that anybody else wanted to do.    He says he doesn't have many good friends here, and I'm working on helping him to understand that sometimes, if you want to make better friend ships he's not always going to be able to exactly what he wants to do.

There was another big inflatable obstacle course thing.  I suppose it was supposed to be for the older children, but as the afternoon wore on they kind of took it over.  It was entertaining watching one of the middle school teachers remind the middle school boys not to be too rough when the younger kids were around and he kept making them wait.  Haha.  Life lessons.

Lucy did go through a time or too as well, but somebody had to basically lift her over the climbing wall at the beginning so after a few trips Matt made her take a break.

The photo booth was fun too.  :)

Just to prove that he was still, and clean at least once during that afternoon.

First Grade Publishing Party

April 2016

One of the big projects in First Grade at our school is a non-fiction "published" writing piece.  The kids worked for several weeks, on several drafts, on their project which was supposed to inform the reader about a topic of their choice and hopefully convince them to try whatever it was the kids had written about.

Peter, oddly enough, although I can't say that I am surprised, choose to write about Minecraft.  

Never mind the fact that at this point Peter didn't actually have the ability to play Minecraft.  He'd been asking about it for months.  He'd brought home and poured over multiple strategy guides from the school library.  He'd even acquired a few small toys to fiddle with.  But his only actual experience with the game had been once when Matt sat down with him once shortly after Christmas and played a trial version on our X-Box with him for maybe an hour, but that was really it.  

All that to say that why on Earth this was the topic he choose is completely beyond me.

I wold have thought he'd have written about something he actually had lots of experience with.  You know, like soccer, basketball or baseball.  Pokemon.  His Battleground game.  His Battleship games that he'd been toting around the house begging anybody he could find to play with him for months. Chess.  Legos.  Heck, I don't know.  Riding his bike?  I can think of literally dozens of topics that he had extensive knowledge he could write about that would have made more sense.  

But what do I know anyway?

Nobody asks Mom.

Certainly not Peter anyway.

And I have been advised more than once over my short years as a parent so far to let my children do their own thing. Follow their own interests, make their own choices and deal with the consequences of their own mistakes.  I'm not saying this was a mistake.  It was him choosing to write about something that interests him.

Just maybe wasn't the topic choice that made the most sense is all.

Whatever.

Thankfully, due to a great deal of help and encouragement, hard work and probably prayers from his two wonderful teachers, Peter finally did get his book done in time for the "Publishing Party" when the kids in his class were going to present their works to the public.

Peter's book was very well done.  

It wasn't the neatest thing he'd ever made, but I reminded myself of his age.  I also reminded myself of some old writings I found in a box of my things awhile ago from when I was in 2nd grade.  I have vague memories of writing that well researched report on Polar Bears back when I was 7, but I also have memories of being shocked at how messy my very best effort looked to my grown up eyes.  As a teacher I see little kid school work pretty often.  I know it isn't fair to expect better from my own children, but for some reason I sometimes do.  But like I said, I made myself be realistic with him.  

He worked SO hard on his book.  

He was so proud of his book.

And he's six.

A little bit messy or not, it was amazing!!!!!  He'd written pages and pages about how to play the game.  He'd written about the different characters and the strategies you should use.  He'd drawn pictures.  And more importantly, he was proud of the work he'd done.

Of course, after we looked at Peter's book we were supposed to visit with the other children and read their work.  I looked at a few but Lucy was being fussy in her stroller (although now that I write that I can't or the life of me figure out why she was home with us on a Friday morning and not at school.)  Anyway, so I looked at a few kid's books and then chatted with the teachers and a few other parents.

Meanwhile, Matt visited nearly every student's desk.  He read through the books and made lovely compliments.  He made the kids laugh.  It was a little bit odd and a little bit adorable actually. 

Daddy Dinner

April 2016

At our school, one of the very biggest events of the year for the children in PreK and Kindergarten, is the Annual Dinner.  And, although they call it the "Annual Dinner" what they mean is that it is actually, the annual "DADDY dinner."

Of course, there is no requirement that the kids bring their Daddy's, because you know, that isn't always possible, but traditionally, that who they bring.  And, although I was somewhat swamped with my daily life of parenting 3 kids and working (even from home) full time and I didn't help, I guess the tradition is that the Mom's do most of the Organizing and Decorating in order to make the evening a special event for the kids and the Dads.  

So I guess it was a Mermaids and Pirates theme.  I'm not sure if that's what they do every year or not, but A.J. and her classmates practiced for weeks before hand to learn lots of sweet little songs to perform for their Dads.

And, I guess with everything going on, I didn't really think too much of it until pretty much a few days before.  Then it occurred to me that, really, Matt should wear his uniform.  I mean, I think the other Dads just wore nice suits or a shirt and tie maybe, but in any case, he just needed to wear it.  He's only got so many more chances to wear the thing anyway, and also... well...

THIS:

A.J. had literally just gotten her somewhat overpriced Easter dress a few weeks earlier.  I originally planned on her wearing that, because really she'd just gotten it and I love it and all of that.

But then the day before I got swept up in a wave of nostalgia or something.  I thought about all the times I've seen sweet photos of daughters and their daddies all dressed up for Father/Daughter dances.  I don't know why we never seemed to find these events for them to attend.  But now we had this one and I had somehow convinced Matt to just embrace the evening and wear not only his uniform but his DRESS uniform, so A.J. just sort of needed another new outfit.  

Like, the perfect new outfit.

Before I picked up A.J. from dance one afternoon, I ran into Janie and Jack.

I literally NEVER go in there.  

I think in all actually, in nearly 7 years of parenting I had been into that store exactly one other time and that had been when Lucy was turning a year old and I'd been searching for the perfect dress for her to wear in her first birthday portraits.  I'd certainly never bought anything in there before, although I had been told you could find some nice deals on the sale racks in the back.  I went in.  As it was just after Easter, there were dozens and dozens of gorgeous spring dresses on sale.  Many were still on the pricey side.  But then the sales lady came over.  She asked me what I was looking for and as we chatted she was so helpful and it turns out her niece dances with A.J. on the Senior Company.  She dug and dug through the racks with me until I found a very sweet dress that I loved for a fair price.  Then she helped me find shoes and a sweater and a hair bow to complete the outfit.  I think the whole look turned out very sweet.  (Although, honestly, in the bright early evening sunlight while it didn't photograph all that well.)  

Sometimes it's just nice for a girl to get to feel extra pretty for a special event.  I don't tend to be that fancy over all, but this is something I know.  Especially when Daddy is involved.

I wasn't jealous at all of their event.  I was happy to stay home with Peter and Lucy.  (Lucy was desperate to go along.)  However, I just would have loved to have been a fly on the wall and been able to watch the whole event.

When they came home a few hours later, Matt said they'd had a great time except that poor A.J. seemed to be coming down with a tummy bug and wasn't feel very great.  (She actually stayed home from school the next day.)

But, he did bring me a few pictures.

Matt, A.J. ad her friend Henry in the photo booth.

Henry's dad joined them.

A.J. posing with the mermaid decorations.

Here she is during the performance.

Here's a short video of one of their little song dances.

So cute.

The place mat A.J. colored and the table favors they brought home.

Easter

March 2016

Why is it Easter creeps up on me and surprises me every year?

Maybe it's because after so many years of the Navy disrespecting Easter, I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it again.

Anyway, I had no plans of visiting an Easter Bunny this year honestly.  When Peter was a baby we didn't go and the only reason the tradition even started is because when we were in Washington I just happened to go to the mall on afternoon with the kids and the bunny just happened to be there.  It wasn't even planned at all.  

Meanwhile, Peter is over it and I was busy with work and the kids activities.  Besides we had such lovely photos from the 2 previous years at Seaport Village it didn't seem worth it to even try again.  But A.J. brought it up and then kept bringing it up until we finally found the Bunny visiting the mall up in Santa Cruz and decided to take the kids and get lunch.  

Once we got there, Lucy was terrified and even when promised a new Beanie Boo insisted I be in the photo too.  So this is what we wound up with.  

Then for whatever reason my two dancer girls did ballet walks through the entire mall before we found some place to eat.

It sure is a good thing they're cute is all.

A week later, on Good Friday, I believe, after I'd exploded some of the eggs in attempting to hard boil them, we dyed eggs.

Matt was largely in charge of taking the pictures which explains this random one of Brutus.

And then on Sunday morning, the Bunny came and left treats for the kids.

Before they made themselves sick on the candy, we pointed out that there seemed to be eggs hidden around the downstairs for them to find,  Thus began phase two of the Easter fun as they ran around like mad things hunting them down.

Just when they'd thought the fun was over we reminded them it was time to get dressed in their nice clothes for church.

At least they clean up pretty well.

We decided to attend mass at their school because it's close to home and convenient and honestly because we've never exactly picked a parish here.

The service was lovely and it was nice that the children saw many of their friends from school.

But more expectantly, there were still more eggs hidden all through the grounds surrounding the chapel for the kids to hunt down.  So we came to the Easter fun part 3.

I went with Lucy who was supposed to look mainly in the garden area with the other youngest children.  Matt took the other two, which meant mostly they ran around like maniacs and he occasionally reminded them not be be selfish and to stay out of the trees and things.  

Eventually, the girls had enough and settled down to empty out the eggs and collect their treasure.

One of the sweet little boys from A.J.'s class joined them because, well, why not.  

Peter kept hunting determined there might be more out there.  Always the overly competitive one.

And also, get out of that tree!!!

It took some doing, but eventually we did manage to get them all home.  Where, naturally they all set about stuffing their faces again.

A.J. did a little dancing.

Peter kept right on eating.

Lucy fell in a basket.

It was a great day.  We are so blessed.