My Girl: 20+ questions

My Girl

Height: 41.5 inches  (43rd %ile) Weight: 40.25 pounds (62nd %ile)
I'm convinced the high percentile for her weight comes from her much larger than average head.  She is quite lean otherwise.

1. What are your favorite colors?
Blue, purple, turquoise, magenta, green
She is definitely off of pink, and anything pretty or fancy for that matter.  The princess phase is over.  She hates pink, but magenta is just fine.  I was surprised to see green make the list.  For awhile she was so apposed to the color she wouldn't even use a green cup or dish.

2. What is your favorite thing to eat?
spaghetti, pizza toast

3. What is your favorite candy?
minty M&Ms
We get these at the gas station on the corner.  They are pretty yummy, kind of like junior mints had a baby with green M&Ms.

4. What is your favorite drink?
water
Can't forget "pink fizzy".  That's really grapefruit Juice Squeeze.  Both kids really love it.

5. Where is your favorite place to go?
Happy Hollow

6. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
Play family games
Her favorite game is Richard Scarry's board game.  She also really likes Set.

7. What is your favorite toy?
Stuffed dinosaurs, Windy the unicorn, and my Rodey
The unicorn is actually a My Little Pony unicorn one of my brothers gave to me for Christmas many years ago. 

8. What is your favorite thing to wear?
My bracelet and backpack
Her favorite outfit is a white t-shirt and denim shorts.  She'll accessorize from there.  It makes getting dressed pretty easy until Sunday comes around.  For awhile she refused to wear dresses.  I was tired of the fight so I told her she had to look nice and couldn't wear her old t-shirts and shorts, but she could wear Jack's old church clothes.  So for a few weeks she did just that.  Later I dug out a hand me down denim skirt I'd forgotten about.  She thinks it is the best thing ever.

9. What is your favorite animal?
dinosaurs

10. What is your favorite song?
When she comes round the mountains
We make quite the scene as we ride our bike and trailer bike to preschool singing, "When she comes 'round the mountain when she comes...When she comes 'round the mountain when she comes... When she comes 'round the mountain, when she comes 'round the mountain..."  You get the idea.  It takes about 8 minutes to get to school and I don't know how may repeats of the song.  I've tried to teach her other verses or at least to sing the right words, but sometimes you just got to go with it.  It's a pure expression of joy on her part.
I was a little surprised she didn't say Rawhide.  She can do a pretty good rendition of that song thanks to the Cowboy band at the Pioneer Day celebration at the church a couple years ago.  You just never know what is going to stick.

11. What is your favorite book? 
Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems
It's a whole series of books.  My favorite is Today I Will Fly.

12. What is your favorite game?
Richard Scarry's Busy Town board game

13. Who are your best friends?
Audrey, Ben, Quinn, Claire, Jack
She is especially good friends with a few of the girls from preschool.  Three of them have been taking classes together since they were 2 years old, if not a little before then.  They love each other and are best best friends.

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
Play with Jack

15. What is your favorite tv show?
Shaun the Sheep
I can't argue with this.  Shaun is pretty funny and pretty watchable for adults too.

16. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?
My blue blankie and my unicorn

18. What is your favorite thing to do inside?
vacuum with Mom
Really?  I usually hear a lot of complaining about the noise.

19. What do you want for your birthday?
a new Pocoyo hula hoop

20. What do you want to do in the next year?
go to Happy Hollow and ride the Frog Hopper

21. What do you like about school?
Playing with my friends

22. What do you want to be when you grow up?
a paleontologist

23.  Where do you want to go on vacation?
Reno and Salt Lake City
It's all about the friends and cousins.

Buddy Boy: 20+ questions

I'm starting something that I hope I'll remember to do in years to come at the beginning of each school year or at least at some semi-regular intervals.  I take a lot of pictures, but I don't always take time to write down what the kids are like and what they are thinking.  So I thought that this version of 20 questions would help me remember the people that they are now.  I've put their answers in, but I'll also add a little commentary.  I've also included the all-about-me collage we did for school.  I think that sums things up pretty nicely.

Height: 51.25 inches (83rd %ile) Weight: 61 pounds (61st %ile)

It seems like he's grown at least 6 inches over the summer, maybe not that much, but he's grown a lot.  I haven't measured him very often, but based on the length of his pants, he's growing fast.  He's also really growing up, getting more adventurous and more confident.

 

1. What are your favorite colors? 
All the colors that are natural.  Green, blue, and white.

2. What is your favorite thing to eat?
Corn dogs
He also really likes popcorn, Hint of Lime tortilla chips, and beef.  He often asks if we can have beef more frequently.

3. What is your favorite candy? 
Nerds

4. What is your favorite drink?
Sprite

5. Where is your favorite place to go?
Nevada, Reno, because it snows.

6. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
Play board games
He has marked every other night on the calendar as Stratego nights.  We followed through on the first few, but haven't kept it up.  I need to remember, because we all have fun.

7. What is your favorite toy?
Teddy Panda, isn't it obvious?
The world will end if anything ever happens to Teddy Panda.  He also really likes his Legos and has gotten in to board games lately, especially Stratego, Battleship, Clue, and Labyrinth.

8. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Glow in the dark t-shirts
He has two and especially likes to wear them to bed.

9. What is your favorite animal?
Panda

10. What is your favorite song?
TNT by Captain Sparklez
This is a Minecraft parody of a real song.  It is probably better than the original.

11. What is your favorite book? 
Calvin and Hobbes
While anything Calvin and Hobbes is undeniably at the top of the list he also likes Encyclopedia Brown, Dragonbreath, and a couple of California history books for kids called How to get rich in the California Gold Rush and Gold Fever!

12. What is your favorite game?
Clue
Did you know that they have changed Clue?  It is no longer Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum.  They have changed the conservatory to an observatory and added a whole bunch of cards that make the game more complicated, but also potentially shorter, which may be a blessing.  It's an attempt to update the game and make it more relatable to young people today, but it's terrible if you remember playing your Grandmother's version.  I'll never again be able to say it was Professor Plum in the conservatory with the revolver.

13. Who are your best friends?
Everett, Mickey

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
Hang out, work on my tan, swim
Where did that tan comment come from?  Haven't my years of relentless sun screen application been of any use?

15. What is your favorite TV show?
Mythbusters
He also likes Dirty Jobs and is pretty willing to watch little kid TV with his sister.  Thankfully he just gets bored and moves on to other things.

16. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?
Teddy Panda

18. What is your favorite thing to do inside?
Watch TV, play Minecraft, and read

19. What do you want for your birthday?
A revolver

20. What do you want to do in the next year?
Go shooting with Dad

21. What do you like about school?
The teachers, the field
I've learned that he spends his recess time over on the far side of the field hunting for treasure.  I'm not sure what he finds, but it seems like he enjoys the time to unwind a bit and indulge his imagination.

22. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A teacher or an FBI agent
He has recently added Mythbuster to the mix.  That would be my pick.

Sweatshirt and a scarf

So, I've done a bit of sewing.  It isn't a very exciting looking sweatshirt, but did you see the sleeves?  Did you notice how long they are?  Just to give some perspective, that's a 26 inch zipper.  The sleeves come half way down the palms of my hands.  It's wonderful.  They are too long, really, but after years of a sweat shirt that looked like it had 3/4 length sleeves I'm enjoying it.  I may bring them up a bit later, or maybe not.

 

It took awhile to get to this point.  First, finding the fabric was tough.  I wanted cotton sweatshirt fleece in something other than light heathered grey.  I couldn't find it in our local stores in any color so I bought it online in grey and dyed it this mushroom brown.  It isn't quite what I was going for.  I would have like something a little richer, but it works.  Then I was almost finished and realized that the fit was really pretty bad, so I took it mostly all apart and made it fit better.  It isn't perfect, but it looks a lot less like I'm borrowing my husband's clothing.

By the way, if your husband likes colored cotton socks like mine does, white sport socks dye up nicely.  The scout socks that carried him through the first many years of our marriage have gone the way after many years of faithful service.  They have now been replace by brown socks that exactly match my sweatshirt.

Here is my latest scarf.  The calendar says fall and although it is still warm it is definitely feeling fallish.  So it's time to think of scarves and leaves and rich warm colors.  The main colors are called brick and brass, very autumnal.

The large areas aren't very even, but I like it better that way.  If this were a watercolor painting class I'd fail basic washes, but I think it makes it more interesting.

After washing out the resist I twisted it up like you used to do with broomstick skirts in the '80s.  It is easier to wear with the crinkled texture rather than smooth.  I have more ideas but I'm out of white scarves.  Time to place another order.

 

SOLD

In July our landlord decided to sell the house we've been living in for the past two years.  It was not a happy day.  We liked our house.  This triggered a semi-frantic house hunt.  It wasn't good.  Rents have increased a lot in the past two years.  Home prices have come down some, but not as much around here as they have in some parts of the country.  We looked at places to rent and seeing what we got for our money, we started looking at places to buy.  The short story is that we bought our house. 

We like the location and our neighbors and we really like the house and yard.  The layout is really good for a house this size (small).  There isn't any wasted space and there is a lot of natural light.  The landlord had fixed it up to sell it before we moved in so there are some nice updates.  You can tell it's a bit of a DIY job, but it's better than not having it done.  The only downside is the neighborhood schools.  But we have the kids in a district wide parent participation school so it isn't so much of an issue for now.  It just means we get to drive a bit more every day and we'll have to get creative when it's time for middle and high school.  In district transfers are an option, but not guaranteed.

Perhaps the best thing is that we don't have to move.  Aside from expense, I'm glad we don't have to pack up all the boxes.  It can just stay put.  It has, however, put me in the mood to clean out a few closets.

We've already started a project list.  A few need to happen soon, but most will be put off for a little while.  We've lived with it as is for two years.  We can live with most of it for a while longer.  The short list includes fixing a few minor spots on the roof, treating for termites, and taking out the fig tree in the backyard before it grows any more.  I don't like figs.  Most of them go to the squirrels.  I'd much rather have another orange tree.  We have a little one in the front.  Another one in the back would be great.

So, hooray!  We bought a house and we don't even have to move.

First day of school: part II

 

Finally, she's been more than a little excited waiting for her school to start.  Last year preschool was twice a week for a couple of hours.  This year it's five days a week for three whole hours.  This is more than some half day kindergarten programs.  It's OK.  She loves it and she'll be more than ready for the full day kinder class at Buddy Boy's school next year.  The best parts is that she is there with a few of her best friends from class last year.  More friends for more time, more better.

The cousins came

Last Sunday I was talking to my sister in law.  She mentioned that my brother and her oldest son were going backpacking with her Dad and brothers and she was staying home with the little kids.  After I hung up I told my husband about the backpacking trip.  He called back and told her to come play at our house... and she did.  She told me that my husband is crazy.  I know, but it's a good kind of crazy.  She packed up the kids and hit the road early Monday morning making the 15 hour drive in one day. 

 

 

I'm so glad they came.  We had a fantastic week.  We picked Buddy Boy up after school and headed to the beach.  It was the best beach day we've had all summer.  This is the time of year it finally warms up a bit.  Now that summer is offically over, it's beach weather.  Since it was a Tuesday afternoon there weren't the typical summer weekend crowds.  It really was the perfect beach day.

 

 
The most amazing things were the dolphins and the seal that we saw swimming extremely close to shore.  It's one thing to see them at aquariums or lounging on the dock, but to see them swimming and playing in the surf was fantastic.

 
After a burrito dinner on the beach watching the volleyball players, we walked out to Watkins lighthouse.  The little guy cousin has a thing for lighthouses so we couldn't pass up the chance to get up close and personal with one.

 

One afternoon the girls kept busy making an art museum in the back yard.

 

It started with their own art, but soon anything "pretty" was put on display as well.  Scarves, tea pots, plates...

 

We took some of their designs and made feezer paper stencils for t-shirts.  They finished them on the day we walked through the Japanese gardens on our way to Happy Hollow. 

 

My girl loves her cousins.

 

 

Oh, Happy Hollow, what a great afternoon.  Being there with the cousins made it much more fun.  Since we were there later on a Friday afternoon the place was practically deserted.  We saw some animals, but the rides were the highlight for the kids.  Buddy Boy finally worked up enough courage to ride the roller coaster.  Perhaps seeing the three year old jump in line pushed him just a bit.  Right before leaving we rode the little roller coaster three times in a row since no one else was waiting in line.  We were all squealing and laughing so much it was just silly.

 

I hope they'll come back again.  We're only 15 hours away.

Sunflowers

I love growing sunflowers in the yard.  They get so tall so fast.  Once they bloomed the bees loved them.

Then something else started loving them as well.  I don't know what it is, but it works at night.