Sprinklers, Popsicles, Pools...Summer

I am still in denial that Summer is over.  I love Fall but this year I have been sad to see Summer go.  We had such a fun summer.  We were able to spend a lot of time with family and friends.
Our Summer in pictures:

 This was a day when Lucy was pretending to be Oran. 

Lucy with Trev one of our favorite friends.  We were sad his family moved away  this summer.

Water was a great entertainer this summer.  We also made several trips to the zoo.

 Lucy with her biggest Rooooaar!

 Wrestling the Crocodile

 Riding the train

 The Giraffes are a favorite.  The kids love feeding them crackers.

Lucy coloring my flowers.  She said they needed to be rainbow.

Oran and Lucy love to paint, color, cut, glue and play with play dough.

 A lot of summer afternoons I would find Lucy taking a little nap.  I should also note that this is Lucy's favorite shirt.  I really don't know why.

Plumbing 101

Yesterday, while making dinner my kitchen sink stopped draining. I turned on the garbage disposal thinking that might do the trick. It did a great job of moving the water to the other sink. When Dan came home he helped me plunge the sinks but there was no change.
Dan had to leave and I should have put the kids to bed but I just couldn't leave the sink alone. For some reason it was driving me crazy.
I was talking to one of my younger sisters who seemed to know quite a bit about plumbing. I took her advice and drained the sink by loosening the trap. I took the whole trap off and didn't see any kind of clog. I did realize how dirty the inside of the pipe looked. I couldn't help but clean it all out. Unsure of what to try next I took all of the pipes out from under the sink and cleaned them. I put them all back together and tried the water. It still wasn't moving the water through. I consulted my dad and a friend who suggested using something to stick back in the pipe behind the wall. I once again drained out all the water and took out the pipes. I used a long plastic, spiky stick that I use to clean out the other drains and then put the pipes all back. Still clogged. I drained the water and again took all the pipes out and this time used a metal coat hanger with a hook on the end to reach back inside the wall. I still didn't find anything but put the pipes back hoping it would work. No luck.
I head upstairs to check on the kids. I hear water and a little girl laughing. I peek my head around the corner as she dumps another cup of water in the hallway floor. She says, "It's a pool, I'm pretending." Nice. I get her in bed, and sop up the water.
Today, I called a plumber!

Just for Fun

I saw this on one of my friend's blog and I thought it sounded like a fun idea. If you would like to play along send me a comment.
Rules:

1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people that comment on this post. It will be a surprise and may arrive at any time in the next 365 days (yes, a year).

2. To sign up to receive a gift from me you must play along too. Share the giving love on your blog by promising to send a handmade goodie to the first three people that comment on your blog post.

3. You must have a blog.

4. After commenting on my post, you have to post this (or similar) on your blog to spread the love.

5.Leave me your email address (if I don't already have it) and I will contact you.

"Mom, you forgot Cubby!"

Pretending, imaginary friends, alternate identities, we have it all. Oran and Lucy love to pretend they are Jake and Izzy (two characters from the Disney show Jake and the Never Land Pirates). On the show, Jake and Izzy have another friend named Cubby. When Oran and Lucy are playing as Jake and Izzy they will only respond to these names and will often use phrase like: "Off to Never Land" "Oh, Coconuts!" "Twist and Wiggle" "It's Captain Hook" "Yo ho, let's go!"

Cubby will also play with them. They talk to Cubby and treat him like he is actually playing with them. I on the other hand forget about Cubby. I forget to give him food at lunch, I forget to buckle him in his car seat and forget to get him out of the car quite a lot. Oran and Lucy or is it Jake and Izzy will excitedly yell, "Mom, you forgot Cubby!" as we are walking into stores, the library, or preschool. I hear, "Mom, you forgot Cubby!" when I give them their plates at lunch.

I love listening to their little adventures. I hope Cubby stays around for awhile. I don't know that I will ever be able to forget Cubby.

Other Alternate Identities
Diego and Dora
Woody and Jesse

Other Imaginary Friends
Carrot the Snowman
Bullseye the Horse
Swiper the Fox

Day at the Museum

On Good Friday, the kids and I met my parents and two of my brothers at the Children's Museum. It was so busy. I was thankful we had 2.5 adults per child. Oran and Lucy loved the dinosaur exhibit. I even let them wear the dinosaur costumes. I try and avoid such things because who knows when and if they ever get washed and what kind of germs the kids could be exposed to. I just tried really hard not think about it and focus on how much fun Oran and Lucy were having. They loved playing in the dinosaur nests and sitting on the eggs.
Oran and Lucy both rode the carousel for the first time. I love how such a simple ride captures my kids personalities so perfectly. While waiting in line the kids were watching the carousel going around. Lucy tells me she wants the biggest horse, one that goes up and down. Oran says he isn't sure which one he wants to ride. When we get on for our turn Lucy heads straight for a big, jumping horse that has stopped in the highest position. Oran walks straight for the bench and says, "This is a great spot." While riding her jumping horse Lucy keeps repeating, "I am winning. The little girl is winning the race." When we get off the ride, I ask if they want to ride again. Oran says, "Nope, I am good." Lucy says, "Yes!"

Girl Drama...Already

I hear Lucy screaming in the basement. Oran is yelling that Lucy painted her toes. Picturing nail polish everywhere, already planning the best way to clean it up, I run down stairs. Lucy is crying and trying to talk but I can't understand anything. Looking around I see a row of nail polish bottles, closed, in a line on my desk. I look at Lucy. I look at her painted toes; while not perfect the only nail polish I see is on her toes. I can't figure out why she is so upset. Maybe she doesn't like that she got some polish off her nail and on her skin. I use remover and start trying to clean them up a bit. I start on the left side taking some of the green off. Lucy starts calming down. I think I have it figured out. I move on to taking some of the pink polish off her skin and she starts getting more upset again and starts yelling "green, green". I move back to her pinkie toe and remove all the green polish. Instantly all the screaming and crying stops. Lucy looks at me and says, "Thanks, Mom. I don't like the green polish."
I don't know what surprises me more: The fact that my 2 1/2 year old painted her toes with multiple colors of polish without getting polish anywhere but on her toes OR That she screamed for 20 minutes because she painted two of her toes green and decided she didn't like green polish.

A Nice Break

We took a week off from all of our schedules and took a break. We spent the week hiking through a cave and seeing a waterfall, playing in the ocean, building sandcastles, enjoying the sun and warm weather, swimming in multiple pools one after the other, learning about space, seeing space shuttles and spending lots of time together.

I ended up with over 400 pictures. I just posted a few of my favorites for now. Maybe I will post more later.

On our last morning we got up early and walked to the beach to watch the sun rise. This is my favorite picture; I just wish we were a little more put together and not in jammies.

Soccer

Oran is playing soccer. His first game was a little rough since it was freezing and very windy. Oran was so excited until he didn't make a goal. He kept saying, "I am just not good at soccer." He wouldn't play anymore of the game. Dan had a little heart to heart with him and I spent the next week talking about how if we practice and keep trying we can get better. His second game went much better. It was about 20 degrees warmer which made a big difference. He was happy and kept trying. He was unsure of what to do when on defense; I think he got a little bored. Lucy has a little friend whose brother is on Oran's team. They didn't care to watch the game -instead they spun around in circles until they fell down...again and again and again.

Snowy Days

Meet Carrot--Oran and Lucy's first snowman. They have been waiting all winter to build a snowman. Today the snow was wet enough and Dad came home early and was able to help. It was perfect.

We have had several fun snowy days this winter. Oran and Lucy love to play in the snow. I am always the first one ready to come inside. Oran likes to make mazes in the snow and Lucy just loves eating it.

Bird, Bird Come and Play

This afternoon while helping me straighten her room Lucy started talking about her birds (the ones on her mobile).

Lucy: "I want to hold my bird" said while cupping her hands.
Me: "The birds stay on the sticks, they can't come down."
Lucy: Looking at me with really big eyes, "At night they fly, fly, fly." She began flapping her arms and moving very fast around the room on her tip toes. "They fly, fly, fly. They pick me up and fly, fly, fly. Be careful Mom they bite your nose."
Me: "Really? They pick you up and fly?"
Lucy: "Yes! They fly, fly, fly. Be careful they bite your nose." She is quiet for a minute, "I have an idea! We need popcorn. Popcorn on the floor and make a nest. That's a good plan. The birds will fly, fly, fly. Eat popcorn. Sit in nest. I will catch bird. I will hold bird."
Me: "I could make you a bird to hold."
Lucy: "Two birds! Fly, fly, fly."

I have a feeling the next time we have popcorn some will be saved for the birds.

Silly Girl

I was not expecting to see this silly girl on my way up to bed. I love how this step was most likely chosen because it was the closest she could be to me without being spotted.