Getting seized by summer

In an attempt to have some summer fun before we get seized by heat and humidity, we have gone on two outings recently.

Since Mark's committed to spending most of the rest of the summer slaving over mice in an air-conditioned lab, we took our "last chance to go camping" on a very rainy weekend.

I paid for our campsite while sheets of rain fell outside; we had a brief hour (miracle!) respite from the rain to get the tent up. We didn't do any roasting, but moved our picnic inside:

This is where they started sleeping. We love our huge--and very rain-proof--tent! This was its maiden voyage; we heard tremendous deafening thunder and were woken by lightning all night, but didn't get wet! We had a bright green tree frog hiding under our rain tarp in the morning--guess he liked it too. :)

We weren't satisfied with just amphibians and raccoons, so the next morning we went on a soggy hunt for:

Mark plans to make a painting of this tree.

I felt like we were living in a dinosaur painting.




Mark, the alligator-whisperer, finally detected this:
It was a good personality test for our kids: Simon ran about 50 yards away and hid on the other side of the road, Allianna parked herself with a scowl in the stroller, and Mary Tessa trotted towards it. Until the gator lunged. For a turtle, but still, I grabbed Tessa and moved back. Mark was nearly weaping tears of joy and after we saw the gator put away 3 fish/turtles in classic gulpgulpgulp fashion he declared, "This makes it all worth it."

For me to be happy, camping needs to include hiking trails. We got lost, the thunder cloud found us, Simon hiked like a trooper even though he was scared and Mark and I carried girls and mud-laden strollers.

We prayed under this tree for the rain to slow up enough for us to make it back to the van. In about 5 minutes it did and we were happy to get the kids in dry clothes and food and away from hypothermia. Can you get chilled to the bone in Texas? Also, this happens to be our only picture with Mark in it. I am a terrible photographer and make him keep the camera in his hands. But it was fun and we want to go again tomorrow, just sans tent and rain.


For our second outing, we went to see our (mediocre) Astros play our Padres (go Padres!)--it was a win/win experience cheering for everyone.

Simon declaring with a satisfied air, "These are pretty good seats."



Mary Tessa trying to blind the batter with her blues.

All's good when you have licorice and peanuts.

We're off to the beaches of North Carolina next week!

Nobody peed their pants.

Mary Tessa pushed the shopping cart into a cardboard display and made it fall on an elderly lady.

I ripped off part of my thumbnail picking up a can.

There were at least 47 Chinese fire drills held in our car cart. More car evacuating than product selecting.

Two girls ate five packs of fruit snacks.

Tessa ran towards a car in the parking lot and I had to yell and she cried all through the parking lot as I held her and her dolly in a vice grip while pushing 319 lbs of cart.

And to think that this was the day I decided to try coupons.

Busted.

Mark comes home from work while the rest of us are sitting at dinner and is bemoaning to me that he went to a study group and they were all throwing around the "F"-word a lot. One of those conversations that you think you're having over the top of the kids' heads.

Allianna, to me: What is the "F"-word?

E: I'll let your dad answer that. [He brought it up after all!] Mark?

M: It's the very worst word you can say. You don't need to know it. It's very bad.



S: Is it "faint"? [phonics training is working at kindergarten!]

A: Is it "fan"?

They rapidly suggest lots of other "F"-words.

E: If you know it, it's not the word. You don't know this word.

A, contemplating: The "s"-word is "stupid".

E: That's one of them.

A: I know what the "B"-word is.

Not to be outdone, S: I know the "H-word". [walks over to Mom and whispers in her ear] It's hate. One time at pre-K [last year] Amirah yelled at lunch that someone used the "h"-word!

A: I know what the "B-word" is. I know it. It's "BUST-ed". "Buuus-TED."

S: Yeah, you're right. It is "Busted."

A: Busted. Busted. BUH-sted. [she likes the way it rolls off her tongue. she uses it in regular life almost as well as an adult uses the "d"-word. ]


Which fortunately didn't come up tonight.

Bright and lovely.

Mother's day was filled with things bright and lovely around here.

I woke up to a surprise installation art this morning (so THAT was why I had to go off by myself for two hours yesterday!). Bright, and quite lovely!!!!!

This one has "I [heart] M-O-M" dangling from its shwoops.

On Thursday I attended a Mom Makeover at Simon's kindergarten class. He's now seriously considering going to "doing make-up school" and is trying to decide which of his friends he'll room with.

Personally, I think accenting the shadow under the eye is an underutilized trick. Hair, make-up, back massage, nails and jewelry and then I was worthy of Allianna's "bright and lovely" overtures as heard here:

Letting your sister take your lickin'

Simon is a sweet brother. Mary had already finished her allotment of popsicles and he hadn't, so he let her have every other lick of his. Just plain sweet. Patient and kind. Generous and selfless. I could go on. I love that boy.