The Past Few Weeks

Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks here. And with Mike leaving next week on a business trip, it's going to keep being busy! But I have been snapping shots of what we've been up to. There are more on the real camera, but we'll get to those another day. Pardon some of the fuzzy photos--with how much they move around, it's almost impossible to take a clear picture of my kids.

Finn loves balls, and has decided that (most of the time) it can't be any ball, it has to be a basketball. He loves to try shooting it at the hoop. He is not content to play with it in the hallway while the men who work in town play during their lunch breaks--but I make him anyway since they usually use both smaller courts in the gym. But when he gets the chance, he could spend all day shooting around. Or trying to anyway.

Look at that form! He actually shoots with one hand!

We said goodbye to one of Madie's teachers last month. Her boyfriend found a job in Portland and they are moving down there. Miss T. was great! We'll miss her a lot. When we met her new assistant teacher, Miss Bree, Madie said she wouldn't talk or play with her. (She said the same thing about the now head teacher when she was new.) But it looks like she's adjusting fine. 

Again, ultra fuzzy. Miss T. was trying very hard to get Madie to smile, but she wouldn't even look at the camera, so it was a tickle fight. 

Madie has learned a lot in the past few months. I've been letting her read a few of the one- and two-letter words in our books together--just the same few over and over--and I think more than anything else she's getting the hang of sounding things out. She has a friend named Zoe and during quiet time one day, she was drawing her a picture. She brought it out to show me and said, "I wrote Zoe's name on it. I just sat there and said, 'Z-Z-Z, OH-OH-OH, EE-EE-EE until I could spell it." And she did! Correctly! Here's a shout out to all the people in the world with phonetic names: I LOVE YOU! 

Last week a friend of mine returned after being away for a few months. She fell ill right after getting home, so I watched her younger child a couple of days. Both Madie and Finn loved it. Madie liked helping to babysit, and Finn decided he would watch his own baby. He ran to get him, put him in Viv's carseat, and gave him some toys. Then he simply stood next to the carseat looking down at his baby, and would gently reach down and pat him on the head and say, "Baby." It was so cute.

I also watched Killian last week. Man, I'm gonna miss this little guy. I love when he and Finn get together.

Finn stuffing his face with oyster crackers while they wait for the soup to cool at the cafe. Killian had some too, but he mostly just wanted to get them wet in his mouth, then squish them in his hand. You see his right fist? Yeah...

"Finn, Killian! Look at me! Look over here boys!"

And this is after the oil truck finally turned the corner down the street.

I love this picture of Killi so much, I actually cropped my own son out of it.

When I told Finn he couldn't have another scone, and that we had to leave. 

And this is where Killian starts getting teary-eyed. Oh my word.

Today had a wicked morning. After dropping Mike off and going to the transfer station, I worked out at the gym for 20 minutes before I had to be downstairs to sub for the AM Abs class, which got over in time for me to be 10 minutes late to subbing for toddler story time at the library, which got over just in time for me to be 5 minutes late (but really right on time 'cause they were 5 minutes behind) to getting the oil changed in my car. While that was going on, Madie, Finn, and I got lunch across the street which was really special for Madie since I usually do it when I'm grocery shopping while she's at school. (The morning just gets away from us, so we frequent that cafe weekly now. Thankfully they have a kind of rewards program, so I get a certain percent off when my receipts add up to a certain amount.) After that we had about 15 more minutes before the car was ready, so we went to the hardware store to get a flea collar (as a precaution) for Elvis. And guess what we found...

Finn, meet Amigo. Amigo, meet Finn.

Finn was absolutely in love. And Amigo, much like Elvis, is a wicked sweet dog. He and Finn chased each other around the store until Amigo finally got a little too rambunctious and knocked Finn down. Finn was fine, but the owner was upset by it so she took him home. Madie was relieved. She likes animals, but is uncomfortable around ones she doesn't know very, very well. She was okay with Amigo--happy with him even--as long as I was around, but on one of my many trips down an isle to get Finn, Amigo went up to her and sniffed her hair and she kind of freaked out. I explained he was just sniffing her like Elvis does, but I get it--his head is above her own. She did say he had "sad eyes like Elvis" and she liked that. She thinks it's cute.

Speaking of dogs, here's the quote of the day from this household: 

Madie to Elvis: "Come here poopy--" then, catching herself: "Come here gas. Mom! I know Elvis' second name! Gas! 'Cause he's stinky!" Spot on.

Troop 287 Winter Klondike

 We just had another successful outing with the troop, heading to Blackwoods campground in Acadia. We got a late start, but made it to the parking lot around 5:45 pm, and hiked in about 0.25 miles to the campground. We had to haul in a lot of stuff like wood, gear, food, etc. First thing we did was light the lantern, second thing we did was get the fire ready, third was build shelters and eat. The food, you may ask? Bacon-wrapped hot dogs, chips, brownies (thank you, Dinah!), s'mores, dutch oven apple crisp, and jambalaya (thank you, Matt!). The feast was epic. I almost couldn't fall asleep I was so full. I put away 5 hot dogs myself...along with half a huge bag of chips, and all of the other stuff above. I think we were all feeling pretty good after dinner. 

It got below zero that night, but my bag kept me sweltering. At about midnight, one of the boys started crying out. I thought he may have been talking in his sleep, which seems to be a common theme with our troop. Levi went to check on him and apparently he was pretty scared. He had never really slept under the stars, and was used to RV camping. He ended up going home shortly after. Other than that, the trip was a success. We got up in the morning and hiked to the ocean for a great morning view. Special thanks to all who came and participated.

Is it spring yet??

This has been a rough winter for a California boy. I've only recently brought it up to some Mainers, and they agree that it's been really bad. Some have even commented that it's one of the worst ones in recent years. But, this is what the farmers almanac called for. So, we might as well make the most of it.

Great facial hair.

Check out those lips!

Just reading.

Kid Quotes

Finn is starting to really say a lot of words, and has even started to put two words together, sometimes. I will prompt him and prompt him to say something, and he'll either ignore me or laugh or say something else. If Madie prompts him though, he parrots her immediately. 

Me: "Finn, say, 'Yes, please.' Say, 'Yes, please!' Say, 'Yes. Please.'"

Madie (after 2 or 3 straight minutes of me begging): "Finn, say, 'Yes, please!'"

Finn: "Yes, please!"

I roll my eyes. 

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Thank you!'"

Finn: "Thank you!"

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Sky!'"

Finn: "Sky"

Madie: "Finn, say, 'Ultraviolet rays cause harmful skin damage!'"

...It's ridiculous.

Today I was reading a list of funny verbal mistakes kids make, like calling blueberries boobies and lobsters mobsters, and the like. Well, Madie has one to add to the list. After dinner Dad suggested playing some music while they cleaned up. 

Madie: "I want to play Comfy Panda."

My mind: Is this some game they came up with while I was gone one night?

Mike: "What?"

Madie: "Comfy Panda. I want to play that."

Mike: "Do you mean Kung Fu Panda?"

Madie: "Yes, Comfy Fu Panda. Comfu Panda. Comfy Fu Panda." 

Hahahahahaha, I was just cracking up in the bathroom the whole time! She never actually nailed it down, but it was so cute!

Happy Valentines Day, from Maine

I snapped this beauty on our way home from church last Sunday. You're welcome.

California Love

Last week, I went on a business trip to our Sacramento facility to implement a recent project I've been working on. I was well aware of the Sacramento facility when I got hired, and once we moved out to Maine I was already looking forward to the first chance I would get to come back out to California. I know a lot of people that complain about California because it 'has too much concrete' or 'the traffic is terrible' or it's 'too liberal'. While it may be those things, it's also a lot of other things, both good and bad. Being a native Californian, I am biased. I love California.

Most of the week was full of meetings and work. But I did make it to Livermore one evening to drop in on some old friends (thank you Atheys, Paradises, and Weltz family for being home!). I also made it out to visit Uncle Paul and Aunt Dena. And ventured out to Old Town Sacramento one evening. I hadn't been here since 4th grade. I meant to take the family here when we lived in Livermore, but we just never made it up. It has a cool wild west feel. This trip was kind of an accidental 'historic' trip. I wasn't planning on visiting Old Town, but it was a spur of the moment idea.

I used Friday as a play day since I traveled on a Sunday and stayed with a friend in Benicia. Apparently, Benicia was the original state capital of California! I knew it had changed a few times, but the details were all fuzzy until last week. I visited some friends at my old work in the morning and was hiking in Muir Woods by the afternoon in the middle of a rain storm. From Thursday night through Saturday morning it had rained up to 8 inches, with more on the way. California's drought has been very bad this year, but this storm looks to have helped ease the pain a bit.

Special thanks to Peter and Doris for letting me stay with them a couple nights and taking care of me. It was an invigorating trip on many fronts. It was obviously nice to get out of the cold, work at a facility where nobody knew me and couldn't pull me aside to talk, be where I consider home, and renew old connections. I'd love to find a way to bring Mal and the kids next time though. I know Mal misses her friends there.

Old Town Sacramento

Old Town landmark.

Sacramento River

Boardwalk

Naan! I miss the different cultures.

Original state capital

Moss-covered oak tree in Muir Woods

Happy to smell the redwoods again

The pocket camera

 My favorite feature of my iPhone is the camera. It's also my biggest disappointment. I love carrying a camera in my pocket that I can whip out to capture a moment with one of our kids, or capture a landscape shot. Then when I get home and upload it to my computer, it's disappointing how poor the quality is. Next phone upgrade is going to be based on camera quality, even if that means switching form an iPhone (sacrifice, I know). 

Here is a recap of January:

Zero degrees to start a beautiful morning along coastal Maine to start the new year.

We got a new niece! Madie really liked holding Mary.

Nothing like bonding while brushing teeth.

We got a dog, thanks to Mallory's brother Levi.

We go way back with Elvis. He is slightly older than Madie and the two have hung out quite a bit.

Finn getting into our snow cave. This cave was about 10 feet tall at its peak. It has significantly shrunk down since, but still stands almost 100% intact in our front yard.

We like to go out into the woods in our backyard and explore. It's been especially adventurous with Elvis.

Let's just say Finn is putting this poor dog through the ringer. He has been hit, slapped, bit, pinched, punched...we won't even go into projectiles. Through it all, Elvis is patient and tolerates Finn. This little boy is just a barbarian.

Madie was loving this ninja cupcake at the Chinese New Year Party we went to.