From What I Hear...

Can't Stop Laughing

Can not stop laughing!

 

The excitement of a 4-year old on his birthday

Have you ever seen a happier boy?    

David was over the moon about his birthday this year.  Who knew turning four could be so exciting? 
We did birthday presents and cake and then headed out to Kung Fu Panda 2, which was very cute and I’d definitely recommend it.  Very good, especially for a sequel.  (In my experience, sequels can be real snoozers).   Dave had a great time and loved every second of his big day.  I think his only disappointment was that it didn’t last longer.

 

End of School (aka: SUMMER)

It's not exactly a news flash, but school is out in the Wariner House.  This year was particularly poignant for Lincoln, as the school's end marks his final moments of elementary school and the beginning of something bigger (and in my case at least, something scarier).  

Here is Lincoln at his 5th Grade Awards ceremony and graduation.    

Lincoln made the A&B Honor Roll all year long and was awarded the Citizenship award.  We are so proud of his accomplishments.  His dyslexia and dsygraphia hasn't made it easy, but over the years, Lincoln has stuck with it and made significant improvements.  Every single teacher Lincoln has ever had, even as early as Kindergarten has voiced nearly the same message:  "Lincoln is a brilliant boy.  He's going places." So I guess, regardless of how Jr High seems to me, I shouldn't worry too much.  Lincoln will manage to find his stride.  

I should keep the following statement in mind:

Trust me, keeping that in mind is way harder than it should be.  

Either way though, it's summer.  Time to enjoy life.  Worries can wait.  (They are quite good at waiting and take great pleasure in jumping you when you least expect it.  Darn things)

So, on to summer.  Is there anything that says summer more than a goggles on a 4-year old? When the boys aren't in the pool, their shooting each other with nerf guns, playing the legos, doing puzzles or games and of course, the spending inordinate amount of time on electronics.
And when our toys aren't cool enough, we simply invite over friends and suddenly our toys have a whole new appeal. And summer wouldn't be complete without food.  We made a Costco run last week and I came home with all sorts of new exciting things.  But I did have two additional helper and they did an amazing job loading the cart.  (btw:  I find that there is a great need for a sarcasm font)Hope your summer is going well.

Cub Scouts

Kyle recently completed his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts.  
He worked hard and got it done almost 6 months early.  He's very excited about anything to do with scouting and looking forward to Day Camp in June where he'll go as a Bear.  We are very pleased that Scouting is available for our boys.  It teaches some great skills and values.

Lincoln has also progressed in the Cub Scout program, to the point of graduating to Boy Scouts.  Before leaving Cubs, the big rite of passage, for the boys that achieve it, is the Arrow of Light ceremony.  The Scouting District sent in their guys (the Order of the Arrow) to officiate in the ceremony.  And afterward, we gave Lincoln is Award Arrow to commemorate the achievement.

 

11-year old birthdays

How is it possible that Lincoln is eleven?  I remember being eleven...all angsty, with my pre-teen shyness.  Is it really possible that my first born at that stage already?

A frightening thought.

Well, Lincoln has been building his birthday list since Christmas.  The top of the list was an Xbox, which was never gonna happen, but his other options were video games and complicated Lego sets.  He specifically requested a puzzle-solving/treasure hunt to find his presents.  I knew he wanted chocolate cake, but he settled for something else because his brother doesn't like chocolate.  This sign a maturity in him both frightens me and makes me proud.  That's pretty much how I view the whole your-child-is-growing-up thing––with a certain mixture of fear and delight.

Lincoln solved his treasure hunt, found and unwrapped his presents and built his Lego set completely on his own.  (He was adamant about that.)  And in record time, too.
His favorite part is that the tail lights really light up.  

Spring Break 2011

As we lay to rest Spring Break 2011, I feel some sort of eulogy is due.  Because I like things neat and tidy, my Spring Break eulogy will include bullets.  This will also increase the chances that my husband will read the entire content of this post, as he is a great lover of bullets and lists and things that are orderly (and safe), hence the beginnings of our relationship. 

• Saturday:  the official start of Spring Break.  We had tickets to the BLUE MAN GROUP tickets downtown which we followed up with dinner at the Aquarium.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the show considering I bought the tickets for the kids.
• Sunday:  the low point for me.  I had a talk to deliver at church on overcoming temptation. As the Girl Scouts Cookie vendors all over Houston can attest, I haven't mastered this skill, but I managed to deliver my talk without fainting dead away from sheer terror, so we're moving on.
• Monday:  First day of Lincoln and Kyle's 6 week long basketball skills workshop.  The coach seems great and I thought the boys learned quite a bit with just one session.  I look forward to seeing their progress throughout the next few weeks.
• Tuesday:  Kemah.  We drove down to Kemah, rode the rides, played carnival games, ate snow cones and when we got tired of all that, we headed to Galveston and our hotel.  With a swimming pool, a tv in their room and pizza for dinner, my kids felt their day was simply perfect.
• Wednesday:  Schlitterbaun.  We had an amazing time at the waterpark, which we left worn out but happy.
• Thursday:  Returning to life, somewhat.  Adam headed back to work and I did laundry and grocery shopping with the boys.  Still, I knew it couldn't be all work and no play, so after dinner we set up the tent, unrolled the sleeping bags and let the boys sleep under the stars, but not before having s'mores, of course.  
• Friday:  Monkey Buziness.  A local bouncy house with a bunch of the boys' friends was a great way to run off some energy and let me relax.  We'll probably do some kind of movie night tonight with popcorn upstairs, which is kind of a big deal in my house.
• Saturday:  TBD, but I'm thinking it will be a clothes shopping day given that both Lincoln and Kyle needs shorts something fierce.  Their shorts from last year show just a bit too much skin for any respectable boy their age (unless you're Tom Selleck and it's 1982 and then I guess their shorts would be okay).

And here lies Spring Break 2011.  I miss thee already.  May thy rest be short and thy return swift.  

Who has too much time on their hands?

 

Universal Studios: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

During the trip to Walt Disney World, we took one day to visit Universal Studios.  I'm sure many people love this park, but honestly I felt it was a bit over-priced and would never have made the effort to go except for one thing:  Harry Potter.  

Lincoln and Kyle have read every single book.  They've watched every movie with the exception of the most recent.  They have been known to brandish tinker toy 'wands' at one another yelling "EXPELLIARMUS".  I knew that we could not, under any circumstance, travel all the way to Orlando and not see the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Well, at least not without excessive consequences.  So off we went and I must say, despite the crowds this was totally worth it.  

Here are the boys in front of Hogwarts Express, the first thing you see when you enter the streets of Hogsmeade.  We ended up having lunch at the Three Broomsticks where we had three tankards of butterbeer.  We also made stops at Zonko's Joke shop and Honeyduke's Sweetshop.  Then we got wands for each of the boys from Ollivanders wand cart.  The Hogsmeade street was packed and busy but amazing...like walking onto a movie set.  

As a culmination to the experience, we rode the Forbidden Journey.  The line for the ride wound its way into Hogwarts castle, past the greenhouse and the Potions classroom and finally through Dumbledore's office.  The walls were adorned with talking portraits and numerous props from the movies and books.  The ride itself was another simulation ride and was a little motion-sickness-making for me, but the boys and Adam LOVED it.  

We loved the Harry Potter experience and would do it again for sure.

Christmas Day: aka A Lego Builder's dream

Christmas was exactly as I would have hoped.  The kids got three gifts:  one from Santa, one from us and one from in their sibling exchange.  Our gift to the boys was a trip to Walt Disney World, which will require a post on another day, but the gifts from Santa and the exchange were almost exclusively Lego in origin.  We spent all day doing puzzles, playing games and enjoying our toys...but mostly building Legos.  Here are the finished products.  

Kyle with the Lego Harry Potter:  The Burrow

Kyle with Lego Harry Potter:  Hogwarts Castle

Lincoln with Lego Power Miners:  Crystal Sweeper

And Lincoln with The Emerald Knight Train Set.  Once we get the batteries and track it will really run.

And of course, when the camera comes out, David has to be in the mix.  He got a few small Lego figures and an army truck, which he insisted we take a picture of too.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!

Thanksgiving 2010

This year, we were lucky enough to have visitors.  My sister and her two beautiful little girls came for a week.  

Unfortunately my sister's husband had a work commitment and couldn't make it.  But let me tell you, it was his loss.  We had a blast (I mean that literally--more on that later).  We enjoys lots of good company and good food (C'mon, admit it.  Good food is the main reason Thanksgiving exists).  

Here's a picture of a couple batches of rolls.  Don't they just look yummy!

The kids played great together.   We did crafts, decorated the Christmas tree, fried a turkey for Thanksgiving and then topped it all off with a rocket blast.

The highlight for me was hanging out with my sister and getting reconnected to her life and the amazing and talented person she has become.  

She's a great mom and her kids were a joy to be around.  We feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to share Thanksgiving with the Strawn family.      

Dewberry's

There must be a prerequisite for all bloggers to post fall pictures featuring their kids romping around a hay bales, pumpkin patches and corn mazes.  Not to be left out, here is my post from our little adventure to Dewberry's.

Above is a picture of the boys outside Dewberry Farms, enjoying a bit of run and play time.  And below is a snapshot of one of 'rides' that the kids really loved.  This, the rolling tubes and the zipline were Lincoln and Kyle's favorite attractions.

Meanwhile, David's highlights were the jumpy pillows, the cow train ride and finally, the grand finale:  The Dirt Pile.  

Ha!  All of this stuff to do and David spends twenty minutes climbing a huge pile of dirt.  Here's my brag minute, which you can disregard if that kind of thing bothers you.  David was the youngest kid to successfully climb the pile without adult help.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at him shun that man's help.  It just makes a momma proud.  Yes, yes...he may just have found his life-long love and future career:  dirt pile climber.  I dream big, I know.

Halloween Prep Stat!

Halloween prep is going on here at the Wariner home:  costume selections, spooky decorations and candy corn overdose prevention.  

Lincoln has chosen to be a vampire this year (and no, not a Twilight vampire.  He came unglued at the mere mention, which was in jest, by the way).

Kyle wants to be Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Carribean and David will be either Buzz Lightyear or a Blue Super Hero, whichever strikes his fancy on the day of the Trunk-o-Treat.

I got these glittery little things last year but wanted something fun to hang from the tree.  Last week I bought these and Dave immediately claimed the orange bat as his own.  Nothing like a little sequined bat to say "Halloween".  

My baby on a two-wheeler

I had one of those moments this past weekend, when you feel turned around and dizzy...and everything seems a bit too shiny and surreal...do you have those moments?  Or is it just me?

One minute David was crawling across my kitchen floor...
...and the next he's trying out his first two-wheeler with Dad.
 Seriously, did someone hit the fast forward button?  And if so, kindly remove your thumb from said button.  I'd like to enjoy the last vestiges of my baby's childhood.

Snapshots from my life

Periodically I discover that my camera has been commandeered by my children.  I typically do a mass delete and move on, but today I saved a few gems, as snapshots of my children's viewpoints.  

Adam doing what Adam does best: Working.  But at least he made the shots.  I wasn't in a single one.  Maybe that's because I was hiding in the closet reading or frantically cleaning the house or making dinner or possibly they avoided me on purpose so that the camera wouldn't get confiscated.  All are real possibilities. 
No, this isn't one of my children.  This is, however, an example of what we have been doing that last few weeks, prior to school starting.  Playdates.  Hi, Reese.  You've never looked better.

Kyle, in all his glory, is both the photographer and the subject.  Was the tongue-rolling really necessary?

I think Lincoln was the photographer this time, snapping what is oddly becoming a frequent site in my home.  David wearing his Batman mask and his Batman PJs.  It began over the summer and has continued right into the school year.

Thanks for taking this little journey with me.  I hope it was educational.  I know I learned something:  I need to keep better watch on the camera.  

Exhausted

I am exhausted.  

Even writing this entry is exhausting––and I really like writing and blogging.

About three days ago, I started writing a post about how emotional I am about the start of school––another summer gone.  Did I do a good job?  Did I prepare them?  You know, that kind of thing.  It was a total woe-is-me entry.  It wasn't really that uplifting or interesting to anyone but me and I realized I really just needed to vent to Adam about it.  So as cathartic as it was, I didn't post it.  

Then I started another post in which I was going list all the fun things we did this summer.  Kind of a I-hope-my-kids-had-fun entry, but it was lame.  And uninteresting.  What is up with me an being uninteresting?  Am I really this boring?  Anyway, the point is, we did have a great summer and we did lots of things around Houston, with friends and with family and that pretty much sums it up.  I scraped that entry as well.

So I thought about blogging my progress on the quilt...oh wait...I haven't made any progress due to my desire to jam every last minute full of fun.  Nothing says fun like watching Mom work on a quilt, right?  

In exasperation, I offer up a laugh or two.  Jim Gaffigan and hot pockets.  It has nothing to do with my summer besides the fact that my sister and I were talking about it yesterday and I really need to laugh right now.

Laughs

Home

This is my home, the place where my heart beats in time with the kitchen clock and where the summer breezes through the walnut tree lift my soul to greater heights.  This tiny plot of land, unnoticed by many but filled with the exceptional, is exactly what comes to mind when I imagine Home.  I've been away, hence the long absence from the blog, and it was a wonderful visit.  I was especially pleased to have the boys at an age where the joys of farm life could come to fruition.  

A short list of our adventures:

1.  Learn to set pipe with Uncle Craig

2.  Ride 4-wheelers with anyone who was willing.

3.  Explore the dusty lanes of the farm.

4.  Ride horses.

5.  Eat up all of Grandma's yummy cooking--especially her homemade bread.

6.  Pick raspberries.

7.  Climb the walnut tree.

8.  Chase kittens around the barn.

9.  Water balloon fights with the cousins.

10.  Boating and tubing with Uncle Craig and Aunt Maria.

11.  Teach the cousins and Aunts a new card game.

12.  Clean Great-grandma's house.

13.  Spend approximately 250 hours on the trampoline.

14.  Get dirty as only little boys really can.

15.  Play and play and play.

I've tried to condense the photos, so if you're interested there's a description below.  Thanks so much Mom and Dad, Craig and Maria and Alan and Connie for all your fabulous hosting and for some unforgettable memories.

First Row:  1.  Dave wearing his Batman mask that he insisted on bringing along.  Notice he's also sporting Batman PJ's.  What can I say?  The boy takes his dress up seriously.  Lincoln is next to him and Niev rounds out the pic.  2.  Lincoln picking raspberries with Grandma.  3.  Me and the boys sifting the freshly ground whole wheat flour for the waffles.  We do it ole' school back home.  4.  Lora and her darling Rowen. 

Second Row:  1.  Craig on his horse, CrissCross.  2.  Melissa with the adorable Ashlynn.  This little girl stole my heart and Dave just couldn't get enough of her.  3.  Alan with Dave and Ashlynn.  4.  Dave and his cousins on the tramp.  Notice he's commandeered his cousin's cape for more playtime as Super Dave.

Third Row:  1.  Garrett, Lincoln and Kyle preparing to tube Lake Lowell.  2.  Craig leading Kyle on CrissCross.

Row 1:  Lincoln playing out on the tramp from above, then below and then looking up from the ground and finally, the view from my parent back yard.  By the way, I'm lying on the grass to take this photo––a feat unheard of in Houston's St. Augustine jungle.  

Row 2:  Another shot of Craig the cowboy and lastly, the boys together on horseback, indulging mom in one last smile before riding off into the sunset.

Summer Incentive Program

As a kid, I remember loving summer, spending all those extra hours of daylight outside with my siblings catching tadpoles, climbing the walnut tree and digging in the dirt.  Sure we had chores, like weeding the garden, picking raspberries, canning fruit and hanging out perpetual loads of laundry, but the chores were usually done by ten or eleven in the morning, which left most of the day to rejoice in the freedom from school.  When I wasn't outside, I was either reading a book or playing a board game with my siblings.  We watched a little TV but not much.  Summer programming kinda sucked back then.   

Well, this is not the summer my kids know and love.  First of all, we live in the hottest, most humid place on Earth, or so it seems at times.  I honestly can't blame my kids for not wanting to be outside much, unless we're swimming, of course.  Secondly, we just don't have a garden to weed, or raspberries to pick, nor a walnut tree to climb.  We do have lots of concrete, which is a tad harder to dig.  That being said, I believe my kids watch way too much TV, play way too long on the Wii and are not nearly 'unplugged' enough during the summer months, so this year I'm instituting a new incentive program.  I borrowed the idea from my sister-in-law, Maria.

In essence it is this:  Electronic playtime must first be 'paid for' by doing either indoor or outdoor non-electronic play, or homework or reading or chores.  For example, Lincoln can pay for his 30 minutes of electronic time by doing 20 minutes of reading or by playing a board game for an hour.  

My SIL, explains it so much better, so I'll just quote her:

TASKS: (to earn $ for Rewards)

Vacuum or Dust Living Room   $1.00 
Take Out Garbage   $1.00 
Unload Dishwasher   $1.00 
Read for 20 minutes or other school work   $2.00 

Play piano for 20 minutes  $2.00 
Puzzles, Legos or Crafts for 20 minutes   $1.00 

Any Physical Activity for 20 minutes   $1.00

REWARDS 
Electronic play 1/2 hour   $3.00 
Friend over to play   $5.00 
Friend to sleep over   $10.00 
Bowling   $15.00 
Miniature Golf   $15.00 

She made her fake money using a website, but I just made copies of my monopoly money and called it good.  This is our second week and it is going alright.  A few bumps and rebellions to deal with but I think it's for the best.  My kids will thank me, eventually...I hope.

3,500 calories later...

Over the weekend, Adam and I took the boys to one of our favorite spots in all of Houston:  Candylious and The Chocolate Bar.  These shops are seriously insane.  Candylious has every kind of candy imaginable, including those old ones you never see in the stores anymore, like Clark Bars, Bit of Honey, Big Hunk, Mallo Cups, Necco Mints, and O-Henry.  Very nostalgic.  The store has little baskets at the front door and we gave each kid $10 to fill their basket with whatever they wanted.  The phrase 'like a kid in a candy store' has new meaning after seeing David and all that candy.
 Next, we stepped to the adjacent shop, The Chocolate Bar, with their very focused menu. There's chocolate and chocolate and more chocolate.  Anything and everything imaginable is dipped in chocolate and their chocolate cake is the size of your head...seriously.  Check it out!  
 The last time we were here, Adam, Lincoln, Kyle and I all shared a slice of chocolate cake, stuffing ourselves until we couldn't eat another crumb and we STILL brought half of the slice home.

This time I was smarter.  They have some amazing specialized ice cream flavors, of which I chose the Root Beer Float ice cream.  So, so good and it really does taste like a root beer float.  Then I finished it off with a mini Peanut butter cupcake.  This thing was tiny but incredibly powerful.  Really.  Despite it's size I still shared with Lincoln, Kyle and David.  It was soooo rich and yummy.  I shudder at the caloric intake that place must have cost me.  
 

San Antonio Getaway

This fall, Adam and I will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary.  We'd discussed getting a sitter for a couple days and doing something in the San Antonio or New Braunfels area, which is about 2.5 hours away.  The only problem with this plan was that our long-time babysitter just graduated and will be heading off to college in the fall, thereby leaving us sitter-less once August rolls around.  What's up with that?!  

Well, to be honest, we are happy for Shalysse and wish her the best but hate to see a perfectly good babysitter leave us behind.  We have taken steps and are currently grooming a few sitters to take her place, although they aren't quite ready for the overnight responsibility.  Hence, the early anniversary trip now.  

We headed off to San Antonio on Thursday and checked into the Valencia, right on the Riverwalk.

  
 We ate a lot of great food (a bit more than I should have according to the scale) but my favorite, surprisingly was the breakfast meal we had at Citrus (the restaurant in the hotel).  We also watched two different movies, the first being, "Knight and Day" with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

  
 It was just okay.  I think I expected it to be really funny and it wasn't––much more of an action/romance than an action/comedy.  

The other movie was "Date Night" with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.  
I laughed pretty hard during this movie and maybe it was the subject matter, but I thought the emotional message was so much more relateable...despite the fact that the scenario is totally unbelievable.

We also floated the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, which is about 30 minutes away from San Antonio.  We chose the four hour float, got into our tubes (with bottoms) and floated away, feeling as free as a couple of thirty-something, childless adults really can.  The first two hours of the float was a good mixture of relaxing sections interspersed with some blood-pumping rapids.  A note here for anyone considering a similar float:  a tube with a bottom is a necessity.  You'll stay plenty wet but your bum will thank you.  After about three hours, Adam and I were ready to be done but the river had another idea.  We hit a really sluggish part of the river...very slow and meandering.  We felt like we were barely moving, mostly because we were barely moving.  We started paddling, but it was a slow haul.  It was about then that I realized that my legs were getting pretty hot...and red.  I want to say right now that I did put on sunblock, the 45 SPF, super-duper, waterproof kind.  Well, clearly I need classes on how to put on that spray sunblock because my legs are candy cane stripes of bright red and my usual albatross white.   Good times.  Adam faired slightly better with only a few areas missed by the spray of the sunscreen.  

Despite the sunburn, Adam and I had a great time.  As we were preparing to check out, I got the urge to call the sitter to say that we were staying one more day, but I resisted the impulse.  Regardless of my own desire to hog Adam all to myself, David, Kyle and Lincoln deserved to have some time with him, so we headed home, well-fed, well-rested and in my case, well-cooked.