The kids clearly don't like that Grammy and Papa are here at all.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Dead Air
I know I haven't blogged in like two days (gasp! Shock! Horror!) but we've been a little busy saying goodbyes to people moving and such. And mostly because Brads folks got in town two days ago and we've been stuck inside in the rain THAT THEY CLEARLY BROUGHT WITH THEM enjoying their company
Papa helping Calen with a puzzle while Cam is using Papa as a couch
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Last Rodeo
Our next door neighbors move away tomorrow and I'm pretty bummed about it. And my kids (specifically my eldest) are even more bummed.
But that didn't stop us from having an incredible last day together.
The grownups were outside since about 11 this morning, having a last chat, sharing a few drinks (yeah even at 11am...who is judging?), watching the movers slooooowly move boxes out of the neighbors house.
When the kids came home from school/woke up from naps, we had an incredible water balloon fight, filling both a large tub and a small wading pool. The toddlers didn't really participate but the five bigger kids really had a good time.
Then we ordered pizza from our local favorite joint and all three families had a picnic in the front yard. And then more pool time after dinner until bedtime. It was a perfect happy day and a perfect way to end the last three years with our next door neighbors.
But that didn't stop us from having an incredible last day together.
The grownups were outside since about 11 this morning, having a last chat, sharing a few drinks (yeah even at 11am...who is judging?), watching the movers slooooowly move boxes out of the neighbors house.
When the kids came home from school/woke up from naps, we had an incredible water balloon fight, filling both a large tub and a small wading pool. The toddlers didn't really participate but the five bigger kids really had a good time.
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| Ammo |
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| Ready for war!! |
Then we ordered pizza from our local favorite joint and all three families had a picnic in the front yard. And then more pool time after dinner until bedtime. It was a perfect happy day and a perfect way to end the last three years with our next door neighbors.
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| Camden kept trying to move himself into the moving truck |
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Plate-Letter Game
I was too busy to blog last night because it was DATE NIGHT, hello? So you can have a recap of a couple fun activities we did with the kids during an extremely and horrible rainy morning/early afternoon.
Seriously, is it ever going to stop raining and being cloudy and lame around here? What is this, Seattle?
So for the past week or so we have introduced Hooked on Phonics to Calen (the Pre-K edition). Nothing crazy, we don't expect him to read Little House on the Prairie on his own in two months or anything. We just wanted to give him a head start on the literal phonics of letters. What sound each letter makes, the concept of words starting with those sounds, rhyming etc. It's a pretty fantastic program and especially because it 1) it goes at your own pace, meaning you can blow through the whole Pre-K lesson in a week, or redo each segmented 20 minute chapter lesson every day for 100 days in a row, etc. You can do it every day or once a week or whatever you feel is necessary.
We've done letters A, B, and C so far. He's recognized the actual letters since 23 months but the phonics have been challenging for him. So yesterday instead of moving on to D I decided to do a little review game to shake things up a bit. This is incredibly simple and versatile game, you can play it MANY ways.
So what I did was I took 30 paper plates and separated them into three groups of ten. In the first group of ten I wrote on each plate a very basic word that starts with "A", and a (terrible) illustration of the word underneath. Then the second group I did "B" words and the third "C" words.
Then, shuffle, and hide throughout the house. I kept it to the ground floor, and hid them in fairly obvious places for my not-so-observant four year old. Then, I laid out three baskets on the floor, each labeled "A", "B", or "C".
The game is this: Find all the plates, one by one. When they find a plate, they have to "read" what it is (by recognizing the picture). I would always repeat it, accentuating the first-letter sound. Then they have to put it in the correct letter bin (I would always say, "what letter does it start with?", and go off to find another one. This not only helps reading but listening to words as well.
It sounds really boring but Calen had a blast running around the house trying to find all the plates. I told him if he got all the plates in the correct bins he'd win a "prize" (a lollipop) which made it even more fun.
I was thinking of ways to alter the rules for future games. For example, putting tape over the pictures so they have to read the words (maybe after he learns all the phonics, maybe). Or, covering up the words so that they have to listen to the word when they say what the picture is outloud, and figure out what it starts with.
Either way, it's a quick game (maybe ten minutes) but it really seemed to "click" with Calen's brain and by the end he was flying through the plates.
Seriously, is it ever going to stop raining and being cloudy and lame around here? What is this, Seattle?
So for the past week or so we have introduced Hooked on Phonics to Calen (the Pre-K edition). Nothing crazy, we don't expect him to read Little House on the Prairie on his own in two months or anything. We just wanted to give him a head start on the literal phonics of letters. What sound each letter makes, the concept of words starting with those sounds, rhyming etc. It's a pretty fantastic program and especially because it 1) it goes at your own pace, meaning you can blow through the whole Pre-K lesson in a week, or redo each segmented 20 minute chapter lesson every day for 100 days in a row, etc. You can do it every day or once a week or whatever you feel is necessary.
We've done letters A, B, and C so far. He's recognized the actual letters since 23 months but the phonics have been challenging for him. So yesterday instead of moving on to D I decided to do a little review game to shake things up a bit. This is incredibly simple and versatile game, you can play it MANY ways.
So what I did was I took 30 paper plates and separated them into three groups of ten. In the first group of ten I wrote on each plate a very basic word that starts with "A", and a (terrible) illustration of the word underneath. Then the second group I did "B" words and the third "C" words.
 |
| "hidden" |
The game is this: Find all the plates, one by one. When they find a plate, they have to "read" what it is (by recognizing the picture). I would always repeat it, accentuating the first-letter sound. Then they have to put it in the correct letter bin (I would always say, "what letter does it start with?", and go off to find another one. This not only helps reading but listening to words as well.
It sounds really boring but Calen had a blast running around the house trying to find all the plates. I told him if he got all the plates in the correct bins he'd win a "prize" (a lollipop) which made it even more fun.
I was thinking of ways to alter the rules for future games. For example, putting tape over the pictures so they have to read the words (maybe after he learns all the phonics, maybe). Or, covering up the words so that they have to listen to the word when they say what the picture is outloud, and figure out what it starts with.
Either way, it's a quick game (maybe ten minutes) but it really seemed to "click" with Calen's brain and by the end he was flying through the plates.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Rainy Days
Rainy days around here (especially in the summer) are a real drag. We escaped the crankiness of boredom by digging deep into the dress up bin. My boys aren't necessarily the most imaginative of kids, but they will amuse me and dress up (especially Camden).
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| Cowboy Cam |
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| I'm not sure what's happening here |
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| My muscle |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Supersoaker: The Evolution
When I was a kid, we had Super Soakers.
The classic, fill up the water tube, screw it into the gun, pump and shoot ten thousand feet Super Soaker.
THESE. This exact one was in my garage.
They still have Super Soakers of course and they still reign as supreme ruler of water guns. But they're different, more modern, sporting new age colors of white, navy blue and orange. And, with the modern times, comes technology.
While there are still the classic pump-and-go soakers, they now have battery operated power soakers. That's right. No pumping, just pull the trigger and shoot.
While normally I'd say to hell with that new age crap, I jumped at it to prevent constant nagging of "will you pump this up?" from my 4 year old who probably doesn't have the man strength to fully pump a soaker yet. And while it doesn't spray half as strong as a normal soaker, it still shoots, and that's what counts.
And no more screwing water tanks into the gun. Now, they come with ammo clips. Fill the clips with with water, screw on the lid, and snap in place to your gun. Which is even more effective when you have more than one (in our case). The clip on the gun runs out, Calen runs over, pulls out the empty clip, grabs the full extra clip that I have at the ready, snaps it in, shoots. Takes five seconds. Meanwhile while he's shooting I am refilling clips. Never.Ending.Water Battle.
I have to admit, the evolution of Super Soakers is pretty fantastic. But, I still hold dear to my classic roots.
The classic, fill up the water tube, screw it into the gun, pump and shoot ten thousand feet Super Soaker.
THESE. This exact one was in my garage.
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| My old baby, circa 1994 |
They still have Super Soakers of course and they still reign as supreme ruler of water guns. But they're different, more modern, sporting new age colors of white, navy blue and orange. And, with the modern times, comes technology.
While there are still the classic pump-and-go soakers, they now have battery operated power soakers. That's right. No pumping, just pull the trigger and shoot.
 |
| Battery operated, 2013. The blue and orange clip on the bottom is removable and compatible with extra clips. |
And no more screwing water tanks into the gun. Now, they come with ammo clips. Fill the clips with with water, screw on the lid, and snap in place to your gun. Which is even more effective when you have more than one (in our case). The clip on the gun runs out, Calen runs over, pulls out the empty clip, grabs the full extra clip that I have at the ready, snaps it in, shoots. Takes five seconds. Meanwhile while he's shooting I am refilling clips. Never.Ending.Water Battle.
I have to admit, the evolution of Super Soakers is pretty fantastic. But, I still hold dear to my classic roots.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
At the Yard Sale
I couldn't blog last night because my laptop suddenly decided it was unnecessary to turn on, and Brad had to completely reinstall Windows. Neat. In related news, I have an iPad now (to play with while certain laptops are being broken a-holes) and though I probably couldn't live without the wretched Windows in my daily life, I am completely in love with Apple's stability and fluidity and otherwise awesome awesomeness.
Anyways.
Yesterday was our annual base-wide yard sale. Because you know the entire neighborhood moves at the same time (summer) each year and they have entire housefulls of shit to get rid of before the big move happens. And then there's the rest of us that aren't moving but we still have housefulls of shit. So we yardsale too.
My neighbor and I were outside setting up, selling, buying, and tearing down from 6:30am until 2:30pm. It was busy and we got rid of tons of stuff, clearing up some much needed space in the shed. And made a little money in the process. And of course went shopping throughout the neighborhood and got some pretty rad stuff for a few quarters or a dollar or two. Like a tv with built in dvd player for Calen's room. And a ton of Disney store toys (like Toy Story's "Jessie" and two small Buzz Lightyear toys, a Car's plush "Mater", two "Stitches" from Lilo and Stitch, etc), a baseball mitt, bedrails for Camden's bed, a cool painting and some other randoms. And a pretty incredible sunburn. On the extra crispy side. Crispy enough that I couldn't wear a tank top outside today because the rays of the sun gave my chest and shoulders and audible "sizzle" sound. Yikes.
And no one asked to buy my family vehicle like they did last year. Although as we were tearing down and putting free stuff on the curb some lady pulled over and had the nerve to YELL at me for ending the yard sale before she could make it there. At 2:30 in the afternoon. I was quite dumbfounded since all the stuff on the curb was FREE. Why exactly are you whining about free stuff? Typical Jersey.
The unexpected big find of the day was Lightning McQueen slippers for my shoe-obsessed Camden. Who when realizing that they were HIS shoes squealed with joy and didn't take them off for the rest of the night. At bedtime, he wouldn't let me put the covers over them. So I left him, laying in bed, with his feet sticking straight up as he stared at his new prized possession. And he slept with them on too.
Anyways.
Yesterday was our annual base-wide yard sale. Because you know the entire neighborhood moves at the same time (summer) each year and they have entire housefulls of shit to get rid of before the big move happens. And then there's the rest of us that aren't moving but we still have housefulls of shit. So we yardsale too.
My neighbor and I were outside setting up, selling, buying, and tearing down from 6:30am until 2:30pm. It was busy and we got rid of tons of stuff, clearing up some much needed space in the shed. And made a little money in the process. And of course went shopping throughout the neighborhood and got some pretty rad stuff for a few quarters or a dollar or two. Like a tv with built in dvd player for Calen's room. And a ton of Disney store toys (like Toy Story's "Jessie" and two small Buzz Lightyear toys, a Car's plush "Mater", two "Stitches" from Lilo and Stitch, etc), a baseball mitt, bedrails for Camden's bed, a cool painting and some other randoms. And a pretty incredible sunburn. On the extra crispy side. Crispy enough that I couldn't wear a tank top outside today because the rays of the sun gave my chest and shoulders and audible "sizzle" sound. Yikes.
And no one asked to buy my family vehicle like they did last year. Although as we were tearing down and putting free stuff on the curb some lady pulled over and had the nerve to YELL at me for ending the yard sale before she could make it there. At 2:30 in the afternoon. I was quite dumbfounded since all the stuff on the curb was FREE. Why exactly are you whining about free stuff? Typical Jersey.
The unexpected big find of the day was Lightning McQueen slippers for my shoe-obsessed Camden. Who when realizing that they were HIS shoes squealed with joy and didn't take them off for the rest of the night. At bedtime, he wouldn't let me put the covers over them. So I left him, laying in bed, with his feet sticking straight up as he stared at his new prized possession. And he slept with them on too.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wetting Down
We went to our friend's Warrant Officer promotion ceremony today on base.
(Actually Brad went to the ceremony while I stayed home with what I THOUGHT would be napping children which ended up NOT being. Then we all went to the reception together).
According to our semi-long winded CO during his speech today, the ceremony is called a "wetting down" ceremony. I'm not really sure why. He explained it but I was too busy clapping my hand over Camden's mouth as he screamed "YOOOOOO GABBA GABBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" over and over in a room of probably 75 guys with heavy shoulder boards on their uniforms that have probably never in their life heard of that preschool program.
Actually it was pretty cool that we got to be a part of it and it was fun for the whole 15 minutes that we lasted before Camden's screams of happiness went to screams of rage and anger for having to hold still.
One of those few little perks of being in the military. Or being married to it. Which is pretty much the same as being in it.
And congratulations to Brandon and everyone else that got promoted today.
(Actually Brad went to the ceremony while I stayed home with what I THOUGHT would be napping children which ended up NOT being. Then we all went to the reception together).
According to our semi-long winded CO during his speech today, the ceremony is called a "wetting down" ceremony. I'm not really sure why. He explained it but I was too busy clapping my hand over Camden's mouth as he screamed "YOOOOOO GABBA GABBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" over and over in a room of probably 75 guys with heavy shoulder boards on their uniforms that have probably never in their life heard of that preschool program.
Actually it was pretty cool that we got to be a part of it and it was fun for the whole 15 minutes that we lasted before Camden's screams of happiness went to screams of rage and anger for having to hold still.
One of those few little perks of being in the military. Or being married to it. Which is pretty much the same as being in it.
And congratulations to Brandon and everyone else that got promoted today.
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| Our next door neighbors the Trinidads - congratulations to Brandon for making Warrant today! |
And then to complete the day we played in the pool once again and then ordered pizza and ate it on the front lawn. I really can't think of a better day.
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| There was a shark in our pool... |
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| Dinner on the lawn |
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Belly Flops
We added a slip n slide to the fun today. Because we needed more water accessories. But hey, it keeps the kids happy and entertained for hours and hours.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Let The Summer Days Begin
Well we just skipped right over spring and went from winter to summer around here as we were wearing hoodies and whining about how cold the wind was on Memorial Day and two days later it's 80 degrees, sunny and the kids were outside in bathing suits eating popsicles.
Who needs spring anyways. It's just full of allergies and rain.
On second thought, maybe we DID have spring. A cold one.
The kids were outside literally, from the moment they finished breakfast until the moment I had to drag their tired sun-bathed carcasses in due to Calen's looming speech therapy appointment. In other words, from 9am, until 5:15pm. They spent the morning in the back yard playing in the sandbox, the playground, the tire swing and driving the 4 wheeler around. Then, lunch in the back yard, a short rest (30 minutes for Calen, but 3.5 hours for Camden), and then back outside to the front yard for Calen where we set up the big pool and spent the next four and a half hours in it. Then, dinner on a beach towel before we had to end our outside marathon and you know, put on real clothes.
Did I mention I love summer?
Who needs spring anyways. It's just full of allergies and rain.
On second thought, maybe we DID have spring. A cold one.
The kids were outside literally, from the moment they finished breakfast until the moment I had to drag their tired sun-bathed carcasses in due to Calen's looming speech therapy appointment. In other words, from 9am, until 5:15pm. They spent the morning in the back yard playing in the sandbox, the playground, the tire swing and driving the 4 wheeler around. Then, lunch in the back yard, a short rest (30 minutes for Calen, but 3.5 hours for Camden), and then back outside to the front yard for Calen where we set up the big pool and spent the next four and a half hours in it. Then, dinner on a beach towel before we had to end our outside marathon and you know, put on real clothes.
Did I mention I love summer?
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| How Camden played with the ball today. He would run.... |
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| ....and then do whatever this is.... |
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| And then he would roll off the ball and just lay in the grass. |
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| Air Time |
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Day
I can't really think of a better way to celebrate Memorial Day than having a barbecue/picnic with our fellow Coast Guard friends and their families. One thing about living on a military base, we do patriotic functions big, and we do them well.
I suppose that has nothing to do with living on a military base. But it sounds that much more important.
Happy Memorial Day. In remembrance of those that gave our lives for this country's freedom, and for those that are fighting for their lives to endure it.
I suppose that has nothing to do with living on a military base. But it sounds that much more important.
Happy Memorial Day. In remembrance of those that gave our lives for this country's freedom, and for those that are fighting for their lives to endure it.
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| We started the day with Flag waffles |
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