Two years ago the pacifier fairy paid a visit to our house in Cincinnati to take Andrew’s pacifiers. Elliot stopped using his pacifier when he was one, so the only one left was Mari. Heading into a long weekend we decided it was time for the Pacifier Fairy to come visit again. We hung Mari’s pacifiers in a basket in a tree in the back yard and, sure enough, the pacifier fairy came again.
Ledges State Park
While Susan was in Seattle this weekend, the kids, Rebecca, Bianca, and I went camping at Ledges State Park. We had a great time, and there were no major catastrophes. On Sunday we packed up early and headed back to Des Moines for the Every Family Rocks music festival. Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, one of our favorite kid musicians (he is not a kid, but he plays kid-friendly music), was playing.
Check out some pictures from our trip.
Andrew Sliding Down the Rock Slide
If you can’t see the video, Click Here.
Happy Ending
Our weekend started off well, with a bike ride on Saturday morning. It ended well, too, as today was spent biking, at the Iowa Cubs game, and the Iowa Midwives pot-luck for dinner.
The bike ride this morning actually wasn’t too great, as I was headed to meet our naturopath to talk about my pink eye.
The I-Cubs game was fun. It was nice to see some baseball, and it was cheap and easy. The only problem was that I kept cheering for the other team by accident, probably because they looked a little like the Reds, and the I-Cubs look like, well, the Cubs. The other team was actually the Albuquerque Isotopes.
The Iowa Midwives pot-luck was a lot of fun. I feel like I knew most people there, and the ones I didn’t know I was glad to meet. There was Capoeira, belly-dancing, guitars, food, & good weather.
I’m Worn Out
We just got back from a great bike ride with our whole family, the Reagens (Susan’s sister’s family), and the Liesses, Susan’s parents. We start off by Erin & Nate’s house, and rode along the river for about an hour. We stopped for lunch at one of the beaches along the river. The kids had a great time playing.
Then we had to ride back to our cars.
Capoeira
Andrew and Mari have been taking Capoeira classes at the Roots Capoeira Wellness Center. It is a Brazilian martial art that is sort of like a combination of martial arts and dance. It is really neat. My favorite thing about it is that it is always set to music and has a really nice rhythm.
Grilled Pizza
Kathie, Susan’s mom, made some great grilled pizzas last night. First she grilled the crust for a few minutes, put some toppings on, and then grilled a little longer. My favorite was the BBQ Chicken & Mango.
While she borrowed the neighbors’ grill, the kids had a great time jumping on the trampoline with their cousins.
PS – This is actually a double-post, as I also posted it on my the dinner blog. I was going to just post it there, but I decided to post it on both.
Photo Update
I just added about 60 pictures to our 2009 photo gallery – including shots from the Spring up through our recent vacation.
Kicking in the Rain
We had our first official soccer practice tonight for Andrew’s soccer team. It rained all day and I was hoping it would take a break for practice, but no luck. The kids had a great time, and I think the adults enjoyed it also. Our first game is Saturday.
East Coast
On Thursday, we got back from a two week vacation. We spent five days in Cincinnati, for my cousin Jeff’s wedding, five days in Leesburg, VA, for a work conference, and then three days in Virginia Beach. The trip was capped off with two straight days of driving – the first being nauseously hilly, the second being mind-numbingly flat.
It was a really fun trip and everything went well. It was nice to see family/friends/coworkers while in Cincinnati. We were really busy, but we got to see a lot of people.
The conference in Leesburg was for ColdFusion, a programming language that I use for work. I had a great time at the conference and Susan and the kids had a nice time at the hotel. They were swimming for at least 4 hours every day and the kids had a great time.
Once that was over we got to have a few days of real vacation in Virginia Beach. The kids (and I) really liked playing in the ocean. It took a little while to get used to all the sand, and the taste of the water, but after that it was smooth sailing.
Some time in the next few days I will get some pictures posted.
Potty-Training Update
Elliot has been doing well with the potty training. He has been staying dry at night and has been relatively accident free. We just need to work on getting him using the potty more, and the tree less.
Some Videos
Here are some videos from the past couple weekends.
The first video is Mari riding her bike. She is a little distracted by the camera, I think, and forgets to make the turn at the end, but you get the idea.
Mari Riding a Bike
If you can’t see the video, Click Here.
There has also been a lot of hula hooping going on this summer. Here is a video of Mari trying to get things figured out.
Mari Hula Hooping
If you can’t see the video, Click Here.
The third video is just a short chat with Elliot. Generally, he is a fairly quiet kid, who would much rather use body language than words.
Elliot Talking
If you can’t see the video, Click Here.
No More Diapers?
Is it a possibility? Possibly.
Elliot has not been wearing a diaper for the past couple days and has been doing very well. This morning he even woke up with a dry diaper, which surprised me. We did not really push it, but it just sorta happened. I will be happy if it works out.
One of the coolest things about it is that he invented his own way to pee on a tree. It is a great technique for him and and both Susan and I thought that the other one had taught him.