A Glimpse at August 2012

If you remember, I lost my camera and months worth of pictures this summer in the Tidal Basin.  Luckily, Tena felt sufficiently bad for me in August and replaced my camera.  So, I'll briefly catch you up on the last few months of what we've been up to. Here is just a little tiny bit of the fun we had in August,

Son at the zoo. 

I thought he was going to pee his pants with excitement when this butterfly landed on his hand! 

with Daughter at McWane

resting during a family hike

climbing

pool fun

Daughter's first day Pre-K.

after a bama soccer game, Husband wanted to walk around the quad. The sprinklers were on. The rest is a soaking wet memory,

Halloween Part 3: McWane and Whole Foods

Sunday McWane had a trick-or-treating day.  Come in a costume, make some crafts, touch some "eyeballs," pet a snake, get some candy.  It was a fun time.  A lot like the pirate day except, well, Halloween-y instead of pirate-y.  The kids had a fantastic time and Son actually wore his costume the whole time.  I figured he'd get tired of the hood and it'd be off and he'd turn into a half boy half tiger thing.

doing regular McWane activities as a tiger

making a shark hat.

Both kids love the moray eel tank. 

making a bat hat.  She discarded the nose and ears for awhile

Next we went to Whole Foods. How did we know we could trick-or-treat at Whole Foods on Sunday?  Easy.  Friday night Husband and I went on a hot date and decided on truffles from their bakery for dessert.  And there was a sign.  You go to all the department counters, yell, "TRICK-OR-TREAT" and got a prize.  The kids loved it and I liked that they got stickers and fruit snacks and other less bad for them treats. BUT, BUT, oh my the best treat of all, was FLOWERS.  We were in the checkout line and behind us was a florist who just got off work and she complimented the kids on their costumes and told us to make sure we went to the florist before we left because they were giving out flowers.  We did and the kids were in HEAVEN. Son got a little bouquet of yellow teacup roses and Daughter got a little bouquet of pale pink gerber daisies.  That was seriously the highlight of their day.

Daughter standing in front of Whole Foods with a $50 SUPER pumpkin on the way in (it was on sale. originally $79!!!)

Son standing by the pumpkin with his flowers on the way out

Wordless Wednesday: Bubbles of Fun

My July 5K (and some slime)

Saturday was my 5K for July.  It was fun because it's one that a sweet friend I've had since middle school organized (this is the 2nd annual) to benefit her church's missionary efforts in Haiti.  But when you don't really run on any kind of consistent basis in the 3 weeks before the race, you really can't expect to have a great run. And I was overheating and a lot of other excuses.  At the water stations I took a cup of water for my throat and a cup to pour down my back.   hot, hot, hot. Luckily, it was a pretty flat and easy course.

Anyway, kind of like the way Mandy and I hope to one day beat the mayor of HYT in a race, I hoped to beat one of Husband's law professors that was running.  But alas.  I stuck to him pretty close for most of the race but then I opted to walk from the mile 2 marker until the mile 3 marker.  He got ahead and beat me by about a minute.  And won 2 place in his age division: 65+  seriously.

a family picture right before the race started.  stretched and ready to go.

the kids LOVED the bouncy house during and after the race 

Looks like I'm really booking it, huh?  That's because I walked for A MILE and I had  some energy left at the end to hurry up and finish!  (I also got a little sunburn on my shoulders.  must remember sunscreen)

Son asked for something that I did not understand and neither did the face painter.  So I suggested a basketball.  He was pretty giddy about it.

with no prompting, Daughter asked for a pig.  She is currently in love with all things Peppa Pig.

After the race, we went to Mcwane for Slimy Slippery Saturday.  The kids were excited.  And then we got there and they saw how crowded it was and how hot it was outside and suddenly they wanted to go in and play with the bubbles!  I prompted them to do everything once and we'd go in.  

Son, going down the slide into the slime.  Daughter opted not to go up the slide because she said the rubber was too hot to touch.

Walking in the slime.  They thought that was cool.

Then they were ready to go in and do all their normal McWane things.  It was a fun and exhausting day. 

Membership Day at McWane? sure. um, NO.

Saturday was "Membership Day" at Mcwane. We had no idea what that meant until we got there and the place was C.R.O.W.D.E.D. like I've never ever seen before. ever. An employee handed me a piece of paper that listed all these organizations/attractions in Birmingham that included McWane, the zoo, Vulcan, The Ballet, The Alabama Theatre, the art museum, the Civil Rights Museum and the public library. Basically, they, (and many other places that I'm forgetting now) all partnered together so that members of ALL these organizations could get into ANY of these organizations for free. all.day.long.


Sigh. This would have been fabulous to know BEFORE we got to McWane. Sure, it was listed on the website, but there was no description of what membership day actually was. So, it was close to 100 degrees and anyone with a library card could get into McWane for free. Genius idea if you want people to visit your attraction for free for the possibility of loving it and paying to come later. Horrible idea if you're already a member and just want to enjoy an afternoon with your kids.


After about 45 minutes the kids were still having a fantastic time but the noise level (WHAT WAS WITH ALL THE SCREAMING UNATTENDED CHILDREN?!) and the crowd, I was done.


It was 3:30 and not getting any hotter outside ... Hey, let's go to the zoo. For free. Admission for a family of 4 to the zoo is $46 and that's if you don't ride the train or the carousel.


I was optimistic about the zoo and it really turned out to be a fantastic family adventure. I loved it, the kids loved it, Husband at least acted like he mostly loved it. Great fun.

the only picture from McWane. Listening to the ocean. See Daughter's yellow bruise under her eye? That's what's left over from falling off the futon in Mobile!

Son's favorite. This big guy was roaring and roaring and ROARING some more. It was pretty amazing. But by the time I grabbed the camera, he'd tired himself out!

Daughter's favorite again.

Son actually said, "I go pet 'dem." Ok, good luck, buddy.

It was a lot of fun walking around seeing everything I didn't get to see after the 5K. I think we saw everything. Then we went to the children's part. They didn't go there last time so we all got to discover it together. Splash pad, butterfly house, petting zoo, nature walk and the carousal (which we didn't ride) - oh my. It was fun.

we didn't bring bathing suits, but that didn't stop anyone.

Daughter didn't even have a change of clothes. So the best I could do for her was take off her dress, wring it out well and put it back on her. She didn't mind at all. They both loved the water.

Daughter petting a goat

Son petting a goat. I'm not going to lie. I think I had the most fun with the goats. Everyone was ready to leave WAY before I was!

We all took turns getting very close to this rooster. I think he was our tour guide because he followed us around the petting zoo for awhile!

Daughter petting a sheep.

She was singing Old MacDonald to the rooster.

Son taking his turn. "cock-a-doo-loo-doo, roos-der."

"look, Mommy, we found a bunny."

And then we REALLY did find a bunny!

"I say ROOOOOOAAAAAR like 'de lion."

Sigh, it really was so much fun. We stayed about 2.5 hours and I just kept marveling about how I never would have imagined the zoo could be this great especially when it was so hot outside!

Wordless Wednesday: Bed of Nails

A Pirate Adventure at McWane

We spent Sunday at McWane enjoying Pirate Weekend. They had a few stations set up and lots of Oriental Trading Co. pirate loot for the kids. It was a fun time, as always.

Son showing off his pirate tattoo. (that's the necklace he got at the tattoo station) Notice, he's carrying a stuffed pirate. Let me tell you, that was the extent of our pirate preparation. I was surprised to see so many children (and adults) dressed as pirates. It was fun times. At the tattoo station there was also a guy there doing squid ink tattoos. I thought those would have been fun to get, but it involved the person actually standing still for multiple minutes while he painted a squid ink design on your hand ... standing still? not for my kids.

Son showing off the eye patch he colored. I think he picked out a compass ring at this station.

This is the first time we visited the Messy Art Studio. With all the pirate stuff going on it was nearly deserted compared to other times we've been. So the kids got to experiment with stencils and ink stamps.

Daughter checking out the decomposition box ... it was just bones.

a favorite. always.

that's an imprint of my Daughter's face and arms.

I finally took the time to try the High Cycle. It's in such a light traffic spot, I often forget about it most of the time. Fun and a little scary.

When I was finished Son said, "Your turn, Daddy. Go, go go." Husband is deathly afraid of heights and already experienced the High Cycle a few weeks ago. He's not about to do it again!

An Independence Day Lesson

Last July 4th, we had the most wonderful family fun day. I've been quietly looking forward to this year's adventure for quite some some. I just knew it was going to be fantastic. We were going to follow the same plan: park, ice cream, fireworks. It was going to be wonderful. Everyone was going to have a super duper day.

or no.

It rained and that really threw us off. No problem, we'll go to McWane until the rain stops. (McWane closes as 6 and the fireworks start at 9)

We all took turns pulling on ropes.

my turn

Husband's turn

Daughter's turn

Son's turn

Daughter is getting better and better at taking pictures of things and people. I didn't even have to crop this one to get Husband and I in the middle.

dancing. This is a move that Husband and I call "the donkey kick" They were cracking us up with their mad skills.

So after McWane closed, it was still raining. a lot. That crossed the park off our list and made the picnic snacks I packed slightly redundant. We adjusted our plans and decided to go to a restaurant to get something to eat. Then we'd head to the park, park the car and walk to downtown Homewood for ice cream and find a spot to watch the fireworks. great. back on track. mostly.

Husband and I make a quick list of all the places we've taken the kids that they have done well at. Well, first we go to Nabeels. closed. Then we head to V. Richard's. closed. Next we stop by Rojo. closed. sigh. We did see that Mellow Mushroom was opened, but we weren't too terribly keen on it. But we headed that way. That's when Husband mentioned driving by Sitar.

HURRAY. The Indians didn't close to celebrate Independence Day! The food was great as usual, but the kids were wound up and the service was slow. So enjoy my dinner, I did not. There were lots of threats. And lots of "sit downs" and "stop doing thats" They weren't loud and they weren't disruptive, but it still stresses me out when a 2 and a 3 year old can't sit in a chair and be still for 40 minutes. (insert laugh here ... really all the parents of 2 and 3 years olds, take the opportunity to laugh at my lunacy) Still, they've done it before. I know they are capable of proper behavior. So sometimes I forget they are toddlers and will, ya know, act like toddlers.

With dinner over we headed to the park, loaded the stroller and started walking to So-Ho Sweets. We also made the mistake of telling the kids that was where we were going. So they are getting all geeked up about getting ice cream. We get there and (drum roll please) So-Ho Sweets is closed. Not closed for the day, but empty with a for lease sign on the door. (sigh)

ok, no ice cream much to the kids' dismay.

So we head to our fireworks watching spot and try to salvage the day. I pull out the glow necklaces and the kids run around and play for the 15 minutes that we're waiting on Thunder on the Mountain to start.

showing off their necklaces

(BTW, this is Daughter's new favorite party dress. I got in on clearance at walmart for $3!)

This is when Husband corralled the troops so get them calmed down a little right before the fireworks started.

during the fireworks they marveled and danced and ran around and cheered. They really enjoyed the show.

a shot of the fireworks

An Independence Day Lesson: you can't recreate perfection, so you might as well just shoot for fun.

And the truth is, I was stressed out and mad that things weren't "perfect." We didn't recreate 2010 and all go home euphoric. But the kids did have a great time and Husband and I did laugh a lot about the ridiculousness of the situation. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun.