Halloween 6 weeks later

Man, I've gotta get caught up on my posts. Waiting till December to recap Halloween is pretty pathetic. But the kids looked so cute and had so much fun that it would be a crime not to document the experience. This year they made really good use of their costumes and wore them multiple times throughout the month. And the kids were always excited to become a knight and dragon each time.

First we went to Zoo Boo with the Kalcich family. Keahi was so excited that his friend Zeke was also a knight. And little Hallie was adorable in her unicorn outfit--which went along, I suppose, with the mythical beast and knights and damsels thing. The zoo was beautifully decorated with tons of fun jack-o-lanterns and scary themed exhibits. But I think my favorite part was all the animals constructed out of gourds. Some were very creative. Of course, the kids' favorite part was the looooooong trick-or-treat trek. We also got to watch The Phantom of the Zoo which was lame in a fun way. The actors were properly enthusiastic and dramatic in their expressions and dance and the kids ate it up. It's always a little painful though when they try to get the audience involved and nobody joins in.

We were mean parents and only let the kids eat one piece of candy while we walked about, filling our bags with goodies. But at one point I thought Jarom was asking for another candy and denied his request only to discover between sobs that he really wanted his red apple. Then Keahi piped in too and asked for his. I love that they love fruit......though in Jarom's case I don't love it when it's diaper changing time.

Then Jarom got to get dressed up again for his Joy school Halloween parade and party. The kids were adorable as they sang their songs and marched about. And even cuter when they served all the adults popcorn and cookies before getting their own. I really gotta get that video from one of the prepared moms who actually brought their cameras. The next day he was a dragon at Toddler Reading time at the library and was joined with an assortment of princesses and superheroes. He booed and roared at everyone he met.

And while they didn't wear their costumes we also hit Blake's Apple Orchard for their Haunted Village and something advertised as THE AMAZING BLACK HOLE. Well....it was amazing. It was this dark room with a suspended bridge crossing it surrounded by a dark cylinder with bright points of light that rotated around you. Difficult to explain, but the effect was that as you walked across the bridge you felt like you were starting to go up the wall and tilting over so you try to compensate and your equilibrium goes to pieces. The boys loved it so much we went through it 6 times in a row. They also enjoyed feeding the animals, the corn mazes, haystacks, playground, haunted scenes, tricycle races, jack-o-lantern bouncy castle, and the hot cider with donuts. We really, really liked those too. Donuts dipped in cider, yum.

Next was Keahi's Halloween party at school--at which I was in charge of the food. I spent way way too much time and effort on things the kids just wolfed down but I enjoyed the resulting spread and was comforted by all the admiration from the adults who actually appreciated the effort behind the meal. There were pb&honey jack-o-lantern sandwiches (I used a tiny bat cookie cutter for the mouth since the one I did with a knife was horrific), tuna ghost sandwiches, veggie platter with monster hand dip, apple monster bites, pretzel witches' brooms, and bat cookies. Of course, the kids ate up the cookies first and I ended up with loads of extra apples. Ah well. The school was very specific about offering healthy snacks and limiting sugary things.....which, I discovered was more of a suggestion than a rule in all the other class parties with their bags of donut holes and Kroger cupcakes with massive amounts of frosting (that was specifically banned at the parent meeting). Anyhow, the party was a success with games, crafts, food, and each kid made a picture frame for their Halloween portraits to take home. And before the party there was a parade around the block and a magician show in the cafe.

Right after that there was trick-of-treating in the Village adjacent to the school. All the boutiques gave out candy and/or coupons and one gave out toothbrushes. We waited in line for almost half an hour for one booth because it was the library one and they give out free books. The lady actually gave us an extra one on the side. Sweet! Sidenote: Keahi's Roald Dahl book, Witches, was not a hit. I'd never read it before and Iz only vaguely remembered it. But Keahi is all about what's real and what's not and the first chapter of this books talks about how witches are real but they look like everyone else so you can't tell who's a witch and who's not. Keahi ended up having a nightmare about it that night and we've put the book back on the shelf for a few years.

And then it was finally Halloween. We had a church party in the morning with yummy themed food and cookie decorating and games for the kids. And I found a friend there who offered me a princess costume so I could match my boys for later. However, Keahi insisted that princesses only wear pink so I obviously wasn't one. Instead I was the evil sorceress. Fine. More true to life anyway.

Then we had a party at a classmate of Keahi's house. Iz and I aren't really minglers but I must say that all the parents there were awesome and friendly and even comfortable to chat with. We actually spent time with them instead of chickening out and hanging out with kids like we'd normally do. I was one of the only adults in costume which was awesome for my need to stick out. I had thought Adam's mom would be there and I'd seen her amazing homemade costume the day before--her son's a knight, the dog's a dragon, and she wore a big tower with a window at abdomen height through which her princess baby peeped through in her carrier. But, alas, I was the only princess at the Miller's party. After that hoopla we decided to trick-or-treat with Keahi's friend, Tristan, around that part of the neighborhood instead of heading back to our part of GP. And that ended up being a good call since when we got back our neighbors told us they only had 2 people stop by their house for candy. Apparently nobody on our street gives out candy except for our neighbors. So our huge bags of candy corn and lollipops didn't even get a dent in them unless you count the one t-o-ter we got before giving up and heading into the warmth of the house.

So we've got bags of candy for anyone who'd like to dress up for it. Or, you know, just ask.

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Camping out

So this is yet another belated post about our end of summer fun. Before it got too cold we really wanted to go camping and decided to be good LDS members and camp somewhere close so we could make it back by Saturday night so we wouldn't miss church on Sunday. Mackinaw Island will just have to wait till later. We went about 2 hours away to Wampler's Lake for our first trip to the wild. Did I say wild, I meant a campground with electrical outlets at each site with plenty of parking for RVs and horseshoe fields and a mini playground. But we chose the site closest to the woods--and farthest from the bathrooms--collected our own firewood instead of using the precut bundles other people got from the office, and roughed it with our tinfoil dinners and s'more desserts. The boys were thrilled just to be outside playing in the dark instead of being in bed. Flashlights beaming into the night were the best toys in the world. Our tent could only fit the single airbed and the two pool rafts for the guys so I slept in the van. I made the mistake of thinking that the back seat was long enough for my short frame. It wasn't. Not when it's freezing cold and your side goes numb from not being able to move without fear of being dumped to the ground and you've got no pillow but your arm. And I learned that though I enjoy sleeping in a fetal position, I really, really like the choice to stretch out and rearrange once in a while. I ended up climbing over the luggage and into the front passenger seat just before dawn to try to unkink myself. Anyhow, back to the good.
The next day we went swimming--rather the boys went swimming--in the cold lake. Keahi chased geese and Jarom wallowed in the sand. We even saw a snake swimming in the water. Yikes. We picnicked on hot dogs and tried to fly a kite. The boys can always find ways to amuse themselves. In one vid you'll see them sidestepping on the picnic bench which they found hysterical. Keahi stretched his artistic skills with the camera and laughed at some of his results. And they loved the friendly ladybug that visited us.

Then after we packed up and headed home we stopped at one of the minigolf places we'd passed on the way in. It was kind of a jarring image to see these aged signs saying COME SEE THE GRAVITY HILL or advertisements for haunted trains next to paul bunyan statues all amidst cornfields and silos. We had to wake up Jarom, but once up he was thrilled to play golf. The one we stopped at had bumper cars which we didn't do--such sad boys--and a decrepit arcade. The shopkeeper only charged us for two players, we chose our putters, and headed out on a 27hole run. The boys loved it and so did we. Jarom mostly ran around like wild and occasionally hit a ball. Keahi did each one and whooped with pride everytime he sunk it. And he especially liked it when he did better than me. Then we ate at a BBQ place--Famous Randy's, I think. It had a big statue of a cow that said, "Save a cow. Eat pig." And we did. The food was only okay, but the service was good and the place was fun to look at. A huge guy, maybe Randy himself, walked around giving out Mardi Gras beads after answering his triva questions and making shapes like stars and puppies on the end of the necklaces for the kids. And the boys rediscovered pork rinds. You can tell from the pictures that Keahi was hooked. For dessert we got the pecan pie because I figured it's hard to screw that up and after our last dessert experience at a bbq joint I was definitely playing it safe. We liked everything at Red, Hot and Blue except for their blackberry cobbler. It was bad. I mean really, really bad. When the waitress came back and asked how it was we said Good around the dry bits of dough in our mouths. Then we giggled uncontrollably once she left at our perjury.

Then we finished driving home. It was a great experience and I'm glad we did it before it got too cold.

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Another Late Recap: Chicago in August

Israel took his clinical skills exam in August and chose the Chicago center since my sister lives there. Originally, when we were living in Brooklyn, Iz was going to fly out there alone. But since we now live 4 hours away, we all drove down to stay with the Burtons. And while poor Iz was stuck in a testing center for 9hrs, the rest of us played.
We went to the zoo. I think the kids had more fun playing with eachother than really looking at the animals. Well, what do you expect--with 3 kids we've got our own traveling zoo. None of the kids are all that athletic and you can see it in their haphazard running at breakneck speeds. We tried with limited success to get Keilani involved in the green light/red light game that's been pretty effective with the boys. Then Jarom started trying to get strangers to stop with him. People smiled, laughed, and walked around him.
We also played at the park and ran the kids silly to get out some energy before bedtime. I think the kids could live anywhere as long as there was a cool park nearby.
One other highlight was when the boys joined Keilani's swim lesson. Apparently there aren't any strict rules at their pool--unlike in Grosse Pointe--and the teacher welcomed the new additions. However, the pool was frigid. I mean turn-your-toes-blue frigid. The lesson was cut short and the two skinnier kids huddled in towels to thaw out while Jarom got right back into the water to explore the water playscape. But even he only lasted for one slide.
It was a good weekend and it's nice to have family closeby. I know that Lani lives even closer and we've really got to get together with them before we end up leaving Michigan....if we leave Michigan....I really wish we knew already where the heck we'll be living next year.

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Birthday Blues

Well, the morning part really was the highlight of the entire day since the rest of the day consisted of managing a whinny, demanding Jarom on some kind of whine-intensification diet. By the time Iz got home I was so ready for bedtime. It didn't help that I was starting to feel sick. But we ate at Burger Pointe accross the street which was yummy and didn't involve me cooking and finished off with birthday cake--or rather an Apple Tartin from Trader Joes which was not as delectable as the blueberry tart. Then it was bedtime for the kiddies and Thursday night shows for the parents. Yup, we're pretty much addicted to tv. I was feeling pretty blue by this time. I kept thinking about Mariko's blog post from ages ago about how you somehow expect something--either good or bad--from the universe in acknowledgement of your birthday and all the mixed feelings that come with it. It probably didn't help that I knew my sister had recently had surgery and was feeling depressed and my mom called and talked with me for a while about how depressed she was now that the reality of her accident was sinking in and she knew she couldn't go back to work for months. So then I knew logically that I had no reason to be depressed since I hadn't had surgery and I could walk and everything. Which just made me feel guilty. So not the best birthday ever. Especially since the sickness really took hold and I couldn't do any of the fun things on Saturday for my birthday either--no sunrise on the beach with hot cocoa or time at the gym or a date later in the evening. And now it's Monday morning and I've finally gotten to the hacking-green-nastiness-in-great-big-coughs stage. So, woe is me. I'm not looking for a job or recovering from surgery or had a tree demolish my house (like the guy we visited last Tuesday for mutual). But woe is me.

Birthday Morning

I don't know what the rest of the day will be like but so far I'm very happy with the start of 31st b-day. When I went to get the boys, Keahi immediately burst into a lovely rendition of the birthday song--and he's currently singing it again for me now that he's finished his breakfast. And he gave me an imaginary Warm Fuzzy (all you Joy Schoolers know what that is). His bright cheerfulness made up for Jarom's extreme whininess and refusal to tell me happy birthday after daddy came in and tried to prompt him. Then when we walked downstairs I saw why Iz had come to bed so late. The house was completely sparkling clean. Yay! No cleaning for me today. Iz left to go to Einstein Bagels for our breakfast while I made some yummy Trader Joe hot chocolate. I accidentally stepped on Jarom's toes and he began to wail. Keahi quickly ran to him and gave him a hug before I even got to him. Then he kissed his feet repeatedly while I tried to cheer him up with songs. Tried and failed. Jarom only cheered up when Keahi ran and got him a red warm fuzzy from yesterday's joy school lesson and had it waddle up Jarom's arm to his shoulders. Then when Jarom spilled his hot cocoa on the ground I got two paper towels for us to wipe it up and Keahi sprang out of his chair and said, "Let me do that for you!" Wow. What a great helper. Then we enjoyed a breakfast of bagels and pastries and now I've gotta go get ready for school and the gym. Oh and I got a birthday spaceship of magnaforms from Keahi and a photo message on the desktop from Iz. A great start, don't you think?

Happy Birthday Iz

It's 7am right now and I'm trying to keep the kids quiet so the birthday boy can sleep in. We'll see how long that lasts. In the mean time, here is my top 10 list of why my husband rocks.

-He doesn't hold grudges.
-He's very humble and doesn't judge other people's shortcomings.
-He does wacky, crazy things to get his family to laugh.
-His family is the most important thing to him.
-He makes me feel beautiful and special.
-He cares and worries about the world around him.
-He loves the work he does and he'll be a great doctor.
-He never mocks my sometimes juvenile interests.
-He fits well with my family.
-He is a good man. A kind man. (If you get the reference, brownie points for you.)

And he's up now so I better get going.

Happy Birthday, love.

1st day of Kindergarten

Yes, it's been a month now since this milestone. But it still needs to be documented so here's to old news.

Keahi couldn't wait for school to start and every time--and I mean every time--we passed it he'd cry, "That's my kindergarten!" just in case we weren't sure. The only thing he complained about was that it was only half day. He didn't understand why he could stay like the bigger kids. Actually, I don't understand why, either since this whole half day thing only exists in the Grosse Pointe areas. Another sign that I live in a bubble.

So, we were all excited and we'd been to the school the week before to meet the teachers and tour the school so on the big day I thought I'd get plenty of cool pics of Keahi putting his things in his new cubby (which is in a whole separate room within the classroom--no more cramped spaces in Brooklyn), playing at the centers, or reading in the reading pool--which used to be a 3 foot deep fishpond before it was considered a bad thing to have in a classroom. But, alas, the teachers gathered the kids up outside and ushered them in and we were all asked politely to leave. So me and all the other parents hurriedly snapped a few shots from the hallway window before leaving our beloved little ones behind. After the first day, we don't even go inside the building since the kids line up by classes and are led inside by their teachers when the morning bell rings.

I can barely get a kiss and hug in before Keahi takes off inside.

He loves his teacher, his friends who he always refers to by their full name, gym day, art day, music day, library day and now computer lab day, and is even excited by all the alphabet and number writing practice which I was afraid would bore my I-already-know-that son. He recites all the clever rhymes to help teach the kids how to write them and does his easy homework lickety-split. I'm so glad his kindergarten experience is turning out so positively. I love Mrs. Vandevusse.

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