Rain!
It’s a pretty soggy here today, which is good because a) we need it and b) there’s water in our new stream! Fun!
Author: Christy
Fun at Target
Finn and I had a surprisingly enjoyable trip to Target yesterday morning. He kept so busy stacking and scanning items that there was nary a mention of going to the toy “sectionary.”
A Few Pictures
No extensive post today … just a few pictures.
Finn utilized one of the boulders in the backyard while he was preparing for some sort of war with Ezra and Bruce.
The boys tried to light bird poop on fire in the driveway. (Lots of smelly smoke, but no flames.)
Family study night.
Fun at Cottage today.
Rain Gutter Cleaning
One of Bruce’s projects this weekend was cleaning out the rain gutters, something that desperately needed to be done but is an intimidating job. I am not at all comfortable with the process.
But I do like this cool Instagram photo I took of the ladder!
Finn’s Book
Last night while Ezra was working on his math, Finn was writing a book. Here’s page one.
Here’s page two.
You get the idea. He really is quite fond of Teacher Sahar.
Little Woodworker
Finn has been very interested of late in anything that Bruce is doing in the garage. And, he always wants a project of his own.
On Friday, Bruce mentioned to him that he’d been thinking about making him a workbench all his own with his tools and everything. Needless to say, Finn was quite enthusiastic about the idea and wouldn’t really let it go until Bruce followed through. So, voila.
A Warm March Day
Friday’s warm temperatures lured the boys into some water play in the front yard. They started with the hose and then once they were soaked they decided to try to get the stream going by pouring a bucket of water into it. They forgot they’d made a rock dam at the bottom.
They refilled the bucket but realized it was too heavy to move over to the stream, so they dumped it out on the driveway (which makes me a little crazy).
Funeral for a Bee
Toward the end of our after school play date at Loma Alta park this afternoon, Finn came over and asked if I had anything “pretty” because they were having a funeral for a dead bee. As we moms pressed the kids for more information, we learned that some “bad teenagers” had killed the bee.
The kids — Ezra, Finn, Ruby, Chapin, Sydney, Kylee, Jack and Sofia — proceeded to collect flowers, grass, leaves and sticks to surround the bee. Jack’s mom sent this picture of the “ceremony.”
And Ezra took a couple of pictures with my phone.
Ezra’s 7th Birthday
We celebrated Ezra’s birthday this weekend by going down to San Diego for a trip to Sea World. We started out at Grandpa Bill and Grandma Therese’s house for Saturday afternoon and night. We had cake.
And, at Ezra’s request, we waited until Sunday morning (his actual birthday) for presents.
A little later in the morning we hit SeaWorld — Ezra’s pick because they have penguins there and he is penguin-crazy. Right off the bat, we saw these guys — the Magellanics that come from South America and (obviously) like a warmer climate.
Ezra was pretty excited.
Next we went into the Penguin Encounter area where the colder climate penguins live. They have about 350 penguins in there and it’s 25 degrees.
We also saw polar bears.
Beluga whales.
And the Shamu show, which, I have to say, is still as thrilling as it was when I was a kid.
After lunch and a couple of other attractions, Ezra and I split for the Penguins Up Close tour while Bruce and Finn headed to the Sesame Street area. While we were waiting, Ezra saw this seagull on one foot and said, “He’s doing yoga!”
He then proceeded to attempt the same pose.
Finally, we got to go “back stage” at the Penguin Encounter and meet this adorable little macaroni penguin.
We got to pet her.
And watch her wander around a bit as the keeper was talking.
Then we braved the 25 degree weather to go inside the penguin area. They really are particularly cute animals.
Needless to say, Ezra was thrilled.
After our behind the scenes tour was finished, we met up with Bruce and Finn and went to see the turtles.
Of course, we had bought some souvenirs.
Then it was time for the crazy dolphin show in a very warm and sunny arena.
Finally, it was time for dinner and the long drive home. Both boys took their penguins to bed with them and I snapped this picture of a very exhausted, newly-minted 7-year-old sleeping off a very exciting day.
I took a lot more pictures; a slideshow of the rest is here.
Friday
Just a couple of pictures from today. This afternoon after Ezra got home from school and the boys had a chance to unwind with some Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, I shooed them outside to play while I was making dinner. When I checked on them a little later, they were having a meeting on the lawn. They always gravitate toward the little hill we put in.
Later, when it was time for books before bedtime, I walked in to see them in swim goggles and their LACMA badges.
Best. Party. Ever.
While I wait to see if I can steal some photos of our housewarming party from my friends who took pictures (since I took none!), I’ll write about the other party we had last weekend — Charlie’s 5th birthday party. Jerri found a company (Best. Party. Ever.) that sends out, in this case, Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to provide Jedi training for the kids. It was a total blast for the kids and the parents.
About 45 minutes into the party, Obi Wan and Anakin walked up and started asking questions, trying to find Charlie. Ollie gave him up.
After a while, they started in on some Jedi training.
Took a Jedi oath.
And started off on a treasure hunt.
After successfully finding the treasure box, Charlie distributed lightsabers to all the kids.
Then some group training began.
Here are a couple of videos of the instruction.
Then each kid got to have a one-on-one fight with Anakin. Here’s Finn.
Here’s Ezra.
And, finally, here are a few close-up pictures that Carroll took.
Best. Party. Ever.
Lists
In addition to penguins and Star Wars, the idea of clubs is a big deal in our house right now. Last week, Ezra and Finn wanted to make lists of their club members — Ezra’s Penguin Club and Finn’s Star Wars Club.
Ezra assigned each of his club members a type of penguin (of course, he kept Emperor for himself). He also added — in correct parentheses — that he’s the boss.
Finn surprised me by writing out his Star Wars list by himself! He asked me how to spell everyone’s name but made all the letters.
He’s not all that concerned about spacing or starting a name on one line and continuing it on the next (see, Ch … arlie) but WOW, he’s writing! By way of translation, his list is Kai, Syd, Charlie, Ollie, Aeden, and Marietta. He added “Papa Bruce” the next day, using both names for him so we would for sure know who he was talking about.
Secret Meeting
Last Wednesday while I was chatting with Teacher Angie at Cottage pickup, Finn called a secret meeting with Teacher Sahar. They hunkered down on the pillows in the reading area.
Sahar later told me that Finn said his secret was that he wants her to buy him a double lightsaber for his birthday. And, he told her that she had to say that her secret was that she loves him. (I think she really does. And the feeling is definitely mutual.)
Ezra’s First Grade 100th Day Project
Friday of last week was Aveson’s 100th day of school, which meant 100th day projects were due Thursday. This year we were a little disorganized with planning the housewarming party and Bruce being gone on a hike in the desert last weekend. (Since he’s the one with the glue gun, he’s in charge of school projects.)
This year we skipped the glue gun and went for potato stamps. Ezra wanted to exhibit his penguin obsession for his project and after much discussion as to how we could do it (in a timely manner as we know he sometimes lacks focus), the stamps seemed to be the best bet. So, he drew a baby penguin and an adult penguin and Bruce carved them into two halves of a sweet potato. Here’s the adult one.
Ezra then used the stamps and some paint to stamp 50 adult penguins and 50 baby penguins onto a large piece of paper. Voila!
Tree Climbing
The oak tree in the backyard is perfect for climbing … except that the first branch is too high off the ground for the boys to get on it. Last weekend Bruce brought them a ladder to get them started, but on Monday the landscapers came and dumped a truckload of mulch right next to the tree. It still wasn’t quite high enough to reach the first branch, so Ezra piled up some more.
And tried again.
Success!
