Wonderfully mellow day today — we woke up to beautiful Belizean sunshine and had nothing specific to do. The boys saw a few iguanas running around and decided to run outside to have a closer look.
Every time one would run under a bush, Ezra would wave and say, “Bye! Thanks for visiting us!”
At 9:00 we ran an errand (walked to the Mata Grande Grocery — a one room grocery store up the road) and then the boys and Erin hit the pool. It was truly lovely here today, a welcome change after the clouds and storms of the first couple of days.
The boys had a two-hour plus morning swim, then a break for lunch and rest, then another hour in the pool this afternoon. I decided on a quick dinner for them of pasta, watermelon and olives (which they inhaled, begging for seconds) and after a couple of books and snuggle songs they were both out like lights. It was 6:40. I love vacation.
Oh, and this is a picture I took last night. When I came downstairs to go to bed, I found these two lovely boys in the most angelic position. So sweet.
This morning we needed to vacate the house because a photographer was coming to shoot the house for International Living, so what better excuse to take a trip into San Pedro Town to finish the rest of our grocery shopping and have lunch. The skies looked like rain …
… but we decided to brave the weather. We rented a golf cart and started making stops — the bakery, a vegetable stand, and then a little grocery store.
The rain, which had been just a few drops, started to come down harder, so we decided to have lunch. We got almost all the way through the meal when the rain started coming down sideways and right into the open air restaurant. And it was cold! It was never cold last year!
We decided to head home on the water taxi and got caught in the torrential downpour on the way to their dock. It was actually pretty awesome. The kids, once under the roof of the dock, had fun peeking out at just how hard the rain was coming down.
Eventually we made it home, soaking wet but laughing. Later it cleared up enough to swim — my first dip in the pool this trip.
After dinner we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which I’d brought with us because I just finished reading the book to the boys. Finn, who went napless today, didn’t make it and was asleep at 6:15 but Ezra loved it. And so, after all these years, did I.
While everyone back home was celebrating July 4th, we had pretty much forgotten all about the holiday! We were a bit distracted by the extreme weather here. Look out, it’s a tropical storm!
The crazy rain didn’t last very long but it remained quite cloudy. That did not deter the boys who spent a couple of hours in the pool once the rain stopped.
It’s funny how swimming totally wears out kids. Finn passed out cold just after his “I’M NOT SLEEPY” rant.
The rest of the afternoon we stayed indoors because this weather is bringing out the mosquitos. (Very different from last year, where nobody got bitten and we had one day of rain.) Anyway, the boys are pretty content to play with the toys they brought from home.
On Sunday we flew from DFW to Belize City. Finn immediately fell asleep on the plane — we had barely taken off.
It was a good thing for both of us; that boy needed a nap.
We took a different route to the island this time, having a driver pick us up at the international airport, drive us to the grocery store in Belize City, and then take us to the municipal airport. The boys had fun playing in their rocks and jumping in the wind.
And here’s our little plane.
We got the same seat (in the back) as we did last year.
It’s really quite a lovely view from the plane.
This time we made a stop on Caye Caulker. It’s a thriving metropolis; here’s the airport.
Then back up again and on our way to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. Armando picked us up in his boat and we got to the house pretty late in the day. The boys and Erin took a dip in the pool while Janice and I unpacked. Then a quick dinner and everyone collapsed by 8:00.
We left town on Saturday, headed first to Dallas/Fort Worth for an overnight and then on to Belize on Sunday. On Saturday morning, I asked the boys to pack up some toys they’d like to bring with us. Finn packed his backpack and by 7:00 a.m. he was ready to roll.
I did the rest of the packing, since we clearly have different ideas of what one needs on a trip. We also had some stowaways.
Erin gave them new sunglasses for the trip. Now they’re the hippest kids on the block.
Auntie Rhonda and Bruce served as chauffeurs to LAX.
Finn said his sad (and sleepy) goodbye to Papa.
And then we were off!
We made it to Dallas about 9:30 with two exhausted boys who wanted a ride.
Once we got to the hotel at the airport, Ezra hung out with the luggage.
After a quick dinner in the room, Ezra did book time.
It was a very late night, but a good night’s sleep was had. Getting ready for travel day 2.
Because we always need a little more drama right before we’re set to leave on a trip, it so happened that this week (Tuesday evening to be exact) Ezra swallowed a Goobi ball. We both immediately freaked out — he because he swallowed the small iron ball, and I because he was clutching his throat and until I realized that he was also screaming, I thought he was choking. Ensuing madness: I first thought the ball was magnetic and worried about that quite a bit. Finally I looked up what the balls are actually made of and called the doctor. She assured me it should pass in three days, but if it didn’t we needed to come in.
OK, three days. As days one and two passed, I started to worry that if it didn’t pass on day three we might have to delay our trip. (Could we even get an x-ray on a Saturday?) So I called the doctor’s office again this morning and made an appointment. They sent him for an x-ray (a picture of which I will add once I get it), which showed that the ball was in his colon. OK, more waiting.
Turns out he passed it a couple of hours after the x-ray so all is well and we are headed to Belize on schedule!
Oh, and here’s a before and after picture of what a Goobi ball looks like once it’s traveled through a six-year-old boy. Ezra insisted on keeping the product of his digestive system, and luckily Bruce was on hand to handle its cleanup.
Our preschool works in conjunction with Whole Foods Arroyo in Pasadena for our big fundraiser in the Fall, the Apple Sale. It’s been marvelously successful for the first two years, and in an effort to solidify our relationship with the store, yesterday we presented them with an art piece. This has been in the works for some time — it was Ezra’s class last year that did the piece — but we are just now finding the time to coordinate the unveiling. The project was led by one of the Cottage teachers — beloved Teacher Ana — who is an artist. Here’s Ezra with the piece, a door that the children glued found and recycled objects to for a mosaic. He’s pointing to the piece he put on.
Here’s a close-up of his piece.
I like that it’s the tallest item on the door so I’ll always be able to find it when the piece is permanently installed in the store.
To add to the festivities yesterday, Whole Foods provided an ice cream social. Here are the kids lined up in anticipation.
Mostly the kids sat together to chat with old friends.
But Finn was very serious and wanted to sit alone. He does not take ice cream lightly.
Then they even had a scavenger hunt for the kids — they each got a reusable bag and instructions to find items throughout the store, which they got to take home.
Here’s Finn getting his bag checked by Cindy after he finished the hunt.
Of course, most of the items were quickly consumed by ravenous kids but we did manage to take a few items home.
All in all it was a fabulous event, which made me happy as I was Fundraising Co-Chair last year and will head up the Fundraising team in the Fall. So, get your checkbooks ready — I’ll be hitting you up to buy apples in September!
We had a good (and busy) weekend which included a visit from Grandpa Bill and Grandma Therese. The kids were in heaven. Finn, in particular, talked their ears off. Here they are at lunch.
I neglected my photographer duties, but if I get some more photos from Grandpa I’ll add some.
Also this weekend, Ezra discovered he can read the comics … well, some of them. I’m not so sure it’s a good thing, but I did enjoy how much he and Finn were entertained by them at breakfast.
Late Sunday afternoon, Bruce was feeling the need for an activity with the boys and decided on an “experiment” with the big lens and some newspaper. Boys and their fires.
On top of this, Bruce finished one more project for the house – adjustable shelves for the office closet.
They rock! And now we can actually see the floor in the office!
As hard as it is for me to believe, Ezra finished up his Kindergarten year yesterday. The morning started off like all the others — we parked at the bottom of the hill and made the long walk up to the top. Here’s Ezra on the lower level.
Here’s our usual morning scene on the playground.
The mural is a new addition and I asked Ezra to take a picture by the part of the grass he painted.
After Ezra went to class I ran Finn down to Cottage and then ran back up to Aveson for the class potluck. Here he is with his teachers, Ms. Jessica (in purple), Ms. Jennee (in green) and Ms. Vonni (in blue).
The potluck was fun — Ezra and his friend, Jack, hammed it up for the camera before digging in to some delicious food.
Then they did a little ceremony for the kids — each one got a certificate for completing Kindergarten, a class picture and hugs from the teachers.
Then Ms. Jennee read a book about the end of the school year and all the adults — parents and teachers alike — teared up. Such a bittersweet day.
Ezra’s final Kindergarten Celebration of Learning happened yesterday afternoon and was wonderful just like the other two. It’s so fun to see all of his work for the trimester and see how he’s progressed.
As usual, he showed us some of the jobs he does at school.
We got to see his latest artwork.
I LOVE this watercolor. He told his teacher that it’s how he sees the ocean.
And he read us a book!
He was very proud to show off the book he chose.
His literacy teacher told me that he originally didn’t want to pick a book but then she found an Iron Man book and he was happy.
We measured him against the height chart from the beginning of the year.
And, of course, he’s grown!
He also made some words with blocks. This boy has a one-track mind.
All in all, we couldn’t be happier with Ezra’s Kindergarten experience. His teachers are kind, knowledgeable and adventurous. The activities were fun while still being educational, which made the transition from our play-based preschool relatively easy.
The other morning Ezra put together an armored Iron Man costume. We’ve been preparing for our trip to Belize, so the swim vests and sunglasses are around.
It’s hard to tell, but he has a swim vest underneath the life preserver vest. That can’t be comfortable.
Ezra’s second Kindergarten field trip happened this Monday — a trip to Mother’s Beach in Long Beach. This one Finn could go to as well, so I pulled him out of Cottage summer camp for the day and we headed for the beach. It was a little crazy because it included all of the Aveson students in Kindergarten through second grade — about 200 kids — plus many siblings and a whole lot of parents and teachers.
The beach is great for little kids — very calm waters and a large sandy area, plus a grassy area (where we had a picnic) and a park with play structures. The kids had a blast. Here’s a brief slideshow of my pictures.
I’ve been woefully slow at blogging this month but I’m trying to catch up. Here are some random shots.
Finn at Cottage last week on the day I worked. He liked that giant helmet for about 2 minutes.
The boys trying on their new goggles and showing off their aqua racers. I got them for our trip but they couldn’t wait to try them out.
Finn’s garb one morning last week when we took Ezra to school — a Batman cape and his umbrella because it was sprinkling.
The boys riding a pink motorcycle at the mall.
Finn fell asleep at the dinner table Sunday night. He must have needed the extra rest — he slept from 5:15 that evening until 6:15 the next morning. Wish I could do that.
Ezra (and I) got to ride on a real school bus — his first — for the Kindergarten’s first field trip last week. We went to Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark, where I’d taken him several times (with Lori, Devon and Trevor) when he was a baby and toddler, but we hadn’t been there in a few years. Here’s a picture of Ezra at 7 months the first time I took him to the farm. Check out those cheeks!!
The teachers were incredibly good at wrangling 45 very-wound-up Kindergartners; one took roll while the other briefed the chaperones on our obligations for they day. We were each assigned a few kids to keep track of — mine were Ezra and his friends, Jack and Ben. Then we shepherded everyone to the bathrooms for one last potty break before the hour-plus bus ride. Once the kids had lined up and were waiting for the bus (which was a little late), they started to get a little unruly. So Ms. Jessica had them sing their farm song. Here’s the part I caught on video. (I can’t really understand a lot of the words, but I think they are saying farm animals in English, Spanish and sign language.)
Then the bus arrived and we loaded them up. Here are my charges and the girls who sat behind them.
Once at the farm, they piled the kids and teachers onto this giant hay stack for a group picture.
After a quick snack, we moved to the outdoor classroom …
… to learn about fruits and vegetables from Farmer Kay.
Then we loaded up in wagons and went on a tractor ride through the farm. We had some picking to do.
Here’s Ezra picking some beets. He’s very choosy.
We came home with two bags filled with beets, turnips, cilantro and lettuce. Delicious.
After a break for lunch, we headed into the animal area where the kids could feed the animals. There were pigs, cows, goats, sheep, turkeys, etc., but really all the kids wanted to do was play on this thing.
Here’s Ezra coming out of the slide. It looked like a very bumpy ride to me.
Here’s Ezra in the wooden train.
And just because I’m having a nostalgic moment, here’s a shot of him playing on these wooden structures when he was two.
After that, it was time to head back to the bus for the ride home. Everyone was sufficiently hot, sweaty and tired to call it a great day and a very successful field trip.
