Staycation, Part 2

So, I mentioned that we went cavortin' on the Colorado River, right? Oh, yes, we did!

We really had a great time - we were invited to go along with our next-door neighbors (who are really fun) and they happened to have a Sea Doo. Does anybody else think of James Bond? ;) DaddyDude and I got to drive it - but then I decided it was more fun to have DaddyDude drive, so all I had to worry about was hanging on for dear life as we bounced along the wakes. VERY FUN! The girls (especially Mika) had a blast, though half the time Marika wailed that she wanted to go back to me (on shore).

She did, however, enjoy being pulled in the innertube (see above), but I have to tell you - it's not so much fun as you get older. DaddyDude got knocked out (after flopping around like a rag doll prior to ejection) and I was only on the tube for a short while before I decided that I had had enough. I had started out laughing (because it WAS fun) but then realized THAT was a stupid thing to do, because water kept spraying into your face. I must have swallowed quite a few mouthfuls - blech! The problem was, if you weren't brave enough to lay on your stomach (we weren't) then you had to keep your butt off the bottom of the inntertube, because hitting the water was like hitting hard ground. I don't know about you, but it was really weird trying to keep your body relatively rigid while your legs were flopping around wildly (despite your best efforts to avoid doing so). Perhaps worst of all was when DaddyDude started to spin me in a circle - I swear he was trying to kill me by going really fast (I thought I was going to fly off!) but he swears he was going really slow. Humph. I guess we'll never know the truth... :)

All in all, we had a fabulous time - it probably would not have been so great without the good company and the Sea-Doo - but it was a grand and unique experience! It also made us realize that a weekend getaway (with kids) was totally possible.

For the rest of DaddyDude's staycation, we went to the local waterpark (again)...

And the girls FINALLY went to the movie theater - for the first time ever! Yeah, I know... it's pretty late for them to get started. DaddyDude and I probably hadn't been to the movies in over 7 years. YES! SEVEN YEARS! The last movie we saw was Chicken Little (in our defense - I think our first choice had been sold out).

We went to see Transformers, because oddly enough, although our children are scared of Cinderella (they hate the cat chasing the rats), Snow White (the evil stepmother), Curious George (Mika's absolutely terrified of the "man in the yellow hat") and Ultraman (my favorite Japanese superhero) - they really like the Transformer movies and aren't afraid. Go figure!

Well, that is... until the movie trailers began and both girls clapped their hands over their ears. It must have taken at least 15-20 minutes before they got used to the noise level (I was flinching for most of that time as well!) and took their hands away. Have movies really always been that loud?! Holy cow!

And finally, one of the perks of DaddyDude being on staycation is... he cooks! He made some yummy sliders today - aren't they cute? And can you guess where we got the mini burger press? Joann's! Yes, they were in the 70% off aisle, so for $7.49 + tax, we got ourselves some really cute burgers! Topped with cheese, carmelized onions and some herb salad, they were delectable on those Hawaiian sweet rolls! Yup - Joann's is NOT just for scrappers and sewers! :)

Cavortin' on the river

We've spent the past few days having loads of fun on the Colorado River - I'll post more pictures tomorrow...

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture of an adult caddisfly. I haven't seen these guys since I lived in Massachusetts, so I was pretty excited. This insect order (Trichoptera) contains some very interesting biological characteristics in the larval stages - not only do they live in water, but they often create elaborate "cases" for themselves (for protection and concealment). You can see some examples here, here, and here. You'll notice that the last link has some items that look like jewelry - and you'd be absolutely correct (I actually do own one such piece)! Here's one artist who, by exploiting the natural behavior of the larval caddisfly, has had his subjects create beautiful pieces of art.

Aw, c'mon - you have to admit that these insects are pretty cool! :)

Water Baby

I used to get tons of pictures developed several times a year, but last year... well... I slacked off. Between April 2010 to the end of 2010, I think I developed about 30 pictures to use in layouts. Shocking, isn't it? On the bright side, it forces me to scrap old photos - these are from a vacation we took over seven years ago. Gosh, it feels good to get them done!

The layout is based on the 1/29/11 sketch challenge on YSS's blog. And yes, those Heidi Grace papers are almost vintage! =)

Patterned papers (Heidi Grace), cardstock (Bazzill), diecut title (Quickutz Grand Finale), tools (Fiskars scalloped border punch)

RE: Softball. Both of the girls had their first practice last week and both seemed to love it. At Mika's practice, I spoke to another parent who had FOUR kids playing softball/baseball - two on M/W, one on Tu/Th and one on Friday. I gasped in shock and horror, asking her, "are you going to be able to do it?!" She said, "I hope so!" She said she had another friend who had THREE kids playing - and all three had practice on the SAME DAY but at different schools.

Boy, I'm glad we have only two kids! Our practices are at a good location, in the sense that the other girl can go play on the playground for the duration of the other's practice. So, things aren't too bad, now that we made the switch.

And as my graduate advisor was fond of saying: "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!"

Last week of freedom!

It's hard to believe that school starts next week! Already! Unfortunately, both girls are suffering from a mild cold, but they'll get over it soon enough.

I think the girls had a fun summer - they learned to swim...=)

And they learned how to do ballet and tap dance... well, kind of...

We're also finishing last-minute housekeeping details, like dental visits.. (look! bugs on the bib) although Miss Mika has her first referral to the orthodontist tomorow - ALREADY. Poor kid, she's got dental issues, just like her mom. Her teeth aren't coming in straight so the consultation is to see whether to yank teeth out (to make room for the adult ones) or do so bridging. This really depressed me, because while I knew she was doomed to get braces eventually, I didn't want her to see any orthodontist until she was 10! This should be no surprise, though.. they started yanking my teeth out at age 7, too... but it was nice to get braces by age 10 and be done by age 12. Mika's already lost 6 teeth, so she'll probably take the same road.

We were finally able to watch Daddy Dude play baseball, for the first time in a LONG time. I wish I had one of those fast click shutters that can take the "action shots". However, I'm much too lazy to lug around those huge cameras. =)

Daddy Dude's been extraordinarily sweet about going to all of my soccer games - no small feat, since I'm playing 3 nights a week right now. He's come a long way... when I was playing (before kids) he hardly ever went! What a big sweetie... I'm very lucky... and he never gives me a hard time about playing too much. Gotta love a guy who supports all of his wife's hobbies... =) Even when she comes home with astroturf burn and sore bumps 'n bruises...

Hangin' out...

Both girls successfully completed their swimming class (and were promoted to the next level). I thought it would be better if the girls spent the rest of the summer "practicing" and becoming used to being in the water, rather than taking more lessons. Thanks to Daddy Dude's employee benefits, we can get into Open Swim for free (passes otherwise were 10 for $45 - kind of pricey, if you ask me).
Here's Miss Mika teaching her little sister how to do the starfish float. Not surprisingly, it's been pretty darn crowded at Open Swim, since the temperatures have been near or above 100 degrees out here.

We finally got together with our good friends for dinner last Friday. These kids have known each other for practically all of their lives (they certainly can't remember a time when they didn't know each other) and get along marvelously well. Holly gave the kids some tokens for the arcade and naturally, the kids had fun winning tickets. The selected prizes, though, were... interesting.

Here's my buddy Collin with his fangs. =) The rest of the kids chose erasers!

Back at home...

The girls began swim classes on Monday. After a week of swimming in Arizona, they were very excited about taking classes - THANK GOODNESS! Before vacation, Marika had been really unhappy about this and we had had to bribe her with ballet class (more on that).

We had the girls re-tested (before vacation, both tested at Level 1). Marika remained at Level 1 (she couldn't take one breath while swimming, she just holds it) but Mika was declared a Level 2. We were so proud of her!

Here's Miss Mika swimming away. Today was their 4th class (out of 8). She was able to do the backstroke ALL BY HERSELF! The lifeguard didn't have to touch her at all, except to occasionally steer her back into a straight line. They've also been learning how to freestyle and to float both face-up and face-down.

And here's Miss Marika. She doesn't seem to like it when her face is wet, so every time she gets out of the water, she has to wipe her face. Before she goes underwater, she takes a huge breath (see left). She's really good at holding her breath, though. That's my Goggle Girl!

We discovered yesterday, that Daddy Dude's benefits include free Open Swim privileges (otherwise, it's at least $45 for 10 passes) so I'll start taking the girls at least twice a week to practice swimming. This means, of course, that Mika will get even DARKER, which is impossible to imagine!

On Tuesday, the girls began their first ever dance class - ballet/tap combo. Don't they look adorable in their clothes? There were only about 8 girls total in the class and the teacher was young and very sweet. After one class, I can already tell you that the girls have NOT missed their calling as prima ballerinas. =) They are, however, having a lot of fun. Once Daddy Dude burns the videotape footage onto DVD, the girls can practice their steps and drive me insane with the leaping, twirling, and foot-tapping for the rest of the summer...

The girls love the mirror, of course. I was watching the footage I had shot and noticed that there was a huge lag between the teacher performing the step and Marika following. I asked her, "are you following Mika or the instructor?" As I suspected, she watches Mika, who was right in front of her. What do they call that, the blind leading the blind? ;)

As many of you know, the girls love to match their clothes - we never make them match, but we do allow them the option. I made these two dresses for about $10 total. It was $7 for one yard of smocked Tinkerbell fabric from Joann.com (they sent a little extra) and then I had to buy some ribbon for the straps. The girls are posing in one of the gardens at the local library... they are participating in a massive summer reading program -in addition to reading books, there is also a scavenger hunt to find things in and around the library (they were looking for a bird nest here).

Though the reading program is a lot of work for the girls, it's keeping Mika's reading up to par and Marika is also working really hard. In fact, I'd say that Marika is reading where Mika was - at the beginning of first grade. However, her reading comprehension is not as good. Sometimes I wonder if she's just reading the words and not paying any attention to what the words mean! It may very well depend on the book, though...

And some big news! We're expecting! No, not us - Hissamina!!! A couple of days before we left for vacation, Marika came running over to me and shouted that there was something yellow on Hissamina. I imagined it was a parasite or that Hissamina was dying, but when I looked more closely, I realized that that yellow blob is actually her egg case, or ootheca. Here's a website that has a huge number of pictures... if you scroll near the bottom, you'll see more oothecas and finally, baby roaches.

For those of you who won't even look at the website (I know who you are!), here's a summary. Madagascar hissing cockroaches are unique in that they retain their egg cases until they hatch - so it *looks* like they are having live births. From what I gleaned from the internet, Hissamina was simply aerating or turning her egg case, before she retracted it again. When we returned to the house 3 hours later, she looked like she always does, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred. We are still waiting for her to deliver, but we did coat the top of her cage with more vaseline.

When I told Marika that Hissamina could have 20 babies, Marika paused and then said thoughtfully, "Mommy... I don't think I can come up with 20 names!". So, in case there's anybody out there who wants to adopt a few roach babies, please let me know... =) On the bright side, we will no longer have to buy any more roaches (we had been planning to buy 1-2 more, to keep Hissamina company).

Marika, of course, is asking when we will start rearing darkling beetles. I guess that that will be later this weekend... and she's already begun rearing her second batch of triopes... and where did we buy these lovely creatures? Michaels doesn't just sell crafts! Marika used her Michaels gift card (a present from her Aunt Misao and Uncle Ken) to buy this and a magic kit. =)

And last but not least... I scored 3 goals during my Monday soccer game! Woohoo! A hat trick! I've never done that before! Unfortunately, I learned during our vacation that I am definitely getting older. A week without any ibuprofen was rather... uncomfortable - because I felt the pain of every ligament I've pulled over the last few months. *sigh* It's my goal to continue playing soccer until I'm in my 50's, but we'll see if that'll happen or not... =) It's obviously time to buy a new pair of running shoes (I think my current pair has over 1000 miles on it) but do you know gets my goat? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY SCRAPBOOKING SUPPLIES I COULD BUY FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY?

Yup, some of you do. ;)

WOW, was it HOT!

If you thought southern California was hot, you ought to visit Arizona! We spent all of last week in Scottsdale, where the daily high was over 100. That was at least 10-15 degrees warmed than back home! We learned to tolerate it and spent almost all of our time by the pool.

R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G...

Perhaps the best part of the trip was the girls learning how to swim! By the end of the week, both girls were able to swim at least 15-20 feet by themselves. Mika learned how to take breaths in between but Marika refused to learn - so she learned how to hold her breath instead. Hey, whatever works, I guess!

This is "Goggle Girl". =) Neither girl will "look" in the water without their trusty goggles on.

Daddy Dude also participated in a cannonball contest at the pool. We are very pleased to report that he won a free marguerita as one of the top 5. =) I also got to show off my entomology smarts by capturing a tortured blue mud dauber and earning the awe of some terrified pool staff... =)

All in all, it was a very good vacation - we did a lot of relaxing! I spent the first 36 frantically scrapping for a Cropchocolate.com Chocolatier crop and managed to finish 5 challenges (out of 10 challenges). Did I win anything? Well, kind of. There was ONE challenge without a cash prize (credit at cropchocolate.com) and wouldn't you know it? I won THAT one (for my Iao Needle layout)! Once a month, they'll be featuring a Chocolatier on the CC blog and I'll be the FIRST. I was so pleased that I'd won and then I started to feel some panic. Such attention! What will I do?! *gulp*

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there! Daddy Dude had to work, but at least he had a baseball game in the evening - and WON! Woohoo!

Our Sunday soccer season ended for this league. We'll finish 2nd or 3rd (out of 5), but we're still "congealing" and our player roster keeps changing. This team won't play again until fall season (in a couple weeks, I'll start in another league that's closer to home - Yucaipa). I really enjoy playing with these ladies... some of them are really kind and sweet to my girls, which makes it all the more fun to come and play, because the girls are almost always with me.

Last week, the girls brought their umbrellas to the game (it was at 2 pm) for sun protection. At the end of the game, Marika flung herself on me, sobbing inconsolably, because her Cars umbrella (quite a rarity) was broken. Mika's umbrella always looks crappy, because she is just brutal with all of her belongings, but it's still intact. I promised Marika I'd try to fix it - and managed to wire it together again - although why I have to use my beading wire, I don't know - we really need to buy some thinner/cheaper wire from the hardware store!

At my game the next day, Kelleen (our injured but amazing goalie) arrived with presents for the girls - NEW UMBRELLAS!

I was so touched by her sweetness. Even Missy said she had been scouring the town, looking for a new Cars umbrella for Marika! They're so spoiled! So for that reason, in addition to the fact the girls have their own "soccer buddies" (other children of soccer moms) at the game, they really do enjoy going to my games (they just don't watch! But, they do fetch wayward balls, which is nice).

Although... at the game today, Mika pitched a fit during half-time because I had forgotten their new umbrellas in the car and she wanted to be in the shade. I wasn't going to walk/run all the way to the car when there was plenty of shade next to her under our friends' big shade umbrella. When I moved her chair to the shade, a mere two feet over (she had to be unceremoniously dumped out of it, because she refused to move herself), she started to bawl like a baby. Behind me, I heard the entire team go, "oooooh" (all but one has had kids) but thankfully, no one moved to console Mika (as Grandma always does). It made me feel better when a teammate leaned over and whispered, "I know exactly how you feel!"

Daddy Dude says Mika is still in the egocentric stage but I'm starting to wonder if it's a lifetime affliction. Miss Mika was informed that from now on, she is responsible for bringing her own umbrella to the car and taking it with her when she wants it. And in case you were wondering, when I bring the girls to my games by myself, my arms are full of stuff. I have become quite the packhorse! We have really got to find the little handtruck (AWOL in the garage somewhere) and strap a crate onto it for transport purposes. *sigh*

This evening, the girls had to go be "assessed" for their swimming class. It was no surprise that they tested for Level 1 (beginners). They appear to be excited about the class... we'll see how it goes... in two weeks!