Concert at the Park

This summer we discovered that the local arts center sponsored several concerts in the park. We made it to the last one last night in which an Irish rock band was playing called Scythian. We arrived at the park, laid down our blanket and settled in. Some people around us brought a picnic and we made a mental note of that for next summer as that would be fun!

Before the concert we had and incident that almost made us go home. Paige had been having a sour stomach and she couldn't make it to the toilet. But Mommy was prepared and had a change of clothes in the car. I had to change her in a porta-potty (YUCK!) and then we ran to the car (she with a bare booty but a long shirt). However, those underwear were just thrown away.  

Then the concert began. It was great! The music was good, the night was beautiful and it was all very entertaining. Everyone was encouraged to get up and dance and so that's what we did. The girls especially loved it. 

 It proved too much for Brendan after a while and he spent a good amount of time off on a park bench with the iPad. 

It got dark but the dancing continued. The band even had an encore. We sure wish we had attended another concert in the park this summer but its on our hit list for next year for sure. 

My new favorite thing

For Christmas Christine bought me one of these:

Basically you put table salt in this, cock it, aim at a fly or whatever and fire away. That was the idea anyways. This thing sat in a box unneeded for almost 6 months. We anxiously awaited the return of summer and the abundant houseflies that swarm our house and always will until our children learn this concept of "closing doors."

I looked forward to the coming of the flies like wild animals look for the coming of the rains.

And they came! It has been open season (no pun intended) with the salt rifle. Everyday I shoot at least 4 or 5 of these germ spreading nuisances. While I am sure it doesn't sound all that fun, I have been having a ball. Christine complains of all the little fly carcasses that end up in random places on the floor since sometimes I don't know where they end up after I pump 'em full of salt. I figure thats better than having them land on the food and whatever else is around the house.

Thanks Babe for the awesome gift! You just keep hitting home-runs in the gift department.

Jason

Look What I Did!

Darby (6 years old) came home from the pool with a deep water bracelet. She passed the test! What a little fishy.

Perks of the job

Doing root canals for the Army you end up meeting a broad spectrum of Army folks. The other day I had a helicopter pilot come in who appreciated the service and offered to take me on one of their proficiencies flights. Awesome!

This is the clinic I work in. Its the one on the right and I work in the top left corner area. 

In the top right is a clearing in the woods and a neighborhood- that's where we live. 

 Washington DC temple. One of my favorite places.

 Another helicopter... a bit too close for comfort if you ask me.

As a young soldier in the 101st Airborne we rode around in helicopters fairly frequently but it had been years. This was very memorable. Flight restrictions near the Washington DC Mall area mandate that you have fly below 200 feet (due to the nearby airport), so we were able to wave at tourists and stuff. It was cool.

Beanboozled

Jelly Belly has this game called Beanboozled. There is a collection of jelly beans, each set is identical in looks but very different in flavor. One is tasty and one is disgusting. You spin the spinner and pick a jelly bean of that color. You might get coconut or spoiled milk, tutti fruity or canned dog food. We played it for Family Game Night. It was hilarious!! 

One by one the kids dropped out, except for Brendan, which surprised me.

Jason picked the wrong flavor every single time. He says the worst one was rotten eggs. 

I was pretty lucky but in the end got grass clippings (how in the world do they replicate that taste?). 

Paige chewed one and when we asked what it was she said, "It's gross" but swallowed it. Yes, I know she has no clothes on. We are lucky that she wears clothes outside the house. I'll be glad when this phase is over.

After Eva got stinky socks, she spat it and said she was done. 

 Darby claimed that moldy cheese was the grossest and got a little sick afterward.

I'm glad no one got the dead fish jelly bean. Blech!

Crossover

Brendan crossed over from Webelos and Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts tonight. He had to cross the bridge while repeating the scout oath from memory. No problem! He was so excited to do it too. 

The Eleven Year Old Scouts were waiting at the other side to receive he went to Boy Scouts for the first time. I think he will really enjoy the smaller group and leaders who understand special needs.

First Weeks with Stella

Raising a puppy is hard! Harder than I thought. In my head I knew it would be much like a having a baby in the house (which  I felt confident that I could handle) but in reality it is more difficult in a lot of ways. With newborns they stay where you put them, they wear diapers, and they don't chew things to bits. None of those things apply to puppies.

House training Stella has been quite an undertaking. Looking back, I don't think I should have let her have such free reign of the house. It was only downstairs for a week or two (until she conquered the stairs - aghhhh!) but it still required CONSTANT supervision. That's a lot of brainpower for a mom of 4 and NO downtime. But its getting better.

We began her behavior training early and she picks up things very easily. We had a dog who would sit, lay down and target by the time she was 12 weeks. But she is still learning and I need to devote many short sessions a day to her. The main problem we are having is that the kids sabotage my training by being inconsistent in what they will allow (i.e. she jumps on them and they think its cute). When they go back to school that will be easier.

We are also working on socialization, exposing her to anything that she might encounter in her life and making her comfortable with them. She she has met lots of other dogs and different types and ages of people. We have taken her to the dog park and pet store and all around the neighborhood. She likes to pull, being an excitable puppy, so Jason decided to take her on his morning runs. She loves it and it has been a blessing to get her excess energy out.

Despite all this, she's darn cute and smart and making progress. We love her!

Brendan

Today our oldest turns 11. Its hard to believe we've reached the tween years. Its been an adventure.

Brendan had some very specific things he wanted for his birthday. The Thompsons are still out of town so some celebrating would be done once they come back next week. But Brendan wanted to swim at the pool when Dad got home, have stromboli for dinner, McDonalds for lunch (for a chocolate shake) and to watch a documentary in the evening. I'm happy to say we accomplished all that.

After dinner we had cake and ice cream. But there is a funny story about it. Jason wouldn't find our matches so he went to the neighbor's to see if he could borrow some. Their youngest son was there. He was home alone and it was his birthday too. We invited him over for cake and company. :)

 We gave Brendan Lego Dimensions for his present. It is a video game with a pad that you place your Lego characters on and they enter the game. There are level sets from many different movies and TV shows. We also got him beginner sets with Lord of the Rings characters. He is loving it!!!!

Happy Birthday my wonderful son!! We love you!