Fun with a tube

We had a safe trip down to Ponte Vedra Monday afternoon and have been enjoying our few days away. This afternoon, though the weather radar showed rain, I decided to venture to the beach with Eleanor and Hayes. (The sun ended up showing itself late this afternoon, and we had some great beach time!) E insisted on bringing the massive, pink inner tube of her cousin's, and I insisted that she haul it herself. I was uncertain as to how much she would use the tube and was worried that the effort exerted to bring the tube to the beach would be all for naught.

Little did I realize that it would become a very entertaining ocean companion. Today was truly Eleanor's and Hayes's first time in the ocean with a large inner tube, and what fun it was to watch them laugh in the water! They spent over two hours in the ocean playing around, inside, and on top of that tube.

Seeing them today reminded me of the fun an inner tube in the ocean can provide. Sights like this spurred memories from my summers at Jekyll Island where I often sat in the middle of a tube, out past the break of the ocean at high tide, with family members all around me, just chatting in the middle of the sea. . . Such fun!

Anyway, I could not believe how long Eleanor and Hayes played together congenially, since on land they can't seem to be around each other for five minutes without fighting. I just might make sure E takes the tube to the beach every day if it helps the two of them get along. I'm all about vacation harmony!

Our World Cup Brackets

As if we needed any extra incentive to catch World Cup fever, Dad, Eleanor, Hayes and I all filled out brackets predicting the winners of the remaining World Cup games. Unfortunately, some member(s) of our family might have already seen their bracket(s) burst.

Dad's boss at work is Dutch, so I think that must have influenced his decision-making. It looks like he'll be cheering for the Orange over the next two weeks as he hopes the Dutch team eventually lifts the World Cup trophy. I'm still mad at myself because I chose with my heart when I selected USA to win over Uruguay (!!), knowing full-well that Uruguay is looking strong right now. I think, though, that I might have a chance in getting my predicted final correct so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Eleanor and Hayes have loved following USA's crazy trip through the group stage, and we were all feeling great about their chances in this next phase. E and H had especially high hopes as they both picked our team to make it to the finals and then win the World Cup. Here is Eleanor's bracket . . .and here is Hayes's. Poor Hayes is already feeling deflated as both of his predicted finale teams are out as of yesterday. He really let his emotions take over his selection process.

Here's to a fun two weeks of soccer!! May the best man (or woman) win!

2 Hours of Disclipinary "Quiet" Time

results in naps for both Hayes and Eleanor! I might have to try this form of "punishment" more often. :-)

Ben's Past Year

As Ben turns 2, I decided to chronicle Ben's second year by choosing a picture from each month. And so the time goes . . .

June 2009 - July - August -September -October -November -December -
January - February -
March - April -
May -
What a fun year it has been!

Celebrating Ben's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Ben's 2nd birthday a night early, knowing that Daddy would not be home for dinner on Ben's actual birthday tomorrow. We had a casual spaghetti dinner and invited Granddaddy and Grandmommy to join us . (I had picked spaghetti to serve him, thinking that it was something he would definitely eat. Well, I was wrong.)

For his birthday, Ben desperately wanted cupcakes and mentioned them anytime anyone discussed his upcoming birthday. (Right now, he solely associates birthdays with cupcakes.) Yellow seems to be his favorite color so we decided to make lemonade cupcakes for him. Unfortunately for Ben, I was baking them when he woke up from his afternoon nap. He was truly tormented by the fact that he could see the cupcakes, but that he had to wait to eat them. Waiting is not a concept a two-year-old grasps. Nearly two hours later, around 6:00pm and as I was almost ready for dinner to be served, Ben could not take it any longer. He briefly halted his motion when I called his name,
but I then gave him the go-ahead to grab one to eat. The poor baby had been waiting so patiently and it WAS his birthday.
Shortly thereafter, before we had dinner, his older siblings showed him his wrapped presents. He quickly proceeded to open each and every one. After he would open each gift though, he would grasp it in his hands and walk it upstairs to his room, almost as if he was keeping it out of the reach of his two siblings. He's a smart, smart boy! (Thomas said that later, when he went upstairs to put Ben to bed, all of the gifts were on the floor, right there at his door.)

When it was (finally!) dinner time, Ben would not even touch his spaghetti. When his plate was placed in front of him, he immediately pushed it away. He was waiting for one thing and one thing only - another cupcake! The rest of us hurried through our dinner so that we could appease the birthday boy. Finally, it was the official cupcake time. Ben was so eager to consume his cupcake that he tried grabbing the cupcake while the candles were still lit. Much to his chagrin, Daddy had to hold his arms after this point to keep him from burning his fingers . . . until we finished singing "Happy Birthday" and he blew out the two candles.Ahhh, FINALLY!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN!

How Big Are Your Muscles?

I guess with all of the superhero talk around here and Daddy's recent muscle-building regimen, the showcasing of one's muscles would come naturally. We do quite a lot of muscle flexing around here . . . Girls should not be afraid to have some muscles too. Ben even gets in on the fun, though he looks more like a seal clapping his flippers than someone showing off their muscles. How big are your muscles?

Two Weeks of Westminster Camp for Eleanor and Hayes

A Chick-fil-A Sighting

Being the third child, Ben spends a lot of time in the car as I shuttle kids to and from activities. He has learned to notice the goings-on outside the car, from the scenery, to the people out and about, to the way the roads go up and down over hills. Luckily, he's finding enjoyment in these observations which makes the car rides with him very pleasant.
Ben, up to this stage, has been able to spot Publix grocery stores from his car seat. He'll shout, "Cookie, Mommy! Cookie," since he knows that is what he gets when we make our weekly trip to Publix. He also points out the Barnes and Noble next door to the Publix that we drive by nearly every day on our way to the boys' Preschool. He calls it the "book tore."

Today, for the first time, I heard him say something new as we drove by a fast-food chain is not on our normal route. He said, "Wook! Chick-fway!" We really don't eat there as often as one would think (maybe once every two or three weeks), but Eleanor and Hayes definitely feel some love for Chick-fil-A. It always seems to be on their minds, as I wrote here. Who would have thought that our almost-two-year-old would feel similarly?

Library's Summer Reading Program

Eleanor and Hayes have joined our local library's summer reading program and it has made quite a "SPLASH" in our household. Once they were handed their reading logs upon signing up, it was amazing to see them eager to read. Any free moment in the day? They were reading. Hayes, who must have been a closet reader, has been reading books left and right, much to our surprise. He even insists on logging the books himself, so that he can practice his writing.

Why are they so focused on their reading? The initial reading program "prize" after reading 10 books is a free kids meal at Chick-fil-a. After that, for each 10 additional books read, the kids get a sticker to place on their name that is displayed on a wall in the library. This wall has names of many of their classmates and friends so they have taken it upon themselves to show well. I'm just grateful that they are enjoying their books this summer. :-)

Art Over the Weekend

With the temperature reaching abnormally high levels this weekend, I decided to let the kids get creative with some watercolor. I had read this post about an art project done in a first grade class and decided to run with it yesterday. Eleanor got into the "assignment" right away, painting a very impressive Eleanor-rendition of a Georgia O'Keeffe flower. Hayes was less-than-thrilled with the assignment so he decided to take his watercolor in another direction and paint a baseball (with some peace signs, of course!)After this first round of painting, we decided to take a break from our art and return later to see what moved us.

This afternoon, after much hemming and hawing, Hayes finally came around and decided that he wanted to "make a pretty flower for you, Mom." Eleanor was eager for another chance to create so back they both went to the porch for some more painting. We loved both kids' finished products. Hayes painted a beautiful, colorful flower,while Eleanor ran with a "Fourth of July" theme and kept her flower patriotic. Well done, kids! I loved watching you create. :-)

Morning TV

Here is another instance of a school-day occurrence that might vary when school starts back in the fall. How this changes, it will be interesting to see . . . so I wanted to document the way it is now.

Nearly every morning, these two brothers can be found on the sofa in the family room fighting over what show they want to watch. Hayes is usually trying to pick something On Demand that is too old for Ben's young, impressionable mind. Ben normally just wants Barney or Elmo. Luckily, we've found shows like Super Why and Dinosaur Train that are middle-of-the-road selections that they will both sit through. This TV time gives me the chance to get dressed and eat breakfast without a constant stream of interruptions. The simple joys!

2, 8, 9 Hugs

When I put Ben down at night, he usually asks for a kiss and a hug before I leave the room. Tonight, as I was putting this sweet little guy to bed, instead of asking for "a hug," he asked me for "2, 8, 9 hugs." 2, 8 and 9 in Ben-speak is the equivalent of 1, 2 and 3. (For some reason, he's hung up on 2, 8 and 9 right now.) I told him that I would give him 9 hugs, since he asked, and we counted our way through them. Once we reached nine, he seemed quite pleased with the result, as was I. Who wouldn't take 9 hugs from this sweet boy?

Morning Check of the Bulletin Board

*Though school is out, i felt that this aspect of H's life was important enough to document, even though come school starting back up in September, he might not revisit the bulletin board
Hayes truly is a child who thrives on routine. Nearly each and every day is the same, almost down to the last minute if he can help it. One of his morning routines is to come downstairs and read the bulletin board. Here, we keep invitations, coupons, the kids' school schedules, Hayes's class snack calendar and anything else that we need to use as a resource. When he gets to the bulletin board, his barrage of questions begins, usually as I'm frantically trying to get he and his baby brother out the door to school. Here is a quick sample of some of my daily questions . . .

"Mom, do you know that there are 11 days until Jac's birthday party? Mom, guess who gets to bring the snack on the 23rd? Mom, do you know how many people I want to invite to my birthday party? Can you guess who I want to have come? Why am I not bringing snack this month? Can you guess who will be the Navigator today at school? Mom, how many coupons (he calls gift certificates coupons) do I have? Mom, are you going to go to a class at the YMCA today? What does Eleanor have for lunch at school today?"

Though I must admit that I rarely hear all of his questions since I'm focused on feeding the boys/making lunches/doing dishes, one morning I did pause to tell myself to take notice of this habit of his and appreciate it, as it is one of his cute "Hayes -isms."

Camp Greystone

Eleanor is home from Camp Greystone! She had the best time and cried throughout dinner last night because she missed camp so much.

We were lucky enough here at home to see pictures posted daily online of the girls at camp. Here are some of the pictures we saw online . . .

Eleanor and her friend and bunk mate Selle, shortly after I dropped E off on Monday.
This is her cabin - Tentalow Lower Five - on Monday morning, shortly after drop-off.
She's having fun in the pool with her counselor Sara. I love E's pigtails!The cabin mates enjoying some cool watermelon . . . E getting some riding lessons . . . Here is one last picture of her cabin mates taken on Friday morning. Everyone wears all-white to breakfast, their final meal at camp. I arrived an hour early, with the hopes that I would walk around the camp and take pictures, since Monday was such a rain out. The girls were busy in the dining hall, eating a pancake and sausage breakfast and singing their songs. I did manage a picture of the lake where they can blob and go down a 100 foot water slide. Once the girls ran out of the dining hall, I met E at her cabin,Here are Eleanor and Selle with their counselor Sara.
and then the girls one final time outside their cabin. On Thursday of this week, we received the following note from Eleanor in the mail. With all of those pictures of a happy girl and this note, I'm pretty sure that Eleanor wants to return to camp next summer. Who wouldn't want to spend a week there?