So What...

He's kind of a rock star.

At the movies...

We went to see Alice in Wonderland today!

Madison says "Best. Movie. Ever!"

Hunter says "It was better than I thought it would be... I like the Mad Hatter."

Kaden says "Awesome!!"

Aquarium of the Pacific

This week we joined our friends and neighbors the Reilly's on a trip to Long Beach to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific...They have four boys and a baby girl, so that made a total of eight kids with four adults trying to keep them all together. Can I just say I'm glad I only have three?!? All the kids were pretty well behaved and had a lot of fun looking at all the different exhibits there. They were able to watch the seal and sea lion show and also got to see the staff feeding some of the different fish. Of course, everyone's favorite part of the aquarium is the touch pools!

Kaden was reaching in to pet some sharks and rays here and "accidently" dunked his head in the tank - it was so much fun that he did it a couple more times after that.

After we had seen everything at the aquarium we ate lunch and then headed to the beach. Madison wanted to try out her boogie board on some real waves (she had only used it in the pool until then). She was pretty good at it but decided she had had enough when a big wave took her out.

Also, it was really pretty cold there...

...so we didn't last long. Hopefully we'll get another opportunity soon to spend some time at the coast!

Hallway bowling

... or what to do when your mom won't let you play Wii on Sunday:

We did take the kids to the bowling alley a few weeks ago and here was our final score:


He was using the bumpers (but then, we all were). I don't know how he did it - seriously, the ball is bigger than he is!

Mailboxes, etc.

Madison was playing around with some construction paper yesterday, and ended up making a little box. She really wanted to do something with it, but didn't know what to use it for. After brainstorming for a while, she came up with the idea of using it for a mailbox. She made two more, so Hunter and Kaden could each have one, and they have been writing notes back and forth ever since.

Their little notes to eachother are so fun for me to find and read....

...and sometimes I write some of my own.

The funny thing is, I remember doing the exact same thing with my sister when we were kids. Somehow, when kids come up with this stuff all on their own it's a fun game... if I had suggested it they would have thought it was some trick to get them to write and read or something!

A new addition

Back in September, Madison won a little fish at the fair. I was sure the thing would die within days, so I tried not to get too attached. I bought some food for him, and we put him in a little tank, and that was that. She named him Gills (creative, huh?). I never reminded her to feed him, and only cleaned the tank when she insisted that it needed to be done. Regardless of how many times I told her that the Gills the fish would not last long, Madison loved that little guy - she fed him regularly twice a day, and (almost) never missed a feeding.

Then we moved.
Of course I was sure that the stress of the three hour road trip would do him in... but no - he survived the move. For the past week or so, Madison had been pestering me to clean out the tank, and I put it off for a few days, and finally got around to it on Friday. Poor little Gills did not appreciate that at all - he seemed a little listless after I put him back in the tank. Then, Saturday morning we woke up to discover that Gills had finally had it - he died during the night. Even though I had expected him to die sooner or later, and had reminded Madison often that it would probably be sooner than later, she was heartbroken.
After sufficient mourning had taken place, we went to the pet store to see about getting a new fish. If it had been up to me, I would have gotten one of the little ten cent fish - that's what Gills had been, and he lasted six months.... But no, we had to bring dad along to the pet store. When dad's along, the rules are different. Together they picked out a cute, fat, roundy goldfish. She named him Sam. We brought him home and put him in the little tank that had been Gills' home, which seemed a little small for him. After a day, he didn't seem to be doing well - he wasn't very active, and hadn't eaten anything. We decided the tank was too small for him, so went back to the pet store to get a bigger one. And new gravel. And plants. So, here we are now, about $40 or $50 later (I've lost track of just how much this has cost us) with Sam the fish in a big fancy tank.
I am certain that Madison had taken some pictures of Gills at some point, but I can't find them anywhere. I think I must have deleted them. :-(
After all, why would I keep pictures of a silly fish!
Apparently, I won't be winning mother of the year.
So, before this guy croaks, I'd like to introduce...

...Sam the fish.

rainy days

okay, so it's been a while....

The kids have been sick with some kind of stomach bug. first Kaden had it, then Hunter, and now Madison is finally getting over it. I'm pretty tired of taking care of vomiting kids - I think I forgot to read this part of the mommy contract. Or maybe they left it out on purpose.

On top of that, it has been raining like crazy here. One of the things I didn't think about when agreeing to live on the third floor, with no garage - coming home from grocery shopping with enough bags that I'll have to make several trips in the freezing rain, up the stairs and back down....
The boys were able to help a little, and I left some non-essentials in the car for later.

The sun is coming out a little - but it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, too, so I don't think it will last long.