Last week Andy, and about 100+ of his fellow 5th graders, got to sing the National Anthem at the Rockies game. Apparently they beat out 200 other applicants in being chosen. It was a logistical nightmare, because Charlie was out of town and there was no way I was taking the girls to a 6:40 p.m. baseball game when I usually try to get them in bed around 7:30 p.m. and they have no interest whatsoever in baseball. We were only given about two weeks notice but I was able to procure a fantastic babysitter and get Andy a ride to the game while I picked up and introduced said babysitter to the girls.
The kids had to be at the game at 5:30 p.m., but at that time of day it can take over an hour to get to downtown Denver and for some people it took over 1.5 hours. So there were a lot of stressed out parents but I think everybody who wanted to sing, there were a couple of kids who decline due to other commitments and/or stage fright, got there in time and was able to sing.
Unfortunately while the singing was going on I was not in an extreme parenting mindset because I only took one horrible picture from my phone and I didn't video tape any of it. Not even the big screen. In fact, since at first they only had the flag on the big screen I wasn't even looking at it and am pretty sure I missed the shot with Andy in it. Oh well, at least he remembers being there and thinks it was totally awesome. Short, but awesome.
Not many people can say that they sang at a professional baseball game. Now my kid can!
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Do you know what day it is?
Andy: It's Earth Day. To celebrate I'm going to throw this trash on the floor.
In his defense, we were at a baseball game and that's kind of what you do with your trash at a baseball game.
Andy: It's Earth Day. To celebrate I'm going to throw this trash on the floor.
In his defense, we were at a baseball game and that's kind of what you do with your trash at a baseball game.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Kid Quote of the Day
"This is the biggest fruit roll-up I've ever seen. It's bigger than a monkey's head."
-Amanda
-Amanda
A Long, Long Time Ago
Thursday night I flew to Indianapolis. My trip was two-fold. First, to visit my college roommate, Renee. Second, to go to a reunion in Bloomington. While I was at IU I did a study abroad trip to Maastricht, in the Netherlands. The professor who accompanied us wanted to get us all together for a 20-year reunion (it was actually 21, but I'd rather not count).
Unfortunately only seven of the 25 people in the program came to the reunion, but at least the other six were really fun people. Two of them even went to my high school. It was pretty unusual that out of a graduating class of around 250 students, about 7 of which went to IU, 3 were in this tiny study abroad program. It was a blast to catch up with everybody, all but one that I hadn't seen in 20 years. They were the same sweet, friendly, hilarious, obnoxious jokesters that I remember and we really did have a great evening. Even Renee seemed to have a great time and she just met them all that night.
Getting older can some times be a little difficult. Having kids that don't think you have a life of your own can be a challenge as well. But seeing old friends makes all of that much easier and truly makes you appreciate everything you have and have done over the years.
Unfortunately only seven of the 25 people in the program came to the reunion, but at least the other six were really fun people. Two of them even went to my high school. It was pretty unusual that out of a graduating class of around 250 students, about 7 of which went to IU, 3 were in this tiny study abroad program. It was a blast to catch up with everybody, all but one that I hadn't seen in 20 years. They were the same sweet, friendly, hilarious, obnoxious jokesters that I remember and we really did have a great evening. Even Renee seemed to have a great time and she just met them all that night.
Getting older can some times be a little difficult. Having kids that don't think you have a life of your own can be a challenge as well. But seeing old friends makes all of that much easier and truly makes you appreciate everything you have and have done over the years.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
The End of Spring Break
Thankfully today was the last day of the kids' spring break. Not that it was a horrible two weeks, just very long. Longer than it needs to be. Especially that extra Friday before the two week break. Who needs that? We got home Wednesday and Thursday and Friday were filled with rescheduled appointments that were missed while we were gone so those two days went fast.
We actually had a pretty good time while we were gone. There was some whining and complaining as you would expect with three young kids (okay, most of the complaining came from the girls, but Andy had a few unnecessary gripes as well). The first day we went to Legoland. They have really strange ride requirements there, for example on one ride you have to be 36 inches tall and 4 years old. You could be a five foot three year old and still not get to ride that ride. Amanda is still bitter from when we went last year and she wasn't allowed on that ride. Luckily she met the requirements this time and was able to go on just about everything because she was old enough and tall enough. The few she couldn't go on she was okay with.
The second day we spent at the pool. The water was warm, but not quite warm enough for me because they were going through a little bit of a cold spell and it was only in the 60s. I hung out in the pool with the family, though, because their biggest complaint is that I never swim with them. They're right, but that doesn't make me want to do it any more. I sucked it up this time to spend some time with my kids. See, I do love them.
Thursday we went back out and went to SeaWorld. They have some great roller coasters there that I could do all of once without getting sick so Andy and Sarah were forced to ride together the second time. They also have some great animal shows, but the Shamu show kinds of sucks now because of all the animal activists and the fact that one of the whales accidentally drowned a trainer a year or two ago. I understand it, but the shows just aren't as good. But the kids loved it and the park was empty all morning so we pretty much got to do everything we wanted to do.
Day four was once again spent at the hotel pool. This time I wasn't as loving and spent the entire day on a beach chair. Luckily the kids also spent some time with me on said chairs because it was chilly so I didn't get razzed about not going in the pool.
The next day was Monday and we got really travel aggressive for this part of the trip. We checked out of our hotel in San Diego super early and drove to Anaheim and took the kids to Disneyland for two days. We kind of decided to do this at the last minute, after Charlie had already planned the San Diego part, so we forgot that two long, tiring days at Disney at the end of a one-week vacation wasn't the smartest thing in the world. So again there were times when there was whining and crying and pleas to go back to the hotel, but it was pretty minimal. The best part about the Disney trip was that we didn't tell the girls about it at all. Basically they figured it out, with our help and prompting, as we pulled into the parking lot. The both declared it the "best surprise ever". Okay, that wasn't really the best part. The best part is that we did it all with no diaper bag, everybody potty trained, everybody tall enough to ride the majority of the rides, and no stroller. Strollers at Disney are a pain because you have to weave in and out of everybody, find a place to park it, remember where you parked it so you can pick it back up, blah blah blah. The only good thing about a stroller is that it can hold all your crap, but we brought a back pack to do that. I don't see not bringing a back pack for a very long time, but that's doable and Charlie and I shared the burden.
Overall it was a fabulous trip but I was so ready to come home. I didn't end up cleaning out the suitcases and doing the laundry from the trip until today, so that's when I really knew the vacation was over. I think I'm vacationed out for now, but can't wait for all the great stuff we have planned this summer.
We actually had a pretty good time while we were gone. There was some whining and complaining as you would expect with three young kids (okay, most of the complaining came from the girls, but Andy had a few unnecessary gripes as well). The first day we went to Legoland. They have really strange ride requirements there, for example on one ride you have to be 36 inches tall and 4 years old. You could be a five foot three year old and still not get to ride that ride. Amanda is still bitter from when we went last year and she wasn't allowed on that ride. Luckily she met the requirements this time and was able to go on just about everything because she was old enough and tall enough. The few she couldn't go on she was okay with.
The second day we spent at the pool. The water was warm, but not quite warm enough for me because they were going through a little bit of a cold spell and it was only in the 60s. I hung out in the pool with the family, though, because their biggest complaint is that I never swim with them. They're right, but that doesn't make me want to do it any more. I sucked it up this time to spend some time with my kids. See, I do love them.
Thursday we went back out and went to SeaWorld. They have some great roller coasters there that I could do all of once without getting sick so Andy and Sarah were forced to ride together the second time. They also have some great animal shows, but the Shamu show kinds of sucks now because of all the animal activists and the fact that one of the whales accidentally drowned a trainer a year or two ago. I understand it, but the shows just aren't as good. But the kids loved it and the park was empty all morning so we pretty much got to do everything we wanted to do.
Day four was once again spent at the hotel pool. This time I wasn't as loving and spent the entire day on a beach chair. Luckily the kids also spent some time with me on said chairs because it was chilly so I didn't get razzed about not going in the pool.
The next day was Monday and we got really travel aggressive for this part of the trip. We checked out of our hotel in San Diego super early and drove to Anaheim and took the kids to Disneyland for two days. We kind of decided to do this at the last minute, after Charlie had already planned the San Diego part, so we forgot that two long, tiring days at Disney at the end of a one-week vacation wasn't the smartest thing in the world. So again there were times when there was whining and crying and pleas to go back to the hotel, but it was pretty minimal. The best part about the Disney trip was that we didn't tell the girls about it at all. Basically they figured it out, with our help and prompting, as we pulled into the parking lot. The both declared it the "best surprise ever". Okay, that wasn't really the best part. The best part is that we did it all with no diaper bag, everybody potty trained, everybody tall enough to ride the majority of the rides, and no stroller. Strollers at Disney are a pain because you have to weave in and out of everybody, find a place to park it, remember where you parked it so you can pick it back up, blah blah blah. The only good thing about a stroller is that it can hold all your crap, but we brought a back pack to do that. I don't see not bringing a back pack for a very long time, but that's doable and Charlie and I shared the burden.
Overall it was a fabulous trip but I was so ready to come home. I didn't end up cleaning out the suitcases and doing the laundry from the trip until today, so that's when I really knew the vacation was over. I think I'm vacationed out for now, but can't wait for all the great stuff we have planned this summer.
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