Chuck E. Cheese

Last week, the kids and I went to Chuck E. Cheese with some church friends. We had a wild and crazy time! We used more tokens than we've ever used before. It was great!

I think this was the first time that Sophie got to be the master of her own cup of tokens. The place was nearly desolate (except for the 7 kids in our group), so we just let the older ones take off and do their thing. Sophie chose some pretty interesting games/activities.

Cora and Lily--I love that they're holding hands on this "roller coaster" ride.

Owen had a great time riding rides and playing games.

He particularly liked this duck one, where you push the button to knock over the ducks. As long as the ducks were moving, he figured he was playing. Even if it was really some other kid knocking the ducks over.

Anything to do with steering was also enthusiastically received. And balls. He tried really hard to play basketball and skee-ball.

McKenna & Lily (in front), Ella, Sophie & Cora...they were watching Chuck E. perform 80's hits.

Later on, Owen became obsessed with dancing in front of the blue screen. I have no idea why. He didn't know that he was showing up on the TV screen, and he had no particular affinity for the 80's songs they were playing. But he did know that this was how he wanted to spend his time. He ran away from me when I got near to him and threw major fits about being dragged away from here in order to check in on Sophie.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

We acquired tickets to some free college baseball and thought it would be a great way to introduce the kids to watching a dome game without throwing our own money out the window if it didn't go so well. Mission accomplished! The kids had great fun, and so did we. It helped that the whole row next to us was empty--the kids ran up and down it several times.

This little fellow is Owen. Another Owen. Greg and his dad (another Greg...confusing, huh?) work together. They also play a little pong (ping-pong) together. Our Greg has had the pleasure of meeting this Owen a few times while playing pong at his house. These grown-up men even have nicknames for each other. Our Greg is the Ninja (pronounced "Neenja") and the other Greg is Sprinkles (he likes sprinkle donuts, so I'm told).

One day, Owen's aunt was visiting and somehow or other the discussion turned to ninjas. The aunt asked, "Owen, do you know what a ninja is?" To which he quickly replied, "Yes! He plays ping pong with my dad!"

We got a malt for a treat. By malt, I mean hard-packed ice cream in a 6-inch tall cup accompanied by a 3-inch tall stick to dig it out and eat it with. Seriously??!! Who thought that was a good idea?

The Colossal Deer Store

On our way home from Grandma's party last weekend, we stopped off at the Colossal Deer Store to stretch our legs for a bit. The kids loved looking at all the (stuffed) animals--it was almost as good as being at the zoo! Almost. We had major discussions with Sophie over the issues of "real, but stuffed," and "dead, but real." It was a vicious cycle in her mind.

Yes, that is a fluffy, pink tutu at the Deer Store.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the tents/blinds/fish houses. They also liked these cots. Owen wanted to be on Sophie's, of course.

It was all very cute...

...and snuggly...

...for a few moments...

...and then, inevitably..."Mom, GET...HIM...OFF!"

We have reached the stage in Owen's life where he insists on doing everything himself. Including stairs. ALL of the stairs. He would shake his head no if I tried to hold his hand... ...and he threw and all-out fit when I tried to pick him up and carry him. Sophie and Greg carried on without us.

Checking out the cool, live fish

Checking out the cool, stuffed, real, but dead animals...until Daddy crouched down, and then Owen made a bee-line for him.

The Colossal Deer Store...good, free fun for the whole family.

Interview with a 4-year old

I saw this interview on a friend's blog and thought it was so funny that I had to try it with Sophie. I skipped a few questions because I thought they may have been a bit hard for her to answer. Some of these took a little prodding too. Her verbatim answers are in blue.

1. What is something mom always says to you? To be a good listener.

2. What makes mom happy? When I listen to you what you say.

3. What makes mom sad? Sometimes when I cry hard you say, "You're making me sad." (This stems from our stitches incident!)

4. How does your mom make you laugh? When you do silly things...silly faces.

5. How old is your mom? Ummmm....4?

6. How tall is your mom? Is it this big? (stretching out her index finger and thumb)

7. What is her favorite thing to do? I don't know.

8. What is your mom really good at? Doing hard things...hard games. Doing good things.

9. What does your mom do for a job? To clean up stuff and wash dishes and wash stuff.

10. What is your mom's favorite food? Vegetables.

11. What do you and your mom do together? Go out to have a special supper and a special lunch.

12. How are you and your mom the same? We have the same color hair. (???)

13. How are you and your mom different? I have different clothes.

14. How do you know your mom loves you? You say, "I still love you."

15. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Exercise.

Grandma's 80th Birthday

My whole family travelled down south (a bit) to celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday last weekend. My sisters and our families stayed with my Uncle Dwight and Aunt Carol in their gigantic house. Greg said it was better than a hotel! It's true. We had huge rooms to stay in, food a-plenty, a perfect little dog Rudy for the kids to chase around (sorry Rudy!), and Guitar Hero. What more could we ask for?

Cassie helping Sophie to get duded up for the party

Sophie and Aubrey coloring on placemats I made for the kids. There were at least 20 great-grandkids (out of roughly 50 people total), so the activity kept them from running around like hooligans...for about 5 minutes. Actually, Sophie literally did this all afternoon. She barely left her chair or looked up from the page. That's kind of how I respond to loud noise and chaos too.

Owen and my mom, Denna

Owen and Greg

Owen responded to all the chaos by hiding out in the hallway by the bathroom and watching from a safe distance.

He also really enjoyed the coloring sheet placemats. He also enjoyed coloring on himself.

Grandma Rosalie, the birthday girl, and my mom

My dad, Gordon, preparing to pray for lunch

Grandma

Owen, Sophie and Aubrey. Aubrey's wearing a hat she made--another craft I brought along to keep the 20+ kids busy. That also occupied them for about 5 minutes.

This is the family picture of all who attended Grandma's party that day. It includes my Grandma, 5 of her sons and daughters, their spouses, the grandkids and spouses, and the great-grandkids. Four generations, and technically, there are even more of us. Two sons and their kids and grandkids were unable to attend. Amazing! Grandma said later that she's glad we didn't have an open-house. Can you imagine?!

About 2 minutes after I took this picture, right before we left, Owen was slumped forward and sleeping on my dad.

We spent the rest of our evening back at Dwight and Carol's house where I was coerced (finally!) into playing Guitar Hero for the first time. I made everyone leave the room, but they eventually all trickled back in to watch the spectacle of it all. I'm certain that I dragged Cassie down, but as I got the hang of it, I actually had fun with it.

Watching the slideshow of all the pictures we took at the party the day before.

Big Zoo

We went to the big zoo a while back with our buddy Aaron. I've been too busy to blog, so today I'm finally making the time to post some pictures of our fun day. Going to the zoo with a friend is WAY more fun than going with just your mom and little brother, by the way.

Little monkeys watching the monkeys

Owen just tagged along and did everything Sophie and Aaron did
Flamingos--one of my favorites at the zoo

How big is YOUR wingspan?

So sweet

So...ummm...not sweet

Dressing up in the discovery center

We have Legos at home, but this is what Owen chose to do anyway

By the end of the day, these were our favorite animal at the zoo...the Sea Otters. Those things are huge!