Sleepy dog

Lazy swim

We went swimming in Donald & Michelle's pool today. Mason fell asleep!

Belfair firsts

We visited the cabin that Randy & Sary-Jo rented on the water in Belfair. Lots of fun packed into 24 hours.

Grammy had never held a crab before - it was a weekend of firsts all around. Here Kenzie is showing Grammy how to hold a crab while Mason looks on with keen interest.

Kenzie even agreed to go inner tubing behind the ski boat! (Okay, I had to bribe with strawberry ice cream and go with her, but she did it!) I first went on the knee board with Kenzie riding in the boat--she wasn't too sure that was such a great idea. As soon as I got back in the boat she reprimanded me for my wrecklessness: "You need to use two hands."

Here we are looking for hermit crabs and other things hidden amongst the oysters. We found all sorts of living critters, including starfish, tiny bullheads, baby crabs, and hermit crabs. Kenzie is not afraid of touching any of them. Mason, if given the chance, likes to step on them. Oh no! He likes the crunchy sound and is so fast that it's tough to stop him. Most of the time we succeeded.

We also went on Randy and Sary-Jo's sailboat. The weather was beautiful with a slight wind and lots of sun - perfect condition to make for sleepy kids!

What I learned...

Kenzie spent a few days with Grammy & Grampy while Cindy and Mason went to Moses Lake with Sandy and Nathan. Tonight when Kenzie was chatty, I asked her what she did. Here's what I learned:

"Gram and I went to her store. You know, Sams Club?? We went shopping there to buy a book that her friend, her friend Debbie told her to buy. It was about eyes. But they were all sold out. Sometimes that happens. So we didn't get a book. We didn't get anything." [You didn't get anything?] "Well, we got food. We got a turkey. It was a round square and it was really heavy."

"Grampy can't go shopping cuz his back hurts really bad. You know that. Poor Grampy."

"One morning I got up and Grammy wasn't there because she was walking with her walking friends. She goes walking FOUR HOURS every day. Four hours!"

"Grampy didn't feed me. We waited until Grammy came home. And then we made oatmeal. I helped. I poured the milk but there wasn't enough milk. Well, there was just enough milk. And then we put brown sugar on it and milk to cool it off."

"Grampy makes me laugh. I was bossing him around and made him dress me like I was a little baby. He makes me laugh."

"I played with Mitsy but I didn't pick her up. Well, I did pick her up and she scratched me."

New friend

Mason & Kenzie were fascinated with baby Alton. They were very sweet and gentle...well, until Mason was "done" and pushed the 5-day-old forward in a sudden bolt. (Luckily I had a good grip on him.)

Splish Splash

Kenzie and Mason are finally to a stage where we don't have to physically watch them every moment when they're taking a bath. Don't get me wrong, we don't go far, but we can sit in the other room for a couple of minutes and listen to their activities.

Tonight I put them both in the tub. I sat to read the paper in the living room, listening for the normal sibling sounds and being on alert for warning sounds. Kenzie started her usual rants, "Mason's pouring water on me," or "Mason's splashing." Cindy talked to her about tattling, telling her to deal with it herself and call if she needed us. "Nobody likes a tattle-tale." Words we would soon come to regret.

I should have known when we heard giggling. That's not a normal sibling sound. It's a sound of mischief and I now know that. It went on and on...and I naively thought, "it's nice that they're having fun in the bath together." Then I heard a splash. Weird, the water didn't sound quite right. Then, "Mom's going to be mad at you, tee-hee, tee-hee."

I bolted to find about 2 inches of water covering the bathroom floor. Mason saw me and dove into the tub with a devilish smirk, trying to retain his hold of the water pitcher. I grabbed him and a towel, while Cindy went for Kenzie, asking her why she let him get away with that. "Ama, I didn't want to be a tattle tale." Touche'.

Outfitting

When I looked at the kids today, I had to take them outside for a picture.

Kenzie selected this entire ensemble, complete with two headbands--one pink and one green--to match her pink and green dress, and purple necklace.

Mason found the safari hat that matched his lion shoes. He's holding Conrad and she's holding Chirpie (behind him).

Take my picture

I heard this from another room, "Ama, take a picture of my picture. Only show the girls. The girls are in the front and the boys are in the back. Take a picture of the girls." Judge for yourself...

Neighbors

We're sad because our neighbors Mike & Michelle are leaving for London for a few years. We have such a great neighborhood - and a fine looking bunch to boot.

Success of the second numeral

I recognize that this borders on too much information. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I must report this: Mason pooped in the toilet today. (I restrained myself from taking a picture of it.)

As background, Cindy and I have not spent much effort toward potty training. We've accepted the "fact" that boys train later than girls and haven't focused on it. But, today when he was having "naked time" he found the little potty on his own and deposited a present for us. Nobody was even in there with him, and the morsel wasn't discovered until minutes later. Nuf said.

Dinosaur bites

Kenzie and I are working on Mason's imagination. He has a T-Rex dinosaur that is, frankly, a little scary looking. Sometimes he doesn't like it too much because its big gnarly teeth are yellow and frightening.

Tonight Kenzie and I started pretending that the dinosaur was biting us. He'd "bite" me, I'd scream, she'd give me a bandaid, then we'd put the dinosaur in time out. At first, Mason thought we were NUTS. He was looking at us like, "you two are off your rockers," but he kept watching. Then as he became slightly amused the left side of his lips gradually lifting. After about 10 times we got a giggle from him. Then he really started having fun with it. He put his finger in the dinosaur's mouth and yelled "OWW!" Then "NO, NO" with his finger pointing at the plastic creature. It was so cute watching him, with his very limited vocabulary, tell the dinosaur to go into Time Out while he'd bring us a bandaid.

Hair cuts

Both kids got hair cuts yesterday. Kenzie did great but with Mason I had to sit in the chair and hold him. He put his head down on my chest to try to get away from the lady. Luckily she adapted and took advantage of him being still. That didn't last long, however, and she kept saying, in her thick Nigerian accent, "he's very active." Amazingly it looks symetrical.

Summer girl

Golden success

Cindy was changing Mason's clothes and asked him if he wanted to go to the bathroom. He sat himself down while Cindy became occupied with other things. He got up and called her attention to show off his new skill.

Softball weekend

We went to a softball tournament in Vancouver. It was a very long, very hot weekend with seven games. The kids were troopers, finally expiring at the last game. They weren't alone. Cindy and I were completely spent. The traffic on I5 coming home made for a very long trip! We thought for sure both kids would pass out. Not only did they not sleep, Mason never shut his mouth. He chatted the entire way home. Our ears hurt from the constant reports of "coo coos" (sCOOters/motorcycles) and "bikes." We did have fun for most of it!

Kenzie was our ballgirl. She organized the dugout, hanging up the bats and getting water for everyone.

Mason had both his bat and a ball the entire weekend. He came with no balls and left with about six. People kept giving him balls -- softballs, a baseball, a soccer ball. He was such a flirt with anybody who had a ball. He even went up and gave one lady a kiss on the cheek in an attempt to talk her out of her ball. I think it worked.

Cindy was the slugger, of course. I was perhaps dirtier than the kids because I caught all weekend. The dirt was powder. Mom/Dad - notice the new catcher's mask!

Fun day

Kenzie and Mason got to take the water taxi with Cheyenne, AJ and Lane (and adult escorts, of course). I asked Kenzie to describe the day:

"We took a ferry taxi and then after we were off the water we were at Red Robin. And then we rode the carosel. And then after we left from Red Robin we had ice cream. And then, and then, we went home. But Ama forgot the stroller for Mason. So she had to go back home. That's all. And then after we went off the water taxi we went straight home. And then we ate lunch and then we went to nap time. That's all!"

Hollywood