We purchased tickets for The Sound of Music several weeks ago and it was a good thing since the show quickly sold out. The anticipation of the evening show wore on Ava all day. I couldn't help but wonder at what age kids start to have an appreciation for time because it clearly has not developed by age 4.
She couldn't take it anymore about an hour before the show and protested by buckling herself into her car seat in the van, arms crossed and pout prominent. Dane followed suit and within minutes the sky opened and rain poured down in sheets. I wished I had strapped myself into the van pre-rain too. We attempted to kill the last hour by hitting McDonalds for some chocolate milk but the drive thru was too quick - we were still early. We rushed into A Center for The Arts under the cover of floral umbrellas rummaged from the trunk of my car.
Once inside the theatre Dane struck up a conversation with a man behind us who was wearing a Harley t-shirt. Dane explained that HE left HIS motorcycle at home. Ava's eyes were glued to the stage through the entire show. It is unsual for her to watch something without asking a million questions. Dane made it one hour before deciding nuns, dancing children and yodeling were not his cup of tea. I can only guess that DadO was feeling the same way because they walked home during intermission!
Ava's intent study of the play ended abruptly seconds into the Reverend Mother's solo of "Climb Every Mountain" which left her writhing in pain in her seat hands firmly clamped over her ears moaning "I cannot handle it! I cannot handle it!" The volume and pitch of the song were intense but powerful, too powerful for Ava's little ears.
We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. We tiptoped past Dane's bedroom and covered our giggles because he was singing to himself. As we settled into my bed the reprieve from the questions ended when Ava asked, "Where did they find all of those acrobat robots to be in that play?" That was not a question I could have ever anticipated. After much discussion I realized the word acrobat and the word actor do sound similiar. But robots? Ava explained; "Mom. They had this cord attached to their necks and like a black thing by their mouths. The kids even had these like battery things on their backs. Robots, duh." Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. The remote microphones apparently look much different to a child, who surprisingly wasn't frightened by a stage full of singing and dancing robots but was quite confused by it. It was now 10:30 p.m. I was hoping the very strange discussion of The Sound of Music was over when Ava's final question came - "But why were those lady vampires singing so much?" Vampires? Well, I guess the nun's black habits do bear some similiarity to those worn by vampires.
It was now 11:00 p.m. and Ava drifted off to sleep after mumbling, "I love you more than jewels - and I promise I will buy you a crown with diamonds and jewels on it....I guess they probably sell those at Target...or Pamida....or the grocery store....."
I spent the next hour laying in bed wondering how to re-write the Sound of Music to incorporate robots, vampires and acrobats.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Running
Running schedule for the upcoming week....I think my toe injury has completely healed so this will be the test...
Fri: 2 miles
Sat: rest
Sun: 2 miles
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 miles
Fri: 2 miles
Sat: rest
Sun: 2 miles
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The County Fair
I was propelled to the Tri-County Fair by memories of my childhood. Treats of this type were not common place growing up where money was never in abundance. My mom would pack a picnic lunch and we were allowed a limited number of ride tickets that we hoarded for the Tilt-O-Whirl and The Bullet. As a farm kid it seemed that we left "the city" at the end of the school year and rarely saw classmates or friends until school started again in the fall. The fair was a chance to see classmates and catch up with friends surrounded by the mystery of carnies.
The current Tri-County Fair is still held in the same place as when we were kids. The buildings look the same and even the mid-July date is the same. What is different is that the carnies are now old neighbors, former teachers and, well....my parents. The Fair Board purchased amusement rides last year to avoid the increasingly difficult task of finding a reliable travelling fair to come to the area. The Board members, spouses and others from the community run the rides. Gone are the strange looking mysterious people operating the rides, replaced by strange looking mysterious friends and family.
We hit the fair around 7:00 pm and the kids instantly jumped into the flying Dumbo ride with its pink glossy elephants. The rides themselves look like they were manufactured in the early 1920's and it wasn't without a little trepidation that I placed my two most precious assets into the Pepto Bismol pink whirling death machine. They loved it. Rides were $1.00 each and we quickly went through $20.00. I rode the mini Ferris wheel with one kid tucked under each of my arms for support (my support, not theirs). The kids enjoyed moving ride to ride and barn to barn with their cousins.
Dane learned that trying to pet a rooster who has been sitting in a sweltering tin barn for a week is probably not the smartest of ideas...not that it stopped him from reaching in a second time before the indent on the top of his hand had even plumped back up. Ava marveled at the baby miniature pony who was hardly as tall as her Auntie's boxer dogs.
Dane drew attention after he decided his shirt was too dirty and stripped down to his khaki capri shorts and crocs. The kids found time to sneak in hugs with Grandma and Grandpa despite being on duty and they even got kisses from Great Grandma Lillian.
Every kid should get the chance to spend an evening at a small fair to study the wonders of blue eggs (what kind of chickens lay blue eggs Ava wondered), to get nibbled on my soft goat lips and to get a little sick to the stomach on rides. As the night wound down the kids were obviously overtired and we were all happy to go to Grandma's house and nuzzle into bed. As Ava wrapped her arms around my neck I couldn't help but turn my head away before whispering, "I love you". Man that kid really smelled like cow barn.
The current Tri-County Fair is still held in the same place as when we were kids. The buildings look the same and even the mid-July date is the same. What is different is that the carnies are now old neighbors, former teachers and, well....my parents. The Fair Board purchased amusement rides last year to avoid the increasingly difficult task of finding a reliable travelling fair to come to the area. The Board members, spouses and others from the community run the rides. Gone are the strange looking mysterious people operating the rides, replaced by strange looking mysterious friends and family.
We hit the fair around 7:00 pm and the kids instantly jumped into the flying Dumbo ride with its pink glossy elephants. The rides themselves look like they were manufactured in the early 1920's and it wasn't without a little trepidation that I placed my two most precious assets into the Pepto Bismol pink whirling death machine. They loved it. Rides were $1.00 each and we quickly went through $20.00. I rode the mini Ferris wheel with one kid tucked under each of my arms for support (my support, not theirs). The kids enjoyed moving ride to ride and barn to barn with their cousins.
Dane learned that trying to pet a rooster who has been sitting in a sweltering tin barn for a week is probably not the smartest of ideas...not that it stopped him from reaching in a second time before the indent on the top of his hand had even plumped back up. Ava marveled at the baby miniature pony who was hardly as tall as her Auntie's boxer dogs.
Dane drew attention after he decided his shirt was too dirty and stripped down to his khaki capri shorts and crocs. The kids found time to sneak in hugs with Grandma and Grandpa despite being on duty and they even got kisses from Great Grandma Lillian.
Every kid should get the chance to spend an evening at a small fair to study the wonders of blue eggs (what kind of chickens lay blue eggs Ava wondered), to get nibbled on my soft goat lips and to get a little sick to the stomach on rides. As the night wound down the kids were obviously overtired and we were all happy to go to Grandma's house and nuzzle into bed. As Ava wrapped her arms around my neck I couldn't help but turn my head away before whispering, "I love you". Man that kid really smelled like cow barn.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Glendalough State Park
The night went well. Once we were able to get Dane to stop crying about sleeping on a different bed than Mama he passed out, only to awake two times during the night just to check if he could sleep with Mama Now.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
We started the morning with kayaking on the creek between Annie Battle Lake and Blanche Lake. The width of the creek varies dramatically from as narrow as the width of the kayak paddles to wide enough to allow for the kayak to drift sideways with ease. Ava sat snuggled in front of my seat, fingers gently tapping the surface of the water. It is easy to forget how difficult the paddle back up stream can be with the swift water propelling us to Blanche Lake. The glimmer of the mother-of-pearl from inside of clam shells caught my eye as we navigated along. Fish of all sizes cruised past us. Common sense took hold and we turned around to check how strong the current really was. I realized I hadn't paddled much in the last couple of years and that Ava is no longer a little passenger - upstream was not easy! Returning to Annie Battle we paddled through the reeds, observed fish and talked about what it would be like to be a fish. Are the plants observable from above seemingly reaching for the surface of the water, similiar to our trees? In fish world do they have roads that they follow between the trees?
We parked the boats and Daddy returned to camp to pack up a lunch and get swimsuits. The natural progression of things we went from, "Can we take off our shoes and walk on the sand" to "can we roll up our pants and walk in the shallow water" to "can we roll up our pants a little higher" to swimming in jeans and sweatshirts. The temp outside couldn't have been more than 65 and it was 9 in the morning. We ended up swimming, picnicking and sunning until early afternoon. The lakes at Glendalough only allow non-motorized boats so the only sounds to be heard are kids enjoying themselves and the thunk of paddles hitting the side of old aluminum canoes.
Dane decided we should swim in the "lazy river" we had earlier kayaked. Life jackets in tow we allowed ourselves to drift from Annie Battle, under the road bridge and down the mouth of the creek where Daddy waited to pluck us from the water. The kids nervous laughter as we passed under the bridge was as breathtaking as the water temp. I couldn't help but think "this is the kind of stuff every kid wants to do but has parents that are smart enough to say no." We took this ride so many times I lost count. Finally we talked the kids into a return to our shady camp as Dane's cheeks were getting suspiciously crimson. Without even noticing it the temp had reached 75 dgs.
Back at the camp Dane begged to go hiking (which really only involves him sitting on his Daddy's shoulders while the rest of us hike. A couple of yards into the hike Ava received a call on her cell phone a pink Barbie toy phone that, upon answering the phone, yells "Don't ya just love being a princess?". Ava took the call. It was Dane. He wanted to talk "business" but didn't he know she was busy camping and hiking with her family? Sheesh. Dane called every 200 yards or so until I advised Ava to tell the caller that she was on vacation and any calls could really wait until she was back in her office. Before we were advise the caller of such, Daddy told us to look at Dane. He had fallen asleep on top of Daddy's shoulders his head resting on top of Daddy's head his arms hanging slack at his sides.
We rounded out the day by feeding seeds and graham crackers to the many chipmunks ("chippies") in our camp, finishing our hike to a different creek system for another swim, and a long campfire discussion over marshmellows. A kid stopped by to show us his huge wounds from pulling leeches off of his body. Where did he get leeches? Oh, only on the very creek we had just returned from. Showers were not in the plan, but it did not take long to convince the kids it was a good idea.
Bedtime came easy for all of us and we were relieved to wake up to an overcast sky and a cold breeze to cool our sunburns.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
I remember taking this picture of Ava when she was 2. It was one of the last hot days of summer and I remember noticing how beautiful her skin looked with the sun highlighting it, how faded her hair was from three months of outdoor play and how scabbed up her little chubby knees were from tipping her Radio Flyer tricycle. I snapped this shot hoping to never forget how much fun we had that summer. I could take the same picture of her today and get the same warm fuzzy buzz from the joy of sharing a summer with a child.
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