“What is that noise?” I say. “Is it an airplane?”
“What noise?” Lex replies. “That rumbling?”
I nod.
“I think it is something called the washing machine,” he says, with a grin.
Funny boy! And, of course, correct.
Rumbling
Reply
Category Archives: Uncategorized
More free entertainment
Look what stopped by this afternoon.
Unfortunately we were at the lake this morning and missed the “raise up the sewer grates and manhole covers” process. I think that would have been interesting to see! Now they are filling in the huge hole around the raised manhole cover with cement. Tomorrow or Friday we should see the pavers again.
Free entertainment!
We had the best free entertainment this afternoon!
It started innocently enough with this strange truck zipping down the road. It did not go unnoticed by Lex and moments later we all had our shoes on and were heading down the street to check it out.
Then we came home again. Our friends Elizabeth and Alistair came over to visit. Then the big rigs came rolling in! Pavers and steam rollers and all sorts of interesting vehicles! Mema and Grandpa Tom headed home asap before getting blocked in by the big trucks. The temps were well into the 90s and yet we were outside watching the show.
Lex noticed the temps and how hot the guys looked and he suggested maybe we should set up the ice cream stand again and sell some popsicles. With a bit of gentle suggestion he came around to the idea that maybe we should just give them popsicles instead of charging for them. :)
They grabbed a few boxes of popsicles, put on their shoes, and we headed up the street.
This guy told the kids that the asphalt comes out really, really hot! I think he said 210°. He showed them how to put their hands near the pavement to feel the heat radiating off it, but don’t touch!
Some of the guys were able to stop for popsicles, but a good many of them were working on the paving process and had to complete the circle before stopping.
The kids waited patiently and enjoyed the show.
When they did take a break, one guy asked the kids if they wanted to get up on the paving machine! The kids were a bit awed and nervous and excited – all at once! Lex went up first, then Eve, and Alistair. For a few minutes they were all up there together checking things out, with the driver and another guy. Lex asked to get down, but Eve and Alistair were enjoying “driving” together. Eve even made herself at home, putting her smoothie in the cupholder. :) The actual driver decided to keep working and while Eve and Alistair sat up high and honked the horn, the paver started moving and they crept along for a few minutes doing a bit more paving.
Lex at the wheel!
That thing is huge. See their tiny hatted heads up there?!
We’re sure to have top-notch paving work with Eve and Alistair at the wheel!
The construction crew very much enjoyed their popsicles. One guy said no one has ever done that before. I think everyone was pretty happy. :) We were feeling lucky at the end that we got to go back to our air conditioned house while those poor guys had to finish our road and do the next one, all in sweltering 90°+ temps!
Quote of the day
“There’s an elephant and a giraffe quarrelling in there,” said Eve after letting out a very noticeable fart in the kitchen this evening. I said, “WHAT?!” She shrugged and said, “Dad has a duck in his pants, I have an elephant and a giraffe quarrelling in mine.” Like that’s no big deal. She seems to have inherited both her flatulence and her sense of humor from her father!
Cheesey
We had a family filled, fun-in-the-sun day today. We got home at 8:30pm and Eve headed up for a shower. I went up to help with her hair and get the sand off her, but she adamantly rejected help. Unusual, for her. When she shut off the water I was there with a towel, but she suddenly remembered she needed to turn the water back on. I asked why. She said, “Umm… I forgot to rinse my hair.” With some convincing she let me look at her hair, which had no shampoo in it at all. Then her eyes started roaming, looking for another reason to stay in the shower. I told her she looked like she was lying to me and asked her to please be truthful with me. After another moment of shifty eyes, she said,
“I snuck a cheese stick into the shower.”
How do you not laugh at that?! I asked her if she finished it. No. I asked, where it is? Under the big blue cup. I laughed and picked up the cup. Half a cheese stick and the wrapper fell out. I popped it in her mouth and sent her to get dressed. She is too funny.
Science is fun!
We went to a new museum yesterday. The SEE Science Center in Manchester. They have “the largest permanent LEGO® installation at minifigure scale in the world” – a huge Lego model of downtown Manchester circa 1900. The mill buildings, the old theme park, a market, etc. Lots more details on their website. “Lego City” at Legoland in Florida was much bigger, but I guess that doesn’t count as a “permanent LEGO® installation at minifigure scale.”
Crank the handle to raise the balls to the top. Push the button at the far end to launch them down the ramps. Endless fun!
The Lego Millyard Project
I love the cut-away to show what’s going in inside the factory.
A Lego construction site, constructing a new Lego building.
I forget the name of this park as it no longer even exists, but apparently it was quite popular in the 1900’s and, according to the sign, a great way to showcase new uses for electricity!
Carnival games at the amusement park.
Roller skating at the amusement park. This one’s for you, dad!
They had a ton of fun lifting themselves up in these chairs. Yay for big muscle activity!
This is cool! When you push a button to make the disc spin, and when it does the black bars make colorful concentric circles! The best part is, the description says no one knows exactly why your eyes see color when only black bars exist. :)
I think we need one of these in our house. It’s as mesmerizing as a fish tank.
We had tons of fun capturing shadows. The bright light flashes and leaves a lasting imprint on the wall. The imprint fades after a minute or so.
They (ok, we!) got in some crazy positions to make interesting shadows on the walls.
Fun with mirrors
We had a quiet drive down and back while Neil Patrick Harris read us stories about Henry and Beezus. I love audio books! We were home in time for dinner and a fairly normal bedtime. Overall a pretty great day!
PS. Julie, this would have been a GREAT halfway point to spend the day together.
One hot summer afternoon
After two late nights in a row (one and two), I figured I’d better do something today to really wear the kids out and get them in bed early! Since the temps were in the 90s again and the humidity was 100% (at least!), we decided to get out the old slip-n-slide and invite a few friends over. Watermelon, lemonade, water balloons, slip-n-slide, and kids. What more do you need?!
Unfortunately the little adapter that came with our Dollar Store water balloons didn’t actually fit on the hose, so the filling process was slow going. We did it in three rounds, with slip-n-slide and snacks in between.
Friends
Ahh… water!
I love that face. They all made it and they all kept going back for more. :)
I put out watermelon and veggie sticks (they sound healthy, but really they aren’t!) and my friend brought tortilla chips and lemonade. The kids also had the luxury of PYO black raspberries! Life is good.
We have a new patch of berries this year, in addition to the usual patch!
These guys came a bit later and LOVED the slip-n-slide.
That’s right kids, run, run, run!
Sadly the slip-n-slide broke a few times. It survived one round of duct tape, eeked through a second, but by the third break in the plastic we knew it was a goner. Luckily we had a final round of water balloons… though they may have been the downfall of the afternoon.
With the final round of water balloons we got to see the boy/girl differences. The boys pelted each other, while the girls decided to save their balloon “eggs” and build a nest.
The girls decided to take two balloons each and use them as eggs in their pine needle nest. The boys threw their balloons as fast as they could get their hands on them! In the end, when everyone was tired, the party ended with the boys (especially Lex) upset because the girls weren’t sharing. As hard as us boring grown-ups tried to explain it, there was no consoling the boys. Everyone got tired and cranky and we went our separate ways for dinner.
Lex left first, choosing the “go inside and shower” option of the three choices I gave him.
Yes, I am the mother who takes a picture of my crying child before consoling him.
Despite the not-surprising ending, it was a great way to while away a hot and humid afternoon! We’ll have to go buy a new slip-n-slide or a sprinkler or some other fun water toy before our next get-together.
After a nice morning, lunch at Panera Bread, a super fun afternoon, and a sweetly forgiven mommy fail, my two fell asleep quickly and early! Leaving me plenty of time for blogging :) You’re welcome!
Mommy fail
I decided this evening it was time to take the week old nail polish off my toes and Eve’s toes. She begrudgingly agreed and we headed for the bathroom. As we settled in with the cotton balls and nail polish remover she asked if she could put the remover on the cotton balls herself. I said no and explained that it could spill easily, and as I was doing that I spilled it!! First time I have ever spilled nail polish remover! It hit the counter and splashed up, right into Eve’s face! She screamed a scream I’ve never heard before and it was horrible. Luckily we were right near the sink so I pushed her head over the sink and started rinsing her whole face. She kept saying, “I need a cloth, I need a cloth,” and I kept dumping handfuls of cold water on her face over and over, trying to explain that we need to rinse her eyes first, not dry her face. Finally her body stopped shuddering and she said her eye felt better. She was drenched! First with nail polish remover, then with cold water. Poor baby! I was able to get her calmed down (and me too!) and washed off and dried off, but I suspect that polish on her toes won’t be coming off any time soon!
A short while later, while reading stories, I gave her a huge squeeze and apologized (again!) for hurting her. I said I felt terrible and never want to hurt her. She said, “Oh mommy, if you just stop thinking about it the hurt will go away. That’s what I did and now my eye feels fine.” Wise words from a little girl. Sigh.
Congratulations
A big congratulation today to Grampy Don and Miss Pat on their wedding. Alan and Amanda and some of Pat’s family were there to celebrate with them. I don’t know the details (sorry), but I’m sure it was a joyous occasion!
In the words of a man in love, posting on Facebook,
“Apparently the Lord had more in store for me, and He put another of His precious souls in my life. On July 6th, at 10:00am we, Patty and I, will become they new Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. I will take care of her as I did His first gift – with all my heart and soul. That is the vow I will make to the Lord, and He will guide me forward. I will always love my relationship with Him, and I will love Patty, His gift to me, with every fiber of my being as I have demonstrated before, until He takes one of us home.”
The lovely couple!
Congratulations! Pat, welcome to the family! We’re glad to have you.
The quote was copied from a Facebook post Don made on 6/28. I hope that’s ok!
Fifth of July fireworks from the front porch
We got to see the fireworks after all! The second round of the storm held off and they started the fireworks at 9:40pm. The kids were in bed, but still awake, so I let them come down. They were amazed that I invited them down for the show. :-)
We brought chairs out onto the damp porch and we had a good view of the air show over the tree tops. Lex named and categorized each one (firefly, weeping willow, branching willow, shape, etc.). Eve kept up a fairly constant stream of rambles, seldomly completing a sentence and occasionally shooting her fireworks finger guns into the air. I sat in the cool breeze (it was down to 75°!) and enjoyed the pure perfection of it all.
Happiness is.