Evaluated

William and Amelia started gymnastics this spring. They both are beginners and have class at the same time. Amelia, in particular, has been very motivated and has worked very hard at learning new skills.

William is enjoying himself and he works hard at class, but Amelia has really taken to the sport and can be found handstanding, cartwheeling, and round offing all over the house. She probably does upwards of 100 cartwheels a day.

Thus, it didn't come as a great surprise that Amelia was promoted to a higher level in September. However, in order to move to the next level, Amelia needed to show mastery of her skills to the head coach during a process called an evaluation.

Amelia was delighted by this turn of events. The head coach didn't have time to evaluate Amelia the evening she was ready and it was scheduled for the following week.

She was bursting with pride and couldn't wait to tell her dad. She ran in the house and announced: "DADDY! COME QUICK! I'M GOING TO BE EXCAVATED!!!"
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I'm three

Almost every day, starting the day after her birthday, Gemma asks if she is 4 yet. She is desperate to be 4.

Am I 4 today? she will ask.

Not yet we always reply.

Ohhhhh. Okay. is her usual reply in a dejected voice.

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At bedtime, we get pajamas on, brush teeth and read books with the kids.

Gemma always gets three books because her books are on the short side. We snuggle up in her bed and read 3 books together almost every night. It is a sweet way to end our night together. Lately, she has been petitioning for 4 books.

(We are snuggled up in her bed, we just completed book number three.)

Gemma: this one next.
Mama: nope! We are all done. Now is time for sleeping!
Gemma: I need 4 books today.
Mama: no, we already read three. Now it is time to sleep!
Gemma: I need 4 books. I will be 4 on my birthday, so I need 4 books.
Mama: ....:......
Gemma: here! I pick this one!
Mama: (I love reading and especially love this sweet time at the end of the day). Ok. Just one more.

This happened several times and I usually give in. Who can resist Gemma?

Then:
We just completed book #4.

Mama: now it is time for sleeping!
Gemma: after I turn 4, I will be 5. You should read me another book...
Mama: (how on earth does she come up with arguments like this one?)
No. Four books is enough for tonight!


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Conversations

This one is a little in appropriate. But, it was so funny and shows just how much this little one (really, all 3, keep me on my toes). If a little potty speak bothers you, then feel free to skip.




Gemma was sitting in the bathroom going to the bathroom.

Gemma: mom? Is pee-pee a bad word?

Mom: it is okay to talk about pee when you are in the bathroom, but it isn't nice to use words like that when you aren't in the bathroom ( we are in the thick of an outbreak of potty humor which has resulted in an uptick in the number of conversations or "talks" about how certain bathroom related words should be used. Or not used.)

Gemma: but what if you are talking about pee-pee

(Mentally, I start to prepare a similar response to the previous statement)

Like the song M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I?

(Notice, if you spell the letters out, it has a pee-pee in it?)

Is that okay mom?

Mom: (silence, no response, jaw open).

Finally, I get it together to assure her that this use of the pee-pee is fine.

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Conversations

Gemma and I were on our way home from preschool. She and I were alone is the car.

Gemma: mom! Mom! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Mom: (laughing to myself)
I think when I grow up, I want to be Gemma!
Gemma: (laughs) NO! You cannot be Gemma! I am already Gemma! You cannot be me!!

Mom: what do want to be when you grow up Gemma?

Gemma: I want to be a kitty. I love kitties.
(Short pause). Or anything else that has a tail. That is what I want to be.

Mom: that sounds great! ( how can you even begin to argue with that?)


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We were on our way home from preschool. It was just Gemma and myself in the car. We were waiting at a stoplight by our house. She was looking out the window when she let out a huge sigh.

Gemma: I remember when we would go to that park and play....a long time ago. We don't go there anymore (the last part in a very sad voice).

Needless to say, I had to turn the car around and take us back to the park.

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On the way home from preschool, many of the middle school buses are leaving the bus yard to start their afternoon route. Gemma and I love to count the buses. It isn't unusual for us to see at least 30 buses.

Today we were counting the buses and we got to 28.

More buses come around the corner and Gemma yelled out:

29, 20-TEN!

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Busy Saturday

The girls were kept very busy all day Saturday! They played games, learned about archery, swam, ran, sang, went to a camp fire and roasted smores. They were so tired!

Amelia was delighted to learn that before we could leave in the morning, we would have to sweep and mop the dining hall. She could not WAIT to mop. She probably asked 100 times if it was time to mop yet.

The wagons

The wagons were small! The first picture shows all the girls squeezed into one of the wagons.

After sleeping in one, I'm not so sure I was cut out to be a pioneer! I may be hardy and stubborn, but bugs and mice are not my favorite thing!

After the first night, we decided to just wear the same clothes the whole time and be super dirty. It didn't make a lot of sense to change into clean clothes only to get dirty again!

Amelia wore the same socks for so long, she ended up with polka dotty legs from the design on the sock!

The last picture shows the "door" of our wagon.

Girl Scout camp

Amelia and I signed up what felt like eons ago to go to Girl Scout camp the last weekend in August. We were signed up to camp out in the covered wagons.

I assumed this meant the name of our camp area was called "covered wagons", but I did not expect to be sleeping out in a canvas covered wagon.

Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to see a circle of covered wagons.

Covered wagons without a door.

I will say that I love camping, hiking and enjoying nature. I will also say that I enjoy my zippered tent with screens that allows me to enjoy nature during the day and to sleep at night critter and mostly bug free.

This was a whole new kind of adventure. The wagons slept 4 people and we were sharing with another mom and daughter. Because of the age of our girls, all girls camping needed an adult with them.

The first wagon we checked out had the biggest spider living in it that I had ever seen. The web stretched across the whole wagon. It seemed wrong to dislodge Mr Spider, so we checked out a few other wagons. One had tiny holes all over it. The chance of rain the first night was 75% for light showers. Next!

The next one was looking pretty good, but as I poked around I noticed a lot of evidence of a mouse in the house. Namely, there was a good deal of mouse poop. I wished hard for my own mouse free tent!

I went and got a broom and then started cleaning things up. I got all the sleeping area cleaned up ( yes. Mouse poops on and around the mattress. You should be proud that I didn't make a big deal about it. I can be very brave when it comes to my girl. Also, I packed sheets to wrap around the mattresses as I knew they might not be super clean.). As I moved the last mattress, a honest to goodness fat mouse came running out. I let out a small yelp, but got myself under control. Another mom heard me and came to investigate. The mouse scurried down the side of the wagon and then right in front of her.

Neither one of us was excited about sleeping in the wagon after that- we didn't tell the girls, but we both were worried the mouse would try to come back to its house later in the evening. Yuck.