This first picture is unrelated to the holiday for which this post is named. I took it on July 2 only because I enjoyed how the biggers moved their chairs over to Tiny's side of the table, so they were all crammed together on the end.
The Karners hosted a BBQ/movie/fireworks party on July 3. The Rancho del Oro fireworks show is on the third every year, which is nice because we don't have school or work the next day. The Karners have a good view of the fireworks from their backyard. After dinner, Eric Perkins showed a kids' movie (can't remember which) and then The Princess Bride on the big screen outside. We paused the movie during the fireworks show.
About 10 or 15 minutes into The Princess Bride, I asked Ever if she was liking it. She said something like, "I don't have any idea what's going on," and she wanted me to explain it to her. Nonetheless, she was really liking it. In the end, a ton of it must have been over her and Wren's heads, but they were obsessed. They talked about it constantly for days. In fact, Wrenzy chose to rewatch it on her next movie night, and I took this video on August 25, when she was chatting up a storm during lunch about a man in a red shirt and "Wes-tle-ley," etc.
Back to the Karners' party... Tiny watched some of the first two movies. Otherwise she just piddled around, entertaining herself. She was so good, as were the others, that we just stayed and stayed. Somewhere around 11:00 or 11:30 P.M., I was outside chatting with some people, and Amy Thompson caught a glimpse of Tiny wandering around. She said, "Are Whitney's kids still here?!" I'm pretty sure I'm notorious for not going to things because my kids have to be in bed. Amy and Tyson host an annual New Year's Eve party, and we've begged out in the past to put the kids to bed. Life is getting easier now that the kids are getting older.
After the outside movies ended, Tiny came in and planted herself right in front of the TV for some more viewing. This may have been after I moved her away from the TV:
So much screen time. Meanwhile Jim played ping pong with Alyssa and Bryan Hawkins and Tom Sorenson, so everyone had fun.
On the fourth, Leela's family hosted a pool party.
Tiny wanted to jump in but wasn't quite brave enough. Jim helped her out.
Maggie Long (new friend in the ward) texted a few days before the holiday and said she was thinking of hosting a BBQ/fireworks-viewing party at their place on base the evening of the fourth, and she wondered if we'd be up for that. I answered in the affirmative probably 15 or 20 minutes after she texted. Then she texted back and said she'd texted another girl in the ward, Alexis Peacock, at the same time she texted me and found out that Alexis was thinking of hosting the same thing at her house. So, Maggie said, Alexis said we were welcome to go to her place. Alexis tried to make it a legit invitation by texting me directly, but it was still super weird; we don't know Alexis and her husband, Brandt, very well and were pity, tag-along invitees only because Maggie had thrown an invitation out to me before her plans were totally pinned down. Jim and I desperately wanted not to go but didn't know how to get out of it. So awkward. To make matters worse, Alexis texted before we left to say that the guards weren't letting people on base, so she would have to meet us someplace off base and escort us on. At that point, I tried to get out of it. I said that that was too much of a pain for them, and it was totally fine; we would just stay home and get our exhausted kids to bed at a decent hour and get together with them another time. She insisted, however, so we went. She'd made tons of food, and everyone was nice. We walked to the park near their house for a great view of the fireworks. Jim cranked his little emergency radio so we had some static-plagued patriotic tunes playing during the show. It was pretty funny. Also funny was Tiny, who kept saying, in the weirdest voice, that every firework was "another favorite one." This is just audio:
All in all, it was a festive and friend-filled holiday.
I caught Ever reading Curious George to her sisters. (Jim bought a ton of Curious George stories, and the littles are obsessed.) I LOVE having a little reader. Ever's independent reading makes me so very happy.
Leela came over, and everyone read.
We've used Scott and Rebecca's pool a good amount. It's been such a hot summer. Their pool is solar heated, so it's been amazingly warm. You will notice in these pictures, Tiny and Wrenzy were wearing floaties. They've refused to wear them since their (very brief) swimming lessons in July. More on that later.
Ever, Nathan, and Wren agreed to jump together. Wren's commitment seemed to waiver from the start.
Don't let that incident fool you, though. Wren and Tiny are both nuts for jumping (which has made for exciting times since they stopped wearing floaties, as they refuse to wait until someone is ready to catch them).
Wrenzy helped me cook and tried to match the mixer's moves.
We went to the pool at the Y one day. I worked out first and then got the girls ready for the pool. Everything takes so long that it was past naptime by the time they started swimming. Tiny had some tough times and went to ground.
A friend from Ever's kindergarten class, Blaize, arrived at the pool with his mom and siblings while I was still applying sunscreen. Ever pointed him out to me when he arrived, and I suggested she go say hi. So she walked over and said hi, and then they hugged. It was adorable. Ever ended up playing the whole time with Blaize's older sister, and they had a ball.
Wrenzy read me a card that started off really mean.
And my all-time favorite videos of the littles - that time they went to Relief Society:
Tutu sent us the supplies for a Father's Day craft. It's a picture of a rocket flying to the moon with the message "I love you to the moon and back." The body of the rocket is a piece of paper cut from a tracing of the child's foot. Wren and Ever both made one. They worked very hard on them.
Father's Day morning, Jim got cereal in bed and was presented with all his handmade gifts. Then there was fighting and crying, and somebody spilled his cereal milk on the bed, so we had to launder the bedding.
We made cream puffs from Ever's cookbook for dessert that night.
Naked Dr. Wren attended to naked patient Tiny.
Then they both worked on Jim, who was apparently having some abdominal issues.
I've been in a big fight with the birds that turned our backyard play equipment into a toilet. I have never seen anything like it. They were pooping all over our playsets and trampoline. I would spend hours outside cleaning, and then within a day or two, they would be covered again. I couldn't let the girls outside without cleaning first, which was infuriating because it meant I ended up not wanting them to play outside this summer. I cannot overstate my frustration. There was a ton of turd everywhere always.
And sometimes there would be a huge pile of dung that was definitely not deposited by a small bird.
A favorite pooping area is the part of the little playset the kids hang on before they go down the slide:
Seriously, how could I possibly let the kids play outside under those conditions?
I bought a number of supposed bird repellents on Amazon - spiral, reflective hanging things; a fake hawk; reflective tape; and cable ties. I spent hours and hours putting reflective tape and cable ties around the top of the trampoline enclosure. Birds are supposed to be scared off by the tape, and the cable ties are supposed to work because they get rid of the birds' smooth landing surface (like bird spikes).
I put more cable ties up than are pictured above, but it did not matter. The birds just enjoyed the cozy nooks created by the ties. Rebecca was sympathetic but thought the whole bird battle was hilarious. I recognized the humor but really came to despise birds and to have a whole new appreciation for Steel Magnolias (when Tom Skerritt shoots into the trees so that bird s--- doesn't cover Julia Roberts' reception). I finally agreed to allow Jim to buy a BB gun, but that, too, was totally ineffective because a) Jim isn't here most of the time to shoot the birds, b) I didn't learn how to use the gun so never tried to shoot them, c) Jim always missed them when he did shoot at them, and d) I don't think the BBs would really hurt them anyway. So the birds won. (Note: since I am writing this in September, I can say that the pooping has slowed. According to Rebecca's mom, who is super into birds, the insane uptick in bird poop was due to mating season, which is now over. THANK HEAVENS.)
One day I was downstairs and heard Tiny crying upstairs, "Alligator eating me," over and over, in a truly sorrowful voice. I have no idea what it is with her and alligators.
Ever took a dance class through the City of Oceanside. The rec center is super far away, so while the price is right, it is not convenient. As of the first day of class, Leela and Ever were the only two kids registered. The teacher said the class would be canceled if at least a couple more didn't sign up. Leela and Ever wanted to make flyers to hand out at school, but fortunately just talking to their friends was sufficient. Naomie and Aviana (friends from their class) and Aviana's little sister, Sophia, signed up. The girls had a lot of fun. Anna (Leela's mom) did most of the driving because I was usually working on class day, so that was nice for me.
On Saturday, June 23, all the dancers performed at the Oceanside Pier amphitheater. They got started late. Then the music was played from iPods onto ineffective speakers, and virtually no one in the audience could hear. It was so ghetto. (The amphitheater, itself, is in terrible shape, too.) Also our girls were near the end of the almost 30 dance numbers, so we had to wait for about an hour until their turn. At one point, Anna asked me to keep an eye on Rafi, who was next to me playing on Anna's phone. After a few minutes, I remembered that I was supposed to be watching Rafi and realized he was not near me. I looked back to where Anna and George were, and Rafi was not there. I looked all around and could not see him. A lady from our neighborhood, who I hadn't even realized was sitting behind me, said, "Whitney, are you looking for someone?" I went back to where Anna and George were sitting and confirmed that they didn't know where he was, and then Kat (the neighborhood lady), Anna, and I began searching. He hadn't gone far but had wandered through the gate and over by the bathrooms. I hate when I lose other people's kids while I'm supposed to be in charge of them.
Our group, before the performances started:
Naomie, Aviana, Leela, Sophia, and Ever
Waiting for their turn to dance:
Their dance:
Anna invited Mrs. Tesluk (the girls' kindergarten teacher). She came and waited patiently for their performance, and then she gave them all flowers. She is the sweetest lady, and I'm so grateful for her.
Anna had arranged for their family, Aviana's family, and us to eat dinner together. We should have bailed because it turned into a really late night, and dinner was hard with the incredibly overtired little people. It was a nice idea, though. Walking up to Swami's Cafe:
Now that she's a pro, Ever likes giving dance lessons. This one started as a private lesson for Wren, but then Tiny joined in:
We attended a surprise birthday party for Papa Wilson.
Tiny started calling every song her favorite song.
Ever and Leela did a week-long gymnastics camp at the YMCA Gymnastics Center in Carlsbad. Ever loved it. This was drop-off on day 1:
On Wednesday that week, Anna picked up the girls and took them bowling after gym. Both got over 100, so it was a proud moment. (Of course, they were using bumpers and a slide for the bowling ball.)
On Friday, parents were invited to come watch as the kids rotated through a ton of different stations. It looked like so much fun. I didn't get any footage because I was running late and left my phone in the car.
Tiny came up with an interesting new dance outfit - just a diaper and a sheer tutu worn like a poncho shirt. I think in this first video, she says she is "dancing with my [or mine?] dress." Usually when she puts on a tutu, she says she is "putting on my dance class."
This second video was taken a few days later. The ensemble wasn't just a flash in the pan.
Tiny gets into things a little more than her sisters did. Lotion:
She made a cozy little bed on the stair. Not sure why one of the things she's snuggling with is Wren's romper.
She got grumpy when the paparazzi arrived.
She kept Jim company when he cleaned Little Gray. She wanted to be buckled into her car seat and just sat there. I love her little face.
We went out for dinner and bowling with the Sorensons and Shirleys one night. Jim and Tom were the stars of the night, but I got 111, which was pretty exciting for me.
Greta stopped by with her baby (Eleanor Zelda, aka Zellie), on her way to San Diego. The girls had fun on the tramp. Greta tried really hard to get a pic of all four girls looking happy with hands in the air. It didn't work out, but their inadvertent pink/yellow color coordination was impressive.
Saturday, June 23 we went to the Del Mar fair. At the last second, Ever asked about bringing a friend, and Jim let her invite both Ella and Ellis. We spent a ton of money, and the girls had lots of fun. Tiny was amazingly good in the stroller for a long time. Then she caught on to the fact that she was missing out and became very, very unhappy about not being able to go on any rides. Next year she should be big enough to participate a bit.
In the fun house, the girls got stuck in the initial window section (pictured below). They seriously could not find their way out. Ever ran into one of the window walls pretty hard. I laughed and got in trouble for it because turns out it really hurt. Anyway, the worker eventually had to go show them the way out.
At first Wrenzy seemed a little tentative but OK on the bumper boats. She became increasingly freaked out and began to cry. "People are bonking me!" I tried to explain that that was the point of the ride, but she wasn't having it. Finally a worker had to pull her boat to the side where I was standing so I could take her out.
We got funnel cakes. Ever took hers down in her typical eating-contest fashion.
We rode the carousel a couple times. That was the only thing Tiny could do.
We topped the day off with In-N-Out on the way home.
The fair is the highlight of Ever's year, and she can't wait for next time.
