Scout had his preschool Christmas party. The day before, Miss Dianne told them to dress up for the party. When we were ready to take off that morning, Scout couldn’t figure out what to wear. (I guess a red shirt wasn’t going to work?) Anyway, he came up with a great idea. He put on his astronaut outfit ans said, “Mom…when Jesus was born, there was a new star in the sky. The new star was in space. Astronauts go to space. I think I will be an astronaut at our party.”
Then I said, “I like your thinking….an astronaut it is!”
These two work really well in the bath together. She loves to be in charge, and will sing to him as they lat there.
But once the camera comes out, she turns silly.
And then after I snap a picture, she wants to immediately see if she looked “really good” in it.
But when she doesn’t know the camera is on, and is being her true self, she is as sweet as can be. She loves her little brother like you wouldn’t believe, and has taken on the big sister role like a champ.
I was sitting at my computer, and I heard Dash’s first laugh come from the next seat over.
Nonnie had amused him, and he gurgled out the sweetest little giggle.
But the laughing was short-lived. My poor little guy has a fissure (basically a paper cut in his booty), and gets pretty upset before he needs to go to the bathroom. But Dr. Carruth came to the rescue and told me to lay off dairy for three days to constipate him — allowing for his fissure to heal up — and so far, so good.
My boy loves being sung to. And can you imagine how great life is when it is B, the aunt with the good voice, who is singing. Especially when they are Christmas carols. This is when he was mesmerized by “Let There Be Peace On Earth”.
I cam up with this Christmas craft on the fly.
The kids loved it, and had a sweet snack at the same time.
But once they were finished, I told them, “hands off the marshmallows now that they are all done”. Look above and see if you can choose which one is Icka’s snowman. But this time, the girl is innocent. Scout, knowing that this is a normal Icka stunt, framed his sister by eating the mallows off of her artwork. What a weasel, but pretty “crafty”!
Micah has been promising Scout a night of camping for a long time, but every time they go, something happens that stops it from happening. But this time, the stars aligned, and down to DoHo they went and the best news is that Scout invited Icka along. He was so excited to show her the ropes of what goes on when you camp. So even though the Santa Ana winds were at a record high, the temps were freezing, and it was a work night, Micah loaded up my car and took them to the beach!
I visited about an hour after they got there. It was pitch black, and there were only about 5 camp sites taken. But when I rounded a corner, I saw my car with three people humbly crowded in a circle, eating their McDonald’s oatmeal/burger. Scout (and Icka) call all of the shots, and there was to be no fire because Scout didn’t want Icka to get burned. So instead of cooking over the fire, Micky D’s it was.
Notice Scout is sitting perfectly still as he eats away, and Icka wouldn’t stay seated for anything.
I was cracking up as I watched Micah try to be patient with her, but when she kicked over the drink a fourth time, he finally said, “Icka, just take a seat!” Would it be a long night…..time would tell!
They brought down the scooters, and Icka has gotten pretty good on hers. But keep in mind, she was supposed to be eating at this time.
(Check out the ski gear — it was so cold, we had to dig into our ski bag to get them outfitted for the night.)
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After I left, Micah took the kids on a night hike.
First stop — the lifeguard towers! Apparently, the kids were loving climbing up and down the ladders.
Next stop — a tower of pipes.
What a find! Can you imagine how fun this would be if you were little. (Or big, watching the little ones.)
This was one of the “favorite things” according to the kids.
Next stop — the bridge.
The kids did have a destination after the bridge — the Santa in the Christmas Tree lot across the road.
Look at that little booger boy! With the Santa Ana’s, his allergies were on fire! But that didn’t stop him from taking a picture with the Santa they were trying to reach!
Speaking of boogers — can you imagine the filth that is amassing during this hike! And just to think that Micah was going to head back to the camp site and sleep within inches of them. Oh…I guess I forgot to mention that Scout and Icka like to sleep in the car instead of a tent! So all three of them would eventually cram into the back of my van to sleep. Talk about a dad who can see the beauty past the dirt.
Last stop — climbing all over the driftwood. This one was the dragon that they found!
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After my mom and I had finished shopping at midnight, we headed over to peak in on them. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Every blanket out of the house made a comfy mattress, and both kids were sound asleep. Unfortunately for him, Micah was not. They spent the evening washing up with baby wipes, reading books by the flashlight and telling stories. Talk about fun!
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The next morning, Micah took the kids on another hike.
This time, they headed through the riverbed to A’s.
Micah said Scout was perfect on his scooter, but that Icka was a “stop and pick the flowers” type of girl. I guess after looking at the pictures, he meant literally!
But who could be mad at this face?
A’s was a success, and they devoured pancakes and eggs!
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On their way back, I happened to run into them. Icka wanted in the car to get a ride the rest of the way home. Scout scooted. When they got back to their site, I asked if they saw any bears the night before. They said they hadn’t, but then I told them there was one in the car!
And that is when the cutest little bear showed up on the scene.
The kids took us on a tour of the campground.
We settled on the best view with their crystal light they found in Nonnie’s car.
And camping was a success — bear and all!
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Now who do you think got the job of cleaning up the two filthiest, sloppiest and dingiest kids around? Not Micah — it was a work day!
(In his defense, I offered!)
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Update
After the kids were clean and in bed later that night, Micah told me the following story. “When we got in the car, and set it all up with a bunch of blankets and pillows, Scout told me to sit back and relax. I thought he was just trying to get me to settle down so I could read him stories, so I put my hands behind my head, and leaned back into the pillows. Then Scout said, ‘Hah! You just sat in my booger!’”
I laughed so hard. And since I wasn’t there, I didn’t have to reprimand. And since it was camping, I think things like that are part of the experience!
You would think that Navy wouldn’t mind putting the silverware away, since this has been her responsibility for over a year. But this day, this girl had some sort of issue with it. I calmly said, “Icka, you choose whatever you want to do, but you may not leave this step ladder until all of the silverware is put away.” You can imagine my surprise when I answered the phone 20 minutes later, and heard Icka answer it about half a second after I did. Surprised, because the phone was far from the ladder. I scolded her, and she put that phone back and ran back to the ladder “before I [came] into the kitchen”! That girl was there for close to an hour. But in the end, the joke was on me as I had to leave, and nobody was there to listen for her. So I gave in and “helped” her get it done before we had to leave. What a rip off, but in all honesty — it was probably a good thing. We might have been there all day and night.
This is our first run in with Santa this year. Scout and I walked by him in the mall, and he asked to see him. So rather than pay for a picture, I got a back shot. But all I have to say is that Christmas is coming really fast this year. I really can’t believe the countdown is on!
And just to think…..in only 26 days, I will have the thought, “I can’t believe I have to wait an entire year to celebrate Christmas again!”
I better stop and smell the mistletoe, so I can enjoy these next 25 days.
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