Pippi always loves going into Pottery Barn kids while we are at the mall. I think she assumes it is her own personal playground. Today, she became obsessed with this little horse, and although I told her she was riding it incorrectly, the employees were oohing and aahing over how cute she was. I figured, if they are okay with it — who am I to judge?
When Dash walks into school, he literally takes a step, then turns to wave, yell “bye mom”, or blow me a kiss. It must take him five extra minutes to get into class, but it is a stage that I am not hating! This boy loves his mom, and every single school morning, I’m reminded of just that.
This is what I like to call…”desert rats”.
And in Dash and Pippi’s case — they were “shirtless desert rats” the whole trip!
My favorite consistent family vacation when I was little….was hands-down GLAMIS! So it was literally a dream come true, when Spencer invited us out. I got to re-live my childhood, but better yet — I got to see my kids live my childhood! And Glamis didn’t disappoint. We had great company, great accommodations, the use of everything by Spencer and Ashley (who were unbelievably gracious), and the very best time! Even Micah, who has never been to the dunes had a blast! My hope in life, is that I can get this equipment together, and make this a regular outing for our family.
Part of the fun for my kids was the huge gang of kids who were out there.
My kids matched up in age with plenty of others — except Navy, who never matches up.
But she played the “big girl” role well, for the younger girls on the trip.
The ultimate match up were these three — who we named “The Stooges”.
Dash, Grey and Tommy were together every second of the day. They were also getting themselves stuck and unstuck, every second of the day! Micah is convinced that between them, they share one brain! But they were one of the highlights of the trips, because they had us laughing at every turn!
Navy fit in to the “desert rat” role flawlessly. Being dirty, being adventurous, and never stopping is definitely her cup of tea!
But when I asked for Charlie to stop for a future wedding photo, that wasn’t Navy’s cup of tea!
Pippi was awesome! She was 100% self contained, and created her own fun everywhere she went. She loved to be in as little as possible…and her day went from one ice cream man stop to the next!
Scout was amazing! He was so good on everything he tried. He rode around on this motorcycle for quite a while. But he really shined on the quad.
He was so stoked when he finally got all four wheels off the ground of the jump that he and Charlie rode for two hours straight.
Dash took some turns too, and he was an impressive five year old on the jumps.
My favorite kid out there was Dash. He was so brave and easy, and I watched him as he came into his own. He had a blast every second he was in Glamis. I especially loved that he was officially one of the big kids. He loved that too.
But there was that one time, when he got bonked pretty hard, and he had to run into my arms for a quick recharge before heading out again!
I think that was the only time I saw him during the day within five feet!
The trip was filled with brotherly love.
A lot of stooge sightings.
A girl in her own world.
The cutest desert rat in all the land.
And one handsome man, who became even more handsome as I saw him transform into a desert rat before my very eyes!
I can never pass up a shake-sharing photo.
But this one, where his arm is around her, and they are interlocked in the front, may be the best shake photo to date!
We rarely have very much rain in our part of the world. Maybe a day here or there. But this year has been insane. It’s like we live in Seattle or Ireland! I feel like we are getting rain every few days. So my kids and I are now adjusting to rainy days.
I’ve taught them to scratch the umbrella (which takes up too much time), and just run fast into where you need to go.
I’ve also taught them that being wet and cold indoors is actually an adventure.
And by the looks of it….I think they’re buying in to my nonsense!
It was a sad day this morning, when Pippi asked for
“Shredded Wheat”.
For the very first time, she asked for it with the proper pronunciation, instead of “Shredded Shweat”.
I hate that my kids are growing up…especially my little baby girl.
I’m not sure if any of my kids are dead ringers of Nonnie, but I can see just a bit of Dash.
Or is that a complete stretch?
That’s okay.
I’m mostly hoping they get her patience, strength, wisdom and kindness.
Our Wednesday tradition after tennis…
Beach Harbor Pizza, where Mario turns on the Disney Channel for the kids, while they stuff themselves with breadsticks and ranch, and I have a crisp salad. It is everyone’s favorite! And today….we shared our tradition with Berkley and August. It’s now their favorite too!
Then we attempted “The Mannequin Challenge” which went well, until Dash talked at the end!
There was some undressing going on at tennis today. Her excuse is usually that she is “too hot”. Clearly, with the visible fog, that wasn’t the case. I asked her two questions…”why did you undress?” and “where is your shirt?”.
Her answers…
“I took my sirt off because i gonna get a tan.”
and
“My sirt is in my pocket…see!”
Navy had a rough day today. School wasn’t the best, with a mean girl. Then when she got home, she was being a stinker. At first the boys were reacting to her stinky ways, and then I went to talk to Scout about why she may be acting the way she was. After our talk, he understood that she was just reacting to her bad day. I told him that although it wasn’t right for her to act that way, to give her some leniency.
When I went in to kiss him goodnight, Scout told me that he did something to cheer Navy up.
Then he showed me the sweetest not I have ever read, and a coloring book he had created for her. I was beside myself with pride, as I watched a brother come to his sister’s aide. This was definitely a moment where all of the sibling rivalry, that drives me crazy, took a backseat to the genuine love and adoration my kids have for one another.
The next morning, Navy was beyond thrilled to get her treats from Scout.
And as they headed off to the battleground called school, I could see the confidence she had, as she walked next to the fourth-grade boy who in the end, always has her back.
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