8/29/09

Trophy Cupcakes with the Girls

Ladies Morning

Amy, Kat and I went to Julep for a pedicure this morning. I think Amy
was fighting sleep.

8/28/09

Pre-teen

I don't even know what to say about this.

Girls

Audrey and Hazel are getting a pedicure while the boys roam around
doing Magic Quest. Then back to Seattle so the Reynolds hang out with
the Bodens.

Last hour of GWL

8/27/09

Waiting to check in

Texting the Tooth Fairy

Hazel pulled her tooth out while we were driving to Great Wolf Lodge.
She requested that I text the Tooth Fairy!

8/26/09

What Do You Do When the Reynolds Are In Town?

Well, first you'll have to borrow a van from the Bazan family:
Then you schedule a day at your friends house so the kids can play, play, play:
Until they are good and tired:
Then take them out to dinner at a little hole in the wall called Scooters so they can get all the yummy goodness that is burger and fries.

Then take them to the Ballard Skate Park to do a little running around:
And then take them to Molly Moon for some of the best ice cream in Seattle....where I didn't get any pictures because my hands were way too busy holding 2 scoops of goodness.

Today we're packing up and heading to a one night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. The kids have been talking about it since we picked them up from the airport.

This is shaping up to be a trip to remember!

8/25/09

Lesson Learned

You remember that movie, Marley and Me? The one where the dog eats everything in sight and destroys the furniture but the owners just love, love, love him anyway? I've never actually seen the movie, but it was playing on a plane ride and I was able to listen to all the sobs from the many, many passengers who were watching it.
We've been pretty lucky with our dogs. Jack Russell Terriers can have some crazy behaviors, including some pretty severe separation anxiety. Our dogs are good, they sleep in their kennels and have a bed upstairs that they rest on during the day if they need it. We always kennel them when we leave the house because, well, Tank taught us a lesson when he was about 5 months old and he ate 2 holes in the hallway wall. Since that time, they have been kenneled.
This summer has brought us late nights and restful mornings, which means that we're all waking up when our bodies are good and ready...around 10:00...it's lovely. But poor Trey has to wake up and get going earlier so he's been letting the dogs out and keeping them away from our bedrooms so we can continue to rest. It's worked very well all summer. Until today.
Today Trey woke up before everyone else and let the dogs out. The gate was up by the hallway leading to the bedrooms and the back door was open so the dogs could play outside. Once Trey left Penny apparently got bored of all the room outside and came in to see what she could do in the living room.

And this is what she did. To our brand new coffee table. Hazel found it first and was very quiet about it. When I came out of my room she implored me to not be too mad but that Penny did something real bad.
Oh, yes, this is real bad. We all got dressed and took the dogs for a long walk to the pet store and bought a big bottle of Bitter Yuck to spray on every piece of furniture.
I'm not sure this dog will be with us much longer if this becomes a habit for her. Trey and I are nothing like the owners of Marley.

8/22/09

School Choice


Well, after many long weeks of going back and forth about the kids school situation for next year we decided to take a leap of faith and keep the kids at Olympic View. We still don't know what classroom August will be placed in...can you believe they make us wait until the week before school? It's really a ridiculous practice if you ask me. The class lists go up at 4pm on September 3rd, with the first day of school being the 9th.
I feel good about keeping them at OV with the hopes of a good classroom. I've had many, many conversations with August about how this will be his best year ever and that he must step up and complete assignments, etc.
With them finishing things off at this school August will be able to participate in the school play (with me producing it again) and we'll be able to continue our traditional Hootenanny performance. These two events have kept us on edge all summer as we tried to plan for the future with sentences like, "We should do this song for the Hootenanny next year...pause...if we stay at OV." or August suggesting that Hazel will love to be in the school play...IF...we stay at OV. The if's have been omitted from our thoughts now. We are all breathing easier simply knowing where the first day of school will occur.

That said, I still worry over the classroom situation for August. We have to continue to talk positively about where he may end up. There are 3 teachers for the 5th grade, one that teaches a split class of 4th and 5th. In a perfect world he would've gotten in that class when he was in 4th grade...but he didn't, which means that he won't be in that class for 5th grade. The other two classrooms just aren't as good as they could be, with one teacher I REALLY don't want August to have. So. I'm hoping for the other teacher. And I'm going to hold August very accountable for his homework as well as his classwork.

Wish us luck!

8/14/09

Working for the Weekend

Trey has spent so many weekends away from home this summer. It sure makes for looonnng weeks...but this weekend he's home!! I'm not even sure what we'll do with ourselves, but it's gonna be good either way.

Last week the kids and I spent some time at the Experience Music Project because they had a great Jim Henson exhibit. I was so emotional as I walked through the brightly colored rooms. Each sketch on the wall became some well loved character who played a role in my childhood.

It's not easy being green...good ole Kermit sitting among all that green...I felt his pain as he sang his sad song.
Here's one of my favorites, these guys were actually on display:
Jim was a visual thinker and all his notes were a combination of words and drawings- often very colorful, making even the most simple scribble look like work worthy of a frame. I remember watching Fraggle Rock but having no idea that his inspiration was to unite folks.http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/fraggletop1.jpg
Of course we all grew up watching Sesame Street. I was happy to turn it on for August when he was a baby, and also for Hazel, knowing that they would love the neighbors just as much as I had when it was my turn to learn. His imagination knew no bounds...he was an inspiration.
Some of the walls in the exhibit had fur covering them, the same fur, we were told, that Jim used for his creations. Hazel spent some precious moments petting them, wondering what Jim could make out of something so fuzzy and bright.

8/2/09

We Love the Video Feature on the iPhone

Trey and Hazel are wrapping up their father-daughter trip to NYC and I've been receiving a few videos here and there, thanks to Trey's iPhone:



He took her to see Mary Poppins and (thanks to our friends Jay and Heather Weinland) they were invited to go backstage with one of the actors!!



I've been told that Hazel has taken 100's of pictures so I'm sure they'll be up on mygallery at some point this coming week.