Swim Meet and Grammy and Grandfather Come to Town

Grammy and Grandfather came to visit a few weeks ago, ending our long and glorious stretch of visitors that has lasted almost non stop since October. We love visitors, so it is somewhat sad to think we have no more coming until after summer vacation. 

Ricky and Linda were only here for about five days, so we made sure to pack it in. We spent much time at the beach, of course, and then we dragged them to a swim meet out in Lahaina. I just read somewhere that Lahaina means, "Land of the merciless sun" or something like that, and I believe it, but it is still such a great place. There are places on earth that are alive, breathing and teaming with history and from the after shadows of some many souls living in such a small area. For me, the greatest and richest place like this is Jerusalem. London is another... well, actually, most of Europe fits the bill. Boston... New York... New Orleans almost audibly breathes, its so alive with history--it's even sticky with history. And luckily so close, there is Lahaina. It's charming and hot and dense with humanity all at the same time. And yet it's just a small little town. I love it. I would also especially love it if I wasn't constantly sweating, but no great historically rich city has great weather. Seriously. Humans don't like to make history when the weather is perfect. 

Anyway, the kids did well in their meet. They aren't the top of their age groups, but they both improved their times and had a fun day, so that's a success in my book. 

Po is a little flushed in the heat, can you tell? She's probably especially flushed from all the running she does at swim meets, trying to escape me and giving me aneurysms with all of her near fall-ins. Seriously. How much longer until she can swim too?! 

Coach is giving Cam some pointers. 

Cam ready for backstroke. 

Ana's favorite stroke is the fly.

Afterwards, we walked up and down Front Street where I think Ricky and Linda explored every single shop. The kids were in heaven. They know where all the best samples are, but they had never gone down Front Street with someone who actually bought anything! They all ended up with a multitude of treasures thanks to Grammy and Grandfather's generosity. 

And their whole stay was incredibly generous. We've never eaten out at so many great restaurants in such a short amount of time. Many great talks too. We were all nourished both mind and body. We were sad to see them leave, but I'm 100% positive that they will be back soon. I'm actually surprised they don't just move here for the winters. Come on... you know you want to!

And finally, here is Ana capping off our Lahaina adventure with a leap from the Black Rock beach cliffs.

We love you G&G. Come back soon!

Crazy Hair Day

 The kids had Crazy Hair Day at school. Even the two bookend kids who don't go to that school decided to participate. I found the idea above on Pinterest... post from non other than my sister-in-law Shawni's blog. Jonah and I always tease that we are going to make her a bumper sticker that says, "I'm famous on Pinterest".

Anyway, Elsie loved her hair do, and it stayed in all day... even through PE... thanks to my 1980s hairspray skills. Since she is only one of five or six ultra-blonds at her school, she especially stood out, and she loved it. She also loved that I told her to keep the method of the hairdo a secret... She loved having such a valuable secret all day.

Po's Crazy Hair Day-- no hairspray required.

Crazy Face Day!

Cam opted for the "Kind Of Crazy, but Still Cool" hair do.

And I don't think Ana released that this is how I wore my hair every day in 5th grade. Well, except with a scrunchie instead of a bow. Oh, and we had big poofy bangs back then too. 

We are already making big plans for next year.

Mores of Daily Life

Cam was taking a belly slap for fame. In an attempt to reenact Po's favorite scene from Nacho Libre, he  ended up with a stinging midsection. Go Cam!

We do put forth much effort to tend, entertain, and teach Po. She is quite fortunate to have five people living with her who are all devoted to her well-being. And good thing, too. She's more two-year-old than we've ever have, so we need all the help we can get!

 

We have learned that Po stays out of trouble when she's actively involved in a good cause. So, we have been trying to get her involved in the daily chores. We've tried to teach her to unload the silverware, for example. 

She still has some work to do, but at least they are all in the drawer. 

What she really wants to do is help me feed the chickens and help ana collect eggs, but after finding huge piles of expensive chicken feed scattered around the yard, or hearing, "Oops! I dropped a egg!", we are moving away from assigning her those specific tasks. 

 

She's also been trying to learn to brush her own hair...

Baby steps, Po. Eventually you will be knee-deep in chores like the rest of them, with no time for any more trouble making. 

The Life of Po

It's not too rough being Po. She is adored by everyone, always has her needs met, can even communicate fairly well. She gets to do fun things like jump on the trampoline and go paddleboarding. Her biggest problem every day is maybe having to take a nap. I hope she appreciates how easy life can be when you are two... 

She insists that she needs the iPad Mini when she "has to go poopoo yeally (really) bad". 

She and Leo are pretty tight. She's the only one that listens to him when he mews to be fed (he's got a bottomless stomach) and dutifully goes outs and feeds him every time. 

She's quite the eater (if you can't tell), and she'll open the freezer and get chocolate chips, climb up and grab the peanut butter, or sneak into the kids' stashes of holiday treats. Luckily her favorite foods are still avocados, strawberries, celery and apples, so we know she is getting her nutrients...

Happy Po. She's a great kid. And Leo is a great cat to love her so much. 

Some Cute Kids

I'm biased, but seriously, these are some cute kids. 

I'll keep them, goofy faces, buck teeth and all!