Play-Doh Fun

Last night Bess and Kawelo went out shopping for some essentials (food) and took a little longer than a 3 year-old could handle. To curb the hunger pangs, and as a distraction tactic, we brought out the Play-Doh. Snowmen and penguins are pretty easy (and recognizable) so I stick with those. Here is Koa proudly displaying the results of our joint venture:

Below are penguins. I shaped the bodies and put the beak and wings on the pink one, then left to help Kalei with something. When I came back, Koa had provided eyes for Pinkie as well as a beak, wings, and eyes for Brownie. I'm excited because he usually just squishes the Play-Doh, but now is showing some of the creative ability that Bess has in leaps and bounds.

Koa also noticed that one of the eyes had fallen off of the green penguin ...

... Problem solved.

what's cookin?

our corn is ready!! and it was delicious. the kids gobbled theirs up, but we'll see how they do once the bell peppers are ready.

the baby boo pumpkins are quite adorable.... and plentiful. we'll have to start giving them away soon.

i was walking through the kitchen today and the following two displays pleased my eye. (alas! i'll never have a clutter-free kitchen! but, i think i've accepted it and moved on.)

i haven't figured out what to put in the third canister, yet. i don't use whole wheat flour enough to put it out there. (the other two hold white flour and sugar.) any suggestions?

hope your kitchen pleases your eye!

weekend update

okay, so you know how the scriptures tell us we need to become as a little child? it's amazing how having kids opens your eyes to what exactly that means. western's game vs. indiana was fun... for james & me. it was a tad muggy and slightly scorching in the stadium. (think 90 degrees with no shade and 100% humidity.) but, it's live action football! it's worth it, right? right! anyhoo, koa had his hands firmly clamped over his ears before we entered the stadium. "too loud!!" he asserted over and over. we calmed him down and found our seats - right smack in the middle of indiana's fans. they were very nice and laughed at western's stinkiness right along with us. (we left at half-time, and the score was unchanged from the above photo, although i do think western scored, eventually. it goes without saying that indiana continued to score.) the kids kept a running commentary about their physiology: too hot, hungry, not hungry, really hot, thirsty, thirsty, thirsty, is it time to go, yet? james & i were grateful to make it to half-time, and ended on a high note (the band played bon jovi songs). so, as we're preparing for the four hour ride home, i'm totally thinking the kids are going to remember this as an experience bordering on child abuse, right? but, when i asked them what they thought of the football game, they smiled and laughed and said it was fun! even koa, whose hands had been perma-glued to his ears the whole time! what funny creatures these tiny people are, with their memory editing and happy ways - they drive me crazy: crazy-crazy and crazy-happy. what a perfect combination.

spellcheck

so, today we received a great surprise: thad, james' former department head, just happened to have four tickets and a parking pass to western's game this weekend vs. indiana university at indiana, and he couldn't use them. someone gave them to him, he can't use them, does james want them? let's see.... yes, please! the game starts at 11:00 am on saturday, so we're thinking maybe we might drive up to indy on friday, perhaps see jeni & alan and their construction zone/new house. i decide to check out hotwire to see if they have any deals. however, i'm instantly confused because when did hotwire start peddling hollywood gossip and post anime' girls sporting immodest outfits on their site? then i check my spelling: i had forgotten the "t." i had looked up howire.com. james could hear me laughing from the back of the house. thank goodness it wasn't as riske' as it could've been! believe me, i'll be a little more careful with my typing from now on. speedier is not always better!

copycat

kawelo cannot get enough of kalei and koa and wants to do everything they are doing at the exact moment they are doing it. i remember koa going through this with kalei (and, to be honest, he's still going through it). kawelo has decided that he is big enough to brush his own teeth. every evening, when the big kids go in to brush their teeth, kawelo chases them into the bathroom, opens the drawer with the toothbrushes, grabs one at random (i don't think he can actually see in the drawer, yet), and brushes away. it's actually kind of nice not to have to introduce this hygiene habit to a reluctant toddler - kawelo just loves it because the other kids are doing it and he can, too. sometimes peer pressure is a beautiful thing.

mall rats

our local mall has this glorious carousel that the kids LOVE. we love it, too, cause it's only a dollar for the kids to ride, and parents ride free. plus, there's a frequent rider card that gets you a free ride when you fill it up - i've got about six of those floating around somewhere - i think they're hiding out with some misfit socks and the missing cherries from the hi-ho cherry-o game. anyhoo, i wanted to check out a sale at gymboree, so we let the kids have a ride. they loved it, of course. kawelo got to watch from the sidelines with me, and had fun smiling and waving to his beloved siblings. i love it when everyone enjoys a shopping trip!

home at last!

sorry for the silence, but we've been enjoying james being home

AT LAST!!!!

in honor of his homecoming, we ate chinese food for dinner on monday. (except for james - it seems being adventurous and trying the exotic foods of his host country did a little number on his digestive tract.) the kids had fun using chopsticks, and managed to eat quite a lot of noodles with them. i was impressed!

james generously jumped into mr. mom - mode yesterday. two friends and i traveled down to the church cannery in nashville to increase our food storage. here they are in the attractive hair nets and rubber gloves we got to wear. (they promised to take a picture of me the next time we go. um.... yeah, we'll see.)

also, yesterday, i went to a farewell dinner for my great friend, bethany, who is moving to italy with her family for three years. i will miss her so much, but am excited to visit her while she's there!

dove' il bano? i'm set!

(this is bethany with her mom - two craft queens! seriously - they can slipcover anything.)

anyhoo, we are so wonderfully happy to have james home again and he has been quickly restored as favorite parent - his rightful place, of course. it was so fabulous to have the day yesterday to get my stuff done, and to be able to leave the kids in his capable (and possibly dozing) hands. we love you, james!!