Bugs at the Zoo

I'm doing my best to make the most of these last few weeks with Cadence (less than 11 weeks until her first day of school!!!! Perhaps not the official definition of "few", but 11 seems very few to me at this point). To encourage new experiences, I've loosely assigned a theme to each week and I hope to include a handful of games, movies, places to visit, etc. with each week.

This week's theme? Bugs.

Started things off right on Monday with picking up "Cooties" from the store and having "ants on a log" for a surprise snack.

Then this morning, we braved the heat (not bad, 82-83 degrees in the morning) and the humidity (that sucked, about 80% if not higher, I didn't check until we got back) and went to the zoo for a quick visit. There were two new exhibits that were my main goal for the day. A giant animatronic bug display and the newly opened bug house (which was air-conditioned, thank goodness).

We stopped at the sea lions, mostly because they're literally right there as you walk in through the front gate and they were rough-housing on their new "island". Then we walked past the birds to the giant bugs. Though I described it as "giant bugs" to the girls as I bought the tickets for the display, I don't think they were expecting what they got. A 6 foot grasshopper was our first stop and, despite my assurances it wasn't real, Megan hid behind the stroller as we approached. When our next sight was an even larger black scorpion, both girls anxiously asked if we could move on.

Just as I thought the ticket price was going to be wasted, we saw the firefly, which allowed you to turn a wheel to light up its butt.

After that amusing experience, the girls were a little more excited about each new thing. The next one was a beetle that had buttons you could push to control its movements.

They were jumping with excitement as we passed a giant moth, an orb spider and a praying mantis. A passing zookeeper offered to take our picture in front of the tarantula. When I joked about feeding Connor to it, the girls did get a little nervous and pulled the stroller to safety. I guess they like their little brother after all?

The bug house wasn't open yet (and the new wombat exhibit was depressingly empty) as we emerged from the giant bug trail, so we stopped by the playground in the children's part of the zoo. Then, we stepped into the cool air of the bug house and admired the bugs. The girls were grossed out when I pointed to the hissing cockroaches and told them I once had a teacher who put them in his mouth, but they eagerly peered at every display, searching for the camouflaged bugs.

These ones were huge. That yellow curled spot a few inches from Megan's nose is the bug.

As always, a trip on the carousel ended our day. Once we got off, I asked the girls if they still wanted to go to the elephant exhibit, but all of us were looking a little wilted. So we walked to the car instead and went home.

We'll probably continue to go to the zoo throughout the summer, but next time I'm bringing a spray bottle to mist us and a giant water bottle (which I had meant to grab, but left behind, oops). And we'll probably stick to the air conditioned exhibits for at least half the time.

As a side note, the poetry contest I mentioned in my last post continues. We're not about 1/3 of the way through it. The "standings" change daily, but as of day 6 (the last update to the standings) I was in 4th place. I was completely shocked and more than a little pleased. This can change quickly, of course, but to be near the top even once is an amazing feeling. Undoubtedly, I'll slip in the standings soon. I turned one in late recently and that's an automatic 0 for the day. However, sifting through the dozen or so poems I've written so far, I may even like about half of them enough to keep around. The rest will likely be taken down and hidden away from the public eye once the contest is over.

I'm still enjoying most of the prompts. After a few eyerolls over how many depressing assigned subjects there were (scarred hearts, death, etc.), we've had a few more open-ended assignments and I wrote a poem about couches last night. Yes, couches. I was pretty pleased with that one. It made me chuckle.

**Poetry Update: Yup, the new standings are up, including my big, fat, zero and I'm no longer in the top 5. It was a nice ego boost, though. Gave me some fresh confidence moving forward in the challenge, because it is grueling. Trying to find time to write a prompted poem every single day? Phew!

Poetry on the Brain

I don't write about myself much in this blog anymore, except as an extension/observer of the experiences the kids now have.

So here is a minorly self-centered post.

I used to write. A lot. I used to fill pages of scenes from stories where I was supposed to be writing calculus notes. On my computer, I currently have a folder crammed with old, badly written stories. I've been at Writing.Com since I was 16. In a few years, if I stick it out, I will have been on that site for half of my life.

The site still houses some of my less embarrassing works. Some old poetry and short stories, and the occasional snippet from a half-started novel project that I've tinkered with over the past few years.

I completed NaNoWriMo 3 years ago. It was stupendous and I was ecstatic, even though the end result was a poorly written piece of slop. At least it had been written! I attempted it every year since and failed within the first week, losing motivation and steam in one fell swoop. November is a truly terrible month for me to attempt such a feat.

Yet, when asked to describe myself, one of the first words that comes to mind is "writer". Though I haven't successfully written much in the past few years (Though I am particularly pleased with this piece: Motherhood).

I hope to attempted NaNoWriMo once again in November.

Until then, I entered a poetry contest. I have no aspirations of winning, simply of finishing. My skill as a poet is mediocre at best. That is, I can write something enjoyable, but not truly impressive. A common comment in reviews of my poetry includes the word "simple". I just can't think abstractly enough to crank out top-notch poetry. Though I do enjoy breaking down complicated experiences into simple words. Then, sometimes I wonder if it's too simple and I just don't understand what poetry is. Especially when I read the masterpieces written by others following the same prompt in the same amount of time. The sample poem for the prompt of "Washing the Car" was stupendous. I came up with this:

"Their laughter spills over
like the suds over the side of the bucket
that bangs against their shins.
They do not notice the bruises.

Sopping wet rags and shirts and bare feet.
They dance back and forth,
glistening green appearing where they go,
brown remaining where only an adult can reach.
With a thumb set against the mouth of the hose,
they scatter from the onslaught, their task forgotten.

Dripping bangs in their faces
and a smile completes the memory.
Dirt remains, in the crevices of the door
and the rims of the tires
and the unreachable top.
A professional might have done the job better.
But what fun would that be?"

There is a certain thought process in writing poetry that is different from writing prose or simply writing. I personally enjoy the simplicity of my pieces, but wonder if it even really counts... Ah, well. (Please note, I am NOT saying it's bad poetry, just not stellar. Obviously, I have a certain level of pride in the piece or I would not have shared it).

But the switch is turned, so if I post some weird phrase or put my thoughts down in an obscure pattern, blame this poetry contest. You should have seen some of the lines I considered writing down as I thought about writing a blog entry on some unrelated topic.

Summer Practice

Summer is right around the corner. We're finally getting some warm temps down here, even with the rainstorm dropping 4-5" of rain on us early in the week. We have some summer plans, but we're not quite there yet. Still another week or so before summer really starts.

Last weekend, we went as a family to the pool in our subdivision. The girls showed off their newly learned skills to James. Cadence learned she can walk (on tiptoes) the full length of the shallow end of the pool and both girls willingly went under water for a moment to show off their ability to do so. The pool is only open on weekends until school is out for the summer, so when it got warm today, we went to one of the splashpads instead. Too bad we couldn't stay too long. Just as we were drying off to go, a friend showed up to play. Oh well. I'm sure we'll see them next week.

Megan got a little spritz and decided she was done. She kept me company instead.

Cadence was soaked in a matter of seconds.

Cadence enjoyed herself, but the real fun was watching Connor as he explored. He'd stand at the edge of the splashpad and scream and laugh loudly, then toddle on in. Every time he got hit with water he'd gasp and tense up, then turn around and do it again:

Swim Lessons and at the Park

Our last swim lesson was yesterday afternoon. I'm sure the girls are going to miss going so regularly to the pool, but I do hope to take them to the wading pool our subdivision has once it's open more. They've both improved by leaps and bounds from their first swim lessons last September. Miss Megan, who wouldn't even put her ears in the water, was finally relaxing and Cadence even managed to float by herself (well, she was holding a boogie board) in the final day.

Both girls had scares in the water. Cadence, while holding the boogie board on her back, at one point lost her grip and went under about a week or two ago. Megan attempted to reach for the floating thing that disperses the chlorine tablets and ended up losing her footing on the step and going in over her head for a few seconds before the teacher was able to get to her (she was just out of my reach and by the time I realized that, the teacher was a step away). However, both girls managed to shake it off and still move forward with swim lessons. A little nervous, but they kept at it.

Learning to swim with their ear toward the water. Originially Cadence would have her back arched and her butt high in the air. Her form has improved drastically.

The only pictures I got of Megan. This is when they attempted to coordinate their arms and legs in the proper technique. Megan never got it down, but she certainly gave it her all.

You can't really tell, but the teacher is actually not touching her. She managed to float on her own, which is huge for her since this was the position she was in when she went under 2 weeks ago.

We also went to the park for a playdate with our new ward. It's so nice to have playdates right down the street from us, rather than having to drive 20 minutes. I am slowly but surely getting to recognize people. In the meantime, the kids are enjoying the regular outings and chances to explore new playgrounds. Connor's a daredevil on the playground, but also knows his limits. So he gives me a few scares, but manages to never really come to any harm. Still... I keep an extra close eye on him.

Connor figured out how to use the slide safely.

He did it repeatedly. Next time, he's wearing a onesie so he doesn't have his bare belly against the slide.

Cadence figured out the monkey bars trying them for months. She was so excited she went back and did it again and again until her arms were too tired to do it anymore (even then she kept trying until I convinced her to rest and try again next time we came).

Keepin' Busy!

My recent blog silence has not been due to nothing to report. It's been due to all the things we've been doing instead. I have found the kids to be much happier when we are out doing things, rather than being cooped up all day, so I have tried to keep them busy for the past couple weeks.

So what have we been doing? A little of this, a little of that. A couple playdates with the members of our new ward, a playdate with members from our old ward, a trip to the strawberry farm for some more strawberries.

The girls just finished their third week of swim lessons. I haven't taken pictures yet. Next week is their last week. I'll be sure to get some then. They're doing very well. Megan is finally laying her head back and putting her ears in the water without a fight. Cadence was doing well. Unfortunately, the one time her teacher let her go so she was on her back with the kickboard by herself, she lost her hold and went under. Now she's too nervous for the teacher to let her go (though she's certainly capable!). However, they're both much more confident in the water and I feel comfortable taking them to the wading pool by myself.

It's going to be especially useful having two independent water-walkers when we go to the wading pool, because Connor has no fear of water. In fact, he loves it! We introduced him to splash pads a week ago and he fell in love. When we went to another park yesterday that had one, I could not keep him out of it! By the time we left, he was soaked. Even when a geyser would suddenly turn on full force and get him in the face, one he recovered from the shock of it, he thought it was wonderful. I have the feeling once we're in the wading pool I'll need to give him my almost full attention.

Our final trip this week was back to Froberg Farms. Unfortunately, our most recent trip was not as bountiful as the first. We waded through muddy rows (thanks to the recent downpour) to try to find any stragglers. We followed the direction of the worker saying nearest the sunflowers had a lot of strawberries, but found most of them already being enjoyed by the bugs. People in another field seemed to be having more luck, but by then I was tired of carrying Connor, so we headed back with our half-bucket of strawberries, picked up some smoked sausage, a fresh cucumber, and two small pies. And later, we picked up a container of whipped cream and had strawberries and cream for dessert. Mmm.

Next week is just as busy! Swim lessons, a trip to the zoo, another park playdate... Summer will be just as exciting, I hope. I have my eye on some gymnastics classes, the playdates should continue, and there's also the summer movie club that has $1 movie tickets for some not-so-new-releases each week.

And in only three months, we go to Silverlake Elementary to meet Cadence's kindergarten teacher!!!

Another Zoo Picture Dump & Run

As a side note... I really need a new camera. My Canon PowerShot is great, but it's also been dropped a couple thousand times and the viewing screen is broken. My birthday's a few months away. Time to start researching for an upgrade. ;-)

But, that's neither here, nor there. We went to the zoo and had another nice morning. Perfect weather for it!

Cadence isn't quite tall enough for the chimp face.

Cadence wanted to take a picture.

Playing ring-around-the-rosie

Riding the carousel (again).

Managed to snag a carousel bench so I could sit.

Loving the "swans"

Connor admiring the ducks.

Oh! And I forgot to post the girls' haircut pictures. In case you didn't notice, last weekend the girls insisted on having their hair cut to be short like mine. I protested because I love playing with their long hair, but they kept asking, so I finally gave in. Here are the shots I posted on Facebook shortly after my haircut and their's.

Easter 2014

Happy Easter!!! At last, the girls' countdown was at an end and we woke up bright and early to see what the Easter Bunny brought. Thankfully, not too early. Connor was up at 6am, but the girls were content to sleep in another 30 minutes, while Connor and I cleaned the kitchen to pass the time.

But, once they were up, they were up and eager to see. Within moments the Easter Bunny's careful arrangement of toys and candy was destroyed as they held up and announced each new surprise: A fairy doll! A new necklace! Look, chocolate! Jelly beans! Mommy, what's this... a jump rope! Yay!!!

Then, once they had seen everything, they eagerly dumped their baskets and ran to the back door to explore the patio and back yard for the hidden Easter eggs.

Megan showing off Rosetta

Look how OLD he looks!!! (He figured out how to open the jelly beans)

A little more exploring

The hunt begins on the porch

No, he didn't put the eggs in the basket. He wanted to keep them.

Searching for eggs the Easter Bunny put at the end of the side yard. Beau's helping.

This picture was too sweet to not share.

New dresses and shirts were bought for Easter Sunday, but unfortunately, Cadence's cough devolved into a fever and extreme sleepiness in the middle of Sacrament, so we hurried everyone home before we could take pictures and stuffed the kids in casual comfort clothes for a quiet afternoon. A long nap and some quiet time was all Cadence seemed to need and she's back to normal, more or less.

However, I have an appointment to get some updated pictures of the kiddos next week and I'll put them back into their new clothes and share those pictures when the time comes. Tomorrow is swimming lessons! With Easter over, the girls couldn't be more excited!

Kiddie Acres in Austin

We took a day trip to Austin today to visit with Uncle Jon. Normally when we plan a visit we get a hotel and stay overnight to make up for the 3-hour one-way drive, but with Beau waiting for us at home (stuck on the porch), we made it a day-trip instead and set off right after breakfast.

As always, we stopped at the BucEes about 30 miles outside of Austin to stretch our legs. Before that, all three kids did remarkably well for the just over 2 hours of driving. Connor napped for about half of it, but was content to talk to his sisters and play with his socks for the other half. Once in Austin, we collected Uncle Jon and stopped for lunch at Firehouse Subs, then headed off to a "children's amusement park" google had led me to. It was... quaint. Overall, I was unimpressed, but the girls were wide-eyed over the small walkway of various rides, so there were plenty of pictures to be had and lots of giggles:

My own cheeks hurt from grinning as I watched Cadence unable to stop grinning while perched on her pony. She wants one for her birthday. Ha!

For once, Megan is not as photogenic as her sister, but she was equally fascinated by the new experience.

Next up was the mini ferris wheel. No fear as both girls climbed into the cage without parents for a spin.

When I more or less refused to let them ride the carousel (we ride one at the zoo EVERY time we go), the boats were their next choice.

Then the planes with working propellers (which is why Megan's hand is over her face)

Afterward, we all climbed aboard the only ride with a weight limit adults could ride: The train. (You cannot tell the two of them are brothers, can you?)

Even Connor got to ride this time (he had more fun then this picture suggests).

After the train, we took the rest of our tickets and cashed them in for two balls and two child-sized putters so the girls could try their hand at the simple miniature golf course. They didn't quite get the hang of it. Cadence used hers more like a hockey stick, rolling the ball with the putter at a slow pace and guiding it to the hole. Megan would hit the ball toward the hole then crouch and use her hands to make sure the ball didn't go farther than she wanted.

Connor pointed to every hole we passed.

This is almost like a Bigfoot sighting. It's a picture of Uncle Jon. (He DOES exist!) Of course there is an earlier picture, and more close-ups after this one, but this was the point we started teasing him and he lamented no longer being just an elbow in our digital library.

Trying to coax Cadence into gripping the putter correctly and golf properly.

Celebrating after a successful hole-in-23!

Mad golfing skillz!

Even Connor got in on the action!

Though he quickly decided Megan's version of golf was better.

Maybe we should put him in basketball?

It was a mini blue bonnet field. I couldn't resist snapping a picture before my camera died.

Once we were out of tickets, we climbed back into the car and followed directions to an ice cream shop and a Barnes & Noble visit. Then, we kicked Uncle Jon out on the curb and drove ourselves home.

Again, all three kids did well. They slept for the 45 minute trip from Jon's apartment to the BucEes, where we topped off the gas tank, grabbed bottles of water and started the final trek home. Connor snagged a second nap, which made the whole thing easier and with it being Good Friday, "rush hour" was no worse than any other hour once we hit the snarl where two of the most popular driving routes intersect. A long day, but a good one. Not sure we'll do another Austin day-trip any time soon. As I've lamented before, Austin is not really a family city, so the tourist options are a little limited. Still, it's always nice to visit with family and try something new, even if it is only for a few hours.