Labor Day Week-end

We kicked off Fall with a nice visit from Oma and Opa; although we had some hot weather on Friday/Saturday, it cooled down quickly on Sunday and Monday. We biked downtown to the market on Saturday where both kids got soaked running through the fountain. We continued the water theme and had a picinic dinner at Sandy point beach in the afternoon. The water was a bit cold, but it was nice to get out of the heat. Sunday we took a walk on the green belt and while the kids were napping, Opa took Grady and I down the river on our canoe. There are three drops on the river which everyone, but Grady were nervous about in the canoe. We made the first one and the second, but didn't have such luck on the third. When we go to the top of the drop and look down, straight down, we knew we were in trouble. Even though we survived the drop a wave poured into the boat and quickly filled it up with water. Both Opa and Grady bailed out; I managed to stay in -although it didn't make much difference, I still got soaked. We saved all the gear and climbed back in. Had it been a typical summer day it would have actually felt refreshing, but it was much cooler than normal. Despite our spill it was great fun (we won't be taking the kids for a few more years)!
PHOTOS TO COME.

A Marble Blew Down

Nana and Poppy came to visit us in Boise on a week-end with plenty of fun things going on in town. First, they took us to the Western Idaho fair (well, actually, first they took Annie for a haircut and an ice cream cone). Annie had an absolute blast at the fair and surprisingly did not have a melt down (I say that given all the excitement she packed in and the dinner she skipped in favor of doughnuts, tortatos and french fries - which usually creates a good atmosphere for melt downs). Both the kids fed a bunch of hungry goats, saw cows being milked and baby chickens being hatch (I figured that would leave a imprint that might make vegans of them someday), and pet bunnies. Annie had her first pony ride (some very sad looking mini-ponies tied to those rings that make them walk in circles) and literally was bouncing in her seat like a legit cowgirl. Annie also rode on various fair rides, some all by herself - she seemed to like the fast twirling ones I thought she'd hate, but after she got on, she couldn't stop laughing. Harry, who although he could have probably met the height requirements, was still too little (young) to ride and was a good sport watching his big sister have so much fun. We had been advised by our friends, the Dangs, to make sure to buy a "Tortato" at the fair -- they take an entire potato, put it through a drill of somesort and deep fry it. It comes out in one giant chain of potato chip like goodness which you can dunk in hot sauce -- delicious!
Besides the fair, we all biked down to the "Tour de Fat" celebration and rode in a HUGE bike parade with our bikes decorated -- it was quite the scene as most people decorated themselves instead of their bikes; the kids were pretty good to spend such a long time in their bike trailor and had fun running around with buddy Deuce after the parade.
We also had a BBQ with the Dangs where Annie and Deuce played "pirates" for a good hour or more -- its pretty dang cute to hear little kids say things like, "Arg me matey!"
Nana and Poppy told Annie that they would blow her a kiss from the airplane when they flew over the house -- so, when Annie found a marble in our backyard yesterday, she said: I think it blew down from Nana and Poppy (because they have a chinese checker set complete with a bazillon marbles that Annie loves to play with at their house).

Visit from Ma B

We all had so much fun with Grandma Birch (Ma B) who recently came to visit us in Boise for several days. I'm sure Ma B is still recovering from all the activity that comes with two toddlers that are full of energy. A sampling of our activities included: a trip to the pet store; swimming at the pool; a trip to the book store; playing in the park; running through the sprinklers; making zucchini cupcakes; eating a lot of Potato Pie (Grady ate almost an entire pie in one sitting); reading books in bed with Ma B; and lots more. We convinced Ma B that she should move into Annie and Harry's playhouse in the back yard (pictured below) - its the perfect size!

Terrible Twos?

Not at our house. Its the terrible threes! Annie literally, over-night, and within a few days of turning three has been exhibiting some very strong behaviors like screaming "I WON'T take a nap!" or "I WON'T get dressed!" She can make quite a dramatic demonstration of her unwillingness to cooperate. But, she had a great time (and was reasonably behaved) for her b-day swim party at Ma B's house and her real b-day celebration in Lake Powell complete with cup cakes and fireworks. We were quite nervous about taking a 3 year old and a Harry (his age doesn't really matter) to Lake Powell for a week, but we had a blast (all the help from others helped!) Annie LOVED the water and would swim with her life jacket on for hours at a time. She had a great time trying to out swim Pat a/k/a "Monster" and would not leave Allie alone (she told Allie, "I love you so much!" and "you are pretty" so Allie couldn't say No to Annie's multiple requests to play, read, or swim). Harry stuck closer to shore but had some fun playing in the sand and learning to throw rocks in the water. Harry ate so much fruit I thought he was going to turn a different color - you could not stop him: grapes, kiwi, watermelon, berries, oranges, bananas, limes, cherries - it was crazy and made for lots of diaper changes. He also sounds like a little German - when you ask him questions, he shakes his head up and down and says "Ya, ya ya!" We can't wait for next year's trip!

Swim Lessons

Both kids recently finished their YMCA swim lessons. Harry loved the pool (and drinking gobs of water) - he was pretty good too: learning to kick and float on his back and tummy. Annie was less excited about the lessons part, but liked playing with the pool toys and loved being able to swim in the kiddy pool with the dragon slide after the lessons were over. Annie met a new little friend in swim lessons too -- Zach, who we hope to take lessons with again soon.

Oma & Opa's Cabin

We spent a week-end recently up in Island Park, Idaho at the cabin where we canoed the river, rode the bikes, saw wildlife, and ate good food with good company. The highlights of the trip were: catching a frog -- Annie was so excited -- but maybe more excited to eat her strawberry ice cream clown that Oma made for her, and learning to play Opa's harmonica (which he let Annie keep). Now that she's a harmonica playing fool, Annie will also proudly tell you that the other person to play harmonica is "Bob Dylan."

OCD or Brilliant?

Like most parents we think our kids are genius! But Grady walked into the room the other day to find that Annie had put all of her blocks in a strange arrangement -- they were all lined up, grouped together by size and shape -- there was not really a discernible color pattern, but when Grady found a black block Annie had missed, she carefully placed it in the line and had to rearrange a couple to get it just right. We're hoping its a sign of brilliance as opposed to obsessive behavior! Harry's latest genius is saying "mama" and sometimes "dada" and he's actually doing some more signs - he signed thank you appropriately the other day. He waves hello and goodbye, and loves to do the hand signs when we sing my family's traditional flemmish song (the title of which I won't tempt to spell without help from Ma B).