splash yard

Kids are crazy. Catcher and Scout wanted to go to the pool today. It was 70 degrees. I was wearing Alex's fleece at the time of their pleads. Besides, perhaps accidentally on purpose, I forgot to pack my swimsuit. We decided on the next best thing to going to the pool--bringing the pool to us. There was an inflatable kiddie pool waiting for us in the garage, so this is how the latter part of the afternoon was spent.

P.S. In this scenario, adults can sit on the front porch sipping wine while children splash each other and wear themselves out.

Pay close attention to this next group of pictures. I like to call them Tillie in the Background:

This is Tillie Kissing a Concrete Dog:

Tillie has a love/hate relationship with the water right now. She loves watching Catcher and Scout goof around in it, but she hates getting in herself. So she kissed the dog and hung out with me on the front porch while the crazies got a little crazier.

This photo was taken just before the crazy train got to town...

and welcome to Crazyville!

After dunking their faces in the water several times, Catcher and Scout finally decided that the cold had caught up with them as they sat [somewhat pretend] shivering on the front porch (groovy hairdos, right?):

let's party, america!

It's almost America's birthday. In Wisconsin, that means there are several celebrations leading up to the big party. This morning we attended the July 4th parade in Thiensville (a little town just outside of Milwaukee). There are fireworks in Thiensville tonight, which we're skipping, and then more fireworks on July 3rd, courtesy of the big city Milwaukee. On July 4th there's at least one other parade we're attending and fireworks (again) in the neighborhoods/subdivisions surrounding Milwaukee that night. In Catcher's four years, I don't think he will have attended as many July 4th celebratory events as we're undertaking this year. Let's get this party started.

Waiting for the parade to begin...I'm not sure why Catcher is frowning. This must have been before he found out that most of the parade consists of churches and odd civic groups throwing candy into the crowd. He's wearing a sweater because it was freezing today. In Catcher's words, "It's like winter here." Winter in Texas = summer in Wisconsin. I should have packed more layers.

Tillie doesn't know what's going on, but there must be some reason crowds have gathered with collapsible chairs, 2-liters of cokes and Doritos on their neighbors' front lawns.

Catcher heard about the candy. Bag in hand; ready to pounce; those flashing police lights must mean the parade is about to start.

Scout was excited about the candy (duh!) but also surprisingly excited about the "float" going by with a keyboard and amp backing up a tone-deaf lady singing "Man in the Mirror."

She liked the music, but Scout did not like the fire trucks driving by honking their horns right in front of us (it was pretty loud...and slightly annoying).

Here's Catcher keeping an eye out for that candy, and...

jumping into the street following the lead of the local kids, and...

success! (Oh wait. I hate peppermints.)

Tillie enjoyed waving her flag in the spirit of patriotism. She also enjoyed listening to "Man in the Mirror" and "I'm Proud to be an American."

After several miscues, Scout finally figured out the best way to hold her bag to ensure the most efficient candy collection.

In truth the bag looks much fuller than it was. After sorting through all the Tootsie rolls and propaganda in the form of fliers, wristbands and magnets, there wasn't much left.

And now for the highlights from the 2013 Thiensville July 4th, which took place on June 29th, Parade:

I don't remember what they played, but these guys were pretty cool.

This is a freaky clown that Scout wouldn't allow to give her candy. She told me after he walked away that she doesn't like clowns. Smart girl.

Your guess is as good as mine on this one.

And finally, the piece de resistance (pronounce that in a French way in your head). Once again I'm a bit confused. I'm not sure what belly dancers have to do with July 4th, but I admire the patriotic color choices for their outfits along with their willingness to show belly on such a chilly morning. They really love America.

mr. wheat's wild ride

I know if we owned one of these Jeep power wheel things the kids would never use it, but since we don't, the Jeep power wheels thing is the most popular toy in Grandma's garage. Sometimes Catcher even lets Scout drive it (when she's not cruising around on the second most popular toy in Grandma's garage--the three-wheeled police cruiser thing).

layover in denver

These are the faces of a family who woke up at 4:30am, have already flown two hours from Austin to Denver and are one hour in to a two hour layover in Denver. 

greetings from milwaukee

At some point today we were all on a plane headed to Milwaukee. This was after a 4:30am wake-up and after a flight from Austin from Denver (and after a 2-hour layover in Denver). We made it, but it has been a long (long) day.

beat the heat

You won't believe it, but we have not yet seen a 100-degree day in Austin this year. Judging by the forecast, however, it looks like we're getting out of town just in time. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 6:40am, so I'm packing tonight. And I'm also having a margarita or two with Alex. I don't know if you can find a decent margarita in Milwaukee. Cheers!

Stay tuned to see all about our adventures up north! I might need a day or two to recover from the flight with three kids, but I promise not to neglect the blog like I did last summer.

sunday matinee

Catcher and Scout put on a monster finger-puppet show for Tillie and me this afternoon. We didn't really get to see much more than a few rehearsals--or practices, as Catcher referred to them--because Scout kept knocking down the "stage" (i.e. two pouffes stacked on top of each other). After three or four such incidents, Catcher called off the show, which in turn sent Scout to her room in tears. And then Tillie started crying because Scout was crying. And then Catcher came huffing out of his room, chastising Scout about how she ruined the show and maybe they could put on another production if she would cooperate. Just when Scout was ready to rebuild the stage, Catcher "changed" his mind and reminded her that it was too late--the show was over. The poor players suffered the most during this scuffle as they were tossed about the room, left lying listlessly on the ground for Tillie to chomp at will. These photos were taken before the performance was cancelled.

I just wanted to watch the show.