Blast Off!

Before I talk about today, I suppose I should back up and talk about yesterday! We had a ton of fun, but I just didn't feel like posting about it. We actually met up with my friend and her kiddos at the science museum for their preschool story hour and craft time (we're all members, so we can go there whenever we want). It should have been nice and relaxing, since the museum itself is rarely crowded. Except we just so happened to pick the busiest school field trip day of the year. DOH! While we were in listening to the story, it was fine. But in the museum proper? It was a madhouse. Big groups of BIG kids and lots of not-so-great chaperones. It's funny how quickly I switched back into teacher mode. And how all their behavior was stressing me out. I wasn't responsible for them, but I felt like I was! It's a hard thing to let go of! While Nikos was playing a game, this one kid (5th or 6th grade) came over and just GRABBED one of the pieces. What the heck? I told him he needed to put it back and wait his turn, and gave him my Evil Death Stare. It worked-- he took off. I can't stand rude kids! And then this other kid came over, and I was totally bracing myself for a repeat performance... but he was super polite and asked me how the game worked, and if I'd help him. Totally made up for the other one, haha! And yes, I helped him.

As soon as story time was over, we headed outside to get away from the insanity. There were still tons of people outside, but at least we had a little room to breathe! They had a huge bubble display that we looked at briefly (too many big kids). I practically had to hold the kids off the platform so Nikos could have his turn making a giant bubble. The big kids were cutting in front of people like crazy! Teacher Voice came in handy again, though, and my boy got to make his bubble: After that, though, we realized it was about time for the train to leave. There's a little train that circles the grounds, and the timing has never worked out for us to ride it. Well, we did yesterday! It was so much fun! We saw foxes (in their enclosure) and a wild turkey running around. Exciting times! At that point, it was lunchtime, and we were pretty ready to get away from the insanity! We went to lunch at a chain restaurant called Moe's, which is a lot like Chipotle. In other words, AWESOME! haha! Definitely worth a return visit!

Once we were all done, we parted ways. I decided to go to the store in search of noise-reducing headphones/earmuffs for the kids (for the 4th of July fireworks... they don't like the loud noises). I found exactly what I wanted-- yay! But when I checked out and walked back out the door, it was POURING!!!!! It went from clear and sunny to a total downpour (of epic proportions) in about twenty minutes. Needless to say, I didn't have a raincoat or anything. I was completely saturated from head to toe by the time we got home. And there were all sorts of crazy car accidents and whatnot on the drive home, too. It was insane how much water fell from the sky. And then, just like that, it was done. Back to clear skies, just in time for Gus to drive his motorcycle home from work, haha!

Today also started out as a nice day. We ran errands, did some gardening (transplanted our carrots, onions, and basil seedlings), and played with Maya's new stomp rocket set (her birthday present from Uncle Grant and Aunt Melissa, who got her a gift card). We were having a great time! Until the temperature dropped about five degrees, the crazy dark clouds rolled in, and it dumped buckets on us for about half an hour. Same as yesterday! Today, I actually made a little video. We had been working out in that garden in the sunshine just an hour before! And the video doesn't even capture just how hard it was coming down. It actually interfered with our satellite reception, so the kids couldn't watch TV. Hence the whining sound in the background (Nikos). ha!

As soon as it was done, the sun came out again and it was like it never happened! The kids threw on their rain boots and we went back outside. And then it was all stomp rocket, all the time! Both kids just love this, and so do I. It's amazing how high this thing can go. I can get it almost 200 feet in the air! Humidity, anyone? haha! I love Maya's curls in this weather! ...and we did a lot of this, too (dodging the falling rockets which, thankfully, are very light and harmless) And that was our day! It's raining again, though tomorrow will probably be beautiful. You just never know!