Uncle Jeff asked me to film Will reading a Magic Tree House book for a school-related project, the purpose of which (I think) was to provide teachers with an example of how it's possible for a pre-kindergartener to not only read, but to read at an advanced level.
Capturing this video took more than 30 takes - not because Will had trouble with the reading piece of the puzzle (though we did switch passages after about 10 takes because Will couldn't correctly pronounce "mammoth" and got upset every time he said the word incorrectly), but because he'd either forget to introduce what he was reading or he'd let the book drift up to cover his face. I figured Uncle Jeff wouldn't want a video of the cover of a Magic Tree House book, so each time that happened we started over. It was a long 30 minutes of filming.
I can't believe this boy starts kindergarten next week...
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Yard Sale 2012
Every three years or so, Grandma Brenda, Aunt Sara, and I (along with the rest of the family) hold a garage sale at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The sale is of course about selling our stuff, but it's also about spending time together in a relaxed and generally fun setting.
We usually hold our sale on a Thursday and Friday in the summer - Thursday and Friday because we don't like to give up our weekends, and in the summer because all of us are usually free during that time of the year. In the past we've had great luck with the weather, which always helps the actual sale of our items as well as our moods throughout. This year we used history as our guide and assumed that the two-month-long drought Madison had been experiencing would go on for a day or two longer. We set up all of our items in the front yard the night before the sale, covered the tables with a giant tarp, and headed inside for dinner.
An hour later, as I walked downstairs with a fresh-from-the-shower, naked (though wrapped in a towel) Hallie in my arms, I heard yelling coming from the front yard. My stomach sank when I saw only darkness and sheets of rain through the glass window. I pretty much dropped a confused Hallie on the living room rug and ran outside to find my parents, Sara, and Jeff, scrambling to raise the center of the tarp (which because of the rain water had been weighed to the ground in the middle and was therefore no longer covering the outermost items on the tables) into a tent-shape. Jeff and Sara had crawled under the massive (20 ft. by 30 ft.) tarp, and while Jeff held the tarp up, Sara searched frantically in the darkness for items to pile up where he stood. The rest of us resecured the edges of the tarp with ropes and stakes and boards while thunder boomed and lightening flashed around us. It was my second Hunger Games experience (read about my first here).
The following morning we assessed the damage and were grateful to find that very few things had been actually ruined. Nearly all of our clothes (which I'd spent SIX hours folding, sorting, and displaying the day before) were wet, however, so the day was filled with taking piles of clothes inside, running them through the dryer, and then refolding, resorting, and redisplaying them. I was not happy, but the donuts we had for breakfast (we always have donuts for breakfast on garage sale days) improved my mood a little.
That was the lowlight; here are a few of this year's garage sale highlights:
At the end of the day(s), we had a great time and made a little money in the process. I'm glad, however, that our next sale won't be until the summer of 2015...
We usually hold our sale on a Thursday and Friday in the summer - Thursday and Friday because we don't like to give up our weekends, and in the summer because all of us are usually free during that time of the year. In the past we've had great luck with the weather, which always helps the actual sale of our items as well as our moods throughout. This year we used history as our guide and assumed that the two-month-long drought Madison had been experiencing would go on for a day or two longer. We set up all of our items in the front yard the night before the sale, covered the tables with a giant tarp, and headed inside for dinner.
An hour later, as I walked downstairs with a fresh-from-the-shower, naked (though wrapped in a towel) Hallie in my arms, I heard yelling coming from the front yard. My stomach sank when I saw only darkness and sheets of rain through the glass window. I pretty much dropped a confused Hallie on the living room rug and ran outside to find my parents, Sara, and Jeff, scrambling to raise the center of the tarp (which because of the rain water had been weighed to the ground in the middle and was therefore no longer covering the outermost items on the tables) into a tent-shape. Jeff and Sara had crawled under the massive (20 ft. by 30 ft.) tarp, and while Jeff held the tarp up, Sara searched frantically in the darkness for items to pile up where he stood. The rest of us resecured the edges of the tarp with ropes and stakes and boards while thunder boomed and lightening flashed around us. It was my second Hunger Games experience (read about my first here).
The following morning we assessed the damage and were grateful to find that very few things had been actually ruined. Nearly all of our clothes (which I'd spent SIX hours folding, sorting, and displaying the day before) were wet, however, so the day was filled with taking piles of clothes inside, running them through the dryer, and then refolding, resorting, and redisplaying them. I was not happy, but the donuts we had for breakfast (we always have donuts for breakfast on garage sale days) improved my mood a little.
That was the lowlight; here are a few of this year's garage sale highlights:
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| Music to sell by, courtesy of Grandpa Paul (he always plays his guitar during our sales). |
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| Hallie, requesting Call Me, Maybe. |
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| Sara, modeling a denim dress, pink high heels, a scarf, sunglasses, and a grill tray for buyers. Believe it or not, someone actually bought the dress and the shoes off her. |
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| Lily HATES and Hallie strongly dislikes carseats. Yet at the garage sale, neither of them could get enough of this infant seat. They literally spent hours playing in it. |
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| Hours. |
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| Will had to see what all the fuss was about. |
At the end of the day(s), we had a great time and made a little money in the process. I'm glad, however, that our next sale won't be until the summer of 2015...
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Teeny, Tiny Shorts
Here's my sweet little girl, when she was nine weeks old, sporting a little hot pink onesie and little light pink shorts.
And here's my sweet little girl, at nearly three-and-a-half years old, wearing the exact same pair of shorts.
And here's my sweet little girl, at nearly three-and-a-half years old, wearing the exact same pair of shorts.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Heaven's Trampoline
A sweet, seven-year-old little girl named Helen lives behind my parents. Both Will and Hallie love her (Will likes playing with her and Hallie likes following her around like a puppy), and her trampoline.
The first time Hallie and Helen jumped on the trampoline together, Hallie called Helen "Heaven" at least 35 times. Eventually Hallie learned to pronounce Helen's name correctly, but "Heaven" kind of stuck and we started calling Helen's house and trampoline "Heaven" because the kids thought it was pretty much the happiest place on earth. Next to Disney World, of course.
Though nervous at first, Will and Hallie eventually got the hang of jumping on the trampoline.
The next day I decided to give the trampoline a try. It was scary at first - I was kind of nervous about seriously injuring myself - but after about five minutes, quite a bit of my gymnastics training came back to me. So I taught Will a thing or two. Well, maybe just one thing. Then he asked me to get off.
I'd been going back and forth between a swing set and a play structure for our backyard, but now a trampoline has been added to the mix. I wish we had room for all three, but we don't - how will we decide?!
The first time Hallie and Helen jumped on the trampoline together, Hallie called Helen "Heaven" at least 35 times. Eventually Hallie learned to pronounce Helen's name correctly, but "Heaven" kind of stuck and we started calling Helen's house and trampoline "Heaven" because the kids thought it was pretty much the happiest place on earth. Next to Disney World, of course.
Though nervous at first, Will and Hallie eventually got the hang of jumping on the trampoline.
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| While Hallie jumped, Will rode his bike. When Hallie's turn was over, Grandpa notified Will via walkie-talkie that it was his turn once again. |
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| Seat drop (I love the view of Hallie underneath my legs). |
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| Stomach drop. |
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| Stomach drop. |
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| Playing popcorn. |
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| Playing popcorn. |
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Little Roos
This is one of the only pictures I have of Will and Hallie together from our trip to Wisconsin.
They spent most of their time trying to literally torture each other to death, which as I'm sure you can imagine, made it difficult for me to capture very many cute and cuddly brother-sister photos. Seconds after this picture was taken Will trapped Hallie in the kangaroo's pouch and Hallie kicked Will in the shin. They'll be friends someday, right?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Wrap-Up Wisconsin
Most of our Wisconsin pictures and experiences - at least those with in-depth stories behind them - have been posted and documented on Midwestern Girl, but I still have a few cute pictures that are worth sharing. Here they are!
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| AJ and Hallie reading Pinkalicious in the hammock at the Lodge |
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| 4th of July fun. |
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| Waiting patiently for the fireworks to start. |
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| Out for a walk on a sultry Saturday morning. |
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| Identical sisters. |
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| Out for dinner on Grandpa's birthday. |
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| Playing in a fountain on State Street. |
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| Will and I ventured into this downtown fountain first, but Hallie followed soon after. |
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| Will, before the fall... |
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| ...and Will, after the fall. It may have been 10:30pm, but it was still 95+ degrees outside and the water felt WONDERFUL. Not to mention how fun it was to play in a fountain with my kids. |
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| Will reading to Lily. |
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| Lily and her very first orange push-up. That girl was MAD when it was gone. |
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| Hallie on the Shoe Slide. |
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| Five years earlier, Will on the Show Slide. |
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| And finally, Will literally running circles around Grandma. This is a metaphor for our trip - Will and Hallie ran circles around me and my mom each and every day. |
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