For Bill

It must be genetic?

I just looked over at my daughter a couple days ago, and lo and behold... this is what I saw. I had offered her string cheese a few minutes before, and she had denied it.

John's Birthday!

We celebrated John's birthday (and, as he reminds us, the eruption of Mount St. Helens) this week. We had yummy chocolate pie, complete with 29 candles, and presents on Monday.

Isaac and I went to buy presents. From me, John received Toss Up! and Make-n-Break. From Isaac, John received a set of Pirate Legos. Isaac's first choice for a present for Daddy (that Daddy would really like) was a Nintendo Wii game, which I seriously considered. However, as we don't have a television or a Wii, I decided that would be a tad more money than I wanted to spend. It was a very very good thought.

Then on Friday, John and I went to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. We really enjoyed our visit! There is currently a "Seriously Funny" exhibit...which was seriously funny. The social porta-potties, the marker-on-drywall, the lumpy sculptures. The grocery family tree. It made a great visit. The photography simply was. We finished our date with a late lunch at Olive Garden.

John also received a trifold with adorable pictures of our kids to take to his office. He's one lucky daddy!

Random Update

Danielle: I went swimming, but I got water in my eyes.

Notice that this is a 10-word sentence. Yesterday when we took the kids swimming, she decided to venture out by herself (yes, with a life jacket on), and was very surprised when she was submerged. She doesn't usually get her entire head wet at once.


Danielle: Do sharks have belly buttons?!?
Jeremiah: No. They have fins.

Well, he's right.


We have family swimming time each night for an hour at our apartment community pools. I prefer when there aren't other people around, but as it's getting hotter, that's happening less frequently. Isaac is like a fish. Literally. He pretends he's a fish going swimming. He just loves the water. He's fairly fearless, which we rein in by taking his swim vest off for a portion of the time we're at the pool. Last night he was jumping and diving in the deep end of the pool (we wouldn't allow the diving without a flotation device, but since he goes about a foot under the water surface before coming back up, we've decided to let him be for right now). I don't know if he's actually seen people dive before, or if he's trying out new ways of jumping in. The day before it was cannonballs...

I've registered the boys for swimming lessons, which will start in a couple more weeks. I'm hoping that Isaac will take to them...like a fish...and that Jeremiah will voluntarily dunk his head under the water.

I registered myself for a tennis class. :)

I just finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Isaac, and he absolutely loved it. It helped that there were some pictures, but he loved the story and requested more. We're currently reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Prince Caspian, and Mummies in the Morning. I think we need to finish up the last of those today so we aren't reading so many books at the same time--it didn't happen quite on purpose.

Jeremiah had a fever last night, and came to find me. I laid him on our couch, and then he told me a story about a shark, and putting a worm on it's nose. It was very cute. He doesn't often just keep talking, and I adore it when he does.

Jeremiah's school had Water Day a few days ago, and he did not want to wear a shirt with his swim trunks. He was confused to have a shirt and swim trunks--he doesn't wear a shirt in the water, and he doesn't wear swim trunks to school. It was quite an issue. But seeing inflatable water slides made all the difference and he had fun. :)