A couple 2 year olds beat me at bowling!

Today we were invited to a bowling birthday party at the lanes on base.  One of the families we know threw a party for their daughter who turned three a few days ago.  The party provided the opportunity to have open bowling for the kiddos (and adults if they wanted to participate) while eating pizza and cake.  The lane bumpers were put up and a gaggle of kids (and a few of us grown ups) were let loose. 

RJ has never bowled before and I haven't bowled in a long time.  Our friends the Frasers' two children (and RJ's good friends), Jack and Maggie, played on the same lane as RJ and me.  I was thrown into the mix because we couldn't find any other children to join in.  We tried to take turns for about two rounds, but then it was a free for all with kids rolling balls down a little ramp made for those with short arms and small hands, me occasionally throwing one down the lane, and kids sometimes just setting a ball on the floor and giving it a little push.

In the end, after we'd all played each others turns and had everything from strikes to the ball not making it all the way down the lane to the pins, I was the big loser on the scoreboard with 84 points.  RJ and Maggie (both 2 YO) won with 106 points.  Jack was in the middle with 87 points.  Of course, no one really cares, but the birthday girl's dad, one of my coworkers, said he'd take a picture of it and pass it around work so everyone can see how bad I am at bowling :)

Here are some pictures from the festivities.

Me telling RJ how to use the ramp and trying to explain what the goal of this whole "bowling" thing was.

Good job!

The skill and form of a master...

Here's where we tried to put it on the floor and roll it down the lane.

RJ didn't roll it very hard and one of the balls rolled down to the pins and then rolled back toward us without ever touching a pin.  The bowling center employee had to go retrieve our ball from the middle of the lane.

RJ and Jack waiting for the ball to magically reappear.

RJ willing his ball to go a different direction.

Ryleigh hung out in her high chair and cheered on Big Bro.

Our friend Melissa snapped this photo of us as we left.

Have a great weekend!
-Jip

Two parties

A couple parties occurred today.  First, there was RJ's swim party which occurred after RJ's last swim lesson (of this session--he'll do more later this summer).  The second party was at SRF where my Commanding Officer had a change of command ceremony today.  For most of the military at the command, it was about an hour and a quarter of standing in our choker whites at either parade rest or at attention.  Near the end, I thought my knees weren't going to bend again and my head was splitting with a massive headache caused by my combination cover.  My cover has never fit very well, but I didn't ever think it was worth paying to replace it.  When I get promoted in a couple months, though, I'll have to buy a new one (O-5 has a pattern on the bill -- "scrambled eggs" is what they are commonly referred to) so I'll try to get one that fits more comfortably.  The one I currently have is the one I got when I was commissioned and I think my head has maybe gotten a little fatter since then :)

It was Friday, it was quiet at work, and we haven't watched a movie in a theater for a while, so Amy convinced me to come home a little early and go watch "Brave" at the theater.  Since it only costs us $3 each to get in (RJ and Ryleigh are free), we figured that it was worth a try.  Ryleigh was very attentive to the movie and RJ did well except for some scarier parts involving the bears.  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was glad we went.  I think we'll have to own this Pixar movie as well when it comes out on Blu-ray (Xmas, maybe?).

Not much news other than that.  I think I'll close with some random RJ quotes from the last few days:

At the dinner table:
RJ:  "You're the best Mom."
Amy:  "Thanks, RJ."
RJ:  "Thank you for doing your job."

=============================

In bed while I'm trying to get him down and right after I told him to go to sleep:
RJ:  "I'm sorry you're mad."
Me:  "I'm not mad, but it's after 9:30 and you need to get some sleep."
RJ:  "My boo-boo will feel better in the morning."
Me:  (with a puzzled look on my face on how those two relate) "Okay."

=============================

While describing his new Lego creation:
RJ:  "Dad, it's a combine firetruck."
Me: "Is that Mack?" (from CARS)
RJ:  "Yes.  Mack's a combine firetruck."
Me:  "How does it work?"
RJ:  "It cuts the grass and puts out fires."
Me:  "Who's driving the truck."
RJ:  "The fireman farmer."
I guess he's got all the details worked out.

Have a great day/night/weekend!
-Jip

Channeling My Inner Boy Scout

Colorado peeps--you are on our minds! The High Park fire outside of Fort Collins got too close for comfort to my family and the Waldo Canyon fire is affecting family members of our friends. We hope everyone continues to be safe and that these fires can be brought under control soon!

Much like our big 9.0 earthquake, the fires are serving as a wake-up call for personal preparedness. It took me awhile, but I finally got our 72-hour kits out together. I have extra water. But, I still have a ways to go to be prepared for another disaster. I need to complete at least two more tasks: 1) emergency binder and 2) evacuation checklist.

Number 2 has moved to the head of my to-do list with all of the news of the evacuations ahead of the fires. What should I bring if I have time to collect stuff? Who should do what? Where do we go?

I came across a blog post (thanks to Pinterest, again) that outlined one family's plan if they have 30 minutes, 10 minutes, or moments to get out of the house. I plan on borrowing most of their plan and making it my own.

30 Minutes

Mom:
Shoes on
Kid’s shoes on
Turn on movie for kids
Purse, Dad's wallet, keys and cell phone in van
Folder of important papers / original documents in van
External hard drive in van
Extra flashlight / candles in van
Extra snack food (crackers, fruit twists, nuts) in bag in van
Kid’s sippy cups filled with juice and in van
Cooler filled with cheese and fresh fruit & frozen water jugs in van
Camera in van
Kid’s pillows, blankies and 1 stuffed animal each in their carseats
Small suitcase with an extra changes of clothes, extra diapers & wipes, and diaper cream in van
A bag of toys, coloring books and crayons in van

Dad:
Shoes on
Shut off gas using our gas shut off tool
72 hr kits in van
Four 5-gallon water jugs in van
Four 24-pack water bottles in van
Fire extinguisher in van
Tent in van
Camp Stove in van
Extra blankets in van
Pack and Play in van
iPad in vann
5-10 preselected books (they are all next to each other on a bookshelf) in van


10 Minutes

Mom:
Shoes on
Kid’s shoes on
Turn on movie for kids
Purse, Dad's wallet, keys and cell phone in van
Folder of important papers / original documents in van
External hard drive in van
Extra flashlight / candles in van

Dad:
Shoes on
Shut off gas using our gas shut off tool
72 hr kits in van
Four 5-gallon water jugs in van
Four 24-pack water bottles in van
Fire extinguisher in van
Tent in van


Moments

Mom:
Girl’s shoes on
Own shoes on
Strap Baby to me in front carrier
Put 72 hr kit on me
Hold / keep track of Boy
Grab, purse & cell

Dad:
Boy’s Shoes on
Own Shoes on
Get kids' 72 hr kits in wagon
Get own 72 hr kit on
Hold / keep track of Girl
Grab wallet and cell

I also want to implement another one of their ideas--use a wagon to carry the stuff that doesn't fit in the 72-hour kits (water, emergency binder, etc.). I have a collapsible wagon pinned on Pinterest that might just have to be mine very soon. (I know it will get a lot of use for non-emergency purposes, too.)

If you haven't already, will you please channel your inner Boy Scout and get you and yours prepared, too? Hopefully none of us will ever have to use our kits or implement our plans, but I'd rather be safe than sorry and I'd like you to be safe, too.

Swim, swim, swim

Today, RJ had another great day at the pool.  I wasn't there, but Amy took some pictures so we could share.  He's really getting into it and behaving much better.  He only got out of the pool once today to go to the restroom--a vast improvement over last Thursday when I was there and he was out about once every 5 minutes!

Yeah sun and water!

The watering cans are a hit with RJ.

Practicing some swim moves.

Maybe a little mischievousness on occasion...

Working on jumping in -- note how tight he's closed his eyes.

Having a good time!! 

Not much else to report here.  We're watching the various wildfires in our home state of Colorado.  No impacts directly to any of our friends or family that we know of...yet.  Let's hope the rains come soon and give those battling the flames a break.  Our hearts go out to all the families who have lost their homes.

Have a good night!
-Jip

Ryleigh Food Challenge--Solved?

Ryleigh has not been a big fan of solids. We did the fairly standard introduction of solid foods. The first week was rice cereal mixed with breast milk at breakfast. She hated the rice cereal. I can't blame her--it sounds gross to me, too. Week 2, I switched to oat cereal for breakfast and a pureed fruit or vege for dinner. The oat cereal was a tiny improvement over the rice, but not much. The purées didn't go over well either. I began to think Ryleigh wasn't ready for solids. So, I vowed to keep trying, but not bother with lunch until she was showing more enthusiasm for solids.

The enthusiasm has never really emerged. Ryleigh is such a contrast to RJ--at that age, I couldn't pump enough solids in him. But, Ryleigh just seems to be content with mostly nursing. She's still growing, so she is far from deprived. And, I keep telling myself, "Food before one is just for fun." But, I still get frustrated.

I gave up on giving her rice or oat cereal a few weeks ago--I was pumping for no reason, as Ryleigh just wouldn't eat the cereal. So, it was fruit in the morning, vege at night, and a "snack" at lunch, usually some puffs that are similar to a Cheerios, but softer. We continued to fight with Little Girl to get her to eat, as evidenced by this picture of Ryleigh wearing (not eating) her puréed prunes.

As RJ likes to say, "We have a big problem here." But then, we decided to start throwing in a random finger food at dinner, from small bites of banana or apple to avocado or scrambled egg. Ryleigh still doesn't care much about the purées, but she does nosh on the finger food like there is no tomorrow. I made yellow and green squash the other night--Jip and RJ both said, "No thanks!" If Ryleigh had words, they would have been "More, please!" Potato--yes! Tortilla--yes! Pineapple--eh, maybe. French toast (made with rice milk)--yes! Ryleigh is definitely our finger food kid.

Not that it is food, but I'm also proud to say Ryleigh can drink out of a straw, too. Why am I proud of that? Because I was not good at introducing a straw to RJ and he was nearly 15 months before he could do the straw thing.

To end this little mouth-centered blog post, a picture. Not a good one, but a picture nonetheless of... teeth!! Two teeth slowly making their way into the cutest little girl smile. Whatcha think, Aunt Danika, DDS?

Who's That Boy, and What Did He Do with RJ?

It was a chilly day for swimming lessons. You all remember those days--when the water was warmer than the air. I was scared how RJ would react. Would it be tears? Would it be stubbornness?

I was pleasantly surprised that it was none of those things. In fact, RJ was a whole new boy this morning. He listened while the camp counselors sang their songs. He sorta listened to the safety briefing on life jackets. But, most importantly, he got in the pool on his own, stayed there most of the time, kicked when he was supposed to, etc. RJ even swam through the hula hoop on command. It was an excellent lesson!

I don't know if it was the water temperature, getting to use life jackets at the beginning of class, or just a new attitude, but I'll take it! I hope tomorrow goes as well!!

In other news, RJ's and Ryleigh's navular-type outfits are done. They are so cute! I haven't put them on the kids yet, but here's the photo from my amazingly talented seamstress/magician's Facebook page.

Happy Monday!

Grumpy Gus

Today was RJ's day to be grumpy and a real pain in the rear.  He and I got up this morning a little after 6 a.m. because he was insisting that we go downstairs and was refusing to try to sleep just a little longer like Amy and I desperately wanted to do.  Once downstairs, he was full volume, full energy for a while which did not let Amy and Ryleigh sleep much longer.  It "had to be" french toast for breakfast...and then he ate about two bites.

By the time we finished breakfast, I could tell that it was going to be grand ol' time dealing with a day of the terrible twos.  RJ and Ryleigh joined me for a run and within about a minute, he was crying that Ryleigh was touching him and that I needed to make her stop.  Of course, a few minutes later he fell asleep and made it all the way home without waking up.  Ryleigh enjoyed the peace and quiet, I think, but had to put up with him slowly sliding over to her side of the jogging stroller.

The day continued to shine after he ate almost nothing for lunch, refused to take a nap upstairs when I tried to put him down (he did fall asleep downstairs on the couch while I went up to take a shower), lost all his composure when I made him go try to use the restroom before we left to visit a playground, ate even less for dinner, and then kept sitting up in bed while I was trying to get him down for the night.

Ugh!  I hope that tomorrow is a new day and a new RJ.  I have to remind myself that it's just part of growing up, but, as I've mentioned before, I wish that I could reason with him like an adult sometimes.  He's such a good kid most of the time, but occasionally days like today sneak into our lives and oh boy, are they ever fun.

Doesn't mean I love him any less, though!  Even as frustrating as today was at times, I would not have traded it for anything else in the world.

-Jip

Yokosuka Iris Garden

Our friend Melissa and her family visited the Yokosuka Iris Garden this morning, and she immediately recommended we go. So, as soon as Jip got home from work this afternoon, we headed out.

The Yokosuka Iris Garden is the largest iris garden in the Orient, with 140,000 irises in 412 varieties. There are also hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and even wisteria (though the wisteria bloomed a couple months ago). There is also a little koi pond in the park and a big koi pond outside the park, so we took our stale bread to share.

The lower level of the garden.

Pretty, pretty hydrangeas.

Ryleigh loved touching the hydrangeas.

RJ actually sat on a bench for 10 seconds to pose for a picture.

Just a few of the irises.

Sniff, sniff. Take the picture already, Dad!

Cutie patootie riding in the Baby Bjorn.

We hadn't even broken out the bread yet, but when the fish saw RJ they came "a-runnin'."

It was a quick outting--just under 2 hours away from home--but a lovely way to end our Saturday.

Sayanora and Yokoso

Tonight we said sayanora to Jip's CO. Well, it isn't officially good-bye until Friday's change of command ceremony. But the toasts were given, presents were presented, and praises were sung. We also said "yokoso" (welcome) to the new CO and his wife. A good time was had by all.

Jip and I particularly enjoyed ourselves because we got to dress up and go out sans kids. Our favorite Miss Tricia and her son James entertained Ryleigh and RJ while we were gone. RJ was thoroughly exhausted and asked to go straight to bed after his bath--no stories. So, thanks, Miss T--we stand a good chance of RJ sleeping through the night thanks to you and James!!

A few photos from our evening...

Jip and I cleaned up pretty well.

Senior leadership, both military and Japanese Master Labor Contract employees, "got lei'd" for a Hukilau demonstration.

It's super fuzzy because I took the picture with my iPhone from the back of the room, but that really is Jip dancing the Hukilau.

We didn't have swimming lessons this morning--it was raining, raining, and raining some more. So, the kids and I took advantage of the sudden free time and enjoyed a great lunch date/play date with Melissa, Jack, and Maggie. Our friend Hallie also joined us and filled us in on her trip to China. We had yummy food and marvelous adult conversation, and the kids had a great time!!

It was a very nice Friday!

RJ the escape artist

I broke free for about 45 minutes this morning to go watch RJ at his swimming lessons.  It was a real pleasure to be there, and now I know what Amy was talking about when she mentioned that RJ didn't exactly pay all that close of attention.  To be noted, though, is that he is by far the youngest kid in the class.  I'm willing to bet that his friend Jack is the closest one in age to RJ and he's about a year older. 

Anyway, RJ was marching to the beat of his own drum during the lesson.  He'd crawl out of the pool, come see Mom, go back to the pool, play in the water by himself for a while, then march right across in front of the other kids (or right through a group of them) listening to the instructor and get back out of the pool to go steal a toy or flotation device.  It didn't matter what anyone said to him.  If he wanted out, he'd get out.  If he was older, it would be upsetting that he can't pay attention long enough to participate fully in the class, but at his age, it was kind of funny.  Don't get me wrong, he did participate in some things.  He was good at throwing the ball out into the pool and then "swimming" out to get it using the foam tube to help him float.  He was good at splashing and pouring water on others using a plastic watering can.  But when it came to singing, doing organized motions, or sitting still and listening, he was in a class all by himself.

I'm very pleased, though, that he enjoys the water.  I hope that he keeps that attitude the rest of his life and becomes a better swimmer than I am (which won't be very hard since I'm pretty poor at swimming).
-Jip

All Clear

The typhoon hit us after dark. It was a noisy little thing. We had a good amount of sideways rain and wind that couldn't make up its mind what direction it wanted to go.

The awning over our back porch actually stayed intact. Jip did a great job of tying up our patio furniture and the kids' rock climbing wall/slide thingy, so we didn't have to pick anything up of our own. We did have a deposit of a panel (a sheet of translucent plexiglass) from a neighbor's awning in our backyard. Around midnight, I watched an awning panel dance across our cul-de-sac, wrap itself around a tree, and then take off again, only to crash into a couple of cars parked across the street in another cul-de-sac. I felt like I was watching a bad Weather Channel video!

The base maintenance people were on the ball and had the pool cleaned up in time for swimming lessons this morning. The panel was removed from our yard this afternoon, and sidewalks everywhere were free of leaves and debris by sunset.

Another tropical storm formed off of Hong Kong a couple of days ago, but it is considerably weaker and should just be a strong storm passing through the area on Saturday. So, we're back to our normal rainy season. We're going to leave everything tied up just in case the tropical storm gains strength, but hopefully we'll be typhoon-free until typhoon season really kicks in in September.

There is never a dull moment in Japan!

Wind and rain.

Typhoon Guchol is rapidly approaching us.  A few days ago the predicted track went right over us, but the storm veered off to the West and is now going to pass about 100 miles away.  For those of you who have had the "joy" of experiencing hurricanes and/or typhoons, you know that 100 miles is nothing and we're still going to get a ton of rain and wind here.  The winds right now are between 35 and 50 knots sustained (40 to 58 mph) with gusts above 50 knots.  We're expecting up to 7 inches of rain tonight as well (I wish I could box it up and send it to Colorado to help put out the High Park fire).  The storm is supposed to pass by us through the night with winds and rain most of the day tomorrow as it clears out.  Fun.

Lucky us, too, because another tropical storm is coming out of the South China Sea and is going to do a strafing run along the Japanese islands Friday and Saturday.  It's much weaker, though, and should just give us some more rain and lighter winds.

We have no worries and will be just fine, but we could certainly do without the storms.  I guess it comes with territory though.  Live by the ocean, get hurricanes.  Live in the mountains, get snow storms.  Live on the plains, get tornadoes.  Live in the desert, get sand storms.  Mother Nature always has something up her sleeve, no matter where you are!

-Jip

Swimming (Almost)

Today was RJ's first swimming lesson without Mom in the pool.  It wasn't a huge failure--tears were shed for only 3-4 minutes.  Still, it wasn't a huge success, either, as RJ kept sneaking out and coming to find me on the other side of the pool.  But, I would just talk to him and walk him back over and put him right back in.  About midway into the 40 minute lesson, the Assistant Director of Aquatics came over to chat with me.  I steeled myself.  I was sure she was going to tell me that I needed to move RJ back to parent and child lessons.  She asked whether RJ was familiar with being in the pool.  When I told her that we had done parent and child lessons 6 different sessions, she seemed to be more at ease.  She recognized that it had nothing to do with fear of water, but it was fear of not being with mama-san.  So, she just told me to keep on keeping on.  If RJ gets out, put him back in, or at least put him back on the edge of the pool so he is with his class.  I'm hopeful that in a couple more days, RJ won't want to get out of the pool for anything.  I think his friend Jack and his new friend Victoria (we met her on the playground a few weeks ago--she's 5, but barely bigger than RJ and was very interested in playing the I-Spy type games I was having him play--and it turns out she is in RJ's class) will also motivate him to stay in the pool and do some skills.  It's sometimes hard for me to remember that he isn't even 3 yet.  RJ hangs with slightly older kids fairly well (most of the time) and definitely enjoys being with the older kids, so when he doesn't quite grasp something as quickly as the older kids do, I start fretting.  Then, oh yeah, I remember--the other kids have a year or two on him.  It will all come in good time.

Here are a few shots of the good moments from today, when I actually had a few seconds between escorting RJ back to the pool to shoot some pics.

Mr. Blue Whale and RJ - this was about 10 minutes in.  RJ is preparing his escape.

Mr. Blue Whale, RJ, and Jack.  All of this year's swim camp counselors are named after oceanic organisms (last year they were all named after drinks--we had Miss Lemonade, Mr. Sierra, and Miss Sunny D).  The other instructor for this year's class is Ms. Coral.

Mr. Blue Whale is very patient with RJ, Victoria, and Jack.  If Mr. Blue Whale were a chia pet, he would have needed a haircut by the end of the class as much as the kids watered his head.

Tonight, when Jip asked RJ if he was good in swimming lessons, he said, "no."  I was surprised.  I never said he wasn't good--I actually thought he did pretty well for his first day and said so.  But, RJ told Jip, "I kept getting out of the pool to find Mom.  Then she put me back in."  Jip asked him if he was going to do better tomorrow, and RJ answered with an enthusiastic, "yes!"  I'm sure he will. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!  I had a great day today and I hope that you all did as well.  RJ got me up way too early this morning, so we went downstairs to watch a movie and be quiet while Mom and Ryleigh got to sleep in a little bit.  After we were all downstairs later in the morning, I got my Father's Day gifts--thank you, Amy, RJ, and Ryleigh!  When Amy brought out the sack with a few gifts inside, RJ tore into it like a tornado.  Cards flew, tissue paper flew, gifts came out of the bag quickly.  His goal was to get to the bottom of the bag in record time!  We had to laugh, though, when RJ thought the card that he got for me was actually for him, and he wouldn't let go of it.

We had a reservation at the O-Club for 1130 brunch.  It was pretty good and RJ was okay today.  On Mother's Day, he was a terror.  He wasn't an angel in the restaurant today, but he was better behaved.  He has sooooo much energy and just wants to move, move, move.  I'm looking forward to the day when he will sit still through an entire meal!  The following are a  couple iPhone photos taken during the meal.

Here's RJ working on his knife skills to cut his cupcake that he got to decorate.

And here's Ryleigh after some sweet potato baby food, a few small pieces of squash, and some jello.

Since we were out and about and the kiddos were both tired, we decided to go for a quick drive in hopes they'd fall asleep (worked like a charm!).  While out on our drive along the coast, we stopped by a place called Cainz Home Do It Yourself, which is near to where we used to live in Kurihama.  I picked up some more drywall anchors, a few cup hooks, and some small chain which we later used to hang some stuffed animal holders--they're hard to describe, but they are basically a vertical fabric cylinder with pockets.  After getting home and hanging up the new stuffed animal homes, we played pretty hard all over the house and later enjoyed a nice dinner.

That's about it from here for today.  It was a good family day, and we enjoyed each others' company. 

This week ahead could be interesting with a "super typhoon" headed our direction.  It's supposed to weaken and will probably stay mostly out to sea, but we'll see what happens.  We're at TCCOR Condition IV right now and expect Condition III tomorrow sometime.  The worst of the storm is likely going to be here on Wednesday.  We'll keep you posted.  About the only thing we really need to do to prepare is go put all of RJ's outside toys in the shed and then tie the patio furniture (table and four chairs) together so they don't blow off or cause damage.

I'll close with another great RJ-learning-English story:  As we sat down to eat lunch yesterday, RJ blurted out, "Where's Ryleigh's boob?"  Amy and I gave each other a puzzled look and separately decided to ignore what he said.  He didn't let it go, though, and stated again, "Ryleigh has lost her boob?"  I was at a loss of what to say, but Amy realized that he was talking about Ryleigh's "bib" which had fallen to the floor.  Bib...boob...close enough :)

Best wishes to all the great fathers out there, and thanks again to the wonderful mothers who are by our sides!
-Jip

Today was Saturday. Yup, that about covers it.

Nothing much to speak of occurred in the Mosman house today. I baked Strawnana bread--a fabulous strawberry and banana bread, recipe courtesy of my friend Paula. Jip and RJ went to the gym. Jip went to work. Despite baking bread, I needed to satisfy my craving for cherry pie by making cherry hand pies for me and apple hand pies for Jip and RJ. That's about it. It was misty/rainy a good part of the day, so no playground or other adventures. But, here are a few pics from today and a couple of Ryleigh from yesterday.

Cool dude!

No pictures, paparazzi (Mom)!!

Enjoying the swing.

Cute girl!

I'm a woman?

We went to Chili's tonight for dinner (practically a once per week ritual since restaurant selections are slim here on base) and RJ was his usual rambunctious self.  The following conversation made us all laugh, including Ryleigh who likes to laugh when everyone else does.

RJ was "climbing" up a brick wall right next to our table.  He wasn't actually on it, but he was staring up it with his hands above his head and talking about how he was climbing it.  RJ then determined that he needed to go poop, which, of course, he announced loudly to the entire restaurant, so Amy took him to the bathroom.  Upon his return, he again announced to everyone near us, "Dad, no poop.  Only pee.  I'm going to climb the wall now."
Amy:  "You can't climb the wall.  You're not a mountain goat."
Jip:  "You're human."
RJ (looking very puzzled):  "I'm a woman?"

Maybe I should speak more clearly so I don't confuse my son...
-Jip

Hodgepodge

It was a typical Thursday. The weather turned out to be fairly nice, so we played in the backyard, the kids went for an evening run with Jip, and we played with Legos a lot today. So, here's just a hodgepodge of photos from today and a couple from a few days go.

Ryleigh loves pulling herself up to the couch.

She stays there until she gets too tired to do it anymore, then yells for help to get back down.

I love that siren, Bro!

Quality brother and sister time--one of the few moments where RJ wasn't worried about Ryleigh eating his Legos.

See Ryleigh, this is how the fire hose works.

RJ is into tipping over his pick-up and then uprighting it. I'm not sure of the purpose, but is anyone ever sure why a 2-year-old does what he does?

Cool dude with his glasses. RJ makes me giggle with how he wears his sunglasses--he pulls them own so far on his head that his ears fold over.

Ryleigh loves when I move the jumper outside--she's safe from RJ but not restricted by Mom.

Tomorrow's Friday! Jip will probably work Saturday. We're having brunch at the O Club on Sunday for Father's Day. Then swimming lessons begin Monday. Exciting days ahead!!