1 year 17 weeks
No, no. I'm not going bald. I'm grateful my mother's dad still has a head full of hair. Not that I have any issues about going bald...unless it happens to the tires of the vehicle you use the most, namely, our minivan. Yes, and only after one year of ownership and just recently hitting the 50K mile milestone. So you can imagine my shock and dismay when on Friday I looked at the tires for an inspection and found the outside edges of both front tires were completely gone. No grooves or ridges whatsoever! So a quick call and trip to Discount Tires, $346 and two brand new tires later, we were good to go. That is how our weekend began.
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| Smooth as a baby's behind. Notice my subtle reflection? |
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| Kohlden decided to inspect the newly polished tire walls early Sabbath morning and ended up with this. Kinda looks like he is being fingerprinted! |
Sabbath brought us to church for Sabbath school. I had read the lesson to Braelyn the night before about Namaan and Elisha, and was excited to see if she had remembered the memory verse we had practiced over and over. The twins seemed to enjoy Cradle Roll too, as the program seems to stay the same albeit a different story during snacks. That way the twins were able to remember what to do with all the different props they hand out during the class. It reminds me of a comedic sketch by Carrot Top, although always with a religious theme. We had take out for lunch and a quick drive home allowed us to get back in time for naps.
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| Kohl enjoying his snack at Cradle Roll. It always seems like he's always eating something. |
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| Madelyn sharing a toy with another girl at church. Or was she taking it away? |
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| Maddy enjoyed putting the blocks together. Notice Kohl still eating in the background! |
As it was another scorcher of a day, we utilized our already inflated waterslide pool in the backyard to get some reprieve and escape from the heat ~ Tropical Storm Emily, originally forecasted to swing by the state and dump rain over the weekend, had dissipated when it went over Puerto Rico and Hispanola around Thursday, so it was a non event. Plus we needed an activity to get the kids tired for bedtime in several hours. Just like last weekend, the children loved it and had a grand old time with the slide and water sprays. We took advantage of some other gadgets Mommy and I had purchased at Target during their summer sale blowout including a foam gun, 3-D bubble machine, and a bubble rocket launcher. It kept their attention, if but for a few minutes. But well worth the $2.50 each toy had cost.
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| My three lovely ladies! |
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| Kohl, have you been eating again?!? I couldn't tell... |
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| Mommy enjoys some cuddling from her daughters. |
Sunday morning I gave Mommy and Brae an extra hour and a half sleep while I played with the twins when they woke up at seven, just like clockwork each day. It was a lazy morning with breakfast and then it was off to Maitland to attend Kieran Cochran's 3rd birthday party at the community park. It was a nice location, situated under trees with a nice playground and swings. The party was reserved under a pavilion but we couldn't escape the heat and humidity. I wore a white polo thinking the color would reflect the sun, but in the end I could've passed for a contestant at a wet t-shirt contest. And a good looking one at that! Rowr!
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| A fun rolling slide, each bar rolled as you passed over it, causing you to bump along all the way down. |
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| At least the swings were in the shade! |
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| Brae can now get on the swing and get it going all by herself! |
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| Did they plan to coordinate colors or was it pure coincidence? |
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| Kohl just chillin' while the girls play. |
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| Patiently waiting for their food. |
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| This definately is the kids' table! |
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| The twins certainly enjoyed the watermelon! |
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| So independent, Maddy ventures alone to start the treasure hunt. |
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| Braelyn and the bigger kids wait their turn for the treasure hunt. |
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| "Oh, I see one!!! No, wait. That's a bug..." |
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| Mommy helps the twins get in on the action. |
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| Brae shows off her stash of goodies. |
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| The birthday boy, Kieran gets ready to blow the candles, open presents and dive into the cake! |
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| It was so stinkin' hot the twins decided to go commando! |
We had a good time though with our friends and their children, stuffed ourselves with hot dogs and watermelon, an amazing pumpkin cheesecake (or was it carrot cake, nevertheless delicious!) made by (who else?) Jennifer Bergherm and participated in a treasure hunt for more knick knacks that continue to somehow end up in random places in our house. But after 2 hours of fun in the sweltering existence we call "outside" it was time to pack up and head back for naps. Afterwards we visited the Ocoee Recreation Center and Pool to cool off. And when it was time to close shop we headed back to our clubhouse to take advantage of the water but by that time of the day the pool had gotten so warm it was like swimming in pee. Not refreshing at all!
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| The Ocoee Recreation Center had nice water fountains and a thundering water canopy! |
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| Maddy tries out a new floatie. |
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| He gains more confidence each time we go to the pool. Swimming lessons here we come! |
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| Time to shower up and head home for supper! |
On Tuesday Tangie and I made a visit to Orlando Junior Academy, where we enrolled Braelyn into their Pre-K program this fall. As much as we love and stand by Starchild and it's curriculum, we felt it would be a good transition for Brae to have now and then continue on to Kindergarten and grade school rather than wait until next year, when her class would already know each other and the teachers. We also wanted to incorporate Christian education and Bible teachings to her learning. It's also cheaper than our current tuition so that's a plus. She'll start at 8 each morning so Mommy will take her on the way to work, and then I'll pick her up each day by 3 in the afternoon. The twins will finish out the month at Starchild and then will stay with me as I take on my new role as a full time parent, at least, for the time being. It was sad to give the news to Starchild's directors and teachers, as we have gotten very close to them and they have become like a second family to us, but they were very supportive and told us to keep in touch and that they would always take the kids back if we changed our minds. So nice!
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| Brae shows off the new uniform colors of OJA: red polos and navy blue bottoms. |
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| Brae took a picture of me standing in line during registration. |
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| Standing by the new playground area, complete with rock climbing wall. |
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| Brae meets her new teacher, Mrs. Berry, a sweet lady originally from Jamaica. |
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| Her new classroom. She was excited to see the computer area. "Are these for kids?" |
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| She met and spoke in length with another teacher who was a former classmate of mine from Forest Lake Academy. |
On Wednesday I had to renew my driver's license, as it was set to expire on my birthday next month. Usually you can renew online, but as this was an update from my last visit ten years ago, I had to be physically present for them to take a new picture. I have always dreaded going to the DMV, with the lines and crowds, and this visit confirmed my fear. As I entered the building I was aghast to see the line just to sign in seemed like to go forever, with at least 30 individuals waiting, not to mention the HUNDREDS of others sitting down, waiting for their number to be called. Lucky for me, I had made an appointment the week previous, and there was no line for that. I strode up to the desk, showed my forms of identification, took a quick eye exam, lined up for my picture, paid the cashier and received my new license. In twenty minutes flat. Good to go, except my new picture seemed to make me look like I had added some girth and years to my face. Funny how that works. It probably was an old camera anyway. Just my luck.
The twins are very active, and so much more entertaining. Kohlden is matching his sister's vocabulary better and better each day, while Maddy just picks things up a lot faster. Kohl now answers "ya" to each question just like Maddy had, and can now say "Papa, Nana, and Wo-Wo (Lolo). Maddy has incorporated the signs for "please" and "thank you" in her reperatoire, and continues to be the more aggressive and dominant twin. But Kohlden can now get on his tippie toes and open doors! Already?
They both have been experiencing bad dreams or nightmares, as one or the other will wake up just before midnight and cry until we come to soothe them back to sleep. The funny thing is that it's either one or the other, and not both, and they take turns. If it's Maddy last night, it'll be Kohlden tonight, and then Maddy tomorrow. A very interesting twin dynamic, if that's what you can even call it. I sure hope they grow out of it real soon!
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| The three amigos. |
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| Gotta love that macaroni and cheese! |
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| She was so hungry she demolished her supper, and with a smile no less! |
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| The most interesting man in the world: "Hello ladies. My name is Kohl...but you can call me handsome!" Such a stud muffin! |
Braelyn has found her favorite word, and it is "Why?" It seems like she asks why for everything ~ from us telling her something, to her bedtime stories. It's always "Why...?" Such an inquisitive mind, she wants to understand anything and everything she sees and hears:
- I was listening to Sirius XM when I was picking them up the other day and the lyrics to one song was about a guy who loved his girl so much he was "dying". She quickly asked me "Daddy, why did he die?"
- And then on Monday at school when she asked if I had a good day and I replied that the stock market lost over 600 points she quickly said, "Where did it go?", to the amusement of her teachers.
- Very late last Saturday night she asked for a bedtime story after already watching a movie, and Tangie declined, stating that it was already way past her bedtime. "But it's just a LITTLE story!" Braelyn declared as she placed a very tiny book, about the size of her hand, to Mommy's lap. The title? "Golf's Little Instruction Book!" So Tangie obliged and read a chapter on proper swing control, golf ball construction, and club shaft flexes to Brae, amidst my uncontrollable shaking with silent laughter at this hilarious scenario. Priceless!
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A picture shot of herself. Pretty good!
The video below is Braelyn showing her new binder and telling you about her new class. |
Here is this week's food for thought:
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| Thai spring rolls. |
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| Baked lime mustard salmon on wild rice pilaf. |
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| Brae was bringing Zoe some food and missed the bowl. It made no difference to Zoe whatsoever. |
Hope you have a great weekend!
