VBS

A few more pictures from last week's Grandma Camp.

Watching "Watcher in the Woods". This is a scary Disney movie that we used to watch when we were little. EEK!

The aftermath of this movie. Grandma's bed, with no room for Grandma!

Apparently at every meal they have a Grandkid Spotlight, where everyone says nice words to the chosen grandkid using the letters in their name. Nice, and Intelligent, were two of the many that Nico's cousins came up with for him. Here is a picture of him during his Grandkid Spotlight. Love that look on his happy face.

Saturday was the market again for me, but this week I got a special visitor. G.G. came to see me! She kept me company for a while, which was great because it was really slow. She must have been a good luck charm because that day turned out to be the best one yet for business.

On Saturday night, instead of doing pizza we were invited over to someone's house for dinner, someone from our church. There was a group of people they invited and they made the best food! Nico and I ate salmon and Guy had some of the beef.

Sunday was supposed to be the Parktacular event where I was going to have a henna booth. We woke up and got everything packed in the truck and were on our way, only to find out the start time had been delayed because of the weather. 60s and raining, in the middle of July! So we decided to take a detour and go to church. We then found out that the event was cancelled. Bummer! But I think it was a blessing in disguise because we were able to go home and relax like a normal Sunday :)

Monday started VBS for the kids. Nico, Evelyn, and Aadam are all going. Sammy is in summer school. Allicia offered to take them all in the mornings, so we've been packing everyone into her van. Then a few hours later I drive Allicia's van to go pick them up. Easy peasy.

Today was interesting, I went to go pick them up and while I was gone they chip-sealed our road. I came home and there it was, the road was done. Bummer that the kids missed getting to watch it, but WOW they must have been quick to get it done while I was gone. Allicia called me while I was out to tell me that there was no way I'd get back into the driveway because they were blocking the whole road. But, zoooom, they finished quick.

It's been a mild week temperature-wise. Lots of playing outside. We sent out Nico's birthday invitations this week, everyone who reads this should be getting one!

This update is short and sweet and to the point. Until next time!

Grandma Camp, Water Slide

Saturday was the Sensory Friendly Movie, they played Zootopia. What a great movie! Nico had already seen it at the last Grandma Camp but was really excited to see it again. And then again on Wednesday he watched it downstairs with Evie while Avery and Ivy were napping upstairs. We went to the theater for the sensory friendly movie with Tiffanie, Aadam, and Sam.

Monday was a holiday and our crew spent 2 hours at Quarry View Park and it was magical. All the kids got along really well, including Avery. They played and then we fed them a snack and then they played some more.

Tuesday was another magical day, we went to the Natatorium behind Nico's school for the very first time. It has a swimming pool, diving boards, and a smaller wading pool for the little ones. It also has a water slide, which you can pay extra to experience. I bought a pack of 10 rides on the slide, and split them up between the kids, whoever wanted to go. Before we went down the slide, I took Nico and Sam and Aadam to where the slide ends and it dumps you in a pool 4 ft deep so they could see what happens at the end of the slide. They still wanted to try it so I took Nico first. He sat on my lap. I was more nervous than he was I think. Splash! Sammy, Adam, and then Avery all wanted to go. I took Avery on my lap and it took some coaxing once we got to the top of the slide, but we finally got in the water and pushed off. When we got to the end of the slide, I lifted him up while I went almost under, so that he wouldn't get too wet. It was so fun to be able to walk to the pool. We ate snacks on the way home.

The wading pool

Nico has had a loose tooth for the past few weeks, but it hasn't been going anywhere. On Sunday Guy told me that the permanent tooth was starting to come in, in the wrong spot! Inside Nico's mouth, poking in toward his tongue. So we really tried hard to get his tooth to come out over the weekend (see video). But, it didn't work, so I called the dentist on Tuesday and made an appointment on Wednesday. But then, when we came back from swimming on Tuesday I looked in Nico's mouth again and his loose tooth was GONE! Mystery! Nico searched for it everywhere and told us he probably accidentally ate it while he was eating his sandwich at lunch. The dentist said that since the baby tooth is gone there's really nothing they can do now for the crooked tooth, so there was no need to come in.

The tooth before it fell out (see the new one coming in behind it)

On Wednesday started the 2nd Grandma Camp of the summer!!! We packed everything up and I dropped him off at the cabin at 5 PM. This is Grandma Camp - Treasure Hunter! My mom has the best treasure hunts. When we were little she would do a treasure hunt for all of us and neighbor kids on the last day of summer vacation. I am inspired this year to do the same for Nico and his neighbor friends. He has built himself quite a little community of friends here and I know they would all enjoy doing an epic treasure hunt. I decided this last night and have already commissioned the invitations to be made by my friend Brianna. Thanks for the inspiration Mom ;)

Here are some pictures Mom sent me today.

Nico told us Wednesday morning that he wanted to either be a cop or a construction site worker when he grows up. Guy then told him that Grandpa Russell used to be a construction site worker and Nico looked at me and said "Tell Daddy what I'm going to be when I grow up. I already know." he whispered it into my ear that he wanted to be a construction site worker for sure.

Driving in the car later that day he told me he was singing loud so that Grandma and Grandpa [Russell] could hear him! (see video)

Wednesday we also hit up the Library where we picked up another free book and several other prizes because Nico has been reading for 20+ minutes every day.

VIDEO TIME!
Check out Aleesh the Beast in her first ever Roller Derby game!

May and June 2016 Snippets

Snippet - Nico singing in the car

MST3K, Splash Pad, video

Grandma Camp was a huge success. Here are some more pictures

Reading for 30 minutes after dinner

Pillow fight

 Breakfast

Hangin' with the boys

The next Grandma camp is less than a week away, the theme is Treasure Hunting. I was pleased to learn that Grandma had served chicken soup that Nico ATE! He liked it, too. I will start making it myself. He seems to be over his fear of ALL noodles, and can eat some of them now.

On Sunday after church, Tiffanie asked if Nico would like to go with them to the splash pad in Meridian. Yes! We had no sunscreen so I whipped up a batch real quick and slathered him in it.

On Tuesday was the MST3K Reunion Show. Guy and I had purchased tickets more than a month ago, so we had a DATE NIGHT! We went to the theater downtown to see it. There was supposed to be a pre-show for the 30 minutes before, with trivia and music, but the theater had started the live show an hour early (it was supposed to be an hour delayed for the Mountain & Pacific time zones) so we missed it. After the show was over the theater called all of us over to give us free movie tickets to apologize. Those that had showed up on time missed a big portion of the show :( Thankfully, we were early enough that we didn't miss any of the content. 

Then we went to Trader Joe's and bought Guy some ice cream, and came home at about 8:30 and Nico was still not asleep, he was awake reading books in his bed. I thought this might happen, since he had taken a nap earlier that afternoon! 

We implemented a summer schedule for Nico on Monday, he has "family contributions" instead of chores, and we have switched the use of the iPad around so that he gets 30 minutes of screen time every day. There is emphasis on the WHEN-->THEN of the schedule. WHEN he finishes his family contributions for the day, THEN he gets to have 30 minutes of iPad and can also then play with his friends outside. The schedule also has snack and meal times on it. We are also implementing an allowance, $3 each week with opportunities to earn more doing other jobs.

I've been promising a video, and you guys get one this week. It's not too spectacular but I had to start somewhere. I'll get the rest of the videos made soon.

Grandma Caaaaaamp!

I had another henna booth on Saturday, then we made pizza that night, watched 2 episodes of Three Stooges. Sunday was Father's Day! Nico had made something for Guy in school and we had saved it until Sunday to give to Guy. It was a little card with buttons glued onto it. 

On Monday we went to the playground at Adams Elementary with the WHOLE crew. For the past 2 weeks, Tiffanie and Aadam and Sam have joined Allicia and I in our play dates. This week we took the kids to the school playground. Allicia wants Evelyn to become familiar and comfortable with the playground since she will be going to Kindergarten next year. Aadam is also going to Kindergarten, and they will be in the same class. We are hoping that all the kids have recess together, but I'm not sure if they will.

Sunday through Wednesday I was struggling with a cold and a fever that kind of put me out for the count on Sunday afternoon and then again at various times during the next few days. Tiffanie said she would keep an eye on Nico outside for me on Tuesday morning while the kids played. I was super grateful for that. Then Allicia let Nico and Evelyn play in the main house Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday afternoon she took Nico to the Discovery Center with them. Oh what blessing to be surrounded by good friends! 

This is how you multitask without an iPad - Nico is listening to his Curious George book on CD while reading a comic book. He was keeping up with the Curious George page turns just fine. 

Yesterday Nico and I went down to the cellar to pull out the gallon of Zinc Oxide I have down there so I can make some more sunscreen for him. Nico is already super tan! We don't use much sunscreen unless he's in direct sunlight for extended periods. In Tiffanie's yard (where he spends a lot of time) he gets filtered sunlight through the trees. ANYWAY, we found an old binder of Guy's with pockets to hold cards. I think Guy used it for Magic cards back in the day, but it was completely empty. I asked Guy what he wold think about letting Nico fill it with Pokemon cards and Guy said he couldn't think of a better use for it. Nico put his Pokemon cards in there, slightly more than 300 of them!

Wednesday afternoon I picked Nico up from the Discovery Center and drove him up to the cabin for the very first Grandma Camp! There are 4 Grandma Camps this summer, each starting on a Wednesday night and going through Saturday morning. There are themes to each one and this first one is called Grandma Camp: Hiker. All the cousins except Karli were able to make it. All the kids need to be dropped off Wednesday night between 5 and 7 PM. We were the first to arrive and Grandma Salisbury had everything in place. Each grandkid had their own bin with a t-shirt, fanny pack with water bottle, and an emergency whistle to hang around their necks. What goes in the other end of the whistle? Bubble gum. They went for a hike this morning (Thursday) and they will also be hiking tomorrow morning.

Kai, Leah, Bruce, Lily, Lexie, Rory, Nico

Rory

Grandma told me that Nico insisted on being in the front because he knew the way to go. Everyone was happy to oblige!

Today was a relaxing and different day for Guy and I. I woke up without a fever, yay! I think this is because of the concoction Grandma Salisbury gave me last night when I dropped Nico off. Thanks Mom! I was so out of sorts this morning without Nico around that I forgot to make Guy's lunch! Unfortunately, I wasn't in the clubhouse when he left for work, so when he discovered that there was no lunch in the fridge, he grabbed a handful of vegetables to take with him. That's it! I felt so bad. So for dinner I picked up food from a restaurant we had a gift certificate for and got him a cheeseburger! 

I think I may have promised you guys a video this week, but, I've got an "I was sick" excuse, so it'll have to be some other week! Sorry guys!

Grammy, G.G., Roller Derby

Saturday was my very first henna booth at the Nampa Public Market. On Friday Nico and I practiced setting up my canopy so I could see if I could do it all by myself. I could!

Saturday I woke up to a card on the desk that Nico had made for me for my birthday. It was very sweet. Guy had given me his card the night before. Saturday at the Market went smoothly except I forgot to bring chairs with me, so Nico and Guy had to rush over to bring them to me.

Saturday afternoon, Grandma Salisbury came over and she brought with her a very special guest, Great Grandma French (aka Grammy). Grandma had brought Grammy back from Moscow for a visit. The last time Grammy had seen Nico, it was up in Moscow and Nico wasn't even a year old. Grammy brought Nico a toy car and then they sat on the couch and chatted for a while about all manner of things. I got a few exchanges on video, but alas this week has gotten away from me and I was not able to put a video together.

We got to see her again on Sunday at church and then afterward we all went to the mall to eat. Sunday evening I also went over to the hotel where they were staying so I could hang out with them for a few more hours before they were going to head back to Moscow the next day. I'm so glad we got to see her and spend time with her! 

Saturday evening was another special event, Allicia (aka Aleesh the Beast) had her very first Roller Derby game that night!! Guy wasn't feeling well, so he didn't end up going, so Nico and I went. Nico was very excited to see Allicia skate, and also very excited to park in a parking garage and walk downtown to the Centurylink Arena. The derby game started and Nico said he wanted some roller skates so that he could do that. I explained how the game worked to him and we were following along as the "Jammers" would break through and get ahead.

Allicia is in the white helmet in the center-right.

Nico's bedtime is usually 6:30, and the game didn't start until 7 PM, so around 7:20 he was asking when we would be going home. We left after the first half, at 7:30 PM. Once we got outside and started walking downtown to get to the parking garage, Nico said "I'm not tired over here, so can we walk around some more?" I said no, that we had to get home to bed. 

Tuesday was our visit to GG. Nico brought more books with him to read to her. Grandma Russell had sent Nico a little comic book called Moo Bird that Nico wanted to read to GG. He also brought over another of his comic books called Stinky. 

As always it was really great to see her and catch up. We'll have to find a different time to come see her once 1st grade starts in the Fall! Mornings won't work anymore. 

Tuesday we also went to the library and Nico picked out some comic books from the "Hazardous Tales" series, which are stories from America's history. One of the books is called "Donner Dinner Party". I wasn't exactly clear on why this creeped me out because I couldn't remember the story exactly, but I read the book (comic books that tell true stories have been super interesting to me lately), and now I know. While we were in the car on the way home, Nico says "This would be too scary for you. But I'm not scared of anything." Very interesting picks! I chose some "We Both Read" books where the parents read one side of the page and the child reads the other. I'm really digging those!

Tuesday afternoon/evening Nico and I went for a hike. Guy was working late and it was nice and cool out, so we went and started hiking up Table Rock, stopping just short of the most arduous climb and turning around. Nico was gung-ho climbing the trail, but as soon as we turned around, I mean like the second we turned around to come back, I hear a long whine and "is there a shoooooorter way home?" He really struggled with the return trip. 

Tuesday night after Guy arrived home and all the kids were in bed, we had a game night with Jeff & Allicia. Allicia said I could pick the game because it was my birthday and I chose Ticket to Ride. Mostly because Nico and I have been playing it and the rules are fresh in my mind, so it meant I wouldn't have to spend brain power to learn a new game! Guy won the whole world that time, and lapped almost everyone in points. He said that he should just never play Ticket to Ride again because there's no way he would ever beat that score.

Today (Thursday) was "Surprise Day". I surprised Nico with a trip to Pojo's. We rode the bumper cars and Nico got 177 tickets from the games. The next surprise was a trip to the toy store in the mall, where we got him a Dominoes Rally game. We came home and played that right away, setting up dominoes and watching them fall.

Nico inspecting his henna tattoo

 Posing for a selfie to send to Grandma and Grammy and my Aunt Mary in Lewiston

Sitting outside reading "Stinky" out loud

It has been a great week, more fun ahead!

iPad Tickets, Mega Sports Camp, Doctor Update

Nico's first day of summer vacation was last Friday. We didn't plan anything, Evelyn was out of town and Aadam and Sam were nowhere to be found! Nico really struggled with not having anyone to play with. He was near tears he was so bored. But, we got through it. We went for a bike ride and then snuggled on the bed and he took a nap. He was in much better spirits when he woke up.

Saturday was the Sensory Friendly Movie - Ratchet & Clank. It was cute. We've been doing pizza on Saturdays, too.

Friday was the last day of the screenfast, but we didn't end it until Sunday. On Sunday I gave Nico 5 tickets (because he's 5 years old), and each ticket is worth 10 minutes of iPad time. He gets 5 tickets every Sunday and they are for the whole week. The things that don't count toward screen time are the sensory friendly movies, three stooges while eating pizza on Saturdays, and any movies he may perchance watch at the cabin. When he turns 6, he gets 6 tickets per week. Nico used up all his tickets by Monday. But he seems to be okay with it. He used them up and then went right back into playing with his cars and trucks.

This week is VBS at our church - Mega Sports Camp. I am the "Cookie Coach" which just means that I hand out the snacks :) That's a really cool job to have. Nico, Evelyn, and Aadam, are all in the "Round Robin" group which means they get to play each of the sports. Football, Basketball, Soccer. Sam is in Cheerleading. He is really good.

Nico participating in one of the object lessons. (Note he's wearing all his spiderman knee/elbow/hand pads. He wore them all day long, hottest day, 100 degree weather. That's commitment!)

Sammy crunching potato chips, signifying one of the plagues of Egypt. Which one?

Sammy doing silly faces with his cheerleading group

 Silly faces with the Round Robin group

I helped out with the registration crew when I wasn't busy filling water jugs and arranging cookies on a platter.

Monday afternoon Nico had a dentist appointment. While we were sitting in the waiting room I asked him if he wanted me to come back with him or if he wanted to go back all by himself. He said he wanted to go by himself!! What!! So, he did. They noticed all the rest of his molars had grown in so they sealed them to help prevent cavities. His current cavities are doing just fine, not getting any worse. Wahoo! 

Tuesday Nico had a doctor's appointment, follow up for his stool test. There is some inflammation in his gut. I told her about his throwing up episodes in the morning and she's pretty sure it's a food, and told me to do some investigative work and try to figure out which food is causing it. It's likely a food that he had eaten within 24 hours of the tummy trouble happening. If we can't isolate a food that is causing it, and if it keeps happening, she will send him to a pediatric GI. He also had to get his blood drawn to check his Vitamin D level and his white blood count, which was low last time. He asked the nurse if he could lie down on the bed. The nurse asked if he wanted me to come hold his hand, and he said "No". Hehe. Then he laid there super still. They had a bonding moment when she said to him "Look at the blood that's coming out of your body, isn't that cool?" and he said "Yes!" He watched her do the whole thing. When it was all over she said "You did better than some adults!" She also let him use her stethoscope to hear his own heart beat through his arm. She asked him if he wanted to be a doctor someday and he said Yes. His Vitamin D level went way up (yay!) and his white blood count was back to normal. Yay! So glad to hear that.

We signed up for the Summer Fest through the Library. You can earn free books by reading 20 minutes per day.  He loves to read!! He brings his favorite books over to Sam & Aadam's house so that he can read to them. Him and Sam take turn reading books to each other. 

That's it for this week. Check out the Kindergarten graduation video below!

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