November 12, 2010

Samuel totally lucked out with two full days of birthday celebrations.  We knew we would be traveling on the 13th, so we planned Friday as the big day.  Samuel woke up to decorations and a new dinosaur.  We spent the morning getting ready for his party, and playing with Auntie C who was such a doll to be there for the party and help me out.  At 11:00 the kids came a’knocking for Sam’s first official friend party.  He told me months ago he wanted a dinosaur birthday party, so I had a few prehistoric tricks up my sleeve.

As Sam’s friends arrived, they got to do cave paintings and play with dinosaurs.  Then we made some dino feet so we could go on our dinosaur adventure.  The kids had to go through an obstacle course, but stay on the “stones” so they wouldn’t fall into the “hot lava” and become “extinct.”  After that we played “Chomp Chomp, Gotcha!” which was our version of Duck Duck Goose, with a triceratops hand puppet to do the chomping.  We had a yummy lunch of dinosaur nuggets for the carnivores, veggies and ranch for the herbivores, and chex mix and goldfish for the omnivores.  We read some dino books, did some dino puzzles, colored some dino pictures.  And then it was time for a dino dig!  I tried to do it two at a time while the other kids kept reading, puzzling, or coloring, but that lasted maybe 37 seconds.  It got a little crazy, but oh so fun!  There were lots of baby dinosaurs hiding in the sand, but there was also a dinosaur skeleton for each kid to find.

By that point, I could no longer put off the presents!  Samuel was so so excited, but it was adorable to see that his little friends were just as excited as him.  After Samuel opened all the generous gifts, he handed out the thank you/goodie bags and dug into the dino cupcakes.  By 12:30, we said goodbye, put Owen down for a nap, and opened all the new boxes and bags of toys and games.  Smart Mommy that I am, I let Sam open one present from Mommy and Daddy . . . How to Train Your Dragon!  So we popped the movie in, Sam watched and played quietly and happily, and I crashed on the sofa.  It had been a ton of work, but so much fun and I enjoyed every single second of it.  So did the Samosaurus Rex.

Auntie Caroline owed us a play day, and my friend Laurel and I have been trying to set up a zoo day for the longest time, so Monday morning we took off bright and early for Hogle Zoo!  We got there right around opening to avoid too much heat and beat the crowd.  Samuel quickly assumed the role of Boss, and calling all the shots.  It was pretty cute to watch him plan out our whole day from the map.  Owen missed morning naptime, so he was totally content to take it all in from his stroller, perfecting his monkey and elephant sounds, and beating his chest like a gorilla.  When we stopped for a snack break, I let him run loose and he was enthralled with the ostriches charging at each other, flapping their huge wings. 

We finally got to see the much anticipated rhino.  (Samuel talked all morning about it, and kept asking if this one would have a horn . . . because when we visited the LA Zoo at Christmastime, the rhino there had its horn removed for cancer.  Apparently that really stuck with him!)  There was even a little cave with windows that put you eye level with the rhino.  We finished the afternoon with a train ride and some lunch on the way home.  Only 2 of 4 boys crashed on the way home (how did we not get a picture of the boys together?!) but we all had a fun and exhausting day at the zoo with some of our favorite people.  That evening, I asked Samuel what was his favorite animal from the zoo?  “The rhino!”  Why?  “Because it was so cool and mean!!”  And later he told his daddy, “And I even got to ride a real glass rhino!”           

{Top to bottom, left to right} Samuel measures up.  Sam does it.  So Owen does, too.  Looking off the train.  Unsure of the train.  A little nervous being on shoulders right above the giraffe enclosure.  Samuel the Gorilla.  Finally, the rhino!  Riding the rhino.  Samuel the Tour Guide.  Owen chatting with the giraffe.  Watching the elephant flap her ears.  Ostrich fight!

Samuel filled his pom-pom jar clear to the top with warm fuzzies, so he got to choose a special outing.  It worked out perfectly since I had already secretly planned a trip to the aquarium.  Sam was so excited, and only a tiny bit disappointed when I told him this aquarium was little and his cousins wouldn’t be coming.  (The promise of Auntie C’s company, and chips and salsa for lunch helped.)

Sam had a fun time watching the sharks and the penguins.  He impressed Caroline with a vocabulary including the word “salamander.”  And it only took him a little while to recover from his startle involving a ray coming out of the water and flapping at him the moment he reached into the touch pool.

Owen had a fun time watching everything.  He impressed me with how well he enjoyed the afternoon even without a nap.  And he didn’t stop pointing and talking from the moment we got there to the moment we left.

Samuel was playing with play-doh while I folded some laundry. I went over to check out his creations, and pretty impressed with the likeness, asked, “Ooh, Samuel did you make a turtle?!”

Oh, I see. Forgive me for mixing up my genus. Or is it species?

My mom visited us last week, and my main project for her while she was here was to help me out with the yard and gardening. I don’t know very much about it, but I knew she was the one to help, and I was ready to invest in making our outside look nice. She did a TON to help, and I learned a lot. It was lots of fun making trips to the Home Depot, and filling my little Corolla to the brim with mulch, flowers, and tools. Samuel didn’t seem to mind it, either!

So here are some pictures of the work we did! My mom and Caroline cleaned up most of the front while Samuel and I watched. But it was a mess before! And I wanted hanging baskets, so those are new, and I also trimmed down the bushes today.

Here is my little flower bed, that I did ALL BY MYSELF!! I am so pleased with it. I can’t wait to see it all blooming and getting bigger. Those green ones in the middle row are white daisies. (Oops, my mom planted the daisies. But I did everything else!) I still want to mulch it, but that is a project for a warmer day . . . it’s been cooler and really windy!

Then I have these Columbines that still need a spot. I am thinking I might make a little bed in the middle of our front lawn. But that could be a bit ambitious.

And here is my “garden.” I went out just the other morning and found my tomatoes DEAD! And then when I was taking the picture I noticed my basil was also DEAD! I am soooo sad. I am not giving up, though. I plan on trying again. There is also cilantro, and at least that hasn’t died yet. Yum!

So maybe I don’t quite have a green thumb yet, but I am working on it. Don’t you worry, I will keep you all updated on my progress!