Monday, October 25, 2010

Music and Cooking

It is CRAZY to me how musically inclined these kids are.  They carry tunes quite well, have a knack for remembering a melody after hearing it just once, and have some pretty legit moves when playing their toy guitars (they raise their legs or tip the guitar up or down for effect, etc).  And they turn everyday things into little songs.  For example, when they want their hands wiped after a meal they sing a little song (and I'm not even sure how long it's been being sung, but for a while now).  To the tune of jingle bells (who knows!?) they sing "wipe my hands, wipe my hands, wipe my hannnds-a-hands!"  They also have a little kid mp3 radio that I've loaded up with some of their favorite songs.  They LOVE to turn it on and dance around, sometimes performing for us for up to an hour!  Not sure what other activity holds their attention quite as long!  They'll mix in dancing, singing (or pretending to) holding a mic, or playing their guitar.

The other day I was piddling around the house and peeped in the playroom to find the cutest scene ever!  Daddy and the boys were having a "show" (and they even got Daddy involved).  Mason was intently watching Aaron play the guitar, like he was having a lesson or something.  And Owen is in the background with his microphone.


Eventually they switched and Mason backed up Owen while Owen did a little singing.
I'm excited because I know they are approaching the age when kids can start learning a musical instrument.  I really would like to find out more about it because I think they would really enjoy guitar or drum lessons (although my ears may not)!

Another thing the kids have enjoyed recently is helping with cooking.  A pizzeria down the street from us provides take home kits for kids, so no matter how ugly the pizza, we know it's gonna be good!  It has sort of become a daddy-and-boys activity and they really love it!






We also had a cookie making day.  I told them we could make some Halloween cookies and asked them to tell me who they would like to send them to.  In my mind I was thinking they would come up with one or two people people (probably Numna and Bee) to send them to.  Well my generous children came up with SIX different places to send them: Numna, Bee, Granna & Granddaddy, Mimi & Papi, Grandma Mary, and their best buddy (who moved away) Cate.  Owen and Mason had fun picking out the ingredients at the grocery store,

mixing


rolling (and sprinkling flour)


cutting


decorating (they decided on the color combos all by themselves!)

packaging


and mailing all 65 (yes, 65!) of their cookies.

They even donned my (and Aunt Lindsay's) old Mickey aprons.  Needless to say, they were very proud! 



Click here for the rest of the cute pics:

Show and Pizza with Daddy

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Analogies

Mason:  I have to put slippers on when I ride my bike, to protect my feet.  Like helmets protect my head.

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Owen:  Yeah, we have to do it again, and again, and again.  Like an 'E'.
Me:  What do you mean, "Like an E"?
Mason:  Because on an E you have to write a lot of lines.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Hawaii Part 2

Day two of our vacation was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  Now, I have to say I was a bit skeptical on how much fun could actually be had at a "museum" when the rest of the island of Oahu was just outside it's doors!  Well, museum it's not and I was proven wrong!

The PCC, as they refer to it in Oahu, is made up of villages that represent the main islands of Polynesia: Hawaii, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, and Aotearoa (New Zealand).  Everything was very hands-on and the kids really enjoyed themselves.  There were several street shows with the traditional dances and clothing from each island, which was quite entertaining. Here is just a taste of it.

The kids had a passport take to each village and collect stamps to show they visited.  They thought this was really awesome!

Some of us learned a hula dance in the Hawaiian village.


We got to weave some art from leaves, which ended up being a game.  (Pull the fish to the bottom of the twig and sling).

Here's Mason taking a turn at Tolo spear throwing in the Tongan village.

 

Here is a funny video of Owen while we were on the canoe ride through all of the villages.



Here are the kids learning the "titiorea" (sticks played along to a traditional song) in the Aotearoan village.

Owen and Mason playing with Poi Balls. They LOVED this and thought that if the ball slung out of their hand, they "WON!!"


We capped the day off with a Luau dinner and an AMAZING show performed by tons of people from all over the Pacific.  The music was great, the dancing was great, the costumes were great!

Here we are after the Luau dinner, getting ready to go to the main show.

We thought the kids might get tired of everything by the end of a very long day but clearly they enjoyed every minute of it! Here they are helping out the drummers on stage with their new drums.


It was a great day, and the Polynesian culture is so interesting and fun to experience! If you are ever in Oahu, we all recommend the PCC!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Out of the mouths of babes...

Today, as I was cleaning out some drawers, Mason asked me if all of my nail polish was from the "toenail store" (as he calls my nail salon).  I told him that it was from Target and he said, "Oh.  I like Target better than the Space Center."  Atta boy!  (We just went to the Space Center on Saturday).



For the past few days we have been on the hunt for the RED version of a toy that Mason has in blue.  The kids and I, and sometimes Daddy, went in several stores with no luck.  I FINALLY located the red one while the kids were at school the other day and I presented it to Owen as soon as I picked him up.  He was SO excited!  He asked me several enthusiastic questions about how/where I found it and then said, "we've been lookin' and lookin' and lookin'!" 

The kids begged me to get some "red soup" (tomato soup) for lunch yesterday so we stopped at Panera Bread.  They also informed me they wanted the go-gurt (yogurt in a tube) to go with it.  We picked out a table that was right near a couple of 60ish year old grandma-looking women.  I was filling my drink and the ladies started talking to Owen and Mason.  One asked what they were eating. 
"It's SOUP!" 
Then Mason said, "and this is yogurt.  It keeps my poo-poo soft."  The ladies cracked up and had to agree with him.


For the fall/winter I decided to get them some Land's End down vests.  The kids spent a lot of time looking at the computer to decide which color they wanted and then we waited patiently for them in the mail.  They finally arrived and the kids were very excited and proud to put them on.  (They had previously been strutting around in some vests from last year that are too small).  The very first thing they said/did (which they did not do in the old vests) was
"Now we're garbage mans!" 
"Yeah, let's go drive our truck!" 
And off they went to the foot of my bed to pretend to drive around, and then get down off the bed to collect "trash" from around the house. 


Let's face it, there's no logistical way around peeing in front of your kids while smooshed together in a public restroom stall.  Of course I have them stand back, etc, etc to gain as much privacy as two curious three year olds will give, but it never fails, as I'm squatting there (no I don't sit!) :
"Mommy, why are you going tee-tee out of your bottom???" 
"Because, honey, mommies don't have ding-dings." 
"WHY?"..............

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hawaii Vacation, Part 1

I can't believe its taken so long to get to any Hawaii blogging! Between 3 cameras we had over 3000 pictures to go through. We have finally whittled them down to our favorite ones. All 650 of them! You ready?

Just kidding!

Here are some of the highlights:

We had a super long travel day from Houston to Honolulu. Our day started at 6 AM and we weren't settled in our room until 11 PM (Texas time). Owen and Mason did GREAT during the long layover and long flight! It was definitely a preview of what was to come with them - just go with the flow.

Here are Granddaddy and Owen burning some energy in the Phoenix airport.


Excited boys taking their first steps in Hawaiian sand on the way to dinner. (O, M)


My super tired kiddos on their first night in the "Hawaii Hotel" as it was called the entire trip. (O, M)


The first full day we were there was Aaron's 30th birthday.  Not a bad way to ring in the new decade, especially when its started off with some Malasadas from Leonard's!


Owen and Mason were so excited to be in Hawaii that they wore their life jackets before we ever left the hotel.


They also gave us a lesson on snorkeling first thing in the morning.


We then headed to East Oahu for some of our favorite things.  Our first dip in the ocean was at Kailua Beach which has super soft sand and sparkling blue water.  Then we got some lunch at Maui Taco, did a little shopping, and headed back to the "secret" hotel pool where the kids enjoyed pool-side smoothies while looking out over Waikiki Beach.  Not a bad set up!
(Mason, Owen)
This video is a perfect caption of the fun we were having that day!  The kids were in great moods and the whole family (including Granna, Granddaddy, and Aunt Lindsay) were having a fun time playing in the water!





 (Owen, Mason)
 (Mason, Owen)
 

After our quick swim, we all got cleaned up for a wonderful fireworks show over Waikiki Beach with a perfect view right from the balcony!  Then we headed to the Outrigger for Daddy's birthday dinner at Duke's Canoe Club.



And no birthday is complete without a duet performance of Happy Birthday from the sweetest voices around!

Owen's in blue and Mason's in red.  I know, opposite "favorite color" jammies.  They were trying to trick us!

Here are the links to the rest of the pictures from the first couple of days:
8-26-10 Travel Day
8-27-10 East Oahu

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A funny story about Owen

Because this needs to be documented...

Owen doesn't have a lot of experiences with automatic faucets in restrooms so today during a trip to the potty with Daddy he noticed the faucet didn't have handles (which to him means he can't control the temperature). Just before he stuck his hands under he said "cold please."

I guess now he thinks he has some magical powers at controlling water temperature since obviously cold water came out of the faucet! I love it!!