Brave Girl

We've had a nice visit so far here in Florida with Grandpa and Nana. We arrived on Saturday at around 7:30, visited for a bit, then went to bed. Sunday we had church and then a visit with an Aunt and Uncle. They have a pool, which was a big benefit for Lily. They also have a water slide.

A few years ago, I made Lily "madder than a hornet" (per Uncle Art) when I splashed her from the water slide. She thought she was safely out of harm's way, but I got her. This time she became more bold in the pool. She managed to swim back and forth in the deep end. The pool is not that big, but it's big enough to have scared her in the past.

The biggest thing was her going off of the slide. She was of course terrified at first, but Amanda paid her off with a quarter. Once she got the hang of it she started to really enjoy it. This is a big deal for her as she had to overcome some terror to do it.

Meanwhile, Noah had a bad experience. He slipped on the steps and fell sideways into the pool. After that he was traumatized and would not really get into the pool. He is going to get some lessons this summer which should help. Lily is also ready for one last set of lessons so she can learn strokes. It's pretty exciting to see this progress with her.

Ready for Summer

Amanda took Lily shopping for her annual swimsuit. Lily expressed an interest in a tankini this year, which is encouraging since everyone knows that is the appropriate swimsuit for a Christian girl. Actually, she wanted one because she knows that she can't have a bikini (and understands the need to be modest), but she does want to be able to go to the bathroom easily. That's my girl thinking practically.

Making the Grade

We got Lily's third quarter report card last week. The only difference from the previous quarter was that she got a 3* in math instead of just a 3. For those of you who don't understand the grading system, that means she is above grade level in math. It does not mean that she is a super-genius in math, but that she is doing very well. Isn't that obvious? :)

I remember that I just got check marks when I was in second grade, so I guess that these numbers give us a little bit more to go off of. Either way, she's doing well and we're happy about that. I am going to meet her teacher for the end of year conference in a couple of weeks. We suspect that all is well, but it's always good to hear an experienced educator's opinion. We're also glad that Lily is 3 for 3 on having good teachers.

Little Caniacs

We got some free tickets to the Hurricanes' game on Saturday evening, so I took the kids. I wanted to take them for a while, but the games are so expensive I didn't think it was worth it considering they would not likely make it through the game. But when they were free I had to jump at the chance. Thanks Ian!

This was game 82 and they had to win it to make the playoffs. I figured that the atmosphere would be electric. It was except that about a third of the people were dressed as red seats and didn't cheer much. But the folks who were there got loud and stayed loud to support their team even though the team played terribly. It was sad to see them go out like they did. Plus, it was surreal for me to root against the Lightning after having season tickets for three years. But I wanted to get Lily and Noah engaged in the local team.

The best part for me was the player introduction time.  It is perhaps a bit trite to play "Rock You Like a Hurricane," but it works. Noah's face just lit up and he made a wonderous "o" with his mouth as the spotlights started moving around and the music started. We were sitting way way way up high, but the sound up there was incredible. It was fantastic to see how much they enjoyed just being there and taking it all in.

Lily actually got into the game a little bit. At first she was just afraid of falling out of her seat and tumbling down to the ice. We really were up high. She started to get the hang of icing and offsides. She admonished me for not cheering enough at times. It was really great for her.

Noah did well too, though of course he couldn't quite grasp what was happening. Lily at least cheered when the Canes scored, but Noah didn't quite get it. By the end he was more interested in reading the letters on our row and on the steps in the aisle than the game. We left after an empty-net goal made it 5-2 with just a few minutes to go.

Lily was not as into the Storm Squad as I thought she'd be. That's just as well. I haven't figured out why hockey needs cheerleaders either. Since it was game 82 it was fan appreciation day too. They gave away several sweaters and other miscellaneous stuff. Lily very astutely noticed that only people in the lower bowl with the good seats got free stuff. Funny how that works.

Rite of Passage

It finally happened. Earlier this week we wondered what had happened to the spring in the middle of the toilet paper holder. It's fairly common that one of the kids knocks it down, but we couldn't find it anywhere in the bathroom. We eventually got a confession out of Noah that he flushed it.

We lived with some very poor flushing performance for a few days and then yesterday I finally had to do the deed. I took the toilet apart and was able to pry out the spring, some toilet paper, and assorted whatnot. I asked Lily if she wanted a Tootsie Roll, but didn't get the joke right away.

The good news is that everything is back together again. It just was not how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning. I spent the afternoon putting up a new mailbox as the wood on our old post had given way. It was time for a new mailbox as well, so we have a nice new plastic one. Lily wanted us to buy an $80 mailbox so we could have a slot and a lock, but I think I convinced her it was unnecessary. Either way, we weren't going to buy it.

Day Out

Noah had himself a very busy day yesterday. The weather was postcard beautiful, so that meant the usual playtime after preschool with his friends at Bond Park. He and Amanda got home around 3:00 or 3:30. After I got Lily from the bus she learned her spelling words and vacuumed the living room. This caused a little consternation because she was muttering under her breath in imitation of Amanda telling her that she was missing spots. Her excuse for missing spots was that she "is not a professional."

We needed groceries anyway, so I took the kids out to Sam's for groceries and a very salty dinner. Lily and Noah both managed to eat one of the Nathan's 1/4 lb hot dogs. I had a slice of pizza. We all split a pretzel and a Fanta orange drink. Lily liked it, but Noah thought it was too sour. He made the funniest face after each sip, but kept coming back for more. In retrospect, I wish I had captured it on video. You'd think he had just sucked on a lemon.

We finished things out by getting milkshakes at Jake's Wayback Burgers. I'm glad that we tried them, but I think that they were overpriced and mediocre compared to what you can get at Cook-Out or Chick-Fil-A. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed them well enough and I think we can declare the evening a success.

Note - blogging will likely resume its old daily schedule after May 13. That's the day I'm supposed to graduate. Until then, it's a little busy here.

Disco Lily

I was going through the photos from Christmastime and came upon this gem. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you're lent to hysterical laughter you may want to use the bathroom before viewing