First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for Jason and Ian. They both had a good day, and were excited about all the fun things to do at school. Ian was upset that he didn't get to ride the bus with Jason in the morning (he's afternoon pre-k) he asked me every 20 minutes or so if it was time for school. When it was finally time we seemed to be having problems with the buses, so I ended up driving him. Jason liked that he had so many friends he already knew in his classes. Apparently all the girls are excited to be in his class with him. Ian said he liked playing with blocks and singing songs. He told me he was brave, like Link (the hero from Legend of Zelda). Jason was worried I would be lonely and sad without them being home (isn't that sweet)! I did manage to keep myself busy today and yesterday so I wasn't too sad and lonely.

Hatch

Do you know what that is? It's a Hatch green chile. My family and friends from New Mexico will appreicate what this is. For the rest of you it's what's inside those little tins of green chiles from the store. Hatch green chiles are grown in Hatch New Mexico and are special to any type of true New Mexican cuisine. So how did I end up with some? My favorite store Hubble and Hudson is having a Hatch Green Chile Festival, they were roasting (and peeling) chiles. I got some already roasted and I also bought some fresh ones to try my hand at roasting, though I'm not looking forward to peeling and seeding (looks like I'll be calling my mom for that). I was so excited, can you tell, I'm blogging about green chiles, new Mexico green chilies! Matt and I have both lived in NM but he's the only native New Mexican in our family, so here he is with the state vegetable of NM.

Funny, the spell check doesn't like the word Chile (but that's how it's spelled!)

Wall-e cake

Here's the cake I made for my little buddy Ethan's Birthday!

Sea World, Cops, and Crap

Matt took the day off to take me and the boys to Sea World before they start school. We all had a really great time we did some of our favorite things:
Riding the Shamu Roller Coaster is a must at any time of the year. Jason is now tall enough to ride all by himself, and he did it 3 times. But I wanted to ride too and he was a little annoyed that he had to ride with his mom! On a related note, If you're a roller coaster nut, you should give the Steel Eel roller coaster at Sea World a shot. Every time I ride it, I'm impressed with what a good "there-and-back" coaster it is. Plus, it has a great first drop!


Since we get to go to Sea World often, we like to hang out at the Lost Lagoon in the summer since it gets so hot. I also enjoy being the only girl, since my boys are getting a little to old see women change they have to go to the men's changing area with their dad... oh, shucks- and I really wanted to help!
Ian was very excited about the "waves" he loves the wave pool.

Jason liked playing with the water and waterfall in the activity pool, while Ian and I went down the slide! The boys were checking out the map, they were cute so I tried to snap a picture, but Ian struck a pose first! Striking poses?...not my kid...

Matt and I were able to sit back and enjoy the boys livin' it up at Splash Attack. I had a hard time at first because I wanted to shadow their every movement, but they were together and safe. We had our eyes on them and after I relaxed in the shade I had fun too! Just so you think I'm not a crazy over-protective parent, I was almost kidnapped from a community pool when I was about 5. I was going to go off the diving board and a strange man grabbed my arm and just walked off pulling me along. My mom's good friend, who was waiting for me to jump in the water, saw what he was doing and ran out of the pool. She picked me up right out of the man's arms (I think she might have said something to him too, but I don't remember) then she ran off with me. I didn't realize what was happening, I thought I was in trouble or something, and I felt really bad about it. Now I'm just freaked out by the whole thing. Okay that was a random off topic story... where was I??? Oh right, my boys are getting so big!

If you want more random stories about our day... please keep reading!

Story 1:

After Sea World we went to IHOP for dinner and Jason and I were doing a cross word puzzle. Here is an example of the questions "the strongest animal in the ocean" - mussel, or "This fish goes well with peanut butter" - Jelly Fish. Anyway, one question was "A cranky fish" and I said "a crab" then Jason puts his hand in a fist and moves it in front of his body and says "oh, like CRAP". I laughed so hard! Surely I'm not the reason my son is more familiar with the word crap, than the word crab.

Story 2:

So, we're somewhere between San Antonio and Houston, and Jason needs to use the little boys' room. Matt notices a truck stop up ahead, so he pulls over. I decide that the place looks too scary for girls (there were too police cars out front!) so Matt needs to take Jason in to use the bathroom. Ian was asleep in the car so we stayed in the running car while the others went in. They were in the (gross) bathroom for a max of 3 minutes and then we headed back to the freeway for the remainder of our trip. A few miles later we see flashing red and blue lights behind us,. Matt was surprised because he wasn't speeding (that stretch of road is notorious for speed traps), and I thought we probably had a tail light out. The State Trooper pulled us over and he comes up to Matt's window and said that he had been following us since the truck stop because the people said we "didn't pay our bill" We were both so shocked, surprised and confused! Matt told the trooper (heehee, did that make you think of a storm trooper?) that we just stopped to use the bathroom and we didn't even get anything. He asked us a few follow up questions like where we were headed and where we came from, and then asked if we were "sure we didn't do anything" (wow, did you learn that question in trooper school). I guess our answers were good enough for him, and he let us go without a backward glance. Who knows maybe this will show up on our record some day. The whole thing was so strange and our questions will never get answered (like why did they think it was us?) but we had a good laugh about it, and it's something we're not likely to forget. I should have asked the Trooper if I could take his picture, because I really would have loved to put it on the blog!

Things & Stuff

Matt was giving me a little trouble about how long it's been since I updated the blog. But sometimes there's nothing interesting or exciting to blog about. Our days have been pretty much the same, they go something like this: go to gym, run errands, play, play and play. I often try to play with the boys, but they get so irritated with me (and sometimes the other way around). I let them play (and they are so good and happy and cute) and I have found I have tons of free time for myself...and yet I accomplish so little. Sometimes I start to feel bad about not interacting with them more (these years go by so quickly), but I've found I really enjoy watching them play, listening to them, watching to see what games they come up with, seeing all the things they create, hearing the songs they sing and hearing their laughter. It's fun to just observe and see who they are, without me influencing what they do or how they act or what they should play with. Gosh they are getting so big, I actually feel a little sad thinking about how quickly they grow up (and this was supposed to be a silly blog). Okay back on track... let the silliness resume!!!

Pictures of Fun Faces!

Upside Down Faces:

Crazy Face:

I'm impressed at how much Jason can look like a goat, and I like how Ian's crazy face makes him look like a gangster (who knows maybe these pictures reveal more about who they are)

Fish Faces:

The cutest fish this side of the gulf coast!

Angry Faces:

Jason's angry face is something I seem to be seeing a lot lately, and Ian is just a happy kid, he's not even capable of performing an angry face without smiling.

Blue & Brown:

I am still amazed at how different my boys' eye color is. Jason with his beautiful and surprising blue eyes, and Ian with his warm brown eyes (I can't ever seem to capture their beauty in pictures, but I love them so much)

How Terri uses her free time:

Don't bother me when I'm at my computer. Hey, who told you you could come in without knocking?!