Repurposed Tarp

Last year, I made a terrible mistake of not checking where our canopy was in relation to our hot grill.  I usually don't have to worry about their distance because the canopy is propped up most of the time.  But this night was a windy one so I dropped the poles and tarp and laid it flat against the bus.  Sadly, I didn't tie the tarp down well enough and I didn't account for the distance when the hot lid of the grill is fully open.

After cooking perfectly medium rare steaks, I could not rejoice in my culinary skills because my depth perception was not turned on.  I lowered the lid and saw that I had burned a giant hole in the tarp!

We survived with the hole throughout winter, but Michael was itching to change the frame.  Notice how the beam is sagging so low between poles.  So since he was doing that, we replaced the tarp with a brand new, non-burnt one.  Coincidentally, Michael's motorcycle cover was in such poor shape that he had the idea to reuse the old tarp as his new motorcycle cover!  

Michael drapes and cuts ...

I pinned and sewed ...

Voila!

Wet no more.

Legos on a Bus

I used to think there was no way we could play with Legos on a bus.

But last fall, I succumbed and let them bring the legos into the bus.  It hasn't been too crazy because of the stackable boxes they can store their pieces in, but it required a lot of maneuvering when I was cooking and they were right in the middle of the galley creating.  Luckily, with this warmer weather, I can now just send them outside! 

Battle of the Wheels!

Now that warmer weather sometimes graces us, we're slowly rolling out our wheels!  Max sure does love to photobomb ... every picture.

Important Questions

Max to Simone:  "Who do you think poops more: Anna or Elsa?"

Children of the Forest!

Last night, I had some errands to do and I wanted to let the kids know their daddy was home if they needed an adult.   I got in the car to ride to wherever they were in the campground, but I couldn't see them.  I tried to listen for them and heard voices of tiny humans farther up the hill.  Sure enough I found the kids having an adventure amongst the trees.

(Simone is in the aqua leggings.  Max is the dark blue blur in the bottom left of the picture)

As in ...

Max has been learning to read! 

I finally found a good curriculum that matches his temperament.  But there are some days that he has just woken up on the wrong side of the bed and is grumpy.  Today was such a day.

When we did his reading practice, we came to the word "quit" and this is how he read it:

"Kwa ...i ...t.  Quit!  As in ,'I quit!'". 😠

Simone Films

Simone has been watching these videos via YouTube that feature her favorite toys.  It started with Shopkins and that led her to links for the Frozen cast which occasionally mingles with the Barbie crew.  She was inspired to make her own videos.  Here is her first compilation.  It's a bit shaky, so take a Dramamine before you view it if you're sensitive to motion sickness.

Antonym of Banana

Simone asked me if I knew what the opposite of the word "banana" is.  She didn't wait for me to figure out "Ananab."  She said it's "BaYeahYeah."  I realized she was thinking of the "na" as a form of negative response.  What's the antonym of  "nah" ... it's "Yeah!"

Bichon

Simone asked, "Why is 'Bichon' (referring to the dog breed) spelled 'Bitchin'?"

Social Simone

Simone is shy, but she really wants to make friends with girls around her age.  She can overcome her fear and chit chat if there's someone interesting. 

At ice skating class, Simone met Shen Yun, a 10 year old homeschooler.  She reminds me a lot of my niece Lauren! 

How Max Chooses

We were at the Commissary and the kids were picking out a treat. Max didn't know if he wanted a dinosaur or a baseball filled with candy so he recited an age old ditty to help him decide.

"Eeny meeny mynie mo, catch a tiger by its toe. If he hollers let him go, eeny meeny mynie mo. My mom says you poop too much!"

The dinosaur won.  It apparently does not have digestive problems, like that diuretic baseball.

I Gave In

Max did not enjoy his first swimming lesson.  He declared out loud that he did not want to do the tasks.  I think the teacher finds him the most annoying - more difficult than the autistic kid. 

I tried to be cheerful, but he also got on my nerves that I gladly ignored him when another homeschooling mom started talking to me.  After class the teacher said it was OK that I go hide in a corner so we can see if Max does better without my presence. 

The thing is that he did try the tasks a little bit.  He just made it known to everyone that he hated it and that his mommy is annoying.  The teacher even picked him up and he held onto the edge in protest.  What a rebel ... Just like his mommy.

In the locker room, he wailed and repeatedly told the world that he hates it when things are hard.  On the car ride home he did not let up.  There was no reasoning with him.  Reminding him that he used to find scooters and bicycles hard did not help.

But there was hope in appealing to his taste buds. 

I promised him that whenever he did his class without whining, then he could get a treat at the bakery on the way home.  He immediately paused in his tirade and said ever-so-sweetly-and-softly, "oooo kaaay."

I hope he doesn't develop an unhealthy reward relationship with sweets just because his mama was tired of doing real discipline.

"Victory!"

Growing Stomachs

Recently I noticed that the kids are hungrier.  They can eat an afternoon snack at 4 and still eat a full breakfast.  So a new part of my day consists of prepping "merienda" or afternoon snack. 

Today they're having edamame!

Whom Would You Rather

I don't think Max understands the concept of comparing similar things in the game "Would You Rather."

He asked if I would rather marry his two Uggly Pet Shop dogs "Slobrador" and "Chunky Chihuahua" .... or marry Michael.

Maybe he thinks having two husbands is better than one ???

Advent

Trivia Time

Simone recently made up a game in which family members competed to answer questions about her.  Max beat me and Michael, but I think it's because he would shout his answers as he raised his hand.  Ok, ok ... he does know his sister very well so his wins are legit.

Max enjoyed the game that he made up his own questions and Simone and I competed.  I already forgot who won, but I could not forget how memorable his answer key was.

His questions were:

1) What do monkeys like?

2) Which shopkin is really two shopkins?

3) What is something on a bunny?

4) What is a fierce animal?

His answers were from left to right:

1) Trees
2) "Cheeky Cherries"
3) Ears
4) Gorilla.  

Ice Return

I took the kids back to the skate rink to practice and I can see an improvement!