The Monday after National Camp School I was absolutely tuckered out. I had an all day tired headache and had a hard time getting my brain to concentrate on anything. The whirlwind of getting ready to teach at camp school followed by the four days at the school had really depleted me. I spent a lot of time sitting on the couch reading a fluffy book and even snuck in a nap. I got off easy on dinner plans because we went to the Golden Corral Buffet to celebrate Dode's grandpa's 94th birthday. I could cobble together a tasty vegan meal of tacos and salad, the kids all got their favorites (six pieces of pizza for Miriam!), and everyone enjoyed dipping things in the chocolate fountain.
Tuesday
Physical and mental batteries somewhat refreshed, Tuesday I went on a field trip to the Seattle Aquarium with Miriam and William. Since William is in a K-5 classroom, they can choose what field trips they attend. It worked out great that they went to the aquarium on the same day and same bus as Miriam's class.
Miriam was really excited to get to ride on a full sized school bus. Because William is in “special programs” and Miriam is his sibling, they ride a “short” bus to school. There aren’t many other children on the bus, maybe 6 or 7, so it’s often one child per seat. On the short bus, everyone buckles up. Miriam learned when she rode a full sized bus to the pumpkin patch for a field trip that big buses don’t have seat belts. She was excited for that freedom again. We hadn’t made it 15 minutes down the road before she started complaining that the bus was way too loud. It was pretty full with 2-3 happy children talking in each seat. My MP3 player came to the rescue. I cued up some Piano Guys music and she tuned out the noise.
showing off their treasures from the gift shop, an octopus ring for Miriam and a wind-up submarine for William.
eating lunch in the underwater dome is quite a treat
When we got to the aquarium I got off pretty easy, the only children I had to chaperon were my own! We usually spend about 2 hours at the aquarium when we go as a family so I was worried how we'd fill the four hours we'd be spending there for the field trip. Kids like to do a mental "check" at each place and hurry on to the next. I held the kids back a bit at each exhibit, asking them lots of questions to get them to peer into the tank and stretch out their visit. It helped the time go by when we attended an octopus feeding and learned about them. I'd not realized that they change color but we got to watch it in action. A sleeping octopus is grey and an awake one is a more reddish color.
Wednesday/Thursday
We'd gotten the scary news Monday night that Dode's brother Brent had a brain tumor and would be having surgery on Wednesday. Dode was able to take sick time from work and took the drive with his siblings (Randy, Sheri and Janice) to Spokane to be with Brent. They were there when he got out of surgery and were able to spend much of Thursday with him before making the five hour trek back home. It turned out that the tumor was actually a fluid filled cyst the doctor had never seen before. They sent it to pathology and when they get the report back, they will know how to proceed with his treatment.
Saturday
The co-op went smoothly Saturday morning, which is wonderful because I got stuck doing traffic. Everyone came at once and there were times when we had seven cars on the street waiting to come in while I tried to direct people where to park. You’ll notice I said “tried to direct people”. Even though I’m standing there in an orange vest giving directions, some people just don’t get it and park helter skelter. Then there’s the people who figure, “If it’s on the ground, it must mean it’s OK to drive over it.” Dode has some big pipes on the driveway that he’s bending into an invention he’s working on. They make quite a commotion when someone drives over them. Then there’s the roofing that we bought to re-roof the back of the garage. Dode stuck some saw horses up to keep people from parking on the roofing. It’s a good thing too because the saw horses have been run over more than once. I guess people are so excited to see what they’re getting in their baskets that they can’t stop to see where they’re driving!
Some people are in and out in a few minutes but others stop to socialize. It seems like those are the ones who are parked funny, taking the space where 2-3 cars could be parking! When I ask for volunteers, the traffic people are always the last to sign up. I don't know why, it's not complicated! I've been tempted to barricade the driveway on days when no one signs up to help with traffic and make people walk in. I had a bit of a heart attack as the co-op was winding down and I saw a fireman walk in then turn around and walk out. The next thing I knew, a fire department ambulance was pulling in. I thought they were there to yell at me and tell me I couldn't be backing cars up on the road for safety reasons. When he got out of the ambulance, I saw the bags in his hands and realized he was just there to get his produce. I gave a huge sigh of relief.
Saturday
The co-op went smoothly Saturday morning, which is wonderful because I got stuck doing traffic. Everyone came at once and there were times when we had seven cars on the street waiting to come in while I tried to direct people where to park. You’ll notice I said “tried to direct people”. Even though I’m standing there in an orange vest giving directions, some people just don’t get it and park helter skelter. Then there’s the people who figure, “If it’s on the ground, it must mean it’s OK to drive over it.” Dode has some big pipes on the driveway that he’s bending into an invention he’s working on. They make quite a commotion when someone drives over them. Then there’s the roofing that we bought to re-roof the back of the garage. Dode stuck some saw horses up to keep people from parking on the roofing. It’s a good thing too because the saw horses have been run over more than once. I guess people are so excited to see what they’re getting in their baskets that they can’t stop to see where they’re driving!
Some people are in and out in a few minutes but others stop to socialize. It seems like those are the ones who are parked funny, taking the space where 2-3 cars could be parking! When I ask for volunteers, the traffic people are always the last to sign up. I don't know why, it's not complicated! I've been tempted to barricade the driveway on days when no one signs up to help with traffic and make people walk in. I had a bit of a heart attack as the co-op was winding down and I saw a fireman walk in then turn around and walk out. The next thing I knew, a fire department ambulance was pulling in. I thought they were there to yell at me and tell me I couldn't be backing cars up on the road for safety reasons. When he got out of the ambulance, I saw the bags in his hands and realized he was just there to get his produce. I gave a huge sigh of relief.
Elizabeth thought it was so cool to have an ambulance pick up produce that she snapped a photo
Saturday we celebrated Miriam's friend birthday party. Last year, I'd purchased a family membership to the Everett Children's Museum that came with 10 guest passes. I figured those passes would work great to give her a free birthday party with her friends. We’d purchased a year membership in the beginning of April 2011. I'd originally scheduled her party for the beginning of April but we had to reschedule. When we changed the date, I checked the guest passes and saw that they were good through the end of the month. I knew that by then our membership would be expired but I’d planned for everyone, including Dode, Miriam, and me to use the free passes to get in.
getting a group of girls to pose for a photo when they'd rather be playing is tough
silly girls!
Well, Friday night before the party I decided to get the passes out and couldn't find them anywhere. I looked everywhere I could think, sometimes 3-4 times in the same place (have you ever read Who took my Cheese? I felt like a mouse in a maze looking in the same spot for the reward that I just knew had to be there) After a lot of time spent searching, I couldn't find them. We ended up having to buy a new membership which gave us more guest passes, but the party which would have been free ended up costing me $100 for a new membership. I usually like to let a bit of time lapse before renewing a membership because that way I stretch our money out. I wait to renew until we’re going again to the zoo, aquarium, museum, etc. Unfortunately I couldn’t do that this time. I'd also realized Friday night that I'd forgotten to ask the parents to send a sack lunch for their child. I had Dode run to McDonald's while we were there to pick up two 20 piece nuggets, another expense for our “free” party.
the girls spent a lot of time in the pretend veterinary office
Miriam and Paige
would you trust these doctors with your pet?
Ellie, Katie, Miriam, Hannah, Ashlyn
Miriam, Katie, Ellie, Ashlyn
lunch break. Us Dicksons are so cheap! The windows behind us are where the official party room is where the birthday child gets to sit in a throne. No thrones for Miriam but she still had fun.
Building a fort.
They loved Dode's silly magic tricks where he'd "stretch" them. Looks more like child abuse to me!
No Ellies were harmed in the creating of the magic trick
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