Where is the cricket?

Boogs heard a cricket in his playroom while I was taking a shower. He decided that he had to find it. When I came back to his playroom this is what I found

He said he did finally see the cricket but then it disappeared behind the bookcase. What a mess! It looked worse in person.

Sunday Afternoon

We had a quiet Sunday. I was going to take Boogs to the sandbox/sprinkler park but my car would not start. So, our plans ended up changing. We had lunch at one of Boogs' favorite restaurants, Chuy's. Boogs practically drinks the creamy jalapeno dip. When he was little, I gave him Corn Chex to dip in the creamy jalapeno because I did not want him eating the tortilla chips. He still prefers to eat creamy jalapeno and his salsa with Corn Chex.

After lunch, we ran a few errands. My husband told Boogs he could get a treat at the grocery store. Typical boy! Boogs chose a type of candy called the "Sour Flush". It had two lollipop "plungers" that you can dip into a toilet bowl filled with sour candy powder. Boogs LOVED it. Why are boys so attracted to such gross things?

Quick quote

We went to a Kindermusic demo class with my mom's playgroup on Wednesday. The instructor had the kids sing while tapping different parts of their bodies like knees, shoulder, head. She then asked what else you could tap. Boogs said, "You could just tap your body." She asked if he could name a specific body part. So he answered, "Your large intestine is a body part." Yes it is. She told him we could not tap that so how about we just tap our tummies.

Hamilton Pool

Last week we went with some friends to Hamilton Pool Preserve. There is a 1/4 mile trail down to the swimming area. The pool is a beautiful natural swimming hole with a small waterfall. They only allow 75 cars into the preserve at a time. We arrived shortly after they opened and got right in. Boogs and the "three J brothers" (as Boogs calls them) put on their life jackets and took off. The pool area is not very big so they were never too far away. The boys loved going on the path under the grotto and walking behind the waterfall. Boogs did not like standing under the waterfall because, "it is too stingy and makes my skin hurt".  He had a great time. It is so nice that he is big enough to put on a life jacket and go without me being glued to his side. We will definitely have to go here again while the pool is still open this summer. (D, Thanks for the photos of me and my boy!)

Music Monday Preschool Camp

I got a little behind on my posts. Our summer is officially over this week. I go back to work at the Mother's Day Out program on Monday. We have had our last two Monday Preschool Camps at my house. Boogs has already told me he misses them and wants to keep having his friends over every Monday.

For Music week, we read Lentil by Robert McCloskey. It is a cute book about a town preparing for a visit by a VIP. One of the town's citizens tries to spoil the celebration by sucking on lemons to make the band members unable to play their instruments. Lentil, a young boy, saves the day by welcoming the VIP with a song on his harmonica The kids loved the book. We stopped reading halfway through the book and sucked on a few lemons to see if it would make us pucker up. Boogs looked so cute with his sour face. After we finished the book, I gave each of the kids a harmonica and we had a harmonica parade all around the house. 

One of Boogs’ favorite CDs is “Counting Games and Rhythms for the Little Ones” by Ella Jenkins. We got out our box of instruments and jammed for half an hour while listening to the CD. I am sure our neighbors love us.

For our kitchen activity we had a lemon/lime taste test and then made some lemon/limeade. All three kiddos had to work together to use the lemon juicer. We had a taste test between our homemade lemon/limeade and some store bought Countrytime Lemonade. Boogs said he liked the Countrytime best but then tried them both again and said it was a tie. 

For our craft, we used construction paper, popsicle sticks and rubber bands  to make homemade harmonicas. They do make a sound. The kids were much more interested in their real harmonicas, but did play with these for a bit. I found the directions here:

http://mayamade.blogspot.com/2010/07/diy-harmonica.html

It was a fun day together. 

Camping

Boogs has really missed visiting Grandmaman and Grandpapa this summer. He frequently talks about the camping trips we have had in Canada the past two summers. Recently, we went camping at Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown with some friends. Boogs had such a good time hanging with the big kids, making smores, eating junk food, peeing on trees, checking out all sorts of bugs, swimming in the lake, sleeping in the tent and looking at the stars. Here are a few pics from our weekend campout.

Muddy Day

Boogs and I went to the sprinkler park with some friends last week. Instead of playing in the water, Boogs poured lots of water in the dirt and made a mud pit. He spent almost an hour moving the mud around, making mud pies, and smearing it all over his body from head to toe. Several other children at the sprinkler park left the water to make mud pies with Boogs. I remember spending hours in the backyard with my sister playing in the mud. I was glad he was able to rinse off before we left.

San Gabriel Dinosaur Tracks

Last week we went with some friends to see the dinosaur tracks beside the river. Boogs was so happy to have three boys to play and explore with on this adventure. At one point, all four boys were walking in the water. Boogs looked at me, with water up to his knees, and asked, "Is it okay if I get my socks wet?" A little late, but I liked that he asked. The kiddos seemed more interested in climbing rocks and wading through the water than the actual dino tracks.

Boogs' Latest Story

Boogs and I often make up stories. Every once in a while, Boogs will ask me to write down the story he tells. He draws the pictures to go with the story and then we make little books out of them. We read David Kirk's book Nova the Robot: Nova's Ark. It is about a robot who goes on an adventure in space and makes animal robots from the wreckage of his spaceship. After the story, Boogs and I drew our own robot animals and then Boogs decided to tell a story about our robots. So, here is his latest mystery story:

Once there was a robot town. Invisiby robot was slithering along. He went up a hill, over a bump, down a hill, jump, slide, and then go down. The robots are trying to find the mystery of the flying dragon who scooped up a penny. He dropped it into a bird's nest and the bird dropped it into a volcano. The volcano was almost about to explode while the penny was still in there. The volcano was on the other island. They were trying to get there in time. The volcano shot fire rocks and then stopped. The robots got closer and then the next eruption started, a little hot lava. Then the next eruption was about to start but they got close enough to save the penny. The mystery is the robots trying to find the coin. They found it. The End.

Here is a picture of Rowby the Robot kicking a fire rock:

Interesting Comparisons

Boogs has been into comparisons A LOT lately. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don't. Here are a few of my favorites:

This is going to be as boring as eating a green pea. (while waiting for me to get a haircut)

Whew, the sun makes me feel as hot as a bee in a lunchbox.

I am as fast as a bulldog.

Superfinder is smarter than a jackal. (after hearing the story of The Tiger and the Brahmin)

My playroom is as messy as a barn.

Not a comparison - while talking about The Tiger and the Brahmin, Boogs told me that the jackal and the Brahmin had to "un-smart" the tiger.  I told him the word to use is "outsmart". He argued and said, "No, Momma. They had to un-smart him because he was smart. Not outsmart him cause he was not in-smart."

There are so many other comparisons he has made lately, but I have forgotten to scribble them down. They make me laugh and then I forget them. Usually we are in the car when he says these gems. I love my boy!

Professional Pics From Bodybuilding Competition

Capital of Texas Round-Up 2010

Visiting with Friends

Boogs and I went to see a friend of mine that I have known since the first day of kindergarten. She was in town visiting her mom and invited us over to visit and swim. She has a daughter, "O", who is the same age as Boogs and a one-year-old. Boogs and O got along so well. It was amazing. They played games, read books, followed each other around, and played outside. It was such a nice visit. We swam before and after lunch. Then we walked down the road and fed the neighbor's horse a few carrots. The kids really liked the horse. The one-year-old liked the horse until he took her carrot, then she cried. We had not intended to stay so long and did not leave until bedtime. Boogs fell asleep in the car on the way home and transferred straight into his bed. He was a very tired boy.

There's a champion bodybuilder in the house!

My husband has been working so hard to get ready for his first bodybuilding competition. His dedication and hard work has been amazing! This is a picture of him in April 2009:

Here is a picture of him on stage taken at his bodybuilding competition yesterday, Aug. 2010 (on left):

When he sets his mind to accomplish something, nothing holds him back. Boogs and I went to the prejudging portion of the competition yesterday morning. Boogs and I made a sign that said, "GO DADDY!" Boogs decorated it with stickers. He was proud to see his daddy up on stage.

Many people backstage told my husband he was going to win his class. He was excited and nervous for the evening show. The evening show was a lot of fun. We had about 20 LOUD friends and family cheering for him. He said we were so loud that he had trouble hearing his music for his posing routine. It was very exciting to see him win both the Men's Lightweight Novice and the Men's Lightweight Open classes. He brought home two large swords for trophies. Because he won his class, he got to go up to compete for overall bodybuilder of the competition. He looked small next to the heavy weight and ultra heavy weight winners.  But he also looked the most shredded. He pushed his way between two of the big guys to do some poses during the overall pose down. This is a not so great piece of video of him moving aside the big boys. He is in the green trunks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kioaF5aLYYc

My mom went with me to the show. She had a good time cheering for all of the participants because, "They all worked hard to get there and deserved to hear someone cheering for them." I love my mom! I took my mom home while my husband went to the after party. I made it home a little before midnight and he came in around 2 am. We sat on the couch and talked about the show and the entire day. Then around 3 am we headed to What-a-Burger to get burgers and fries. Foods that have been taboo for months! While we were waiting for our order, a young guy (early 20s) came up to my husband and asked if he had been in the Capital of TX bodybuilding competition earlier that evening. Then he said, "Aren't you the guy that won two classes?" It was pretty weird that 5 hours and 25 miles away from the show someone recognized my husband. We stayed up until almost 5 am. It was a great night after months of intense work. I am so glad and so proud that my husband accomplished his goal.

Edible Playdough

So what do you do when it is 101 degrees outside? We stayed inside and made edible playdough today. Boogs helped me measure and mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, honey, and powdered milk to make the playdough. It was a pretty sticky job. There was a lot of licking going on.

After we had the playdough formed into a ball, we pulled off bits and started making our creations. Boogs made a snowman, a mouse, a monster with chocolate chip eyes, and a squirrel with Cheerios eyes. When we finished playing, we had a little sweet snack with the leftover dough. YUM!  Then we put our creations in the fridge so Daddy can see them when he gets home.

After Boogs saw the pictures on my computer, he decided to name the monster "The Funky Woo-Waa".