Updated: Vacation Station!

Let me tell you…having 9 days off of work w/ the most wonderful gurl in tha world is just bliss. We sure had a great time together. Ill sum up our days into categories.
Inside

We played so many games that you will have to pardon me if I don’t list them all. : ) We pulled the Care Bears off the shelf for the first time in a while and played a few games w/ them. A favorite Care Bear game has always been Care Bear school. There was the cool bus ride, some awesome classes, and a lunch line w/ celery at the end. : d We had the previously mentioned Pikachu birthday party. She got a pack of over 500 stickers and tattoos and we had a birthday cake. It was fun. The stickers generated some games. We had a sticker shop where animals waited in line to get stickers applied. We played more sticker book class and they were used in that game. She made a sticker book that included some of them. There was a puppet show that had some of them in it. Also used some for an outside game (more on that later). We played quite a bit of doctor over the vacation. Many different varieties. A few times she was the doctor and/or nurse, I was the dad, and either Kelly and Lionel or Margaret and Charlotte were my kids and the patients. These times were where she used her doctor kit and wore her doctor coat. A few times we played doctor w/ Neopets. Now this is a bit different from the other type of doctor play. The Neopets waited in line to go into a concealing box where they get shots. The JubJubs love shots and were happy if they had the most. Big purple Aisha was the doctor. What fun. We also did some doctor w/ the Garfield plush she got from Aunt Cheryl (more on that later). In this case Kelly and Lionel waited in the waiting room while Garfield got a shot. We have done many variations of this one. Sometimes using Pikachu, sometimes its shots, sometimes its picking fleas w/ tweezers, sometimes Kelly and Lionel are watching for a class, and sometimes they wait in the waiting room. Back to Neopets we played another game where the Neopets waited in line to get drinks and get into a club. Sounds bad, but it was innocent. There were to drink stands, one a good guy stand and another ran by the Electric Geleat that was trying to get the Electric Wakki to drink his drink for it was a love potion. All others were turned away. The club was a Build-a-Bear box and the Geleat tried and tried to get in, but was denied. We played plenty of Pokémon too. We had card and figure battles, and traded cards as well. We trade a few different ways but my fave has to be this one. She gets a square pillow and we each pick a card and put it on one side of the pillow. The pillow is what I would call a trading machine. It makes machine noises. The cards go into the sides and come out at the top of the machine. They are turned over and the names are announced. Now you can’t grab your new card now (trust me) because they are behind glass. The cards go back under the pillow and your new card comes out. Pretty sweet. We had a stellar tea part. It was MaryJane, Myself, Kelly, Lionel, and Pikachu. We love tea parties. Played w/ our pound puppies. It was a funny game where we took them to some kind of dog festival and they wanted to go to the game area, but they never got to go. We feed them, feed ourselves, and then b/c all we could hear when they were talking was barking we thought they wanted more food and kept giving them more. Hilarious. She got a new Pound Puppy as well. Her name is a tan cocker spaniel named Samantha, she was born in 2004, and she makes whining noises. Played us some babysitter. Her and Charlotte were the good kids while Margaret was the bad one and I was the father and the babysitter. A great game. Finally I will mention a game where Mario and Toadstool saved Princess Peach and Daisy. Mario didn’t do much other than cry like a big baby. My paper made Toadstool defeated enemies to advance e thru 8 levels to save the princesses. At first he fought stuffed animals, then he fought Pokémon, then he had began gathering his own Pokémon and used them to battle the other Pokémon. In the end he defeated Bowser and saved the Princesses and the Neopets village. : )

Outside

We always enjoy the outdoors and we did plenty in it as usual. We did a lot of swimming outdoors (more on that later) which was a total blast. We also went on a couple walks and played nature class. We found a Turtle in the road and put it in a high sided box…only to find it had escaped a short time later. Maybe the 3rd will be a charm? We want a pet turtle but they always get away before we can get a tank. We also went on a Homeschool field trip to where we spent some time outside…and yes (more on that later)...hehe. We played a game where her, Kelly and Lionel earned stickers (aka Badges) for completing challenges and games. She raced her scooter and kicked balls for her challenges and played hide and seek (indoors..sorry) and bowling for her games. They all earned many badges for their sticker…I mean badge books. We also played the game where we live in the forest and capture Kelly and Lionel. Great fun I tell ya.

Out and About

Alright. Here is the skinny on the away from home fun. Explanation for the pictures too. Where to start…Hobbs. Who knew we live 5 minutes from a national park. MaryJane, Christian, and I meet up w/ a ton of Homeschoolers. We began by touring the inside of the visitors center where we saw information on animals, caves, and lots of “stuffed” animals. It was cool. Next we were directed into a classroom where we watched a video about taking care of nature. It was interesting. After that it we mingled a bit in the atrium of the visitors center. MaryJane made a new friend (Picture 2 and 3) and handed out flowers to some of the girls. What a sweetie. Then some girl lead us outside and the kids played games. One where a few kids were hawks and the rest of the kids were baby birds. (picture 2) MaryJane was a the cutest of the baby birds and, despite trying to get caught by a hawn so she could turn into one, she didn’t get eaten. Hehe. And another game where one kid acted out an animal and the othes had to guess. MaryJane was the first to volunteer and can you guess what she is? (Picture 4) Ok…know that you’ve guessed it right, ill confirm; a bobcat. : ) After the museum we ran home, grabbed some grub, and headed down to the Prairie Creek pic-nic and swimming area to meet up w/ the other homechoolers for the annual “not-back-to-school” party. MaryJane swam, and swam. She hung out w/ her friend Lon. They rode on a real log a lot and made a lap around the outside of the swim area in tubes. I spent most of the time w/ Christian throwing rocks into the water. He loves to trhow rock….shoot everything for that matter. It was fun and my arm was sore for days. I did take him into the water a few times, but it was not his favorite. WE all had a wonderful time. Ok, ill stick w/ the swimming now. We swam 4 more time too. 2wice at the lake, 1nce at the jones center and 1nce at the springdale pool. The lake happened 2 days in a row. We spent a lot of time doing our moves. We played the mermaid game, practiced swimming, and just went crazy in the water. One really cool thing was she was eating goldfish crackers in the water the 2nd trip and on fell into the water beside her. Next thing I knew there was a fish beside her rand it gobbeled up the cracker. Kind a cool; kinda freaky. So we exited and threw half the box into the lake so we could watch the fish eat them. She picked out a bigger package at wal-mart last time…hmmm. Hehe. The Jones Center was not planned. We were going to go to the pool but b/c public school started back they aren’t open during the day. So her thought was Jones Center. What a smarty. When we got there even they were closed…until after school tho…so we hung out and played for an hour until it opened. It was really cool being the first people in the pool and besides about 5 other people we were the only one s there for the first hour or so. It rocked. We jumped into the deep and had a blast get swept around the kid pool. It has these blaster that make a current and we usually get in front of them and play, but with no one else in there to block the current it was strong all around the pool. She also made another friend named Jasmine that goes to the pool every Friday. They had fun playing together near the end of our stay. Another great time had. So the next day was to the pool. We couldn’t take it that we didn’t get to go the day before. It was relatively low attendance. We spent a lot of time climbing on the water creatures. She played w/ some other gurls a bit and we did a game where we made up hand signals and then got at opposite ends of the pool and tried to communicate. It was hilarious and so much fun. We did meow meow mutton head some and at the end of the trip I spun her around as if we were ballroom dancing. As if you could tell…we love the water. : ) We went to Church and that is always great. After Church the first Sunday we went to an awesome park. Sis told me about it cause otherwise you’d never know it was there. It is set back quite aways from the main road. It is Lake Atalanta Park. Really nice. We had a very nice picnic before we played. We played on the monkey bars, she swung; I pushed, and she got wet. There is a good stream running beside the park you wan wade in. Its good…and might cold. She didn’t care tho. By the end of the trip she was about soaked. We laid down on these bench like swings and swung too. It was crazy and fun. (Picture 1 is from the park) We made a trip to the library and paid a visit to Mermaids one day for lunch. We had our fav appetizer and she colored a pretty picture for me. Love that place.

School

We are almost to the 3rd grade. Yea. We polished off a History and a Science Lesson, leaving only one of each for the upcoming weekend. We learned about Motion and Newton’s 3 laws and we are in the midst of the colonists breaking away from English

rule and gaining their freedom. The tea party we had was part of our lesson about the Boston Tea Party. : ) She liked the Science and is very interested in the Heritage Studies, and I don’t blame her…its quite intense.

Classes

Well, aside from real school we did a lot of pretend school as we always do. That gurl can turn anything into a class and it’s just the best. As a said we had nature class. We also had cooking class 2 or 3 times and she was proud that one of her dishes was genuinely delicious. We had healthy class a few times. We have a hard time choosing between healthy class and lunch break. Both are such fun games. : ) We had some traditional classes like science, match, etc. in the car. We had reading class after she obtained a new Pokémon book. We had new pet class after she got her new Pound Puppy. Kelly always has a slug or a hermit crab in this game. Lionel usually brings dirt and/or a worm, but this time he brought a skunk. Pheewww. Haha.

Have you seen me lately?

Well, here I am…back at the Inn…and looking forward to serving up plenty of our famous ale and delicious spiced potatoes. What have MaryJane and I been up to you may be asking yourself. Boy do I have answers for you. : )

(Current)

This week’s been awesome. Tuesday night Sis and I traded Pokémon Cards, pretended to be Ash and Misty, had Pokémon card battles, cured Pikachu and Lionel of fleas, Kelly, Lionel and I learned how to brush a Pokémon’s Teeth, and we had a races b/w Pikachu, Kelly, and Lionel. Notice a theme here. Hehe. Wednesday night was more Pokémon card trading and watching Americas Got Talent. We created our own act and I assure you we could beat out all those people on this season we saw. : ) About time to get off work and them I’m not coming back….for a while. Hehe. Vacation time is here and very excited. I’m taking off all next week so that 9 consecutive days that I’m not here. Yippie. Sis and I are not doing anything huge, but we are going to have so much fun. When we are not playing our heads off inside / outside the house and working towards the 2nd grade finish line we will be doing some out and about activities including a visit to the Springdale Pool, Lokomotion, a Homeschool Field Trip to Hobbs National Park, and seeing “Ponyo” at theater. Library is tomorrow and we are celebrating Pikachu’s Birthday. In case you’re not a Pokémon Trainer, Pikachu is the most popular of the Pokémon. We are having cake, a tea party, and she’s getting a cute little gift.

(August 8-9)

Saturday was our out and about day. After some morning play time including cooking class w/ Kelly and Lionel we shipped off. Between 2 trips to the Library we racked up 27 books and 3 Pokémon movies. We discovered a section we had not looked thru and found a jackpot of classic story books and joke books. We went over to Siloam to visit Grandma Mary. She was doing well. It was very nice visiting w/ her. MaryJane modeled some new
clothes she got from her sweet aunt patty for us. Super cute. We had ice cream and hung out for a good hour and a half. When we got home I cooked up a big pot of bowtie pasta and she loved it so much she had it again for her bedtime snack and told me to make sure and put the left over’s in the fridge. Yummy. After church Sunday we headed home to do some school and play. We are in the process of finishing up 2nd grade. We have 2 lessons of Science and a 3 of Heritage Studies left. We are having fun w/ it and both learning a lot. 3rd grade is only weeks away. We had some sticker classes. Earlier in the week in the process of looking for some lost Neopets stickers we found a bazillion other stickers. When we have classes, unless it is cooking class, I am the teacher, MaryJane is a student / (sometimes my assistant), and Kelly and Lionel are the other 2 students (Kelly is good and Lionel is bad). The first sticker class was where they created sticker books and the second was where they put stickers on coins. We played more Orphans outside and came up w/ the cutest little cheer I guess you would call it. We clap our hands against the others and our own a few times a while saying 2 phrases (something about paca fruit and a house…hehe )and then jump up and down counting “1,2” a few times and then say “stop”. It super awesome I tell ya.

(August 1-2)

Another good time had this weekend. Saturday we kicked the day off w/ a walk in the rain. We strolled around a familiar “loop” of streets we frequent in the pouring rain w/ our umbrellas. I was hesitant to go, but MaryJane talked me into it…and it was quite fun. Other fun for this weekend included: We watched Garfield and Friends. She chooses this over SpongeBob…and that’s a feat for a show. We watch it during the week and every weekend. Played us some Neopets. Played this great game where Kelly and Lionel and I visited this Science place where MaryJane created things out of colored toothpicks, glitter glue and plastic utensils. We had to stay behind a glass wall and could only speak to her thru an intercom system. Lionel continuously tried to take off w/ the Science Experiments by dressing up as different things, like a delivery guy and stuff. It was great fun. We played it a bit on Sunday too. Saturday nite was Garfield Nite. We made homemade lasagna (Garfield’s fav), Bone cookies (Odie loves bones), and watched Garfield: Pet Force. It was super awesome. Sunday morning I made her a Garfield bookmark while she played Webkinz and then it was off to Church. On the way there we played Neopets Puzzles and Games Class and on the way to, and at the community garden, we played Field Trip Class. On the way home we were going to Africa and when we got home she dressed up like an African woman and visited w/ Kelly, Lionel , and I. We picked Honeysuckles…well, Kelly, Lionel and I did….she was the queen and we were her servants. Haha. We also played w/ superhero figures and Barbie’s together. The Barbie’s had to be rescued by the Superheroes. With the goodies w/ picked from the Garden we played cooking class. MaryJane taught us how to make a dish called…hmmm, something w/ pony in the name. I thought it turned out great and we had it as our side w/ Sundays lunch. The time before when we picked the garden we played a game where I was the father, she was the mother, Kelly was the good kid and Lionel was the bad kid. We pretended to pick the veggies and tho cook them up in a big pot. Lionel didn’t get to eat b/c he didn’t help. Poor kitty. Hehe. Had a lot of fun outside as usual too. We played a game of Orphans and a game where I am the cranky big brother. When we play Orphans we pick Honeysuckles and Persimmons (or what we call “Paca Fruit”) and pretend like we find refuge at a abandoned house (our house). Hehe. Played a game of Barbie’s in the tub before bed and 1 story later she was snoozing. : )

(July 25-26)

We spent a lot of time in the water over the weekend…and our sunburns proved it. Who knew you could get a sunburn when the sun isn’t shining? No I; lesson learned. Hehe. After the cancelled trip to the pool on her Birthday she was very anxious for the trip last Saturday. We grabbed some Subway and had us a nice little picnic at the park between the pool and the library. I pushed her on the swing for a long time afterwards. She was flyin high I tell ya. I then buried her in the volleyball court to make sure she was nice and sandy before entering the pool. Haha. We played in that pool for what I would say was close to 3 hours. Played some Simon Say’s (man she’s good and I seriously lost one time on the first thing she said..geezzz). I spun her around while she stood on the front of my thighs leaning back, then tossed her numerous times. Hard to explain, but mucho fun. She later named this “Meow Meow Muttonhead”. Haha. We also jumped into the water numerous times. She would do moves and then I would have to try and copy her. I did decent. She spent a lot of time climbing on the creatures (dragon, shark, stinger, etc.). We had a blast. So you would think that would be enough water for one weekend, but no way José…we wanted more. So a while after Church Sunday we headed down to the boat dock/swimming area to play in the water. She tested out her new raft (ehh...kinda flimsy). We spent a lot of your time playing Meow Meow Muttonhead and “Boo Boo”. This is where I sit on the bottom, she stands on my shoulders, I get to my feet, and the spring up as she jumps from my shoulders. You know this one I’m sure. It isn’t allowed at the public pool so w/ enjoyed doing it a million times in the no rules lake. : ) We also spent time playing the game where she is a Mermaid, but it’s a secret and Kelly and Lionel don’t know. They try to get her to come out of the water to no avail. She practiced trying to swim for the 1st time too. She did pretty good, but has work to do. We will keep after it.