Gimmesomeofthat

In less than two days we're leaving for California to attend my brother's wedding. There are 5,003 things on my "to-do" list before our departure. Item #115: "Blog."

* We have good news and news. The good news is that Mark will never be Elder's Quorum President again! The news is that yesterday he was called to be 2nd counselor in our ward's Bishopric.
* A few weeks ago, Mark's brother Eric made a last-minute and way-too-short visit out to see us. He was only able to stay one day, but got to go to the beach and see the shuttles on the pads and do the regular touristy-stuff. We realized it have been almost 3 1/2 years since we've seen Eric and his family. That's especially not good because, since they have four kids, they constitute half of all of Aubree and Bryce's cousins. Aubree loved having Eric around and for a week after he left, all her pretend adventures took place in "Arizona."

Eric & Mark @ Playalinda beach

* Bryce loves to talk. Granted, most of what he says is pure gibberish to me, but it sure sounds like he's trying to carry on a long and detailed conversation. He does have a few words/phrases that we can understand. For example, his favorite thing to say is still "Tank-oo" (thank you). He also says, "Uh oh," "daw" (dog), "da doe!" (let's Go!", "Dad," "Up," and finally (finally!) has started to say "Mama" again. The other night at dinner Bryce really, really wanted juice. He kept pointing at the glass and repeating the same phrase which sounded suspicially like, "Gimme-some-of-that!"

*Speaking of pointing, Bryce has discovered great power in his index finger. Imagine, by pointing said finger, you can get Mom or Dad or Aubree to get you just about anything you want. He seems to really enjoy being able to make his needs and wants known.
* Continuing with the Bryce theme - he's become such sneaky little guy. He's learned to run, but only does so when he's heading to some forbidden item or place. He waits for me to turn my back and *zip* he's goooone. He also has a sixth-sense for knowing when someone has accidently left the bathroom door open, even if just a crack. Away he flies to unwind the toilet paper, slam the lid to the toilet, or pull open the sink cabinets. This evening during the opening prayer for FHE he took the opportunity to sneak away. When he saw me coming after him, he quickly closed the bathroom door to keep me out, laughing all the while! Where does he come up with this stuff?!
* Bryce is also entering his destucto phase. The only thing he likes better than pulling down books, throwing blocks and balls, knocking all the fridge magnets on the floor, and wreaking havoc wherever he goes, is playing with shoes. He used to put the shoes in his mouth, but now he's content to mess up his Dad's neat rows and carry them around the house. He has a secret hiding spot behind the computer desk and I've found a few shoes back there.
*Aubree's pretend play is quite amusing. In her latest scenarios, I am Belle from Beauty and the Beast (which sure beats being the wicked step-mother which was my last long-term role). "So," I asked her one day, "does that mean Daddy's the Beast?" "Yes," she replied, but you have kids, so that means he's already been turned into a prince." She has also been insisting that she is a "baby princess." That can get annoying because, as we all know, babies can't talk and like to be carried. Aubree also enjoys giving her dolls and stuffed animals names. Some names are more traditional. For example, she calls one of her dolls "Lila Joan." Other names are more creative. She dubbed one of her stuffed dogs "Pinso." The amazing thing to me is that she remembers these off-the-wall names and is fairly consistent in using them. A few months ago she started calling Bryce "Givee." I don't know where or why she came up with that, but it's starting to stick...
* For "school" this month Aubree and I have been learning about bugs and insects. I wasn't too thrilled about the topic (bugs? no thanks!), but our friends were doing the same thing so we went along with them. As we've gone through these different themes, the biggest thing I've learned is how little I really know and understand. It's pretty sad, really. I have to learn things right along with Aubree. We did pretty well at the beginning of the month, but then we got a little hung-up on butterflies. There are just way too many fun butterfly books and crafts (plus, doesn't it sound better to learn about butterflies than, oh say - cockroaches?). One of our favorite activities was decorating butterfly and flower sugar cookies. That's a guaranteed hit with Aubree since she's a sugar-fiend, but what she ended up liking the best was the fact that she got to use the knife all by herself.
* About a month ago I went to pick up Aubree from Sunbeams and her teacher related the following conversation:
Teacher: Aubree, you're so smart.
Aubree: Yeah, I know.
Teacher: That's because you have such smart parents.
Aubree: (thinks for a minute, then answers) "No, I'm much smarter than they are."
* I guess sometimes kids have to learn things the hard way. The other night Aubree was "hepping" Mark make dinner when for some yet-to-be-determined reason, she decided to touch the burner. The result? Lots of tears, a nasty blister, and a vow to "never, NEVER" touch the stove again.
* Last week I took the kids to the zoo again. We spent a little bit of time looking at our favorite animals before trying out some new adventures. Of course, Bryce didn't want anything to do with the stroller and Aubree begged and pleaded to ride. That's what I like to call a lose-lose situation. Thank goodness for my sling! We took the opportunity to go on the little train ride right through "Africa." We were the only passengers on the train. We got so close to an ostrich we could have reached out and touched it. I thought that was neat, but the kids weren't overly impressed. I spent most of the ride trying to keep Bryce from jumping off. The majority of our time at the zoo was spent in their new "paws-on" exhibit. They have wading pools for the kids to play in, complete with buckets, toys, and fountains. Whoever came up with that idea is a genius! Aubree had a blast. Bryce was less sure of the whole situation and preferred to stay sitting with me watching what was going on. It's so hot here already that I'm sure we'll make use of the pools frequently.
*I have to take a minute to brag about my cub scouts. They made the coolest dinosaur diorama out of paper-mache. I was so impressed!

*Finally, here are a few pictures from our recent car washing adventure (as a side note...why didn't we wash the cars earlier? It's been months since Florida has had any rain and it's a well known fact that as soon as you wash your car, it will rain, as proven by the torrential downpours today).

We're growing an Aubree tree.