Bike Riding and a movie review

We had a very relaxing weekend. I spent a good chunk of my Saturday morning fight fires at work (ugh!), but that quickly melted away and I was able to spend some quality time with the family! Most importantly: Adam decided it was time to ditch the training wheels! W00t! Ironically, he did it at almost the exact same age as Geary - 2 months before his 8th birthday. A little history on this: Earlier in the week, Dan & I had been discussing how strange it was that Adam wouldn't ride his bike. Dan figured it was because he was the only one with training wheels still on his bike. We both figured with the gymnastics classes Adam has been taking, his balance should be outstanding. So, Saturday morning, Dan suggested that he take the wheels off the bike and Adam agreed. It took Adam all of 5 minutes to get his balance and take off down the street!

--celebrate stamp by Ali Edwards

It was just a matter of time (Sunday, to be exact!) before Adam, Geary & Ryan were having bicycle races up and down the street:



Besides bike riding, I did take the boys to see Madagascar 2. We agreed that it wasn't as funny as the first Madagascar (one of my favorite kid movies!), but it wasn't horrible, either. I'd give it a Little Man Sitting Attentively in his Chair (from the San Francisco Examiner Sunday Pink Section).

I got a tag from another digi scrapper, so if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged as well :)
TODAY'S TO-DO LIST:
Work. Get the boys to do some of their homework. A trip to the grocery store. Watch Monday Night Football, in the hopes I might come from behind and beat my BIL in Fantasy Football.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER:
Not sure. Danny has late class, so it's just me and the boys - that's why we're going to the grocery store after school.

2 CURRENT SONG CHOICES:
Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
Alive by Pearl Jam

2 CURRENT FAVORITE TV SHOWS:
I'm not a big TV watcher, unless it's sports...

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED:
Madagascar 2

LAST CHORE YOU COMPLETED:
Put away some folded laundry

COFFEE OR TEA:
Coffee!

BOOK YOU ARE READING:
Wuthering Height by Emily Bronte
The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno

SHOE SIZE:
6 1/2

FAVORITE COLOR:
Pink

FAVORITE NUMBER:
5

IF YOU COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AT THIS VERY MOMENT, WHERE YOU YOU BE:
DisneyWorld with my kids


I'll leave you with this layout about Adam's most recent accomplishment:

--full credits in my gallery at My Scrapbook Art

Back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Enough of the political nonesense.

Geary got a promotion of sorts in swimming last night. His coach moved him to a new lane so he can swim with the faster swimmers. The coach told Geary that he's good and that in the old lane, he was being held back by the other swimmers. This freaked out Geary a bit. He told me after practice that he couldn't keep up with the other boys. But as I watched practice, he was keeping up with them just fine until the very end. The coach and I talked to Geary after practice and got him to promise to swim with the "better" swimmers for a week and if he didn't like it, he could move back with the "slower" swimmers. I tried to give Geary a pep talk after practice - the whole rah rah you're awesome speech. But I also explained to him that the only way to improve is to swim with the better, faster swimmers. I'm sure he's disappointed because in his old lane, he was the fastest swimmer, but now he's no longer the fastest in his lane. I can understand his hesitation and fear at suddenly not being the best. But I know this will help him in the long run. When I explained to him that it was a promotion from Bronze I to Bronze II and that none of the other kids had been promoted, his eyes lit up! I hope this acts as some motivation to keep him trying hard.

And...just a little layout to pump up my Fly Man!

Credits can be found here at My Scrapbook Art

The hypnotized never lie...

Do they????

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they were all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

Yeah!

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss...

I think Pete is brilliant - and so right.
'Nuff said!

I keep hearing...

How this is the most important election EVAH! Sorry peeps! About every 10 or 15 years, we hear the same thing. I wasn't able to vote the first time Ronald Reagan was elected President...but it was the most important election ever! Twelve years later, when Bill Clinton was running for President on a "Hopeandchange" message, it was "the most important election ever." Once again, we are hearing it's the most important election ever. EVERY ELECTTION IS IMPORTANT! You (yes, YOU!) should vote in each and every election. Pay attention! Stay involved! Stay connected! It's your right AND duty as an American citizen to vote. It's the only way to affect change. So We Don't Get Fooled Again!

Public Service Announcement

--everything by Gina Miller. Credits at myscrapbookart.com

No matter your political affiliation, today is the day! Get out and vote! And earn the right to complain about the Government for the next 4 years if your guy doesn't win.

Halloween

The boys had a really good Halloween. First, they designed their own pumpkins for Dan to carve. I'm not sure who loves this more, the boys or Dan :)


Then they had to pose for Mom...Adam is in character (our little Obi Wan), but I'm not sure where the Ninja-Gangster pose came from...


And Dan couldn't be left out of the "costume" thing, since he was chaperoning:


Where was I? At home passing out candy to the tricksters that came to our door. I probably had about 10 sets of kids come knocking...including this motley crew!

It's great to have a group of friends in the neighborhood that you can run around with!

My favorite trickster of the evening was a little boy - probably about 4 years old - dressed as Darth Vader. When I answered the door, he told me he was worried that vampires had taken over my house because I had "danger signs" in the front yard.

Gotta love the imagination of litte kids.

Overall, it was a great evening for the kids. After trick-or-treating, then spent about 30 minutes down the street jumping on a trampoline...because running around several blocks just isn't enough excercise, is it?

A Lesson in Self Portraits

or, Why You Shouldn't Leave Your Camera With a 9 Year Old.

Geary had his first swim meet this weekend. It's different from Summer League swimming. The kids are required to "circle in" (circle their number on the Heat Sheets). They are also responsible for getting their Heat Number/Lane Assignment once it's been published. So, being the Mom, I went up to the great hoarde of people to figure out Geary's Heat Numbers and Lane Assignments. I figured it would be safer to leave the camera with him..HA! This is just one of the fun little surprises I found on my camera :)

The swim meet was a huge success! Geary had a fantastic time and did very well. On Saturday he swam the 100 Free, 100 Breaststroke and 50 Butterfly. He even won his heat in the 100 Free! On Sunday, he swam the 50 Free and 50 Breaststroke. The results still haven't been posted, so I don't know the final outcome, but I am a very proud Mama! His coach was really impressed, too. He told me he thought Geary would excel in Breaststroke - which is Geary's favorite stroke!

Here are a few photos. We weren't allowed to use flash inside the Natatorium during the competitions, so it was hard to get good action shots. But, I think these are a good representation:

--Self posed :) Geary wanted to make sure his team cap was showing!


--Waiting for his heat to begin.


--Take your mark!

The Amazing Things You See...

Or, why I should carry my camera with me at all times!

I was driving to work this morning a little later than normal. As I cut through the neighborhood, I saw a couple walking with their baby. The wife was wearing a Snuggli and the baby was grinning and waving her arms about. They looked like your average, happy family. OK, what so amazing about that? Nothing...except it sets up my next sight. I turn the corner and down the street I see another woman walking. I can see from behind that she also is wearing a Snuggli. As I pass her, I look in my rearview mirror to see the baby, but instead I see...
.

.

.

.

A YORKSHIRE TERRIER!!!!!!

Oh, how I wish I had my camera!

Finally, here's my Sunday photo from my Week in the Life series. Next week, I'll start sharing my completed LO's.

A Week in the Life

I am a huge fan of Ali Edwards. Her ability to capture the simple things in life really appeals to me. So, I was really excited to follow along on her "Week in the Life" challenge. I have one more day to complete the challenge, but here are some highlights from the first 6 days:













I've really enjoyed carrying around my camera this week. It really got me thinking about all the "things" that I see and do during a week. I'm not sure there is any "normal" week for this family LOL! But, this is as close to what we normally do as any other week.