Hummingbird Rescue

This hummingbird somehow found its way into our garage yesterday afternoon and spent over two hours flying around up near the ceiling, unable to find his way back out. I guess hummingbirds must not be terrifically bright. After a while we decided to take matters into our own hands and enlisted the help of a couple of our neighbors. Our neigbor Howie finally caught the hummingbird with the aid of a step ladder and a lacrosse stick, and threw it out the garage door to freedom.

I was a little disappointed, because our neighbor Kevin was in the process of plugging in his shop vac, for Plan B - attempting to suck the hummingbird right out of the air. I would have liked to see how that would have turned out.

At the Bus Stop

As it turns out, I left my camera battery charger in Boone, it seems. So I had to make do with my cell phone this morning for the obligatory first-day-of-school pictures. Hence the poor quality. I am going to try to stop by the camera store today to see if I can get a new one.

Last year during the first part of the year Ben's bus was always late - sometimes as much as 15 minutes late. After numerous complaints the driver was eventually reassigned. Today I was quite pleased to see that not only did Ben's bus arrive promptly at 7:55, but the bus driver handed out business cards to all the parents with his name and cell phone number, with instructions to call his cell phone if he is ever late. Seems like a good start.

Good luck on your first day of school, Ben!

Scavenger Hunt

This morning I took Ben to his elementary school's Open House day to meet his new first grade teacher, Ms. Bean. She is very tall, very skinny, and Ben hid behind me when I tried to introduce him to her. But she seemed nice. I got Ben's school supply list, and tonight I embarked on the annual scavenger hunt, which took about 3 hours and 3 stores to complete. (Minus one pink beveled eraser, which I just couldn't seem to find).

The item that took the longest to find were four black Marble composition books. You know, those ones you see ALL THE TIME and never buy because who wants a notebook without perforated sheets? Anyway, I totally couldn't find them in 3 different stores. Then finally, as I was about to give up for the evening, there they were: exactly four black marble composition books, sitting all by themselves on top of a shelf of other stuff near the register. Heavenly light shone down on them, angels sang, and I quick grabbed them before anyone could beat me to them.

School starts Wednesday. We've been sleeping until 7:45 all summer, and now we're going to need to be heading out the door to the bus stop at 7:45. Tomorrow we're going to do a dry run - I set Ben's alarm to 6:50. He doesn't know it yet though. It's sure to be a pleasant morning.

Final Days of Vacation

We wrapped up our last few days of vacation at home - Friday we went swimming, went out to dinner/listened to music at one of the outdoor summer concerts, and took care of the unpacking/laundry/grocery shopping.

Saturday we went to a bike store looking for a more comfortable seat for my bike. The bike store turned out not to be a good idea because a) there was a big dog in the store and Rebecca was afraid of it and b) Ben knocked over like four bikes. I was outside with Rebecca so didn't witness it, but Joel claims Ben knocked over like $10,000 worth of bicycles. We left in a hurry without purchasing anything, with both children crying, and went to Dick's instead. Much better idea.

Saturday evening was a much more enjoyable time, because Joel's parents babysat the kids. Joel and I went to a wine tasting at Total Wines and bought a few bottles of wine, had dinner at Dean & DeLuca, dessert at Pinkberry (of course) and saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Today we ventured out on a disastrous bike ride on the Greenway (both kids very whiny and refused to ride their bikes after a while). Upon reflecting that it was 87 degrees and we hadn't brought any water bottles along with us, we conceded that maybe this was partially our fault. Then, out of near total boredom, we went to the pet store and played with some puppies, and the kids and I all begged Daddy for a puppy, but he said we could not buy a puppy on a whim. Probably a good decision. Though they were very cute puppies.

Tomorrow Becca goes back to preschool, and Joel and I go back to work. Ben doesn't start school until Wednesday, but he has his Open House to meet his teacher tomorrow morning, and then his grandparents are taking him to lunch and a movie, so he should be pretty well occupied for tomorrow at least.

Tweetsie Railroad

We packed up this morning, and drove to Blowing Rock to drop off the keys to the cabin. We walked around the pretty downtown area, had lunch, and then drove the couple of miles to Tweetsie Railroad, a Western-themed amusement park that features a 30 minute train ride around the park in an old-style locomotive. Upon approaching the train Rebecca started doing her jumping-up-and-down-screaming fit, so (having learned the lesson yesterday) I stayed off with her and Joel and Ben took the train around the park themselves.

It was overcast and drizzling at times, but we still had a fun time at the park checking out all the attractions and going on lots of rides. Rebecca went on the merry-go-round 3 times, but besides that, she seems to have developed a sudden fear of anything that moves. We'll have to monitor that. Ben went on every ride he could find, including a couple that I wouldn't go on -- the ferris wheel (something about a ferris wheel on the side of a mountain in the rain that didn't appeal to me) and the Free Fall (which Becca called "the up and down").

Pictures:

Whitewater Rafting

Yesterday we drove into Tennessee (about an hour from where we were staying) for an ill-fated whitewater rafting trip on the Watauga River. It was billed as a "family rafting trip", suitable for ages 2 1/2 and up.

On the upside, the drive to and from Tennessee was very scenic, the river was pretty, the rain held off, and Ben enjoyed the rafting, which was for the most part just paddling through calm waters, with some very minor rapids in a couple of spots, and one small section of class 3 rapids. It would have been quite enjoyable, had it not been for the fact that Rebecca spent about 90% of the time jumping up and down screaming "I WANT TO GET OFF! I WANT TO GET OFF! I WANT TO GET OFF!" (She spent the other 10% of the time whimpering and talking to a family of ducks).

Joel threatened several times to kill me for forcing this adventure upon us, knowing the unpredictable temperament of our daughter. So, I take full responsibility for possibly having caused permanent psychological trauma to her, but I still insist that the day wasn't a total failure.

More Vacation Pictures

Some more highlights of our vacation so far include trout fishing (no pictures of the actual trout fishing because I was too busy doing the fishing, though I did get a picture of Ben eating one for dinner), Linville Caverns, Linville Falls, making s'mores in the wood-burning fire place (it keeps raining in the evening, preventing us from being able to use the outdoor fire pit), Mast General Store, and dinner at the Daniel Boone Inn.

Grandfather Mountain

(Or "Grandpa's Mountain" as Rebecca called it). I rediscovered my fear of heights. It was very pretty though, despite the fog.

A Positive Outlook

We headed up to Boone, NC today to begin our four night stay. The two hour drive was uneventful except for Ben's constant complaint that he didn't see any mountains (clearly false by the end of the trip; I think he was just being contrary because he was hungry).

The cabin we're renting, named A Positive Outlook, is beautiful! We settled in, took a little drive around town, did some grocery shopping, and grilled some hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner, and put Rebecca to bed. By the time all of that was completed it was 9pm, and yet Ben still insisted we should go check out the fire pit outside and see if we could get a fire going. We managed to accomplish a small one, after a while, since it was damp from an afternoon rain storm. But Ben got to toast some marshmallows, and was very happy -- until that is, I accidentally mentioned the B word (bears). All of a sudden he stood up and announced he was ready to go to bed! He says he'll be ready to do some s'mores around the camp fire tomorrow night, though. Hopefully by then he'll have forgotten about the B-E-A-R-S.

Tomorrow, provided we have good weather, we're going to check out Grandfather Mountain. But for now, below are some pictures of the cabin - enjoy!

Last Day of Camp

It's hard to believe it, but today is Ben's last day of summer camp. Where did the summer go?? Next week we are on vacation, and the week after that Ben starts 1st grade. I repeat -- where did the summer go???

We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our friends Jason and Adina and their daughter Chaya (age 3). They should be arriving later today. It will be their first time visiting us here in NC, though we've vacationed with them in various other locations the past two summers.

On Sunday we are heading up to Boone, NC, in the Appalachian mountains, where we will be staying in a brand new 4 bedroom log cabin. The kids are very excited that we're going to the mountains, though I am not sure exactly what they expect - Pretty sure Rebecca expects it to be cold and snowy there, as she keeps trying to tell me we need to bring her winter hat. Hope she is not too disappointed about that. We are expecting the weather to be pleasantly cooler than here in Charlotte - in the upper 70s, which will be a wonderful break from the 90+ heat we've had daily for what seems like months on end...

We've asked around about things to do in the area, and gotten a pretty good list of things to do and see during our stay... so stay tuned to read all about it!

The Love Affair with Pinkberry Continues

But what better way to cool off after a 95 degree day than a little pre-dinner Pinkberry "appetizer" (as Ben called it) followed by a splash in the fountain outside? We were joined by Becca's friends (and fellow frozen yogurt fans) Mira and Amelia. Everyone enjoyed their swirly goodness. Two mental notes: 1. Pinkberry is only FIVE MINUTES from Becca's preschool. 2. Ben and this whole reading thing is getting dangerous - he said to me, "Hey Mom, how come you're a fan of Pinkberry on Facebook?" I said, "How did you know that?" He said, "I was reading your Facebook page on the computer the other day." Too smart, too smart. That kid is getting way too smart. Pretty soon he'll discover the blog and call me out for writing something or other.

Reluctant Haircut

This morning I dropped Ben off at a friend's birthday party and attempted to take Becca to get her hair cut. She has not had her hair cut since January, which was a very trying ordeal for both of us and we were not eager to repeat it. This time she seemed very happy and eager to get her hair cut - until it was her turn, and she dug her heels in, started bawling and refused to get in the chair. Now, this was a kid-oriented salon, with chairs shaped like animals and cars, and DVD players showing The Little Mermaid at every station. I don't know what could be less intimidating. But intimidated she was.

So we left, went next door to Target, and did our other errands, during which time Becca cried and professed that she truly did want to get her hair cut, now. So we went back to the salon for another try. This time Rebecca did not cry, but made it clear after a few moments that she was not actually going to get in the chair. So we left again.

By this time I was thoroughly annoyed with my daughter.

We picked up Ben from his party, while Rebecca whined and cried that she wanted to get a hair cut. I decided to take the two of them to a different kid-themed hair salon, since Ben needed a hair cut too. My reasoning was that if Ben went first and Becca saw how easy and problem-free it was, she would be okay with getting her hair cut too.

So that was my plan. Except that as soon as Ben got in the chair (rather, airplane) to get his hair cut, he FREAKED as soon as the clippers touched the back of his head, and regressed to about the age of two, and cried and screamed and squirmed and required 3 people to hold his arms, head, and cut his hair.

Rebecca watched all this calmly for a few moments, then marched over to a fire-engine shaped chair, climbed in, and sat perfectly still and serene all the way through her hair cut.

So... I guess it worked. Sort of. I did get both hair cuts accomplished. It cost me a small fortune though, because I felt the need to tip almost the amount of a third haircut to make up for the trouble that Ben caused. And I took Ben's DS away for the weekend.

My reluctant haircut recipients:

Whatever Works

I actually snapped this pic of Rebecca while she was on the potty. (It's one of the few places where I can get her to sit still for a moment). The beaming smile is probably in anticipation of the fruit snacks she was about to earn for pooping on the potty.

Strep: A Good Excuse for a Mid-week Pinkberry fix!

Yes it's true what they say - every cloud has a silver lining... or, an Original Pinkberry lining topped with fresh strawberries and granola.

Feels Like Fall

For a day, anyway - I think the rest of the week it's going to be 90+, but today the high temp hit 80 maybe, and it was overcast and breezy for most of the day. Our cul-de-sac, which has seemed like a ghost town these last few weeks with the combination of the heat, humidity, and people being out of town on vacation, was once again filled with children playing all day long. We spent several hours outside with the kids while they rode bikes, played basketball, played with bubbles (Becca), caught bugs (Ben), swung, slid, got wet, etc.

We also had a visit from a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman, who I allowed to demo his vacuum by vacuuming and shampooing the carpet in our bonus room. Now the cat vomit stains are gone, and it smells lavender fresh! No, I did not buy the vacuum.

Tomorrow is Becca's first day of preschool - camp is over, and she starts August interim session. She graduates from Miss Lindsay's one year old classroom to Miss Kelly and Mr Alex's two year old classroom, right across the hall. Mr. Alex is Miss Lindsay's brother, and already one of Becca's favorite people, so she is very happy and I anticipate no separation anxiety tomorrow. It seems a bit anticlimactic that she's only in the two year old class, but they use the August 31 cut-off date same as the public school system, so my September baby has three more years of preschool before she can go to Kindergarten. Maybe I should have considered that when I timed her pregnancy - this whole September birthday thing is going to cost me an extra $10,000 in preschool tuition :P

Birthday Dinner

Last night Joel and I went out for my birthday. We sat at the bar at PF Changs and had a couple glasses of wine, appetizers and dinner, then walked over to the movie theater and saw Toy Story 3 and then afterwards went next door to Pinkberry for dessert. (Yes I planned my entire birthday dinner around Pinkberry). Pinkberry was mobbed, with a line out the door. Wondering if it's always going to be that way, or will eventually calm down?

Thanks to our friends Eric and Joanna for taking the kids for the evening, and thanks to American Express rewards points that we redeemed for PF Chang's gift cards, the entire evening cost only $30 (for the movie and Pinkberry). We'll be returning the favor and taking Eric and Joanna's kids for an evening, probably next weekend, so they can go out.