I did it!

I painted my hair!!

Okay that part was really an unfortunate, though amusing, side effect of the long time coming painting of the kitchen.

Celery green went cerulean and cream tile went Jalepeno while cabinets turned chalkboards. Big fun.

Sedona, for one, had a blast squeezing her roller with her hands. She went to wash off the paint and returned with carefully remaining blue finger nails - had scrubbed the rest off, strategically leaving behind those little fingernails. It is a lovely color.

A rather warm, but magic nevertheless, house

Monday we found ourselves at The Magic House with friends. It is a children's museum of sorts, full of simply fabulous exhibits, experiments, tunnels and most famously - Children's Town, complete with victorian house, grocery store, pizzaria, library and more. It is fabulous - if somewhat of a mad house. There aren't any pictures of the hour we spent in a mock grocery store because I was employed restocking plastic produce while Jordan manned the register and deligated, ever so diplomatically, other (lesser, he might say) duties to pretty much every other kid in the joint.

I overheard Sedona asking for a turn at the register and Jordan, very much in store manager character, replied with, " I actually have an even more important job that needs to be done. But its big. Do you think you can do it? It will make you second in command and that is really important. Can you handle it? Okay, I need you to be in charge of arranging all these detergent bottles and other things behind me."

Notice he didn't simply say no. Nope, he's a smooth one. And she was thrilled to be second in command.

Other highlights included the giant bubble, electromagnetic orbs and of course. . .climbing.

Back to the beach!

What else is there to do on a 95 degree day Saturday but swim (and build sand castles with your dad)? You'll notice no pictures of Jordan as I wasn't able to shoot fast enough in the split seconds he'd emerge from the murky depths.

How old are you?

Somewhere along the way, the kids have moved out of diapers and out of strollers, past the need for binkies and sippy cups. . . and somewhere along the way, become actual people. But have I managed to move out of thinking that they NEED me for every little thing? This part of the equation is much tougher.

Every one of the last 4 summers here has held with it various reasons why we couldn't simply live at the pool. Most often it was because my two little hands simply were no match for 3 kids under 3 plus Jordan near large bodies of water. I thought it foolish and unrealistic to imagine hauling all the kids I babysat plus my two to the pool. So we never did. We became sprinkler experts, cheap inflatable pool proficient but never did we dare venture into the wonderful community pool just down the street from our house.

We'd even watch from the playground next to the pool as what seemed like billions of people sweat and burned and yelled and played and, presumably, had a blast. But as I watched I could only think "Ugh, what a nightmare. Chasing children, using pool bathrooms, sooo crowded. No thanks."

I couldn't have been more wrong!! And boy were we missing out.

Friday I shocked Jordan and myself when I granted a request to take him and a friend(Natalie) to Alligator's Creek (the pool down the street). We were there almost 4 hours and couldn't have had a better time.

Granted, there was some confusion at the outset. We approached the window to pay our admission fee and I said, "Two kids and myself". (Natalie has a season's pass).
But then I didn't understand what the woman behind the glass was asking me. And so I repeat. . .

"Just two children and myself."

And she said, "And how old are you?"

"I'm sorry?" I was already confused and we weren't even inside the pool yet!!

"How old are you?"

"Me?"

"Yes. How old are you?"

"27."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!!! Well, i guess you can be flattered . . . i wasn't sure. . . " and so on as she attempted to recover from her mistake.

And then I realized that she hadn't thought that I was 18 and a valid guardian for the minors I had in tow.

Oh man.

So here is the moral of my long and winding story -
Jordan is not 4 and Sedona is not 2 (well, and I'm not 16). I learned a valuable lesson Friday as I sat on the edge of the splash pool watching Sedona befriend any number of kids, help a girl smaller than herself reach the fountain and team up with 2 older boys in a silly game. Meanwhile, Jordan swam to his heart's content in the big pool, making new friends, running into old ones and learning all kinds of new tricks. He didn't need me to micromanage his swimming adventure and neither did she.

The sign outside the entrance said that kids under 9 need to have an adult with them. Is that to suggest that by next summer. . . I won't even need to be there with Jordan?! The reality of how much they've grown is slow to set in. 9 is 9, not 15 and 4 is still very much 4. . . but seeing them as people I get to hang out with instead of little ones to manage has changed the way we interact so much and I gotta tell ya . . . we're having a blast.

Seeing Red?

So the slideshows have gone berserk, simultaneously turning red!

I don't know why. But bear with me. . . I promise to fix it somehow.

Any suggestions as to what the problem might be? Temporary? Photobucket? My computer?

Oh me oh my.

Burn, baby, burn

I'm like the What-Not-To-Do poster girl for the American Cancer Association. Where there is sun. . . there is pink Jana despite any and all efforts at sunscreen. I am going to have to get a gargantuan hat, one that promises to cover me and 6 neighboring sun-seekers, err, sun-hiders.

I'm demanding a common sense warning label on all spray-on sunscreens. Just as coffee now says "CAUTION - HOT!" and cigarettes promise cancer, and alcohol warns trouble for pregnant women . . . I want spray-on sunscreen to warn idiots like me that the effectiveness of the spray may be related to the velocity and direction of the wind when applied.

In other words. . . don't spray it on outside!!! I'm a lobster!!! Listen to me, people!!

Yes, this is common sense and yes, I am a relatively intelligent adult and yes, I am burned to a crisp. So take heed. CAUTION- DO NOT APPLY UNDER WINDY CONDITIONS

Burning aside, we had a fabulous day at the "beach" Tuesday. I use scare quotes because I wonder what really constitutes a beach. Is it the presence of sand? The combination of sand and water? Must there be waves? I really don't know.

Nevertheless, we went to Cuivre River State Park and found a lovely little "beach" complete with sand and sun, oh and plenty of water.

To the Zoo!

Back in St Louis again, we made our way to the zoo Monday after the food pantry. Sedona has been desperate to see th snakes and lizards but the last 2 times we were there, the reptile house was closed. So we tried again and this time met with great success.

Sedona's favorite was the pig-nosed turtle, while Jordan opted for a shedding lizard. We even saw what we think must have been lunch trying to stay as far away from the dining snake as possible - about 8 feet up on the glass! We came out just in time to see the sea lions being fed. Jordan did a rousing imitation, startling nearby adults and children alike.

The Dinoroarus exhibit was nice but for the dino expert we have here it was a little bit old hat. But again, great pleasure was found in over- acting and posing for pictures.

Morton Arboretum - Lisle, IL

We were able to make a trip up to Naperville last weekend and managed a little bit of time for exploring the Arboretum on Saturday.

Sedona slept through the first half of the trip but once she was awake she was going full speed. There were giant bugs (which Jordan loved shrieking and posing with), gardens and tree houses, rivers to walk through and even a souvenir watering can and bug goggles (Thank you, Grandma Marianne!).

A wonderful time was had by all but Sedona's flip flops. While climbing we left her shoes down on a bench, in the time it took us to navigate the tree house, someone took the shoes to the lost and found. Oops. The only bad thing was that it took us another 20 minutes to find out that they were in the lost and found and hadn't just been misplaced by us.

Monday, Monday, Monday (Yes, I know that it is Wednesday!)

So Monday means Food Pantry. We volunteer at OASIS Food Pantry every week to help unload, sort and stock all of the perishable items that are donated by local grocery stores. This means lots and lots of icky gooey slimy things piled into a single box that might, if we're lucky, have some stellar produce in it somewhere. Not a job for the squeamish. Fortunately, we are not. Sedona, in particular, is an excellant sport and works hard to help break down boxes and fill the refrigerators with fruits and veggies. Jordan excels in the bread and bakery departments.

We pack lunches and set out to see what kind of trouble we can find once the work is done. Sometimes we find ourselves in the city, others, just downt the road near the riverwalk/old town Saint Charles. This week, though, we decided to try out a new park we stumbled across. It was a bit short-lived as injury and an incurable case of I'm-sweaty-whining set in, but we had fun while we were there.

See?

Desperately Seeking Sunflowers

We went in search of sunflowers today. There is rumored a field full of sunflowers, stretching across a valley near the Missouri River. We saw them. But they were held too far off for us to touch them and flop down and play in them. The stood there, waving, I imagine, at those of us bound by gates and silly orange signs.

Nevermind those silly sunflowers.

Today we found the mud. The streaked and dried, river just receded, still dripping just below surface, riverbank mud. We wallowed. Well, they wallowed. Each making a mark in the sand before sending sticks to challenge river's edge currents. We watched as wood of different sizes and shapes fared so oddly in the currents and whirlpools of the Missouri River.

I can see the moon from bed tonight. Only as the wind blows heavy branches aside and there it sits. And I'm thinking . . . somewhere, everywhere, the river flows in the darkness, sticks still struggling in its course. Rocks, thrown by excited little hands, heavy, still the bottom. Such insignificant changes for a mighty river, it seems.

But somehow, the grit in the bathroom sink, and the shoes not yet reclaimed signal greater change. The passing of 9 year old summer days, crawling in bed with mud still behind his ears.

Pink Bats and Independance Day Fun

The boy is fighting with the neighbor kid in the front yard. I am slow to intervene. While I've never allowed fighting or weapons, something is different today.

Both boys are smiling. They are in character - last time I was out there it was dragons, though it could just as easily now be Wolverine and Magneto. Regardless, my favorite part is the weapons they have chosen for their battle. One has a large pink wiffle ball bat, the other, a single red boxing glove (thank you Aunt Michelle). Neither, I might add, has any detectable skill in this field.

Meanwhile, Sedona fevers on the couch and I clean the office. I may have finally decided on a color for the kitchen, my short attention span and painting whimsy forcing a potentially radical change. We'll see. Swatches are taped up and I think I'm narrowing in on a plan. I am also plotting bright obnoxious flowers for the bathroom, maybe a few in the corner trailing up to the ceiling, maybe the whole of the ceiling above the tub. You never can tell what I'll do when I get my hands on a bucket of paint.

So that's our 4th. Hope yours is lovely.

You, the people . . .

will hereby receive the slideshow format you desire.

So, umm, vote.

Which is easiest and/or most enjoyabe to view? I am ever so indecisive.

Frontier Park and Foundry Art Center

Last Tuesday we ventured out to the Missouri River in Old Towne Saint Charles for some picnicking, reading, running and exploring.

My favorite moments:

1. blowing bubbles that float and bounce across our blanket, coming to rest atop sweet clover blooms without popping.

2. kids playing what looks like slow-motion tag. skipping and flopping across the empty grandstand stage. Each issuing so many time-outs, they are both barely moving, time-outs only to stop and strategize as it seems the other might be gaining an advantage.

3. the sound of flip-flops mixed with too long, untied shoelaces slapping on the cement.

4. cottonwood floating thick in the air. reminding me of home so long ago.

5. laying, faces to the sky, reading The Phantom Tollbooth, nibbling Cheez-its.

Once finished at the park, storm clouds looming, we made our way to the Foundry Art Center. A fascinating old, well, foundry, that made tanks in WW2 and later railroad cars. The building preserved, now hold artists' studios (who are happy to share what they are working on with curious little eyes) and traveling exhibits. It also features an exhibit of local school kids' work. Very cool. Mine loved it all.

What would you do for a Klondike Park?

So here's the plan. . . .in the interest of not falling even further behind, we'll jump in where we're at and then go back to fill in the gaps.

Today has been a rather lovely day. We went to see the Free Summer Kids Movie at the local theater like we do every Wednesday morning but with the addition of 3, yes 3, buses of preschoolers out to see the Veggie Tales feature today, there were no seats.
We were nonplussed. Ever the innovators though, we took our packed lunch and headed out to Defiance where an old glass quarry serves as one of our nations fine parks.

Our finest moments include, but are not limited to:
1. Jordan determines that it is just so beautiful and relaxing that he wants to live out here when he grows up, just in the country, build his own house etc. And Sedona adds that "we should better come here every single day". I think it was a hit.

2. A long since drowned tree reaches, algae covered, out of the water near a bridge we were crossing and Jordan sees "a mythical creature being eaten by an alligator." Also note that the fish near this particular bridge followed us back and forth from one end to another, disappointed I imagine, that we weren't offering them any food.

3. Purple flowers set lovingly in sweaty hair.

4. Headed towards the Phoenix Composting Toilet (a marvel, I might add) surrounded by silica sparkling sand, Sedona yells "Wait! The bathroom is in the snow!". The sand was very white.

5. Sedona hopping and stalking a small yellow butterfly.

6. Sedona singin, "C'mon strong legs! Take me to the water fountain!" A variation on our usual tune that remedies the hiking & whining blues.

7. Unbearable gratitude as our time there came to an end. Both kids and mom saying thank you thank you thank you. Such beauty.

And now a few photos.