Memorial Day Weekend (aka Adventure Weekend)

I love Memorial Day weekend.  It seems to be the one weekend that we have to do something awesomely fun, even if Brandon has to work--which he did this year.  And after three years in a row, no Adventure Weekend can begin without walking a few blocks to see Rolling Thunder start their ride downtown.  We look forward to it all year long.

On Sunday, I gave a talk in sacrament meeting.  I must be on someone's speed dial, because it's the third talk I've given in this ward--and we've only lived here three years.  (Here's a link to the talk, if you'd like to read it.)  I also ended up giving the lesson in a youth Sunday School class.  It was a crazy Sunday!

For Memorial Day, we were invited by our friends to go back to Breton Bay on the Chesapeake.  I was surprised how much Kiddo remembered from our trip two years ago.  He was really excited to go back! We had a barbecue, played on the shore and attempted to wakeboard (well, Brandon attempted; Kiddo and I watched while BG slept on my lap.  I love how boats put my kids to sleep!)  Brandon and Kiddo went jet skiing and Kiddo insisted that we go sailing.  Whenever Kiddo was on a boat, he was made co-captain, and did his duty by answering all boat-related questions, as well as telling pirate jokes.  (Here's the joke that got the biggest laughs: Where do pirates live?  Arrrrrrrlington!)  We ended the day eating some blue crab (well, just me) and more barbecue.  It was a great day!

The End of Preschool

Kiddo's preschool year has been fabulous!  I'm so sad it's over so soon!  But here are a few fun things from his last week:

All the parents were invited to have a picnic lunch with the class, which was a lot of fun.  I wish I had gotten a few choice pictures of Kiddo (and BG) all covered in chocolate from the giant cupcakes they received!  We also gave Mrs. T her end of the year gift.  All the kids chose a book to give her; Kiddo chose these two, because they're some of his favorites.  (I have a thing for the old Sesame Street books, just like Brandon has a soft spot for the old Richard Scarry books.)

For the last day of school, they do a big music program for the parents.  Of course, I had to take some pictures of my big kid before his last day.  (Here's the picture from his first day.)  And he wouldn't let me take any pictures at all without BG in them, too.

Sorry for the poor quality.  Kiddo's standing in the center.

After lunch with Dad, returning him to work, and a much-needed nap for BG, the three of us had an end of the school year party.  My mom used to think of crazy themes for our annual end of school parties.  This one was pretty simple: orange.  Here was the invitation.  Everything we ate was orange (carrots, orange bell peppers, Cheetos, cantaloupe, candy orange slices, and orange Fanta) and Kiddo got a big orange beach ball.  It was a hit!

life is an opera or "pancakes make you fat"

On a recent visit with Brandon's parents, his mom kept commenting on how Kiddo's life is an opera: he is constantly singing about what is happening, what he wants to happen, or putting on a "concert" during what seems to be an on-going monster truck rally in his mind.  (The "announcer" introduces the song first, and then his lyrics usually follow the tune of the Captain's Curse theme song.)

He sings so often that I sometimes don't even notice, unless a lyric happens to catch my ear.  This evening over dinner (we were eating German pancakes) he started singing "pancakes make you fat."  It made me laugh, so I started listening to the lyrics of his subsequent songs.  Part of one went something like this:

I hate eating myself.
I hate eating my heart.
You break my heart.
You break my heart.

He's pretty talented, my little five-year old.