Jelly Belly Factory

Spring break was fairly relaxing for us. We hung out with friends, did some playing and generally enjoyed family time. One day however we took a trip to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield.



We got to take a tour of the factory and see how jelly bellies are made. We even found some interesting flavors (although we didn't dare try them).





Also, learned thru a huge jelly belly portrait that Ronald Reagan was a huge fan of jelly bellies and even had a special holder made for air force one for them - 0ne that wouldn't slip around. I guess he was partial to blueberry. Or perhaps the story goes that the factory made blueberry for Reagan's inaugural bash as they didn't have a blue color and they wanted to do a red, white and blue theme. Either way - quite a way for the little Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield to make the map....

As Nancy said....the "skiquel"

I laugh every time I hear that. We took an impromptu trip up to Tahoe with Nancy and Gideon and kids this weekend. We had had a blast over ski week together and well...why not continue the fun huh?

Although there wasn't alot of snow, there was still enough for us to enjoy a wonderful hike and some beautiful scenery. The kids LOVED all being in the same house together and Ginger and Evan even slept in the same bed - ALL NIGHT LONG! Wow!

The grownups, thank to Nida, got a rare night out together where we thoroughly enjoyed some tasty food, scintillating conversation and good company.

The first mini golf

We did our first mini golf outing recently and I think we have created a monster. Since then Evan has asked to go to mini golf everyday. This family fun site also had batting cages, a squirting water ride, and mini race cars. The water ride was very amusing (for the adults I think) as some punk 11 yr olds decided to soak EVERYONE out there. You know you have sunk to the 11 yr old level after being squirted and then going on the defense with a response of, "You wanna play that game huh? Well, BRING it ON!" And then you soak them as well. I think our kids were amused at Alan and me squirting these kids that we didn't even know.

We also did the batting cages and rode a mini racecar. Evan found racing around QUITE amusing but Kiira was singing a different tune. Well, that could be because Alan made a kid spin out since he was annoying him.

Which begs the questions, was the fun adventure for the kids or for the adults?! :-)

Friends

Evan had his first taste of what it would be like to be a single child. Kiira had a playdate this particular Tuesday so Evan got to go on a playdate of his own. He got to leave school in ANOTHER mom's car (which he was so excited about). His good friends Nancy Sue and Haley took him to the park where I met them a little later. He then got to go try yoga, which he had never done (although he only lasted about 15 minutes). Along the way we appreciated one of the flowering trees just outside the yoga place. Kids can find ANYthing to amuse themselves.





Finally a dinner at California Pizza Kitchen with "his best friends in the world".



Thanks Nancy Sue and Haley (and your mom Ginny) for a GREAT afternoon!

Rhett's 19th birthday

Rhett turned 19 in April. He certainly is spry for a guy that age. We celebrated with a molasses, carrot, oat, sugar cube cake for him and a yummy frosted cake for the human friends.





Clearly, everyone enjoyed their treats!



We even invited a few friends. Although truth be told, Roma prefers the human treats to the horsey treats. She is shown here licking ALL the frosting off of the plate. Her mama Eleanor is SO good to her! :-)

Musical beds

What is it that every parent is in search of? The perfect job? The well balanced child? An organized household? Maybe. Probably. Perhaps. I can think of one thing that trumps all other priorities.

The one thing that EVERY parent is in search of is sleep. Sleep for your child which ultimately leads to sleep for the parent.
When Kiira was young, we would put her in bed with some music and she would drift off. Now, she gets lonely. So, we moved Evan into her room – they now share a room to ward off loneliness. Does this always work? No? Now it has digressed into lonely “for mommy”.

Moving on to Evan. Evan also used to be a, plop him in bed with some music and he would fall asleep kind of kid. Now we have “monters” that SEEM to haunt him. Again, his excuse to be near mommy and daddy.

Most nights we are successful in getting them in bed and getting them to stay there through the night. Other nights however….one or both are in our room in their “nests”. And even other nights, one or both end up at some point in “mommy/daddy bed”. And while I used to be more strict on the no–kids-in-the-bed policy, I have eased those rules as I realize that this time is fleeting and they will within a few years, no longer want to snuggle us and be with us constantly.

Admittedly though – there are some nights that you just WANT YOUR SPACE. You don’t want a leg draped over your back or someone’s tousled hair going up your nose. You want to roll over and be able to pull up your leg without kneeing someone in the back (which with a king sized bed one should be able to do with 2 people in the bed!).
We reached an all time low the other night when Evan and I slept in three different beds within the period of 12 hours. He started in his bed, worked his way into our bed in the middle of the night and in the wee hours of the morning woke and wanted to sleep in the guest room. Should I be more strict? Sometimes I am. But , sometimes, SOMETIMES ALL I WANT IS MORE SLEEP. Therefore the saga of the three beds. Yes, someday there will be more sleep. For now, I remind myself that snuggles and hair up the nose are another way to say “I love you mommy.”

Kilham Farm Easter party

Ok – maybe I didn’t make myself clear in the last entry. TIME FOR THE RAIN TO GO AWAY!! All done. Adios. Au revoir. Hasta la vista.
Today was the Easter party at our barn. The weather was miserable. Not just sprinkling. Not just raining. An all out hail/storm. We were supposed to look for easter eggs out in the beautiful green fields and do a scavenger hunt. Instead the kids gamely looked for eggs in the barn, ate some soggy food and played in the rain. They were good sports I would say. Mommy – not such a good sport. Flippin’ rain.



I like the creative helmet baskets though.....

Rain Rain go away

Ok – I have been a good sport. I have donned the raingear. I have done sports outside. I have lugged soggy grocery bags into the house. I have washed mildewy smelling clothes. But I am done. It is flippin’ APRIL for gosh sake. The rain NEEDS TO GO FIND A HOME ELSEWHERE!!!! Even the animals have snuggled in for the extended inhospitable weather. Bub-bye rain.

Open house (regatta project)

The Regatta Project (which mommy was in charge of helping make)



I know that I see Kiira’s work coming home and I see the progress that she makes. I still can’t help but beam with pride when we go to her open houses at Reed School. I love the fact that she is so proud to show us her work. I love seeing her creativity in what she likes about herself, about her classmates and about the world around her. One of the reasons I keep up a blog is to make a book. It will be a diary that our family can look back upon and see how our lives have grown.







Seeing Kiira’s work from year to year reminds me of how much she is growing and how I love each and every moment that she chooses to keep me close to her. I know that as she approaches the teenage years, we will have to find different ways of sharing. For now – it is simple and I enjoy that.

"I just can't get over these beautiful flowers"

Each visit we give Nanny an enormous amount of grief amount her little sayings. In the spring, she frequently arrives and right away says, “I just can’t get over these beautiful flowers!!” Of course Ithaca, NY is usually still covered with various amounts of snow so you can’t really blame her. Nevertheless, it is fun to poke fun. Given her penchant for flowers, we did a few poses to celebrate these beautiful arrivals (pictured are some beautiful daisies from Jenny!)

Easter 2010

While Easter day was miserable and rainy, the days preceding were fun. We colored eggs...







We made cupcakes.....





And while we waited for things to bake, Kiira built an enormous cup tower!

Spring Celebration aka Easter Party 2010

Every year Alan and I have the same discussion. He says don’t call it Easter – call it spring celebration. Despite that fact that I don’t celebrate the religious aspect of Easter and despite the fact that I have called it Easter since I could talk and DESPITE the fact that we celebrate ALL the Jewish holidays (most of which I organize, cook for, shop for, etc), and despite the clear “I am celebrating easter and christmas” declaration when we got married - I am supposed to change my traditions. To this I say, “pththththttt”. EVERY YEAR. EVERY YEAR I go through this.

Despite this minor semantic disagreement, I organize a party for 22 kids (this year) and their various adults with great anticipation and more than just a little cheer. This year threatened rain but the “spring celebration” gods must have shined down because the day of the party was the only day that was dry. 300 plastic eggs, 2 quiches, a ham, pickles, carrots, and 40 cupcakes later – kids and adults alike left fulfilled.





And just to center where the emphasis should be – I asked Kiira, “what do you like better, Christmas or the easter party?” She replied, “easter party of course mommy.” ‘Nuff said.