Christmas Village 2013 - Blogged by JME

 

We took June Bug to Christmas Village last night and had a great time.  We rode the train and walked around to see all the little homes lit up with elves and Santa Clause, etc.  It was a fun time.  She also got to meet Santa . . .  

 

She got a little star struck and wouldn't sit on Santa's lap at all.  The closest we got was her sitting on mommy's lap who was sitting on Santa's lap.  I guess that works, right? 

 

Last year's version of June Bug's first time meeting Santa Claus went a lot better.  Oh, well!  There's always next year.

 

Picking Out Pumpkins - Blogged by JME

Yesterday, N8 and I both had the day off, which is rare, so we took our little June Bug out to pick out her very own pumpkin and got some fun pictures of her in her Halloween costume she is going to wear this year.  She had a lot of fun and we got some good pictures.

 

She had a great time walking around and pointing at the pumpkins.

Let's see . . . 1, 2, 3 . . . 4 . . .

"Look, Mom!  This one is as big as me!"

She even tasted some of them to make sure they really were good quality pumpkins.

I think I'll taste this one . . .

Mmmmmm . . . . Yup!  That's a good one!

We ended up getting the one she kept tasting.  Apparently, it had all the right qualities a pumpkin should have when you taste it. 

Then we got a picture of her with the "Pumpkin Man."  The owner of the pumpkin stand always makes himself a pumpkin head to wear for the kids when they come to pick out their pumpkins.  He is a really nice man, in fact, he was N8's home teacher when N8 and his mom lived out that way.  Sadly, this was his last year as the pumpkin man and is retiring.  We are glad we were able to make it out there at least once with our little June Bug. 

Fall Project - Blogged by JME

 

 

This year, instead of taking a vacation, we decided to have a "stay-cation," where we stayed home and got some things done around the house.  One of the things we did together was improve our garage space.  What a project that was!

 

This is how our garage looked when we first started.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

We primed and painted the ceiling and all the walls . . .  

 

And then painted the cement with some textured paint (so it won't be slippery when it is wet) and added some paint chips (don't worry - we didn't eat any) for more texture and also because it makes it look neat. 

Here's the finished product!  What do you think???

2013 ComiCon - Blogged by JME

There is a little bit of 'geek' in all of us, and it definitely runs in our family.  N8 more than June Bug and I, but we're catching up.  N8 has definitely widened our 'geek' view.  I remember the first time we went to see the new Star Trek in 2009.  I was surrounded by a bunch of Trekkies that fit the stereotype.  Greasy hair, acne that was out of control, body odor, and braces.  When the movie started, two guys next to me started reciting, "Space:  The final frontier.  These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise."  I just laughed a little inside.  Then, a bit later during the scene introducing Scottie, N8 leaned over to me, pointed out a creature in the background, and said, "Hey, that's a Tribble!  That's on an episode called Trouble with Tribbles."  I kind of looked at him in sheer disbelief.  After five years of marriage, I was just learning that my husband was a Trekkie.  I never would have guessed!  He didn't fit the stereotype.  But . . . not all Trekkies do, and that was something I learned that day.  Throughout the time I've known him, N8 has introduced me to a lot of cool stuff, comic book stuff included, like stuff from DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and stuff that isn't as well known such as the Amory Wars.

 

The 'geek' in us decided to spend the day today at ComiCon.  It was a lot of fun for a trio of 'geeks' like us.  Plus, as people watchers, we were in heaven!  There was so much to see and so many people to watch.  The only thing I probably would have done differently is gone on a weekday when it wasn't so busy.  We waited in a line to get in for about an hour.  Once we were in, it was so hard to get through crowds.  For people like us that almost have a meltdown at Costco on a Saturday, we did pretty good.

 

 

 

First we stopped by and made friends with Gollum.  June Bug wasn't too sure about it, but she definitely wasn't scared.  That was good because our next stop was a little more intense.  

This booth was so fun to visit.  They had weapons displayed that had been used in the Lord of the Rings movies.  June Bug loved the Orc and kept singing and cooing at it.  Weird kid.

It was definitely fun to see the people who dressed up.  Some of the costumes were pretty elaborate.  These were some of our favorites:

 

The Incredible Hulk

Captain America

Iron Man

The Evil Empire

June Bug enjoyed watching everyone too.  With a mom and dad who are avid people watchers, she was bound to be one as well.  

 

It was so hard to get around with all the people.  Luckily, I had my trusty stroller which helped me squeeze in to tight spaces.  One or two people may have lost a toe in the process but we finally were able to see everything.  It was a pretty nice crowd, too.  Everyone seemed to be really patient with everyone else and that was cool.  

 

We went back to the car for about a half hour to give June Bug some time to stretch her legs and for all of us to have some lunch. 

 

Now that the blood sugar is up, we are happy and ready for more!

This guy must have been dying!  He was waiting in the super long line for a wrist band in the heat in that hot costume.  It was definitely a neat costume though and you could tell he spent a lot of time on it.  

 

N8 loved this shirt!  Coexist in superhero symbols.  

Another Captain America

The Black Widow and Thor

This must have taken a long time to make. 

 



 

N8 thought this poster was pretty cool.

 

 We saw a video on YouTube a few weeks ago of a prank in Japan with a dinosaur costume that was pretty cool, and someone had that costume there at ComiCon.  It was fun to see it in real life. 

 

 

N8 listens to these guys on the radio all the time and had some Superman vision because he saw them through a huge crowd waiting to see William Shatner.  We finally made it through so he could get a picture of them. 

 

 

It was a really fun day!  I'm glad we could go.  Hopefully this becomes something we can do every year.

End of Summer Fun! - Blogged by JME

Recently, I got free tickets from my employer for my family to go to a local amusement park.  N8 took the day off from work and we all went.  It was the first time that June Bug has been to something like this.  Our experience had its hiccups, but she ended up having so much fun and really enjoyed the two rides she was able to go on. 

 

 

 

All strapped in and ready to go!!!

 





 

The first ride we went on was the Merry-Go-Round.  This picture shows her excitement, and we are just in line.  We haven't even gotten on the ride yet. 

 

Daddy got to take June Bug on the ride the first time.  They picked a horse to ride.  June Bug is saying what a horsey says:  "Thubtthubtthubt."

 

She had such a great time on her horse.  She would imitate her dad and I and say, "Weeeeee," in a high-pitched voice.  

 

Next, we went to ride the train but it ended up having problems and so we didn't get to ride it.  She did have fun watching it pull away and waving bye-bye as it passed.

 

 

She was really brave and rode a  kiddie boat ride that we were all able to go on together.  However, we didn't get any pictures of her on that one.  We were a little frustrated at the park because we had been told she didn't need a ticket or a hand stamp because of her age, but when we tried another ride, the technician told us that 'guest services' doesn't know anything, and that we would need to get a ticket and hand stamp for her if we wanted to ride on more than the train, the Merry-Go-Round, and the Ferris Wheel at the park.  I was a little perturbed by this and became a little disgruntled, but after lunch and getting my blood sugar up again, we were ready to go on the Merry-Go-Round the rest of the day. 

 

 

We went on the Merry-Go-Round a few more times before we left to go home.  June Bug had a great time with mommy riding the zebra and also rode on the kitty cat with daddy. 

 

It definitely wasn't the experience N8 and I were used to when we've gone to that amusement park prior to us having a kid.  Going and only riding two rides would have really bummed us out in the past, but it was so much fun watching June Bug enjoy herself, it ended up being a lot of fun!  

Splashin' Sweetie! - Blogged by JME

Earlier this week, June Bug got to go swimming for the first time at a big pool.  She got to go with her mama, her cousins-Bug and Skunk, her Grammy Lu, and her Aunt Lee Lee. 

 

 

Ready to dive in little one?

 

At first, she was not quite sure if she liked it or not. 

It took a little convincing from both her mama and her Grammy Lu.

She liked being in the tube and getting pulled around, and she liked having mama help her swim.

I love those pudgy little knee caps and cute little belly button!

Bug and Skunk loved getting their pictures taken under water. 

 

 

 

Skunk got pretty brave and got his picture taken under the water with his eyes open and without the goggles. 

  

June Bug was quite the wiggle worm at first.  She didn't understand why we had to hold her in the water.  She wanted us to let go and let her crawl and play and do whatever she wanted.  She isn't used to being restrained so much. 

 

 After a while though, she didn't mind us holding her.  She started to relax and enjoy the water.

 

Her favorite part was tasting the water.  Every time her mouth got remotely close to the water, her tongue would automatically stick out and she would try lapping it up like a dog! 

After a while, June Bug had enough. . . .Time to get out!

Mama gets to sunbathe with her best pal! 

After being out of the pool for a while, June Bug just wanted to be pushed around in her stroller.  Auntie Lee Lee was such a good sport and pushed her for probably a good 20 minutes, around and around and around. . . . . . .

It was so nice for all of us to be able to go to the pool and relax.  The scenery was awesome, too!

 

. . . . . . and around, and around, and around.  What about the sun?  No worries!  June Bug was prepared with plenty of sunscreen and her hip zebra-striped sunglasses she got from the library for reading every day. 

Uh . . . Oh!  Dropped the sunglasses!

Getting a little tired.  Guess it is time to go home.

But first, Bug and Skunk have to see who can hold their breath under water the longest.   

Either that or they want to make sure the goggles are still working properly.   

Goodbye, beautiful pool!  Hope to come back again soon!

 

Yesterday, June Bug and I got to have a play date with my best childhood friend, Steph-a-Bee and her three kids.  She has a little girl who is only three months older than June Bug.  It was a lot of fun.  Our kids were both so busy, it was hard to visit a whole lot while we chased them all around, but it was a great time to watch them play together.  I wish I had a picture of me and my childhood bestie when we were little girls.  It was amazing to me to see her little daughter and my little daughter right next to each other.  It was like looking in an old photo album and having our pictures as kids come to life right before my eyes. 

It kept trying to rain, and since the weather was so uncertain, neither of us brought swimsuits for our kids to play in the splash pad.   They really wanted to, and it was plenty warm, so we just said, "Go for it!"

June Bug loved this probably more than the swimming pool because she could crawl around at her leisure and not have someone holding her the whole time.  Surprisingly, she had such a great time and didn't mind getting splashed and soaked!

Again, she wanted to taste the water and kept sticking her tongue out like a little dog.  It was so cute!

I'm getting to be a pretty good mom, I decided.  I feel a little more prepared the more and more we go out.  I did end up bringing a change of clothes and a fresh diaper so she could be nice and dry on the ride home.  Love my precious girl!  Thanks Steph-a-bee for the fun play date!!!