Sister or mother?

This morning, Thomas had a major meltdown — he did not want me to take off his brand-new robot pajamas. As he screamed and tried to take off the clothes I had put him in, his sister took him by the hand.

"Thomas," she said in a very serious voice. "You are only 2. You don't know the things I know. You cannot wear pajamas to school. It is a rule."

That didn't really make him feel better. 

Bieber Fever

There is some serious Beiber fever in our house- or rather, "Beaver fever" as Anne Marie lovingly calls him. The girl loves the guy. She even sometimes pretends she is Selena Gomez.

At first, she thought Justin Beaver was actually a beaver. Once she got over the disappointment that he was a boy, she decided to remain a die-hard fan.

But even Anne Marie knows that the boy needs a bigger vocabulary.


Actual lyrics: "I was like 'baby, baby, baby, oh"

Anne Marie's lyrics: "I replied, 'baby, baby, baby, oh"


So I guess, to answer Mama Kat's weekly prompt, if I were having a conversation with my daughter about a song, I would congratulate her on keeping Bieber lyrics from dumbing down America. I would tell her to keep trying big words and learning what they mean.


I'm sure she would oblige. Earlier this week, Anne Marie's preschool teacher commented that she was surprised I hadn't picked her up at 4. Anne Marie said, "Well, those were summer hours. During the regular year, my mama typically comes just after 5."

You've got to love a 4-year old testing out the word "typically."

Tours and 2-year Olds

I've read a lot lately about people asking that children be banned from restaurants, etc. I won't go far into how I feel about that, and how I don't really find it a compliment when people tell me, "Your kids were so well-behaved! I didn't think they would be when you guys came in here." You should never let your kids run wild in a restaurant, and some people do. That's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean you should look at children with disdain just for walking into a place. You don't have to love children, but for goodness sake, you should at least be able to treat them as human. Everyone was a child once. If everyone got the opportunity to ban people they didn't like from a place, I would ban all people who are snobby, bitchy and demanding. Story for another time, however.

That being said, tours, even kid-friendly ones, can be a bit different with toddlers. Especially cave tours, where there is no escape.

The Minnetonka Cave Tour is very kid-friendly. In fact, most of the tours I saw had Thomas-aged kids. Our's didn't, but I would venture to say that my 2 and 4 year old behaved better than the 10-12 year olds who were with us.

That being said, it was still a bit different. First, our tour was gifted a song. Thomas sang, over and over, "Searching through the tunnels one by one," from Thomas and Friends Misty Island Rescue. It was sung loudly and with passion. He navigated the more than 400 stairs well, although he alternated telling me that he wanted to do it all by himself, and that he needed his mommy to hold him.

From MInnetonka and Bear Lake from ALex

Then there were the puddles. Thomas found out there were puddles on the cave floor, and he went to town, stomping with all his might. His timing was perfect. Just as the tour guide turned off the lights to show us how complete cave darkness feels, he danced with excitement, covering me with mud and lighting up the cave brillantly with his light-up shoes.

From MInnetonka and Bear Lake from ALex

Bucket List Update

I recently thought about how I only have roughly a month to finish my bucket list. Here's an update:


1. Run through some sprinklers- Done and awesome
2. Try at least one of the myriad self-serve frozen yogurts in town.- done several times and will do again
3. Go to Lava Hot Springs.done
4. Go to Indian Springs. I'm thinking this week.
5. Go to Craters of the Moon. This one was fun. Anne Marie transcribed a full-page ode to Craters of the Moon, which we put in the comment box.
6. Go to Grand Teton Park
7. Go to a minor-league baseball game.
8. Fly a kite.
9. Have a picnic Done lots of times, most recently chili with friends.
10. Camp in the backyard.- We camped in someone else's backyard. Does that count?
11. Camp somewhere else.
12. Keep my garden alive.- This might not happen
13. Hike at least once a week. - I'm coming close
14. Go to lots of outdoor concerts.- Done, and love it
15. Backyard bonfire. Done and awesome
16. See the fireworks. How would I miss that one?

17. Go to the zoo lots and lots.- We've not been as often as I have wanted
18. Potty-train a kid. - Ugggh!
19. Paint a room - Uggh!
20. tie dye some shirts. - Probably not going to happen
21. Run somewhere.
22. Ride my bike to work - Whoo hoo!
23. Grill and grill.
24. Go on a date with Matt.
25. Get to Missoula for a trip.- We're going in September
26. Take Anne Marie on a boat ride- she says she isn't scared this year. She went on three!

27. Go to some movies.
28. Play mini golf.
29. Play disc golf.
30. Make a frosty dessert.
31. Make smores.
32. Drink a pina colada or a margarita.
33. Read a book.
34. Lose15 pounds.
35. Relax.
36. Help out my mom.
37. Freeze chocolate covered bananas.
38. Geocache
39. Go to Farmer's Market.
40. Go star gazing.
41. Eat watermelon.
42. Eat corn. - How have I not done this yet?