Linus' First Communion

Yesterday Linus got to participate in the Catholic mass at a whole new level.  He has been looking forward to this moment all year long.  I mean, a suit, wine, not having to cross your arms, what's not to like?  I wasn't really sure how to celebrate.  It's not like a baptism where our child was the only one, or there was maybe one other kid.  Linus was one of many, and thus limited seating.  Do we invite everyone?  Do you just have a party?  What is the etiquette here?

I ended up sending an Evite, inviting all the family (assuming only a few would come) and the godparents and Catholic friends.  That seemed to work well.  The "party" got planned a few days before.   Dave and I decided on catering by Aunt Costco pizza, beer, sangria, lemonade, grapes, and veggies, and tuxedo cake.  Thank you Aunt Costco and your nephew Whole Foods (for the gluten-free vegan necessities).

Linus and I went shopping for his suit a few weeks ago.  I was stunned that he was so enthusiastic about it and more by the fact that he had a clear vision of what he was going to wear.  He felt pretty good in his suit, and needed to try it on multiple times in the days leading up to First Communion.

I almost cried when I saw him.  He saw the special First Communion pin I had bought and put on his gift and immediately wanted to wear it.

Robin is the only one of our children who likes to have his picture taken.  He regularly asks us. Robin could not handle a Linus only photo shoot and insisted upon being included.

This one is my favorite. He is so stinking cute.

The ceremony was lovely.  Fr. Brad gave a great homily.  The whole thing moved pretty quickly, even with pictures afterwards.  My principal noticed the amazing job I did tying Linus' tie and fixed it before Linus walked down the aisle.  It takes a village to get kids ready to consume Jesus.

Ready to go with the help of Mrs. Serres.

Despite the low key catering, I still managed to make things look festive and thanks to Etsy, had a personalized decoration in minutes that I displayed next to the desserts.

At one point, Robin came in sobbing and crying for the binky.  We located it and Robin disappeared.  After about 15 minutes I realized we hadn't seen Robin for a while.  I located him in his room.  I snapped a pic before turning off the lights.

 Linus was very gracious about his gifts.  I got him a Catholic children's bible and a leather bible cover with a quote from Joshua about being brave and courageous.  Linus had the same thought that I did that it looked like the book from Harry Potter that Hagrid assigns (the one that bites).  Sally's boyfriend Gino brought back a rose petal rosary from Argentina (native land of the pope) along with Argentinian money, chocolate, and a magnet of the pope.  Those might have been his favorite.  Everyone was so thoughtful.  His grandfather, Laurence, gave Linus a copy of the New Testament that he personally translated from the original Latin.

It was a beautiful day.  The company was lovely.  We are blessed to have such good friends and family to share these special moments with in our lives.  All the kids played perfectly.  I realized that we don't see some of our camp friends enough and need to fix that.

Happy First Communion Linus.

From the Mouths of Babes in April

Me:  Why can't I put your hair up?
Eileen: I need it down so I can test the wind.

After I mistakenly believed Linus was responsible for something
Linus:  You know, one of God's laws is to not falsely accuse.

Grandma is out with Robin at an indoor play area.  She asks if he wants to stay a little longer or go home.  Robin chose to go home and she asked why.
Robin: I looked at the clock in the room and it said it was almost naptime.

Lamenting the problems with Pokemon ownership
Eileen: I don't speak Jigglypuff.

Linus was mad that I was making him go to mass.  He was also annoyed that I would not buy him a top of the line harmonica.  He drew this at mass.

You will notice in the picture that Linus is ignoring me, playing a harmonica, and busking for spare change at the bus stop.

Spring Break Getaway with my number one boy (Linus)

Linus and I don't get to spend a lot of time one on one together.  He doesn't hate me, but given the opportunity, he will choose Dave 99.99999% of the time.  Spring Break offered a really great opportunity for Linus and I to bond.  When I go visit friends, I try to bring one kid with me to lighten the load at home.  Linus won based on the following criteria: no carseat, no dietary restrictions, and potty trained.

Linus and I went to visit my childhood friend, Katie, in Fresno.  Traveling with Linus had some nice perks.
1. He can carry his own luggage (he even packed himself when given a general list)
2. Not only can he take himself to the restroom, he doesn't insist on being in a stall with me!
3. He can self-entertain.  I was mean and didn't bring an ipad or let him play on my phone.  We simply sat in our seats and read our books or napped.
4. Linus fed himself breakfast in the morning and bathed himself.

I must say, at times, traveling with an older child does feel like a break. Almost.

I surprised Linus with first class tickets.  We normally fly coach but the offer of a $50 upgrade was too good to refuse.  He didn't find out until we were boarding.  I even let him bring a neck pillow.  We flew in luxury I tell you (or as luxurious as a Horizon Air flight gets).

I've known Katie since first grade.  She now lives in Fresno and works with Sea Lions at the zoo.  The last time I visited, Robin was a baby.  I really need to be better about visiting friends.

Linus was excited for our trip.  Eileen and Robin were excited for special fun times with Dave.  According to Dave, while I was gone the two kids played together magically.  They went to Point Defiance Zoo, the movies, and had a sleepover.

With only two full days in Fresno, Linus and I had to prioritize. On Friday we went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo where Katie works.  We had an amazing day.  The weather was gorgeous!  The zoo recently did an expansion.  I was blown away.

Katie did a really wonderful job of making sure Linus had a special experience.  She called in a few favors.    The whole zoo was great, but there were some definite highlights.  The two things Linus wanted to see most were the Sea Lions and to hold a snake.  Dustin, a keeper in the reptile house, granted Linus' wish and more.

First we went into a small room where they keep a couple of snakes.  I kept a careful, watchful distance.  Linus had no reservations.

Thanks to my many trips to the Woodland Park Zoo, I am well versed in the creatures of the Reptile House.  I was able to quickly identify the Waxy Monkey frog.

Linus meets the Waxy Monkey Frog

Me, trying to convince Katie and Dustin, that they should be impressed by my vast knowledge.

Telling us he was taking Linus to meet a cobra, Dustin led us into an exhibit that was an even greater surprise----KOMODO DRAGON!

I appreciated the hugeness of this opportunity, mustered up some bravery, and touched the komodo dragon myself.

After the komodo dragon, we got to meet a tortoise who was 35 years young.

Quick rest

At Sea Lion Cove Linus got painting lessons from Wish, the Sea Lion.

Linus' bright green shirt made him easy to find in a crowd.  We spent the most time at the Manta Rays.  Linus was enthralled.  He even got to pet a nurse shark.

Linus didn't realize just how friendly he got with the giraffe he was feeding.

Sizing himself up

Linus and I went into one exhibit and were surprised to find two sloths relaxing over the walkway. One was more or less blocking the walkway.  The keeper gave me permission to take a selfie.

Saturday was Earth Day.  It was hard to decide between going to the March for Science or visiting the Sequoia National Park.  I feel good about the choice.  It was an amazing experience.  The Sequoia National Park is home to General Sherman, the largest tree in the world (by volume).  I'd never really seen a sequoia up close.  Their bases are incredibly bulbous.  Their trunks almost look painted.

Linus vacillated between joy (snow!) and annoyance (stay on the trail).

Some of the backgrounds don't even look the real!  The colors were just so different.  It was also another gorgeous day and luckily not too crowded, especially once you got away from the main attraction.

Linus found a walking stick that he liked to use for beating the snow.  He got stuck in the snow a few times on the Congressional Trail.

We went on the Congressional Trail to see a few more impressive trees.  The trees all had so much personality.  Chief Sequoia had an especially imposing stance.  Besides the trees and the serene beauty, highlights on the Congressional Trail included walking through a waterfall and for Linus, walking down a trail taken over by the creek.  Linus' shoes are now in a plastic bag waiting to be washed as they got pretty gross on this hike.

Safely through the waterfall.  See what I mean about the backgrounds looking fake?

Linus took off his sunglasses at one point and then couldn't find them.  It took a bit before he realized Katie had made use of them.

We had a great trip.  Even when he was grumpy and frustrated, Linus couldn't hide his joy from his dad during our evening video chats.   Thanks for a fun weekend Katie and Chris!

Easter Weekend

Dave and I were reflecting yesterday on one of the nice things about Easter is that despite being the holiness of days, it is much more relaxed than Christmas.

The kids did not bother to wake us up in the morning.  They ran downstairs found their baskets and proceeded to eat the contents of the baskets.  I can honestly say that other than a few random Pez, all Easter candy had been consumed by about 2 pm. There wasn't THAT much candy, but that is still a lot to eat in a short amount of time.  The upside is that I don't have to deal with candy rationing.

After eating his candy, Linus decided he was "sick" and would not be going to church.  Obviously, that was not going to fly.  We did eventually get out the door, but there was definitely yelling and fighting.  It was not exactly the most peaceful way to celebrate our risen Lord.


Ready for mass.

I didn't put a lot of energy into Easter outfits this year.  Linus wore an old white button shirt and khakis--he wanted to wear his new suit that he got for First Communion.  He was mad I said no and that's what started the rough morning.  In my defense, I didn't want to have to dry clean and press his suit before the big day.  Robin, having not grown that much, wore the same outfit as last year but with a different tie and shoes.  Eileen was the only one to score a new dress (which I love).

Fr. Brad continued his tradition of using Notorious B.I.G. rap lyrics in his Easter homily.  This year's might be my favorite....

You're nobody til somebody kills you

Mass was pretty stressful.  There were triplets boys right by us that were out of control.  I felt bad for their parents.  The kids' screaming and flailing was unsettling all the kids around them.  The parents through in the towel eventually and all the children in the balcony with us calmed down.

I think next year I'm going to take the kids to the vigil.  I always went as a kid.  The benefit of doing the vigil is that we wouldn't have to deal with the same level of grumpiness in trying to get kids to mass when there is candy to be eaten.  That, and I think the kids would like the whole candle thing.

I had Dave help me with Easter baskets this year.  I asked him to please wrap the presents while I sorted candy.  Wrapped in tissue paper no problem, until he went to put their names on them.  He had one job....

I give Dave props for his solution to the problem.

After mass I prepared brunch while the kids played with their toys.  The Easter bunny brought them each a book/art thing.  Robin got a coloring book with dot paint, Eileen got string art, and Linus got a book on hieroglyphics with stamps.  I don't normally wrap Easter presents, but these didn't fit in their baskets.  Each kid also got a small squirting bath toy of a sea creature with Native American markings. 

Despite pining for a string art set for months, Eileen fell in love with the dot art.  These things are cool and may become my go-to gift.

Dave set up an egg hunt for the kids that spanned both inside and the backyard.

My sister, Sally, and brother, Tim, joined us.  I like having an excuse to use my wedding china.  It was hard doing a brunch without eggs or gluten or dairy but I think I did alright.  Many mimosas were drunk.  The kids loved having the additional adult playmates around and dog cousin.

My parents came over for a little bit as well.  It was all very very low key.  I love Christmas and the Christmas season, but what I like about Easter is that there isn't the same sense of let down when it's over.  Instead you are filled with joy and hope for spring.  This Easter season I tried to follow the words of the Pope and give up indifference for Lent.  I'm not sure how successful I was.  Given the times we live in, Christ's message of hope is just what I need.

On a side note, the sun came out on Saturday.  We jumped on the opportunity and had a teriyaki takeout picnic in the park.

I like how it looks like Dave is punching Linus in order to spin him.

                                              Does not know how to handle glowing orb in sky.  Too bright!

Beset by Bulbasaur

Pokemon has taken over our house.  I do not understand it at all.  I don't even know how to play Pokemon Go.

Linus got a few cards last year, which then turned into a giant album of cards.  From there he branched out to the cartoons.  And now I live in a Pokemon universe.  All three kids are obsessed, now focused on procuring plush versions of their favorite Pokemon and Pokeballs.  Because as you know---you gotta catch 'em all.

Eileen just used her own money to buy a Pikachu and Pokeball. Robin talks obsessively about needing a Bulbasaur. Everyday a new plush Pokemon seems to enter the house.  I blame Dave.  The upside is that now there is something that all three kids can agree on.

I can only wave the white flag (helpfully provided by Eileen) and hope this phase passes soon.

Flag designed by Eileen this week, Eevee and Pikachu.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

This weekend we headed out to the annual Camp Don Bosco Easter Egg Hunt.  It is a far superior hunt to anything in Seattle--trust me, we've been to quite a few.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the grass was green.

The best part of the Bosco Egg Hunt is the baby animals (although there were less babies, but still lots of animals for loving).  This year the baby animals were indoors due to the possibility of questionable weather.  There were rabbits, baby goats, and chickens.  Robin was not too sure about the goats.

Eileen does not know how to look at a camera.  I am beginning to wonder if it is a true inability.

 I did my part by finding a very cute and very tired baby and holding him so his mom could run the show.

Linus liked the Easter cookie decorating station.  Eileen visited the craft shop and made herself a headband out of pipe cleaners.  I liked how they did the hunt this year.  They started with the youngest group and then as you moved to the next age group you moved further across camp property.  As one hunt finished, they could then look for eggs missed by the next age group.  Eventually, all egg hunters ended up in the same place.  I thought that worked well.  I also appreciated staff going around and randomly chucking eggs during the hunt.

It was wonderful running into old camp friends.  I was blown away by the awesome turn out.  I hope it means that lots of kids are headed to camp this summer.  It had been awhile since Linus had visited camp, but apparently camp never left him.  He pretty much took off and walked around quite comfortably by himself. 

Linus is going to be a camper for the first time this year.  Eileen has been dead set against sleep away camp.  To my surprise, by the end of the hunt, I think she remembered how much she loved Bosco and decided she was ready to go to mini-camp.  You better believe I went and signed her up the same night!  Too bad it isn't the same week as her brother.  I am so excited for all the camp adventures that await them.