Happy Memorial Day!

Wow, have we had a jam-packed weekend!  On Friday night, we went to Zach's commanding officer's house for a Hail & Farewell (welcoming the new people to the squadron and saying goodbye to the people moving on).  Dan was in heaven because they had a giant swingset and a bouncy house!  Of course I didn't have my camera, but believe me when I tell you that we had a great time.

On Saturday, we just laid low and took care of stuff around the house.  But on Sunday, it was back to having fun!  We went over to a friend's house for dinner and swimming in their community pool.  At first, Dan was a little scared of the water, but he soon got the hang of it and was swimming all by himself (with arm floaties).  Ben loved swimming in the little floating seat thing that Dan had when he was little.  Again, I was too busy swimming to take any pictures.  Sorry!

Today, we headed over to another friend's house for a backyard water extravaganza.  And this time, I had my camera!  Dan had a ball with the gigantic water bouncy house while Ben and I just chilled and ate and chatted and ate some more.  Happy Memorial Day!

The Cadillac of bouncy houses

Squadron Family Day

Last Friday, Zach's squadron had its annual family day, complete with barbecue, bouncy houses, and s'mores.  We had a great time, especially Dan.  That kid has never met a bouncy house that he didn't like.  And I love them because he stays contained for a whole 10 minutes or so.  Zach and I took turns watching Dan while the other one ate with Ben.  After dinner, we headed over to the playground right across the street. 

The boys were very tired by the time we got home, so we decided to put both of them in the same room for the first time.  Success!  I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how well they sleep together.  And now we have our guest room back!

 

  

And here's Ben in his new crib tent (most people buy these tents to keep the baby from climbing out, but we bought it to keep Dan from climbing in!):

Car Wash

Last week, I had the bright idea to take the Explorer to the car wash because I thought that Dan might enjoy it.  Oh, how wrong I was.  By the screams of terror coming out of the car, you would've thought that you were in a Guantanamo Bay torture chamber.  Dan's screaming and crying and wailing led to Ben getting in on the action, so the car wash was not the fun adventure that I was hoping it would be.  And I think I have permanent hearing damage.

For a few days after the misadventure, Dan asked me, "Why were you so scared at the car wash?" That's the question I asked him several times, but he gets a little confused about pronouns.  So I said, "I wasn't scared, Dan.  There's nothing to be scared of at the car wash." To which he replied, "Did you see all those brushes?" But what his tone of voice really says is "Um, were we in the same car?  Because those brushes were pretty terrifying."  Oh, kids really do say the darndest things!

The boys holding hands in the Harris Teeter cart, probably relieved that they're not at the car wash:

Strawberry Pickin'

Today was a long, long, long day.  How do kids know that Mondays are supposed to be difficult?  I think Dan and Ben had a pre-dawn meeting (complete with coffee) to strategize how to wear me out today.  Whatever plan they decided on, it was an unqualified success.  I am tuckered out and ready for bed and it's only 7:35.

The best part of the day was picking strawberries with our Topsail Tykes group.  We met at Lewis Farms in Wilmington and picked until our buckets were full.  Or, more accurately, until I got tired of carrying Ben while wrangling Dan.  Then it was homemade strawberry ice cream time--the best part of the trip by far!  Now I need to figure out some recipes to use up all these great berries...

Not quite ripe there, buddy.

How Not To Pick Strawberries, by Dan Rashman

Quick visit with Grandpa

The boys and I were lucky enough to get a few hours with Grandpa yesterday!  My dad drove out from Kansas (with my Uncle John from Iowa) to play some golf with one of their cousins who lives in North Carolina.  Confused yet?  Don't worry--there won't be a quiz.  All you need to know is that we drove to the North Carolina/South Carolina border to hang out with Grandpa last night.

The golf group stayed in a resort near Calabash, right on the state border.  Dan liked running around the condo, eating from the bag of jelly beans that someone left on the coffee table, and playing in the sand of the volleyball court.  Ben also enjoyed exploring--how does he immediately find the cords and outlets, even in a strange environment?

After exhausting all the play opportunities at the condo, we headed for dinner at one of the many fried seafood restaurants in Calabash.  Vegetarian?  Allergic to shellfish?  Keep kosher?  You would be out of luck here, my friend.  Well, actually, you could stuff yourself on hush puppies (as Dan did) and probably leave the table pretty happy.  Dinner was good but the ice cream after dinner was even better!  I highly recommend Calabash Creamery if you're ever in the area.  Awesome ice cream tastes even better when you're in a rocking chair on a perfect spring night.

What a difference a week makes!

Ben has really figured out this whole standing-up thing!  About a week ago, I took a video of him trying to stand next to the train table and he doesn't look too steady on his feet (watch his face at the 30 second mark, right before he falls):

But just a week later, he's confident enough in his standing ability to pound on the table and yell at the same time.  He even tries to go from the table to the couch, which he has managed to do successfully once or twice.  I think this joker is going to walk before Dan did (right at 11 months).

In other Ben news, he has two teeth, the middles ones on the bottom.  And I think he'll get at least two more, maybe three, on the top within the next week.  That's also a little bit ahead of Dan, but just by three weeks or so.  My baby is growing up fast!

Sharing is hard work

Dan is learning an important life lesson as Ben becomes more and more mobile: Sharing is difficult, but doable.  Ben loves to pull himself up on the train table to take apart the track, which is always a source of tragedy for Dan, even if he hasn't played with the train table in days.  Dan is, slowly but surely, getting better about sharing, but he still has a long road ahead of him.  By the time he gets to preschool, sharing should be no problem at all.  At least that's what I'm hoping!