July 2012 In Review

We began July with the Colonial Heritage Festival at Scera Park. We chatted with the cooper, played colonial games, attended colonial school, and had an all-around fun and educational experience.

Once the kids had had enough and were getting whiny (never!) I put them in the stocks to mellow them out.

 

Later, we went to the library so O could die (that's him lying on the ground) at Shakespeare for Kids.

 

We attended our first swim meet (which received a post of its own), and found a great spot to watch the 4th of July parade.

 

On the evening of the 4th, we headed down to the Stadium of Fire and sat on the lawn of the church just outside the stadium. It was a great place to watch the fireworks until the sprinklers turned on. That was fun :)

 

 

A few days later, we coaxed J to shave off his beard for the first time in 12 years. And don't worry -- he promptly began growing it back. I just wanted to see if he could do it. He could. He did.

S was able to attend the Christa McAuliffe Space Center with a group of friends and came home so excited about it, he talked for an hour straight about how awesome it was. The boys had tennis lessons, piano lessons, and swim team throughout the summer. We also went to the library to watch Hayao Miyazaki movies every Friday. We saw Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service before school started again in August. We also watched My Neighbor Totoro as a family. Great fun.

Later on in July, S (as Claudio)...

 

...got married (in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare for Kids). He looks a little doubtful about saying, "I love you" to a complete stranger.

And we all decided it was time for a change so we "Pimp[ed] [Our] Hair."

Snip!

O is so proud of the haircut he gave himself yesterday. What kind of a mother would let her son walk around with scissors? Uh, yeah -- me. To be fair, he's really quite responsible with scissors most of the time. It's just the fluke day here or there that he decides things need a trim. We've had to discard a few t-shirts that he ventilated back in the summertime. I thought he was over his snippy little habit, but I guess not! Maybe his head simply felt too hot. It happens a lot with dark hair, just attracting all that sunlight up there. When I told him we'd have to buzz his head, he shrieked, "No! Don't cut it all! I want it to look good!" Yes, Son, so do I. Today I did the honors, and he looks pretty good. Even he, master stylist that he is, acknowledged that I did an okay job.

She's magic

So, on the occasional Thursday, I watch my friend and neighbor's adorably boy Ty. She, in turn, pays me for my time and cuts my hair. I swear she's magic. For those, including myself, who thought my hair would never hold curl longer than a few hours, I give you...


It's the next day. I slept on it, and it's still in. She's magic. John followed me around with the camera when I got home, he thought it was so cute. Oliver's comment when I went in his room to sing to him before bed? "You look weird." Well, you can't win them all. Thanks, Crystal!