Under the Sea Musical

The Kids decided to be a part of the Under the Sea Musical that was being performed through the Five Forks Church during Music Camp.  They were too young to go to the camp for the week, but Shyanne and Grandma made sure they got the CD so they could listen to the songs and then we had to be there Friday and Saturday for the dress rehearsals so they could see what they were supposed to do.  They were the SEA CREATURES and they had to wear hats and swim around on stage behind a tarp that represented water.  They were supposed to swim and smile. . . and they were a hit.  The kids that performed the musical did a fantastic job and put on a grand show!
I wasn't sure if I was going to let them participate but it seemed they really wanted to.  Shiny Bug was helping out with the musical that week, so she was more than happy to see them and they were super excited to hang out with her.  The musical was very well done and I enjoyed watching both times through.  The kids still sing the songs and listen to their CD often and love the musical.  They practically know it by heart.

There was this really cool prop for one of the songs and it was a huge Killer Whale Demo.  Christian was so enthralled by the movie FREE WILLIE and so when I looked over this was what I saw him doing, just like the movie.  He was willing the whale to jump over him and jump to freedom.  Hahha, I had to get the picture and then of course Ava wanted to do it too.

I would say the hardest part for us as parents that were helping out the little kids was entertaining them so they didnt' interfere but so that they were ready for their parts.  Sometimes they just would sit quietly and watch and wait for their part to come, but this didnt' last long considering they were very tired of waiting and they had seen it a few times now.  So we had to come up with games and snacks and stuff while we waited for our cue that we were to go on stage. 

 

And last but def. not least, we had to grab a photo of me with the kiddos and all of us in costume.  We also had to get a picture of Sweet Callie as she was a part last minute and LOVED it. :)  She got to be the pink fish which made her extremely happy.  All in all it was a great and memorable event and the kids can't wait to do another musical with Five Forks Church. :)

Shippensburg Fair - Tractor Pull

The Lewis family came with us to the Shippensburg Fair for dinner and the tractor pull.  None of us had ever been to a tractor pull, so we weren't sure how it would go, but it actually went well.  Jeremy and the kids met us at our house and we all rode to the fair together.  Once we got there we went and got dinner as we waited for the rest of our group to arrive.  The kids all ate french fries and pizza.  Then we headed to the petting zoo.  Jaina, Jansen and Ava stayed with me as Christian went on ahead with Uncle (Pap-Pap) Scott.  After we checked out the rest of the fair, we started toward our chairs at the tractor pull.  The kids all really enjoyed the evening and their free balloons. :)

The Tractor Pull was awesome.  Scott and Lori, Pappy and Grandma, Kim and Jason and Westin, Micah Mummert, The Lewis Family and our family.  The kids all shared a blanket with me and we had snacks, drinks and fun games to play.  The tractor pull part was actually really fun and the kids all seemed to really enjoy it.  Christian and Westin had fun screaming at the top of their lungs at the tractors and Jaina complained it was too loud and too much pollution in the air. :)  Baby J and Jeremy really enjoyed the festivities. Baby J would just watch in amazement as the tractors would do their thing.  The noise didn't really seem to bother him either.

 

Monopoly & The Bumbaugh Duo

Years ago, before we had kids.. .Micah and I got into a Monopoly playing kick.  We played the game every night.  Sometimes the game would take so long that we had to finish it the next night.  These were good memories for the most part.  However, as we all know, Micah likes to WIN.  Don't we all.  But, when he was winning, if he would land on something that owed me a small amount of money, he would give me a bill and tell me to keep the change.   Often the change would be one dollar or even 5 dollars, but either way, he would do it and then laugh hysterically thinking he was so funny.  I didnt' mind but would give him the change back cause I didn't like handouts and he would just keep sneaking me money throughout the game. 
Okay, fast forward about 8 years.  Now we have a six year old that we just introduced to Monopoly.  She LOVES the game and we finally talked daddy into sitting down and playing the game with us.  Well, as luck would have it, I started to lose and I mean lose pretty badly.  The funny thing was Ava's reaction as her and her daddy were kicking my butt.  She started sneaking money into my money pile from her pile.  At first I caught it and thought it was cute, as I told her thanks very much but I didnt' need handouts.  Then, I started noticing that I had an extra $50 bill or even sometimes an extra $100 bill.  Hahhaha, She had no idea what her daddy did to me a few years previous and yet, it was like she was repeating history. :)  Micah and I found this pretty darn funny and so he then started trying to help me out too. As they were both helping me they were both laughing at how funny they found themselves to be. :)

Christianisms Up to Date

I have been falling behind on the little things so this blog entry is literally to capture the little moments that make me laugh and I don't want to forget.   Just a few funny moments with my son.
- We went to Grandma's Birthday Party at Aunt Fawn's house and Christian runs in the house to find Sharon rose, his cousin.  When he finds her, he says very animatedly, "Sharon, are your squirrels sleeping?"  she has no idea what he means, so he takes her hand and leads her to her hamster cages to show her what he means.  He called her hamsters - squirrels. :)
- To Danielle in the pool at Grandma's, "Are we gonna get married Danielle?" she replies with no, because she will marry Nate, her boyfriend.  Then she says he can be in her wedding, and he says, "Okay, I will Be your Wedding Bear." 

- Again at Grandma's pool, we are swimming and he keeps asking Sharon Rose to come here, because he has something to tell her.  He says it like he is really telling her a big secret.  He tells her he has to show her something, saying, "SHARON, WATCH THIS!!!" then he goes on to show her that he can stand on the pool steps and touch. :)  SO funny, except the funny part is he keeps doing this over and over.  Every time she swims away, he calls her back and says, "Sharon, watch this, and then does something NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER DONE BEFORE. . . He jumps into the pool a very short bit off the bottom step. :)
- We were sitting at dinner the other night and he was talking to a friend.  He says, very off handed, "Shhhhh, I am trying to fart!"  So random and he really was just trying to fart. I had to remind him to go sit on a the pot if that is what he is trying to do and def. do not do it at the dinner table.

- Today he was trying to explain a story to me and he was telling me something about "those teeth pointer things" I later figured out he was talking about tooth picks.
- He is counting while we are driving down the road and this is what he says, "twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten. . . . um"  It made me smile.  He knew it was wrong but wasn't sure what was right.  He is trying, but needs a bit of help still sometimes.

-  So excited about school and the idea of being a part of a classroom and having a teacher.  He can't wait to have friends and eat lunch. :)  He already has his book bag and his lunch box which happen to both be spiderman.  He is working on his letters and he pretends to read now, after watching his sister reading to him.

- Last but def. not least. .. the other day we were driving down the road and he said, "oh my!!! My head really hurts. . . something is going wrong in this head."  hahaha.  I agreed that we all have days we feel that way.   He then told me that he has pains in his head and needs to go to the doctor to get it fixed. :)

Shark Tales - Movie Day

 

Renee and Jonathon and Rachel were in visiting so we decided to head over to the Chambersburg mall theater to watch a movie.  On Thursdays all summer long, the theater played older children movies on the big screen. The cost was $2 per person and this included the movie, a bag of popcorn and a soda.  What a deal.   So we got the clan together and went to see Shark Tales.  Amy came along and the kids were all happy to see her too.  Pappy came up to watch Roman so Brianna could come with Sofia and Reece.  It was a good day. :)

 

Yard Sale

I decided that I don't let my children be KIDS very often.  I constantly have to battle asking them to pick up their clothes and toys and rooms and I very seldom just let them be KIDS.  Make a mess and use their imagination.  So, the other day when I walked back into Christian's room, the mess was enormous and I had to refrain from yelling. I asked what they were doing and they said they were preparing for a yard sale. Then Ava asked me what we were doing next Wed. and I told her nothing, so she said, "can we please have our yard sale next Wed?  We have recognized that we have some things we don't want anymore and so we want to sell them and make money to put in our Disney Banks."  Okay, so that sounds like a very reasonable idea. . . .So I told them they could hold a yard sale. Ava started showing me the pile, which honestly looked like a stock pile of hoarding, but she started to show me all the inventory that they were going to sell.  I had to stifle my laughter as I realized that it was usually one piece of a puzzle or One part to a set of a toy.  I talked to them about not only selling junk because how you have to sell things that people would want to buy. Then I noticed that all the things were out of Christian's things, so I made the kind suggestions that since they had now gone through all of Christian's things, how about they start to go through her things in her room and she can choose some things to sell.  Then I left and listened from afar.  The conversation in her room went much like this. . . .
Christian - "so how about this toy Ava?
Ava - "NOOO, I want to keep that one!"
Christian - "what about this one?"
Ava - "ummm, no I'll keep that one too.  So and so gave that to me"

And as you can imagine, this was the most part of the conversation.  So she was willing to give all of his things away and none of her things. :)  I  had to have another conversation with her about how unfair it was for her to be so willing to give over his items and not her own.  She handled it well and soon we were back on track.  Then came the question, "now, mommy, how will people know about our yard sale?  and what about putting tags on everything to say how many cents it is?  Who will come and do you have anything you want to sell?"  I love her little organized mind.  I told her we would get stickers to put on each toy.  They literally spent two hours preparing and organizing this event.  Then, while daddy was out jogging, they stood outside our door yelling and advertising.  When I went to tell them to come in, they said that they had changed the time and date. The yard sale was to take place today and inside. :)  Here is what I heard them yelling at the top of their lungs. .  "Yard Sale Today. . .Inside for Kids!!!! Yard Sale Inside Today!!!"  This was yelled over and Over by Ava as Christian shook an instrumental shaker and banged on his drums to make noise.  At one point they came in and informed me that they needed a break and a drink, because it was hard work yelling that much!  They did this forever, and finally we had to call them inside, so the neighbors wouldn't get overly annoyed.  It was absolutely hysterical and I had to share.  Below is the sign I found them to have hung on our front door too. . for ALL TO READ!!

 And then of course a small preview of what they are planning to sell at this yard sale.  Thanks to Aunt Bleppies who said she would bring the kids over to check out the stuff. :)  Hahahha.  SO supportive. :)

Ice Cream and Air Conditioners on a Hot Day

We decided to go get Magic Ice Cream from the place over by Dunkin Donuts on 30. I of course, passed on the ice cream and got myself an iced coffee, but that was just the convenience of having it right there. :)  Anyway, Micah had been driving in this unbearable heat to Gettysburg and back without any air, because the air conditioner was not charged.  Jason, being the good buddy he is, offered to bring his charger and see what he could do.  He charged that air conditioner right up and now I don't worry about Micah quite so much while out on the road.  I had to post this picture because I love how Christian is obviously telling Westin something quietly and sort of hunched over so it was probably something really funny.  Westin looks amused, slightly as he has his hand on his hip kind of in disbelief.  :)

The Best Soccer Coach EVER!!

Well, I did it again. . .I committed Micah to something he didn't ok me on first.  He had originally told me that I could 'mention' he was available to HELP coach if he was needed.  I was the one that took Ava into soccer registration so I was the one that may have mentioned that he was willing to help out with coaching.  They told me that they wouldn't need him.  . .four weeks later, he gets an email telling him that attached was his roster of his team with numbers and he was to call and let them know when he schedules the first practice.   Yeah, he was a bit frustrated with his wifey, but once his brother Scott mentored him a little on how to coach Kindergarten and 1st Grade soccer, he became a super pro.  I mean it, I know he will be embarrassed that I wrote this, but he was really good.  The kids loved him and they really learned from his coaching skills. I was impressed.  I personally really liked seeing him with a whistle. :) I think the kids enjoyed the practices and the fun games and drills more than the games. He always had a little huddle at the end of the practices and the games, trying to encourage us as a team unit.  :) 

The favorite games the kids liked to play were "What Time is it Mr. Fox?" and "Sharks and Minos"  We had three girls on our team and then five boys.  Four Kindergartners and four 1st Graders.  The below picture, Left to Right - Garrett, Elsy, Noah, Alli, Oliver, Ava, and Dominic.  We were missing Marco in this picture. :)  This picture was after our last game and we had won!!! :) The big tall handsome stud in the back . . .Yup, that is my schmookies.

Our first week, we had practice and then we got rained out for the next weeks practice.  The problem was everyone has a Bi-week where they don't have a game.  So the first week that we had a scheduled game, about two minutes after we took the field, the big storm hit and we got soaked.  We were told that due to lightning we had to have a half hour delay, but somehow the mix up was that we ended up not having a game at all because the other team was sent home accidentally.  So we didn't have a game, but the next week was our bi-week and so we didn't have a game again.  The third week came, and by then all the other teams had played at least two games but this was our first and we got creamed!!! Our poor players were lost and had no idea what they were doing.  They were so discouraged and we felt bad for them, but we knew better what to work on at practice.  They did much better every game after that. :)  However, the picture below shows the team we played for our first game.  It was the other Hamilton Heights team and our kids were friends and class mates with the opponents.  It was actually a really fun game. :)  Before the game started, we huddled the teams of friends together and took a big group shot. The little boy standing beside Ava was her special buddy "TREVOR" from her class and they were excited to see each other. 

Ava seemed to really enjoy being a part of a TEAM and she liked the practices and the games.  She wasn't always the most motivated player, but she was having fun and that was well worth it.  She loved snack time and rest breaks.  She came up with an idea for a game for the kids to play at soccer called Cherries and Birds in a Tree.  She explained the rules to Micah and she was so excited. . .so he used her idea the next practice.  She was so proud of herself.  We told her she couldn't explain the rules because it was the coaches job, but she was beaming when he was explaining her game.  Really it was just like "Sharks and Minos" but different names, but quite creative. :)  She also kept saying before each game. . "now, I have to remember not to call daddy . . .daddy, but I have to call him coach."  It was a fun two months/ 8 weeks.  The best part of the entire season for us was when the first game was over and Micah asked Ava what she thought of her first soccer game.  She thought for a few seconds and then said, "well, it just felt like we were all fighting for the ball."  She was dead serious. :)  So funny.  The other cool thing was after every game the parents would make a tunnel like thing and the kids would walk through the line with the other team as we all cheered them on!!!