The dog always gets the blame!

To Friendship

Last week end we packed our bags to meet up with our friends from New York and spend some time with Bizzy and Em.  

I think sometimes we get so busy with "things" i.e. timelines, schedules, check list... that we don't experience the moments.  Brett and I have been very cognizant that every moment with Peeps is a cherished moment.  Sometimes,  I forget that every moment / experience should be enjoyed to it's fullest. 

This week end was a great example.  Highlights include our very dear friends coming in from NY and our children getting together for the first time ever.  Eating dinner together, running through the aquarium and taking over Dennis the Menace park. It was like Peeps and little Emily had been friends forever.  If that wasn't full enough we also spent time at the pumpkin patch, beach and a little breakfast our with Bizzy and Miss Em.

Local Fair

It is that time again and might I say, sounding a bit buzz-kill, I don't look forward to it.  The child enticing ads, beckoning all to come to the big local fair, "The Good Times are Here".  My girl says pleease Mommy let's go!  Initial thought ewww, yuck, no way!  Then I recall my own time with my mom and dad, who incidently,  made the same comments many years around cleanliness, crowds and expense.  Anyway, I loved the fruit exhibits, Gem and Minerals, Fur and Feathers, livestock, etc.  Being reflective on this,  we all load up and head out (of course I am fully armed with hand sanitizer and wipees and a change of clothes in case her pant cuffs touch the livestock pee water washed out from the stalls (go ahead and laugh... you all mocked me about the petting zoo 3 years ago and that resulted in  ecoli contamination/ exposure of the children who encountered the friendly little petting zoo)).  

In closing, Peeps did have a fine time, first corn dog, first chocolate banana, first pony ride (it is so much more fun when the rides are real she says).

Soccer Drama

Well after 2 years of listening to Peeps request to play "soccer" I finally signed her up. There was a waiting list and a variety of small hoops to jump through but last Saturday (Sept) Piper had her first experience.  Excitedly she stripped down to put on the youth extra small uniform and teeny tiny pink and silver shin guards.  Her hair bedazzled in October bows big enough to provide shade not only for her,  but her team mates.  She exploded onto the field.  Giggling as she kicked the ball during drills, making friends as she went.  Adults marveled as this tiny soccer girl zipped around the field hugging her new friends and chasing the ball.  The whistle blew and it was soccer time; 4 six minute quarters of pee wee soccer.  It was like 12 puppies straining to be the first at the communal dinner bowl... my daughter squeezed out, stepped on and left behind.  She gets up, looks around, brushes herself and heads  back into the rumble.  Next round she is knocked down, she tearfully exclaims (with some disgust),  "nobody asked if I was ok OR even said sorry!"  This week she says I will get dressed but I will not play on the field.  To "toughen" her appearance we selected a simple braid with a small coordinating bow.  She was ready to go. On the way over I realized that her game was at 10 a.m. not 11 a.m. therefore she missed this weeks experience. She was entirely content playing post game "soccer" with the other kids, Daddy and an occasional Pep and Cheer moment for her friend Nico.