remembering memorial day

I want the kids to know why there was a holiday yesterday.

But as disorganized as I am lately, it wasn't until 4pm that I threw together a lesson. I remembered I had a related book about soldiers somewhere and fished it out from among the unread bookshelves.

This is it. It's about POWs/MIAs. It is beautifully written, and I almost cried reading it to them.


Then I read them this poem, by John McCrae:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


I don't remember ever reading this poem before, but it's supposedly a tradition for Memorial Day.

For a craft, we made these red poppies.


I love the expression on Joaquin's face.


Then we made a red, white, and blue dessert treat, and I packed them all up in the car. During the drive, we looked for American flags. We counted ten, I think, before we arrived at our destination.


You see, it was also my mom's birthday this weekend. So I thought we'd remember her, too.


There were a lot of flags there, drawing our attention.


We are thankful for those that served, and we remember.

strawberry fields

Yes, we paid the big bucks to add a little red to our memorial day weekend.


There weren't that many strawberries, but we probably left with two pints full...that's how much we normally get since we eat most of them there anyway.


Diego was anti-strawberry, only interested in that which was not red...check the leaves in his hand...


...and a huge bag of rocks.


I did force a strawberry in his mouth...he was just squishing them in his hands...and after that, he wanted more...


and more..


now that's a crazy face.

caught in the rain again

Although Friday night is hailed as movie night in our house, with a little arguing and threatening, I convinced everyone that a family walk through a real neighborhood with sidewalks and all would be much more fun. The kids had their helmets and scooters, and we were armed with the camera.

Well, Isabela promptly fell off of her scooter before we'd even left the parking lot...and this is what she looked like. Not a good sign, but at least she's smiling.


Joaquin is daredevil machine on his. Zipping around and flying through the air to crash to the pavement as a means of stopping. Thankfully, no one was hurt.


We took a peek over the climbing wall.


Then proceeded on through the neighborhood, despite the gray sky. Well, sure enough, it opened up on us. We probably made it back to the car in 10 mintues, kids hightailing it on their scooters, and me running along the sidewalk in flipflopped feet, pushing a weebley woobley umbrella stroller...ironic, huh?

And poor JP had twisted his ankle in soccer the other night, so he couldn't run. Just another thrilling night in our effort to get outside more.

sneak peek

Last Monday, we took the kids to see the new Karate Kid movie at a special screening. I was worried about how Diego would do since he's now 14 months old....we never took our kids to the movies before they were four years old! But he did great...ate some crackers, watched the first scene, became a little squirmy, then fell asleep for the majority of it.

So here's my simple review of it...the acting in some parts was pretty bad, but overall we loved it. The kung fu parts are great and so are the views of the Chinese countryside and architecture.

a dip in the james

Sunday was the perfect day to go to one of our favorite parks...Robious Landing Park. It's right on the James and there are always boats going by, plus it has great trails through the woods and a nice playground.

Diego is always excited to be outside. He's my outdoors baby. Loves the grass on his toes and dirt in his hands.


I love this picture...it looks like they are just sweetly walking through the grass hand in hand...


But it's really like this...and I had told Isabela to make sure Diego doesn't make a beeline for the river.


The kids loved watching the motor boats whiz by...there was even someone being pulled on a raft that ended up flipping in the wake...no one was hurt.


Diego, of course, would have jumped in if Juan Pablo didn't hold on tight. And the river looked like it had a strong current that day. Sticks were whizzing by, too.


Here's the dip I was talking about...just the feet.


And maybe some hands.


We had brought a bucket along in hopes of catching something, but we almost lost the bucket in the current. Then it started to rain big drops, so I quick took the camera back to the car...it says not to get it wet, and I'm not ready to take any chances. Joaquin wanted to get in the car, too, but there's nothing better than a walk in the rain on a warm day.


Under the canopy of the trees, we barely got wet, but could hear the pitter patter of the drops as they hit the leaves, and see them falling into the river. We played follow the leader...Joaquin led...which meant lots of booty shaking and gas-like noises. It was absolutely hilarious.

our girl

She's a defender. But we always knew that about her.


Just look how she takes care of her baby brother.


She plays hard.


But she cleans up well.

Nothing to do?

Are your kids bored? Or are you?

Check out this great website I just found.

goodbye, abuelita

Saying goodbye is always hard. It's putting off of packing suitcases.


It's telling stories around one last family meal.


It's one last picture together.


One last glimpse.


Chau, abuelita. We'll see you again soon! Besos!

hot day + hose =

I sent Isabela outside..."Go make mudpies." And she eagerly went. Diego wanted to so badly...just look at his pleading face.
So, why not?

rest for the weary

Yesterday was a great day for the pool...













enough said.