summer party day

we had quite the day!

we went to sweet tomatoes for lunch. just me and the kids. some memorable quotes (all of these said in an over animated "Orphan Annie" voice):

1. i had forgotten what white bread tastes like!

2. i'm sure my stomach has NEVER been THIS full!

3. my stomach is SO mad at me.

4. ACK! where did you find that JELLO?

then we went to whitie's pet store.

1. piles of newborn hairless pink rats, finches, rabbits, and kittens that made darcy cry.

2. watching jax physically react to seeing a tarantula right next to him.

3. colin burst out laughing at a school of flashy fish.

then we went to salvation army where each kid got to pick our one thing. darcy and eric got roller backpacks for school ("this backpack has 9 pockets! that's one of my FAVORITE numbers!!!"), sydney got a dolphin statue ("WHY would anyone ever give this away!", and jax picked out rubber boots that have been on his feet ever since. add a great camping backpack for me - all for $14.89.

i had to fight the urge to get a glorious stuffed snow tiger the size of darcy that was $5. it would have fit the mood of the day.

we finished off the day with fish stick tv dinners (the ones that come with a brownie. - "this macaroni and cheese tastes just like nothing!") and swimming at the neighbors pool.

awesome.

We're famous!

some video fun for you...

What I Liked At Adventure Playground by Lucy

i like the zipline. I built a birdhouse.I built a picture.

A New Hat

Chris decided that his Berkeley hat was looking a bit shabby. I decided that if he was going to go to Berkeley for a new hat, then I was going with him. And if both parents were going, then it seemed prudent to take the kids. And, if you have to take a trip with both kids, it really is wise to take Rachel along.

Of course, it seems silly to take five people to Berkeley just for a hat, so we stopped off to see these guys:











After we wandered around Berkeley for awhile, it was time to leave "educational" behind us and move on to "dangerous". It was time for
We'd found it on Google, along with the following parent reviews:

"How can this place stay open with all that liability?"
"Only send your child here if they have closed-toed shoes and a tetanus shot."
"Remember that junkyard where Fat Albert and his gang used to hang out?"
"As if Lord of the Flies was set amidst the happiest shanty town on earth."

So of course we were going, and we weren't disappointed. Here is the sign that greeted us on the way in:
Basically, on arrival you had to scrounge around collecting old nails and splinters from the ground until you had enough to exchange them for tools. Then you could essentially do whatever you wanted. Want to paint that piece of playground equipment? Go ahead. Want to build a ladder and then nail it to a tree? Fine. Feel like constructing a rickety rope swing or pounding on the insides of a piano with the giant hammer that you made yourself? Have at it. Here are some Adventure Playground trip statistics:

Total cost of admission: $0
# of times Theo was injured by a 'Mr Dangerous'- 1
# of adults I saw in any official capacity: 0
Age of "staff member" handing out saws and nails: 9
# of rules posted: 2. ("Keep your shoes, and your eyes.")
Age requirement to be dropped off by your parent completely without supervision: 7
Age required to ride the zipline: 6 (thankfully)
Minimum age required to check out a handsaw: None
We had a blast. Chris and Lucy made a forty pound birdhouse and an airplane. Lucy painted a self portrait, and the five of us painted this on a 3ft x 5ft piece of wood that we dragged out from under a pile:

We had to collect a lot of splinters to get that much paint, but it was worth it.