Irene

Thankfully Irene treated us more like a cuddly grandma who had us wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket instead of the alternative that we were expecting. We were spared any falling trees, never lost power, and still have a completely dry subpump/basement. Today was a family bonding day like no other.

Track stars

We spent yesterday at the track for Travers Day and then at the begging of Luke went out for fish and chips but ended up at Raul's for fish tacos. Their fish of the day turned out to be yellowfin tuna, we did not think he would go for it but John was game. So we ordered it and he amazed us with his mature palate. He ate nearly the entire meal himself. We high-fived him as he chowed on the hunks of fish and he said, "you guys, you knew I would LOVE IT!" Seriously this kid is too much.

Full belly of yellow fin tuna

When we all woke up this morning Luke was nervous that our house was going to "get wrecked". But some Curious George took his mind off that. He built a boathouse out of a cardboard box for his speedboat and used his sticker collection to decorate it. He fashioned a net to catch fish out of some bubble wrap and had his killer whale get caught in it. The rug pad was his sand bar and he was clearly the captain. It was hours of entertainment. When he tired of that he wanted to take a shower (with goggles of course), this is a recent development. One that I'm liking as it gives both of us independence.

Ellie did arts and crafts, making rainbows and sunshine while decorating herself and me with stickers all over our shirts. We also chose to use this day at potty-training 101. We put her in underwear and she quickly got the hang of it. She went three times in a row with no accidents and tons of pride. Just as I thought we were well underway of ridding her of pull-ups she pulled a fast one on us in the playroom and then again in the living room. Apparently this is how she shows her independence, doing it her way on her terms. *sigh*

Potty like a rockstar

We had fondue for lunch which was super fun. We made peanut butter cookies to share with the babysitter and we looked through old photos and videos from last winter. It was simple and quiet and homey. Thanks Irene for not living up to the predictions, we preferred you to be lackluster outside so that we could enjoy a little bit of our own luster inside.