Charlie

Bubble Extravaganza!

So, bubbles are like, the cheapest toy in existence.  At Target, the kids kept asking for all of these crazy, ridiculous toys.  So, we plunked some bubbles in the cart instead, and *shazam*, super happy kids, for like, six bucks.  We got bubble blowers, extra bubble solution, and even a throwable foam airplane that spits bubbles out of the back as it flies.  Magic.​

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Isn't there always a straggler?  While we were playing games, Thea fell asleep in my lap.  Once I moved her to the couch, Charlie climbed into my lap, and then she fell asleep, so I moved her to the couch as well.​  So, Phoebe and I continued to play two-person-Pictionary, for pretty much forever, and ever.  It was almost midnight before she finally crashed, and if I remember correctly, she fell asleep while it was my turn to draw.

Skates

Charlie is amazing.  She's our superhero too, and here, she's refusing help, and teaching herself how to rollerskate.  Charlie may not quite be the natural athlete that Phoebe is, but when Charlie wants to learn how to do something, she will not give up until she learns it.  She's incredibly brave, tough, and determined.  She will fall down, skin her knees, wince, and get right back up and try again, she rarely cries about it, and she has no fear.​  I was looking forward to teaching Charlie how to ride her bike without her training wheels.  When the day came, and her training wheels came off, she just rode that damn thing away.  I never had to hold her shoulders, give her a push, or even run behind her.  Why?  Because Charlie had wanted to learn, so, before those training wheels came off, she borrowed bigger kids' bikes, and rode, and fell, and got up, and tried again, and again.  Phoebe learned to ride without her training wheels over the course of a week, with our help.  Charlie taught herself, in three days.  She's really, really incredible.

Dance Party!

So, Phoebe, Charlie and I made a playlist of all of the stuff we listen to in the car, and at home, that we all like.   Over the years, the type of music that everyone in the family likes has all melded together. Everyone reaches out and brings a little more stuff to our scene.  Mom's Tegan & Sara, Dad's Foals and Shout Out Louds, and all the stuff Mom and Dad found together, like M83.  Then, we dance to it.

Full-House Teamwork. Almost.

​When Mommy comes home from work trips, we all team up, and make sure that we get the last specks of dirt tidied up, and that everything is in its place, because coming home to a mess after a week of working sucks.  Everyone is happy to do it, we put on our "rockout" playlist, and go at it.  Thea generally just watches.  Because she's like that.  She's very helpful when she knows where something goes, and wants to do her part, but, she also like to not have to clean up.

Minigolf

I thought it'd be fun if the whole family went miniature golfing.  When I brought it up to Christa, she said "Let's go roller skating!", which we also did.  But there was a Groupon for this, so I took the kids anyway.  They all had a ton of fun, even Thea, who had zero interest in the actual act of golfing.  :)​

Chaos Test

When Vine first popped up in the AppStore, it looked like a gem for what goes on around our place.  Four kids, a buncha pets, just seemed like a good idea.  After I downloaded it, for a test, I just focused on whatever the kids were doing at that second.  Yup, this is what they were doing.​