Payback for 70-degree February Temps

When it's 120-degrees outside, activities become very limited.  It was even too hot to consider going swimming until very late this afternoon.  Poor Alstott could barely summon the strength to go outside to do his business; within two minutes, he was scratching at the slider door panting like he had been out there for hours.

I was desperate for some new indoor activities, so after the morning's swimming and gymnastics lessons, Alexa and I headed to the store to pick up a new board game, as I'm growing very tired of Candyland.  As soon as she saw the game Operation, the decision of which game to buy was made instantly.  Wow - - this game has changed in the past twenty years.  It now features various skill levels, allowing you to adjust the sensitivity of the metal to the tweezers, the items for extraction are no longer bones, but rather random objects, and the game has sound effects beyond the obnoxious buzz.  I think we must have played 10 games of Operation...by that time, the sound effect-free Candyland seemed like a much more desirable option.

This evening Alexa and I made a trip to Michaels to stock up on arts & crafts, and on the way there, I was recounting what we would do to stay cool in the summer when I was little.  After she overcame her shock and disbelief that I didn't have a pool growing up, Alexa became very intrigued by the concept of the lawn sprinkler and water balloons.  After Michaels, she convinced me to go to the dollar store and buy some water balloons.  I spent the next thirty minutes inflating water balloons, and Alexa was tossing them across the backyard as far as she could, laughing hysterically as they broke with a splash.  She idea of getting splashed by the broken balloon didn't exactly resonate with her; oh well, she had a blast chucking the balloons and burning off some of her pent up energy!

Enjoying some limited outdoor time with water balloons.

Watching the balloon carefully to make sure it didn't break on her.

A Grand Inquisition

Another Thursday and another lesson of Alexa being the star pupil in her swim class.  I still shake my head in disbelief at the transformation she's experienced....

Alexa was quite the inquisitive one tonight; I felt like I had a reporter in the back seat as we drove to swimming lessons.  She was asking some of the most random questions - - where her swim coach Devin lives, whether Devin has a pool at her house, asking if she could take figure skating lessons, wondering if Granty could see her swimming while he's in heaven (of course he can)....  I was exhausted by the time we got to swimming lessons and was looking forward to 30 question-free minutes.

Her inquiries didn't stop at swim, as the questions continued when we went out to dinner for our usual Thursday night post-swim dinner. As she sat in Paradise Bakery eating her chicken noodle soup (yes, it's 110-degrees here and Alexa wanted soup for dinner), she began peppering me with questions about my life.  She wanted to know the name of my school I attended when I was young, the name of my family dog, and I nearly spit out my water when she asked me if I ever had a boyfriend.  Oy.  I told her I had some boyfriends growing up (she pressed for a few names, and I began laughing as I thought about some of them...to my defense, I was young!) but that Damon was my last boyfriend.  To that comment she asked, "Why aren't your boyfriends around anymore?  Daddy doesn't have to be your last boyfriend."  Oh goodness...I don't think Damon will appreciate that comment.  I have a feeling Alexa will be enrolled in Sunday School at St. Apkar's very soon - - lol

Inquiring minds want to know.....

Mommy, Daddy...and Monkeys?!?

Summer camp at Alexa's Montessori school has been a great experience for Alexa.  Not only is she undertaking more "challenging" work, but she's also doing a lot of extra-curricular activities that always bring a smile to my face when she explains them.  Today was a much-anticipated cookie-making day, and Alexa excitedly recounted the recipe for me as we drove home from school.  She was torn as to whether the cookies would count as her one sweet for the day, as there was sugar in the recipe, but since there was fruit in them, she was optimistic that the "growing food" would offset the sweet.  Oh, the dilemmas of a four year-old.  :)

She was also wearing one of the day's art projects when I picked her up this afternoon - a "Who Do I Love" necklace made with colored Popsicle sticks.  I was relieved to see that both Damon and I made the list (whew!), in addition to BFF Gabriella, a friend Isabella and cousin Abby.  However, I was both amused and perplexed by the last stick of the necklace - - apparently Alexa loves monkeys.  Interesting.  I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be offended that primates trumped her beloved Granty and puggle Alstott.  She did tell me that she couldn't fit everyone (like cousin Katie or NeNe) on the necklace, so I'll chalk up the omission of Granty to space too.  I think it was just too hard to limit the people she loves to six.  Nevertheless, I think this necklace is definitely one I will keep and show her again when she's eighteen....I just hope Damon and I will still make the list.  lol

The necklace...I'm still wondering about the monkeys.

Proof of Alexa doing challenging work - sent to me by her teacher.
Alexa has quite the team encouraging her academics.

Seven Long Months....

Seven months...gosh I miss my little guy.  Even though my memories of his nearly six-months of life are extremely vivid, it seems like so much longer than seven months since he was with us.

Several weeks one of my co-workers came into my office as soon as she arrived at work.  She looked absolutely spent, and I could tell her eyes were slightly puffy from crying.  The first thing she said was, "I don't know how you do it; you are so strong."  Apparently she started to think about Grant as she drove to work that morning, and she told me she started bawling as thought about my little Granty.  When made her normal stop for an iced tea, she had to go inside to try to compose herself and wipe the running makeup from her face.  As she recounted her story, I had to smile....I could definitely relate, as I cannot count the number of times I have had weepy drives to and from work.  Like I told my co-worker, I am sad every day.  There's not an hour that goes by that I don't think about Granty in some capacity; I lost a piece of my heart the day I lost him.

Even though seven months have passed, I continue to be humbled and honored by the support our family receives, the charitable actions that are done in Granty's honor, the wonderful notes, emails, and texts...  It's comforting to know that Grant's life affected so many people in such a profound and ongoing way.  His legacy is so well-preserved and cherished; in many ways, his life began on November 25th.  What a remarkable little boy!

Never without his signature grin.....

Double Trouble

Although his physique is not exactly svelte, Altsott loves to go for walks, something that becomes a little bit more challenging during the summer in Arizona.  On the weekends, I typically wake up before anyone else and take Alstott for a walk while it's still somewhat cool with temps in the high 80's/low 90's. We do the same loop each time, a 1.5 mile loop on the other side of our community, and it's the perfect 30 minute walk (allowing for frequent breaks along the way) of peace and quiet.

This morning, the pantry door creaked as I was grabbing some bags for clean-up along the way, and sure enough, when I turned around, Alexa was standing at the entryway with a huge smile on her face.  Caught!  I did my best to convince her the walk would be very boring, but even my worst sales pitch couldn't temper her interest in joining us for our walk.  Off we went....and within three minutes, I knew this was going to be a very long walk.  Between Alstott stopping to mark every bush and tree and Alexa stopping to pick up anything that caught her eye - bird feathers, shiny rocks, flowers - I think it took us 15 minutes to cover the first quarter-mile.  So much for the normal peaceful (and efficient) routine.

The walk dragged on, as both Alexa and Alstott began to slow their pace.  Finally - - I saw the gate to exit the subdivision, and I immediately realized that I left the key behind.  Oh no!  So, we had to loop back and cutover by the clubhouse, which added at least another mile to the walk.  To make matters even worse, the playground is next to the clubhouse, so it was pure torture for Alexa to walk by and not be able to play.  Alexa was exhausted at this point (thankfully I had plenty of water for both Alstott and Alexa), so I ended up walking the last half mile with Alexa riding on my back, dragging Alstott and carrying her water bottle and his bowl in my hand.  Needless to say, we provided amusement for all of the bikers, runners and walkers we encountered on our way home.  I did get a couple of comments on the impressive workout I was enduring.

Needless to say, next weekend, it will be just Alstott and me...no matter how much Alexa begs. :)

Not exactly a walk in the park with these two.... 

A Popular Choice

For Father's Day, Alexa and I selected a gift for Damon that is typically panned...a necktie.  Unlike most people, Damon wears a suit and tie to work each day, so he actually looks forward to receiving neckties as gifts.  I think Alexa enjoys them just as much as Damon, as I cannot tell you how many times I have had to remove a labyrinth of neckties from my treadmill before I'm able to run.  In her opinion, ties are just fancy (and long) ribbons.

After some searching and shopping on the Internet, Alexa and I found the perfect tie for Damon - - a green necktie with pink giraffes.  Yes, you can find giraffes or giraffe print on nearly anything and everything.  This morning, Damon was searching for the perfect suit and tie combination to match his new tie, so I knew he was excited to wear it (normally he doesn't solicit my feedback on his wardrobe choice for the evening).  I knew the tie was a hit with Damon when he began to text me a "compliment meter," tracking the number of compliments he received from employees and customers throughout the night.

Over 10 compliments as of 8pm tonight....a testament to the power of the giraffe! :)

Damon's Father's Day gift - symbolic of both of his kiddos.

Salty Alphabet

Alexa really seems to be enjoying the summer program at her Montessori school, and it seems that her favorite part is the morning drop-off.

During the normal school year, Damon is able to take advantage of carline and drop Alexa off without having to go inside the school.  However, summer school doesn't have carline, so Alexa is walked directly to her classroom each morning, as even at 8am it's usually too hot for the playground (ahh...Arizona summer).  Alexa has been taking full advantage of this classroom drop off, as she uses it as an opportunity to show off her academic prowess and the lessons she does each day.  A drop-off that usually takes two minutes now takes at least 10-15 minutes.

Earlier in the week, I had promised Alexa I would take her to school on Friday, and sure enough, her elephant-like memory made sure I did exactly that today.  She has been raving about a new lesson at school - salt letters - so I had a pretty good suspicion that she would be showing me that lesson today.  It's a really creative way to learn and practice writing letters: it's a simple shallow box with salt covering the bottom, and Alexa selects a letter card to "write" the corresponding letter in the salt.  She proudly wrote six letters this morning before I had to leave her impromptu show & tell and head to work.

Apparently this new lesson is pretty popular, as the teacher told me they have been going through salt like crazy and actually needed more.  I knew I needed to go to the grocery store, so I volunteered to pick up some salt for the class, and while I was at the store tonight, I decided to get an extra box so we could replicate the lesson at home.  I quickly learned why the classroom was using so much salt; after writing letters in a Pyrex, Alexa had salt everywhere - the table, chair, floor, herself...  Thank goodness for the Swiffer.

The last letter she wrote tonight was the letter G - - "For Gabriella and Granty!" she exclaimed.  Suddenly the salt mess didn't seem like such a big deal; I just smiled and gave her a high-five and a hug. :)

A suddenly academic Alexa - reading "When You Give a
Pig a Pancake," and calling out letter sounds to me.