Father's Day Traditions

Our first tradition for father's day comes from what my brother and I used to do for my dad. Each year, my mom would have us draw a portrait of our dad and then it would hang up on the wall. It was fun to see how the drawings changed as we got older. I have had both kids do this for father's day.

Here are Zander's from the last two years (2009-2010):

The interesting thing about this year's picture is how deliberate each of the marks is. I wish I would have video taped him as he was drawing it, because he carefully explained everything as he worked. I told him to draw a picture of daddy and he took a blue marker and said, "'ere is the 'ead. And his 'egs. A nose. A arm." I asked him if Daddy needed ears? "Yes, 'ere are the ears." Then in the lower left hand corner is his name. I love it!

Here are Zoey's pictures from the last 5 years. (2006-2010)

Our other tradition is to leave Daddy at home all by himself while for a weekend, while we all go enjoy the weekend at the lake. . .odd, but fun!

The weather wasn't so hot on Saturday--until the evening. It turned out to be perfect paddle boating weather. The kids had fun taking turns with Grandma and Grandpa.




Sunday the weather cooperated completely! It was a perfect day! The kids and I hung out on the beach for most of it. There was some more paddle boating in the evening. Zoey is turning into quite the beach bunny!




At the library this week, we got a Summer WishList to fill out. Zoey was very excited to make her list. I am excited to see her want to write so much! She asked me for help with the spelling, but all I really did was give her the standard reading teacher lines, "What sound do you hear next?" "What letter makes that sound?" Etc. She decided to use lines to show where the spaces go--even though I advised against it. Oh well. Baby steps.

Summer Vacation

Mommy: Zoey, I'm going to the grocery store. Can you think of anything we need?
Zoey: Um. . .I know I'm not in school yet, but could you maybe pick me up some school tools?
Mommy: Like what? What are school tools?
Zoey: You know, pencils.
Mommy: Well, we have pencils around home. I will find you some and you can use those.
Zoey: Ok. Well, if you see any homework, can you buy that?

Zoey's Mulan Adventure

Here is Nana's account of the evening. Thank you so much for taking Zoey on these excursions. She is so appreciative of them and she talks about them all the time!

Going to Children's Theatre is now a yearly tradition for Zoey and I. In our second adventure, I drove my own car and Zoey was able to use her new big-kid-car-seat that she was easily fastened into. (We decided more outings would be great since the car seat was so versatile.)

The bouncing bundle of excitement was waiting in the driveway. She was smiling so big and clapping her hands - a really fired up five year old. I got her strapped in, we waved goodbye and I felt so bad that Zander wasn't coming with. When he is four he will have special trips to the Children's Theatre, too.

Zoey, the conversationalist extraordinaire, kept talking non-stop the whole way to the theatre. I learned the boy next door wanted to marry her... but, that wasn't a big deal to her, just a passing fact in her everyday life. I asked how was daycare and she said it was good and told me all about her friends in and out of daycare.

She recognized the Children's Theatre when we arrived. We parked the car one block away. She had on a really cute outfit that she got for her birthday ala Auntie Tammy and Uncle Eric and she had on sparkly flip flops. The flip flops kept flipping off when she walked but we managed to get in and up the flight of stairs. Such a fashionista!

She used her magic ticket along with her "real" ticket to enter. The teenager taking the tickets ruined the moment by saying, "I don't want this..." handing the magic ticket back. But, the more mature gentleman taking tickets wanted to take a look and said he really liked Zoey's magic ticket - a slight save...

As we found our seats Zoey was much more the theatre goer. She stayed close to me and didn't run too far ahead. We had third row seats and a great view.

The show started with silver and white clad, 15 foot tall, Chinese ancestors setting the storyline. Everyone ooohed and ahhhed. There was singing and dancing and tai chi moves and humor and an exciting sword fight. There was slapstick and more dancing and funny jokes from the "red dragon" (actor who was one of the ugly stepsisters last time we went). He was marvelous and so was the actor playing Mulan. Zoey laughed and stayed glued watching everything. Her five year old laugh is loud and super expressive so everyone in the theatre could hear. People sitting around us loved her reactions and commented to me that she was so cute.

During the sword fight she got scared a little and I whispered to her that is was just acting and no one would get hurt. She nodded OK and watched with her hands ready to cover her eyes. Then the red dragon came out and blew out paper fire into the audience to stop the fight. It was great. Everyone screamed and applauded.

I think Zoey single-handed kept the audience willing to be involved. The place was only about 2/3 full and I'm sure the actors were disappointed in the turnout. One guy said he had tickets for the night before but the show was canceled. (Probably due to low ticket sales.) They swapped his tickets for whenever he wanted to come back. Two other shows later in the year have also been canceled due to budget cuts. But, with Zoey so lively and into the show the actors get infused with adrenalin and do a good job. It makes their job worthwhile. They should hire her as a plant to get everyone engaged and comfortable.

Zoey was falling asleep on the way home. She was a joy to take out and I look forward to another Nana and Zoey evening at the theatre.

p.s. Mulan is the story of a girl who finds success in being herself. She bravely breaks the tradition of girls being less worthy than boys. By using her brain she was able to show everyone that it is what is inside that counts. Zoey is definitely that type of girl.

The Magic Ticket

Tonight was the night that Zoey was able to redeem Nana's Magic Ticket. The two ladies went off to a night at the Children's Theatre to enjoy Mulan. I am sure they will have a marvelous time. I look forward to Nana's written account of the evening.

Here are some pictures of our exuberant 5 year old as she waited for her carriage to arrive.

Zander was pretty exuberant too!

Excited to use her new car seat in Nana's car.


The neighbor boy confessed to wanting to marry Zoey when they are older. Here is the proof written in chalk. "Alex wants to marry Zoey."