On the Fritz

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011

So our air conditioner upstairs has been on the fritz*. Not working at all. SO, we've been sleeping downstairs at night, because it has been a pretty hot summer so far. Of course, technically, it isn't summer yet. Which actually is kind of scary, because we're thinking, "Surely it can't get any hotter?"

Today Daddy was at work, getting things ready while Mommy was busy too. Madison has been playing with her Leapster Explorer a lot. For her birthday, her cousins got her "The Princess and the Frog."

It's a good game for her - she's been playing this one and the one for "Tangled" as well. She's learning quite a bit from it, actually. What's neat is that we can come over and help her learn how to do things: count, add, subtract, spell, and so forth. She's been pretty good about learning too - which excites us to no end.

Tonight, Mommy made a wonderful meal for dinner for all of us. We grilled this chicken outside on the grill, and she even had some pineapple upside down cake as well. It was all very good - and very filling.

At bedtime, it's one more night in the crib. We've got a temporary crib set up downstairs until the air conditioning folk come tomorrow. Madison is getting to be such a big girl now!

* No one knows the origin of this phrase. I've looked. There are theories, but nobody knows for sure. Sorry.

Ice Cream Parlor

Can you believe we spent the entire day inside today? I think it was about 8:30 that we realized this, as Madison and Daddy bravely stepped outside to walk across the lawn and get the mail from the mailbox.

Earlier in the day, a UPS delivery guy brought Madison some birthday presents, so we did open the door once.

But the rest of the day was spent inside! What did we do today, you ask?

Madison spent most of the day with her new toys. One of which was an instant ice cream parlor that looks somewhat like this:

Madison's ice cream parlor is much, much bigger though. It has THIRTY-FIVE pieces. This used to be something to be amazed at. Like, as in: "Wow, honey, that's a lot of pieces for the money." Now, it's like: "Wow, honey, that's a lot of pieces of plastic all over the floor!"

Still, Madison has been more diligent about keeping this set together. She's been very meticulous about making us ice cream too. She first takes our orders - Daddy gets a mint or sometimes a chocolate. Or sometimes Daddy does an old Albert Finney impersonation and orders a banana ice cream. Next, Madison needs to know should it be served in a cone, or in a bowl? The bowls come with spoons and the cones have paper wrappers that go around the sugar cone portion. One final question: sprinkles? If so, should it be chocolate or rainbow colored? She gets the order together back at the parlor, using a big spoon to scoop out of a box or smaller container - and she never forgets the napkin. Ice cream is served!

She pays attention to all of these details and gets everything covered. And, to our relief, she picks up all the pieces when she's done and puts them where they belong.

In other exciting news, Madison and Daddy defeated Blackbeard tonight. Hold your applause until the end, please. We played Lego pirates some more, and had our bonding time for over an hour. Okay, so it was probably longer than that. The good news is that we discovered the Fountain of Youth and all is well. Explorers can stop looking now.

Speaking of which, Madison got a Leapster Explorer for her birthday. She was using this a lot today, as Daddy got her started on it. She's got games with Tiana, Belle, Cinderella, Tinkerbell and Rapunzel now - and each has some sort of learning application with it. She's really into each of these, and the neat thing is that they both feature some adjustments that make the replay value very good. Madison is clearly at a beginner stage on some of these, learning basic math and language skills. But a peek at some of the more advanced levels of the same stages reveals that she could be playing these same games years from now. And, the bonus is that the graphics and sound are great and she's really into it. So, thumbs up so far!

We had plenty of leftover food from the luau and birthday parties, so there was lots to choose from for lunch. We ate together, and basically lounged about afterwards.

Daddy did do some writing for our new series which starts in two weekends. Mommy has been ordering costuming while Daddy writes - it's going to be a lot of fun. This is a series called, "Kung Pow!"

There will be elements from "Kung Fu Panda" in it and elements of "The Karate Kid" too. All in all, it's shaping up to be an outstanding series, message-wise. Obviously, having been to China will add a bit to the series. More info to come in a bit - but for now, here's one brief description of what's to come:

Bow to your sensai! Everybody is kung fu fighting, as all this series, KidPak becomes the dojo with mojo. We’ll be getting our kicks and earning our belts as we open our Bibles to learn about timeless virtues such as confidence, patience, compassion, self-control and courage. The time has come to face your destiny as a true warrior. Join us for KidPak Adventures: Kung Pow!

Father's Day Luau

Madison gave Daddy a great Father's Day craft this morning - it was such a precious moment. She was so sweet - she said, "Happy Father's Day!" Then she gave Daddy a craft - and a hug. It was right in front of everyone in the hallway. Everyone said, "Awwwww!"

Here's a scan of the necktie she designed for Daddy:

Afterwards, it was time for a big afternoon! It was the Third Annual Front Yard Luau! Last year's event was such a success, we simply had to keep it going despite everyone's busy schedules. We went over to Ye-Ye and Nana's house, where they had all sorts of incredible foods available. Obviously, there was plenty of fruit, from watermelon to cantaloupe to pineapple. There were skewers with teriyaki, there were slices of ham, and blackened pork as well.

Next, it was time for the festivities: we played ladder ball - or bolo ball. It's a new game in the line-up this year, but it was actually pretty fun. It's somewhat like horseshoes in scoring and concept, only you throw these bolos and try to hit a target. If the children are bad, you can throw these around their ankles and immobilize them!

When finished with that game, we once again played 'Ulu maika, which a Hawaiian game where you roll something that's basically shaped like a hockey puck - and try to get it in between two bamboo stakes. This was a neat game from last year. Daddy has been practicing since last year, because he got it on the first try. Madison sort of took her time with this one, rolling it. And then rolling it again. And then rolling it again. And then finally rolling it in between the stakes. And then there was much rejoicing! Here's a blurb on this unique game from Hawaiian culture:

'Ulu maika: Rolling stone disks. 'Ulu maika or 'olohu was one of the most popular sports in early Hawai'i. It consisted of rolling carefully crafted playing stones, somewhat resembling modern hockey pucks, on specially prepared courses. The stones were rolled between stakes to test a player's skills or rolled down long courses to show strength. One of the best of the remaining 'ulu maika courses, approximately 500 feet long, is located on the island of Moloka'i.

Of course, not all the games were Hawaiian. One in particular involved taking beach towels and in teams of two, trying to pass - and catch - water balloons. Madison REALLY liked this. She held one side of the beach towel and Hannah held the other. The two worked together to catch balloons and try to pass them on. Obviously, some of the players became a bit devious as the activity went on, and inevitably all of us were a little wet by the time the game was through.

Which of course leads to the complete chaos that is the water gun fight. Or, in Ye-Ye's case: the water hose fight. He got the garden hose and made sure all his grandkids were wet enough. Madison screamed and ran around - she loved it! This squirt gun fight got nearly everyone involved, and nearly everyone soaking wet.

Afterwards, it was time for cake and presents. That's right: presents. Madison got lots more birthday presents today - Leapster games, a play ice-cream parlor, and even a Perry the Platypus. Daddy even got some gifts: boxer shorts from Disney World. You won't be seeing those on this blog! We all gathered around and sang "Happy Birthday" once more, and Madison blew out the candles one last time this year.

We left the luau, still slightly wet and certainly quite tired from a big day. The morning started out at church with a big service, and for the past two weeks we've been running around quite a bit in preparations for Summer Xtreme and Madison's birthday. It's been a splendid time!

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Saturday was a big day for all of us! Madison had a mini-birthday party today at the church, where some of her friends showed up to celebrate and have some fun, fun, fun. We all had a great time - in fact, Madison had her first air hockey game today!

She had a blast. Mommy outdid herself with cupcakes and snacks, which had the theme of a beach day. You can see the flip-flop cookies and the shoreline cupcakes, complete with little umbrellas. What fun! And they tasted good too!

For a craft, we had a "design your own surfboard" area. Daddy got big surfboards out to decorate the table, and all the kids lined up to use markers and stickers to customize their own surfboards.

Even the grown-ups got in on the act!

Afterwards, it was time for the "Happy Birthday" song, complete with the blowing out of the candle, and the opening of presents!

It was a nice time this afternoon - Mommy worked very hard to get it all together. We had tiki torches outside and a trail of balloons to lead the way to the party. Lots of helium - a few of us were talking pretty high-pitched in the morning!

Madison had a good day, but it didn't end with the party. Of course, she went home to play with some of her new toys - but later on, she went over to Ye-Ye and Nana's house (because Mommy and Daddy had to go to a wedding). What a full day it was! Madison got to go see "Mr. Popper's Penguins" with the cousins - while Mommy and Daddy waited out a pretty intense storm with the rest of the wedding party in Buford. It was quite an adventurous day, really.

But tomorrow promises to bring more excitement, as we have another great big birthday party for Madison over at Ye-Ye and Nana's house. Until then, check out this action-packed video of Madison attacking the air hockey table. Let's get ready to rumble!

Scourge of the Seven Seas

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011

Mommy had quite a day preparing for tomorrow, while Daddy's been at work, making children's church happen. We have been busy lately, but not too busy to sit down and play Lego Pirates. Got to keep those priorities in check.

Here she is, Madison's pirate. The game includes a "design-your-own-pirate" feature, much later on in the game. We discovered it this week, so Daddy helped Madison make her very own pirate. Yep! She chose the hair, the skin color, the black shirt, black pants, pink sleeves, those brown gloves - and most importantly the weapon. Rather than go with the conventional sword or pistol, I'm rather proud of her: Madison chose something that looks like it came off a swordfish! That's my girl!

Kung Fu Underwear Head

Here she is, the Kung Fu Underwear Head. Mommy got her some special underwear for the little princess, partly as incentive to use the potty a bit more effectively. It was actually a really good day in that department, and the end result was something spectacular for all of us: banana splits! I'm serious - Mommy made banana splits for each of us tonight, and these were incredible. I can't tell you the last time I had a banana split, and for posterity purposes, we can all now say that Thursday, June 14th, 2011 was the first time that Madison ever had a banana split. For the record: she loved it. Of course, she loves anything to do with ice cream. It's one of those words that you can't say around her, or she suddenly starts going crazy!

You're probably wondering why she put the underwear on her head. Actually, I don't know either. It was bedtime and therefore time to get changed - so there you go. We had been watching "Kung Fu Panda" again, so Madison was all into the karate posing, which hopefully begins to explain the rather odd photo here. Of course, we have it significantly cropped!

We've been watching a few martial arts movies here and there in preparation for our new series in July. This one will be special: it has a Chinese feel to it, or at least the stage will. Tonight, we watched that movie and another one as well, "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior." Two nights ago, we watched the new "Karate Kid," which takes place in China largely. It was amazing to see China again in this movie - they captured a lot of Beijing, and the cinematography was very good. We enjoyed the movie too. It was neat going back to China for the evening.

We'll be watching more martial arts movies in the coming days - especially one of Daddy's favorites, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." But after Madison goes to bed. We don't want to be teaching any more special moves to Kung Fu Underwear Head!

Happy Birthday, Madison

Today, Madison came by and tried out out stilts - as of late, we in the office have been addicted to marching around on these stilts. We've all become quite good at it, in fact. Now it was Madison's turn. She really enjoyed it, although Daddy was technically doing all the work. Still, she had fun marching along up high like she did. Yet, this is not quite the highlight of the day - this one below just might be it:

Today was Madison's 5th birthday. Ask her how old she is, and she'll hold up her hand and blurt out, "Five!" Daddy has been at work today, so our birthday celebrations will be this weekend coming. Still, it was nice to have everyone in the office to wish her all the best. Daddy had to work today, but it was such a great moment when Madison came in and we all wished her a happy birthday. She hung out with us for just a bit, and then we all moved on with our day pretty much.

It was a day not unlike any other day, but the occasion did give us reason to pause and reflect on the previous birthdays. Can you believe it has been three years with Madison? Here are some brief memories and photos from the birthdays past:

Fourth Birthday

The fourth birthday party had us going to Monkey Joe's, where we got a room and had a day of fun with the inflatables there. It was a very fun time for everyone, even the adults. Madison was quite happy, and queen for a day! This was a fine occasion, where we rented out the place and had a lot of children show up. Madison was delighted, as you can see. It was great to have all the kids surround her and sing happy birthday. This would be the first year that she really "got" it, understanding that today was in fact her birthday. She enjoyed it so much, from opening the countless gifts to eating cake and ice cream to running around and jumping on the inflatables. One of her favorite moments was having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her though. Up until this point, she'd been singing it to everyone else, and she didn't quite remember the year before. This picture brings a smile to my face every time!

Madison's Third Birthday

Here she is at the old house with our "Winnie the Pooh" themed party, which was a blast. We threw "bees," which were bean bags shaped like bees, and tried to hit the honeypot. Mommy made some of the most incredible cakes she's ever done. And friends and family celebrated Madison's first birthday with us at the house. Everyone went all-out for her birthday, and for an entire day, Madison got to wear "the hat." This was a special hat we got for the occasion, and Madison never took it off. She wore the thing for a few days afterwards too, from what I remember. She's such a cutey!

Madison's Second Birthday

Happy Birthday, Madison! Our daughter turns five today. Here's a photo of her on her second birthday - it was taken in her orphanage in Cangwu, China. Mommy and Daddy had sent her a cake and a panda as an early gift - and just a few days later we would meet for the first time on "Gotcha Day." It's hard to believe that it's been three years! Though she'll be receiving plenty of birthday presents, Madison is still one of the most wonderful gifts Mommy and Daddy could ever receive.