We Broke Out!

No, not in a rash or into that song by Swing Out Sister. We escaped from one of Breakout Games' rooms.

Daphne has wanted to try an escape room for some time. I bought her a three month subscription to Escape the Crate last Christmas, and that allowed us to try the experience at home. It's not the same as being placed in a foreign room and given a timer that doesn't stop when the phone rings or when Earl jumps into the sink to "clean" the plates.

Breakout Games in Urbandale has two family-friendly escapes, and we tried the Island Escape, "While vacationing on a tropical island, you awake to the sounds of a dormant volcano rumbling to life. The only people still on the island, you and your team are left to your own devices and must work together to discover the keys to safety before the lava reaches shore. Bring your inner explorer out to play for this adrenaline-packed, all-ages adventure."

As you can see, we were able to break out with 1:55 left on the clock. The Island Escape was family-friendly, and Char only screamed once. I don't want to ruin the surprises for anyone, so all I'll say is that we had a great time, and Char wanted to do the other escape room right away, "Like tomorrow, maybe?"

I think we'll save that for a day when the weather isn't so nice.

Membership Has its Privileges

When you move up to 4th grade, you get your very own locker.

It's a big deal.

End of a Era...

Charlotte turned nine this month, and we hosted a party for her. The theme? Harry Potter.

This has been a Harry Potter year, so the theme makes sense. We listened to all of the audio books in the car, Char read the illustrated books 1-3 with Daphne and by herself, and we watched all 8 movies together. It got to be a bit much for me. While we were vacationing in the Black Hills, I had a couple of dreams where I was running around doing stuff with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. That's just not right.

Anyway, back to Char's party. 

We "sorted" the kids by letting them blindly draw a house name. I used a YouTube clip to announce the house name for each one.

Each student then received a house scarf and a wand.

They also received a class schedule for the day. 

Charms class had the students practicing the spell "Wingardium Leviosa." It's a basic levitation charm that "lifted" a stuffed animal off the floor with the help of fishing line and me hiding upstairs. Cheesy, but fun. 

Potions class was in the kitchen, and each house had a recipe to follow. Daphne renamed basic ingredients that would produce a colorful and bubbly effect. (Someday Charlotte will realize how much work her mom put into all of this.)

Care of Magical Creatures took place in Hagrid's Hut Tent.

Here's the Flying Lessons (relay race with brooms). Divination class was aided by the help of a Magic 8-Ball.

For Defense Against the Dark Arts, the students drew and colored their own patronuses. 

For Transfiguration Class, we shoved small, stuffed animals into mouse-eared shaped balloons When they popped the balloons, the small animals appeared. I missed getting a picture of this.

Here's our version of the Express Trolley on the Hogswarts Express. Each student had five galleons to spend on candy. Yea for chocolate frogs!

Char received a talking Sorting Hat as a gift. We could have used that earlier!

Daphne even made Char a Golden Snitch cake.

Her party was a success. When the dust settled, Daphne and I gave each other a high-five, and we cleaned the house. Char spent the afternoon riding bikes with her friends who live in the neighborhood. They were all invited to her party, so it was like the event had extended into the dusk.

So, why is this an end of an era?

When Char was younger, it took quite a bit of time to move the guests from one activity to another. Earlier parties ended before we got through all of the games. But these kids are in 4th grade. They can deftly move through an activity list. For the first time, we were out of solid ideas with 30 minutes to go. Daphne did a great job of winging it, but we were both getting nervous.

Charlotte and her friends are also a lot bigger than they used to be. As the only adults, we were outnumbered and outgunned. With 15 minutes left on the clock and a rock in my stomach, I told Daphne, "I think this is our last party like this. Can you imagine this place full of 5th graders?" She laughed, but later wholeheartedly agreed.

Next year we can take a few of her friends to a movie or maybe Adventureland. Our big party days are over.

Flashback 2011: 

Here is Char at her first birthday party opening her first gift by herself. Back then I couldn't believe she was already a year old. When I took this picture, I thought she looked so big.

I had no clue what I was in for.

I still don't.

Iowa State Fair '19

We went to the Iowa State Fair three times this year, and this post is a combination of those days. Ignore the wardrobe changes. 

When I found this tee at Goodwill, I felt confident that I had a perfect shirt to wear at the Iowa State Fair. Who doesn't love cheese curds? Probably a lot of people, but I don't hang out with them for long.

Hmmm. I think one curd is missing, but I don't know how that happened. 

This year Char entered a couple of the Fair's food competitions. Here's her Ugly Cake entry. It's a sidewalk with a dropped candy bar covered with ants (sprinkles). Also, there are Cheetos dipped in melted chocolate to resemble either sticks or poop. Probably poop.

We didn't think she would win, but we were excited to see her cake the Fair. Sadly, we could not. They placed a toilet cake smack dab in front of it.

We went to the back of the display, and I pulled the curtain back so she could pose with her cake. This is a fake smile. She was pretty upset no one would see her hard work. Later, I found a volunteer working in the Food Center, and he rearranged the display for us. 

Here's a real smile. Char won a Blue Ribbon in the Candy Chemistry competition. She made "Pop Choco-Worms" by dipping Gummy Worms in melted white chocolate and sprinkling Pop Rocks over the top. It was all her idea. 

Daphne took home a 3rd place ribbon in the Carrot Cake division. 

I won an award, too!

Okay, not really. But the award for best cotton candy, as determined by Charlotte, goes to this stand. 

You can buy cotton candy in a bag for $4, but it's only $3 on a stick. And when it is on a stick, it is bigger than her head.

The second time the cotton candy was even bigger. One girl walked by us and snarled at Char, "Think you got enough?" Charlotte just smiled and took a dive face-first into her puffy cloud of sugar.

She had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a stick later. That's a bit healthier.

Our first visit to the ISF was on a stormy Sunday morning.

The rain didn't keep me from eating a pork chop on-a-stick breakfast.

Char wanted just bacon for breakfast. We are raising her right.

It was sunny a week later, and we rode the ferris wheel that time.

Pork Belly Burnt Ends with onion rings. I need not say more.

Spin Art is a ISF tradition. 

 So is standing in front of a fan when you get too hot.

Man, the 80's are back. Can I grow my mullet now?

Char wanted nothing to do with Scotch Eggs and Gravy.

But she liked the Mini Cinni Buns with frosting.

Daphne and I saw James Taylor on the Grandstand years ago, and I've seen the Goo Goo Dolls there, too.

But I was seven when my parents took my sister and I to see Johnny Cash. The highlight for me was "Once Piece at a Time." I also remember when June Carter Cash came on stage. A man sitting behind us exclaimed, "Look how long her hair is! I bet she washes it every time she uses the bathroom!" That joke isn't very funny, but for some reason I never forgot it.

I often wonder what Fair memories are going to stay with Charlotte? Blue Ribbons are great, but I hope she remembers how much fun we all had together.

Love ya, kid.

Thumbs Up! Here Comes Fourth Grade!

Here we go again. I know Friday is a strange day for the first day of school, but here we are.

Char is an old pro now, and for the first time she opted not to wear a dress on the first day, "It's too restrictive during playtime." 

Restrictive?

She didn't grow a brick over the summer, but she is creeping up on one.

Here's to another a great year at Urbandale!

While Back-to-School Shopping...

...I spotted this notebook cover.

This is one of the kindest sentences in the English language.

Break's Over. Everybody Back in the Pool!

I have to earn some college credits in order to renew my teaching license by next July. I'm currently taking an online class to earn two hours, and the class is fine. But every time I open my laptop I feel guilty if I'm not doing the coursework.

The blog usually slows down in the summer, but only one post in July is a bit lazy. I think it's time to push through my guilt and get something on A Pocket for Charlotte.

Here's the tiny home that we rented in Keystone, SD. It was two stories tall, but only had 300 square feet.

The step leading upstairs were more like a ladder.

We have watched shows on TV about living in a tiny home, and I was curious what it would be like. If I was only allowed one word to describe the experience I would say, "cramped." It was fun to try for awhile, though.

I had a birthday on July 2nd. We had BBQ for lunch at Smoky D's. 

Char and Daphne made me a meat bouquet using origami and meat sticks. It's like they know me or something.

Then Daphne threw me a surprise birthday party at Flix. She's awesome.

Turning 50 doesn't bother me. Yes, I am getting older, and my body is creakier than it used to be. But I don't feel old, and I still laugh at fart jokes. The only physical evidence of my age is in the mirrors, so I avoid those. Getting older beats the alternative, and I'm just happy to be here with my girls. 

For the Fourth of July, the parents in our neighborhood all chipped in and rented a slip-n-slide for the kids. 

Here's Char finding out that water from the hose can be pretty cold.

We live near a country club, and we can watch their fireworks show from our driveway. 

Mini golf is still a good time.

So is the family programing at Flix. (Pop quiz: The antagonist in Matilda is Principal Truchbull. Can you name the character Pam Ferris played in the third Harry Potter film?)

In 2015 I bought Char a bicycle from the Des Moines Bike Collective. She refused to learn how to ride it.

This year I tried again. Same shop, older girl.

She started coasting with the seat all the way down and the pedals removed from the bike. Then she coasted with her feet on the pedals. We slightly raised the seat a bit each afternoon, and the rest is history. Now she rides around the neighborhood with her friends like a champ.

I'll pass along two quotes from Charlotte. 1) "I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me biking is fun. It's the best thing ever!" 2) "Go for a walk with you? Why would I walk when I can sit here [points at her bike seat]  and go anywhere I want?"

Seemingly out of the blue, Char asked if she could start playing softball. We thought, Why not? Daphne found a skills clinic offered by the YMCA, and Char has been practicing for an hour and a half on Saturday mornings. It is very low key, and that's perfect for us. I think she likes everything about the clinic except for me taking pictures of her.

Oh well, her back is turned...

Since she's learning the ropes around the softball field, Char's more interested in watching the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park. It's a bit of work to get to an I Cubs game, but we have so much fun. Daphne and I always ask ourselves, "Why don't be do this more often?"

Another benefit of learning how to play softball is that Charlotte is now open to watching classic movies like The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, and Little Big League. I said no to The Bench Warmers, though. 

Speaking of bench warmers, I built this bench for Daphne as a surprise gift (see what I did there?). 

The previous owners of our first house left this board under our deck. We've used it several times over the years for various projects, but I thought I could repurpose it. Neither of us grew up on farms, so this is the only wood we have that has a family history.

I still love lunch at Tasty Tacos. Dang.

Question: French Dip Pizza, where have you been my entire life? Answer: "I've been at Truman's waiting for you with my friends Au Jus and Bacon Cheese Burger Pizza."

Char also went bowling with some of her friends. (She didn't make that spare.)

When Maggie stopped eating and drinking last May, we knew we going to lose her. On a Monday we decided we would probably have to put her down before the end of the week. Mags loves riding in the car, and we thought she might enjoy a ride or two during her final days. I wrote a post about that, but I had to revert that to a draft. 

I'm not saying riding in the car fixed her. She might have stopped eating and drinking because she had a stomach bug. But after the second ride, her disposition picked up. She ate some and drank some. By that Friday she was cleaning her plate and looking at me expectantly when I'd walk to the garage. Our vet suggested that maybe the rides give her something to live for.

With the exception of our trip to South Dakota, I have taken Mags for a ride in the car every morning this summer.  Our route takes 35 minutes, and she sits up and is alert for the entire trip.

She takes it easy and hangs out with her friends during the rest of the day.

Since Maggie was too frail to make the trip to St. Louis, I stayed home with her while Charlotte and Daphne spent a few days with Grandpa and Grandma. Daphne sent me some pictures from the City Museum. Char hadn't been on their roof before, and she had a blast.

Clover Kids is the precursor to 4-H, and Char received her diploma in the 4-H building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Clover Kids won't continue at Char's school next year, so we're lucky Charlotte was in the pilot program. She really enjoyed CK, and I think she'll participate in 4-H.

Whew. I feel better. The blog is alive. 

I start jury duty next week, so we'll see what that's like...