There is a new waffle king in town. Up to this point, Dad has been THE KING of waffle making. Mamma has made several valiant attempts, but to no avail, the verdict has always been: "Dad's are better." This morning Lukas cracked the secret code and cooked up waffles for his brother...
Noah had a whole plan for how to spend his birthday: no school, Swedish pancakes, playing, more playing, Laser Maze with his family, MYO at the Wharf, KFC take out - extra crispy drumsticks, thank you very much - and cake at home. Since it was his birthday, he was granted all these wishes. We headed down town before dinner for some Laser Maze and all four of us got a chance to see how limber and fast we were in getting to the back of the room without tripping the laser. Noah finished less than 1 second from making it on the board, but was happy to leave as there was MYO in his future. Normally, we talk about portion control at MYO as it is self serve and there are over 60 different kinds of topping that quickly negates any of the benefits of eating yogurt, but since it was Noah's birthday he was allowed to get any size he wanted, and he wanted a Silas size MYO, ie large and with lots of toppings. In conversation with the cashier, we found out that MYO is free on your birthday! Lucky for us as Noah's bowl was LARGE and FULL. He even tried his teeth on a chocolate malt ball, making him look more like a chipmunk than a newly minted 8 year old. We then headed to KFC for take out and back home for movie and chicken, before it was time for cake.
Noah is eight years old today. Although he is suppose to stay in his room until 7:30 it was just too tempting to get up, sneak out of bed and out in the living room to see what would be awaiting him. He stopped dead in his track: "Wow, I did not expect this many gifts!"
On Sunday afternoon, after an early morning church service, time spent serving the little ones and a fun Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt, it was time to get out of the dress up clothes and hit the sand. We had headed to church in spitting rain, so the sun was a welcome change. Lukas and Noah opted for their usual beach activity: construction. They have by now clearly defined roles and responsibilities: Noah digs, and Lukas hunts for drift wood, and other construction materials. The original plan called for a tepee like structure, in an attempt to replicate an earlier project at Carmel Beach. This time, the refinement was to dig down under the tepee so that it would give more standing room inside. Plans seemed to progress well, and this beach offered lots of easy access drift wood. Then... the large heavy piece of wood was dropped a bit too hard in to place and the tepee was no more. Not easily discouraged, the boys quickly decided this was just as good, an under ground cave, with air ventilation roofing. Noah set out to dig out more sand underneath to make the new cave a bit bigger in order to accommodate both of them at the same time. It turned out that the cave was in a prime location for admirers, just off the path to the parking lot. Several people stopped and admired, some itching to help out, and almost every little boy that walked by on his way to the car, had to be dragged forcibly by exhausted and sandy parents bogged down with large bags of sand toys, chairs and food - why leave when there was an opportunity to dig, build and remain on the beach? When it was time to leave, Noah took a last look at the inside of their handiwork to make sure it was left in satisfactory condition. We probably brought home at least five pounds of sand inside pockets, crevices and sock folds.... but that is what vacuum cleaners are for!
