Catching Up with the Solts: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Book Review: Booky Wook and Booky Wook 2

My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up
by Russell Brand
350 pages

Booky Wook 2: This Time it's Personal
by Russell Brand
309 pages

I love Russell Brand. I think he's hilarious.

We saw a stand-up show of his on Comedy Central once and laughed until the tears flowed. He's great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Arthur. We've seen his new show Brand X a couple times, and it's funny. He is my favorite late-night show guest.

I'd probably go see any movie he was in and will definitely get tickets if he ever comes to Minneapolis.

However, his books are not funny. They are actually kind of depressing. His life is hard to imagine, and he doesn't really try to cover any of it with humor.

I expected to laugh until my sides hurt. It's just not like that.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Popsicle Social

Ivy is all registered for Edgewood kindergarten. She starts next Wednesday.

We went to a "Popsicle Social" tonight at the school to meet other kindergarten families. The school wasn't open; there were no teachers. It was hosted by the Parents and Teachers for Children group (PTC) out at the school playground.

We walked over there--the school is about 1/2 mile from our house, so we aren't eligible for busing. I wanted to time the walk, so I know how early we have to leave if we want to walk or bike. I'm hoping we can walk most of the time--even on cold days, we should be able to make it a mile.

It took us 11 minutes, and that included stopping at the stoplight.

We got there, picked up a name tag for Ivy, and got popsicles for her and Jamey.

Here's a note about the nametags: they were all the same size with the same colored text. Then each class had a different colored smiley face sticker. Problem--these kids are all about 3-1/2 feet tall. Some lost their stickers. It seems a little weird to be staring at someone else's kid trying to figure out if they're in Ivy's class. Then, to top it off, there was dark red, lighter red, and orange--they all looked the same. They should've had different shaped name tags or name tags for the parents. Because this event was really for parents to meet each other, not kids to meet.

We stood around for a while staring at other kids. I talked with a few moms that are not in Ivy's class. I did talk with a Grandma that was there--she recognized me from Foss.

Just as I was getting ready to head home, a family walked up wearing sun hats and carrying Camelback water bottles. The girl, Ainsley, is in Ivy's class. She's already 6, but she's a good five inches shorter than Ivy. The girls introduced themselves, talked about their favorite things on the playground, and then ran off holding hands.

Sarah & Phil are her parents. She has an older brother. They live close by and are excited to have play dates. I hope we make some fun friends in school this year. :)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sugar Cookies

A few days ago, Jamey asked to make cookies ... for breakfast. Because all the butter was in the freezer, we couldn't. He did take out a pound of butter to thaw, and today we made sugar cookies. He specifically asked for "not chocolate cookies."

All the kids helped put in ingredients and mix the dough. Yes, even Livy. She helped by grabbing the bowl of eggs and pouring them all over the dishwasher and floor. But isn't she adorable in that little apron?

As you can see, it's getting harder to get a "nice" picture, so we're happy with whatever they give us. This is what they're really like. :)

Mom, I'm helping, too.

After dinner tonight, I rolled the dough into balls, which the kids rolled in sugar.

Livy again with the grabbing--she snagged a ball of cookie dough off the table and took off with it.

Ivy said, "I bet we made 200 cookies." She's pretty close.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Great MN Get Together

We spent a good six hours at the Great Minnesota Get Together after church today.

FAIR HAIR
Our first stop is always Fair Hair. Aside from all the hair fun, it's super close to the family stage; today we heard a drum group pounding out some hot 80s hits.

Standing in line

She picked a big pom-pom.

Bobby pins, or "little black sticks"

Colors and glitter

This is Jamey's first year with Fair Hair.

"It's all sticking up!"

Next stop, CREPES and PRONTO PUPS.

The French Creperie is my favorite fair food. Nutella for the kids and ham & swiss for me.

Well, a sucker for Livy. Shockingly, she didn't like the nutella.

And then SWEET MARTHA'S and the MILK STAND.

All the chocolate milk you can drink for $1. Gotta love it!

WALKING AROUND

After walking through a DNR wildlife building

A little sad because she's too short to ride the "StratoSwings."

ANIMAL BARNS

We walked through to see rabbits, chickens, geese, horses, and cows. I took a Cow Quiz and got 8/10 right! I pay attention at the zoo. :) We missed the Miracle of Birth building and all the baby animals.

We're getting closer to having a bunny. :)

Bethany, isn't it ironic?

Cooling off with the Percherons

"DOGGIES OF THE WEST" SHOW

We watched a cute little dog show in Heritage Square. The chihuahuas did tricks--dancing and jumping.

Livy was piling hay on her head.

Jamey got picked to be part of a jump.

Holding the stars of the show

LITTLE FARM

After Fair Hair, the little farm is Ivy & Jamey's favorite part of the fair. While Jeremy took them over there, I took Livy to the Lactation Station.

Starting the chores

We also went down the BIG SLIDE and walked through a couple exhibit buildings. It's hard to believe we didn't even go in the Food Building, but we managed to eat fried peanut butter cups, snow cones, and milk shakes. It was all about fair food this year.

Next year, we're hitting the exhibit buildings early, and we're not going on a weekend. Whew, it was mobbed. And maybe we'll get a Vitamix. :)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

A Ladybug Birthday Party

We had Ivy & Livy's birthday party this afternoon. Ivy wanted her party at Memorial Park, so we did that. The kids had a blast playing on the playground and digging in the sand.

It was fun to spend the afternoon with lots of friends. Ivy has already started planning for her party next year. :)