21st Century Tattling

Boy times have changed since I was a kid. When I had a grievous tattle to tell -and believe me, I always did- I had to dramatically leave the scene of the offense, track down a parent, gain that weary parent's ear and then try to explain the affront with the most positive slant for me and the most traitorous for my sibling. The anticipation of whether or not said parent would deem my tale worthy of further investigation was the stuff a splendid childhood was made of. 

So when Kennedy bypassed all of the drama by instead swiping my phone to gather incriminating evidence in a self-righteous silence, and then casually handed me my phone back with the instructions to "see for myself", I knew for sure that times, they are a changing.   

 First I discovered a picture of Kohen eating a good choice food, an apple. I wouldn't be in a dither about that in any scenario I can think of so I eventually concluded that she wanted me to see that he was outside with just his socks on + eating an apple right before dinner. Surely this would illicit a parental response, right?!

Kennedy then moved on to catch Aly, likewise apple-handed, but she was going to use scissors to cut the apple, and that could go bad quickly... but still nothing much out of the ordinary...

... Until I flipped to this picture. Which is two training wheels that appear to have been covered in what? oil??? No........ paint!

 Having finally gotten my full attention I quickly swiped to the next picture and Kennedy announced with barely contained excitement, "Aly used the training wheels to paint the outside walls!"

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. When I saw that last one, there were only a few choice ones that came to mind.

Kennedy's Night Out With The Rents

After waiting patiently for her siblings to go, it was finally Kennedy's turn. She wanted to be surprised, but Nathan and I knew exactly what we wanted to do with Kennedy so it was easy.

 Indian food! Mom and Dad's very favorite food in Taiwan (ahh, the irony) is often brought home on weekend nights as take out. But it's only for Nathan and I once the kids are down. Kennedy has had lot's of tastes over the years but was so excited to be in on the big kids dinner.
I actually have a Pavlovian response when I see that food, mmmm.....

 Kennedy has a serious love and devotion for anything sweet. This mango slush hit the spot, she was giddy. There was so much that she had her fill and then some.

For our activity we went for foot rubs. Normally Nathan and I enjoy some light conversation before lapsing into a relaxed silence. Not tonight! Kennedy seized the opportunity to chat us up and hardly stopped to breathe. It was so cute, actually. Though about 45 min in, Nathan and I started making eyes at each other like, "Wow!" Her ability to make the most of her mom and dad time superseded the relaxing effect of foot rubs. It was a good trade though, and I know pretty soon I'll be wishing I didn't have to pull info out of her. (And that's 95 up there, for those who recognize the dexterous genius at my feet :)
We rounded out the night by letting Kennedy pick out a doughnut at Mr. Doughnut. She took the picking out process very seriously.
Highlight:
Spending time with one of our children who can actually have a thoughtful conversation and realizing that though she is small and looks young for her age, she is maturing and growing before our very eyes. We loved hanging out with Kennedy!

Kohen's Turn, Bowling!

Is it a sign that we are good parents or mean parents that each of our kids were dying to have sodas on their dates? After Kohen got the sprite he probably could have been satisfied to go home. Though I suppose I get excited about soda in a bottle too. Yum!

We decided to go bowling and it was actually super fun. We focused on really cheering each other on (in spite of the bowling alley filled with non-emotive Asians) and each of us got some strikes and spares so it was easy enough to do.

Most of the pictures of Kohen bowling looked like he had just been tazed, but he's only been once or twice before so that is to be expected. By the end he was looking more in control. Great progress!

                                        

Please note the spare sign in the back ground. Booyah!

                                        

My Bowling Boys

Before we left we played a few rounds of air hockey. I love the picture of Kohen laughing after just scoring against his dad. No greater joy, apparently.

We finished the night by taking Kohen to Outback for the first time. At this point in his life I would say food is Kohen's love language so he was in heaven. He was totally happy to share some appetizers with his mom and dad.

Highlight:

During dinner we were talking with Kohen about some of the struggles he's had recently, especially with controlling his mouth when frustrated. A few minutes later Nathan casually asked Kohen if he had a daughter, what would he tell her or what advice would he give her to help her do better. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "I would tell her to be kind, and to stay calm and to, HEEEY! Your using the Force on me!"

What a great night. 

Alyssa's Date Night

The aftermath of our crazy last month or so has left us feeling a bit out of sorts. Our kids recognized when Nathan or I were single-parenting and took full advantage. So we knew that spring break would be a great time to reign everyone in. We decided to start by taking the older three on a date night with mom and dad. 

 

Alyssa got to go first. We did not intend to be all matchy-matchy but when we went to take a picture we were pretty proud when we realized our accidental coordination. 

We took Aly to the newly opened, first in the world, Barbie Cafe. By all accounts, the decorations were  impressive. Everything was pink, sparkly, and foofy. 

                              

But alas, despite the fabulous decor, the food left everything something to be desired. I ordered a salmon salad which arrived looking dubious, with limp, slimy "smoked salmon" and a salad that, I kid you not, tasted like an ash tray. Frankly, I don't know how they even did that. We sent it back because it was inedible. 

Later when Nathan was paying the bill the guy checking him out said, "It was really bad wasn't it?" Nathan said, yes, it truly was. The guy said, "I am quitting so I can be honest." 

It was that bad.

 Probably the coolest idea in the place is this Barbie box where you can sit in the chair in the box and take pictures. She's so stinkin cute, I'd save up all of my penny's to buy a little doll like her.

Get in there!

Cutest Memory:

As we were driving along Nathan made a request for me to turn on a music app called Songza that we adore because the one Eng. radio station here is laughable. So he says to me, "Hey, wanna Songza me?" From the back seat Aly pipes up in her high-pitched little voice with, "Sure!" then breaks in to  song, with "I am a Chiiild of God...." It was the best "Songza" we've ever had.

For her activity Alyssa requested a ride on the merry-go-round over by the giant Ferris wheel. It cost $1.50 and she was happy as a lark. Ah, if only our children were always so easy to please as a 6 yr old!
It was great to get to spend time with our middle child, when you get this one alone she is about as funny and sweet as can be. Love her!

Cub Scouts for Kohen

Kohen has been really excited to be able to join the scouting program this year in the Cub Scouts. The program is run through the school and a parent has to attend all activities, but the trade off seems to be that siblings are welcome to come and participate in whatever they may be doing. It has become a fun Saturday morning activity for our family.

Kohen followed in the footsteps of many Wilcox and Jensen men before him in carefully and methodically preparing his first pinewood derby car with his dad. He could hardly wait for the big day to arrive.

His preparations and patience paid off. He placed first in his Den and third in his Pack. (A proud mother might selfishly note that the 1st & 2nd place winners both had cars ordered ready made and bought from online,  read: don't really count).

 Recently I took Kohen and Alyssa for a tour at a local tv station with the scouts. I had to wait and chuckle with Nathan later that the name of the station is TVBS. Who trusts a news outlet that admits it's TV is BS?!
Above you can see the kids checking out the set to a popular game show.

They also got to check out the sound stage for a talk show. It's so cool to see it in from that perspective.

 Here these two are sitting in the hot seat from the show. The inner Barbara Walters in me wanted to ask, "What is the biggest thing you've bwoken and kept hidden from your mom?"

 Here we watched their news anchor shooting live tv. It was fun to see her on a nearby monitor streaming in the news. And funny to watch her preen when she wasn't on camera.

Last we made a stop to see where all of the real action happens. This is where all of the different feeds come in and where it is decided what will go out. 

It was a fascinating behind the scenes trip at TVBS.

***(Incidentally, this trip marked a first for our fam. With Nathan out of town I was stuck without help. There was NO WAY I was wrestling all 5 kids through the station during nap time, lest we end up on the 5 o'clock news as the crazy waiguoren. So Kennedy babysat Ander and Scarlett as they slept during naps. My neighbor was home and on call for Kenna at the time, but she was excited to babysit and totally saved the day.)

Here is Kohen getting some more belt loops at an awards ceremony. Way to go Kohen!

Who are we kidding, I wrote this whole post so I could point out how good looking my men are in uniform.