The Instrument Petting Zoo

This week Caroline had a friend from her CC class come over to play.  Our kids all had a good time with her friend, but they really loved her one-year-old brother a whole lot.  Our kids are soooo good with little ones.  They were so curious about him, so they just squatted down and spent time with him.  They followed this little guy all around our house trying to protect him from everything.  It was very sweet to watch.  They also enjoy having friends over because we usually buy juice boxes, which we did this time.  I had to cut Henry off when he tried to take his fourth Capri Sun out of the fridge.  That and muffins.  We baked blueberry and chocolate chip muffins for our friends.  Caroline's friend ate half of one because she was more interested in playing.  Our kids sat down and gulped down 3-4 each.  Play dates with the Cockrell kids.  You play. We eat.

Josiah and I made a milk run to the grocery store one evening.  We need one gallon of milk.  One.  Josiah got his little cart and said, "This cart can hold more than just milk."  And he found quite a few more things with which to fill it.  Shopping with Josiah allows me the constant opportunity to use the word, "no."  That kid asks for nearly everything in the store.

Another night, Caroline and I decided to stop by the grocery store.  Josiah wanted peanut butter graham crackers for his lunch at CC.  Of course we didn't have any graham crackers, so she and I made a quick trip on the way home from church.  She got the little cart as well and nearly said the same thing as Josiah, "I can fit more than graham crackers in my cart."  And she did.  She wasn't happy that I wouldn't buy her the Oreo Cereal and said that when she's a grown-up she's going to buy only desserts and eat them whenever she wants.  I'm pretty sure I said the same thing as a child.  I know I thought it.   

This week was the Family Fun Run.  At 6:30 a.m. I went outside because it was supposed to be cold that day.  It was 77° and humid.  We still made everyone put a long sleeve shirt under their race shirts, but the kids were telling me how hot they were.  I debated on bringing jackets with us, but didn't since we were all so warm.  By the time we got to the race it had already dropped 10°.  Before the race began, we were able to get some pictures with Toro, the Texans mascot.

I opted to not get in the Star Wars picture.  I figured if I couldn't identify all of the characters, I really shouldn't be in it.

By 10:30 a.m. it was 54° outside with an incredibly cold, biting, wind.  We were all freezing.  They still wanted to do the bouncy house type things.  Their first stop was the big balls.  They all landed really well - the boys made it all the way across.  Caroline kept on for the first three and only dropped off on the last one.  They did it a number of times before we ushered them onward.
Henry:

Josiah:

Caroline:

Caroline and I stood in a slow line because she wanted to do the rock wall.  It took a while because everyone in front of you had to actually climb the wall, which wasn't exactly a quick process.  I was proud of her for wanting to do it, as I've always thought it looked fun.  Finally it was her turn.  She got suited up.

The worker lady asked if she had ever done it before and when Caroline said, "No." she hooked another rope to her back.  Caroline got to climbing.  And then, about 20 seconds later, she turned back and said she was done.  She made it this high.

I think she thought she was higher than she was.  But at least she tried.

We did the cliff drop as their final fun thing, because Todd and I were freezing.  Now one would think that this line would go fairly quickly.  You climb the stairs, stand at the top, and jump into the giant inflatable target.  30 seconds and boom, you're done.  But then you had to add in the fear factor.  While Caroline was in line, we witnessed two kids who, upon reaching the summit, stared down at the target and completely froze.  Then they turned around and slowly descended the stairs.

Henry

Caroline

The school bus ride to and from our car was still a hit.  Each time we walked off the bus, Caroline told the driver, "Thank you.  I really like to ride buses."

We left the fun run festivities early.  Nearly all of the vendors had already packed up and the people were flocking to their cars to get warm.  So, we got home much earlier than anticipated.  That left time for another activity that afternoon.   A local library was to have a children's orchestra concert.  They had an outdoor amphitheater, which is where they were scheduled to perform.  We anticipated this and bundled up a bit more.  When we arrived at the library we were pleased to see that they had moved it indoors.  The orchestra was scrunched up in the lobby of the library, but we were happy to be warm.

The orchestra did a nice job and for a few songs they taught sign language to go along with the songs.  Caroline paid attention and did the signs right along with them.

The best part, though, was the instrument petting zoo after the concert.  They had four tables set up with percussion, string, woodwind, and brass.  The kids could touch the instruments and play them.  All the kids liked to try them out, but Josiah and Caroline really seemed to love it.  Caroline kept going back to the violin and the lady said she played it strong/loud.  I don't know if that was a compliment, but Caroline loved it.

Josiah was taught how to blow into the horn's mouthpiece.  After he got that down a little, the orchestra man attached it to the French horn and Josiah actually got a strong sound out of it.  It surprised us all.  Maybe his hopes of playing the tuba will be realized.  Although, now he wants to play French horn.

Henry tried some of them, too.  He enjoyed it, but he has a cold and was tired.

Towards the end, Caroline was just sitting with the bass clarinet guy on the stage, chatting him up and pushing his keys while he blew into it.  That ended up being her favorite instrument.

So, now we're talking a little more seriously about music lessons in the future.  Although, Henry still wants to play football.  If only there was a way to keep brains from getting concussions, we'd consider football.  We need to keep his brain well so he stays the sweet boy that he is.  One day this week, I caught him reading a Snoopy comic book to Caroline on the couch.

We have another busy week.  Three more weeks of all our regular activities and then things start to slow down.  I'm looking forward to May!