Calvin & Malea

Well, I survived. I was right about the weekend being both a blast and a disaster, and I'm really, really looking forward to being alone for a couple of days. One evening was not enough recovery time.

I went and picked them up Friday afternoon. We listened to Wylde Nept in the truck, which they enjoyed. We stopped to pick up groceries/supplies for the weekend. I had not yet learned to say no, so there's still things like chocolate milk in my fridge, but not too much. We also stopped by Papa Murphy's for a couple pizzas, which ended up being a lifesaver for leftovers. So we had pizza for supper while watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the first time. Didn't take long for my living room to become a disaster area.



Then we went for a bike ride, which ended up being the disaster of the weekend. We went a little too far, as Malea was complaining about being tired. We had just turned around to go back when Calvin took a header off his bike. I didn't see exactly what happened, as he had turned back to look at the train going over the bridge, but he ended up with a scraped knee, a sprained wrist, and a chip out of his front tooth. Took us forever to get back home in that condition. We iced his wrist, but it was swollen for the entire weekend, and it made it difficult for him to play. Update: They took Calvin in for x-rays, and it turns out he splintered the bone. Cass said it was just a tiny little lifting of the bone in the forearm, so he just has to wear a brace for a month while it heals. The doctor said we did everything right, and I know that in my head, but it doesn't make me feel any less bad. :(

Calvin's an early riser, so watched Holy Grail again while we waited for Malea to wake up. We went downtown for a little bit to look at the fountain and see where Saturday night's movie would be playing on the Pentacrest.




Completely by coincidence, it was Kids' Day at Kinnick Stadium, when they open up practice for the public. So we got to walk over and see the stadium, got free posters (and not so free football and t-shirt), and watched practice for about twenty minutes before they got hot and bored.



So we headed over to the Coralville Aquatic Center for the rest of the afternoon. I'd never been there before, but it's pretty awesome for a public pool. Two waterslides, a zero-depth pool for the toddlers, and an L-shaped pool that goes from zero- to diving depth. I stayed under an umbrella for the entire time, but ended up getting sunburnt anyway. Stupid skin.






We came back and took showers - I had to send Malea back in after she was done because she didn't wash her hair, and I think my bathroom rug is still wet, but all in all, not too shabby. A third viewing of Holy Grail let me shower, too.

I cooked cheeseburger pasta for supper (to come in a separate post), which didn't go over particularly well. I gave Malea her plate and she said, "This looks horrible" but she ate some of it. Calvin thought it sounded good but didn't like it, so that leftover pizza was welcomed. I thought it tasted exactly like a cheeseburger, and I've got the leftovers, so it's a good thing *I* liked it.

Then we popped some popcorn and took our pop and chips downtown for the summer movie series. They show movies every Saturday night on a screen outside on the Pentacrest, and Saturday's movie was The Wizard of Oz. Calvin wasn't too impressed with the size of the screen and Malea ended up falling asleep, but it was a long day so I don't think it was a commentary on the movie.

Sunday we watched Holy Grail for the fourth time, went to church and then to the Hamburg for lunch, and then packed up and I took them home.

So it was a full weekend, and I think I'll have to wait and see what Cassie says about what they say about it later. There was an awful lot of whining and complaining ("I'm bored" "I'm hungry" "I don't like this" "Can we go home?" "Is church almost over?"), and that was *my* least favorite part, but they're also nine and six, so that's most likely just the way they are and hopefully they'll just remember the good parts.

I think most people thought that I wouldn't be able to handle it for the entire weekend, but aside from the whining and the accident, I think it was fun. And hopefully I'll just remember the good parts too, so we can do it again next year.

Em says my next step is to take a 16-month-old for an entire weekend, but there's no way that can be too much harder. After all, he was entertained by a comb and a glass of water for half an hour. And I much prefer crying to whining.