Friday night, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home. My brother Pete is staying with us for a week, and Greg and Wayne were coming over to do a guys' night. I decided to buy a box of brownie mix--it's become a kind of tradition for me to make them brownies when they do guys' nights. I went to the new Price Chopper, which, because it's so new, is always having special deals and contest and giveaways and things of that nature on weekends. A guy standing outside the door asked me, "Do you like ice cream?" Unable to come up with a clever answer, I stammered, "Sure." He handed me a coupon for ice cream--not just X cents off a carton, but FREE ice cream. I grabbed a carton of cookies and cream, 2 boxes of brownie mix, and spent a total of $4. When I got home, I shared the news of my good fortune with the guys, telling them that the universe had rewarded me for my good deed (deciding to make brownies). Wayne was there, but Greg wasn't yet, and the 3 of them made their own trip to the store to score some more free ice cream. They were gone forever, and when they got back, they regaled me with tales of all the free samples they had eaten, showed me the free grape tomatoes they got (as well as the free ice cream), and presented me with flowers that Tony won by correctly giving the names of 2 managers to the florist (one of the many contests that was going on).
Later that night, Tony got a call from Matt, who had been given 2 tickets to a local college team's football game, for Saturday. Of course, Tony wanted to go (since this local team is a pretty big deal around here), and when he got there, he participated in a pitching game (to see who could pitch the fastest), and won a $50 gas card. So not only did he get to go to a big-deal football game for free, he actually made some money out of the deal. Not too shabby, eh?
In Ari news, she has learned how to do the sign for "more," which she suprised me with on Saturday morning. I was feeding her breakfast, randomly signing and saying "more" to her as I fed her (I really need to work on my own consistency with this sign language thing), when suddenly I noticed her doing something funny with her hands. I had a few moments of the typical, "Wait, is she doing what I think she's...? Nah, must be my imagina--wait! She's doing it again!" before I finally realized that she was, really and truly, doing "more." Coincidentally, that same day in the mail we received a set of Signing Times DVDs that my sister-in-law was kind enough to send me. I am definitely going to take advantage of her new discovery and start bombarding her with all sorts of new signs. (And, yes, I plan to get it on video--patience, grasshopper.)
Saturday, after Tony and Matt were done with football game, we all headed to Six Flags. Tony, Pete, Ari and I got there before Matt, Kristin and Nick did, so we let Ari out of the stroller to walk around. Let me just tell you, this kid is fast now. She's not running yet, but she may as well be, for as fast as she can skedaddle around now. Tony and I took turns following her around.
Another picture where I think she just looks so grown up. And check out her shoes--I know you can't tell, but they're Nike, and they are awesomely cute. Gotta love hand-me-downs.
By the time Matt, Kristin and Nick showed up, Ari had gathered a little "fan club"--a group of 3 girls, looking to be around ages 10-12, were cooing and oohing and ahhing over her, and even asking to hold her. Tony, always proud to show off his daughter, was more than happy to let them hold her and hug her. Of course, she wasn't too fond of being held when there was so much walking to be done.
Inside the park, we hit up all the kiddie rides, starting in the Thomas the Tank Engine section. This picture was taken by Pete when we rode the bus ride--Kristin and Nick are in front of us. Basically, the little bus goes up in the air--but it went a lot faster than I thought it would, making my stomach leap, and making me hold onto Ari a little more firmly. I'm not a big fan of heights, so I was mildly freaking out, while Ari squealed and giggled and loved it to death. Tony thought it was hilarious that I was more afraid of the ride than Ari was.
I rode the swings with Ari in Wiggles World. This picture make me giggle because it looks like my legs are Ari's legs--so it looks like my kid has abnormally long legs.
The reason Ari is all turned around in both these pictures is because every time we swung around near Tony, he called her name, trying to get her to look at the camera for a picture. But she was a little slow to catch on to where the voice was coming from, she she would turn around to look for him, not seeing him until we were already past him. It was too funny--every single time, she would furrow her little brow and whip her head around, searching the crowd for Daddy.
As we were leaving Wiggles World, we happened across a stage show featuring several of the Wiggles animal characters. We stopped for a few moments, and Matt and Tony took the kids a little closer, while Kristin and I (and Pete) hung back. Ari danced a little to the music, and when we put her back in the stroller and started to leave, she waved at the stage. You have to understand--this is a child who knows full well how to wave, but only does it when she absolutely wants to. Do you think she waves bye to me when I leave her with my mom or Mary? No. But will she wave good-bye to people in giant animal costumes? Apparently.
There was a big Christian concert going on in the picnic area, so we headed down there, just in time to catch the one band Tony really wanted to see. It was dark at this point, and getting very chilly. Here's a pic of Ari and Nick, sitting on their dads' shoulders.
And another of Ari on her Daddy's shoulders. When she was with just me, she wanted to walk walk walk all over the place, but when Tony came back, she was content to sit on his shoulders. It probably had to do with her being tired by that point, but I know it was partly because she is such a Daddy's girl. And, hey, she had a great view from way up there.
On Sunday, Tony's dad and aunt were passing through our area on one of their road trips, so we got to see them in the evening. We all went out to dinner--it was a place we took Tony's dad to before, and he liked it so much that he wanted to go back. We had a nice time. I have now realized that Ari is no longer an ideal dinner companion. We kept her distracted with Cheerios and Goldfish while we waited, and then asked the waitress to bring out her kid's meal as soon as it was ready. She happily wolfed down about half the bowl of mac and cheese (made from scratch--it was delicious) and played around with a couple of the French fries. By the time our meals came, she was pretty much done eating, so Tony and I took turns keeping her distracted and entertained. She has perfected the art of that high-pitched, shrill scream that kids do so well--the kind that lasts just a few excruciating seconds longer than is bearable, and makes everyone in the restaurant turn and stare. She only did it a few times, but that was more than enough. I can't complain, though--she could have been much worse. When we were done eating, I took her outside while we waited for the bill, since she was way too restless by then. As soon as I put her down on the sidewalk, she zoomed off, and protested every time I grabbed her arm and tried to gently steer her in a different direction. She is going to be a handful--I can just tell.
I'm sure I have more stuff to say, but this entry is long enough already, and after all, tomorrow is another day.
Jack Handey QOTD:
I bet one legend that keeps recurring throughout history, in every culture, is the story of Popeye.
2 comments:
Woo-hoo! Free ice cream! Gotta love that deal. I had a coupon for a free candy bar the other day, so I was all proud when I showed it to Josh and told him that I didn't pay a cent for it :).
Good job with the signing, Ari! I'm sure she'll pick up more things really soon, once you show her the videos, of course.
Those shoes are tres cute, even though I can't see that they're Nike. I like how they coordinate colors with her outfit.
That is funny that you were more scared of the ride than Ari was. Guess she'll take after Tony with loving roller coasters and such. I know how you feel though. When Josh is driving and he goes over small hills, my stomach leaps up too. When I see it coming I try to tense up my abdomen, but it doesn't always help.
That picture is hilarious! When you described how you thought it looked I just died laughing :).
It looks like Ari really enjoyed Six Flags!! She's too cute with her outfits, all stylin'. Hope she has enough energy for the Big E this weekend!
Go Tony, winning a $50 gas card for throwing the fastest pitch! It seems kind of odd, though, pitching at a football game. Did I read that right?!?
Yay for free ice cream, can't get a better deal than that. I made brownies the other night and we have ice cream in the freezer, so we've been enjoying some brownie sundaes lately. I can't have one without the other now, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing.
34 kisses to Ari-girl!
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