A Plague of One...

The weather has been a little cooler here. With a couple of good sized storms behind us, I think it's probably safe to say that our days of 100+ degrees are probably finished for 2010.

With the cooler weather comes the WANT to be outside in all of us...it's kind of like "spring fever", only for fall...or nearly fall.

So we've been outside a lot...hooping...watching the clouds...and checking out the wildlife.

We have watched the wonderful aerial displays of dragon flies every night. And there haven't been less than a dozen at any given time...and one time I counted twenty-three. It was a little nerve-wracking right at first because they are HUGE and get really close to us...I think that we must scare up bug life that they like to eat because they come out every time we are out there.

And then there are the grasshoppers. They are EVERYWHERE! We have this little bug pop-up tent that the girls keep filling up with grass hoppers and then letting them go, and then filling it up again.

So catching a grasshopper isn't really that big of a deal in our yard...but check this out...



Not impressed? How 'bout this one...



That is my kid's toe. Surely just the whim-wam factor has to impress a little. I mean, I'm not afraid of grasshoppers...I've even caught them...but to let it crawl around on me...(shudder)...no THANK you!

So she found this beast today...and they made best friends. Did I ever mention that Beanie's middle name should have been Doolittle?



But I did have a little bit of vindication...

After a few minutes of this...



and then THIS...


She also got the whim-wams...and had to find a new place for her friend...a new place that was not TOUCHING her. WOO HOO! I'm not the only "girl"...I hate being the only "girl".

Maybe it's only a grasshopper...but it sure puts a new pin in "plague of locusts" for me.

See ya around...

Accentuate the Positive...

So...hmmmm...yesterday, five days from my first hooping try, I still could not hoop around my waist. VERY irritating.

I got online at a new forum I just joined and said something along the line of "WAAAAAAAAHHH...my 7yo is so much better than me...why can't I hoop...WAAAAAAHHHH!" They took pity on me and gave me a ton of pointers...chief of which was "make the hoop bigger and heavier".

I also got some advice on how to tape the hoop to increase the friction and what type of clothing to wear...both more form fitting and natural fibers, and how to move within the hoop, how to place my feet, etc.

SO...this morning I made me a BIG 'Ole Hoop...it reaches my chin...which is about 60" across(I'm very tall, don'tcha know). Then we put 3 cups of water in it and taped up the connection (it still leaks badly, but it's hot, so we don't care). As for the other stuff, I've gotta wait until I can acquire the materials.

And guess what!!



That's right, I can hoop! And what's more, I'm STARTING to be able to catch it when it's on it's way down...



It's AWESOME! I can't tell you how great it is to have a little success after 5 days of trying. YEAH!

And what's more? Grandma is doing it MUCH better, too. She was having a hard time keeping it going like she wanted.

Check her out!!! (Can I just say how much I love this picture?)



Grandma is so much better that she has taken to taunting our reigning champ. Let's just say Bear did not take the challenge lying down...



I'd say that Bear is probably safe in her title for awhile...

See ya around...

Hoopsi-Daisy...

For the last month or so I've been caught by the "hooping" bug. What's hooping you say? Well, hmmmmm, let's see...here is an example from a blog I follow...

(From The Happy Hoop)

Sara's Hooping Practice - 6.4.10 from Sara Janssen on Vimeo.

Basically it's dancing...hmmm...well, basically it's hula hooping...well, as you can see, it's sort of a combination of the two. As you look around for "hooping" on youtube and the like, you find scores of various styles of this...and it has intrigued me.

But because I'm a pretty frugal gal...and because I know that with three daughters NO hobby of mine will be independent from them for a few years yet, I'd put off buying a grown-up hoop. As a matter of fact...my mommy was scolding me just the other week because I hadn't done anything about my fascination.

And then I found this... How to Make a Hula Hoop. It's actually SUPER easy. On the first of September we made 5 hoops of various sizes...but we don't have tape for them yet...we have to shop around a bit...there are some really sparkly tapes that I have my eye on. Still black is OK for practicing...

And practice we have.



Now let me give you a run down on the skill level of each of us...This is only day 3 of actual hooping, mind you...

Monkey Face can sometimes get it going around her waist for a few twirls...


She can perch upon her momma while her momma is laying in the grass trying to get an up-shot of her sister...


And she can annoy the snot out of any sister in the middle of concentrating on learning a new trick...I am only posting this at full length so that you too can be amused by the face Bear makes as the camera stops...cracks me up...
(:33)



As of today Beanie is beyond me. But we started ABOUT the same.

-Neither of us had our hips (she totally does now...I do not)

-We both can do our arms and can switch hands...

-We are also both tall enough to swing the hoop over our heads and at least attempt to jump through it...the little girls aren't really tall enough to swing it and then swing it down and jump.

-And both Bean and I started on our necks at the same time...alas, she is much closer to perfecting the trick than I...

But then again, someone needs to hold the camera...so I guess I'm taking one for the team.



Both of these shots were just lucky, the first SHOULD have blurred but didn't, the second she SHOULD have dropped it...but for the first time, she didn't...plus I love her expression looking over her shoulder at me...very cool.


And then there is Bear. I won't say that she is better than any of us...but I will say, she has NO fear. And by nature of that fearlessness she will try ANYTHING and so far most of the stuff has worked. She started out with a benefit...she could already hoop at her waist...I don't know where she learned it...she just can. Of course now that I think about it, so can Grandma...huh...maybe it's one of those "skip a generation" thingies.

These were the up-shots I was working on before Monkey Face perched upon me...





So there it is. Our big "project" of the week. It really is so much fun. And yes, I'm hooping right along with them...and actually hooping when they are not looking as much as I can...it's nice to practice something that's just fun.



See ya around...