Summer Adventure #5 (Watson Park)

Watson Park. That's the name of the park that I've seen in the Parks & Rec class schedule that looked like a whole lotta fun.

Yesterday, it was a GORGEOUS day -- in the low-80s, clear, with a breeze -- and so, on a whim (since I was looking at a day full of a whole lotta nothing), I got the girls and we drove out there. It's not as far as I thought it'd be either -- in fact, it's a 119-acre park hidden in the middle of town.

Who knew?

I knew enough to grab some cash because some of the activities there cost money. They decided on the pony rides, and then the paddle boats.

Only the younger three went on the pony rides; Megan wanted to save her money for the paddle boats... and yeah, it's a pathetic little operation, but they had fun anyway.




The paddle boats were more worth the money. Except that I found out that a paddle boat is incredible difficult to paddle when it's loaded down with two little kids, and I'm the only one paddling.


Let's just say that my legs hurt afterward!

In addition to fishing (no swimming, though), and picnic places, a train ride and miniature golf, there was a nice playground, where we spent a while... until enough people got injured and/or hungry and it was time to go home.

Yes, I know she should have been a gymnast.




It was fun, though. We'll have to go back and try some of the other things sometime.

Wet and Wild at the Zoo

Every Friday afternoon for the month of July, the fire department sends out one of its trucks to the zoo to spray whomever is interested in running around in the water. Since we've got a membership, we figure why not go and see what "Wet and Wild" was like.

Well, it was like this:

Kristen didn't like it too much when the big hose was out (Alison did; she called it the "storm" and thrilled at getting knocked down! I didn't want to brave the wet to get a picture, though.)


Eventually, the firefighters turned the hose off, and the girls played in the 6-inch-deep mud-and-grass pond that was left.

There was one firefighter out with a smaller hose out, and he saw Russell standing there, and aimed at him. After that, Russell and the girls would taunt the firefighter, in order to get him to spray them. Too funny.


At one point, Alison discovered she liked this:


Of course, because Alison did it, Kristen had to, too:


We had a GRAND time.

Swimming Lessons

I originally signed all four girls up for swim lessons, but Megan's class -- a pre-lifeguarding class -- didn't make at our pool, and since we couldn't drive across town four evenings a week for two weeks, she opted out of swim lessons. Ah, well. Maybe next year.

The other three, however, had a grand time.

Caitlyn's were in the morning -- she liked being able to bike there and back by herself -- and because of the level she was in, she spent a good portion of her lessons in the deep end, learning how to dive and tread water and all that other good stuff.


I'd initially signed Alison and Kristen up for the same class -- because I thought you had to be 6 to be in Level 1 -- but only Kristen ended up in the beginers class. She LOVED it, and was a complete and total fish. (Her lessons aren't over; they go for another two weeks because she only goes twice a week.)



But it's Alison who had the best time. She discovered, of all things, that she could SWIM. And that she liked swimming. She talked about her lessons all the time, and looked forward to them, and reminded us of them. She's found something she can be passionate about!



Here's a couple movies of Alison that Megan shot:

Books to Movies

, So, I sometimes do a weekly question thing called Weekly Geeks over at Book Nut. This week's question was about best movie adaptations, and I decided to ask the rest of the readers in the house for their opinions. Here are their answers:


Best movie adaptation:
Russell: The Right Stuff


Fellowship of the Ring (not the whole trilogy; he really didn't like the other two that much)


Ciderhouse Rules


Megan: The Princess Bride


Caitlyn: Matilda


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (debate: which version is better?)


Me: Little Women (I happen to like the Susan Sarandon version, and I know that in many circles, this is heresy)


Room with a View
(I couldn't find a trailer, so here's a scene)


Sense and Sensibility


What should be made into a movie:
Russell: Wrinkle in Time, the Prydian books (the Disney movie of The Black Cauldron doesn't count), Phantom Tollbooth, Prayer for Owen Meany -- some of his favorite books, they're interesting stories, and if well-done, they'd be great movies.

Me: Graceling -- because the heroine is fantastic, and I'd love to see a visual representation of the world

Austenland -- because I think it'd be a fun romantic comedy.

Megan: Blue Sword (actually, any Robin McKinley book... alas, they will never be made) -- because it's really a fabulous book

Caitlyn: the Sisters Grimm books -- because she LOVES the books. While I was reading them out loud, she'd spend hours casting them


There you have it: my family's opinions on the best movie adaptations. What are yours?

Sharing Our Obsession

With Robin Hood.

Okay... so it's only the teaser trailers for the DVDs of Season 1 and 2, but honestly, check out season 1. It's a LOT of fun.



(Season 2 is okay... except it jumps the shark in the last two episodes. We'll probably watch Season 3 when it comes out on DVD later this year, but then no more. Jonas Armstrong -- he's Robin -- is leaving, and we just don't think there's a point to the show without him.)



(This is for my girls...)


You gotta love the theme song, though (this is the series 2 opening credits)

Summer Adventure #4 (Dallas)

Things we did in Dallas on the 4th of July

• (stayed up too late the night before... Russell and Scott went to a concert and didn't get in until 2 a.m. The girls didn't go to bed until 11:30 p.m.!)

• Hung out with Russell's friend Scott, who was wonderful and let us crash at his house (and the girls play with his kids' toys).

• Went to the Nascher Sculpture Center and participated in a First Saturday kids event, which included a scavenger hunt,

A community puzzle, where everyone drew their own pieces,



(Megan organized the puzzle. Yes, she is our daughter.)

I even drew something, because I remembered what Mo said...


And an artist presentation.

Caitlyn had a grand time with that, and got chosen to help the artist mix the plaster.

• Ate lunch in a parking garage.

• Went to the Dallas Museum of Art, wandered around a while (our favorite collections was the "house" -- they have it set up like a villa in the French Riviera, and its full of furniture and art... it was a lot of fun), and ended up in the kids center for a while.
  

• Went to an enormous Korean grocery store and stocked up on supplies (can you say "years supply of soy sauce and go chu jong and seaweed"? Plus kimchee, asian pears and enormous grapefruit!)

• And ate at Eskimo Joe's, which is not in Dallas but is in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It's much like the Hard Rock Cafe: you eat there to say you ate there (and possibly buy a t-shirt), not because the food is good. Cool building though.
  

Maybe next time, we'll do more.

Summer Adventure #3 (Turner Lake)

We were thinking about what to do in Dallas this past weekend, and Russell headed over to his barber (yes, he really has one) and was chatting with him, and he (the barber) suggested we try out Turner Falls in Oklahoma, which happens to be on the way to Dallas. We looked it up on the internet, and it seemed like a fun place to stop. So, we did.

Aside from getting a bit lost (Google Maps had never led us astray before), which was easily rectified (by asking directions in a grocery store)... and aside from the 40 minute wait to get in...
We had a grand time.



It's a river with a series of shallow rapids that begins at a 70 foot falls, and heads down to a man-made lake. We changed when we got there (the girls actually changed in the car while we were waiting in line), and went down to the lake part.




I should admit that we didn't know what the heck we were getting in to, so we all ended up with banged legs and bruised toes.

Russell, Alison, Kristen and I found this little waterfall and the girls had a grand time sliding down the rocks, and hanging out under the falls.

(Can I say how much I LOVE my rash guard?)




Then, everyone went off the diving board multiple times...

Yes, even Kristen and Alison...though they had problems with waiting in lines...





After that, we decided that since we really did need to get to Dallas, we had to go. Before we went, we walked up to the falls proper (and discovered a whole other swimming area!). On the way we found a castle:

(See, it tells us it's one!)

Megan found these, which she thought were amusing...



Turner Falls park even has camping grounds, as well as restaurants and lots and lots of picnic places... which means

we'll be back!