Since watching some Star Wars with the boys this weekend, there has been a lot of Yoda speak in the house. Tonight, after he was supposed to be asleep, we heard ET up out of bed. When we asked him why he was up, the 6-year-old said…
Sigh…
Previous: Funny things my kids say #18
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Today I took CJ and ET skiing. It was our first time out this year but they were zipping around like the pros they are.
Skiing has always been a part of my life (I started when I was three) and every year we would take a ski vacation with the same family friends. Some years other families would join in but the nine of us were the core group. The memories from these family trip are some of my most vivid and are absolutely among my favourites.
This is a picture of our gang (minus Dad who was taking the picture.) I’m in the green pants in front of Mom and The Sister is on the far right.
Posted in Friday flashbacks
Tagged Canadian, Family, kids, memories, Parenting, photographs, skiing, Sugarloaf, travel
Disney/Pixar’s vision of the future as see in the movie Wall-E.
I don’t want to be accused of “fat shaming” (and anyone who knows me knows that I have more than a few extra pounds to shed myself) but the number of obese people on scooters at Disney just blew my mind.
A few times I was questioned about these people by my youngest. He would see someone riding around the park who would then pop-up off their scooter and jump onto a ride with no sign of disability. Being generous of spirit, I would explain how some people were okay to walk short distances but that they may have something wrong with them that might make it too hard to walk further. They may have a disability that we couldn’t see.
After about the third time explaining this, I took some time to break it down in my head. Here are my thoughts…
I’m going to overestimate and randomly say that perhaps 1 out of 3 of these people on scooters actually had a mechanical back or leg issue that had no relationship to weight, but that might make it hard to traverse a theme park by foot.
So why were the other 2 out of 3 people on a scooter? Because they were fat. I’m not saying that they weren’t disabled… just the opposite in fact. The majority of the people scooting around Disney were disabled by their obesity. Yes, I’m sure it would be hard to walk around the park all day when you are carrying (at least) a hundred and fifty extra pounds. Hell ya, you bet your legs and back would be killing you.
I really believe that these people actually needed to be riding around on scooters.
So why am I even writing about this? I know this is not new… I know I’m just coming in with innocent Canadian eyes… but the sheer number of scooters (they almost outnumbered the strollers) just blew my mind. I was shocked to realize that this proportion of the population has disabled themselves with obesity. Is Disney a fair random sample so that I can extrapolate this across the US? I don’t know and I’ll admit that I’m a little scared to think about it.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a quick-rich investment opportunity, I suggest looking into Orlando area scooter rentals. Business is bursting at the seams!
We woke up this morning at 5am. We flew all morning and then spent the afternoon at Epcot Center. It is now 8:30pm (9:30 our time) and we are all exhausted. But we promised the kids a swim so here we are. The kids have been troopers but they are now on the edge of insanity.
On the way to the pool, the husband said, “You guys need to calm down, you are too excited.”
The 8-year-old replied…
Gotta admit… he has a point.
Previous: Funny things my kids say #17
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Flipping through old family albums it is quickly obvious she was my first friend.
The Sister and I had our moments when we’d fight, and there were periods of sibling rivalry, but we have always been tight… as you can see from this Headlock of Love. Continue reading
Posted in Friday flashbacks
Tagged Family, kids, Love, memories, Mom and Dad, photographs, Relationships, Sister
The Sister and I have a lot of cousins but we grew up in Nova Scotia and all of our cousins lived in Newfoundland, Quebec or Ontario. Needless to say, we didn’t get to know them very well when we were young.
There are some cousins that still remain a mystery to me. I remember images of them from a family reunion or pictures that were enclosed in Christmas cards but they are mainly just names. There are cousins with families that I will probably never meet.
There was one group of cousins, however, who we did get to know better than others. These were the children of my father’s three sisters. Dad was their baby brother and efforts were always made to visit and reunite whenever possible. But still, it wasn’t often enough. Continue reading
International Quidditch at Oxford University
It’s been a while since I given you a List of 11, so today I present…
1) Zip cord – Invented on a rainy day, a string is tied from an upstairs baluster to a piece of furniture in the living room below. Every possible toy imaginable is then slid down the rope. Scores are awarded based on speed of slide and distance travelled.
2) Baby Koala – One of my least favourite because it involves ET crawling around whining like a baby… or baby koala, I guess. CJ takes care of him and supplies the eucalyptus leaves.
3) Hug Match – Wrestling, but given a cute/sly name so that Mommy won’t get angry when they break something.
4) Yeti! Yeti! Yeti! – A throwback to the annoying Pablo the Yeti character from the Backyardigans. My boys’ game has nothing to do with the Backyardigans except for the loud and grating call of “Yeti! Yeti! Yeti!” that CJ makes as he crawls around the floor chasing ET while covered in a blanket. The game always ends when my last nerve is frazzled and I order them outside… NOW!
5) Spy – Self-explanatory, I think. The beauty of this game is that it is inherently quiet and can be played in any venue. Indoors and outdoors, at home or at the grandparent’s… even once in church!
6) Slinky Kitty – This might sound a bit like an adult bedroom game but it’s much more innocent in our home. ET stands upstairs and drops poor Kitty wrapped in the end of a slinky. CJ is down below and tries to grab Kitty before he springs back up.
7) Wipeout – Similar to the TV show but a winter sport played around obstacles involving telephone poles, shovels and snow banks.
8) Quidditch – Just like J.K Rowling’s version but played in our backyard while riding hockey sticks in lieu of brooms… oh, and goals are scored in garbage pails.
9) Minecraft – Yes, I know everyone’s kids play Minecraft but mine play it outside without a computer. From what I have observed, the game is rooted around BDN’s son being a villager who makes an unacceptable barter trade. Of course, this leads to the arrival of an angry horde and chaos ensues.
10) Catch – A pretty standard game of catch but my boys stand only a few feet away and toss gently underhand. Apparently, they are aiming for a world record number of catches rather than an impressive degree of difficulty.
11) Queen Elizabeth – It is played outside with the whole gang of neighbourhood boys and CJ always plays the part of Queen Elizabeth. I have absolutely no understanding of this game.
I’m not sure what this list conveys about my children… I just wanted to share some of the craziness!
Do you have a favourite invented game from your family or your own childhood?
This is a picture of our local roundabout… with no traffic.
The boys and I now travel this route on Friday evenings, during the height of traffic, on the way to swimming lessons. Last week I found myself in the wrong lane and had to pull off an impressive feat of merging. It intrigued the kids and a slew of questions ensued.
For the rest of the drive, I explained why I had rolled the window down to make better eye contact. I described how I had mouthed, “Can I go?” and pointed in front of the neighbouring car. I recounted how my fellow driver had pointed back and given the thumbs up and that my over-the-shoulder wave had been in thanks… and yes, he had waved back.
After this long-winded (and slightly self-congratulatory) explanation, there was a pause. Then the 6-year-old asked…
Glad I wasn’t the only one who saw such beauty in the maneuver.
Previous: Funny things my kids say #16
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Tagged driving, Family, Funny, humor, humour, kids, Nova Scotia
In typical Nova Scotia fashion, our current winter weather is rain on the cusp of freezing and the children are housebound. We’ve invited BDN’s son over to play and he has just earned himself a guest appearance in Funny things my kids say…
While digging through our toy box, the eight-year-old exclaimed,
Isn’t it nice to reminisce about your earlier childhood?
Previous: Funny things my kids say #15
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Tagged Family, Funny, humor, humour, kids, Nova Scotia, Retro toys
CJ’s letter to Santa had me shaking my head (no way will Santa be bringing him an iPad mini) and then roaring with laughter.
Remembering that he is in French immersion and his English spelling is atrocious, allow me to transcribe the 8 year-old’s wish list.
…iPad mini, magic 8 ball, Furby, Max Rebo minifigure,
I think he might be watching too much Bugs Bunny.
Previous: Funny things my kids say #14
Posted in Funny things my kids say
Tagged Bugs Bunny, Family, Funny, humor, humour, kids, letter, Santa Claus
Escaping Elegance 