Briam's Family Blog

Well ... there is no more classes for the kids right now... but that doesn't mean that there are no more classes for the kids right now.... at home. 

This past Saturday Matthew says to me "Dad... I want a girl friend" ... I was a bit shocked.  Specially since a week prior he had said how he never wanted to get married.  Or grow older... because adults have to do boring work... and that was no fun.

A couple of days ago, Paola set up painting day for the kids.

These works of art are (like the previous) are on display at the High museum refrigerator of our Home.  For a limited engagment...   

Now Sophia on the other hand (ha ha no pun intended)... was isolated to the table.  Something about the paint disaster of 2005...

I had asked my son at one point if he wanted me to paint with him... but he had assured me that it would not look as good as his work so I should just sit and watch him.

...chores chores.  We all have to pitch in... or total caos...

But it is nice to see a smile while the kids do their part.  Here is Sophia taking out the trash with a big smile on her face.  Maybe she is just to young to realize that some work is not really fun at all.... 

... a blue and pink basket?  What exactly is a tisket.... or a tasket?  All I know is that my little girl tells me that you need two of them...

The smile says "happy happy ....." while the fact that she wont share the baskets says ""...mine mine...I am the princess..."  So lets say you are lucky enough (or sneaky) to get your hands on one of these coveted baskets.... what do you do with it?  I asked Sophia, but she did not seem to want to share the answer.  I guess my only option now is to find my own basket.

Enough of these sticky traps, and we start to train to kids to carry wipes with them... just in case.  Have you ever seen a lollipop stuck in someone's hair?  Not a pretty sight.

I have been to many parts of the world.  Seen a lot of things... one thing stands out.... there are crazy cab drivers everywhere.  I remember the last time I was in Argentina, and how common it was for the cab drivers to take short cuts through the sidewalks... and people would just jump out of the way... then go back to their regular lives... maybe an insult or two.

I guess you don't have to travel to the other side of the globe to see a crazy cab driver... in fact I think we have one right here.  They must be in an awful hurry..... I am just glad that I did not get run over....

I was thinking the other day, how lucky we were that someone had given us a play-set for the kids to play with.... one less thing to have to buy or worry about... because kids can get bored.  They need some time outside to play and climb and have fun.  They do seem to have fun with it...

But then I started thinking about how they climb all over the top of it... and Matthew jumps off of it.  ...Who am I kidding.... they have out grown this thing...    ....its only a matter of time before they start climbing our house.  Maybe I should look at getting something a little bigger.

So I started to notice that our kids are starting to copy some of our daily activities.... they watch... they mimic.  They wait for the perfect time to pull out the old "...but I saw you do it..." card.  Which, by the way is an excellent card.  It is usually trumped by the "...well when you are 5, then you can do that..."

....I think I will have to change that strategy soon ... now that Matthew is four! 

Well, lets get to it.... what was I talking about?  Oh yes, they copy us... Here we have morning Sophia going to check her emails just in case there is some important gossip that she needs to be made aware of.

She throws up that innocent smile, but I know she turned off the monitor so I would not catch her surfing inappropriate sites again.....

Well, after catching up on the old email, its time for a well balanced nutritious breakfast.

Makes you wonder why they don't just make a big food bucket so you don't have to use those tricky spoons..... After a nice breakfast... its jump on Daddy.... while smiling for the camera.

I guess the plan here is to weight me down so much that I have back issues and must stay home and play all day....  Not this time girls... Daddy loves you guys!

This past Wednesday it was Daddy Donut Day at the kids school.  A chance to enter the crazy world in which my kids walk every day.... while enjoying the occasional donut.

Part of this tour of duty revolved around the kids creating a work of art that they would give to daddy dearest.  Sophia's artwork was hard to capture since it mostly revolved around drooling and asking me to pick her up....

Matthew on the other hand was a little less than shy.  While we enjoyed our tasty snacks, Matthew was hard at work creating the next  'Rock Your World' master piece. 

When he was done, he sat back and let me soak in his genious!.... the use of colors... and shapes..... the deep placement of symbolism.... he had capture the essence of life in one single master piece... and he knew it. 

Megan seemed less than enthusiastic about the completed work.  She did not say anything mean... but nice girls never do.  She just kind of nodded but did not seem to truly be impressed. 

Megan's art work was a self portrait.  A self portrait of her hands..... very cute, and on the same page it says "I love to sing songs with my dad."  As nice is that is, I recall Megan mostly asking me to stop singing when she is, so that I can focus on just listening to her...

The works of art are currently under exhibit in the Kitchen Museum of Art.... for a limited time.  A must see for all true art connoisseur.

Sorry it took me so long to get these pictures out there.... I have been playing catch up since we got back.

Click on the picture to see the whole set... or go to Gallery section (on the right) to see those and others.

We had so much fun on this trip.  First of all, a special thanks to my parents and the Limey's for watching the kids...

We had a chance to take a historical tour of the main Island (Nassua)... we did some shopping... some snorkling... dinning... dancing... lounging... beach.... pool.... and drinky drinky....

I really do need a day or two to get back into 'work' mode...  

Oh were to start.... we are not even home yet.  Just using a little free wifi at the airport until our plane gets in.  Tons of fun... and there are also a bunch of pictures we want to share.  But that will take me some time to put it together.

But for now... here is the little tug boat we escaped on...

no wait.... this is the one.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Paola and I set on the cusp of freedom..... today we drop the kids off ... and prepare for a short little vacation.... KID FREE!!!  .... why is this important?  the time apart from our kids will help us to appreciate the time that we have with them....  Its like the old saying goes:  "...time makes the heart grow fonder..." ...or something like that.  Well ok, that just part of it... the other is we just want a break.  Paola finally has her green card... so we are not able to travel outside the U.S.  ... so we are going to go on a Cruise to the Bahamas.... 

I am sure this break will be good for us and the kids....