Let Me Hear an "Opa!"

Every year the local Greek Orthodox church puts on a "Taste of Greece" festival. I'd never gone, but this year they had 7 different bounce houses viewable from the road so my kids begged me to take them. $10/per kid to jump almost made me turn back, but it's a fundraiser, so it's a good cause, right? Anyway, there was really no turning back at that point - my kids had already run off and started jumping while I stood agog in front of the ticket booth. The lady saw my expression and offered to let Christian in for free. I thought she was making a joke to diffuse the tension, like "Well at least the baby's free!" kind of thing. But she was serious! She really expected me to pay $30 for bounce houses but was taking pity on me! I managed a "thank you" for her generosity, took my tickets, and left. But they had a great time. I ended up doing one with them where you are attached to a bungee cord and you run out and stretch it as far as possible before it snaps you back and whoever went farthest wins. I had a great time on that one and Benjamin did it multiple times. Afterwards we went into the main tent area and listened to a wonderful Greek band and watched some really fun Greek dances. Benjamin loved it the most. He absolutely loves music. He sat riveted for 5 songs by the band, commenting on various elements in the music, the unfamiliar language, and the unique instruments. When the dancers performed, Bella moaned, slumped in her seat, and whined, "Can we goooo now?!" I leaned over and asked Benjamin, "Are you bored?" "No! I'm not bored. I want to stay!" was his excited response. So we stayed while Bella nearly fell out of her seat in an effort to display how unhappy she was. It was fun for me too. I loved the music and I loved all the atmosphere. I couldn't bare to give out even more money on food so I didn't buy their $10 bite-size items. However, I loved the solidarity I felt among the people. They were so proud of their culture and heritage. They ate the food, sang the songs, did the dances, and spoke the language - people of all ages so far from Greece had held on to the traditions and celebrated them together. The excitement was truly contagious.






Yesterday we enjoyed the beautiful cool weather and spent the afternoon at the playground together. My kids have grips of steel. Most likely perfected by grasping toys as the others attempt to yank it away. In any case, Christian is following suit. His favorite activity was hanging from the bar.




Followed closely by eating rocks. The oral fixation is a common theme for them all too. Here we see the brothers sharing a snack of rocks. (You can see each of them currently has some in their mouth).


This week we also went mini golfing at the course across the street from the Greek fesitval. Not the greatest course. I remember mini golfing when I was younger on courses where every hole was a work of art - the ball goes into a crocodile mouth or under a windmill as the blades spin, or gets taken up in a rotating bucket and dropped elsewhere, etc. I haven't been mini golfing in years and assumed that all courses were like that. This lame-o course proved me wrong. Not one hole had anything on it but astroturf, fake rocks, and a hole. Some curved left, some curved right, some had a hill. Zero points for creativity. However, I was able to talk the man at the counter down 50% in price (from $17 to $8 for our group) and the kids had a great time regardless. Made me feel better about the bounce house cost. :) Benjamin was so cocky the whole time, "I'm a pro at golf. This is so easy!" He got tired of waiting for the rest of us, so he went from hole to hole alone, each time calling out how few swings it took him. Isabella and Shade (a boy I tend a few days a week) had fun just doing the holes that looked like the most fun to them and ignoring the rest. When they found one they particularly liked, they played it over and over again, or backwards even, if they wanted. Bella started gathering real rocks and creating obstacles in the path of the ball because she liked watching the ball richochet and fly into the air. Shade was a purist, though, and would always run up and remove the rocks declaring that one shouldn't put rocks on the grass. It was really fun to watch them all.


School starts a week from today. Where has this Summer gone? It's been a lot of fun. Can't believe Benjamin will be in school every day soon. He still seems so little to me. Just the other night a cousin of mine and his wife were over for a visit and Benjamin came out in his PJs - Spiderman shirt, Batman pants - and my cousin asked him about the combination. "So I can have both sets of powers!" he declared. "Batman can only come out at night, like a bat, but Spider man can come out in the day. And they do different things too. This way I can be out and powerful all the time!" Such a cute little boy.