Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Seven 7 Sept

That's it, I am officially seven!

With three different celebrations, it felt more like a birthday week than a birthday day but I am certainly not going to complain!

It all started in Montana with my Grandparents and as soon as we were back it was time for the party with my friends. I was really waiting impatiently for that one.
The day before, Maman and I filled 100 water balloons. Yes, I had a hard time not popping them right there and then!

We were five boys which could be nightmare if they were all like me but I seem to choose friends who are the opposite of me. The kind who actually tell me to calm down.
But they still know how to have fun and that's why they are my friends right?

We began by making sure that all the rooms were littered with games we would begin to play with, move on to another one, another room and so forth. We worked great as a team though.

We finally moved outside and with goggles and hammers in hand, we were making, hum, well, we were hammering because that's the fun the part of DIY projects.


We had a fast lunch; Maman keeps having this idea that because baguette, ham and cheese is a great party food where she is from, everybody should adhere to that. Sure I do. I love it actually. My friends: not so much. But we joked and laughed a lot during our lunch time and that is what counts.


(notice how B and I have the same toothless smile!)


We ran down the hill to the park for our greatly awaited time of soaking each other with balloons and water guns. It was super fun for sure!
That park also has a great play structure and it must have cost quite a bit of money. But you see, the park is also next to a stream hidden in a sea of small trees and bushes. And that's where we played for an hour because, who wants to climb plastic structures when you can put you feet in the mud, try to build a bridge out of fallen branches and discover hidden treasures in the woods. Maman thinks that a lot more natural play are should be made available to kids and, for once, I agree with her.





Back to the house, it was time for my birthday cake. We had made ice cream sandwiches and Maman had prepared a sheet with my favorite characters of the moment. It was printed in icing so totally eatable. That's all I wanted to eat at first and we kind of fought over who would get Garfield's or Hobbes's head.


The next day was the official date of my birthday and I got to finish my cake and open more presents.




 Here are some sound bites from my party:


So there it is, another year has gone by. Who is the seven year old Noah? Well, according to the Ps:
- I still love to push limits.
- I like silly jokes and should probably not quite start a career as a comic yet until I nail down a few real jokes.
- I am happy and full of life... except of course when I am told to do something I don't want to do.
- I say NO a lot more than I say YES.
- I love to eat and my favorite things are vegetables of any kind when they are raw and meat and of course pasta. Oh wait, there is dessert too!
- I cannot stand mushy food... at all.
- I am getting to be a good cook.
- I usually don't like to help much around the house; I have tried saying: "I am not your slave!" but that did not go down very well.
- I think that dancing naked in front of people is the funniest thing. The P's keep hoping I'll grow out of that phase.
- I play with Legos non-stop... well not quite true since I also spend a lot of time reading.
- I cannot stand writing: too many rules and regulations if you ask me.
- I love playing board games with my favorites being: Monopoly, 1000 bornes, Clue, Frog juice and more. Beware that if you don't know the rules, I will make them up in no time.
- I love the indoors a lot more than the outdoors but when outside I choose bike riding and my scooter anytime over walking. I love anything that has to do with water.
- I am getting better at that socializing thing... sort of.
- I would get glued to games on screen at all time if it was not for that 45 minutes per day that often end up being 0, yes, zero minute per day because I have, per rules not established by me, pushed the limit too far.
- I know a lot of stuff and sometimes stuff my Ps don't know, stuff I read in a book.
- I have lost 5 teeth and with the way the new ones are growing in, there is orthodontist visit written in my future.
Edited to add :
- I love hugs and kisses and ask for them 100 times a day... except of course when anybody is watching then, of course, I would not be caught dead kissing my parents.

There is probably tons more about me but I have to stop somewhere.
I'll leave you with a pic of me and Winnie at 1 year old followed by the  7 year old one.




Tuesday, July 29, 2014

July with photo galore

We have been on break for over a month already. While I cannot quite grasp how fast things are going, Maman on the other hand wishes she could go back in time and be back at the beginning of July!

It has been busy and fun this month with a lot of boring parts for me: the P's have decided to refresh the kitchen and all those discussions about color, style, quality, quantity, cost, plans and all are so not interesting. Now, if they were talking about where to display all my Lego characters and models, I would certainly be inclined to give my opinion.

But with the weather being on the hot and sunny side, we also do quite a bit outside.
At the beginning of the month, Maman and I enjoyed a long bike ride and there were already plenty of ripe blackberries so my hands were soon looking quite purple.



With everybody having plans, it's even hard to organize playdates. My friend L came over one day and between a fun game of Monopoly and water play at the park, I got to sleep very well that night!









Mid-July was time for me to be in camp. I chose a swim camp. I had not been back at the pool for lessons since I, hum, well... since I behaved in a way that was not too conducive to making any swimming progress. And since then, I had always refused to take lessons again. But after one week of camp, I was ready to sign up again and in the Fall it will be back to the pool to better my stroke moves.

The camp was barely over that we piled ourselves in the car and to Montana we left to see Grandpa and Grandma.

I really enjoyed visiting the garden and gorged myself on lettuce, kale, peas and green onions, and later for dinner, spinach, radishes and beets were also among my favorites. I wish we had a great garden like that!







Hot and sunny followed us from Oregon so when we hiked, I got quite sweaty and tired; but it was also nice to find plenty of huckleberries along the way. There is nothing better than eating directly from what nature gives you.





Downtown Missoula also has great waterfront trails. I took my scooter there and we followed the trail on both side before settling down for a picnic with our feet in the water. We watched for a while as some people were playing in the rapids and trying to surf them.


( note the jar of green onion that grandma prepared just for me as a snack!)


On our last day, Papa had reserved a fire lookout so that he and I could spend the night there. But because we like to share, we invited all to spend the afternoon and dinner with us. To say that I was excited about the experience is an understatement. I was very sad to learn we would spend only one night there!
So we hiked a little, tried to spot birds with binoculars, enjoyed a wonderful dinner made by Grandma and played games until the sun began setting and it was time for us to stay and the rest of the group to go back down to Lolo.  I want to do that again!



 ( not quite sure I want to trust this guy to watch out for fire!)






We had to go back home the next morning though and so it was time to say goodbye to my grandparents and hope back in the car for another 10 hours of reading. Maman brought 20 books that I had not read yet and others to read again but it was barely enough for the two round trips and my stay there.

It was a fun trip and soon it would be time to prepare for my birthday; but that, is for another post... although I had an early celebration in Montana!