The Carnival! (week 438)

Christopher loves Transitional Kindergarten, his teacher Ms. Mendez, his Principal Ms. Sanchez, and Burcham Elementary School. Even though he complains about having to go to school and to the Child Development Center (CDC) just about every day, it is clear from his interest in learning and the way he smiles when talking about his teacher and Principal that he is proud to be a Bobcat and proud to be part of something that is his own. 

This week was all about the buildup to the Burcham School PTA Carnival that finally arrived on Saturday afternoon.  Mom was busy teaching and training all week, dad was taking the final steps to transition into his new job as the Innovation Team Director for the City of Long Beach, and I was getting fired-up for our long-awaited playoff game against the Pirates.  Mixed in with all the work were Christopher's new weekly swimming lessons, my baseball practices, Spanish reading tests, and all sorts of other things that had to get done around the house.  When the Carnival finally arrived, Dad picked up Mady and dropped me off at the Hubers so that I could get to my game in time.  Chris and Mady did everything there was to do at the Carnival: climbing wall, jumper slide, snow cones, face painting, strong man; you name it.  By the time they got to the field, their faces were colored with all sorts of paints and dyes.

On Saturday morning before the carnival, Chris, Dad and I were on our own so we took a bike ride to get pancakes and then mowed the lawns.  We do pretty good now that we are a bit bigger.  We stopped along the way to talk to lots of different family friends, which made the ride a lot longer, and we were hungry when we finally got there.  We still split two breakfast plates, but have finally reached the stage where we can finish every bite.  

After losing to the Pirates for the 2nd time this year and getting knocked into the Losers Bracket, we all showered and went to the Chinese restaraunt for Grandpa John's birthday.  He wanted to go to PF Chang's but the Pride Parade was kicking-off at the Pike so we stayed close to home.  Great move--Chris and I got to eat an entire dish of Orange Chicken with Orange Soda and as many fried noodles as we could get our hands on.  Grandpa John had a great time and we got him some PF Chang's gift cards for next time he is in town!