Conversations on the Road

We are spending our extended Memorial Day weekend with my folks.  That means a road trip!  Coming to my parents' house is always fun for my kids.  Not only do they have enough adult attention to shake a stick at, but they are surrounded by toys they haven't seen for a few months.  Isaac, who turns three today, came into the house to be reunited with his long lost stuffed Triceratops.  We had been looking for that thing for quite a while.  We even asked if it could possibly be hiding out here (maybe taking a vacation).  We assumed it was left somewhere, lonely, waiting for Isaac to come and rescue him from the dark alley in which he lay.  But lo and behold, he was just taking that long needed vacation.  And he soon got lots of long needed hugs from Isaac.

Isaac also found a little plastic shark.  When I say little, it's not even 2 inches long.  He of course shows me this shark, which I have seen many a time.  I say that it's a nice shark.  He corrects me.  It is a Cretoxyrhina.  And he's right.  I certainly looks like one to me.  That is how focused Isaac is on dinosaurs.  But what about our other boy.  What's his name again?  That's right, Orry.  Oh, that sweet boy!  What is he focused on?

Orry is a lover of knowledge.  Plain and simple.  If there is information to be learned, he wants to learn about it.  I'm talking stars and planets, plants and animals, machines and buildings, words and spellings, and the list goes on and on.  We can thank my dear darling husband for that.  They share a thirst for understanding the workings of the world.   He is willing to explore just about anything, dinosaurs included, and to share that information with anyone who will listen.  One of the things I love about road trips is the ability to have a lengthy conversation with people while cruising the highway.  Orry included.


Today, while driving, we passed an accident.  It looked pretty bad.  Car had run off the road.  Was possibly on fire.  All the windows were broken out.  That sort of thing.  When we were passing it, Orry commented on how bad it was.  I told him that driving can be dangerous, but he interrupted me.  He said that we wasn't talking about the wreck, he was talking about the litter on the side of the road.  He is a lover of our planet and  of windmills that generate electricity.  I think we will make picking up roadside litter an activity one of these days.

We also discovered what Orry will be for Halloween this year.  Drum roll please.  Chris Kratt, of the Wild Kratts, with his Draco lizard creature power suit.  Did I lose you?   Well, if you care to learn about the Wild Kratts, go here and then click on videos.  I'm sure you can get the gist of creature power suits and so on.  I really love this show.  There are two shows that we watch.  And by watch, I mean we actually stop playing and sit down and watch them, absorbing all the good info they have to offer.  One is the Wild Kratts.  The other is Dinosaur Train.  (And I've linked their PBS Kids websites because reading about it on Wiki is just boring.  Go ahead and play a game or watch a video.)  I, personally, have learned a lot about animals and dinosaurs from these little shows.  And I get to spend some quiet QT with my kiddos.  Annie is included in this group too.  She can feel the happy vibes from the boys and she gets just as excited to watch as they do.

Tonight we had the pleasure of hearing songs sung by Orry.  What a joy to hear his sweet voice singing (and to understand what he says)!  One song was about bears falling off a wall.  Three bears turn into two, which turn into one and eventually none.  The other was an Orry original, which I've heard a time or two.  It has to do with silent letters.  The opening lines are "A,B,C,D can be silent.  Everyday, make them silent".  It's sung to the tune of the ABC's song.  It's a winner in my book.  

When I wake up this morning, it will be Isaac's birthday.  We'll make his dino cupcakes and dino party hats.  We'll get ready to play "pin the small arms on the T. Rex".  We'll open our dino presents.  And when it's all said and done, and the kiddos are dreaming in the Jurassic, I'll take a moment and tell you all about it!