Dinosaur Land

What to do when your child asks to see dinosaurs, and you don't want to fight the tourists downtown? I googled "Virginia dinosaurs" and found this, nestled in beautiful Shenandoah valley:

Dinosaur Land was truly amazing. First you go through a magical tree and see this:

AND a giant octopus AND a big green cactus. And it goes on from there.

I enjoy how the mammoth looks bored with the whole thing. "Yeah, sure, make a silly face, take a picture, see if I care. Why don't you go sit on that bench over there and eat some lunch while you're at it?"

Betsy liked this friendly stegosaurus. There were a bunch of "nice" dinosaurs, and then there were the hungry dinosaurs.

We're totally coming back to Dinosaur Land to stage a family Christmas card photo.

By the way, check out my little girl who stands up by herself now!

And there's a photo op with King Kong, as one would expect in a dinosaur park (if that park also includes a large praying mantis and a cobra and a land sloth).

An artsy shot by Betsy.

We can't wait to go back. The park staff were truly nice and helpful, and there was a huge gift shop where my kid happily pulled rubber snakes out of buckets while my other kid dithered about which amazing dinosaur items to buy. A perfect summer day's outing.

Why Do I Do It?

Why write this particular blog at this particular time?

Well, first of all, there's the shocking lack of blogs from people in my demographic (white liberal overeducated stay-at-home-moms). I can think of at least three stay-at-home moms I know who don't blog. So there's that.

Actually, this blog had its genesis at Shrine Mont, where I was walking the labyrinth and meditating on the act of giving thanks. Abigail was maybe ten weeks old, and Matthew had taken both girls to the playground so I could have time to myself. It had been a stressful year, to say the least, but by some miracles we were all there, safe and healthy and strong. A blog, I thought, would be one small way to give thanks for the many blessings we'd received.

And then for several months I stalled on it.

And then my dear friend Kelly began her blog, which is sweet and delightful and a wonderful way to give thanks. And so I followed her example and finally began.

So, what's The Silly Pepper Joy Blog all about?

Matthew and I were talking about taking the kids to the beach for the morning. And how one could look at it this way:

"I spent all morning packing up towels and toys and food and swimsuits and sunscreen and getting myself ready and the kids ready and the kids ready again, and then we drove for an hour and then I unloaded all this stuff and ran around keeping them from drowning and keeping them from eating too much sand, and then I packed us all up again and drove home again and now I'm exhausted."

Or one could look at it this way:

"Instead of sitting in an office today I got to go to the beach with my kids, and it was a beautiful day, and Betsy had a great time swimming with her friends and Abigail kept crawling in the shallows and eating sand and laughing and we all had a lot of fun."

Both are true, right? My intention isn't to gloss over the more annoying aspects of life. I certainly do enough off-blog complaining. But here I want to celebrate and appreciate the good things, be they sweet or silly or a little bit surreal, as life with children tends to be. Here I want to share and give thanks for the many joys of this life, and to maybe inspire at least one other person to do the same. Thank you for sharing the journey with me.

Ten Loves (#9: Playing Dress Up)

In honor of the last ten days until (or somewhat soon after) graduation, ten things for which I am super thankful.

#1: Family
#2: Doodling
#3: The Farmers' Market
#4: Thursday Afternoon Playdates
#5: Graduation Bingo
#6: Party Preparation
#7: Discovering the Sweetness
#8: Sewing Together

#9: Playing Dress Up

I was invited to a very exclusive dance today. To attend, one had to wear something sparkley or shiny, and a fancy hat or hairdo.

We look quite elegant, don't you think? This is my job, people. I have to put on old costumes and prom dresses and thrift-store loveliness in the middle of the day and twirl around.

I also feel totally justified in having kept/collected all of this stuff, because it is educational! I used to feel justified because I might wear it again, or because I might use it in a show. Now it's Good for the Children.

Who am I kidding? It's just fun.

Preschool Marigolds

By Betsy, transcribed by Becca

I planted my marigolds at school. They were seeds and I planted them in a little plastic cup but then they grew out of it so we planted them into the black pot. The black pot is on our porch. Now they are starting to bloom. I love my marigolds because they started out not pretty and then they turned into different colors.

Random Photo of the Week

Reading

Ten Loves: (#8: Sewing Together)

In honor of the last ten days until (or somewhat soon after) graduation, ten things for which I am super thankful.

#1: Family
#2: Doodling
#3: The Farmers' Market
#4: Thursday Afternoon Playdates
#5: Graduation Bingo
#6: Party Preparation
#7: Discovering the Sweetness

#8: Sewing Together

I'm teaching my daughter to sew, just as my mother taught me, and her mother taught her. Betsy wanted to make a skirt for her bear Color-Color. It was a simple thing to construct, just a seam down the side and a casing for the elastic (we used the selvage for the bottom), the sort of garment I had made for my own dolls.

She concentrated very hard to make her stitches even, and to keep them in a row. She even learned to thread the needle herself.

Here Betsy is with Color-Color, who is proudly modeling her new skirt. For so many years, my creative artsy-craftsy time was limited to Betsy's bedtimes and naps. It is so much fun to begin to create things--together--with my big girl, and to continue the tradition of mother teaching daughter to sew.

These Days

What's happening these days at the Silly Pepper home:

A girl in a purple princess dress is making sure the plants are all well watered and the cats are well loved.

A girl in a blue onesie is working hard on teething those top two canines, standing, and expressing her opinions.

We're slowly beginning to dig out from under the mountain of backlogged projects. Like the cabinet door painting project that I started in November 2009, before I was pregnant with said standing child.

We're enjoying eating the lettuce and herbs that we've grown in our garden, and thoughtfully adding more plants. We can only fit so many things in containers on the porch, and approximately one bazillion new tomato plants came up from seeds in the compost (remember my post about chopping up all those tomatoes last summer?). Vinca and chili peppers and peppermint followed us home from the farmers' market this week to join the melee.

We're adjusting to having Matthew home on evenings and weekends, and Betsy home all day every day. There are now family walks after dinner again, and mid-day trips to the pool. We're trying to figure out family time, couple time, and (gasp) alone time.

We're planning summer trips, especially one to Maine.

I'm pondering what to do with the Etsy shop, how much time I can give it now, and whether to change my focus.

Lots of fun things!