Combo Birthday
Phoebe and Puppa (Grandpa Cowles) have birthdays within 3 days of each other and with Cristin in Germany we had an easy choice to head down to the Cape for a night in Chatham. The girls love going there. When Mr. Greg (their swim teacher) starts class he always asks each kid what they had done that week and several times Phoebe has mentioned Chatham. For those who don’t realize that normal families actually live there (at least a dozen), a comment like this seems a little snooty and Mr. Greg always likes to joke that he is going to go with them on the next visit. We hit Carabiners in the morning and faced exactly zero traffic on the mid-March Saturday and arrived early enough to do the triple crown of all three playgrounds in one afternoon. Our last stop was the pirate ship (a children’s version of the ark) outside the Catholic church where we were just in time for mass. It was entertaining to watch everybody scramble in while the kids climbed on a ship which plays a pivotal role in a key story of the book forming the basis of the faith that drives these people to this building once a week. A story which is undoubtedly untrue.
We headed home and the girls played on the Jeep outside while Gaga warmed up her macaroni twist which Ellie ate heartily. After dinner they had cake and I believe ice cream as well and Puppa opened his present (a decent drum stool and some Dave Weckl signature sticks) and Phoebe opened hers ( ). This was the same present Jake had received at Christmas when all the girls got some kind of barbie closet thing. It was a huge hit at Christmas and Phoebe was overjoyed to receive it. The lesson is simple, give girls what you are normally inclined to consider a “boys gift”. Barbie bad. Gadgets good.
We stayed much later on Sunday than I had originally planned. I was really in no hurry but Rudy had not eaten since the previous morning and I will confess I worry about him. We left late in the day and listened to Apple music on the way home. Everybody gets to pick a song and the sequence goes something like this. Katy Perry (Ellie), Michael Jackson (Phoebe), Megadeth (Me), repeat. Phoebe did request Candlebox on the way home, a song which contains the “F word” sporadically. I had recently let them watch Spaceballs which they absolutely loved and when I posted a picture on Facebook, a few parents commented that they wanted to let their kids watch it but worried about the language. We are bit missing out on Rick Maranhas as Lord Helmet because of a couple of adult words.
