Naps achieved

That's nap time.  We skipped it yesterday, so during and after their afternoon post-lake bath, the kids were insane.  "There's no way you're getting them down," I said to Julie as Rowan raced past, hid in the disgusting, never-washed, E. Coli curtains (negating the bath) and Lyla chased him.

But Julie did it, earning her 900 points.  So now the score is 900-2.  I'll mount a comeback; just watch.

I have a bunch of beach photos on the other camera, so I'll post them eventually.  Among them is a fish that Julie sculpted in the sand.  It's basically a penis with fins.

Liar clock fail

At the Dunes this year we're all staying at the hotel.  Last year was too tough getting Rowan to stay asleep in the cabin while people talked, watched the Olympics, etc.  Not that it was their fault: "Okay, everyone.  It's 8:00, so no making any noise of any kind."  Plus then it was impossible to keep Rowan quiet in the morning while everyone else slept.  Meanwhile, Julie and Lyla at the hotel snoozed like snails, and I developed rabid streaks of jealousy.

Anyway, this year we got two rooms at the hotel, one for Julie and Rowan and one for Lyla and me.  It's a pretty cheap hotel, and we want to end this week still speaking to one another.  So far, so good.  I threw down the gauntlet on Julie and challenged her to a series of hotel room challenges, most of which I'm making up as we go.

Getting Lyla to sleep before Julie got Rowan to sleep: 1 point for me.

Organizing Lyla's clothes in the dresser while Julie did God-knows-what with Rowan's clothes: another point for me.

So far, I'm winning 2-0.  Whoever's kid wakes up second tomorrow earns a point.  I'm utilizing liar clock over here, so I have a shot.

Update:

See the liar clock on the left?  It failed.  Really it was 7:00, but seeing as how it's now 7:48 and I haven't heard anything from Julie, I think she won today's morning sleep-in point.  Lyla and I have already been down to breakfast and back.

Love the decor.  You could vomit anywhere, and it would just blend right in.

So now we're back in our room and Lyla's watching TV and getting upset every time a commercial comes on.  I've been trying to explain to her that that's how TV is, that at home we watch Netflix Instant Streaming, which doesn't have commercials.  She's also mad because she thinks the exact show she wants to watch should be on.  I wish she'd settle down so I could two-fist these styrofoam cups of coffee in peace.

Liar clock

Zombie breakfast in the Dells.  They're watching Sesame Street.  "Dat's Elmo, my friend!" said Rowan.  For Lyla, the show is not nearly as sophisticated as, say, Strawberry Shortcake, but she's putting up with it.  Rowan looks like he's waiting for the TV to beam him up.

Julie and I got to sleep until 7:35.  Lyla, the perpetually early riser, knows she can't bug anyone until 7:00.  When I plugged in her clock last night, I may have set the time incorrectly.  Like, 35 minutes incorrectly.  After such rousing success, I plan to use liar clock all week.  Tomorrow we'll shoot for 8:00.

Midway

We're in the Wisconsin Dells for a night on our way to the Dunes.  Lyla went down this toddler-sized waterslide and felt like a boss.  Rowan went down it once and that was enough for him. 

I'm crashing a little bit after yesterday's travel shenanigans, but whatever.  It'll be nice tomorrow to get to the Dunes and actually stay in one place for a week.  Tonight is my third state in three nights.

Finally

Well, I'm home. Due to a series of cockups, I arrived home not at 4:30 in the afternoon, but at 11:00 at night. We leave for the Dunes tomorrow morning. I'll elaborate on these events another time, but suffice it to say that I am not a fan of United Airlines.

Leaving soon...

I'm flying home tomorrow at 6:18 AM. Kinda sad to be leaving the paradise that is San Diego, but the wife and kids are their own paradise in a way. I spoke to Lyla this evening at her bedtime and asked for the highlights of her day. Apparently Jilly and Max were fighting over a bucket. Jilly won the tug of war that ensued, and before Max could retaliate, she hucked it over the playground fence. Lyla didn't get into the consequences of their actions or her particular moral stance, but I'll certainly ask her about it tomorrow. If I can stay awake.

Shark

Julie's phone stopped working properly yesterday, so she has no apps and no contacts and a lot of other craziness besides. San Diego is two hours behind MN, so when she finally got ahold of me to vent about how maddening it all was, I was at dinner. Eating shark. That's a delicate marital moment when one calls the other in an instant of sheer, hair-ripping-out rage, and the other is eating shark. You can't listen and comfort and so forth and then be like, "But honey, this shark!"