Patch

I was greeted last Friday with one of the biggest smiles I've seen on Clara's face. In her hand was a drawstring bag. I figured the smile was closely related to this bag.

Sure enough...it was her turn to bring home Patch for the weekend. We'd get to document our adventures, she would write it all up in the Patch journal and go back to school on Monday to share her "news".

As soon as we got home, she sat down at the table and began making a card with her glitter it up kit she got for Christmas from Grandma McMahon. She kept asking me to take pictures of her with Patch (this continued all weekend long) so I obliged and while doing so noticed that her card was a thank you note for her teacher for letting her have Patch for the weekend.

Friday night was family movie night and we were grilling food outside. She was excitedly carrying Patch around the house and outside to help get dinner ready. Then they spotted a slug that kept them entertained for a long time.

After the movie came bedtime. This is how she wanted it to go and I was very happy because I'd looked at the previous journal entries of Patch from her classmates and it seemed that most slept with him. I just can't think about that too much or I get a little germ-ed out.

The weekend weather was AMAZING and we knew we had to take full advantage. So, what better place to start off a day than Betty's? Thanks to a very nice gift card Devin got from his previous office, we enjoyed it completely. Clara even shared her croissant with Patch...imagine that.

Afterwards, Jonas had a birthday party to attend so Clara and Devin went to Valley Gardens to play in the park.

The birthday party? Pure torture!! We walked in to balloons everywhere. That is the natural thing to do, have balloons at a party, but this was Jonas's first real birthday party and I forgot all about this aspect. So, it was lots of fun keeping him away from them. Then the music started for the games. Jonas and his sensitivity to music has been getting much worse lately to the point I had to sit out in the hall the entire time games were being played or else he would cry - really loudly. Then it was time to eat. The birthday boy's mom had been so incredibly thoughtful and asked ahead about food so I came prepared with his own food that was put into a little box just like everyone else's. The problem was keeping Jonas away from the crumbs. While he ate, I had to sit right behind him with my arms on either side of him to make sure nothing touched him. Apparently I wasn't good enough because one arm got some hives anyway. Moving on...it was time for the pinata outside. Good, I thought...Jonas should at least have fun outside. Think again. Once the donkey started getting hit with the bat, Jonas lost it. Then he'd regain composure until the next child swung the bat at the poor unsuspecting donkey. I gave up and walked back inside. For the time being, birthday parties and Jonas just don't seem to get along. Not sure what to do about that.

After meeting up with the rest of the fam, I got to hear all about this


and this

and this


Sure looked fun!!!

The weather was so nice that we decided to go on an afternoon outing. We didn't exactly have a specific destination in mind but wanted to go look at some reservoirs and maybe find a little hike or something. We drove through some really beautiful towns and both concluded that around here, the drive to any destination is seriously half of the fun. Pictures just don't do it justice.

After driving for a while, we noticed signs for How Stean Gorge. We hadn't heard of it before so we thought it could be fun. Once parked, we went to pay for tickets and rent a torch (flashlight) to guide us through one of the caves. The total was 14 pounds. As we were in the process of paying, the owner came in and looked at our family and told us to go ahead for free. We wouldn't make it very far and she didn't feel right charging us the full amount since she didn't think we'd really see anything. We thought it was so nice of her...yet I could tell Devin had a reaction that reminded me of a camping trip we once went on with Barrett, Angela, Ryan and Christa...when Barrett's Jimmy SUV was challenged. I could see that same determination on Devin's face that I remember on Barrett.

After convincing Jonas that he had to wear a helmet, we headed off.

We made it to the cave and even ventured in quite a ways. It was once the hideout of a notorious criminal. And from this picture, it seems like Jonas thinks the criminal is still inside.

It was so dark and cool but Clara did not really like it. Once out into the light, we headed farther down the gorge.

Then Clara hit a muddy spot and in one big swoosh was down on her bum. Patch right next to her in a mud puddle getting himself and his white sweater very dirty. Devin cleaned Patch off in the river as best he could and then put him in Clara's purse (yes, she brought a purse on a hike - don't ask) to keep him as clean as possible.

Jonas just loved playing in the water but I have to laugh because it appears that the helmet was completely covering his eyes. Oh well, he clearly didn't mind since he kept wanting to do it.

We finished exploring, bought a yummy treat that thankfully Devin didn't like very much which left more for us girls and headed home.

We met up with Devin's co-workers who were visiting from the States for dinner and had a great time seeing them. Then it was home to get our tired children in bed. This is when I remembered about Patch and how I needed to clean him up. I pulled him out of Clara's purse to realize that he had black and blue ink all over his body. You see, this purse was given to Clara from her very dear friend Leah and in it she always carries the heart shaped note (made of foam) Leah gave to her. I had completely forgotten it was in there and so wet Patch had absorbed the ink off this note and onto his whole body. What a mess!!!

I was mortified that we would send Patch back in this condition. I washed him the best I could but then he smelled like a wet dog. Yuck. Febreeze came to the rescue...sort of.

After this weekend, I doubt we will be hosting Patch any time soon. I had no idea how stressful a stuffed animal could be.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Clara shared her "news" with the class. I asked her if she told them about Patch falling and getting so dirty. She said yes. Then I asked her what questions the class had for her. She could only remember one. Her friend Abby asked "Did you see more slugs than just one?"