James Says / Amelie Says, Olympics Edition

Amelie really liked the opening ceremony:

"They're dancing with fireworks! That is so not safe."

During several events, Amelie asked, "Which one are we voting for?" Remember, we'd just stayed up to watch the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Boy are we in for a rude awakening when school starts.

James, watching Olympic track: "Which one's the Flash?"
Later he said, "Actually, they're all Flash."
Amelie, explaining Usain Bolt's speed: "The lightening goes into him."
She then proceeded to demonstrate Bolt's speed by racing around the house. After a fair amount of boasting, Sam had to say, "I don't think you could beat him in a race."

Honestly, I thought they'd be more interested in all of the events. They'd peek in every once in a while while Sam and I were watching and then try to imitate the athletes.

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And one non-Olympics one: Coming out of school the other day, Amelie told me "It's as hot as a baked bean out here."

First Day of First Grade

 I'm not going to call this look exactly thrilled. That sticker says "I do not ride the bus."

Update: Amelie says so far they've learned their table spots, their carpet spots, and their line order. Her job this week is door holder, and her teacher is Ms. Hanney again.

Kadie's Post

I asked our babysitter for the summer to write a blog post, so here's a guest post from Kadie, aka the best babysitter ever:

I asked the kids what I should write about. Amelie said "well, we love to watch Pokémon!" I'd say that's true. The Pokémon GO craze did not miss the Buffaloe kids! In fact, it encouraged the kids to get outside, like when we went to Cosmo Park (or, as the kids call it, the Dinosaur Park).

James is on the lookout for something!

Slide races were my favorite part of our trips to the park and one of the kids' favorite parts too--the only thing they liked more was getting me to chase them.

We spent some time inside too. One day we went to my house to meet my dog, Sally. The kids took a liking to her and she took a liking to them too.

All three like to watch TV. It's probably Pokémon.

Our unstructured time was nice, but my favorite thing we did all summer (and by the looks on the kids' faces one of their favorite things too) was go to Mizzou's Art and Archaeology kids program. We learned about the history masks and then got to make our own!

The kids masks (James managed to leave me maskless after claiming mine as his own)

Related to masks, the app Snapchat has a feature that James just calls "Silly Faces." That was a favorite of his for sure.

A "Silly Face" example. James wearing a flower crown.

These kids are goofy and sweet, rowdy and funny, but more than anything, these kids are loving. My favorite days were the ones when they would catch me on the way out the door for hugs and kisses. What sweet kids.