Zoe’s Preschool (and soon to be Kindergarten) has a great summer program with lots of neat camps. I signed my kids up for “Survivor Camp”, lasting all this week. Today they made s’mores (in the microwave… go figure), made a first aid bag with their names stenciled on the front, and drew a picture of what they would take along if they were stranded on a deserted island. Zoe showed me her picture as soon as she hopped in the car at pick up. Her picture showed in detail her blanket, pillow, a change of clothes, and some fire wood. Oh yeah, and there was a boat floating just off shore… which is actually the one thing you really want. Oddly, she hadn’t drawn a microwave for s’mores. I told her what a great job she did and then asked Jachin where his picture was. He immediately started giggling, which is always a bad sign. He then told me this: “Jake and I taped our pictures together to make one big picture, and it was a huge scene with battle droids attacking the palm trees and Jake drew Obi Wan Kenobi attacking the trees and we also drew a Republic drop ship and it was attacking everything. It was hilarious!” And then just when I opened my mouth to say how hilarious it sounded, he added: “Oh, and there was also an elevator at the bottom of the palm tree.” I was curious: “Where did the elevator go?” D’uh, mom: “To the top of the palm tree. The battle droids rode it up and blew up the top of the palm tree.”

And for this I paid $125 for the week. Per kid.

After Survivor Camp, we rode down to Jon’s work to have lunch and feed the resident ducks that hang out around his work complex. It was fun:

Soon, though, it was time to go:

It was very fun, though. And my children are precious.

Every once in a while, when I’m browsing the DVDs at Wal-Mart, I’ll come across one of my childhood favorites… and it’s usually in the $4.88 bin. Being compulsive, sentimental, and bad with money, I of course buy them. Every time. My kids have now come to love these movies as well. As I type this, my kids are lying on my bedroom floor watching “The Dark Crystal”. A classic. Zoe is a little scared of it, though. She closes her eyes during the part when Chamberlain has his clothes ripped from his boney puppet body, and then also the part when Augra’s planetarium/house is ravaged by the big Goliath-beetle looking guys. I have to tell her when those parts are over. I remember being scared of the same parts when I was 5 or 6. (I was also scared of the part where the little podling gets her essence sucked out by the essence-sucker-machine, and her little puppet face goes all gaunt and her eyes kind of pop out. Disturbingly, that part doesn’t seem to bother either of my kids.) I also wanted to be Kira when I was little. She was a beautiful, even if she was only a puppet.

I’m glad I have kids so I have an excuse to watch these movies all the time again. Kids make it okay to sit here and laugh and giggle and be amazed and a little scared all over again.

Visit my list blog for a list of movies from my childhood. Did we watch the same ones??

Another Saturday Latin Insult posted on an actual Saturday. I’m gettin’ good. Another shorty but goody, perfect for memorization!

“Insulsissimus Est Homo”

–”This man is the king of morons”

Catullus, poem 20