I have gotten to the point now that if I need a new slogan for my business or a website I am designing I will ask my kids and see what they come up with. It will surprise you. And who do you think would be better at thinking outside the box? Kids are less influenced by society than adults and can think more literally than us big people.

What really was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me and made me realize this fact was a few years ago when my oldest child and I were peeling a cucumber. She loves cucumbers and we ate cucumber after cucumber for a long time. Peel it up, slice it into circles on a large plate, and then sprinkle salt on them.

Well I was in the middle of peeling our cucumber for an afternoon snack when my daughter said, “Dad I don’t want a cucumber.” I was absolutely shocked as she had always loved them and actually were somewhat obsessed with eating them. What I didn’t realize at the time was she was setting me up. She was 4 years old at the time and I came back with, “Well too bad, this is what we are eating.” She persisted, “But Dad, I really don’t want a cucumber.”

I was so stunned by this. So I came back strongly, “Well too bad, you are eating a cucumber whether you like it or not. You have always liked cucumbers. There is no reason to stop liking them now.”

She then got this grin on her face and said, “But Dad (giggle), I don’t want a cucumber, I want a Y-cumber (giggle).”

I busted out laughing. That did it for me and I realized how kids are so simple and can really think outside the box. She was learning her letters and therefore the emphasis all along was on the letters. As an adult you begin to look past all that stuff. You begin to just accept things for what they are.

So if you need original ideas get your kids involved. It may surprise you. So think outside the Q-cumber and think more like a kid.

-sillydad

95 kids showed up and registered for the day and 45 parents. It was a better turn out than last year due to torrential downpours. See last years pictures and story here.

Even though I didn’t get any pictures, my dad shot a few. Here is one of Sam who is the closest casting. Elizabeth is behind him sitting on the rock waiting for a fish to bite. And you can barely see Isobel behind her watching.

Check out full story and photos of the event here.

Normally what we do is drive 3 hours to my parent’s camp where we meet them, pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, and attend the Family Fish Day only 2 miles down the road. Then we come back after the event and cook hot dogs, marshmallows, and catch up on old times and get some good visiting in while the kids run around.

The weather held off and was great up through the event and into Saturday night and then the rains came. It rained so hard it drove the kids from the tent. They were perfectly dry just the sound of the rain hitting the tent and the nearby tarps created a real loud noise it was hard to hear people just next to you. They all wanted to come in and sleep in the loft in my parent’s camp. So that’s where we all slept.

More pictures coming soon.

-sillydad

First off Fort Knox….

Isobel

Isobel with Bucksport in the background. This is what you see from the fort.

Elizabeth, Sam, and Isobel posing in front of the old cannon.

Emma sitting on a pile of cannon balls.

Apple picking pics…

Sam crunching into his Cortland apple.

Yummy… Isobel eating her apple…

Crunch…

Elizabeth getting right into it… getting her hands dirty…

Mommy having some fun in the orchard…

-sillydad

I first arrived at my parent’s camp the night before with my 2 older children, Elizabeth and Sam. The following shows them roasting marshmallows over the campfire. This picture was taken about 10pm.

The next morning we woke up to rain coming down in buckets. As you can see from the next picture we were all dressed from head to toe in rain gear.

Not too long after standing around the stocked pond Kiley Walker from the Bethel Area reeled in one of the only 2 fish (trout) caught all day. The following are the 3 pictures I took.

After an hour or two of fishing we all sat under the outdoor tent trying to remain warm and dry. The following is a picture of my 2 kids sitting at one of the picnic tables.

Then it was time to do our give aways. There were a ton of prizes to be given out and many kids walked away with a smile. My daughter Elizabeth walked away with a nice fishing pole:

Though it rained all weekend, we had a great time and it was a great experience for those kids who came out and made it happen. Next year let’s hope the sun is shining and more kids come out and have fun. Maybe I can bring Isobel next time.

-sillydad

So, I thought I would give her some incentive. On April 3rd there is a free family fish day I am taking my 2 oldest kids to and grampa is coming along. The drive to get there would be about 3 hours over where grampa’s camp is. The incentive is if she can potty train and be out of diapers by then I would bring her fishing with us.

From that point on she has been making a little more of an effort to potty train. The thing now is when she fails and lets it go in her diaper she becomes upset and sad because she can’t go fishing. It is always on her mind. Maybe the pressure is too much for her even when she decides to go on the potty?

This is where you guys come in. Any ideas or thoughts on this? Should I not have given her this incentive? I think encouraging her and letting her be in control of whether or not she wants to potty train is good and healthy but my only concern is has it hindered her performance through discouragement as it is always on her mind? If I look back at before she was told about the fishing trip and compare it to where she is now, there is a lot of improvement so maybe it has helped.

Whatcha all think??

-sillydad

Maine had a few weeks in March that was quite nice where the temps were up and the sun was out. What a beautiful month we were having. Some of you may recall I still live in the dark ages and burn wood. Well, let me tell you I thought we were home free. uh uh – noway!

On March 21st I called to order more wood. I ordered 2 cords and so I have been spending time stacking it for next season and unfortunately I have been burning some of it.

Now to turn your heart all mushy I have a cute story about little Sam. The other kids were napping and Sam and I went outside to stack wood. Sam was still intrigued about the wood and where it came from so he asked me several questions to reassure him that wood came from trees and were split into little pieces which were eventually delivered to people’s homes in big trucks.

Finally he jumped in and would pick up the real tiny peices and place them on the pile, patting them as he went along as if to get my attention that he was helping and doing a good job. Finally he says, “Dad I love helping you stack wood, we need to all help each other more often..”

Now what 5 year old kid do you know who thinks about other people. Then he told me he heard it on Sesame Street!

-sillydad

Elizabeth, being the sharp little girl she is says, “Dad it is my birthday today too.” So I asked her if she wanted everybody to give her the “Texas yee-haw”.. and of course she nodded up and down with an obvious yes.

So I told her she had to tell the lady next time she came by to check on us. And sure enough when the waitress came she let her know it was her birthday and that she was now 6 years old. Oh boy… Well, she got to ride on the saddle while everybody in the joint gave her a big Texas yeee-haaaawww…

She loved it!!!

But the next day we spent over at her grammie and grampas house. Had a cake and opened gifts. As you can see in the photos the cake was chocolate and holding up her bear which was a big hit.

-sillydad

Well, let me tell ya, that hour glass was quite the hit in this family. All the kids lined right up to take turns flipping that hour glass.

My oldest daughter would wake up in the middle of the night to go brush her teeth. While she was away at school my younger ones would go into the bathroom and brush their teeth together. It wasn’t about the teeth though, it was about watching the sand fall for 3 minutes.

So if you are having trouble getting your kids to brush their teeth, try a 3 minute hour glass that is roughly 2 inches tall. Works like a charm!

-sillydad

I always tell him to ask me first before pawing through all the food with his grubby hands, yet I am always finding his toys scattered about. Some days Spiderman could very well be resting up against a block of Monterey Jack cheese. Other days the Hulk has climbed half way up the jug of milk.

-sillydad

And please, take the article for what it is worth. I will post that list below but make sure to go read the entire article. Funny!

1) Plenty of diapers and baby wipes (This should be obvious but just checking)
2) For each child over 4 years old, bring one extra outfit. For each child under 4, bring two.
3) Bring several large water bottles full of juice. Dilute the juice. It is better for their tummies.
4) Bring snacks. Make sure the snacks do not have jelly or chocolate in them.
5) Bring about 12 plastic bags from the grocery store. This is for trash and unexpected diaper changes and vomiting.
6) Blankets. Each child should have a blanket whether or not it is cold or hot out. When they get tired they will resort back to how they normally sleep. If a blanket is missing, they may not sleep well on the way home which leads to crying.
7) One toy for each child.
For adults, one change of socks. Just prior to driving home, actually put on new socks and put the dirty ones in a plastic bag, tie it up and put in trunk. Trust me, you may not even think of it but if you do this your ride home will be more enjoyable.
9) Roll of Bounty paper towels.
10) A half dozen washclothes and roughly 3 large bath towels.

-sillydad