I apologize for this newsletter being late. We went to Gatlinburg this weekend! Today was a holiday for Robertson County Schools (Staff Development Day) so we made a long weekend of it.
OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME. He's not even a teenager and Nate is simply packing it away. He almost eats more than Jenna and Ben combined. I don't know where he puts it all but it goes somewhere.
JUST A FUN DAY. Vicki had a really enjoyable day on Tuesday. She had been scheduled to go to Jenna's school to read some books to Jenna's class. Ben goes to Mom's Day Out at Cross Plains Methodist Church on Tuesdays so after reading to Jenna's class and eating lunch there Vicki stopped off at Ben's school and read for his class as well. Her selected readings included Ben's favorite book titled Mud Puddle (or "Mud Piddle" as Ben calls it). Vicki came home talking about how much fun the whole day was. I am so glad she can go do that every now and then.
That night we all went to the PTO meeting at school. The Kindergarten classes put on a program together. Jenna played an owl and did a very good job of looking serious. There wasn't a moment that she was out of character. You think she got that from me?
Mom and Aunt Mar rode to the PTO meeting with the boys and me. On our way home Ben said, "I'm sleepy," and I told him to take a nap until we got home. Not one mile down the road Mom let's out a big yawn and says, "Whew, I'm tired." My ever practical boy was quick to say, "Well G'Anne, take a nap!"
O TOOTH FAIRY! Jenna has had two loose teeth (front and center on the bottom) for quite some time now. Thursday night, when Jenna was brushing her teeth one of the loose ones broke free and went down the drain when she spit out her toothpaste. It was a big moment for a little girl! She was not upset at all...we simply wrote the Tooth Fairy a note explaining the situation.
Later, as I was giving Ben a ride on my back to his bed, he said, "I so 'cited for Jenna. She lost her toof." Ben thinks his teeth are loose now as well.
On Saturday after lunch Jenna was showing how loose her other lower tooth was. With Jenna's permission Vicki reached in with her tweezer like finger nails and plucked it right out. The Tooth Fairy caught up with us in Pigeon Forge that night.
OH WHERE IS MY HAIRBRUSH? Nate has taken up with a little purple hairbrush. He crawls around with it and has even slept with it. I seem to remember Jenna was the same way about those little plastic film cans that 35mm film comes in.
GETTING AWAY. As I said, we just got back from Gatlinburg. We actually stayed in Pigeon Forge. It was simply a nice, slow weekend. Had we done everything on Jenna's agenda we would still be there. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting with Keith, Angi, and Jackson Arnold. Angi is one of Vicki's high school/college friends. They live very close to the condo we stayed in. We had a lot of fun visiting and eating with them.
Another highlight of the trip was the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg. It features the longest underwater tunnel of any aquarium in the world (340 feet long with a moving sidewalk). We went through the tunnel looking at all the fish three times. The stingrays, sharks, and sea turtle were the favorites!
FATHER KNEW BEST. While eating at a restaurant this weekend I took Ben to the bathroom because I knew he needed to go. He argued with me about it right up to the time I sat him on the toilet. In a moment he heard the results of his voiding in the water and he looked up and cheerfully said, "Well Dad, I guess I was wong!"
Joe
