This is the week I have been looking forward to since last July. Yesterday I finished my contract for the 2004-2005 school year. My time is my own until July 5!
It feels like summer is here already. The wheat is starting to turn from green to gold and Mr. Bill has been setting tobacco this week. When I walked out of the house this morning it was a mere 68° F, but the humidity just about took my breath away.
May is normally our wettest month of the year. This May has been one of the driest in decades. I think we got about an inch of rain the whole month.
A PLEASANT WEEKEND. We could not have asked for better weather last weekend. It was perfect! Several of our meals were cooked on the grill and eaten on Pauline's deck. On Saturday, when all the chores for the day were done we had a great time throwing the frisbee around with the kids (Ben calls it a kryzbee). Poor Jenna is a lot like I used to be with a frisbee, her tosses are wild. Now Nate likes to chase Jenna's wild throws. Getting him to give the frisbee back is a different story. Ben, on the other hand, is a lot more accurate. You get much less exercise when he throws a frisbee to you (unless he is being silly). I know Jenna will get the hang of it one day but I can sure sympathize with her until she does.
A METHOD TO THE MADNESS. Everyone has their own set of abilities and talents. It is neat to watch these emerge and develop as the kids get older. At church on Sunday Ben's class made bead necklaces. As the kids were coming out the door they were all sporting a bead necklace. Ben's caught my eye. Where everyone else had strung up a random assortment of our patriotic colors, Ben had used a pattern: red, white, blue, red, white, blue....
REVENGE OF THE SITH. Vicki and I went to see Star Wars this weekend. It was the first date we'd had in quite a while. We left feeling very entertained. It tied up all the loose ends nicely for us and we were very grateful Jar-Jar Binks had no lines (anyone who sticks his tongue into an energy stream deserves to have his part reduced to a visual appearance). Our only disappointment was seeing it in an IMAX theatre only to discover that the film was not made for an IMAX experience.
NAME CONFUSION. Nate often calls Ben "My Nate." We don't know why. I guess he sees Ben as an extension of himself. We hear that a lot when Nate is mad at Ben and wants to blame him for something. Of course, when Nate seeks us out with his complaint Ben follows him to get his side of the story in. That is when, out of frustration, Nate turns around and hits Ben. Usually they get along very well but arguments do happen from time to time. We often find them together playing with cars in their room, racing riding toys down the hall, playing a computer game, watching a video or in the middle of a big mess in the living room floor.
SWIMMING LESSONS. Jenna and Ben have been taking swimming lessons this week. They did not want to and we had to tell them they would not get to go swimming this summer if they didn't have lessons. Of course, once they had their first lesson they loved it. Now the question of the day for the rest of the summer will be, "Can we go swimming today?"
SLEEP OVERS. Last weekend Jenna's friend, Maegan, had a sleep over for her birthday party and Jenna was invited. There were several girls there. I think they all had a good time. Jenna said they went swimming four times.
What was even more fun for Jenna was that she got to have Maegan over to spend the night Thursday night. I say it was fun for Jenna because poor Ben wound up feeling a bit left out. Of course Maegan was Jenna's guest and two seven year old girls just don't want a four year old brother hanging around all the time. At least Ben got to go out to eat and to the movie. The movie we saw was Madagascar. The kids really enjoyed it.
SERVE YOURSELF. We leave some plastic cups in a cabinet where the kids can reach them and get their own water from the dispenser in the refrigerator door. For several days we would walk by and step in a puddle of water near the fridge. I knew it wasn't close enough to the fridge to be a leak so I questioned Jenna and Ben about it. Both of them said they knew nothing about the puddle.
One day I was sitting in the study when I heard the water come on. A moment later I heard a SPLAT. When I got to the kitchen I found Nate, cup in hand. He has learned, from watching his brother and sister, how to get a cup and get water for himself. His only problem is that he isn't tall enough to reach the sink to pour out what he doesn't drink. Being a thoughtful boy he has decided to water the plant that sits there in the floor. Unfortunately, he gets the leaves wet but misses the pot.
NATE-ISMS. Nate's vocabulary is growing. He isn't doing a whole lot with sentences yet but we hear many more words than we used to. He is also a very polite boy. One of my favorites I hear him say is "skew me" [excuse me]. His "peas" has evolved into "pleez." I also like to hear him say "ooh-kaayy." It's just the way he says it, like he's half serious and half trying to appease you. If he wants you to do something for him he will grab your hand and say "fawoah me."
JUDY, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU. My cousin Judy can think of the neatest things to do with kids. (Aunt Mar's birthday party back in March was extra special for everyone because of her.) One thing that was included in the kids' Christmas presents from her were plastic utensils. Now this is no ordinary plasticware, it is an assortment of colors and the handles are shaped in a variety of animal shapes. Our kids love 'em. We can only throw them away if they break.
I get really tickled at Nate. He likes to pick out his own fork or spoon. When he goes to the drawer he is just tall enough to rest his nose on the drawer side and look in from his tiptoes. Then he starts humming this mindless tune as he shops for the piece he wants to use.
Joe
