We’ve had one chilly, wet, messy Fall Break. The Cotters got here Monday evening and left Saturday morning. I don’t think we saw the sun the whole time they were here.
COUSIN-MANIA. Our kids and the Cotter boys didn’t let the weather dampen their spirits or their play. I believe everyone had a great time together. When it wasn’t raining they played outside. Our old chicken house in the backyard is a big hit for that. When indoors they had Nerf guns, video games, board games, and movies to keep them busy.
Alex introduced Ben to Risk this week. This isn’t to say that Ben is any good -- he needs a lot more experience. Every time I walked by Alex had Ben cornered in Australia with only a handful of armies to fight with. I guess I need to start playing Risk with the boy so he’ll be ready next time.
As I said, we all enjoyed watching movies together. At home we watched flicks like The Absent-Minded Professor, Flight of the Navigator, and Treasure Island. We also went to Springfield to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Speaking of going to Springfield, we found several things to do there throughout the week. We ate at the Catfish House and Baldwin’s Barbecue. We also enjoyed bowling where the owner of the bowling alley was kind enough to take us on another tour of the pin setter area in the back (the Cotters had never seen this). Jim and Dianna browsed around the Antique Barn for a while (they skipped the movie), and Jim, Alex, Jenna, Ben, and I went to the Robertson County Museum.
Another day we went up to Cross Plains for our traditional meal, complete with milkshakes, at Thomas Drugs. We also went to the Cross Plains Museum where we looked at old school pictures of Mom and Aunt Linda.
This is skipping over a lot of details, but last week was a very nice visit with the Cotters.
ETHAN’S BIRTHDAY is not until the end of the month, but they celebrated Tuesday, a couple of weeks early, because of an upcoming chemo treatment. Ben was one of several boys invited over and from what I hear they had a blast.
Ethan has been doing well lately. His dad stopped by earlier and said each treatment is actually getting easier than the last.
KUDOS TO DONNA HALL. Speaking of feeling well, we had our annual Health Fair at church Saturday (a joint effort with NorthCrest Medical Center). This year we gave out about 400 free (seasonal) flu shots!
Ben has never handled shots well. I remember two years ago practically needing a straightjacket in order to give the boy his shot. This year Donna Hall came up to Ben and said, “You know Benton, you need to get your flu shot so you can stay well and be able to play with Ethan.” She led him off to a room and when I got back there to check on him she was done and putting a band-aid on his arm. I could have hugged her neck because Ben sure was scared about getting the shot as we were driving to church.
CAUGHT ON VIDEO. Ben has complained about Nate snoring for years. Nate has always refused to believe this. When Alex and Chris were here they told Nate he snores. Nate refused to believe them too. That’s where the video camera came in handy. Nate fell asleep during a movie Saturday night so I filmed him. I was careful to film Jenna and Vicki in the room as eyewitnesses which came in handy later because when I showed him the video the next morning he accused me of making the snoring sounds as I filmed him sleeping. When I reminded him that Mom and Jenna were there watching him snore in person he knew he had lost and he clinched his fists and growled at me.
INNOCENCE LOST. I knew my mom was in the dark on a lot of things in this world, but I could hardly believe my ears when she asked what a wet willy was. I will only say the look on her face when she got a personal demonstration was priceless. It was one of the few times she’s been rendered speechless.
Joe
