A Quiet Week

It has been a quiet week around my house this week. Some time ago Vicki had said when VBS was over she wanted to take the kids to Georgia for some fun with cousins before school starts. They left out Sunday afternoon. I've had to stay here due to work.

GETTING AWAY. From talking to Vicki and the kids on the phone I think they've really enjoyed their time away. They had planned to come home yesterday but decided to stay another day. Wednesday Vicki said she hadn't started the van since they arrived Sunday evening. While they did venture out yesterday they've spent the entire time swimming, playing games, and just having fun as a family. Vicki sounds like weeks of stress have melted away when I talk to her.

MY WEEK ALONE. I probably enjoy solitude more than most people, but this has been a good week for Vicki and the kids to be away. We are very busy at work trying to get ready for school to start so I have a lot to distract me during the day.

I did go out to eat with Mom and Aunt Mar one night, but I have spent the rest of my evenings here at home. For the most part I've been trying to keep up with the chores and clean out a few things I never have time to work on, but I've also made time for me to have some fun.

One thing I did was rent Boys Town from Netflix. I always enjoyed this movie when it came on TV years ago. What I didn't know was that there's a sequel, Men of Boys Town, which was on the reverse side of the DVD. Spencer Tracey and Mickey Rooney reprised their roles as Father Flanagan and Whitey Marsh and I enjoyed it just as much as the first story.

Probably the biggest excitement for the week was the dead chicken snake I removed from Aunt Mar's garage. It had gotten caught in one of the sticky traps set out in the garage for mice.

FAMILY REUNION. Sunday, while Vicki and the kids were packing, I went to the Denning reunion in Orlinda. I've not been around this part of my family much and I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people I knew. This reunion has also been a scheduling conflict with the Phifer reunion held in Camden that we've attended the last several years. I had a nice time catching up with folks I hand't seen in years. The Hancock reunion is coming up Saturday. I'm looking forward to doing this all over again with a different set of people.

SMALL THINGS. July has been such a whirl all I've been able to do is report on the big things we've been doing, but there are two things about Nate that stick out in my mind from last weekend.

Nate loves his bear now more than ever. One evening Nate was alone upstairs. I think Ben was playing on the computer. Vicki, Jenna, and I were together talking. Our conversation came to a halt when Nate started singing, "I love Bear," over and over again. He kept it up for several minutes.

Nate still rides in a booster seat which is a point of contention with him. In Tennessee kids shorter than 4' 9" must ride in a booster. Nate is 4' 5". I can assure you he is among the minority of kids his age still made to sit in one -- a point he brings up occasionally. I must admit, while I want my kids to be safe in a vehicle, I am looking forward to the day I can get the stupid thing out of my way.

Last Friday evening we went out to eat to celebrate VBS being over. We drove my truck. Nate's booster seat sits behind the driver's seat. For some reason as we were leaving the restaurant all the kids piled in the truck through the passenger's side. Nate, needing to be the first in, stopped halfway in the truck. When his siblings reprimanded him for holding them up he happily exclaimed, "My booster seat was made in China!"

Joe