A week ago, Jonathan and Thomas were struggling to get along. If I said it once, I said it 50 times, "Be nice!" Inevitably, they had to be separated.
A little while later, Elisabeth gave Jonathan this picture.
This was startling to me. It caused me to pause and then smile...
A week ago, Elsie sat down to color and said,
"Momma, I am going to draw a picture of the clothes I want to get for my birthday."
When my boys received clothes as presents, they looked at them in disgust. I had to counsel them on reacting in a nice way. Elsie already knows what she wants to wear on her birthday. She even has her hair barrettes picked out! Her birthday is 9 days away.
On September 2, David turned 9. To celebrate, he wanted Avengers and Spiderman decorations. We had fun celebrating and being silly.
We celebrated our 17th Anniversary yesterday.
We didn't have a babysitter so we decided to take the whole family to Lake Tahoe for some outside fun. It was wonderful. We enjoyed sunny, warm weather at King's Beach. The kids played for hours in the sand and water, while Seth and I relaxed on a blanket on the beach. I finished reading a book. Seth took a nap. And, the kids just kept playing. I had a low key water fight with David. Seth built sand castles with the kids. We both helped Jonathan, Thomas and Elsie bury themselves in the sand. It was a delightfully fun and relaxed afternoon.
After our beach fun, we went to a local restaurant for dinner. Our kids were well-behaved. We felt so blessed.
We walked outside after dinner and took in the sight of moon over the lake. Next to the restaurant where we ate, there was a wedding reception taking place. The music was playing, the moon was shining, the kids were talking animatedly and walking toward the car. We captured the moment- and kissed.
It was a very good day.
~~~~~~~~~
The kids did not argue all day. Not once.
We stayed a long time. They didn't complain when it was time to go.
Thomas: "Momma, do you know what my favorite feeling is?"
Momma: "What?"
Thomas: "Nervous. I love feeling nervous."
~ Now we know why we never know what to expect from Thomas. ~
Last week one night we went out to eat as a family.
As we arrived at the restaurant, David said, "Momma, can we have some of that small food?"
(M) "Huh? What do you mean?"
(D) "The small food that keeps you alive."
(M) "... you mean, appetizers?"
(D) "YES! Can we have appetizers?"
"David, I had peanuts at school today and I didn't like them at all. You are not missing out on anything." Jonathan, 11
Jonathan's 5th grade class has been doing state presentations. One of the students brought in peanuts because their state presentation was on Georgia, "The Peanut State."
Tonight, we watched the solar eclispe.
Mother's Day was beautiful in Nevada. We headed to Lake Tahoe for a family hike. The hike was fantastic. The kids enjoyed the scenery and loved getting in the frigid Lake Tahoe water. I loved every minute of the peaceful walk and beautiful surroundings.
I picked an "easy" hike for us. Easy for adults means still challenging
for kids age 11, 8, 7, and 4. It was 1.5 miles down to the water at Skunk Harbor and, of course, 1.5 miles back up to the car. Elsie and Seth made an agreement on the way back- she'd walk some and then he'd carry her on his shoulders some. David said they came with a great pattern. Seth got extra exercise.
The hike we went on split in two. We went to Skunk Harbor. The other part of the hike goes to Prey Meadows. Here is a picture overlooking Prey Meadows.
