Day 15: Celebration

Out to the Rainforest Cafe tonight to celebrate Theresa coming home tomorrow. This meant homework delayed until we got home, and it's still in progress at 8:22 pm. That's ok. Overall it's been a great two and a half weeks. I really ought to be reflective here of what I've learned or how we've grown. But I'll just let the blog speak for itself and be done. The exciting stories are still to come, as we reunite with Theresa and get to hear about her adventures across the globe!

Day 14: Home Stretch

It's Tuesday, Theresa comes home on Thursday. I was back to work today, and I don't have much left after the full day to think about a good blog post. I have been running lately, and with a longer run (for me) like 5 miles, I get to about mile 4 and I feel good knowing I can do the last mile. That's where I am now. I can go for a few more days here. Really looking forward to seeing Theresa again on Thursday! I'm hoping she's having a great time in Australia right now, enjoying herself after some great experiences in PNG.

I'm also looking forward to sausage for breakfast tomorrow. (Well, I said I didn't have much left for a good blog post. What do you want, a picture of the sausage?)

Day 13: You can't have candy without sugar

For some reason, the kids really like doing synonyms, antonyms, and homophones at the dinner table. (Yes, I had to look up the official grammatical term, as we usually say, "Let's do words that sound the same but mean different things.") Tonight, we came up with at least six different terms for one's rear end. I will not list them here as you are probably already counting your own favorites.

I also snapped a picture of Toby's sermon notes from church yesterday. He was very pleased with himself for filling in the blanks, coming up with such maxims as "I can do a flip" and "You can't have candy without sugar." He did manage to have one takeaway that was relatively close to the pastor's message with, "Biblical faith is not about you, but it's about God!"

Day 12: I Ain't Got A Worry Pt. 2

I forgot to post something last night, being distracted by a new TV show I like on Netflix, Terra Nova (apparently not liked by enough others as it seems to have only lasted one season). My blogging efforts are wearing out, but only a few days left, so I might as well get something up for each day. Good times last night playing Jump the Pillow, Raichu (Pokemon) Slam, and other jumping-on-the-bed games to wrap up the weekend.

Day 11: I Ain't Got A Worry

Here's a creative picture Anna took of our three shadows as we were walking down the street the other day.

The kids each got to spend a few hours playing with friends today--one at our house and one at another. And it being Saturday, they got some morning TV and we made it a movie night, too. And on top of that we had baked beans and stuffing with some other left overs. What a great day, except that no one besides me really liked the baked beans. Or the stuffing. And the cats had to hide out when Toby's friend came over, because things got a bit wacky. But overall, we had no worries. Hoping Theresa and friends have none either.

 

Day 10: Star Performer

Today Toby was very proud to have been awarded the Star Performer of the week, despite all of his anxieties about his performance at school which continued tonight as he fretted over an art project at risk of not being completed on time. I tried to take a light-hearted approach and compared it to yesterday's homework which worked out just fine, but he explained to me that I didn't realize "how serious of a situation" this was. I'm hoping the weekend and having his friend over to play tomorrow will loosen him up a bit. He has his toys laid out ready for a battle.

Also shown here, The Dark Crystal, which I came across on Netflix today and had a memory of when I was a kid and my parents took the family out to see the movie, Gandhi, which was released that same year, 1982. But I stubbornly refused to see it, desperately wanting to see The Dark Crystal, so my Mom went with me while my Dad and sister saw Gandhi.

I'm now on the other end of this, observing my kids with their own expectations and deep desires, which can be "very serious situations" for them.

Day 9: Six Girls Riding on Bicycles

Draw a picture to describe three girls riding on bicycles and then three more join them. Who in their right mind asks a six year old to draw six girls riding on bicycles for math homework? Who do they think he is, Dr. Seuss? Even at a quick 5 minutes apiece, this is a 30 minute assignment for a single question among many, and then try fitting this artwork into a rectangle the size of a dill pickle. Did they really have to be riding on bicycles? And ask him what 3 plus 3 is, and he's got the answer with 29 and a half minutes spared.