A Week Briefly (May 30, 2022)

Ooooh!  He was so mad at me for not reading the next books about Mary Poppins!  He was mad enough that he pulled the anthology out and started reading himself!  (Just what I hoped he would do--or hoped any of the other kids would do. 😉)

 Belle got the job at the chiropractic office!  They wanted someone immediately, but she needed to give 2 weeks' notice at Freddie's, so she'll be working as many hours at the new job as she can squeeze in around the old job.  After 2 interviews and one 4 hour job-shadowing experience, she's really excited to start work and develop new skills.  She'll work full-time at this job for the foreseeable future.

I'm not sure if I ever recorded that Pixie was accepted by the International Language Program to teach English in Uganda!  She's got to get a passport and a whole bunch of immunizations . . . as well as funding.  She's knee-deep in paperwork and preparation for leaving in January.  I'm super excited for her!  She's going to be awesome and be surrounded by awesomeness.

Monday was a holiday, and we didn't do math because we went to our church pancake breakfast in the morning, and then we just never got on track for doing anything productive for the rest of the day.  Sir Walter Scott worked.  I think I ordered books online.

On Tuesday the rain came back.  First Sir Walter Scott dropped Belle off at a church member's home for carpooling to the Girls' High Adventure campsite.  They headed to the Buffalo River for kayaking, swimming, cliff-jumping, and fabulous girl time in the great outdoors.

22 girls went on the trip, but here are Belle and a few of her favorite friends.

Later in the morning, we drove 20 miles to another branch of our library for a summer program that I'd signed up for.  While driving through the pouring rain and almost flooded streets, I wasn't sure about the wisdom of following through with the plan, but it was a blast!  The performer knew how to make kids laugh, and it was worth every minute of white-knuckled driving.

After the show, we all picked out new books, and when we got home, we read.

"Dad, please read my book to me!"

Little Princess pulled out her Chinese calligraphy after a long hiatus.  She's worked on it diligently all week long.

Wednesday produced less rain than was forecast, but we'd already changed our schedule for the week, so we got out the art supplies again.  As the third week in a row without direction or change of supplies, it was clear that some of the kids ran out of steam and will need some sort of motivation to keep the joy alive.

At some point, small people joined older people at our creek.  Everyone came back to the house with new bug bites.

I know this is a very poor-quality picture, but I smile every time I see Lola packing Sugar Bear around.  Sugar Bear is not that big, but Lola is even more not that big!  

Church activities that night consisted of a movie night for the youth and a treasure hunt for the little girls (Lola's group).

I chose gardening again for Mom's Choice on Thursday, but that was also the day that the city road workers came to repair a sinkhole on our street.  My crew spent anywhere from 2-8 hours watching the men work.

I'm grateful the neighbors are easy-going about my children invading their yard!

Lil' K was afraid of the noise the tractors made, so Ladybug kindly took him back to our house where they picked and ate mulberries together.

Sugar Bear gave Little Princess a makeover after naps.  Good thing it was only Chapstick!

We picked Belle up after camp, and she came home sunburned, smiling, and full of happy stories.

Just before Belle got home, Super Star left for a several-day trip with her church group of young adults to Nauvoo, IL.

Lola fell asleep during stories.

We headed to the park first thing Friday morning.  A passel of friends met us there and helped celebrate my birthday (which was a few weeks ago).  They sang, and we had treats, and while I visited with other moms, the kids explored the nature trail next to the playground.

After we got home, Brother and Beowulf went back to watch day 2 of the road repairs.  The wonderful workers talked with my boys, and the boys brought half a bag of candy home at the end of the work day.  They said, "We told the worker men that we went to the park for your birthday, and they gave us this to share and tell you happy birthday."

Nature Angel was aghast, "Hasn't Mom taught you not to take candy from strangers?"

"They're not strangers!  They're our friends!!"

And it's true.

I had no qualms about the kids sharing the candy around.  The men were kind and patient, and my boys were utterly safe in their company.  Brother has long stated that he plans to be a "worker man" when he grows up, and watching these men at their work has filled him with excitement about growing up and getting to be like them.

I love it.

We're excited for the men to come back and finish the job in the week ahead.