Question of the Day

Is the fact that my son can officially cut his own toenails a reason for celebration?

Because I, for one, am super pumped to be relieved of that duty.

Going Gourmet

This morning I told Briggs to get himself some breakfast while I was taking a shower.  When I got out of the shower, I asked him what he had for breakfast.

Briggs:  "I had a piece of toast.  Except I didn't put it in the toaster.  I just grabbed the piece of toast and ate it."

Me:  "So you mean you just ate a plain piece of bread for breakfast?"

Briggs:  "Yep."

And yet he still complains about some of the things I make for dinner.

Middle School

She is deliberate about doing her hair each morning.

She chooses earrings to match her outfits.

She wants to shop for her own clothes.

She is wearing denim...regularly and by choice.

She will no longer take her backpack to school.

She doesn't want us to walk her to the bus stop.

Eye rolling is her super-power.

It's official.  We have a middle schooler!

Truth

Dusting has always been one of my least favorite of all the domestic chores.  That is one of the reasons I routinely put it on the kids' chore chart for the summer.  Relying on the kids to dust the house all summer long is the reason it took me all morning (and 3 dust rags) to get it done today.  And spending all morning dusting the house reminded me again why it is one of my least favorite of all the domestic chores.

Play...Ball?

Our kids have been involved in theater activities from a young age, initiated by Staley coming out of the womb with jazz hands and a penchant for all things creative.  However, the theater world was a foreign place to me initially since athletics was always my passion growing up.  All the kids have tried various sport activities over the years and spectated at different sporting events, but so far we have not dived deep into the world of athletics with any of our kids.  Thus, their limited knowledge, interest, and understanding of organized sports has started to become more evident.

Staley has participated in the most sports activities of any of our kids over the years.  She has played basketball, baseball, soccer, and volleyball at various times over multiple seasons.  She was talking about the different sports she has played and noted, "I think volleyball is my favorite sport because I'm decent at it.  I mean, I'm not really good but I'm also not terrible at it."  I'm not sure that picking your favorite sport as the one you are "not terrible" at is a good sign for the future of athletic pursuits.

On the other hand, performing is just Staley's way of life.

Adelie has shown the least amount of interest in organized sports activities.  Although she has also tried soccer, basketball, and volleyball, most of her interest has never lasted more than one season.  We went to a minor league baseball game the other day, much to Adelie's chagrin.  While Staley and Briggs watched the game and asked some questions, Adelie had zero interest in what was going on during the game.

This was the extent of Adelie's interest in the ball game.

Briggs has amused us repeatedly with his general lack of sporting knowledge.  (Maybe we are failing as boy parents.)  When he attended basketball camp over the summer, it was unclear if he even knew what sport he would be learning about heading into his first day.  And when he came home from basketball camp and talked about not being good at "doing the shooters", it was evident that he had a lot to learn.  

Briggs' lack of sporting knowledge was also on display in a book he wrote called, "Lobster and the tutshdaon (touchdown)".  In his book, he wrote about lobster going to the basketball court, throwing over to his friend, and getting a touchdown.  At another point in the story, lobster goes to the basketball hoop and kicks a touchdown.  Hmmmm...  Not even sure where to start with that.

Briggs just started a season of soccer this past week.  Before his first practice, he was asking me about his team.  One of his first questions was, "What's my teacher's name?"  He then thought for a second and corrected himself, "I mean, my counselor."  I did let him know that his coach's name is Josh.  After the game, Briggs kept referring to the other class and the other teachers instead of the other team and coaches.

We might not be excelling in the sports category around our house yet.  On the plus side, we have identified plenty of opportunities for practice, learning, and growth.  Now it's time to head to the basketball hoop and work on kicking some touchdowns.

Camping

Last spring and summer (during the shut down), we did a couple of nights of backyard camping in our tent with the kids, checking on their readiness to add camping to our list of family activities.  They all did pretty well, so this past week-end we took the next step and joined our brother-in-law and his kids for a week-end of camping at Komlara Park in Bloomington.

I had forgotten how much packing is required for one night of camping.

Our brother-in-law brought his camper, which was an added convenience for the bathroom, kitchen, and the extra amenities that I forgot to pack.  And did I mention the bathroom?

The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed lots of outdoor activities...like kayaking...

fishing...

boating...

playing with cousins...

hanging out by the campfire...

and, of course, s'mores!

The 4 littles probably had the most fun just playing pretend games in the tent.  They spent hours together doing that!

Everyone had a great time enjoying the great outdoors...

trying new things...

and spending time with family.

Through a solid night of sleeping in our tent and a fun weekend of outdoorsy fun, our kids proved that we are ready to be a camping family.

Truth

 

Anything can be a train if you want it to be.