LOTS OF LITTLES: August 2008

Today I accomplished something very trivial ... but it was something that delighted my kids immensely. I did my first headstand ever! And not just one ... but five! The longest headstand lasted for ten seconds ~ maybe eight if I was counting a tad fast.

How this came about is that the kids were doing a bit of tumbling and trying to help each other do handstands by lifting up each others' feet (as they'd seen Mr. Ericksen do with Lars). I told them to work on tripods instead and then maybe ... they could try to do a headstand. (It seemed safer than dropping each other on their heads.)

So, as I showed by example how to do a tripod ... and then how to transition into a headstand ... it went better than I ever imagined possible ~ I actually got my legs up in the air!!! My children immediately began screaming and squealing as though I was a "limpian" (as Foofie calls the Olympic athletes) ... then I crashed on the floor ... and Foofie ran over and jumped on me and yelled, "Ma-meeeeeeeeeeee!" Then, of course, they clamored for more :)

The repeat performances were like the "replay" button. I did the headstand, the kids hooted, Foofie landed on me, "Ma-meeeeeeeeeeee!". Replay. Replay. Replay.

Did I mention my sore head???

Our time "up north" has provided much to blog about. Here's a few snippets of our cabin life:

Friends ...We had some friends up to visit and I asked my family what some of the highlights were. My husband said, "Iron-sharpening conversations and late-night games." To my surprise, the "big kids" both said water-skiing ~ even though it brought them both to tears and they wanted to stop right away. Foofie said, "Having friends here." One of my highlights was swimming across the lake (and it's a good-sized lake) with Mrs. Johnson. It was just scary enough to be exciting. We swam for at least 75 minutes ... maybe closer to 90. We almost had to do a repeat performance because we forgot to time it ... but alas, we were too sore. The next few days felt like I'd done a half-marathon without any training.

Family ... I learned how to ride the motor scooter and used it to fetch the mail one afternoon. That was a hoot! I almost crashed ... but only once ... after that I was just fine!

We celebrated another "happy anniversary" ~ complete with lakeshore dining!

My husband likes the small town feel here ... and stopping at the local bakery when he has an errand to do. He's getting to grill a lot ~ and it's a treat because we don't have one back home. He enjoys the expanded viewing options via satellite ~ we saw Flip that House for the first time last night. (It's a rehabbing show that a few people have mentioned to us ~ kind of interesting.) And of course, he is very energized about the remodel he is working on ~ it'll be quite a transformation!

Overall, we are just relishing the slower pace of life ~ it's calm & peaceful here.

Fishing...We took the kids out on the boat to go fishing on Thursay night with corn, marshmallows, and a few worms for bait ~ no success. On Friday night, however, Halo and Buddy each got three sunnies right off the dock ~ using bee larvae (grubs) for bait!

Daddy had sprayed a big bee hive on Thursday night and took it down Friday afternoon. Then for a science lesson, we took it apart and examined it. The hive is made of a paperlike substance. And there was two combs inside full of bees-to-be. Daddy popped them out ~ and the fish sure gobbled 'em up!

On Sunday, we used a saning net and caught a few dozen minnows to use as bait ~ this minnow catching was exciting in itself. Then this evening, the kids tried the minnows ... Buddy caught a small large-mouth bass (too small to keep) and then he had a larger large-mouth bass (about a pounder) ... but it got away. Halo decided to put one of the minnows in the tank with Bubbles (her beta fish). So ... Bubbles now has a pal (or enemy?) named Flossie. Halo thinks its beneficial because Bubbles is getting exercise by being chased around a bit.

Fun ...Halo & Buddy have discovered that they enjoy fooseball ~ and they're very competitive about it. Halo also located a Monopoly game ~ a character in one of her books likes Monopoly ~ and she promptly started hounding us to play "Mon-Poly" (rhymes with Ron-Jolly). We played an abbreviated game so she could get the hang of it ~ she thought it was pretty neat. Now she is trying to teach her brother to play it with her ~ great idea!

Furry Captive ...We captured a chipmunk in one of Grandpa's traps and it became a constant topic of conversation for the kiddos ~ here's a small sample ...

"It didn't even bite me when I put his water bowl in."
"He's cute. We're keeping it."
"His name is Chip."
"He is not afraid of me 'cause I'm the one who always feeds him."
"Look at him laying on his side and resting."
"Can I take a picture of him?"
"He might get cold in the night."
"I'm gonna make a leash for him."
"I opened his door for five seconds and he didn't even try to come out."
"Can I feed him some more sunflower seeds?"
"Maybe I can shoot at it."
"No, we have to keep it to show Jed and Grandma & Grandpa."
"They've seen a chipmunk before."
"He loves it when I put a stick in there with peanut butter on it."
"Do you think he's friends with that other chipmunk?"

After catching it, we didn't know what to do with it ... and that became a big discussion. The cage is designed for drowning the pests you capture ... but Daddy thought that seemed kind of cruel. He also thought we shouldn't let it free because it's familiar with our kids ~ and might not have enough fear of us now ~ and would be more bold to follow us into the garage or something. Anyway, Daddy decided to free the chipmunk (so he'd have a fair chance at least) and then shoot at it ~ but Daddy missed ~ so it's free now after all. Halo thinks it is probably still afraid of us though because it was shot at. This afternoon, the big kids had some shooting practice ~ and Buddy can't wait to do it again!

P.S. Daddy said he missed because the gun is off.