Relish

The kiddodiddos recently discovered some Jimmy Neutron dvds at the library and have been enjoying them.  I guess on one episode, an evil genius cries out "I relish these days of power!" 
It has been a long week of gastrointestinal distress of all kinds, made worse by a broken washing machine (to be fixed on Friday, maybe?  We bought a contract with Sears for the repair, and apparently, our fix is not a priority to them.)
I was eatting breakfast one day, when I heard a shout from under the table "I relish these days of BABY!"  I looked and there was Jonny, vigorously patting the baby cheeks of his little sister.   It was a nice reminder of what's important.  And that these days of baby are fleeting. 

Adventure

Last week, I took my younger kiddos to a local farm.  We enjoyed seeing the  "really big dogs" (goats) and pigs of every size.  Jonny was thrilled to see the horses and I was amused to notice that one of them is the same age as the kid's Uncle Chris.  Rachel loved the horses until they looked at her in the face.  That was freaky.  The kids posed for photos on the de-comissioned tractors.  I think I could track the growth of the kids with photos on these tractors, we've been going there for the last 5 years.  We did something they have never done: the hay ride around the farm.  I have taken the older kids on a hay ride or two, when they were small.
We piled onto the trailer and found spots in the shade (very important since it was 100 degrees that day.) The driver told us a little about the farm/park.  He mentioned they encourage the black snake population, as they control the rodent population in the barns.  Sometimes, you can see them in the trees in the woods, he said. 
With a rumble from the tractor we were on our way.  As we rode past farm equipment, Rachel smiled, to feel the wind on her face.  Simon was thrilled to have no seat belt, and Jonny got huge eyes.  He pointed at some thing used for holding hay and said "I know what that is!" then in a hushed whisper he added "a guillotine."  I was glad he did not say it out loud, lest he scare the others on board.  We continued on past some things for horses to jump over and one of them was knocked over and propped back.  "Catapult," I was wisely informed.  Just as we entered the woods,  he spottd a cannon out of the corner of his eye (painted log.)  Then came the harrowing part of our journey:  the woods.   Remember we had been told to look out for snakes.  Jonny obeyed and told me about each and every one he saw, including several that were right behind me about to bite!  He wrote about it in school later: I saw 22 snakes!
If I had know the ride would be so exciting, I would have done it long ago!

Rachel's Word List

Here it is:
Rachel's vocabulary at almost 13 months:mom: mom
dad: dad
hello: heyo
bye bye:bah bah
bottle:baa baa
smile (for the camera):smi-ya
Rachel: wayzo
She also growls a lot if she sees something that looks like a monster.

She's starting to walk now, for more than just applause. 
Rachel is growing up too fast for my taste!

soccer night

Jonny and Simon have been playing soccer this spring.  Jonny's team is the Sharks.  On the way home one night, he was recalling the events of the night and his team victory.  Then he said in a kind of wistful way "You know what would make it even better?  If there was half time and a half time show and one of the parents came dressed as a shark and danced around."
Yeah.  That would make it even better.

hat trick

Simon came to me with a magic hat on and a smug smile on his face.  "I will do a trick for you. I will pull a rabbit from my hat."  Then he realized that he pulled the rather small hat down too far and couldn't get it off!  YIKES!   memorable in more than one way!