2 thumbs up

I've got to remember these moments when I want to send one of them to bed hungry because of comments like, "What's that smell," or "I don't like that," or "I'm not really in the mood for this." I really try hard to help them understand how good they have it.  They have no idea.  I mean, we aren't living high on the hog here by any means, but they are Americans.  They have a lot.  A lot more than they even need.  I still struggle to communicate that message without saying lame things like, "There are plenty of children in other countries who would give anything to eat this meal.  A meal.  Shoot, there are kids downtown who would love to eat this."

But mostly, I must admit, they humor my cooking and food choices.  We do eat some weird stuff around here sometimes.

 And this is why he does not get to eat out of Great Granny Olive's vintage glasses.

Little learner

Having a kid brother in school with you is sometimes fun and sometimes not.

What is a bunch of giraffes?  A herd?

So, part of the problem was he had a cold.  His bandwidth for frustration was minimal. The other part of the problem was - sharpening pencils on the bottom shelf was not really a good idea.  Not enough room, clearly.

The guys cleared off the shelf for him.  That helped a bit.  This kid, by the way, would sharpen pencils for hours.  That is only a slight exaggeration.  One day he sharpened for 45 minutes.

Throwback

Our friend, Margy got new wheels.

Is it any wonder?

This could be why we end up with library fines...

The Red Vipers!

As you can see, Joseph started out the season swinging WAY under the ball.  Hazard of learning golf at the same time?  Who knows.  I think he had a 5 game no hitting streak.  Poor guy.  But eventually something clicked and he started hitting it.  We had a wonderful team, coaches, parents.  We are still playing with some of these kids and hanging out with their parents.

 Little pre-game warm up.  It is pretty funny.  These guys are actually starting to get pretty good and so you expect them to act a little older.  Nope.  They are still 7 and 8 year olds.  Goofy as ever.

 That is one of Joe's best friends in the foreground of the picture, Jonah.  They are the same size, same interests.  Jonah is an only child, so when Joe goes to his house he gets the royal treatment.  That's Joe playing second.

 Got it!

 See his little batting glove crammed in his back pocket.  Cute.  I will probably embarrass him at some point.

 We had the guys over after a game for a little potluck and to celebrate Joe's birthday.  This is Claire (or Clara, as Greta still insists on calling her).  She is one of the guy's little sister.  As I was taking this picture, Greta was stone faced, saying with all seriousness to "Clara," "Do not look at her."  As if she had never seen me before in her life.  Apparently I already embarrass her.

 See what I mean about 7 and 8 year olds?  This is how you get a team picture...

 Almost there...

 Not bad

And this is what the rest of us spent most of our time doing during baseball games - chasing Henry, on and off the field.

Go Red Vipers!

An Easter afternoon

It will be a sad day when the kids no longer get excited about fruit in their Easter baskets and stockings.

 Henry didn't care about the egg hunt so much.