Bookmark Today
Really. I wish I could bookmark today so that I could go back and re-read it over and over again. It was one of those glorious it-all-just-worked kind of days.
We woke to two kids sleeping in late (our "weekend" is Tuesday/Wednesday around here) and the other two whispering and plotting how to build a Lego scenario. There's something wonderful about laying in bed, slowly adjusting to morning wakefulness and listening to kids share ideas and giggles.
Over the next couple of hours, everyone got moving and we shared a special weekend breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and pineapple. And I found myself laughing that our kids' appetites have gotten to the place where they'll polish off almost 3 full recipes of pancake batter. Wow!!
Then it was on to that every-day stuff. Laundry had to be done, the dog walked, beds made, the house opened to the warmth and breezes of the day. After the kids got their chores done, while Dad and I collaborated on laundry stuff and Ben got interested in a documentary, the young 'uns drifted out into the yard, riding bikes and doing some collaborating of their own. We knew they were making some form of game and working feverishly on a coloring project at the picnic table, but we weren't really paying attention. Until one of them started flagging down passers-by and attempted to begin going door-to-door with a flyer the kids had colored. Um, young 'un? What'cha dooooin'?
"We're inviting people to our Pine Cone Festeval!" (so says the spelling on the flyer) Once we got the details on the plans, we narrowed the invitation list to the family as opposed to the entire neighborhood, and agreed that the festivities would take place just as soon as we got the last load of laundry folded. It was a blast! The kids had planned everything, set out all the necessary supplies, considered safety (using only the old, trampled, softened pine cones for the Pine Cone Battle event), applied fairness by setting out equal turns for each participant, and were able to coherently explain the guidelines and scoring for each event they had planned. Each of us loved Pine Cone Golf (think putt-putt toward the road with a goal of surpassing a set finish line...Ben won with a beautiful swing), Pine Cone Battle (which devolved from teams pelting specific targets to a giggling free-for-all), Pine Cone Target (the inside lid of the sand table has a perfect bullseye pattern, so it was affixed to a tree and we took turns pelting it. Pine cones don't fly straight. 'Nuf said.), and the Pine Cone Pitch-Off (did I mention pine cones don't fly straight? They don't get good distance either; think spikey wiffle ball. lol). The first ever Pine Cone Festeval was a huge success. Plenty of encouragement, teamwork, and silly fun were had by all. And I am so proud of my little event organizers for putting it all together with no help from an adult!!
After the Festeval, we were all hot and sweaty (really? 87 degrees in mid-November??), so we headed down to the pool. We love it when we have the whole pool to ourselves as was the case today. After a relaxing swim, it was back to the house. Where Dan decided that we'd just cook dinner for the kids, then leave them with a movie and go get a bite to eat and have some big-people time for a little bit. O wonderful surprise!!! We ate. We talked. Uninterrupted. We browsed stores and found the birthday gift we'd wanted to get for Michael at 25 percent off. We came home to smiling kids ready for hugs and kisses goodnight.
It was a day filled with so many sweet things. I wish my memory could be counted on to accurately bookmark it and return to it with every detail intact. It's a day worth remembering.
We woke to two kids sleeping in late (our "weekend" is Tuesday/Wednesday around here) and the other two whispering and plotting how to build a Lego scenario. There's something wonderful about laying in bed, slowly adjusting to morning wakefulness and listening to kids share ideas and giggles.
Over the next couple of hours, everyone got moving and we shared a special weekend breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and pineapple. And I found myself laughing that our kids' appetites have gotten to the place where they'll polish off almost 3 full recipes of pancake batter. Wow!!
Then it was on to that every-day stuff. Laundry had to be done, the dog walked, beds made, the house opened to the warmth and breezes of the day. After the kids got their chores done, while Dad and I collaborated on laundry stuff and Ben got interested in a documentary, the young 'uns drifted out into the yard, riding bikes and doing some collaborating of their own. We knew they were making some form of game and working feverishly on a coloring project at the picnic table, but we weren't really paying attention. Until one of them started flagging down passers-by and attempted to begin going door-to-door with a flyer the kids had colored. Um, young 'un? What'cha dooooin'?
"We're inviting people to our Pine Cone Festeval!" (so says the spelling on the flyer) Once we got the details on the plans, we narrowed the invitation list to the family as opposed to the entire neighborhood, and agreed that the festivities would take place just as soon as we got the last load of laundry folded. It was a blast! The kids had planned everything, set out all the necessary supplies, considered safety (using only the old, trampled, softened pine cones for the Pine Cone Battle event), applied fairness by setting out equal turns for each participant, and were able to coherently explain the guidelines and scoring for each event they had planned. Each of us loved Pine Cone Golf (think putt-putt toward the road with a goal of surpassing a set finish line...Ben won with a beautiful swing), Pine Cone Battle (which devolved from teams pelting specific targets to a giggling free-for-all), Pine Cone Target (the inside lid of the sand table has a perfect bullseye pattern, so it was affixed to a tree and we took turns pelting it. Pine cones don't fly straight. 'Nuf said.), and the Pine Cone Pitch-Off (did I mention pine cones don't fly straight? They don't get good distance either; think spikey wiffle ball. lol). The first ever Pine Cone Festeval was a huge success. Plenty of encouragement, teamwork, and silly fun were had by all. And I am so proud of my little event organizers for putting it all together with no help from an adult!!
After the Festeval, we were all hot and sweaty (really? 87 degrees in mid-November??), so we headed down to the pool. We love it when we have the whole pool to ourselves as was the case today. After a relaxing swim, it was back to the house. Where Dan decided that we'd just cook dinner for the kids, then leave them with a movie and go get a bite to eat and have some big-people time for a little bit. O wonderful surprise!!! We ate. We talked. Uninterrupted. We browsed stores and found the birthday gift we'd wanted to get for Michael at 25 percent off. We came home to smiling kids ready for hugs and kisses goodnight.
It was a day filled with so many sweet things. I wish my memory could be counted on to accurately bookmark it and return to it with every detail intact. It's a day worth remembering.
Parenting bliss... ahhhhhh.......
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolutely incredible. I'm waiting for my turn..lol.
ReplyDelete