Those darn monkeys . . .

For the past week I have been meaning to update the blog. I keep thinking of things that I should write, but I have had trouble actually sitting down to do it. So here it goes, I am going to try to remember all of those things now. Prepare yourself for a random collection of stories.

As you can see above, we have been enjoying eating out on the deck lately. We managed to pick up a pretty nice patio table and chairs set pretty cheaply when Target was trying to unload their summer stock. The weather has been beautiful in the evenings so we have taken to having dinner outside. We enjoy the fresh air, the kids enjoy running around the yard after dinner, and Travis and I enjoy the opportunity to visit while the kids run around. Eating outside also has the added advantage of being able to just hose everything off after the dishes have been cleared. If only I could clean the dining room table and floors with the garden hose!

The other night Sophia was getting ready to go to bed. She was doing her round of good-night kisses. When she got to Grant she puckered up, closed her eyes, and received a half hearted kiss on the arm. Sophia opened her eyes and looked a bit disappointed. She turned to me and said, "I had my lips out and Grant didn't even kiss them." May this be true of her experience with kissing for at least the next 18 years.

I am in the rotation of teachers for Grant's Sunday School class. I enjoy being in Grant's class and watching him interact with his peers. I also enjoy "doing theology" with five year olds. They bring both innocent wisdom and humor into each lesson. Last week we were talking about when Saul became king of Israel. We were at the part of the story where the people were complaining to Samuel that they wanted a king when one of the little boys in our class, Talon, noticed that all of the people in the picture were boys. One of the things that I appreciate about our church is the prominent role of women in our church services, so I was proud but not surprised that Talon noticed that women were missing from our story. Later in the lesson I asked the kids what they thought a king's job was. Talon again piped up and said, "Well, I don't know what a king does, but I know what a queen does." The feminist in me was thrilled that Talon was again bringing women leaders into the conversation. "Okay, Talon, what does a queen do?" Talon smiled and said, "She dances." Sigh. The feminist in me got excited a little too early.

Grant continues to do well in school. I have really been impressed at how his coloring and writing skills are improving. Because of the difficulty Grant has focusing on things for very long, his fine motor skills were a little underdeveloped. Until recently, he has never had much interest in coloring. His wonderful aid at school has made it her mission to help him develop these skills and the work they are doing is really paying off. Grant is enjoying writing letters these days too (correspondence, that is). Keep your eyes open and one may land in your mailbox. He really enjoys receiving letters these days too. (Hint, hint.)

We have been walking to and from school pretty regularly with a little girl named Katie who lives on our street. She is a great friend for Grant. I really enjoy watching them walk together. Whatever Katie does, Grant does and then the roles reverse and whatever Grant does, Katie does. They hold hands, run, and play all the way to school. Cute. Surprisingly we actually get to school a lot faster on the days we walk with Katie. She keeps him moving faster than I am able to!

I'm sad to say that while Grant loves our house and yard, he really misses being at Jewell. A few weeks ago we went to a birthday party for, Emme, one of the little girls who now lives our old apartment. When we arrived Grant sat down on the back steps, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm home." Since then he has asked regularly to go up to Jewell or if we can go to our old house. I don't think that Grant is really sad. I think that just like Travis and I Grant has fond memories of our time at Jewell. While none of us would give up where we are now, at times we all find it hard to resist wanting to go back in time for a while.

A couple of weeks ago we went to watch a women's soccer game at Jewell. The kids had a blast watching the game and playing in the stands. At one point Sophia was sitting on my lap and said, "Mommy, I wish I could wear one of those." She was pointing at the soccer uniforms. That a girl!

You may remember a while back Sophia had porcupines in her bed (if you don't remember don't worry, it was a dream, but it was terrifying). After a couple of weeks of Sophia worrying about the porcupines we heard nothing of them. Then one night last week we were all awakened to Sophia screaming. Travis and I went into her room and picked her up. "The monkeys. The monkeys. I don't like them." Sophia explained to me that her pillow had turned into monkeys and that the monkeys were tickling her. It's kind of funny because it's not so much the presence of the monkeys that were bothersome to Sophia, but the fact that they were tickling her. Fortunately, Sophia is now old enough to at least somewhat understand that the monkeys weren't really there and almost finds the whole thing funny now.

That's it for now. So the date at the top of this post doesn't actually match today's date . . . yep it took me four days to crank this out. Our days just go by too fast.