Free Advice from "Lucy"

The fourth grade students of Joy's school put on a musical program this evening.

The theme was "Friendship: The Best Gift Ever." 

Between songs, some of the kids played the roles of Peanuts characters (Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, etc.) to teach about friendship.  Joy was Lucy, probably because she has a very strong and decisive personality.

Here she is dispensing some advice to a kid who wants to make some friends: "If you want a friend, you need to be a friend!"

The World Comes into Focus

Joy got her new glasses today.

She was so thrilled to suddenly see the world's fine details that she did a celebratory dance around our backyard.

Anna thought that looked like so much fun that she went dancing around the yard too.

Spanish Posts

Another post from Joy, who is using Duolingo to learn some Spanish:

I've decided that I'm going to do some posts in Spanish. I'm probably going to not be 100% fluent the first time, though. I'll give you a few examples.

Nosotros comemos manzanas.
(We eat apples.)

Tu escribes una carta.
(You write a letter.)

Yo leo el libro azul.
(I read a blue book.)

!Adios! (Bye!)

A Strong Girl with a Weak Bow

We went on a family outing to a local archery range this afternoon.

Here's Daddy showing us how it's done.

A few years ago we bought a little kiddie bow for the kids that we dusted off and brought along today.  Daddy showed the three big kids the basics of shooting accurately and safely.

We quickly realized that it was a pretty weak little bow.  Any arrows that managed to reach the 10-yard target bounced right off.  Joy kept trying, though . . .

. . . until she finally got an arrow to stick.  And there was great rejoicing.

Here she is with another arrow that made it a few millimeters into the target.  Is it just me, or does Daniel look like some dude from a music video who's about to start break dancing?

After we'd all had our fill of archery, we played around with our badminton set until the Sun went down.  Phillip and I are already talking about buying a stronger bow as a group Christmas gift for the kids.

In and Out of the Leaf Pile

One of the perks of having a backyard with deciduous trees in autumn . . .

. . . is that our kids can build a big leaf pile . . .

. . . then sprint across the yard and jump into it.

It's hard to say which thing they enjoyed more, running and jumping into the pile . . .

. . . or jumping out of it afterward and showering their siblings with leaves.

Of course, they had little trouble convincing Daddy to tear across the yard and jump into the leaf pile.

When he erupted from it with a mighty Daddy roar, the boys thought it was awesome while Joy freaked out and ran away from the leaf pile faster than she had ever run toward it.

Feasting with Joy

It's definitely autumn in Arkansas.

There's a chill in the air at night, and the colors on some of the trees look absolutely beautiful.

The week before Thanksgiving, the kids' school hosts a holiday feast for the older kids and their parents (the younger grades get their turn next month right before Christmas).  Daddy, Todd, and I joined Joy for lunch today.  I think Todd's favorite part was drinking the chocolate milk.

We enjoyed meeting Joy's friend Ethan, who attends the gifted class with her and is in both of the sames clubs she belongs to (running club and art club).  Like most folks around here, he's apparently a Razorbacks fan.  We won't tell him that our kids don't know a field goal from a touchdown.

Spanish

Hi, I'm Joy. I'm posting from mum's account 'cause I'm not 13 yet.

I've gone through several periods - baking periods, math periods, basketball periods - right now I'm definitely in a Spanish period.

Mum got me a language app called Duolingo (I think). For those who know Spanish, I know these: 

• El nino lee.
• Yo como pan y yo bebo leche.
• !De nada!

After a while, though, I need to rest and memorize everything I have learned.

Learning Spanish is exhausting! Zzzzzzzz...

Election Day 2016

Hmm, let's see . . .

. . . do you think this is where we're supposed to vote?

It always feels really good to exercise my right to vote.  Several of the candidates for local offices seem like qualified and genuinely good people, and the election sparked an interesting conversation with our kids at dinner tonight.  They were surprised to learn that Daddy and I sometimes vote for different candidates, and place higher priority on different issues.  I think it's good for our kids to see that good people can respectfully disagree about who and what is best for our town and our country, but we can still get along and we both have our community's best interests at heart.

God bless America!

A Staggering Family Outing

We were in the mood for a family outing today . . .

. . . so after finishing our chores we packed our bikes, scooters, etc., into the van . . .

. . . and cruised along a little river trail that runs through town.

Daddy and Joy went ahead on their bikes while I stayed back with Daniel, Anna, and Todd.

It wasn't exactly a perfect system because the two scooter kids moved a lot faster than Todd did on his PlasmaCar.  They spent a lot of time waiting . . .

. . . while he moseyed along behind.

Poor Todd was out of steam by the end, and he needed a big group of cheerleaders to encourage him  during the last hundred yards.  Sometimes it takes a village. :)

Our Little Man is Getting Bigger

Todd the Toddler isn't a toddler anymore.

He turned three today!  His birthday dessert was pumpkin spice mini crullers from Krispy Kreme.

Todd's gifts included an item from Anna's trick-or-treat stash (lovingly wrapped by the giver herself) . . .

. . . a fun book from Pink Grandma . . .

. . . and a toy car from Red Grandma and Papa. 

"Don't bother me with dessert, Dad--I'm reading."

Big Sister Joy also drew some birthday pictures she thought Todd would enjoy.  Her rendition of his toy doggie was very good, and he really liked it.

Happy Birthday, Todd!  Your cheerful personality brings such joy to our family!

A Short Tour and Sorry!, Todd Style

Todd wanted to take a short spin around the neighborhood today . . .

. . . on his PlasmaCar . . . 

. . . while I tagged along on my bike.

Some of the neighbors still have Halloween decorations up (along with U of Arkansas Razorback regalia, which is popular year-round in these parts) . . .

. . . but these folks are definitely ready for Thanksgiving.

Back at home, Todd asked me to play Sorry! with him.  For Todd, that meant laying down the cards in groups of three in a long line.  Occasionally he let me put one down, too.  One time I put a number on the carpet upside down, and he let me know that was NOT acceptable and should be corrected forthwith.  Sorry!

Day of the Dead, with Gingerbread 2016

Our family enjoyed talking about some of our ancestors on Day of the Dead last year, so I decided to celebrate it again this year, complete with gingerbread skeletons.

This year we talked about Margaret Amelia Pedersen, my dad's grandmother.  She was really a remarkable woman.  As a child, she lovingly helped her father (who had lost his hands in a farming accident) by combing his hair, putting on his shoes, and assisting him with the farm equipment.  Her husband died of a sudden illness when their youngest children (a pair of twins) were seven years old, and Margaret managed to run the farm and keep the family together even through the Great Depression.  She was practically blind for the last years of her life, but she was such a self-reliant and positive person that most people didn't know it.  They just knew her as a good friend who was a pleasure to be around.

Incidentally, when I look at the picture of Margaret and her handsome husband, I'm always struck by how much my dad looks like his grandpa.