Dating

It seems both Kurt and I have recently seen/heard/read a lot of speakers/radio programs/articles about dating your children, with the purpose of teaching them young how they should expect to be treated and how they should treat their other half in the real world someday.  While we hope they won't be dating for another, well, 24 years or so, Kurt decided a daddy-daughter dance he was taking Myka to would be a perfect time to start.

Myka was quite upset when she learned Kurt wouldn't be able to take her to the school dance due to another commitment.  But we knew our friends Michael and Michaela would be going to their annual church dance and made plans to tag along with them for the evening.  Kurt gave Myka a call on the phone earlier in the week and asked her to go with him (she was a tad confused) and told her when he would pick her up.  That night, he got home about 10 minutes before he needed to be leaving, ran upstairs, showered, changed, slipped out through the garage and came around to the front and rang the door bell.  I don't even think she knew he had come home.

Tetley was confused as well.

But it was so sweet.

 I gave the nice boy a curfew and sent them on their way.  They had a fabulous night of Myka getting her hair done, dinner at a pizza place (picked by the girls) and tons of dancing. 

 A giant balloon and a meltdown concluded the evening. 
I figure it won't be the last date that ends in tears.  We're just training for the real world...

Which left Eli and I free for the

SECOND ANNUAL MOTHER-SON BREAKFAST DINNER

Since Riley went with the dads and daughters this year, Sarah and I took the chance to bond with our boys alone while the rest of our families were gone.  We went to a fabulous restaurant called Choo-Choo Johnny's where they serve your food on a train that drives around the counter.  The boys were in heaven as they ate, played games, got a treat bag and enjoyed some really blue ice cream for dessert.

We all had a fabulous time.  In fact, part of the reason for Myka's meltdown at the end of the night was when she saw the mini-slinky Eli got in his goody bag sitting on the table.  Apparently, slinky trumps the giant-penguin-mylar-balloon-the-size-of-a-kindergartner-with-two-suckers-attached.

Who knew?

No Trains

There is a health food store nearby that I use for my gluten-free shopping.  Eli is often along when we make the quick dash in there to pick up some bread.  There have been several times in the last few months where, as we approach the door, he says,

"Why aren't trains allowed in this store, mom?"

I have always wondered where in the world he got that idea but just chalked it up to another one of his random thoughts and gave a quick answer along the lines of, "Trains can't go in any stores, bud."

Until today, when, as we approached the door, he pointed to a sticker placed in the very middle of the bottom edge of the door (where a three year old's eyes are probably pointed most of the time) and said, "Why aren't trains allowed in here, mom?"

Then I looked to where he was pointing and saw this:

I couldn't even answer through all the laughter.

I sure hope no body on that train needs any health food.

Lucky 7

I'll admit, I set him up perfectly.

When Sarah and I met our friend Jane at Starved Rock State Park for the day with our combined 7 children under the age of 7, we had no idea how it would actually go.  Added to the daily mystery of any particular child's behavior was the fact that none of us had ever been there before.  So we headed straight to the visitor's center for a potty break, a map, and advice.  I asked the nice ranger guy sitting at the information desk what he would recommend for three moms of 7 kids six and under.

"Um.  Two aspirin.  And a visit to the bar in the lodge."

I think he was mostly kidding.

So we headed out on some kid-friendly trails (not the ones with the sheer drop offs on one side...) with some positive attitudes, low expectations, and an unspoken willingness to let everyone get really dirty.

It was awesome!

The only man-made toys the kids played with all day were two balls Eli had brought along for the ride (of course) which they only used for about five minutes, and two plastic spoons Jane had in her lunch bag for digging in the dirt.  God provided the rest.

Throwing rocks into the creek.  It's all fun and games until someone gets a rock to the head.

One of the funniest moments of the day came when the moms decided we needed a picture of the three of us, so we each gave our camera to our oldest and let them have at it.  We have about a dozen hilarious shots as we tried to instruct and smile all at the same time.  I think this might be the best one of the the group except for the speck of dust on the lens.

The boys.

I was on a quest to find a waterfall after I read about them on the web site.  We finally found one on the last leg of our last hike.  So fun and out of the ordinary for these kids.

Actually on top of Starved Rock.
Ironically, we had just had a little snack.

And 7 hours later we were done.  I don't know how far we actually hiked but I'm guessing the bigger kids legged three miles or so.  Add to that a bunch of rock climbing, creek stomping, and general zig-zagging around and who knows how far they went.

At the end of the day the kids were declaring it the "Best Day Ever!", and after the less than 7 minutes it took my children to fall asleep that night, I couldn't agree more!