Beach Day - June

After Five fractured his wrist and had to be casted, I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to go to the beach this month.  We hadn't yet missed a month, but circumstances can have a way of altering your goals.  However, after some thought, I whipped up a cast cover and off we went.  

My sisters and some of kids came down for fun day.  

When we got to the beach, there was seaweed in the water.  We never see seaweed at this beach.  I apologized profusely.  Seaweed in the water is gross.  Nothing like slimy tentacles playing around you ankles while you try to swim.  But my sisters weren't offended and the kids thought it was fun to play with. 

Three

Four 

Five and his Cousin, M 

My Sister

Five disappeared for a while.  He likes alone time.  He dug a hole, wrapped himself up, and took some 'me' time. 

My sister, A, offered to teach the boys how to skim board. 

After a while, Four was getting it. 

The day and water turned out so beautiful my sisters remarked that it looked Caribbean.  It was a gorgeous day. 

I know it is not proper to be jealous.  But I am jealous of my sister's hair color every time I see her.  Look at that red!  I guess I can't be too bent out of shape though.  Her red fades just as quickly as mine.  We really ought to invent 'forever red'.  It would save us so much time and energy.

Five and his cousin, E, sat down to a card game.  They played without parental assistance from start to finish without any trouble.  I was very impressed. 

Cast Cover

I know that it doesn't look like much but this custom cast cover allowed us to enjoy a day at the beach without ending up with a sand-filled cast.  

As first, I wanted to just use a sock or something to cover the whole cast.  Simple, right?  But that wouldn't allow for Five to use his fingers.  For hours.  That didn't seem very nice.  

So I found an old glove, that had the wrist elastic shot - so that it could expand to fit over the top of the cast.  I found a light, cheap fabric in my stash (didn't want to use an expensive fabric as I didn't know if it would turn out and didn't want to use a regular or heavyweight fabric as we would be outside in the hot sun and didn't want to encourage a humid hot box for sweat to form in the cast.  And Five had to have green....)Then I made a simple tube out of the fabric with ties at either end so I could seal off the top and bottom of the cast to prevent sand from getting in the cast.  

Voila!  Custom cast cover.  Five was good about wearing it.  And we all enjoyed the beach.

Now, if I could just design a waterproof cast cover, I could make millions.  

NSA Funnies

B.S. of A

NSA Funnies

(Click on the link.  It is very funny!)

Anyone feel a little subconscious telling a joke on the phone or email anymore?  I know I do.  What if the agent screening my convo's doesn't get my sense of humor?

Yeesh.      

Planets

I made a very simple blanket for Four when he was little.  In the past year or so, he has really bonded to the blanket.  

In the past few months, he has talked about wanting to be an astronomer when he grows up.  And he asked me to find him some non-fiction (yes, he used that term!) books on planets and space.  

I found several and he devoured them.

Last night, we were having a cuddle and he had his planets blanket.  

Me: Don't you just love this blanket, Four?

Four: I guess.  I mean they got it all wrong.

Me: What?

Four: Look at this craziness.  Everyone knows the correct colors of the planets. 

Me: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...everyone may not know the correct colors of the planets.

Four:  Well, it is all wrong. 

Four then proceeded to point to every planet and explain what was wrong with the color choices.  He used phrases such as:

I mean, do they expect me to believe this is Pluto?...Saturn looks ridiculous...and more.  

Huh.  

You make a nice, brightly colored blanket.  Only to have your braniac of a child grow up to tell you how inaccurate the print is.  

I didn't really know how to respond.  Then I laughed.  I mean, what else to do?   And his disgust at the artist's choices doesn't keep him from cuddling under the blanket for movies and bedtime.  No worry.  

He sets the bar higher every time he out thinks the world around him.  And I couldn't be more pleased.   

Link

Five has been dressing up as Link lately.  This picture doesn't do justice to his homemade costume but it is pretty creative.  I love it when they use their imagination.  

And Five tried to convince me that since Link sleeps with his shoes on, he should be able to as well.  

Uh, I think not.  Imagination is great.  Dirt in the sheets is not so great.

Apparently there is a limit to what they are allowed to dream up.  Sorry kids.     

Family Pictures

I only put a few of these up when we got them done several months ago.  I had thought we would use a lot of them for the adoption profiles but they had rules about how many pictures can have kids and you have to be in the picture with your kids.  So a lot of these were unusable for that.  And some are just plain funny outtakes.  

Enjoy! 

I love how Four is trying to keep it together while Five is totally encroaching on his space.  

Five is always up for a fight.  

Or a kiss.

This is what my boys typically look like.  Totally serious.  Okay...mostly serious. 

I love this shot of them...

Music

I love music.  I love listening to it.  I love feeling it.  I love dissecting it.  

And I particularly enjoy it when I write my stories.  

I came across this first one on an adoption site and I really liked the simple sentiment.

Amy Stroup - Hold Onto Hope Love

And I came across this second one while I was writing Thistle and Brexten. 

Bernhoft - Stay With Me

Such a rich voice.  I am going to have to explore more of his stuff.

And I am a great fan of this guy.  

Duke Special - Mr. Nobody (from the fantastic Hector Mann album)

You can't help but fall into the emotion of his lyrics.

And I was in the mood for some Kate Rusby today. 

Her stuff is so good and this is one of my favorites.

Kate Rusby - Who Will Sing Me Lullabies?

Happenings...

Three is really hard on clothes.  No.  I mean really, really hard on clothes.  

We have had many conversations about being aware of how we are treating our clothes.  In one ear and out another. 

So I decided to take pictures of his latest happenings.  

This is his third pair of sneakers in six months.  And they all look like this when I give up and chuck 'em.

I asked him if he kicks porcupines and armadillos at recess every day.  

He looked at me like he didn't know.  

The answer is no, Three.  That should be obvious.  

Hopefully.  

He really didn't give me a straight answer.  I wonder if he really is kicking porcupines and armadillos...?!  

In other Three news, he put this snake basket on his head and declared himself Medusa.    

Creative.  And a literary reference...nice!

***

Meanwhile, Five has opened a weapons black market.

It was really only a matter of time.  

He did a brisk business today, selling swords, guns, armor, and shields.  

Green Turns to Red

Today I learned how Five is like a Beverly Hills Housewife.

He has to change his accessories to compliment his outfit.  

Hence the new red cast.  

In reality, we had a cast uh-oh that involved water.  I tried to dry it with a hair dryer and I could hear God laughing as visions of women before me ran through his head.

Note to self - hair dryers are no match for a wet cast.  And you will hear God laughing if you try.

No one was more surprised than me when five declared he wanted a red cast.  Mr. Green on everything wanted a different color?  What?  

All right.  It will look great for July 4th.  That is if he doesn't wear a different outfit tomorrow and decide he needs a yellow cast to match.  You know like some ladies north of here.