Seems Like Old Times

Day One of Spring Break - over and done. And the kids? In bed by 8:30 p.m. Every last one of 'em. Does that make Randy and me a couple of killjoys, just two big ol' sticks in the mud? Nope. That label does not apply. See, ever since we moved to Texas in December, our lives have become bigger than any one of us ever anticipated, and that's not to say it's a bad thing, but it's certainly different. Gone are the days where everyone was snugly tucked into their beds by 8:00, giving Randy and me a chance to catch up (prior to 11:00 p.m., that is) with each other. I mean, they are WAAAY gone. So our plan for Spring Break is simply to chill out and get back a little bit of that family time that we've been missing.

Yesterday was a laid-back, enjoyable day, even though there was some heavy lifting involved that required that I break a sweat. And you KNOW I don't like to break a sweat unless it's intentional! We got the computer hutch moved out of our room and up into Tyler's, and Randy FINALLY got the last bookcase mounted to the wall after moving it to the space where the computer hutch had been. If I have time today, I might even fill it with books and for the first time since December be able to see the floor in my room!!

We knocked off a little after 12:00 and took the kids to the dollar movie to see The Water Horse. Not bad, not bad at all, but not a flick we'll be adding to our personal collection. And for the first time, I think we found a movie that Sawyer was disturbed by, and with good reason. Y'all have got to understand, he is a tough little cookie who, sadly, likes explosions and chaos and mayhem, but The Water Horse affected him differently. There was a scene at the beginning that depicted a child drowning that apparently frightened him, and naturally there were the requisite scenes where soldiers, mistaking the monster (at first) for a German sub, tried to blow the creature up. Seemingly out of the blue, after we'd been home for several hours, Sawyer burst into tears and it all came spilling out. "Why were they shooting at Crusoe?" "I was scared when the little boy fell in the water!" Bless his little heart. It was an emotional movie for another reason as well which I won't say in case any of my readers plans to see the movie, but Tyler, my emotional, sensitive Tyler, wept into my shoulder when it was over. Come to find out, the girls were crying too. Oh alright, YES, I was crying right along with them. Of course I was crying! We all blubbered! Needless to say, my wallet won't take a hit on this newest release.

When we got home we discovered that Jaden, Tyler's school friend, had called. I think I mentioned in a previous entry that Jaden lives just two doors away, but did I further mention that he has a sister Peyton's age? Gravy! The first couple of times Tyler and Jaden got together we weren't even aware of the family situation, but once the girls got wind that there was another human being of the female juvenile persuasion in that house, there was no turning back! The kids take turn coming over here or going over there but the result is the same: The four parents involved get a break from hearing, "I'm bored. There's nothing to do. Are we going anywhere today?"

Jaden and Rebecca headed over here and they all promptly went outside for a game of tag. I love to watch and hear them playing together: these six kids (don't forget Sawyer) get along UNBELIEVABLY well, and don't require a thing but perhaps a cup of water when they get hot from running around. In fact, I got smart yesterday and got out the Solo cups and Sharpie pen and assigned each a cup of his/her own. I told Randy that this would be "The Solo Summer!"

After a while the girls wanted to go over to Rebecca's house because they wanted to jump on their trampoline, and about one minute after they left Rebecca's mom called and said Jaden needed to come home (she was getting ready to go out and didn't want us to think she would leave him here indefinitely). When Jaden discovered that my girls went home with his sister, he stood on the front porch and hollered, "Hey Mom, can Tyler come over too?" So all five kids (minus Sawyer) moved from our house to theirs, and Sawyer and I headed for the library and the grocery store. We were gone almost two hours and when we came home, I could hear the kids whooping and hollering over Jaden's fence. They were ALL on the trampoline (the girls said, "It was VERY bouncy with Tyler and Jaden jumping on it!") and having the time of their lives.

I think it's going to be a good summer.